Stafford has improved his performance significantly in his contract year. That's not unusual but not every player does that.

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I don't agree with 500k being "peanuts", because if you take that approach with everybody's contract then the next thing you know you are holding a big bag of nuts!

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

With all due respect some of the Pegula hype is getting a little bit silly, and this is an example of that. Stafford played great hockey all season long except for a few dry spells and some injuries. Statistically, he was likely less productive offensively when Pegula took over. I don't think Pegula has or will ever effect EVERY single aspect of the on ice team ALL the time.

It's becoming Crosbyish.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

Well of course you can't take that approach with everyone! Gaustad is overpaid by about .8 million, and I definitely wouldn't say that's peanuts. I just mean that Stafford could go either way - he could be awesome, or he could be average. But the extra 500K that Pegula paid him will not make or break the team in the long run, and if the extra 500K was needed to keep him here long term, then I'm fine with it.

I'd rather give him 3 mill, instead of 4 mill. If you say 1 mill is peanuts, I scoff at you, sir.

Points:
27
38
45
34
52 (contract year)

He isn't a defensive player, and makes mistakes. He's a goal scorer, and 4 mill for those point totals is a nono for me.

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

Hey, throw some "peanuts" my way then.

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1 mil is not peanuts. My point was that 500K over, on a 4 million dollar contract, is NOT that big a deal for a player that may turn out to be very good. In my opinion, anyway.

Yay...cool.

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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

You just assumed everyone wanted him for 3.5, which is where the 500k came from. I'm saying I wanted 3 mill, which is still a bit much.

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

And here it goes... its not a gross over payment.. and plus he hasn't even played in that new salary yet. And plus he was awesome last year he was tied for second with a plus 13 and 52 points in 62 games.. and to people says he doesnt play D.. he does.. he throws his weight around and can handle himself. Signing drew was what was needed to be done and we did it at a fair price. And remember we dont have this self imposed cap anymore so this isnt a HUGE hit either.

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The Board Drunk.

I wanted them to sign him. But 4 million is for players like Franzen. More consistent, more points, more obligations.

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

I was guessing Stafford would be in the 3-4 million range. Is he overpaid yeah but I can live with it as long as he keeps on progressing. We all know the guy can put the puck in the net we have seen that the last few years. Plus he's one of Lindy's go to guys in the shootout. The things we need to see is a consistent effort and a drive to get better.

So now when Darcy keeps players they are overpaid...

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"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.

No, and I don't think any skepticism is necessarily criticism of Darcy. Think of it this way...did anyone think Stafford should or would have gotten more than 4 mil per season? Remember, making a successful RFA offer sheet requires over payment, otherwise it's a waste of time. Saying Stafford would've gotten more in the open market has nothing to do with what he deserves in this scenario.

I, and B&Y also, think he deserved a contract around 2.8-3.3 mil. I figured the high range was going to be close to four mil, but he got a whole four mil per, and his production so far doesn't warrant it. That doesn't mean Darcy screwed up because there's lots of stuff going on in negotiations, and maybe they had good reason to make sure it happened now. Even still, I hate to pay a guy (again) based on what the organization hopes from him as opposed to what he currently deserves. That's a bigger issue though league wide due to the absurdity of gauranteed contracts. If NHL players got paid based on the NFL salary system we'd see a lot more consistency in effort since they could potentially be cut and lose their full salary for stinking or becoming lazy.

30+ goals, still young, plays PK(will he still?). Slightly overpaid but whatever, he still has room to grow and 4 mill could be a bargain in 2-3 years.

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Driver of the Tyler Ennis Bandwagon, Ridin' shotgun on the Tyler Myers Bandwagon, chillin' on the Luke Adam Bandwagon


Eh

I think the price for players has gone up with the cap gradually going up too, so 4M$ is acceptable I think. But just like sabresfansince1980, I don't think it's overpayment but more like paying for expectations. At this point in his development, I think we can expect him to score 30-35 goals, 60 pts and being a regular on the PK(I hope). 4 millions sounds about right for that, maybe even a bargain. IF he can do that.

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LET'S GO BUFFALO!

He hit 30 goals once, and he only had 52 points... He had a lot of multi goal games and is streaky as shit.

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

Totally agreed. But he still had 31 goals in 62 games, that's a pace for 41 goals. So expecting 30 is realist(and he might play with Roy for a full season?). And even when he isn't scoring, I still think he is playing better than before.

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LET'S GO BUFFALO!

Hopefully it wasn't just one year and he's actually going to start playing like that.

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