NHL Governor's Meeting

[Taro T]

The league right now is expecting next year's salary cap to be between $40MM - $45MM. This is good for the league overall, but not necessarily good news for the Sabres. I was expecting to see the Sabres spend ~$30MM - 31MM next season. It'll be harder for them to land free agents if teams like the Laffs and Flyers are spending 50% more than they are.

 

Projected Salary Cap

[inkman]

Isn't it at 38 or 39 million right now? If that is the case wouldn't that allow the spend happy teams to really only increase payroll a few million dollars. With the natural escalation of their own players salaries I doubt they would be able to sign anyone of importance without letting go of someone else.

[Taro T]

Isn't it at 38 or 39 million right now?  If that is the case wouldn't that allow the spend happy teams to really only increase payroll a few million dollars.  With the natural escalation of their own players salaries I doubt they would be able to sign anyone of importance without letting go of someone else.

If the increase is only to $40MM, it's not a huge deal, but it provides the Sabres a lot fewer options than if the salary cap were say $37MM.

 

An increase to $45MM is a 15% increase in salary cap. A lot of the real big ticket free agents have already been signed to multiyear deals, so their salaries won't go up significantly. Even if you say 1/2 of the $6MM would go to keeping their own players, that still gives several teams enough cap room to compete for an additional $3MM player.

 

If the salary cap didn't / doesn't go up, then teams that are at the cap currently would not be able to give raises to their players without losing other players. This would leave a larger free agent pool for teams like the Sabres that stick to a budget.

[Stoner]

Here's the wild card. The owner has an ample ego and an ample wallet (not a reference to Goli's girth). Can anyone predict what will happen if Tom gets a dose of Sabre fever with the rest of us and thinks his team might be a couple of players away from a Cup in 2007? Why couldn't a billionaire throw a couple more million into the pot? And couldn't it conceivably make business sense to do it? Can the Sabres start to portray themselves to their fans as preseason contenders, slump-proofing ticket sales like the Bills annually do? I'm really struggling to understand why the team's payroll is fixed in stone below the league average. I know -- Golisano has a right to set a budget and try to break even or make some money. But, my God, what's it to him? Chump change.

[Taro T]

Here's the wild card. The owner has an ample ego and an ample wallet (not a reference to Goli's girth). Can anyone predict what will happen if Tom gets a dose of Sabre fever with the rest of us and thinks his team might be a couple of players away from a Cup in 2007? Why couldn't a billionaire throw a couple more million into the pot? And couldn't it conceivably make business sense to do it? Can the Sabres start to portray themselves to their fans as preseason contenders, slump-proofing ticket sales like the Bills annually do? I'm really struggling to understand why the team's payroll is fixed in stone below the league average. I know -- Golisano has a right to set a budget and try to break even or make some money. But, my God, what's it to him? Chump change.

Because it appears, at least for the time being, the team's revenues are below the league average.

[nfreeman]

I'm really struggling to understand why the team's payroll is fixed in stone below the league average. I know -- Golisano has a right to set a budget and try to break even or make some money. But, my God, what's it to him? Chump change.

 

 

That's just not how life works. Wealthy men don't become wealthy by throwing away millions of dollars. The group of criminals that previously owned the team didn't mind losing millions of dollars because the dollars weren't theirs.

 

We are extremely lucky to have a team. Their payroll is always going to be in the lower half of the league. This is because the WNY market simply can't provide enough revenue to support a higher payroll. If only X comes in, you can't expect more than X to go out. If you want to blame someone for this situation, I'd suggest the WNY and state elected "leaders" who have run the local economy into the ground through greed, shortsightedness and pathetic mismanagement.

 

Personally, I'd prefer to be ecstatic about (i) still having a team and (ii) the amazing season we are having. This team is a joy to root for. They have guts, heart, depth, team spirit, speed, playmakers, redemption stories -- everything a fan could ask for. Unlike another Buffalo team that comes to mind, the sabres DON'T have egos, bickering, incompetents at GM and coach, posturing and dancing after a meaningless play during yet another losing effort, etc. etc.

 

This team we have now represents the best we can hope for from now on. We aren't going to be in the Peter Forsberg bidding war -- ever. We are going to feature homegrown talent, seasoned with the occasional 2nd tier free agent. As I'm rediscovering, the beauty of hockey is that it is a true team game, and that a real team, if it's getting strong goaltending and contributions from top to bottom, can go pretty far. That's good enough for me.

 

Go Sabres.

 

PS: In addition to being thrilled that we beat a really good team the other night, I really enjoyed beating Dallas. It dawned on me that my hometown has had exactly 6 shots at a real championship, and the city of Dallas has screwed us on 3 of them.

 

PPS: TSN's coverage the other night was the best of any game I've seen all year. Outstanding production.

[Stoner]

I guess the key word in the last two posts is "revenue." Why do the Sabres lag in revenue? Is it really the economy in Sabre Country? Could be, I am not denying that. It could also be all those tens of thousands of empty seats each season and all of the revenue fans who could be sitting in those seats represent... and the parking... and how much more money ads on the boards could fetch... and how much higher TV ratings could be... and on and on... if the team was attactive to more people, our recent winning ways notwithstanding. I am not proposing that Golisano throw millions of dollars down the toilet. Just that he and his people consider the possibility that adding more (and more recognizable) talent to the roster -- selling hope to the fans -- could make sense to the bottom line.

 

But back to the bigger question. The Sabres lose in Game 7 of the conference finals this year. Do fans not have the reasonable right to ask Tom Golisano to devote the resources to put the team over the top? I guess some folks on this board who are probably more worried about Golisano's money than he is will say no... we can't afford it, boo-hoo small-market Buffalo, let's stay the course, I love this team as is. Surely the tens of thousands of casual fans who could be filling those empty seats WILL be paying attention to what Golisano does in that scenario. And if he does nothing, they will be more inclined to stay away again.

 

I just can't believe that if we're close to being a contender (a premature and ridiculous thing to say after 30-some games), the calculus doesn't change at HSBC Arena. You know what? I think some of you are misjudging Golisano. I bet in the above scenario that he lunges for the brass ring.

[shrader]

But back to the bigger question. The Sabres lose in Game 7 of the conference finals this year. Do fans not have the reasonable right to ask Tom Golisano to devote the resources to put the team over the top?

The fans have to play their part. Increase revenue by buying more tickets, merchandise, etc...

[Stoner]

shrader, fans are merely consumers. They are going to buy a product only if it fulfills their needs. They are not going to do it to "support the team." See the disastrous slogan, "It's our team, let's keep it that way." :)

[shrader]

shrader, fans are merely consumers. They are going to buy a product only if it fulfills their needs. They are not going to do it to "support the team." See the disastrous slogan, "It's our team, let's keep it that way." :)

If they make it to game 7 of the conference finals as you suggested, I don't see any problem with what I said. You know you're watching a good team, so buy the tickets and hope to push them over the top.