Who replaces Briere?

[Michael82]

All of you guys have no problem letting him go. Hell, a bunch of you want to toss his ass to the curb. So, my question for you is who replaces him? Seriously, Who scores 95 points next year?

Just for the record, these were his stats....

Daniel Briere

Key Stats
G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	TOI
32	63	95	17	89	19:18

2006-07 Situational Stats
Category	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PP	SH	GW	GT	S	S%	TOI	SHIFTS	PIM	MJR	MSC	MNR
After All-Star Break	32	14	24	38	4	5	0	3	0	92	15.2	607:46	719	41	1	1	13
All-Star Games	1	1	4	5	5	0	0	0	0	2	50.0	15:47	17	0	0	0	0
Before All-Star Break	49	18	39	57	13	4	0	3	0	142	12.7	956:33	1104	48	0	0	24
Conference Final Games	5	1	3	4	-3	0	0	0	0	11	9.1	111:03	126	0	0	0	0
Conference Semifinals	6	1	5	6	4	1	0	0	0	25	4.0	125:51	160	12	0	0	6

http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/players/playerpage/19766

Now tell me, who do we have who could put up those numbers in his place?

[OpIv37]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Vanek, and Stafford will have to replace Vanek.

Yeah, I know, its a long shot, but there arent a whole lot of other options at this point.

[Michael82]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Vanek, and Stafford will have to replace Vanek.

Yeah, I know, its a long shot, but there arent a whole lot of other options at this point.

So, in other words.....if we lose Vanek too.....we are SCREWED!


I already see Drury and Briere both gone, along with Zubrus. I think we are going to have to throw a ton of money at Vanek to keep him, because he will get a really high offer from some teams and we have to match it.

[OpIv37]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

So, in other words.....if we lose Vanek too.....we are SCREWED!


I already see Drury and Briere both gone, along with Zubrus. I think we are going to have to throw a ton of money at Vanek to keep him, because he will get a really high offer from some teams and we have to match it.

yeah but if we lose both Drury and Briere, throwing money at Vanek won't be a problem.

It would, however, create a leadership void. While Vanek elevated his play, I don't think he's ready to step up and be a team leader in the Drury/Briere mold.

[Michael82]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

I'm guessing that Poms or Connolly, Goose, or maybe even Hecht would fill the captain role....

[RockStar36]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Given a full season Connolly can most likely exceed the 100 point mark

[Michael82]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Given a full season Connolly can most likely exceed the 100 point mark

Wow! That's a pretty high goal!

The key is "full season" Can he stay healthy the whole season and not get his brain scrambled again?

[bigbub2352]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Any thoughts on Clarke MacArther, and Marek Zaprapan would be logical from the Roch, MacCarthur will be important to this team next year, he is extremely talented and plays hard and is very fast, Zaprapan has the same talent as Vanek, and just needs to get used to American Hockey

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

No matter what the Sabres have to replace a very good player. Signing Vanek, Briere and Drury would mean bye-bye to guys like Campbell, Miller and Stafford in a few years.

The team needs to think ahead.

[Michael82]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Any thoughts on Clarke MacArther, and Marek Zaprapan would be logical from the Roch, MacCarthur will be important to this team next year, he is extremely talented and plays hard and is very fast, Zaprapan has the same talent as Vanek, and just needs to get used to American Hockey

Marek Zaprapan is not even close yet. I think he'll be in the minors for at least one more full season.

MacArthur is definitely interesting, but I think he still needs a bit more seasoning and will be a midseason callup.

[BlackMetalNinja]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Just for clarification Mikey... what is it that you want? You keep saying you know all these guys are going to cost a lot, and you want them all. We obviously can't afford them all... So what is it that you think we should be doing?

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Just for clarification Mikey... what is it that you want? You keep saying you know all these guys are going to cost a lot, and you want them all. We obviously can't afford them all... So what is it that you think we should be doing?

Especially if this team wants to keep guys like Miller, Stafford, Tallinder and Campbell in the 2-3 years.

[Michael82]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Just for clarification Mikey... what is it that you want? You keep saying you know all these guys are going to cost a lot, and you want them all. We obviously can't afford them all... So what is it that you think we should be doing?

I want Vanek locked up long term, and I want Briere to stay (I believe that Drury has already made up his mind and wants to go back home to Calfornia), and I also would like Zubrus to stay. I'd also like Mair re-signed. And then to free up more room, we can cut or trade Kotalik, and Kalinin. And if we want to sign a big forward....we could always trade Max.

[BlackMetalNinja]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Especially if this team wants to keep guys like Miller, Stafford, Tallinder and Campbell in the 2-3 years.

That's the thing... I think nobody else is thinking long term. If we tie up all this money now, we're screwed down the road, and by down the road, I mean very shortly down the road. I guess the question is do you completely bail on the next 5 years and do whatever it takes to try and win the cup this year? Even then, it's obviously not a sure thing since we came up short this past season with essentially the same group as you're trying to sign back. Sure I'd love to have all these guys, but they can and will make much more money then they are now. Unfortunately that's the problem with getting and developing talented players.... They get better and become more valuable, and eventually you can't afford them all.

[Earthquake Enyart]

Re: Who replaces Briere?

Take the money you would have spent on Briere and Drury and get Forsberg.