Sabres prospect Gerbe won?t be shortchanged

[BetweenThePipes00]

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

 

If that's the case, and it does seem to be the general stance of the board, remind me to stay away on July 1, because if they do not have Miller and Pomminstein extended by 9 a.m. that day there is going to be a major meltdown the likes of which we have never seen.

Can't we at least let his junior school year finish before we panic that he might go back for his senior year? Can we wait until Summer? I know we get impatient but if they signed him tomorrow would it really make any of us feel better about the future of this franchise? A 5'5" kid in a league that is trending bigger?

[nfreeman]

If that's the case, and it does seem to be the general stance of the board, remind me to stay away on July 1, because if they do not have Miller and Pomminstein extended by 9 a.m. that day there is going to be a major meltdown the likes of which we have never seen.

Can't we at least let his junior school year finish before we panic that he might go back for his senior year? Can we wait until Summer? I know we get impatient but if they signed him tomorrow would it really make any of us feel better about the future of this franchise? A 5'5" kid in a league that is trending bigger?

 

1. don't kid yourself -- you won't be staying away from the board on July 1.

 

2. you are right that there is too much importance being attached to this kid. Having said that, I for one would feel a bit better if I saw them doing something in a timely and decisive fashion. Not because this kid will make a difference next year -- the odds of that happening are very low -- but because it would make me feel (a little) like they had learned their lesson and weren't going to be operating with their thumbs up their butts, and were going to act in a similar fashion regarding Miller, Pominville, and identified needs for leadership, defense, #2 center, backup goalie, etc. To be clear, I'm still guardedly optimistic that management going to deliver the goods this offseason (although not with 1st-tier free agents). I just would like to see some kind of tangible evidence to support my optimism.

[BetweenThePipes00]

1. don't kid yourself -- you won't be staying away from the board on July 1.

 

2. you are right that there is too much importance being attached to this kid. Having said that, I for one would feel a bit better if I saw them doing something in a timely and decisive fashion. Not because this kid will make a difference next year -- the odds of that happening are very low -- but because it would make me feel (a little) like they had learned their lesson and weren't going to be operating with their thumbs up their butts, and were going to act in a similar fashion regarding Miller, Pominville, and identified needs for leadership, defense, #2 center, backup goalie, etc. To be clear, I'm still guardedly optimistic that management going to deliver the goods this offseason (although not with 1st-tier free agents). I just would like to see some kind of tangible evidence to support my optimism.

Gotcha, and I guess that is fair ... I just can't help but feel that even if they DID act on this kid, the next thread would be "Yeah, they did this because they HAD to, but the kid is a midget and they are still gonna screw up Miller and Pomminstein!" In other words, we just need SOMETHING to complain about, and since we can't bitch about the real stuff until July 1, we're WAY overblowing this one. And yeah, I am saying "we" because I'm sure I overreact to other stuff all the time.

[tom webster]

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.

 

One point that nobody seems to be making is that as far as I can tell ( and I am waiting on confirmation on this) Kennedy and Gerbe are the only two high profile college players still dangling. The rest have either signed or announced their intentions not too.

The fact that Gerbe hasn't said no, is in my opinion an indication he wants to come out but is being careful not to risk his amateur status or diminish his bargaining power.

[stuhast41]

He's coming here. Vogl just updated his blog....

 

"Nathan Gerbe has decided to go pro, multiple sources have told The News. The Sabres will be getting an electrifying player and a dynamic person."

 

Link

[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.

I'll issue a partial mea culpa here as well. From the Buffalo News Sabres Edge Blog:

Now it's up to the Sabres to make it happen. 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.

 

With that added perspective, it seems the original thought (going back to Bam Bam's OP) - that Gerbe was surprised the Sabres FO was quiet - was correct. But with the recent news of his signing, it does appear that the Sabres were also waiting for Gerbe to decide whether he wanted to go back to school or not.

[shrader]

One point that nobody seems to be making is that as far as I can tell ( and I am waiting on confirmation on this) Kennedy and Gerbe are the only two high profile college players still dangling. The rest have either signed or announced their intentions not too.

 

I'd love to know where you pulled that one from. I haven't seen anything from James van Riemsdyk or TJ Oshie. Maybe its a little early on JVR, but Oshie's a junior too and his stock is probably higher than Gerbe and definitely higher than Kennedy. I'm sure with a little search I could find a good number of names to add to this list.

 

But anyway, I guess your point doesn't mean too much at this point since the signing has happened.

[That Aud Smell]

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:

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.

 

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

I was reading through this thread for the first time at around 3:10, and by the time I clicked through to the second page, the news had come that we'd signed the kid. The timing made my mild annoyance at the tone (drone?) of these kinds of posts morph into something more like amusement.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what the kid can do.

[tom webster]

I'd love to know where you pulled that one from. I haven't seen anything from James van Riemsdyk or TJ Oshie. Maybe its a little early on JVR, but Oshie's a junior too and his stock is probably higher than Gerbe and definitely higher than Kennedy. I'm sure with a little search I could find a good number of names to add to this list.

 

But anyway, I guess your point doesn't mean too much at this point since the signing has happened.

 

As you said JVR has some time. I missed on Oshie, was led to believe that he decided to return to school but was looking at an old article. I was told by a writer from TSN that he knew of no one else that wanted to come out and that was wanted. You obviously are more connected in the college scene, so I'll take your word for it if you come up with more.