NHL's Top 50: Thomas Vanek (No. 30)

by Adam GretzFiled under: Sabres, NHL Fans, NHL VideosFanHouse's Adam Gretz takes a look at his top 50 players in the NHL. No. 30 is Buffalo Sabres forward Thomas Vanek. Before Kevin Lowe ignited an epic public feud with Brian Burke by signing restricted free agent Dustin Penner in the summer of 2007, the Oilers general manager had his eyes on a much larger prize -- Buffalo Sabres restricted free agent Thomas Vanek. In early July, 2007, the Oilers signed the 23-year-old Vanek to a seven-year, $50 million offer sheet. Had Buffalo refused to match the offer, it would have received four first-round picks as compensation. Tempting. But not tempting enough. The NHL's Top 50 Players: See the Entire List NHL's Top 50: Thomas Vanek (No. 30) originally appeared on Fanhouse NHL Blog on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EDT . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments