With 82 games, you may not be able to catch them all. For all the Sabres fans, here are the ones you should be looking forward to the most.
General Manager Darcy Regier has not been known for making many trades over the years, but some have worked out to improve the team. Here is a look back at the best and worst Sabres trades over the last decade.
It’s been a few years since General manager Darcy Regier has made a significant move to improve the Sabres. The offseason has just started, and I am already tired of waiting for Regier to do something. It’s just not going to happen.
There were plenty of positive thoughts and opportunities, but none of them have or will come through. Tomas Kaberle has been the biggest rumor in Buffalo, but apparently the deal fell through. Even though Regier still has a chance to acquire Kaberle, it’s not likely.
Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman are both on their way out as well, meaning Buffalo will have to fill two spots on defense already. Even if the Sabres bring up Marc-Andre Gragnani, it still leaves an open spot.
The Sabres lost a chance to acquire Nathan Horton from the Florida Panthers. Boston got him by giving away two draft picks and Dennis Wideman, who scored 30 points and went -14 last season. Why couldn’t the Sabres at least match that offer?
Not only did the Sabres not get Horton, but now he has become a divisional rival. The Bruins will now have Marc Savard, Nathan Horton, and the 2nd pick in the draft in the lineup this year, significantly improving the team.
Buffalo fans are now sitting and waiting for Regier to do something. This Sabres team needs a change. Players need to go. The management needs changing. You don’t even see owner Tom Golisano at the games anymore.
When the Sabres re-acquired Mike Grier, Grier said he was excited to be back because the team was headed in the right direction. Take another look.
Regier hasn’t brought in a solid player since his Briere/Drury days. Then he lost them both, along with Brian Campbell. Since then, what has he done?
Steve Bernier, Dainius Zubrus, Dominic Moore, Raffi Torres, and Craig Rivet have been the biggest moves for Regier over the past few years. Look at what all the other teams around the NHL are doing. Philadelphia was able to get Chris Pronger, Boston got Horton, and Toronto got Phaneuf.
Buffalo has a few key players locked up that are holding the team together. Ryan Miller, Tyler Myers, and Thomas Vanek are the team right now. The Sabres finished 4th in the league last season in goals against. If Lindy Ruff is going to “roll four lines,” the Buffalo is going to need some solid players to do that effectively.
Tim Connolly, Drew Stafford, and Derek Roy have all been mentioned in the possibility of being traded, but it’s not probable. Instead, Regier is letting two solid defensemen go, along with the backup goaltender, but that part is understood.
Regier has numerous options and opportunities, but he needs a different approach for the Summer. This is hopefully his final year as general manager. He’ll be on his way out if he continues to be his usual self.
The fans are waiting on you, Darcy. Make something happen!
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Having already covered a total of ten Eastern Conference teams, we now turn our focus to the next five: the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals.
Needless to say, drafting between 18th and 30th overall, the pickings get a little slim towards the end.
That said, many have seen players slip through the cracks.
Will the 2010 edition of the NHL Entry Draft be any different?
The Buffalo Sabres are a team that prides itself on winning games through solid defense and incredible balance. Unfortunately, the team’s balance wasn’t enough to get past the sixth-seeded Boston Bruins in the opening round of the 2010 playoffs.
The Sabres’ balance makes it difficult to pinpoint one specific position or type of player to draft.
One thing the Sabres will not need in this draft is a goalie. Ryan Miller will have the reigns between the pipes in Buffalo for years to come and 21-year-old goaltender Jhonas Enroth is developing nicely with the Portland Pirates in the AHL.
Rumor has it that the Sabres would like to land Notre Dame freshman Riley Sheahan in the first round of this year’s entry draft—which will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 25-26—assuming all of the other picks go according to plan. But would the well-rounded center fit into what the Sabres need to draft?
There are a lot of “what-ifs” taken into account in my thought process—and a lot of them will rely on the opening of free agency on July 1. The planning that it takes to account for every possible move that can be made by the 22 other teams that get to pick before the Sabres in the first round is incredible.
Since the Sabres don’t have a second-round pick this year—thanks a lot Craig Rivet—a lot of importance will be placed on who they take in the first round. Buffalo also has three third-round picks to make up for that long stretch between the first and third round without a selection.
Here are five types of players Buffalo should be looking to select in this year’s draft.
Edmonton/Boston: Will A Trade Be Made?
As draft day approaches, the question remains: Taylor or Tyler? Edmonton has given no hints as to whom it plans on taking with the first overall pick, but most analysts concur that Taylor Hall will go first overall in the 2010 draft. This is despite the fact that the Central Scouting Bureau ranks Seguin number one. It seems that raw offensive skill is just too sexy to pass on.
Taylor Hall is one of the most electrifying and dynamic forwards in years. He closely resembles Zack Parise of the New Jersey Devils. Expected to go second overall is Tyler Seguin, Taylor Hall’s equal in the OHL. Seguin is a hard working and high scoring two way centerman in vein of Stevie Yzerman. The closest modern day example of Tyler Seguin would be the most recent Conn Smythe recipient, Jonathan Toews.
Here’s where the plot thickens: While both players should develop into excellent NHL’ers, Boston is said to have its eyes on Taylor Hall. The Bruins, already deep at center, would love to draft Hall, not Seguin, to replace high scoring winger Phil Kessel (whose 30+ goals were greatly missed this season.) Add into the equation that Hall is a self proclaimed Boston Bruins fan, and it seems like a match made in heaven for the B’s.
Edmonton is fully aware of Boston’s desire to draft Hall over Seguin, and may be willing to wheel and deal. Look for Boston to attempt a draft day splash; trading the second overall pick (Tyler Seguin) and All-Star goalie Tim Thomas to Edmonton for the 1st overall pick (Taylor Hall). This could pay huge dividends for Edmonton, a team which currently has no legit starting goaltender.
UFA’s
Anton Volchenkov : The biggest defenseman in this year’s UFA list is Anton Volchenkov. A hard hitting, shot blocking rock at the blueline, Volchenkov is exactly the type of defenseman teams on the cusp of a cup run look to acquire. Volchenkov is said to be greatly desired by both Pittsburgh and Washington, two teams which were bounced out early in the playoffs due to a lack of physicality and size. Washington was said to be the front runner to sign Volchenkov on July 1st, but has since backed away. Look for Pittsburgh to take a strong run at him.
Sabres
Lydman, Tallinder, Or Neither ?
It would be in the Sabres best interest to take a serious look at their defense this summer. Both Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman are UFA’s . The Sabres should attempt to bring back one of the pair, preferably Lydman. Lydman is a more physical dman, and has been known to elevate his game during crunch time. Tallinder, a more finesse dman, played well last season for Buffalo, but shouldn’t be resigned. Look to Toronto and GM Brian Burke as a hint to where the NHL is heading in a few short seasons: big, mean physical defenseman will be all the rage. Keep Lydman over Tallinder.
Powerplay QB
Look for Regier to try and fix the busted Sabres power play by acquiring a power play specialist. Two power play specialists will be available this summer (albeit at very different costs): Tomas Kaberle and Sergei Gonchar.
Kaberle has a year remaining on his contract in Toronto, but GM Brian Burke is looking to move him due to a glut at the defense position (Burke acquired Dion Phaneuf in a blockbuster trade at the deadline in March.) Thus, the only way to acquire Kaberle is via trade. The Sabres would need to surrender their 1st round pick in this years draft, combined with a NHLer and possibly a prospect as well. Our 1st round pick, Drew Stafford and Grangani could get it done. It could be an expensive trade for Regier though; after Kaberle’s contract expires, there’s no guarantee he resigns with the Sabres. Kaberle’s cap hit would be a reasonable $4.25 million.
Sergei Gonchar will most likely be available this summer as a UFA. Word out of Pittsburgh is the Pens are ready to part ways with their longtime PPQB. At 36 years old, Gonchar is entering the twilight of his career. Signing a player at his age is risky business; there’s no guarantee that the wheels wont fall off half way through the new contract. However, if the Sabres are prepared to take the financial risk to acquire Gonchar, they won’t have to surrender any draft picks or players to acquire him.
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Three years from now, the Buffalo Sabres will be a completely different team, but that could be said about any team.
The Sabres have a big couple of years ahead of them that will prove whether or not they will be a contender come playoff time.
The management will likely change soon, which may not be a bad thing. Lindy Ruff did and will face criticism, regardless of what happens. Some fans complain that he can’t get them far in the playoffs, while others are content that the team even got into the postseason.
If you take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, you will see how good their management really is. In a few years, the entire Northeast Division may fear the Leafs. General manager Brian Burke knows what he is doing with every move he makes.
After winning the Stanley Cup with Anaheim, Burke headed to Toronto and has basically started from scratch. His first move was acquiring J.S. Giguere, who is signed through this upcoming season for $6 million.
Burke then took a private jet to go see Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson, who is currently a restricted free agent. Seeing that Dion Phaneuf wasn’t happy in Calgary, Burke signed him too. Phaneuf’s physical play and strong defense earned him a $32.5 million contract through 2014.
Now, there are plenty of free agents about to hit the market on July 1, and Burke is probably ready to make a few offers. This is the difference between the Maple Leafs and the Sabres.
After watching Burke lead Anaheim to a Cup, and now piecing together Toronto, it’s scary to think where Toronto will be in the standings in a few years.
Sabres fans know what Darcy Regier has done in the past. While he has made some solid moves, it’s all been downhill since the Sabres won the President’s Trophy in the 2006-2007 season.
Buffalo has some holes to fill in the roster and will have a huge opportunity this summer.
There have already been rumors that the Sabres have interest in Tomas Kaberle. He would be an instant 40-50 point defenseman, and would improve the defensive core even more.
Buffalo allowed 207 goals last season, good for fourth best in the league. Imagine what the team could do with Kaberle and Myers as the first defensive pairing.
Kaberle shouldn’t be the main priority for Buffalo, but he would be a nice addition. The Sabres need to prove to their fans, and the rest of the NHL, that they are not going to sit back. Although Buffalo won the division last season, they need to show that they can repeat that success.
Many players will leave, be traded, and retire over the next couple of years, so somewhere Regier is going to have to acquire some players. One or two solid additions would have the team set to go for a couple years.
This summer, the differences between Burke and Regier will be highlighted once again.
Even though I can’t stand the Leafs, I’m excited to see how well they will do with Burke as the GM.
Hopefully, the Sabres will be able to keep everything together and improve in order to make a deep run in the playoffs.
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September of 1993 I decided to take my girlfriend Stacy (My Wife today) to a Pre season Sabres game in the Memorial Auditorium against the NY Islanders. My cousin Carl and his girlfriend at the time went along with us. We sat just above the glass right behind the net in the visitor’s end of the ice. “An earshot” from the goal crease. They were wonderful seats in the Golds.
Mark Fitzpatrick of the Islanders started the game, and in the Sabres crease unknown backup goalie named Dominik Hasek. When the Sabres took the ice, I was extremely disappointed because I was looking forward to watching NHL Hall Of Fame goaltender Grant Fuhr play. I had never seen Grant play live that’s why we chose to purchase seats behind the net. When Hasek was announced as the starting goaltender for the game, I was disappointed and pouted a bit….but got over it.
The first period was exciting! The Sabres were on fire and so were we! We had a great time heckling Islander Goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick non-stop for the entire first period! Chants of “Swisspatrick” and “minor leaguer” filled the air .During breaks in play Fitzpatrick would look back at us… shake his head, and talk to himself. He must have thought we were “out of our minds” because this was a pre-season game. Fitzpatrick did not hide the fact that he was annoyed by our heckling. His reactions added fuel to the fire and we were not about to let up.Fitzpatrick gave up 3 terrible goals in the 1st period, and was pulled from the game during the first intermission….he didnt even return to the teams bench.
But that is not the reason for this story……
While I was goofing off really not fully paying attention to the game, my girlfriend Stacy was. Hockey was new to Stacy…she maybe had gone to 3 or 4 games in her life. She was still learning the rules of game as well as the names of the players. Partway thru the first period Stacy nudged me and said” Who is that guy the Sabres have in net? I told her “that’s Dominik Hasek the Sabres back up goalie.” “This guy is good” she exclaimed. I did not really respond to her statement and went back the more important job at hand of annoying Fitzpatrick.
At the midway point of the 2nd period, Stacy got my attention by her next response. ” Dave, this guy is better than Grant Fuhr”. I responded in shock ” better than Grant Fuhr? Better than Fuhr? How can you compare a “no name” backup goaltender to one of the greatest clutch goaltenders of all time? Grant Fuhr has 5 stanley Cup rings…how can you compare the two?” I told her that “ When Hasek has 5 Stanley Cup rings then i will say he is better until then lets not compare. She told me“ you will see this guy is better”….we agreed to disagree and enjoyed watching the Sabres beat the Islanders.
The 1993-94 season was a tough year for some of the Sabre star players. Pat LaFontaine suffered various injuries and missed most of the season as well as starting goalie Grant Fuhr. Dominik Hasek was forced to take over the starting goaltender duties half way thru the year and Hasek’s career never looked back.
He continued to deliver brilliance for an 12 additional seasons in the NHL (7 additional with the Sabres) earning 6 Vezina Trophy’s as NHL’s best goaltender, 1 Olympic gold Medal , 2 Stanley Cup rings & 2 Hart Trophy’s as NHL MVP. Dominik also ranks 8th all-time in shutouts & 14th all time in wins. Hasek was the dominant goalie in the NHL …and earned the nickname “The Dominator”.
Hasek is now retired from the NHL but…to this day my wife reminds me that “she told me so”.
Guys isn’t it hard to admit when we are wrong? Especially when your Girlfriend or Wife knows less about the sport than you! Well….she was right…. and we enjoyed following his career together.
I now admit that today that Hasek was better….even though he didn’t earn 5 Stanley Cup rings.
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Another turn has been taken in the Zack Kassian saga.
Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier announced on Tuesday that the team would postpone contract negotiations with the 13th overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft.
Kassian was charged with assault late last week after his involvement in a fight at a Windsor bar on May 30 .
“It’s obviously not something we condone,” Regier told The Buffalo News on Tuesday. “It’s unfortunate. I happen to believe Zack’s a good kid.
“He just put himself in a position that going forward you can’t put yourself in those types of positions. It’s a learning process.”
While Buffalo has by no means given up on the youngster, Regier has not given a date as to when contract talks will resume.
“We were in negotiations,” Regier said in HSBC Arena. “We felt it was appropriate to stop negotiations at that time.”
The 19-year-old Kassian is fresh off his first Memorial Cup with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. He finished with seven goals and 16 points in 19 playoff games, and also had 38 penalty minutes.
His run-in with the law was not the first negative incident to put Kassian in the spotlight with the Windsor Spitfires.
Back in January, Kassian received a 20-game suspension for an open-ice headshot on Matt Kennedy of the Barrie Colts.
“We’re going to continue to work with him,” Regier continued. “I told him that on one hand there’s no way we’re going to abandon him, we’re going to help him, but he’s got some work to do on the other hand.
“He’s had three things over the course of the year that have all been opportunities to learn, and he really needs to. The critical issue is that he learns from them and that we help him learn from them.”
It is important for the Sabres to make sure that Kassian transforms into a more responsible player, one who can help mold the team into a winner for years to come.
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With numerous talented free agents hitting the market this summer, expect the Buffalo Sabres to be involved. While they may not have done much in the past, this year should be different.
Buffalo will see many changes over the next few years, and this upcoming season is just a start. Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier are likely on their way out in the next season or two. Not only that, but Rick Jeanneret isn’t going to announce the games much longer.
There are a number of players currently on the Sabres team who do not need to be there. Despite winning the Northeast Division this past season, Buffalo has many weaknesses, especially with quite a few free agents to sign.
Players such as Drew Stafford, Adam Mair, Steve Montador, Paul Gaustad, and Tim Connolly could all be better off with a different team.
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A goaltender is something that Regier said the team needs for next season. A veteran goalie that could play about 20 games a year would be ideal. Rumors have been floating around that fan favorite Martin Biron could make a return, which may not be a bad decision at all. If Regier fails to sign a goaltender, the Sabres can turn to Jhonas Enroth as the backup.
Buffalo is also in need of a first line center and/or a power forward. Patrick Marleau is unlikely to come and play for the Sabres. Regier should take a look at Florida’s Nathan Horton, who could make a huge impact with Buffalo.
Horton is 25 years old and has collected at least 45 points in each of the last five seasons. Although he does not have any playoff experience, the 3rd overall pick in the 2003 draft would be a huge pickup for Buffalo.
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Craig Rivet is expected to miss at least four months due to shoulder surgery that he will have in the near future. Rivet tallied 15 points in 78 regular season games, and remains under contract for another year with Buffalo.
After two sub-par seasons with the Sabres, it may be time to move the “C” onto some one else’s jersey. It seemed like a good trade when the Sabres acquired Rivet from the Sharks in 2008, but he hasn’t performed as well as hoped.
While I am not suggesting that they get rid of him, I believe the Sabres have plenty of better options for the captaincy. Although, I don’t see what goes on in the locker room and off the ice. From what I see on the ice, I don’t believe he should be Buffalo’s captain. What do you think? Leave a comment below with any thoughts.
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Buffalo Sabres prospect Zack Kassian was recently arrested for an altercation that occurred in a bar. Kassian was earlier suspended 20 games by the OHL for his hit on Matt Kennedy.
Kassian is already on his way to becoming a very dirty player for the Sabres. He is compared to Milan Lucic and his favorite player is Todd Bertuzzi, but he can do a lot more than play physical. In his last 99 games, he has scored 94 points.
Buffalo has high expectations for Kassian, but he needs to stay out of trouble, both on and off the ice.
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