Better options

Surely there were better options to go with for the Edmonton Oilers than Thomas Vanek.

Signing a restricted free agent to an offer sheet is a risky proposal in that it very rarely works and draws the ire of other GM's around the league.

But the issue isn't that Oiler GM Kevin Lowe attempted the offer-sheet move. It's who he did it with - Thomas Vanek and the Buffalo Sabres.

Executives of the Buffalo Sabres got wind of the move days before it actually happened. They warned Lowe that no matter what the offer was that the Sabres were going to match it. And while you can't take everyone at their word, did Kevin Lowe really think the Sabres were going to let go ANOTHER star player this offseason, let alone last week?

Not even a week removed from losing co-captain centres Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to big-money free agent contracts and Dainius Zubrus on top of it, the Sabres were not going to let go of their 23-year old, leading goal scorer no matter what the price. No way.
4 first round draft picks is a nice way to build for your future, but the Sabres aren't going to let themselves rebuild this soon. They just came off two great seasons where they went to the Conference final both times, including winning the President's Trophy in '06-'07. If they had let Vanek walk, on top of their other free agency losses, they are already waving the white flags for '07-'08.
This years team will have some huge holes to fill, but could still be a playoff team, and the playoffs are where teams make money. Buffalo is small-market and doesn't want to miss out on any of that money. They couldn't allow themselves to go from league's top draw to obscurity in a week's time and Kevin Lowe should have known this.

Honestly, I don't think the Sabres will be all that upset in a couple of years when they have one of the leagues premier talents under contract, allowing them to avoid another scenario that took place with Drury and Briere. Yes, they're overpaying now, but it very could be a very nice deal down the road for Buffalo.

But, surely, there were better, more realistic, more attainable candidates for Kevin Lowe to sign to an offer sheet.
Buffalo GM Darcy Regier hit it right on the nose when he said, "what this amounted to was an exercise in futility."

Remember Game 5?

Chris Drury put the dagger in the heart of the New York Rangers not even 2 months ago. Now the Rangers have done the same to the Buffalo Sabres.

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between those two teams was so epic. So important. So exciting.
The series was 2-2 and Henrik Lundqvist looked like he was going to carry the New York Rangers on his back to the Stanley Cup Finals. He had only given up one goal in each of the two previous games, both Ranger wins, and was on the verge of shutting out the mighty Sabre offense for a 3-2 series lead.

But as John Buccigross would say: "Chris Drury is clutch and clutch is everything."
Drury changed the series for good with 8 seconds left.

You knew the Rangers didn't have a chance in overtime. Drury's goal was too dramatic for it to end in a Sabres loss. It was a dagger in the heart for the Rangers. While the Rangers kept battling back in the final game - #6, Chris Drury's goal hung over that game too and lifted the Sabres to the Conference Final.

Now the Sabres have lost both of their captains; while the Rangers land not only Scott Gomez, but one of the most clutch goal-scorers ever in Drury. Add to that the drafting of Alexei Cherepanov last week and I'd say that Rangers fans have a lot to be happy about.

Briere to test waters?

After their surprising beat-down at the hands of the Senators, I thought the Sabres could re-sign the Centre duo of Briere and Drury.
I figured they didn't have big concerns outside of the duo in terms of free agents and they could be had for an average $6mil/year. But that was assuming the Sabres were going to spend up to the new cap ($48-50 mil) with the constant sell-outs, highest TV ratings in the league, and merchandise selling out as soon as it's stocked. Add to that the fact the Sabres are so close to winning that Briere and Drury would work it out for another two years for a chance at the cup.
I was wrong.

Buffalo is still a small-market town, current revenues notwithstanding. They can't afford to pay up to the cap and they won't. They didn't get to their current situation by being foolish.

But, I suppose it could be argued they may have been foolish for not paying Briere what he wanted last year - 5 years at $5mil. He got $5mil in arbitration anyway and they just offered him the same deal he wanted twelve months ago. He wanted it in '06, but it wasn't enough in '07.

So, instead of doing like the Oilers did with Hemsky and the Flyers did with Timmonen - signing a long-term deal that seems a bit inflated now, but by the end of the deal will be a bargain for the team - they now have to overpay even more or be without a top center.

He will certainly get at least $6mil/year in free agency. Some will say he's not worth it, but to me, 1 point per game in each of the last two playoffs and 95 points this past season is certainly worth what Federov, R.Blake, and Redden made this past year.