SkateZilla
08-04-2005, 06:26 AM
http://www.afterfivestudios.com/tsr/20050803_freeagency.php
NEW NHL, SAME OLD SABRES?
Should Sabre Fans Be Worried By Lack Of Moves?
Paul Szeglowski - Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005
Down In The Dumps, NY (TSR) - It was just two weeks ago that Buffalo Sabres fans rejoiced the signing of the new NHL collective bargaining agreement. Many of the knowledgeable sports fans in the Western New York region realized the new deal would open new doors for small market teams like Buffalo. The new deal was undoubtedly a chance for Buffalo to compete with every team both on and off the ice. For those that didn't care to understand the new deal, the Sabres management trio of Tom Golisano, Larry Quinn and Darcy Regier made sure to drive home the point that the Sabres finally can and will compete financially.
Interest for Buffalo Sabres hockey was reborn and at its highest level since the playoff run in Spring 2001. With lower ticket prices, along with what seemed to be a clear sign from management toward spending money to bring in some quality free agents, fans throughout Western New York seemed like they were ready to support this team financially.
Shame on them for forgetting so easily who the real Buffalo Sabres are.
The NHL is now officially three days into their largest free agency period ever and the only thing the Sabres have managed to do was lose their best offensive threat in Miroslav Satan and their best defenseman in Alexei Zhitnik. Zhitnik signed a four year deal with the Islanders worth $3.5 million a year. Satan is now taking offers of reportedly $4.25 million from an assortment of teams including divisional rivals Boston, Montreal and Toronto. For the record, Buffalo could have had Satan for $3.8 million if they chose to qualify him; Miro said it himself that he wanted to return.
As the Sabres downgraded their team, small market teams across North America are gobbling up players left and right. Florida, Calgary, Columbus, Atlanta, Edmonton, Pittsburgh and Carolina were all active in the early stages picking up some big name talent. In some cases, it was clearly a matter of players being overpaid, but at the end of the day, all those teams are stronger than they were 72 hours ago.
THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING:
Darcy Regier has gone on record saying he is looking to bolster the Sabres blueline with one or two solid defenseman. When interviewed by Howard Simon on WGR SportsRadio 550 on Monday, Simon listed a handful of top tier defenseman he imaged the Sabres going after. Without directly saying it, Darcy admitted the list was accurate as to who the Sabres would like to target.
Three days later, that entire list is almost completely wiped out. The likes of Gonchar, Aucoin, and Foote are now officially off the market. Brian Rafalski and Roman Hamrlik, two players that were rumored to be on the Sabres radar, are collecting offers from various teams but not once has Buffalo been mentioned as one of those teams.
In fact, there hasn't been one rumor around the league involving the Sabres, not even one little one. If Darcy, as he stated this week, has had calls with many player agents, why haven't we heard about it. Sure, Darcy will obviously not disclose which players he is talking to but you better believe that player agents leak out what teams are interested in their clients for the obvious reason of building more buzz for their particular player.
One has to question the grand scheme of things down at HSBC Arena. To many, it simply seems like the Sabres have no direction or plan set in stone and fans are quickly taking notice.
Somewhere, Seymour is turning in grave.
LETTING MIRO, ALEX GO A BIG MISTAKE:
Larry Quinn and Darcy Regier have made a point to say they want to make the Sabres better heading into the regular season. With a great core of returning players, Buffalo was not far off as a legitimate playoff contender. That is why their unwillingness to re-sign Satan or Zhitnik made absolutely no sense.
For one, the NHL this season should feature more room for skilled players such as Satan. Call him inconsistent if you want, but Miro average over 30+ goals in a clutch-and-grab NHL. There's maybe a handful of players in the entire league that did the same. The loss of Satan is even more damaging when you take into consideration that shootouts will be used to determined tied games and the fact the Miro was almost automatic on breakaways. When the 2005-2006 season is over, Miroslav Satan will be in the top five in shootout goals.
As for Zhitnik, despite the fact he never lived up to his offensive potential, he is a top two defenseman on any team in the entire league. With the game opening up for skilled players, Zhitnik will be one of the few defensive guys in this league that will not be aversely affected. He has the speed and skill to skate against any player in the league which is why it makes his loss to the Islanders that much harder to swallow. Who are the Sabres going to turn to in a tie game late in the third period when they face their divisional opponents who are loading up in offensive talent. Sure, Dmitri Kalinin is a fantastic defenseman, but don't look for him to carry this team on his shoulders just yet.
While it is indeed early in the free agency period, one can say with clear certainty that the Sabres will not be going after the likes of Peter Forsberg or Scott Neidermayer. So exactly how does Darcy plan on making this team better especially since he now needs to make up for the loss of Satan and Zhitnik.
Many of the second tier standouts that would have fit Buffalo's system and finances are no longer available. There is very little hope of actually finding a defenseman or two and a forward for the $7.3 million it would have cost the Sabres to keep both Satan and Zhitnik. At this point, you can't help but agree that Buffalo's best value and smartest reasoning would have been keeping both Satan and Zhitnik.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Plain and simply, the Sabres will most likely have to go after three players to make this team better than it was when it had Miro and Alex on the roster. If I am Darcy, I would make a serious play at Rafalski or Hamrlik in hopes of landing one. I would also call the Los Angeles Kings and try to deal for hometown product Aaron Miller.
As for replacing Satan, I don't think there is a free agent available that Buffalo can afford that would be a better value than Satan was at $3.8 million. Mariusz Czerkawski is an unrestricted free agent that comes to mind but he was far more streaky than Satan ever was. He does, however, have some great offensive skill. Andrew Brunette is also an unrestricted free agent that might fit this team well and come at a cheap price. After that, there are a slew of restricted free agents that the Sabres could go after but that would mean giving something up in return. Bottom line is, there are not as many quality players available at a price the Sabres can afford.
NEW NHL, SAME OLD SABRES?
Should Sabre Fans Be Worried By Lack Of Moves?
Paul Szeglowski - Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005
Down In The Dumps, NY (TSR) - It was just two weeks ago that Buffalo Sabres fans rejoiced the signing of the new NHL collective bargaining agreement. Many of the knowledgeable sports fans in the Western New York region realized the new deal would open new doors for small market teams like Buffalo. The new deal was undoubtedly a chance for Buffalo to compete with every team both on and off the ice. For those that didn't care to understand the new deal, the Sabres management trio of Tom Golisano, Larry Quinn and Darcy Regier made sure to drive home the point that the Sabres finally can and will compete financially.
Interest for Buffalo Sabres hockey was reborn and at its highest level since the playoff run in Spring 2001. With lower ticket prices, along with what seemed to be a clear sign from management toward spending money to bring in some quality free agents, fans throughout Western New York seemed like they were ready to support this team financially.
Shame on them for forgetting so easily who the real Buffalo Sabres are.
The NHL is now officially three days into their largest free agency period ever and the only thing the Sabres have managed to do was lose their best offensive threat in Miroslav Satan and their best defenseman in Alexei Zhitnik. Zhitnik signed a four year deal with the Islanders worth $3.5 million a year. Satan is now taking offers of reportedly $4.25 million from an assortment of teams including divisional rivals Boston, Montreal and Toronto. For the record, Buffalo could have had Satan for $3.8 million if they chose to qualify him; Miro said it himself that he wanted to return.
As the Sabres downgraded their team, small market teams across North America are gobbling up players left and right. Florida, Calgary, Columbus, Atlanta, Edmonton, Pittsburgh and Carolina were all active in the early stages picking up some big name talent. In some cases, it was clearly a matter of players being overpaid, but at the end of the day, all those teams are stronger than they were 72 hours ago.
THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING:
Darcy Regier has gone on record saying he is looking to bolster the Sabres blueline with one or two solid defenseman. When interviewed by Howard Simon on WGR SportsRadio 550 on Monday, Simon listed a handful of top tier defenseman he imaged the Sabres going after. Without directly saying it, Darcy admitted the list was accurate as to who the Sabres would like to target.
Three days later, that entire list is almost completely wiped out. The likes of Gonchar, Aucoin, and Foote are now officially off the market. Brian Rafalski and Roman Hamrlik, two players that were rumored to be on the Sabres radar, are collecting offers from various teams but not once has Buffalo been mentioned as one of those teams.
In fact, there hasn't been one rumor around the league involving the Sabres, not even one little one. If Darcy, as he stated this week, has had calls with many player agents, why haven't we heard about it. Sure, Darcy will obviously not disclose which players he is talking to but you better believe that player agents leak out what teams are interested in their clients for the obvious reason of building more buzz for their particular player.
One has to question the grand scheme of things down at HSBC Arena. To many, it simply seems like the Sabres have no direction or plan set in stone and fans are quickly taking notice.
Somewhere, Seymour is turning in grave.
LETTING MIRO, ALEX GO A BIG MISTAKE:
Larry Quinn and Darcy Regier have made a point to say they want to make the Sabres better heading into the regular season. With a great core of returning players, Buffalo was not far off as a legitimate playoff contender. That is why their unwillingness to re-sign Satan or Zhitnik made absolutely no sense.
For one, the NHL this season should feature more room for skilled players such as Satan. Call him inconsistent if you want, but Miro average over 30+ goals in a clutch-and-grab NHL. There's maybe a handful of players in the entire league that did the same. The loss of Satan is even more damaging when you take into consideration that shootouts will be used to determined tied games and the fact the Miro was almost automatic on breakaways. When the 2005-2006 season is over, Miroslav Satan will be in the top five in shootout goals.
As for Zhitnik, despite the fact he never lived up to his offensive potential, he is a top two defenseman on any team in the entire league. With the game opening up for skilled players, Zhitnik will be one of the few defensive guys in this league that will not be aversely affected. He has the speed and skill to skate against any player in the league which is why it makes his loss to the Islanders that much harder to swallow. Who are the Sabres going to turn to in a tie game late in the third period when they face their divisional opponents who are loading up in offensive talent. Sure, Dmitri Kalinin is a fantastic defenseman, but don't look for him to carry this team on his shoulders just yet.
While it is indeed early in the free agency period, one can say with clear certainty that the Sabres will not be going after the likes of Peter Forsberg or Scott Neidermayer. So exactly how does Darcy plan on making this team better especially since he now needs to make up for the loss of Satan and Zhitnik.
Many of the second tier standouts that would have fit Buffalo's system and finances are no longer available. There is very little hope of actually finding a defenseman or two and a forward for the $7.3 million it would have cost the Sabres to keep both Satan and Zhitnik. At this point, you can't help but agree that Buffalo's best value and smartest reasoning would have been keeping both Satan and Zhitnik.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Plain and simply, the Sabres will most likely have to go after three players to make this team better than it was when it had Miro and Alex on the roster. If I am Darcy, I would make a serious play at Rafalski or Hamrlik in hopes of landing one. I would also call the Los Angeles Kings and try to deal for hometown product Aaron Miller.
As for replacing Satan, I don't think there is a free agent available that Buffalo can afford that would be a better value than Satan was at $3.8 million. Mariusz Czerkawski is an unrestricted free agent that comes to mind but he was far more streaky than Satan ever was. He does, however, have some great offensive skill. Andrew Brunette is also an unrestricted free agent that might fit this team well and come at a cheap price. After that, there are a slew of restricted free agents that the Sabres could go after but that would mean giving something up in return. Bottom line is, there are not as many quality players available at a price the Sabres can afford.