The List Moving Forward

With the announcement that Sabres owner-in-waiting Terry Pegula has given Darcy Regier a list of "Do Not Trade" players, everyone is wondering who is on the list.

Is the list as short as Miller & Myers?

What about Vanek, Ennis, and does Pegula even know about guys like Zack Kassian?

And I'm sure fans want to know if there is also a "Trade These Guys For Whatever You Can Get" List that has guys like Rivet, Niedermayer, and other whipping boys on it.

But two guys that I'm wondering about moving forward are Derek Roy and Drew Stafford.

Derek Roy has been a Darcy Regier "Core Guy" in large part due to his reasonable contract ($4M per year against the cap through 2012-13) and his solid production (70 to 80 pts per year after Briere & Drury left town).

But, the Sabres have been playing really well since Roy went down with the low body injury.

So, if there are sweeping changes with the front office and the new regime wants to remake the team, does Derek Roy remain a Sabre? Or, does his highly attractive production to salary ratio turn him into a guy that the Sabres can trade for a player that makes more money, but may have some of the intangibles that Roy does not possess?

It will be very interesting to see what happens with Roy this off season.

The other player of interest is Drew Stafford.

I'm thinking about Drew this morning in large part due to his hat trick last night. It is Stafford's third hat trick in the last 20 games and the fifth of his career.

Stafford is a Restricted Free Agent this summer. He also has a history of being really streaky.

So, the question the Sabres have to ask is whether Stafford's season (he's already tied his career high of 20 goals and could surpass his career high of 45 pts) is a sign of "the light coming on" for Stafford or if it's just a contract year bump.

Basically, the Sabres need to accurately predict if Stafford will be a 25 to 30 goal winger over the next few years or just the 15 to 20 goal guy he has been for the bulk of his career prior to this season.

Depending on what kind of contract Stafford gets this summer, he could also be a guy that has some trade value given that there are a lot of teams that are looking for scoring help on the wing.

And while it's a bad time to throw out the Malkin to Buffalo rumor in light of his season ending ACL & MCL tears at the hands of Tyler Myers, but I wonder if Roy & Stafford for Malkin is something that the new Sabres regime would think was a move in the right direction for the club?

It would be tough on the cap, but what about Roy & Stafford for Vinny Lecavalier with the hope that a move like that could make the Sabres a more attractive UFA destination for Brad Richards? Would the Sabres want to tie up $18M+ in cap space for the foreseeable future on Lecavalier & Richards?

Lecavalier is a tough one because he counts more than twice against the cap as Roy and they have offensive numbers that are very comparable over the past two and a half seasons.

But, Lecavalier has a ring and Roy doesn't.

Personally, I wouldn't mind the team hit reboot. And while it's easier for most fans to say get Rivet, Hecht, and others out of here, the real question is what to do with "Core Guys" like Roy, Stafford, Vanek, Pominville, and Miller.

If you want to look at patterns with regards to how to build teams to win the Stanley Cup, there is a strong case for building teams down the middle.

The Penguins with three top 2 overall draft picks as their top 3 centers are the prime example of building the spine of the team. And the last time they had a 70 pt winger was Alexei Kovalev in 2001-02.

That would create the argument that the Sabres should look at shopping guys like Stafford, Pominville, and Vanek for upgrades at center.

I'd live with Derek Roy as the 3rd line Sabres center.

As a crazy internet idea that has no basis in reality, a remake centered around trading Vanek & Stafford for Lecavalier, move Pominville for cap relief, and signing Brad Richards would downgrade the Sabres on the wings, but would give them a center depth chart of Richards-Lecavalier-Roy-Gaustad.

That wouldn't be too bad, I guess.