WGR 550 has learned that the Sabres have signed forward Mike Grier. The free agent played with Buffalo for the two seasons surrounding the NHL lockout in 2004.
Grier left the Sabres to play in San Jose following the team's Conference Finals loss to Carolina in 2006. Grier scored 35 goals in 3 seasons with the Sharks. He's 34-years old.
Definitely didn't have him on the list of players that would ever come back here. Not sure he adds much more than leadership at this point in his career. Is it me, or is the roster overflowing with players?
08/10/2009 7:25PM
Huzzah!
Good to have grinding, dedicated vet leadership, with perspective, back here.
08/10/2009 7:28PM
Amazing
YES, GRIER POWER back in the B-LO
08/10/2009 7:34PM
All We Need
Is Drury.
08/10/2009 7:38PM
Im happy
Good signing by the sabres. we still need much more
08/10/2009 7:43PM
Trade
happy to have Grier back and that can only mean a trade coming up. Stafford?? Hecht?
08/10/2009 7:46PM
Good signing
This was a good signing and will help to fill out the roster. We need to get Stafford signed and find a way to bring in one more winger who can score 25 goals. If that happens we could be looking at a much improved team from a season ago.
08/10/2009 7:46PM
What!!!
Where was this two years ago???
08/10/2009 7:47PM
whoooooo hooooooo
MIKE GRIER IS AMAZING i am so excited
08/10/2009 7:48PM
Love it!
This is exactly what we have been lacking. Ever since Grier and Dumont have left, we've had no 3rd line. Grier will not only provide leadership as a veteren, he's that grinder that we've been lacking since, well, he left. This move definitely makesfor a better off season.
See Darcy...that wasn't hard....
08/10/2009 7:49PM
Wow
I am sitting her beside myslef. they actually got something we need.
08/10/2009 7:51PM
Trade?
Why would that mean a trade coming up with Grier on the team that only puts them at 12 forwards on their NHL roster. If we make any trades i think it has to be to move a D-man (tallinder) and bring in another scorer.
08/10/2009 7:51PM
YES!!!!
Never thought this would happen but say hello to team toughness and accountability once again!!!
08/10/2009 7:51PM
Back track
Sabres admitting another mistake!
08/10/2009 7:54PM
Yessssssssssssssssss!
Mike Grier is exactly what this team needs right now. He will fit nicely on the third line with Gaustad, and provide veteran leadership that these guys haven't had for the last 2 years.
08/10/2009 7:55PM
Right Direction
Definitely a step in the right direction!!!
08/10/2009 7:57PM
Now Deal!
For Kaberle. Bye Stafford!
08/10/2009 7:58PM
Trade
Time for them to trade away for Hejduk.
08/10/2009 8:02PM
Confused
I thought Greer left because he felt the Sabres are not about committment to winning, what changed?
08/10/2009 8:07PM
To: Confused
What changed was they showed him the money. That's what it's always about....
08/10/2009 8:14PM
wow
pretty sweet pick up...guess they are committed to winning?
08/10/2009 8:27PM
NICE!!!
I was hoping this was something Darcy might do. Very happy with this!!!
08/10/2009 8:29PM
Good Move.
Now only if the Fan Forum can get back up and running.
08/10/2009 8:33PM
Mike Grier
yawn.....whats steve heinze doing
08/10/2009 8:37PM
One Year?
Not enough. Three would have been great. Hope anyways that he kicks the pansys in the rear. Guys like the purse carriers.
08/10/2009 8:38PM
will be missed
Glad Grier found a new home, as a Sharks fan I'd like to congratulate you guys on the pick up and to say I will miss Grier in teal.
08/10/2009 8:42PM
Great Sign,
I hope he plays with Goose
08/10/2009 8:44PM
Greir back?
I agree, love the move. Didn't think he'd ever come back. but yes that is a lot of forwards on the roster, don't know if a trade or what is on the horizon... Good move Darcy
08/10/2009 8:54PM
zherdev
please sign zherdev now
08/10/2009 8:54PM
Finally...
Some good news from the Sabres on the free agency market. Grier will be the first African American coach in the NHL someday.
08/10/2009 9:24PM
Grit
This is the grit and leadership that the team has been lacking for the last 2 years. Will be interesting to see what happens with Drew now.
08/10/2009 9:37PM
Good move
We needed more RWs and grit. This is exactly what we needed
08/10/2009 9:42PM
Now get Drury back!
We need leadership and toughness
08/10/2009 9:48PM
Hecht, Tallindar, and Pominville
For Crosby, Malkin, and Staal!
08/10/2009 9:53PM
Trade
I think that Hecht is gone, that's an upgrade for me.
08/10/2009 9:55PM
Back In Black
The Scalper is back for another stint in Buffalo!!
08/10/2009 9:59PM
:RE Trade?
I dont know where you get 12 forwards from but we have 13 now with grier and if you count stafford thats 14. Also they way Darcy and Lindy were talking about how they think Kennedy can b the center on the 3rd line that gives us 15 forwards and I also think Gerbe needs to be here because what does he have left to prove in the AHL nothing. Does anybody know if Ellis is a one or two way contract? If he is on a 2 way contract then I am sure that brings he will be in Portland and that would knock us down to 14 forwards.
08/10/2009 10:06PM
Could it be?
Well welcome back and please get some contract extensions ready. Great franchises know to hang on to players like Grier. Championship teams always have a player who guts it out every shift for lose pucks and consistent hits.
Biggest signing of the summer anywhere if you ask me.
08/10/2009 10:15PM
Fire Regeir
another embarassing signing for the incompetant Regeir & land developer Larry, but i'll hear shill talk about Stanley cups tomorrow. Still have an average Goalie, that's your biggest problem
08/10/2009 10:16PM
great move!
i will take it! now dump hank, make one more move and let get ready the habs! good move darcY
08/10/2009 10:23PM
Yes!
He's like T.O. of the Sabres haha...
08/10/2009 10:37PM
Pathetic
Most Comprehensive evaluation of the team in history and all we do is sign Montador and 34 year old Grier! That is utterly pathetic. Grier is waaaaaaay to old to compete in this league, especially with the young talent we have. I'd muchrather see a rookie get a chance to make it than another aging vet. Unless we're paying Grier less than $600k, this is retarded. I agree with the Zherdev point, that guys is 24 years old, has proven to score 20-25 goals per season and can be had for sub $3.5m (Rangers walked away from tha price and nobody is showing signs of intetest. But Darcy and the moronic sabres probably did something completely stupid and paid Grier $2m for 1-season. Grier = 34 and will score 10 goals, tops. Zherdev = 24 and will bury 20 goals; that to me is worth the extra $1.5m.
08/10/2009 10:50PM
Finally, A Positive!
Most people missed Mike Grier when we were getting pushed around by Ottawa in the 2006 Conference finals, so there better not be any complaints, unless they remain overflowed with players and can't pull off a decent trade. I can't see why they wouldn't make some trades now. Trade for the rights to Zherdev. Also...why the hell do people keep finding it humorous to make jokes about trading for guys like Crosby, Malkin in Staal? Do you just want to see what people would say and you're desperate for attention? It's not even funny, what do you get out of mentioning those ridiculous comments because even a 12 yr old hockey fan would know who ever said that is just purposely being stupid.
08/10/2009 10:56PM
OH WELL I GUESS
Well better than nothing I guess.....I know there was not all that much IN THE FREE AGENCY!!!!! Grier was the best that was out their....Good job larry...Good job Darcy....We all know Grier was the best you could get....
08/10/2009 10:58PM
Stop complaining
If I have to read another comment entitled "Pathetic" so help me. Is it the same one or two people that do this every time when the Sabres do anything? Stop complaining and learn a new word.
08/10/2009 11:14PM
nice
nice pick-up for the Sabres, this guy will bring much needed leadership to the team and help kill penalties. I remember in the conference finals against Carolina Grier was a forechecking machine. I agree that the Sabres need to make a trade and anything involving Roy, Hecht, Tallinder or even Pominville is fine by me. Hell bring back Dumont...
08/10/2009 11:15PM
Good signing, but....
I like Grier and think he is another hard working player on the roster. This will help as the division will be physically challenging this year. However, would like to see a move on defense and maybe a 2nd or 3rd line winger.
08/10/2009 11:17PM
There is better out there
There are better players available, but likely not for the price of Grier. Hearing about Horton, Tanguay and Seidenberg
08/10/2009 11:19PM
Drury, Hecht?
Hope they don't take Drury's salary, way overpaid and don't want another conference team giving the Rangers an out. Hecht could have better bait had he shown up last year.
08/10/2009 11:26PM
OK not Great signing
Pros: He's a solid leader and pk player. Con: 3 years removed from the player we last saw and slow as molasses.
08/10/2009 11:57PM
Welcome Back!
A lot of people just had their old Grier jersey come back into style.
08/11/2009 12:28AM
Not scared Toronto
Not as worried about being bullied by Toronto anymore! Would hate to see Stafford go, but would love to see Zherdev
08/11/2009 12:30AM
It's About Time!
I was upset when Grier left a few years back. Now I have a reason to buy a Sabres jersey. Regier finally figured out what we need after two or three years-toughness and veteran leadership. Now he only has to figure out that we need to get rid of some dead weight and move it for some much needed help, that is if another team is interested in our rejects.
08/11/2009 1:41AM
Clueless Front Office
You are all giving Darcy WAAAAAAAYYYYYYY too much credit for this signing. Are problem is that we have a terrible top 6 forwards. We can't score. We could've revamped our top 6, but we've made pointless moves that haven't helped it at all. The 3rd line doesn't win games. Darcy needs to get his head out of his ___, and make multiple moves that'll improve our top 6 dramatically.
08/11/2009 3:04AM
Bring on the overstatements!
Did someone just count Vanek in as a "terrible forward."
Seriously? Can anyone just access the internet nowadays?
I will not go on and on about how much I like this signing (I do, it's great for obvious reasons and I'll leave it at that, oh, and 34 is not old for an NHL player... 36 is)
Point is, the game is becoming a grind again especially in the playoffs. We now have a certified grinder who is can score in a binch and hit.
But go on... let's here how unimpressed you are...
08/11/2009 5:24AM
This makes me think...
there's more moves to come. I can't wait to see what happens next.
08/11/2009 5:31AM
no- thanks
Mr Grier is a washed up player, the sabres seem to have an identity crisis- they just needed vet leadership since teppo has retired. Time to bring in big name players who have shown consistancy!
08/11/2009 6:37AM
Morons
All you crybabies that are putting this move down just shut up already. This is some of what they need. Veteran leadership. You are probably the same people that were complaining when they let him go the last time. Waa waa the Sabres never do anything right. Why dont you go watch the Bills!
08/11/2009 9:39AM
Good Move
He will definitely add some much needed leadership, but what about a puck moving defenseman??? I am not sold on Sekera being able to do the job. Why not sign marc andre bergeron??
08/11/2009 9:42AM
Anyone talking about Zherdev
Why would anyone want a player the RANGERS arent willing to pay. Zherdev is Kotalik 8 yrs ago, I for one dont want another lazy European who never lives up to his potential because he is lazy.
08/11/2009 10:12AM
Zherdev
Zherdev would be better here. The Rangers didn't light up the scoreboard. They were one of the lower scoring teams. Zherdev would be great with a healthy Connolly.
08/11/2009 12:24PM
Re: Bring on the overstatements!
I didn't mean to say that Vanek is terrible. I meant to say that we need to seriously improve the top 6. Vanek is probably the only player out of those 6 that we CAN'T get rid of. I just think that we haven't improved the top 6 at all yet, which is obvious. We need some offense and wev'e haven't helped that yet. Sorry about the misunderstanding about Vanek, but I am highly unimpressed with Darcy. Grier is a grinder, and he shows some veteran leadership, but that won't get us far. Just see who we had a few years ago. Darcy needs to improve his top 6. That still means Vanek is great, and we obviously should keep him. Just look at the rest of the top 6. I like Grier, but we need guys who can SCORE. We don't have much of that (pretty much Vanek only). Sorry for the misunderstanding.
08/11/2009 3:09PM
Re: Bring on the overstatements!
I'm sorry, but scoring and a revamped Top 6 is not necessarily what this team needs. Do the Sabres have the best Top 6 in the league? I think we all know that's not true. However,since the lockout the Sabres have placed in the TOP 5 in GF in the league every year accept last (which they placed 12th, still not terrible and that's w/ Vanek's injury). Scoring is not a problem - CONSISTENT scoring maybe, but very few players in the league demonstrate an ability to put points on the board game in and game out (if you recall, our very own Roy and Pomminville have been 2 of the few players on this team that have logged decent scoring streaks: approaching and surpassing double-digit games at times). Add to the mix a healthy Connolly and maybe some young guns from Portland and I think we have a dangerous team in terms of finding the back of the net.
However, a pure "we need more goals!" argument just doesn't carry any weight in my opinion. Stats don't lie. What we've NEEDED, and from what I can tell the majority of the fans here agree, is toughness, grit and leadership. What have we worked on improving, albeit slowly this off season? If you guessed toughness, grit and leadership, you'd be correct. Does Grier instantly make us cup contenders? Nah, but I can guarantee his leadership on and off the ice will help improve the overall attitude and work-ethic of this team. I love the move, I love the direction and I'm honestly optimistic coming into the season and we've still a couple months shy of the season.
08/11/2009 3:23PM
Re: 2nd bring on the overstatments
you hit the nail right on the head. well said i feel exactly the same way.
08/11/2009 3:53PM
Much ado about...
Nothing. Grier was a decent player several years ago, but now he's just another average forward on an average team. I suppose Darcy thinks this move will appease the fans. Well, NOT THIS FAN!
08/11/2009 4:30PM
Good move Darcy
I like this move. When he left Buffalo he said he did not feel the Sabres were committed to win. If you remember the Sabres never spoke to any UFA players until after season ended. I believe Grier felt they should have started contract talks earlier in the season and locked down all the UFAs. That makes sense to me.I think if the Sabres bigwigs would just leave Darcy alone in his office he could come up with some good moves to improve this team. but 'enter'Larry "the baffoon" Quinn and I believ he put the clamps on any talks during the season. What do you expect from a land developer? When it comes to Hockey operations Larry couldn't pour Pi$$ out of his boot even if the directions were on the bottom. Get rid of this jacka$$ and let Darcy do his thing.
08/11/2009 4:55PM
Zherdev Crap
Enough with this Zherdev crap did we not have enough years ago when Miro Satan was the same player streaky and didnt care and didnt play defense. Why would anybody want to pay him 3.5 million. Go to the KHL that just shows exactly what he is about the money. We have enough scoring on this team they ranked 6th in the eastern conference and one of those teams was the Leafs, scoring is not the problem solid defense and leadership not allowing this team to play hard less then 60 minutes and protecting our goalie is what we need to get back to the playoffs.
08/11/2009 5:36PM
Great Move
Mike Grier was one of the great leaders on this team in 2005-2006. What have you people been complaining about for months, that we dont have leadership on this team. So the Sabres go out and get one and Im reading complaints on here. That bothers the heck out of me. Mike Grier always gives it his best every night and every shift. He will also score some goals and is great on the P.K. Props to the boys downtown, this was a great move. Also the Sabres are spending around $53,975,000 so far on contracts and thats not including Stafford. Lets stop calling them cheap and stop thinking we have the money to spend on big time players. Also did you ever think that maybe some of the players weve been interested in the past just dont want to be here.
08/11/2009 5:39PM
Lol on Zherdev
You want to sign Zherdev, ok well first of all does he want to come here. Then 2nd, well you have to trade someone because we dont have the money for him.
08/11/2009 5:44PM
I dont know why I read these
Just reading these comments get me so irritated its not even funny. The Sabres could sign Patrick Kane next season and some of you individuals would still complain. I WOULDNT BE CALLING GRIER WASHED UP. ok lets see what some of the youngsters have, Gerbe is ready, the other one isnt. Can we actually bring in someone who can help us now... or do some of you not want to win so you can complain some more, because your soo good about complaining about everything the Sabres do. Not always do they deserve to be ripped on for a move. They deff dont deserve it on this one
08/11/2009 6:47PM
dont read them then
the comments are for people to voice their opinion. buffalo's teams have missed out on 43 super bowls and 38 stanley cups i think, so i think any buffalo fan can complain. if you dont like it then dont read. pretty simple.
08/11/2009 7:41PM
grier
This was a strong move by darcy, showing us he still wants the cup. Yes he is a tad older than the youthful years of old but cmon..I think a guy by the name of chelios is doing some things at 10 years his senior. Allow the nahsayers have their day...Welcome back Griersy!!
08/11/2009 11:45PM
Re: Much ado about
I am with you. This move did nothing for me. This move did nothing to improve (does this sound familiar because its was me who said this in Re: Bring on the overstatements!) the TOP 6. How can anyone possibly be optimistic about here the Sabres are heading? I am not. I totally agree with you. Now just one question. Who should Darcy sign? I personally like Prospal, Andy Hilbert, or Mike Comrie.
08/11/2009 11:47PM
whoops
I meant to say "where the Sabres are heading".
08/13/2009 4:56PM
EXCUSE ME !
Excuse me, I guess its just becuause im 20 and not some 40 yr old dude whos had his heart broken by this team year after year. Now, Does this team have issues, YES, we all know that, but how are we not better by adding a veteran player who can push are youngsters, the ones who need to be pushed. Its not a big move but it was a needed move. Were not going to get a top 6 player, SO GET OVER It. This team was in 4th place when Ryan Miller got hurt, if he stays healthy we shouldve finnished no lower then 6th place. Once you get into the playoffs anyhting can happen.
08/13/2009 5:46PM
Excited about what
So they picked up a leader who is two years older than when he left and slower. Does anyone really know about hockey on here?
08/13/2009 5:50PM
not any better
the teams in the division made aggressive moves while the Sabres did squat...AGAIN!!! Lets go BRAVES..I MEAN STALLIONS..OH WAIT ARE THE BANDITS STILL HERE
08/19/2009 9:55AM
OK So Now What?
Still doesn't make our blueline any better. I'd rather have seen him resign McKee before Pittsburgh grabbed him
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