Transactions and Miller's Worth to the Sabres

Not much has happened since the Free Agency deadline. Arbitrations are slow, and signings are what I'd call 'trivial'. Just to keep you up-to-date, I have all transactions since July 17th listed at the end of this post.

The biggest signing would have to be Ryan Miller, of course. Buffalo will be with a goaltender for 5-years and a backup for at least 2-years. Miller and Patrick Lalime will be the tandem for the Buffalo Sabres for the next two seasons. Ryan Miller posted 37 wins last season for the squad, and toward the end, in hopes of making the playoffs, complained of fatigue and placed the blame of losing games on his own shoulders. It is my firm belief that whether or not it was fatigue or lack of talent will be proven with Lalime filling in when these concerns come to. Miller will be given a break when needed, but if he can't rebound after, then the Sabres may have made a big mistake in signing him long term.

I'm a skeptic of Miller's performance in net. This past year, he had a great period of success, but also the defense was performing at the same time. BUT, the defense collapsed, the offense was solid the entire time, and so the next line of defense (Miller) was left to play the position of three men. He couldn't handle it. IF the defense does its job this coming season (with the addition of Craig Rivet on D), and Miller lets in some soft goals, then Darcy Regier (GM) will have made a huge mistake in signing a weakening goaltender. I say weakening because Miller was strong in 2005-06 and decent in 2006-07. Yes, I also say 'decent' in 06-07 because it was the Sabres offense that made the team the best squad in the entire league (and plus the defense was playing well throughout). I can't tell you how many times the team rebounded from 3 goal deficits to win games (I believe it was close to a dozen in that Presidents Trophy winning season), but Miller had let the team down early enough in a game that desperation hockey ensued and the best leaders came out as heroes (Drury/Briere/Vanek). Now two out of the three great leaders from THAT team are no longer in Buffalo, and so it becomes the 'core', as Regier calls it, players' responsibility to lead and lessen the load on Miller's shoulders. If they can't do it, Lalime can't support it, and Miller falters, the management will suffer criticism equal to, if not greater, than that of the events that occurred over the lack of effort in keeping Drury and Briere.

That's all just one man's opinion on this situation. I honestly think that Regier and Quinn, the management duo of failures in Buffalo, should have been canned two years ago. They are the do nothing combo that has hindered more than helped the team. The lack of activity from these two (and you could also say the lack of financial support from owner, Tom Galisano) should have seen action immediately after the loss of both Drury and Briere. That event will continually be referred back to when thinking of the GM/ownership effort in the organization. Firings should have occurred after missing the playoffs because it became CLEAR AND EVIDENT that the Sabres missed the playoffs because they needed either Drury or Briere in the lineup. Just one of them would have made a world of difference in the Sabres' season in 2007-08. Two years in a row in the Eastern Conference finals, President's Trophy winners, then miss the playoffs...two teams have done this (and went on to win the Stanley Cup the year after the miss), but no less, a strong force in the league now becomes a mediocre squad, and now signing Ryan Miller is the changing factor? It's a minimal impact. The Sabres only dumped off slow and unmotivated defenseman Dmitri Kalinin. Other than that, the team is the same (with the questionable addition of Craig Rivet on defense). Will the results change? Likely not. Expect the same results if nothing is changed more on the defense side and if Lalime doesn't perform a step above what the Sabres had in Thibault last season, and the Conklin of two seasons ago.

I'm hoping I am wrong because I love my Sabres, but I'd hate to see them out of the playoffs two years in a row after a prior two years of great success and progress. Briere and Drury will forever haunt the franchise as the worst loss in the history of the club.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Minnesota Mark Parrish RW Became Unrestricted Free Agent Contract bought out by team
Detroit Valtteri Filppula C Re-Signed Five-year contract
Carolina Drayson Bowman C Signed Three-year contract
Columbus Pascal Leclaire G Re-Signed Three-year contract

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Minnesota Mark Parrish RW Waived Placed on waivers
Ottawa Josh Hennessy C Signed Two-year contract
Pittsburgh Dave Gove LW Re-Signed
Pittsburgh Danny Richmond D Signed One-year contract
Tampa Bay Steven Stamkos C Signed Three-year contract

Monday, July 28, 2008
Atlanta Matt Siddall RW Signed Multi-year contract
Ottawa Jeff Glass G Signed One-year contract
NY Rangers Fredrik Sjostrom RW Re-Signed
Florida Jay Bouwmeester D Re-Signed One-year contract
Boston Martin St. Pierre C Signed
Boston Nate Thompson C Signed

Saturday, July 26, 2008
Minnesota Pierre-Marc Bouchard RW Re-Signed Five-year, $20.4 million contract
Washington Shaone Morrisonn D Signed One-year contract
Boston Glen Murray RW Became Unrestricted Free Agent Contract bought out by team

Friday, July 25, 2008
Nashville Rich Peverley C Re-Signed Two-year contract
Nashville Pekka Rinne G Re-Signed One-year contract
NY Islanders Bruno Gervais D Re-Signed Three-year, $2.2225 million contract
Montreal Yanick Lehoux C Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
Columbus Mike York LW Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
Colorado Marek Svatos RW Re-Signed Two-year contract

Thursday, July 24, 2008
Buffalo Mathieu Darche LW Signed as Free Agent
Boston Martin St. Pierre C Traded for Pascal Pelletier Chicago
Chicago Pascal Pelletier LW Traded for Martin St. Pierre Boston

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Detroit Ryan Oulahen C Re-Signed One-year contract
Detroit Darren Haydar RW Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
Vancouver Jimmy Sharrow D Re-Signed
Vancouver Zack Fitzgerald D Re-Signed
Vancouver Mike Brown RW Re-Signed
Vancouver Rick Rypien C Re-Signed
Vancouver Ryan Shannon RW Re-Signed
Vancouver Nathan McIver D Re-Signed
Boston Dennis Wideman D Contract extended Multi-year contract extension
Boston Glen Murray RW Waived Placed on waivers

Tuesday, July 22, 2008
San Jose Riley Armstrong RW Re-Signed One-year contract
San Jose Mike Morris RW Re-Signed One-year contract
San Jose Tyson Sexsmith G Signed Three-year contract
San Jose Timo Pielmeier G Signed Three-year contract
NY Rangers Hugh Jessiman RW Re-Signed
Philadelphia Kevin Marshall D Signed
Anaheim Eric Boguniecki C Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
Anaheim Troy Bodie RW Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
Anaheim Josh Green C Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
Anaheim Ryan Donally LW Signed as Free Agent Two-year contract
Phoenix Daniel Carcillo LW Re-Signed Two-year contract

Monday, July 21, 2008
Dallas Lauri Tukonen RW Traded for Richard Clune Los Angeles
Detroit Jonathan Ericsson D Re-Signed Three-year contract
Detroit Jimmy Howard G Re-Signed Three-year contract
NY Rangers Greg Moore RW Re-Signed
Pittsburgh Jonathan Filewich RW Re-Signed Two-year contract
Pittsburgh Paul Bissonnette D Re-Signed One-year contract
Pittsburgh Jeff Taffe LW Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
Los Angeles Peter Harrold D Re-Signed Three-year contract
Los Angeles Richard Clune LW Traded for Lauri Tukonen Dallas
Philadelphia Joffrey Lupul RW Contract extended Four-year contract extension
New Jersey Fedor Fedorov LW Signed as Free Agent
Chicago Corey Crawford G Re-Signed One-year contract

Sunday, July 20, 2008
Minnesota Stephane Veilleux LW Re-Signed One-year contract
Calgary Andre Roy RW Signed as Free Agent

Saturday, July 19, 2008
NY Islanders Frans Nielsen C Re-Signed Four-year, $2.1 million contract

Friday, July 18, 2008
Atlanta Angelo Esposito C Signed Three-year contract
Buffalo Ryan Miller G Contract extended Five-year contract extension
Edmonton Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers G Signed Two-year contract
Los Angeles David Meckler C Signed Three-year contract
Phoenix Garth Murray C Signed as Free Agent One-year contract

Thursday, July 17, 2008
Atlanta Brett Sterling LW Re-Signed
Atlanta Marty Reasoner C Signed as Free Agent
San Jose Matt Kinch D Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
San Jose Brett Westgarth D Signed as Free Agent One-year contract
NY Rangers Brian Fahey D Signed as Free Agent
Pittsburgh Danny Richmond D Traded for Tim Brent Chicago
Calgary Adam Pardy D Re-Signed
New Jersey Jon DiSalvatore RW Signed as Free Agent
New Jersey Chad Wiseman LW Signed as Free Agent
New Jersey Jay Leach D Signed as Free Agent
Montreal Max Pacioretty LW Signed Three-year contract
St. Louis Andy Wozniewski D Signed as Free Agent
Columbus Aaron Rome D Re-Signed One-year contract
Chicago Tim Brent C Traded for Danny Richmond Pittsburgh