#74 Jay McKee

[Thumper]

McKee gets a shot right in the face....The puck slams into his nose, leaving a trail of blood down his face and a disgusting discolored welt is growing as the camera follows him to the locker room.

The next time we see him, he's back on the ice wearing a visor and hitting every single Ottawa player on the ice in about 1 minute.

This guy has balls of steal. He came out and just started body checking everyone in his first shift. I honestly believe he had 4 hits in that 1 minute of icetime.

He came out pissed off, determined, and he actually turned the tide of the game with that one shift. After that, the Sabres found their game. They were the better team for the majority of the minutes remaining. It should have been 2-2 with 18 minutes remaining in the 3rd.

But that is neither here nor there now.

Resign McKee. Resign McKee. Resign McKee.

[Circusboy39]

Amen.

[Hockeystud1414]

I couldn't agree more here as well....I don't expect him to keep that visor by the time the playoffs roll around, just because he is tough as nails and is a warrior! If Darcy doesn't resign Jay he should be fired. There is no reason not to.

[LALAFONTAINE]

Depends on the price. Given the cap increase, I can see signing him to $2.5M per max.

[SabresMB3]

We got to keep a guy like Mckee, I dont think hes worth any more than 2.5 million but definantly a guy willing to take one for the team obviously, never heard about any problems in the locker room, just a guy i can see wearing the C some day

[Junior]

If he is so tough why isnt he playing tonight?????

[two4trippn]

If its takes $3mil, who cares, do it. He's a major need and one of a kind on this roster.

[LALAFONTAINE]

One of a kind? Please. Are you his agent?

The money we spend on McKee will be the money we can't spend elsewhere.

[two4trippn]

One of a kind on this roster - name another player that can play his minutes his style currently dressed. It would not be catastrophic to lose him but without him this team would lose ALOT of character.

[Napalm]

Depends on the price. Given the cap increase, I can see signing him to $2.5M per max.


Yup

$2.5M per year is very reasonable, and should be done. McKee is not exactly an elite D man, but he is very solid. Letting him walk would further deplete this below average D.

[smashingt2312]

Mckee really is my hero, such an underrated defensemen in the league.

[buffjoe]

He came out pissed off, determined, and he actually turned the tide of the game with that one shift. After that, the Sabres found their game. They were the better team for the majority of the minutes remaining. It should have been 2-2 with 18 minutes remaining in the 3rd.

And that would be the frustration with McKee. If he played like that consistently over his career we'd be comparing him to the elite defensemen in the league. Instead he's an OK 3rd or 4th D-Man that blocks a lot of shots .Also, what's the big deal about playing with a broken nose? Players do it all the time. I saw Teemu Selanne continuing playing with the nerves on his front teeth exposed which is far more painful than a broken nose. Do we consider him a tough dude. Hardly? The pain resulting from injuries like that is not as big as it is made out to be. Besides if he was really tough he'd just shove two cotton balls up there and continuine playing like Domi did a couple of months ago.

[Smapdi]

This team needs to bring in Zdeno Chara next offseason. If Darcy has to drop 4 or 5 million it is definately worth it for a d-man of Chara's stature. Obtaining him would be even better for us because we don't have to face him 8 times a year while he gets to face his old team 8 times a year. As we all can see, this team's major problem is the lack of a quality d-man.

[unklechucky]

This team needs to bring in Zdeno Chara next offseason. If Darcy has to drop 4 or 5 million it is definately worth it for a d-man of Chara's stature. Obtaining him would be even better for us because we don't have to face him 8 times a year while he gets to face his old team 8 times a year. As we all can see, this team's major problem is the lack of a quality d-man.

Ottawa will lose either Chara or Redden simply on price and free agency. I'm wondering if theres a way to resign Mckee and aquire one of the other two.

[Thumper]

If he is so tough why isnt he playing tonight?????

Put down the crack pipe.

[Thumper]

And that would be the frustration with McKee. If he played like that consistently over his career we'd be comparing him to the elite defensemen in the league. Instead he's an OK 3rd or 4th D-Man that blocks a lot of shots .Also, what's the big deal about playing with a broken nose? Players do it all the time. I saw Teemu Selanne continuing playing with the nerves on his front teeth exposed which is far more painful than a broken nose. Do we consider him a tough dude. Hardly? The pain resulting from injuries like that is not as big as it is made out to be. Besides if he was really tough he'd just shove two cotton balls up there and continuine playing like Domi did a couple of months ago.

The frustration with McKee? Does every freaking player have to be one of the best in the NHL at everything they do? He's one of the top 2 shot blockers in the NHL. What else do you need? He's a solid top 4 defenseman, and has been his entire career with the Sabres.

He changed the tide of the game, and he has before. Do you need to downplay everything?

[LALAFONTAINE]

One of a kind on this roster - name another player that can play his minutes his style currently dressed. It would not be catastrophic to lose him but without him this team would lose ALOT of character.

His minutes?

McKee is 5th among Sabres defensemen in TOI.

Sure, he would be a loss, but a survivable one - especially if he is replaced with a cheaper free agent.

[LALAFONTAINE]

This team needs to bring in Zdeno Chara next offseason. If Darcy has to drop 4 or 5 million it is definately worth it for a d-man of Chara's stature. Obtaining him would be even better for us because we don't have to face him 8 times a year while he gets to face his old team 8 times a year. As we all can see, this team's major problem is the lack of a quality d-man.

$4 or $5 million? Expect to pay over $7M for Chara.

[Napalm]

His minutes?

McKee is 5th among Sabres defensemen in TOI.

Sure, he would be a loss, but a survivable one - especially if he is replaced with a cheaper free agent.



Who would be a good cheaper FA pickup?

Remember Numminen is a FA after this year as well. So that is 2 D men that could be gone.

IMO it will be a regretable move by Darcy not to resign McKee. That being said, Darcy shouldn't overpay to retain him either.

[LALAFONTAINE]

Dunno...haven't looked at the UFAs, but let's not pretend that McKee is irreplaceable. Valuable, yes, but the sky isn't falling if we can't resign him.

[foster]

This team needs to bring in Zdeno Chara next offseason. If Darcy has to drop 4 or 5 million it is definately worth it for a d-man of Chara's stature....

The only problem would be having to raise the scoreboard another 6" so he doesn't hit his head on the way through center ice.

Chara is a force. The guy is just a difference maker.

Would I trade not having McKee for having Chara -- of course. I don't want to upgrade one of our top 3/4 defensemen, I want to keep them and upgrade our next 3/4 defensemen in the off season to make the defensive squad better as a whole.

[buffalofan19]

The only problem would be having to raise the scoreboard another 6" so he doesn't hit his head on the way through center ice.

Chara is a force. The guy is just a difference maker.

Would I trade not having McKee for having Chara -- of course. I don't want to upgrade one of our top 3/4 defensemen, I want to keep them and upgrade our next 3/4 defensemen in the off season to make the defensive squad better as a whole.

Dropping the 4-5 million for Chara would make total sense, just from a salary cap standpoint. The supposed payroll minimum is going to be $29 million, which is what the Sabres are at now, so they are probably going to have to raise their payroll anyway.

[LALAFONTAINE]

So would dropping $1 million to sign Redden, but it ain't gonna happen.

[buffjoe]

The frustration with McKee? Does every freaking player have to be one of the best in the NHL at everything they do? He's one of the top 2 shot blockers in the NHL. What else do you need? He's a solid top 4 defenseman, and has been his entire career with the Sabres.

He changed the tide of the game, and he has before. Do you need to downplay everything?
I'm not discounting his value, I'm just saying that there is more there that goes untapped. The five minute stretch was out of the ordinary for McKee. That's why you got so excited and wrote about it. It's the same situation as Connolly. For years we've known that he's had more ability than he's shown and it was frustrating. Now that he's playing up to his full ability we're saying Aha this guy is as good as we thought. Still waiting for that light bulb to go on for McKee.

[Thumper]

I'm not discounting his value, I'm just saying that there is more there that goes untapped. The five minute stretch was out of the ordinary for McKee. That's why you got so excited and wrote about it.

Good point. He's capable of it (throwing his weight around more) because he has shown it. But I don't think anyone could play every single shift like he did after the injury. Which is why it sparked the team. That was a shift out of the ordinary, which is what turned the tide of the game. If he played like that all the time, he'd be worn out by mid-season, and he'd probably be out of position more often than not. His positioning is what makes him so valuable.

He has the ability to turn the game when he wants too. How many teams have more than handful of players who have the ability to do that?

I think McKee's potential was reached a long time ago. He is what he is, and he's a valuable player and has been for the extent of his career.

[unklechucky]

I truly believe McKee's as solid as they come. Question is what is his true value monitarily?

[smashingt2312]

I love mckee dont get me wrong, but 5 million to resign him. I dont think it will be that much, and he has an established home in buffalo, so lets hope he stays somehow.

[buffjoe]

I truly believe McKee's as solid as they come. Question is what is his true value monitarily?

Here's where the whole McKee debate gets tricky. There are many here who think that he is a solid defenseman who deserves to be paid higher. At the same time the Sabres brass didn't see him as being valuable enough to offer big money. On top of that there's never really been much outside interest in him other than a few rumblings from Phoenix. Guys like Luke Richardson and Ken Klee had more demand than McKee. I think he's allright. Nothing special. He blocks a ton of shots but so did Craig Ludwig with Montreal for so many years and was pretty much average.