Sabres prospect Gerbe won?t be shortchanged

[BamBam]

?Right now I?m 50-50,? said Gerbe, who added there has been little contact with the Sabres. ?I would like to see what happens when I talk to them. I think it would be nice for a new challenge. Going back to school would also be fun. There?s definitely positives to both sides. I just have to get ready to make a good decision here. Buffalo News Article

 

Why doesn't this surprise me. It seems like once the season is over the local Buffalo Media shuts down and leaves the club alone. As a fan, I'd sure like to see someone from either one of the local tv stations, or print outlets ask whats the status of brining in these prospects like Gerbe and Kennedy in. Why doesn't Vogel reach out to DR when writing a piece like this. Its delivering an incomplete story if you ask me.

[tom webster]

?Right now I?m 50-50,? said Gerbe, who added there has been little contact with the Sabres. ?I would like to see what happens when I talk to them. I think it would be nice for a new challenge. Going back to school would also be fun. There?s definitely positives to both sides. I just have to get ready to make a good decision here. Buffalo News Article

 

Why doesn't this surprise me. It seems like once the season is over the local Buffalo Media shuts down and leaves the club alone. As a fan, I'd sure like to see someone from either one of the local tv stations, or print outlets ask whats the status of brining in these prospects like Gerbe and Kennedy in. Why doesn't Vogel reach out to DR when writing a piece like this. Its delivering an incomplete story if you ask me.

 

 

They try. Jerry Sullivan has been calling TG on almost a weekly basis and getting no response. The fact that he states in the article that there has been little contact is mind boggling. What the hell are they doing?

[Kristian]

They try. Jerry Sullivan has been calling TG on almost a weekly basis and getting no response. The fact that he states in the article that there has been little contact is mind boggling. What the hell are they doing?

 

Season's over. They're on holiday.

 

Or at least, that's how it appears.

 

Year after year after year..... :wallbash:

[Buffalo Wings]

Maybe they're waiting for Gerbe to decide whether or not to leave BC right now? The ball is really in Gerbe's court if you ask me.

 

I don't think the Sabres can keep harassing him to make a decision - there are rules & regulations in the NCAA, after all.

[BetweenThePipes00]

Why are you guys getting upset about this ... look at the other quotes from the kid ...

 

?I?m pretty open. I like to hear both sides. I?ll probably go back to school and have a sit down with our coaching staff. I haven?t been able to do that yet. I think it would be good to hear what they have to say.?

 

Doesn't sound to me like a kid who absolutely WANTS to leave school and the Sabres are screwing it up ...

 

And, talking about the Sabres ...

 

?They?ve got a lot of small guys, and they?re not afraid to give them a shot,? Gerbe said. ?It?s definitely a lucky chance for me. They have a good system there, and they do well to develop players.?

 

Sounds like he is not AT ALL upset about the lack of contact. In fact, sounds like he is looking forward to playing for the Sabres even though he has not decided yet about school ... why is the sky falling over this? Why can't it be OK for the kid to play out his senior year and THEN sign with the Sabres (since he would not make the team this year anyway, as we detailed in the other thread)?

[SwampD]

This article was about Gerbe, not the Sabres. Relax. All parties involved have been going straight for probably ten months and are now taking a break for summer. He hasn't even talked to his coach at BC since the end of the season, so what makes you think he should have already talked to the Sabres.

 

This was a fluff piece on a little guy making it big. That's all. It wasn't about how the FO will fail us again or the end of hockey in Buffalo. It was about a little guy who plays big.

[apuszczalowski]

This article was about Gerbe, not the Sabres. Relax. All parties involved have been going straight for probably ten months and are now taking a break for summer. He hasn't even talked to his coach at BC since the end of the season, so what makes you think he should have already talked to the Sabres.

 

This was a fluff piece on a little guy making it big. That's all. It wasn't about how the FO will fail us again or the end of hockey in Buffalo. It was about a little guy who plays big.

Have they? according to him, he has not had much contact with the Sabres. That doesn't sound like they have been working on hammering something out for almost a year and are just taking a break.

 

The reason fans have a problem and are making a big deal about this is that they only have a year left to sign the kid before he can walk for free. And if the FO's plan for building this team is to build from within, then they better be pro-active in signing their top prospects.

 

He sounds more like a kid keeping his options open because he has to

[BetweenThePipes00]

Have they? according to him, he has not had much contact with the Sabres. That doesn't sound like they have been working on hammering something out for almost a year and are just taking a break.

 

The reason fans have a problem and are making a big deal about this is that they only have a year left to sign the kid before he can walk for free. And if the FO's plan for building this team is to build from within, then they better be pro-active in signing their top prospects.

 

He sounds more like a kid keeping his options open because he has to

You missed his point ... the point was not that tehy have been working on a deal for 10 months but that they have been playing their seasons for 10 months ...

Sorry I still do not see how it is SO horrible that they have "ONLY" a YEAR to sign the kid left ... a year is a long time .... he has not even talked to his coach since the season ended and it seems clear from his quotes he is not making a decision without listening to that side of things. Let it play out for a couple months at least. If it's August and the Sabres have not made contact, then we can get upset.

[carpandean]

Have they? according to him, he has not had much contact with the Sabres. That doesn't sound like they have been working on hammering something out for almost a year and are just taking a break.

I think he meant the were dealing with their respective hockey seasons (and school) for the last 10 months and are taking a short break to unwind before making any big decisions.

 

Edit: BtP beat me to it.

[RayFinkle]

The rules are pretty strict about what you can pay a rook like Gerbe. I doubt highly this is a money thing as there is a cap in place. They are probably waiting on him to make a decision.

[nucci]

I know this kid is good, but doesn't the fact that he is 5'5" and 165 lbs bother anyone? That is really small. All this talk about getting bigger and tougher and we are flipping out over this kid.

[apuszczalowski]

The rules are pretty strict about what you can pay a rook like Gerbe. I doubt highly this is a money thing as there is a cap in place. They are probably waiting on him to make a decision.

And it sounds like he is waiting for them to make a move so he can decide. Right now there is no choice really, if the Sabres don't make an offer, there really isn't a choice for him, he will go back to school for another year. So I don't think Buffalo is just sitting back waiting for him to decide first.

[K-9]

Any chance Pommers and Staff are recruiting the kid at this moment? Any chance Pommers and Staff have good things to say about Buffalo? Anyone?

 

GO SABRES!!!

[Wraith]

Well, you if you needed further evidence that Tim Schmitt is a hack with no credible sources, this is it. He claimed just last week that negotiations had reached a standstill because the Sabres were lowballing Gerbe. Here it is, straight from the horses mouth, that Gerbe is taking his time and that negotiations with the Sabres haven't even begun yet. Those clamoring about how cheap the Sabres are now have one less thing to complain about for the time being.

[carpandean]

And it sounds like he is waiting for them to make a move so he can decide. Right now there is no choice really, if the Sabres don't make an offer, there really isn't a choice for him, he will go back to school for another year. So I don't think Buffalo is just sitting back waiting for him to decide first.

With such a narrow band of salaries, I highly doubt that the exact figure that they end on will be a big factor in whether or not he will stay in school. There are so many other factors for him to think about. If he told them that he needs a little time to wind down from his national championship run and to talk with his coach and family adviser, after which he will let them know whether he wants to stay in school or is interested in talking about a deal, then they could make him an offer. There is plenty of time. After a little time passes, they could press him for a decision, possibly including a first offer, but right now, it just doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

 

Maybe I'm naive about how it works. Maybe teams throw all their prospects deals before May when they have one year left. But, to me, I don't read it as "oh my god, I want to sign, but if they don't give me a number now, I'm staying in school and going UFA next year!"

 

Not to mention, despite the success of small guys like Gionta (5' 7", 175 lbs), Roy (5' 9", 188 lbs), Briere (5' 10", 179 lbs) and St. Louis (5' 9", 177 lbs), there are still some concerns with someone who is only 5' 5", 165 lbs. That's a size that I don't think any player has tried in the NHL. It may be no big deal and he might be fine, but it's an "if" that other, bigger players don't have attached to them. He has high-level skills, so it was/is worth the risk, especially since he was a fifth-round pick (his skills in a bigger body would have been a second or first-round pick.)

 

Oops: how did I forget Fleury, who is the closest at 5' 6", 180 lbs?

[apuszczalowski]

With such a narrow band of salaries, I highly doubt that the exact figure that they end on will be a big factor in whether or not he will stay in school. There are so many other factors for him to think about. If he told them that he needs a little time to wind down from his national championship run and to talk with his coach and family adviser, after which he will let them know whether he wants to stay in school or is interested in talking about a deal, then they could make him an offer. There is plenty of time. After a little time passes, they could press him for a decision, possibly including a first offer, but right now, it just doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

 

Maybe I'm naive about how it works. Maybe teams throw all their prospects deals before May when they have one year left. But, to me, I don't read it as "oh my god, I want to sign, but if they don't give me a number now, I'm staying in school and going UFA next year!"

 

Not to mention, despite the success of small guys like Gionta (5' 7", 175 lbs), Roy (5' 9", 188 lbs), Briere (5' 10", 179 lbs) and St. Louis (5' 9", 177 lbs), there are still some concerns with someone who is only 5' 5", 165 lbs. That's a size that I don't think any player has tried in the NHL. It may be no big deal and he might be fine, but it's an "if" that other, bigger players don't have attached to them. He has high-level skills, so it was/is worth the risk, especially since he was a fifth-round pick (his skills in a bigger body would have been a second or first-round pick.)

 

Oops: how did I forget Fleury, who is the closest at 5' 6", 180 lbs?

Its not that it is such a dire emergency like some are making it out to be, but its something that has to get done rather soon. If he stays in school one more year, the Sabres risk losing him and I'd say the chances of signing him are about 50-50 because at that point, he just has to wait a couple months and he can go to any team he wants that will sign him, another good year in college will only spark more interest in this kid. For a team that wants to build their team "from within" its a priority to get the best talent into the system. He may not become a superstar, but even at his size, with his skill he could be a very good player. And actually, I believe that with his attitude, his size actually helps him because he will give 120% all the time trying to prove people wrong and that he can be a good player at the NHL level.

 

From what it sounds like, he isn't sure of his plans for next year yet, but part of the reason is because the Sabres haven't had much contact with him. You would think that a team that will need to stock a full AHL team next year too, would love to have this kid in the system now rather then have him spend another year in college,

[shrader]

Not to mention, despite the success of small guys like Gionta (5' 7", 175 lbs), Roy (5' 9", 188 lbs), Briere (5' 10", 179 lbs) and St. Louis (5' 9", 177 lbs), there are still some concerns with someone who is only 5' 5", 165 lbs. That's a size that I don't think any player has tried in the NHL. It may be no big deal and he might be fine, but it's an "if" that other, bigger players don't have attached to them. He has high-level skills, so it was/is worth the risk, especially since he was a fifth-round pick (his skills in a bigger body would have been a second or first-round pick.)

 

Oops: how did I forget Fleury, who is the closest at 5' 6", 180 lbs?

 

Just for the hell of it, I'll mention that all of those heights you listed are very generous (some more than others).

 

 

edit: After reading the article, its important to not that the part about not having much contact with the Sabres was not in quotes, so we have no idea what was actually said.

[X. Benedict]

Maybe they're waiting for Gerbe to decide whether or not to leave BC right now? The ball is really in Gerbe's court if you ask me.

 

I don't think the Sabres can keep harassing him to make a decision - there are rules & regulations in the NCAA, after all.

 

Gerbe said the right thing. The team can't contact him personally until he is a Senior. Which should be by the end of the week when most academic calender's close.

 

He hasn't left school yet.

[carpandean]

edit: After reading the article, its important to not that the part about not having much contact with the Sabres was not in quotes, so we have no idea what was actually said.

Yeah, it probably went something like this: "Right now I?m 50-50. Since I'm busy finishing up my classes and getting ready for finals, I haven't really had a chance to speak with the Sabres other for them to congratulate me on my National Championship and let me know they are interested in meeting after the semester ends to talk about next year. I would like to see what happens when I talk to them. I think it would be nice for a new challenge. Going back to school would also be fun. There?s definitely positives to both sides. I just have to get ready to make a good decision here."

[BamBam]

How were they able to sign Butler a month ago?

 

Again...I just wish someone from the local media could reach out to the club and ask what the plan is for these guys.

[Bmwolf21]

Yeah, it probably went something like this: "Right now I?m 50-50. Since I'm busy finishing up my classes and getting ready for finals, I haven't really had a chance to speak with the Sabres other for them to congratulate me on my National Championship and let me know they are interested in meeting after the semester ends to talk about next year. I would like to see what happens when I talk to them. I think it would be nice for a new challenge. Going back to school would also be fun. There?s definitely positives to both sides. I just have to get ready to make a good decision here."

After reading Vogl's stuff for the last couple years I seriously doubt he misrepresented Gerbe's comments like that. He has always been pretty fair and objective WRT the Sabres, and I think it would be more likely that he would put his quote into context.

[carpandean]

After reading Vogl's stuff for the last couple years I seriously doubt he misrepresented Gerbe's comments like that. He has always been pretty fair and objective WRT the Sabres, and I think it would be more likely that he would put his quote into context.

Fair enough, but it still could have just been "the Sabres and I haven't talked much yet", which could be for the reasons that I showed, even if he didn't say them. There's a lot to how words are said. Did he say it with a "I don't know what they are waiting for" tone or a "no big deal, we will talk shortly, I have a lot to think about anyway" tone? Nobody here knows and the article doesn't say either way.

[Bmwolf21]

Fair enough, but it still could have just been "the Sabres and I haven't talked much yet", which could be for the reasons that I showed, even if he didn't say them. There's a lot to how words are said. Did he say it with a "I don't know what they are waiting for" tone or a "no big deal, we will talk shortly, I have a lot to think about anyway" tone? Nobody here knows and the article doesn't say either way.

Trying to figure out why there has been limited contact between the Sabres and one of their top prospects is one thing. Speculating that a reporter is purposely misrepresenting comments to make the Sabres look bad is another, IMO, and if the subject won't expand on an answer, then asking a reporter to interpret a tone when there are so many possible explanations is asking a bit much.

[shrader]

Trying to figure out why there has been limited contact between the Sabres and one of their top prospects is one thing. Speculating that a reporter is purposely misrepresenting comments to make the Sabres look bad is another, IMO, and if the subject won't expand on an answer, then asking a reporter to interpret a tone when there are so many possible explanations is asking a bit much.

 

carp has taken this much further than I was suggesting. There are many possibilities for why there hasn't been too much communication, but we have been given nothing to tell us why that is. Focusing on that one line is a mistake, as the article was more of a character piece than anything else.

 

 

Bam Bam, you mentioned that they were able to work something out with Butler very quickly. I think its pretty obvious that personally, he was ready to leave at that point. I've heard a lot of things that say Gerbe isn't at that point. This article backs that up.

[nfreeman]

Here's a bit more gasoline for the fire, from the Sabres Edge blog (this item was from Vogl himself): stink-a-link

 

"He seemed genuinely shocked the team had yet to talk with him. He understood they may have wanted to give him time to celebrate his national title and work out with Team USA, but he seemed to expect more input."

 

While I'm not pushing the panic button yet, given management's recent track record, I certainly can't blame anyone who is.

 

IMHO, the smart thing to do is make the kid feel wanted, sign him quickly, and get him into the AHL. There's a real risk he's a bust, but there's also a decent chance, given his NCAA productivity, that he's another Roy or Pommer. And our new AHL team, wherever located, is going to need bodies.