1 – With this move, it’s clear that Darcy Regier and the Sabres’ brass agree with my contention that the “core” is dead. (So does Paul Hamilton.) It’s not an “everyone must go” situation, but more of a “we’re no longer basing our Cup hopes around these guys leading the charge” thing. Good.
2 – Although it was the definitive negative turning point for the 2011-12 Sabres, we can suddenly look back on the Lucic/Miller incident as a positive benchmark for the franchise. No longer could the team ignore the league’s transition from the post-lockout era (obstruction is a sin) to the post-post-lockout era (size and strength matter again.)
3 – On a podcast recorded Sunday night with Dave Davis and Bill Hoppe, the only thing I really wanted to say about the acquisition of Ivan Drago John Scott was that it’s a sure sign that the club views toughness (or lack thereof) as an issue. The next day, they send a productive but undersized center out of town in exchange for a center who is a bigger, stronger, slightly less productive agitator and a large defenseman.
4 – It’s not a trading period. It’s a free agency period. Don’t quote me on this (until it proves to be correct) but a trade is made at this time in order to set up the next move. The cap went up. The Sabres have room. Pegula’s pockets are deep. Stay tuned.
5 – When he gets to Dallas, Derek Roy should not do all of his postgame interviews dressed like an extra from the video for California Love.
We got room but Ennis is going to command a raise. Somewhere from $3.5 to $4.5 mill area. After call ups we’d have somewhere between $1.5 to $2.5 mill. So its not that much. I doubt Darcy will force himself against the cap ceiling again. If we make another move it’ll probably be a trade.
Ennis won’t get anywhere near 4.5 million.
He’s only going to sign a short-term deal so that he’ll still be an RFA at the end of the contract. That’s when youi’ll see him make more money for a longer-term. No worries about Ennis eating up your cap space just yet.
Another year or two of him getting 50-55 points and then he’ll be in the 4 million dollar range. But not yet. My guess is 2.2-2.7 at the highest for now.
Going into last season I thought we were a first line center away from a run at the cup, now its a first & second line center. I have no idea what you mean by slightly less productive, Ott ‘s career high was 39 pts, that’s abysmal.Roy lead us in scoring 3 years in a row,prior to getting injured 2 yrs ago, production wise it’s not even close. As far as projecting a more physical immage, you really don’t do that by naming a Lady Bing candidate captan. Ott cant even take Gaustad place let alone Derek Roy’s. And no top line centers are going to come to Buffalo & play Lindy’s system!
First.. Ott is a more talented Gaustad. He’s a better player by far.
Gaustad is a better PK’er, but other than that, Stave Ott is an upgrade.
Second, Derek Roy produced points, but didn’t make players around him better. Ott will be more of an impact player with regards to physical play and accountability. Stanley CUps are won and loss with the 3rd line. You cannot argue that. Look at every team that has ever won it, it’s always guys like David Krejci, Marchand, Ryder, Peverly, and Recchi in Boston. And guys like Dustin Byfuglien and Dave Bolland in Chicago.. yes both of them had more points in the playoffs than Hossa the year they won the cup. Versteeg had one fewer.
Roy would get his points at other player’s expense like Vanek. Certain players will now have the puck more, will now have more of a voice and command more respect now that one of our “A’s” is gone.
Third, Every team has a system. And if we develop a top center, they will produce career numbers. Want evidence? See Drury, Briere. Your argument contradicts yourself…you blame the fact that we don’t have a number one center as the reason why we aren’t good…then you say no number 1 center will come here and play “Lindy’s system”. Lindy’s system has extracted the most out of many player that we had drafted and developed. Look at Kotalik, Connolly, Drury, and Campbell(until this season). Which is it? You can’t blame the “System” and the fact that we’ve traded Derek Roy and don’t have a Number one center as the reason. If anyone thinks that Ott for Roy was an abysmal move, they simply don’t understand the full complexity of the entire sport of hockey. It’s more than a G|A|PTS spreadsheet.
This is way off topic, but I was looking at the picture in the article and I thought to myself, who does that look like? And then it came to me, Derek Roy looks a lot like Will Ferrell.