Jason Smith signs with Sens

[pigpen65]

oh well:

http://senators.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=367999

[billspwn]

meh, sign pratt or teppo and i'll be alright. rivet was a better option in my opinion anyways

[mike35]

I know a lot of people wanted Smith for his toughness but the guy skates like he's in quicksand. Hopefully the Buffalo fowards will expose his lack of speed. Teppo anyone?

[atomheart]

Wait? Smith skates like he's in quicksand but you want Teppo? I don't see Teppo as a better skater, do you? I'm a little bothered by this. I wanted Smith. At least we have Rivet though...

[Blofan4life]

Man, Darcy let that one slip away. He would have really helped this team, he was a true captain. If Teppo is not signed, this team is in real trouble on defense. Rivet is a nice addition but he is not the solution to a huge problem.

[Smerlas#76]

Man, Darcy let that one slip away. He would have really helped this team, he was a true captain. If Teppo is not signed, this team is in real trouble on defense. Rivet is a nice addition but he is not the solution to a huge problem.

IMO it's pretty sad that the state of the D is determined on whether or not Teppo signs. Is this what we have come to?

[theratt17]

Wait? Smith skates like he's in quicksand but you want Teppo? I don't see Teppo as a better skater, do you? I'm a little bothered by this. I wanted Smith. At least we have Rivet though...

What do you mean Teppo can't skate?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtMG6y-uUPI

[charbs]

I really wanted him, I think he would of taken us to the next level. This really sucks.

[noocllez]

Thanks Darcy! Another great job landing an easy target, too bad you couldn't offer 2.7. QUINN, YOU SHOULD BE BURNED ON A CRUCIFIX DURING THURSDAY IN THE SQUARE!!!

Not only did you screw up signing a guy that would have fit perfectly with our squad and wouldn't have minded living in buffalo, YOU LET HIM GO SIGN WITH OUR BIGGEST RIVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN YOU SHIET MANAGEMENT AND OWNERSHIP!!!!

[Dontdieman]

Man, Darcy let that one slip away. He would have really helped this team, he was a true captain. If Teppo is not signed, this team is in real trouble on defense. Rivet is a nice addition but he is not the solution to a huge problem.

http://halfbackflanker.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/sky-falling.jpg

come on days ago Darcy all but flat out said "we are not going to sign him"

I hate how everyone latches on to every UFA like they are the answer to all our woes

[mike35]

Wait? Smith skates like he's in quicksand but you want Teppo? I don't see Teppo as a better skater, do you? I'm a little bothered by this. I wanted Smith. At least we have Rivet though...

I'd say hes def. a better skater than Smith. Teppo is a pretty smooth skater.

[bduff54]

sucks he didn't come, nice fit for ottawa too

[billspwn]

i like this one better

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLsPy8g2dHA&feature=related

[buffjoe]

Thanks Darcy! Another great job landing an easy target, too bad you couldn't offer 2.7. QUINN, YOU'RE A DOLT!

Sabres top 4 defensemen
Rivet 3.5million
Spacek 3.3million
Lydman 3.15million
Tallinder 2.9million

Not sure why the Sabes continue to get a bad rap for being cheap. They might miss out on UFA signings but they still pay most of their players very well. I would not have coughed up another 2.7 million especially when I have an NHL ready, physical, puck moving D-man in Weber waiting in the wings for less than a million. If they want to sign Miller they have to work in the lower salaried Sekera and Weber into the mix anyway.

[Newman]

Where would Smith fit in in 2 years? This team is fine with Rivet now on defense...

Rivet - Spacek
Tallinder - Lydman
Weber - Sekera
Numminen (he'd be one hell of a 7th defenseman if they decide to sign him. Maybe move him with Sekera and sign Pratt again and send Weber to Portland for a while)

Jason Smith is as tough as they come, but he's also slow and isn't gonna get any faster. Dontdieman said it right. Everyone latches onto ever F/A and then blindly thinks he's all of a sudden going to sign here.

[ricogarion]

I'm just a tired Sabres fan that wants all the advantages that other teams seem to enjoy. I am not happy in losing Smith, don't see why I should be really.Not like this team is overloaded with guys that would sacrifice everything for their teammmates,heart and soul is a premium quality and this team needs to address adding more of it.Adding Craig Rivet while an exceptional step forward is just that,I feel great players and assets should be coveted.I just wish my team would make all efforts to assure winning a championship, not just capture 8th place and a playoff berth.I want a team that will think Cup, lets get the Red Wings mindset.Remember I'm just a tired Sabres fan,tired of watching other teams load up and prosper.Good luck Jason but I wish even more luck to my Buffalo Sabres.

[TommyV26]

I'm more mad he signed with ottawa than him not signing with us...

[TheAnswer74]

I dont understand why people are upset? We already got a D-man.
We have young Jason Smith type in Weber.

[noocllez]

I dont understand why people are upset? We already got a D-man.
We have young Jason Smith type in Weber.

what? please show me some utube clip i haven't seen to at least justify that comment...

[TheAnswer74]

what? please show me some utube clip i haven't seen to at least justify that comment...

On who? Weber or Rivet?

Weber was only here for a little bit, but he had a couple nice hits. And he showed his heart when he got hit into the boards head 1st, he jumped right back up.

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[ksl66]

They were only bringing one veteran D in from outside the organization, that turned out to be Rivet. They will likely bring either Numminen or Pratt back for depth. Once they acquired Rivet, Regier, when asked about Smith, he said (paraphrase) we talked to him, he had several offers, he was close to making a decision, he may have already signed. This shouldn't be a big shocker for Sabre fans. I am much happier with Rivet, may not be as physical as Smith, but plays a much better all around defensive game.

[foster]

Where would Smith fit in in 2 years? This team is fine with Rivet now on defense...

Rivet - Spacek
Tallinder - Lydman
Weber - Sekera
Numminen (he'd be one hell of a 7th defenseman if they decide to sign him. Maybe move him with Sekera and sign Pratt again and send Weber to Portland for a while)

Jason Smith is as tough as they come, but he's also slow and isn't gonna get any faster. Dontdieman said it right. Everyone latches onto ever F/A and then blindly thinks he's all of a sudden going to sign here.

We have 6 very good Defensemen signed. Yes, two are very young - but were thrown into a very tough situation last season and shined. They might regress a bit - that's to be expected. But they are both long term solutions to our defense and they are only going to get better with more ice time.

Throw in a Teppo to help them grow as an NHL player and we have a very good group of defensemen.

[The Grin]

I was looking at Time On Ice per game stats for Smith and several other players.

Jason Smith averaged just under 17.93 min/game for Philly and dropped down to 16.7 during the playoffs.
Rivet averaged 21.2 min/game for SJ and went up to 23.02 during the playoffs.
Rhett Warrener 13.42 for Calgary (injured and missed the last 10 games of the regular season and 7 playoffs games)
Nolan Pratt 13.52
Kalinin 17.34
Lydman 21.66
Sekera 19.62
Tallinder 21.04
Spacek 22.98
Weber 16.68

Smith was pretty beat up by the time the playoffs rolled around and his playing time dropped. I think passing on a 2 year deal with him may have been a good idea, even though the guy has had a heck of a career. Rivet got more playing time in the playoffs. Trading for Warrener isn't the answer, either. I say resign Teppo or Pratt for another year and bank on Weber filling in full time for the 09-10 season.

[ksl66]

Weber needs another year in the AHL. Remember this guys signed a year early, so he wasn't 20 when he signed like most first year pros are, he was 19. The kid isn't fully physically developed and the Sabres have been pretty well served the past few years by not rushing their young guys along. So why rush him into action? It might have a lasting effect if he starts the year up here and struggles, you can always move up, it is a lot more difficult to move down. I wouldn't want a Dimitri Kalinin situation.

[pigpen65]

Smith was 3rd in the league in blocked shots. definitely would have made the Sabres better.

[Blofan4life]

Rivet - Spacek
Tallinder - Lydman
Weber - Sekera
Numminen (he'd be one hell of a 7th defenseman if they decide to sign him. Maybe move him with Sekera and sign Pratt again and send Weber to Portland for a while)

If Teppo signs it will not be for a 7th defenseman. Darcy already signed Weber will not be here when the season comes. He still has a lot of growing to do and I would hate for him to have a set back because he is only playing 15 mins a game up here. This guy played good for 15 or so games but he still only 22 and needs to be in Portland.

[The Grin]

I didn't mean the 08-09 season, I meant the following season. I edited my post to fix it.

[drews]

Although I would've wanted Smith here, rather than Ottawa of all places, I think it says a lot that he was the Flyers' captain in an unbelievable turnaround year and no one in Philly seemed to care that he wasn't coming back.

[pigpen65]

Although I would've wanted Smith here, rather than Ottawa of all places, I think it says a lot that he was the Flyers' captain in an unbelievable turnaround year and no one in Philly seemed to care that he wasn't coming back.

He didn't play well the 2nd half of the season. He had big time shoulder problems nobody knew about because he just played through it. Once the story came out about him finishing the playoffs with both shoulders having been separated, Flyers fans came back around on him. What i'm worried about with Ottawa is his shot blocking. Seemed impossible for the Sabres to get a shot on net anytime Volchenkov was on the ice. Now they have added another amazing shot blocker. That's not a defensive pairing you want to run into in a playoff series.

[drews]

Yeah I think we're pretty much guaranteed to be pissed that we didn't get him at least once this upcoming season, but just comparing the Flyers fans reaction on HF of : "great guy, good luck somewhere else," to the Sharks fans reactions of losing Rivet, I'm more pumped to have the latter than I am sad about losing out on Smith. I mean these are people who probably watched every game of their teams' seasons, and its usually a pretty good gauge of a player's value.

[pigpen65]

He ended up signing for 2.6. That's what Teppo made last year. Very reasonable. That's what bothers me the most. If it was 3.5 like Rivet you could make a case against it, but just subtracting Teppo and Kalinin from last year's squad, the money was more than there.

[SabresFan220]

Smith is a war horse who we valorized all offseason as the key to Philly's turnaround season. Newsflash, yes he helped a lot, but I think stealing Braydon Coburn from Atlanta had more to do with it than Smith in the end. I think Rivet is better, yes he's paid $1 million more but he brings more to the table. We'll have a front row seat to find out why Sharks fans were pissed about losing him, and we'll be comparing Smith and his stats all season. I still think we'll find that Darcy made the better deal.

[TheAnswer74]

He ended up signing for 2.6. That's what Teppo made last year. Very reasonable. That's what bothers me the most. If it was 3.5 like Rivet you could make a case against it, but just subtracting Teppo and Kalinin from last year's squad, the money was more than there.

Not if you plan on signing Miller, Pominville, and Paille. Miller 3 mil raise, Poms 3 mil raise, Paille 1 mil raise.

Sabres already sit at 48 mil, they said 50 mil was their self imposed cap.

I bet they only get Paille done before the season.

[3LH]

I bet they only get Paille done before the season.
That would suck. For once it would be nice not to have that distraction and constant speculation during the season.