Of the newsworthy options out there, you could delve into the world of high drama and worry yourself to death over the debt-ceiling.
You could spend hours watching ESPN as big shots on both sides of a $9B NFL-quarrel leave football fans biting their nails wondering when the season will start (too bad the NFL and NFLPA will lock-out pre-1993 retirees from any benefits that will make their lives a bit manageable.)
The Women's World Cup Soccer Team did great (I happened to catch the Brazil game as well as a good chunk of the Japan match and both were thrilling,) the Pittsburgh Pirates were in first place for a couple of days (something that hasn't happened this late in the MLB season for decades) and Tiger Woods fired his caddie. All stories that momentarily pique interest, but cannot fill the void.
In Buffalo, the goalie debate has begun (in fans minds) as Jhonas Enroth signed for two years. Andrej "Rej" Sekera signed a four year deal for $2.75M/year, much to the consternation of many Sabres fans. And former Sabres Clark MacArthur and Tim Connolly cashed in big time with the Maple Leafs which is always great blogger-fodder.
The only thing left to do on the Sabres list is re-sign RFA d-man Marc-Andre Gragnani. With the team being around $4M over the cap ceiling this off season, eventually they'll need to jettison some salary and moves will need to be made before the season opener.
For now, though, as we cool off from 100+ heat indexes caused by a heat-dome over much of the Midwest and east coast, there's really not much going on in Sabre-land.
Jonesing for some Sabres-related news? Here are a few articles to chew on while wondering why there always needs to be drama, posturing, dread and fear in the headline news.
Terry Pegula's Having Himself a Good Time
Jim Fink of Buffalo Business Journal says that Terry Pegula's spending spree may cause the billionaire owner/fan to "drill another well".
So far, Uncle Terry has committed over $120M to remaking the Sabres organization from re-signing Head Coach Lindy Ruff to flying to Saskatchewan to woo Robyn Regehr.
Fink touches on the well known aspects of Pegula's spending spree like $100M+ in players contracts doled out recently and underscores the fact that Pegula underwrote the Alumni/Fan Appreciation gathering and the Rick Martin Tribute.
But one thing that may have eluded many is the pricetag for the renovation of the Sabres locker room, with Pegula "Spending, according to Buffalo City Hall records, $6 million on renovating the Sabres locker room and training facilities at HSBC Arena."
Yowza!
I highly doubt that Uncle Terry will need to drill anytime soon, though. A return of 5% on his $3B worth would yeild $150M. More than enough cover for his spending spree out-of-pocket.
This truly is uncharted waters for the Buffalo Sabres and their fans.
Thomas Vanek Joins Some Pretty Big Names In Minnesota For Charity Event
Former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Thomas Vanek, spent this past Wednesday playing hockey with the likes of Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils,) Kyle Okposo (NY Islanders,) Paul Martin (Pittsburgh Penguins,) and Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks.)
Patrick Johnson of the South Washington County Bulletin covered the first-ever [Derek] Stepan/[Taylor] Chorney/[Jeff]Taffe NHL Players Charity Hockey Game. The event was held in the Cottage Grove Ice Arena, Cottage Grove, MN where 1500 fans packed the arena to watch and meet over 30 NHL players, including Vanek.
Among the group of players contributing their time and goodwill was United States Hockey Hall of Fame and Buffalo Hall of Fame Member Phil Housley. Housley, who was born in St. Paul, MN is a coach for the Stillwater Ponies High School hockey team in Washington County.
Tickets for the event were $25 pre-sale. (Boing!)
Brad Boyes On the Move To Vancouver?
(shrugs)
That's the roomer from this Vancouver paper.
We're all familiar with the glut of wingers on the Sabres. We also know that the Sabres will be over the cap by at around $4M after re-signing Gragnani. Even if they demote Ales Kotalik and Shaone Morrisonn and rid themselves of their $5M in salary, the team will be too close to the cap for comfort and another move will need to be made.
Jason Brough of The Province makes the case for Boyes to Vancouver for a draft pick saying that the team could use a right-handed sniper and could clear cap-space to get Boyes. Disregard (as the author did) the fact that Brough made a case for Chris Drury to the 'Nucks as well.
Boyes' weak playoff performance vs. the Flyers would justify the Sabres moving him. Although getting a draft-pick in return would be OK, maybe it would be better to somehow finagle the deal so that Cody Hodgson, who seems to be on the out and is a player we wouldn't mind bringing in, would be part of the return.
Regardless, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense for Vancouver, but, hey, if they want to, I'm sure Darcy Regier and company would be willing.
Who Did the Work On the Jhonas Enroth Contract?
Finally, I don't know about you, but I consider Jhonas Enroth's $675K per year salary a steal for the Sabres.
No Sabres back-up since Martin Biron has instilled the a sense of confidence from the crease like Enroth did last season.
Case in point.
Last season Enroth played 14 games, went 9-2-2 with a 2.73 gaa and a .907 sv%. The year before, Patrick Lalime played in 16 games as a back-up. He went 4-8-2 with a 2.81 gaa and a .907 sv%.
Almost identical stats, but much different results.
The fact that the team negotiated a deal that was only $25K higher than Lalime's salary is fascinating. The fact that Darcy Regier wasn't at the table is intriguing.
According to WGR, Sabres' Assistant To the General Mangager Mark Jakubowski was involved in the negotiations with Enroth and his agent.
Who!?
You know, Mark Jakubowski, the guy who's spent the last three years as Regier's assistant? The former Director of Hockey Administration for the team? The guy who's yet to have a wiki page?
From the 2010/11 Sabres Media Guide:
Mark Jakubowski begins his sixth year with the Sabres and third as the Assistant to the General Manager. His responsibilities include statistical and salary cap analysis, contract research relating to player negotiations and arbitrations, managing player transfers, team roster administration, and all matters relating to compliance with the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement and other NHL agreements. Jakubowski also assists with the American Hockey League hockey operations of the team’s minor league affiliate, the Portland Pirates. Jakubowski graduated with an economics degree from the University of Rochester, where he also played baseball. He resides in Hamburg, NY.
This is the first time I've heard a name other than Regier involved in contract negotiations for the Sabres (no, you can't use Larry Quinn here.)
If this is Jakubowski's first contract, all I can say is, nice work.
Peace.
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