Regier: The GM Who Cannot Win
Posted 5:02 PM ET | Comments 1
Picture this: It is July 4th in the United States in Western New York and some Sabres fans get together for a BBQ to celebrate Independence Day. And when Buffalo sports fans have an outing, you can bet the house it is only a matter of time before the conversation turns to either the Bills or Sabres.
We are now three full days into Free Agency in the NHL, and there have been numerous developments on the Sabres end of things. And the bickering begins:
Fan A: "I cannot believe the Sabres lost Briere!!! Yes I know Drury was signed, but man, Regier needed to keep both. He needs to go!!"
Fan B: "Keeping Drury was the right move, losing Briere was ok. But man, all the top defenseman are gone, what is Regier doing? Is he sleeping??"
If Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier is able to get both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere re-signed, it will undoubtedly come with a price. The Sabres would then most likely lose players such as Maxim Afinogenov, Ales Kotalik, or even Jaroslev Spacek. If Regier keeps one of the 'Big Two', one side of the fan base will kick and scream, and the other side of the fan base will praise the move.
Regier is one the first GM’s in the NHL since the salary cap was introduced that is facing major dilemmas such as this. Regier has been praised over the last few years for some of the great trades and moves he made (trading Chris Gratton for Briere is the most noteworthy trade), and his skills as a GM will be put to a big time test come next month.
There really is no way Regier can come out as a true winner after the summer is over. And the sad part for Regier is, it is almost completely out of his control.
So my message to my fellow Sabres fans: Go easy on Darcy Regier this time, for once.
anyone with half a brain knows that keeping drury is the only thing to do. the front office said that they want to stay at 44m this year. ok, here's my plan. briere walks. vanek signs for 3m, trade spacek and kalinen for picks, sign zubrus for 3m, and make a run at jason blake and sheldon souray. i know, souray is a head case but i think drury will keep him in line. besides, we need the help on the PP.