How to wade through the trade deadine rumors as a Sabre fan

The NHL trade deadline is a month away, with a 2 week freeze for the Olympics, or as I call it secret trade time. And the rumor boards and messageboards will be blowing up with what the Sabres should do, who they are linked to and what not. But for the smart Sabre fan, you can make the time a little less stressful and worrisome, by following the typical modus operandi of one Darcy Regier.

1. Darcy will not overpay, in value or dollar wise.

The Sabres aren't cheap, to counteract the typical opinion of dumb average Sabre fan who couldn't budget out of a paper bag, in fact they are near the cap and don't have a lot of wiggle room. So any trade will have to be dollar for dollar, or a value player that fits the "system". Darcy would never go after a Kovolchuk or Souray. Players that don't pull their contract. Briere and Drury are perfect examples. Guys he got great value from, till they were overpriced now burdens to their respective teams. In the Stock market you would be called a genius, for buying low and selling high, but in Sports you're called Cheap.

2. Darcy will not Panic

Just because others are making deals, doesn't mean you have to. Right now big deals are happening. Great, good for the Leafs and Devils. The Sabres don't need to do anything right now. They could, but it's not necessary. They made a cap room deal already in shipping out Dan Paille. Right now is the time to see what you need to make a run to the Cup. During the break, do some analysis, make some calls and go from there. If you can't get what you want, just go with what you have. But do not panic and make a deal that could hurt the organization in the long run.

3. If you hear anything it will not happen

If you read something about a Sabre going somewhere for something, you can GUARANTEE it won't happen. He wants total secrecy and zero leaks. Notice no one in the Buffalo media has any idea EVER about what the Sabres will do. Darcy is very close to the vest and if any GM wants something from the Sabres, they have to keep their trap shut. So forget rumor sites, only if you want to find out who maybe out there. Otherwise they are no good for Sabre fans.

4. Any player from Buffalo or who played here will be linked to the Sabres.

With the Leafs purge, you'll see Stempniak linked to the Sabres about 40 times. He's not coming here. (goes to nhlnumbers.com) Makes 3.5 million this year and a UFA. And has 13 goals. Umm no. The only player that came back after playing here recently was Mike Grier, who was the last person, we'd thought come back. Buffalo fans like to get back what we know, because we're too lazy to do any research. Raffi Torres? Who's that? Columbus? They have a team? How many times have we heard the name Michael Peca and the Sabres at the deadline over the years.

Andrew Ladd, now we are talking. 11 goals, making 1.65 Million and a RFA. Playoff experience, was on a Cup winner.

5. Darcy will not settle.

Here's where Darcy gets criticised a lot. The old not getting anything for them routine. Darcy won't just trade a player to get something because they are leaving. I'm sure he tried his best to dump Max and Kalinin over the years, but nobody would offer something decent in return. So he kept them and got what he could out of them. Its like a car, you can't get a good trade in value so you just run it into ground.

He got a 2nd round pick for Alex Kotalik! Which was turned over to get Dominic Moore. Yikes. Well at the time it looked good. Who knew he was hurt?

Hasek and maybe Campbell are the few trades you can say he settled or got nothing for something. But really what did the Sharks get out of that Campbell trade?

6. Don't expect anything big

The trade deadline isn't the time where Darcy makes his big moves, he saves that for the offseason. Here he tinkers, acquires the Danius Zubrus' of the world (ZUBAZ!!!) He has the team he wants in place, now is the time to make tiny adjustments. He won't be putting in a new engine, he'll just be changing the oil. And of course gets roundly criticized every year for it.

Darcy has his method, you can debate whether it works or not. But just a few pointers on how to survive the trade deadline period, without getting too high or too down.