Thank you Danny and Chris
Posted 9:02 PM ET | Comments 5
It isn't officially the end of Danny Briere and Chris Drury's time with the Buffalo Sabres but it seems that the end is near. Briere turned down the Sabres 5 year $25 million dollar offer and Drury turned down an offer that is supposively worth about $6mil per year. I just wanted to post something to thank them for their time spent in Buffalo trying to bring a championship to the city. The atmosphere in Buffalo has not been as exciting as this year in a very long time. It was a privilege to be a part of it and rally behind this team and its captains. Throughout the year I travelled to 3 away games and I know many other people from Buffalo did the same. As they say, all good things must come to an end, and I for one am very thankful to Chris and Danny for everything they did in Buffalo.
That isn't to say that the quest for the Cup is over in Buffalo. This team has a solid core of young talent that will again be competitive next season. Sure I'm disappointed that Drury and Briere are all but gone. However, I think that their departure may be the best thing for us in the short-term and long-term. The Ottawa Senators dealt with a similar situation last season when two of their top guys were subtracted from their roster; Chara through UFA and Havlat in a trade with Chicago. After they lost these players from their roster (and seeing the team without them during the first phases of the new season) the Sens playoff hopes seemed bleak. It turned out to be the opposite as they made it to the finals. The young Buffalo talent core is comparable to the Sens; minus the grit but hopefully this is addressed post-July 1. New, less expensive players can be brought in to fill in the holes left by Drury and Briere and the Sabres will continue to be competitive.
In the long-term, this could also be a good move for the team. Had we committed the salary necessary to keep both here (and with Vanek's new deal), the team could look similar to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a few years. Forget keeping Miller and Campbell when their contracts are up, especially if the cap stays the same or goes down for some reason. Tampa has a great core of 3 forwards but they need a goaltender and some help on D; something they can't afford to do because of their big 3. The future is wide open now for the Sabres who are taking a different path than Tampa. Instead of shelling out big money, the Sabres are choosing to put the team first. They have plenty of money to make a splash with free agency and fix the problems the team had in the playoffs. Also, a trade or two could make some other things happen for this team. On a weekend like this, the prognosis of the team may seem to be in shambles but with the core of young talent still in tact, the Sabres will continue to be a contender in the East.
That isn't to say that the quest for the Cup is over in Buffalo. This team has a solid core of young talent that will again be competitive next season. Sure I'm disappointed that Drury and Briere are all but gone. However, I think that their departure may be the best thing for us in the short-term and long-term. The Ottawa Senators dealt with a similar situation last season when two of their top guys were subtracted from their roster; Chara through UFA and Havlat in a trade with Chicago. After they lost these players from their roster (and seeing the team without them during the first phases of the new season) the Sens playoff hopes seemed bleak. It turned out to be the opposite as they made it to the finals. The young Buffalo talent core is comparable to the Sens; minus the grit but hopefully this is addressed post-July 1. New, less expensive players can be brought in to fill in the holes left by Drury and Briere and the Sabres will continue to be competitive.
In the long-term, this could also be a good move for the team. Had we committed the salary necessary to keep both here (and with Vanek's new deal), the team could look similar to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a few years. Forget keeping Miller and Campbell when their contracts are up, especially if the cap stays the same or goes down for some reason. Tampa has a great core of 3 forwards but they need a goaltender and some help on D; something they can't afford to do because of their big 3. The future is wide open now for the Sabres who are taking a different path than Tampa. Instead of shelling out big money, the Sabres are choosing to put the team first. They have plenty of money to make a splash with free agency and fix the problems the team had in the playoffs. Also, a trade or two could make some other things happen for this team. On a weekend like this, the prognosis of the team may seem to be in shambles but with the core of young talent still in tact, the Sabres will continue to be a contender in the East.
Nice post, well written. This seems to be the final weekend of a great era. All good things must come to an end. We will see new, younger players on the Sabres and hopefully one or two become special players like Drury and Briere.
As I had written in my most recent (first, actually) blog, I think we (Sabres and Fans) can survive without them, but as with any good thing you can live without....you'd rather not. I truly hope and believe that Randy Cunneyworth has done his job well, and the young guys will win us some games. I really like the looks of Pat Kaleta, Marek Zagrapan, and of course Stafford and Ryan.Let us all hope that Darcy can fill the void.Nicely written,
I am sorry, but the Sabres are going down hard next year.If you couldn't beat Ottawa WITH Drury and Briere, then how are you going to beat Ottawa WITHOUT them?
Pretty sure we did beat ottawa with danny and chris...........oh wait you forgot about the 2006 playoffs 4 games to 1 you know when chris won game one in ot
Well we beat you when you had chara and havlat and then you got rid of them and got better. So now its addition by subtraction (as was the case with your team last year). We'll see, I thought the Sens were going to fall hard this year and I was wrong, so we'll see how right you are on your guess.