Briere's Contract Offer

I am assuming that the Sabres offer to Daniel Briere was a lowball offer of maybe 5 years, $25 million, which I do not expect Daniel Briere to sign. However, If maybe they can meet around 5 years $28 million, Daniel Briere will truly have lived up to his word about taking a hometown discount to stay in Buffalo. If he does this, I admire him. Maybe if he were to sign this, that the Sabres would be left with money to sign Chris Drury as well, or atleast another big-time defensemen.

Co-Captains

I talked to a close friend and he told me that a relative of his was speaking with a member of the Buffalo Sabres. This player said that Chris Drury is going to try to sign with Los Angeles and that Daniel Briere is going to sign with Philadelphia.

Draft Review

I wasn't that happy about the Sabres draft. I would have liked the Sabres to take Maxim Mayorov in the third round because I feel that even if the Sabres would not have been able to get Mayorov from Russia, it would only be losing a third round pick. However, Mayorov, who is rated very highly, may be a steal at that point, especially at 6 foot 2. I like the pick of Brennan. He seems like a skilled defensemen who can also provide some grit, something that the Sabres definitely need. He also said that he is a late bloomer, and I think that if he can continue that progress he could be a top six Sabres defensemen in the next five years. I think that the Sabres went way off the board with Scheistel, who sounds like Brian Campbell only worse defensively. I think that Allrad, a big center, might be a steal late in the draft. He was drafted fourth overall in the QMJHL. I think if he progresses and shows hard work and consistency, who could end up being a 60 point center. I am very surprised the Sabres took two goalies, with Ryan Miller, Adam Dennis, and Jhonas Enroth. The thing with the draft though is that it cannot really be judged for between 4-7 years.

Nathan Horton's Contract

The Buffalo Sabres salary cap just got screwed up. Nathan Horton signed a 6 year, $24 million contract. I was planning on Thomas Vanek signing a contract of around 4 year, $14 million. Nathan Horton had 31 goals and 31 assists, including being a +15. Thomas Vanek had 43 goals, 41 assists, and a +47. Based on these numbers, it would seem as if Thomas Vanek's new market worth is approximately $5 million per season. As much as I like Thomas Vanek, I'm not sure if I would pay $5 million or more for Thomas Vanek, when there would be 4 first round draft picks of compensation if he was not resigned by Buffalo. Also, this contract may move Derek Roy from around $1.5 million to possibly as high as $3 million. It's a good thing Jason Pominville is under contract because he had even better numbers than Horton, and he is only making approximately $1 million per season. Havlat's contract killed the salary cap this year, and Nathan Horton's contract killed the market this year.

Sabres New Team

There have been debates about the Sabres over the offseason. One is whether the Sabres should sign Daniel Briere or Chris Drury. Another is whether the Sabres should lose some speed to add size or continue to use speed to try to continue winning. Some mid to lower priced unrestricted free agents that I see on the market at forward are Bates Battaglia, Brad May, Dean McAmmond, Brian Smolinski, Trevor Linden, and Jeff Cowan. Assuming that the Sabres sign either Briere or Drury, I do not see the Sabres going after a high level forward. On defense, if the Sabres can trade a player like Ales Kotalik or Jaroslav Spacek, they could go after a big time defensemen, but I don't really know if that type of defensemen is out there, as I am leary about Sheldon Souray's wrist. I would like to see the Sabres get a good defensive defensemen to go alongside Dimitri Kalinin once Teppo most likely retires. One of there types of players include Cory Sarich, Brad Stuart, Sean O'Donnell, Scott Hannan, or Brent Sopel. The only things I could see getting for Kotalik or Spacek would be draft picks. Who the Sabres sign in of Briere or Drury would determine who they sign unrestricted free agency. If the Sabres sign Daniel Briere I see the lines being maybe:
Hecht-Briere-Pominville
Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov
Kotalik-Connolly-Stafford
Paille-Gaustad-Mair
If the Sabres sign Chris Drury, I see the lines being:
Hecht-Connolly-Pominville
Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov
Paille-Drury-Stafford
Battaglia-Gaustad-Mair
(Ales Kotalik traded for maybe a 5th round draft pick.)
On defense, assuming Teppo retires, I see something like:
Tallinder-Lydman
Campbell-Spacek
Kalinin-Hannan
(Paestch as the seventh defensemen, Peters as reserve forward)

I have no problem keeping Ty Conklin as the backup to Ryan Miller.

Another thing would be possibly trading either Drury or Briere if one would not be signed so a team can sign him at a cheaper price, maybe bringing in picks or prospects (as Nashville and Philadelphia did).

The Hamilton Predators??

The Sabres have made too many young fans for the team to be troubled by an incoming team just 70 miles away. If anything, I believe it can create another intense rivalry, and if Hamilton ends up getting moved into the Sabres division and they play a good deal of times, HSBC Arena will almost be filled. Plus, I feel that the economy of Buffalo is coming out of a recession and more fans will have money to go to games. Plus, if Quinn and others end up making the Arena district better, people may flock their for Parties in the Plaza during regular season games, as long as the team stays in the top half of the league. Buffalo is becoming Hockeytown USA quickly.

Free Agent Talk

I think that they will start talking to Briere and Drury this week. Adam Mair can wait and I dont think we should resign Teppo for anything more than 700,000 on a one year deal. I would like the Sabres to sit down and offer each co-captain a 5 year, 32 million dollar contract. If one of them takes its great. If both of them take it, I'm sure that the Sabres can find some way to fit them both in under the cap ( hopefully finding a way to trade Spacek and Kotalik). If both were offered that contract, I think Briere would be more likely to accept it than Drury. If the Sabres lose both Briere and Drury, it will be tough to accept.

Brad May

I would love to have Brad May on the Buffalo Sabres next season. He played with great energy for Anaheim in the playoffs and he certainly looked like he could continue his play next season. If the Sabres can sign him to a one or two year deal, a line of May-Gaustad-Mair would provide the energy and physical play that the Sabres did not have at times during the playoffs.

Sabres Final Regual Season Report Card

The Sabres had a great season in 2006 and 2007. Here is my final regular season report card.
Offense: A
The Sabres scored the most goals in the league. Danny Briere had a career high 97 points. Thomas Vanek had 43 goals and 84 points. Chris Drury had a career high 37 goals, including 16 power play goals. Max Afinogenov scored 61 points in just 56 games, including a career high 23 goals. Jason Pominville was a 30+ goal scorer. Derek Roy scored more than 60 points. Drew Stafford became a threat with Max Afinogenov out of the lineup.
Defense: B-
They were supposed to be the 6 best defensemen in the league. They played well, although Henrik Tallinder missed a lot of time. Nathan Paetsch was good in his time up. Jaroslav Spacek did not play up to his salary. Teppo was okay. Brian Campbell looked okay in some games and like Bobby Orr in other games. he started in the All-Star game.
Goaltending: B+
Ryan Miller was good. He started in the All-Star game, and while his GAA and Save Percentage were not at the top of the league, he won a franchise high 40 games.
Special Teams: C-
The Powerplay and PK were great last year and average at best this year. With all of the talent that the Sabres have, it should have been higher. Even with the loss of Scott Arniel and without Tim Connolly for most of the season, they were too talented to be a below average. The PK lost Mike Grier, Jay McKee, Henrik Tallinder and Tim Connolly for a good part of the season. They let in a lot of goals and were in the bottom third of the league.
Coaching: A
Lindy Ruff did a great job. There were lots of injuries and he still led the team to the Presidents Trophy. He should be the coach of the year.
Overall: A-
The team was exciting. They filled the seats. They won the Presidents Trophy. Enough said.

Maximum Contracts

While I would rather have Chris Drury sign with the Buffalo Sabres, I think that it is more likely that Danny Briere will be a Sabre next season. The maximum that I would give Chris Drury would be a 5 year, $35 million dollar deal, because even though he is a great player, one of the most important people on the team, I do not believe that he will be worth $7 million dollars in 3 years. I would not go any higher than a 5 year, $33 million dollar deal, because even though his stats are better than Drury, and he is a captain, I feel that his one way game should not be worth any more money. I would not see the Sabres going above a 4 year, $14.5 million dollar deal for Thomas Vanek. The cutoff per year on restricted free agents being offered an offer sheet is 3.8 million, so I see the Sabres staying below this number. I also believe that they should not go beyond 4 years because that would keep Vanek as a restricted free agent at the end of his contract.

Why I would sign Chris Drury

The reason that I would do everything that I can to sign Chris Drury is because he is a winner. Drury has won at every level in almost every sport that he has participated in. As soon as he came to Buffalo, a new era began. Buffalo fans started to think that maybe there was a chance, but even more so the players that they had a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Once Drury, who won a Stanley Cup while with Colorado, put up a picture of the Stanley Cup in the locker room, the team truly had one goal, and the team game just a series away to years in a row from getting to the Stanley Cup finals. Drury leads by example, and whether he is playing for $7 million dollars or $7, he will give 100% every time that he is practicing and playing the game. On the ice, Drury can play 20 minutes, on the power play, killing penalties, scoring goals, and blocking shots. Drury is incredibly clutch. While it would be great to have both Drury and Briere on the team, I would rather have Chris Drury. Another reason that I feel Drury should be signed over Briere is a player that goes by the name of Tim Connolly. Connolly plays the same type of game that Briere plays, and he would be able to fill in the role that Briere plays on the Hecht and Pominville line. Drury may not get the big numbers that Briere gets, but Drury may be the more important piece to the puzzle.

Anaheim v. Buffalo

Watching the Ducks beat up on the Senators makes me realize that this would not have been the Sabres season to win the Stanley Cup anyway. The Ducks have speed and skill, maybe not quite to the extent of Buffalo or Ottawa, but they have the size that will just beat you down over the course of a game, let alone a seven game series. If Anaheim faced Buffalo, I feel that the goaltending matchup would be a wash, with Giguere and Miller being very even. On defense, Buffalo may be better 6 deep, but with Pronger and Scott Neidermayer anchoring the defense, Anaheim would have the edge there. I would call special teams a wash, as neither team had a very good powerplay and the penalty killing, while it is better for Anaheim, has the ability to be there for Buffalo. The forwards are where I believe Anaheim has the real advantage though. Even though Buffalo is known for extremely talented forwards and the big goal scorers in Vanek, Drury, Briere, Afinogenov, Connolly, and Pominville, I feel that that Anaheim has pure lines. McDonald and Selanne anchor the speed and scoring line. The PPG line (Penner, Perry, Getzlaf) are big with lots of skill that can dump it into the zone, but unlike other physical lines, these three can pick up the puck and score. Their defensive checking line (Rob Neidermayer, Pahlsson, Moen) is a true defensive line that dumps it in and hits you, and although they are not known for goal scoring, Moen and Pahlsson have the GWG in the first two games against Ottawa. The 4th line is also providing great energy for Anaheim, something that Buffalo's did not seem to do. Also, for almost the entire playoffs, Lindy Ruff seemed to be juggling lines, and no line seemed to develop true chemistry. I would say it would have been Anaheim in 5.

Marc-Andre Gragnani

I was very nervous when I heard that if the Sabres did not sign him he would be eligible to return to the NHL Draft. When I found out that the Sabres eventually did sign him, I was relieved. Gragnani had 68 points in 62 games in the QMJHL. He scored 22 goals which even in the offensive-minded QMJHL is still a great number, as it was second among defensemen. I believe that he will be a top 6 defensemen in the next 3 years, and in the next 5 years will be a top 4 defensemen. I hope he brings the Sabres great stability on defense.