Sophie's Choice

So......whom do you keep? Drury or Briere? My gut feeling is that Drury is going to be offered a Brink's Truck in free agency, while Briere's star has been dimmed by his (perceived) dismal performance in the playoffs and we have a realistic shot at keeping him. The general consensus I hear is dump Briere, keep Drury. This is motivated by everyone's perception that Briere is an expendable player who tanked in the playoffs. Let's take a look at the stats for the real story, shall we?

REGULAR SEASON:

Briere - 81 games, 32 goals, 63 assists, 95 points, +17, 6 GW

Drury - 77 games, 37 goals, 32 assists, 69 points, +1, 9 GW

PLAYOFFS:

Briere - 16 games, 3 goals, 12 assists, 15 points, +3, 1 GW

Drury - 16 games, 8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points, +3, 3 GW

So what do we take from this? Notwithstanding the fact that Briere was the Sabres' leading scorer in the playoffs, people still think Briere was a bust in the playoffs. I will grant that he was inconsistent throughout and just disappeared in a couple key games (Game 5 vs. the Rangers, for example)...however, I am not so quick to dismiss Briere, his talent, what he has done for this team and what he can do for us.

Drury has been a savior for this franchise...I read a letter to the News that compared him to Jim Kelly in terms of the impact one player can have on a team and I agree completely. Drury restored respectability and confidence to a franchise and a city that were lacking in both in the hockey world. However, he didn't do all alone...there's a reason why Briere and Drury are co-captains and I doubt that Briere has any less respect from his teammates in the locker room than Drury.

It says here that the Sabres should give up on the fantasy of re-signing both players and focus their attention on Briere. It's highly unlikely they'll match the king's ransom Drury will be offered, while Briere will sign for a reasonable amount.