Its eerily quiet in Camp Pegula.
The silence is deafening.
You hate being left out in the cold. You want the world and you want it now.
Some of you bar stool prophets are already crying in your Pearl Street IPA. You've already branded the 2013 Sabres as a failure at the NHL Entry Draft. You have carpal tunnel in both wrists. You have arthritis in all ten aching,gnarled to the bone fingers. Every time you refresh your Twitter feed and you read news about other NHL teams and their conversations about pursuing free agents, manufacturing trades, and jockeying for position to improve their draft order, your anxiety level rises and you guzzle what's left in your pint glass and you pour another one. You hate this so much that you love it. You are a masochist. You love the pain and suffering.
You want answers. All you get is more questions.
You are "suffering". You are frustrated. You are mad as Hell and you are not gonna take it anymore!
Let me clue you in on something, Sabre fan. Darcy Regier and his scouts are not going to spill the beans, nor will they clue you in on what moves that they have brewing. Are they going to be active in at the NHL Entry Draft? You better believe that they will be. Darcy is not going to show his cards to rival GMs and the rest of the hockey world on Saturday. He's got his poker face on and he's playing to win.
How do I know?
I have a very confident feeling. While other GMs are feeding the media with "insights", "proposals", "scenarios" and "opinions", its all just an exercise is hints, allegations, and things left unsaid
Regier told the Buffalo News early on Saturday afternoon that:
“Right now I expect that we will pick where we’re picking, and I say that only because there’s nothing that’s imminent or concrete,” Regier said.
“But like I said, there are a lot of conversations, and they will continue right until the draft starts and even beyond that.”
Operative phrase: "Right now".
I guarantee you that the moment Regier's words hit the Twittersphere, his phone began to vibrate, twitch and dance like a fat kid on a gallon of Perry's "Sabres Sundae" ice cream.
We now live in the age of intravenous information. Gone are the days when we sit and wait for updates and progress. The NHL lockout is a prime example of this phenomena.
GMs, scouts, agents, team presidents, and team owners controlling their own messages. Its like antiphonal call and response for you music aficionados. The lead singer says "Lemme hear ya, Buffalo", then you and your buds scream your guts out as you prance around the mosh pit with your devil horns above your head. Same is true in today's trade market. Sources float ideas as test balloons. They test for echo. They measure the responses and they formulate their next strategy. They use people in the media to get the information out to the masses and in effect, conduct a real time focus group to take the pulse of the market place.
I believe that Regier will move his 8th and 16th picks on Sunday afternoon. He wants to move into the 5 or 6 hole from the 8 hole, and he told us on Friday night that he has a drafting partner. I think that he's talking to Jim Rutherford about sending his 8th overall pick and and top four D to the Canes for the 5th overall pick. Hello, Sean Monahan. I also have a source who tells me that Regier and Calgary's Jay Feaster are talking about swapping picks. Buffalo would go from 8th to 6th and in the process would have to surrender a scoring forward, plus the 8th overall pick. Hello,Nichushkin.
Enjoy your Saturday night. Its going to be one of the most memorable NHL Drafts in league history. Top name players will be traded. Draft choices will be swapped. Rest assured knowing full well that Regier and his scouts are going to maximize all ten of the draft choices that they will bring to the draft with them.
On Sunday night, you'll be pleased with the haul that the Sabres will load into the U-haul and will transport back to Buffalo.
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I want the Sabres to put a ring on Adam Erne's finger, and say "I do".
So does his bestie, Mikhail Grigorenko.
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John Vogl of the Buffalo News tweeted that Sabres GM and Mike Liut, the agent for Ryan Miller, both expect Miller to be a Buffalo Sabre after this weekend.
"This weekend" is the operative phrase. Perhaps Regier has lustened ti trade proposals for Miller in the past couple of weeks that he is not inclined to act on at this time.
Perhaps Regier is allowing all suitors interested in Miller the opportunity to sharpen their pencils and to present better offers this week when the window will on a wild unrestricted free agency market on July 5.
Or, perhaps owner Terry Pegula has gotten involved in the Miller discussions Eddie wants Miller to remain a Buffalo Sabre for this year in many years to come.
Ill sort it out and will let you know what I hear...
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