So it seems that there is turmoil in Buffalo regarding the Sabre's. Surprise, surprise. Pat LaFontaine resigned under suspicious circumstances one day after dealing net minder Ryan Miller. From an outsider looking in I have to admit that this story is very interesting. LaFontaine, hired months ago, on a long term contract, a Buffalo hero, returned to revitalize the struggling franchise. Things seemed to be going well. Ted Nolan was back at the helm, Darcy was finally relieved of his duties, and it looked like the team was on the right track. Pat LaFontaine was one of the best players to ever wear the blue and gold and having him as an executive gave desperate Sabres fans hope for the future. It was time to face reality, the team needed to reload and rebuild. It started with Thomas Vanek. He was gone before mid-season and will most likely sign with a big market next season. This was a good move for a small market organization not willing to invest in a big name free agent without the proper pieces to surround a player like Vanek. Now they had to figure out what to do with their high priced 33 year old goalie. They really only had two options. Sign him to a long term deal, or trade him to a contender for a slew of young talent. I believe that what they did was the right move. Let’s face it, the Sabres are so bad that they will not be a contender for at least 2-3 seasons, Miller will be 35 then. He already makes 7 million dollars per year. What are they going to do, pay him a max salary? It doesn’t make sense. Another factor that has to be paid attention to is that there is so much young goal tending talent in the league right now. Why pay an old goalie max dollars on a re building team when you can get a get young kid for the league min on a re building team.
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