matter2003 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Posted February 28, 2007 From Spector: The Washington Capitals were expected to move Danius Zubrus by the deadline, and they didn?t disappoint, moving him to the Buffalo Sabres along with a minor leaguer for a first round pick and promising youngster Jiri Novotny. The Sabres had to do something to bolster their forward lines following a recent rash of injuries to key players, but the consensus is they?ve overpaid for Zubrus, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency. It was Zubrus?s demand for a five-year contract that got him shipped out of Washington, and he?ll have to take his game to a higher level to get the same from the Sabres. Novotny was considered a promising part of the Sabres future, so by parting with him and a first rounder, Buffalo GM Darcy Regier is taking a huge risk. If Zubrus helps the Sabres win the Cup, it?ll be seen as worthwhile. If not, he?ll be criticized by Sabres fans for years for wasting the future on a quick fix. Novotny has good playmaking skills and might develop into a good offensive player. Landing a first round pick could be seen as icing on the cake for Capitals fans. -------- BTW, anyone else having trouble staying connected? I keep getting a board message, server too busy error. I know there are a lot of people on, but man, it seemed like forever before I got back on... 1) Zubrus is almost a point-per-game player---look at what St. Louis and Nashville gave up in the trades for Tkachuk(a shell of the player he was with a -61 +/- in the playoffs), and Forsberg(no guarentee he won't re-injure himself anytime soon). Now THAT is overpaying...Buffalo trading their first rounder, which will either be last or 2nd last in the first round, after they just got Philadelphia's 2nd rounder, which will be either 1 or 2 picks lower than Buffalo's first, does not sound like they mortgaged their future...Novotny has upside, but Stafford, Paille, MacArthur and even Kaleta are in a different league than him...and don't forget we still have Zagrapan waiting in Rochester who is supposed to be really really good...The fleecing of Philly for their 2nd round pick for Biron was key in making sure we could do this without hurting ourselves too much... 2) Its called doing what it takes to give this team the best chance to win the cup. Look at what other teams have done. I have no worries with our abilities to draft and develop players. We seemingly have an endless pipeline of young talent... IMHO, Novotny would have been playing in Rochester again next year, because players like Paille, Kaleta, Stafford and MacArthur would have surpassed him on the roster...
BuffalOhio Posted February 28, 2007 Report Posted February 28, 2007 Novotny would NOT have been playing in Rochester this year. He would have had to clear waivers to be sent down this year, so he was on the NHL roster. Buffalo didn't want to chance losing him, and now they got Zubrus for him, so it worked out.
cdexchange Posted February 28, 2007 Report Posted February 28, 2007 No, I live in Lithuania Cool, I had a feeling that was the case based on your English. I say that with no disrespect whatsoever, your English is quite good (better than most of the posters on hockeybuzz, LOL), just a few little grammatical quirks that tipped me off. Besides, I only know one language and can't imagine ever picking another one up at my age, so I sure as hell can't criticize. Anyways, it is very cool to have someone from Lithuania here on the boards...welcome! We really take it for granted sometimes...but man this internet thingy is really cool sometimes :thumbsup:
Bmwolf21 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Posted February 28, 2007 1) Zubrus is almost a point-per-game player---look at what St. Louis and Nashville gave up in the trades for Tkachuk(a shell of the player he was with a -61 +/- in the playoffs), and Forsberg(no guarentee he won't re-injure himself anytime soon). Now THAT is overpaying...Buffalo trading their first rounder, which will either be last or 2nd last in the first round, after they just got Philadelphia's 2nd rounder, which will be either 1 or 2 picks lower than Buffalo's first, does not sound like they mortgaged their future...Novotny has upside, but Stafford, Paille, MacArthur and even Kaleta are in a different league than him...and don't forget we still have Zagrapan waiting in Rochester who is supposed to be really really good...The fleecing of Philly for their 2nd round pick for Biron was key in making sure we could do this without hurting ourselves too much... 2) Its called doing what it takes to give this team the best chance to win the cup. Look at what other teams have done. I have no worries with our abilities to draft and develop players. We seemingly have an endless pipeline of young talent... IMHO, Novotny would have been playing in Rochester again next year, because players like Paille, Kaleta, Stafford and MacArthur would have surpassed him on the roster... matter, don't misunderstand - I like the move, and I posted that meaning to point out Spector's apparent lack of understanding how the deal affects Buffalo - the fact that the 1st round pick doesn't mean much, since we picked up Philly's 2nd, which should be no more than a couple spots lower than our 1st was; that Novotny, while showing the potential to be a playmaker with good offensive skills, is probably a couple years (at least) off from being a top-6 forward, and that he would have been hard-pressed to jump over Roy, TC, Drury, Briere, etc - meaning he was doomed to languish around the 3rd/4th lines at best for the next couple season; and that there is a ton of talent from Rochester who are more offensively developed right now, and would be pushing him hard for roster spots and ice time over the next couple years. That was all supposed to be in a follow-up post, but I got sidetracked when I couldn't get back on the board (due to the high # of users online at the deadline) and when I did get back on, I forgot about that post. For the record, I am ecstatic that we have someone like Darcy running the show and not that clown in Atlanta - I would be seriously pissed if Darcy mortgaged our draft future for the next few years just to make the playoffs...and on a side note, if USA Hockey is smart, Waddell will never come close to being in charge of the Olympic team again.
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