No Pity Parties for the Buffalo Sabres

by user Neatesager

Kudos to James Mirtle for calling BS on the knee-jerk reactions many puck pundits have had to the more-than-likely possibility that the Buffalo Sabres will trade co-captain Daniel Brière rather than may him the $5 million US salary that he was awarded in arbitration.

More than a few columnists have written how this uncovers the Big Lie (well, one of them) of the "new NHL.": That small-market teams are going to be able to compete with the big boys — Dallas, Detroit, Philly, Toronto, New York, et al.

Mirtle wonders why Brière's salary "is considered too hefty for the Sabres when only a few weeks back, GM Darcy Regier dumped a $10-million contract in Jaroslav Spacek's lap. There's $3.33-million right there that could have went to Brière's deal."

In other words, the Sabres may have put too many eggs in one basket -- Mirtle points out the club already has a surfeit of offensive defencemen before it signed Spacek. That's exactly what the new salary structure was intended to do -- make teams spend their money wisely. Spend money on all areas of the team -- scorers, grinders, defencemen, goaltending.

Maybe it means teams will have a lack of continuity similar to what's plaguing the NBA and NFL, but that will take at least a few more years to become apparent.

By the way, does anyone wonder if the Sabres may fall back in the standings next season? The club is losing Brière, and it hasn't found a stay-at-home defenceman to replace 10-year veteran Jay McKee, who signed with St. Louis. They may miss McKee much more than many people realize.

(For more articles like this one, click on Out of Left Field, especially if you're Canadian.)

Date

Tue 07/25/06, 1:32 pm EST