thesportsbuff

Mueller to FLA, 1 yr 1.725 mil.

happy 4th everyone. and happy belated canada day to any canadians on board

Realistically, I don't think the Sabres are pursuing Parise. We have heard info coming out about ~10 teams being "in" on him, but I've yet to see Buffalo even mentioned as being interested. My guess would be they made an offer and were turned down, so they moved on.... BUT! The never say die part of me still has hope. Though he wouldn't name specific players, Darcy did say he has outstanding offers to a few free agents. With our logjam on defense it's safe to rule out any defensemen, so I'm thinking maybe we do have an offer on the table for Parise... and maybe it's a good thing we aren't being talked about.

Derek Roy is a 60-70 point center on an average year. Upwards of 80 points on his better years. He suffered a season-ending leg injury in December of 2010, after recording 35 points in the first 35 points of the season. He returned for Game 7 vs Philadelphia in Round 1 that season, but had little impact on the scoresheet and the Sabres were eliminated. Last season, Roy had the worst year of his career. However, it should be noted that doctors told him it would be close to two full years before his aforementioned injury was back to 100% -- he has not yet hit the two year mark, so there is still hope for his production to recover. However, a couple of disappointing seasons combined with his tendency to enjoy the Buffalo night life have essentially made him the new whipping boy in Buffalo after Tim Connolly was shipped out. Rumors of attitude problems and being a problem in the locker room have essentially destroyed his reputation in Buffalo, but he can be a very productive centerman in a good season. I love the enthusiasm that Roy used to play with before things became stale in Buffalo.

True, it maybe wasn't the best comparison as far as their roles go, but make no mistake, this was Buffalo's way of keeping pace. Like a poster above me mentioned, several "enforcers" were signed today... McCormick just doesn't cut it. John Scott will help.

Good signing. Haven't seen the $$ yet but I imagine he's a much cheaper alternative to Brandon Prust, who many on twitter were apparently heartbroken that we didn't sign. Not sure how many games he'll play with the Sabres (~30 would be my guess) but it was a necessary move with many other teams adding muscle this afternoon. I expect we play him in a LW role on the 4th line -- I see no benefit to dressing him as a defenseman unless Joe Finley is his partner and the Boston Bruins are the opponent.

He was just on WGR w/ Andrew Peters talking about how if he was on the bench during the Lucic/Miller incident, "Mr. Lucic" would have had a problem on his hands. I'll take him :P

Sabres sign Shane Doan Derek Roy is a Sabre on opening night Grigorenko sticks with the big team for at least 9 games

The Jets are no Kings though. Offensively OR defensively.

I can't remember the opponent, score, or period, but with seconds remaining in the period they won the faceoff clean and had a nifty passing play from Pommer to Vanek (Or vice versa) to score a goal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Tz_SkksLE i'll never forget the feeling i got during when they said Kassian to Vancouver.

I think Pegula has helped to bridge the gap between Hasek and the Buffalo Sabres. I don't think there is much bad blood there anymore-- Hasek was at a Sabres game w/ Pegula while in town promoting Hasek's Heroes shortly after Pegula bought the team. He did interviews and seemed happy, certainly showed no signs of bitterness towards Buffalo. It's no secret that Hasek's best years were spent here, and although his cups came from elsewhere, I can't help but think he considers Buffalo his true NHL home. It's probably just my inner-10 year old excitement getting the best of me, but this quote screams Buffalo to me: "I know where I would like to play, but I don't want to talk about it. I think it's better to keep it between the two sides involved. It wouldn't be appropriate to publish anything right now." Now, obviously that quote could apply to pretty much any team, but I mean, if he wanted to play for a Tampa or Detroit, would it hurt to say so? He's not going to unseat Howard as Detroit's starter, and Tampa Bay has no starter, so naming those places as possible destinations wouldn't cause any controversy or anything... but naming Buffalo could cause a ton of unfounded excitement (worse than what I'm putting everyone through right now :P ), perhaps some controversy, and obviously they would have to have the Enroth situation figured out before announcing anything. So all I'm saying is there are enough reasons to keep wanting to play in Buffalo a secret until they get things figured out, where it doesn't seem like it would make that big of a difference in Detroit/Tampa since they would know his role, there's no bad blood, and if things didn't work out and he doesn't sign there, it's not going to be the worst day ever for Wings/Bolts fans.

I mean, the possibility is there, but it really just doesn't make any sense for a team in need of a starting goalie to sign a 47-year old. Tampa, Edmonton, Toronto -- these teams need a long-term solution, not a 1 or 2 year stop gap. Maybe if Toronto/Edmonton feel that Reimer/Dubnyk would benefit from a year on the bench behind Hasek, but I don't see it happening. Frankly, Enroth would be a better option for any of those teams than Hasek.

On the contrary, I expect that no team would even approach him with plans for being a starter. He is 47 years old. He may want to be a starter, but I'm sure that both he and every GM in the league are aware of the extremely small likelihood that his body can actually hold up over ~60 games. He will accept and do fine in a back-up role.

It's hard to make a conditional deal on a draft pick if you're trading picks in this years draft, at this year's draft. Also, we're talking a back-up goaltender with maybe starting goaltender potential... hardly a Malkin or Crosby. If that's a gross overpayment for an elite player's rights, then good -- it ensures we have the highest bid, and if Pegula means business about winning the cup, he should have no problem getting Parise to sign a deal.

I guess I'll be "that guy" -- I think it's a great idea and Buffalo should look into signing him. For one, I honestly don't see Enroth ever being the starter for this team. He's won some games and had some pretty stellar performances, but it's pretty clear that Miller is this team's starter for the foreseeable future. Enroth may be a great back-up, but I'm sure he has higher goals and I think he would be wasted in a back-up role. Trade him while he has value! There are several teams looking for promising young goaltenders -- Edmonton, Toronto, Tampa Bay, maybe even New Jersey if Brodeur retires after a successful Stanley Cup run! Whoever doesn't get Luongo may look to a younger option like Enroth and hope to develop him further through their system. Obviously Hasek back in a Sabres uniform is just something I would love to see for selfish reasons of him being my favorite player to don the Sabres jersey during my childhood, but he did well in the KHL a couple of years ago and is probably still good enough to play a back-up role. If he prefers Buffalo and can be had for cheap, I take advantage of the opportunity and trade Enroth. Who knows, maybe Enroth + a pick for Parise's rights if the Devils are in search of a guy to succeed Brodeur.

Gary Roberts is the man. I'm so glad that he said something, since Cody obviously was going to take the high road and stay out of it. It was a cheap shot by Gillis to talk trash about Hodgson to cover his own ass after another disappointing season for the Canucks. Also, isn't kind of funny that a GM would complain about dealing with their player's "issues?" I mean, I could be entirely wrong, but it seems like Pegula & Co. would be the type that are happy to deal with whatever issues their players may have. Isn't that part of building a good team, making sure that everyone is on the same page and there are no issues?

johnny cash's version of "hurt." it's on a commercial for some video game and has been posted on facebook feed at least ten times since the commercial come out. not gonna lie, it's a pretty catchy song, and has been stuck in my head ever since. doesn't help that i liked it so much i learned how to play it on guitar (very easy).

You'd take the picks over Ennis? Kid has practically single handedly turned around the season since converting to center and you'd give up on him over half a million dollars of cap space? As I said, an offer sheet WON'T happen because Regier will get the deal done before he reaches RFA... but if Ennis did reach RFA status, I wouldn't be shocked at all if someone gave him a sheet.

Pissed. Decided to check my bank statement online this morning and saw a charge from 3/17 for $40 that I didn't recognize, with a URL listed. I visited the website and sent in an e-mail through their "Contact Us" link, explaining to them that I had no idea what their site was or what the charge was for. They responded by telling me they've "cancelled my subscription" but cannot refund the $40, and went on to inform me that the charge was for membership to an adult entertainment website. Clearly, somebody has gotten ahold of my credit card information. Here's the twist-- as if that wasn't bad enough, the "Support Specialist" gave me the username and password used to register for the website (gee, thanks)... and whoever signed up used a username and password that I use on a couple other websites. So it seems that this goes much deeper than just having my credit card information... they could potentially have access to my entire life. E-Mail, YouTube, my online bank account, other message boards, who knows what. My guess would be they've used some kind of key logger on me... in which case I'm probably ######. Currently running virus/malware/spyware scanners on the MacBook but nothing suspicious has come up so far. I have no idea how else they could have gotten that information, but trying to fix this all today is going to be a bitch.

A little late but just throwing it out there that Ennis could very well be the recipient of an offer sheet should he make it to July 1st without a deal. I mean, Stamkos didn't get one, but probably because it's too huge of an investment for most teams to make, even if you do manage to outbid Tampa Bay (who I'm sure would match whatever offer he got). Ennis, on the other hand, is no Stamkos yet, so obviously we're not talking $9-10 million here, but instead more like $3-5 million. I wouldn't be shocked if some team has been paying attention and offered Ennis a $5 million or so offer sheet, banking on continued development and production. That would throw a hitch in Darcy's plan, I'm sure. Ennis is probably penciled in somewhere around $3 mil. However, don't panic. I'm sure Pegula and co. have made re-signing him priority #1 and it will be taken care of prior to his ever reaching RFA status. CBA experts correct me if I'm wrong, but the Sabres can sign Ennis at any time prior to July 1st (as well as after) -- so I'm sure the deal will get done before a team has the chance to talk to him. I certainly don't think Ennis wants to go anywhere, and Pegula will take care of him.

This is definitely a possibility, but Lindy is giving them their fair chance to keep the production up. The #1 powerplay unit was Roy Hodgson Vanek Pominville and Ehrhoff... their second unit was the Ennis line. They are awesome right now, and the fact that Stafford and a rookie are putting up points with Ennis gives us tremendous depth.. Vanek has been colder than ever but you know what he's capable of, and if Hodgson gets hot and we get that line producing more... it's like a completely different team. Hoow do we suddenly find ourselves with center "depth" ? Roy is an awesome asset to have as a "third" line center. Depending on how you look at the lines. IMO there's only one line that isn't a #1/2 line and that's the 4th line obviously.

In Myers defense, he has been playing MUCH more physical the last month or so, which is the first noticeable improvement to his game since his rookie year. So there is certainly more room for growth and development.

I voted Karlsson. Sorry Myers lovers. PS: Myers appeared to stall in his second season, too.

There are so many possible moves that can be made I can't even contain my excitement. I've said it in another thread, and maybe it isn't even all that realistic, but seriously -- we've heard all this talk about how New Jersey isn't going to be able to afford Parise this summer (even tho according to CapGeek they'll have plenty of room, but I think the Devils are in financial turmoil right now)... so why not offer them a first rounder for his rights? That'd be a steep price for a player's rights, but with Pegula and co, I think there's a good chance we could get a deal signed. I also like the idea of trading for Dustin Brown, but I doubt LA is really looking to move him at all. Nash, meh. Too steep of a price. Too unrealistic a deal. I think a defenseman will get traded this summer simply because we have too many. McNabb seems like a lock to make the team next year, so somebody has to move out -- that's 7 NHL-ready defenseman, and you don't want to pay somebody to ride the pine. So you trade one, and maybe you re-sign Sulzer just to have a 7th body, while not exactly breaking the bank for him. Honestly right now I'm leaning towards keeping Roy around next season. Everyone has come to this foregone conclusion that we're trying to trade him, but I wouldn't be shocked if he plays out the remainder of his contract here. If you bring in someone to replace him, then sure, by all means, trade him if you get the right deal. But I also have no problem keeping Ennis on the wing with Hodgson and Roy down the middle. The more talent in the Top 6 the better. Luke Adam becomes my third line center. Maybe next February we trade Roy at the deadline for a first round pick...