Darcy gets contract extension

[Rivet52]

Have no problem with this. When you look at it, Regier has made all of the right moves in the Pegula era and even beforehand did as much as he could with what he had to work with. The difference between the Golisano era and Pegula era for Regier is the money flexibility but regardless of the era, Darcy has always drafted very well and hasn't really made a bad trade.

He's been able to make some way bigger and better moves under Terry which makes him look a lot better but he never was ever a bad GM. Many of us felt he was too conservative and at times might have been right but some of that had to do with the money he was given to spend. When you think about it though, under the Pegula era especially, he's made not one bad move and all pretty damn good ones, from drafting to trades to free agency to re-signing our own players for a good price; Darcy's done a great job with it all. Some:

-Cody Hodgson + Alexander Sulzer for Zack Kassian + Marc-Andre Gragnani
-Steve Ott + Adam Pardy for Derek Roy
-Robyn Regehr + Ales Kotalik + second-round pick for Chris Butler + Paul Byron
-Re-signed Tyler Ennis ($2.8M cap hit and without losing RFA status)
-Re-signed Tyler Myers ($5.5M cap hit and front-loaded the contract)
-Re-signed Andrej Sekera ($2.75M cap hit)
-Traded for and re-signed Christian Ehrhoff ($4M cap hit and front-loaded the contract)
-Drafted Mikhail Grigorenko and Zemgus Girgensons (moved up in the first to #14) and got both signed to ELCs during the summer
-Paul Gaustad + fourth-round pick for first-round pick

We can go back even further to the Pominville, Miller, and Stafford re-signings but they were in the Golisano era IIRC. Not to mention the Briere, Drury, and Dumont trades, etc. from even further back. A couple trades Darcy took a gamble on that really didn't pan out like the Moore and Torres trades, but ever since Hasek, hasn't made a bad one and he had no control over that one, as we all know.

 

[jamers]

Love it. Can anyone imagine if Darcy went to the Leafs for instance? Scary.

 

[sba]

I just hate the fact that he's married to an overrated coach. I like him as a GM.

 

[tsujimoto74]

This..would personally be interested in a younger coach that may not be so stuck in his old ways.

I would be interested in prying Eakin away from the Marlies.
No complaints about Regier's extension though. I think he's done well with Pegula. He obviously knows how to put together a good scouting team, and I've liked pretty much all of his recent trades. It's up to coaching to do right by the kids so this team can become successful.

 

[joshjull]

I just hate the fact that he's married to an overrated coach. I like him as a GM.

Is that legal in this state?

 

[dire wolf]

I'm good with this. I share the concern about his being too married to Ruff, though. Let's see what happens.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

15 years and no cups, what's another 15 years! Regier will never fire Ruff and that's why I hate this contract extension. Darcy isn't a top level GM, his last 3 playoff push additions (Torres, Moore, Boyes) were absolutely terrible and a waste of 2nd round picks. Not giving credit on drafting Grigorenko. That was a no brainer.

 

[dire wolf]

15 years and no cups, what's another 15 years! Regier will never fire Ruff and that's why I hate this contract extension. Darcy isn't a top level GM, his last 3 playoff push additions (Torres, Moore, Boyes) were absolutely terrible and a waste of 2nd round picks. Not giving credit on drafting Grigorenko. That was a no brainer.

At the time those deals were made, almost everyone thought they were good moves. Nobody predicted Torres and Moore would be as useless as they turned out to be.

He deserves some credit for Grigorenko, since so many other GMs obviously didn't think it was a no brainer. He gets even more credit for trading up for Girgensons and picking McCabe in the 2nd.

 

[Ness]

http://theuglydance.com/?v=rxpunujnvc

Darcy's reaction upon hearing he got an extension.

Enjoy!

I had way too much fun with this.

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Waiting for Jame's and Takeo's take on this.

 

[explore]

He's done a great job through a variety of circumstances. The only knock against him was his unwavering loyalty to players, stopping him from cutting the cords on guys until it's long overdue. Ruff is difficult. He's in the same boat, having produced competitive teams with not-so-competitive internal caps, but coaches usually don't last anywhere near as long as GMs.

I'm pretty happy with what he's done under Pegula, so I see this is a good move.

 

[Zman5778]

Not giving credit on drafting Grigorenko. That was a no brainer.

It should have been a no-brainer for Washington, another center-needy franchise.

It should have been a no-brainer for Toronto, who desperately needs a high-ceiling centerman.


While it seemed like the obvious pick, you can't just arbitrarily not give him credit because it was obvious.


Oh, and trading up for Girgensons and drafting McCabe seem masterful.



He's been great for the most part with Pegula as the owner.

 

[Beerz]

Reiger can still be fired. As can Ruff.

If things don't pan out in a year or two I can see Darcy replacing Ruff.. Ruff moves into a senior Assistant GM kind of role...

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Pegula's desire to make the organization more of a family though likely means not firing people. The only way Regier/Ruff leave are if they are "promoted". Ruff did note in an interview a while back that he'd be interested in moving to the personnel side.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

It should have been a no-brainer for Washington, another center-needy franchise.

Washington drafted Forsberg, a top level prospect around the same skill level as Grigs. Washington has Backstrom and Marcus Johanssen, two young stud centers. They also traded for Ribeiro. Their need for centers is nothing like ours.

It should have been a no-brainer for Toronto, who desperately needs a high-ceiling centerman.

Toronto... Nuff said

While it seemed like the obvious pick, you can't just arbitrarily not give him credit because it was obvious.


Oh, and trading up for Girgensons and drafting McCabe seem masterful.



He's been great for the most part with Pegula as the owner.

McCabe is still in college, too early to remark on him.

A year or two of good moves shouldn't automatically make the last 4-5 years of **** moves just disappear. Darcy has been inconsistent. He falls in love with his own players too easily and when the team is in a funk he waits far too long to make a move. I don't see how so many people are ok with the mediocrity Regier has generally given us since 1997. No playoff wins since 2007. It makes absolutely zero sense to give Regier an extension now after a season of no playoffs.

 

[skibum]

Darcy has done a great job, by and large. Lately he has been mostly winning, if not dominating the trades he makes (although I think he undersold Roy by a lot). The Gaustad, Kassian, and Regehr trades come to mind. I would gladly take a GM that flat-out wins 75% of his trades.

 

[enthusiast]

A year or two of good moves shouldn't automatically make the last 4-5 years of **** moves just disappear.

You're working with a false premise, though.

 

[Ron C.]

Good move by the Sabres.

 

[Ace1963]

The last time Regier had money to play with, he got the team to a Cup Final. I think he can do it again.

 

[Paxon]

The last time Regier had money to play with, he got the team to a Cup Final. I think he can do it again.

He and Lindy also get partial credit for nearly taking them to the final with a zombie defense. Sports, especially hockey, come down to luck to some degree -- often to a large degree. Considerations should be made in analyzing players, coaches, etc when a few breaks this way or that make the difference. The Darcy-Lindy pairing has had some serious successes that tend to get glossed over because they didn't result in a Cup win. That's not to say whether or not they should still be here, but in evaluating the past it should be considered.

 

[ZZamboni]

Waiting for Jame's and Takeo's take on this.

One I am, one I couldn't care less


No problem with the extension, but I do wish it happened after this short season.

 

[Bosswally]

what i thought was interesting is I think this is the first time they have not announced both Ruff and Regier getting extensions, just Regier, maybe Ruff's contract is up after this season and he's on the hot seat

 

[Myllz]

Pegula on Lindy: He can change, he's open minded. Can coach an offensively open team or a defensive team. He's very forthcoming about his shortcomings and obligations. He's able to make the changes he needs to be a good coach.

Is that saying he's not a good coach now?

 

[Paxon]

Is that saying he's not a good coach now?

No, Pegula was saying he's a good coach because he can make the changes necessary.

 

[aceface33]

No, Pegula was saying he's a good coach because he can make the changes necessary.

Well, the way I read it, Pegula was saying in the most fluffy, family friendly way possible that Ruff has to coach better. The whole premise of his answer was that Ruff's approach has to change.

I'm probably over-analyzing this.