Drew Stafford Contract

[BetweenThePipes00]

When Stafford comes out and says he doesn't need to fight because that is the job of his teammates, that tells me a lot about his character.

 

I don't know when he said this, but I do know he was the only guy on the ice that went after Chris Neil when he cracked Drury's head open. Wasn't much of a fight, but he didn't hesitate.

 

You guys are not going to change each other's minds, and the fact is they will probably agree on a deal somewhere in between letting him walk and the $4.3 million/year that so horribly offends some.

 

While we are throwing out "comparables," let me suggest considering the case of Patrick Sharp ... underachieved until his contract year at the age of 26 ... the Hawks signed him to a big contract ($3.9m avg) halfway through a 36-goal season ... and it worked out just fine. It happens, guys do keep getting better sometimes. Sometimes if you wait for them to do it and then do it AGAIN before you trust them, they are gone or WAY too expensive or both. We'll find out how much the Sabres trust him.

[Taro T]

You were correct, 56 to 5 in 4 years.

 

That is the go-to for staunch supporters of status quo. "Well he played with the Sedins", "Well he played with Alfredsson", "Well he played with Thornton".

 

In one breath you say Darcy is quality and needs to have the key to the HSBC urinal another 13 years, yet for some reason other teams always seem to land the types of players who raise the play and production of those around them. You make fun of Hecht and Connolly, yet your savior was the one who signed them to their $8 million a year combined contract.

 

You can't have it both ways.

Again, please get off the hyperbole highway and show me where I have claimed that it isn't possible to overpay for a player.

 

As long as you are looking for that post, perhaps you can find the posts where I've claimed Darcy needs to be here another 13 years to get the Sabres somewhere. (I'm not certain what you're claiming he needs the keys for another 13 years for, thus the choice of the word 'somewhere.') Heck, I'd like to see what posts have shown that Darcy is "my savior" as long as you're at it.

 

And the post that you view as making fun of Hecht was sorely misinterpreted by you, if THAT is what you took out of it. If you do realize that, and I suspect you do, please refer to my 1st sentence in this post again.

 

Hope you've had a good Memorial Day. Mine went well. :beer:

[SwampD]

I just got back from a great Memorial Day party. Sun. Pool. Booze. It was great.

 

Then I read this thread and my head literally exploded.

 

My take after thinking about it,.. I think that if the Sabres sign Stafford to a four year deal with a 4.2ish cap hit, they'll be getting a real bargain by year 2. Just my gut and I don't care if I'm wrong.

[Weave]

Yeah, you folks spent entirely too much of a great holiday weekend arguing about something you have no input into.

 

Here's my take on the Stafford contract situation;

On my team he'd be the subject of intense trade talks right now. 1. We have too many RW's. 2. He is very much typical of the mediocre performance that this team has accepted and paid good money for. 3. If this season is his breakout year, it isn't good enough to get where we need to be going.

 

I don't really care if his numbers from last year equate to a $4M deal or a $3M deal. Y'all can argue about that til the cows come home. For me it is simply this, Drew Stafford is the kind of player that has never been able to get this team over the hump. He is good enough to woo the arbitrators but he's never been a difference maker, leader, go to guy. He's soft, tends to disappear in big games, and doesn't have the intangibles to be a playoff guy. I don't want to tie up any more salary cap money in a guy like him than I absolutely have to. And better yet, my goal would be to try to turn whatever "promise" he may hold into something that will truly benefit my team, like a center. I don't want him on a long term contract unless it enhances his tradeability, and in most cases, long contracts are harder to move. Offer him a one year deal and try to move him.

[SwampD]

Yeah, you folks spent entirely too much of a great holiday weekend arguing about something you have no input into.

 

Here's my take on the Stafford contract situation;

On my team he'd be the subject of intense trade talks right now. 1. We have too many RW's. 2. He is very much typical of the mediocre performance that this team has accepted and paid good money for. 3. If this season is his breakout year, it isn't good enough to get where we need to be going.

 

I don't really care if his numbers from last year equate to a $4M deal or a $3M deal. Y'all can argue about that til the cows come home. For me it is simply this, Drew Stafford is the kind of player that has never been able to get this team over the hump. He is good enough to woo the arbitrators but he's never been a difference maker, leader, go to guy. He's soft, tends to disappear in big games, and doesn't have the intangibles to be a playoff guy. I don't want to tie up any more salary cap money in a guy like him than I absolutely have to. And better yet, my goal would be to try to turn whatever "promise" he may hold into something that will truly benefit my team, like a center. I don't want him on a long term contract unless it enhances his tradeability, and in most cases, long contracts are harder to move. Offer him a one year deal and try to move him.

That's way better than what I wrote.

[Lanny]

Offer him a one year deal and try to move him.

If you're going to do that you might as well trade his rights and let the new team work out a contract. I doubt he signs a 1 yr deal unless he gets it through arbitration.

[Weave]

That's way better than what I wrote.

 

Maybe I should drunk post more often. :blink:

[Weave]

If you're going to do that you might as well trade his rights and let the new team work out a contract. I doubt he signs a 1 yr deal unless he gets it through arbitration.

 

That works for me too.

[LastPommerFan]

Yeah, you folks spent entirely too much of a great holiday weekend arguing about something you have no input into.

 

In my defense I had to work all weekend. And arguing with Deluca and Ghost is WAY better than thinking about how you have to be at work for 30 hours while everyone else is out grilling and drinking.

[dudacek]

Weave makes a good case and if we need to trade him to get a better piece, than I'd do it in a heartbeat.

That said, it was Drew's fourth year — the year that traditionally sets the bar for a player's career. And that seems to be getting lost in the talk of "contract year."

I think this year's version of Stafford is a better indication of what you are going to get for the next five years than the miserable disappointment we saw the year before.

If we can get that player — a 30-goal, second-line winger — for less than $4 million, you sign him now. It's good value for that production.

The Sabres should have seen enough during the past eight months to decide whether or not his maturation was real.

But even if they believe in him, he's shown nothing — even in those 32 games — that says he's worth much over $4 million per.

[LGR4GM]

Weave makes a good case and if we need to trade him to get a better piece, than I'd do it in a heartbeat.

That said, it was Drew's fourth year — the year that traditionally sets the bar for a player's career. And that seems to be getting lost in the talk of "contract year."

I think this year's version of Stafford is a better indication of what you are going to get for the next five years than the miserable disappointment we saw the year before.

If we can get that player — a 30-goal, second-line winger — for less than $4 million, you sign him now. It's good value for that production.

The Sabres should have seen enough during the past eight months to decide whether or not his maturation was real.

But even if they believe in him, he's shown nothing — even in those 32 games — that says he's worth much over $4 million per.

agreed, but ppl will just counter with "theres only x number of players who score 30 goals blah blah blah" there is also a number of players that score 30 goals once and never ever do again. His 31 goals and 52 pts has me ranking him right around 50th in the league and honestly I wouldnt pay the 50th guy 5mil when the 10th guy makes that... freaking crazy.

[LastPommerFan]

agreed, but ppl will just counter with "theres only x number of players who score 30 goals blah blah blah" there is also a number of players that score 30 goals once and never ever do again. His 31 goals and 52 pts has me ranking him right around 50th in the league and honestly I wouldnt pay the 50th guy 5mil when the 10th guy makes that... freaking crazy.

 

The 50th highest paid forward makes $5M.

[LGR4GM]

The 50th highest paid forward makes $5M.

fine then drews the 100th best. Point being hes not a game changer. Myers is more of that than drew will ever be. for 5mil I want a potential game changer not a once in a career 30 goal guy.

 

Honestly If drew comes in this year and is awesome I will love it and will be wrong but he just hasnt proven that hes worth that much money yet. He was weak in the playoffs and his injury rate is a cuz for a little concern. I want him to be that guy but until he starts showing it consistently hes just not.

[LastPommerFan]

fine then drews the 100th best. Point being hes not a game changer. Myers is more of that than drew will ever be. for 5mil I want a potential game changer not a once in a career 30 goal guy.

 

Honestly If drew comes in this year and is awesome I will love it and will be wrong but he just hasnt proven that hes worth that much money yet. He was weak in the playoffs and his injury rate is a cuz for a little concern. I want him to be that guy but until he starts showing it consistently hes just not.

 

I'm not arguing that he's an unproven asset. He has one season of play getting time cosistantly on the scoring lines. It went well, but he's got a lot more to prove.

 

What I'm trying to point out is that $5M doesn't get you what it used to. the 100th highest paid forward has a cap hit of $4.5M. I think much of the board here has a misconception about what the league salaries for players not on Entry Level or 35+ contracts are right now.

[X. Benedict]

Stafford......

 

 

Career shooting percentage 13%.

 

Going into this season the mantra was more shots. The goal for him was 250 shots on the season.

 

So the question is...can you get Drew Stafford 250 shots a year going forward?

 

If so. You have your 25-30 goals even if his shooting percentage falls to 10%.

 

It is probably unrealistic to expect he shoots 17% for the rest of his career.

 

With an accomplished center (theoretically feeding him) getting 250 shots for Stafford should not be a problem.

 

So how much is that worth?

 

I say over $4....I'm sure an arbitrator would say much more...but I don't really get the impulse to devalue him. I think most GM's are going to look at a player like Stafford the same way...get him the shots and he'll have consistent numbers.

[dudacek]

I agree some on the board have a skewed view of "the going rate."

But a cap hit of $5 million would make Stafford the 10th highest-paid right winger in the game, or the 25th highest-paid winger.

That's rich for a good second-liner.

Michalek $4.3, Erikson $4.2, Erat $4.5, Wolski $3.8, Bourque $3.3, Lucic $4, Huselius $4.7, Lupul $4.2, Hartnell $4.2, Williams $3.5, Brown $3.1, Clowe $3.6 — these are Stafford's peers.

[spndnchz]

Andrew Ladd in the same position as Stafford. RFA with a year left to UFA.

[X. Benedict]

Andrew Ladd in the same position as Stafford. RFA with a year left to UFA.

 

And he's the Assiniboine's captain.

[Lanny]

I agree some on the board have a skewed view of "the going rate."

But a cap hit of $5 million would make Stafford the 10th highest-paid right winger in the game, or the 25th highest-paid winger.

That's rich for a good second-liner.

Michalek $4.3, Erikson $4.2, Erat $4.5, Wolski $3.8, Bourque $3.3, Lucic $4, Huselius $4.7, Lupul $4.2, Hartnell $4.2, Williams $3.5, Brown $3.1, Clowe $3.6 — these are Stafford's peers.

That's a good place to start, you then have to factor in the length of the deal, whether their giving up RFA or UFA years, and also when the contract was signed. As the cap goes up, the value of the contract will also go up.

 

I like comparing the Ericksson contract because both players had only had 1 overly productive season (30 goals) before resigning. However, Ericksson signed his contract 2 years ago with 3 RFA years remaining, while Stafford only has 1 left.

 

Another option is let him take you to arbitration, accept the 1 year award, and let him walk next year as a UFA if he doesn't perform up to expectations. If he does, you can work to resign him during the season. It will cost more, but he would then be a more known commodity.

[X. Benedict]

Stafford is now a "solid defender?" Earlier in the week someone had him as a power forward. I wish the Drew Stafford that exists on this board was the same that wore a Sabres uniform.

 

He is. But you don't know why. :rolleyes:

 

It's not a description of competence...it's a description of position.

 

Nathan Horton is too. And doesn't hit much more than Stafford.

 

Although it is a rather nebulous thing to describe...generally I would say a power forward is not a perimeter player, and relies on strength moves near the net. Which Stafford does.

 

He's a little on the light side for the role. But it is where and how he scores his goals.

 

(you may have a different description which is fine - but what Taro T wrote describing the development curve holds)

[LastPommerFan]

And he's the Assiniboine's captain.

 

And he has his name etched in silver...twice.

[X. Benedict]

And he has his name etched in silver...twice.

Nice player. Always liked his game. Duds made a nice move Vishnevskiy and a 2nd.

 

He'll get a pay bump too.

[tom webster]

Nice player. Always liked his game. Duds made a nice move Vishnevskiy and a 2nd.

 

He'll get a pay bump too.

 

 

Interesting to see how being in Winnnipeg changes the dynamic.

[Taro T]

Interesting to see how being in Winnnipeg changes the dynamic.

Calgary rode the change in scenery to a run to the Semifinals.

[waldo]

I agree some on the board have a skewed view of "the going rate."

But a cap hit of $5 million would make Stafford the 10th highest-paid right winger in the game, or the 25th highest-paid winger.

That's rich for a good second-liner.

Michalek $4.3, Erikson $4.2, Erat $4.5, Wolski $3.8, Bourque $3.3, Lucic $4, Huselius $4.7, Lupul $4.2, Hartnell $4.2, Williams $3.5, Brown $3.1, Clowe $3.6 — these are Stafford's peers.

 

would be interesting to pair him up with each person on your list and decide which one you would take. was that your point/implication? good post..