Really, Both Drury & Briere Would Cost Too Much

[bob_sauve28]

We have so many good young players coming up I would hate to have to lose them as they require bigger contracts. Let's just keep developing the kids, as it seems we are doing, and lat some of our expensive players go. It probably wouldn't work to sign Briere and then trade him for some young talent. But it is worth thinking about, though it would cause some bad blood I imagine.

[Samson's Flow]

ive pretty much accepted that briere was going after this year, what has made the sabres so great is the skill of the prospects and depth, and darcy realizes if we start getting too attached to our guys who want big money then we wont last long. drury seems like he hates to move or get traded and seems to be the real leader on the team. I fully expect to take the hard-working, proven winner who has the intangibles over the up and coming playmaking center.

 

Drury stays, Briere goes, people cry, then realize we are better off for it :beer:

 

Consider that the last few years we all cried foul by letting go of our guys because of mid to high salaries. Im thinking particularly about McKee, Dumont and a few others to a lesser extent. Even further back Zhitnik and Satan. I dont hear any serious considerations of how much theyre all missed because they are replaced by drafting well and developing prospects who are much cheaper. This seems to be how to do it in the salary cap NHL and I for one am glad we have darcy who truly grasps this concept.

 

Go Sabres!!

[bob_sauve28]

ive pretty much accepted that briere was going after this year, what has made the sabres so great is the skill of the prospects and depth, and darcy realizes if we start getting too attached to our guys who want big money then we wont last long. drury seems like he hates to move or get traded and seems to be the real leader on the team. I fully expect to take the hard-working, proven winner who has the intangibles over the up and coming playmaking center.

 

Drury stays, Briere goes, people cry, then realize we are better off for it :beer:

 

Consider that the last few years we all cried foul by letting go of our guys because of mid to high salaries. Im thinking particularly about McKee, Dumont and a few others to a lesser extent. Even further back Zhitnik and Satan. I dont hear any serious considerations of how much theyre all missed because they are replaced by drafting well and developing prospects who are much cheaper. This seems to be how to do it in the salary cap NHL and I for one am glad we have darcy who truly grasps this concept.

 

Go Sabres!!

LOL, ya, I had forgot about how we let got Zhitnik and Satan and thinking the team might be in trouble! :bag: :bag: I agree with everything you say there

[Chief Enabler]

Good Thread in concern with generations, etc. Briere is in his prime now, this is his career year. I dont think alot of teams are willing to spend over 5mil unless you are amazing (top 5%). I dont know if I would put Briere there. Any chance you would take Peca back..cheap? Did you hear that Moulds was released today?

[bob_sauve28]

Good Thread in concern with generations, etc. Briere is in his prime now, this is his career year. I dont think alot of teams are willing to spend over 5mil unless you are amazing (top 5%). I dont know if I would put Briere there. Any chance you would take Peca back..cheap? Did you hear that Moulds was released today?

I like Peca a lot as a player, but do not really see a role for him on this team. Maybe if we keep Briere and let Drury go Peca fits, but that is just me thinking out loud

[thesportsbuff]

I hate the idea of losing Briere or Drury as both have stepped up and really saved this time along with Golisano. But you can't deny our upcoming talent.

 

My completely unrealistic viewpoint is hoping that the team stays mostly in tact for years to come. I hate to change. It, in a way, saddens me to think of the '99 cup run and how none of them are with us anymore. I like to put faces to teams, and with this system the players will be moving a lot more. Just sort of sucks.

 

So here's to our year!

[inkman]

I dont think alot of teams are willing to spend over 5mil unless you are amazing (top 5%). I dont know if I would put Briere there.

It only takes one team and you can bet your ass one team will shell out 7 mill per for diminutive Danny. Philly anyone?

[Guest Sloth]

I hope Philly spends 7 million on Briere. That would give them less cap space, which would help the Sabres. Just something to think about.

 

Speaking of the Drury/Briere debate, I hope Darcy keeps Drury. Mainly his for leadership ability, his skills on the ice, and he never quits or plays soft. Briere occasionally does play at less then 100%. Briere is STILL a great player though. I'm not trying to down play his ability. I just think Drury meets the Sabres mentality better.

[wjag]

The Sabres played their first game without them. Seems they did just fine. Granted there were a lot of factors, but, a win is a win. Maybe the future is now.

[Chief Enabler]

It only takes one team and you can bet your ass one team will shell out 7 mill per for diminutive Danny. Philly anyone?

 

 

I would hope Philly is not that dumb. Gagne, Biron, Briere is not scary........good. It is just like any other pro sprot scenario, player has good season or two, gets contract, cruise control. You have seen these deals more on d-men than snipers. McCabe 7.5, Redden 7, Chara etc. I guess the closet comparison is Elias 7.5 or Gomez at 5 mil. Snipers are more like Running backs, every draft has faster, younger, cheaper ones. There is always Montreal looking to fit him in, after they dump Samsonov or Souray. MMMmmmmm, Souray would be nice...who knows....

 

The Sabres played their first game without them. Seems they did just fine. Granted there were a lot of factors, but, a win is a win. Maybe the future is now.

 

Lets face it, Until Bass Pro opens we will always be a small market team..........

[SabresFan526]

To be honest, I'm quite interested in how this Zubrus experiment works out. If it turns out that the Sabres have to let either Danny or Drury go, I would not mind keeping a guy like Zubrus around for a while. I used to live in DC and I know what he brings to the table. He's a good player that can play in all situations. If this experiment really works out well for Zubrus and the Sabres, it might not be a bad idea to keep him around if we are forced to lose either Drury or Danny since he comes in at a cheaper price. I think his game is very well suited to the Sabres style, and I can see him having a lot of success here.

 

I think the Sabres management can walk away from some players after this season to keep a few core guys and let the youngsters play full time next year. For example, I think it's fair to say that Stafford, Paille, and MacArthur will be playing full time for the Sabres next year. I think Teppo retires, or they walk away from his salary. I wish we could walk away from Connolly and Kalinin, but both of them are signed for next year. I would also like to walk away from Kotalik as well, and I think the feeling might be mutual since his best friend just got traded, Novotny. And, I would not mind walking away from Hecht if it meant keeping Drury and Briere and or potentially Zubrus. What the kids are proving to me is that they are producing at a similar clip to the vets and at a much cheaper price tag.

 

My personal take is I'd rather keep Drury. I love Danny, but Drury brings more intangibles to the game. He can score goals, he can win cluth draws, he can kill penalties, and he can shut down another team's top line. We've had players like this in the past i.e. Peca, Curtis Brown, etc. but Drury is the best of this type of player we've ever had. He does so many things well. Briere is a playmaking center and the heart and soul of this team, but I think we have a lot of playmakers that can fill in if we lost Briere. The thing we'll miss most is Briere's leadership, but with Drury around, we'll still have a leader. Having said all of that, my suspicion is that the Sabres management will rather keep Briere over Drury. I think that was the mindset that went into the Tim Connolly signing. Connolly has a similar game to Drury and can play on all special teams, and knowing they were at risk to lose either Briere or Drury, they kept Connolly in the event Drury left so that they could focus on keeping Briere. That's just my opinion, though. Let's hope we can keep win the Cup now with this team and keep both Briere and Drury for years to come.

[Chief Enabler]

To be honest, I'm quite interested in how this Zubrus experiment works out. If it turns out that the Sabres have to let either Danny or Drury go, I would not mind keeping a guy like Zubrus around for a while. I used to live in DC and I know what he brings to the table. He's a good player that can play in all situations. If this experiment really works out well for Zubrus and the Sabres, it might not be a bad idea to keep him around if we are forced to lose either Drury or Danny since he comes in at a cheaper price. I think his game is very well suited to the Sabres style, and I can see him having a lot of success here.

 

I think the Sabres management can walk away from some players after this season to keep a few core guys and let the youngsters play full time next year. For example, I think it's fair to say that Stafford, Paille, and MacArthur will be playing full time for the Sabres next year. I think Teppo retires, or they walk away from his salary. I wish we could walk away from Connolly and Kalinin, but both of them are signed for next year. I would also like to walk away from Kotalik as well, and I think the feeling might be mutual since his best friend just got traded, Novotny. And, I would not mind walking away from Hecht if it meant keeping Drury and Briere and or potentially Zubrus. What the kids are proving to me is that they are producing at a similar clip to the vets and at a much cheaper price tag.

 

My personal take is I'd rather keep Drury. I love Danny, but Drury brings more intangibles to the game. He can score goals, he can win cluth draws, he can kill penalties, and he can shut down another team's top line. We've had players like this in the past i.e. Peca, Curtis Brown, etc. but Drury is the best of this type of player we've ever had. He does so many things well. Briere is a playmaking center and the heart and soul of this team, but I think we have a lot of playmakers that can fill in if we lost Briere. The thing we'll miss most is Briere's leadership, but with Drury around, we'll still have a leader. Having said all of that, my suspicion is that the Sabres management will rather keep Briere over Drury. I think that was the mindset that went into the Tim Connolly signing. Connolly has a similar game to Drury and can play on all special teams, and knowing they were at risk to lose either Briere or Drury, they kept Connolly in the event Drury left so that they could focus on keeping Briere. That's just my opinion, though. Let's hope we can keep win the Cup now with this team and keep both Briere and Drury for years to come.

 

 

 

Agreed, Connoley can be Briere next season, better with face-offs too.

[apuszczalowski]

Anybody who thinks that one of the youngsters can step in and replace Briere, or Drury is wishing. Both of these players are the Heart and Soul of this team and the reason they are a cup favorite this year

 

Theres a reason why they are going to get huge salaries next season, cause they are that good. If anything, they are the 2 you need to keep, and bring in the younger guys to replace players like Kotalik, Hecht, and even Connolly.

 

It is possible to keep them both at reasonable rates and still stay under the cap, but it involves deals being made NOW and long term ones. Waiting til the end of the year, a player would have t be an idiot to sign a deal before they could become a FA, especially if they are going to be one of the top FA's available. I would fire their agent if they allowed them to sign a contract at the end of the season before letting them test the market.

 

These are 2 players who aren't all about the money, they just want what they deserve (because of their play on the ice) and want a long term commitment. I am willing to bet you could get Drury right now for somewhere around $4-5 million a year for 3-5 years and Briere for $5.5-6.5 million a year for 3-5 years. Let them hit the open market and someone would give them 7-8 million each a year

 

The reason why McKee is no longer here is not because of $$'s, but because of years. The Sabres wouldn't commit to 4 years. So he tested the market and St. Louis grossly overpaid. Dumont is not here because Darcy couldn't afford to re-sign him because he had to pay more for almost the entire team since he was scarred to re-sign anyone after the lockout for more then 1 year and it came back to bite him in the @ss

 

What Darcy is going to have to do is weigh the options and see what would be a bigger drop in production, replacing a Hecht or Kotalik with a Paille or a Stafford, or replacing a Briere/Drury with a Paille or a Stafford and would this team be better off not spending $$$'s for a Briere/Drury. Both of these guys are huge fan favorites (especially to the average fan, with Briere probably the most popular) so by letting either go, would this also cause a decline in sales for the team? Fans have more faith in Briere or Drury being on the ice in a key situation, then a Connolly or a Hecht, or a Kotalik so fans may not like this move and feel it only makes the team worse off

[inkman]

It is moronic to not negotiate with these two already. Darcy is dropping the ball and I have to wonder if there ever was an intention to sign either player. If they hit the open market, teams will shell out maximum deals to both.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT: I think the max contract can only be 20% of the cap making next years ceiling around 9 million per season. Upon discovering this, I can't imagine any team shelling out this kind of money for either player but 7-7.5 million does not seem unfathomable.

[SabresFan526]

I think something we all tend to overlook in this situation is that the draft is on January 23, 2007. That's 8 days before the UFA period begins. Another thing we overlook is that we have a GM who loves to make trades at the draft. Remember the 2003 draft? Steve Begin for Steve Reinprecht, and turn that around with Steve Reinprecht and Rhett Warrener for Chris Drury. One of the biggest draft day coups in a long time. Also, look at what the Sabres have draft wise this year. They don't have a 1st, 2 second rounders, a third, no fourth, no fifth rounder. Don't be too surprised to see Darcy trade some salary to stockpile on draft picks either for this year and or next year's draft (which apparently has a deeper talent pool) and create enough cap space to sign Drury and Briere for next year. Considering how talented this team is in terms of youngsters, I could definitely see guys like Kalinin, Connolly, Hecht, and Kotalik being traded away on draft day to get picks and create salary space for Drury and Briere. In order for this to occur, the best case scenario for the Sabres is to have Connolly return, go deep into the playoffs/win the Cup, and have some of those guys put up tremendous production in the playoffs. If that happens, their stocks will rise, and come draft day, we can trade their salaries for draft picks and sign the guys we need the most. I would not put it past Regier to come up with some draft day coups this year either. We'll see what happens, though.

[Bmwolf21]

I think something we all tend to overlook in this situation is that the draft is on JanuaryJune 23, 2007. That's 8 days before the UFA period begins.

Fixed that for ya. ;)

 

You do raise an interesting point about the Sabres' draft status and Darcy's draft-day deals, but I think the deck is stacked against a deal involving Danny, Dru or most UFAs. Most teams will probably figure that if the Sabres are willing to listen to offers for Danny (just an example) that the Sabres don't think they can re-sign him (or aren't planning on bringing him back) so potential suitors might wait the extra 8 days until he hits the FA market and add him to the team without losing something off the roster. Obviously the exception to that scenario would be teams who need to clear cap space to make a run at the higher-priced UFAs.

 

In my heart, I believe that we'll see only one of them back next year, and I am praying that if they do choose between the captains, Darcy brings back Drury. I am clinging to the hope that he can get both highly regarded and highly sought-after UFAs re-signed and it won't destroy the roster to keep them both, but realistically I don't see how that can happen - too many variables and what-ifs to consider.

 

Here's hoping I am wrong :beer:

[BuffalOhio]

Fixed that for ya. ;)

 

You do raise an interesting point about the Sabres' draft status and Darcy's draft-day deals, but I think the deck is stacked against a deal involving Danny, Dru or most UFAs. Most teams will probably figure that if the Sabres are willing to listen to offers for Danny (just an example) that the Sabres don't think they can re-sign him (or aren't planning on bringing him back) so potential suitors might wait the extra 8 days until he hits the FA market and add him to the team without losing something off the roster. Obviously the exception to that scenario would be teams who need to clear cap space to make a run at the higher-priced UFAs.

 

In my heart, I believe that we'll see only one of them back next year, and I am praying that if they do choose between the captains, Darcy brings back Drury. I am clinging to the hope that he can get both highly regarded and highly sought-after UFAs re-signed and it won't destroy the roster to keep them both, but realistically I don't see how that can happen - too many variables and what-ifs to consider.

 

Here's hoping I am wrong :beer:

 

I think what 526 is saying is that Darcy may deal Kotalik/Kalinin/Hecht at the draft to make room for Drury AND Briere. Doubtful it will happen, but it just might with the way Stafford and MacArthur have played.

[drnkirishone]

Fixed that for ya. ;)

 

You do raise an interesting point about the Sabres' draft status and Darcy's draft-day deals, but I think the deck is stacked against a deal involving Danny, Dru or most UFAs. Most teams will probably figure that if the Sabres are willing to listen to offers for Danny (just an example) that the Sabres don't think they can re-sign him (or aren't planning on bringing him back) so potential suitors might wait the extra 8 days until he hits the FA market and add him to the team without losing something off the roster. Obviously the exception to that scenario would be teams who need to clear cap space to make a run at the higher-priced UFAs.

 

In my heart, I believe that we'll see only one of them back next year, and I am praying that if they do choose between the captains, Darcy brings back Drury. I am clinging to the hope that he can get both highly regarded and highly sought-after UFAs re-signed and it won't destroy the roster to keep them both, but realistically I don't see how that can happen - too many variables and what-ifs to consider.

 

Here's hoping I am wrong :beer:

 

actually I thought he was talking about tradeing players like Kalinin or Kotalik to free up space to sign players Like Danny and also Drury

[Bmwolf21]

:oops: I must have mis-read that. The lack of sleep from the newborn must be starting to get to me.

 

Either way, the second paragraph still stands - I think that no matter how much cap space Darcy clears, if the captains make it to the FA period, we'll still lose one of them, and my gut feeling says Briere - someone is going to throw a buttload of money at him, and it won;t be close to what we'll offer.

[SabresFan526]

actually I thought he was talking about tradeing players like Kalinin or Kotalik to free up space to sign players Like Danny and also Drury

 

Yeah, that's what I meant. Since Kotalik, Connolly, Kalinin, and Hecht are all signed for next year, we could use them as trade bait to stockpile on draft picks. It serves two purposes. By trading any or all of those 4 players, we trade salary away against next year's cap so that we can use that salary to sign Danny and Drury. Also, given the fact we don't have that many draft picks for this year's draft, we can stockpile on draft picks for this year and next year's draft. This way, we can move the kids like Paille, Stafford, and MacArthur into full time roles next year for much less salary, and use the money we saved to resign Danny and Drury. That's what I meant. I hope that clarifies things.

[jad1]

It is moronic to not negotiate with these two already. Darcy is dropping the ball and I have to wonder if there ever was an intention to sign either player. If they hit the open market, teams will shell out maximum deals to both.

EDIT: I think the max contract can only be 20% of the cap making next years ceiling around 9 million per season. Upon discovering this, I can't imagine any team shelling out this kind of money for either player but 7-7.5 million does not seem unfathomable.

 

The rumor is that the salary cap will increase by $4 million next season, but it's just a rumor. Regier has to know what that figure is before making an offer to the Briere and Drury.

 

By clearing Biron and Numminem, the Sabres get almost $5 million back under the cap. If the cap increase is $4 million, the Sabres will have $9 million to sign Drury, Briere and the RFAs, without cutting anyone but Teppo.

 

If both of these guys sign for 5 or 6 million, (an increase of between 2 and 4 million dollars), the Sabres will be sitting pretty.

 

However, because there is the possibility of a team throwing more than $6 million, I imagine it would be hard to get either guy to sign to such a deal today, and even at that low price, Regier is still dependant on the cap increase.

 

After a successful Cup run, would either of these guys be willing to accept a hometown discount? Maybe. $5.5 or $6 million to play on a Cup contender vs. $7 million to lead a rebuilding effort. That's the decision for Briere and Drury to make.

 

Anything over $6 million will probably require Regier to start looking at replace some vets with young guys (which they might do anyways). Kotalik and Hecht could be candidates, depending on the progress of Stafford, Paille, Ryan, and Kaleta.

 

The Sabres aren't completely defenseless here. They will have cap money to spend, they just don't know how much. If the plan is the same as last season, to fit as many guys as possible under the cap, Regier should wait.

 

A successful Cup run and healthy increase in the cap could improve Buffalo's chances of bringing back both guys.

[BuffalOhio]

 

 

A successful Cup run and healthy increase in the cap could improve Buffalo's chances of bringing back both guys.

 

We're forgetting one important thing:

 

How much does Golisano want to spend. What's his ceiling? I realize the cap will go up, but what is the Sabres' self-imposed cap? This team still needs to make money to survive.

[jad1]

We're forgetting one important thing:

 

How much does Golisano want to spend. What's his ceiling? I realize the cap will go up, but what is the Sabres' self-imposed cap? This team still needs to make money to survive.

 

And as this season has proven, he'll make money when he puts a team on the ice that can compete at the highest level. He can raise ticket prices, and games will still sell out. He can change the jersey again, and merchandise sales will go through the roof.

 

If Golisano pulls a Rigas, though, and pulls back funding on a team that can compete for the Cup. he'll lose a hell of a lot more money than if he spends to the cap.

[Bmwolf21]

Good post, jad. Part of me is with ink on this, yelling "what the heck are they waiting for?" but I also realize that there are a lot of variables that need to be established, including the ultimate variable - how much the cap will be next year, which is the ultimate decider of whether or not the Sabres can keep either, both or neither of them.

 

Just as you mentioned that the Sabres need to wait and see what the cap goes up to so they can figure out how much room they have, Darcy could also have been using the trade deadline talks to gauge teams' cursory interest in guys like Kotalik, Hecht, Kalinin and Spacek (just to name a few) for possible offseason moves. Likewise, other teams' needs and wants will change as they start getting knocked out the playoff race or eliminated from the playoffs altogether. What doesn't seem like a need now might be a glaring need after a first-round exit...

 

I just hope that the Sabres don't wait too long to make their moves and it doesn't cost them both guys...

[grinreaper]

We're forgetting one important thing:

 

How much does Golisano want to spend. What's his ceiling? I realize the cap will go up, but what is the Sabres' self-imposed cap? This team still needs to make money to survive.

 

 

Good point. I think Golisano allowed it to reach the limit this year but projections I read early in the year was that the Sabres would lose money if they didn't go very deep in the playoffs.

 

The young guys have played great for young guys. Let's not get too giddy and think they can automatically replace a Hecht or Kotalik. Furthermore, why is Connelly so expendable? He was really living up to his potential last season. He's potentially a superstar signed for 3 years at about 3 million a year. If he comes back and is able to show flashes of his 06 ability, he is at the top of my untouchable list.