Lydman and Tallinder, predict the future...

[LabattBlue]

I still believe Tallinder will be traded before the season begins and Lydman is signed to a new 3 year deal in the 9-10 mil range either before or during the season.

[nfreeman]

I think DR wants to unload Tallinder before the season but will not be able to find a buyer. I think he'll probably find a buyer at the deadline though.

 

As for Lydman, I think we'll probably be in the hunt for a playoff spot around deadline time, so I don't think DR will want to unload a 2nd veteran defenseman, so he'll hang onto Toni for what will hopefully be a playoff run. At the end of the season, DR will want Toni's salary slot and will want to make room for Weber and/or Myers. Someone will give Lydman about $3MM x 3 years, but it won't be the Sabres.

[SabresFan526]

I think Tallinder is moved for sure. I'm hoping it's before the season, but it could be either during the season when a team faces injury problems or at the deadline. I still think Tallinder has a lot of trade value and he could bring a decent return in terms of picks. Package him up with another player like Stafford or MacArthur and the Sabres might actually get a decent return.

 

Lydman will not be traded, but will stay with the Sabres until the end of the year and he will not be re-signed to an extension and will walk in free agency.

[carpandean]

Tallinder: if a buyer is out there, he will be gone. Otherwise, he walks at the end of the season.

 

Lydman: will start the season here. He won't be traded at the deadline unless we are way out of it (i.e., fire sale time.) Whether he gets re-signed will depend on where the kids are and how long of a contract he wants. It may be a Spacek-like situation where we want him for 1-2 years, but somebody will give him the same money for 3 or more.

 

Either way, I believe Toni's status is more sound than Hanks, so it would take a really good offer to see him go first.

[Two or less]

I think DR wants to unload Tallinder before the season but will not be able to find a buyer. I think he'll probably find a buyer at the deadline though.

 

As for Lydman, I think we'll probably be in the hunt for a playoff spot around deadline time, so I don't think DR will want to unload a 2nd veteran defenseman, so he'll hang onto Toni for what will hopefully be a playoff run. At the end of the season, DR will want Toni's salary slot and will want to make room for Weber and/or Myers. Someone will give Lydman about $3MM x 3 years, but it won't be the Sabres.

 

This is my biggest problem with Darcy Regier and this may be a whole different topic at hand but what the heck, i'll say it anyways. He never is able to get rid of players. We always assume it's because they have no value, well, atleast that's what we're believed, even the guys on radio or web sites. NYR some how took a risk to sign Dimitri Kalinin. A guy who we did not want towards his stay with Buffalo. Kalinin was horrid with New York, even worse then he was with us. And yet, NYR found someone else to take him on. Ales Kotalik was worthless here too, yet, he obviously had some value since he signed $3 million per deal. I find it hard to believe NYR just over paid for him. Other teams must have been knocking on his door. Kotalik as a Sabre was hard to get rid of, and when we did, in the final minutes of deadline day, we got a 2nd round pick for him. The same 2nd round pick that got us Dominic Moore. I doubt Moore gets anywhere NEAR $3 million per. And i doubt anyone even offers Moore a 3 year deal. Yet both Moore and Kotalik cost the same pick. Then you have the same case for Afinogenov. I find it very hard to believe nobody wanted him few years ago when we first wanted him traded.

 

Darcy just can't find a sucker. Maybe he's always demanding too much and talks always break down? Maybe he's so hated around the league due to his steals of Briere and Drury trades... or Grosek for Gilmour and Dumont deal. I don't know. But we are in the same boat now with 3 guys.... Hecht, Tallinder and Lydman. One, or even two of these guys should be gone. To clear room to add someone new and shake things up and it strikes me as Darcy is still unable to find a team to make a deal.

 

I would keep Lydman, and if he plays well, try to keep him around. But Tallinder i'd get rid of. But i don't see how Darcy will find someone to take him. He's failed me too many times.

[inkman]

But we are in the same boat now with 3 guys.... Hecht, Tallinder and Lydman. One, or even two of these guys should be gone.

Lydman is not in that "boat". He's in a different boat, slighty nicer, more sea worthy and a much better overall value.

[wonderbread]

Lydman is not in that "boat". He's in a different boat, slighty nicer, more sea worthy and a much better overall value.

 

 

as long as he is not in that boat with RM and Drew Miller drinking Busch.

[shrader]

NYR some how took a risk to sign Dimitri Kalinin. A guy who we did not want towards his stay with Buffalo. Kalinin was horrid with New York, even worse then he was with us. And yet, NYR found someone else to take him on.

 

The Rangers needed to dump some salary to make space for Morris. Phoenix, in their own money dumping mode took on Kalinin, Dawes, and Prucha, 3 contracts expiring at the end of the season. Take a look at that deal as of today. Kalinin and Dawes are already gone. I don't understand why they waived Dawes, but Kalinin was clearly a salary dump by the Rangers, brought on by Phoenix so they could get something in return for Morris.

[Chief Enabler]

Lydman is not in that "boat". He's in a different boat, slighty nicer, more sea worthy and a much better overall value.

:chris:

 

Nice poll. Do teams really trade anymore though?

 

Lydman stays. I dont know about $3 for 3; but a bunch of rookies would not make the difference.

[R_Dudley]

I think DR wants to unload Tallinder before the season but will not be able to find a buyer. I think he'll probably find a buyer at the deadline though.

 

As for Lydman, I think we'll probably be in the hunt for a playoff spot around deadline time, so I don't think DR will want to unload a 2nd veteran defenseman, so he'll hang onto Toni for what will hopefully be a playoff run. At the end of the season, DR will want Toni's salary slot and will want to make room for Weber and/or Myers. Someone will give Lydman about $3MM x 3 years, but it won't be the Sabres.

My votes and rationale exacta.actly so why bother to repeat it when you QFT'd it ...

[tom webster]

:chris:

 

Nice poll. Do teams really trade anymore though?

 

Lydman stays. I dont know about $3 for 3; but a bunch of rookies would not make the difference.

 

 

There have been several trades since two days before the start of free agency

[Stoner]

Lydman: Ernest Borgnine will be the lead singer of a wildly popular "boy band" that will include Abe Vigoda, Jackie Mason, Barney Frank and the dessicated corpse of Bea Arthur. Aliens will visit Earth and finally explain to us why we drive on parkways and park on driveways. Jimmy Hoffa will be found under the endzone of Giants Stadium -- alive!

 

Tallinder: My new nickname will be Tailsy after sleeping my way to the top of the National Organization for Women. The first conjoined Siamese twins will suit up in an NHL game and take the first two and a half minute fighting major in league history. The fountain of youth will be discovered in Irv Weinstein's hottub.

[tom webster]

I still believe Tallinder will be traded before the season begins and Lydman is signed to a new 3 year deal in the 9-10 mil range either before or during the season.

 

 

I agree with this assesment. The difference between this year and last is that the team is over budget and mediocre at best. There is no way DR can sell this to TG and LQ. Depending what they gave Mac they are already at around $53 million and still have Stafford to sign. There will be a salary dump. The only question is whether it will be part of an upgrade or just a dump. Maybe that should be the poll. If all that happens before the season is Hecht and Tallinder gone, would you be happy?

[carpandean]

Depending what they gave Mac they are already at around $53 million and still have Stafford to sign.

Are you already including Kennedy and/or Gerbe? Here's where we sit now (without MacArthur's numbers):

 

 

We're at $50 million in salary. I can't imagine that MacArthur got anything over $1.5 million (he better not have.) We still have to re-sign Stafford, which would bring us up 12 forwards and 21 players. So, we will likely have to bring up Kennedy or Gerbe, re-sign someone like Mancari or sign a vet UFA to get a 13th forward. Sekera's $1 million cap/salary was a nice surprise, about $0.5 million less than I had penciled him in for, but I fear that MacArthur with get that and more over the $800k that I had him penciled in for.

[Stoner]

Given that the Sabres aren't publicizing their budget "cap," and no one really knows how the organization works in terms of Darcy's ability to go to LQ to ask for more... and I really can't blame the Sabres for not making this information public... I don't see what these spreadsheets and various estimates have to do with reality. Not that dealing with reality is anyone's forte here.

[carpandean]

I don't see what these spreadsheets and various estimates have to do with reality. Not that dealing with reality is anyone's forte here.

:unsure:

 

Umm ... every number on my spreadsheet is a published figure. What on it has nothing to do with reality? The stuff that I said afterwords was speculation, but not the spreadsheet (short of the 0/1 for guys like Gerbe, Kennedy or Weber, which we will know after training camp.)

[X. Benedict]

Given that the Sabres aren't publicizing their budget "cap," and no one really knows how the organization works in terms of Darcy's ability to go to LQ to ask for more... and I really can't blame the Sabres for not making this information public... I don't see what these spreadsheets and various estimates have to do with reality. Not that dealing with reality is anyone's forte here.

 

You really deserve a wrap on the knuckles for this.

[tom webster]

Are you already including Kennedy and/or Gerbe? Here's where we sit now (without MacArthur's numbers):

 

 

We're at $50 million in salary. I can't imagine that MacArthur got anything over $1.5 million (he better not have.) We still have to re-sign Stafford, which would bring us up 12 forwards and 21 players. So, we will likely have to bring up Kennedy or Gerbe, re-sign someone like Mancari or sign a vet UFA to get a 13th forward. Sekera's $1 million cap/salary was a nice surprise, about $0.5 million less than I had penciled him in for, but I fear that MacArthur with get that and more over the $800k that I had him penciled in for.

 

 

I am counting Gerbe and Kennedy and Mac at what I hear is $1.4 per. Also, I believe Montador is $1.55 ( very slight difference)

 

As for PA, this isn't about budget, this is about the cap and signing Stafford for anything over $2 will put them near the cap and like I said earlier, its one thing to convince TG to spend to the cap for a Cup contender, quite another to spend to the cap for a run at 7th place in the conference.

[Stoner]

:unsure:

 

Umm ... every number on my spreadsheet is a published figure. What on it has nothing to do with reality? The stuff that I said afterwords was speculation, but not the spreadsheet (short of the 0/1 for guys like Gerbe, Kennedy or Weber, which we will know after training camp.)

 

OK, sorry. I didn't look at the spreadsheet. I assumed it had something to do with how the Sabres could fit everyone under their self-imposed cap.

 

I guess my point is that without knowing what that self-imposed cap number is (or indeed without knowing that the Sabres aren't for sure spending to the actual cap), I just don't see the value in a lot of these discussions (i.e., "The Sabres are going to have to dump x million in salary").

[nfreeman]

OK, sorry. I didn't look at the spreadsheet. I assumed it had something to do with how the Sabres could fit everyone under their self-imposed cap.

 

I guess my point is that without knowing what that self-imposed cap number is (or indeed without knowing that the Sabres aren't for sure spending to the actual cap), I just don't see the value in a lot of these discussions (i.e., "The Sabres are going to have to dump x million in salary").

You already asked this, and I've already answered it, but here it is again: Darcy said on one of the interviews on WGR or sabres.com that their budget for this year would be roughly the same as last year -- ie about $51MM.

 

You really deserve a wrap on the knuckles for this.

 

This is exactly what I mean when I say that he's just like Vanek. He needs someone in his face, all the time, challenging him to deliver the goods -- or else the bad habits creep in and the results, well, speak for themselves. .

[shrader]

OK, sorry. I didn't look at the spreadsheet. I assumed it had something to do with how the Sabres could fit everyone under their self-imposed cap.

 

I guess my point is that without knowing what that self-imposed cap number is (or indeed without knowing that the Sabres aren't for sure spending to the actual cap), I just don't see the value in a lot of these discussions (i.e., "The Sabres are going to have to dump x million in salary").

 

People know what the cap is, and obviously the budget would be somewhere below that. Even without the figure nfreeman posted, that gives you a decent starting point at where any budget might be. The one thing I always wonder about when this budget subject pops up is what that budget actually covers. Is it strictly an NHL player budget or does it include the guys in the AHL? Sure, they're making a lot less down there, but they add up quickly.

[Stoner]

People know what the cap is, and obviously the budget would be somewhere below that. Even without the figure nfreeman posted, that gives you a decent starting point at where any budget might be. The one thing I always wonder about when this budget subject pops up is what that budget actually covers. Is it strictly an NHL player budget or does it include the guys in the AHL? Sure, they're making a lot less down there, but they add up quickly.

 

People don't know exactly what the Sabres' self-imposed cap (budget) is. If Darcy said "roughly the same as last year," that still leaves a lot of wiggle room. Would 49 million be roughly the same? Would 53? And we have no idea if Darcy can or will go to ownership and ask for more. What if he gets a trade offer before the season that he feels significantly improves the team but adds a couple of million to the budget?

[Stoner]

You already asked this, and I've already answered it, but here it is again: Darcy said on one of the interviews on WGR or sabres.com that their budget for this year would be roughly the same as last year -- ie about $51MM.

 

I wasn't asking what the budget number is, because no one on this board knows the real internal number Darcy is working with. I would put a little more weight if Tom came out with one, because his wife works with the Nacho Cheese distributor's father.

[shrader]

People don't know exactly what the Sabres' self-imposed cap (budget) is. If Darcy said "roughly the same as last year," that still leaves a lot of wiggle room. Would 49 million be roughly the same? Would 53? And we have no idea if Darcy can or will go to ownership and ask for more. What if he gets a trade offer before the season that he feels significantly improves the team but adds a couple of million to the budget?

 

It gives you a decent window for an estimate though, since we know what their payroll was last year.

[Stoner]

It gives you a decent window for an estimate though, since we know what their payroll was last year.

 

But I don't think it's decent enough to have a good conversation about the exact moves Darcy might have to make.

 

I wish it was October 3. It's practically October weather anyway.