Drury Retires

[Kristian]

Playing the sport you love. Look at guys like Howe, Jagr, Hasek, Forsberg, Sakic, Foote. These guys didn't (and don't) know when to quit. I think the idea of Drury taking a year off and trying to make a comeback is more likely than not. He just strikes me as the kind of guy who wont give up if he still has something left in the tank. Sometimes you just need that break to let your body actually heal, especially as you get older, which Chris has.

 

It doesn't seem that unlikely. Who knows, maybe he gets another season or two out of his body before he really has to retire for good.

 

I could see him pull a Gary Roberts, provided his knee heals.

[Supersabre]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYh4WUqfg1U

 

Had to... B-)

 

Absolutely clutch and awesome....gives me goosebumps just watching it and hearing Ricks call of the goal..

[nfreeman]

Playing the sport you love. Look at guys like Howe, Jagr, Hasek, Forsberg, Sakic, Foote. These guys didn't (and don't) know when to quit. I think the idea of Drury taking a year off and trying to make a comeback is more likely than not. He just strikes me as the kind of guy who wont give up if he still has something left in the tank. Sometimes you just need that break to let your body actually heal, especially as you get older, which Chris has.

 

It doesn't seem that unlikely. Who knows, maybe he gets another season or two out of his body before he really has to retire for good.

...or maybe coming in at the mid-point of this season if that gives him enough time to rehab and he can show strong skating in a workout for a team that needs a reliable veteran center for the 3rd or 4th line.

 

526 -- your understanding sounds logical and is likely the case. I'm just wondering whether anyone has seen any corroboration for the statement in TBN that he retired because no one was interested. If he can't skate now, I can believe that no one was interested, and that this would play a large role in his decision. But there just isn't any info on thi.

[RazielSabre]

Sad end for a truly professional athlete. Shame he couldn't have one last year.

[shrader]

That was during the clutch and grab era of hockey and St. Louis had a very stout defensive team. I'm not sure you are giving them enough credit and they had some decent players beyond Turgeon such as Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Cory Stillman, Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, and Scott Young was pretty good back then as well. They had a very good defensive team and matched up well against Colorado especially after Forsberg got hurt, especially when you consider they were coming in Red hot sweeping the Dallas Stars in 4 games and Colorado coming in fighting the Kings to the death in an extremely close 7 game series. Given the scenario, I think the Blues could have and should have beaten Colorado.

 

Nonetheless, this is a total digression from the topic at hand and totally irrelevant. Chris Drury is a good player and a great Sabre, and his career should be remembered as such.

 

Edit: I'm pretty sure in my original post I mentioned Sakic and five young guys as their top 2 lines.

 

Now just imagine if they had landed that goalie they were trying to get a few years later. Things may have been very different both here and in St. Louis.

[X. Benedict]

Sad end for a truly professional athlete. Shame he couldn't have one last year.

Not as sad as a diminished athlete trying to fight through one last season.

[Taro T]

Not as sad as a diminished athlete trying to fight through one or more last seasons.

Cough, cough, Chelios, cough.

[SabresFan526]

Now just imagine if they had landed that goalie they were trying to get a few years later. Things may have been very different both here and in St. Louis.

Was there a deal for Hasek with St. Louis? I was not aware of that. It was right after that season Hasek was traded to Detroit, so imagine if they traded for Hasek and the Sabres got Scott Young or Tkachuk or Demitra instead of Slava Kozlov. Certainly the 2001-2003 seasons would have been better than they were, but I wonder if Hasek gets the Blues the Cup. Interesting way things could have turned out.

[Taro T]

Was there a deal for Hasek with St. Louis? I was not aware of that. It was right after that season Hasek was traded to Detroit, so imagine if they traded for Hasek and the Sabres got Scott Young or Tkachuk or Demitra instead of Slava Kozlov. Certainly the 2001-2003 seasons would have been better than they were, but I wonder if Hasek gets the Blues the Cup. Interesting way things could have turned out.

There was. Hasek nixed it by threatening to retire because the Blues would have been giving up too much in return. IIRC, Demitra was the key piece of the package and Hecht would have been part of it as well. (That's going ottomh, don't have time to look up who was rumored to be coming back this way.)

[shrader]

There was. Hasek nixed it by threatening to retire because the Blues would have been giving up too much in return. IIRC, Demitra was the key piece of the package and Hecht would have been part of it as well. (That's going ottomh, don't have time to look up who was rumored to be coming back this way.)

 

Yeah, Demitra is the one I remember hearing as well. But then of course Hasek pulled that card where he threatened to block any deal he didn't like.

[SabresFan526]

There was. Hasek nixed it by threatening to retire because the Blues would have been giving up too much in return. IIRC, Demitra was the key piece of the package and Hecht would have been part of it as well. (That's going ottomh, don't have time to look up who was rumored to be coming back this way.)

 

 

Yeah, Demitra is the one I remember hearing as well. But then of course Hasek pulled that card where he threatened to block any deal he didn't like.

I heard at one point Federov was involved with Detroit before Hasek nixed it and "allowed" Kozlov to be traded to Buffalo because again Detroit would have given up too much. Demitra and Hecht may actually have set the foundation for a decent team in Buffalo. Oh well.

[shrader]

I heard at one point Federov was involved with Detroit before Hasek nixed it and "allowed" Kozlov to be traded to Buffalo because again Detroit would have given up too much. Demitra and Hecht may actually have set the foundation for a decent team in Buffalo. Oh well.

 

I don't know if they would have been willing to bring back a Fedorov-like contract at that point. Demitra sounds far more reasonable.

[X. Benedict]

Cough, cough, Chelios, cough.

 

I always imagined he was married to a very mean woman, or something. :lol:

[Andrew Amerk]

I could see him pull a Gary Roberts, provided his knee heals.

 

Things I have read, said he had a "degenerative knee condition."

 

The word 'degenerative' does not sound too promising.

[RazielSabre]

Not as sad as a diminished athlete trying to fight through one last season.

 

I'd still rather see him quit on his terms.

[X. Benedict]

I'd still rather see him quit on his terms.

I think he just did.

[Eleven]

I'd still rather see him quit on his terms.

 

Dude, two consecutive innings victories over India (both with declarations, right?), a Test sweep (which NEVER freaking happens), the undisputed No. 1 rank, and you're worried about Drury leaving gracefully?

 

 

This, my friends, must be one serious Sabres fan.

[wjag]

I'd still rather see him quit on his terms.

 

I'd be willing to bet that most, read almost all, don't get to quit on their own terms...

[RazielSabre]

Dude, two consecutive innings victories over India (both with declarations, right?), a Test sweep (which NEVER freaking happens), the undisputed No. 1 rank, and you're worried about Drury leaving gracefully?

 

 

This, my friends, must be one serious Sabres fan.

 

I still like my Drury Sabres jersey hehe. :D. Plus he was always a true professional. It is true though, so few do get to retire on their terms. I think I've been a fan of his since watching him in the Avs vs Devils SC final, such a clutch performer, just me being soft probably.

 

Regarding the UK owning, it feels good to be a Brit and actually good at a sport, even if it is one we created and I know very little about. I do love an old quote 'Cricket is the only game where a match can last for days and still end in a draw'. Still, takes something to completely sweep India.