The offseason for the Buffalo Sabres has been status quo, as the team has not made any major moves or signings for the upcoming season.
The status quo for the Sabres includes signing replacements as players leave, or just promoting through the system.
On July 1st, the Sabres signed defenseman Jordan Leopold to replace one of two defensive spots vacated by Henrik Tallinder, signed by the New Jersey Devils, and Toni Lydman, signed by the Anaheim Ducks. Just days ago, the Sabres signed defensman Shaone Morrisonn to fill the other defensive vacancy.
The Sabres are expected to allow rookies Tyler Ennis and Nathan Gerbe to vie for spots on the team this season. The team bought out Tim Kennedy on Monday to clear out the logjam that they had at forward.
Other than that, the Sabres’ talent is mostly homegrown, and that’s not expected to change any time soon.
While there haven’t been many major signings, the Sabres have made sure to bring in veterans along the way to help their young core of players grow into the leaders they expect them to become.
Whether that happens is anyone’s guess.
Over the past few seasons, the Sabres have brought in some aging, but proven veterans to help their core grow. Darcy Regier traded for Craig Rivet in 2008, who has been the captain for the past two seasons.
Regier also brought back fan favorite Mike Grier last season, who left the team back in 2006 because he believed that the Sabres were not going in a winning direction. That he came back says that he believes that the Sabres may be on the right path.
“It’s been good for me,” Grier said back in May, when he re-signed with the team for a year. “Lindy and Darcy and those guys have been great, and they’ve given me some responsibility, and fitting in to that dressing room has been pretty easy for me.”
Grier went on to say that he sees young players with a lot of talent on the team, and that he hopes to pass on a little knowledge that he’s collected of the sport over the years.
A new addition to the team this year is Rob Niedermayer, who was a Stanley Cup winner in Anaheim in 2007, when the Anaheim Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators in five games to win the NHL’s big prize.
“He’s recognized as someone that is very responsible, very reliable, and a very good team player,” said Sabres GM Darcy Regier about Niedermayer. “I think it allows [Lindy] at lot of flexibility.”
On top of the Niedermayer signing, the Sabres re-signed goalie Patrick Lalime, who will backup starter Ryan Miller. While he hasn’t been the most reliable backup goalie, Lalime is somebody who shares a good friendship with Ryan Miller, who made it a point to mention Lalime in his Vezina Trophy speech this past year. It also allows the Sabres to keep prospect Jhonas Enroth in Portland to play another full season and develop.
The Sabres’ lack of major signings leaves the fans wondering whether or not this team truly wants to win it all. However, Darcy Regier insists that the ultimate goal is to win a championship. Seemingly to Regier, the veterans very well could help him achieve this goal.
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The Buffalo Sabres joined the NHL in 1970, along with the Vancouver Canucks, as part of NHL expansion. The team name was chosen because owner Seymour Knox felt a sabre was a weapon carried by a leader, also noting it is swift and strong on offense, as well as defense.
After a few years of existence, the Sabres were able to accumulate several good players through the draft and through trades, but were still striving to reach the playoff plateau.
In their first playoff appearance, they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
That 1975 series included the Fog Game, which was played in a heavy fog, due to a combination of a heat wave and the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium not having air conditioning. The Sabres won that game, but lost the series and the Cup to the Philadelphia Flyers in six.
The team’s success after that was limited until 1996-97, when the Sabres won the Northeast Division, their first division title in 16 years.
With the emergence of Dominik Hasek in goal and Lindy Ruff taking over behind the bench, the team went back to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999, falling to the Dallas Stars in a six-game series that ended with a triple-overtime thriller.
More recently, the Sabres went to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 and 2007, and they won the Northeast Division last season.
Throughout the years, the Sabres have gone through a few logo and jersey changes. They currently sport blue and yellow team colors, a nod to their original color scheme. They also have worn black and red.
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In a surprising move by the Sabres organization two days ago, the team has decided that they can do without center Tim Kennedy going forward. Just days earlier, Tim Kennedy had been awarded a million dollar arbitration settlement, which the Sabres were forced to accept due to a clause in the collective bargaining agreement stating that any arbitration awards under $1.6 million must be accepted for the 2010-11 season.
It’s unfortunate for both the team and Kennedy that it had to be this way.
Tim Kennedy was a South Buffalo product when he was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the 6th round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He was immediately traded to the Buffalo Sabres organization after that, and from then on, remained a positive local product on his team.
He went on to play college hockey with Michigan State where he achieved moderate popularity over a coast-to-coast goal scored over rival Michigan. The video has so far totaled almost 824,000 views.
Before long, Kennedy was playing for his favorite childhood team when he was called upon to play one game in their 2008-2009 season. While he received minimal experience in the NHL in that one game, he was making a name for himself in Portland, where he played for the Sabres American Hockey League affiliate, the Portland Pirates. Kennedy scored 19 goals to go along with 67 points in the 2008-09 season.
In 2009-10, Kennedy impressed enough in camp to make the big club, playing 78 games and scoring 26 points as a third line center. He had his ups and downs, but he wasn’t horrible by any means. In the playoffs, he scored three points in his six games before the Sabres were knocked out.
It was a feel good story for Kennedy until August 2nd, when the Sabres informed Kennedy that he would be waived, and most likely bought out.
“I expected maybe them telling me that because of the award the arbitrator gave me that more would be expected of me. I did not expect that,” Kennedy said to the Buffalo News. “It totally blindsided me.”
The news came on the heels of Kennedy’s arbitration award, where it is believed that the Sabres were unhappy with the award that Kennedy received. Darcy Regier obviously believed that Kennedy was not worth that much money.
It all seemed like this was Regier’s revenge against Kennedy for going to arbitration in the first place.
“The one thing I will never begrudge a player is his right to exercise whatever his rights are under the collective bargaining agreement,” said Regier on the notion that he may have, indeed, begrudged a player for going to arbitration. “There is no room for retribution, there is no room for being vindictive. But it’s a tough business, sometimes.”
Regier went on to reiterate that he did not believe that Kennedy was in trouble and that he is a good player. He truly believes that sooner than later, a team will make a play for Kennedy.
Another point Regier brought up was that he would like to carry a 22-man roster this year, rather than the normal 23-man roster that teams can have at maximum.
Why would that be a problem with Kennedy on the roster?
Well, Kennedy’s contract was guaranteed for the season, and it was only a one-way deal. Therefore, the Sabres could not send him down to Portland at a lighter dollar amount, which is what a two-way deal in the NHL does.
The Sabres roster was simply full and they had no wiggle room with Kennedy on the roster. Since Kennedy’s contract was deemed too high for a player like himself, Darcy took the vindictive way out and waived the South Buffalo product for only a third of his actual contract.
It’s disappointing that none of this led to a trade that perhaps a few people may have been expecting.
All the signs were there: the clearing of a roster space, the clearing of, albeit, minimal cap space, a press conference set for the next day, etc.
However, that never came to fruition. Instead, the Sabres signed a defenseman at a higher cap hit than Kennedy’s would have been this year.
Two days later, most people, including myself, are simply looking at this as a business decision. Regier thought that Kennedy’s award was too high for a player of his caliber. It’s funny that he takes action for a player who makes peanuts compared to players like Jason Pominville ($5.3 million), Jochen Hecht (3.525 million), or Paul Gaustad ($2.3 million). But it is what it is.
Regier thinks that this makes the team better. Let’s hope that for a man who gets a lot of beef in Buffalo, gets it right, as he does more often than not.
You can follow me on Twitter (@tluck81)
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I’ve got three words for you Darcy Regier: You blew it.
Buffalo Sabres fans are a loyal bunch. They’ll argue in an Elmwood bar until 4 a.m. on how the team is on the right track.
They’ll fill up opposing arenas to get an extra glimpse of their beloved blue and gold.
But most of all? They’re loyal to their own.
Tim Kennedy was born and raised in Buffalo. He played South Buffalo’s own Bishop Timon in high school. He turned down the OHL to stay home a bit longer.
He even went to Michigan State, the most Buffalo-friendly Division I hockey program one can find.
Yet, despite all the hometown ties and the undeniable potential, you decide that the best move for the franchise is to cut him loose?
Wow.
The Buffalo fan base has been scratching at your door since you let Danny Briere and Chris Drury leave town in 2007. The relationship has grown even more fragile given your apparent inability to do anything positive aside from saving Tom Golisano some money.
So now you throw this mob another reason to come kicking at your door? All this for $200,000? Yes $200,000, not the brilliantly derived $700,000 you claimed to be saving during your press conference Tuesday.
You just lost at least that much in ticket sales, Darcy. I hope you and Larry Quinn are happy.
So now, not only have you robbed the team of a promising young player, you’ve gone ahead and made it worse.
Again. For the umteenth this offseason, you have downgraded our roster.
I understand not wanting to pay departed D-men Henrik Tallinder and Tony Lydman $3 million a piece. But then to turn around and pay Jordan Leopold $3 million? That’s a downgrade if you ask me.
Add on yesterday’s signing of Shaone Morrisonn, whom, given his $1.975 million salary last year, is probably making at least that much, and possibly as much as $2.3 million.
Congratulations Darcy, you saved $700,000 on two mediocre defensemen.
Now consider the fact that Derek Roy and Tim Connolly are still on the roster.
Seriously Darcy?
Rumors are abound that the Flames are interested in Connolly, among others, in exchange for Robin Regehr.
If this is true, what’s the holdup?
Maybe the holdup, Darcy, is that no one wants to come play here under the type of team you run.
Maybe players like to know that their GM has their backs. That he can be counted on to keep the team relevant. Not to mention keep players, like Tim Kennedy, who play with more heart than talent.
With this Kennedy move being the straw that broke the camels back for many Buffalo fans, few things can possibly make this right. Seeing the names Savard or Kaberle on the back of a Sabres jersey in October may be the only hope you have left Darcy.
Let’s just say that this loyal Buffalo fan is considering whether or not to support your half-hearted managing any more.
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Predictions for the upcoming NHL season are already being posted around the web, and many teams are not done making moves. At this point, are the Sabres good enough to win the division again?
Mike Corcoran, a Tampa Bay radio host, posted his Eastern Conference predictions with Buffalo finishing in fifth place. Corcoran stated this about the Sabres:
“Some will make the claim that a winning team starts from the net out, and the Buffalo Sabres have one of the best in the Eastern Conference in Ryan Miller. He can and will single handily steal games. The Sabres signed Jordan Leopold to help fill the void left by the departures of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman. They also added center Rob Niedermayer to solidify the forward lines. As long as Miller stays healthy, the Sabres are one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.”
Boston was predicted to win the Northeast Division by Corcoran, but Ottawa and Buffalo are not far behind. Ryan Miller had the whole nation on his side after his performance in the Olympics last February.
He went on to win the Vezina Trophy after winning 41 games and finishing with a .929 save percentage and a 2.22 goals against.
The Buffalo Sabres defensive core helped to support Miller’s numbers. The Sabres were in the top five in goals against, but how will the defense be this year with the loss of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman?
Many will argue that there is no difference. Even though we lost two solid defensemen, the acquisition of Jordan Leopold and the call up of Mike Weber will fill in the gaps on defense.
Not only do the Sabres still need help on the power play, but what about Craig Rivet? His shoulder surgery will cause him to be out for some time and he may not make it back in time for the opener. The Sabres may be without him as well, forcing the Sabres to call someone else up.
Tyler Myers finished with 48 points last season, and will try to improve on that this year. In addition, Myers was one of just three Sabres to play all 82 games last season.
Maybe the Sabres should think about hiring a power play coach, who they used to have. When the Sabres went to the Finals in 1999, its power play ranked first in the league.
Without a power play coach and a power play quarterback, the Sabres defense will likely be a downgrade from last season. It will be difficult to duplicate last year’s performance if the team struggles on the defensive end.
If that does happen, is the offense going to be able to save them? No. Buffalo does not have enough fire power on offense to win high scoring games. A few years ago, that would not have been a problem. Even down the road, prospects from the Portland Pirates may be able to solve that problem. There are no players on the team now that can spark the offense with clutch goals.
Buffalo is in need of just a couple of players this offseason, and that is certainly not out of reach considering how much cap space Regier has to spend. At this point in the offseason, are the Sabres able to compete with the rest of the Northeast Division? Where will they finish in the Eastern Conference?
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The Sabres lineup has not seen many moves since the beginning of the offseason. The loss of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman didn’t surprise many fans. The addition of Jordan Leopold and the expected call up of Mike Weber will replace those openings.
The Sabres have depth at forward, but the fact of whether or not they have enough scoring power remains the question. The team is fairly intact from last season and last year it was good enough to win the division and come in third in the Eastern Conference, while totaling 235 goals. However, the 235 goals is the lowest Buffalo has seen in recent years.
At the moment, the Sabres top six forwards look are Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Tim Connolly, Drew Stafford, and Jochen Hecht. Lindy Ruff’s teams have always relied on a good two-way forwards, solid defense, and goaltending. The Sabres leader in points last season was Derek Roy who finished with 26 goals, 43 assists, and 69 points.
The leading goal scorer was Thomas Vanek who recorded 28 goals in 71 games, which was significantly lower than his average over the three seasons prior where he averaged over 39 goals a season. Buffalo saw three players record over 60 points and Vanek just outside the 60 mark.
Does this mean that the Sabres need to acquire a better goal scorer or someone who can help Vanek get the puck more?…YES. Connolly and Roy disappeared with most of the Sabres when goals were needed. Vanek, Mike Grier, and Tyler Ennis were the best players in the playoff series against the Bruins. The answer may very well rely in the spark that Tyler Ennis can bring to the lineup if he plays on a regular basis.
All Sabres fans ooh’ed and ahh’ed at the speed and talent that Ennis brought at the end of the regular season and during the playoffs. However, Ennis was not enough to help the slumping power play during the playoffs.
Clearly, the Sabres could use a top six forward to produce more goals or could use a power play quarterback on the point. This year the primary target of teams is defense. The best talent that was available on the market were solid defensemen. That leaves the Sabres to look to acquiring a top six forward or some type of spark in goal scoring through a trade.
Names like Marc Savard, Alex Semin, Patrick Sharp, Jamie Langenbrunner, Stephen Weiss, and Brad Richards have been thrown around with rumors, but with not much support to back them up. The Sabres can make a move if they wanted to with the $8 million in cap room still remaining and some tremendous young talent in the fold. The question is if the Sabres give up a guy like Nathan Gerbe and a first round pick, is it worth what your receiving in return?
Darcy Regier has always had the state of mind to build from within, better your team with trades, and has never made a huge splash in free agency. This is not the worst way to do business in the NHL even though teams like the Flyers and Rangers choose differently. The Sabres have been successful to make the playoffs somewhat consistently, but have not won a Stanley Cup now entering their 40th season in the league.
The city is becoming restless as they want to win now. Darcy may have to give up more than he wants, but to bring in a guy who can spark your first line and get Thomas Vanek going would be ideal. The team as it is now is a playoff team without a question, but it needs some work done to it in order to become a Stanley Cup contender.
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February 13, 2009 was a lot more than just a game between the Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks. A plane crash in Clarence Center left the entire city of Buffalo devastated. The National Hockey League questioned whether or not the game should be played.
A few of the Sabres had family and friends who lived in the area, and many people knew some of the victims who died in the plane crash of Flight 3407. It was a sad evening for the town and Buffalo honored the victims with a moment of silence before the game started.
The Sabres gave the city a measure of joy. Adam Mair and Jaroslav Spacek each scored a goal within three minutes to give them a 2-0 lead. Derek Roy’s power play goal a few minutes later had the Sabres up by three over the league leading Sharks, who were 37-7-8 and 10-1-2 against the Eastern Conference.
Patrick Marleau got San Jose on the board at the end of the first. But midway through the second Ales Kotalik scored another power play goal to put Buffalo back up by three. A minute later, the Sharks bounced right back with another goal from Marleau.
Dan Boyle scored the third goal for the Sharks with less than a minute to go in the second period. Now, the Sabres were only up by one, and fans were getting nervous.
Halfway through the third, the Sabres gave up two quick goals, giving San Jose a 5-4 lead. It was such a turnaround from all of the energy and excitement that started the game. HSBC Arena had been electric.
Call it a bit of a miracle. Call it what you want, but on the night of Friday the 13th, the Sabres didn’t give up. With four seconds remaining in the third period, Jason Pominville tipped a shot from Craig Rivet and beat Evgeni Nabokov to tie the game.
The teams would need a shootout to determine the winner of this one. Neither team scored in the first three rounds. Pominville scored in the next round and the pressure was on the Sharks. San Jose sent out Marleau, who beat Miller again.
Derek Roy then scored, and San Jose had to answer once again. Milan Michalek was unable to beat Miller and the Sabres won.
The win helped many fans take their mind off of the plane crash, at least temporarily. The Sabres did their part by playing arguably their game of the year.
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February 13, 2009 was a lot more than just a game between the Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks. A plane crash in Clarence Center left the entire city of Buffalo devastated.
The National Hockey League questioned whether or not the game should be played.
A few of the Sabres had family and friends that lived in the area, and many people knew some of the victims that died in the plane crash of flight 3407. It was a sad evening for the town, and Buffalo honored the victims with a moment of silence before the game started.
The NHL decided to keep the game on schedule, and Sabres fans got some happiness back.
Adam Mair and Jaroslav Spacek each scored a goal within three minutes to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead.
Derek Roy’s power play goal a few minutes later had the Sabres up by three over the league leading Sharks who were 37-7-8 and 10-1-2 against the Eastern Conference.
Patrick Marleau got San Jose on the board at the end of the first, but the Buffalo led 3-1.
Midway through the second, Alex Kotalik scored a powerplay goal to put Buffalo back up by three. A minute later, the Sharks bounced right back with another goal from Marleau.
Dan Boyle scored the third goal for the Sharks with less than a minute to go in the second period. Now, the Sabres were only up by one, and fans were getting nervous.
Halfway through the third, the Sabres gave up two quick goals, giving San Jose a 5-4 lead. It was such a turnaround from all of the energy and excitement that was going on inside HSBC Arena.
The building was electric, but that went down once the Sabres did.
Call it a bit of a miracle.
Call it what you want, but on the night of Friday the 13th, the Sabres didn’t give up.
With four seconds remaining in the third period, Jason Pominville tipped a shot from Craig Rivet and beat Evgeni Nabokov to tie the game at five.
The teams would need a shootout to determine the winner of this one.
Neither team scored in the first three rounds.
Pominville scored in the next round and the pressure was on the Sharks. San Jose sent out Marleau, who beat Miller again, and kept the shootout going.
Derek Roy then scored, and San Jose had to answer again. Milan Michalek was unable to beat Miller and the Sabres went on to win the game 6-5.
The win helped many fans take their mind off of the plane crash, at least temporarily.
The Sabres did their part by playing arguably the game of the year.
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The Sabres have not fared well against the Stars over the past decade or so, and it began to show during a game in Dallas a couple of seasons ago.
Buffalo made a trip to Dallas to take on the Stars in mid-January and started off with some struggles.
Buffalo’s problems began when Drew Stafford took two straight penalties, both of which resulted in a goal for the Stars. Matt Niskanen and Steve Ott both scored to give Dallas a 2-0 after the first period.
Buffalo was out-shot 12 to five in the first period, and things weren’t looking good for the Sabres. Dallas came out in the second with another goal just a couple of minutes in. Trevor Daley’s wrist shot beat Miller and upped the lead to three.
Trailing 3-0, the Sabres didn’t give up, but they needed something to get going. That’s when Paul Gaustad stepped in.
Even though he may not have won the fight, Gaustad built some momentum and the Sabres used it perfectly. Here’s a clip of what happened after the Gaustad fight:
Paul Gaustad’s powerplay goal midway through the second got Buffalo on the board, but Buffalo still trailed by two and whatever Lindy Ruff said to the team during the intermission worked.
Three minutes into the third, Jochen Hecht cut the lead in half. Hecht’s goal was a bit of an awakening call to the Stars, who scored less than a minute later. Gaustad came through again for the Sabres after he scored again halfway through the third.
Sixteen seconds later, Clarke MacArthur scored and tied the game at four. The teams would take this game to a shootout, spotlighting Ryan Miller and Marty Turco.
The first three rounds of the shootout didn’t solve anything, as neither team could score. Jere Lehtinen scored in round four, putting the pressure on the Sabres. It was up to Derek Roy to keep things going, and he succeeded by beating Turco.
Jason Pominville completed the comeback by scoring in the next round and winning the game for the Sabres.
“It was a gutsy win,” said Buffalo goaltender Miller, who turned aside five of six Dallas attempts in the shootout. “You could see that hunger. The boys showed up. It was good to see.”
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If you’re a Sabres fan, you probably find yourself predicting the outcomes of games before they start. Well, now you have the chance to submit your predictions and win prizes based on how well you do.
Sabreshockeycentral.com has introduced a Buffalo Sabres prediction challenge that will test the knowledge of many fans.
All you have to do is predict the winner and score of each Sabres game this season. If you finish near the top, you will win Sabres tickets, jerseys, gift cards, cash, and other prizes.
The cost is only $5.00 for the entire season! You can even sign up for text message and/or email alerts in case you forget to submit a prediction for an upcoming game.
If you are interested in signing up or more details, follow the link below:
http://sabreshockeycentral.com/pick-em
If you have any comments or questions, let me know. We already have a number of people registered. The more people that play, the more prizes that will be given away.
Even though it is early, we encourage you to sign up. The sooner the better. That will help us determine the official prizes much quicker. All NHL fans are welcome!
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