10 things I want to see this season

So, Pierre LeBrun at ESPN.com has his list of ten things he'd like to see this season.

Well, here is my Sabres specific list:

10. I'd like to see Pat Kaleta be able to lay some hard, but legal, body checks on a few guys this year and not be challenged to drop the gloves. Now if he crosses the line......

9. I want to see Patrick Lalime develop into a back up goalie that Lindy Ruff can trust at least 20 times this year. And that means that he has a winning percentage over .500.

8. This one is obvious: I want Tim Connolly to be healthy all year long and play 70+ games. I still think the contract extension they gave him was a mistake, but I want the Sabres to get rewarded for the gamble.

7. I want Chris Butler to avoid the sophomore slump. I really liked what I saw from him last year. The next step is for him to continue to develop and not take a step back this season. The Sabres need someone to step up and fill the void created with Jaroslav Spacek leaving town and Butler, along with Andrej Sekera, are the two most likely candidates.

6. I want Thomas Vanek to step up and be a more complete player. We know Vanek is a Dave Andreychuk-esque PP monster. Now let's see him become more of a two way player at 5 on 5 and keep him on the PK as well.

5. I want all the talk about accountability to be more than talk. Hopefully the addition of guys like Mike Grier and Steve Montador will help in this regard.

4. I want Jason Pominville to not worry about the big contract and get back to being the all around impact player that he was a couple of years ago. I also want Jochen Hecht and Henrik Tallinder to not worry about people like me wanting them gone and get back to being as good as they were a few years ago.

3. I want more offense out of the "energy guys" like Paul Gaustad, Patrick Kaleta, Adam Mair, Matt Ellis and crew. The Sabres need to get more offense from their 3rd and 4th line guys if they are to make the playoffs.

2. I want a young guy, whether it's Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis, Tim Kennedy, Nathan Gerbe, or someone else, to step up and be a player that surprises everyone with what they bring to the team in 2009-10. Obviously all eyes are on Tyler Myers. But, I think Tyler Ennis is the guy that could really surprise people. Especially if Tim Connolly isn't healthy and the team needs an offensive minded center to step up and fill the void.

1. I want this team to make the playoffs. Two years out is two years too many!