Sabres make some trades

The Sabres, in search of a top-six forward with scoring potential, have acquired left wing Raffi Torres from Columbus. The 28-year-old comes to Buffalo in exchange for defenseman Nathan Paetsch and a second-round draft pick.

Torres has spent most of the season on Columbus’ second line and has 19 goals and 12 assists in 60 games. His best season came with Edmonton in 2005-06, when he scored 27times and helped the Oilers advance to the Stanley Cup finals.

Clarke MacArthur, who according to sources was offered to Carolina last month, has been sent to Atlanta for two draft picks. The Sabres get the Thrashers’ third- and fourth-round picks.

MacArthur is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The 24-year-old has 13goals and 26 points in 61 games. He makes $1.4 million, and the deal clears cap room for Raffi Torres, acquired from Columbus. (TBN)

Well, Darcy Regier has done the unthinkable. He’s actually improved the team via the trade deadline…and he did it with a rental. That dam liar! Telling all of us that rentals are for the Devil. Torres automatically becomes the Sabres top scorer on the stats sheet, and gives the team some muscle with a little bit of a scoring touch. As for sending Nathan Paetsch and a 2nd rounder, it doesn’t seem that much to give up.

To be frank, I don’t know what the Blue Jackets are thinking in giving up Torres for garbage like Paetsch and a 2nd rounder. Now Torres is a good player, not a great one, but he’s definitely an upgrade over MacArthur. I just wrote the longest blog ever and boosted about Darcy’s greatest accomplishments have been his deadline deals. Lets hope that Torres is his version of Steve Heinze. That’s all I’ve been asking for.

As for MacArthur, I actually didn’t hate him as much as everybody else did. But this move was long overdue. The guy took too many nights off and he had obviously run his course with Ruff. You know Lindy, you better play both ways or not at all. Clarke didn’t get that.

Now, I still think Regier could have been more active. Sorry, but I’m not hearing about the state of market. You can only get away with the market excuse once every three years. Darcy has overused the excuse way too many times over the years.

I don’t get why Toni Lydman is still on the team because he’s going to be good as gone for next year. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think Ryan Miller is going to run into Darcy’s office and beg for Lydman to stay on the team. Since Darcy loves the draft more than Corporal Klinger, I would have thought they could have gotten at least a draft pick for him.

The biggest thing that I don’t understand from Regier is that he keeps talking about how all these kids from Portland are NHL ready. Then why on earth is Adam Mair still playing and not Tyler Ennis? Forget guys like Ellis and Mair that play 5 minutes a game. Why not get some of those kids (That you’ve been praising) actual NHL playing time. Oh, and Darcy, if you’re going to say that it’s going to be the summer of love for changes with the Sabres, it better not be consisting of signing Steve Montador-version 2.0. I’m marking those words down, my friend.

As for keeping the top 6 forwards in tap…Eh. I still think before next season the Sabres have to address a guy like Roy or Stafford. I know they act as if their top 6 forwards are their version of the Edmonton Oilers of the 80’s. However, like MaCarthur, these guys just haven’t come around to play effective for all 82 games. Plus, the passivity of the top 6 forwards just irks the hell out of me. I don’t know what makes the Sabres front office think that Roy is all of a sudden going to see the light and stop being a freelancer on the ice. He hasn’t proven he can play in Ruff’s system, and unless the Sabres can cut his salary, he’s not going to change.

As for Darcy…still not a fan. I think he completely overvalues his top 6 forwards. He has built a mostly soft team through his vision, without consulting Lindy Ruff’s system of rugged forechecking. I also don’t like the fact that the teams around the Sabres have gotten extremely better. Hell, the Caps who are light years away from the competition in the East aren’t satisfied. Makes me think back to the 05-07 years, when Darcy didn’t really feel fit to make the team better. Yeah, I know…get over it, and Hossa never guided the Penguins to the Cup.

Even still, I’d like to think that with Miller in net, Regier could have at least given up youth for effective players. Miller is your wild card here. As long as he plays like this, the Sabres shouldn’t be on the outside looking in for the next 7 years. BTW- I’m still waiting for that email about a deadline deal where the seller ripped off the buyer.

But, I do understand what Darcy is trying to build. He’s building the team through youth and drafting. His way is extremely boring and makes me want to punch a wall. I guess you have to admire his moxie for sticking to his plan when everyone else questions it. I still think the general public has overrated his ability to scout talent. There have been times when I think Darcy uses his prospects as a crutch to not make moves. I’ll say this, those guys he’s been touting in Portland better be as good as they have been advertised. If one or two of them become Tyler Myers types, I’ll be eating crow. However, if Ennis becomes Derek Roy…not even the biggest Regier apologist will have a leg to stand on.

All in all, it wasn’t a great deadline day, but it was a lot better than what I had envisioned in the morning. Sabres will still lose in the first round if they play the Penguins.