Sabres sign Kale Clague to a one year deal

[#freejame]

15 minutes ago, TheAud said:

Timing is my only concern here. Do I really care that they brought back Clague as a depth piece to play in Rochester? Not really. 

Do I care that the organization's finite bandwidth is apparently concerned with stuff like this RIGHT NOW in the days prior to and the same day as the draft? Yes, I am a little concerned as it shows a level of cluelessness as to what is the priority to improve the team. Sign Clague last week, or after FA starts. Not today!

This was another thought I had, you expressed it much better than I would have though. 

[dudacek]

28 minutes ago, TheAud said:

Timing is my only concern here. Do I really care that they brought back Clague as a depth piece to play in Rochester? Not really. 

Do I care that the organization's finite bandwidth is apparently concerned with stuff like this RIGHT NOW in the days prior to and the same day as the draft? Yes, I am a little concerned as it shows a level of cluelessness as to what is the priority to improve the team. Sign Clague last week, or after FA starts. Not today!

Do you think Adams spent much time on this at all this week?

I would imagine he made this offer to Clague a while ago. Clague decided to take it now. Agents and office staff took care of the paperwork.

[Thorny]

32 minutes ago, TheAud said:

Timing is my only concern here. Do I really care that they brought back Clague as a depth piece to play in Rochester? Not really. 

Do I care that the organization's finite bandwidth is apparently concerned with stuff like this RIGHT NOW in the days prior to and the same day as the draft? Yes, I am a little concerned as it shows a level of cluelessness as to what is the priority to improve the team. Sign Clague last week, or after FA starts. Not today!

Agree it’s like they’ve moved on to plan B options already 

having said that they prob swing a deal for McDavid at 2:24

[#freejame]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

Do you think Adams spent much time on this at all this week?

I would imagine he made this offer to Clague a while ago. Clague decided to take it now. Agents and office staff took care of the paperwork.

Probably, but perception is everything. 

[Thorny]

Just now, #freejame said:

Probably, but perception is everything. 

Particularly for a team so adamant on tailoring the social media experience. It MIGHT not mean anything but it’s not a great sign imo

3 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Do you think Adams spent much time on this at all this week?

I would imagine he made this offer to Clague a while ago. Clague decided to take it now. Agents and office staff took care of the paperwork.

I mean, we also have the context of Adams saying, “golly gee I was working on stuff and it fell through”, AND past precedent

the move doesn’t necessarily mean anything negative but it makes sense to be skeptical now 

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

Particularly for a team so adamant on tailoring the social media experience. It MIGHT not mean anything but it’s not a great sign imo

I mean, we also have the context of Adams saying, “golly gee I was working on stuff and it fell through”, AND past precedent

the move doesn’t necessarily mean anything negative but it makes sense to be skeptical now 

We’re standing on the sidewalk wondering what the hell is going on in there and then Amazon pulls up.

[Thorny]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

We’re standing on the sidewalk wondering what the hell is going on in there and then Amazon pulls up.

And it’s Matt Irwin driving the van 

[LGR4GM]

Im sorry but this means nothing and bandwith of what? All the agents and everyone are in Vegas. Makes sending over the assistant to the associate GM to get a contract signed. Reading way too much into this. 

[nfreeman]

Plan the parade!

[ExWNYer]

44 minutes ago, #freejame said:

Probably, but perception is everything. 

I don't have an issue with the signing. It's just a "meh" transaction like dozens of others throughout the league. The problem is, this is the level of signing I've come to expect now. Nothing earth-shattering that moves the needle. This organization has had a perception problem for far too long, IMO...with the majority of its fans and with players around the league. How many times do we have to hear KA say that he was "working on several deals but they fell apart at the last minute"? This isn't the first time it's been uttered. Either he's completely inept at his job and can't close the deal(s)...or overvalues his own assets...or other GMs are trying to fleece him because he's caught between a rock and a hard place (created by his own front office & ownership)...or the players involved want no part of Buffalo. No matter the reason, this front office has failed to make the requisite moves to get this team to even the bottom of the playoff heap.

I, like every other fan of this team, am hoping that things change during this draft and free agency period but anyone who expects that it will happen is being intellectually dishonest, IMO. There is just no evidence of this which fills the "hope tank" and a trade down from 11 to 14 for an additional 2nd Rounder doesn't raise expectations all that much. Maybe the arrival of Lindy helps to change player perception around the league and this year is the start of relevancy but the proof is in the pudding. Do something significant, KA. Find a way. It's got to start this weekend.

Edited Friday at 06:27 PM by ExWNYer

[shrader]

51 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Do you think Adams spent much time on this at all this week?

I would imagine he made this offer to Clague a while ago. Clague decided to take it now. Agents and office staff took care of the paperwork.

I’m pretty sure that it takes a good two months to negotiate a veteran minimum deal. 

[stinky finger]

3 hours ago, Thorny said:

Deja vu

not again?!?

[Wyldnwoody44]

Let's bring back Matt Irwin! 

[PASabreFan]

The release of this the afternoon of the draft could be telling. At the least it's more PR hamhandedness.

You don't take your kids to the arcade on Xmas eve.

[ExWNYer]

8 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

The release of this the afternoon of the draft could be telling. At the least it's more PR hamhandedness.

You don't take your kids to the arcade on Xmas eve.

KA: "See, guys...we DID do something!"

[TheAud]

2 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

A standard as it can get 2way contract at a standard price. Takes all of a few minutes to do. He probably has the ask value set out three months ago for all players and in this case he just accepted it at face value. 
 

much ado about nothing. Crunch time is the draft floor 

 

if anything he got something out of the way that ends up being a July 1st late in day distraction 

@dudacek and you both make good points that I don't necessarily disagree with. However, I think any personnel move takes more organizational bandwidth than you might think. At least, that's my experience leading groups that are at least the size of the Sabres entire organization where each position doesn't cost nearly as much as almost $800k per year in base salary that Clague gets.  

All Adams has to do is make some substantial move(s) to improve his team utilizing his ample resources in terms of talent, picks, and cap space in the next couple of days and my concern will have been proven to be misplaced. I hope so. 

Edited Friday at 07:41 PM by TheAud

[Night Train]

Depth signing. End of analysis. 

[shrader]

37 minutes ago, TheAud said:

@dudacek and you both make good points that I don't necessarily disagree with. However, I think any personnel move takes more organizational bandwidth than you might think. At least, that's my experience leading groups that are at least the size of the Sabres entire organization where each position doesn't cost nearly as much as almost $800k per year in base salary that Clague gets.  

All Adams has to do is make some substantial move(s) to improve his team utilizing his ample resources in terms of talent, picks, and cap space in the next couple of days and my concern will have been proven to be misplaced. I hope so. 

Unless the scouts are suddenly the ones negotiating contracts, this doesn’t take a thing away from draft prep. 

[TheAud]

27 minutes ago, shrader said:

Unless the scouts are suddenly the ones negotiating contracts, this doesn’t take a thing away from draft 

Scouts don’t make and trade the picks though. 

[shrader]

29 minutes ago, TheAud said:

Scouts don’t make and trade the picks though. 

Take a look at the last few years around the league. The building for today’s team doesn’t happen this weekend. The bulk of it happens July 1st and beyond, both through free agency and the trades. A vet minimum signing today isn’t even a speed bump in their work process. 
 

Today and tomorrow, fans around the league are going to be very underwhelmed. 

[Taro T]

12 minutes ago, shrader said:

Take a look at the last few years around the league. The building for today’s team doesn’t happen this weekend. The bulk of it happens July 1st and beyond, both through free agency and the trades. A vet minimum signing today isn’t even a speed bump in their work process. 
 

Today and tomorrow, fans around the league are going to be very underwhelmed. 

So, today & tomorrow, hockey fans league-wide will be saying "Heute, bin ich ein Sabre Fan"  (or if they aren't standing with us, they at least get a small taste of what it's like being us). 😉

[TheAud]

17 minutes ago, shrader said:

Take a look at the last few years around the league. The building for today’s team doesn’t happen this weekend. The bulk of it happens July 1st and beyond, both through free agency and the trades. A vet minimum signing today isn’t even a speed bump in their work process. 
 

Today and tomorrow, fans around the league are going to be very underwhelmed. 

OK, but if they wanted to land an impact player and use #11 (now #14) as a chip, that needs to happen by today. 

I expect we will be feeling very underwhelmed, indeed. 

[shrader]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

So, today & tomorrow, hockey fans league-wide will be saying "Heute, bin ich ein Sabre Fan"  (or if they aren't standing with us, they at least get a small taste of what it's like being us). 😉

You know I don’t speak Spanish. 

[Taro T]

Just now, shrader said:

You know I don’t speak Spanish. 

We should hope not.

[shrader]

1 minute ago, TheAud said:

OK, but if they wanted to land an impact player and use #11 (now #14) as a chip, that needs to happen by today. 

I expect we will be feeling very underwhelmed, indeed. 

Those are deadline deals. Let’s revisit this tomorrow morning and see how many of the deals you’re describing happen tonight. I’ll gladly admit I’m wrong if more than even one happens.