Speculation: GM Search: Part II (Tim Murray to be named GM)

[Jame]

He is one of the best defenseman in the East this year. He is in the top 10 in goals scored by defenseman and forms a top pairing with Faulk in Carolina.

You don't need to tell me...
He's an all around 1st pairing defensemen... and he was drastically undervalued by the organization because they didn't see him as such (mistakenly)

 

[SabresFan26]

You don't need to tell me...
He's an all around 1st pairing defensemen... and he was drastically undervalued by the organization because they didn't see him as such (mistakenly)

Agreed he was just solid two way guy whose biggest fault was that his decision making sometimes was suspect but generally his skating was good enough to recover.

 

[Ruckus007]

Yea... imagine if we had to decide whether to re-sign a 28 yr old 1st pairing defensemen... the horror

The Sekera trade was a tear down/tank move... it significantly downgraded the team, but returned a 1st round caliber prospect.

McBain was a throw in... Carolina had trouble trying to give him away for a year.

If, in 2015, they still look several years away from being legitimately competitive, yes I think it would be a challenging decision to give Sekera a significant extension at that point (and we're in agreement about him as a player, BTW).

EDIT: a couple of posts when up while I was writing this. I guess to summarize, Andrej Sekera by himself is probably better than McBain and the value of the 35th pick. But 1.) I agree that McBain has settled into a level of competency and 2.) the salary considerations of the swap favor a rebuilding team, which Buffalo obviously was at that point.

probably?

Nice try.

 

[joshjull]

You don't need to tell me...
He's an all around 1st pairing defensemen... and he was drastically undervalued by the organization because they didn't see him as such (mistakenly)

I'm curious if he would have even gotten the chance to be that player if he stayed.

 

[dynastyleaguehockey]

Agreed he was just solid two way guy whose biggest fault was that his decision making sometimes was suspect but generally his skating was good enough to recover.

He also lost a lot of battles in the corner and in front of the net. He's a great player but too many mistakes in Buffalo is why he was traded.

 

[ZZamboni]

He also lost a lot of battles in the corner and in front of the net. He's a great player but too many mistakes in Buffalo is why he was traded.

That's not why he was traded

 

[Jame]

I'm curious if he would have even gotten the chance to be that player if he stayed.

I have the same doubts, and it's an indictment on the staff at the time

 

[Jame]

If, in 2015, they still look several years away from being legitimately competitive, yes I think it would be a challenging decision to give Sekera a significant extension at that point (and we're in agreement about him as a player, BTW).

I just don't think signing a top pairing defensemen in his prime with his skating ability is even a question... how is that a challenge??? I mean it's not like we'd have cap space issues, which would be the only legitimate challenge...

Imagine the trade value he would have during that contract (assuming the perfect world scenario where all our D prospects develop into Norris caliber defensemen )

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

He also lost a lot of battles in the corner and in front of the net. He's a great player but too many mistakes in Buffalo is why he was traded.

That's not why he got traded. It might be why Buffalo didn't give him more responsibility, but he was traded because a targeted player was available at a time when another team was targeting Sekera.

I agree that Sekera wasn't great in Buffalo, but he was/is a pretty good d-man worth top-pair minutes. That trade was just an opportunity for two teams to trade future for present.

 

[joshjull]

I have the same doubts, and it's an indictment on the staff at the time

I was thinking it was more about the presence of Myers/Hoff and the lack of forward talent.


Sekera is on a pretty weak d-corp and its why he got his shot to be a top pairing all situations dman. He plays with one of their two talented kids but he really had no competition for the spot he is in. He has grabbed this opportunity and run with it. His production, particularly on the PP, was not likely to happen if he stayed here with our forward corp. Much different story in Carolina. Its just a good fit for him.

 

[Chainshot]

Ok, the search is over. New hire thread can be used from here on out, closing this puppy down.