Numinnen and Sabres, No Heart Feelings

It's been a just under a year since the first day of training camp for last season, where it was discovered that Sabres defenseman Teppo Numminen could no longer wait to have his heart condition (valve replacement) corrected. That, in itself, was shocking enough, but to compound matters was the subsequent 'suspension' of Numminen by the Sabres later that same day.

For a management that had already had heaped upon it the scorn of an entire league for their (mis)handling of their high-profile Free Agents, this seemed the final straw in their credibility and respectability. How could they be so heartless (all puns intended, of course) as to suspend and refuse to pay a man who was going through such a thing? It seemed no one had anything nice to say about the situation, and, predictably GM Darth Regier was anything but verbose about their decision, knowing full well that no matter what he said the political fall-out was pre-cast.

Last week on WGR, Regier made it known that negotiations were in progress with Numminen about his returning to the club. Now, the Sith Lord of Western New York doesn't talk about these things unless it's a near certainty, and with today's article in the Buffalo News, it seems even more likely that Teppo will be back wearing a Slug and I'll still be able to refer to him as the Last of the Marx Brothers.

"We've had discussions with the Sabres and we've certainly made progress but there's nothing done yet," Baizley said Tuesday by phone from his Winnipeg office. "We've heard from other teams and we're plugging along at it but 'Tep' likes it very much up there and Buffalo is his first choice, no question."

And now it's time for Tom to gloat just a little bit.

Last year when Teppo-Gate first started I distinctly remember being one of the only, if not the only, person to try and look at this situation from something other than an adolescent "ZOMG! Those B@#$tards!" perspective. The fact that Numminen and the Sabres are negotiating tells me that both sides understand the others reaction (Teppo has a grievance with the NHLPA pending) and respect it. This is precisely what I said nearly a year ago when this story broke:

If anything the calls for the team to automatically pony up for something that is fundamentally not their responsibility are heartless. They belittle the men involved in the situation, including Teppo. You know, for everyone out there that thinks this is a classless or inhuman thing put yourself in their shoes. It's easy to be generous when you're spending other people's money. But, this is a real situation and it's a real $2.6 million. This is the basic problem of the Welfare State. It sounds great and warms the cockles of your heart as long as you don't have to pay for it. Teppo Numminen is a man that can take care of himself and has done very well in his life. To think that he doesn't have a way to cover this surgery, that he hasn't planned for it and made the proper arrangements doesn't give the man himself any credit. In short, the wealth of outcry over this suspension says something really terrible about those that did because the reaction was immediately a negative one. The assumption was to think the worst of people not the best and to air that opinion without regards to having any information or, more importantly, respecting the privacy of those involved to maybe handle this without having to drag the entire thing through the newspapers.

I took a lot of flak for not towing the party line on this. But, the truth is that a lot of our analysis of labor/management situations in the NHL are clouded by bad economics (namely watered down Marxism) and misdirected frustration. It's no secret that I distrust many in the "Dead Tree Media" as being nothing more than shills for the NHLPA and so I'm loathe to cut them any slack in their bloviating about things of which their position is pre-determined. It is in their best interest, I feel, to perpetuate the simple meme that Buffalo is a pariah franchise because it does not maximize the relevance of the NHLPA to have high-profile players playing in tiny markets with thin budgets. From Ed Kilgore at WGRZ today comes this little nugget:

I recently had a high profile ex-Sabre tell me confidently that he'd literally "bet his life" that Miller will NOT sign a long-term deal with the Sabres, because the word is out on Buffalo as a cheap hockey organization that doesn't take care of its players.

I'm reminded of when Teppo was being courted by the Sabres actively coming out of the lockout and apparently telling Danny Briere (ex-teammate who was called in to help) bluntly, "Why would I want to come to Buffalo?" as if it would be a fate worse than death. My how things have changed through time. Given everything that has happened and been said, it's nothing short of remarkable (when viewed through the foggy lens of conventional wisdom) that he's even considering returning to the team that done him wrong.

Truth is usually a lot more nuanced than what is presented or conjectured. If Numminen decides to re-sign with the Sabres it will put another nail in the coffin of a meme that exists both as a crutch for lazy and/or hostile writers and a weapon for a Union scared to death for its survival.

For me, I'd just like to see the guy put on skates again and play the game in the way that has defined his life to this point; measured, efficient and worthy of respect.

Ta,