Drew Stafford? The hottest player in the NHL?
Um, yeah..right
Wait. He is? 17 goals in his last 22 games? WTF is happening here?! Did Staffy go touring with the Grateful Dead this summer and achieve ecstasy? The guy has been on fire. Frankly, I probably should have posted something about him a month ago. I had noticed that a number of bloggers wrote a few posts on whether Stafford should be resigned or traded. Honestly, I kind of threw cold water on the topic because I felt people were just reaching for anything positive on the ice. It’s not a bad thing, but I just didn’t feel like getting into it because I needed to see more and I was still basking in the glory of Terry Pegula.
A few hat tricks later, Stafford has found his groove. He’s playing with confidence, he’s driving to the net and he’s been showing off a pretty nasty slap shot. He’s even showing a little bit of an edge. He’s pretty much Darcy Regier’s poster boy when it comes to being a homegrown talent. A guy who the Sabres drafted and had paid his dues in the minors. Of course, upon his arrival in the NHL, Stafford struggled. He never really showed the intensity that you would want from a NHL player, and you always heard stories about his lack of concentration. People have mentioned that Stafford would rather work on his guitar rifts than rifling the puck in the back of the net.
Now, is he just a one year wonder? Is he just playing well because it’s his contract year? Remember, Stafford’s career high in goals came during his first contract year. However, that kind of seems like a cop out because you always here people mention that. Maybe if Stafford was 35 and had a long history of playing out the string well, I could buy it. Now, the question is whether Stafford should resign or not? Here are just some random points that I’d like to throw in before I make the choice:
1) Regier’s future: If the Sabres went into the offseason with the trio of Golisano/Quinn/Regier as the hierarchy of the franchise, you can bet your bottom dollar that Stafford would be resigned. Everyone knows that Regier loves his prospects. Now, if Regier ends up getting the boot, which I still can’t grasp if that is going to be the case, a new GM is going to want his own players. He’s not going to have any sense of loyalty towards Darcy’s draft picks. If Regier is still in Buffalo in the offseason, I think it’s 90% certain Stafford stays put. I mean, this is the same GM that gave Tim Connolly a 30% raise for playing a 3rd of his games.
2) Is Stafford the next Connolly? Yes, there games are a little bit different, but if you think about, both players have kind of went through the same obstacles for their career. Both guys were extremely unpopular at one time. Both players have injury concerns. Both guys have a lot of talent. Both guys have been accused of not showing up on a nightly basis. Both guys were judged in a positive way for doing so much in such a short period of time (Connolly’s 05/06 season and Stafford’s current season). I’m not saying this is a reason to not resign him, but I thought it was worth a mention.
3) Money shouldn’t be a object: Look, this isn’t a Peerless Price or Brian Campbell debate. And what I’m talking about has to do with the money issues. In Buffalo, especially with the Sabres, the management has trained the public into believing that 3-million a season for a player is a lot, when in reality, it’s kind of the going rate for a role player. All I’m saying is that if Stafford gets re-uped, his salary is probably going to be around 2.5 to 3 million, unless he scores 35 goals. Remember, his 2nd contract (2-year, 3.8 million) came after scoring a total of 36 goals the previous two seasons. Right now, Stafford is at 34 goals since he signed that deal. All I’m saying is that if the Sabres resign him, it shouldn’t be a deal that will put the franchise in some sort of salary cap hell.
4) A trade asset: As of right now, you can put Stafford up there as a valuable chip that the Sabres can deal with at the deadline. Obviously, we couldn’t say that last year. So, do the Sabres roll the dice in keeping him? I mean, if he takes a dive next year like he did last year, the Sabres are going to have a lemon on their hands. Right now, Stafford is at the highest he’s ever been in terms of value to contending teams. He’s got an expiring contract, which can only make other GMs take more notice of him.
Final verdict: As of now, I’m leaning towards keeping Stafford. First off, he’s going to come relatively cheap if you ask me. 3 million bucks a year isn’t going to destroy the cap structure of the Sabres. They already have a lot of contracts coming off the books this offseason. Secondly, unlike Tim Connolly, Stafford is still pretty young. Look, I’m not a family counselor, who can figure out if a player has matured or not. However, Stafford is still only 25 years old. Hey, Brian Campbell sucked his first 4-years in the NHL, only to then blow up after the lockout. If the Sabres can sign Drew to a 2-year deal, it will give them more than enough time to see if he’s the real deal.
Now, the only problem I will have with the situation is if the Sabres act as if Stafford is going to be a star for this team. I don’t want Darcy to come out at the trade deadline and say that resigning Stafford is equivalent to a deadline deal. Don’t tell me that Stafford is a top 10 forward in the Eastern Conference. Pretty much, I don’t want you to act like it’s Tim Connolly all over again. As far as trading him goes, if they can get a good player in return for him, I’m down with that. As I wrote before, no one on this roster is untradeable.
If the Sabres plans are for Stafford to be on the 2nd line, and the team signs or trades for a couple more parts, then it’s a no-brainer for me.
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