Is Buff becoming part of the long-term core?

[MassHavoc]

[quote name="Tater"]
[quote name="Stu Grimson"]Nope for once I actually sat down and made a legitimate post, lol. I got the original idea off the radio and expanded.[/quote]



Well that was a great first post from you. :clap: Welcome to the boards.[/quote]

Sweet Jesus, someone get StuG some booze, I'm not sure this board is ready for him posting competent thought...



Now to address your post, Buff has been great at time, and in he playoffs especially. I don't think that anyone wants to actively see him go anywhere honestly. But we all know someone has to go and his inconsistency during the regular season is why he keeps coming up. Hell his inconsistency in the playoffs could still happen. He was no where to be found against Nashville. Not one point. Everyone was bitching them about him needing to park it in front of the net. Then he lit up Vancouver, just like he did last year. That lit a fire under him and he played a point a game against SJ, but to be honest the whole team was playing well. If Buff takes a shit in the Cup finals, well what do you say then? Look at last year, he was missing at the beginning of each the Calgary and Vancouver series, but finished each with a big game and that's all anyone seems to remember. To me he's been just as inconsistent in the playoffs, with spurts of dominant play, as he has been during the season until this recent stretch of very good play. Let's see him continue to play well and shake the inconsistent stigma he gets.

 

[Razzberry]

I'm not really buying the "inconsistency" line. Buff is a 20 goal scorer in the regular season (his offense took a hit from the time he spent on D this year). Do we really need much more from him than that? Especially if he starts playing on a regular line with Toews and Kane.

 

[MassHavoc]

[quote name="Razzberry"]I'm not really buying the "inconsistency" line. Buff is a 20 goal scorer in the regular season (his offense took a hit from the time he spent on D this year). Do we really need much more from him than that? Especially if he starts playing on a regular line with Toews and Kane.[/quote]

I would say if people are talking about him being on the top line and being a core player and someone to keep around long term over certain other players, then yes.

 

[PatrickSharpRules]

[quote name="MassHavoc"]
[quote name="Razzberry"]I'm not really buying the "inconsistency" line. Buff is a 20 goal scorer in the regular season (his offense took a hit from the time he spent on D this year). Do we really need much more from him than that? Especially if he starts playing on a regular line with Toews and Kane.[/quote]

I would say if people are talking about him being on the top line and being a core player and someone to keep around long term over certain other players, then yes.[/quote]



Yea this playoffs since he's moved to forward he's been a whole like Tomas Holmstrom, but he hits harder, has more of an edge when provoked, can score from everywhere, and IMO could be better than Holmstrom if he consistently played with Kane and Toews.

 

[Razzberry]

[quote name="MassHavoc"]
[quote name="Razzberry"]I'm not really buying the "inconsistency" line. Buff is a 20 goal scorer in the regular season (his offense took a hit from the time he spent on D this year). Do we really need much more from him than that? Especially if he starts playing on a regular line with Toews and Kane.[/quote]

I would say if people are talking about him being on the top line and being a core player and someone to keep around long term over certain other players, then yes.[/quote]

Like what? How many 30 goal scorers do people expect the Hawks to have? They already have 4 (including a 40 goal scorer in Hossa), which is probably more than almost every other team in the league. If Buff and Brouwer can consistently chip in 20 goals in a top-6 position (which all signs seem to indicate that they can), that's 160+ goals from our top two lines alone.

 

[Cornflake]

You can sure see the guys in there that would be ready to give dustin shit the minute he doesn't have a good game lol...



While nobody still has mentioned any names that could replace him, I think you could make a list of players out there for versteeg, sharp and bolland. Do I want them to leave of course not. Do I think Buff is more valuable, I actually still haven't truly made up my mind. It's very tricky.



People are going on about how buff is so inconsistent, but man Sharp can have games where he can't finish and misses the net with his chances, Versteeg can drive you nuts with turnovers and Bolland is still a tweener 2nd/3rd line center that your paying 4 million for. If he ends up being a third line center, then youre overpaying.

 

[IceHogsFan]

I am just enjoying the moment of watching this guy bring his game to being a standout. Not only on the team but for the entire NHL in the post season.

 

[supraman]

[quote name="Cornflake"]You can sure see the guys in there that would be ready to give dustin shit the minute he doesn't have a good game lol...



While nobody still has mentioned any names that could replace him, I think you could make a list of players out there for versteeg, sharp and bolland. Do I want them to leave of course not. Do I think Buff is more valuable, I actually still haven't truly made up my mind. It's very tricky.



People are going on about how buff is so inconsistent, but man Sharp can have games where he can't finish and misses the net with his chances, Versteeg can drive you nuts with turnovers and Bolland is still a tweener 2nd/3rd line center that your paying 4 million for. If he ends up being a third line center, then youre overpaying.[/quote]



I think the jury needs to remain out on Bolly. Here's why, last year with a screwed up back he played AMAZINGLY. This year he came back and it took him awhile to find his game, which he has found and been awesome, so I say we see what he does next year. Versteeg, to me Versteeg is the easiest to replace and i have a love hate relationship in regards to steeger. When he is playing great I love him when he is playing bad I hate him. So my opinions may be a bit biased regarding him. Sharpie....I like Sharp and he has come up big for us but I think we'll need to move him, hate to see him go but I think he'll get moved.

 

[Cornflake]

Yeah for sure. I think it's great the hawks have gone so far (other than the obvious) since it will be great for moving these guys. Like it was said at the start, Buff's value has never been higher. That goes for the entire roster. Basically every single hawks value has gone up just by getting so far. 4th liners that most fans never knew, everybody now knows.

 

[bierboy]

[quote name="supraman"]...Sharpie....I like Sharp and he has come up big for us but I think we'll need to move him, hate to see him go but I think he'll get moved.[/quote]

No way Sharp isn't with this team next season.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

[quote name="bierboy"]

No way Sharp isn't with this team next season.[/quote]



Amen... Sharp is a catalyst and you CANNOT let him go.

 

[Maiden]

[quote name="bierboy"]

No way Sharp isn't with this team next season.[/quote]



If the players accept the 5% inflator this summer (talk about cooking the books) the cap will go up around 2 million. That will help teams like Chicago and Philadelphia who are in need of cap space.



Found this dandy on the cap recently:



A short explainer: Every year, the league and union figure out the revenue pie and the corresponding salary-cap number is based on those revenues. The cap has gone up every year since 2005 because the revenues have gone up every year. According to the CBA, the players also have the right to tack on a further 5 percent inflator on that figure. They have done so every single year since the new CBA went into place. The higher the cap, the better for players signing new contracts.



Except, this year, things are dicey with the economy. Without the 5 percent inflator, the cap would likely go down about $2 million for next season (2008-09) to somewhere in the $54 million range. In addition, revenues are expected to decrease somewhat for the 2009-10 season, again because of the recession. That means players may eat up too much of their share of the revenue pie and fork over money from their paychecks to cover the shortfall to owners a year from now. That's called escrow. It's complicated, we know, but it's the way the system is set up.



Much of the discussion at Friday's meetings centered on this issue. Should the players add the 5 percent inflator, yes or no? It's a tough call. They will pay more escrow if they do tack on the 5 percent to the cap; but, on the other hand, it limits the marketplace for all the free agents this summer if they don't raise the salary cap as high as they can.

 

[agenthehe]

IMO to this team both Sharp and Bolland as individuals are way more valueable than Buff is to this this team and Buff's trade value is way > than Steeg and yes I think that you can force the team that takes Buff to take Huet. I think around the NHL there are some reactionary GM's just like there are reactionary fans around here that think Buffs 20 (and that's pushing it) great games out of the year are worth way more than the 80 lazy efforts he puts out a year.



The problem is his lazy efforts are spitacularly lazy IMO and he has them WAY too often (BS about the excuses about playing D and wrong usages of him) if he put in his effort 50 games a year he has the talent and size to be at least a 30-40 G a year guy, but he won't the guy doesn't care, except 20 nights a year maybe... Like others have said what happens to all the reactionary if he shits himself this week and what he does is replaceable by a guy like Brouwer because at least he puts effort forth. hell if Buff put Brouwers effort forth he would be that 35G guy. He is not Holmstrom (because he puts his ass in front of the net 100 times a year), he is not Lemeiux maybe you add a few more rings and we can compair there.

 

[Maiden]

If I was a GM in the Northwest Division (Calgary or Edmonton) I would make a trade to acquire Buff to play against Luongo every year.