Buffalo Sabres

The calm before the storm

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Darcy Regier showed Buffalo Sabres fans what his strategy may entail this past weekend. He dealt for Robyn Regehr and a second round pick from the Calgary Flames, while only giving up Chris Butler and Paul Byron. He did the Flames a favor by agreeing to take Ales Kotalik, as well. But the option of hiding Kotalik in Rochester is the likely option the organization will take.

The next step comes this Friday as unrestricted free agency begins. The past few seasons haven’t yielded much for the Sabres, especially on the first day. The fact of the matter is Darcy wasn’t given the resources to truly attract the marquee free agents. All that has changed now that he has an owner willing to fly north of the border to persuade players to come to town.

Regier made some very interesting remarks this morning during his appearance on WGR 550. While he was very careful not to tip his hand, he indicated that upgrades will continue to come and that the center position will not remain the same entering the 2011-12 season. Continue reading →

Regehr to waive NMC to come to Buffalo

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The news appears to be somewhat vague at this point, but TSN has reported that Robyn Regehr will indeed waive his no movement clause and agree to a trade to the Buffalo Sabres.

According to the report, Ales Kotalik will return to the Buffalo organization, the place where enjoyed quite a bit of success as a power play point man and shootout specialist. Not the first player I would want to receive in a trade, but the Sabres needed to take on cap in order to make the deal attractive to the Flames. The option of shipping Kotalik to Rochester (Buffalo’s new-old farm team) is a very real possibility. I would say that is his likely destination based on the logjam Buffalo has on the wing. UPDATE: The Sabres also acquired Calgary’s second round pick in the 2012 draft. It was previously rumored that Buffalo had sent their second round pick.

The Sabres sent Chris Butler and Paul Byron to the Flames in exchange for the two veterans (Calgary Herald). It seemed as if Butler had plateaued as a sixth or seventh defenseman and Byron gave the Sabres one too many little guys. I contend that they still have too many mini-mites. By unloading these two players the Sabres have parted ways with two guys who probably didn’t have much of a future with the organization. There are numerous defensemen with more upside than Butler and it is obvious Darcy Regier wants to get bigger at forward, just look at their first round draft pick.

When the first reports came through, the rumors of Buffalo sending a pick may have discouraged some cynics who thought Buffalo had traded two prospects and a pick of a defenseman and a useless winger. Knowing now that the Sabres snagged a second round pick in the deal makes this a major win. Darcy Regier has always been a shrewd trader and he won this one as well. A top-four defenseman and a second round pick for two fringe prospects. Sure, you take on Kotalik, but the ease of hiding him in the AHL makes perfect sense to me. It is exactly the kind of attitude the Sabres need to run with as they approach July 1.

Pre draft buzz – Robyn Regehr asked to waive his NMC

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News broke on Thursday that Calgary defenseman Robyn Regehr was asked to waive his no movement clause to accept a trade to Buffalo.

This would be a fantastic trade for Buffalo, Regehr would certainly fill one of the major voids on the blue line and would likely provide a good veteran partner for Tyler Myers.

There are about 500 different reports floating around regarding who the Sabres will be sending. The big name appears to be Luke Adam in a deal that would likely include a draft pick – my guess is Buffalo’s third round selection. Other names floated around are Nik Hagman, Ales Kotalik and Matt Stajan. Personally, I don’t see a world where Buffalo would bring back Kotalik, nor would I want to accept Hagman and his $3m salary. Stajan is an interesting option and easily the most attractive in a trade scenario. He can play center and would certainly add depth at a position where the Sabres are weak.

I am hopeful that this trade comes through. I would be OK with seeing Adam and a pick go to Calgary for a package of Regehr and Stajan. Is that an acceptable trade? Who knows. What can be said is both teams have reached an agreement and are simply waiting on Regehr to approve the deal.

The Pegula Puzzle: Potential UFAs and trade targets

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Compared to the previous three entries in my Pegula Puzzle series, this will be a bit more out of left field. I’m certain that I will echo the sentiments of most Sabres fans with my views, but I do warn you that this may come across as a little radical.

When I look at the current Sabres roster I see glaring deficiencies on defense and at center. Those are the two spots that need to be addressed over the next few months.

Tyler Myers is certainly a cornerstone for the future and Brayden McNabb and Mark Pysyk seem awfully appealing at this point in their development. Jamie Oleksiak would be another monster to pair with Myers if the Sabres are able to trade up to draft him tomorrow. Still, the Sabres don’t have any top four defensemen after Tyler Myers and Jordan Leopold. With Marc Andre Gragnani and Mike Weber looking like a soild pair to lock down the five and six roles, the Sabres will need to look outside the organization for two solid defensmen. I should point out that I peg MAG and Weber as five and six in a strict depth chart evaluation, the real pairings will certainly be different. Continue reading →

The Pegula Puzzle: Black aces

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I am onto part three of my offseason look at the Sabres and how the roster may look when the season begins. I took a look at who Darcy Regier should resign in the first part and I broke down how the current players will fall into the 2011-12 roster in part two. The third piece of the Pegula Puzzle will focus on where the Sabres prospects will land for the upcoming season.

The 2011-12 season will be the first year that the prospect cupboard begins to truly stock up. The Sabres are well removed from their last European draft pick and the ease of moving picks into the minors is starting to pay dividends. In addition, Marcus Foligno, Zack Kassian, Brayden McNabb and Mark Pysyk all received entry-level deals as last season wound down. Those four players represent some of the most promising talent in the Sabres’ pipeline, three of them will be playing professionally next year. Pysyk will be the only one to return to his junior team. Continue reading →

The Pegula Puzzle: How does the roster shake out?

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The first piece of the Pegula Puzzle I focused on who among the Sabres 24 free agents should be resigned or let go. The second piece of the puzzle will address how I see the 2011-12 roster shaping up.

Starting from the net out is pretty much how every team is built. Luckily the Sabres have a superstar goaltender in Ryan Miller and a sparkly new prospect in Jhonas Enroth, this makes things quite easy. Expect to see a healthy dose of Miller again (at least 60 games) while catching Enroth about 25 times in hopes of keeping Ryan Miller fresh for the playoffs.

Things start to get hairy along the blueline, however. Tyler Myers blossomed at the end of the year after struggling through a sophomore slump to start the season. Jordan Leopold was an offensive blessing and Mike Weber and Marc-Andre Gragnani both showed they have NHL chops. Continue reading →

The Pegula Puzzle: Who to keep?

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It is the first offseason under the Pegula Era and just about everyone is expecting to see significant moves made. This is the first part of a series aimed to focus on some of those changes. It is entitled “The Pegula Puzzle”. I will look at what will be taking place down at the corner of Washington and Perry during the summer months. The first portion will focus on which players are to be resigned before the July 1 free agency period begins.

The Sabres enter the offseason with 24 total free agents to resign. Many of these players (nine to be exact) played exclusively in Portland this past season. Of those nine, Dennis McCauley, Tim Conboy, Mark Parrish and Colin Stuart are unlikely to return. In addition, Tim Connolly, Patrick Lalime and Rob Niedermayer are unlikely to receive a contract from the Sabres as well.

Of the ten UFAs the Sabres have, I would only think Cody McCormick, Steve Montador, Mike Grier and Matt Ellis could return in 2011-12. Of those four, I would only extend offers to McCormick and Ellis. I would entertain the thought of bringing back Mike Grier for the veteran minimum in a limited fourth line role, but that wouldn’t be my first choice.

As for the RFAs, Darcy Regier has a little work cut out for him. He got off to a quick start by locking up Drew Stafford for $16 million before July was even within sight. There are also a couple names – Felix Schutz and McCauley – who he won’t need to worry about tendering with a qualifying offer. McCauely is a fighter and can be easily replaced, Schutz went back to Germany and will not receive a tender. I would also let Dennis Persson go. He has been passed by TJ Brennan and Drew Schiestel on the development track and Brayden McNabb isn’t far behind. Let Persson go back to Europe, outside of depth, he doesn’t offer much upside. Continue reading →

Chatting about franchise goaltenders once again

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Probably about a year and a half ago I did a post on the great goaltending debate. After a the debate was sparked last fall, I re-posted this piece. Bucky’s recent GM for a day column sparked my interest in this again, along with the big money goalies who played deep into the playoffs this season.
The post below is made up, mostly, of facts and thoughts I penned shortly after the Chicago/Philadelphia Stanley Cup Final. I am going to leave as much of the original work intact as I can, with some additions about this season and some other thoughts on Ryan Miller and where he fits with the Buffalo Sabres.

Could Drury return to Buffalo?

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When news broke this morning that Chris Drury would be bought out by the New York Rangers, the fans and media in Buffalo exploded with the though/theory that Captain Clutch might return to the Queen City.

I had a few thoughts on the matter early on regarding the matter. When the news originally broke I didn’t think much of Drury’s impending UFA status other than what he could bring to the table. However, now that everyone and their brother is throwing their opinion in the ring, I feel like I have more thoughts on the matter.

It is my contention that Drury can help the Sabres, for the right price. His current deal runs for a $7M per season, his performance with the Rangers shows he is due for a pay cut. If he is looking to make more than $3M per season, no thank you. If he is willing to take a deal in the $1.5-$2.5 neighborhood then there is room to work. Continue reading →

McCutcheon released by Sabres

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Word has come down that Brian McCutcheon has been released from his position on the Buffalo Sabres coaching staff.

This is a surprising move but one that I think was necessary. By most accounts McCutcheon was the man who ran the power play for the Sabres after Scott Arniel’s departure. If my facts are incorrect on that one I apologize. Based on that info, it was time for the Sabres to look somewhere else for a man to run the power play and cook up an offensive game plan.

Mike Foligno and Kevyn Adams have both been mentioned as possible replacements. I say great, either one will bring a fresh look to the position and likely a refreshed message. I would hope for Foligno simply because he has been coaching with Anaheim so he has some additional experience behind an NHL bench. Adams can’t say that at this point.

As for McCutcheon, there is a chance he ends up as the head coach in Rochester – if Buffalo does indeed purchase them and switch their affiliation. There is a chance he gets nothing and is left to find a new gig. I wouldn’t hate it if he was put in Rochester. He had some success there previously and may be better suited for that type or role.

This is yet another move you may not have seen under the Golisano ownership. McCutcheon was doing a satisfactory job (at best) and still had a contract. It would have been shameful to let him go if the team was to owe him money. The “winning is a goal” motto has it’s fingerprints on this decision. It would seem the organization wants to have the best people in important positions. Replacing McCutcheon was deemed as a decision that needed to be made and I applaud them for making the right move.