Buffalo Sabres: Why Fans Should Trust Darcy Again

Buffalo Sabres fans can finally put their faith back in Darcy Regier.

Although he did not dive in with the other GMs on July 1 by going after Brian Campbell and other big name free agents, Regier has redeemed himself.

He did not overspend to get a player like Campbell, who got a $7.1 million per year deal from Chicago, or Wade Redden, who signed with the Rangers for $6.5 million per year. Campbell is good, but is he really worth a salary that pays only $300 thousand less than Marian Hossa’s?

I don't think so.

And is Redden really one of the top five defensemen in the game? Redden’s stats last year were nearly matched by Sabres defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, who played in 20 fewer games. Spacek will be making roughly half of Redden’s salary next year. If he puts up comparable numbers again, I will take him over Redden every day of the week.

Instead of making one of these big signings, Regier went the route of trading restricted free agent Steve Bernier to Vancouver for draft picks. Regier then used one of those picks and another Sabres draft pick to trade for Craig Rivet.

Many people are complaining that Rivet is not good enough to make this a good move, but I beg to differ. He is 6’2” and 210 pounds, and will add much-needed size to the Sabres’ blue line. Last season he led all Sharks defensemen in points, picking up 35 points in 74 regular season games and 6 points in 13 playoff games.

Regier has also spent some of the remaining cap space wisely, re-signing Paul Gaustad, Daniel Paille, and the most important piece of the Sabres puzzle, Ryan Miller.

However, Regier still has least one more signing to work on this summer. Reports say that the Sabres have begun contract negotiations with Jason Pominville.

Regier also has to decide on whether to keep or trade a few players, including Maxim Afinogenov, Tim Connolly, and Ales Kotalik.

I would love to see Drew Stafford get re-signed. Stafford, who at just 22 was 10th on the team in points last season, will be a restricted free agent next summer.

I do believe the Sabres have vastly improved with the acquisition of Rivet and the new contracts given to Paille, Gaustad, and Miller. I think that as long as the Sabres don't have another 1-15 run in February, we will see the blue and gold back in the playoffs next year.