Buffalo Sabres Being Used As Leverage By Steven Stamkos? Well Duh.
If the Buffalo Sabres are going “all-in” on the summer’s biggest free agent, fans should not expect things to be easy.
It’s not secret that the Buffalo Sabres have gone “all-in” on their efforts to acquire a big fish in free agency.
Of course, it’s not like the Sabres are the only team who will double-down in their attempts to convince Steven Stamkos to join the team; the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs are also expected to throw crazy dollar signs Stammer’s way, and don’t rule out the Tampa Bay Lightning, who made it all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals (mostly) without Stamkos, and understand his goal-scoring talents would be sorely missed should he pack up his things and leave town.
Long story short, the uber-optimistic Buffalo Sabres fans who feel that Stamkos coming to Buffalo is pretty much a done deal are setting themselves up for a potential heartbreak, as evidenced by this Tweet:
Wait – you think professional athletes would talk to teams that they really have no interest in joining?
Noooooooooooooo!
More from Sabre Noise
- 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
- 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
- Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
- Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects
Look: there is no doubt that Buffalo Sabres fans have a lot to be excited about. With a roster that features current All-Star Ryan O’Reilly, future All-Stars in Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart (and possibly even Rasmus Ristolainen), and some wonderful prospects in Hudson Fasching, Alexander Nylander, Justin Bailey, and Brendan Guhle, it’s fair to say that this team is going to be fighting for a playoff spot soon. And with owner Terry Pegula more-than-willing to open his wallet and pay for big-time talent, you would be an idiot not to believe that this organization isn’t serious about doing whatever it takes to win Lord Stanley’s Cup.
That said, the Buffalo Sabres are not the number one choice of free agents everywhere. I’m not going to go into the reasons why; I’ll simply say this team is not the absolute last place a free agent would want to sign, by any means, but it’s not the first, either.
So, if you bought into any of the “The Buffalo Sabres are the most likely destination for Steven Stamkos” hype you may have read during the excitement of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, I’m sorry. The Sabres might very well make the best offer Stammer receives, and who knows? He might actually sign a long-term deal with the club.
Until he signs on the dotted line, however, Steven Stamkos is going to use every offer he receives as leverage for a better offer from competing teams. I understand the wording of the Tweet implies that somehow this is just something that will happen to Buffalo, the city that no one wants to live in according to everyone who has never spent more than five minutes in the actual city, but the truth is, free agents are looking to take care of themselves. Few and far between are the free agents who listen to one offer and say, “Sounds good! Where do I sign?”
Buffalo’s aggressive approach to acquiring Stamkos may wind up coming back to bite the team in the butt, because Stamkos and his camp are aware of how much the team wants and needs his skill set. It also doesn’t help Buffalo’s cause that it is the only team that has had a number attached to its pursuit of Stamkos – namely, the $12 million that TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger tossed out last Tuesday. You may think that Stammer would be happy to accept such an offer (if that is, indeed, what the Sabres are offering) but he would be a fool not to talk to ask other GMs around the league to match, if not top, that offer. Again, he might not receive any offers better than what the Sabres are willing to throw his way, but why settle for $12 million when you can get $12.5? As much as I don’t think any athlete is worth that kid of cash, that’s how free agency works, so you can’t blame the guy for trying.
Next: Sabres Have Options In Restricted Free Agency
The pursuit of free agents in the NHL is a high-stakes game of “Who can top this?” If Steven Stamkos is truly using the Buffalo Sabres only as leverage to get a sweeter deal from a team that he really wants to play for it, so be it. There’s no room for hurt feelings in this sports, and I’m pretty sure GMTM is aware of that. The Sabres are going after the Big Fish, but if he doesn’t bite, there are smaller fish who might just wind up being better catches for the team, any way.