Vanek's status moving forward (trade/extend/let contract play out?)

[Stone87]

His family lives in Minnesota and the Sabres are clearly rebuilding. I can't imagine him signing an extension at this point, so it's time to move him.

 

[Tachycineta]

If he wants to stay and is willing to stay at a halfway decent price for a reasonable term (5 years max), I would love to keep him. He has spent his whole career here (I can't believe that offer sheet was 6 years ago... wow how time flies...2007 really seemed like yesterday) and we need some vets. With that being said, if we really are going to have an extended rebuild, and it is clear he will not re-sign, there is no reason to wait. If a great deal comes along in the summer, move him then. If not, at the deadline. It will still be sad, though, even if it is the right thing to do. I still hope he can finish his career here and win a cup here.

 

[MGIII]

I do not agree with the prevailing view of this board to fully submerge this franchise under water and pray that plentiful air bubbles (draft picks panning out) rejuvenate the team.

You still need proven talent in a rebuild. Otherwise, you're just spinning your wheels in the mud.

 

[Der Jaeger]

If Homer is still pulling his shenanigans in Philly, revisit the Couturier-based deal around the draft perhaps? There will probably be salary coming back -- it'll be a hockey based deal.

Agree. Imagine a Girgensons - Couturier - Larsson 2-way line.

 

[roon]

Any truth to Vanek making it known that he has little interest in being a part of a Buffalo rebuild?

 

[5 Minute Major]

I do not agree with the prevailing view of this board to fully submerge this franchise under water and pray that plentiful air bubbles (draft picks panning out) rejuvenate the team.

You still need proven talent in a rebuild. Otherwise, you're just spinning your wheels in the mud.

Who's to say we won't be bringing in players that can help us immediately? Wouldn't surprise me to see Regier step totally out of character and make an offer sheet or two to some RFA's.

 

[5 Minute Major]

Any truth to Vanek making it known that he has little interest in being a part of a Buffalo rebuild?

He said he is really not excited at the thought of being part of a long term rebuild and would have to explore his options if he is a Sabre at the end of his contract.

 

[Sabretip]

I'm just not sure he'll want to stay.

This is beginning to look like an extended rebuild.

Painfully true....

If he doesn't want to stay...and extending him is clearly not an option...do you look to trade him in the offseason or at next year's deadline?

If he wants to leave, the Sabres will have a dilemma - keeping a player for next season who may not be committed won't help the morale or examples needed by the younger players but Vanek could command an overpayment by a Cup contender at the deadline next year more than he might this summer when teams don't feel the pressure to overpay.

He's banged up every year, several times a year.

That's why Its hard to commit to him long term. He's not likely to stay healthier as he get older

I really hope you're not jumping onto the "he's always injured" motto that people brand players with as a criticism of their value; the reason Vanek gets banged up so often year after year is because he's the only one willing to take a beating on a nightly basis in front of the net. Guys like Tim Kerr, Rick Vaive or Tomas Holmstrom all had a hard time playing full seasons doing the same what Vanek does. Optimists may point to Foligno as someone who could do what Vanek does in front of the net but that would be a short-sighted comparison because Foligno clearly doesn't have the offensive skills or touch around the net like Vanek does.

I'm wondering what his thoughts are about today. I'm sure he's not pleased with Pominville-for-futures.

He's sounded more and more frustrated this year with his teammates not carrying their share of the load and recently what the direction of the team even is. With Gaustad and Roy gone last summer and Pominville now gone, and Miller next in line, it seems painfully obvious that Vanek isn't going to want to stay.

Just talked to Pominville's linemate, Thomas Vanek: "The #mnwild, they're lucky. They just got a great player,as good as a guy as there is."

Cue up the proverbial "hometown boy returns" rumors (at least, as they relate to Vanek's college and summer home and now his friendship with Pominville as another factor) that will soon start....

This isn't a one-year retooling.

Ok say we get rid of Vanek. You want to just play a bunch of kids together? It sure is working out for Edmonton. We need SOME veteran presence / scoring.

I don't want to trade Vanek for more picks..

And wait 5 years for those players to develop...we have enough prospects on this team.

I do not agree with the prevailing view of this board to fully submerge this franchise under water and pray that plentiful air bubbles (draft picks panning out) rejuvenate the team.

You still need proven talent in a rebuild. Otherwise, you're just spinning your wheels in the mud.

1000% agreed...selling a youth movement may be this management's mission but the Sabres are on the verge of joining the perennial have-nots that are in non-stop rebuilding periods (i.e. Columbus, Islanders, Edmonton) that struggle just to reach a .500 record over a full season, much less qualify for the playoffs.

I know he said he doesn't want to stay here for a long rebuild but if we do end up with Mackinnon or Drouin and Hodgson and Ennis continue their development I don't think we will be that bad next year.

C'mon - no one thought the team would be as bad this year as it is and that was with a roster filled with proven veterans. You seriously think a team filled with players that predominantly have minimal NHL experience is going to improve on this year?

It's working out for Edmonton. It's not going to be an overnight success recipe, but the more experience they get, the better they play. They started slow, and now find themselves fighting.

You may want to read the coverage out of Edmonton - because, while the locals there love their team no matter what, they are getting frustrated that the team hasn't improved enough to be a playoff team, despite having 3 1st overall picks and in contention for another this summer.

We're going to have to wait 3-5 years for our current group to be ready, anyways, what difference would it make if we added more bodies to that mix?

TOTALLY okay with a rebuild. Willing to be very, very patient.

I can tell you aren't a fan who's endured through decades of mediocrity. For those of us that have waited 30+ years for the team to finally win, a rebuild - as necessary as it may be now - is a depressing step backwards. This is beginning to feel like 1986 and 2001 all over again....

I'm willing to rebuild too, but you still need SOME veterans/experienced players.

Extend Vanek, slap the "C" on him and let him influence the abundance of Euros we got coming up.

Sure would be nice if Vanek were to take the stance that Spezza did in Ottawa, when they committed to youth and dealt most of their veterans. I'd believe that Vanek could buy into it more if the entire regime (GM & coach) were replaced and the vitality that comes with fresh voices - especially if they're ones with a winning history (i.e. Dudley) - helped inspire Vanek into thinking things WILL actually improve. Pegula would need to really sell Vanek on the commitment to winning but with a Regier / Rolston tandem being likely to stay, I can't see Vanek buying into any such approach.

 

[sba]

sell sell sell

 

[jfb392]

Any truth to Vanek making it known that he has little interest in being a part of a Buffalo rebuild?

Any player, Vanek said, wants to know the direction his team is heading. Clearly, the 29-year-old doesn’t want to experience a long rebuilding process.

“I’m sure nobody likes to call their team a rebuilding team,” Vanek said. “But if that’s the phase, if it’s one year, that’s OK. But if it’s a two-, three-year plan, you would probably look in the other direction. It’s a long ways away.”

He added: “Rebuild is not a bad word. It’s just which direction you choose to go.”

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/va...ld-deal-more-players-wants-to-remain-in-town/


Anyways, I say deal him.
I'd primarily look for high picks and prospects, but also roster players that can play support roles.
Something like Nash got: not superstars necessarily, but pieces you can pop in the lineup so that you're not running a roster full of barely 20 year olds, although I'd like someone with more character than a Dubinsky..

 

[Karate Johnson*]

The reason Vanek gets banged up doesn't matter.

 

[sabresfan129103]

Trade him and get a kings random. I doubt he re-signs here anyway.

 

[TehDoak]

Honestly.....Keep him.

I'd go as far as to give him the C and extend him this summer. He finally got a taste of being 'the man'

He's gonna have an opportunity to play big minutes and be big man on campus, something I think he's always wanted.

I really think Vanek will stay, Miller will go

 

[Zip15]

Have to deal him. I think they're going to deal Miller this summer, and if I'm Vanek, I'm not even contemplating re-signing until after next season--which will probably be a tough one for us, sans Miller and with a bunch of youngsters--in order to see where things stand at that point. If he's not willing to sign an extension you must trade him. Must.

 

[jBuds]

I can tell you aren't a fan who's endured through decades of mediocrity. For those of us that have waited 30+ years for the team to finally win, a rebuild - as necessary as it may be now - is a depressing step backwards. This is beginning to feel like 1986 and 2001 all over again....

I'm not sure what the implication is here, nor do I enjoy people alluding to someone being more or less of a fan of a team based on # of years on the planet...and I certainly despise when people feel more entitled to something because they've been around longer (as I can argue that you saw something in the French Connection that I have never seen, so we're 'even')... but I disagree adamantly.

A rebuild is necessary. It's not a step backwards - how do you step backwards when you're as far back as you can be, or at "rock bottom"? It's acknowledging what needs to be done and doing it. This isn't like 2001. This is a start-from-the-bottom rebuild. Something we really haven't seen in the history of the organization. I'll wait, thanks.

I'll reiterate...I will be as patient as I need to be if things continue to take shape as they have the last year. The product on the ice this season has been depressing, but I came in with tampered expectations and a vision towards the future, like most should've.

 

[Havok89]

Explain to him the direction of the franchise in the offseason and how long Darcy feels until Buffalo can compete. Either extend him or deal him in the offseason.

Anyone feel Vanek is captain material or would rather give it to a younger player in time? ( Hodgson, Girgensons, etc... )

 

[kirby11]

Based on what darcy got for poms today, and the fact that miller could be gone/vanek's comments about the rebuild, I think he's gonna get dealt. I'd prefer closer to a rick nash type trade: Solid veteran presence coming back, one or two guys that can play in the top 6 (top 9 at least) and help the kids along

 

[Eichel 9]

I wouldn't feel comfortable signing him to another big deal to be honest, I'd do 5 years max.

He will likely be dealt at next years deadline if we are out of contention.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

The only way I'd deal him is if we got some Vet leadership with talent coming back... in additon to young/picks too. But we need leadership and veteran experience/skill.

 

[SECRET SQUIRREL]

They can get veterans so many other ways, watering down a trade return with avg veterans instead of getting fewer but a much better return, especially on a trade of your best overall asset, is beyond daft. btw The Nash return sucked!!!!

 

[EichHart]

I want him to retire a Sabre. Not sure if that is possible, but he has been my favorite Sabre for quite awhile.

 

[Sabretip]

I'm not sure what the implication is here, nor do I enjoy people alluding to someone being more or less of a fan of a team based on # of years on the planet...and I certainly despise when people feel more entitled to something because they've been around longer (as I can argue that you saw something in the French Connection that I have never seen, so we're 'even')... but I disagree adamantly.

Nothing to do with entitlements or rankings of "who's better" - my point is that, for fans who followed a team for over 30 years waiting for it to win, it's far more aggravating to have a "rebuilding" sold to you than for fans who've followed the team for far less of a time span. Personally, my patience is worn out - especially for a manager that has had 16 years to produce a winner and hasn't.

A rebuild is necessary. It's not a step backwards - how do you step backwards when you're as far back as you can be, or at "rock bottom"?

By definition alone, to "rebuild" is to take something apart and re-assemble it from scratch. Therefore, it is a retroactive step backwards.

This isn't like 2001. This is a start-from-the-bottom rebuild. Something we really haven't seen in the history of the organization.

Considering that Hasek and Peca represented the two biggest parts of the roster core at the time - and Regier opted to replace them with younger, less proven and less effective players (Biron, Connolly, Pyatt) - the direction he's going in now is very much the same.

And finishing last overall in 1986-87 was a "start-from-the-bottom" rebuilding.

 

[jBuds]

Nothing to do with entitlements or rankings of "who's better" - my point is that, for fans who followed a team for over 30 years waiting for it to win, it's far more aggravating to have a "rebuilding" sold to you than for fans who've followed the team for far less of a time span. Personally, my patience is worn out - especially for a manager that has had 16 years to produce a winner and hasn't.

to each their own. Again... Personally... After seeing the moves made, I'm willing to be patient.

By definition alone, to "rebuild" is to take something apart and re-assemble it from scratch. Therefore, it is a retroactive step backwards.

I view the acquisition of two more prospects, and more picks to take our total to 8 picks in the first two rounds of the next two drafts and 18 picks in those drafts total, as a step forward from the bottom. I'm not into defining terms literally when the definition is clearly modified in sports, this one specifically.

Speaking to lifers who breathe blue and gold since '70, they, too, view these moves as a positive, and reason to exhibit patience and see where this takes us.

Eight picks in the first two rounds of the next two drafts. We can use them, or package them in other manners to expedite the process.

Peep the thread on the main board about TD winners and losers. Fans across the league agree that we've situated ourselves nicely to rebuild this thing and turn it around.

Frankly, other than being patient, what's your option? Or, better yet, your recommendation or preferred route?

I'm willing to be patient. I loved this last draft, and I love where we sit now with the assets we have at our disposal.

 

[SackTastic]

A team going into a rebuilding phase sucks if you've been a fan for 30 years or 30 minutes.

Not even sure what the discussion is.

 

[skibum]

He won't want to spend the rest of his prime on a rebuilding team. Neither will Miller. They will be traded to the highest bidder in the off-season, or possibly at the next deadline, when teams are willing to pay above market value.

The only hope of keeping them around is if Darcy (or hopefully, his replacement) can't find a buyer this summer and the Sabres have a miracle turnaround next season.