Trades! Trades! Trades!

[Rabbit151]

Even a month ago, I would have said I'd rather see no moves, or at least a very minor depth move. I'd like to think that when the games start to mean something (like any day now with NJ closing in) that the Sabres would play with the same determination as late last year.

 

Now, I'm in the 'do something significant' camp. I think they need a fairly high-impact move to turn this around. Too many passengers right now. ( Let me qualify this by saying I have not seen a lot of their games lately, I never bothered getting center-ice, and the TV games have dried up on Canadian cable ) I rely on the assessments of you folks here and the guys at hockeybuzz.

 

I think the Sabres need to do something big for 2 reasons. 1. They need a 'kick in their complacency' as JL Picard once said, and 2. there are some big names available as rentals and a number of eastern teams who want them. To stay ahead (?) of the pack, we need to grab one of these guys.

 

I understand that the cap may not be the huge issue it was earlier this year, since most of whatever players salary they pick-up will have been paid by their current team.

 

So..........let's get at 'er. What do you guys think? What have you heard?

 

I've heard Forsberg is gone, but only has 3 or 4 teams he wants to go to, and Buffalo isn't one of them. I have to say, I don't understand that. It seems widely accepted that he is re-signing with Philly anyways. Does he hate the players on Buffalo? You would think if the GM of Philly told him he was going to a high-flying team like the Sabres he'd be on the plane before he hung up the phone.

 

Apparently, Shane Doan is going bye-bye and Buffalo has inquired about him. I think a kid like that is exactly what Buffalo needs. The way he plays the game, he elevates the determination and physicality of the players around him. I know a lot of you are calling for a rough d-man, but I think I'd take Doan first.

 

I havent' seen a heck of a lot of specualtion on this site. I can see why, Regier is usually much less active that the other GM's. But, his comments on Saturday where he openly stated that a trade may be necessary have gotten me fired up a bit. I'm hoping he doesnt' pick up some rinky-dink bit player to help the 3rd or 4th line or be the 4th or lower D-man.

 

Forsberg and Doan. I think he should get in the race.

[Samson's Flow]

i wouldnt touch forsberg at all. i dont want him to come to buffalo, and i certainly wouldnt give up anyone we have for him. plus hes been injury prone and we already have problems with that.

 

DOAN im all for!! :thumbsup:

[FogBat]

i wouldnt touch forsberg at all. i dont want him to come to buffalo, and i certainly wouldnt give up anyone we have for him. plus hes been injury prone and we already have problems with that.

 

DOAN im all for!! :thumbsup:

LG, I'm in complete agreement with you as well. Forsberg is way too snake bitten. Plus, we would never hear the end of it from Flyers' fans. Not only that, but I wouldn't want any player from a team that has acted like pylons on skates all season long (although they won at Atlanta over the weekend, which was a shocker for me. Niittymaki stood on his head for once. Esche is probably destined for a change of scenery as it is.)

 

Shane Doan? GO FOR IT! He's a class act, all around. Sports Spectrum magazine did a write-up on him last season. Gives it everything he's got in every game. (Sorry, Phoenix, but it looks like you'll be sellers and not buyers this year. Maybe next year.)

[Hawerchuk]

I like Doan, always have. He is like a EDM Ryan Smyth in my opinion. Heart and wheels.

 

But we are probably dreamin' if we think this deal will be made. Where did you get your rumor info? Eklund?!

[FogBat]

I like Doan, always have. He is like a EDM Ryan Smyth in my opinion. Heart and wheels.

 

But we are probably dreamin' if we think this deal will be made. Where did you get your rumor info? Eklund?!

Eklund can put on quite a spin, can't he? No wonder he never shows his actual face online. He'd get a bunch of angry fans in his face without end.

[SDS]

The only way to get Doan (due to his $3M+ salary) would be to:

 

1. deal Drury or Briere

2. deal a Kotalik/Hecht AND a Pominville

3. or keep Timmy on the shelf AND deal a Kotalik or Hecht

[Rabbit151]

Actually I did read that Buffalo had asked about Doan on that Eklund site, I wouldn't have thought twice about it except that one of the 'insider' hockey analysts on the score up here also had Buffalo along with one other team initiating talks for his services.

 

I even dismissed that report because I though Gretzky loved Doan, but now it seems a number of analysts think he may very well be going. If so, I hope Regier puts a hell of an effort into bringing him here.

[RVJ]

We have to make a trade. We paid high salaries this year to go for the cup. Even if you have to give up a prospect. When your this close you have to go for it. Next year or two we will have to cut high priced players and start over again. Here's who might be available.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rumors/post/Fl...F?urn=nhl,22038

[Samson's Flow]

DOAN im all for!! :thumbsup:

 

now that i think about it, doan has a pretty hefty pricetag, (3 mil) i dont know how that would work. we wouldnt be able to get rid of the "expendables" (kotalik, kalinin, others that have been mentioned) to get him, we would have to give up something tangible to our team. I dont know if doan is worth all that. I havent seen much of him play though, so i might be wrong

 

I just hope we get better and get out of this streak! :unsure:

[Orange Seats]

Would be nice if we could have Grier back!

[FogBat]

We have to make a trade. We paid high salaries this year to go for the cup. Even if you have to give up a prospect. When your this close you have to go for it. Next year or two we will have to cut high priced players and start over again. Here's who might be available.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rumors/post/Fl...F?urn=nhl,22038

What have Kotalik and Kalinin done lately? I haven't heard much from those guys lately.

[Bmwolf21]

The only way to get Doan (due to his $3M+ salary) would be to:

 

1. deal Drury or Briere

2. deal a Kotalik/Hecht AND a Pominville

3. or keep Timmy on the shelf AND deal a Kotalik or Hecht

I'm fine with option #3...seriously. I hope I am wrong, but I am at the point where I expect absolutely nothing from Timmy this year, and even if he does come back, he gives us another finesse/skill player, but one who also has a huge injury history, making him even "softer" than the usual suspects.

[FogBat]

Would be nice if we could have Grier back!

Grier AND McKee!

[inkman]

I've heard Forsberg is gone, but only has 3 or 4 teams he wants to go to, and Buffalo isn't one of them. I have to say, I don't understand that. It seems widely accepted that he is re-signing with Philly anyways. Does he hate the players on Buffalo? You would think if the GM of Philly told him he was going to a high-flying team like the Sabres he'd be on the plane before he hung up the phone.

He probably doesn't want to play with a bunch of spineless pussies.

 

Apparently, Shane Doan is going bye-bye and Buffalo has inquired about him. I think a kid like that is exactly what Buffalo needs. The way he plays the game, he elevates the determination and physicality of the players around him. I know a lot of you are calling for a rough d-man, but I think I'd take Doan first.

 

Doan and a defenseman, that sounds about right.

 

I havent' seen a heck of a lot of specualtion on this site. I can see why, Regier is usually much less active that the other GM's. But, his comments on Saturday where he openly stated that a trade may be necessary have gotten me fired up a bit. I'm hoping he doesnt' pick up some rinky-dink bit player to help the 3rd or 4th line or be the 4th or lower D-man.

 

I think most intelligent fans haven't been calling for a blockbuster, just a tweak to light a fire under their arse.

[buckeyebrian]

I like Doan too. He has 5G and 4A in the last 10 games and is logging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. He is tough in the corners and in front of the net. He will generate a lot of interest if the 'Yotes' make him available.

[Rabbit151]

Well Inkman, I guess it depends on what you consider a blockbuster. To me, getting Doan in is a blockbuster given Regiers history of tweaky moves.

 

I don't know about intelligent fans not wanting a blockbuster. If ever there was a year to do something out of the box, to do something bold, wouldn't this be it? By next year a lot of teams are going to close the gap on the Sabres speed and finesse game. This is the window. I think you give up the likes of a top prospect like Stafford to get a guy that can put the team over the top this year.

 

The Sabres are deep enough to afford that luxury. If they don't win the cup, sure, you regret losing a Stafford, but if you all are celebrating on Main Street Buffalo in June, it'll be the furthest thing from your mind.

 

I'm not talking about a trade where we lose top-notch talent off our everyday roster. We have to get a top-notch player for prospects and/or picks and/or salary-dumps. We certainly need a PP hero for play-offs. Has anyone heard anything about Brian Leetch?

[inkman]

I'm not talking about a trade where we lose top-notch talent off our everyday roster.

I guess I only view a trade of said description as a blockbuster, like the ridiculous Briere for Pronger rumor.

[Knightrider]

The only way to get Doan (due to his $3M+ salary) would be to:

 

 

3. or keep Timmy on the shelf AND deal a Kotalik or Hecht

 

Timmy on the shelf till playoff time would work rather well, IMHO. That may give us more depth.

 

Personally I think we miss Scott Arniel a lot more than McKee or Grier. Throw in the facts that 1 - Grier wanted to go home and only overspending for him would change his mind; 2 - McKee isn't worth $4M; 3 - neither would have fit under the cap even at reasonable prices; 4 - Neither would do much on the PP, and the real problem is the loss of the special teams coach or Timmy.

 

A lot of talk about how we not tough enough is directly related to our inability to score on the PP. Make the PP lethal again, and teams will have to ease up on the pounding. For evidence, see the Philly series last year.

[SDS]

Timmy on the shelf till playoff time would work rather well, IMHO. That may give us more depth.

 

Personally I think we miss Scott Arniel a lot more than McKee or Grier. Throw in the facts that 1 - Grier wanted to go home and only overspending for him would change his mind; 2 - McKee isn't worth $4M; 3 - neither would have fit under the cap even at reasonable prices; 4 - Neither would do much on the PP, and the real problem is the loss of the special teams coach or Timmy.

 

A lot of talk about how we not tough enough is directly related to our inability to score on the PP. Make the PP lethal again, and teams will have to ease up on the pounding. For evidence, see the Philly series last year.

 

our PP declined in the playoffs last year w/o Timmy, but with Arniel...

[Bmwolf21]

A lot of talk about how we not tough enough is directly related to our inability to score on the PP. Make the PP lethal again, and teams will have to ease up on the pounding. For evidence, see the Philly series last year.

That's an interesting point, and one I think has been overlooked. Right now, with the way our PP has been struggling, teams have taken the chance and played more aggressive, more physical, more "dirty" because they don't fear being hurt by the Buffalo PP.

 

I do think that we need to be careful about waiting for Timmy to come back and be the cure to all our ills. I think a move needs to be made to balance this team's toughness, grit, whatever you want to call it, with their speed, skill & finesse.

 

As for trades - I think any potential trade would have to involve guys off the roster and not "prospects," simply due to the cap.

[Knightrider]

our PP declined in the playoffs last year w/o Timmy, but with Arniel...

 

I agree, and his return ought to help. However, it has been trending even worse as the 06-07 season has worn on. To me, that sounds like coaching.

[SDS]

I agree, and his return ought to help. However, it has been trending even worse as the 06-07 season has worn on. To me, that sounds like coaching.

 

could be, but that doesn't necessarily mean Arniel is the answer.

[Rabbit151]

I know we talk a lot about cap, but after the trade dead-line, isn't there some kind of exceptions to regular cap rules? And don't forget that most of a players salary will have been paid by his former team. I don't really know for sure how any of this works, but I think we have more flexibility than it would appear right now.

 

Knightrider makes an excellent point. Score on the PP and the rough stuff stops. Coaches strategy right now is to clobber the Sabres at every chance. Finish checks. There is no fear of the PP at all.

 

It's like the NHL version of hack-a-shaq. Are you gonna let him slam-dunk for the guaranteed 2, or make him shoot (and likely miss) free-throws? Easy choice. You don't see anyone foul Kobe Bryant or Steve Nash.

 

Score on the PP and coaches strategies and game plans become more about playing cautious against the Sabres for fear of the PP rather than beat the crap out of the Sabres.

 

 

Inkman, that is a ridiculous rumor. Pronger for Briere. Wait a second......... I tell ya, I'd take that deal for the Sabres. The crazy part must be from Anaheim's point of view. Look at how useless they were without him during his injury.

[shrader]

our PP declined in the playoffs last year w/o Timmy, but with Arniel...

 

And a few other injuries too. I'm reluctant to say Connolly's the main reason for the poor PP this year. He missed 19 games last year and they were still at the top of the league. Now, if someone could find the numbers comparing those 19 games to the other 63, it might go a long way in clearing up this picture.

[Taro T]

I know we talk a lot about cap, but after the trade dead-line, isn't there some kind of exceptions to regular cap rules? And don't forget that most of a players salary will have been paid by his former team. I don't really know for sure how any of this works, but I think we have more flexibility than it would appear right now.

 

Knightrider makes an excellent point. Score on the PP and the rough stuff stops. Coaches strategy right now is to clobber the Sabres at every chance. Finish checks. There is no fear of the PP at all.

 

It's like the NHL version of hack-a-shaq. Are you gonna let him slam-dunk for the guaranteed 2, or make him shoot (and likely miss) free-throws? Easy choice. You don't see anyone foul Kobe Bryant or Steve Nash.

 

Score on the PP and coaches strategies and game plans become more about playing cautious against the Sabres for fear of the PP rather than beat the crap out of the Sabres.

Inkman, that is a ridiculous rumor. Pronger for Briere. Wait a second......... I tell ya, I'd take that deal for the Sabres. The crazy part must be from Anaheim's point of view. Look at how useless they were without him during his injury.

After the trade deadline the 23 man roster limit goes away. The salary cap remains in effect. It appears the salary cap, while still in effect, effectively goes away when playoffs hit as all player salaries will have already been earned/payed. (Playoff bonuses are paid collectively by the league, not individual teams.)