Washington GM George McPhee really needs to stick a sock in it.
Perhaps he was speaking for the likes of the Phoenix's, Florida's, Edmonton's and Nashville's of the league when he brought up the subject of a team like the Buffalo Sabres having an unfair advantage hosting their own scouting combine.
The League has their own which is held in Toronto in late May before the June draft.
According to McPhee, "We originally came up with a combine to streamline that and have all the players go to one place, work out and you get the results. We've improved the combine over the years to make sure we're getting the results we need."
Teams like the Sabres have run their own combines to get a closer look at prospects.
Said Buffalo GM Tim Murray (via TSN,) "I come from a scouting background, I don't want to criticize the combine we have but I want to be able to supplement that with what I want to do. I'm looking for athletes and there are certain tests (that we feel are important) versus strength tests."
One must remember that the Sabres came out of the Tom Golisano-era with a bare-bones scouting department that relied heavily upon video for seven years.
After officially gaining control of the team, new Sabres owner Terry Pegula declared his commitment to homegrown talent by saying that "there's no salary cap in the NHL on scouting budgets and player development budgets" and that he planned on increasing them.
The scouting department went from a reliance on the VideoScout3000 (thx to hockeybuzz's late jt for that gem) coupled with few scouts to around 25 now complete with an increased presence overseas.
During that seven-year era, when McPhee and his Capitals were mostly ruling the weak Southeast Conference, not one word was uttered about an unfair edge as the Sabres were endlessly stuck in the middle of the pack.
The Buffalo Sabres know what it's like not to have the financial wherewithal to host their own draft combines. And they also know first-hand what it's like to be in a small market where corporate sponsorship is minimal.
In a hockey world where the big market teams like the NY Rangers, LA Kings, Toronto Maple Leaves, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals, among others, have the corporate sponsorship and local media related revenue to spend lavishly year-in/year-out, a team like Buffalo needs to accent scouting and player development.
If a small-market owner who has the wherewithal and wants to host 75-85 players for their own pre-draft combine, there should be no complaints from any big market team like the Capitals.
It's their way of striking their own competitive balance while face of the big-market cities.
McPhee said, "Ideally what we want is one combine where everybody gets their information and it's equal for [all] teams."
Ideally, what small market teams would want is a piece of the corporate sponsorship and local media related revenue that teams like NY, Washington and Toronto have. You know, to make it "equal for all teams."
A laughable proposition.
Apparently there's a majority that want limitations put on team combines and McPhee was just the mouthpiece.
Regardless.
Any talk of competitive disadvantages coming form a big-market team is laughable.
And if a small-market team cries foul? Sorry.
Maybe you'll be lucky enough to land an owner who will "drill another oil well" if he needs to.
Until then, the Sabres should do what they think is necessary for the future of the franchise. And when it comes to how they want to do things, the rest, especially a big-market team like McPhee's Capitals should just STFU.
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