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Sounds like they're afraid of his cap recapture, which I think would've been $3mil if he stayed in Buffalo until he retired. It's not like they don't have room to pay that though, they're so far under the cap floor it's ridiculous..... and not alot of the prospects will be getting big deals in the near future.....

I think we're going to find that he wanted out. He made this comment on locker clean out day:

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Bingo. Can't risk a $10mil hole being blown into the side of this roster in a few years. The last year of his current contract is $1mil, why would he want to play for that at the age of 38 or 39?

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John Vogl @BuffNewsVogl 2m
Sabres GM Tim Murray says he's made it clear that if someone does not want to be in Buffalo, he'll get them out. So bye, Christian Ehrhoff.

I love Tim Murray.

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I also liked his comment about how Ehrhoff would make them a little bit better and that doesn't get you #1 next year.

I think Wings just got option 2 or 3 with him. Wanted him in 2011 but weren't giving him the deal Sabres did.

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Weird trade... Sam Gagner gets shipped to TBL for Purcell, then is immediately flipped to AZ along with Crombeen for a 6th rounder. TBL retains some salary in the deal.

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Whoa, and Yzerman's not done. Nate Thompson to ANA for picks.

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To be fair, I wouldn't want to be spending the latter years of my career in a situation like that. But on the other hand, you sleep in the bed you make, I guess.
I agree and think he just became a very viable option in a very thin crop of UFA d-men.

Tell you what. We'll take Yandle, you take Ehrhoff. Cool? Cool.

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How about we take Yandle, you take Oduya, and Tim can have Ehrhoff?

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Throw in Patrick Sharp (you need to clear up some cap room to afford Yandle anyways) and we might have a deal.

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Sharp and Oduya for MacKinnon and Yandle? Deal.

Good doin' business with ya.

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I would rather give you my left testicle than Nathan MacKinnon.

But if you really really want someone, I suppose I could give you PA. But that's it, Christopher.

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:lol You're so generous.

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Tampa is gonna be busy tomorrow. Rumors of Iggy going there and they'll be going after Niskanen too. First day back after 3 work days off. Need to bust my ass to catch up cause you know starting at noon tomorrow I'm gonna be "busy."

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This Arizona Coyotes thing is going to take some getting used to. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll be in Seattle or Portland in 4 or 5 years.

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Rumblings of Stastny also being on their radar (just like he's on everyone else's).

I read that they cleared up about $5 mil yesterday, it's obvious why.

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Stastny has a bunch of teams on him. Blues and Oilers along with Tampa. I know there is a chance he stays in Denver but with all the teams after him, I just can't see it.

As for Stevie Y, yeah I read the same about $5mil. This will be the first time in my life that I hope he fails. If Wings don't get Niskanen, I hope he goes West. lol My hopes for tomorrow are:

1. Niskanen

2. Yandle (try hard for him over the next day and see if you can make it happen if you get priced out of Niskanen)

3. Ehrhoff (if you can't swing Yandle fast)

4. Boyle is last option. A nice bridge guy until a couple of the young D in Grand Rapids. Yandle is my boy but he's option 2 cause he'll cost more than money.

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Dallas also reportedly made a big push at Paul once the window opened for talks to start. LeBrun said last week around 15 teams have at least mild interest. I agree with you... once the big offers start rolling in, Stastny's willingness to take a hometown discount will lower significantly. And rightfully so. I can't blame the guy for wanting to get paid.

It seems lately I've seen or read a bunch of stuff about athletes going broke in their later years. A lot of times it's due to them not being smart with their money, but it did drive home the point that these guys have a small window to attempt to set themselves up financially for the rest of their lives. When the average American is at their peak earning (notice "average"), pro athletes are retiring, and that's if they've been fortunate to have a long career. And while a lot find jobs in the front office, behind the bench, or as TV analysts, that's never a guarantee. So yeah, I don't blame him at all for going after a few million more a year.

That's a dandy list of defensemen. Holland should be able to wrangle at least one, you'd think.

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Yah, shit situation up here for a guy nearing the end of his career. He wasn't going to play for 7 more years up here, so that cap recapture would've been a real problem.

Fun Fact: Darcy Regier's two big signings in his last five or so years here both got bought out over the last couple of weeks. Good riddance.

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I heard Dallas as well also heard Dallas would be in on Spezza if they can't get Paul. I bet that goes for a lot of teams looking for a center. Strike out in UFA, go for Spezza in a trade.

I hope Kenny can get one of those. They need to upgrade their D. Forwards are ok, when healthy, especially if Alfie returns.

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Yeah, the number of quality players reportedly on the trading block (Spezza, Thornton, Yandle, etc.) really makes this an interesting UFA season. It was either LeBrun or McKenzie who was saying some GM's actually prefer the trade route over signing this year because of some of the high FA asking prices and terms.

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I can see that. You know what you are getting with guys in a trade in terms of their ability compared to their contract, and whether they are worth it. Niskanen is gonna get paid huge money and maybe he goes to a not so good team and doesn't fit in. You don't know how they'll do. Like Leino and Ehrhoff in Buffalo. Leino was never a go-to guy. He fit in Philly and there was no one there with him in Buffalo. Ehrhoff is a better player but again, with nothing there...you are gonna look bad.

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The goalie situation is the biggest interest to me, outside of my team. Way too many teams in on some guys to even make a guess with the skaters. But with so man goalies and few options where do we think these guys go?

Marty
Miller
Reimer

am I missing anyone?

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Throw Hiller in there as well.

I heard Vancouver's taking a good look at Miller.

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I forgot Hiller, I knew there was someone.

Miller in Vancouver makes sense to me. Talk of Marty going to TO. That might be good for Bernier. Reimer and Hiller though? I dunno.

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Flyers need to dump salary. My guess is to Buffalo because they are dumb enough and have space

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Florida is another one WAY below the floor.

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I read Edmonton might not be comfortable with a Scrivens/Fasth combo and may take a chance on Hiller.

Maybe Washington for Reimer? You're right on with your post... not a ton of openings for goalies these days.

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Habs trying to dump Josh Gorges. Had a deal with the Leafs but he said no.

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Also interesting news from C-Bus.

http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/...n-impasse.html

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Becs - comment?