Background
Darcy Regier has been the oft-criticized general manager for the Buffalo Sabres since 1997 and is one of the league’s longest tenured GMs. The fact that Regier remains employed by the Sabres, is one of the main frustrations for fans and local media. An interesting aspect of Regier’s employment is how he has survived four different owners. Regier was initially hired under the Knox regime, and has still remained employed through the Rigas fiasco, Golisano’s public rise and fall as owner, and he still is here today, seated next to Terry Pegula. It really is quite remarkable that Regier has remained here through these ownership changes, and probably speaks to how others within hockey regard him. When Pegula purchased the Sabres, he mentioned numerous times about his due diligence to give the entire organization and hockey department a chance to succeed. He went even further to say almost every person he came across spoke in high regards to Darcy’s aptitude as a hockey mind. That has to mean something.
With all of that being said, there is a flip side to Darcy’s reign. The Sabres have been removed from the first round of the playoffs for the last two years and before that, they missed the playoffs in the previous two seasons. Regardless of whether or not you believe the notion that the Golisano/Quinn management team tied Regier’s hands, it really needs to be thrown out the window. Pegula and Black are giving Regier a fair shot. One comparison I have yet to hear is how this is a similar situation to when Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey were brought in. Fans and media screamed for the head of Tom Modrak. He was retained by Nix and remained for the next year to oversee the 2011 draft, and then was promptly let go.
Why?
Timing.
Changing of the Guard
Terry Pegula took over as owner in February -one week prior to the trade deadline. It is easy for fans and local media (yeah, I’m talking to you Jerry Sullivan) to cry foul for not having the first order of business to remove Darcy Regier. Like Nix, Pegula had so much to learn and grasp before being able to make an educated decision on Regier. Was the previous regime to blame? How would increasing the budgets for scouting and personnel help improve the product? To show up there on day one and completely shake the foundation of an organization that has had relative success over the last 15 years (four conference finals appearances), probably wasn’t the best decision for the franchise.
Offseasons Past
Looking at what Darcy Regier has done in the offseason has left me with mixed feelings. His biggest move was the trade for Chris Drury on July 3, 2003, with Steve Begin coming alongside him to the Sabres in exchange for Steve Reinprecht and Rhett Warrener. The move brought in a clutch Stanley Cup performer, who was in the prime of his career.
Other deals include: Erik Rasmussen for Adam Mair, Dominik Hasek for Slava Kozlov and a 1st round pick (which became Danny Paille), Michael Peca for Tyler Pyatt and Tim Connolly, Jochen Hecht for two-2nd round selections, and Andy Delmore for a 3rd round selection are just some of the transactions on Darcy’s resume for the summer.
Although not an offseason move, one of the few immediate upgrade trades of Darcy Regier’s time in Buffalo, is arguably his most controversial. The 1999 trade of Matthew Barnaby for Stu Barnes gave the Sabres another center capable of scoring and leading the team on their eventual playoff run. Barnaby was a fan favorite, and as a result, the deal had mixed reactions from fans. Trades involving Michael Grosek for Doug Gilmour and JP Dumont, along with the aforementioned Drury, Hasek, and Barnes deals are the only “marquee” trades on his resume.
Of course, the acquisition of Danny Briere for Chris Gratton, with a pick exchanging sides at the 2003 trade deadline, was a highlight as well. In hind sight, the trade is an obvious win for the Sabres, but at the time, no one pointed to that move as a changing point for the franchise. It was the exchange of a checking line center for a swift skating center. In my opinion, this was more like the trade of Brad May and a pick for Geoff Sanderson in 1998, only Sanderson was a more known commodity at the time.
All these trades are marred at least to some extent by the Sabres’ inability to retain Briere, Dumont and Drury. The departure of Dumont in 2006 is rightfully overshadowed by Drury and Briere. However, it marked a significant change in culture for the Sabres. Dumont’s exit, along with Mike Grier, significantly changed the veteran presence on that 2006-07 President’s Cup team, and their absence greatly affected the team in the playoffs. The fact that the organization was either unwilling or unable to re-sign those players significantly hindered the progress of the team. It was Darcy’s policy to not discuss or extend player contracts during the season that forced players like Dumont to arbitration and Drury/Briere to the free agent market.
A complete list of Darcy’s free agenct list is pretty tough to compile, but his track record has been to take care of the home grown talent (Afinogenov, Roy, Vanek, etc…). Numerous trades have been accounted for under Darcy Regier and a breakdown of all Sabres transactions back to 2002 can be found on ESPN (crazy, I know).
The recent trade for Robyn Regehr comes on the heals of two transactions that never fully blossomed for the Sabres. In July 2008, Regier traded for Craig Rivet for two 2nd-round selections in 2009 and 2010. At 6’2″ and 207lbs, Rivet was supposed to be the gritty, veteran leader that the Sabres needed. He was ultimately placed on waiver this past season and is one of the main reasons the Sabres desparately needed a player like Regehr. Before Rivet, came Jaroslav Spacek. Spacek played well for the Sabres, but never seemed to meet the expectations for fans. His signing was suppose to give the Sabres a position of strength along their blue line after the Eastern Conference Finals against Carolina. He was eventually allowed to leave Buffalo during the 2009 free agency period.
Some of the more notable free agency issues around the team included Darcy’s propensity to like his own players to a fault. Exhibit A: When the team decided to give a 3 year-$10m deal to Maxim Afinogenov (along with a deal to Ales Kotalik) the same year they let Dumont walk. Afinogenov was a product of the Sabres farm system and despite the glimpse of potential he showed, he never fully grabbed the brass ring. The move is a perfect example of how the team has avoided to reward players who would typically contribute to a deep playoff run, like Dumont.
Darcy’s offseason and trade deadline history has seemed to follow a consistent path of player development first, then to use free agency and trades as a means to slightly modify the team. The Sabres have routinely fell under the offseason radar due to their relative inactive nature.
Here and now
Questions remain as to whether or not Darcy Regier is the right general manager for this team. Everyone knows he has the eye for spotting young talent and building a pipeline for future NHLers through the draft. His successes include: the last three AHL Rookies of the Year (Ennis, Gerbe and Luke Adam), recent Calder Cup winner (Myers), other draft successes like Henrik Tallinder, Brian Campbell, Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Pomer and Ryan Miller. What fans and media alike question, is how he manages the pipeline of talent. Regier is like the person who saves 40% of their paycheck in order to never spend a dime of it, in the hopes that one day, when they truly need the money, it is available. Regier’s borderline obsession with building through the draft and sticking with those players have cost the Sabres numerous opportunities season after season at the trade deadline and the offseason. As a result, fans see Regier as an incredible scout with an inability to effectively manage the collective talent of the organization.
There is a huge divide amongst fans (or maybe just sports writers) about Darcy’s share of the blame in certain contract/player personnel issues in the past. What last week told us with the Robyn Regehr trade, is how things seem to be different. The Sabres sent a restricted free agent and prospect to take in a $7m cap hit on the chin. As Joe pointed out and I will echo, this would never happen under Golisano. The Sabres are still roughly $11 million under the cap and are in a strong position to make a move via free agency or additional trades to add the #1 center they covet. After watching the events transpire last week, I’m a little more confident in the ability of Darcy to accomplish this.
As this site and many others have pointed out, 7/1/11 is an extremely crucial point for the Sabres, but exponentially, more so for Darcy Regier. In a broad view, the Sabres are in a pretty good spot, much like Tampa Bay was a year ago. They’ve already taken step one with the acquisition of Regehr. The team has several All-Star caliber players in Thomas Vanek, Tyler Myers and Ryan Miller to build around. They have a core group of young NHL players positioned to blossom in the next couple years in Gragnani, Ennis and Gerbe. They have a deep farm system of wingers and blue liners, who are ready to move to the NHL in the next couple years. The glaring need remains at acquiring a #1 center. The team has the financial resources (Pegula) and personnel resources (AHL and young NHL talent) to make significant upgrades to this team for the 2011-12 season. The question is whether or not Darcy is going to follow through and ride this momentum to make the move. Not only will fans be watching, but you can be sure that Terry Pegula and Ted Black will too. Whoever is running this team on 7/1/2012 will be heavily determined based on what happens on 7/1/2011.
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