Confirmed with Link: [BUF/MIN] Chris Stewart (BUF retains 50% of salary) for 2017 second rounder

[Clock]

Mike Harrington ‏@BNHarrington 2m2 minutes ago

More Stewart: "I've said since day one I've been proud to be a Sabre. I wore it with pride. It's been a first-class organization." #sabres

Classy. Almost as if he knew it was coming and rehearsed that...

 

[Beerz]

Classy. Almost as if he knew it was coming and rehearsed that...

I don't know.

I think he's a classy guy all around.

 

[Chainshot]

And in other news, the Sabres get yet another 2nd rounder from the Wild. Fletch clearly hates 2nds.

 

[HOOats]

Murray presser apparently waiting for him to complete the Stewart trade call. Maybe it was the last deal to get in ahead of the deadline. Seems like he was determined to squeeze a 2nd out of it on principle even if it's two years away. I can't imagine that this deadline was much fun for Murray. Like wringing a filthy mop out with your hands one last time.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[Woodhouse]

A second's better than what I thought they'd get for Stewart. Still, it's going to be years before seeing any return from this trade though (without flipping the pick).

 

[Beerz]

Michael Russo ‏@Russostrib 2m2 minutes ago

Fletcher said Tim Murray called him literally at the deadline. Deal made in few minutes, email in at 1:57 #mnwild #sabres

 

[wunderpanda]

Hard to believe this was the best offer Murray had in the last year for Stewart.

 

[joshjull]

@Real_ESPNLeBrun: Wild had been speaking on and off to Sabres on Stewart dating back to last summer. Price was always too high for Minnesota. Until today...

@Real_ESPNLeBrun: Chuck Fletcher phoned Tim Murray this morning and said he might be interested if it's a smaller deal. Murray circled back very late in day

@Real_ESPNLeBrun: It's clear Murray had larger deals involving Stewart he was looking at but they didn't pan out. Got what he could late from Wild

 

[BloFan4Life]

@Real_ESPNLeBrun: Wild had been speaking on and off to Sabres on Stewart dating back to last summer. Price was always too high for Minnesota. Until today...

@Real_ESPNLeBrun: Chuck Fletcher phoned Tim Murray this morning and said he might be interested if it's a smaller deal. Murray circled back very late in day

@Real_ESPNLeBrun: It's clear Murray had larger deals involving Stewart he was looking at but they didn't pan out. Got what he could late from Wild

Just as I thought, Murray dropped the ball on waiting with this deal. Stewart should have been traded much earlier.

 

[Beerz]

Just as I thought, Murray dropped the ball on waiting with this deal. Stewart should have been traded much earlier.

That's not what those tweets say..... At all.

 

[Paxon]

Just as I thought, Murray dropped the ball on waiting with this deal. Stewart should have been traded much earlier.

Does it say the Wild offered more in the past? No. It says the price was always too high until today which implies he wouldn't have gotten more from the Wild earlier. It implies the opposite of how you're taking it. He tried to get more and when it was impossible he settled. If he could have moved Stewart for Prince or Hoffman last season then, yes, that was a mistake, but what you're quoting says nothing about that. From the sound of it Murray waiting as long as he did gave us a chance at a involving Stewart in a bigger deal, but it didn't pan out. I'm guessing the reason for at least one of those deals not working is that the Bruins went and got Connolly instead, who is absolutely a better pick-up for them than Stewart.

 

[Rhett4]

Michael Russo ‏@Russostrib 2m2 minutes ago

Fletcher said Tim Murray called him literally at the deadline. Deal made in few minutes, email in at 1:57 #mnwild #sabres

It sounds like Murray played chicken with some other GMs, who didn't blink (or bite), and then as a last resort he went to his old pal for a 2nd. Well, at least he got a second. It's hard to know if the Bruins had a 2nd+ on the board before dealing Connolly or something. There was also that Spooner speculation.

Either way, Murray wasn't getting a first or an A prospect no matter what, so he may have only left an extra 4th or 5th on the board by playing hardball. No biggie, I guess.

 

[KennyFnPowers*]

That's not what those tweets say..... At all.

u can't argue with crazy. math don't line up...

It sounds like Murray played chicken with some other GMs, who didn't blink (or bite), and then as a last resort he went to his old pal for a 2nd. Well, at least he got a second. It's hard to know if the Bruins had a 2nd+ on the board before dealing Connolly or something. There was also that Spooner speculation.

Either way, Murray wasn't getting a first or an A prospect no matter what, so he may have only left an extra 4th or 5th on the board by playing hardball. No biggie, I guess.

of course he did, it was low risk... he HAD TO bluff. he wouldn't be a good GM if he didnt.

 

[Jim Bob]

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/03/stewart-to-open-with-vanek-koivu-in-minnesota/

Stewart is going to start on a line with Vanek and Koivu.

That's an upgrade for him.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

So what's a better return for Flynn, Stewart and Neuvirth?

2 2nds or 2017 2nd,3rd,5th and Chad Johnson

Good going Murray!!! And he turned down Spooner and a 2nd for Stewart earlier in the season and ends jp with a 2nd 3 drafts from now instead AND retained salary.

Lets stop the Murray is a god praise . He is average end of story. Mediocre 2014 draft that's for damn sure especially compared to 2013.

 

[Zip15]

So what's a better return for Flynn, Stewart and Neuvirth?

2 2nds or 2017 2nd,3rd,5th and Chad Johnson

Good going Murray!!! And he turned down Spooner and a 2nd for Stewart earlier in the season and ends jp with a 2nd 3 drafts from now instead AND retained salary.

Lets stop the Murray is a god praise . He is average end of story. Mediocre 2014 draft that's for damn sure especially compared to 2013.

1. You don't know whether he would've retained salary in the Spooner and 2nd deal.
2. You don't know in which draft Boston's 2nd fell.
3. Is this the same Ryan Spooner that two weeks ago everyone had no interest in and thought he'd be a waste of a contract? Or is this a different Spooner?
4. Many around here think Buffalo may be a playoff team in 2016-17. Are you so shortsighted as to not see the potential value of that pick?
5. Do you think the 2014 draft being worse than the 2013 draft had anything to do with the fact that, by most accounts, 2014 was a very weak draft while 2013 was a deep draft? Do you think Kevin Devine picked differently under the circumstances? Because he was there for both.

Get a grip, Fred.

 

[Jim Bob]

http://espn.go.com/boston/nhl/story...their-all-load-deadline?ex_cid=espnapi_public

How the Stewart trade went down
Speaking of the Bruins, no team pursued Chris Stewart over the course of the season more, but in the end, the pending UFA winger was sent to the Minnesota Wild instead.

He went for a second-round pick in 2017 and the Buffalo Sabres have to pay 50 percent of his remaining salary, no less. Not exactly the deal that Sabres GM Tim Murray had in mind. But it's the one he more or less had in back pocket as his late-day, go-to play if he could not get something better.

His pal Chuck Fletcher had called in the morning and said that if Murray couldn't get done what he wanted, that the Wild GM was willing to make that deal for a second-round pick in 2017. Fletcher had actually tried to trade for Stewart way back last summer, but at the time the price was too high. Did Murray overplay his hand on Stewart? Yes, he did, but that happens, the deadline is not a science. A team could have easily got desperate and paid up Monday, but it didn't happen.

A source told ESPN.com that on Saturday the Bruins offered the Sabres two second-round picks in exchange for Stewart, goalie Michal Neuvirth and depth forward Brian Flynn. Obviously that deal wasn't accepted, the Sabres wanting a specific prospect that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli just didn't want to give up, feeling it was too high a price to pay.

Once Boston moved on Connolly overnight Sunday with the cost being two-second picks going to the Lightning, the bigger-package deal with the Sabres was off the table.

But even as far back as on the eve of the season, back in early October, the Bruins are believed to have offered Ryan Spooner and a second-round pick for Stewart. Murray decided to wait for a better offer. And again, the Sabres GM could very well have got that better offer in other years, it just didn't play out that way this time.

In the end, Stewart was a cheap acquisition for Fletcher, who has had a remarkable trade season, saving his year by spending a third-round pick for goalie Devan Dubnyk, getting winger Sean Bergenheim for another third and then Stewart for a second-round pick that's three drafts away.

Impressive.

I wonder if Malcolm Subban is the prospect that Murray wanted back in the Stewart/Neuvirth/Flynn deal?

It would make sense given that he eventually did get a goalie back in the Neuvirth deal.

 

[Eram]

Maybe.

I have no issues with how this shook out. Totally see how TM wanted to wait and try to get a 1st rounder in the 20's rather than two in the 50's. Didn't work but worth a gamble with the volume of picks we have anyways.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[kenfury]

 

[Paxon]

The tag's "tweet" not "twitter" fyi

 

[Beerz]

http://espn.go.com/boston/nhl/story...their-all-load-deadline?ex_cid=espnapi_public



I wonder if Malcolm Subban is the prospect that Murray wanted back in the Stewart/Neuvirth/Flynn deal?

It would make sense given that he eventually did get a goalie back in the Neuvirth deal.

Interesting.

 

[kenfury]

The tag's "tweet" not "twitter" fyi

Yea, soon as it rendered I fixed it. Thanks though.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

1. You don't know whether he would've retained salary in the Spooner and 2nd deal.
2. You don't know in which draft Boston's 2nd fell.
3. Is this the same Ryan Spooner that two weeks ago everyone had no interest in and thought he'd be a waste of a contract? Or is this a different Spooner?
4. Many around here think Buffalo may be a playoff team in 2016-17. Are you so shortsighted as to not see the potential value of that pick?
5. Do you think the 2014 draft being worse than the 2013 draft had anything to do with the fact that, by most accounts, 2014 was a very weak draft while 2013 was a deep draft? Do you think Kevin Devine picked differently under the circumstances? Because he was there for both.

Get a grip, Fred.

1. Irrelevant. No matter what Spooner has shown to be at least a "serviceable" player. You think he wouldn't be in our top 9 as of now? He easily would. It doesn't matter if we retained salary in the Boston deal or not, it was a better return end of story.
2.Again Irrelevant. It wouldn't be past 2017. Spooner+BOS 2nd>>>MIN 2017 2nd.
3.Same Spooner. Again, irrelavant. He would be in our starting lineup game in and game out . Only 23. Younger then trash like Schaller and Dalpe and probably will have a much better career.
4.I really don't think it was Murray's choice to take one in 2017 more like Minnesota decided when it was considering they have dealt a ton of their 2nds lately. Trying to spin us getting a 2nd three drafts from now as a boon is funny.
5. Nah, there were better picks to be made. His draft was downright sad for how many picks we had. Cornel and Karabacek are long shots to be NHL players. Not what you want from your high 2nd rounders


Again, Murray ****ed up. No getting around it. Spooner is nothing special but to say he wouldn't be in Buffalo right now and especially not playing good minutes is patently false. Murray pulled a Regier and lost. Next time don't try to make the other team blink.