kingcong39

albany, NY • United States •

Tim Murray is the Anti-Regier

In the middle of true panic and hysteria setting in during the 3rd period of the Sabres Stars game last night when it looked like the Sabres were going to gain more useless points in their quest for a guaranteed top 2 pick, amid the joy of the Stars pulling out the regulation win, the Tyler Myers dead horse was revived and then beaten again.

Two important notes before I go on. There are people that loved Tyler Myers and there are people that hated him. Finding those with a middle ground on Myers proved most difficult.

Secondly, please remember that all Sabres fans come from the Darcy Regier era, and that stink can be tough to wash off, especially when it comes to Darcy's track record, which was far from shining. However, if there is one thing Darcy did very well it was win trades. He did that with regularity. He was like one of the regulars on extreme couponing, in how he didn't necessarily look for certain types of players, instead choosing to shop in the bargain bin whenever possible.

That is both a strength and a weakness.

Sabres fans are very much used to either outright winning a trade or having a trade be meh, meaning getting a trade deadline pickup for a 2nd during a year they were actually competing (when was that again? It's been SO long).

Enter Tim Murray, Darcy Regier's total opposite.

It seems crystal clear that Murray does his homework and then finds guys that he specifically targets, and will do what it takes to get them, without worrying about potentially "losing the trade".

Is it the right approach or is winning, or at least, breaking even in a trade, more important?

Evander Kane is a Murray guy. Myers was not. Whether you agree with that or not, it seems evident.

Ditto Hudson Fasching, and to a lesser extent Nicolas Deslauriers. In that trade, the Kings knew what they had in both of those and weren't just going to give them away, hence Brayden McNabb and the pair of 2nds going to LA.

Will the pair of trades work out (LA and the Jets)? Only time will tell.

To me, it seems good GM's only worry about getting their guys, leaving fanboys to worry about winning trades. That is not to say that giving up more than the GM feels is worthy is acceptable just to get the guy he wants. It's up to the GM to find what he feels is OK to give up in return for the player he values coming back.

After a decade plus with Darcy, who didn't seem to have a preferred kind of player and was all over the place, I am enjoying this change with Murray who seems to know exactly what players he wants and is willing to go and get them.

Will it work? I don't know, and neither does anyone else, unless one of you owns a DeLorean.

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