Not a chance you can think that. The market sets the value. Teams were/are hesitant to give up 2015 first round picks/the farm for rental players last year.

Murray actually got one of the best values out of the Moulson/Vanek/Gaborik sweeps.
- ImThatGuy

This is very false.

Truth is the market value was very high originally, but dried up quickly. And those who waited too long were SOL.

Look at Marty St.Louis, he was traded for R. Callahan & a 2015 (McEichel yr) 1st rd pick! That's a haul.

Adversely look at Vanek, is he such a far cry from a 40yr old St.Louis? Of course not, but the NYI held onto him till the last minute. And everyone had finished their shopping already.

The best returns came to those who struck first, and the same thing happened with the goalie market. U snooze, U lose.

Can't credit Regire for the Miller trade, that was TM.

Not so sure that the return from STL was quite "Darcy worthy" anyways..

One has to think that Regire would have fielded two 1st rd picks with that ammo... a 1st for Miller & then another 1st for Ott.
- SuperCat

thx, supercat...hopefully a little editing fixed that

I'd say yes. The corporate boxes would be renewed, and a number of fans would relish the idea of building a perennial contender, and methinks would come out once the new blood arrived on the ice.
- nfph

What comes with having the largest fanbase is also having the most "crazy" fans as well, and as we all know they are always the loudest. And that is what the media usually picks up on and runs with it.

This is very false.

Truth is the market value was very high originally, but dried up quickly. And those who waited too long were SOL.

Look at Marty St.Louis, he was traded for R. Callahan & a 2015 (McEichel yr) 1st rd pick! That's a haul.

Adversely look at Vanek, is he such a far cry from a 40yr old St.Louis? Of course not, but the NYI held onto him till the last minute. And everyone had finished their shopping already.

The best returns came to those who struck first, and the same thing happened with the goalie market. U snooze, U lose.
- SuperCat

It's not cause NYI held onto him, it's because the market on scoring wingers was flooded.

Lets not get anything twisted, Vanek is no Martin St. Louis, and St. Louis helped that team reach the finals while Vanek disappeared (like we saw him do year after year)


Also you had Moulson, Cammy, Gaborik, Stempniak, all flooding the market on deadline day. Murray was smart to unload Miller and Ott when he did

I'd say yes. The corporate boxes would be renewed, and a number of fans would relish the idea of building a perennial contender, and methinks would come out once the new blood arrived on the ice.
- nfph

They may relish the idea, but that doesn't always translate to them wanting to spend $.

For example, I love the fact that the sabres removed the old core and began rebuilding towards a contender, but I haven't spent a penny on sabres merchandise since the rebuild began and I haven't attended a sabres game (either in Toronto or Buffalo) since the 11-12 season.

And it's not because I don't want them to or that i'm against the rebuild, but because I know there's no point in me spending money on a product I'm well aware is going to be intentionally awful.

Edit: Ticket prices in Toronto don't help the cause either.

What he got was better than two first round picks.
- Der Kaiser

I agree. I think the the PVT for William Carrier, Chris Stewart and Michael Neuvirth will be higher than Robby Fabbri.

Can Toronto afford to re-build? Honest question. This is not a shot at Toronto fans, but the fan base would "cripple" if Toronto went into rebuild mode. They seem not to be all that patient.
- ImThatGuy

Toronto already missed their boat on a rebuild imo.not trading for kessel would have given them a base of players like seguin,bozak,hamilton,gardiner,kadri,rielly,and if they still got bernier,thats a pretty solid young core to build on.

I'd say yes. The corporate boxes would be renewed, and a number of fans would relish the idea of building a perennial contender, and methinks would come out once the new blood arrived on the ice.
- nfph

NHL can't have TML in the cellar for too long...

they will probably win the lottery and get McDavid AND Eichel.

This is very false.

Truth is the market value was very high originally, but dried up quickly. And those who waited too long were SOL.

Look at Marty St.Louis, he was traded for R. Callahan & a 2015 (McEichel yr) 1st rd pick! That's a haul.

Adversely look at Vanek, is he such a far cry from a 40yr old St.Louis? Of course not, but the NYI held onto him till the last minute. And everyone had finished their shopping already.

The best returns came to those who struck first, and the same thing happened with the goalie market. U snooze, U lose.
- SuperCat

False.
2014 1st. 2015 2nd. 2014 1st was converted to Dominik Masin and Johnathan MacLeod. Those players aren't some top 5 pick next year.

great read,and buffalo will be a scary team in the very near future.regier left a stocked cupboard and murray will add to it,and imo buffalo will contend in the east in about 2-3 yrs.they have all the right pieces that just need to play up to potential.

It's not cause NYI held onto him, it's because the market on scoring wingers was flooded.

Lets not get anything twisted, Vanek is no Martin St. Louis, and St. Louis helped that team reach the finals while Vanek disappeared (like we saw him do year after year)


Also you had Moulson, Cammy, Gaborik, Stempniak, all flooding the market on deadline day. Murray was smart to unload Miller and Ott when he did
- sbroads24

I totally disagree with all/most of this.

A flooded market didn't hurt, the value of M. st.Louis, or Vanek early in the yr. did it? Yet in every case last yr, the scoring wingers who were delt closer to the deadline yielded less. It was supply & demand. The smart play was to strike quick, still that's totally in control of a GM. But that doesn't mean a good return was unheard of, just trickier to navigate.

To peg Vanek as the scapegoat for MTL's loss to the NYR is ill-informed as well. That series had everything to do with Cary Price being injured by a NYR cheap shot. Price is amongst the top goalies in the league, & MTL needed him to keep pace with Lundquist... Simple as that.

great read,and buffalo will be a scary team in the very near future.regier left a stocked cupboard and murray will add to it,and imo buffalo will contend in the east in about 2-3 yrs.they have all the right pieces that just need to play up to potential.
- smackdaddy

Regier stacked the defensive cupboards and TM stacked the forwards cupboards in my opinion...

Regier stacked the defensive cupboards and TM stacked the forwards cupboards in my opinion...
- JVince11

regier did a pretty good job there,hodgson is still young,grigerenko,girgensons,armia,ennis and foligno are all good hockey players and if they can mature and live up to potential this could be a deep team fast.

I think you guys are pretty much there. If you can duplicate our defense, and we can duplicate your offense, we'll be clashing in the ECFs for a long time.
- TheSabresTaco

Unfortunately since they're in the same division I don't know if that can happen it'll be a conference semi battle most likely. One of the reasons I hate the new playoff format gives some higher seeds tougher paths to the cup than lower seeds (I.e. Montreal tampa and Boston as opposed to the Rangers this year)

Michael Pachla: An incredible haul for "the core" bolsters Sabres top-rated systerm
- Michael Pachla

Nice job !!

regier did a pretty good job there,hodgson is still young,grigerenko,girgensons,armia,ennis and foligno are all good hockey players and if they can mature and live up to potential this could be a deep team fast.
- smackdaddy

That is true I suppose isn't it...

Adding guys like Fasching, Deslauriers, Carrier, and Reinhart certainly helped too.

other young guys like Bailey, Compher, Hurley, Baptiste, and Possler could really pan out on our wings too.

Hey, just checking in to say 'great blog.'

I've really enjoyed what you've done here. Finally, some interesting reads around this place. Thanks, and keep up the good work Michael.

regier did a pretty good job there,hodgson is still young,grigerenko,girgensons,armia,ennis and foligno are all good hockey players and if they can mature and live up to potential this could be a deep team fast.
- smackdaddy

I'm on the fence with regard to Foligno...lots of potential, but shows it less than 25% of the time...needs to find consistency in his game this year, IMO.

I totally disagree with all/most of this.

A flooded market didn't hurt, the value of M. st.Louis, or Vanek early in the yr. did it? Yet in every case last yr, the scoring wingers who were delt closer to the deadline yielded less. It was supply & demand. The smart play was to strike quick, still that's totally in control of a GM. But that doesn't mean a good return was unheard of, just trickier to navigate.

To peg Vanek as the scapegoat for MTL's loss to the NYR is ill-informed as well. That series had everything to do with Cary Price being injured by a NYR cheap shot. Price is amongst the top goalies in the league, & MTL needed him to keep pace with Lundquist... Simple as that.
- SuperCat

Vanek got criticized by his own GM, and signed a deal for less than his previous deal because of the bad postseason and drunken Olympics , Vanek was a spectacle for.

Also, of course the market wasn't flooded when Vanek was traded to the Isles, how many other teams were trying to trade their best player 7 games into the season? In talking about at the deadline, when there are 4 or 5 guys available that all do relatively the same thing, it drives the price down because there are other options

Has the Hodgson deal been forgotten? I feel we won but kassian is a TM type of player

regier did a pretty good job there,hodgson is still young,grigerenko,girgensons,armia,ennis and foligno are all good hockey players and if they can mature and live up to potential this could be a deep team fast.
- smackdaddy

I think 2015 draft should be as such:

BUF 1st - McEichel
NYI 1st - McEichel, Barzal
STL 1st - Matthew Spencer, Nicholas Roy, Gabriel Carlsson

2 elite forwards to make a real top line and one more solid D to create incredible depth at D. If that draft lands as such, this team is going to be a (frank)ing nightmare to play against. Not to mention the pair of high 2nd rounders we'll have. Hell, maybe we'll use one and the STL to move up for a guy like Zack Werenski (D)

That is true I suppose isn't it...

Adding guys like Fasching, Deslauriers, Carrier, and Reinhart certainly helped too.

other young guys like Bailey, Compher, Hurley, Baptiste, and Possler could really pan out on our wings too.
- JVince11

couldn't agree more,just the depth in the minors and on the current roster are going to be a team to be reckoned with.2-3 yrs and look out eastern conference.and that's not including any possible additions in free agency in the coming years or the draft picks comin either.good gm and one of the most underrated coaches ever imo=CONTENDERS

This is very false.

Truth is the market value was very high originally, but dried up quickly. And those who waited too long were SOL.

Look at Marty St.Louis, he was traded for R. Callahan & a 2015 (McEichel yr) 1st rd pick! That's a haul.

Adversely look at Vanek, is he such a far cry from a 40yr old St.Louis? Of course not, but the NYI held onto him till the last minute. And everyone had finished their shopping already.

The best returns came to those who struck first, and the same thing happened with the goalie market. U snooze, U lose.
- SuperCat

the irony is absolutely killing me that you think tim murray is the one that waits too long to pull the trigger. the market is what the market is. there was like 3 teams that made any sense for miller.

Has the Hodgson deal has been forgotten? I feel we won but kassian is a TM type of player
- yen6d1

Well, let's see.

Hodgson can score, Kassian can't.

I'm over it. Plus we have Brandon Lemieux, so hopefully he's a more useful Kassian that puts in a more consistent effort.

I'm on the fence with regard to Foligno...lots of potential, but shows it less than 25% of the time...needs to find consistency in his game this year, IMO.
- IonSabres

foligno has to work on his consistency for sure,but with the current depth on the roster and in the minors he becomes a third or fourth line winger.and I would take him all day in that role.