If you live in Vancouver, you're reading about how the Canucks need to move Roberto Luongo and Ryan Kesler.
If you live in Chicago, you're reading about how the Blackhawks should shop Patrick Kane for a #1 goalie.
If you live in San Jose, you're reading about how the Sharks need to move a guy like Patrick Marleau.
If you line in Pittsburgh, you're reading about how Jordan Staal is tired of being the third best center on his team and he might be shopped.
Here in Buffalo we get to read about how GM Darcy Regier and head coach Lindy Ruff have had long enough and need to be replaced.
While there is a case to be made to replace Regier and Ruff and move forward with new people in charge of the hockey team, we know that isn't happening for a while. So, it is time to project what big name guys will move this off season and can Regier pull off a deal for one of them.
With Vancouver GM Mike Gillis taking time to blast Sabres C Cody Hodgson, I wonder if he is gun shy about dealing with Regier again. But, if Ryan Kesler is made available, he would be the type of guy that Regier has to go after if he does plan to move Derek Roy. Kesler could fill that checking center with offensive talent that Ruff has used successfully in the past with the likes of Chris Drury and Mike Peca.
I like Patrick Kane as a player, especially since he hasn't looked too bad at center, but I worry if he's mature enough to handle a trade to his hometown team. But, a Miller for Kane deal would be very intriguing to me.
I don't want anything to do with Patrick Marleau since it's been a while since he played center. And I doubt the Sharks will move guys like Joe Pavelski or Logan Couture, even if they want to shake things up. If they are made available, Regier needs to work his magic.
And if Jordan Staal is made available, Regier needs to give up whatever it takes to get a deal done short of moving Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis, or Cody Hodgson. Staal is a better version of Ryan Kesler to me.
Who knows what Regier can pull off this off season. I just know that mid-June can't get here fast enough for me.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Roy a goner? A big center coming to town?
Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier were both on WGR on Tuesday in lieu of a season ending press conference. Regier also talked to John Vogl of the Buffalo News and gave him some tidbits on where he wants to take the Sabres this off season.
One thing that had people buzzing was the fact that Regier mentioned Tyler Ennis and Cody Hodgson more than a few times on WGR and yet he never mentioned Derek Roy once. Many are taking that as Derek Roy (who is one year away from UFA) will be moved this off season.
Regier did mention that he wanted to increase the competitiveness on the team and that he wanted to add a center with size that can contribute either offensively or defensively.
That comment has me dreaming of Regier landing a big name center this off season. The problem might be what Regier is willing to move to get that player as there isn't a big offensive center of note in this year's UFA class.
The names that intrigue me are as follows:
Jordan Staal (Pittsburgh) - Sure, he had a hat trick last night, so his name is buzzing. But, the reason he could be available is that he has one year left on his contract before becoming a UFA in 2013. With Sidney Crosby also slated to hit UFA in 2013, the Penguins may need to move Staal or risk not being able to continue to fit Malkin, Crosby, and Staal under the cap. It would take a huge package and Regier may not want to move what it would take to get Staal out of Pittsburgh (Tyler Myers would likely be a guy that the Penguins would ask about), Staal is the type of guy that would fit nicely with what Regier and Ruff want to do with the Sabres.
Ryan Kesler (Vancouver) - Kesler is a lot like Staal. The big differences are that Kesler is coming off a less than stellar season, he's signed long term, and he has a No Trade Clause that kicks in after this season. But, I would expect that Ryan Miller, Cody Hodgson, and Christian Ehrhoff would be guys that the Sabres use to recruit Kesler ala the recruitment to get Robyn Regehr to waive his NTC last summer. Again, would the Canucks want to shake things up and move a core guy like Kesler? Would the Sabres be willing to part with the type of players that the Canucks would want for Kesler?
Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim) - Like Staal, Getzlaf has one year left on his contract and is a pending UFA in 2013. Like Kesler, Getzlaf is coming off a less than stellar season. The Ducks have some soul searching to do this summer with Getzlaf & Corey Perry a year away from UFA. Do the Ducks try and extend those two players and continue to try and build around them moving forward or do they blow things up? If they do decide to blow things up after missing the playoffs this season, I would expect Regier to try hard to land Getzlaf.
Joe Thornton (San Jose) - Like Kesler, Thornton would take some recruiting as he has a No Movement Clause in his contract. Like Getzlaf, Thornton is a core guy for the Sharks and it's unknown whether they will look to make some drastic moves this summer. The Sharks do have a lot of centers on their roster. So much so that they have a few natural centers playing on the wing. Would a deal that centers around Vanek for Thornton work for both teams? Could the Sabres get Thornton to waive his NMC? It would be very intriguing.
Before Pegula bought the Sabres, I'd never expect the Sabres to even think about getting any of these guys. Now, I have a sliver of hope.
I can't wait for the playoffs to end so that we can get to the week before the draft when the building for next season will begin.
One thing that had people buzzing was the fact that Regier mentioned Tyler Ennis and Cody Hodgson more than a few times on WGR and yet he never mentioned Derek Roy once. Many are taking that as Derek Roy (who is one year away from UFA) will be moved this off season.
Regier did mention that he wanted to increase the competitiveness on the team and that he wanted to add a center with size that can contribute either offensively or defensively.
That comment has me dreaming of Regier landing a big name center this off season. The problem might be what Regier is willing to move to get that player as there isn't a big offensive center of note in this year's UFA class.
The names that intrigue me are as follows:
Jordan Staal (Pittsburgh) - Sure, he had a hat trick last night, so his name is buzzing. But, the reason he could be available is that he has one year left on his contract before becoming a UFA in 2013. With Sidney Crosby also slated to hit UFA in 2013, the Penguins may need to move Staal or risk not being able to continue to fit Malkin, Crosby, and Staal under the cap. It would take a huge package and Regier may not want to move what it would take to get Staal out of Pittsburgh (Tyler Myers would likely be a guy that the Penguins would ask about), Staal is the type of guy that would fit nicely with what Regier and Ruff want to do with the Sabres.
Ryan Kesler (Vancouver) - Kesler is a lot like Staal. The big differences are that Kesler is coming off a less than stellar season, he's signed long term, and he has a No Trade Clause that kicks in after this season. But, I would expect that Ryan Miller, Cody Hodgson, and Christian Ehrhoff would be guys that the Sabres use to recruit Kesler ala the recruitment to get Robyn Regehr to waive his NTC last summer. Again, would the Canucks want to shake things up and move a core guy like Kesler? Would the Sabres be willing to part with the type of players that the Canucks would want for Kesler?
Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim) - Like Staal, Getzlaf has one year left on his contract and is a pending UFA in 2013. Like Kesler, Getzlaf is coming off a less than stellar season. The Ducks have some soul searching to do this summer with Getzlaf & Corey Perry a year away from UFA. Do the Ducks try and extend those two players and continue to try and build around them moving forward or do they blow things up? If they do decide to blow things up after missing the playoffs this season, I would expect Regier to try hard to land Getzlaf.
Joe Thornton (San Jose) - Like Kesler, Thornton would take some recruiting as he has a No Movement Clause in his contract. Like Getzlaf, Thornton is a core guy for the Sharks and it's unknown whether they will look to make some drastic moves this summer. The Sharks do have a lot of centers on their roster. So much so that they have a few natural centers playing on the wing. Would a deal that centers around Vanek for Thornton work for both teams? Could the Sabres get Thornton to waive his NMC? It would be very intriguing.
Before Pegula bought the Sabres, I'd never expect the Sabres to even think about getting any of these guys. Now, I have a sliver of hope.
I can't wait for the playoffs to end so that we can get to the week before the draft when the building for next season will begin.
Monday, April 16, 2012
The Amerks make the playoffs
It came down to the final weekend of the regular season, but the Amerks made the AHL playoffs thanks to a big 5-1 win at home on Friday night over the Syracuse Crunch and then a 2-1 win in Cleveland against the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday.
Sure, a freak combination of results across three different games on Sunday could have seen the Amerks on the outside looking in. But, that didn't happen.
So now the Amerks get to face the Toronto Marlies in a five game first round series. The series will start on Thursday night in Toronto. Game 2 is Saturday in Toronto with Game 3 a week from tonight in Rochester.
It will be interesting to see how many fans come out after a big crowd of over 10,000 fans came out for the final home game of the regular season. I'm guessing that Monday's crowd will be less than 5,000 fans.
It will be interesting to see who lifts their play in the postseason. Marcus Foligno was a monster on Friday and Luke Adam had a clutch goal on Saturday. The Amerks have been riding David Leggio in goal and he played well both nights.
Toronto is a tough match up. But, I believe!
All's quiet on the Sabres front
Now comes the calm before the storm. The most important month of the NHL year is a week or two before the draft (mid-June) through the first couple of weeks of Free Agency (mid-July).
Between now and then, the Sabres will likely not be making a whole lot of news as they prepare to build their team for the 2012-13 campaign.
What throws a huge monkey wrench into things is the fact that the current CBA expires after this season. The trickier part is that it doesn't expire when the Stanley Cup is handed out or even after the draft.
It doesn't expire until September 15th.
It will make Free Agency really interesting. Will teams spend without any care for what could happen with the salary cap in the new CBA expecting a roll back if things change drastically?
Will teams be conservative until they get an indication of what will happen with the CBA?
It's going to be very interesting to watch. And it may be a reason why fans that want the Sabres blown up aren't going to get what they want in that regard this off season.
I'm still sticking with the idea that Regier & Ruff will remain in charge of the Sabres until after the 2013-14 season when Vanek, Pominville, and Miller are all UFAs. That just appears to be the perfect time to blow things up as it is the end of the 3 year window to win a Cup and it would be a time where a new GM could let big salaries walk and remake the roster the way he would like.
Sure, a freak combination of results across three different games on Sunday could have seen the Amerks on the outside looking in. But, that didn't happen.
So now the Amerks get to face the Toronto Marlies in a five game first round series. The series will start on Thursday night in Toronto. Game 2 is Saturday in Toronto with Game 3 a week from tonight in Rochester.
It will be interesting to see how many fans come out after a big crowd of over 10,000 fans came out for the final home game of the regular season. I'm guessing that Monday's crowd will be less than 5,000 fans.
It will be interesting to see who lifts their play in the postseason. Marcus Foligno was a monster on Friday and Luke Adam had a clutch goal on Saturday. The Amerks have been riding David Leggio in goal and he played well both nights.
Toronto is a tough match up. But, I believe!
All's quiet on the Sabres front
Now comes the calm before the storm. The most important month of the NHL year is a week or two before the draft (mid-June) through the first couple of weeks of Free Agency (mid-July).
Between now and then, the Sabres will likely not be making a whole lot of news as they prepare to build their team for the 2012-13 campaign.
What throws a huge monkey wrench into things is the fact that the current CBA expires after this season. The trickier part is that it doesn't expire when the Stanley Cup is handed out or even after the draft.
It doesn't expire until September 15th.
It will make Free Agency really interesting. Will teams spend without any care for what could happen with the salary cap in the new CBA expecting a roll back if things change drastically?
Will teams be conservative until they get an indication of what will happen with the CBA?
It's going to be very interesting to watch. And it may be a reason why fans that want the Sabres blown up aren't going to get what they want in that regard this off season.
I'm still sticking with the idea that Regier & Ruff will remain in charge of the Sabres until after the 2013-14 season when Vanek, Pominville, and Miller are all UFAs. That just appears to be the perfect time to blow things up as it is the end of the 3 year window to win a Cup and it would be a time where a new GM could let big salaries walk and remake the roster the way he would like.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Pegula = Ilitch perhaps?
Let's take a look at where the Detroit Red Wings were when Mike Ilitch bought the team in 1982.
From the 1966-67 season through the 1981-82 season, the Red Wings won 1 playoff series and missed the playoffs in 14 out of the 16 seasons.
There is a reason they were nicknamed the Dead Wings. Enter Mike Ilitch.
In 1982-83, they missed the playoffs again. Their reward was the 4th overall pick in the 1983 draft that the team used to select Steve Yzerman. Yeah, that worked out pretty well for them.
In Yzerman's first two seasons, the Red Wings made the playoffs and lost in the first round. Then they missed the playoffs again in 1985-86.
Then the Red Wings made back to back Western Conference Finals appearances in 86-87 & 87-88. Then they had two first round losses sandwiched around a miss of the playoffs.
It wasn't until 1994-95 that the Red Wings made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance with Ilitch as the owner. And it would be two more years before they won the Stanley Cup for Ilitch.
So while Ilitch is lauded as a great owner now, many people forget that it took the Red Wings over a decade to win a Stanley Cup under his stewardship of the franchise.
Building a model NHL franchise can take a while. Terry Pegula has owned the franchise for less than 18 months.
Pegula has proven so far that his heart and his wallet are in the right place. Hopefully it doesn't take 14 seasons for the Sabres to win the first Stanley Cup under Pegula's ownership.
From the 1966-67 season through the 1981-82 season, the Red Wings won 1 playoff series and missed the playoffs in 14 out of the 16 seasons.
There is a reason they were nicknamed the Dead Wings. Enter Mike Ilitch.
In 1982-83, they missed the playoffs again. Their reward was the 4th overall pick in the 1983 draft that the team used to select Steve Yzerman. Yeah, that worked out pretty well for them.
In Yzerman's first two seasons, the Red Wings made the playoffs and lost in the first round. Then they missed the playoffs again in 1985-86.
Then the Red Wings made back to back Western Conference Finals appearances in 86-87 & 87-88. Then they had two first round losses sandwiched around a miss of the playoffs.
It wasn't until 1994-95 that the Red Wings made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance with Ilitch as the owner. And it would be two more years before they won the Stanley Cup for Ilitch.
So while Ilitch is lauded as a great owner now, many people forget that it took the Red Wings over a decade to win a Stanley Cup under his stewardship of the franchise.
Building a model NHL franchise can take a while. Terry Pegula has owned the franchise for less than 18 months.
Pegula has proven so far that his heart and his wallet are in the right place. Hopefully it doesn't take 14 seasons for the Sabres to win the first Stanley Cup under Pegula's ownership.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
No lottery luck
So, for the third year in a row, the Edmonton Oilers own the 1st overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft after winning the draft lottery last night. That leaves the Sabres first pick at 12th overall and the slot of the Nashville 1st rounder to be determined by how far the Predators advance in the playoffs. The current round of mock drafts have the Sabres picking in the 26th slot with that pick.
While plenty of people are dreaming of trade up scenarios, know that no team has trade out of the top 5 picks and out of the top 10 since the lockout. In fact, there has only been one team that traded down and out of the top 5 picks since the lockout. And that trade had the Nashville Predators only trading back two spots from 5th to 7th in 2008.
So while I'd love to see the Sabres trade up and get a center like Alex Galchenyuk or Mikhail Grigorenko, I don't see that happening.
The next tier of center prospects that the Sabres are more likely to have a shot at are Radek Faksa, Brendan Gaunce, and Colton Sissons.
If the Sabres look to Europe, Tomas Hertl is a guy that the Sabres might be looking at for help up the middle.
Although, it will be interesting to see if the Sabres do focus on the center position early or not. 8 of the top 12 North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting's final rankings are defensemen. The European rankings are more even where the top 18 skaters are split evenly amongst forwards and defensemen.
The other question becomes if/when do the Sabres take a goalie. This draft has a couple of goalies with some late-first round chatter in Malcolm Subban (the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens D PK Subban) and Andrei Vasilevski who backstopped Russia to World Jr Championship Silver earlier this year.
Personally, Gaunce and Faksa are the two guys that I'm starting to hope for at 12.......
While plenty of people are dreaming of trade up scenarios, know that no team has trade out of the top 5 picks and out of the top 10 since the lockout. In fact, there has only been one team that traded down and out of the top 5 picks since the lockout. And that trade had the Nashville Predators only trading back two spots from 5th to 7th in 2008.
So while I'd love to see the Sabres trade up and get a center like Alex Galchenyuk or Mikhail Grigorenko, I don't see that happening.
The next tier of center prospects that the Sabres are more likely to have a shot at are Radek Faksa, Brendan Gaunce, and Colton Sissons.
If the Sabres look to Europe, Tomas Hertl is a guy that the Sabres might be looking at for help up the middle.
Although, it will be interesting to see if the Sabres do focus on the center position early or not. 8 of the top 12 North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting's final rankings are defensemen. The European rankings are more even where the top 18 skaters are split evenly amongst forwards and defensemen.
The other question becomes if/when do the Sabres take a goalie. This draft has a couple of goalies with some late-first round chatter in Malcolm Subban (the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens D PK Subban) and Andrei Vasilevski who backstopped Russia to World Jr Championship Silver earlier this year.
Personally, Gaunce and Faksa are the two guys that I'm starting to hope for at 12.......
Monday, April 9, 2012
Ruff vs The Roster
TBN's Sabres Edge blog and Puck Daddy both have posts about Ruff calling out his core players and Derek Roy making comments on locker clean out day that taking shots like that in the media isn't productive.
Paul Hamilton was on WGR this morning and talked about how he's hearing that the players are tiring of Ruff dressing them down both in private and in the media. With Terry Pegula and Ted Black being strongly behind both Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff, it will be interesting to see what players get moved off the roster this summer.
Now IF the decision is to keep Regier and Ruff and move some "core players" this summer, here is how I see things going down.
I will not be surprised if they are not back next year:
Derek Roy is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him $5.5M but only count $4M against the cap. That deal would appear to be more attractive to a big budget team that cares more about cap space than actual salary.
Thomas Vanek has been one of Ruff's whipping boy and the former 40 goal scorer likely will have some quality trade value despite his cap hit of over $7M.
UFAs Jochen Hecht and Brad Boyes are unlikely to be re-signed. Hecht because of the concussion issues he had this season and Boyes because he was entirely ineffective this season.
Guys that I would like to see move, but probably won't:
Drew Stafford was part of the hot line at the end of the season with Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno and I think that will buy him another year in the Blue & Gold. That will be a mistake as he's a guy with penchant for picking up his play only in a contract year and he has three more seasons left on his current deal.
Ryan Miller is another piece of the core that didn't have a great year. Like Vanek, he has a big cap hit, but could have some sizable trade value. I'd move Miller this summer, but I doubt it happens.
I wouldn't shed a tear if Robyn Regehr and/or Jordan Leopold gets moved this off season as they are both entering their contract years. The Sabres have a lot of depth on defense and getting some more young blood on the blueline won't be a bad thing.
What the Sabres need to add:
It's like a broken record, but this team needs more character, more size, more grit, and more skill.
What I'd really like to see happen is that the team creates a new core around Tyler Ennis, Tyler Myers, Cody Hodgson, Marcus Foligno, and some new under-25 blood.
Zach Parise is the lone UFA that I would like to see on the Sabres go after. I'd much rather see them focus on the trade market to add some more guys like Cody Hodgson to the mix on the NHL roster.
Paul Hamilton was on WGR this morning and talked about how he's hearing that the players are tiring of Ruff dressing them down both in private and in the media. With Terry Pegula and Ted Black being strongly behind both Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff, it will be interesting to see what players get moved off the roster this summer.
Now IF the decision is to keep Regier and Ruff and move some "core players" this summer, here is how I see things going down.
I will not be surprised if they are not back next year:
Derek Roy is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him $5.5M but only count $4M against the cap. That deal would appear to be more attractive to a big budget team that cares more about cap space than actual salary.
Thomas Vanek has been one of Ruff's whipping boy and the former 40 goal scorer likely will have some quality trade value despite his cap hit of over $7M.
UFAs Jochen Hecht and Brad Boyes are unlikely to be re-signed. Hecht because of the concussion issues he had this season and Boyes because he was entirely ineffective this season.
Guys that I would like to see move, but probably won't:
Drew Stafford was part of the hot line at the end of the season with Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno and I think that will buy him another year in the Blue & Gold. That will be a mistake as he's a guy with penchant for picking up his play only in a contract year and he has three more seasons left on his current deal.
Ryan Miller is another piece of the core that didn't have a great year. Like Vanek, he has a big cap hit, but could have some sizable trade value. I'd move Miller this summer, but I doubt it happens.
I wouldn't shed a tear if Robyn Regehr and/or Jordan Leopold gets moved this off season as they are both entering their contract years. The Sabres have a lot of depth on defense and getting some more young blood on the blueline won't be a bad thing.
What the Sabres need to add:
It's like a broken record, but this team needs more character, more size, more grit, and more skill.
What I'd really like to see happen is that the team creates a new core around Tyler Ennis, Tyler Myers, Cody Hodgson, Marcus Foligno, and some new under-25 blood.
Zach Parise is the lone UFA that I would like to see on the Sabres go after. I'd much rather see them focus on the trade market to add some more guys like Cody Hodgson to the mix on the NHL roster.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Feel free to root for a Sabres loss
With the Sabres getting eliminated from playoff contention last night thanks to their 2-1 loss in Philly and the Capitals defeating the Panthers, tomorrow's game in Boston means very little.
Usually, I can't root for the Sabres to lose. But, this is one game where I think I can get myself there as the loss could mean the Sabres drafting 3 slots sooner than if they win.
Now, to get a jump on the postmortem of the season, here is my list of reasons why the Sabres missed the playoffs:
1 - The injury situation was brutal. I'm not one that thinks that injuries are an excuse when they were as big of a factor as they were with the Sabres this season.
2 - The Sabres didn't leave themselves with enough cap flexibility to deal with the injuries.
3 - The Sabres didn't get the right depth players in Rochester, especially the right kind of depth veterans, to deal with the injury situation.
4 - The Sabres only got good, complete seasons from a few players. Pominville and Ehrhoff are the only two core veteran players that had solid seasons to me.
5 - Ville Leino may have been the worst UFA signing in the entire NHL as he only has 25 points. This is the guy that the Sabres felt the need to drop out of the Brad Richards derby to sign?
6 - Vanek, Stafford, and Roy all failed to elevate their games after being named Alternate Captains.
7 - Ryan Miller wasn't good enough early and Jhonas Enroth wasn't good enough from December onward.
But, there were some bright spots this year:
1 - Marcus Foligno going Beast Mode late in the year.
2 - The two trade deadline deals look pretty good right now.
3 - Alexander Sulzer was pretty good playing with Ehrhoff. He might be the only Sabres UFA-to-be that I'd want them to re-sign today.
4 - Tyler Ennis at center looked good down the stretch.
5 - Miller after the All-Star Break was worth his big contract.
6 - Pominville was solid with the C on his jersey.
7 - Ehrhoff was a solid UFA signing.
It's going to be interesting to see how the off season unfolds..........
Usually, I can't root for the Sabres to lose. But, this is one game where I think I can get myself there as the loss could mean the Sabres drafting 3 slots sooner than if they win.
Now, to get a jump on the postmortem of the season, here is my list of reasons why the Sabres missed the playoffs:
1 - The injury situation was brutal. I'm not one that thinks that injuries are an excuse when they were as big of a factor as they were with the Sabres this season.
2 - The Sabres didn't leave themselves with enough cap flexibility to deal with the injuries.
3 - The Sabres didn't get the right depth players in Rochester, especially the right kind of depth veterans, to deal with the injury situation.
4 - The Sabres only got good, complete seasons from a few players. Pominville and Ehrhoff are the only two core veteran players that had solid seasons to me.
5 - Ville Leino may have been the worst UFA signing in the entire NHL as he only has 25 points. This is the guy that the Sabres felt the need to drop out of the Brad Richards derby to sign?
6 - Vanek, Stafford, and Roy all failed to elevate their games after being named Alternate Captains.
7 - Ryan Miller wasn't good enough early and Jhonas Enroth wasn't good enough from December onward.
But, there were some bright spots this year:
1 - Marcus Foligno going Beast Mode late in the year.
2 - The two trade deadline deals look pretty good right now.
3 - Alexander Sulzer was pretty good playing with Ehrhoff. He might be the only Sabres UFA-to-be that I'd want them to re-sign today.
4 - Tyler Ennis at center looked good down the stretch.
5 - Miller after the All-Star Break was worth his big contract.
6 - Pominville was solid with the C on his jersey.
7 - Ehrhoff was a solid UFA signing.
It's going to be interesting to see how the off season unfolds..........
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Are you not entertained?
The Buffalo Sabres are in the sports-entertainment business.
Regardless of whether the Sabres sneak into the playoffs or not, how many people can say that they haven't been entertained by the Sabres recently?
Sure, their performances against the Leafs the past two games haven't been pretty. But, they still have a half-way decent shot at making the playoffs after the team was left for dead a couple of months ago.
Marcus Foligno rising from the scrum after Jordan Leopold tied this up last night was epic. The fact that the rookie was in the head of Leafs veteran defenseman Mike Komisarek in that game was great. His big hits and fight in the first period may not have gotten his teammates going, but the crowd loved it.
Derek Roy is a whipping boy of many a Sabres fan, myself included. But, he came up huge with the OT game winner last night.
Alexander Sulzer was an afterthought in the Kassian/Hodgson trade and he's been really valuable since getting into the lineup.
Ryan Miller gave up 5 goals last night. But, he also made some huge saves to keep the Sabres in the game.
Regardless of how things play out on Thursday and Saturday, I've been entertained lately. And I hope that the Sabres can continue entertaining me for a few more weeks, at a minimum.
Regardless of whether the Sabres sneak into the playoffs or not, how many people can say that they haven't been entertained by the Sabres recently?
Sure, their performances against the Leafs the past two games haven't been pretty. But, they still have a half-way decent shot at making the playoffs after the team was left for dead a couple of months ago.
Marcus Foligno rising from the scrum after Jordan Leopold tied this up last night was epic. The fact that the rookie was in the head of Leafs veteran defenseman Mike Komisarek in that game was great. His big hits and fight in the first period may not have gotten his teammates going, but the crowd loved it.
Derek Roy is a whipping boy of many a Sabres fan, myself included. But, he came up huge with the OT game winner last night.
Alexander Sulzer was an afterthought in the Kassian/Hodgson trade and he's been really valuable since getting into the lineup.
Ryan Miller gave up 5 goals last night. But, he also made some huge saves to keep the Sabres in the game.
Regardless of how things play out on Thursday and Saturday, I've been entertained lately. And I hope that the Sabres can continue entertaining me for a few more weeks, at a minimum.
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