So while we could focus on Vanek's 4 point weekend in a win (at home no less!!!!) over the Leafs, then the Sabres drop an absolute stink bomb in the 8-3 loss in Pittsburgh.
So, now it's Panic at the F-N Center time!
Fans are breaking out their favorite whipping boys and taking some whacks (Hey Roysie, DUCK!!!).
Even the normally ultra optimistic Terry Pegula is taking a cheap shot at his team's goalies.
I have no doubt that Pegula is frustrated that his spending spree on free agents, expanding the coaching staff, and renovating the locker room has given him a team that has a lineup that is decimated by injuries and rudderless on the ice.
So what comes next?
Ted Black was recently talking about being patient and waiting for guys to get healthy. But, will the injury list getting back to 9 deep and the egg they laid in front of Pegula in Pittsburgh change that?
I won't cry if the Sabres try and shake things up by dealing Stafford or Roy or even Miller. But, the really interesting thing is how long does Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff get before the questions stop being about the players and about the GM that brought them here and the coach that isn't getting enough out of them?
Monday, December 19, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Happy/Sad
Mark Pysyk makes Team Canada - Happy!
It's cool to see another Sabres prospect making Team Canada. Hopefully Pysyk has a post-WJC season like Tyler Myers did!
Ville Leino on the shelf for weeks with a lower body injury - Sad.......
Can the Sabres injury situation get any more ridiculous? Seriously, I can't remember a season where the Sabres have had to deal with so many injuries for an extended period of time like this one.
The Sabres signed 2010 3rd round pick Kevin Sundher - Happy!
First, I like avoiding all the re-entry doomsday drama that pessimistic Sabres fans love to bring out in the spring. Having signed Pysyk in June and now Sundher, that should lessen it a bit this year. Now if Regier gets JGL signed soon.....
Second, I wonder if these early signings is another indication of Regier being held back by the previous ownership group or not.
I saw this video of Patrick Kane's shootout goal last night - Happy!
Patrick Kane is filthy and even if I'm a goalie, watching highlights like this one is always fun.
VS had the debut of NHL36 and HBO and the first episode of the 24/7 series featuring the Rangers and Flyers - Happy!
I liked the Patrick Kane and his dad from the first episode of NHL36. I haven't finished the first episode of 24/7 yet. My only concern is whether I should let my 9yo son watch it after I give him the speech that I never want him to utter the F-bomb, even if he sees NHLers dropping it four dozen times in a one hour show.
The Sabres Jr Reporter video on Youtube - Happy!
This is one of the cutest things ever.
It's cool to see another Sabres prospect making Team Canada. Hopefully Pysyk has a post-WJC season like Tyler Myers did!
Ville Leino on the shelf for weeks with a lower body injury - Sad.......
Can the Sabres injury situation get any more ridiculous? Seriously, I can't remember a season where the Sabres have had to deal with so many injuries for an extended period of time like this one.
The Sabres signed 2010 3rd round pick Kevin Sundher - Happy!
First, I like avoiding all the re-entry doomsday drama that pessimistic Sabres fans love to bring out in the spring. Having signed Pysyk in June and now Sundher, that should lessen it a bit this year. Now if Regier gets JGL signed soon.....
Second, I wonder if these early signings is another indication of Regier being held back by the previous ownership group or not.
I saw this video of Patrick Kane's shootout goal last night - Happy!
Patrick Kane is filthy and even if I'm a goalie, watching highlights like this one is always fun.
VS had the debut of NHL36 and HBO and the first episode of the 24/7 series featuring the Rangers and Flyers - Happy!
I liked the Patrick Kane and his dad from the first episode of NHL36. I haven't finished the first episode of 24/7 yet. My only concern is whether I should let my 9yo son watch it after I give him the speech that I never want him to utter the F-bomb, even if he sees NHLers dropping it four dozen times in a one hour show.
The Sabres Jr Reporter video on Youtube - Happy!
This is one of the cutest things ever.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Players only meeting time.....
Bill Hoppe has a long list of Sabres problems.
Bucky Gleason is calling out Stafford, Roy, and Ennis.
Some tool errrr Mike Halford at Pro Hockey Talk is wondering why Christian Ehrhoff is dropping the gloves after Miller gets bumped again.
Bottom line is that the Sabres are now 7-9-3 at home and 8-3-0 on the road and that isn't good enough.
The Sabres have 81 goals for and Pominville and Vanek have combined for 24 goals and 61 points. Read: other guys need to step up.
How is Marc-Andre Gragnani a +11?
I like Chewy aka Paul Szczechura.
Ville Leino starts playing a little better and he misses practice today. I hope it's merely a maintenance day.
I'm waiting for Ryan Miller to get really hot.......
I'm also waiting for the uncuffed Darcy Regier to make a move. Especially one that moves out a core guy (read: one of the Rochester Core Captains like Stafford or Roy).
I might be waiting a while.
Bucky Gleason is calling out Stafford, Roy, and Ennis.
Some tool errrr Mike Halford at Pro Hockey Talk is wondering why Christian Ehrhoff is dropping the gloves after Miller gets bumped again.
Bottom line is that the Sabres are now 7-9-3 at home and 8-3-0 on the road and that isn't good enough.
The Sabres have 81 goals for and Pominville and Vanek have combined for 24 goals and 61 points. Read: other guys need to step up.
How is Marc-Andre Gragnani a +11?
I like Chewy aka Paul Szczechura.
Ville Leino starts playing a little better and he misses practice today. I hope it's merely a maintenance day.
I'm waiting for Ryan Miller to get really hot.......
I'm also waiting for the uncuffed Darcy Regier to make a move. Especially one that moves out a core guy (read: one of the Rochester Core Captains like Stafford or Roy).
I might be waiting a while.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Up one/Down one and MAG scratched
With the Sabres splitting weekend games with the Panthers and Rangers, we may have learned a few things.
1 - Maybe Jhonas Enroth isn't all that and a bag of chips. Enroth certainly didn't get any help with the Sabres giving up 2 shorties versus the Rangers and the offense didn't help him by only putting one past Marty Biron, but Enroth hasn't been the same dominant 1a he was last year and earlier this year since Miller was run by Lucic.
2 - MSG needs to get better fact checkers/stats guys. The Sabres are now 5-3 in the back end of back-to-back games this season. Why they kept saying that the Sabres were unbeaten in those spots is beyond me.
3 - The Sabres need scoring depth and guys like Derek Roy and Drew Stafford need to step up and start producing. And Tyler Ennis' 2 pts in 12 games isn't cutting it, either.
With Paul Gaustad and Mike Weber healthy, we may see Marc-Andre Gragnani in the press box. That would be a good idea to me. His boneheaded turnover in OT versus the Flyers was a benchable offense to me. And it was hardly his first of the season. Gragnani has nice offensive upside. But, he needs to get a lot smarter with the puck.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Holy Turnovers, Batman
The Sabres built a 3-0 lead against the Flyers. Gave up four straight goals. Then they tied it with the goalie pulled. Then they lost in OT when Marc-Andre Gragnani decided that Claude Giroux (now the NHL leader in points and a guy who already had 3 points last night) needed to be gift wrapped a breakaway.
Ummm, yeah......
Did I mention that Nathan Gerbe was boarded and suffered another UBI and that Ville Leino could be suspended?
But before I get to the negatives from last night, let's get to some positives.
Positive #1 Zack Kassian - Kassian had a beautiful assist on a tic-tac-toe passing play from Luke Adam to BZK to Ville Leino for the tap in. Adam started the play by getting a nice turnover as the Flyers were trying to transition out of their zone on the PK. Kassian had a sweet one touch backhand pass to Leino. Then Kassian picked up the puck in the neutral zone, carried the puck into the Flyers zone, used the defenseman as a screen, and beat Bryzgalov with a sneaky wrister. As long as Kassian keeps playing like this, he's going to make it impossible to send him back to the Amerks. I already want a Kassian jersey, too.
Positive #2 Leino-Adam-Kassian - The Vanek-[Fill in the blank]-Pominville line has been doing the heavy lifting offensively all season. But, this line has shown some quick chemistry and is giving the Sabres the secondary scoring that they need badly. Leino is starting to produce like a $4+ million per year guy and Luke Adam is showing that his strong rookie season isn't just a factor of playing with Vanek and Pominville.
Positive #3 The early and late offense - Jumping out to the 3-0 lead late in the first and getting the OT forcing goal with Miller on the bench were both great.
Now to the negatives.......
Negative #1 Gerbe gets run and Leino gets stupid - Just what the Sabres didn't need. Gerbe gets hurt on a play that may get Marc-Andre Bourdon Shana-banned and then Ville Leino with the stupid elbow that might get himself Shana-banned. Just when Leino was starting to get into my good graces with increased offensive production and he does this. Come on man!
Negative #2 Turnovers - Honestly, I don't know whether the Gragnani turnover in OT or the Gerbe turnover in the last 10 seconds of the first period was worse. In both cases, the Sabres need to make better plays with the puck.
Negative #3 Miller's head - I don't care about Miller's negative body language after giving up tipped and screened goals. I don't know that it bothers his teammates because I'm not in their heads. But, I do believe that Miller's body language and his reaction to less than ideal goals is an area that he could improve upon. And on Miller's mask coming off, how about mask maker's putting chin straps back on goalie masks and goalies actually using them.....
Ummm, yeah......
Did I mention that Nathan Gerbe was boarded and suffered another UBI and that Ville Leino could be suspended?
But before I get to the negatives from last night, let's get to some positives.
Positive #1 Zack Kassian - Kassian had a beautiful assist on a tic-tac-toe passing play from Luke Adam to BZK to Ville Leino for the tap in. Adam started the play by getting a nice turnover as the Flyers were trying to transition out of their zone on the PK. Kassian had a sweet one touch backhand pass to Leino. Then Kassian picked up the puck in the neutral zone, carried the puck into the Flyers zone, used the defenseman as a screen, and beat Bryzgalov with a sneaky wrister. As long as Kassian keeps playing like this, he's going to make it impossible to send him back to the Amerks. I already want a Kassian jersey, too.
Positive #2 Leino-Adam-Kassian - The Vanek-[Fill in the blank]-Pominville line has been doing the heavy lifting offensively all season. But, this line has shown some quick chemistry and is giving the Sabres the secondary scoring that they need badly. Leino is starting to produce like a $4+ million per year guy and Luke Adam is showing that his strong rookie season isn't just a factor of playing with Vanek and Pominville.
Positive #3 The early and late offense - Jumping out to the 3-0 lead late in the first and getting the OT forcing goal with Miller on the bench were both great.
Now to the negatives.......
Negative #1 Gerbe gets run and Leino gets stupid - Just what the Sabres didn't need. Gerbe gets hurt on a play that may get Marc-Andre Bourdon Shana-banned and then Ville Leino with the stupid elbow that might get himself Shana-banned. Just when Leino was starting to get into my good graces with increased offensive production and he does this. Come on man!
Negative #2 Turnovers - Honestly, I don't know whether the Gragnani turnover in OT or the Gerbe turnover in the last 10 seconds of the first period was worse. In both cases, the Sabres need to make better plays with the puck.
Negative #3 Miller's head - I don't care about Miller's negative body language after giving up tipped and screened goals. I don't know that it bothers his teammates because I'm not in their heads. But, I do believe that Miller's body language and his reaction to less than ideal goals is an area that he could improve upon. And on Miller's mask coming off, how about mask maker's putting chin straps back on goalie masks and goalies actually using them.....
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tootoo gets 2
Jordin Tootoo was suspended two games for running Ryan Miller
My take: That's about right given Tootoo's lengthy rap sheet and the fact that the NHL GMs told Shanahan to do more to protect goaltenders after he didn't suspend Milan Lucic for hitting Miller. It will be interesting to see how other incidents like this one are handled in the future. As a goalie, I hope more is done to reduce the number of times that a goalie gets run by a forward trying to drive the net.
NHL realignment sees the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning join the Northeast Division in Conference C
My take: I hope that they break out some good names of legendary players. But, I wish these were 4 divisions that are a part of 2 conferences like back in the day. I do like the return of the playoffs going through your "conference" rivals. The old days of the Adams Division rivalries were fueled by playoff clashes. And more trips to sunny FLA are nice for the team....
My take: That's about right given Tootoo's lengthy rap sheet and the fact that the NHL GMs told Shanahan to do more to protect goaltenders after he didn't suspend Milan Lucic for hitting Miller. It will be interesting to see how other incidents like this one are handled in the future. As a goalie, I hope more is done to reduce the number of times that a goalie gets run by a forward trying to drive the net.
NHL realignment sees the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning join the Northeast Division in Conference C
My take: I hope that they break out some good names of legendary players. But, I wish these were 4 divisions that are a part of 2 conferences like back in the day. I do like the return of the playoffs going through your "conference" rivals. The old days of the Adams Division rivalries were fueled by playoff clashes. And more trips to sunny FLA are nice for the team....
Monday, December 5, 2011
Kassian with a sweet goal & Miller gets run 2.0
Just like the rest of Sabres Nation, I'd like to forget the Red Wings game on Friday night. That was the difference between a really good team at close to full strength against a good team with a laundry list of injuries.
But, Saturday night was a little different. First, Ryan Miller was back in goal for the Sabres and he gave them much better play in goal than Nashville got from back up Anders Lindback.
Zack Kassian scored a filthy breakaway goal
My take: That was siiiiiick. I am ready to trade away Drew Stafford and insert Kassian in his spot. And I'm like 85% serious there.
Jordin Tootoo runs Ryan Miller and the team's response is quite different than the response to the Lucic hit
My take: First, can we put to rest all the speculation that the Sabres don't like Ryan Miller after that? Second, I think that Tootoo's hit was not as bad as the Lucic hit. But, I would expect Tootoo to get suspended because of his long rap sheet and the fact that the NHL GMs were not happy with Shanahan not protecting a marquee goalie in the Lucic hit.
Tyler Ennis gets back on the ice and on the scoresheet
My take: The Sabres need more offensively from a lot of guys, and Tyler Ennis is one of the them. Ennis drove me nuts a few times, especially the one where he poked the loose puck past Lindback and didn't shoot sooner on the net being defended by a couple of Preds skaters. But, that was a nice snipe on his game winner and hopefully that gets the monkey off of Ennis' back.
More injuries with Gaustad getting hurt in the Tootoo scrum and Hecht getting hurt, too
My take: At least Cody McCormick is healthy enough to get back in the lineup. This injury situation is crazy. And I'm starting to wonder if the Sabres need to sacrifice a live chicken in that fancy new locker room.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
A New Legend?
With the Sabres calling up newly signed Joe Finley, is there a new legend being born?
My take: I can't wait to see what a pairing of Brayden McNabb and Joe Finley looks like tomorrow night versus Detroit. At roughly a combined height of 13 feet tall and weighing in at 450+ pounds combined, the two definitely add some beef to the Sabres back end.
The Anaheim Ducks fire head coach Randy Carlyle and hire former Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau
My take: I think this can end most of the major trade rumors involving the Ducks. I can't see them replacing a coach and also making a major roster move right away. They will likely give BB at least until the trade deadline to get guys like Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and other going before they pull off a major trade. Now if the Sabres and Ducks were talking about a lesser deal, I could see that happening.
The Sabres have a lot of size and grit on the verge of being NHL ready
My take: For a while, and especially after the Lucic on Miller fiasco, people have said that the Sabres NHL roster is long on talent and short on toughness. Well, it would appear that the Sabres have plenty of in-house solutions to that issue with Zack Kassian, Brayden McNabb, Joe Finley, and Corey Tropp having been called up and guys like Marcus Foligno still down in Rochester. Add in that the call ups haven't looked out of place and it will be interesting to see how open the Sabres are to moving out established NHLers that are small and less gritty in place of a tough kid. For instance, has Kassian's play made a guy Drew Stafford more likely to get dealt? Has McNabb's play made a guy like Marc-Andre Gragnani more likely to get dealt? And could the kids allow Regier to package multiple NHLers to get a front line player? Like say the top 1 or 2 center that the team still needs?
That would be nice.......
Ryan Miller shoots down that he wouldn't mind a deal out of Buffalo
My take: I never really bought into that Miller wanted out or that the Sabres were shopping him. And while I accept his word that he's happy in Buffalo and he doesn't see the grass being greener elsewhere with Terry Pegula in place as the Sabres owner, his new gloves and pads will give the doubters fuel to speculate.
For those that don't know, many people believe that goalies get generic, all white gear, when they expect to be dealt because they can wear it with their new team without clashing.
My guess is that Reebok gave Miller a new set to try out. If he doesn't like them, I could use a new set. Ryan, hook a brother up for Christmas!
My take: I can't wait to see what a pairing of Brayden McNabb and Joe Finley looks like tomorrow night versus Detroit. At roughly a combined height of 13 feet tall and weighing in at 450+ pounds combined, the two definitely add some beef to the Sabres back end.
The Anaheim Ducks fire head coach Randy Carlyle and hire former Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau
My take: I think this can end most of the major trade rumors involving the Ducks. I can't see them replacing a coach and also making a major roster move right away. They will likely give BB at least until the trade deadline to get guys like Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and other going before they pull off a major trade. Now if the Sabres and Ducks were talking about a lesser deal, I could see that happening.
The Sabres have a lot of size and grit on the verge of being NHL ready
My take: For a while, and especially after the Lucic on Miller fiasco, people have said that the Sabres NHL roster is long on talent and short on toughness. Well, it would appear that the Sabres have plenty of in-house solutions to that issue with Zack Kassian, Brayden McNabb, Joe Finley, and Corey Tropp having been called up and guys like Marcus Foligno still down in Rochester. Add in that the call ups haven't looked out of place and it will be interesting to see how open the Sabres are to moving out established NHLers that are small and less gritty in place of a tough kid. For instance, has Kassian's play made a guy Drew Stafford more likely to get dealt? Has McNabb's play made a guy like Marc-Andre Gragnani more likely to get dealt? And could the kids allow Regier to package multiple NHLers to get a front line player? Like say the top 1 or 2 center that the team still needs?
That would be nice.......
Ryan Miller shoots down that he wouldn't mind a deal out of Buffalo
My take: I never really bought into that Miller wanted out or that the Sabres were shopping him. And while I accept his word that he's happy in Buffalo and he doesn't see the grass being greener elsewhere with Terry Pegula in place as the Sabres owner, his new gloves and pads will give the doubters fuel to speculate.
For those that don't know, many people believe that goalies get generic, all white gear, when they expect to be dealt because they can wear it with their new team without clashing.
My guess is that Reebok gave Miller a new set to try out. If he doesn't like them, I could use a new set. Ryan, hook a brother up for Christmas!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Legend Grows
Kassian's second game saw him get a goal.
Then last night Zack jumped to defend the honor of Nathan Gerbe and he dropped the mitts for the first time in his NHL career.
And I doubt it will be the last.
Other takes based on the news of the day:
Sabres loses 2-1 to the Isles - Memo to the rest of the roster: You can't win by only getting offense from the top line and good goaltending.
Hockey Independent calls Ville Leino the second most overpaid guy in the NHL making north of $4 million - Awesome........
Bucky Gleason honors Jim Kelley by speculating that the Sabres and Ducks are talking trade involving Ryan Miller and Bobby Ryan - I doubt that Bucky is connecting those dots accurately. Too many teams are in on Bobby Ryan and Miller is still the face of the franchise for that deal to happen.
Chris Botta says that the Ducks and Sabres are talking trade, although maybe not involving Bobby Ryan - This makes more sense since it opens up a variety of trade options with the Sabres perhaps getting tougher (Brookbank or Parros to Buffalo for a pick) or the Sabres getting Toni Lydman back, or any other combination of potential deals. There were Ducks scouts in the house for the Sabres-Isles game last night. So, it has to be bigger than just Ryan Miller potentially going to Anaheim since he's still out of the Sabres lineup.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Are we having fun yet?
We're 23 games into the season and the Sabres are three points behind Toronto (really????) for first place in the division with a game in hand.
Not bad, but not kill everyone by 4 goals a night great, either.
Here are some quick takes on a variety of things going on in SabreLand:
- So a reporter in Edmonton heard that Ryan Miller wouldn't object to a trade out of Dodge.
My take: Who cares? He's a pro athlete with a limited NTC. What else would a player do if he were traded. Personally, I want Miller to A) Get Healthy and B) Get Back to Being a Stud #1 Goalie
- Lucic runs Miller and the Sabres wait until the next game to try and beat him up.
My take: Lucic is tougher than anyone on the Sabres, so it didn't really surprise me. And if Patrick Kaleta weren't afraid of a Shana-ban, I would have expected him to run Boston's Vezina Trophy Winning goalie through the end boards.
- The Sabres injury list is long and distinguished.
My take: I like what young guys like Tropp, McNabb, Brennan, Szczechura, and Kassian have brought to the table on recall. And the whole "Legend of Zack Kassian" was awesome with Zack doing a good job to live up to the hype with a goal, an assist, and six hits in his first two NHL games.
- Has Ville Leino replaced Tim Connolly as the new whipping boy?
My take: He is my whipping boy. He was brought in to produce more than 6 pts in his first 23 games in a Sabres uniform. Plenty of people want to be patient and especially see if he produces in the playoffs. But, if he can't produce in October and November, can he be expected to produce big time in the post season?
- Vanek (tied for 4th) and Pominville (tied for 6th) are both in the top 10 in the NHL in points so far this season.
My take: It's nice to see two of the Rochester leadership core are doing what they are expected to do. And then some. Drew Stafford's production has tailed off. Derek Roy got off to a slow start. Paul Gaustad didn't address the Lucic situation in a timely manner. But, Captain Pominville and Thomas Vanek have combined to be one of the top 1-2 punches so far this season and you can't complain one iota about how they've played this season.
- Luke Adam is 3rd in the NHL in rookie scoring.
My take: Who saw that pleasant surprise coming? I didn't. And I may be overly optimistic, but I could see Luke Adam staying top 5 in rookie scoring for the whole season.
- Jhonas Enroth is the #1 rookie goalie so far this season.
My take: He's the only rookie goalie getting enough playing time to qualify amongst the Save% Leaders. But, his .925 Save% puts him between Marc-Andre Fleury and Pekka Rinne amongst the league leaders. That's not bad company for a goalie to keep.
Up Next:
The Sabres host the struggling NY Islanders. The Islanders are going so bad that their owner had to give the coach and GM the good ole public sign of confidence today given Washington and Carolina gassing their coaches yesterday.
Maybe the Sabres can blow out the Isles and get another head coach fired?
Not bad, but not kill everyone by 4 goals a night great, either.
Here are some quick takes on a variety of things going on in SabreLand:
- So a reporter in Edmonton heard that Ryan Miller wouldn't object to a trade out of Dodge.
My take: Who cares? He's a pro athlete with a limited NTC. What else would a player do if he were traded. Personally, I want Miller to A) Get Healthy and B) Get Back to Being a Stud #1 Goalie
- Lucic runs Miller and the Sabres wait until the next game to try and beat him up.
My take: Lucic is tougher than anyone on the Sabres, so it didn't really surprise me. And if Patrick Kaleta weren't afraid of a Shana-ban, I would have expected him to run Boston's Vezina Trophy Winning goalie through the end boards.
- The Sabres injury list is long and distinguished.
My take: I like what young guys like Tropp, McNabb, Brennan, Szczechura, and Kassian have brought to the table on recall. And the whole "Legend of Zack Kassian" was awesome with Zack doing a good job to live up to the hype with a goal, an assist, and six hits in his first two NHL games.
- Has Ville Leino replaced Tim Connolly as the new whipping boy?
My take: He is my whipping boy. He was brought in to produce more than 6 pts in his first 23 games in a Sabres uniform. Plenty of people want to be patient and especially see if he produces in the playoffs. But, if he can't produce in October and November, can he be expected to produce big time in the post season?
- Vanek (tied for 4th) and Pominville (tied for 6th) are both in the top 10 in the NHL in points so far this season.
My take: It's nice to see two of the Rochester leadership core are doing what they are expected to do. And then some. Drew Stafford's production has tailed off. Derek Roy got off to a slow start. Paul Gaustad didn't address the Lucic situation in a timely manner. But, Captain Pominville and Thomas Vanek have combined to be one of the top 1-2 punches so far this season and you can't complain one iota about how they've played this season.
- Luke Adam is 3rd in the NHL in rookie scoring.
My take: Who saw that pleasant surprise coming? I didn't. And I may be overly optimistic, but I could see Luke Adam staying top 5 in rookie scoring for the whole season.
- Jhonas Enroth is the #1 rookie goalie so far this season.
My take: He's the only rookie goalie getting enough playing time to qualify amongst the Save% Leaders. But, his .925 Save% puts him between Marc-Andre Fleury and Pekka Rinne amongst the league leaders. That's not bad company for a goalie to keep.
Up Next:
The Sabres host the struggling NY Islanders. The Islanders are going so bad that their owner had to give the coach and GM the good ole public sign of confidence today given Washington and Carolina gassing their coaches yesterday.
Maybe the Sabres can blow out the Isles and get another head coach fired?
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Where do the Sabres go from here?
The Sabres locked up D Andrej Sekera to a front loaded 4 year deal with a cap hit of $2.75M per year.
Per Cap Geek, the Sabres are roughly $2.4M over the salary cap with back up goalie Jhonas Enroth and D Marc-Andre Gragnani still out there as unsigned RFAs.
Everyone is expecting that the Sabres will shed themselves of Shaone Morrisonn ($2.075M against the cap) and Ales Kotalik ($3M against the cap) to get under the cap and give themselves a little breathing room for injury call ups and trade deadline moves.
The other thing that people are waiting (more like hoping) for is a trade that will upgrade the center depth of the team.
Over the last couple of days there was Twitter chatter that the Sabres wanted to get Steven Stamkos. And then Stamkos re-signed with the 'Ning for 5 years and $7.5M per against the cap.
Personally, I think the Sabres are pretty much done for now. I just don't see the Senators trading Jason Spezza or the Avalanche moving Paul Stastny for the type of package that the Sabres will offer up.
Add in that Jason Pominville is expected to be ready for training camp, and I think that they are happy with what they have right now.
Vanek-Roy-Stafford
Ennis-Leino-Pominville
Gerbe-Hecht-Boyes
McCormick-Gaustad-Kaleta
Extras:Ellis, Adam
Regehr-Myers
Leopold-Ehrhoff
Weber-Sekera
Extra:Gragnani
Miller
Enroth
I think the Sabres can roll with that.
Per Cap Geek, the Sabres are roughly $2.4M over the salary cap with back up goalie Jhonas Enroth and D Marc-Andre Gragnani still out there as unsigned RFAs.
Everyone is expecting that the Sabres will shed themselves of Shaone Morrisonn ($2.075M against the cap) and Ales Kotalik ($3M against the cap) to get under the cap and give themselves a little breathing room for injury call ups and trade deadline moves.
The other thing that people are waiting (more like hoping) for is a trade that will upgrade the center depth of the team.
Over the last couple of days there was Twitter chatter that the Sabres wanted to get Steven Stamkos. And then Stamkos re-signed with the 'Ning for 5 years and $7.5M per against the cap.
Personally, I think the Sabres are pretty much done for now. I just don't see the Senators trading Jason Spezza or the Avalanche moving Paul Stastny for the type of package that the Sabres will offer up.
Add in that Jason Pominville is expected to be ready for training camp, and I think that they are happy with what they have right now.
Vanek-Roy-Stafford
Ennis-Leino-Pominville
Gerbe-Hecht-Boyes
McCormick-Gaustad-Kaleta
Extras:Ellis, Adam
Regehr-Myers
Leopold-Ehrhoff
Weber-Sekera
Extra:Gragnani
Miller
Enroth
I think the Sabres can roll with that.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
These aren't Tom Golisano's Sabres any more
If there were any lingering questions about whether Darcy Regier could bring himself to be aggressive with a new ownership group in place that wants to win a Stanley Cup and will spare no expense, I think we have our answer less than a week into free agency.
Regier has made a big trade where the Sabres took on salary and moved two promising young players away. Not the type of deal that people saw from Regier under the previous ownership.
Then Regier traded for the negotiating rights to a UFA-to-be and inks him to the longest contract in franchise history.
And then Regier signs a UFA forward to help plug a hole to a 6 year deal.
People talk about how players need to "play out of character" in the playoffs. Well, Regier has played out of character so far this off season.
Here is my take on the moves:
Chris Butler & Paul Byron for Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik, and a 2012 2nd round pick
Jim Bob's Grade: A
Regier and Ruff talked about how they needed to improve the defense corps and wanted to create a "shutdown pair". Well, Robyn Regehr might be the best defensive defenseman to move all off season and the Sabres landed him.
And even more than adding Regehr, the fact that the team was able to convince him to waive his No Movement Clause to come to Buffalo was the first test of the whole "Buffalo is Hockey Heaven" declaration that Sabres President Ted Black made on Pegula Day 2/22/2011.
Sure, Ales Kotalik's $3 million contract needs to be moved or sent to Rochester. But, Pegula has given Regier a blank checkbook to make moves this off season, so that isn't a big deal.
The Sabres depth of prospect defensemen made moving Butler not that big of a deal. And while moving Paul Byron weakens the team's center depth for this season, getting a 2nd rounder back in the deal gives the Sabres more trade ammo for the deadline, or a pick that can be used to add another center to the prospect pipeline.
Trading away a 4th round pick to the Islanders for the rights to Christian Ehrhoff and then signing him to a 10 year $40 million contract prior to UFA opening up
Jim Bob's Grade: B
This was the second test of the "Hockey Heaven" idea as the Sabres were able to convince Christian Ehrhoff to sign with the team less than 24 hours prior to UFA opening up.
And while many outside of Sabres Nation have been scoffing at giving Ehrhoff a 10 year deal and how much cash he gets in the first two years, I have defended the contract on Twitter.
The front loaded nature of the deal doesn't matter to me. If Terry Pegula wants to give Darcy Regier that kind of money to draw players to Buffalo, that is his call. And as a fan, I love that Regier is truly being given the tools to finish the job for the first time in his Sabres GM career.
The only reason I'm not giving this deal an A is because of the length of the contract. A lot can happen in 10 years and few UFA deals of this length have worked out.
But, if the future CBA(s) that this deal will play out under stay close to what we have today and cash poor teams covet deals with bigger cap numbers than salary remaining as they try and make it to the cap floor as cheaply as possible, then this contract will be moveable even if Ehrhoff's play declines. Especially the last 3 years where Ehrhoff will be making only $1 million in salary and will carry a $4 million cap hit.
On the ice, Ehrhoff is a LH shot that likes to play on the right side and he brings a big point shot to the PP. Just what the Sabres need to spark the PP, if you ask me. And I'm sure Thomas Vanek can't wait to line up in front of the net looking for tips and rebounds with Ehrhoff pulling the trigger from the blueline.
Ville Leino signed to a 6 year $27 million UFA contract
Jim Bob's Grade: C
I've taken a lot of heat over at HFBoards.com for not being in love with this deal.
On the Ville Leino front, I am worried that they are committing a lot of money and a lot of years to a guy that has one good NHL season on his resume. I am also worried that they are converting the guy from the wing to center despite his never playing center in North America.
Leino's talk of wanting to play center and having played it growing up in Finland and during the early part of his pro career in Finland is nice. But, I could see Leino being a Jochen Hecht type center on the Sabres and I want more than that for the money he was given.
The other piece to this deal that bothered me was that the Sabres backed out of the Brad Richards derby without even extending Richards a contract offer because they didn't want to miss out on Leino. And after all the talk that Ted Black made about doing everything possible to make this team a Cup contender, that decision didn't sit that well with me as Richards is far and away the best center in the 2011 UFA class. Plus, he's waaaaaaaaay better than any center that has a chance of being a UFA in 2012.
I will bump the grade of this contract up to a B if the Sabres use their depth on the wings to swing a deal for a top 2 line center. There was talk that they were close to landing Jason Spezza at the trade deadline. If they are able to land Spezza this off season, I'll like the Leino signing a lot better. Especially if they retain Derek Roy and have a center depth chart that looks like this: Spezza (or equivalent)-Roy-Leino-Gaustad.
That looks like the center depth chart of a legit contender. Roy-Leino-(Hecht or Adam)-Gaustad or Roy-Leino-Gaustad-McCormick, not so much.
Quick takes on other moves:
Re-signing Gerbe, McCormick, and Weber - I like retaining all three of these guys. McCormick got a healthy raise, but I can live with it.
Tim Connolly leaving to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs - WooooooooooooooooooHooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nuff said.
Signing Drew MacIntyre to be the 3rd goalie on their pro depth chart - Amerks fans wanted a veteran goalie to pair with my Clarkson boy David Leggio and they got it in MacIntyre who has a nice AHL resume. Can't hate on that deal at all.
Regier has made a big trade where the Sabres took on salary and moved two promising young players away. Not the type of deal that people saw from Regier under the previous ownership.
Then Regier traded for the negotiating rights to a UFA-to-be and inks him to the longest contract in franchise history.
And then Regier signs a UFA forward to help plug a hole to a 6 year deal.
People talk about how players need to "play out of character" in the playoffs. Well, Regier has played out of character so far this off season.
Here is my take on the moves:
Chris Butler & Paul Byron for Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik, and a 2012 2nd round pick
Jim Bob's Grade: A
Regier and Ruff talked about how they needed to improve the defense corps and wanted to create a "shutdown pair". Well, Robyn Regehr might be the best defensive defenseman to move all off season and the Sabres landed him.
And even more than adding Regehr, the fact that the team was able to convince him to waive his No Movement Clause to come to Buffalo was the first test of the whole "Buffalo is Hockey Heaven" declaration that Sabres President Ted Black made on Pegula Day 2/22/2011.
Sure, Ales Kotalik's $3 million contract needs to be moved or sent to Rochester. But, Pegula has given Regier a blank checkbook to make moves this off season, so that isn't a big deal.
The Sabres depth of prospect defensemen made moving Butler not that big of a deal. And while moving Paul Byron weakens the team's center depth for this season, getting a 2nd rounder back in the deal gives the Sabres more trade ammo for the deadline, or a pick that can be used to add another center to the prospect pipeline.
Trading away a 4th round pick to the Islanders for the rights to Christian Ehrhoff and then signing him to a 10 year $40 million contract prior to UFA opening up
Jim Bob's Grade: B
This was the second test of the "Hockey Heaven" idea as the Sabres were able to convince Christian Ehrhoff to sign with the team less than 24 hours prior to UFA opening up.
And while many outside of Sabres Nation have been scoffing at giving Ehrhoff a 10 year deal and how much cash he gets in the first two years, I have defended the contract on Twitter.
The front loaded nature of the deal doesn't matter to me. If Terry Pegula wants to give Darcy Regier that kind of money to draw players to Buffalo, that is his call. And as a fan, I love that Regier is truly being given the tools to finish the job for the first time in his Sabres GM career.
The only reason I'm not giving this deal an A is because of the length of the contract. A lot can happen in 10 years and few UFA deals of this length have worked out.
But, if the future CBA(s) that this deal will play out under stay close to what we have today and cash poor teams covet deals with bigger cap numbers than salary remaining as they try and make it to the cap floor as cheaply as possible, then this contract will be moveable even if Ehrhoff's play declines. Especially the last 3 years where Ehrhoff will be making only $1 million in salary and will carry a $4 million cap hit.
On the ice, Ehrhoff is a LH shot that likes to play on the right side and he brings a big point shot to the PP. Just what the Sabres need to spark the PP, if you ask me. And I'm sure Thomas Vanek can't wait to line up in front of the net looking for tips and rebounds with Ehrhoff pulling the trigger from the blueline.
Ville Leino signed to a 6 year $27 million UFA contract
Jim Bob's Grade: C
I've taken a lot of heat over at HFBoards.com for not being in love with this deal.
On the Ville Leino front, I am worried that they are committing a lot of money and a lot of years to a guy that has one good NHL season on his resume. I am also worried that they are converting the guy from the wing to center despite his never playing center in North America.
Leino's talk of wanting to play center and having played it growing up in Finland and during the early part of his pro career in Finland is nice. But, I could see Leino being a Jochen Hecht type center on the Sabres and I want more than that for the money he was given.
The other piece to this deal that bothered me was that the Sabres backed out of the Brad Richards derby without even extending Richards a contract offer because they didn't want to miss out on Leino. And after all the talk that Ted Black made about doing everything possible to make this team a Cup contender, that decision didn't sit that well with me as Richards is far and away the best center in the 2011 UFA class. Plus, he's waaaaaaaaay better than any center that has a chance of being a UFA in 2012.
I will bump the grade of this contract up to a B if the Sabres use their depth on the wings to swing a deal for a top 2 line center. There was talk that they were close to landing Jason Spezza at the trade deadline. If they are able to land Spezza this off season, I'll like the Leino signing a lot better. Especially if they retain Derek Roy and have a center depth chart that looks like this: Spezza (or equivalent)-Roy-Leino-Gaustad.
That looks like the center depth chart of a legit contender. Roy-Leino-(Hecht or Adam)-Gaustad or Roy-Leino-Gaustad-McCormick, not so much.
Quick takes on other moves:
Re-signing Gerbe, McCormick, and Weber - I like retaining all three of these guys. McCormick got a healthy raise, but I can live with it.
Tim Connolly leaving to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs - WooooooooooooooooooHooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nuff said.
Signing Drew MacIntyre to be the 3rd goalie on their pro depth chart - Amerks fans wanted a veteran goalie to pair with my Clarkson boy David Leggio and they got it in MacIntyre who has a nice AHL resume. Can't hate on that deal at all.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Holy $#&$
The Buffalo Sabres are in uncharted territory during the first off season of the Terry & Kim Pegula era of Sabres ownership.
First, they get Robyn Regehr to waive his No Movement Clause to leave the only NHL city he's ever played in. Add in that the Sabres took on Ales Kotalik and his bad contract in the deal and this is doubly new to Sabres fans.
Then they give up a 4th round pick to get the negotiating rights to UFA to be defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and expect to get a deal done with a guy that has not signed with Vancouver or the NY Islanders.
And they are dropping serious hints that they will go gung ho after the biggest fish in the UFA pool, center Brad Richards from the Dallas Stars.
I'm a NY Yankees and Washington Redskins fan. So, I'm used to rooting for a team with an owner that will spare no expense to add talent to increase their chances of winning. And both those teams have proven that it's more about HOW you spend your money than HOW MUCH you spend.
But, it is really cool to see Darcy Regier "play out of character" given the change in ownership and the "handcuffs being removed".
I can't wait to see what this team looks like when training camp opens up.
Will Brad Richards be the Sabres' #1 center?
Will Robyn Regehr and Tyler Myers mesh into a dominant defensive pairing?
Will Regier have to dump payroll to get under the cap after the additions of Regehr, Ehrhoff (?), Richards (?), and any other players that might be added this off season?
Whatever happens, it's going to be a fun ride. And Dish Network is on the clock. If they don't have a deal with MSG in place by August, then they will be getting kicked out of my house.
First, they get Robyn Regehr to waive his No Movement Clause to leave the only NHL city he's ever played in. Add in that the Sabres took on Ales Kotalik and his bad contract in the deal and this is doubly new to Sabres fans.
Then they give up a 4th round pick to get the negotiating rights to UFA to be defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and expect to get a deal done with a guy that has not signed with Vancouver or the NY Islanders.
And they are dropping serious hints that they will go gung ho after the biggest fish in the UFA pool, center Brad Richards from the Dallas Stars.
I'm a NY Yankees and Washington Redskins fan. So, I'm used to rooting for a team with an owner that will spare no expense to add talent to increase their chances of winning. And both those teams have proven that it's more about HOW you spend your money than HOW MUCH you spend.
But, it is really cool to see Darcy Regier "play out of character" given the change in ownership and the "handcuffs being removed".
I can't wait to see what this team looks like when training camp opens up.
Will Brad Richards be the Sabres' #1 center?
Will Robyn Regehr and Tyler Myers mesh into a dominant defensive pairing?
Will Regier have to dump payroll to get under the cap after the additions of Regehr, Ehrhoff (?), Richards (?), and any other players that might be added this off season?
Whatever happens, it's going to be a fun ride. And Dish Network is on the clock. If they don't have a deal with MSG in place by August, then they will be getting kicked out of my house.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Game 1 = Niiiiice
Sure, the Flyers had way more shots toward net than the Sabres.
But, scoreboard baby!
1 down, 15 to go!
But, scoreboard baby!
1 down, 15 to go!
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Second Season
Since the honeymoon in Pegulaville is still in full swing, it's on to the playoffs.
The Bruins vs Flyers conversation was pretty interesting over the weekend. Personally, I like the Flyers match up a little better simply because I think Tim Thomas is likelier to stand on his head than Sergei Bobrovsky.
Sure, the Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last year and the Bruins had the epic meltdown versus Montreal after dispatching the Sabres.
Sure, the Flyers can do much the same thing that the Bruins did last year to the Sabres.
I just have this feeling that the Sabres strengths will give the Flyers more issues than they would the Bruins.
Although, the Bruins lack of "The Man" up front was intriguing.
I just hope that Buffalo's penchant for great ratings has plenty of VS games in Round 1 since I'm still in Dish Network blackout mode.
And if anyone has $300 to buy my way out of my contract with Dish so I can switch to Cable or DirecTV, let me know.
The Bruins vs Flyers conversation was pretty interesting over the weekend. Personally, I like the Flyers match up a little better simply because I think Tim Thomas is likelier to stand on his head than Sergei Bobrovsky.
Sure, the Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last year and the Bruins had the epic meltdown versus Montreal after dispatching the Sabres.
Sure, the Flyers can do much the same thing that the Bruins did last year to the Sabres.
I just have this feeling that the Sabres strengths will give the Flyers more issues than they would the Bruins.
Although, the Bruins lack of "The Man" up front was intriguing.
I just hope that Buffalo's penchant for great ratings has plenty of VS games in Round 1 since I'm still in Dish Network blackout mode.
And if anyone has $300 to buy my way out of my contract with Dish so I can switch to Cable or DirecTV, let me know.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Secret
Is Sabres Nation now addicted to The Secret?
Seriously, I am starting to wonder if the Sabres and their fans have flipped a switch and have gone from fatalistic to really into the power of positive thinking.
So much so that the positivity brigade is starting to shout down the people that are getting nervous that the Sabres are in 8th place and have a 2 point lead over 9th place Carolina (with a game in hand) and 12 games left to play.
Is it really all that crazy to think that the Sabres might finish 2 points out of a playoff spot for the 3rd time in 4 seasons?
Is concern really going to be what causes the team to miss the playoffs?
On the good news side of the ledger, the Sabres have been better over the past 10 games than the two teams right behind them in Carolina and Toronto.
I just hope that they score some goals this weekend!
Seriously, I am starting to wonder if the Sabres and their fans have flipped a switch and have gone from fatalistic to really into the power of positive thinking.
So much so that the positivity brigade is starting to shout down the people that are getting nervous that the Sabres are in 8th place and have a 2 point lead over 9th place Carolina (with a game in hand) and 12 games left to play.
Is it really all that crazy to think that the Sabres might finish 2 points out of a playoff spot for the 3rd time in 4 seasons?
Is concern really going to be what causes the team to miss the playoffs?
On the good news side of the ledger, the Sabres have been better over the past 10 games than the two teams right behind them in Carolina and Toronto.
I just hope that they score some goals this weekend!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Pegula Effect
Sabres Nation is in love with Terry Pegula.
Whether it's Top Shelf, Willful Caboose, Nick Mendola, or even Schopp yesterday on WGR 550, the love affair is on.
Fans have been dreaming about what Terry Pegula would be like as soon as they learned that the guy that donated $88 million to Penn State was working to buy the Sabres from Tom Golisano.
Would Pegula spare no expense to win?
Would Pegula come in and let Ruff & Regier go and hire a new GM and coach to take this team to the promised land?
Would he send the fans' whipping boy players out of town before the trade deadline?
Would he go nuts and add a star player or three?
One thing happened yesterday that nobody thought about, but was perfect. He got choked up when addressing Gilbert Perreault.
It was Pegula's "You had me at hello" moment yesterday and a huge fan crush was born.
I expect all Sabres fans loved the talk about how winning was priority #1 for the team and the quote about how he'd drill another gas well if he wanted to make money was music to the ears of fans that have heard "Small market economics" a million too many times.
Some people will be a tad upset that Pegula talked up Darcy Regier. A few people will be upset that he said that Lindy Ruff won't be going anywhere.
I cringed at the talk about winning multiple Cups and something about winning within three years simply because winning isn't guaranteed to those that want it really bad and do all the right things. Health and luck play a lot into who wins Lord Stanley's Beer Mug every year and that isn't affected to a large extent by how much the owner spends on scouts.
I DVR'd NHL Power Play on the NHL Network last night to hear the interview with new Sabres president Ted Black and I liked what I heard from Ted, as well. The comparisons to where the Penguins were when Black and senior advisor Ken Sawyer were there were obvious. The interesting thing will be can they get where they want to go without the advantage of 4 top 2 overall picks on the roster.
And while some fans want big changes between now and Monday's trade deadline, I want to wait until August 1st to see where the roster is to judge how well Regier does after Pegula removed the shackles.
If it looks pretty much like what we have now, I hope that Pegula has another press conference that fans love: replacing Regier.
Whether it's Top Shelf, Willful Caboose, Nick Mendola, or even Schopp yesterday on WGR 550, the love affair is on.
Fans have been dreaming about what Terry Pegula would be like as soon as they learned that the guy that donated $88 million to Penn State was working to buy the Sabres from Tom Golisano.
Would Pegula spare no expense to win?
Would Pegula come in and let Ruff & Regier go and hire a new GM and coach to take this team to the promised land?
Would he send the fans' whipping boy players out of town before the trade deadline?
Would he go nuts and add a star player or three?
One thing happened yesterday that nobody thought about, but was perfect. He got choked up when addressing Gilbert Perreault.
It was Pegula's "You had me at hello" moment yesterday and a huge fan crush was born.
I expect all Sabres fans loved the talk about how winning was priority #1 for the team and the quote about how he'd drill another gas well if he wanted to make money was music to the ears of fans that have heard "Small market economics" a million too many times.
Some people will be a tad upset that Pegula talked up Darcy Regier. A few people will be upset that he said that Lindy Ruff won't be going anywhere.
I cringed at the talk about winning multiple Cups and something about winning within three years simply because winning isn't guaranteed to those that want it really bad and do all the right things. Health and luck play a lot into who wins Lord Stanley's Beer Mug every year and that isn't affected to a large extent by how much the owner spends on scouts.
I DVR'd NHL Power Play on the NHL Network last night to hear the interview with new Sabres president Ted Black and I liked what I heard from Ted, as well. The comparisons to where the Penguins were when Black and senior advisor Ken Sawyer were there were obvious. The interesting thing will be can they get where they want to go without the advantage of 4 top 2 overall picks on the roster.
And while some fans want big changes between now and Monday's trade deadline, I want to wait until August 1st to see where the roster is to judge how well Regier does after Pegula removed the shackles.
If it looks pretty much like what we have now, I hope that Pegula has another press conference that fans love: replacing Regier.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The List Moving Forward
With the announcement that Sabres owner-in-waiting Terry Pegula has given Darcy Regier a list of "Do Not Trade" players, everyone is wondering who is on the list.
Is the list as short as Miller & Myers?
What about Vanek, Ennis, and does Pegula even know about guys like Zack Kassian?
And I'm sure fans want to know if there is also a "Trade These Guys For Whatever You Can Get" List that has guys like Rivet, Niedermayer, and other whipping boys on it.
But two guys that I'm wondering about moving forward are Derek Roy and Drew Stafford.
Derek Roy has been a Darcy Regier "Core Guy" in large part due to his reasonable contract ($4M per year against the cap through 2012-13) and his solid production (70 to 80 pts per year after Briere & Drury left town).
But, the Sabres have been playing really well since Roy went down with the low body injury.
So, if there are sweeping changes with the front office and the new regime wants to remake the team, does Derek Roy remain a Sabre? Or, does his highly attractive production to salary ratio turn him into a guy that the Sabres can trade for a player that makes more money, but may have some of the intangibles that Roy does not possess?
It will be very interesting to see what happens with Roy this off season.
The other player of interest is Drew Stafford.
I'm thinking about Drew this morning in large part due to his hat trick last night. It is Stafford's third hat trick in the last 20 games and the fifth of his career.
Stafford is a Restricted Free Agent this summer. He also has a history of being really streaky.
So, the question the Sabres have to ask is whether Stafford's season (he's already tied his career high of 20 goals and could surpass his career high of 45 pts) is a sign of "the light coming on" for Stafford or if it's just a contract year bump.
Basically, the Sabres need to accurately predict if Stafford will be a 25 to 30 goal winger over the next few years or just the 15 to 20 goal guy he has been for the bulk of his career prior to this season.
Depending on what kind of contract Stafford gets this summer, he could also be a guy that has some trade value given that there are a lot of teams that are looking for scoring help on the wing.
And while it's a bad time to throw out the Malkin to Buffalo rumor in light of his season ending ACL & MCL tears at the hands of Tyler Myers, but I wonder if Roy & Stafford for Malkin is something that the new Sabres regime would think was a move in the right direction for the club?
It would be tough on the cap, but what about Roy & Stafford for Vinny Lecavalier with the hope that a move like that could make the Sabres a more attractive UFA destination for Brad Richards? Would the Sabres want to tie up $18M+ in cap space for the foreseeable future on Lecavalier & Richards?
Lecavalier is a tough one because he counts more than twice against the cap as Roy and they have offensive numbers that are very comparable over the past two and a half seasons.
But, Lecavalier has a ring and Roy doesn't.
Personally, I wouldn't mind the team hit reboot. And while it's easier for most fans to say get Rivet, Hecht, and others out of here, the real question is what to do with "Core Guys" like Roy, Stafford, Vanek, Pominville, and Miller.
If you want to look at patterns with regards to how to build teams to win the Stanley Cup, there is a strong case for building teams down the middle.
The Penguins with three top 2 overall draft picks as their top 3 centers are the prime example of building the spine of the team. And the last time they had a 70 pt winger was Alexei Kovalev in 2001-02.
That would create the argument that the Sabres should look at shopping guys like Stafford, Pominville, and Vanek for upgrades at center.
I'd live with Derek Roy as the 3rd line Sabres center.
As a crazy internet idea that has no basis in reality, a remake centered around trading Vanek & Stafford for Lecavalier, move Pominville for cap relief, and signing Brad Richards would downgrade the Sabres on the wings, but would give them a center depth chart of Richards-Lecavalier-Roy-Gaustad.
That wouldn't be too bad, I guess.
Is the list as short as Miller & Myers?
What about Vanek, Ennis, and does Pegula even know about guys like Zack Kassian?
And I'm sure fans want to know if there is also a "Trade These Guys For Whatever You Can Get" List that has guys like Rivet, Niedermayer, and other whipping boys on it.
But two guys that I'm wondering about moving forward are Derek Roy and Drew Stafford.
Derek Roy has been a Darcy Regier "Core Guy" in large part due to his reasonable contract ($4M per year against the cap through 2012-13) and his solid production (70 to 80 pts per year after Briere & Drury left town).
But, the Sabres have been playing really well since Roy went down with the low body injury.
So, if there are sweeping changes with the front office and the new regime wants to remake the team, does Derek Roy remain a Sabre? Or, does his highly attractive production to salary ratio turn him into a guy that the Sabres can trade for a player that makes more money, but may have some of the intangibles that Roy does not possess?
It will be very interesting to see what happens with Roy this off season.
The other player of interest is Drew Stafford.
I'm thinking about Drew this morning in large part due to his hat trick last night. It is Stafford's third hat trick in the last 20 games and the fifth of his career.
Stafford is a Restricted Free Agent this summer. He also has a history of being really streaky.
So, the question the Sabres have to ask is whether Stafford's season (he's already tied his career high of 20 goals and could surpass his career high of 45 pts) is a sign of "the light coming on" for Stafford or if it's just a contract year bump.
Basically, the Sabres need to accurately predict if Stafford will be a 25 to 30 goal winger over the next few years or just the 15 to 20 goal guy he has been for the bulk of his career prior to this season.
Depending on what kind of contract Stafford gets this summer, he could also be a guy that has some trade value given that there are a lot of teams that are looking for scoring help on the wing.
And while it's a bad time to throw out the Malkin to Buffalo rumor in light of his season ending ACL & MCL tears at the hands of Tyler Myers, but I wonder if Roy & Stafford for Malkin is something that the new Sabres regime would think was a move in the right direction for the club?
It would be tough on the cap, but what about Roy & Stafford for Vinny Lecavalier with the hope that a move like that could make the Sabres a more attractive UFA destination for Brad Richards? Would the Sabres want to tie up $18M+ in cap space for the foreseeable future on Lecavalier & Richards?
Lecavalier is a tough one because he counts more than twice against the cap as Roy and they have offensive numbers that are very comparable over the past two and a half seasons.
But, Lecavalier has a ring and Roy doesn't.
Personally, I wouldn't mind the team hit reboot. And while it's easier for most fans to say get Rivet, Hecht, and others out of here, the real question is what to do with "Core Guys" like Roy, Stafford, Vanek, Pominville, and Miller.
If you want to look at patterns with regards to how to build teams to win the Stanley Cup, there is a strong case for building teams down the middle.
The Penguins with three top 2 overall draft picks as their top 3 centers are the prime example of building the spine of the team. And the last time they had a 70 pt winger was Alexei Kovalev in 2001-02.
That would create the argument that the Sabres should look at shopping guys like Stafford, Pominville, and Vanek for upgrades at center.
I'd live with Derek Roy as the 3rd line Sabres center.
As a crazy internet idea that has no basis in reality, a remake centered around trading Vanek & Stafford for Lecavalier, move Pominville for cap relief, and signing Brad Richards would downgrade the Sabres on the wings, but would give them a center depth chart of Richards-Lecavalier-Roy-Gaustad.
That wouldn't be too bad, I guess.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Patience is a virtue
While Sabres Nation can't wait for Terry Pegula to take over control of the Sabres (reports are that he expects to take over two weeks from today), I hope that Sabres fans, the media, and especially the Pegula family have patience.
My worst case scenario is Pegula taking over in two weeks and then wanting to make a splashy move at the deadline to announce his presence as the new Sabres owner.
Personally, I want the Sabres organization to get a reboot. And as such, I hope that Pegula has Darcy Regier sell at the deadline. This team needs to add assets for the future and not trade them away AT THIS TIME.
I believe that Regier doesn't go "All In" at the right time. That is one of the things that drives me nuts about Regier as the Sabres GM. But, this year is not the time to make a splashy deadline move.
This is the deadline to set themselves up for an organizational makeover that needs to take place starting next month.
Here is what I want to see happen between now and the start of the 2011-12 season:
Step 1 [Between the closing of the sale and the end of the month trade deadline]: Take over and tell Regier to sell any UFAs-to-be not named Steve Montador for whatever picks and prospects he can get.
Step 2 [This can take place anytime, but the sooner the better]: Name a new President of Hockey Operations to essentially replace Larry Quinn. There are rumors that Craig Patrick could have a role in Pegula's management team. While not the person I would pick, that wouldn't be a move that would get me upset.
Step 3 [After the trade deadline and before the end of the regular season]: Figure out who they want to be the GM. Jim Nill would be my #1 choice, Jarmo Kekalainen would be my #2 choice, and Jason Botterill is a choice that I could live with and could see happening with Pegula's time in Pittsburgh and the Patrick rumor out there. The wild card name that is out there is Atlanta GM Rick Dudley who reportedly has his contract expiring after the season. And while Regier is under contract, I believe that they need to remake the organization and I'm not sure that Regier could change the way he operates enough for my liking. I think the next GM of the Sabres needs to be more aggressive than Regier has proven to be in his time as Sabres GM, especially in the post-lockout timeframe.
Step 4: Give the GM the overall budget to do the job right. And I'm not talking about just the NHL payroll where the Sabres have been middle of the pack of late. I'm talking about beefing up the pro and amateur scouting departments. Beefing up the budget for the coaching staff, support staff (things like the Strength & Conditioning staff, massage therapists, team chef to prepare meals, etc.), and upgrade facilities to help create an environment that will attract players to the Sabres and not have them be amongst the teams that players least want to play for.
Step 5: Let the GM figure out who the coach will be moving forward.
Step 6: Get the heck out of the way and let the GM and coaching staff do their thing.
Dumbest/Scariest thing I heard yesterday
In case you haven't heard, Terry & Kim Pegula's two daughters Jessie and Kellie are on Twitter.
Yesterday, WGR 550's Mike Schopp & The Bulldog had a conversation about whether the fact that the Pegula girls liked a certain player (Derek Roy & Chris Drury were two names that have been brought up by Jessie) could affect what the team does moving forward.
Let me just say that if what Terry Pegula's daughters thinks matters at all in the decision making process of the team moving forward, then I am truly scared about the future of the franchise.
Teams get in trouble when their hockey people fall in love with "their guys" (Exhibit A: Darcy Regier keeping Tim Connolly around waaaaay too long). I can only imaging that it would immensely worse if player personnel decisions are affected by who a couple of teenage girls like.
I like the fact that the Pegula girls are acting like excited fans. I just don't believe that has any place in the decision making process of how to build a winning NHL team.
I hope that Terry Pegula is smart enough to realize that. And given that he is a billionaire, I am expecting him to be smart enough to separate business from family.
That's why I feel it was one of the stupidest things I've heard in a while.
My worst case scenario is Pegula taking over in two weeks and then wanting to make a splashy move at the deadline to announce his presence as the new Sabres owner.
Personally, I want the Sabres organization to get a reboot. And as such, I hope that Pegula has Darcy Regier sell at the deadline. This team needs to add assets for the future and not trade them away AT THIS TIME.
I believe that Regier doesn't go "All In" at the right time. That is one of the things that drives me nuts about Regier as the Sabres GM. But, this year is not the time to make a splashy deadline move.
This is the deadline to set themselves up for an organizational makeover that needs to take place starting next month.
Here is what I want to see happen between now and the start of the 2011-12 season:
Step 1 [Between the closing of the sale and the end of the month trade deadline]: Take over and tell Regier to sell any UFAs-to-be not named Steve Montador for whatever picks and prospects he can get.
Step 2 [This can take place anytime, but the sooner the better]: Name a new President of Hockey Operations to essentially replace Larry Quinn. There are rumors that Craig Patrick could have a role in Pegula's management team. While not the person I would pick, that wouldn't be a move that would get me upset.
Step 3 [After the trade deadline and before the end of the regular season]: Figure out who they want to be the GM. Jim Nill would be my #1 choice, Jarmo Kekalainen would be my #2 choice, and Jason Botterill is a choice that I could live with and could see happening with Pegula's time in Pittsburgh and the Patrick rumor out there. The wild card name that is out there is Atlanta GM Rick Dudley who reportedly has his contract expiring after the season. And while Regier is under contract, I believe that they need to remake the organization and I'm not sure that Regier could change the way he operates enough for my liking. I think the next GM of the Sabres needs to be more aggressive than Regier has proven to be in his time as Sabres GM, especially in the post-lockout timeframe.
Step 4: Give the GM the overall budget to do the job right. And I'm not talking about just the NHL payroll where the Sabres have been middle of the pack of late. I'm talking about beefing up the pro and amateur scouting departments. Beefing up the budget for the coaching staff, support staff (things like the Strength & Conditioning staff, massage therapists, team chef to prepare meals, etc.), and upgrade facilities to help create an environment that will attract players to the Sabres and not have them be amongst the teams that players least want to play for.
Step 5: Let the GM figure out who the coach will be moving forward.
Step 6: Get the heck out of the way and let the GM and coaching staff do their thing.
Dumbest/Scariest thing I heard yesterday
In case you haven't heard, Terry & Kim Pegula's two daughters Jessie and Kellie are on Twitter.
Yesterday, WGR 550's Mike Schopp & The Bulldog had a conversation about whether the fact that the Pegula girls liked a certain player (Derek Roy & Chris Drury were two names that have been brought up by Jessie) could affect what the team does moving forward.
Let me just say that if what Terry Pegula's daughters thinks matters at all in the decision making process of the team moving forward, then I am truly scared about the future of the franchise.
Teams get in trouble when their hockey people fall in love with "their guys" (Exhibit A: Darcy Regier keeping Tim Connolly around waaaaay too long). I can only imaging that it would immensely worse if player personnel decisions are affected by who a couple of teenage girls like.
I like the fact that the Pegula girls are acting like excited fans. I just don't believe that has any place in the decision making process of how to build a winning NHL team.
I hope that Terry Pegula is smart enough to realize that. And given that he is a billionaire, I am expecting him to be smart enough to separate business from family.
That's why I feel it was one of the stupidest things I've heard in a while.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Can't wait until Thursday
So, Thursday is reportedly the day where Golisano, Quinn, and DiPofi will announce that they have officially started down the path to sell the Sabres to Terry Pegula.
Most people are expecting the sale to close around the time of the trade deadline.
And as a side note, there are reports today that Darcy Regier was given a two year contract extension prior to this season.
If Terry Pegula was a genie and I received 3 wishes, here is what I would wish for:
1 - Hire Jim Nill as the new GM/Czar of Hockey. The Detroit Red Wings were recently voted as the team that NHL players most want to play for.
I want the Sabres run by a person that knows how to get the Sabres on that list.
2 - Give Nill a blank check not only to spend to the cap, but also to spend whatever he wants on scouting, prospects, coaches, facilities, and anything else that will give the Sabres a competitive advantage in a salary capped NHL.
3 - Get the heck out of the way. I do not want Terry Pegula to turn into the NHL's answer to Dan Snyder, Al Davis, and Jerry Jones.
Most people are expecting the sale to close around the time of the trade deadline.
And as a side note, there are reports today that Darcy Regier was given a two year contract extension prior to this season.
If Terry Pegula was a genie and I received 3 wishes, here is what I would wish for:
1 - Hire Jim Nill as the new GM/Czar of Hockey. The Detroit Red Wings were recently voted as the team that NHL players most want to play for.
I want the Sabres run by a person that knows how to get the Sabres on that list.
2 - Give Nill a blank check not only to spend to the cap, but also to spend whatever he wants on scouting, prospects, coaches, facilities, and anything else that will give the Sabres a competitive advantage in a salary capped NHL.
3 - Get the heck out of the way. I do not want Terry Pegula to turn into the NHL's answer to Dan Snyder, Al Davis, and Jerry Jones.
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