[Trade] [STL/BUF] R.Miller & S.Ott for Halak,Stewart,Carrier,2015 1st,conditional 2014 1st

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Fans are capable of seeing the big picture. The Sabres aren't the first professional sports franchise in North America to undergo a rebuild.

Not too many teams outside of the nba go full tank like this. They were bad last year, terrible this year and have at least two more years of being awful after this. Buffalo isn't a booming metropolis and if they lose sponsors/season ticket holders, there is no promise they'll come back in four years when things are better.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

How does Buffalo get to the cap floor next year?

By signing ufa's like Butler to 4M/yr deals.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

If the Flames had traded guys like Iginla and Kipper three years earlier, these would have been the types of returns they would have gotten.

They waited too long, and had their hand forced. I think the returns they got weren't too bad, all things considered.

I'm not saying the Flames didn't wait too long, or that the GM at the time didn't bungle those trades horribly when they did happen…It just sucks to see another team get more in one trade than we got for essentially our entire core. And that doesn't even take into account the fleecing they pulled off in the Vanek trade and the next king's ransom they will get for Moulson.

I just wish the Flames could be on the receiving end of some trades like this, instead of settling for the Chris Butlers and Reto Berras of the world.

[Phil Russell]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Not too many teams outside of the nba go full tank like this. They were bad last year, terrible this year and have at least two more years of being awful after this. Buffalo isn't a booming metropolis and if they lose sponsors/season ticket holders, there is no promise they'll come back in four years when things are better.

Buffalo may not be booming but it's doing just fine--its economy fared better than most through the recession in fact. And western New Yorkers love the Sabres. No one will be abandoning the rebuild. One of the NHL's most dedicated non-Canadian hockey markets.

[killer_carlson]

Im on holidays out of edmonton today but I can guarantee this will seriously wound most oilers fans. If the oilers dont pull off a comparable deal, it will finish them off.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

If the Flames had traded guys like Iginla and Kipper three years earlier, these would have been the types of returns they would have gotten.

They waited too long, and had their hand forced. I think the returns they got weren't too bad, all things considered.

Blame King and ownership for the most part as I'm sure even Feaster would have got a better return a few years earlier for Iginla and likely Kipper as well. Questionable ownership mandates is the reason the Flames are where they are at today. Buffalo has done a far better job at maximizing value of their assets but that's because ownership allowed management to do the right thing. I don't think Feaster ever had the ability to explore kickstarting the rebuild before it was too late.

[awildermode]

I cannot wait to see what Miller's new mask looks like.

[hummdeedoo]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Blues clearly recognize this is their year. Youth and drafting be damned, they want to be the champs.

I'm sure Burke would say they are sprinting!

[stemit14]

People like to criticize Feaster and ownership for keeping iginla too long but you have to realize how valuable he was to this organization and this community for so long... It was important that he got to stay for as long as he wanted and that management respected him enough to do that.

You can all compare what buffalo has done with vanek and miller to what the flames could have done with iginla but neither of those players ever meant as much as iggy meant to this team. Not even close. I would go so far as to say that, aside from maybe Crosby and Ovechkin, no single player has been such an important part of a team/city as iginla was to the Calgary flames. It's very easy to say now that the flames should have traded him 4 years ago but that's not what the vast majority of fans wanted back then.

Plus it's very easy for a team like buffalo who has been at the bottom of the league all year and had a clear understanding that neither vanek or miller wanted to re-sign to go ahead and trade those players while they are still in their prime. At that stage of iginla's career, the flames were always in a playoff spot or flirting with one all season right to the end... Always a puck bounce or a decently-reffed game away from securing a playoff spot or even home ice advantage. At that time, the majority of us were calling for the flames to add a centeremen or a rental player to make a push for the playoffs. I'll admit now that the flames should have focused on building up the prospect pool more but I still wouldn't have wanted us to trade iginla any earlier than we did.

I'll gladly take the reduced return that the flames got for iginla knowing he left on good terms and wasn't forced out (though at times it feels like certain fans and media did just that in the end).

[Dajazz]

Originally Posted by stemit14

People like to criticize Feaster and ownership for keeping iginla too long but you have to realize how valuable he was to this organization and this community for so long... It was important that he got to stay for as long as he wanted and that management respected him enough to do that.

You can all compare what buffalo has done with vanek and miller to what the flames could have done with iginla but neither of those players ever meant as much as iggy meant to this team. Not even close. I would go so far as to say that, aside from maybe Crosby and Ovechkin, no single player has been such an important part of a team/city as iginla was to the Calgary flames. It's very easy to say now that the flames should have traded him 4 years ago but that's not what the vast majority of fans wanted back then.

Plus it's very easy for a team like buffalo who has been at the bottom of the league all year and had a clear understanding that neither vanek or miller wanted to re-sign to go ahead and trade those players while they are still in their prime. At that stage of iginla's career, the flames were always in a playoff spot or flirting with one all season right to the end... Always a puck bounce or a decently-reffed game away from securing a playoff spot or even home ice advantage. At that time, the majority of us were calling for the flames to add a centeremen or a rental player to make a push for the playoffs. I'll admit now that the flames should have focused on building up the prospect pool more but I still wouldn't have wanted us to trade iginla any earlier than we did.

I'll gladly take the reduced return that the flames got for iginla knowing he left on good terms and wasn't forced out (though at times it feels like certain fans and media did just that in the end).

It was ####ty asset management no matter how you sugar coat it. Nobody is greater than the team.

[nik-]

If the franchise wasn't run like crap for 20 years in terms of drafting and player development they could have had something other than #12 jerseys to cling to.

[ForeverFlameFan]

And Elliott is the backup to Miller. Good luck teams that play against STL. Definitely the favorite to win the Prez Trophy

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

It's gonna be a sad deadline day for you, my friend

If we can snag a 1st for Cammy and a 2nd last minute for Stempniak I'll be very happy.

A sad deadline? As astute posters like Phanuthier have pointed out Feaster was a terrible GM. If Burke is even halfway adequate (which I am sure he is) he will pull some major moves. After all Burke's first words at his presser after talking about Feasters poor returns on his trades was that he was not a patient man. I am sure he will use the Flames abundance of tradeable options (pretty much the entire team save Monahan and Gio) and Burke's incredible ability will lead to great trades for the Flames. Surely he can pull off something better than some rookie GM in Buffalo.

[calgarywinning]

I think STL made some a great trade today. The goaltender will be good to have in the run. Ott will give Bouwmeister piggy backs when he doesn't feel like checking. All should be good.

Will be interesting to see what STL can do!

[Mr.Coffee]

I like the trade for Buffalo and the new direction sans cry baby Miller will be good for them. That Ristolainen kid will be great in a couple years and they'll be packed with youth and a future. If they can land a blue chip player through trading a few of these picks it could be worth it and while Halak is a downgrade, it isn't like Miller's future in Buffalo was re-signing with them anyway.

[FAN]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Not too many teams outside of the nba go full tank like this. They were bad last year, terrible this year and have at least two more years of being awful after this. Buffalo isn't a booming metropolis and if they lose sponsors/season ticket holders, there is no promise they'll come back in four years when things are better.

Yet Buffalo's attendance is pretty good this year. They also happen to have a rich owner who doesn't care if he's making money off the team.

[Red John]

Many seem to disagree but this is a hell of a first trade for Tim Murray. Keep in mind he had a goalie going UFA he was going to lose anyway. Throw in a terrible goalie market with really only one suitor.

The biggest thing was getting a 2015 1st rounder. That was huge; that draft is going to be stacked. Yes he had to take back Stewart but another conditional 2014 1st? And a 2nd from this past year (Carrier). Best case scenario Stewart looks interested next year and actually chips in some offense.

It wasn't really a bad deal for the Blues as these are the kind of trades you make to win the Stanley Cup and its nice to see them finally going all-in instead of being perennial bridesmaid.

But man the Sabres hit this out of the park.

[Stanathan]

This makes for an exciting lead to the trade deadline for Sabres fans. I'm jealous and want some excitement as well.

[FlamesAddiction]

That deal is awesome for Buffalo. It's a huge overpayment IMO.

[Caged Great]

Love what Buffalo is up to recently.

Their defense prospects are out of this world. Wotherspoon or Sieloff might only be 7th or 8th among theirs. Add in Grigerenko + Girgensons and likely Reinhart to their forward group + all the other prospects they'll add through the draft.

The only area they'll lack in is between the pipes, but that's easy enough to get.