104 Hours Until Trade Deadline: What To Do?

Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier talks during 

an NHL hockey news conference in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012

(AP Photo/David Duprey)

As of this afternoon, the Buffalo Sabres stand six points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 22 games remaining on the schedule.  Tuesday night, the team won their second consecutive game with a 2-1 defeat of the New York Islanders.  With this win, the Sabres jumped up a few places in the standings.  Many fans regained hope that their beloved Sabres can make that "playoff push" and sneak into the postseason as a seventh or eighth seed.  Some believe that instead of acting as sellers approaching the deadline, General Manager Darcy Regier should be a buyer by adding a vital piece or two to make this run a success.

One fan in particular, who is a long-time friend of mine, had much to say upon hearing the Sabres are looking to re-sign Paul Gaustad when word broke around 12:30pm this afternoon.  That fan's name is Tom Brooks, and his is opinion is as follows in the first "FanPost" to ever inhabit my blog.

"This morning, rumors surfaced that Darcy Regier is looking to resign unrestricted free agent to be, Paul Gaustad, who for the past two weeks has been talked about as perhaps the Sabres' best trade chip.  In my opinion, if Darcy were to re-sign Gaustad, it would be just another example during the years of Darcy’s reign as GM (summer '97 to present) where moves were made that do not look to the future of this franchise. 

Now I understand that I am part of a small minority in this regard.  I would honestly rather have Buffalo miss the playoffs and make a few moves towards the future of rebuilding this team rather than have them keep status quo, sneak in as an eighth seed and get bounced in the first round by the Flyers or Rangers.  Yes, I know an eight seed can occasionally upset a one seed... but I do not believe this Sabres team is capable of such a feat because they fail to consistently score goals.  In the previous three weeks, not counting Sunday's decisive victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sabres have only won games when Ryan Miller stands on his head and only lets in one goal.  A team cannot go into round one of the playoffs matching up against the top seed in the conference and ask its goalie to either pitch a shutout or allow one goal.  A team also cannot upset top seeds when it has a completely anemic power play.  These traits are not the recipe for success in the NHL. 

So how should Darcy Regier and upper management act?  Well if I were part of upper management, I would get rid of Darcy, although realistically I do not see that happening.
Moving past that pipe dream, Darcy should look to Steve Yzerman and what he is doing as General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning as a model.  Craig Custance, an NHL reporter for ESPN, published an article this morning, which highlights this.  Read it here: "Detroit, Tampa both benefit from trade". 

In this article, Custance covers how Yzerman, despite being only five points out of the playoffs, decided that he would be a seller at the deadline and get pieces to build his team for the future.  Yzerman knows he has a team with major flaws that most likely would not be good enough to win the Stanley Cup if they even managed to make the playoffs. 

Talking to the Tampa Bay media regarding the decision, Steve Yzerman said, "My goal is to win a Stanley Cup here and I think we have to do some tough and difficult things along the way to do that.  We need young players.  We need to draft well and build that way and this was an opportunity to take advantage of that and acquire more picks and relatively high picks." 

An organization's goal should not be to just qualify for the postseason.  Making the playoffs and losing while still saying the season was a success is a sure way to placate casual fans.  Yzerman knows this first-hand because he has lifted the Stanley Cup over his head before.  He knows holding that elusive trophy is the only way to you can end a season happy. 

Now look at the Buffalo Sabres.  They currently stand six points back from the Eastern Conference's eighth seed and are considering re-signing players that are toted as valuable chips in the high-stakes poker game of the NHL trade deadline.  Say the Sabres are not sellers at the deadline and instead act as buyers adding a player (or players) to make a run.  Tell me, what one player that is currently available can be added to this roster to solve our offensive woes?  The answer quite frankly as I see it, is no one.  No one that wants to come to Buffalo at least.  There are no quick fixes to the problems the Buffalo Sabres are currently facing. 

What management and Buffalo fans need to realize is that failing to make the playoffs isn’t the end of the world.  Trade away players who have expiring contracts, such as Gaustad and Brad Boyes.  Trade away Derek Roy, who I think is a very good player that may just need a fresh start in a new city. 

We are not going to get superstars back in return for the above-mentioned names, but we can get draft picks and young players to rebuild this team on our way to actually becoming a Cup contender.  Or we could re-sign Gaustad, overpay for an average center, secure the eighth and final playoff spot and be ousted in the first round again.  Take your pick Buffalo fans."

A few transactions occurred earlier today thinning the trade market for teams in search of a center to boost their roster.  First, there was the trade sending Antoine Vermette to Phoenix in exchange for a 2012 second-round draft pick (acquired by the Coyotes from the Ottawa Senators in the Kyle Turris trade); a conditional fifth-round pick in 2013; plus minor league goalie Curtis McElhinney.

Second was the re-signing of Tuomo Ruutu to a four-year contract extension in Carolina.  These moves took two sought after centers off the market.  Basic economics tells us decreasing supply, in turn, increases demand.  The demand for centers at this year's deadline is rising... and rising fast.

Okay now readers, you've heard Tom's rant and mine is here if you missed it.  What is your take?  The NHL trade deadline is this coming Monday, February 27th at 3:00pm ET.  Should Darcy Regier approach the deadline market as a buyer or a seller?  Let Tom (@TBrooksy88) or myself (@DSims3) know on Twitter or with a comment below.