The conversation started with Kovalchuk. Here's a sum up of the points made:

1. The Sabres were never in the running for Kovalchuk. Asking price too much to gamble future for rental player.

2. If they make a deal, it's going to be a "hockey deal" that helps us this season and, at the very least, next season.

3. Schopp asked Regier if, because they weren't going after Kovi, are the Sabres not contending for the Stanley Cup this season.

Regier replied, "We're in 7th place in the national hockey league. One of the teams in the top 8 if you want to look at the teams based on Pittsburgh winning the cup last year, top 5 otherwise. One of those teams got Kovalchuk. Six or seven of them did not. We're one of those teams. That does not mean that us and all those other teams is not serious about winning the Stanley Cup. What we're not serious about is depleting our draft picks and young talent for a rental player. And I think that's a good place to be quite honestly."

4. He thinks the Olympic break will create two deadlines; one before and one after. He feels the best opportunity for trades will be after the olympics because teams will use the break to evaluate whether they're buyers or sellers, and GMs will still talk through the break even though there's a trade freeze.

5. He says right now there's limited sellers because there's 5 points from 13th place up to 8th place, and no one is sure whether to unload and rebuild, or go for making the 8th seed.

6. Schopp asked Regier if having a super star increased your chances to win a cup, and he asked if the Sabres had a super star. Regier replied definitively, "yes." Miller is the superstar of the Sabres. A key difference maker.


7. Regier said our top 2 lines are all locked in for next season, and he doesn't view this season as our only shot. He says they will continue to get better through maturity and being together for such a long time.

In a sense, I agree with him. I think that the Sabres have gradually improved year after year after year with the same players on this roster with minor tweaks, and their BEST CHANCE to win a cup will be next season.

This seems like a hot topic to me and I think a lot of people will be upset by this, but I think it brings up a good point. Why dump away all kinds of talent for a rental player when this team has yet to prove it can even MAKE the playoffs, let alone win a playoff round?

Does that mean that, with a smart hockey trade at the deadline, that they can't win the cup this year? Definitely not. I just think that you don't want to go all in until you're absolutely sure you can win a cup.

8. Schopp asked about the Sabres reaction to Miller being run, and whether or not it was a problem. He responded by saying that he didn't have a problem with how it was addressed because Myers went after Phillips and that he's a member of the team and there's no problem with Myers being the guy.

He said that Phillips was explaining himself right after it happened, and that Phillips doesn't have a reputation of being a dirty player, and that's why the reaction wasn't as intense as some people expected it to be.

I think he makes a good point. When we had our massive brawl with Ottawa, our roster was very similar to the one we have now. Stafford was actually the guy who went after Neil.

Because Miller was fine and wasn't lying on the ice like Drury was, the reaction wasn't as crazy. But there was still something done about it.

To hear the whole interview, click here:

http://hosted-media.podzinger.com/wgr/a ... ulldog.mp3

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Wheelhouse

good post

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I think more or less its been the general Idea that this season would be a good season to see what we have in terms of playoffs and what not... But also the idea that we need one or two more key additions to this team which will make us great... i mean there is no real way of telling... at least not until after trade deadline and after the playoffs.

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LETS GO BUFFALO!

Exactly. We are way further ahead from where any of us expected to be. Considering our core is locked up for many years and the major prospects we have will be coming into the prime of their development for the next couple years, there is no reason to press a panic button. Test the waters out this season, see what prospects step up and make the biggest improvements over the next 2 seasons, then make an educated guess on when the right year is to make a huge run and make a huge trade/free agent splash. Considering he have only seen half a season of these guys and have no idea how they will fair in the playoffs, its kind of hard to make a true assesment of a roster that is still developing and locked in long term.

Well thats nice.
Hey Darcy, if you can dump Hecht and Stafford for reasonable draft picks to anyone, you would have the cap space not only this season but the next for Sharp and Vesteeg from Chicago. If you really want, you can even dump a D man or 2 for cheap picks and maybe you might submit a package to include Cam Barker, who is having an off season for some odd reason.

Just something to think about as March 3rd approaches. You know, build from within, from within the right mind set please.

Thank you.

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

6. Schopp asked Regier if having a super star increased your chances to win a cup, and he asked if the Sabres had a super star. Regier replied definitively, "yes." Miller is the superstar of the Sabres. A key difference maker.



This further illustrates his mistake in not finding an adequate back up keeper. If he only makes one acquisition, it needs to be someone who can make it possible for Miller to play 55 to 60 games in the regular season. Or in this case now; one who can give Miller time to rest before the playoffs start.

By failing to address this, Miller has been burned out - again. I'm going to call it as it is; Darcy has fucked up big time. Lindy has fucked up by playing Lalime too little.

This is not hindsight, many of us have been saying this all along, dating back a couple years as a matter of fact.

These two ass hats need to get it right. I'm trying to look at this from Darcy and Lindy's vantage point; but I can't get my head that far up my ass.

The sky hasn't fallen; but it has become so clear as to what we absolutely must do. A couple moves to upgrade would be nice, but the move to give Miller a back up who can play is essential.

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"I'll rap you with my cane; you pencil necked geek!!"

-Bowler, imitating Freddy Blassie, at the very first M & G.

I don't want Darcy to trade for a rental player. Even if it's a team that is a favorite and going full steam ahead, unless they win the Cup, trading for a rental is a losing deal. Why should Buffalo try that when they still need a few more pieces?

Sharp and Versteeg? First, Chicago won't trade Sharp now while they are a Cup favorite, let alone Versteeg too. They are off-season trade bait. Even when Chicago is ready to trade them, they won't take anybody else's dead weight. They will want cheap talent under RFA status or top picks/prospects. A cap strapped team like Chicago has no other choice, so forget including high cap players in that scenario. IMO, Buffalo has young, cheap talent that is not going to be Cup winning pieces, but still has "potential" and trade value. A combination of MacArthur, Sekera, picks, and any prospects except Weber, Ennis, Adam, and Kassian should be trade bait to find a proven scorer or PP QB d-man.

I doubt that the trade deadline is going to allow any GM to find those players available and at the best price. Darcy would be getting better value in the long run if he tries to sell Lydman for a pick that can be used later to trade for a player that is either under contract (Sharp) or will have a high probability of signing long term with Buffalo after they hit UFA status.

i still think some of the key guys regier might be talking about especially pominville is over paid and to streaky. plus if the core guys see one get traded they know they aren't safe if they tail off. as well i don't like these players that he has signed and really only come to play for their contract year. i agree with the building a team and supplementing them with outside talent. Though my philosophy is if one of your core guys is streaky then you look to obtain a player who isn't streaky and will help this team. I'd personally have fisher and sharp as core guys then roy and pominville, but i'm not the GM. i do like the build through time bringing these guys up together, though i think we might be in a bit of a funk, where these core guys are not playing like they are paid to do, and this has happened more than once (this is why i believe a core guy needs to be swapped). plus i believe we need a source of secondary scoring. I do not wish to trade for a rental player. but that seems like typical darcy, give the fans no hope, that he will make the necessary move if needed.

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"Tis The Season, Fa la la la la LaFontaine" - Rick Jeanneret

"8. Schopp asked about the Sabres reaction to Miller being run, and whether or not it was a problem. He responded by saying that he didn't have a problem with how it was addressed because Myers went after Phillips and that he's a member of the team and there's no problem with Myers being the guy.

He said that Phillips was explaining himself right after it happened, and that Phillips doesn't have a reputation of being a dirty player, and that's why the reaction wasn't as intense as some people expected it to be.

I think he makes a good point. When we had our massive brawl with Ottawa, our roster was very similar to the one we have now. Stafford was actually the guy who went after Neil.

Because Miller was fine and wasn't lying on the ice like Drury was, the reaction wasn't as crazy. But there was still something done about it."

I'm glad that I read this thread. Last night I was beginning to wonder about Miller. My concern was that perhaps his teammates weren't standing up for him much because they thought he was being a jerk in the locker room. *If* that was true, then I could understand not really rushing in to protect him. I'm glad there's a better explanation than what I came up with!

If Regier thinks the Sabres have each others backs, and that against Ottawa our response to Miller being clobbered was appropriate, it explains exactly what is wrong with this team, and why they are such gutless pussies. His whiny explanation was really pathetic.

A team's makeup filters from the top down.

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

What would you expect were talking about Darcy Regier! Enough said

TRANSLATED FROM THE REGIER-ESE:

I've already got too much locked up in Vanek.



TRANSLATED FROM THE REGIER-ESE:

I may make a deal for a cheap, supposed "hidden gem" 3rd/4th liner on another team, like with Steve Bernier last year, to make it look like I'm being an "active" GM -- but that's it.




TRANSLATED FROM THE REGIER-ESE:

No, we aren't. We'll do enough to make the playoffs this season to keep the 18,000 fans coming into HSBC, especially after the past two non-playoff years, but that's it.





TRANSLATED FROM THE REGIER-ESE:

I wasn't paying attention when Toronto -- who's in last place -- swung the deals that brought in Phaneuf and Giguere.




TRANSLATED FROM THE REGIER-ESE:

Miller's our only legit superstar -- get used to it.




TRANSLATED FROM THE REGIER-ESE:

Dammit, I'm to prove I can build a Cup-winning team through the draft ONLY and will keep the same players year in and year out if it kills me . . .




TRANSLATED FROM THE REGIER-ESE:

Hey, I'm as embarrassed as anyone that it took a 20-year-old kid to step up rather than the team captain, but, . . .

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“This is a good building to play in,” Roy said. “It’s kind of quiet.”

-- forward Derek Roy, following the Sabres' 2-1 OT win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Jan. 14, 2010, a game where the home team drew just over 11,000 fans {the ninth time in 22 home games they failed to draw 12,000}

ok, before his goes throwing his giant dick around about being in 7th place, he's 2 wins away from being in 12th. Does tyhe 12th place team still think they have a shot at the cup, or just the top 8? I'll tell ya what Darcy, I wouldn't plan on being a top 8 team the way they are playing now. Now, if NJ goes on to win the Stanley Cup(ie ride a hot goalie), would it still be a mistake to get the "rental player". This schmuck got Zubrus a while back, and it was fine then,(sorry, but the hypocrisy pissed me off) right?

Look, this guy just makes me mad sometimes. I almost think he believes his own shit sometimes, too. Does he think guys like Malkin and Crosby and Staal or Green, Ovechkin and Semin won't get any better from playing together another year???? Just Stafford and Hecht are capable of it????????? I gotta stop now...

Why do people freak out over this shit? I'm honestly questioning the level of sanity around here these days.

What's Regier supposed to do? Make a list of guy's he wants, and then a list of guys he's willing to trade, and announce it publicly?

Gee that'd work out amazingly, it would drive up that players trade value, and make us give more than we should for a player.

Look at his history, Regier ALWAYS makes trades at the deadline.

It's the same shit every year, Buffalo fans freak out, and cry because he says this stuff, and then we go and get players. Last year everyone was super excited to get Moore, and then when he didn't add 30 points in 20 games, everyone said Regier's an idiot.

Look, what I'm saying is, this guy has built 3 teams that went to the ECF game. Drafted stars like Miller, Myers, Vanek, and Roy. Found diamonds in the rough like Lydman, Talindar, Hecht, Goose, and Connolly, and also hired one of the finest coaching staff's we've ever had in Buffalo.

If you continue to compare this guy to Ken Holland, or ELITE GM's, yes you're right. He's not ELITE, but he's still far better than anyone else out there on the market right now. And has a proven track record of being good in the Draft (save for one bad pick on Peters), proven record at bringing in solid players on trade, (Connolly, Brier, Drury to name a few), and he's always done this on a limited budget.

You guys just need to calm down, and read between the lines. Croz, your analysis of what he said couldn't be more far off from the truth. We didn't get Kovie, GET THE FUCK OVER IT! We would have had to given up way more than Stafford, Lydman, Kassian and a 1st. Think about it.

Oduya is a defensive man on a good contract, with a proven history of responsible play in his end, and the ability to play in all situations. Who do we have that fits that mold? Myers...thats who

Bergfors a young talented scoring winger, solid in both ends of the ice, can kill penalties, works hard, adapting to the NHL quickly. Who do we have that fits that mold? Roy or Pomminville

Cromier- pure energy player, prospect, shows a level of nasty. A loose cannon sure, but still may make the NHL, and be a solid agitator. That would be like our Kaleta.

So what are we looking at giving up to get Kovie?

Myers, Roy/Pommers, Kaleta, 1st round pick.

Gee, that would have been smart right?

Think about it, why would Regier pay a price like that, knowing full well what it was going to cost him to get Kovie? I wouldn't have picked up the phone and called Atlanta either.



What Regier said here, in legitimate General Manager speak is:

"I'm not going to get desperate. Yeah, Kovalchuk is a great player, but he's only one player. He might have been the right choice for NJ, but 28 Other GM's including myself weren't willing to sacrifice the future of our organization to bring in an unsignable free-agent to be.

What I am willing to do, is work hard at the deadline, and but toward not only this year, but future years as well. My most promising prospects won't be ready for the NHL until roughly 2011-12 season. By then I should be able to have Kassian, McNabb, Weber, Enroth, Ennis, Gerbe, Adam, Gogulla, and Byron all ready to be in the NHL, or on this roster. I'm committed to these guys, and their work ethic is up to what the organization is expecting. In the meantime we want to make the playoffs, and contend, but we're not willing to risk our promising future on 1 or 2 seasons of maybe winning a Stanley Cup, by trading off these assets, and rolling the dice. Not to mention our current salary cap situation forces us to be conservative, because many of these deals were made, before the consideration that the salary cap would stop growing as fast as it did." (15M in 3 years)


You guys get the picture, Regier isn't some terrible GM. You guys make him out to be an asshole, because Drury and Briere left in the same season. Honestly, who gives two shits about those two? Drury would have been nice to keep, but at 5M dollars? Would it have been worth it? Briere has been injury plagued minus one year. You guys think this team is soft now, imagine how soft we'd be with Briere, Connolly, Roy, and Gaustad as our 4 centers. Only 1 guy there likes to hit.

How about the fact we'd probably not have been able to sign Grier, or have been able to have drafted Myers.

So many variables to consider.

I understand the goal should be to win, but winning once, isn't as much fun as being competitive year in and year out. Ask Tampa Bay...I'm sure they'd be willing to tell you. How about Edmonton, 1 run at it, and then they turned into shit.

Would you rather win 1 cup, then have a basement dweller for 8-10 years after? Because I sure as hell wouldn't.

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

Squanto 7/27/2010

I'm sorry, did I miss something? I could've sworn we missed the playoffs the last two years . . .




We need to first GET A CUP before we talk about whether or not we want to be cellar-dwellers afterward . . .


.

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“This is a good building to play in,” Roy said. “It’s kind of quiet.”

-- forward Derek Roy, following the Sabres' 2-1 OT win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Jan. 14, 2010, a game where the home team drew just over 11,000 fans {the ninth time in 22 home games they failed to draw 12,000}

Yeah you're missing two pretty important, and what I thought were, easily understood concepts.

1. Rebuilding- we brought along our prospects, signed our core players, and brought in a few roleplayer free agents. Oh also, our superstar Goalie was hurt in that stretch, along with our best goal scorer. Last year, and lost Tim Connolly for 28 games the year before. We missed the playoffs by 6 points total in those two years (for those who need the math broken down, 2 games in 07-08, and 1 game in 08-09)

2. Longevity of the Franchise- You can't just win once, and expect to be able to ride that out for 20 years. How close have we been under Regier to a cup? 97-98, 98-99, 05-06, 06-07 I'd say pretty damn good track record 4 ECFs in 10 years.

Yes we haven't won a cup. But we are always a competitive franchise. I'd rather watch the Sabres being competitive every year, rather than being a bottom feeder.

We're still a small market team, and the dynamic is different here than in Toronto, Edmonton, NYC, ect. Those teams can survive on advertising revenues alone. I dont know about you, but I'm pretty sure Veins Veins Veins, doesn't pay the amount of money that ATT, Air Canada, ect pay to have their logo's up in premier arenas. It's a matter of staying competitive, to stay a float. We can't afford those long rebuilding phases. Keep in mind, we rebuilt the look of this franchise in less than 2 years, and were still a competitive during those times.

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

Squanto 7/27/2010