I've been slacking....

I have been thinking about the Sabres and where I think they should go this off season.

This thread over at HFBoards.com was fun.

My team looked like this:

Vanek-Connolly-Skille
Hecht-Kennedy-Pominville
Marchant-Gaustad-Burish
Moen-Mair-Kaleta
Mancari-Paille

Regehr-Myers
Butler-Rivet
Lydman-Gilbert
Weber

Miller
Lalime

What I like:

• The defense - I especially like getting bigger and having 3 natural RH shots
• Adding a couple of players with rings - Marchant and Moen were character guys on the Ducks Cup winning team from a couple of years ago and I think that is an element that this team sorely lacks
• Getting rid of Tallinder and Roy

What I don't like:

• Still having Hecht
• Having to place Tim Kennedy as the 2nd line center - I would have preferred to get someone bigger in that spot. I may need to go for round two and tweak my Roy deal and maybe pass on Regehr and instead re-sign Spacek
• Lalime as the back up - Too much money for a guy that didn't look comfortable with spot start duty

But honestly, I'm expecting the Sabres to return with a roster with not even this many changes, so what's the point?

Joch 'em if you got 'em

John Vogl has a blog post and an article in today's Buffalo News about Jochen Hecht.

My take is that the Sabres need to move Hecht and his three years remaining at a little over $3.5 million per year if it is at all possible.

Hecht is the type of quiet leader that the Sabres can't afford to keep around. Add in that he was less than effective overall this season and moving him out has to be a priority if this team is to improve this off season.

But, I'm bracing for the worst as I fully expect Regier to bring back 95% of this year's roster next season and all the talk will be about maturing, learning from mistakes, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Basically the same stuff we heard prior to this season after they just missed the playoffs last season.

What are people talking about today?

Bucky is wondering if the ruins of The Aud reflect the current state of the Sabres and Bills. Personally, I think the Waterfront (nothing has changed despite people flapping their lips) represents the Sabres more. Larry Quinn had a plan to upgrade the Waterfront, just like his plan for the Sabres, right............

John Vogl is wondering how much Drew Stafford is worth. I am very interested to see if the Oilers will give Stafford a Penner-esque RFA Offer Sheet . Penner received a five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet from the Oilers and the Ducks received a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks in 2008 when they opted not to match.

This would give the Sabres a boatload of picks in next year's draft IF Edmonton opts to go that big for Stafford. The one reason that the Oilers would seem to be in play for Stafford is that Drew's uncle Barrie is the long time head equipment manager with the Oilers and there were rumors that the Oilers made an offer to Buffalo to flip picks in Drew's draft year so that they could draft him.

The other option would be a trade if the Oilers say were willing to trade a player that would fill a Sabres need like RH dman Tom Gilbert or maybe some of their bigger forwards like Kyle Brodziak and Zach Stortini.

The Willful Caboose takes a look at Thomas Vanek.

I like the overall take on Vanek. But, I don't know that Thomas will ever be the type of leader that she is hoping for. I would echo the need for Thomas to up his work ethic and remove any hint of lazy in his game.

But, that is the most I would expect from Vanek in the future as I don't believe he has true leadership in his make up. But for me, it's good enough if Vanek ups his level of compete, gets more ice time, and keeps producing at an elite level.

Props to The Buffalo News

I have to give some props to The Buffalo News and their coverage of the Sabres so far this off season.

First, Buck Gleason has some pretty damning quotes from French Connection member Rene Robert. Robert calls out Tom Golisano for nickle and diming things and not caring enough about winning. Then he goes on to say that Larry Quinn should be removed from any input on the hockey side of the organization as his background is in land development and not hockey.

Apparently there were more than a few fellow Sabres alumni that agreed with Rene's takes, but didn't want to have their name associated with quotes that could create a wedge between themselves and the club.

It's sad that the Sabres skin is so thin that they can't handle a little criticism in the face of back to back seasons of missing the playoffs.

In today's paper, John Vogl has a piece talking about how the Sabres were one of the quietest teams ever.

People have talked about how the chemistry of the team needs to change and this is a great example of some of the issues with the way the roster is put together that haven't gotten enough play in the media over the past few seasons.

It will be interesting to see if the Sabres move to bring in some more vocal leadership this off season.

Personally, they need to look at that part of building a team if they are to get anywhere.

Really?

Sabres.com

They better light a fire under their rears and make some real changes to the roster this summer after this announcement.

But, I'm preparing for another year of the Same Old Sabres.......

It's all about Lindy day

Bucky Gleason has his take on Lindy Ruff in today's Buffalo News.

The Sabres Edge Blog at The Buffalo News.com has a poll on whether Lindy should return.

The Willful Caboose has a break down on Lindy.

With almost 85% of the 755 votes in the poll in favor of bringing Lindy back, it would appear that most fans are on the same page as Bucky Gleason.

Personally, this team needs change. I am with Bucky in pointing the finger above Lindy for the bulk of the team's issues. However, I don't think that Ruff's performance over the past 7 seasons has been enough to warrant bringing Ruff back if management doesn't go about the roster changes that are needed.

We've seen it in pro sports all the time where a good head coach is let go because a change is needed. The best example where both the fired coach and the team got a ring is Tony Dungy being let go by Tampa Bay. The Bucs won a Super Bowl with Jon Gruden and the Colts won with Dungy.

Personally, I have doubts that management (from Golisano through Regier) will be willing to make the needed changes where bringing Ruff back will get the team to the level where a playoff spot is a reasonable expectation.

Right now, I think the Sabres are once again a coin toss with regards to making the playoffs. They've finished 10th in back to back seasons and missed the playoffs by 4 pts in 2007-08 and 2 pts this season.

So, it is not a stretch to say that the team could make the playoffs next season with minor tweaks.

But, that is not what I want. I want the team to make the 4 to 5 changes that can get this team from just outside the playoffs to a team that is at worst going to make the playoffs and at best is fighting for the division or a 4 seed in the East.

This team doesn't need to be blown up. But, it needs more than a minor tweak to get where I want it to be next season, as well.

Pirates roll in Game 1 versus Providence

Jhonas Enroth and the Portland Pirates shut out Providence 3-0 last night in Game 1 of the their 1st Round AHL playoff series.

Marek Zagrapan scored the GWG and the empty netter to seal the deal, Mark Mancari set up both of Marek's goals, and Felix Schutz scored an unassisted goal early in the 3rd.

Also, Paul Baier and Marc-Andre Gragnani were both +3 on the night with Marc-Andre getting the secondary assist on the GWG.

Matt Generous was the loan ATO player in the lineup for the Pirates.........

Sabres need to "Play out of character"

Here is what I want out of Sabres ownership and management this off season:

Compete

Compete like you want your players to compete 82 games a year.

"Play out of character" and do some things that get dismissed as "that's not the way the Sabres do things" because it's painfully obvious that the status quo is not good enough with two straight 10th place finishes and the team light years away from a Cup when compared to where the club was in the two seasons after the lockout.

And the Sabres need to look no further than Toronto to see a GM that is being aggressive in making over his team.

Brian Burke is going hard after NCAA FAs, a stud FA European goalie, and now he's saying that he wants to talk to the Islanders about the 1st overall pick so that they can land Canadian superstar forward John Tavares.

For me, the Sabres need to stop with the status quo.

They need to look at not being patient with the players on the roster that were under achieving.

They need to seriously look at the GM and head coach.

They need to look at fast tracking Tyler Myers.

Heck, trying to cut massive amounts of payroll to have boatloads of cap space in 2010-11 when the cap is supposed to plummet and the Sabres could take advantage is even something I can get down with.

But, I can't stomach another off season of minor tweaks to the roster and no major shake ups.

If Regier, Ruff, and 90% of the players are back in 2009-10, we'll be in the same boat as this season and last season where they'll be in the 8 to 10th in the East mix because of inconsistent play.

Someone needs to step up and say that is not the direction this organization wants to go in.

Golisano needs a sense of humor

Jerry Sullivan and John Vogl both have blog posts up at The Buffalo News website that says Tom Golisano is annoyed that the PRESS is bringing up a line he spoke at a pre-season PRESS CONFERENCE.

Ummmm, yeah.

Memo to B. Thomas Golisano:

Get a sense of humor.

Seriously man, you made a joke, your team came up a little short, so you are taking some shots. What would you expect to happen given the way the season played out?

And if you told Darcy Regier to cut payroll at the deadline, then you really have to look in the mirror when analyzing how things went.

Glass half full

There will be plenty of time to pile on and point out all the problems with the Sabres. But, I would like to point out a few of the good things that happened for the Sabres this season:

- Chris Butler - It usually take a defenseman a little while to mature. But, Chris Butler stepped up big time in his rookie pro season out of Denver University and he has sped past Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber on the blueline depth chart

- Portland Pirates - Nathan Gerbe won the AHL Rookie of the Year, Tim Kennedy led all AHL rookies in scoring with 67 points in 73 games, Jhonas Enroth won three team awards including MVP, and the team made the playoffs in the first year of the Sabres being the sole parent club which will provide the future Sabres much needed exposure to playoff intensity.

- Thomas Vanek - Vanek has flaws, but he did finish tied for 5th in the NHL in goals with 40. Whenever you are tied with Rick Nash, Eric Staal, and Marian Hossa in an offensive stat, you are doing something right.

- Ryan Miller - Let me start off by saying that I really like Ryan Miller. But, I did question whether his big contract extension was warrented. Well, I really liked some of the things that Miller said at locker clean out day yesterday and I am starting to come around on Miller being worth the money.

3rd & 4th line guys - Matt Ellis, Adam Mair, Paul Gaustad, and Pat Kaleta gave everything they had on every shift this season. I know they aren't the most skilled guys in the world, but the Sabres would do well to take a cue from those guys moving forward as this market loves a gritty, blue collar team as much as a highly skilled squad.

Just replacing Ruff won't be enough for me

Yesterday, Schopp and The Bulldog were talking about what the problem is with the Sabres.

Schopp said that we would be excited about next season merely if the Sabres were to replace Lindy Ruff with Peter Laviolette who won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Here is my response to that line of thinking:

I think Mike’s take on the people at the Sabres slacking because everyone feels like they have “Jobs for Life” was dead on.

And to me, it all starts with Golisano. Coming out of the lockout, Golisano was visible at the games and in the media. But, after the honeymoon ended, the Drury & Briere debacle occurred, and the fans and media got ticked off, Golisano seemed to disappear.

Add in Larry Quinn’s statement a few weeks ago that Ruff and Regier would be back even if they missed the playoffs “because that’s not how we do things here” and the biggest issue with the Sabres is that from ownership on down there is not the sense of urgency present that the fans and media would like to see from their team.

To me, replacing Ruff with Laviolette wouldn’t be enough to get me revved up for next year. I think this roster is really flawed and the spike from a new voice would get drowned out over the course of the year.

Management (Golisano, Quinn, and Regier) need a sense of urgency with regards to remaking the team (coaching staff and players) this offseason. There needs to be concrete moves made that show that finishing 10^th in back to back years (along with missing the playoffs in 5 of the last 7 seasons) is not good enough.

And to me, bringing back 80 to 90% of the players and changing the coach is not enough.

They need a new voice PLUS they need to remove 3 or 4 “Core” players and replace them with some real war horse veterans, preferably ones with Stanley Cup rings on their fingers.

And if we are talking head coaches for a Buffalo team, I would hope they would go more blue collar than Laviolette. He may need some seasoning, but Bob Boughner has been coaching in Major Junior. I could see Bob being a coach that Buffalo would love to move forward with

Status Quo should be a No Go

Given that the team has lost back to back "Must Win" home games, I think it is safe to start talking about what the Sabres need to do to make the playoffs in 2009-10 after missing in 5 of the past 7 seasons.

Need #1: Ownership needs to wake up

Has anyone seen Tom Golisano lately? Seriously.

I am sick of this hands off ownership and the team being run day to day by Larry Quinn who I blame for the Sabres losing Drury and Briere.

There needs to be accountability and Larry Quinn hinting that Ruff and Regier would be back even if they missed the playoffs is not good enough.

Status Quo is not good enough. And that message needs to start at the top of the organization and filter down.

That has not been the case over the past two seasons and it needs to stop now.

Need #2 : A major roster shake up

Darcy Regier loves to tweak his roster. But right now, this team needs a major shake up.

This team needs a real king pin on the blue line and up front.

There are rumors that the Ducks would be looking to move Chris Pronger this off season. I would seriously entertain the thought of trying to move Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht in a deal that lands Chris Pronger with the Sabres.

I know that Derek Roy led the team in scoring this season. But, I see Roy, Vanek, and Connolly as the poster children for what is wrong with this team. I think there is hope that Vanek can turn things around and I don't believe anyone would take Connolly's contract.

But, the Ducks need help at center and left wing and Roy and Hecht would give them help at those two spots. The only issue would be if Anaheim were looking purely to dump salary and that would make a deal tough unless Buffalo could move Roy and Hecht in other deals to teams that wouldn't mind adding salary.

Up front, I would love the Sabres to trade for Shane Doan. If Phoenix looks to shed payroll by moving their captain, the Sabres would appear to have the young talent available to swing a deal. Doan would add leadership and grit to a team that needs it.

On the free agent market, players like Mike Knuble, Todd Marchant, Mike Grier, Travis Moen, and even Chris Neil could be reasonable FA forwards that would add bite to the Sabres.

On defense, I would be interested in seeing who amongst guys like Hal Gill, Andrew Alberts, Kent Huskins, even Mike Komisarek might be cost effective enough to add. There always seems to be a decent defensive defenseman or two that slips through the cracks of free agency.

But, with the boatload of young defensemen coming up, this isn't a huge need for the Sabres this off season. Although, I do hope that Teppo retires, they trade Tallinder, and Spacek comes back for a deal in the $2.5 to 3 million per year range.

Need #3: Keep Lindy and Regier on a short leash

If there is not a major roster shake up, then there needs to be a shake up behind the bench.

Lindy is not getting through to the team enough for whatever reason. So, the only option is to either shake up the roster or change the coach.

I think that the roster has more issues than Lindy does. But, if Regier is either unable or unwilling to make the needed roster changes, then there needs to be a coaching change.

John Tortorella or Ken Hitchcock would be the type of coach I would look to bring in to Buffalo as this team needs a coach that can get offensive players to play a more well rounded game and Hitchcock and Tortorella have done that in their careers. Oh yeah, and they both have Cup rings............

4 points out, 4 games left

If only this team had shown up in the 1st period on Saturday..........

If they had won that game, tonight's game in hand versus Detroit would be be to pull into a 3 way tie with Florida and the Rangers with 3 games to play for each team.

Given that the Sabres would win a 3 way tiebreaker, I would like their chances. But, with the Sabres hosting Detroit (6-4-0 last 10), then visiting Toronto (5-5-0 last 10) and Carolina (8-1-1 last 10), before closing out the season at home versus Boston (8-1-1 last 10), I don't like their odds of running the table.

That's what I expect of this team since they had their 4-0-1 streak snapped when they failed to show up in the first two periods versus the Devils on Saturday night. To make matter worse, they were returning home after a three game road trip and should have shown a lot better.

I hope they win to make things more interesting. But, I am expecting this team to miss by a point or two......

Cue the fat lady

Thanks to last evening's OT loss in Atlanta, the Sabres are now 5 points behind Montreal with 6 to play, it's a pretty safe bet that the Sabres will miss the playoffs for the 5th time in the last 7 seasons.

I felt bad for Thomas Vanek last night as he scored the Sabres two goals, but he was wearing the goat horns after he coughed up the puck to Kovalchuk on the OT game winning breakaway goal.

I can't wait for the draft talk to start, though.....

Down on the farm

The Sabres signed St. Lawrence defenseman Matthew Generous and he signed an ATO with Portland to add depth to their blueline.

With Dennis Persson landing with the Pirates a few weeks ago and TJ Brennan likely getting signed for next year as well, the Sabres defensive depth appears to be growing.

But, the team could also be looking to cut guys like Mike Funk and Mike Card loose, as well.

Props to Gerbe and Kennedy

Nathan Gerbe and Tim Kennedy were named to the AHL All-Rookie team yesterday.

The team is voted on by coaches, players, and media in the 29 AHL cities.

It will be interesting to see what the Sabres do with Gerbe and Kennedy next season. I would expect the Sabres to cut Max Afinogenov loose, who knows if they will re-sign Dominic Moore, Andrew Peters, and Matt Ellis, and will they retain RFA forwards Clarke MacArthur, Drew Stafford, and Patrick Kaleta.

I would expect Kaleta to return, I would be surprised if Stafford and MacArthur weren't back, but Peters would be the only UFA-to-be that might be back and his status likely won't affect the futures of Gerbe or Kennedy.

Personally, I would love to see Jochen Hecht traded to open up a spot for Gerbe or Kennedy. But, I believe the Sabres will have a hard time moving Hecht's contract.