Lets assume that the Sabres miss out on signing two of their top free agent, two-way center targets in Danny Briere and Matt Cullen.
Forget about signing Stephen Weiss, who's uncle Steve Spott was just hired as head coach of the Toronto Marlies (Ahem).
Pass on Mike Ribeiro.
Re-Group. Keep the skates moving.
Operative pharse: "Re-group". Not "re-build".
Its possible for Regier to stick to his plan of playing the kids while signing a key building piece of a UFA.
Regier said earlier this week:
"The focus is going to be on supporting this younger group, this younger core group," Regier said.
"Certainly, you want good players, but you want players who are committed to being professionals, being examples, being contributors. Those are the most important characteristics and the most important things we can do organizationally to make sure we progress in the direction we need to go."
The Sabres are said to be interested in Detroit Red Wings UFA pivot
Val Filppula.
According to MLive.com, talks between Filppula and the Red Wings are at a stand still right now. The players wants a bigger role and more money. The team can't meet the player's term and dollars demands.
The Red Wings continue talking to Filppula's agent, but it doesn't appear as if he's lowered his asking price of 5-7 years at $5 million or more a season.
Sounds like a take it or leave it approach by the Filppula camp.
Look. Filppula will never get $5 million per season to be the third line center in Detroit. Zetterberg and Datsyuk are the top two centers. Though he plays a similar style and has similar D-first skills, Filppula will have to leave Detroit if he wants to maximize his earning potential. Kind of like Jordan Staal last year in Pittsburgh. he sat behind Crosby and Malkin for years and had to leave the Penguins in order to get the ice time and dollars that were commensurate with his skill level. Filppula has scored 100 goals and has added 151 assists in 483 career games. More impressive is that in 109 playoff games, Filppula has scored 19 goals and added 38 assists (57 points).
The Sabres currently have $13 million in cap space as they head into the unrestricted free agency period. Signing Filppula immediately fixes the need for a smart, skilled two-way, defensively proficient center who can win draws, deny time-space, and can play in all situations.
Whats more, signing Filppula could be the right kind of addition that will make Thomas Vanek perk up and take notice that the Sabres are serious about re-grouping on the fly.
Another benefit to signing UFA Filpulla is that he speaks the same language as sniper prospect Joel Armia. To say nothing of speaking Ville Leino's language. The two play together in AHL Grand Rapids and Detroit.
At 29 years of age, Filppula has earned his stripes in the NHL. He's earned the right to play and expanded role and to be a leader on a competitive team. He'd be immediately respected in the Buffalo room for his impressive body of work that he compiled ovver the past eight seasons in Detroit. The guy has his name etched on Lord Stanley's Cup. Scotty Bowman speaks glowingly about his complete, two-way game.
Go ahead, Darcy. Do it.
***
Where will Danny Briere land on Friday?
Im thinking that he lands either in New Jersey or Montreal.
Nashville is said to be the third horse in the Briere race.
Pierre LeBrun tweeted this morning that he has been told that Briere narrowed his list down to three teams last night.
Buffalo has spoken with Briere and his agent.
48 has said repeatedly the two things matter to him:
Having an opportunity to win now and his playing time/ role on a team.
At age 36, Briere doesn't have much time left in his NHL career. He wants to win a Stanley Cup in the next two years.
The Sabres are a team in transition. Briere is a good player, however, he cant turn Buffalo into an instant Cup contender. For this reason, I think 48 chooses the Habs or Devils.
Canadiens:
Hard for Briere to resist Marc Bergevin and Rick Dudley. The Habs are are their way to bigger and better things as evidenced by their dramatic return to the playoffs in 2013.
The Habs wanted to sign Briere as UFA when he left Buffalo in 2007, however, he opted instead to sign with Philly.
He's add immediate scoring punch and special teams production to an already impressive habs squad.
Devils:
Save your "Devils are not a winning team" crap. Lou Lamoriello always ices a competitive squad. The Devils upstaged the NHl Entry Draft when they announced the Corey Schneider trade. Nobody saw it coming. Thats how Lou rolls. He's about to ink future Hall Of Famer Patrik Elias to a contract extension. Briere would fit nicely in the NJ top nine with Kovalchuk, Elias, Zajac, Henrique, Clarkson, Gionta, and Loktionov.
I'm hearing that the Devisl are also going to be making a strong push to sign UFA pivot Derek Roy, who was Peter DeBoer's captain when the Kitchener Rangers won the Memorial Cup. If Clarkson leaves for Toronto or whiter ice elsewhere, they will need a top six forward or two to replace him. Roy thought Ruff was tough? Tortarella will be harder for Roy to handle, in my opinion. Imagine a Briere-Roy line. Could happen.
Jersey makes sense for Briere because of its proximity to his family.
Preds:
Lindy Ruff's good friend Barry Trotz needs an upgrade at center and Briere fits the bill perfectly.
Briere wouldn't have to be the #1 C in Smashville, He fits nicely in their top six and can pay immediate dividends on the PP.
Briere's good friend JP Dumont likely helping Poile to recruit 48 to Smashville. Good fit.
As for the Sabres, I'm glad that they called Briere to inquire about him. Burying the hatchet is a good thing. Bygones.
I'm told that the Sabres, Bruins, and Islanders all made one year proposals to Briere, while the reported three finalists have offered two year pacts to the veteran scorer.
****
No news or progress to report on the status of Thomas Vanek.
His agent told me by email on Wednesday night that Vanek is ready to honor the final season of his Buffalo Sabres contract.
There is really nothing new to report. Thomas is fully prepared to return to the Sabres for his final season and the team is free to trade him if they feel it's in their best interest.
Vanek, like Ryan Miller is entering the final year of his current contract.
***
I'm thinking of Nathan Gerbe on the Fourth of July.
The spunky American forward gave all he had in his on-ice battles in Portland and Buffalo. Gerbe was a great soldier for Buffalo. His warrior spirit served him well in his formative years in Buffalo, where his effort was never in question. It ain't the size of the dog in the fight. Its the size of the fight in the dog. On many occasions, Zdeno Chara found himself on the business end of Gerbe's controlled aggression.
He did his best work while riding shotgun with Paul Gaustad and Pat Kaleta.
Gerbe's salary is $1.85 million for the 2013-14 season.
His $1.45 million cap will be erased with the stroke of the Mont Blanc pen. Buffalo will scratch checks to Gerbe for $308,333 next season and the season after.
The Gerbe buyout places the Sabres 2013 salary cap the width of a potato chip below $50 million.
****
Woke up this morning with "Changes" on my mind.
There will be NHL-wide changes in the hours and days to come.
The Gerbe buyout is the first of Buffalo's roster moves to come.
***
Happy Fourth of July.
Don't drink and drive.
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