San Jose Sharks v Anaheim DucksLate Monday night the Buffalo Sabres came to terms on a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that will change the landscape of the SHL for years to come.

 

Going to the Leafs are right winger Corey Perry and goaltender Kari Lehtonen.  In return the Sabres have acquired goaltender Antti Niemi, right winger Jarome Iginla, and $8 million.

 

While Niemi and Iginla didn’t even have time to go house shopping in Toronto, the trade came as a shock to both Perry and Lehtonen, along with their fans.

 

“I’ve been traded?” Perry asked incredulously.  “To whom?  To the Leafs?  What the fuck?  I’m gonna rip Mearsy’s fuckin’ head off!”

 

The anger and confusion that Perry expressed is understandable.  He was the first player taken by the franchise in the dispersal draft and holds numerous team records, including goals (105), assists (133), points (238), and penalty minutes (368).  He is also just one game behind league iron-man Wayne Simmonds in 245 games played.  When asked how he could trade the heart and soul of the franchise, with three years still remaining on his contract, General Manager Mike Mears was candid.

 

“Look, I like the guy tons.  I always have.  He was the very first Buffalo Sabre and I built the team around him.  But let’s face it, this is a business and the fact is we haven’t won with him and changes were necessary.  This is a team that could have won the cup in any of the first three seasons and it hasn’t even made the Eastern Conference Finals.  Once, that’s a fluke, twice, that’s bad luck, three times and that’s a fundamental problem that requires drastic measures.  Honestly, each year we just ran into a team that simply had better goaltending.  Great goalies are few and far between this season and Perry was the necessary bargaining chip to get the most important piece we needed to finally guarantee a cup.  Yes, I said it – guarantee.  So Perry’s upset?  Well fuck him.  He’s going to a team that will have plenty of chances to win a cup.  Just not this season.”

 

When prodded further, and asked if this was an indictment of his starter for the last two seasons, Mears couldn’t contain his frustration.

 

“Of course it’s an indictment of Kari (Lehtonen) you freakin’ idiot,” Mears spat.  “He let us down time after time after time.  We didn’t really need him to win us games, just not lose us games.  But he couldn’t even do that!  For chrissakes, our backup last year looked like fuckin’ (Dominik) Hasek playing behind the all-star team we had but Lehtonen only ever looked “mediocre” at best.  I’ll take the blame on that one though.  Kari’s salary was just too good to pass up and I thought I got a real deal when I traded for him a couple of seasons back.  I didn’t realize though that Kari thought that meant he could play like an $800,000 goalie, too!”

 

While it may be unfair to place so much blame for the Sabres’ playoff disappointments on the shoulders of just one man, it is clear that Niemi is a big step up in talent from Lehtonen.  With an OV rating of 83 he’s a top three netminder while Lehtonen’s 79 merely places him near the bottom of the top 10.

 

“We have big expectations for Niemi,” Mears explained.  The fact is, this team is slightly weaker this season.  But we’ve finally learned that the buck stops at the goalie.  And we’re still pretty damn good up front, probably as good there as any other team and maybe moreso.  Yeah, I know I’ve guaranteed cups before but this time I mean it. I mean, I really, really mean it. Really.”

Corey Perry’s Taking His Scars and Hat-Tricks to Hogtown

 

 

Almost forgotten in such a big trade is Iginla.  Does the savvy veteran have enough left in the tank to be a big enough contributor, never mind fill the big hole left by Perry?

 

“Oh, there’s no way Iggy will put up Perry-like numbers,” Mears admitted.  “I’m not even sure he deserves to be in our top six.  But he’ll get a shot – if I don’t trade him first.”

 

With that said, it’s clear that the reigning GM of the Year isn’t yet totally satisfied despite assembling an awesome team, once again.  That should scare the rest of the league.  A lot.