Over a decade ago, one of the most controversial goals in hockey history was scored when Dallas Stars forward Brett Hull beat Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek in triple overtime of Game Six to win the Stanley Cup.

 

The controversy stemmed from Hull’s skate being inside the blue goalie crease while the puck was outside the crease.

 

According to NHL rules, the goal should not have counted per the recent changes to the rule book which stated:

 

“Unless the puck is in the goal crease area, a player of the attacking side may not stand in the goal crease. If a player has entered the crease prior to the puck, and subsequently the puck should enter the net while such conditions prevail, the apparent goal shall not be allowed.”

 

In my opinion, the NHL got the call on Hull’s goal correct.

 

The problem was, they had strictly enforced this new rule all season long, including overturning similarly scored goals like Hull’s.

 

The NHL issued statements saying:

 

“A puck that rebounds off the goalie, the goal post or an opposing player is not deemed to be a change of possession, and therefore Hull would be deemed to be in possession or control of the puck, allowed to shoot and score a goal even though the one foot would be in the crease in advance of the puck.”

 

“Hull had possession and control of the puck. The rebound off the goalie does not change anything. It is his puck then to shoot and score albeit a foot may or may not be in the crease prior to.”

 

It was not exactly the best explanation, but given the circumstances, it is just about all you can explain.

 

Like I said, in my eyes it was a good goal. While watching the replays it is evident that Hull had possession of the puck, had his first shot stopped by Hasek, after which he collected the rebound, had the part of his left skate blade enter the crease at the same time the puck left the crease, and he jammed home the game-winning goal.

 

The NHL did the right thing in allowing the goal to stand. It is not as if someone ran over Hasek to score the game-winning goal or as if Hull was firmly entrenched inside the crease long before the puck made its way to the goal.

 

But again, the problem was that the NHL was not consistent with its rule book on this particular goal.

 

Yet, the biggest problem of all was the rule itself in the first place.

 

Can you think of a dumber rule that has taken away so many seemingly harmless goals from hockey games?

 

I remember watching game after game during this era and wanting to pull my hair out at the ridiculous amount of goals being disallowed because a quarter-inch of someone’s skate blade was in the crease.

 

The worst part is that in the future we will have such a hard time explaining this rule to future generations. Could someone in the future watch the replay of Hull’s infamous goal and be able to point out why it should not have counted?

 

Once we tell them what the rule was, they will find it the silliest rule ever.

 

That’s the way I have always looked at it.

 

The other problem I had with the rule was the way in which they changed the size of the goalie crease.

 

I mean look at that picture!

 

Hasek has spread out practically his entire body and he’s still not covering the length of the crease. Who thought it was a good idea to change the goalie crease to mammoth proportions and then not allow any goals if an attacking player has a minuscule part of his body in the area?

 

Luckily, the NHL was smart enough to realize its mistake and remove the rule and shrink the goalie crease back to normal proportions.

 

So, perhaps we could say the Hull goal was a gift in disguise because it forced the league to change one of the dumbest rules in North American sports history?

 

I do not think I could have watched many more games if the rule had been kept and honest and hard working players were stripped of goals from such a stupid rule.

 

Unfortunately for Sabres fans, the scars still remain for a Stanley Cup championship that could have been theirs.

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The Buffalo Sabres are known for taking their draft picks and developing them within their system more than most clubs. Players like Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek were draft picks who played for Buffalo’s AHL affiliate and worked their way up to the NHL.

Since so much of the Sabres’ current success relies on their draft selections, I took a look at who they have drafted and which countries their draft picks are from.

I used a pool of 20 players—all of whom where drafted in 2001 or later—and looked at their nationalities to see if there was any kind of pattern.

Included in the pool of players are 10 players who are currently on the Sabres’ roster, seven who are top prospects within the organization, and three who are no longer with the club.

Out of the 20 players used in the pool, seven are from the United States—that’s 35 percent for those of you who aren’t very good with math.

Another seven of the players are from Canada—so 70 percent of the Sabres’ draft picks in this pool are from North America.

Of the other six players not from North America, two are from Sweden, two are from Slovakia, one is from the Czech Republic, and one is from Austria (just a hint, but the one from Austria’s last name rhymes with “panic”).

In the last three entry drafts, Buffalo has used its first pick on a player from North America. The last player drafted from outside of North America was Dennis Persson from Sweden back in 2006.

As previously stated, only three players of the 20 I used are no longer in the Sabres’ organization, which puts the retention rate at a whopping 85 percent.

Buffalo’s best selection since 2001 was obviously in 2008 when they traded up for the 12th pick and drafted rookie sensation Tyler Myers.

While many of the Sabres’ draft picks from 2001 to 2004—Roy, Vanek, Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford, Clarke MacArthur, Pat Kaleta, and Andrej Sekera—have developed into solid, everyday players, their more recent draft picks are still developing with their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates.

Given the recent success of Myers and all of the buzz around players like Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Ennis, and Jhonas Enroth, it appears that Buffalo has even more talent on the rise.

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According to various sources, the Buffalo Sabres are very keen on acquiring Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu from the Anaheim Ducks. The Sabres have also been reportedly contacting the Carolina Hurricanes for Ray Whitney, however due to Whitney’s desire for a contract extension, the Sabres are holding off for now.

As for the Anaheim rumour, it really isn’t so much about who’s coming in but rather who will be leaving that makes this rumour interesting. Both Selanne and Koivu have a cap hit of around $ 3 million. With the Sabres cap space only being about $ 2 million, Darcy Regier would have to send $ 5 million dollars in cap back to the Ducks in order to maintain a reasonable amount of cap space.

So who will be the $5 million going the other way? Well, if this deal is going to be two players for two players, then one might suggest that Jochen Hecht and Drew Stafford could be on their way out. The Anaheim Ducks are keen on getting rid of their old players and acquiring young, but NHL ready talent and Drew Stafford fits that category.

Of course, to give up such a player, the Sabres would also ask Anaheim to take their dead weight, Jochen Hecht. This is a pretty good deal for either team but there is no guarantee that the ducks want this to be an even 2-for-2 trade.

Perhaps the Anaheim Ducks are keen on making this a bigger deal in which instead of young and developed talent like Stafford, they might want draft picks and prospects that have yet to enter the NHL. If Anaheim were to really be interested in acquiring young prospects, then I’m almost positive they would have asked about Luke Adam. Adam is having a great year in the QMJHL and he also was also great in the world junior championships.

Another thought is that Sabres might trade one or more defenseman to Anaheim. Names such as Toni Lydman, Chris Butler, and even Andrej Sekera could all be thrown into the mix. The only problem with this is that as of this recent losing streak, the Sabres might be on the hunt for a defenseman.

Chances are that if this rumour is true, then it is probably safe to say that Anaheim came forward with this deal. Knowing that they aren’t contenders this year topped with the fact that Buffalo is in need of two way forwards (and leaders) makes this deal a no brainer.

One thing is for sure though, with the Sabres hanging on (barely) to the division lead, the Sabres will at least attempt to land a couple of players to try and keep pace with the East’s elite.

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The Buffalo Sabres have found ways to win all season long without a true “standout” forward. As a matter of fact, the Sabres are one of just 10 teams in the NHL with every forward averaging less than 20 minutes of ice-time per game.

The other nine teams with all forwards averaging less than 20 minutes on the ice so far this season are the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, and the Nashville Predators.

The Atlanta Thrashers technically do not have a forward over 20 minutes now that Ilya Kovalchuk is gone, but I’m not letting them off the hook. The new Devil actually leads the league in ice-time for forwards—he averages 22:17 per game.

But how has Buffalo stayed at the top of their division for a majority of the season? The answer is balance.

Again, before we go any further, the ice-time in this article only applies to forwards—so do not bring defensemen into the conversation.

The Sabres currently have seven forwards with at least 12 goals—every player on one of the “top” two lines is in that group of seven. Every player on Buffalo’s third line has at least eight goals, and Pat Kaleta has eight goals on the fourth line.

The only teams with their leader in ice-time playing less than Buffalo’s leader in ice-time are Boston and St. Louis. Buffalo’s ice-time leader is Derek Roy at 18:49. Roy technically plays on the second line.

The biggest name among Buffalo’s forwards is Thomas Vanek. But the $7.14 million-dollar man is averaging less than 17 minutes of ice-time per game, and there are currently four other forwards playing more than him.

Buffalo’s leading point scorer this season, Tim Connolly, is second on the team in ice-time, averaging 18:40 per game. He has 52 points in 57 games so far this season.

The third and fourth liners are often entrusted with important penalty-killing minutes, which balances the team’s ice-time even further.

And while the same third and fourth liners are more defensive specialists than anything else, they are also scoring important goals this year.

Buffalo’s first two lines—which usually consist of Roy, Vanek, Connolly, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville, and Clarke MacArthur—are obviously the most talented lines on the team.

However, the balanced scoring provided by the third and fourth lines does not allow opposing teams to focus on the first two lines as much as they would like to—this is the root of Buffalo’s success.

The problem with truly relying on a four-line system is that when one or two of the lines have a bad night, it makes it extremely difficult for the Sabres to win—as Buffalo does not have that one MVP-caliber player who can take the game into his hands.

Whereas in Washington, if three lines have a bad night, the Capitals can sometimes—although it seems like every night—rely on Alex Ovechkin to take the game into his hands and win it for them.

I guess the most applicable phrase to Buffalo’s situation would be, “Live by the sword, die by the sword”—pun is completely intended.

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It may be easy for Buffalo Sabres fans to look at goaltender Ryan Miller and put much of the blame for the team’s recent debacle on him, but it’s also fair to say the stand-pat approach head coach Lindy Ruff has taken has more to do with his team’s issues.

But with a record of three wins against seven losses in their last 10 games, it’s finally time for Ruff to take back his team.

After jumping out to a commanding lead in the division, Buffalo now finds themselves stuck in a downward spiral that seems to have no end in sight. The Ottawa Senators have put together a 10-win streak that has them chomping at the Sabres’ heels to take the lead in the division.

Whether it be poor goal-tending performances, lack of scoring from the forwards, or defensive break downs in their own end, Ruff seems to have lost a handle on how to repair this once-dominant franchise.

Playing a goaltender 12 games in a row in the middle of a 3-7 record is not the answer. Continuing to allow defense men to log major minutes of ice time while ignoring the glaring mistakes they are making shift in and shift out is not going to work either.

My answer to helping solve these problems is rather simple actually. Make every player accountable for their actions on the ice, and stop coddling the players. Far too many times, we have heard Ruff stand at the podium during his post-game press conference and point out one or two players who he always singles out.

The fact is in the last 10 games, he could easily call out seven or 10 players consistently. This has been Ruff’s M.O. for years now though, and I doubt it will change.

On to the coddling issue. He needs to stop making some practices/morning skates optional. Yes, Lindy, we all get that some players are sore and they have nagging injuries, but just like in any other field of work, if you give some people and inch, they take a mile.

How about making the players skate for a few hours on Sundays? I know this is a notorious day off in Ruff’s mind. But letting the players sit home, or go out carousing on a Saturday evening is probably not the answer either.

Here is a novel concept. Make the players earn days off. Let them earn optional skates/practices. Much like the rest of the world, we earn our days off at our jobs by actually showing up and working. I know this is a professional sport, and things are a little different, but it is obviously not working the way he has it set now.

If this recent trend continues for Ruff and the Sabres, they will be dropping like a rock through the Eastern standings very soon. 

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