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Buffalo Management Is Looking Bad....


The Goat

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Fresh off their best season in ages Buffalo management is doing their best to alienate or otherwise dispose of many of the players who propelled them to such a fantastic season.

Inquiring fans want to know why it is that Darcy Regier, his pockets full with all that dough from three playoff rounds worth of sellouts, is refusing to pay his players what they deserve.

Why is a team leader like Daniel Briere forced to go to arbitration? (and will the Sabres now pay the $5 million he deserves?)

Jay McKee - gone because the Sabres wouldn't pay $4 mill per season?

Hmmm....just wondering from a fans perspective what a Sabre has to do to earn a decent contract.

Simply put, Buffalo is looking pretty cheap right now. One also wonders what other players and potential free agents think when they look at how management treats these players after the year they had.

 

Sorry to say but right now Buffalo looks like third place material in the Northeast. Everybody in the division, even the Maple Leafs, with a revamped blue line, has gotten better while the Sabres have gotten worse.

 

The Goat

 

Carolina Hurricanes

Stanley Cup Champs 2006

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Fresh off their best season in ages Buffalo management is doing their best to alienate or otherwise dispose of many of the players who propelled them to such a fantastic season.

Inquiring fans want to know why it is that Darcy Regier, his pockets full with all that dough from three playoff rounds worth of sellouts, is refusing to pay his players what they deserve.

Why is a team leader like Daniel Briere forced to go to arbitration? (and will the Sabres now pay the $5 million he deserves?)

Jay McKee - gone because the Sabres wouldn't pay $4 mill per season?

Hmmm....just wondering from a fans perspective what a Sabre has to do to earn a decent contract.

Simply put, Buffalo is looking pretty cheap right now. One also wonders what other players and potential free agents think when they look at how management treats these players after the year they had.

 

Sorry to say but right now Buffalo looks like third place material in the Northeast. Everybody in the division, even the Maple Leafs, with a revamped blue line, has gotten better while the Sabres have gotten worse.

 

The Goat

 

Carolina Hurricanes

Stanley Cup Champs 2006

This has to rival any of "caniac chick's" posts for ignorance.

 

I know I've said before that you are welcome on this board, but if all you are going to do is troll, go away.

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Fresh off their best season in ages Buffalo management is doing their best to alienate or otherwise dispose of many of the players who propelled them to such a fantastic season.

Inquiring fans want to know why it is that Darcy Regier, his pockets full with all that dough from three playoff rounds worth of sellouts, is refusing to pay his players what they deserve.

Why is a team leader like Daniel Briere forced to go to arbitration? (and will the Sabres now pay the $5 million he deserves?)

Jay McKee - gone because the Sabres wouldn't pay $4 mill per season?

Hmmm....just wondering from a fans perspective what a Sabre has to do to earn a decent contract.

Simply put, Buffalo is looking pretty cheap right now. One also wonders what other players and potential free agents think when they look at how management treats these players after the year they had.

 

Sorry to say but right now Buffalo looks like third place material in the Northeast. Everybody in the division, even the Maple Leafs, with a revamped blue line, has gotten better while the Sabres have gotten worse.

 

The Goat

 

Carolina Hurricanes

Stanley Cup Champs 2006

Well atleast there is one fact in that post I can disagree with, McKee was highly overpayed at 4 mil a year, and there is no denying that. But what else is he saying here not true? Ottawa has no problem spending money, yet they were filing for bankrupcy along side Buffalo a couple years ago. Carolina could barely sellout playoff and cup games yet they still came out this offseason and resigned core players?

 

5 million does sound a little high for Briere, but what do you expect, Darcy took the chance of signing him to a 1 year deal last year and will now have to pay for Danny having a career year. Next year it will be the same as Drury will be out of here as soon as the Bell tolls on the Sabres season.

 

Its a sad day when a troll on the board actually makes a good point.

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When my team wins the Cup, I hope we win because we're the better team. Canes should be thanking the Gods because the planets lined up for them and they still barely pulled it off.

 

Congrats a$$wipe!

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Can we just delete this BS? I wish it was his Canes that had paid the ridiculous $4 million for Mckee but they are not that stupid. He's obviously just trying to push our buttons.

 

I thought something similar, but this ought to be interesting... B-)

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Well atleast there is one fact in that post I can disagree with, McKee was highly overpayed at 4 mil a year, and there is no denying that. But what else is he saying here not true? Ottawa has no problem spending money, yet they were filing for bankrupcy along side Buffalo a couple years ago. Carolina could barely sellout playoff and cup games yet they still came out this offseason and resigned core players?

5 million does sound a little high for Briere, but what do you expect, Darcy took the chance of signing him to a 1 year deal last year and will now have to pay for Danny having a career year. Next year it will be the same as Drury will be out of here as soon as the Bell tolls on the Sabres season.

Its a sad day when a troll on the board actually makes a good point.

 

How can you agree the team has gotten worse? So far, all that has really happened is that mckee and Grier left and Spacek came on board (a fact Goat conveniently ignores) ... so basically, the changes in the regular playoff lineup are Mair back in to replace Grier and Spacek for McKee. Briere is NOT gone yet. maybe it will have to be blown up after this season, but the Sabres are keeping it together better than the Canes ... where is Weight? Cullen? Where are their replacements?

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Goat -- correct me if I'm wrong, but the Canes have to date lost quite a bit more than the Sabres. Did anyone here come to your board and post about how cheap the Canes are?

 

Briere may or may not be back. We potentially won't know for sure for another 12-13 days. Until we do it's pretty premature to assume he's going to be gone. Meanwhile, we've signed a top free agent defenseman and locked up a number of our free agents to long-term deals.

 

You might remember that you're walking around with our stanley cup and that people here have been pretty friendly and respectful to you (granted with some exceptions) and lay off the gloating a bit.

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Fresh off their best season in ages Buffalo management is doing their best to alienate or otherwise dispose of many of the players who propelled them to such a fantastic season.

Inquiring fans want to know why it is that Darcy Regier, his pockets full with all that dough from three playoff rounds worth of sellouts, is refusing to pay his players what they deserve.

Why is a team leader like Daniel Briere forced to go to arbitration? (and will the Sabres now pay the $5 million he deserves?)

Jay McKee - gone because the Sabres wouldn't pay $4 mill per season?

Hmmm....just wondering from a fans perspective what a Sabre has to do to earn a decent contract.

Simply put, Buffalo is looking pretty cheap right now. One also wonders what other players and potential free agents think when they look at how management treats these players after the year they had.

 

Sorry to say but right now Buffalo looks like third place material in the Northeast. Everybody in the division, even the Maple Leafs, with a revamped blue line, has gotten better while the Sabres have gotten worse.

 

The Goat

 

Carolina Hurricanes

Stanley Cup Champs 2006

 

 

You have just confirmed the ignorance of Hurricanes fans everywhere. McKee is not worth anywhere near $4 million. If management is so bad, why are players signing multi-year contracts? Tallinder, Kotalik and Campbell must have missed the memo that it's time to jump ship. And how does Spacek fit into your theory?

 

What's your reasoning behind Toronto surpassing the Sabres? Is it Andrew Raycroft's 3.71 GAA and .879 SV% from last year? Or is it that Paul Maurice is the head coach? If he used to be the head coach of the Hurricanes he must be infallible right ;)

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He's going to extremes, but his viewpoint is well represented among the fan base. Not necessarily we sophisticates on this board, but, you know, all the thousands of casual fans who went nuts for this team last spring. You know what they say -- perception is reality. If Briere goes, it's a disaster for this franchise. One giant leap backwards when it comes to building a fan base.

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Well atleast there is one fact in that post I can disagree with, McKee was highly overpayed at 4 mil a year, and there is no denying that. But what else is he saying here not true? Ottawa has no problem spending money, yet they were filing for bankrupcy along side Buffalo a couple years ago. Carolina could barely sellout playoff and cup games yet they still came out this offseason and resigned core players?

5 million does sound a little high for Briere, but what do you expect, Darcy took the chance of signing him to a 1 year deal last year and will now have to pay for Danny having a career year. Next year it will be the same as Drury will be out of here as soon as the Bell tolls on the Sabres season.

 

Its a sad day when a troll on the board actually makes a good point.

 

APus -- this kind of factual inaccuracy is beneath you. Ottawa let arguably their 2 best players go in Chara and Havlat b/c they were too expensive. Carolina has lost a bunch of players too (4 or 5 regulars, I think). Both have lost much more than we have.

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The guy is right. It's one thing to identify talent, or theorize on the new NHL and be correct. It's another thing to have the stones to back up your own viewpoint. Darcy traded for the guy, but didn't think he was good enough to give a contract to, so he took it out of his hands and left it to someone else. Now our best foreward will join our best D-man out the door for a 2nd year in a row.

 

Darcy is the kind of guy who goes over to the Casino on Tuesday afternoon, because that is the only time you can get a seat at the $5 tables.

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The guy is right. It's one thing to identify talent, or theorize on the new NHL and be correct. It's another thing to have the stones to back up your own viewpoint. Darcy traded for the guy, but didn't think he was good enough to give a contract to, so he took it out of his hands and left it to someone else. Now our best foreward will join our best D-man out the door for a 2nd year in a row.

 

As if net losses and salary cap "hell" can be avoided by simply getting testicular implants...

 

Darcy is the kind of guy who goes over to the Casino on Tuesday afternoon, because that is the only time you can get a seat at the $5 tables.

 

And this is NOT a solid financial move (Darcy's job, basically) because?

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Now our best foreward will join our best D-man out the door for a 2nd year in a row.

 

Funny it worked out OK last season, and no way was mckee the best defenseman.

 

Darcy is the kind of guy who goes over to the Casino on Tuesday afternoon, because that is the only time you can get a seat at the $5 tables.

 

Well compared to the others that's about what his bankroll will allow ... you'd prefer he gamble money he does not have and have the team go bankrupt and leave town again? besides, where does all the money given to Spacek and Tallinder fit into the "Darcy won't pay anyone" theory? He should not have paid McKee, that's just moronic.

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I didn't say he should have paid McKee, I just said that for the 2nd year in a row our best F and D will most likely walk. It can't work that way forever.

 

I understand there is a salary cap, but when you decide on arbitration with 60% of the team...you take the power out of your hands, and put it in that of the player and a total stranger. Now the market has been set for Darcy, since he never seems to be the one to set a market. Kotalik is probably just getting to bed now after crying himself to sleep after signing that contract. He had to be worth $3 million next year if he went all the way.

 

McKee was the same story. "Um...well..let's see...um...how the New NHL...um..plays out...and we can..um..see how Jay handles it."

 

We could have had him for 4 years and $8million but Darcy walked for 500k.

 

If you believe in yourself as a GM, you make tough decisions and wrap up guys who you brought in as part of this team. You don't let someone else make the decisions for you.

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Ah the Goat is back and showing how much class and know-how he really has.

 

I must have missed where Briere was "forced" to go to arbitration. Does Reiger have some secret service working for him? Did Jack Bauer hold a gun to Briere's head?

 

I love how people just figure that they know what is up behind the scenes. Rumour has it that Danny boy turned down a 4 year deal worth close to $20 million. If he did, then I ask what could be stopping him from signing on?

 

The Goat. Your team was gifted the Cup this year. You can gloat about it all you want but the hockey world knows that the stars were certainly aligned for them, as another poster commented.

 

All I have to say is if you want to talk hockey, try having some knowledge to back it up.

 

McKee $4million?? No thanks. Not now, not ever. Grier?? Couldn't care less about his move.

 

Where were your comments on the signings? Spacek is an upgrade over McKee and came cheaper. 3 others have signed on and I'm sure Briere will too.

 

Your team has lost many players who obviously knew that it really was a one hit wonder.

 

I suggest you worry about your team, we'll worry about ours. Now run along and go play on that big highway you've got.

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I didn't say he should have paid McKee, I just said that for the 2nd year in a row our best F and D will most likely walk. It can't work that way forever.

I understand there is a salary cap, but when you decide on arbitration with 60% of the team...you take the power out of your hands, and put it in that of the player and a total stranger. Now the market has been set for Darcy, since he never seems to be the one to set a market. Kotalik is probably just getting to bed now after crying himself to sleep after signing that contract. He had to be worth $3 million next year if he went all the way.

McKee was the same story. "Um...well..let's see...um...how the New NHL...um..plays out...and we can..um..see how Jay handles it."

We could have had him for 4 years and $8million but Darcy walked for 500k.

If you believe in yourself as a GM, you make tough decisions and wrap up guys who you brought in as part of this team. You don't let someone else make the decisions for you.

 

I hear ya to a point, but I can't rip Regier for not locking all these guys up before last season. Connolly, Max, McKee, Tallinder ... all these guys had legit question marks before the season whether it was injury history or maddening inconsistency ... to sign them to long-term deals would have been taking a big risk that they all stay healthy and get better. The way things went down was the perfect (or imperfect) storm in that the whole team got better and Darcy is in a bad negotiating position. This is the life of a GM on a budget ... you can't afford to be wrong because it costs you big time. And everyone would have told him he was wrong if he had rewarded these guys with long-term deals before they earned them.

 

The only other issue I have is you say he put it in the hands of the players and a stranger. It's ALWAYS in the hands of the players. You say Darcy lost Mckee over $500K, but that works both ways. Briere reportedly had a long-term deal on the table in front of him for $4-4.5 million a year ... he said no. The players can always say no, so it is in their hands too. Why aren't you ripping Briere for not keeping it together when he could have done so for just $500K? It's a two-way street. I'm not ripping Briere, he has to do what is best for him, but I can't rip Regier either because he has lots of other guys to pay. I mean, he could have given Briere $6 million a year and avoided all this but then he would have lost 3 other guys and you would rip him for that. It's not as simple as "Regier needs to grow some balls and pay these guys!!!" and yet that is what most fans seem to think. Maybe everyone was given a false sense of hope by the new CBA, but the way the market it it looks like it is still going to be tough for the Sabres to compete unless they can somehow generate more revenue.

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The guy is right. It's one thing to identify talent, or theorize on the new NHL and be correct. It's another thing to have the stones to back up your own viewpoint. Darcy traded for the guy, but didn't think he was good enough to give a contract to, so he took it out of his hands and left it to someone else. Now our best foreward will join our best D-man out the door for a 2nd year in a row.

 

Darcy is the kind of guy who goes over to the Casino on Tuesday afternoon, because that is the only time you can get a seat at the $5 tables.

 

McKee the sabres best D-man last year? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: what games were you watching. McKee was a good player, and i have no hard feelings for him for leaving for bigger $. Plain and simple, he wasnt worth $4 mil per season.

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You are correct in saying he couldn't give everyone a long term contract. A lot of our guys stepped up last year and very few could have predicted the season we had. I would have gone bonkers if we were signing Campbell to a long term deal before last season.

 

I just feel that we had the "Perfect Storm" last year, and now that talents were exposed, we have to rely on management to keep us as close to last year as possible. We're already down McKee, and maybe Connoly. Grier is a nice guy to have around, but he at least tried to keep him.

 

Briere is the leader here. Drury may be the foundation, but Briere sets the ceiling. By sending all of these guys to arbitration, it shows me a lack of conviction in Darcy's own opinion. So what if you are wrong and overpay a bit, it's better than losing everyone. As the old saying goes, "Don't expect to soar like an eagle while you sh*t like a canary."

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I didn't say he should have paid McKee, I just said that for the 2nd year in a row our best F and D will most likely walk.

 

 

I'm not even sure he was in the top four by the end of the playoffs. Teppo was our best D-man. Maybe not in skills, but when you look at W/L, when he was in, we won. When he was out, we were barely .500. Tallinder and Lydman were the best defensive combo in the league during the playoffs, and Campbell came on at the season's end...

 

By the way, Satan wasn't our best forward when he left last year, either. (just a little DeLuca tweak.. ;) )

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By sending all of these guys to arbitration, it shows me a lack of conviction in Darcy's own opinion. So what if you are wrong and overpay a bit, it's better than losing everyone. As the old saying goes, "Don't expect to soar like an eagle while you sh*t like a canary."

 

Don't you understand that the players can say NO and force Darcy to send it to arbitration? How do you know that Darcy didn't try to sign everyone to a 3 year deal before the deadline came to send in the 1 year offer sheets. You don't know that. The players KNOW they will get WAY more money from an arbitrator than they would from a 2 or 3 year deal from Darcy, and most of these guys see even more money when they become UFA next year. You don't know what Darcy offered and what they said NO to.

 

If I was a player I would say NO too if I became a UFA next year and only HAD to sign a 1 yr deal before I got my HUGE payday. If you have total confidence in yourself and think you will keep getting better you wouldn't sign either because you knew that you would get one year for a nice chunk $$ plus then you hit the open market and cash in again...

 

There is always a risk so sometimes they do sign, like Kotalik, Tallinder etc... and sometimes it bites the player in the butt, like Stillman last year... but for the most part the player (that had a great year) makes out and has a better chance of making money saying no and going to arbitration.

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