The Sabres Journal From Maryland

Marty, Max, and Kotalik

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:38:00 +0000

From the former Sabre watch:

- Marty Biron
This one actually surprises and saddens me at the same time. Marty has no bigger fan than me, well maybe outside of Philly. If he wasn't going to be asking for 3-4 million per year, I'd say sign him, sign him, sign him! But, Marty is a starting goalie with playoff experience so he is going to command a starter's pay. At least that is what it looked like a few weeks ago.

It is July 12, and not only does Marty not have a job, there do not seem to be many teams with the immediate need for a starting goaltender. The three teams that sprung to mind were Colorado (who signed Craig Anderson), Toronto (who is committed to Toskala w/ Gustavsson in the bullpen), and Dallas (who just locked up Alex Auld). Many say LA was a target spot, but they seem to be set on letting Jonathan Quick learn by doing.

So this leaves Marty with a few options: 1) Go to a team who may be willing to allow him to split time with the designated starter (eh hem, Buffalo), 2) Go be a back-up somewhere, or 3) Stay in shape and go into the season unemployed and wait for a top team's starter to go down (or alienate the entire team, a la Ray Emery). Either way, it doesn't look like Marty is going to be getting his 5-6 million per year starter money that he thought Philly was going to give him and it is a shame because Marty is one of the few ex-Sabres I really want to see land on his feet and succeed somehwere else. Keep positive Marty!

- Max Afinogenov
Last time I heard, the only interest in him was an "e3" rating on Eklund's site. My guess is that he is KHL-bound.

- Al Kotalik
Signed with the Rangers for 3 years at 3 million per. The funny thing is that TSN mistakenly reported the contract at 3 years 3 million total, which would have been an absolute steal and Glenn Sather would have been a genius.

I wish Al still word the blue and gold. Great slap shot, great in shootouts (which the Sabres now know are very important), and good point man on the PP. He did have issues turning the puck over and has had some injury issues. Either way, I wish Al the best and if he was still a UFA in August or Sept, I would have been hoping for him to be signed at the money the NYR gave him.

Whole Lotta Nothin' Going On

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:21:00 +0000

I know that all the insiders from the Buffalo News and other hockey outlets made it clear long before July 1 that the Sabres were not going to be active this off-season, especially when it came to free-agent signings. I know this and I was not surprised when I first heard it. However, I did expect this team to be very active in other ways, especially in the trade market.

It was not very long ago when Larry Quinn proclaimed, “It’s probably going to be the most thorough top-to-bottom evaluation ever done here."

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I usually never believe a single word generated by Quinn's hollow head and spewed out of his mouth. But, for some reason I guess I did think that he would have been willing to really shake things up a bit, if for nothing else, just to appease a fan base that is slowly (and I emphasize slowly) beginning to get agitated with the lack of action by this front office.

But as it stands, I guess Quinn felt that just by saying that he was going to change things he could hide behind that guise while he remains completely apathetic to what is really happening to this team.

Not helping matters is Lindy Ruff. The News ran a piece two days ago in which Lindy Ruff is happy with the roster he has and feels that the team is right where it needs to be. The only thing that can be inferred from this is that Ruff is completely secure in holding on to his job insofar as he is guaranteed the job as long as Regier has his. Ruff apparently feels, and rightly so, that if he is going to be fired, it will be by a Darcy Regier replacement, and not by Quinn/Golisano or Regier himself.

I don't fault Ruff for his comments beause what else is a coach supposed to say? A coach's job is to get what he can out of the players he has and a good coach does not call out those players or his GM before training camp even starts. So, when I say Lindy didn't help the matter, all I mean is that the PR machine that somehow manages to buy fan patience was only exacerbated by Ruff's vote of confidence in the roster.

So, here we are in July and this is what has happened thus far in the off-season:
- The top Power Play running defenseman is a Montreal Canadien
- Two new defensemen have been acquired; one who has been described as having "more heart and work ethic than talent", and the other who will wait in Portland for someone else to get hurt.
- Ummm, that's about it

So, in sum, our anemic offense has remained the same and for the second season in a row, our defense has been downgraded. So to say that nothing has happened this off-season is a positive statement considering this team has actually taken another step back...again.

BUSINESS AS USUAL IN DETROIT

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:17:00 +0000

Winning does not seem to be a luxury in Detroit, just business as usual. It was astonishing not only to witness Helm's OT winner to send the Wings back finals, but also to see Wings fans' reactions. I don't know if it was merely a coincidence but every fan that appeared on Versus after the goal was scored seemed to have an a look of indifference on their faces. They clapped and they smiled, but there seemed to be NO look of jubilee or rejoice that would have certainly been present at the Marina had the team who just won been the Sabres. It bothered me for several minutes, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The Detroit Red Wings are winners, so much so that the fans not only want to win, but reasonably expect to win year in and year out. In Detroit, Stanley Cup playoff victories are routine; almost a right and not a privilege.

Don't agree? Still think that all fans share that same feeling every year? Well, here is some food for thought?

In the four years since the lockout, Detroit has finished over 100 points (ranging from 112 to 124 points) every season, winning the President's Trophy twice. They have made it to the conference finals 3 times making it to the cup finals twice and winning one cup so far. Oh, and by the way, they have finished the regular season with 100+ points every year since 2002-2003 as well.

Let's sit back and think about this for a moment. How nice would that be? Well, it would be so nice that 100+ point seasons really would not mean much anymore. Further, "good playoff runs" also would not suffice. When you are that good for so long, the only thing that really matters is winning a cup. Why else would you get excited?

The Red Wings are the blue chip stock of the NHL that always performs. From the days of Stevie Y playing under Scotty Bowman, to the present day of Nick Lidstrom playing under Mike Babcock, the team wins.

So, after a quick survey of the Wings's recent history, it was not surprising at all to see those satisfied but not overly excited faces at the Joe last night. The Wings are winners so the fans expect them to win. Winning is Detroit's business and business is as good as its ever been.

NYI 4 BUF 2

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:49:00 +0000

FREE FALLIN'

Face it, this Buffalo team is in a free fall. Nothing is going right. Defense is still making mistakes, and our "high powered" offense is about as high powered as a rusty air gun. Time to panic is now. Time to make a move is now or else this will get worse with little chance that it will get better.

Tonight's game was another showing similar to beginning of every Bad News Bears movie. Passes not crisp, sloppy transition play, and the inability to finish lead to this laugher. That's right I said it.

Now is the time for the front office to prove to the dwindling fan base that someone actually cares about the makeup of this team, because obviously this lineup is not working.

Next loss: Wednesday against I don't even know who. Can't wait.

PHI 3 BUF 0

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:32:00 +0000

THAT'S FOUR...

Marty Biron gets the last laugh as he blanks the Sabres 3-nill. Despite what Lindy Ruff called a good effort, the Sabres fail to even muster up one goal.

There were plenty of opportunities as Buffalo peppered 40 shots on Biron, but could not seem to find the broad side of the barn as all great scoring opportunities were met either by missed layups of the dinging sound of the post.

Drew Stafford continued his streak of offensive futility as he missed two layups, including one with an almost wide open net. The power play was shutout on two five on three opportunities of over one minute each.

Miller played OK, as he stopped 22 of 24 shots, giving up one goal on a breakaway. But, it appeared that he may have been napping on the second goal.

In all, you cannot in good faith blame Miller when the offense gets goose-egged. Posts, missed layups and wasted five on threes are the culprit here as the defensive effort was solid and Miller was good enough to at least get into OT.

Isles are in town tomorrow night and hopefully the bleeding gets stopped but I'm not holding my breath.

Flying In Briere-less

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:20:00 +0000

CAN'T BE BOOED TONIGHT

The Broad Street Bullies will be without one of there French Canadian wonders as former Sabres captain Danny Briere will not play tonight due to a nagging groin injury. Although still a big game for both struggling clubs, the Sabres faithful nonetheless must be a little disappointed as they will not be able to shower Briere with boos every time he touches the puck tonight (a la Satan, Chara, and Drury).

But Briere aside, tonight is an important game for Buffalo as they try to stop the bleeding caused by the current losing streak which stands now at 8 games. Tonight is the first of a four game home stand in which the Sabres probably want at least 6 points in order to consider it a successful step back towards where they should be in the standings. Poor goaltending behind even worse defensive play has brought them back to reality after a 6-0-1 start.

Ryan Miller has looked ordinary while stalwarts like Henrik Tallinder and Craig Rivet have looked downright horrific.

The bright side is that Thomas Vanek continues to find the back of the net while Derek Roy looks like he may be ready to emerge from his early season slump.

Also worth mentioning is that Lindy Ruff seems to be a little bit impatient in scratching both Tallinder and Max Afinogenov from tonight's lineup, which is in stark contrast with last year's "stay the course" philosophy which found the Sabres on the outside looking in after the season ended.

Gametime: 7:30 --- hopefully Harry Neale will not aggravate me tonight as he has been doing lately with his obvious and half witted comments that must make Jimmy Lorentz cringe (and hopefully want to come back).

NYI 3, Sabres 2

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 22:00:00 +0000

HOLDING ON BY A THREAD

The sky is not falling, but it is holding on by a very thin thread.

The Sabres improved to 0-2 last night on Long Island and took another leap in a season that could hopefully prove to be Darcy Regier's last.

Mike Comrie, a free agent acquisition and newly crowned Sabre-killer, scored two more brining his two night point total up to 6 (4-2-6). The Sabres have played a Comrie occupied team for the last 7 non pre-season games and have lost 6 of them.

U.S. born Rick DiPietro outplayed his American counter-part after being blasted with 17 shots in the final frame, saving 16 of them. Ryan Miller had a lackluster performance during that same period saving 4 of 6 shots.

Two games in and the dulled Sabres find themselves one of three teams with no points (Florida and Atlanta) creating a mirror image of last year's amazing start. They were man-handled defensively Friday night by a line assembled by a second year GM that only two years ago was still playing in net for the Isles. They were out clutched last night by one member of said line.

The lack of leadership played all the way through the game last night as the team is still searching for a leader on the ice to set a tone and example for the rest of the youngsters to follow.

Ales Kotalik should be back for Thursday's game against Atlanta, but most fans are probably not holding their breath for any spark to come out of his return.

So here we are, two games, two losses and only 80 more of these things to go which is a lot of time for the threads to snap and the sky to fall on Buffalo yet again. This is all despite the encouragement by the front office, and what reason do they have to lie?

NYI 6, Sabres 4

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:08:00 +0000

DEFENSELESS

If there is some sort of solution for the leadership void and the defunct special teams on the Buffalo Sabres, it had better show itself soon.

The power play was powerless and the penalty killing was more like penalty massaging as the Sabres gave sold out HSBC Arena little to be happy about after the season opener.

After grabbing the first goal, a delayed penalty left the Stafford line out too long and resulted in a six on five equalizer.

The Sabres took the lead back after a nice transition set up from Afinogenov to Roy, but after two quick penalties by Buffalo, the Isles scored the tying and go ahead goals on the ensuing power plays.

After that, the Sabres would only tie it up again, twice, on goals by Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek before surrendering the lead permanently towards the end of the second.

After Vanek's goal in the second, Buffalo seemed to not have any answer to either DePietro or the Isles offense. The Sabres could have skated five forwards and probably seen the same result.

The power play was mere a continuation of the joke it was late last season and the penalty killing units couldn't kill a penalty with nine milimeter.

The most troubling part of the game was the tempo of play in the third period. There appeared to be no-one wearing blue and gold that was willing to sacrifice their body to block a shot, drop th e gloves, make a big hit, or even make some noise on the bench. This lack of leadership resulted in sloppy passing, sluggish skating and bad turnovers.

The Isles, on the other hand, seem to have a solid line that they managed to put together via free agency acquisitions after losing some key players this summer. I repeat, they lost players via free agency, but put together a solid line via free agency to compensate those losses.

The same can't be said about Buffalo. I'm not going even say the names anymore, since both are nestled in nicely with their new teams, but the leadership that said unmentionables provided in situations where the team needed to come from behind was not there, not even close.

Yes, it's only one game, but one home game with a road game the following night. Already, there is pressure to win, or else it's 0-2, and a poor tempo for the season's start.

Everyone keeps saying that X and Y are only two players. Remember, Hasek was only one and look how those few seasons went after he left.

Drury And Briere Already Producing

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:08:00 +0000

NOT GONNA BE EASY

First night of the season for NYR and Philly, first night of continuing agony for Buffalo. No matter what happens this season, watching Chris Drury and Danny Briere do what they do for their new teams is going to be difficult.

If the Sabres are good, it will be easy to say, "Well, they could be better with Chris and/or Danny."

If the Sabres suck, it will be even easier to say, "Well, it's because Chris and Danny are gone."

Either way, this summer will still be in everyone's mind from the drop of the puck tomorrow night to the final buzzer or goal in April, May, or June.

To add salt to the wound is that a Buffalo arch enemy, Brian Murray, apparently gets it and is now the envy of every Buffalo fan alive. Knowing that his top scorer and offensive cornerstone, Danny Heatley, was going to demand the highest salary imaginable next summer, signs him...wait for it...A YEAR EARLY!!! Murray not only locked up his best scorer through his prime, but did it for just a shade higher than our brilliant GM did for Thomas Vanek. Imagine that; foreseeing free agency issues and making preemptive moves to avoid such issues. Instead, we get the Drury's on MSG talking about their son living his lifelong dream to play for the Rangers.

One of two things is gonna come out of all of this. Either the Sabres are going to go deep into the post season or the Sabres are not even going to make it. No matter which one happens, every Buffalo fan will definitely be thinking throughout the whole experience what would have been had one or both of our two ex-captains been there to help.

The only thing that we can hope is that if the latter happens, it will be "bye-bye Darcy" and "don't let the door hit you on your arrogant ass, Larry".

Sabres Sign Roy, Avoid Arbitration

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:38:00 +0000

6 YEARS $24MM

The Buffalo Sabres avoided their first arbitration hearing of this off-season by locking up C Derek Roy with a 6 year 24 million dollar deal. The move will make Roy a Buffalo Sabre until he is 30 years old. Roy's hearing was set to take place this morning.

The move, which most expected would occur, locks up the dynamic scoring line of Afinogenov, Vanek and Roy for at least two seasons as Afinogenov has two years remaining on his current contract. Vanek signed for 7 years 50 million dollars earlier this month.

The good news is that at least the obvious moves that need to be made seem obvious to the Buffalo brass who, up until now, seemed asleep at the switch. This move will prove to be economically intelligent in a few years when the average salary of a 20 goal scorer will most likely be in the $5MM range.

Roy, although small, is an exceptional offensive player who also has been effective killing penalties and playing sound in the defensive zone, ranking second on the team in +/- (+37), second only to Vanek's league leading +47.

In all, a good move, a good investment but Regier can't claim too much credit because since the debacle of 7/1, he really had no choice but to get this done.

We can probably assume that Paetsch will sign long term, since Campbell is a UFA next year, and Numminen will eventually retire soon. Locking up Paetsch and extending Campbell would both be beneficial moves that could add some sort of silver lining to this otherwise disastrous summer down on Knox Plaza.

Sign Him!

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:29:00 +0000

SECOND CHANCE FOR BOTH

The first Peca episode ended, well, not so good. We all remember the contract impasse, the holdout, then the trade to New York. In all, it was not a good time for the Sabres. We remember that year.

We remember the brutal second round Game 6 tragedy where the Sabres were minutes from the Conference Finals only to have Lemieux and gang rip that dream away. Why? Why, Rhett Warraner, didn't you just tackle him?

We remember the following summer, where we lost Dominik. Well, we traded him, but he wanted out anyways. The trade, of course, brought in the heartless and useless Slava Kozlov who was a Sabre for about five minutes.

We remember the Rigas scandal that almost saw the Sabres become the Portland Sabres. I won't go into any more detail.

And finally, we remember the culmination of a year long contract dispute and holdout which eventually lead to the trading of Peca to the Islanders for Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt.

In hindsight, the trade was not all bad in terms of personnel, considering that Connolly, despite injuries has turned into one hell of a player and Pyatt also had his moments. However, the Peca saga seemed to be symbolic of troubled times that none of us saw coming.

The ensuing 3 seasons after the Peca saga yielded some of the darkest times in Sabres history. We suffered through the bankruptcy, the near relocation, and some very horrendous hockey. We went three straight years missing the playoffs and rode a tidal wave of a negative reputation and very mediocre on-ice performance into the lockout. It was the worst of times.

Of course, things are different now. We were saved by a new owner, we are back to being a playoff team, make that a contender, and the hockey tradition in Buffalo is alive again. Despite the management whiffs of the past few weeks, things are still looking pretty positive and as it turns out, Peca wants a piece of the WNY hockey experience again.

According to the News, Peca would love a second stint with the team where his career peaked years ago. Saying that he feels he could contribute to the team in terms of on ice performance and leadership, he claims that Buffalo is on the top of his wish list of teams to sign with.

Here it is. A second chance for everyone. Regier can put the Free Agency Disaster of 2007 behind him and Peca can return to a place he is more than familiar with. Peca is a familiar face and a legendary name in the halls of HSBC Arena and there is no better way to begin fans' healing than to bring a guy with Peca's reputation in.

Let us not forget, he wore the "C" the last time we went to the Finals.

Darcy, stopping f--king around and sign him. Just sign him.

Kaleta Ready For The Show?

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 02:36:00 +0000

PATTY DESERVES A CHANCE

Despite the fact that it is early on and there still could be some free agency action later on this summer, although unlikely, management would be wise to see what Patrick Kaleta can do this year.

The only criticism taken by the Sabres last year had to do with the team's lack of toughness up front and gritty style play that was sorely missing. Since Drury and Zubrus, both leaders of that kind of play, are elsewhere, Kaleta deserves at least some 4th line ice time to see what he can do against teams that are known for their physical play.

Kaleta is still very young and still can develop his offensive game in Rochester, but I think it is worth the ice time to let him at least make a case for belonging with the big club.

Let us not forget his refusal to back down against Ottawa during the infamous brawl game last year. After taking a cheap slash from Danny Heatley before the face off leading to the brawl, he did not shy away from any of the scrums that occurred in the following minutes.

Also, with all the offensive talent that still remains despite losing the captains, he stands to learn a lot by playing with the older guys and can jump start his offensive production.

In the end, the Sabres need to concentrate on areas where they came up short last year, namely physical play. With the losses of Grier, Pyatt, Zubrus, and Drury, they need others like Gaustad to step up and they need to find new sources, if free agency is not in the plan.

Kaleta has the guts and the toughness and given some time to workout in the bigs, he can turn into a physical force who can help fill in the gaps on a team that is mainly smaller and fast. It's time to at least give the local boy a chance.

HOW?

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:01:00 +0000

GENERAL EMBARRASSMENT

Let's imagine for one moment that you are sitting in front of your boss at your very normal job at your very normal office. This meeting is taking place just weeks after you receive a raise and an extension for your services.

Your boss has in his or her hand a list of what has taken place since your recent re-signing and goes over the list to discuss successes and failures. The list goes something like this:

You are given a commitment by upper management for more budget to build your division. You fail to use this budget and lose two of your most talented employees to other companies in the same industry.
You then publicly give excuses about the marketplace being too unfair to the organizations of the same size as yours.
You then publicly admit that your organization is not going to be as productive as it was, but you assure that all is not lost and that your misguided philosophies are, in fact, the correct way to run things despite the recent personnel disaster.

Well, I'm about 99% sure that if it was me with that sheet sitting in front of the CEO of my company, she would most likely rid herself of one personnel problem by kicking my ass to the curb.

The problem here is that it is not me, it's Darcy Regier and he is not fired, but actually re-signed for two more years.

The only word to describe this is embarrassing.

He is correct though. The team will not be as talented on paper and the sky is not falling. The Sabres are still a team with a lot of good players and should be able to hold their own next year. That is not the point. The point is that his flawed negotiation policies are what got us in this mess in the first place. This was a preventable disaster had he planned for it and given the players the common courtesy of a timely phone call or two.

The Sabres could be even better had Darcy stuffed his half-assed philosophies in the drawer and got these deals done before the past season even started. Oh and we probably could have signed Vanek for half the money as well.

But once again, here we are. Larry Quinn and Darcy Regier thinking that they are smarter than everyone else and that they won't be bullied. Well, their logic is about as sharp as their public speaking skills and they did get bullied, like underwear-over-the-head bullied.

Hey guys, guess what? They are not laughing with you.

But like Darcy said, "We'll find a way". Ha, ten years as a GM and all we can get out of him is "We'll find a way". I sure hope so.

"C" Stands For Currency

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:20:00 +0000

Ca$h Captains

In the end, money always talks. I know there is always a ceremonial loyalty, but dollars always dictate the results.

It's essentially official. The Sabres, as of some time in the next 36-72 hours, will be captain-less. It appears that the "excitement" of free agency was worth more than $5MM to Briere and $6MM to Drury. Of course, those numbers are all speculation, but if they can speculate what they will get on the open market, then I will speculate what they turned down from Buffalo.

While Camp Drury remains quiet, the Briere camp is nothing but smiles. Danny is excited to enter into his first stint as a UFA and it appears that while he is a tad nervous, he is optimistic that someone will call.

"On the one hand, you are a little scared that you're going to hit free agency and nobody is going to call you," said Briere. "But it's still pretty exciting. From hearing all the rumours, there should be more than one or two teams interested, so that's why it's exciting."

There it is. Briere is excited about the rumors he is hearing that one or two teams may or may not be interested in him. Could it be LA, Philly, or Montreal? No one knows anything other than there are a lot of teams that missed the playoffs last year that Briere is excited to hear from. That is the type of excitement a UFA experiences in this type of situation.

As for Drury, when you are about to become a multi-millionaire, well, everyone can wait until you are goddamn good and ready to discuss your thoughts on the future.

I can't say I blame them. I mean, I work for a corporation and I make pretty mediocre money, as far as people in my business make. If another company came in and offered me more money, I sure as well would take it and I don't have to wait until I'm thirty to do that. So, I can't bash free agents. Hell, I am an unrestricted free agent all year round so how can I complain?

I just hope that the offers that each of the soon to be former co-captains receive are fair enough to erase the awful memory of those horrific offers they received from the team just off another horrible season of almost getting to the Finals. If there is someone who knows the pain that they are going through, it's average people like myself.

No hard feelings gentlemen, I can't wait to pretend I care where your careers go.

Gots To Get Paid

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:42:00 +0000

$trait Cash, Homie

So much for the dream scenario. Like Ryan Seacrest at the end of each American Idol episode, Danny Briere is out. After turning down a 5-year, $25MM deal offered Wednesday, Briere's agent made it official that his client will look for more money in the open market, which most likely means that he will not return to the team that prevented him from a long and less than lucrative European hockey career.

Not much to say really here. Free agency means players come and go. It happens to every team
in every sport, but that doesn't make it less painful for fans.

It was a good ride, it could have been better, but why settle for $5MM a year from a team that has a real chance when you can go help re-build a team for $6+MM? It was the rap-star Mace who said it first, "It's all about the Benjamins". So much for a hometown discount.

Enjoy Philly Danny. Maybe I'll run into you some summer at the Shore, and I'll be sure to buy you a Yuengling and we can talk the old days. Also, I prefer Geno's over Pat's, in case you care.

Kane Goes First

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:32:00 +0000

Local Boy Does Good

For the first time in NHL draft history, the top two picks went to American born players with the first pick going to South Buffalo native Patrick Kane. Kane spent last season destroying the competition in the OHL playing for the London Knights (62 goals, 83 assists) and was picked number one by the recently struggling Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite ambiguous reports in the Buffalo News today regarding a last ditch effort by Darcy Regeir to try to "converse" with Chicago about trading the first pick, Kane went to a team that desperately needs something to get back to a tradition that seems to have been lost for some years. Kane brings a youthful spirit to Chicago that should create some optimism in the Chicago organization in a way similar to the youth invasion in Pittsburgh. Chicago has had some bad luck trying to rebuild with aged free agents so Kane should be a breath of fresh air.

It is great to see a lot of Buffalo success these days, even though its not the Sabres. With former Sabre Brad May hoisting the Cup along with Buffalo native Todd Marchant, and now Kane going first, at least Buffalonians can take some pride knowing that our tradition goes beyond wings and beef on weck. Of course, these are all consolation prizes and the real joy would be the Cup and only the Cup. Until then, we still have our local boy, who perhaps one day will wear the blue and gold. We all should remember the Versus interview with Kane during game 2 of the Rangers series, standing ice level wearing the Sabres hat. It fit just fine and so would a blue and gold sweater. Maybe some day.

Toskala Toronto Bound

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:04:00 +0000

Andrew Who?

Goalie heavy San Jose landed a few extra draft picks by sending Mark Bell and Vesa Toskala for draft picks in this year's first major draft day trade. For these two players, San Jose is receiving a conditional 2007 first rounder, a 2007 second rounder and a 2009 fourth rounder.

Toskala is a sound goaltender who lead the Sharks this past year in wins and goals against. TSN has him ranked as a no. 2 goalie, but most would disagree with that assessment as demonstrated by his record from this year (26-10-1). Toskala was definitely grouped with Ilya Bryzgalov and Manny Fernandez as this year's top goalie trade bait.

Mark Bell is a solid left-winger who has size and decent scoring ability. In a division where you need to deal with the bangin' Sens and my pesky Sabres, a power forward like Bell will do just fine.

The Bell move makes sense and could serve the Leafs well. The Toskala move is a little more puzzling than brilliant. I'm sure there are Leaf fans who have seen Toskala play and look forward to him playing in the ACC, but the move does beg the question, what about Raycroft?

Raycroft signed a decent size deal last year to come in and solve the inconsistency in the Toronto net, but it seems the Leafs' brass was not convinced. Now, it's Toronto that is goalie heavy and may have backed themselves into a corner cap-wise.

In the old days, these move would have made perfect sense. The Leafs would just pay both and be done with it. But now, they need to be a little careful because there are other things to consider in the cap era, like injuries. The last time we checked, there are some Leafs that are getting up there in age, eh-hem, Sundin.

Now, of course, it's not like either guy is getting Guigere money, but carrying $4MM in goalies is never a good strategy when you got close to $14MM tied up in Sundin and McCabe. Also, when you have guys like Ilya Brzgalov, Christ Mason and Manny Fernandez out there as coveted trade bait goalies, the market isn't so hot for under performing starters or high-priced back-ups. So, the Leafs may be stuck with Raycroft's salary. All this is, of course, predicated on the assumption that brining in Toskala meant that Raycroft is out of a starting job, neither of which was announced by Toronto.

On the San Jose side of things, I just hope it's not a move to clear space for a certain Buffalo UFA that may or may not be set on moving out to Cali. That would just plain suck.

Muckler Out

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 18:21:00 +0000

Muck Raking In Ottawa

What does a Stanley Cup Finals appearance get you in Ottawa? Well, if you are a GM entering a contract year, it gets you fired. Almost a month after losing a Cup bid in the finals, the Ottawa Senators showed GM John Muckler the door and handed the throne over to current, and soon to be ex, head coach Bryan Murray.

Reports broke over the weekend in the Ottawa Sun making it to TSN and other Canadian outlets but the Sens leadership remained quiet until it was made official at a press conference today.

Citing a team at a crossroads, owner Eugene Melnyk felt that the Sens were better off handing front office control to Murray rather than re-upping his coaching contract and waiting to renegotiate with Muckler next year. Muckler had one year left on a contract and began his tenure in Ottawa in 2002.

I think it is premature to evaluate this move. In terms of the GM position, Murray is no step down. He was GM of the 2003 Ducks team that went to the finals and seems to know how to put together a good team. The tale of this move will be who ends up behind the bench in Ottawa. Since Murray will not continue as head coach, the Sens will be breaking up a coaching staff that seemed to have clicked with the players this year, especially in the playoffs. Depending on how the new coach works out, this could be a good or bad move for the Sens. We won't know until the new coaching staff takes over and Murray gets done with the off season tasks, the likes of which include Ray Emery, Mike Comrie, and the bloated salary of Martin Gerber.

Muckler's legacy in Ottawa will most likely differ from fan to fan. Some will argue that Muckler has been a failure for years of playoff futility and no Cup. Some blame Muckler for not pulling the trigger on the Gary Roberts deal, which could have helped them against Anaheim, but some also credit Ottawa's strength the past two seasons to Muckler's trade giving up Marien Hossa while bringing in Heatley. Either way, Muckler's tenure in Ottawa will be debated for months to come.

I don't see Muckler going to a new club. I know that he said he was having too much fun in Ottawa to consider retiring, but that was after years of building Ottawa into the club they are today. Does he have the energy to start over with a new club that would most likely need rebuilding and a lot of patience? He would probably say yes, but at 73, other clubs may not be so sure.

It will be interesting to see how Murray handles the off-season and how the coaching staff unfolds in Ottawa as well as if I am wrong about Muckler's career being done. Since Calgary hired Mike Keenan, anything seems possible these days.

Budget Rumors Finally Put To Rest

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:22:00 +0000

Players' Salary Budget Going Up

Putting to rest past rumors regarding the Sabres' player spending decreasing, the Sabres made it perfectly clear today that those rumors were false. At a morning press conference today announcing the re-signing of Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier, Larry Quinn, who most likely advises Golisano on spending matters, announced that the spending on players this year will be higher than last year.

Although figures were not disclosed, it lifts a large cloud of gloom regarding the Sabres' willingness to spend the money required to sign Briere, Drury, etc. There were still no guarantees, but the increased probability is sure to help fans sleep a little bit better.

This also goes to prove that Golisano is a billionaire of the Richard Branson school of thought. Golisano, a keen business mind, has shown he knows how to keep markets interested while keeping his own interests in the front of his mind. He, like Branson, enjoys throwing out business man phrases that keep people talking but in reality, while Paychex is his living, the Sabres have become his passion and his personal pride. Much like Branson's space tourism aspirations, the Sabres are something that Golisano wants to give to WNY as his legacy.

If Golisano didn't run for governor and didn't buy the Sabres, what would his legacy be? In the business community, it would have been Paychex, but that is the vast minority of people in the area. Golisano knows that a Stanley Cup in this town will make him immortal. There would be a parade followed by a statue and "Tom Golisano Ave" somewhere downtown.

When you have billions, and I am just guessing, life becomes about different things. Most wealthy business men do not like to sit back and watch time roll by, and they also don't want to work 20 hours a day towards a goal they already achieved. Instead, it becomes about legacy and how they will be remembered. If this wasn't the case, there would be no Vanderbilt University and no Carnegie Mellon.

Golisano has clearly seen what this team's success can do for this town and it appears that he sees this team as an opportunity for his legacy. One thing is for sure, if this team ever marches down Delaware Ave hoisting that Cup, the loudest cheers will be for Golisano and his legacy would sewn up as an immortal hero that gave Buffalo something to smile about for generations.

So, am I surprised that he'll spend the money? Not one bit.

Headline Summarizes It Well

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:23:00 +0000

Stanley Cup finals draw record-low ratings

There is no interpretation or commentary needed. The headline says it all.

Governors, Bettman believes this is OK and acceptable. Do you?

Back To This Again

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:20:00 +0000

Ottawa Sunburn

... Makes me laugh that Daniel Alfredsson took a lot of heat and was even called "classless" by American TV broadcasters for shooting the puck at Scott Niedermayer with time running out in the second period of Game 4. The only thing he did wrong was fire it too low. In the Stanley Cup final, you should be doing everything you can to win. With two seconds left on the clock and standing at your blue line, you're not going to score. Attempting to take out the opponent's best defenceman is the next best thing. Believe it's called competitiveness ... (Don Brennan, Ottawa Sun)

Most assumed that once the Senators got the Finals, the Ottawa hockey press would maybe give up on their fantasy notions of what good hockey really is. I think after game 3 when McAmmond lay flat and motionless on the ice after a Chris Progner elbow, that the definitions of clean and dirty would become much more apparent.

Well, we can scrap that idea. It seems dirty does not apply inside the Senators' dressing room. Not unlike the league, the Ottawa press holds this umbrella of protection over the Sens and constantly reiterates that the Sens can do no wrong.

The Pronger hit was dirty. There is no argument to the contrary, it is cut and dry. Being that we can all agree on that, why can we not just agree that Alfie's slap shot at Niedermayer was also dirty?

First we need to clarify Brennan's argument. He doesn't defend Alfie by saying that what he did was not on purpose or was a fluke. He says that Alfie did it on purpose, he was trying to "take out" the Ducks' best defenseman, and that it was competitiveness, not a lack of class. If you don't believe me, please stop, re-read the quoted passage above before you continue.

Taking a slap shot at someone 20 feet away on purpose is equal to purposely trying to injure someone with a stick, or an elbow. There is no difference between the three. Pronger wanted to injure McAmmond with his elbow and Alfredsson wanted to injure Niedermayer with the puck. You cannot say that one is dirty and one is competitiveness because both are intending to hurt using blunt force that is coming from things that are other than the shoulder.

The motivation to "take out" any player is in no way competitive, it's classless. Most good open ice checkers hit very carefully and will almost always stay away from the other player's head and knees. The goal of any good checker is to take someone out of a play, not out of a game, a season, or a career. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous and to even hint otherwise borders a level of stupidity and ignorance that no one should reach. This is supposed to be a game played by gentlemen, who understand that everyone is in the league to make a living and should respect the fact that purposely injuring someone, no matter what the stakes, can not only ruin someone's career but also their livelihood. This is not Ultimate Fighting, and not WWF Wrestling. Physical play is good but physical punishment has no place in hockey.

Brennan would have been much better off had he tried to play the "it was an accident" card. He could have said Alfie didn't see Niedermayer and that the shot had a one in a million chance of hitting him. Instead, like the Canadian Press always does when a Sen is involved, tries to play it like its noble and its part of the game.

Hey Brennan, what if Murray told Alfie to "go out and run 'em" right before he shot that puck? Would that change your opinion on "taking out" other teams' best players? Rational people can only hope so.

You'll Never Walk Alone

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:38:00 +0000

All Too Familiar

As much as I want to enjoy Ottawa's misery, I can't help but be reminded of my own and as a big believer in Karma, I must take the high road.

Seeing the stunned Senators shake hands with the Cup champs then slowly glide off the ice only reminded me of the 1999 Cup Finals, 2006 ECF and the 2007 ECF. There are never any words, realizations, or silver linings that can console a hockey fan after his or her team has just been eliminated. In fact, all of the above usually tend to make it worse.

It's almost tragically comical how you immediately forget all the good things and good memories of the season when you see your team shake those hands and make the slow skate back to the bench. The only thing you think about is what could have, what would have and what should have been and there are not enough Prince of Whales Trophies or President's Trophies in the world to make any of it easier to take. True hockey fans like the ones found in cities like Buffalo and Ottawa have one thought and one thought only when the season starts and that is going to a Stanley Cup Parade in June. It's tough and it never seems fair.

I always debate whether it's easier to suffer a loss in the first round or to get all the way to the Conference or Cup Finals and lose. The truth is, it doesn't matter. I think back to all the years where the Sabres were ousted before May and they never seemed to be any easier than the equally miserable losses deep into the rounds. I guess it doesn't make any difference and the rule is essentially no Cup, no joy.

So, I do feel for Ottawa fans. Up until this year, we had made a habit of wrecking their Cup dreams in the playoffs and when they finally ended that streak this year, it seemed that it was finally their year with everyone in the Red and Gold feeling happy. It's amazing how emotions can change in two short weeks after you think you couldn't be happier and it is always a challenge to look past it. From past experience, I have learned that it may make you feel a little better to see your rivals' sadness, but it doesn't change the fact that you were once that sad. So for now, I'll give the Senators and their fans a few days to mourn, but when that is up, it will be back to hating them as usual.

Until then, just know that your rivals just south of the border know that feeling all too well.

Cup Evades Canada, Again

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:23:00 +0000

Cup Lands In Orange County

First, a movie starring Tom Hanks' son, then a hit Fox TV show, then multiple reality TV shows on MTV and Bravo, and now, a Stanley Cup has found its way to the OC. The Los Angeles Ducks Of Anaheim have given the folks of Orange County something to really cheer about today as they finally took out the Ottawa Senators last night in a not-so-subtle fashion winning 6-2. The Stanley Cup now finds itself on the West Coast for the first time in history, and for the third year in a row, evades Canadian hockey fans.

In a game that was not so much a nail biter as it was a formality, Anaheim lit up Ottawa for 6 goals, well 5 if you don't count the one Chris Phillips scored on his own goalie. Both teams registered less than 20 shots (18-13 in favor of the Ducks) , so it really was not a goalie battle either. In all, it seemed like the Cup clinching game could be categorized as a defensive battle backstopped by par to sub-par goal tending, not exactly what the TV execs wanted, but at least this year, fans got to see the cup celebration for more than 10 minutes before NBC cut to local news.

The Conn Smythe went to Scott Niedermayer, and in my opinion, you can't celebrate an award like the Conn Smythe or the Cup in a classier fashion than he did. Scott was soft-spoken and could not go five words without mentioning his joy of being able to celebrate all of it with his teammate and brother Rob, who raised the Cup immediately following Scott. It was easy to tell by his speech that Scott's emotions were running very high being able to stand next to his brother and talk to Pierre McGuire about the Cup they had just won together. It was a great moment for hockey and a great moment in sports. After that, it's tough to dislike either player, even though Scott had made a nice career in New Jersey of shutting down Buffalo scoring lines, especially in the playoffs.

Another longtime veteran player that deserved to finally win one was Teemu Selanne. A long time class act and future Hall of Fame player, he too was overwhelmed with emotion as he, teary eyed, hugged his wife after the Ducks were presented with the Cup. He was the third Duck to carry the Cup. My opinion on Selanne was always indifferent since he is a career Western Conference player, but his play during last year's Olympics changed that. Watching him continue playing in the medal round after getting hit in the mouth, losing teeth, and seeing his emotional reactions to receiving the silver medal instead of the gold showed the pride he had not only in his home country of Finland, but also his dedication to the game.

Chris Pronger is one lucky bastard and if Anaheim fans need someone to thank, it's Mrs. Pronger for wanting out of Edmonton. Enough said.

In all, despite the fact that most Buffalo fans would never route for Ottawa, I enjoyed seeing the Ducks win. Their celebration was sincere as shown by the reactions of the Niedermayers and Selanne. The ratings sucked and Canada will be in mourning for a little while, but in all, I thought it was some great hockey and we can now put this year behind us and count down the days until the puck drops for next season where every fan will hope to be next year's Anaheim Ducks.

Yashin's Retirement Plan

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:43:00 +0000

$2.2 Million/Year Pension Plan

Just when it seemed as if honor of being called the most envied NHL player was sewn up by Sydney Crosby, news broke today of now ex-Islander Alexei Yashin's contract being bought out by the Islanders at a whopping bargain of $17.6 million.

Yashin had $26.45 million owed to him, but under the new CBA, the Isles had the option to buy out the contract at two-thirds of that price over the next 8 years ($2.2 million per year) and have only that amount count towards the cap each season.

So, after a very disappointing playoff performance this year, and a below expectations Islander career, Yashin will now make $2.2 million per year, for the next 8 years, on top of what he has already made in his Islander career, to do nothing more than chill-out on the beach in the Hamptons.

I used to envy Sydney Crosby because of his skill, youth, popularity, and endless potential. Not any more. I now envy the man who proved that with one good year in pro sports, along with a good agent, can set you up for life regardless of how you perform later on. I'm sure that Yashin will still want to play and does want to be a Cup champ, but if I was his close friend, I would sit him down and say, "Are you f**king nuts?".

If only I had a pension plan like that waiting for me.

Oh Captain!

noreply@blogger.com (The Publisher) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:48:00 +0000

Did Captain Alfie Sink The Ship?

Every series has a turning point. Chris Drury scoring with 7.7 seconds left to tie the Rangers in Game 5 of round 2, Scott Niedermayer's tying goal with 48 seconds left in Game 5 against Detroit, and Joe Corvo's bouncing double OT winner in Buffalo were all series changing events that eventually led to the demise of each team's opponent. The question is, was Daniel Alfredsson's shot "at" Scott Niedermayer the series changing event for these Finals?

Whether or not Alfie did it on purpose is debatable but in reality, it's irrelevant. It doesn't matter what his intentions were, the only thing that matters is that the Ducks interpreted it as an intentional and classless act. It was all the Ducks needed to come out firing in the 3rd period to get the eventual game winner. The shots in the 3rd were equal, but Ottawa could not ride the momentum of the late 2nd period Heatley goal into the 3rd due to the buzz-kill of a "failed" shoot-in attempt by Alfie as time ran out. Had Alfredsson not shot that puck, perhaps Ottawa could have rode that wave of good momentum into the third and perhaps scored the decider, but instead, Anaheim capitalized on their emotions and now head back home one win from a Cup.

Like I said before, maybe Alfie aimed for Niedermayer and maybe he didn't. Truth be told, unless he is the dumbest Swede this side of the ocean, I can't see the Ottawa captain doing that on purpose, even as much as I would like to think he did. But none of that matters. What matters is that the Anaheim players thought he did, used it as motivation to play hard and wound up with the win.

If things end up not working out for Ottawa in this series, players and fans will look back to find that one play or one shift where things went bad. If this is to be the case, the unfortunate thing for Alfredsson is that his shot that hit Niedermayer will most likely be the play that people will interpret as the bad play that sunk the ship.