Thoughts on the 1st day of free agency

Here’s what I know about Jordan Leopold: He is a defensemen that can carry the puck into the offensive zone and is a pretty decent passer on the blueline. Is he Tomas Kaberle? No. Is he an upgrade over the Sabres unimaginative offensive defensemen? Yes.

Look, we have said all along that the Sabres needed offensive impact on the blueline. I’ve gone on and on about the need for the Sabres to get someone who can man the powerplay. I haven’t watched enough of Leopold to really judge what he can bring to the table, but you have to think that he’s an offensive upgrade over anyone that the Sabres have. Now, that’s more of an indictment on what the Sabres have, rather than what kind of player Leopold is.

Now, there are some things that worry me about Leopold. For one, he has zero, I repeat, ZERO playoff goals for his career. That’s not good when you are worse off than Tim Connolly in post season credentials. Plus, he’s kind of injury prone and will now be playing on his 5th NHL team since 2002. Eh, I’m actually starting to change my mind on liking the signing…No, No…must go with my gut.

Now, I’m not going to sit here and rag on what Leopold is making. Three million dollars a year really isn’t that much when it comes to a team that entered today being 13 million under the cap. Now, if Leopold sucks here, then all bets are off. BTW, to all the people that feel the Sabres over payed for Jordan, what did you expect? It’s free agency. You aren’t going to get cheap players.

I don’t want to say I told you so, but I told you I didn’t think the Sabres were going to resign either of these two guys. I’ve gone over ad naseum about the Sabres system; Once you get to that UFA category, you are as good as dead to them. Here’s the thing about the money Toni and Hank got, if you were to tell me last year that those two players were going to get over 3 million dollars a year on their new contracts, I would have assumed that you were related to both players or your name was Heather B. Both guys were on the verge of exile to the KHL a year ago. Luckily for their bank accounts, both guys rebounded nicely this year, Hank especially.

However, here’s the thing you have to consider: Are you really going to give a multi-year deal and a raise to two players that have had years of inconsistency (Putting it mildly) and are now just coming off the ever so mandatory “must do well” contract year? Think about it. It would be kind of like a poor man’s version of what they did with resigning Connolly. OK, that’s a bit of a stretch. But you get what I’m saying, these are two guys that have been really bad at times during their stay in Buffalo. I’m not talking about going through the peaks and valleys of a season. We have seen what the bad Hank and Toni look like for the Sabres and we all know that the bad can go on for a very lonnnnng stretch.

Frankly, it’s because of the Leopold signing that I’m not going crazy about losing both guys. I know, I give plenty of s#@t to Regier, but if there’s one thing that I happen to believe in with the Sabres, it’s their ability to draft/develop blueline talent. The Sabres have always done well with developing stay at home defensemen. It started with Jay McKee in 1997 and has gone all the way to Tyler Myers. Lindy and Darcy have a proven track record when it comes to drafting your typical boring ass defensemen. As for developing offensive players…well, that’s another story. Plus, you have to consider the factors on how much Ryan Miller and Tyler Myers helped out in the rebirth of Lydman and Tallinder. Of course, it could be the other way around or something along those lines. I’ll just lean towards M&M helping out L&T more.

Now, before you think that I’m going soft on Darcy, I assure you, I’m not. The dude has to make another move, preferably for a play-making center. By my numbers, the Sabres still have plenty of money or better yet, a player that they can move off their roster for an established center.

Now, if this is your 2010 Buffalo Sabres, I’m going to be plenty ticked off. However, this is a decent start for Regier and company. I truly believe that in order for the Sabres to get better, they have to trade either Roy, Pomer or Connolly to get a top 20 center. We can just lose the idea of the Sabres getting rid of one of their prospects or 1st round picks because Regier will never allow that. If Regier can find that legit centerman (Jeff Carter), then this will be a successful offseason for the Sabres. If not, it’s just another summer of the Sabres saving 3 million dollars off their bottom line.

As for today, if you are all about getting more offense than defense, you should be happy with the Sabres blueline. If you are all about stay at home defensemen, then you are probably disappointed. Like I said, the Sabres haven’t had any problems in grooming the Lydmans and Tallinders of the world. Instead, it’s been trying to find the next Brian Campbell that has been difficult for the Sabres. No, I’m not saying that Leopold is next Campbell, but he’s a better option than say Montador and Rivet manning the point.

You are not going to get killed today, Regier. You actually caught me on a good day. My parents are in town and they brought me some homemade sauce. So, I’m actually going to hold onto my “It’s still early in the offseason” card a little while longer. However, you still need to make one more move before our July 7th deadline. If not, you will be getting the Bucky Gleason treatment from me.