It was only one pre-season game, but Zack Kassian had a nice debut rocking a #54 Sabres jersey.
It's unlikely that he'll make the Sabres. But, I can't wait to see what he's like 3 years from now when he might be the power winger the Sabres have been looking for since a young Brad May looked like he might develop into a fighter with 2nd line hands.
In other news......
Patrick Lalime hasn't had a Carey Price bad pre-season. But, I don't see him being a guy that gives Lindy Ruff enough confidence to not ride Ryan Miller into the ground.
Unfortunately, I don't know if Jhonas Enroth will be that guy in the next few years, either.
And while Drew Stafford is a popular whipping boy and I don't want to pile on, but I have to. If Regier could somehow replace Stafford with Jamie Langenbrunner, that would make me like this team sooooooo much more.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Kennedy, MacArthur, and Ellis
Over the last 24 to 36 hours, Tim Kennedy signed a $550,000 deal with the Rangers, Clarke MacArthur signed a $1.1 million deal with Toronto, and Matt Ellis re-signed with the Sabres on a two way deal that will pay him $625,000 if he's in Buffalo and not Portland.
Some fans will wonder about the Ellis signing since the Sabres said that they were over budget when they announced the Kennedy buy out. The big difference here is that Ellis signed a two way deal so the Sabres can afford to send Matt to Portland if he doesn't beat out the likes of Nathan Gerbe, Mark Mancari, and Colin Stuart for an NHL job.
Tim Kennedy and his agent badly misplayed their hand, IMO. WGR 550's Paul Hamilton said on the air this week that the Sabres offered Kennedy a one year, one way deal at $800,000. And reportedly that offer came with a warning that the Sabres didn't have any more room in their budget for Kennedy than that should the arbitration award come in over $800,000.
Kennedy and his agent obviously didn't think the Sabres would buy out the home town boy. Especially given Regier's anti-buyout public statements in the past when fans and media wondered why the Sabres weren't buying out certain players that were underperforming based on their contracts.
But, they mis-calculated. And now Kennedy is making less money from the Rangers and living in a city with a much higher cost of living.
Oops.
MacArthur getting $1.1 million on the open market after Atlanta walked away from a $2 million arbitration award makes me wonder what MacArthur's agent was thinking. Why they didn't ask for an award just south of the level that the Thrashers wouldn't have been able to walk away from is beyond me.
Oops.
Some fans will wonder about the Ellis signing since the Sabres said that they were over budget when they announced the Kennedy buy out. The big difference here is that Ellis signed a two way deal so the Sabres can afford to send Matt to Portland if he doesn't beat out the likes of Nathan Gerbe, Mark Mancari, and Colin Stuart for an NHL job.
Tim Kennedy and his agent badly misplayed their hand, IMO. WGR 550's Paul Hamilton said on the air this week that the Sabres offered Kennedy a one year, one way deal at $800,000. And reportedly that offer came with a warning that the Sabres didn't have any more room in their budget for Kennedy than that should the arbitration award come in over $800,000.
Kennedy and his agent obviously didn't think the Sabres would buy out the home town boy. Especially given Regier's anti-buyout public statements in the past when fans and media wondered why the Sabres weren't buying out certain players that were underperforming based on their contracts.
But, they mis-calculated. And now Kennedy is making less money from the Rangers and living in a city with a much higher cost of living.
Oops.
MacArthur getting $1.1 million on the open market after Atlanta walked away from a $2 million arbitration award makes me wonder what MacArthur's agent was thinking. Why they didn't ask for an award just south of the level that the Thrashers wouldn't have been able to walk away from is beyond me.
Oops.
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