We still won the division.

Blame it all on Miller and Myers if you want, because you first want a great Goaltender to build around, we have that, we also have a great Defensemen on our team for years to come.

We need a few tweeks here and there, nothing too big at all like some are suggesting.

We really don't even need a PP QB, Myers is going to fit that bill quite nicely and makes our PP already better.

We could always use a scorer and a defender no matter how good the team will become.

A truly healthy Vanek will be a dangerous one, Ennis coming up will light some fire under some and he'll show how good of a playmaker and scorer he is when he's up fulltime.

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Myers needs to learn how to dish the puck better from the blueline. Having an established PP QB will do that. We still need a PP QB.

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mechaphil

I'm actually going to go out and next to guarantee that Regier doesn't make a move today or tomorrow, but is active on July 1st, going after some of the "big fish" considering we have some serious cap space, and haven't inked Lydman or Hank to a new deal.

Especially with guys that fit Regier's typical profile in; Ponikarovski, Stempniak, Whitney, and Tanguay not signed to deals yet. All are "underachieving" forwards, that given the right system could really do exceptionally well. (With the exception of Whitney being an underachiever.)

Also Regier has expressed immense interest in getting a PP QB, and two of the best in the game are available in Kovalchuk (I know he's D man) and Martin are available. We do have cap space, and will have cap space in the future given the relief of Salaries like Connolly and Rivet's at the conclusion of this season.

I'm not saying expect us to be handing out a 100M contract first thing on July 1st, but I'm willing to bet my first born that we sign at the very least one of those guys I mentioned.

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

Squanto 7/27/2010

I hope he's NOT active on July 1st. The first tier free agents are almost always significantly overpaid.

Very true, but at the same time, it is a very weak free agency class, after you get past Kovie, there's nobody that really commands over 4.5M meaning nobody will get more than 5.5M

The 4 Forwards mentioned above will be lucky to get 3.5M on the open market, given the market, and the lack of cap space many teams have.

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

Squanto 7/27/2010

Regier will make a minor deal or two.

Which is plenty active for him!

And after the interview he did with WGR yesterday, my expectations on what he'll change this summer reduced big time.

He's happy with the 5 on 5 (he pointed out that the Sabres outscored Boston @ ES). He just thinks that they need to improve STs.

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Sabres Hockey: Commitment to Mediocrity

I wouldn't mind Stempniak at a reasonable price, but I feel that he's going to get overpaid because of how he finished up the regular season. Teams will probably ignore his Tim Connoly-eqsue 2A -4 playoffs.

We could ink Volchenkov to a long term $4M per contract!

Give Lombardi $4.5M per, theres a center!

Give Bergfors $3.5M, top line RW to replace Stafford!

yay active!

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Most of us agree with what you're saying man, I men I agree that Myers will be a great PP QB in time and that we have a good core. A healthy Vanek of course is a great thing. The one thing I feel we NEED though in a bad way is a big forward. We have shown time and time again that lacking that size up front really hurts us. I'd like to see either a big bodied play maker or even a fourth liner with a healthy combo of size and killdozing skills.

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I love your ideas for Martin and Michalek. Beauty.

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mechaphil

No, only because we'd have to hear you gripe about his stupid name for years to come. :p

That's exactly why I was loling when I saw his post

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mechaphil

Hey Phil, who would you recommend for us to nab when it comes to a big mean fourth liner?

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Well, I posted it with my plan to fix the team and he's a guy who Jay and I both agree on - Brad Winchester from St. Louis would be perfect and cheap. Zenon Konopka is also a guy worth looking at - he's a beast and has a reputation for ass-kicking. I'm prone to stay away from the dancers (Boogaard, Laraque, Brashear, Peters, Parros) and go more for the machine gunners like the two guys listed.

Signing either one of those guys to play with Kaleta on the RW and a re-signed McCormick at C or LW would be a beastly 4th line with one of the better-scoring agitators (Kaleta) in the league.

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mechaphil

Yeah I agree with ya on the dancers. Sick of having "big guys" who paw at the guys instead of destroying them. With Kaleta's hitting, McCormicks general dislike of anything not wearing the same jersey as him and a true badass that fourth line could be a GREAT injection of testicular fortitude when someone decides to run Miller or be a douche.

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Something my dad said made me laugh. He goes:

"How many times does someone get run over, hit late or what ever and we're screaming for someone to kick the guys ass? No one does it though and if they do they usually lose like a girl. How sweet would it be to be able, like we used to, to just say "Oh shit, where's Razor?"

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I hear that! For me, including free agency and trade deadlines, its more like "Fooled me 10 times.......fuck Im done with this

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"I can't really hear what Jeremy says, because I got my two Stanley Cup Rings plugging my ears...." -Patrick Roy in reference to Jeremy Roenick's trash talking

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This just gets me fired up that Darcy thinks

Regier disagreed with media and fan criticism regarding their forward depth. He believes they have strong center depth, and does not feel pressure to move either Roy or Connolly for its own sake. "If you want to look at number one centers...we have two in the top twenty [of the NHL]. Everyone would love to have that number one center that people feel will put you over the top to win a championship, the reality is teams aren't moving those players."

When the returns for Spezza and Savard are pathetic, I'm gonna laugh at people criticizing him for that.

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mechaphil