A Die By the Blade blog posted a picture of a billboard in Buffalo that was eventually picked up by Yahoo's Sean Leahy and spread to a much larger audience. On it were the words "Buffalo Loves Vesey." The Vesey, of course, is in regards to Jimmy Vesey, the recent Harvard graduate whom the Sabres own the rights to until August 15 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
A lot has been said and written about the left winger with an NHL-ready frame and two strong developmental years for the Crimson that lead to 56 goals and 104 points in his last 70 games as a junior and senior. There's no question that he'd fit right into what Buffalo is doing and spot in the top-nine is legit at this point in time with the strong possibility that he'd have an opportunity as either Jack Eichel or Ryan O'Reilly's wingman in the top-six.
The Sabres just met with Vesey in Boston last week as Sabres GM Tim Murray, head coach Dan Bylsma and assistant director of scouting Jerry Forton, who helped recruit Vesey when he was an assistant coach at Harvard, all headed to Beantown to make their pitch. The trio represented hockey and the organization and presumably had answers to the questions Vesey had concerning where he fit into the grand scheme of things.
That was important as Vesey is looking at the next two years, his entry-level contract years, as a springboard to a longer, and presumably a more lucrative, NHL contract coming out on the other side. One of Vesey's agents, Peter Fish told the Buffalo News that "the meeting went very well" while also telling WGR550 that Vesey felt "very comfortable" with Murray and Bylsma. "However," continued Fish, "until we sit down with Jimmy and fully digest everything we heard [Thursday], I can’t really comment on how it might affect Aug. 15th.”
The Sabres did well in their sales pitch. Murray, whose known to keep it brief and to the point, said of the meeting to The News, “We went down there, we talked to him about the city and the organization, then we came home.”
That would be the proper amount of pitch without any overwhelming pressure being put on a young man staring down the first big decision of his professional career. What's not proper is the over-the-top "Buffalo Loves Vesey" billboard from Northtown Automotive. Although it attracts attention, in the end, smothering affection like that hurts the process.
As an example, take the Toronto Maple Leafs pitch for then unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos, a Toronto-area native.
Rare is the time when a free agent of his caliber hits the open market and there was no small amount of interest from a number of teams including the Buffalo Sabres who talked with the Stamkos camp during the open period on draft weekend. The Montreal Canadians were also said to have talked to them and Stamkos also had meetings with Toronto and then Detroit lined up.
But Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun wrote today that the heavy hand of the Leafs soured Stamkos not only on Toronto, but on the process as well. Simmons cites "numerous NHL people who attempted to woo Stamkos" as the basis for his piece.
"The availability of [Stamkos] all but ended after a Monday night meeting in Toronto that included Maple Leafs ownership, front office executives, Toronto Mayor John Tory, Canadian Tire CEO Michael Medline and others from the corporate community," wrote Simmons. "It was apparently an impressive sell with all kind of bells and whistles — just not impressive to Stamkos."
Even though the 26 yr. old Stamkos is an eight-year NHL veteran, facing that kind of crush from Toronto had to be startling. I'm not sure any player could come out of meeting like that expecting to perform even to the lowest of his own expectations were he to sign with any team much less his hometown team. According to Simmons, "He left the meeting with the Leafs, and apparently turned to his advisors and said: 'No more meetings.'"
Sorry Detroit.
The gist of this, other than the utter absurdity at the Center of the Hockey Universe for deploying an army like this to woo Stamkos, is that players want to play hockey where they feel comfortable and the best pitch is simply to lay out what there is to offer and let the chips fall where they may. No amount of bells and whistles and/or socio-political dignitaries and/or money-figures and/or billboards will change a player's perception of what's inside the hockey department and how he'll reach his potential as a hockey player.
The Northtown Auto Group, the Mayor of Toronto and others outside the hockey community needed to back off and let hockey people do their jobs. Although Vesey is no Stamkos, they are both humans and will go somewhere else if the pressure's too much. That's what free agency, or in these two cases, impending free agency, allows a player, the choice of where he wants to play.
Why suffocate them?
Showing posts with label 2016 Free Agency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016 Free Agency. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
On new Sabres goalie, Anders Nilsson
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
He's big, he's Swedish and since he was drafted by the NY Islanders at the top of the third round in 2009 he's managed 52 NHL games while playing for three different teams the last four seasons.
Goalie Anders Nilsson came to Buffalo in a July 2nd trade with the St. Louis Blues for a 2017 fifth-round draft pick, the day after Sabres GM Tim Murray watched as last year's backup goalie Chad Johnson took his talents to Calgary. Murray thought he had a deal done with goalie Jeff Zatkoff, a 29 yr. old Detroit, MI native who spent last season with the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins, but he was played and Zatkoff ended up with the LA Kings. Enter Nilsson and his 1yr./$1M contract.
Nilsson has been bouncing around the last couple of seasons. In 2014 he bolted the Islanders organization as a restricted free agent to sign a deal with Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League. While Nilsson was busy putting up stout numbers in the KHL--1.17 GAA and a .936 Sv%--NHL teams were busy trading his rights. First Chicago traded for them in the October 4th Nick Leddy deal then less than a year later the Blackhawks traded his rights to the Edmonton Oilers where he restarted his NHL career in 2015.
And restarted it he did. Nilsson had a brilliant preseason with the Oilers then played well enough in his first two regular season starts for Edmonton to the point where Nilsson was now said to be pushing Cam Talbot for the starters role. When head coach Todd McLellan started Nilsson over Talbot after the latter was named first star in the previous game against Detroit, Nilsson had his chance to bring "goaltender controversy" into the conversation. It was not to be, however, as he got lit up by the Washington Capitals for six goals on 17 shots.
Nilsson did recover and he went on a pretty good streak for the Oilers--one which included winning five in a row and six out of seven from November 28th to December 11th. In those 15 games he went 9-5-1 with a goals-against average around 2.50 and a save percentage of .919. But the bottom dropped out after that and he would not win another game in Edmonton. On February 27 Nilsson was traded to the Blues for goalie prospect Niklas Lundstrom (2011, 132nd-overall) and a 2016 fifth-round pick (#149) which the Oilers turned into LW, Graham McPhee, son of former Capitals GM, George McPhee.
The overall numbers for Nilsson's NHL career are not all that great. He's appeared in 52 NHL games going 19-22-4 with a 3.09 GAA and a .900 Sv% and one should wonder what Murray was thinking when he made the trade, especially when there was a known quantity in Jhonas Enroth on the market who was said to be interested in returning to Buffalo.
Size does matter when it comes to Murray and his goaltenders and Murray likes big goalies. Nilsson chimes in at 6'5" 229 lbs. whereas Enroth is 5'11" 185 lbs. and with the change in goalie equipment on the immediate horizon a smaller goalie like Enroth will have even more to overcome.
The Sabres had a big goalie in Nathan Lieuwen but chose not to qualify the restricted free agent. Lieuwen has the size (6'5" 189 lbs.) but he's dealt with concussion issues the last two seasons which have put a hurtin' on his career. He's not Swedish either.
Buffalo's starting goalie is Robin Lehner is also from Sweden so he and Nilsson can now swap stories in their native tounge. Lehner had a rough start to his Sabres career as he hit IR after playing only two periods of hockey for his new team. When he came back, he came back pretty strong, but may have come back to early and the team shut him down in mid-March. Although Lehner's 5-9-5 record with Buffalo isn't anything to speak of he posted a 2.47 GAA and a .924 Sv%.
The addition of Nilsson does a number of things for the team even though fans will need to keep up on their high blood-pressure medication whenever he's in net. With him on board, Lehner will be the undisputed starter and will also have a homeboy with him in case he needs a hug. It also places goalie-prospect Linus Ullmark in Rochester for a full year of AHL development with Jason Kasdorf as his back-up for the Amerks. Should Lehner get injured again, unless Nilsson pulls a rabbit out of his hat, Ullmark will probably get the nod while Nilsson retains his back-up role.
Murray has said he wants to get better every day and many aren't sure how the signing of Nilsson as a back-up makes them better. Regardless of those thoughts, Buffalo's goaltending hierarchy is in place and if they plan on making the playoffs next season a healthy Lehner will go a long way in achieving that goal.
He's big, he's Swedish and since he was drafted by the NY Islanders at the top of the third round in 2009 he's managed 52 NHL games while playing for three different teams the last four seasons.
Goalie Anders Nilsson came to Buffalo in a July 2nd trade with the St. Louis Blues for a 2017 fifth-round draft pick, the day after Sabres GM Tim Murray watched as last year's backup goalie Chad Johnson took his talents to Calgary. Murray thought he had a deal done with goalie Jeff Zatkoff, a 29 yr. old Detroit, MI native who spent last season with the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins, but he was played and Zatkoff ended up with the LA Kings. Enter Nilsson and his 1yr./$1M contract.
Nilsson has been bouncing around the last couple of seasons. In 2014 he bolted the Islanders organization as a restricted free agent to sign a deal with Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League. While Nilsson was busy putting up stout numbers in the KHL--1.17 GAA and a .936 Sv%--NHL teams were busy trading his rights. First Chicago traded for them in the October 4th Nick Leddy deal then less than a year later the Blackhawks traded his rights to the Edmonton Oilers where he restarted his NHL career in 2015.
And restarted it he did. Nilsson had a brilliant preseason with the Oilers then played well enough in his first two regular season starts for Edmonton to the point where Nilsson was now said to be pushing Cam Talbot for the starters role. When head coach Todd McLellan started Nilsson over Talbot after the latter was named first star in the previous game against Detroit, Nilsson had his chance to bring "goaltender controversy" into the conversation. It was not to be, however, as he got lit up by the Washington Capitals for six goals on 17 shots.
Nilsson did recover and he went on a pretty good streak for the Oilers--one which included winning five in a row and six out of seven from November 28th to December 11th. In those 15 games he went 9-5-1 with a goals-against average around 2.50 and a save percentage of .919. But the bottom dropped out after that and he would not win another game in Edmonton. On February 27 Nilsson was traded to the Blues for goalie prospect Niklas Lundstrom (2011, 132nd-overall) and a 2016 fifth-round pick (#149) which the Oilers turned into LW, Graham McPhee, son of former Capitals GM, George McPhee.
The overall numbers for Nilsson's NHL career are not all that great. He's appeared in 52 NHL games going 19-22-4 with a 3.09 GAA and a .900 Sv% and one should wonder what Murray was thinking when he made the trade, especially when there was a known quantity in Jhonas Enroth on the market who was said to be interested in returning to Buffalo.
Size does matter when it comes to Murray and his goaltenders and Murray likes big goalies. Nilsson chimes in at 6'5" 229 lbs. whereas Enroth is 5'11" 185 lbs. and with the change in goalie equipment on the immediate horizon a smaller goalie like Enroth will have even more to overcome.
The Sabres had a big goalie in Nathan Lieuwen but chose not to qualify the restricted free agent. Lieuwen has the size (6'5" 189 lbs.) but he's dealt with concussion issues the last two seasons which have put a hurtin' on his career. He's not Swedish either.
Buffalo's starting goalie is Robin Lehner is also from Sweden so he and Nilsson can now swap stories in their native tounge. Lehner had a rough start to his Sabres career as he hit IR after playing only two periods of hockey for his new team. When he came back, he came back pretty strong, but may have come back to early and the team shut him down in mid-March. Although Lehner's 5-9-5 record with Buffalo isn't anything to speak of he posted a 2.47 GAA and a .924 Sv%.
The addition of Nilsson does a number of things for the team even though fans will need to keep up on their high blood-pressure medication whenever he's in net. With him on board, Lehner will be the undisputed starter and will also have a homeboy with him in case he needs a hug. It also places goalie-prospect Linus Ullmark in Rochester for a full year of AHL development with Jason Kasdorf as his back-up for the Amerks. Should Lehner get injured again, unless Nilsson pulls a rabbit out of his hat, Ullmark will probably get the nod while Nilsson retains his back-up role.
Murray has said he wants to get better every day and many aren't sure how the signing of Nilsson as a back-up makes them better. Regardless of those thoughts, Buffalo's goaltending hierarchy is in place and if they plan on making the playoffs next season a healthy Lehner will go a long way in achieving that goal.
Monday, July 4, 2016
It wasn't "The Big Fish" but landing Kyle Okposo is big for Buffalo
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos did the right thing by agreeing to an 8 yr. extension with the club. A premier free agent of his caliber doesn't hit the market all that often and he did listen to a what a few teams, including the Buffalo Sabres, had to offer but in the end Tampa has all the elements he was looking for.
With the Stamkos Sweepstakes over all eyes turned toward the opening of free agency at 12-Noon yesterday and teams turned their attention to the next tier of unrestricted free agents. For Buffalo that would have been NY Islanders winger Kyle Okposo.
Many considered Okposo the best of a solid, yet unspectacular (in light of Stamkos) group of UFA's hitting the market and surprisingly it only took a 15-minute phone call sell him on Buffalo. At the post-FA news conference Sabres GM Tim Murray said landing the free agent wasn't so much about selling the city of Buffalo, Murray had to "sell him on the organization" and the direction the team is headed. For those who'd been spitting on Buffalo calling it "the armpit of America" it might come as a shock that there are many, many players and coaches out there both past and present who like the city of Buffalo and have no qualms about planting roots there.
Murray didn't even need to do a whole lot of selling Okposo on the direction the team is headed in. At yesterday's media conference call, he was asked right off the bat what sold him on Buffalo and the Sabres. "First and foremost, I've been saying it kind of all day, is the chance to win the Stanley Cup," he told the media members, "and I think we have a lot of pieces in play that can help us achieve that goal.
"I looked at their forwards especially their top two centers with [Ryan] O'Reilly and [Jack] Eichel and those guys are only going to continue to get better, especially Jack. He's got superstar status and you definitely need that to win a Stanley Cup, I think."
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos did the right thing by agreeing to an 8 yr. extension with the club. A premier free agent of his caliber doesn't hit the market all that often and he did listen to a what a few teams, including the Buffalo Sabres, had to offer but in the end Tampa has all the elements he was looking for.
With the Stamkos Sweepstakes over all eyes turned toward the opening of free agency at 12-Noon yesterday and teams turned their attention to the next tier of unrestricted free agents. For Buffalo that would have been NY Islanders winger Kyle Okposo.
Many considered Okposo the best of a solid, yet unspectacular (in light of Stamkos) group of UFA's hitting the market and surprisingly it only took a 15-minute phone call sell him on Buffalo. At the post-FA news conference Sabres GM Tim Murray said landing the free agent wasn't so much about selling the city of Buffalo, Murray had to "sell him on the organization" and the direction the team is headed. For those who'd been spitting on Buffalo calling it "the armpit of America" it might come as a shock that there are many, many players and coaches out there both past and present who like the city of Buffalo and have no qualms about planting roots there.
Murray didn't even need to do a whole lot of selling Okposo on the direction the team is headed in. At yesterday's media conference call, he was asked right off the bat what sold him on Buffalo and the Sabres. "First and foremost, I've been saying it kind of all day, is the chance to win the Stanley Cup," he told the media members, "and I think we have a lot of pieces in play that can help us achieve that goal.
"I looked at their forwards especially their top two centers with [Ryan] O'Reilly and [Jack] Eichel and those guys are only going to continue to get better, especially Jack. He's got superstar status and you definitely need that to win a Stanley Cup, I think."
Jake McCabe signs. "Crazy money" for Okposo? The Evander Kane debate
Reprinted with permission from hockyebuzz.com
Having defenseman Jake McCabe in the fold for three years is a good thing for the Buffalo Sabres. Having him re-sign at a $1.6M cap-hit is even better.
McCabe played on the second pairing with the Sabres mostly with young-vet Zach Bogosian as probably Buffalo's most consistent pairing for the better part of last season. McCabe, who was taken with the 44th pick in the 2012 NHL Draft played in 77 games his rookie season recording 14 points (4+10) while leading the team in plus/minus with a plus-6 rating.
With only full season under his belt, McCabe has established his floor as a gritty, positionally sound second-pairing defenseman with a high hockey IQ who will stand you up at the blueline and harass you in his own end. He has the remarkable capacity to regroup after a poor shift, period or game and come back with a strong performance. McCabe also has untapped offensive upside as he has a penchant for finding that soft spot in the offensive zone (especially sneaking in from the left side) and has a shot from the point that regularly finds it's way through to the net.
It's not surprising that he seemed to spend most of last season focusing on defense, nor is it surprising that he found himself way down the powerplay depth-chart under head coach Dan Bylsma, who was in his first year behind the bench for Buffalo. However, with his smarts and shot a real shot on the second power play unit could yield some very positive results.
Having defenseman Jake McCabe in the fold for three years is a good thing for the Buffalo Sabres. Having him re-sign at a $1.6M cap-hit is even better.
McCabe played on the second pairing with the Sabres mostly with young-vet Zach Bogosian as probably Buffalo's most consistent pairing for the better part of last season. McCabe, who was taken with the 44th pick in the 2012 NHL Draft played in 77 games his rookie season recording 14 points (4+10) while leading the team in plus/minus with a plus-6 rating.
With only full season under his belt, McCabe has established his floor as a gritty, positionally sound second-pairing defenseman with a high hockey IQ who will stand you up at the blueline and harass you in his own end. He has the remarkable capacity to regroup after a poor shift, period or game and come back with a strong performance. McCabe also has untapped offensive upside as he has a penchant for finding that soft spot in the offensive zone (especially sneaking in from the left side) and has a shot from the point that regularly finds it's way through to the net.
It's not surprising that he seemed to spend most of last season focusing on defense, nor is it surprising that he found himself way down the powerplay depth-chart under head coach Dan Bylsma, who was in his first year behind the bench for Buffalo. However, with his smarts and shot a real shot on the second power play unit could yield some very positive results.
Monday, April 18, 2016
THN's Ken Cambell adds another layer to the Steven Stamkos saga
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
For those who have visited these Buffalo Sabres threads, the name Steve Stamkos has been a source of intrigue for quite a while. The NHL's first-overall pick in 2008 is in the final year of his contract and there are some big question marks concerning him re-upping in Tampa. It's not very often that a player of Stamkos' caliber hits the open market via free agency so as the saga continues, and should he choose to do so the list of teams after his services will be long.
The Sabres are said to be one of those teams interested in Stamkos and have been for some time.
Our very own Sabres89 has mentioned on numerous occasions this past season that Buffalo GM Tim Murray has been very interested in acquiring Stamkos. So when THN's Ken Campbell was on WGR550 telling Hockey Hotline hosts Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet, "I know Tim Murray tried to make a deal for him last summer," it wasn't too much of a surprise for those who come here regularly.
Why Stamkos would choose free agency has been a bit of a bit of a mystery as he's in a great city captaining a talented regular playoff team that was considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season. He'll command huge dollars, probably hitting an annual eight-figure salary, and can he get an eighth year added to his term by re-signing with Tampa while also being afforded the opportunity to stretch that a little farther as the state of Florida has no state income tax.
For those who have visited these Buffalo Sabres threads, the name Steve Stamkos has been a source of intrigue for quite a while. The NHL's first-overall pick in 2008 is in the final year of his contract and there are some big question marks concerning him re-upping in Tampa. It's not very often that a player of Stamkos' caliber hits the open market via free agency so as the saga continues, and should he choose to do so the list of teams after his services will be long.
The Sabres are said to be one of those teams interested in Stamkos and have been for some time.
Our very own Sabres89 has mentioned on numerous occasions this past season that Buffalo GM Tim Murray has been very interested in acquiring Stamkos. So when THN's Ken Campbell was on WGR550 telling Hockey Hotline hosts Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet, "I know Tim Murray tried to make a deal for him last summer," it wasn't too much of a surprise for those who come here regularly.
Why Stamkos would choose free agency has been a bit of a bit of a mystery as he's in a great city captaining a talented regular playoff team that was considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season. He'll command huge dollars, probably hitting an annual eight-figure salary, and can he get an eighth year added to his term by re-signing with Tampa while also being afforded the opportunity to stretch that a little farther as the state of Florida has no state income tax.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Sabres fans will be rooting for Jamie McGinn and the Anaheim Ducks
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
When Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray sent winger Jamie McGinn to the Anaheim Ducks at the 2016 trade deadline the return was a conditional 2016 3rd round pick. The condition: Should the Ducks advance to the Western Conference Finals and McGinn play in 50% of the their playoff games in the process that third would turn into a 2017 second-rounder.
The latter part of the equation is pretty much a given as McGinn has been a top-six presence for the Ducks as he's scored eight goals in 21 games since the trade. McGinn's continued presence in front of the net will be needed as they face one of the best goalies in the game--Pekka Rinne--in their opening round series against the Nashville Predators.
When Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray sent winger Jamie McGinn to the Anaheim Ducks at the 2016 trade deadline the return was a conditional 2016 3rd round pick. The condition: Should the Ducks advance to the Western Conference Finals and McGinn play in 50% of the their playoff games in the process that third would turn into a 2017 second-rounder.
The latter part of the equation is pretty much a given as McGinn has been a top-six presence for the Ducks as he's scored eight goals in 21 games since the trade. McGinn's continued presence in front of the net will be needed as they face one of the best goalies in the game--Pekka Rinne--in their opening round series against the Nashville Predators.
Some players to watch during the playoffs
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
For the fifth year running the Buffalo Sabres are out of the playoffs and fans in Sabreland are left to watch the battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Although there are brackets and fantasy leagues, NHL 16 and other games to keep us occupied until Draft Day, there’s nothing like having a vested rooting interest in your favorite team.
For the fifth year running the Buffalo Sabres are out of the playoffs and fans in Sabreland are left to watch the battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Although there are brackets and fantasy leagues, NHL 16 and other games to keep us occupied until Draft Day, there’s nothing like having a vested rooting interest in your favorite team.
Most Buffalo
After that it’s the July 1st free agent frenzy,
which as of late resembles an afternoon junket heading towards slot machines
than a high stakes gambit. All could change, however, as Tampa Bay
Although his future doesn’t rest soley with his recovery
from a blood clot, he’s out until at least the middle of July, and having a rib
removed in the process might give some team a reason to reign in their
enthusiasm. Regardless, Stamkos could be the biggest name to hit free agency
since Dallas
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