What would it say about our "Captain" Danny Briere..

[nfreeman]

I think some people are being a bit too quick to blame danny on this one. Critically, no one has any idea what the Sabres offered him. I've seen the same unsubstantiated, unattributed rumors that everyone else has -- but no one on the Sabres' side or on Danny's side has come out and stated for the record what the numbers were.

 

Who knows? Maybe we lowballed him. Maybe we only offered him $3.5 million per year. Or maybe our best offer was $4 million per year for 3 years, and he wanted $5 million per year for 4 years. This would still be a difference of $12 million vs $20 million guaranteed -- which is a huge difference. Or maybe the spread was much bigger.

 

Until we know the facts based on reliable information, it's not fair to assume he is being greedy or unwilling to compromise.

[Stoner]

I've been going back and forth on the question of whether Briere is a hypocrite for talking about wanting to keep the team together, then not reaching a long term deal with the team and cashing in in arbitration. (Of course as nfreeman points out, we don't know anything about the negotiations with the team, so we're all flying blind here.) I've concluded he's not a hypocrite because he was certainly never arguing that to keep the team together, players should play for less than they are worth. He's a good card carrying member of the NHLPA, after all. He simply conveyed the worries of his teammates that the Sabres would be able to pay what players are worth -- worries that looked genuine when McKee bolted but now don't look so troubling. screamin'... Buffalo CAN and WILL afford $5 million for Briere. To do otherwise would risk a disaster with the fans. Briere may very well go after next season, but it's going to be Briere who is the villain THEN, not Tom Golisano.

[BetweenThePipes00]

it's going to be Briere who is the villain THEN, not Tom Golisano.

 

Don't be so sure. The players are always in a position to say "I want to stay, they won't/can't pay me." If they tick off the team, so what, 20 other teams will pay them. The team is at a much bigger risk going public and making the player look bad because the guy will get pissed off and walk and the organization looks bad to other players who they might want.

 

If Briere goes out and scores 95 points and says "I want to stay, they won't pay me my $7 million," to many fans the team is the villain because they think Tom G. should just pay out of his pocket.

[GrimFandango]

For what its worth, i believe the process doesn't deal with specific numbers but with similar players. Each side tells the arbiter which players they feel are similar to the specific player they are in arbitration over. Then the arbiter looks at the contract of the players specified and makes a decision.

[Taro T]

For what its worth, i believe the process doesn't deal with specific numbers but with similar players. Each side tells the arbiter which players they feel are similar to the specific player they are in arbitration over. Then the arbiter looks at the contract of the players specified and makes a decision.

Although the CBA doesn't explicitly call for the team and player to put forth the salary they feel the player deserves, I think that they do both provide their belief of what $ value the player should receive.

 

The only place this issue is addressed is in the portion about club elected arbitration for players that received QO's. In a subparagraph, it mentions the minimum "Club's offer". It doesn't make sense (to me, at least) that out of the 4 different scenarios that players and teams can get into arbitration, only 1 party in 1 of the 4 has to put forth a $ value.

[deluca67]

Each day you seem to take your reputation on this board to a new low. How the hell can you possibly blame Briere for anything? Who cares what he supposedly said. What people say and what they do are two different things. It's not like he picked $5 million. He has to know that he isn't worth that...but thats what the ARBITRATOR ruled and so that's the way it is. I didn't know you were a better person than him and would simply refuse a raise at your job. Get real.

 

Hockey is a business and I support the players getting what they can. I know they are overpaid in our eyes, but that's the way it is with pro sports. An owner/management would be just as quick to trade or cut a player, so I really have no sympathy for them either. It works both ways.

 

One other thing, for the person who said "you don't see Drury flapping his mouth" or something to that effect....of course you don't, because when he came to Buffalo, management had no problem throwing money at him like he was the messiah or something. And a 4-year deal on top of it.

 

"Throwing money"? I would think Briere would consider $12 million over four years an insult. Eventhough Drury had a more established career at that time then Briere does now. ;)

[nfreeman]

 

I've concluded he's not a hypocrite because he was certainly never arguing that to keep the team together, players should play for less than they are worth. He's a good card carrying member of the NHLPA, after all. He simply conveyed the worries of his teammates that the Sabres would be able to pay what players are worth -- worries that looked genuine when McKee bolted but now don't look so troubling.

 

 

Yes indeedly. That didn't make him a bad guy. Actually, I thought it was a pretty solid team-captain-type move.