Sound_n_Fury

That article talks more about attitude than performance. Mostly sounds like a slam on Verba...

Ah...this article looks like a pre-season analysis by Scouts, Inc. rather than a review of actual training camp action: "As another NFL season approaches, Scouts Inc. breaks down every roster and offers position-by-position breakdowns. " Seems like the writers' opinion more than in-person evaluation.

No offense, but look at how many cups the Flyers, Rangers and other big spenders that have been chasing the "future is now" ghost the past few years have--answer: just as many as Buffalo. The future has to be now, next year and the year after that. A few big contract signings aren't going to put the team in cup contention this year. I don't think Numminen is washed up. He's got another year in him and should be effective on the PP. Here's a nice article on him when he signed with Dallas). http://www.canoe.ca/Slam031030/nhl_dal-sun.html

I really like the fact it's a one-year deal. Darcy's game plan seems to be to get though this season with a few mid-level signings and be in a financial position to go after next year's FA crop after the rest of the league (i.e., Flyers etc.) have maxed out their cap. Not a bad strategy actually...

LOL! What type of players have been changing teams this week? Stupid post of the day...

Clarke's a moron. The old guys he's signing will miss about half the season and he'll be in cap jail next year.

I don't believe that's correct. Z salary was never budgeted into the $23 million they're currently at.

Grrrrr..... $25-million, five-year contract. That's too rich. The NHL owners have to be the stupidest of any pro sports league.

The budget numbers DR has used are $28 million. With the payroll at $23 million right now, that gives them $5 million to play with.

For once I agree with Bucky: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050...?tbd1027373.asp These sort of dollars make no sense 8/3/2005 By BUCKY GLEASON How long did it last, less than two full days? The National Hockey League spent a good two years crying about its problems, another one locking out its players, millions of dollars fighting the players' association, months demanding a salary cap and heaven knows how long insisting financial sanity would be restored. Is this what the league had in mind? In less than 48 hours, the league was back in the loony bin. The evidence was right there in the first round of free-agent contract signings. The system designed for bargain hunters already is failing, quickly caving to supply and demand and U-turning the NHL down the scary road from which it recently departed. Take, for example, defenseman Adam Foote. He made $4.3 million in 2003-04, under the old collective bargaining agreement. Calculate the 24 percent salary rollback, assuming Foote was worth $4.3 million in the first place, and he should have signed a deal worth about $3.25 million this season. The Columbus Blue Jackets decided he improved so much during the lockout that he deserved $4.6 million a season. Granted, he's a good player, but for Foote that's an arm and a leg, especially in today's game. "It's a little scary," Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier said Tuesday. "I don't want to comment on another organization, but I can comment on what's taking place in the marketplace. These types of things are what got us in trouble in the first place." The Sabres were among many teams intent on dipping their toes into free agency with the idea they could land a good player or two at a reasonable price. The system figured to work, but only if teams across the league adhered to the strengths of the CBA. It meant thinking twice before signing long-term deals for big money. In no time, GMs were overspending for players while owners ignored the very reasons they stood firm during the lockout. They'll eventually meet a roadblock with the salary cap, but the market already has changed. The price for defensemen just skyrocketed beyond the realm of reality. We knew all along that owners were half the problem because every contract included two signatures. Still, we sympathized with the owners because, in the old NHL, there were no inherent mechanisms to curb spending. Basically, owners needed to be saved from themselves. We applauded the 24 percent rollback, embraced the $39 million salary cap, welcomed the new CBA. But if what happened in the first two days amounts to a salary cut, where do I sign up? Adrian Aucoin made $3.25 million with the New York Islanders in 2003-04. Common sense suggested he should have been paid roughly $2.5 million. But why should he settle for such a pittance? The Chicago Blackhawks, among the loudest moaners under the previous system, agreed to pay him $4 million a year. Derian Hatcher pocketed $13.2 million last month after the Detroit Red Wings bought out his contract. All told, he made about $18 million with the Wings and played 27 games, including the playoffs. Somehow, that production and a major injury warranted a four-year deal worth $14 million from Philadelphia. Alexei Zhitnik would have earned about $3 million per season - including the rollback - if he had signed a deal last year. Instead, he signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Islanders on Tuesday. With salary cutbacks like the ones we've witnessed, who needs raises? Teams can spend whatever they want on whomever they want, so long as they know the ramifications. Overpaying for players now will hurt teams once they run out of cap room. Given the NHL's attitude toward cutting costs over the first two days, teams will eventually get what they deserve. Just don't blame the players for taking what they can get.

The reports I've seen indicate that he's fully recovered, although as we've seen with Lafontaine and other Sabres, once the coconut gets conked... Oh well, I'd still pull the trigger on Gonchar if he checks out medically.

I agree the defense needs reinforecements. That said, I would not want Foote (injury prone, slow) or Z (time to turn the page). Gonchar's the only "name" player left that might be a possibility (I'm totally discounting that the Sabres have a shot at Niedermayer).

Of the guys that signed today, who would we have wanted other than Aucoin? Given all the bellyaching I've seen on TSW and other MBs today, you'd swear the Sabres had passed on signing Gretzky, Lemieux and Messier in their primes. A lot of nervous nellies running around all of a sudden.

Old, slow or expensive guys you mean. Other than Aucoin, none of the guys that signed today were on the Sabres radar / wish list. Let's see what happens by Friday before we start calling Darcy the grandson of Satan.

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=27088

Yep, given the equipment he had to play with, Jack was better! Tiger's all-time 72 hole record of 270 at the 1997 Masters was only one stroke ahead of Jack's 271 in 1965. I doubt Tiger was hitting many 2 irons into the greens at Augusta like Jack was. Tiger will break Jack's records in a few years. But Nicklaus' dominance during his era will be hard to replicate, IMO.

This may be a sign that Gandy might turn out OK...he had a hammy problem with the Bears when he was cut. If it was due to a poor strength and conditioning program, he may be able to overcome these problems with the Bills.

Stick a fork in him, he's done.

Who says he's holding out? The Bills usually announce low-round signings on the first day of camp.

Given Gandy's injury history? You betcha he would. This is a non-story, IMO. Most teams, including the Bills, like to have OL flexibility, with guys having the ability to play multiple positions in a pinch. I wouldn't be surprised if TT didn't get 5-6 reps per practice last year as a contingency if JJ went down.

I agree. My point was the Bears were NOT going to let Columbo sit, so the decision to cut Gandy was more a numbers game than a reflection that he was "the worst of the worst." Is he Pro Bowl material? Obviously not. Is he the kind of mid-career vet that might blossom into an effective replacement for JJ for a very reasonable price? We'll know in about four weeks.

What universe are you living in? GMs get fired for keeping first round picks on the bench. No way Columbo was going to ride the pine with his contract. I'm not thrilled by Gandy, but your arguments are getting suspiciouly weaker and weaker....

He was released to make way for an underperforming number 1 draft pick, Marco Columbo. Not much you can do about that as a 3rd round pick.

And I repeat, I don't feel this is a sports department issue. It's a school billing dispute that could just as well have involved some three-eyed computer engineering nerd from Long Island. The kid didn't follow up with the Registar's office and now his folks think they can embarass the school into canceling his bill. It's no different than moving to a new home and forgetting to notify the gas company you're no longer living there, IMO.