So after watching this season and what has gone on in general...

Keepers: Miller, Myers, Grier, Kennedy, Kaleta, Ellis, Ennis, Rivet, Montador

No choice but to keep, sigh..: Vanek, Hecht, Pominville

Toss Up: Mair, Gaustad, Gerbe, Lalime (I believe Enroth is ready)

Would bring back, but only cheap: Lydman, 2.5M or less. Not happening I'd guess.

Can they be traded?: Stafford, Sekera, I think so. Connolly...ugh...MAYBE? Roy??? One or the other I'd think could go...I prefer Connolly gone...Even if I have to give away Stafford and or Gerbe to get it done.

GONE GONE GONE: Tallinder


This makes my team look like bottom heavy, a Sabres usual next year:

Vanek-?????-?????
Kennedy-Roy-Pominville
Ennis-Hecht-Grier
Ellis-Gaustad/Mair-Kaleta

?????-Myers
Butler-Rivet
Weber-Montador

Miller
Enroth

Salary hit for those scoring at home: ~42.9M. If cap were not to move, that leaves 13.9 to fill my three glaring holes.

C1: Though a certain Shark comes to mind, you're not outbidding for him. Who can be gotten? Jokinen I truly believe. Big, gritty, good hands, and I think could form chemistry with Vanek. coming off down year. Have to take a chance folks, Buffalo isn't getting a #1 center without it. I think 2 years (8M) is more than enough to get him, well worth it IMHO.

9.9 left.

D: Gonchar. Pitt doesn't have the money to hang here. He is aged enough that I don't believe many will chase him, but who better to QB for a couple of years, teach Myers some offensive tricks, understand the pressure of being a highly touted draft pick, etc.. 2 years, 12M and you own him IMHO 3 and 18 if you had to.

3.9 left.

I no longer need a star, I don't think I need a huge scorer, I need a guy to protect my assets, chip in, not screw up my top line, guts and winning pucks...

R1: Owen Nolan.


For those scoring at home, that makes my team next year look like:

Vanek-Jokinen-Nolan
Kennedy-Roy-Pominville
Ennis-Hecht-Grier
Ellis-Gaustad/Mair-Kaleta

Gonchar-Myers
Butler-Rivet
Weber-Montador

Miller
Enroth

Mancari and Grags lurk as needed and need to either produce or pack it in at this point anyway. I loaded up BIG on picks with Gerbe, Stafford and Sekera adding me a group of 2nds/third/fourths to keep the talent rolling as Rivet and Gonchar and Nolan retire. Am I comfortable taking this crew into the playoffs? More than any other team on the ice since Drury and Briere left.

Curious what you think...

I could get behind that lineup. Never been impressed with Jokinen though (we talking Ollie here right?)

I have to do some tinkering of my own here...

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I can't absorb this right now.

I think it's natural to want to throw people out the window right now, but we've got to remember, this is their first trip back to the playoffs, and it's our top 6's first opportunity to play in these rolls.

Each year has been better and better, and I still think we have a lot more to see out of them next season.

Changes will come, sure, but I don't think anyone should be overly disappointed when most of these guys stick around.

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Wheelhouse

I'm ok with Hecht staying around. As much as I bashed on him before the season started, he's proven me wrong.

I'd like for Lydman to stay, but I agree price may become a factor.

I'd have no problem moving Stafford / Gerbe / Connolly in any combination for someone. Not sure what you could get for Stafford, Connolly only goes if it's a package. That 4.5M deal is a pretty big albatross right now for someone that has been invisible in the playoffs.

I'm not confident of them doing anything in free agency. The organization doesn't have a good track record in luring free agents here, although part of that could be attributed to their desire not to overpay. (I'm OK with that.) I think that most of what they do will happen via trade.

The fact that we're having this conversation right now makes me sick.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Yeah.

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Wheelhouse

I think we were fairly similar in what we did, but anyways... (and let me know if I screwed something up)

Free Agents to walk:
Raffi Torres
Matt Ellis
Adam Mair
Henrik Tallinder
Toni Lydman
Patrick Lalime

Free Agents to keep (no idea if these contracts are realistic):
Tim Kennedy - 2 yr, $800,000 per
Mike Grier - 2 yr, $1,000,000 per (he's getting old)
Patrick Kaleta - 3 yr, $750,000 per
Cody McCormick - 2 yr, $550,000 per


Keepers
Derek Roy
Thomas Vanek
Jason Pominville (you better make this contract worth it)
Tim Connolly
Paul Gaustad
Tyler Ennis
Jochen Hecht
Tyler Myers
Chris Butler
Craig Rivet
Steve Montador
Andrej Sekera
Ryan Miller


Guys Above I'd be open to trading plus Drew Stafford
Drew Stafford
Derek Roy/Tim Connolly (one or the other)
Jason Pominville
Andrej Sekera


So that leaves $12.4M to fill...

Vanek - Roy - ???????
Ennis- Connolly - Pominville
Hecht- Gaustad - Grier
Kennedy - McCormick - Kaleta


Myers - ?????????
Rivet - Butler
Montador - Sekera


Miller
???????

Leaving us with 12.4M ish to fill those spots.

of course much of the above is contingent upon the answers to several questions.

Will Sekera and Butler continue to develop?
How much does Rivet have left in the tank?
How much does Grier?
What can we get in trades (if anything) for the mentioned players?
Is Cody McCormick better/worse/even with Adam Mair and Matt Ellis?
Will Pominville continue to suck?
Will Connolly survive?



If even half of those work in our favor, 12.4 to fill three spots might not be too shabby. Pay 500k for a backup goaltended (since we fuck it up no matter what) and you've got 11.9 left to play.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Thomas Vanek will have 50 goals next year if we go out and get a true first line RW/C; no doubt in my mind. If we continue to try to use him with Roy and Stafford or Roy and some other fucking guy, he'll continue to struggle. He draws teams 1st line defense and checking line, and he still produces. He had a rough go of things this year, but a lot of it was attributed to bad luck, and injuries. He played the first 20+ games with a nagging injury. He admitted it in his blog.

This is what I would do:

Re-sign- Kaleta, McCormick, Ellis that's also our 4th line

Trade:

Stafford for a pick at the draft. Anything really would do here; it's a matter of freeing up a roster spot
Connolly for a prospect/player such as Scott Glennie (Dal), Eric Tangardi (Pit), or Lars Eller (STL) and pick

Let Walk: Mair, Lydman, Hank, Torres, Grier

Leaving our roster looking like:

Vanek-Ennis-X
Kennedy-Roy-Pomminville
Hecht-Goose-
Ellis-McCormick-Kaleta

Myers-X
Rivet-Butler
Weber-Montador
Sekera

Miller
Enroth

Current cap hit ~39.5M

Then go out and get a 1st line C/RW (Ennis can play RW); guy that comes to mind that's a free agent this year; Svatos, Tanguay, Frolov, Stempniak, Higgins, Lombardi(c), or Marleau (c)

Each of those guys will cost between 3.2-5M except Marleau who will make 6+

Let's say we pick up Lombardi for 4M which is pretty close to what he'll get. Maybe a little more but figuring high is fine.

Then we need a defensive partner for The Big Easy; to me this is a no brainer, the guy I want is Paul Martin for 5.5M a year, or less. A less expensive alternative could be Andy Sutton (3.5M) or Mike Van Ryan (2.5M). Both of which are upgrades over Hank.

So adding 9.5M to 39M puts us right at 50M, well under cap, not really losing any assets. And space to add that 3rd line physical grinder we all would love. That guy for me is Steve Begin(1.8m), or we move Kaleta up to 3rd line, and we sign Derek Boogaard for 1.2M to beat the piss outa people

Puts us real close to the cap, but Golisano has shown this year he'd be willing to spend close to the cap to be competitive. Granted we could have been doing better building grit over the year, but it could have been worse too. We made strides in the right direction this year.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

Guerin, Nolan?

Ship out one of Butler or Sekera, bring in Gonchar and Colaiacovo, bring in Hamhuis maybe?

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I saw Martin as well Jay. mmmmmm....

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Good thoughts. My main push and it seems people agree is to clear our the 3M to 5M crew that does little to help and is over matched and start to amass some PROVEN 6M and 7M talent to use up front backed by some reliable and trust worthy 1M and under young guys these studs can mentor.

Jvac, I'm a little concerned with the thought of all of a sudden throwing Ennis to the wolves on line #1 and would like to hide him in a mid tier for a while...i do like Lombardi feeding Vanek though as a viable option.

Glad to have the forums GM back...we missed ya, YM.

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mechaphil

I am at least 3,450,600% in favor of signing Boogard.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Amen brother, I'm right there with ya. But imagine how potent a line of Ennis, Vanek, and Marleau, or a Vanek, Ennis Lombardi...I mean there's so much star power on that line I dont think it would hind Ennis one bit. Considering the game he played with Connolly and Stafford on his line last night, and he was brilliant; adding extra offensive potency on the wing would just open him up even more

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

I would be for getting rid of Roy if Hamhuis would come to Buffalo

_________________
just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

I see a bunch of Connolly hate again. If Vanek was playing right now he'd look like garbage too. If Connolly were healthy he, and not to mention Hecht, would be doing very well with Pominville. Let's not forget that the Hecht-Connolly-Pominville line was the best of any line during the entire season.

Connolly, and any other player, is just not going to be effective coming off a broken foot that's not healed. People are so easy to gloss over that just because he's playing. Nobody wants to give a player an easy way out for not producing, but let's also be logical about it.

Anyway, most of this discussion is already decided by contract status. Seven top forwards are under contract, plus Ennis and Gerbe. Kennedy, Kaleta, and Mancari are RFAs that will also stay. Grier, Ellis, and probably McCormick are UFAs that have a good chance at staying. Stafford is the only forward that we can do without and is tradeable (enough talent with a reasonable contract). Trading him would add 1.9 mil in cap room to sign a big time RW. Mair and Torres are UFAs that will be gone.

I like Weber coming up on defense, but with both Tallinder and Lydman probably out the door Darcy should take advantage of the cap relief (~6 mil~) to sign a puck-moving PP QB, if possible. Lalime will also be gone, but it shouldn't be a big deal to find a back-up for one season before Enroth comes up. That leaves...

Hecht-Connolly-Pominville
Vanek-Roy-Stafford/FA signing
Kennedy-Gaustad-Grier
Ennis-McCormick-Kaleta
Ellis-Mancari

Weber-Myers
FA signing-Montador
Sekera-Rivet
Butler

Miller-Enroth/FA signing

Connolly's foot isn't bothering him. If it fucking was, he wouldn't hold on to the puck until it was impossible to make a move. Stop trying to defend him, he sucks alright? He sucked in the first game, second game, third game, fourth game, and he will suck tomorrow.

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

Has any player come back from missing nine games, had one practice, and started the playoffs been very good?

.....................................(crickets)............................................

I have no idea what you are trying to say there, but it is obvious he is not at 100%. Even the fucking VS trash commentators caught that. He had a good season until his foot got effed up.

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"Call a cop he robbed Delmore blind!!!"
Rick Jeanerette after Marty Biron's diving save back in 2000.

"I'm going to go to the spa and have a hot tub and massage and relax," Miller said. "That's it, and it's back to work tomorrow." Ryan Miller after clinching the North East division.

When your foot hurts you you don't try to deke around everyone and be a puck hog, unless your completely retarded.

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