Darryl Shannon's +/-

Also my interpretation....and the thing I have the hardest time understanding is how people think a GM will just quit a job if they don't have full autonomy. Does anyone have an example of this ever happening? A quick search online shows me Darryl Sutter did it w/ the Flames, but that may have been out of self preservation as the team was floundering and had no hope in the near future. Brian Burke did it in the 90's with the Whalers, but stayed on to assist with a transition to the league office. Not once have I seen that someone has left because they didn't feel they could do their job. In my opinion this would destroy any and all bridges that a GM (especially one starting his career like Murray) would have left. And with limited options at the NHL level, I'm betting that it takes way more than an owner stepping in for a player to make a GM make that move.

My larger point is that any center worth anything is not available through either FA or trade. But 3 1st round picks in next years draft (w/ two assumed in top 5) along with #2 overall this year is a really nice way to build up a squad. Then count random luck w/ our bounty of 2nd rounders, and it's difficult to assume we'll be in the shape of Edmonton. Murray's value should be based on which players he deems are worth trading in the next 4-5 years. If we do this right, we should be trading the promising players who aren't cornerstones to restock the team and keep this farm system rolling. Chicago did this w/ Byfuglien and others.....hopefully we are in the same spot. With a supportive owner and this bounty of picks....this has to be a dream job.

High scoring centers need to be drafted. And we're well on that path. Crucify me, but Darcy was a genius to start this tear down.

The Coyotes are really a nice spot for an executive. If you fail, you can just blame the constraints. Any success and you look like a genius. I think he needed to be back in the game, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him on Long Island/Brooklyn when Snow is shown the door. Isles fans probably have a completely different viewpoint of him than the majority of Buffalo.

If they wanted to get crazy with it, it could be primetime the night before the draft. I'd certainly tune in. There isn't enough movement to really upset the apple cart, in the Sabres case this year it was #1 or #2.

If that comes to pass the original trade may be put up as one of the top 3 fleeces in league history. Even without the first round pick it's an embarrassment of riches. His last move may have been his very best.

If that's the road we're giving him....I hope he's making a decent differential on the farm. Makes sense....thanks for the perspective. And I guess I don't view this contract nearly as badly as I did initially.

I just wonder what made Murray give McCormick 3 years. How quick do you think Cody signed this? I'd be fine if we nursed him along on a year by year basis. It's my ignorance, but if this is a 2 way deal, is this just a nice way to say that you'll earn more for the 25 games you'll be up w/ the big club each year? If so, I'm fine with this deal. If not, it seems like a foolish signing.

If there was ever a role for a guy like John Scott, the next three years would be it. Young players that you are mortgaging your franchise on who need to be protected from those who aren't afraid to be tough when they are the biggest guys on the ice. Sign a guy like this, dress him for 15-20 games and make sure bad things don't happen. As long as the league refuses to punish certain players and teams, I think this is a necessity. As of right now, Stewart is probably the best fighter on the team and he might be gone by opening night. And I'm not advocating for Scott, I'm thinking they need to find the next John Scott for this role.

To me, having tickets is a nice way to keep in touch with family and friends and take in a sport I truly enjoy watching. While the dollars are astounding when rolled up over the years, part of me compares this to having the same seats in NY, Chicago or Boston where we in Buffalo can have the same view for 1/2 to 1/3 of the price. I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't view no cup as a failure. I think it's pretty cool that I can say I was in the building for RJ's Sabres hall speech, for Lindy's return to Buffalo and Nolan's return to the bench. And even more simply, I go to be entertained. I trudge through snow and brave the wind tunnel on Main street so I can watch hockey in person after working in the real world. Because sports can be and should be fun and a release from the everyday norm. As long as I know an owner isn't purposely mailing it in for profit, I'm on board to watch hockey.

Could a trade be made with a promise of a trade back after a specified amount of time? If the NHL changes their rules in regards to recapture I'm going to be furious though.

Karabacek's body of work on youtube is tremendously underwhelming. Basically him cycling the puck and falling down. He needs a hype man.

The problem I have with it is, what good comes from publicly devaluing your own assets? Not only from a trade value point of view, but more so from the angle that you aren't able to move that player. People don't like working in environments where they are publicly shamed. We saw this earlier when he was dismissive of our UFA's this year. Are those players trash? Absolutely. But a little bit of finesse is a good thing if you are a boss, at least in my opiniion. I think all this does is give Murray very little leash if things start to go poorly. This act only works if you get results. Otherwise, it gets stale quickly.

If he was dangling 3 2nds for a late first in this years draft, he should be taken to task. And I personally don't need to know what he's offering. Part of me is concerned that too much transparency is a bad thing.

I'm too lazy to figure it out, but I wonder what percentage of UFA's have been bought out since 05-06

I have seasons and would much rather have a tear down like this than the mediocrity we've seen from the Bills over the past 15 years. I respect this organizational approach because it maximizes our chances of being good again. In my opinion it's bold to take the path we're taking. You can lose your entire fan base, especially if the Bills become a good team. I only ask that when I show up that I'm entertained and don't openly see players phoning it in. Watching Vanek at the beginning of last year bothered me a lot more than seeing John Scott actually attempt to skate a semi normal shift. I fear that unless Ehrhoff is moved that we will see the same thing out of him next year. The very end of the Rolston occupation was the worst that I have ever seen. It felt like work to drag myself to the arena and watch a team go through the motions for 60 minutes.

Maybe that's a better way to frame it. If you have two contracts that eat up that much space, your margin for error greatly decreases in my opinion. This has relevance to where the Sabres will be in the next few years. If we hit big on this draft and next years, we should have two top line players who will grow to UFA together. When they hit that point, are we better off trading one and restocking with younger talent? If Chicago traded either of Kane or Toews, what would the haul coming back look like?

I wonder if teams just aren't structured to handle two big contracts like this, and if the blackhawks (and Pens at the time) would have been better choosing one and trading the other for a gigantic haul. If this is true, this would be about 1/3 of their entire cap devoted to two players.

Chalk the buyout as another mark of Pegula doing the right thing. He and Darcy made the mistake of signing him, but he easily could have argued to keep Leino around to eat cap space. Instead, he takes a hit financially in a planned dead end season if only to protect us 2-3 years from now if we are making a run. It's really nice to have an owner willing to take these risks.

I think a contending team is more likely to follow the model the Kings set and have four lines that they can actually play, not giving time to a liability. Scott and Thornton are both liabilities. Scott is a better fighter. If the young group next year needs protection, I'd much rather have #32 than #22 doing the protecting. Scott is not half the player Thornton is, but both of them don't belong in the league. I'd rather sign someone to a one year deal, promise 1st or 2nd line minutes and try to trade them at the deadline to a contender. The Isles years ago had Doug Weight in this role. I don't know who is out there right now in that type of situation, but think Murray should be looking at getting real 2 way players to set an example instead of refuse.

5,3, and 5 goals in the past 3 years. And he was a passenger on a good team. Would you have made the same argument for Rob Ray in the late 90's? And he was suspended for slewfooting and knocking out a legit NHL player who wouldn't fight him after a clean hit. If that doesn't define a goon, I don't know what does. If we are going to add anyone.....add a legit NHL player who is towards the very end of their career to impart wisdom. Bringing on a sideshow is counterproductive. Think like a 35 year old Doug Weight.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Thornton had one year where he had 10 goals, which matches Kaleta's career year. And McCormick had 8 as his high. It's a contest of which plug had the most puck luck in their very best year. And Leino was actually an NHL player at one point. Apples and oranges.

My point is only that if interference and clutching and grabbing were actually called, slow footed guys like Scott and Thornton wouldn't see the light of day.

I'll give $0.05 towards his bus fare to the ECHL. If we determine that we need a goon next year, I'd rather have Scott around the impressionable young minds, not a guy who committed assault on a top 2 dman trying to pretend that the "code" meant he had to drop the gloves with him. If penalties were actually called in this league guys like Thornton and Scott wouldn't ever see a shift.

I don't think a combine will do anything to change minds, but I do believe that upgrading the hotels players stay in and making sure they can see the good parts of the city do matter. Considering UFA's are usually in their late 20's, or early 30's, I think the Buffalo community offers quite a bit to that demographic. Throw in the proximity to Ontario and that's something. Last point....I think the word of players who have played and lived here mean way more than experiencing a city for 3-4 days when you are 18.