Good deal. Stafford worked his ass off last summer to become a completely different player, and now he'll reap the financial rewards. I'm not a believer in the nonsensical "he only played well because it was a contract year" line of thinking, so I expect him to keep performing like a big-time player going forward.
I think it's a good deal and am happy they locked him up for 4 years. I think the worst case scenario is that they overpaid him a little bit. The upside is that they got a steal. But the most important thing is that they finally got their heads out of their bottoms and are getting deals done before they get into trouble. If the team had been proactive years ago, we probably would have held onto Briere and Campbell for reasonable long-term deals, and Vanek never would have been offer-sheeted and could have been signed for millions less. Well, better late than never.
4 years / 16 mil is exactly the right contract for Stafford. I like it and am glad we're keeping him in the fold. He's gotten better every year I think, and this contract I think reflects the same philosophy with Roy which is "maybe you're worth 3.25 or 3.5 today, but we think by the end you'll be worth 5 or 6."
anyway. I like it.
Stafford has not gotten better each year.
He scored 20 goals & 45 points in his last contract year in 2008-2009
Then 14 goals & 34 points the following year.
He bounced back this past season again in a contract year. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/p....php?pid=77747
$4mil/year for a guy who's career high in 5 seasons is 52 points & he has done almost nothing in the playoffs seems like he is overpaid to me.
He has a lot to prove especially when he's not in a contract year.
It was nearly a 70-point pace, and it didn't just happen by itself. It corresponded to Stafford putting in a lot more work and playing in much better shape, suggesting that his stats won't sink back down due to the expiration of good luck. If he continues to work hard he will continue that level of production.
I LOVE how nobody seemed to mention that in conjunction with the contract year that Roy went down with an injury and somebody had to step up, pretty overpaid for nothing special here. The guy as a waste in a close playoff series, and well has never stepped up in them. I'm not convinced that Stafford is that good, he caught a break last season. Roy will be back next season from injury and will steal some of that production, I guess some saving grace for him is Pominville may miss a month or something like that from his injury to start the season.
Too much for inconsistency, inconsistency can be found at a way cheaper price.
This is a horrible deal IMO. Overpay for no reason when you compare it to Moulson or Grabner's deals.
As an outsider I'd agree with you. Seem really high for no real track record. I'm also surprised so many Sabres fans are fine or good with the deal. They just seemed to have leverage to use against him such as the players you've illustrated
As a habs fan, maybe I missed out here, but I don't see how he merits this deal. He had a strong year, but he can just as well go back to 20 goals next year. They must have faith in him.
I'm definitely concerned about the length and terms. Just something about Stafford leaves me unsettled.
That being said we all know in sports the contracts are rarely based on the past several seasons, especially for younger players. A 25 year old player that scored 31 goals and was on pace for 40 is going to get a good salary. People will consider that at his age he is finally turning the corner.
$4M is just about right. If he can duplicate or build on his success it will be considered a steal. If he falls back to his disappointing numbers next year he will still be only 26 and probably would garner decent compensation in a trade if the Sabres want to go in a different direction.
To be fair, the cap has gone up by a lot since Boyes signed his contract. Boyes' deal in today's cap would probably be over 5 million a year.
And why are people comparing Stafford to Moulson and Grabner? Those two players play for a lottery team. It's kind of hard to ask for big money when you play for a team that is near last place every year, even if you do score 30 goals.
I really like the deal. I think the money per year is right on but am happy with the length. Drew was inconsistent his first couple of years when he was a young kid and cared more about his rock band. A light seemed to go off last summer and he worked his ass off last off season.
I really think he is going to be even better next year and liked his expanded role as a penalty killer at the end of this season.
Stafford's salary is going to take the place of Boyes' after this season. They're paying him to be the RW2. The plan beyond this season is likely for the top-9 RWs to be Pominville-Stafford-Kassian. Stop looking at the trees and start seeing the forest.
This contract is entirely in line with the market based on his accomplishments to date. Do I really need to post that comparables chart again? Props to Pegula and Regier for getting this done early, and not dragging it out all summer just to save $200k.
I love people who compare Stafford to Grabner and say Stafford is inconsistent.
I guess you wanted to give inconsistent another year to be inconsistent? Stafford may have taken less if we went 5 or 6 years.
He may have taken less if we waited and made his life miserable in negotiations. This just isnt how the Sabres will do business anymore. If the Sabres are offering $3.5 mil and the player wants $4 mil, Pegula will side with the player. Sometimes you have to fold. We lost some good players in the past over a few hundred million.
The only reason to dislike this deal is if you never wanted them to re-sign Stafford. I can respect that view, I just cant respect people saying he is overpaid. The same people said Briere was overpaid when the arbitrator gave him $5 million, they thought he was only worth $4.5 million. Makes no sense to me to complain over that .
Last edited by SabresAreScaryGood: 06-04-2011 at 08:37 AM.
If we didn't sign him for $4mil, some other team may have taken a chance on an offer sheet at that much. I still think we overpaid him; 3.25 or so would have made more sense.
I mean, am I supposed to be concerned that Stafford only scored at a 20-goal pace in your cherry-picked sample size?
Holy cow, yes.
Those 32 games -- almost half a season -- came in the heat of the playoff race and the playoffs themselves. And Drew's production shriveled up. Must have been a new release of Guitar Hero in mid-February.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zip15
This idea that Stafford was inconsistent this season is mind-numbing and asinine.
My bad. Drew was the model of consistency this season.
This isn't complicated. The Sabres need guys who will show up when it counts. The Sabres' top paid players are now Vanek-Miller-Pominville-Roy-Boyes-Stafford. Only delusional fans, and team presidents, are planning Cup parades in multiple cities.
