Some Sun-Less Tanner Will Do

by Ryan

SABRES TOP PRIORITIES INCLUDE RE-SIGNING MILLER, POMINVILLE

Am I the only one that looks at that headline and goes, "That's it?" Perhaps it is a bit unrealistic to say that and really mean it, but I do. It's not that I'm unsatisfied with the logic, I just have a few problems with the presentation.

First of all, I'm freaking sick of press conferences with the Doobie Brothers Darcy and Larry at the helm. I don't need to be told how important re-signing Pominville and Miller is, anyone with a crash course in Salary Cap-ology knows how the market works these days. The thing is, I've come to ignore press conferences from the Twin Peaks of Prevarication after episodes such as "July 1st Damage Control" and "We are not trading Brian Campbell". Do we really need to hold these mission statement meetings to tide over the confused Sabres fans who think the the salary cap is sponsored by New Era?

Secondly, what does it say about your off season strategy when your main goal is to get two players who are under contract for a full calender year to sign new deals? I understand the proactive nature of all this, but when less than 10 months ago you were stressing "no negotiations in season" it seems like quite the leap in philosophy, doesn't it?

Of course hindsight is a critic's best friend, but how misguided do the post-lockout dealings look with this new policy in place? Not to put on my Bucky Gleason mask here, but how badly does it appear the front office botched the post lockout world? From misjudging market value to underestimating the power of RFA offer sheets, Darcy sure did appear to be downright baffled by the past few summers, and now he may be operating with the safety on in order to not get fooled again.

Finally, what does this say about the team's willingness to go after free agents? Does this mean the Sabres will not be "making a splash" come July 1st? Conventional wisdom already pointed to no, but focusing the bulk of your summer to getting players already on the team to stay doesn't bode well for us getting any fresh, crisp bodies in come October.

In the public swimming pool that is NHL free agency, the Sabres are the anemic kid who's allergic to chlorine. Even the biggest off season signing of last summer ended up with a boo boo. Jocelyn Thibault at $.760 mill. Leaping off the diving board and onto the concrete, still twitching from the blunt force trauma.

Boy, I can't wait for summer.