So Stafford with a cap hit of $1.9M is an overpaid bum, but Stempniak at $3.5 is a better option?

I don't understand the logic. They are almost identical players.

He could be sent down, they'd just have to pay him his NHL salary while he was there. Not likely to happen.

Sometimes you need change for change sake. Stafford isn't working out. We might as well try out a guy who has, at times, been a 50 point player, which is better than Stafford has ever been. It's only for one year, so it wouldn't screw our cap or anything, either. I don't seem the harm in trying it out.

Except that you don't 'try out' a guy for $3.5M.

Besides, Stempniak hit 50 points ONCE. That isn't enough justification to pay a guy that kind of money.

I call that The Fluky Post-Lockout Effect. His career high came during 05/06 or 06/07 and he hasn't done it since? That season was a product of the inflated scoring league wide.

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mechaphil

he can take a pay cut maybe, 2.5 or 2.1

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Sophomore Bitches! Class of 2014!
R.I.P. Molly B. 5/28/96-5/23/11

Last year he almost hit 50 points. And why not? It's one year. We have the money. We're not spending it anywhere else. It won't screw over our salary cap for years to come. Give him one year at 3 million, and make him play for his next contract elsewhere.

in 08-09, he had 44 points in 75 games. over an 82 game season, thats 48 points

last year he had 48 in 80 games. over 82 games, thats 49 points. seems pretty consistent.

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Vary True. I moved to Albuquerque 10 years ago and Buffalo is still my home.

As far as Stempniak goes, I saw him as someone the Sabres needed to sign right away and I'm astonished he's still available. The Sabres need to sign him, bottom line.

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"Every time I think you say the dumbest thing ever...you keep on talkin' " - Hank Hill
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula

They just bought out Kennedy over $200k. What makes you think they'll spend $3M on another Drew Stafford?

It doesn't make sense.

Exactly, they claimed that dropping Kennedy was a "internal cap" issue so spending that amount of cash on Stempniak would prove that management was completely full of shit..... It will absolutely not happen nor do I want to see it happen.

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Stempniak has had two 45+ point seasons, and two seasons with 25+ goals. Stafford has hit 20 goals once, and had 14 goals last season. Stempniak on the other hand had 28 goals last season, including 14 in his last 18 games with Phoenix, where he got top line minutes. When he was in St. Louis and Toronto i belive he got primarily checking line minutes. He proved if you give him the minutes and the opportunity with the skilled players he will produce goals. Stafford on the other hand has played on our top 6 the past two seasons and what has he produced? A maximum of 20 goals and 45 points in one season. As for Stempniaks +/- all i can say is that he was on Toronto and St. Louis for the majority of his career, and im pretty sure everyone on those two teams were minus players.

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the question i need to ask, is why is he still on the open market? if he is a top 6 forward, why has he not been signed? why are we almost mid-aug and the cat still doesn't have a home for the 10/11 season? is his asking price that inflated? if so what's the minimum you, as Darcy, would sign him for... Of course if they walked away from Kennedy at a million... even if lee takes say 2 million for one season, thats still 1.2 million over the "internal cap".... fucking Quinn... prick...

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i dont buy the internal cap so much as kennedy was expendable and they wanted a roster spot. something about this doesnt add up.

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Why was Morrison on the market? We're all happy about that signing. Your statement of why is he still there sir, sucks.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

He's still there because teams see him as a bit of a gamble.

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hes a low risk/high reward kinda guy, i think. you know you are going to get 35 points in his worst seasons, and may get 30 goals if the stars align.

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Precisely, its like people are saying Stafford is a better player than him. Maybe potential wise, but right now its Stempniak with the leg up.

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If ownership weren't such tightwads, I'd be okay with us giving him a 1 year, 2.5-2.8 million dollar deal. Of all the remaining UFA RW's, he's the only one that really seems plausible (I don't think we could get Guerin or Lehtinnen to come to Buffalo). If he puts up big numbers, then he's a steal. If he's Drew Stafford 2.0 (more likely), then we either find a home for him at the deadline, or let him walk in the summer.

The only way we could make this work, would be to trade Stafford away first, but not take on more salary. But that seems like an awful lot of trouble to make, what looks like a lateral move, happen...

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"Let's just trap Sekera in the caverns underneath HSBC arena." -BlueandYellow

Reporter: "Steve, you guys now lead the league in defensive scoring."
Montador: "It's probably because of how good-looking we are."

I don't think anyone has said that Stafford is a better player. The point has been made that they are very similar players in terms of production.

And I would argue that Stafford has the leg up right now since he has a contract and Stempniak does not.