The Official Regier STILL needs to go thread

[Swedesessed]

I do not want to hear how good he was in the offseason, he was lucky, PERIOD.

 

Regier did NOTHING at the deadline...and Golisano should feel some of that brunt too.

 

Wake up Sabres fans, the party is OVER.

[letsgobuffalo45]

I do not want to hear how good he was in the offseason, he was lucky, PERIOD.

 

Regier did NOTHING at the deadline...and Golisano should feel some of that brunt too.

 

Wake up Sabres fans, the party is OVER.

 

Something I can agree with. The guy is the worst GM in the league. How can he possibly not make a deal at the deadline and bring in some defensive reinforcements?? Why do we need Marty Biron's huge salary sitting on the bench? Miller is this team's goaltender, and Marty should have been traded off when we had the chance.

 

I can't even imagine what's going on in that guy's head...

[hopeleslyobvious]

Something I can agree with. The guy is the worst GM in the league. How can he possibly not make a deal at the deadline and bring in some defensive reinforcements?? Why do we need Marty Biron's huge salary sitting on the bench? Miller is this team's goaltender, and Marty should have been traded off when we had the chance.

 

I can't even imagine what's going on in that guy's head...

 

Maybe he didn't get a great offer for Biron.

[PromoTheRobot]

You people are full of sh!t. You don't have the season you have by accident. How about blaming the players for tanking? Maybe they are tired? Or maybe this is all some big cosmic joke? But blaming Regier is total freakin' bullsh!t and you know it.

 

If this team pulls out of this and has a good run in the playoffs, you should all jump in Lake Erie. You're not fans.

 

PTR

[hopeleslyobvious]

I do not want to hear how good he was in the offseason, he was lucky, PERIOD.

 

Regier did NOTHING at the deadline...and Golisano should feel some of that brunt too.

 

Wake up Sabres fans, the party is OVER.

 

The party isn't over until they've been eliminated. There is still a lot of hockey to be played.

[sabre31_98]

I do not want to hear how good he was in the offseason, he was lucky, PERIOD.

 

Regier did NOTHING at the deadline...and Golisano should feel some of that brunt too.

 

Wake up Sabres fans, the party is OVER.

 

 

You guys are completely nuts! Go hang out on a Leafs board.

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

Regier has pulled off some great moves, but they are few and far in between. If these last 6 games have told us is that the team was not as deep as we thought. It was a mistake not to pick up someone for the playoffs. You couldn't blame him so much in the Regas years because they didn't want to pay for players, but there was no reason this year with the governers race heating up and all.....

[mrjsbu96]

I do not want to hear how good he was in the offseason, he was lucky, PERIOD.

 

Regier did NOTHING at the deadline...and Golisano should feel some of that brunt too.

 

Wake up Sabres fans, the party is OVER.

 

 

Let me ask - did you ever think this team was Cup material THIS season? My guess is you answered "no."

 

There was not supposed to even be a party to celebrate this year. Can't we just be happy with a team that has no matter what happens the remainder of the season immensely overachieved? Was it really worth it to take, then what became a much quicker re-building period and knock it down with some over-the-hill, overpaid rent-a-players at the trade deadline?

 

Or would you rather let the team grow and experience the pains of a losing streak and possibly a early playoff exit and then use that experience to be an even better team in the next year or two? (and maybe then you pick up that one last piece of the puzzle)

[Rock DJ]

Let me ask - did you ever think this team was Cup material THIS season? My guess is you answered "no."

 

 

You're rght, no was my answer. BUT, here we were at the trade deadline, sitting WITH a legitimate chance. Why SHOULDN'T we continually try to get better?

Every team in every sport brings in players to continually push the others, keep the competition level up, and now you're saying we shouldn't do that......

 

Everyone in the world knows we needed to strengthen the D. They were available, and that's what Darcy should have done.

 

I'm thrilled with what they've been able to do so far, and they've exceeded my expectations. But now knowing what they CAN do, you keep raising the bar, you don't let it drop.

[hopeleslyobvious]

You're rght, no was my answer. BUT, here we were at the trade deadline, sitting WITH a legitimate chance. Why SHOULDN'T we continually try to get better?

Every team in every sport brings in players to continually push the others, keep the competition level up, and now you're saying we shouldn't do that......

 

Everyone in the world knows we needed to strengthen the D. They were available, and that's what Darcy should have done.

 

I'm thrilled with what they've been able to do so far, and they've exceeded my expectations. But now knowing what they CAN do, you keep raising the bar, you don't let it drop.

 

With the exception of Witt, which D did you see moved at the deadline that would have made a difference on this team?

[gregkash]

Regier obviously knew something we didn't.

 

Funny how no one complained during the 7 game win streak.

[slugspirit]

With the exception of Witt, which D did you see moved at the deadline that would have made a difference on this team?

 

Precisely. Not only this, but no one here knows what kind of deals Regier was offered or even considered. I would have loved to see a veteran defenseman come in, or at least someone to bolster the depth, but not if it meant giving up a vital player on the roster. Regier will not overpay, which will turn to be a good thing down the line.

 

Let me add that 96 points in 72 games does not come from sheer luck. We are fortunate that this skid occured now and not in the playoffs, because (let's face it) some sort of slump was inevitable. Buffalo is the third best team in the conference and sixth in the league, and still some here are calling Regier the worst GM in the league??? SHUT THE FUKC UP!

[nfreeman]

With the exception of Witt, which D did you see moved at the deadline that would have made a difference on this team?

 

 

A very good question, which I would further refine as follows: which defenseman who was traded to an Eastern Conference team would you have wanted? Almost all of the trades that occurred were inter-conference since most teams don't want a player they traded to come back and haunt them.

 

Czech -- It's not fair to criticize Darcy without some specifics -- ie if you're going to say we should've improved the D, you need to say "we should've gotten X, Y, or Z, each of whom is a quality defenseman and was traded to an Eastern conference team for a price we would have been happy to pay."

 

Meanwhile, Darcy knew that we were going to be getting back Connolly, Briere, Hecht and Mair, each of whom (yes, even Mair) is a big contributor.

 

I will admit that the concept of kalinin-is-the-extra-defenseman-we-need looks a bit like wishful thinking right now. His play is just too spotty.

[scottnc]

I do not want to hear how good he was in the offseason, he was lucky, PERIOD.

 

Regier did NOTHING at the deadline...and Golisano should feel some of that brunt too.

 

Wake up Sabres fans, the party is OVER.

 

Maybe he didn't make any moves because we were 20+ games over .500 and nipping at the Sens and Canes heels for first in the conference. I can't believe how useless he is putting together a team like this. What was he thinking?!? ;)

[Taro T]

A very good question, which I would further refine as follows: which defenseman who was traded to an Eastern Conference team would you have wanted? Almost all of the trades that occurred were inter-conference since most teams don't want a player they traded to come back and haunt them.

 

Czech -- It's not fair to criticize Darcy without some specifics -- ie if you're going to say we should've improved the D, you need to say "we should've gotten X, Y, or Z, each of whom is a quality defenseman and was traded to an Eastern conference team for a price we would have been happy to pay."

 

Meanwhile, Darcy knew that we were going to be getting back Connolly, Briere, Hecht and Mair, each of whom (yes, even Mair) is a big contributor.

 

I will admit that the concept of kalinin-is-the-extra-defenseman-we-need looks a bit like wishful thinking right now. His play is just too spotty.

How's this one. Jaroslav Spacek for Tony Salmelainen. It happened before the deadline and was within the WC, but he definitely was available from Chicago.

 

The kid the Hawks picked up did ok in the AHL last year, and is tearing up the Finnish league this year. I have questions about why the kid went back to Finland this year, so would not be surprised to have seen the Sabres not having to give up too much to get Spacek.

 

I have stated on several occasions that I would like to have seen the Sabres land Spacek.

 

As for Czechmate's original proposition, I am giving Darcy this season and next before I evaluate him; but I would have a very difficult time coming up with a justification for firing him at this point in time. While I definitely would like to have seen another defenseman (or 2) brought in, he DID trade for a D-man this year (Lydman) and he was a good pick up.

[topshelfcookies]

As for Czechmate's original proposition, I am giving Darcy this season and next before I evaluate him; but I would have a very difficult time coming up with a justification for firing him at this point in time. While I definitely would like to have seen another defenseman (or 2) brought in, he DID trade for a D-man this year (Lydman) and he was a good pick up.

 

Dave B and others, thanks for talking some sense here. Czechmate, I can't respect anything about your comments. Why is that Ruff and Regier consistently get glowing accolades from those in the national media and Canadian media who know hockey best? This current Sabres team has been skillfully built from the ground up, a wonderful mix of free agent aquisitions and a core of young players that can rival any other organizations.

 

Darcy may be frustrating in his lack of having a trigger happy hand, but how can you be upset about a guy who has gotten the Sabres deep into the playoffs three times, won a Conference Championship, hired one of the top coaches in the NHL, consistently made other GM's in the league regret past trades and drafted about as well as any other organization?

 

What more do you want?

 

I think people need to realize that this is a team that is just at the beginning of what could be a special 3-4 years. While this team has the talent to win this season (and I certainly hope they do) this year is just the beginning of a run. It feels like the 1988 Bills in a way...good young core of players, a couple possible superstars waiting in the wings (the Bills had Kelly, Bruce, Thurman- the Sabres have Miller, Briere and Vanek, maybe Connolly?). This team is just learning how to win, and is going through just their second pronounced losing streak of the season. Take a breath man.

 

I do agree with Dave B in that this off-season will be an important one for Darcy Regier. He's put this organization in a great position to be competitive...while many other teams in the league will be looking to completely overhaul their teams and make them more suited for the "new" league, Darcy simply has to pick up some new pieces.

 

Finally, all you Darcy-haters out there...Why don't you step up and list off a couple names of GM's that you would rather see here in Buffalo and WHY, instead of just making ignorant, annoying, senseless posts.

[deluca67]

Did I miss something?

 

Did the Sabres drop out of fourth place or the playoffs all together?

 

Darcy decided to let the players play out the string. The plan is to stay healthy and get ready to host the Flyers in game one of the playoffs.

 

If anyone needs something to complain about I'll send you copies of my gas/electric bill. ;)

[apuszczalowski]

Sadly, I have to agree with the original poster to an extent, I think and early playoff exit or if this team cannot shake this slump someone has to go.

 

This team has been good and was a surprise to most, but most of the league went out and got a bit stronger or atleast attempted to fix the couple holes they had for a playoff run and Buffalo sat and did nothing. The problem with the team is they were playing at about 120% and overachieving. In that situation you need to bring in a couple of guys to keep this team from crashing cause they can't continue to play that strong forever. This team was not underachieving and could only get better.

 

This team is having its best chance to make the cup in years, this is the year you need to do everyting to get better and win the cup since you don't know what could happen next year.

 

Hopefully everything works out and this team gets out of this slump so we can get rid of all this doom and gloom around here, I don't want to have to go through more disapointing losses (especially to the leafs)

[Taro T]

Sadly, I have to agree with the original poster to an extent, I think and early playoff exit or if this team cannot shake this slump someone has to go.

 

This team has been good and was a surprise to most, but most of the league went out and got a bit stronger or atleast attempted to fix the couple holes they had for a playoff run and Buffalo sat and did nothing. The problem with the team is they were playing at about 120% and overachieving. In that situation you need to bring in a couple of guys to keep this team from crashing cause they can't continue to play that strong forever. This team was not underachieving and could only get better.

 

This team is having its best chance to make the cup in years, this is the year you need to do everyting to get better and win the cup since you don't know what could happen next year.

 

Hopefully everything works out and this team gets out of this slump so we can get rid of all this doom and gloom around here, I don't want to have to go through more disapointing losses (especially to the leafs)

But if you do "everything" this year, there are 2 things to keep in mind.

 

1. You, at best make yourself one of 4 favorites and at worse put yourself in with ~8 teams that truly have legitimate chances to win this year. (Personally, while I still consider them a darkhorse, I think they are already one of top 8 contenders; definitely they have one of the top 12 contenders.) Do you mortgage the future to give yourself a ~20% chance of winning it all vs. a ~10% chance that you currently have?

 

2. You do know what will happen next year, you will not be as good for having mortgaged your future. Alright, maybe that happens 2 or 3 years down the line, but going "all in" this year mortgages your chances to take a pot in future years. This team doesn't have the resources, within the current groundrules, to throw everything into a one time stab at it. (If the team were 4 years older on average, then I would probably agree with your do everything you can to win today proposition.)

 

With the ages of the bulk of the team, and the lack of playoff experience on the current roster, this is NOT the season to make a "to heck with the future, it's now or never" run. If McKee, Briere, and Teppo are all back; this team will be better next year, even if they don't make a single move. By better, I mean the players on paper will be better (moving closer agewise to their primes) and in experience-level will be much better. I don't want to throw away '07 nor '08 because the Sabres finally aren't mediocre for the 1st time in 5 years.

[ThePolishSabre]

Sadly, I have to agree with the original poster to an extent, I think and early playoff exit or if this team cannot shake this slump someone has to go.

 

I guess some Sabre fans will never be happy, even if we ever win the cup, alot of you will still find something to bitch about.

[apuszczalowski]

I'm happy with this team, but this is one of the best chances they have had to be a contendor for the cup and it seems to mean nothing. Anything can happen year to year, teams will become stronger, otehrs will become weaker. Buffalo seems content to just try and see if what we have can do it.

 

I'm not saying you mortgage the future for this year. They have a lot of young talent that they will have to do something with sooner or later. Right now we have a log jam of young forwards and not enough room for all of them in our starting lineup. Why not deal them for some defencive help? I'm not for getting rent a players or over the hill guys, I'm talking dealing for someone who could be signed to stay for a few years.

 

No one knows what could happen next year. The leafs will have a lot of cap room next year and a small group of younger players coming up, The sens will lose chara or Redden but that might not affect them much and they could still be a powerhouse in the league. I just feel when you are in the position the sabres are in now, you go for it cause you don't know if you will be back here again for a while.

[Taro T]

I'm happy with this team, but this is one of the best chances they have had to be a contendor for the cup and it seems to mean nothing. Anything can happen year to year, teams will become stronger, otehrs will become weaker. Buffalo seems content to just try and see if what we have can do it.

 

I'm not saying you mortgage the future for this year. They have a lot of young talent that they will have to do something with sooner or later. Right now we have a log jam of young forwards and not enough room for all of them in our starting lineup. Why not deal them for some defencive help? I'm not for getting rent a players or over the hill guys, I'm talking dealing for someone who could be signed to stay for a few years.

 

No one knows what could happen next year. The leafs will have a lot of cap room next year and a small group of younger players coming up, The sens will lose chara or Redden but that might not affect them much and they could still be a powerhouse in the league. I just feel when you are in the position the sabres are in now, you go for it cause you don't know if you will be back here again for a while.

You are happy with this team and you don't know what could happen next year, but you are ready to punt Darcy. I don't follow the logic.

 

Until the Leafs have a GM in place, I doubt Ferguson will be back but am definitely hoping he is, why would you assume that the Leafs will be any better at picking up top notch, non-over the hill players than they currently are? I am not worried about the Leafs.

 

The Sens will still be strong next year, but I do not see them leading the league in GF and GA without Chara (and quite likely Dom and Redden). I also would not be surprised to see a different team (NYR or Atlanta perhaps?) as the "team to beat" next year.

 

The Sabres SHOULD be better next year as Miller, Roy, Pomminstein, Gaustad, and Vanek will all have a year of seasoning behind them, and players like Connolly, Max, Lydman, Tallinder, and Kalinin approach their prime. As you mention, we don't know what will happen next year, but considering the overall youth of the team, I wouldn't expect them to have as much of a problem with injuries as they did this year.

 

Atlanta and Montreal should be better next year, and NYR and the Canes should be top notch next year. Not sure how NJ and TB will fare (it will depend for them, as well as others on how well they retool in the off-season). I would not be surprised to see Philly falter some next year unless they upgrade the goaltending, and as long as Bobby is running the show, I have no expectation that they will.

 

All that said, I'd expect to see the Sabres finish in the low 100's next year as well. Again (as you state) we don't know what the off-season will bring, and I think that any evaluation of Darcy will be premature prior to the off-season moves. I also do not want to torpedo next year's ship, which (on paper at least) will be stronger than this year's squad.

 

You state that you would like to move young forwards for D help. Who exactly would you trade and for what? I have to believe that Darcy would like to have made a trade along these lines, but the only player that was traded this year that fits the bill (of staying a few years and helping now) would be Spacek (due to age I don't see Witt nor Carney staying a few years). I've posted that I would like to have seen Witt or Spacek (or better yet, both) in Sabres sweaters, but the fact it didn't happen doesn't mean Darcy should necessarily be gone.

 

Some further questions. I've stated some of the reasons why I expect the Sabres to be solid next season. Do you expect them not to be strong next year? If so, why will they falter next year?

 

I see this team as a dark horse candidate, and would have liked to see them upgrade the D. We agree that the team should not have mortgaged the future for a 1 and done run at the SC. I don't have a problem with keeping young forward talent as Grier is an UFA this off-season, and Pyatt and Peters (and possibly Mair) do not have strangleholds on roster spots next year. If a D trade wasn't there at a reasonable cost (and that is definitely a debatable point - what IS a/the reasonable cost), I'd rather have the young guys than someone that would only marginally improve the D or would only improve it for 1-1/2 months.

[bob_sauve28]

Did I miss something?

 

Did the Sabres drop out of fourth place or the playoffs all together?

 

Darcy decided to let the players play out the string. The plan is to stay healthy and get ready to host the Flyers in game one of the playoffs.

 

If anyone needs something to complain about I'll send you copies of my gas/electric bill. ;)

LOL, ya. I remember a certain 5 game losing streak as the sabres started the playoffs one year. They then swept the Bruins four straight with MAY DAY!

 

And sorry about your gas bill. Mine was $25. That wood burning stove of mine is wonderful!

[apuszczalowski]

You are happy with this team and you don't know what could happen next year, but you are ready to punt Darcy. I don't follow the logic.

 

Until the Leafs have a GM in place, I doubt Ferguson will be back but am definitely hoping he is, why would you assume that the Leafs will be any better at picking up top notch, non-over the hill players than they currently are? I am not worried about the Leafs.

 

The Sens will still be strong next year, but I do not see them leading the league in GF and GA without Chara (and quite likely Dom and Redden). I also would not be surprised to see a different team (NYR or Atlanta perhaps?) as the "team to beat" next year.

 

The Sabres SHOULD be better next year as Miller, Roy, Pomminstein, Gaustad, and Vanek will all have a year of seasoning behind them, and players like Connolly, Max, Lydman, Tallinder, and Kalinin approach their prime. As you mention, we don't know what will happen next year, but considering the overall youth of the team, I wouldn't expect them to have as much of a problem with injuries as they did this year.

 

Atlanta and Montreal should be better next year, and NYR and the Canes should be top notch next year. Not sure how NJ and TB will fare (it will depend for them, as well as others on how well they retool in the off-season). I would not be surprised to see Philly falter some next year unless they upgrade the goaltending, and as long as Bobby is running the show, I have no expectation that they will.

 

All that said, I'd expect to see the Sabres finish in the low 100's next year as well. Again (as you state) we don't know what the off-season will bring, and I think that any evaluation of Darcy will be premature prior to the off-season moves. I also do not want to torpedo next year's ship, which (on paper at least) will be stronger than this year's squad.

 

You state that you would like to move young forwards for D help. Who exactly would you trade and for what? I have to believe that Darcy would like to have made a trade along these lines, but the only player that was traded this year that fits the bill (of staying a few years and helping now) would be Spacek (due to age I don't see Witt nor Carney staying a few years). I've posted that I would like to have seen Witt or Spacek (or better yet, both) in Sabres sweaters, but the fact it didn't happen doesn't mean Darcy should necessarily be gone.

 

Some further questions. I've stated some of the reasons why I expect the Sabres to be solid next season. Do you expect them not to be strong next year? If so, why will they falter next year?

 

I see this team as a dark horse candidate, and would have liked to see them upgrade the D. We agree that the team should not have mortgaged the future for a 1 and done run at the SC. I don't have a problem with keeping young forward talent as Grier is an UFA this off-season, and Pyatt and Peters (and possibly Mair) do not have strangleholds on roster spots next year. If a D trade wasn't there at a reasonable cost (and that is definitely a debatable point - what IS a/the reasonable cost), I'd rather have the young guys than someone that would only marginally improve the D or would only improve it for 1-1/2 months.

 

You make good points and I'm not trying to argue with you, just some debating, but we don't know who may have been offered or available for the right price that did not get moved at the deadline.

 

I'm just afraid, after watching the games as of late, that this team was overachieving and cannot stay at this level forever. My feeling is that they have the team to make a deep run into the playoffs, why not take advantage of it now, rather then hope everything works out next year for us.

 

I don't have any one player who I think could have put Buffalo over the top this year, since I don't follow other teams as closely as I do the Sabres.

 

As for your points about the other teams, They all are pretty good except the leafs, from what I am hearing around here (living in Leafs country) they are going to be going for some younger big players next year as most of their big vets are either FA's or will be traded/retired. They are also after Mckee so Regier (another bad move from him) needs to be signed ASAP or he is not going to be returning

[Taro T]

You make good points and I'm not trying to argue with you, just some debating, but we don't know who may have been offered or available for the right price that did not get moved at the deadline.

 

I'm just afraid, after watching the games as of late, that this team was overachieving and cannot stay at this level forever. My feeling is that they have the team to make a deep run into the playoffs, why not take advantage of it now, rather then hope everything works out next year for us.

 

I don't have any one player who I think could have put Buffalo over the top this year, since I don't follow other teams as closely as I do the Sabres.

 

As for your points about the other teams, They all are pretty good except the leafs, from what I am hearing around here (living in Leafs country) they are going to be going for some younger big players next year as most of their big vets are either FA's or will be traded/retired. They are also after Mckee so Regier (another bad move from him) needs to be signed ASAP or he is not going to be returning

I think they were overachieving slightly, but not tremendously. I think you can point to one thing that really hurt this team through the last stretch, and I am hoping I am wrong about it, because that "thing" apparently won't be with the team again for a while - Jochen Hecht. The team record in games he was in is 44-16-4. In games he missed, they are 2-7-2. He has exactly 4 minus 2 games this season and the team managed to win 3 of them (including tonight's game). He is a +10 on the season which is tied for the team lead.

 

I agree with you that we don't know who was available at the deadline, but that is part of the reason that I think "Regier needs to go" is a bit premature. The fact that McKee is a UFA this off-season is part of the reason I am waiting to see what happens this off-season (and realistically, what happens next season) before making a judgement on Regier. I think the work is still in progress.