|
Murray: Our Time Is The Future |
|
|
|
|
|
UPDATED:
Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has made trades with the Buffalo Sabres at the the last three NHL trade deadlines. Fletcher has studied the Buffalo and Rochester lineups chapter and verse. He is great friends with Sabres GM Tim Murray. Its no wonder why Fletcher made the Chris Stewart trade on Tuesday.
Stewart is a rental player and Fletcher is hoping that the power forward will infuse some skill and physicality to the lineup as they head down the stretch.
Fletcher told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune that he is confident that Stewart will deliver the goods for the Wild.
“It’s obviously been a difficult season for him in Buffalo in terms of the wins and losses,” Fletcher said. “He knows of our team quite well from playing against our team in Colorado and St. Louis. I know he’s excited to play with the group of players we have and be in a playoff race and compete hard for wins and making the playoffs, but also for a new contract. I like where he’s at in terms of how we feel he’ll perform for us.”
Stewart also spoke with Russo before he boarded his flight from Tampa to Minnesota.
Stewart said that he loves to play in the Twin Cities as a visiting player. Now, he gets to call Minneapolis-St. Paul his home. That is, until the Wild are eliminated from playoff contention. Stewart will become UFA on July 1. He will be eligible to sign with the team of his choice on July 1. For now he's stoked to be a member of the Minnesota wild.
“Minnesota has always been one of my favorite places to play. The fans there have been great and coming to that arena, they’re always fired up and ready to support that team. Being on the other end of it now, I’m sure it’ll feel a little bit different, but exciting.
“It’s going to be a great challenge. I look forward to it. It’s a fresh start and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Adding my size and my physicality to that lineup, I think that’s something they’re looking for.”
“I’m a big guy, a power forward, I have some pretty good speed and I like to play a hard-nosed game and get in the corners there and on the forecheck and create turnovers.”
Stewart is going to thrive in Minnesota.
***
Sabres GM Tim Murray said that his team's time is the future. That's why he traded away four veteran players on Tuesday. Chris Stewart, Michal Neuvirth, Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn have been moved along to contending teams.
Murray took hold of a couple of goalie bags worth of assets in all of his trades: only one player in Chad Johnson, a prospect in Jack Nevins. and several draft choices.
Murray said that he achieved his goal which was to trade out players on expiring contracts in exchange for assets. He likes the return that he received.
No, for really playing the percentages, you had to look for the teams trying to lose. When the day began Buffalo was in position to have a 100 per cent chance at either of the mega-prospects, Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, and wanted to keep it that way. So the Sabres traded their lone remaining starting goaltender, Michal Neuvirth, who managed a .918 save percentage while seeing nearly 40 shots per game, and got back Chad Johnson, who was pitching an .889 for the Islanders. The Sabres will have Anders Lindback, giant tanking machine, or Johnson in net. This is how you do it.
“Everybody keeps talking about the TankNation, tanking for McDavid. I know those guys in the dressing room. They gave it their all,” Chris Stewart told Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News after the trade to Minnesota.
I know days are dark right now. It’s not going to last forever. They definitely have got some pieces.”
Thanks, Sabres.com
The Sabres will have an easier time finishing 30th overall now that Steart, Neuvirth and Enroth are gone.
There will be a do fight for 29th place between tanking specialists Edmonton and Regierizona.
The 29th place Edmonton Oilers sold off UFA to be Jeff Petry to the Montreal Canadiens and didn't make any other moves on trade deadline day.
Meanwhile, the 28th-place Arizona Coyotes held a fire sale of epic proportions when defenseman Keith Yandle was traded on Sunday to the New York Rangers. The Yotes sweetened the deal by eating a portion of Yandles's contract. The Yotes also sold off key assets Antioine Vermette and Zbenyk Michalek.
“I hope the Rangers win the Cup this year, then struggle next year because we have their first-round pick,” said Coyotes general manager Don Maloney.
**
Michal Neuvirth made a strong statement in his final presser as a member of the Buffalo Sabres:
"Tanking", or losing games in order to finish last overall in the last place ranking in the NHL standings is wrong. Neuvirth said Tuesday that he is not a fan of tanking in order to insure the first overall pick in the NHL draft.
Neuvirth's net minding heroics sent Sabres fans into a full scale panic in the past few weeks. In his eight starts Neuvith stood on his proverbial head while he compiled a sizzling .950 save %. His outstanding play in goal earned Buffalo points in 5 of their last 6 games. In mid-February, Buffalo held a 10 point "lead" on Edmonton in the McEichel standings. Today, the Buffalo "lead" is down to 4 points on Regierizona and 3 points in Edmonton. There us no denying that Neuvirth's performances post Jhonas Enroth trade on Februray 11 helped to galvanize the Sabres as a team. It seemed as though Neuvirth's strong play was a metaphoric, defiant middle finger in the face of the haters, critics, and perhaps his former GM. Sort of like rallying cry akin to:
"Me and my teammates aren't going down without a fight! We are not tankers!!"
Fast forward to the 3:30 mark of the interview for Neuvirth's anti-tank message.
Thanks, Sabres.com
***
Chris Stewart will add needed pop and snarl to the Minnesota Wild lineup. Chuck Fletcher is a wise GM for making this trade. Stewart skates like the wind, hits like a defensive end, and has been scoring and creating offense for the past month.
This marks the third straight NHL trade deadline that the Wild and Sabres have hooked up.
Murray traded three forwards today in Brian Flynn, Torrey Mitchell and Chris Stewart. He achieved nice value in all three deals.
Murray fetched a 2017 second rounder for Stewart. Mitchell was traded for what is believed to be a third rounder. Flynn was traded for a conditional fifth rounder.
Murray also traded pending UFA goalie Michal Neuvirth to NYI for Chad Johnson and a third round pick in 2016.
Murray will have to recall to forwards from Rochester to play in Tampa Tuesday night.
More to come...
***
The Sabres have sent bottom six forward Torrey Mitchell to the Montreal Canadiens.
More to come...
***
Have the Buffalo Sabres sewn up 30th place in the NHL standings?
Today, Tim Murray traded his #1 goalie Michal Neuvirth to the NY Islanders in exchange for goalie Chad Johnson and a 2016 third round draft pick.
On February 11, Murray traded his then #1 goalie Jhonas Enroth to Dallas for a conditional third rounder. The pick will become a second rounder if Dallas wins four playoff games. They will have to earn a playoff spot first.
So, Murray has traded both goalies and replaced them with lesser tenders.
Are the Sabres now guaranteed to finish last overall?
One assumes that the Edmonton Oilers will now be out of the battle for McEichel .
It now looks like it will be the Sabres and the Arizona Coyotes for the 30th and 29th place positions respectively in the final standings. In the past two days the Yotes have traded Antoine Vermette, Keith Yandle, and Zybnek Michalek. They have taken back prospects and picks, not roster players. The Sabres still have deals to complete for pending UFAs Chris Stewart, Torrey Mitchell, Tyson Strachan, Andre Benoit, and Andrej Meszaros.
The Oilers can always select Noah Hanifin. They need a difference making D, not Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.
***
I love that Jordyn Leopold loves her Daddy, Jordan Leopold.
Jordyn's dreams have come true. The Minnesota Wild have traded for her Leopold. He is a Minnesota native and a UMinnesota Gopher.
**
In February 2014, the Buffalo Sabres traded Ryan Miller to the St. Louis Blues for a package that included Jaro Halak.
YTim Murray would then trade Halak to the Washington Capitals for Michal Neuvirth.
Today, Tim Murray has traded his pending UFA goalie Michal Neuvith to Long Island in exchange for Jaro Halak's backup tender Chad Johnson.
Its now up to Johnson to pilot the 30th place Sabres to the finish line without losing ground to Arizona and Edmonton in the standings.
Sabres fans now don't have to refill their anxiety and high blood pressure meds prescriptions. Neuvirth's last two weeks were the best two week stretch of his NHL career. In his past 8 games he posted a .950 save percentage with the Sabres whose fans want Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. Neuvirth tested the patience of Sabres fans. Now, the decks are cleared to proceed to the 30th place in the standings without resistance.
The road to Tankville is now cleared.
Neuvith is a pending UFA while Johnson has one year remaining at $1.6 million.
Johsnon to TSN that he will have to get used to going from first to worst. Ted Nolan and Tim Murray may want to tell him to buy in to the program.
"It’s going to be tough, but as a player you have to be optimistic about everywhere you go," Johnson told TSN.
"You want to go in there and play hard. Their eyes are obviously set on one of those two picks there at the draft this year, but for myself I’m just going to go in there and try and win hockey games. That’s your job. Regardless of where you are in the standings, you’re there to play hard and win hockey games."
Join the Discussion:
»