Drury Walking Does Not Mean End For Sabres
Posted 3:16 PM ET | Comments 8
As July 1st approaches, it is looking more likely every hour that Chris Drury will not be returning to the Buffalo Sabres. While everyone should agree, Chris Drury is an absolute warrior, and he goes to battle for his team every night he hits that ice. He is an unbeleivable leader and a fantastic captain, but putting all that aside, it is not the end for the Sabres if he walks. There are other players out there who may not be able to replace Drury's leadership and tenacity, but can replace his production on the ice. Drury's price is at about 6.5-7 million dollars a year right now and lets face it, that is just not how the sabres do business. I don't blame them because I feel that is way too much for Chris Drury. Drury is a solid second line center who will get you 65-70 points a year, and 6.5 million dollars is a little too much for that production. I feel that everyone is getting to carried away with the whole leadership factor with Drury and they are over looking the fact that his numbers do not equal up to what he's "worth" right now. Yes, a team will probably over pay for Drury's services and that is great for Chris and his family, but that team will not be the Buffalo Sabres. As I said before, Chris was a phenominal leader and captain for us, and it was aprreciated by every Sabre fan, including myself, but it maybe time to start looking in a different direction to fill our 2nd line center spot behind Briere who i feel will be resigned any day now. Some players I had in mind were Michael Nylander, Robert Lang, Bryan Smolinski, and Peter Forsberg. All of these players would fit in nicely with the Sabres. All while saving us money to go out and bolster our defense that needs it so bad. Just think, we can go out and get Scott Hannan or Corey Sarich or maybe even Sheldon Souray, who knows. But when its all said and done and if Chris Drury is not a Buffalo Sabre next season, the Sabres will still be competing for 1st place in the northeast division because the Sabres have to much young talent to call in the end.
Totally agree...I would add that the Briere-Drury dynamic has resulted in two Failed ECF's and no Stanley Cup ...both exposing our defensive shortcomings ...particularly our inability to clear bodies in front of Miller....must be addressed...Just hope Regier does not hesitate in giving Briere a Fair Offer comparable to his Stats and what he could possible achieve in Open Market ...my Fear is Regier is going to try to low-ball him Buffalo style and he is going to take it as an insult and show Regier how much he can receive come 7-1-07 and sign elsewhere w/in the East ......
$$$$$$$$$$ talks and BS walks. In the world of sports today a player must cash in while the iron is hot. The upcoming potential loss of both team captains should be a wake up call for the way the Sabres do business in the future. Lets start mid-season talks if we can save a million here or there. After they get Vanek tied up long term ( god i hope they don't screw this one up ) I think a nice extention for Miller is in order. Lets face it folks. Loyalty in sports is a thing of the past. There is too much money at stake in todays NHL.
and that is why constantly raising the salary cap hurts sports
Scott Hannan pleeeease!Our D was softer than tissue paper in last season's playoffs.Kotalik,Spacek and Kalinin have to go,especially Kalinin since he had as much ice time as I did the last couple of games.His confidence is shot and it's not worth seeing if he can regain it.Drury's loss will hurt but could be softened if at least Briere signs.If they do the typical Buff thing and lowball both then we're screwed and they better have a plan B,C, and D as they will desperately need it to clean up the mess.I don't even want to touch the Vanek situation if they mess up the UFA signings.Does Regier have to act at a glacier's pace for every important move he has ever had to make? That is his most glaring downfall that unfortunately seems to have finally caught up with him.
agree with everything...thanks for the comments
Forsberg?
just using him as an example. if he can stay healthy, hes still a great player and he will come cheaper than drury but i have as much chances as he does of being on the sabres next year lol.
If I was a betting man Id bet both will be gone.I thought this could happen all along for 2 reasons.#1 Darcy wont break the bank for either#2 The Sabres managements lack of respect for each player will make it easy for each to want to move on.Darcy and alot of fans including me feeling we didnt make it to the cup with the them,so are they really worth the money?Im starting to live with the idea they wont be back but if they screw over Vanek it will be the last straw for this Sabre Fan.