nfreeman Posted July 16, 2009 Report Posted July 16, 2009 when drury left, i felt, and probably posted around here pre-crash, that we'd lost one of my 3 favorite sabres of all time. at the time, i was of the opinion that we should have paid a king's ransom for the guy - whatever it would take to keep him. but, with the passage of time, and having watched him give those mumble-mouthed-montone interviews for the rangers (he's got charASMA!) and having seen him serve as a top center (1-A? 2?) on a team that has struggled mightily to score goals, i have started to feel differently. i've gotten around to recognizing that the guy wasn't going to be our savior; that he's not even a particularly gifted playmaker, which is what i think you need from a #1 pivot. i don't think think that he was someone for whom we should have mortgaged the franchise. he was/is a truly special, super-clutch two-way forward who, like the team on which he played, captured lightning in a bottle in what turned out to be a specific and unique mini-era of the league. now, i'm not interested in getting into a bucky-esque b!tch-fest about when advances/overtures/offers were made, withdrawn, misplaced, etc. in 2006-2007. i've just come to a point where i no longer believe that we would have been better served over-paying for his services. the loss of drury is completely intertwined with the vanek analysis. i think it's a close call as to whether we would have come out ahead by letting him [vanek] go and taking the picks. i guess the abstracted question comes down to this: would the team be better off having overpaid for drury and having a slew of first round picks? maybe. strikes me that we could have turned out to be a slightly less robust version of drury's rangers. My bottom line on Drury is that he wasn't worth what the Rangers paid him, but he was worth -- to the Sabres -- the amount they could've kept him for. Losing Briere would've hurt, but keeping Drury as captain, #2 center, excellent penalty-killer, pretty good PP goal-scorer, crunch-time faceoff man, clutch scorer, tone-setter in the locker room, etc., etc., along with Connolly, Roy and Gaustad would've left us in pretty good shape. So I agree that he's not a gifted playmaker, and I'm glad we didn't keep him for $7.5MM in a free agent bidding frenzy, but I'm still very disappointed that we butchered the opportunity to keep him for a much more manageable number. I also think the Rangers will be in the playoffs every year he's there (barring injury), and it won't be a coincidence.
X. Benedict Posted July 16, 2009 Report Posted July 16, 2009 My bottom line on Drury is that he wasn't worth what the Rangers paid him, but he was worth -- to the Sabres -- the amount they could've kept him for. Losing Briere would've hurt, but keeping Drury as captain, #2 center, excellent penalty-killer, pretty good PP goal-scorer, crunch-time faceoff man, clutch scorer, tone-setter in the locker room, etc., etc., along with Connolly, Roy and Gaustad would've left us in pretty good shape. So I agree that he's not a gifted playmaker, and I'm glad we didn't keep him for $7.5MM in a free agent bidding frenzy, but I'm still very disappointed that we butchered the opportunity to keep him for a much more manageable number. I also think the Rangers will be in the playoffs every year he's there (barring injury), and it won't be a coincidence. I'm betting against it this year. I just don't see them making lines out of this jumble.... Marian Gaborik Chris Drury Ales Kotalik Ryan Callahan Chris Higgins Sean Avery Donald Brashear Aaron Voros Dubinsky* (not signed yet) And I don't see a third pairing after Rosival-Redden-Staal-Girardi -- Plus they need a goaltender They better stay healthy.
stenbaro Posted July 16, 2009 Report Posted July 16, 2009 My bottom line on Drury is that he wasn't worth what the Rangers paid him, but he was worth -- to the Sabres -- the amount they could've kept him for. Losing Briere would've hurt, but keeping Drury as captain, #2 center, excellent penalty-killer, pretty good PP goal-scorer, crunch-time faceoff man, clutch scorer, tone-setter in the locker room, etc., etc., along with Connolly, Roy and Gaustad would've left us in pretty good shape. So I agree that he's not a gifted playmaker, and I'm glad we didn't keep him for $7.5MM in a free agent bidding frenzy, but I'm still very disappointed that we butchered the opportunity to keep him for a much more manageable number. I also think the Rangers will be in the playoffs every year he's there (barring injury), and it won't be a coincidence. Right on....I have moved on myself..However I wont be suckered back as easily as I was after the lockout..They will need to make nice run for them to garner anymore of my hard earned dollars..I wont be lining up to pad their wallets by lying down to watcha third world hockey team frustrate my walk back to Chippewa after every game..lol...I will still go but only when theyre free...I will cheer them on from the comfort of my living room where I can turn them off when they start to play irritating( last year that was usually 5 minutes into the game) I will still call them my favorite team and I will follow only them.. Unfortunatly my hockey season starts in October and will sadly end around the middle of April if I m lucky..
nfreeman Posted July 16, 2009 Report Posted July 16, 2009 I'm betting against it this year. I just don't see them making lines out of this jumble.... Marian Gaborik Chris Drury Ales Kotalik Ryan Callahan Chris Higgins Sean Avery Donald Brashear Aaron Voros Dubinsky* (not signed yet) And I don't see a third pairing after Rosival-Redden-Staal-Girardi -- Plus they need a goaltender They better stay healthy. I agree with you on this year's version of the Sather forward mish-mash, but Lundy is a really good goalie. Maybe you were thinking of Philly? Or a backup goalie? Also I'd bet they will bring back Dubinsky and will bring in one or 2 more pieces in the $1.5MM - $2MM range.
wonderbread Posted July 16, 2009 Report Posted July 16, 2009 I'm betting against it this year. I just don't see them making lines out of this jumble.... Marian Gaborik Chris Drury Ales Kotalik Ryan Callahan Chris Higgins Sean Avery Donald Brashear Aaron Voros Dubinsky* (not signed yet) And I don't see a third pairing after Rosival-Redden-Staal-Girardi -- Plus they need a goaltender They better stay healthy. I just hope they don't fire Slats. I'd like to see him continue to sink that franchise.
X. Benedict Posted July 16, 2009 Report Posted July 16, 2009 I agree with you on this year's version of the Sather forward mish-mash, but Lundy is a really good goalie. Maybe you were thinking of Philly? Or a backup goalie? Also I'd bet they will bring back Dubinsky and will bring in one or 2 more pieces in the $1.5MM - $2MM range. Back-up goaltender is what I was thinking. Lundquist is terrific....but it is an Olympic Year too. Gaborik clicking with Dubinsky is a huge gamble. Or maybe Avery-Drury-Gaborik? Kotalik probably plays the left more than right.... so Kotalik-Dubinsky-Gaborik? I just don't get it.
shrader Posted July 17, 2009 Report Posted July 17, 2009 I just hope they don't fire Slats. I'd like to see him continue to sink that franchise. Yeah, he's making a ton of questionable moves, but they weren't exactly making the playoffs beofre they brought him in.
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