All About Darcy Regier

[PromoTheRobot]

Right. Except that the $4M cap hit will still be there when he's 35, 36, 37, 38 -- past his prime and probably not a 50 point/year defenseman. It won't feel like a great deal then. That's the drawback.

 

Do I care? NO. The team has never had the mentality it has now. This is a great time to be a Sabres fan. I'm not as hot for Brad Richards as everyone else, but I know trades are coming. I've never seen the Sabres this desperate to win the Cup.

But the beauty of this deal is that it will cost peanuts to buy it out in the last 3-4 years. He's getting $18M in the first two years.

 

PTR

[Eleven]

Right. Except that the $4M cap hit will still be there when he's 35, 36, 37, 38 -- past his prime and probably not a 50 point/year defenseman. It won't feel like a great deal then. That's the drawback.

 

 

 

The cap will go up, though. And, more importantly...

 

But, after those first two years, the contract won't be hard to cover or to move. If something does happen and we go back to a low-budget team at some point, his salary is very low ($3M in the 6th year, then $1M in 7-10.)

 

Yep. There's always a Florida.

[deluca67]

This should be on your tombstone... that way no one will ever forget the perpetual state of misery you are in.

Or the Republican Presidential platform. :rolleyes:

[Braedon]

The cap will go up, though. And, more importantly...

 

 

 

Yep. There's always a Florida.

 

 

As long as the Canadian dollar continues to rise and all hell doesn't break loose at the next CBA. But you gotta think it will still be a good deal 6 years from now

[Eleven]

Or the Republican Presidential platform. :rolleyes:

 

Even the Republicans forget that. Usually within weeks. But your state of misery, well, that is less forgettable, DeLuca!

[inkman]

I think we will see the return of capt clutch

I hope not. Right now he looks like captain crutch.

[carpandean]

Right. Except that the $4M cap hit will still be there when he's 35, 36, 37, 38 -- past his prime and probably not a 50 point/year defenseman. It won't feel like a great deal then. That's the drawback.

But the beauty of this deal is that it will cost peanuts to buy it out in the last 3-4 years. He's getting $15M in the first two years.

Actually, while the cash part of a buyout would be low and the cap hit of those extra years would be too, the cap hit during the remaining years of the contract would actually be high. That's because the cap hit of the actual years played was under what the average salary of those years was. For example, if they buy him out after 7 years, the cap hit of the remaining 3 years would still be $3.33M, while in the extra 3 years it's $0.33M. The beauty of the contract is that, if he doesn't retire at some point, you can still put him in the minors cheaply ($1M per seven years from now) or easily trade away the contract.

[darksabre]

I hope not. Right now he looks like captain crutch.

 

Zing!

[nfreeman]

Amen. Quinn was the enemy, not TG. Said it for years, still sayin' it now. (And I'm being proved to be correct.)

Well, I tend to believe in the Quinn-as-agent-of-destruction theory, but I respectfully don't think anything that's happened proves it. Circumstantial evidence? Yes, but far from real evidence.

 

How? Because Quinn wouldn't authorize $18 over two years for a second pairing defenseman?

 

The Pegula ATM machine is great now. Have all the fun and enjoy it as it lasts. Just remember what happened here in Buffalo, and in LA and on Long Island.

Let's put an end right now to the "2nd pairing" meme. Ehrhoff was 2nd on the best team in the NHL in ice time, first on the team in even-strength ice time, and 2nd among defensemen in PP time. That is a top pairing defenseman.

 

Oddly, I love the two moves. Let's just give credit where it is do. Pegula is at the extreme end of the owner pool. That doesn't mean Regier is a better GM.

So -- you want to blame him for the bad moves under the prior ownership group but not give him credit for the good moves now?

 

As much as fans hate TG and LQ they did make the Sabres a viable entity. I do have concerns about a big spending owner writing checks a future owner can't cover.

I share your concerns about getting used to the high life. Nothing lasts forever, especially not a sports team that loses, say, $20MM per year on a cash basis.

[Taro T]

Actually, while the cash part of a buyout would be low and the cap hit of those extra years would be too, the cap hit during the remaining years of the contract would actually be high. That's because the cap hit of the actual years played was under what the average salary of those years was. For example, if they buy him out after 7 years, the cap hit of the remaining 3 years would still be $3.33M, while in the extra 3 years it's $0.33M. The beauty of the contract is that, if he doesn't retire at some point, you can still put him in the minors cheaply ($1M per seven years from now) or easily trade away the contract.

It's real difficult to predict right now what the mechanics of a buyout or trade or retirement at that point will be as it's almost certain that the league will want the players to save their GMs from themselves. (And probably rightfully so.) I wouldn't even want to hazard a guess at this time as to whether the contracts getting signed today will have a "grandfathered" status or not, when looking at how they fit under the revised salary cap rules.

 

That's the other cool part about the Sabres only "circumventing" ~$1.5MM worth of extra cap space annually during the 1st 7 years. If they do have to 'eat that' back when the contract is no longer on their books it'll be a fairly small portion of their 2019 (or so) salary cap. (At any rate it'd be far less than whatever amount the Devils will be eating on the Kovy deal.)

[Eleven]

Well, I tend to believe in the Quinn-as-agent-of-destruction theory, but I respectfully don't think anything that's happened proves it. Circumstantial evidence? Yes, but far from real evidence.

 

 

 

Being proved. It ain't over yet.

[SabresIndy]

Well, I tend to believe in the Quinn-as-agent-of-destruction theory, but I respectfully don't think anything that's happened proves it. Circumstantial evidence? Yes, but far from real evidence.

 

 

Let's put an end right now to the "2nd pairing" meme. Ehrhoff was 2nd on the best team in the NHL in ice time, first on the team in even-strength ice time, and 2nd among defensemen in PP time. That is a top pairing defenseman.

 

 

So -- you want to blame him for the bad moves under the prior ownership group but not give him credit for the good moves now?

 

 

I share your concerns about getting used to the high life. Nothing lasts forever, especially not a sports team that loses, say, $20MM per year on a cash basis.

 

Maybe I'm drinking the Sabretooth Kool-aid, or just that we're not used to spending this much money, but it feels to me that we're making the right moves in terms of what the team needs and structuring contracts in a somewhat responsible way.

 

The trade for Regehr was a quietly bold move without giving up much and the contract seems about right. The loudly bold move for Ehrhoff at best sets the table for taking a good run at Richards (another major team need) and at worst tells the league and everyone on the current roster that we're not messing around.

 

I guess the next step is Richards -- if we reach too far ... I think I'll be the first to criticize. He made north of $7 million last year...and he's clearly the best talent on the market. I'm sure he wants a long term deal and he seems like he's in his prime. A point-per-game guy. I hope we make a serious offer, but we can't make the mistake of painting ourselves into a corner, with Miller, Myers and other younger players to re-sign in the coming years.

 

Either way -- I can't wait until Noon!

[nucci]

This is a bit funny. For as long as I can recall, we have wanted owners of the Bills and Sabres to spend money and get the best players here to try to win a championship. Now that we do there are concerns and complaints. Who cares about how much they are spending or cap concerns? Really? Enjoy this and let's hope for a Cup!!

[shrader]

This is a bit funny. For as long as I can recall, we have wanted owners of the Bills and Sabres to spend money and get the best players here to try to win a championship. Now that we do there are concerns and complaints. Who cares about how much they are spending or cap concerns? Really? Enjoy this and let's hope for a Cup!!

 

But look who it is that is doing the complaing. Mr. "just completely change your stance the second things change so that you still have something to complain about".