Don't get me wrong, signing Grier, Niedermeyer, Leopold, Morrisonn (the good but unheralded type of player) certainly helps our team. But we're faced with the reality of no star players would want to sign here, and if they did, we would have to overpay. We overpay for some of our signings already (Leopold at $3 million per year, and we had to double Montador's salary for him to come here (not saying it wasn't worth it)). People complained about Regier not going after Gagne, do you honestly think Simon Gagne wanted to come to Buffalo if he could choose, when he could go to Tampa Bay with other French players?

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Revenge is sweet... Revenge is best served cold... Revenge is ice cream.

do we really need another one of these threads?

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

What CV said.

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mechaphil

We choose not to sign star players.

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Wheelhouse

Oh, let me think of a team that DOESN'T overpay for a star player. Hm...

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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

thats not true.

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Do I really need to be the asshole who says "budget"?

I agree with fly, we're better off doing as we do. I absolutely think it produces better results.

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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."

How did we get this far into this thread without anyone pointing out that Miller turned down an opportunity to play for his hometown team to sign in Buffalo.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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mechaphil

Almost every team that has a superstar player as we call them, drafted them.

Gaborik is a Superstar, but why would he want to play for the trap of the Wild when he could score almost 50 goals a year? Hossa, he's solid, but he isn't what he once was like in Atlanta and Ottawa.

Kovalchuk, well we know how that has turned out so far, h wanted a chance for a cup and choose to leave Atlanta.

I'd still say many of these superstars aren't signed, they are drafted.

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Ovechkin, Malkin, Crosby, Stamkos, Green, Sedin, Sedin, Doughty, Myers, Miller, Kane, Toews, and many more out there. But it seems the only way to hit a Star is to either draft them or trade for one, not to sign one in the FA market.

This isn't 05-07 where the super talented guys just go on the FA market, there is maybe one or two that can be built upon a year now, if that.

Kovalchuk was really the only guy who it that bill, the year before it was Gaborik basically, I don't remember many others out there.

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hossa was no where near what he was in ottawa.

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So what's the point?

Some players will come here, other won't. Some players want to stay once they get here, some want to leave.

You know what that makes us?

Perfectly normal.

That isn't entirely accurate.

Miller took the long term, big money extension in hand that bought out a few UFA years.

It's the old one in the hand is worth two in the bush.

If he would have signed a lesser extension that didn't buy out UFA years to hit the market earlier there is no guarantee that the Wings would have gone after him.

With the guys they have under contract, I doubt they would offer Miller a "market value" deal.

Plus, look at how big money goalies have done as UFAs this summer.......

Niemi is fresh off winning the Cup and he can't get a job!

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Sabres Hockey: Commitment to Mediocrity

A more accurate statement is that the Sabres choose not to go after big money UFAs.

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Sabres Hockey: Commitment to Mediocrity

But the fans do.

Martin/Michalek/Gagne were on people's wishlists, don't deny it.

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Revenge is sweet... Revenge is best served cold... Revenge is ice cream.

There's a reason fans are fans, and GMs are GMs.

Cammellari, Heatley, Thorton, Kessel, Gaborik, Chara. These are only the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Superstars? I guess some of those listed would be considered that for thier respective teams.

I agree with the OP though, Buffalo's management is unable to attract a certain level of talent, their reputation proceeds them with the players, but we already knew ths.

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Lord Stanley's Cup is what its all about.
Mr. Pegula, your destiny awaits you sir.

he was kidding, but allow me to say this one more time. miller was never on the red wings radar. they were committed to howard. and just as well, miller grew up in michigan, but stated he didnt grow up a red wings fan. the two sides were not interested in each other. the rumour grew because of a news paper article, might have been the detroit news. the news sucks.

im sure miller would have loved the idea of playing in front of his family day in and day out. but buffalo is a 4 hour drive on a bad day from detroit, and from east lansing, its under 5. its not that big a deal, im sure.

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Kessel was traded, so he has never been a FA in his career yet.

Thorton was also traded from Boston and signed before he became a free agent. Heatley was also traded and wasn't a UFA in his career.

Chara, Cammellari, and Gaborik are the only players on that list who went to Free Agency to sign with other teams. The others all agreed to terms with the respective clubs that traded for them.

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