Berglund on Waivers with Purpose to Terminate His Contract

[Scottysabres]

Admittedly, I do hope we get to keep all the 1st rounders. I'm excited.

[Taro T]

About the only thing we know for certain is that he really didn't want to be on the Sabres.

Pretty much everything else that's been speculated upon from probable to absurd & from personal matter to family matter & from benign to more nefarious (how nefarious could it be?, he hasn't been arrested and there has been absolutely no reason to suspect he might be) all seem to be a matter that either via innate or league/CBA mandated compassion would have had him still a Sabre at this point.  (Drugs, health, family matter, etc. all seem to be things he would've, at worst, been allowed a leave of absence.  And this started with what was termed an "illness" when he first started missing games.)

Good luck to him.  Hope he can work it out, whatever it is.

[Cheektorado]

2 hours ago, inkman said:

Or he simply didn't want to play in Buffalo.

 

17 minutes ago, Taro T said:

About the only thing we know for certain is that he really didn't want to be on the Sabres.

Pretty much everything else that's been speculated upon from probable to absurd & from personal matter to family matter & from benign to more nefarious (how nefarious could it be?, he hasn't been arrested and there has been absolutely no reason to suspect he might be) all seem to be a matter that either via innate or league/CBA mandated compassion would have had him still a Sabre at this point.  (Drugs, health, family matter, etc. all seem to be things he would've, at worst, been allowed a leave of absence.  And this started with what was termed an "illness" when he first started missing games.)

Good luck to him.  Hope he can work it out, whatever it is.

I tend to agree with you guys about this being the issue.  Berglund went form Sweden right to St Lo as a 20 year old.

10 years later he thought he had a long term contract with his friends.  That didn't happen.

Now that he is gone from St Lo I'm going to speculate that he takes his 26 million he made and goes back home.

[PerreaultForever]

Bye.

[Eleven]

12 hours ago, Taro T said:

About the only thing we know for certain is that he really didn't want to be on the Sabres.

We don't even know that.  Even that is speculation cobbled together from the fact that his agent didn't get his no trade list in on time.  We don't know whether Buffalo would have been on that list.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Eleven

[hsif]

I sympathize with 10 and wish him good luck with the outcome of whatever was important enough to pull him away from $12 million..... all indications from past team-mates indicate that he was a good man on and off the ice, and I have to believe that in his mind it was the right thing to do, and so it was.

[LTS]

I read Oshie's comment as basically saying.. Berglund recognizes that he was traded because of his own mistake and he's willing to walk away from the money in order to control where he plays next.

He wanted to be in St. Louis but messed up that situation. If he ends up back there I would raise an eyebrow as I am not sure how you sign a contract with a guy who forced you into this situation.

Sometimes it's really not about the money.

[inkman]

1 hour ago, LTS said:

I read Oshie's comment as basically saying.. Berglund recognizes that he was traded because of his own mistake and he's willing to walk away from the money in order to control where he plays next.

He wanted to be in St. Louis but messed up that situation. If he ends up back there I would raise an eyebrow as I am not sure how you sign a contract with a guy who forced you into this situation.

Sometimes it's really not about the money.

So he doesn't have some terrible disease, or beat women or shoot heroin?  Man I thought we had this guy pegged. 

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, Eleven said:

We don't even know that.  Even that is speculation cobbled together from the fact that his agent didn't get his no trade list in on time.  We don't know whether Buffalo would have been on that list.

He walked away from the team.  That is what lead to the comment you quoted.  That his partial NMC was also botched adds credence to the comment.

[French Collection]

Going to play beer league in St. Louis while waiting for the right deal?

I guess you can't put a price on happiness.

[In The Buff]

10 hours ago, Eleven said:

We don't even know that.  Even that is speculation cobbled together from the fact that his agent didn't get his no trade list in on time.  We don't know whether Buffalo would have been on that list.

I imagine that if he did indeed want to play on the Sabres, he would've made that point clear at some point in this story, while offering another explanation. Our ownership team probably would've given him whatever time he needed for personal issues, had they felt he was 100% committed to being on this team. Thats why his silence on this issue leads one to believe part of the reason for all of this is that he doesn't want to be here. At least imo.

But everything here is conjecture since we don't know really anything. At some point we'll know what happened im sure.

[LTS]

12 hours ago, inkman said:

So he doesn't have some terrible disease, or beat women or shoot heroin?  Man I thought we had this guy pegged. 

Well, I mean that's just my read on it.  But I've been told I was wrong before. Hell I think Donald Trump told me that a day or two ago on here.

 

DISCLAIMER: This is not a political post. Literally someone used a Donald Trump to tell me I was WRONG.

[Brawndo]

From Chris Johnson of Sportsnet 

The remaining three-plus years and $12.6-million on Patrik Berglund’s contract was terminated by the Buffalo Sabres this week and there’s been no word of a forthcoming grievance to challenge that decision.

 

There’s been no word at all, in fact, from the player or his camp on why he missed a Sabres team flight or if he intends to try and continue his NHL career now that he’s officially an unrestricted free agent.

[Doohicksie]

February 18 (the end of the grievance window) can't come soon enough.

[GASabresIUFAN]

13 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

February 18 (the end of the grievance window) can't come soon enough.

He isn’t returning and his cap hit is gone even if he files a grievance. For any cap hit to return he’d have to win his grievance or the Sabres would need to settle before a hearing.  

Personally I think his only grievance is with his agent.

[Doohicksie]

I know, I know, but until then I'll still worry... because Buffalo.

[Andrew Amerk]

It’s been, like, two weeks. 

No status updates on this guy and what’s going on with him?

[Doohicksie]

I don't care.

[Cascade Youth]

You know who pissed me off during last night's game?  Berglund.

I'm watching Mitts skate around with no confidence, Tage working his tail off and playing at a higher level than he ever has, and the Gigs-less group of 3rd and 4th liners trying to kill off the extra skater and clear the puck over the last few minutes, and I'm thinking - man, too bad Berglund quit on the team, they could use him out there right now.

Quitters piss me off.

[hsif]

I'd rather see him quit and take his cap with him, than stay and play half hearted hockey ..........................Ville Leino style

[dudacek]

3 hours ago, Cascade Youth said:

You know who pissed me off during last night's game?  Berglund.

I'm watching Mitts skate around with no confidence, Tage working his tail off and playing at a higher level than he ever has, and the Gigs-less group of 3rd and 4th liners trying to kill off the extra skater and clear the puck over the last few minutes, and I'm thinking - man, too bad Berglund quit on the team, they could use him out there right now.

Quitters piss me off.

This to me is evidence that Botts acquired him in good faith as more than just a cap dump.

[GASabresIUFAN]

26 minutes ago, dudacek said:

This to me is evidence that Botts acquired him in good faith as more than just a cap dump.

I agree.  I think Jbot thought at 30 he had enough left to give us a reasonable 2c for this season as Mitts learned in the NHL and then 3c for years 2 and 3 depending on how Asplund or Davidsson developed.  

If that was the plan and since he is gone,  doesn’t Jbot have to do something to fix this hole?

 

[inkman]

12 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I agree.  I think Jbot thought at 30 he had enough left to give us a reasonable 2c for this season as Mitts learned in the NHL and then 3c for years 2 and 3 depending on how Asplund or Davidsson developed.  

If that was the plan and since he is gone,  doesn’t Jbot have to do something to fix this hole?

 

JBot hasn't deviated from the long term plan yet.

[North Buffalo]

32 minutes ago, inkman said:

JBot hasn't deviated from the long term plan yet.

Agree dont see JBot deviating despite this perceived bump in the road.

[LTS]

5 hours ago, Cascade Youth said:

You know who pissed me off during last night's game?  Berglund.

I'm watching Mitts skate around with no confidence, Tage working his tail off and playing at a higher level than he ever has, and the Gigs-less group of 3rd and 4th liners trying to kill off the extra skater and clear the puck over the last few minutes, and I'm thinking - man, too bad Berglund quit on the team, they could use him out there right now.

Quitters piss me off.

Yeah, just rip the dude without knowing the story.  Good call.

It may turn out that he's all sour grapes, but why assume it?  The fact that there's little to no news about him makes me think that there is indeed something going on. 

Even better, you are actually pissed off about it?  Wow.