Good article on Darcy from the Buffalo News...

[LabattBlue]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20061...?tbd1063952.asp

 

A couple of things stood out...

 

"Regier's detractors inside and outside the organization, all of whom requested anonymity, suggest the Sabres' success came despite him. They complain about his people skills, his failure to look others in the eye, say he leads his subordinates with criticism and intimidation rather than encouragement, suffers from paranoia and is guilty of paralysis by analysis.

 

One major beef was the six-year contract he received when the Rigases owned the team. Sources said Regier had suggested he would take care of many people in the front office once his deal was completed. Instead, he gutted the scouting staff and replaced several people with computers. It was considered insulting in some circles, ingenious in others. The results of that decision will not be known for years."

 

It sounds like Darcy has some front office staff that are not big fans of his :o

 

 

and

 

"They have maintained a close relationship, but they've also had their disputes. Ruff once punched a hole in a wall after an argument with Regier over a player. Neither would reveal which player, but sources said it was former center Chris Gratton. They've had other differences but almost all have been kept inside the office.

 

"We've gone at it several times," Ruff said. "We agree to disagree sometimes. He has tremendous passion for the game. I don't know if there's a GM that has more. I see that behind closed doors a lot more times than anybody else. His passion as general manager is making everybody better. It's pushing. It's the daily push."

 

I wonder which side of the fence Lindy was on, in terms of Gratton

[Taro T]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20061...?tbd1063952.asp

 

A couple of things stood out...

 

"Regier's detractors inside and outside the organization, all of whom requested anonymity, suggest the Sabres' success came despite him. They complain about his people skills, his failure to look others in the eye, say he leads his subordinates with criticism and intimidation rather than encouragement, suffers from paranoia and is guilty of paralysis by analysis.

 

One major beef was the six-year contract he received when the Rigases owned the team. Sources said Regier had suggested he would take care of many people in the front office once his deal was completed. Instead, he gutted the scouting staff and replaced several people with computers. It was considered insulting in some circles, ingenious in others. The results of that decision will not be known for years."

 

It sounds like Darcy has some front office staff that are not big fans of his :o

and

 

"They have maintained a close relationship, but they've also had their disputes. Ruff once punched a hole in a wall after an argument with Regier over a player. Neither would reveal which player, but sources said it was former center Chris Gratton. They've had other differences but almost all have been kept inside the office.

 

"We've gone at it several times," Ruff said. "We agree to disagree sometimes. He has tremendous passion for the game. I don't know if there's a GM that has more. I see that behind closed doors a lot more times than anybody else. His passion as general manager is making everybody better. It's pushing. It's the daily push."

 

I wonder which side of the fence Lindy was on, in terms of Gratton

He didn't take care of people by changing the organization of the scouting department 5 years after he signs his 6 year deal? Huh? Not that there's any bitterness ...

[X. Benedict]

He didn't take care of people by changing the organization of the scouting department 5 years after he signs his 6 year deal? Huh? Not that there's any bitterness ...

No kidding. 5 years is like two lifetimes in most team offices.

[inkman]

He didn't take care of people by changing the organization of the scouting department 5 years after he signs his 6 year deal? Huh? Not that there's any bitterness ...

I was thinking the same thing. Sour grapes...

[Two or less]

Darcy Regier is mainly responsible for this success. And in the article, they said Peca for Pyatt/Connolly was a "miss" i see it the other way. Great move on Regier's part. If healthy Connolly could be a 100 point guy every season and if he didn't get knocked out vs. Ottawa, we'd be world champs right now.

[BetweenThePipes00]

Darcy Regier is mainly responsible for this success. And in the article, they said Peca for Pyatt/Connolly was a "miss" i see it the other way. Great move on Regier's part. If healthy Connolly could be a 100 point guy every season and if he didn't get knocked out vs. Ottawa, we'd be world champs right now.

 

Yeah but when you consider he lost a whole year of Peca before making the deal, that has to be weighed in ... it can be argued that his hands were tied by ownership on what he could offer Peca, but that whole thing was not his finest hour.

[Bmwolf21]

Darcy lost arguably the team leader for over a year; created a huge distraction that ultimately created a bigger mess in the locker room; acquired Pyatt, who struggled with Gratton-Grosek syndrome throughout his Sabres tenure; and ultimately has a concussion-riddled center who has missed a ton of time over the last three year to show for all of it.

 

As for what might have happened if Timmy had been healthy? Doesn't really matter. Can't say for certain that he would have been a 100-point guy, since he's never come close to that mark - his best mark is 55 points in 63 games, which was in the first year of the "new NHL."

 

If Timmy was healthy against Ottawa & Carolina? I'd like to think that he would have been the difference vs. Carolina, but it wasn't offense that was our problem - it was the patchwork defense led by All-Star Rory F that was the issue. Maybe Timmy could have provided a little more offense to take the pressure off the "D", but we'll never know.

 

At the time the deal had a lot of potential, but in retrospect, it didn't work out the way we all hoped it would, so it's a miss.