BlackMetalNinja
07-01-2009, 09:19 PM
http://hockeyrhetoric.com/2009/06/30/regiers-complacency-is-cause-for-concern/
I think this really highlights the main problems this team faces at the moment, the following were of particular interest:
The Sabres dirty little secret is the fact that they currently have a boat load of money committed to their best players. Heading into next year, the Sabres have seven players with salary cap numbers of 3.5 million dollars or higher. Seven!
And that is why I argued that re-signing some of those guys the past few years with the huge deals they commanded would have made things so much worse...
If the Sabres should decide to just clear cap space, they fortunately have some pretty talented prospects that have the ability to fill in the void. Guys like Mike Weber and Tim Kennedy, in particular, can step in and contribute while not costing the Sabres much. If the Sabres dump salary though, it should only be done so that a target free agent can fit under the budget.
It’s the same old rhetoric from the Sabres; they’ll insist that Hecht is a good player and that’s why he’s on the roster but fans don’t want to hear that. Everyone knows that by moving Hecht, they create options for bringing in players that can help the Sabres take the next step forward. The Regier is too concerned with getting value from the players they have under contract. After having a few good players leave the team during the free agency period with no value in return, that thinking seemed to have intensified. The fact that Maxim Afinogenov was on the Sabres roster in 2008-2009 is testament to that.
Clearly, the Sabres need more toughness and better leadership but they will not be able to add a player like that this summer unless the team decides to dump some of their players with big salary cap figures.
I think this really highlights the main problems this team faces at the moment, the following were of particular interest:
The Sabres dirty little secret is the fact that they currently have a boat load of money committed to their best players. Heading into next year, the Sabres have seven players with salary cap numbers of 3.5 million dollars or higher. Seven!
And that is why I argued that re-signing some of those guys the past few years with the huge deals they commanded would have made things so much worse...
If the Sabres should decide to just clear cap space, they fortunately have some pretty talented prospects that have the ability to fill in the void. Guys like Mike Weber and Tim Kennedy, in particular, can step in and contribute while not costing the Sabres much. If the Sabres dump salary though, it should only be done so that a target free agent can fit under the budget.
It’s the same old rhetoric from the Sabres; they’ll insist that Hecht is a good player and that’s why he’s on the roster but fans don’t want to hear that. Everyone knows that by moving Hecht, they create options for bringing in players that can help the Sabres take the next step forward. The Regier is too concerned with getting value from the players they have under contract. After having a few good players leave the team during the free agency period with no value in return, that thinking seemed to have intensified. The fact that Maxim Afinogenov was on the Sabres roster in 2008-2009 is testament to that.
Clearly, the Sabres need more toughness and better leadership but they will not be able to add a player like that this summer unless the team decides to dump some of their players with big salary cap figures.