Apparently the KHL is calling for Sabres prospect Marek Zagrapan.
And now the hindsight is 20/20 crew are bemoaning another Sabres 1st round draft bust and are looking at guys like TJ Oshie, Andrew Cogliano, and Ryan O'Marra who were centers that were drafted later in the 1st round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Personally, you can drive yourself nuts with revisionist history like this.
I'm more worried about the fact that the Sabres need to make some serious changes this off season and right now they have 8 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 2 goalies under contract for next season at a player payroll of $46.1 million (Cap Hit total of $46.5M).
So, if the player payroll budget is in the $51 to 52 million range, how do they add 5 or 6 forwards to the mix and 2 defensemen for $5 to 6 million?
And how much does Tyler Myers' signing bonus affect that budget as well?
Add in the doom and gloom about the 2010-11 cap falling to $50 million or less and I'm wondering if it might not be a good time to dump payroll.
I could even live with a reboot of immense proportions like sending Vanek to Edmonton, Pominville to Montreal, Miller to Detroit, and Hecht, Tallinder, and Lydman to parts unknown.
But, I know that this team doesn't have the stomach for something like that. We'll just get the Same Old Sabres........
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Myers signed, 94% STH renewals, and more!
Sabres sign Tyler Myers
The Sabres headed off a boatload of fax machine jokes by signing Tyler Myers to an entry level contract yesterday.
With Myers leading the Kelowna Rockets to the Memorial Cup (programming note: The NHL Network will broadcast the Memorial Cup Finals live, so set your DVRs), the Sabres took a step in the right direction by locking Myers up.
Now it will be interesting to see if the Sabres go after a mentor for Myers this off season. My dream scenario would see the Sabres getting Chris Pronger or Robyn Regehr to pair with Myers next season. But, knowing the Sabres, the most I can hope for is a cheaper defenseman with re-signing Jaro Spacek being the "biggest" move I can reasonably expect.
But who knows, maybe they'll surprise me!
94% Renewal Rate
I'm sure this news has Bucky Gleason's head exploding as he seems to think that re-upping to buy season tickets to the Bills and Sabres means that fans are soft.
Personally, I'm into loyalty. And there is no way that I'm going to rip fans for continuing to support a sport and a team that they love.
I just hope that the Sabres do more to earn the loyalty that the fans are showing.
The one that got away
Sabres fans have been lamenting the ones that have gotten away lately with WGR 550's Mike Schopp openly wondering if the Sabres cut Steve Bernier loose too soon and Heather B missing Brian Campbell.
Add in some of the usual Drury, Briere, and to some extent Biron wishful hindsight stuff and you have a lot of people saying what if.
You can also add in all the drafting retrospectives like why did the Sabres take Dennis Persson instead of Nick Foligno.
The one that got away that worries me the most is Dennis Wideman. The Sabres let Dennis go simply because they didn't want to pay him what he thought he was worth coming out of Jr. Dennis has turned into a good NHL defenseman and has been traded for a guy that I would love on the Sabres in Brad Boyes.
Heck, I think I might want Boyes even more than Wideman right now.......
Balsillie as the bad guy
I'm sorry, but I can't get to the place where I think that a billionaire that wants to move an NHL team out of a bad US market like Phoenix to a good Canadian market like Southern Ontario is a bad guy.
Balsillie appears to be the type of NHL owner that I wish the Sabres had.
Why couldn't Balsillie have been from Western NY and not Southern Ontario?
The Sabres headed off a boatload of fax machine jokes by signing Tyler Myers to an entry level contract yesterday.
With Myers leading the Kelowna Rockets to the Memorial Cup (programming note: The NHL Network will broadcast the Memorial Cup Finals live, so set your DVRs), the Sabres took a step in the right direction by locking Myers up.
Now it will be interesting to see if the Sabres go after a mentor for Myers this off season. My dream scenario would see the Sabres getting Chris Pronger or Robyn Regehr to pair with Myers next season. But, knowing the Sabres, the most I can hope for is a cheaper defenseman with re-signing Jaro Spacek being the "biggest" move I can reasonably expect.
But who knows, maybe they'll surprise me!
94% Renewal Rate
I'm sure this news has Bucky Gleason's head exploding as he seems to think that re-upping to buy season tickets to the Bills and Sabres means that fans are soft.
Personally, I'm into loyalty. And there is no way that I'm going to rip fans for continuing to support a sport and a team that they love.
I just hope that the Sabres do more to earn the loyalty that the fans are showing.
The one that got away
Sabres fans have been lamenting the ones that have gotten away lately with WGR 550's Mike Schopp openly wondering if the Sabres cut Steve Bernier loose too soon and Heather B missing Brian Campbell.
Add in some of the usual Drury, Briere, and to some extent Biron wishful hindsight stuff and you have a lot of people saying what if.
You can also add in all the drafting retrospectives like why did the Sabres take Dennis Persson instead of Nick Foligno.
The one that got away that worries me the most is Dennis Wideman. The Sabres let Dennis go simply because they didn't want to pay him what he thought he was worth coming out of Jr. Dennis has turned into a good NHL defenseman and has been traded for a guy that I would love on the Sabres in Brad Boyes.
Heck, I think I might want Boyes even more than Wideman right now.......
Balsillie as the bad guy
I'm sorry, but I can't get to the place where I think that a billionaire that wants to move an NHL team out of a bad US market like Phoenix to a good Canadian market like Southern Ontario is a bad guy.
Balsillie appears to be the type of NHL owner that I wish the Sabres had.
Why couldn't Balsillie have been from Western NY and not Southern Ontario?
Monday, May 11, 2009
The only thing the Sabres have to fear is.......
With all the reports of the possible relocation of the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario, the Sabres seem to be fearful of what it will mean for them.
To me, it would appear that another team in Western Ontario could be a boon for the Sabres, if they approach things properly.
How you may ask?
Simple. I would hope that the Sabres, Leafs, and the new Hamilton team would all be in the same division for starters. If that were the case, the Sabres would now have 8 home games a year against Toronto and Hamilton.
And while Sabres fans would hate my reasoning, the bean counters at One Seymour H. Knox III Plaza should be salivating about more Platinum level variable pricing games.
Plus, you can market Sabres season ticket packages to plenty of fans of Toronto and Hamilton as very affordable alternatives to season tickets to the games in Toronto and Hamilton (I am assuming that the prices of tickets in Hamilton will be closer to those in Toronto than in Buffalo).
And if the NHL gets back to a divisional playoff structure, you could see a lot of Toronto-Buffalo and Hamilton-Buffalo playoff series down the line which would be amazing for the Sabres bottom line.
I guess it's all about how you look at the glass in this scenario. You can look at it half full and think that a Hamilton franchise as a death knell for the Sabres. Or, you can look the glass as half full and take the approach that another regional rival will be a very positive thing for the Sabres moving forward.
To me, it would appear that another team in Western Ontario could be a boon for the Sabres, if they approach things properly.
How you may ask?
Simple. I would hope that the Sabres, Leafs, and the new Hamilton team would all be in the same division for starters. If that were the case, the Sabres would now have 8 home games a year against Toronto and Hamilton.
And while Sabres fans would hate my reasoning, the bean counters at One Seymour H. Knox III Plaza should be salivating about more Platinum level variable pricing games.
Plus, you can market Sabres season ticket packages to plenty of fans of Toronto and Hamilton as very affordable alternatives to season tickets to the games in Toronto and Hamilton (I am assuming that the prices of tickets in Hamilton will be closer to those in Toronto than in Buffalo).
And if the NHL gets back to a divisional playoff structure, you could see a lot of Toronto-Buffalo and Hamilton-Buffalo playoff series down the line which would be amazing for the Sabres bottom line.
I guess it's all about how you look at the glass in this scenario. You can look at it half full and think that a Hamilton franchise as a death knell for the Sabres. Or, you can look the glass as half full and take the approach that another regional rival will be a very positive thing for the Sabres moving forward.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Quinn speaks
WGR 550
Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn was in-studio yesterday with WGR 550's The Bulldog and spoke about the whole Phoenix Coyotes situation and the potential that the team could relocate to Southern Ontario, but what the team is looking to do this off season.
Glass Half Full:
- Quinn said that they might make a big move or they might not. So, the glass half full is that the team might be open to making the big changes that many believe need to be made
Glass Half Empty:
- Quinn seemed to believe that Ruff hasn't lost the team and that the team as currently put together isn't flawed in areas like size. He even tried to say that the Detroit Red Wings are the smallest team in the league, so that isn't an issue with the Sabres and whether they can compete with a team that is built the way the Sabres are currently.
Personally, talk is cheap and I'm not going to flip out too much after this interview.
But, I've resigned myself to the lowest of expectations this off season as soon as the club quickly decided to retain Regier and Ruff.
The most concerning thing to me is that the management of this club seems headed down the same path they followed a year ago. And all that approach got them was 2 points closer to 8th place.
Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn was in-studio yesterday with WGR 550's The Bulldog and spoke about the whole Phoenix Coyotes situation and the potential that the team could relocate to Southern Ontario, but what the team is looking to do this off season.
Glass Half Full:
- Quinn said that they might make a big move or they might not. So, the glass half full is that the team might be open to making the big changes that many believe need to be made
Glass Half Empty:
- Quinn seemed to believe that Ruff hasn't lost the team and that the team as currently put together isn't flawed in areas like size. He even tried to say that the Detroit Red Wings are the smallest team in the league, so that isn't an issue with the Sabres and whether they can compete with a team that is built the way the Sabres are currently.
Personally, talk is cheap and I'm not going to flip out too much after this interview.
But, I've resigned myself to the lowest of expectations this off season as soon as the club quickly decided to retain Regier and Ruff.
The most concerning thing to me is that the management of this club seems headed down the same path they followed a year ago. And all that approach got them was 2 points closer to 8th place.
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