He said it: The people who didn’t want Briere are gone

Want to talk about a press conference bombshell? Danny Briere saying that the people who didn’t want him there are now gone was a bombshell, a big one.

Now there is more than one person who left during the ownership change, so I wouldn’t dare point a finger at anyone in particular. But how ridiculous is it to hear a player who scored six goals in this series say something like that?

It was widely reported that the Sabres low balled Briere on July 1, 2007. Many said the Sabres wanted Chris Drury and that he was the guy they were going to chase. Hell, he is the guy I would have kept given the choice of only one. However, hearing that people in the organization didn’t want a difference maker like Briere is probably the most frustrating thing I will take away from this series.

I hate seeing him in those ghastly colors, I hate seeing him bounce around with a guys like Hartnell, Giroux, Versteeg and JVR. The level of douche that those four carry is almost unfathomable. It is maddening to see Briere drop in sneaky elbows on Ryan Miller after the whistle because he is doing it for the team I have hated most since I was a child. Hating the Flyers was part of my upbringing, same with the Dolphins.

As a fan who has moved past 7/1/07 it is one of those headache inducing things to always have to circle back to that day every time you talk about the shortcomings of the Sabres.

Sure, Drury didn’t work out for the Rangers and the Sabres choice may have been the wrong one. Allowing both to walk was a horrible, embarrassing mistake, but everyone knows this. There is no need to rehash that. But the trap contracts to the wrong players (Pominville, Hecht, Connolly) ended up costing the Sabres a bit.

I guess the point I have talked circles around is how incredibly frustrating it is to hear a guy – that should be the captain and most talented player on the Sabres team – say that there were people in Buffalo who didn’t want him. That is why he rocked the Sabres for six goals rather than lifting them team into the second round.