It was a good hockey day yesterday. Was able to catch the most of the Slovakia/Finland game and the Canada/Sweden game yesterday afternoon at the Worlds. Plus, later that night I caught a good portion of the San Jose' Sharks/LA Kings playoff matchup.
A few things about the IIHF games:
--Jhonas Enroth was stout in net for Team Sweden, and as shown when he stifled Canada's Steven Stamkos on a breakaway, he's tough to beat mano-y-mano. Therefore the shootout win. He's done that in Buffalo often over the last couple of seasons with the Sabres. Gotta love his competitive fire.
--Former Sabres' head coach Lindy Ruff was behind the bench for Team Canada. They played a tight defensive game, clogging up the neutral zone and generally playing a cautious game. Enroth's stop on Stamkos was a game-changer as Team Canada could have gone up 2-0 had he connected. Kinda sounds familiar to Sabres fans.
--Team Canada goalie Mike Smith played a solid game. Should the Sabres end up trading Ryan Miller, Smith may be a viable alternative in net. He's coming off a contract that paid him $2M last season. Smith is a solid goalie who has kicked up his game in the playoffs. There are signs of a Tim Thomas like future ahead of him should he land on a Cup-quality team. Wouldn't mind tandem of Enroth and Smith heading into 2013-14. Might be pretty solid. And it won't break the bank either.
--Andrej Sekera scored Slovakia's second goal last night to help them claw back from a 3-0 deficit vs. Finland. The Sabres' defensman playing for his homeland team moved to the center of the ice on the play and blasted a rising shot through a crowd from near the blueline. With a much larger ice-surface in international play, Sekera had plenty of room to skate all through the game. There's a marked difference between his international game and the one he plays on a smaller NHL rink. Which isn't good for the Sabres.
*************
While watching the Sharks/Kings game last night, I couldn't help but notice the smaller ice surface in the NHL and was left to wonder why the biggest players in the world play on a smaller rink.
If the NHL really wanted to improve the game they'd make the ice-surfact bigger. Right?
Of course that would mean hundreds of high dollar seats eliminated and no owner would want that.
Perhaps Commish Gary Bettman and Co. should devise a plan to widen the rinks in the future. Maybe they could use that as a premise for the next lockout when the owners will want to add more to their share of hockey related revenue.
*************
The Kings are a team that knows how to navigate a smaller ice surface, know how to play the North American game, have oodles of talent and sandpaper and are the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
The Sharks had them on the hook last night, but two penalties late in the game allowed the Kings to pull out a victory.
Los Angeles looks primed to hoist the Cup once again.
They're hitting their stride having won six in a row and look very tough to beat.
*************
When the Toronto Maple Leafs blew a three-goal lead in Game-7 at Boston, the anguish that Leafs fans felt should not be wished upon anyone.
But...
if it's gonna happen to any team and fan-base, gotta love that it happened to Toronto (with Vancouver being a very close second.)
Speaking of the Maple Leafs collapse, forward Joffery Lupul was quoted as saying, "that hockey game will haunt me until the day I die."
Karma's a bitch there, Jof.
Better heed the warning signs, buddy. If you screw up in this life, Satan has it all lined up for you in hell: locked in a windowless hotel room in Buffalo with a continuous loop of your Leafs' third period/overtime, Game-7 collapse.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
LA taking down St. Louis is great on a couple of levels
I've always been a fan of Robyn Regehr.
It's not that I'd followed the Calgary Flames all that much when he was playing for them for a decade, but when I did catch their games I really liked what he brought to the team.
The Sabres for the past seven years have needed more professionalism, more grit, more leadership. Regehr is that type of player and it's players like him who get the respect of hockey world.
Regehr brought those attributes to the Sabres for the nearly two years, but as his rugged style of play began to wear on him a bit, he wasn't quite as effective with the Sabres as he was with the Flames. He's not washed up by any stretch of the imagination, but the load he had to carry in Buffalo, from a leadership and grit perspective, is too much to ask a 33 yr. old player who's never missed more than 14 games in a full season.
It's too bad Sabres GM Darcy Regier opted to pick Dmitri Kalinin one spot ahead of Regehr in the 1998 draft. We could have seen him on a nightly basis smack-dab in his prime. Who knows, maybe the Carolina series would've turned out differently and/or maybe a pro like Chris Drury would've opted to re-sign with Buffalo.
Methinks the past eight seasons would've turned out quite differently--for the better.
Regehr is out in LA now, headed to the second round of the playoffs with his Kings teammates.
Much respect to the Sabres organization for sending him there (for two 2nd-round picks.) It's probably the best possible situation for him to win the Stanley Cup.
The Kings are filled with leadership, skill, grit and tenacity. They're defending their Stanley Cup crown on a shortened season and seem to be hitting their stride right now.
What's asked of Regehr is simply to play his game. Clear the front of the net. Lay some hard hits on the opposition. Help anchor the PK.
For 21:00/game Regehr is simply asked to be the player he is--a tough defensive defenesman.
After spending an entire career being a true professional in both Calgary and Buffalo, the world would be right if he was on the last team standing.
*************
A very young and talented St. Louis Blues team was eliminated in the first round and it exposed a couple of holes in the line-up.
The Kings knocked out the Blues in six games, winning the last four straight. St. Louis scored six goals on 110 shots in those four losses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch called out management for " inexplicably ignoring the obvious need to add a proven finisher to the lineup."
Miklasz wants a "fearless, cold-blooded sniper that won't get the yips and repeatedly miss putting the puck in the net at crucial moments" in the lineup.
The Sabres Thomas Vanek is a sniper. He can score in a variety of ways from any area of the ice and he's proven he can score in the playoffs.
St. Louis bench-boss Ken Hitchcock had that type of player in Brett Hull when the Dallas Stars defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals.
Although Vanek is not Brett Hull, he may be the best winger available this off-season for the Blues to acquire.
In 26 playoff games for the Sabres, Vanek has 15 goals. His average shooting percentage over those four appearances is 18.3%.
As the only real offensive weapon for Buffalo in their last two playoffs in 2010 and 2011, he had seven goals in 10 games and shot at rates of 20% and 25% respectively.
Hmmmm...
Miklasz also points out another flaw in the Blues--goaltending. He says, "[LA Kings goalie] Jonathan Quick outplayed the Blues' Brian Elliott when pressure seeped into this series."
In blog dating back to the trade deadline, it was noted that the Blues allowed the least number of shots per game in the NHL, but their goalies' save percentage was weak.
It's a trend that bit them again in the first round of the playoffs.
Miklasz points out that over the last three Blues losses to the Kings, Elliott had an .871 sv.%. For the series Elliott had a 1.90 gaa and a .919 sv%. Pretty solid numbers on the whole, but when it really counted those last three games--when Elliott needed to steal a game--an .871 sv.% doesn't get the job done.
Elliott is what he is--a real strong back-up who can play like a starter on a number of occasions, but isn't that bonafide #1 goalie.
The Blues have a potential #1 goalie in Jake Allen, but at a very young 22 yrs. old, he still has a lot of growing to do.
The Sabres' Ryan Miller is a bonafide #1 goalie who has proven that he can steal a game or two in the playoffs.
Just look back on the Philadelphia series two years ago when he had two shutouts vs. the Flyers. The Fly-boys had possibly the best group of forwards in the NHL that year. The Sabres countered with one of the worst defenses in the playoffs that year. Of the eight d-men who dressed for that series, only three remain.
Miller is highly regarded throughout the league (outside of Buffalo, of course) and has a way of getting in the opposition's heads. If he doesn't need to worry about his defensemen playing the game properly, he's out high in his crease challenging shooters.
And when he's on, he's real tough to beat.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the Blues and the Sabres hook-up in the off-season. St. Louis needs a sniper like Vanek and could justify bringing in a bonafide #1 goalie like Miller.
The Blues also have a bevy of young talent throughout the organization with, according to Hockey's Future, depth and talent at center and on defense in the pipeline. They have size, skill and grit on the big club. And they have so much youth that moving a 1st-round draft pick this season and/or next will not set the organization back that much.
They need to make a move for some vets to fill the two holes Miklasz points out.
And the Sabres would be the team to call.
It's not that I'd followed the Calgary Flames all that much when he was playing for them for a decade, but when I did catch their games I really liked what he brought to the team.
The Sabres for the past seven years have needed more professionalism, more grit, more leadership. Regehr is that type of player and it's players like him who get the respect of hockey world.
Regehr brought those attributes to the Sabres for the nearly two years, but as his rugged style of play began to wear on him a bit, he wasn't quite as effective with the Sabres as he was with the Flames. He's not washed up by any stretch of the imagination, but the load he had to carry in Buffalo, from a leadership and grit perspective, is too much to ask a 33 yr. old player who's never missed more than 14 games in a full season.
It's too bad Sabres GM Darcy Regier opted to pick Dmitri Kalinin one spot ahead of Regehr in the 1998 draft. We could have seen him on a nightly basis smack-dab in his prime. Who knows, maybe the Carolina series would've turned out differently and/or maybe a pro like Chris Drury would've opted to re-sign with Buffalo.
Methinks the past eight seasons would've turned out quite differently--for the better.
Regehr is out in LA now, headed to the second round of the playoffs with his Kings teammates.
Much respect to the Sabres organization for sending him there (for two 2nd-round picks.) It's probably the best possible situation for him to win the Stanley Cup.
The Kings are filled with leadership, skill, grit and tenacity. They're defending their Stanley Cup crown on a shortened season and seem to be hitting their stride right now.
What's asked of Regehr is simply to play his game. Clear the front of the net. Lay some hard hits on the opposition. Help anchor the PK.
For 21:00/game Regehr is simply asked to be the player he is--a tough defensive defenesman.
After spending an entire career being a true professional in both Calgary and Buffalo, the world would be right if he was on the last team standing.
*************
A very young and talented St. Louis Blues team was eliminated in the first round and it exposed a couple of holes in the line-up.
The Kings knocked out the Blues in six games, winning the last four straight. St. Louis scored six goals on 110 shots in those four losses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch called out management for " inexplicably ignoring the obvious need to add a proven finisher to the lineup."
Miklasz wants a "fearless, cold-blooded sniper that won't get the yips and repeatedly miss putting the puck in the net at crucial moments" in the lineup.
The Sabres Thomas Vanek is a sniper. He can score in a variety of ways from any area of the ice and he's proven he can score in the playoffs.
St. Louis bench-boss Ken Hitchcock had that type of player in Brett Hull when the Dallas Stars defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals.
Although Vanek is not Brett Hull, he may be the best winger available this off-season for the Blues to acquire.
In 26 playoff games for the Sabres, Vanek has 15 goals. His average shooting percentage over those four appearances is 18.3%.
As the only real offensive weapon for Buffalo in their last two playoffs in 2010 and 2011, he had seven goals in 10 games and shot at rates of 20% and 25% respectively.
Hmmmm...
Miklasz also points out another flaw in the Blues--goaltending. He says, "[LA Kings goalie] Jonathan Quick outplayed the Blues' Brian Elliott when pressure seeped into this series."
In blog dating back to the trade deadline, it was noted that the Blues allowed the least number of shots per game in the NHL, but their goalies' save percentage was weak.
It's a trend that bit them again in the first round of the playoffs.
Miklasz points out that over the last three Blues losses to the Kings, Elliott had an .871 sv.%. For the series Elliott had a 1.90 gaa and a .919 sv%. Pretty solid numbers on the whole, but when it really counted those last three games--when Elliott needed to steal a game--an .871 sv.% doesn't get the job done.
Elliott is what he is--a real strong back-up who can play like a starter on a number of occasions, but isn't that bonafide #1 goalie.
The Blues have a potential #1 goalie in Jake Allen, but at a very young 22 yrs. old, he still has a lot of growing to do.
The Sabres' Ryan Miller is a bonafide #1 goalie who has proven that he can steal a game or two in the playoffs.
Just look back on the Philadelphia series two years ago when he had two shutouts vs. the Flyers. The Fly-boys had possibly the best group of forwards in the NHL that year. The Sabres countered with one of the worst defenses in the playoffs that year. Of the eight d-men who dressed for that series, only three remain.
Miller is highly regarded throughout the league (outside of Buffalo, of course) and has a way of getting in the opposition's heads. If he doesn't need to worry about his defensemen playing the game properly, he's out high in his crease challenging shooters.
And when he's on, he's real tough to beat.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the Blues and the Sabres hook-up in the off-season. St. Louis needs a sniper like Vanek and could justify bringing in a bonafide #1 goalie like Miller.
The Blues also have a bevy of young talent throughout the organization with, according to Hockey's Future, depth and talent at center and on defense in the pipeline. They have size, skill and grit on the big club. And they have so much youth that moving a 1st-round draft pick this season and/or next will not set the organization back that much.
They need to make a move for some vets to fill the two holes Miklasz points out.
And the Sabres would be the team to call.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Quinn and Regier/Black and Regier--Same Sh*t, Different Owner...
and it's the last thing Sabres nation needed.
The boys at the Buffalo News' were ready to rumble at the end of year presser on Monday.
They couldn't wait to get at the two representatives of the Buffalo Sabres sitting in front of them--Team President Ted Black and GM Darcy Regier.
The News' Mike Harrington got the mike first and immediately dove into the organization.
When he asked Black to "end all speculation" concerning the status of Regier, his first question wasn't really a question, but a statement of disbelief.
Everyone knew that Regier was still on board. He was right there in front of them.
Was Regier still GM? "Yes," was Black's direct answer to the "question."
What Harrington was really trying to get at, as he asked the follow-up, was why, after six years of failure, and when the Sabres fired their longtime coach, is Regier still GM?
Black's answer started chronological, "the decision to extend [Regier] into next year was made before the lockout ended," then turned evasive, "the reality is...," he continued.
Let's stop right there.
The reality is, this team is a mess.
The reality is, this team has being mismanaged on the hockey side--Regier's side--and it seems to be severely affecting the business side--Black's side.
The reality is, Regier's team did not make the playoffs two years running and it's affecting Black's bottom line.
The reality is, owner Terry Pegula listened to his senior advisor, Ken Sawyer, as the latter called Regier a "hockey genius" and it's strained the relationship between owner and fans.
The reality is, the "hockey genius" is causing Black to lose tens of millions of his owners money, much more than anyone ever thought.
The reality is, Black's "Hockey Heaven" in Buffalo is now "Hockey Hell" and an owner who once said his main job is to be liked is now being vilified for what amounts to the incompetence of his two main charges.
Depsite Pegula's lavish expenditures on everything from a newly refurbished dressing room to expensive free agent contracts, the present state of the Sabres seems to be nothing more than extension of the Tom Golisano regime.
Black's responses at the presser exposed a very troubling trait. His owner who once said "if I want to make money, I'll drill another well" has such a financial mess on his hands that the team is relying on league welfare for the second season in a row. Just like the previous regime did.
The multi-billionaire has a team president who said they had to raise ticket prices, not because of a league mandate like he initially intimated, but because the Sabres must show year over year revenue growth in order to be eligible for revenue sharing.
Said Black, "the entire process allows this franchise to still qualify unencumbered for revenue sharing. The 4% ticket price increase, is about an obligation [to the league] to raise money so you don't jeopardize that revenue stream."
With Sabres' ticket prices in the bottom quarter of the league, according to Black, they're losing bushels of money because they havent' made the playoffs.
Losses could be in the area of $10M per year outside of the playoffs. And that includes revenue sharing.
No owner, no matter how well off, should be expected to lose that amount of money year over year.
As Black said, "I can't get drunk off Terry's wealth and assume he's going to live forever and he's going to spend money forever."
Turns out we were all drunk on his wealth when he bought the team.
But none moreso than the GM.
With the financial chains off, Regier proceeded to:
That sucking sound you hear is the sound of millions of dollars being thrown away on a team that failed to make the playoffs--again.
So why, after two years of futility on the ice and with a team hemorrhaging money, would they want to keep Regier on board?
Maybe it's about money--again.
It would make sense that they wouldn't want to eat Regier's contract and pay a new GM in the process.
Right now the Sabres have still have Regier in charge as they continue to dismantle his core. He's proven capable of moving players for a good return like he did when trading core players Paul Gaustad, Derek Roy and Jason Pominville over the last 18 months or so.
Two more of his core, who happen to be the two best players on the roster--Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek--look to be on the move as well, and the return will probably be mostly picks and prospects.
Financially, there isn't really much more damage Regier can do to the organization by trading high-priced veterans for picks and/or prospects.
What does all this mean?
One would expect that Regier's hand in the rebuild may be limited to the dismantling part. The Sabres will probably be heading into the 2013/14 as the youngest team in the NHL and will be relying on Head Amateur Scout/Assistant GM Kevin Devine to mold the future through draft picks and prospects.
Higher priced vets like Christian Ehrhoff, Steve Ott and Ville Leino, as well as underachieving Drew Stafford will probably remain for a variety of reasons. The Sabres still need to put a product on the ice, they'll still have the cap-floor to reach and they'll still need some veteran leadership.
We should not, however, expect any big splashes in free agency with high-priced players coming to Buffalo this off season.
And with the salary cap going down, the Sabres payroll going down, not paying for two GM's next season, and ticket prices increasing, Black should be able to keep the team finances in check for the upcoming season.
It should also be assumed that the team will retain interim head coach Ron Rolston for another year. As the team continues to pay Ruff's salary, it makes sound financial sense to keep a coach on the cheap.
This attention to the bottom line is what the team went through from 2007-2011 when Golisano owned the team and had his "just break even" mandate to then team president--and part-owner--Larry Quinn.
Same shit, different owner for Sabres fans which is the last thing Sabres-nation needed.
The boys at the Buffalo News' were ready to rumble at the end of year presser on Monday.
They couldn't wait to get at the two representatives of the Buffalo Sabres sitting in front of them--Team President Ted Black and GM Darcy Regier.
The News' Mike Harrington got the mike first and immediately dove into the organization.
When he asked Black to "end all speculation" concerning the status of Regier, his first question wasn't really a question, but a statement of disbelief.
Everyone knew that Regier was still on board. He was right there in front of them.
Was Regier still GM? "Yes," was Black's direct answer to the "question."
What Harrington was really trying to get at, as he asked the follow-up, was why, after six years of failure, and when the Sabres fired their longtime coach, is Regier still GM?
Black's answer started chronological, "the decision to extend [Regier] into next year was made before the lockout ended," then turned evasive, "the reality is...," he continued.
Let's stop right there.
The reality is, this team is a mess.
The reality is, this team has being mismanaged on the hockey side--Regier's side--and it seems to be severely affecting the business side--Black's side.
The reality is, Regier's team did not make the playoffs two years running and it's affecting Black's bottom line.
The reality is, owner Terry Pegula listened to his senior advisor, Ken Sawyer, as the latter called Regier a "hockey genius" and it's strained the relationship between owner and fans.
The reality is, the "hockey genius" is causing Black to lose tens of millions of his owners money, much more than anyone ever thought.
The reality is, Black's "Hockey Heaven" in Buffalo is now "Hockey Hell" and an owner who once said his main job is to be liked is now being vilified for what amounts to the incompetence of his two main charges.
Depsite Pegula's lavish expenditures on everything from a newly refurbished dressing room to expensive free agent contracts, the present state of the Sabres seems to be nothing more than extension of the Tom Golisano regime.
Black's responses at the presser exposed a very troubling trait. His owner who once said "if I want to make money, I'll drill another well" has such a financial mess on his hands that the team is relying on league welfare for the second season in a row. Just like the previous regime did.
The multi-billionaire has a team president who said they had to raise ticket prices, not because of a league mandate like he initially intimated, but because the Sabres must show year over year revenue growth in order to be eligible for revenue sharing.
Said Black, "the entire process allows this franchise to still qualify unencumbered for revenue sharing. The 4% ticket price increase, is about an obligation [to the league] to raise money so you don't jeopardize that revenue stream."
With Sabres' ticket prices in the bottom quarter of the league, according to Black, they're losing bushels of money because they havent' made the playoffs.
Losses could be in the area of $10M per year outside of the playoffs. And that includes revenue sharing.
No owner, no matter how well off, should be expected to lose that amount of money year over year.
As Black said, "I can't get drunk off Terry's wealth and assume he's going to live forever and he's going to spend money forever."
Turns out we were all drunk on his wealth when he bought the team.
But none moreso than the GM.
With the financial chains off, Regier proceeded to:
- eat Ales Kotalik's $3M contract in the Robyn Regehr trade
- sign Christian Ehrhoff to a 10-yr./$40M contract, $18M of it in the first two years
- sign Ville Leino to a 6 yr./$27M contract
- bury Shoane Morrison's $2M contract in the minors
- re-sign Tyler Myers to a 7 yr./$38.5M contract with a $10M bonus paid out this year
- re-sign Andrej Sekera to a 4 yr./$11M contract with $7.5M paid out the first two years
That sucking sound you hear is the sound of millions of dollars being thrown away on a team that failed to make the playoffs--again.
So why, after two years of futility on the ice and with a team hemorrhaging money, would they want to keep Regier on board?
Maybe it's about money--again.
It would make sense that they wouldn't want to eat Regier's contract and pay a new GM in the process.
Right now the Sabres have still have Regier in charge as they continue to dismantle his core. He's proven capable of moving players for a good return like he did when trading core players Paul Gaustad, Derek Roy and Jason Pominville over the last 18 months or so.
Two more of his core, who happen to be the two best players on the roster--Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek--look to be on the move as well, and the return will probably be mostly picks and prospects.
Financially, there isn't really much more damage Regier can do to the organization by trading high-priced veterans for picks and/or prospects.
What does all this mean?
One would expect that Regier's hand in the rebuild may be limited to the dismantling part. The Sabres will probably be heading into the 2013/14 as the youngest team in the NHL and will be relying on Head Amateur Scout/Assistant GM Kevin Devine to mold the future through draft picks and prospects.
Higher priced vets like Christian Ehrhoff, Steve Ott and Ville Leino, as well as underachieving Drew Stafford will probably remain for a variety of reasons. The Sabres still need to put a product on the ice, they'll still have the cap-floor to reach and they'll still need some veteran leadership.
We should not, however, expect any big splashes in free agency with high-priced players coming to Buffalo this off season.
And with the salary cap going down, the Sabres payroll going down, not paying for two GM's next season, and ticket prices increasing, Black should be able to keep the team finances in check for the upcoming season.
It should also be assumed that the team will retain interim head coach Ron Rolston for another year. As the team continues to pay Ruff's salary, it makes sound financial sense to keep a coach on the cheap.
This attention to the bottom line is what the team went through from 2007-2011 when Golisano owned the team and had his "just break even" mandate to then team president--and part-owner--Larry Quinn.
Same shit, different owner for Sabres fans which is the last thing Sabres-nation needed.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Good, Bad, Ugly, Typical
From Thursday through Sunday a bevy of events happened in the world of Buffalo sports.
The NFL draft came and went, the Sabres season ended outside the playoffs again, and the Rochester Americans are in the playoffs are facing the Toronto Marlies--again.
We could get all "War and Peace" on anyone of the topics, but we'll try to keep it a simple as possible and look at everything on an individual basis as good, bad, ugly, typical.
The Buffalo Bills take QB EJ Manuel in the first round of the NFL Draft.
--GM Buddy Nix went into the draft in the #8 spot hell-bent on drafting a "franchise QB," and everybody knew it. Everyone also knew that the prize offensive weapon in the draft was WR Tavon Austin, who the Bills could have easily taken at that spot. What nobody knew was that the Bills wanted Manuel (not Ryan Nassib, Mr. Sal Paolantonio) and very few thought that the Bills would trade down, except WGR's Joe Buscaglia, who deserves high grades for nailing it dead on. The Bills managed to keep Austin out of the hands of the NY Jets, they drafted a "franchise QB" which will keep the fans and media at bay for a year or two, they got an extra second round pick and Nix's "coveted" seventh rounder--Good
The Buffalo Sabres are out of the playoffs, are in the #8 spot in the draft right now.
--The Sabres beat the NY Islanders on the final game of the season 2-1 in the shootout. Goalie Ryan Miller got the win and Thomas Vanek got the shootout winner. Barring a team behind the Sabres in the draft winning the lottery and moving to #1, the Sabres will draft #8, their highest position since drafting Vanek at #5 in 2003. Buffalo is out of the playoffs for the second straight year and will not have a top-three to five pick in the draft (barring a trade up or winning the lottery.)--Typical
Thomas Vanek will (more than likely) be out of Buffalo.
--With a few games left in the regular season an his team out of the playoffs, I watched Vanek do his best Derek "dipsy doodle" Roy impersonation--a little between the legs, a little blind, back-hand passes and a whole lot of fancy. And, like Roy, nothing came of it. Yeah, he checked out. At 29 years old he's in his prime and has said a few times that he's not interested in a draft-driven rebuild. It will take too long for his liking. And that's if the direction of the organization, he believes "it makes sense for both parties to move on." Vanek is a talented goal-scorer. He also showed, and has shown, his true colors dating back to 2007. He was a mercenary for the payout back then, and he'll be a mercenary for the Stanely Cup now. Trading Vanek now should land them a bounty on par with the take for Jason Pominville. GM Darcy Regier won't say as much, but it's a pretty easy choice. So long and thanks for all the fish.--Good
The Rochester Americans are down 2-0 to the Toronto Marlies in the AHL playoffs.
--For the second year in a row, the Amerks drew the Marlies in the first round of the AHL playoffs. For the second year in a row they find themselves down 2-0 as the series heads to Rochester. Last year they were swept out of the playoffs. This weekend, in their 6-3 opening loss, goalie David Leggio surrendered five goals on 17 shots as the Amerks surrendered three third period goals in defeat. Game 2 saw NHL trade-deadline acquisition Matt Hackett (Minn) give up two goals on 18 shots as the Amerks were shut out 2-0. The Amerks cannot seem to beat the Marlies, even with the additions of C, Mikhail Grigorenko, D Mark Pysyk and F Brian Flynn, all of whom rejoined the team after the Sabres finished the season. Oh, and the goalie who's beaten them is former Amerk Drew MacIntyre who's allowed three goals on 59 shots and garnered a 2nd star and 1st star, respectively, in the process--Ugly
Zemgus Girgensons is really developing.
--The "Latvian Locomotive" has come a long way since he first hit the AHL ice as the youngest player in the league. He took it to another level in Game-1 of the playoffs scoring two goals. He should have had a hat-trick but was absolutely robbed by MacIntyre with the game tied in the third period (click here for a replay of both his goals and the save as well.) Girgensons (#14-overall, 2012) is developing into the player that everyone projected him to be--a talented player with a lot of heart who's able to turn it up in big games. To me, it would seem as if the Sabres have themselves a potential Ryan Callahan/Mike Richards-type, someone they haven't had since Chris Drury left. GM Darcy Regier did...--Good
The Luke Adam boat, it would seem, has sailed.
--The big centerman has no goals and is a minus-2 in the series. He has not scored a goal in his last five playoff games and has one assist. What's more disconcerting is what Paul Hamilton reminded us of on WGR today. Adam had the opportunity to really show what he was made of when he was called up this season. And he proved he wasn't made of much. Yes, he scored a goal in his first game, but after that, he looked as if he really didn't belong in the NHL either because his lack of talent or his lack of interest.--Ugly
Tyler Myers said he needs to focus on his off-season conditioning.
--The former Calder winner has been in decline since that rookie year and he left this season with a broken foot. Myers' skill-level is undeniable, but his willingness to put in the work necessary to excell is suspect. Myers said he will work on his condintioning this off-season. Hamilton also pointed out that when Myers plays more physical, his overall game approaches that Calder-level. He either doesn't have the professional drive or isn't in the proper game-shape to do that on a game-to-game basis. It's reminiscent of what's been said about F Drew Stafford over the last few seasons. And that's not good.--Bad
Disturbing stats concerning the team in front of Miller, and what if he leaves?
--WGR's Matthew Coller wrote a good piece concerning "advanced stats" and the Sabres in front of Miller. Encapsulating his statistical analysis: the Sabres were a really bad team and were it not for "good" goaltending, they'd have been worse in the standings. Just watching the games throughout the last six seasons, Miller and a slew of incompetent back-ups have faced an inordinant amount of prime scoring chances because of a poor team in front of them (save for the 2009/10 season.) You don't need "advanced stats" to come to the conclusion that Miller is the reason they haven't been at the bottom of the league. What's even scarier is that some are willing to put Jhonas Enroth or Matt Hackett on the ice with the youngest team in the league in front of them. The youngest team in the league carrying the worst "advanced stats" of any team with a young goalie in net would be...--Ugly
Darcy Regier looks to be back as GM
--The media hates it. The fans hate it. The numbers dictate he should have been gone years ago. The Buffalo News' Bucky Gleason wanted him gone after the Drury/Daniel Briere fiasco. He should have been gone when he stated that Derek Roy and Tim Connolly were two of the top-20 centers in the league three years ago. Nobody who watched his "core" believed, as he did, that the team was "good enough." He's redeemed himself, though, since Terry Pegula took over the team by tearing down his core and getting full return in his trades. But, can a leopard change his spots? Can you trust him to acquire players who make the team tough to play against? Possible, but not probable. When having the choice between "soft-but-skilled" and grit, he still seems to prefer the former and I don't think that will ever change. Brad Boyes, Ville Leino, Christian Ehrhoff (kudos for the Robyn Regehr trade,) Joel Armia, Grigorenko (#12) before Girgensons (#14, whom they had to trade up for) and even Cody Hodgson, to an extent. Which means the team will never change and the team will always be easy to play against, as shown by their mediocre play over the last six seasons. If Regier does not build with the likes of more Steve Ott's, that's bad, If he cannot change his spots, then it's going to get real...--Ugly
The Bills add a few players with a troubled past
--EJ Manuel seems to be a real character-guy. But...the Bills, somewhat uncharacteristically, drafted a few players who have marks on their record. 2nd round pick (#46-overall) "Kiko" Alonso seems to have had problems with alcohol during college which got him in trouble a couple of times. Fourth-round pick (#105) Michael "Duke" Williams also had some alcohol problems and was caught driving on a suspended license. The Bills also signed free agent WR Da'Rick Rogers immediately after the draft. Rogers, apparently, liked to smoke pot, and was kicked out of Tennessee for failing drug tests (that's plural.) Rogers went to Tennessee Tech and had an average year, nobody drafted him, but the Bills jumped at the chance to sign him. All three of these players are talented and play with some serious edge--Good...as in, I hope they become some Bad-ass mofo's for the Bills, they need that
The NFL draft came and went, the Sabres season ended outside the playoffs again, and the Rochester Americans are in the playoffs are facing the Toronto Marlies--again.
We could get all "War and Peace" on anyone of the topics, but we'll try to keep it a simple as possible and look at everything on an individual basis as good, bad, ugly, typical.
The Buffalo Bills take QB EJ Manuel in the first round of the NFL Draft.
--GM Buddy Nix went into the draft in the #8 spot hell-bent on drafting a "franchise QB," and everybody knew it. Everyone also knew that the prize offensive weapon in the draft was WR Tavon Austin, who the Bills could have easily taken at that spot. What nobody knew was that the Bills wanted Manuel (not Ryan Nassib, Mr. Sal Paolantonio) and very few thought that the Bills would trade down, except WGR's Joe Buscaglia, who deserves high grades for nailing it dead on. The Bills managed to keep Austin out of the hands of the NY Jets, they drafted a "franchise QB" which will keep the fans and media at bay for a year or two, they got an extra second round pick and Nix's "coveted" seventh rounder--Good
The Buffalo Sabres are out of the playoffs, are in the #8 spot in the draft right now.
--The Sabres beat the NY Islanders on the final game of the season 2-1 in the shootout. Goalie Ryan Miller got the win and Thomas Vanek got the shootout winner. Barring a team behind the Sabres in the draft winning the lottery and moving to #1, the Sabres will draft #8, their highest position since drafting Vanek at #5 in 2003. Buffalo is out of the playoffs for the second straight year and will not have a top-three to five pick in the draft (barring a trade up or winning the lottery.)--Typical
Thomas Vanek will (more than likely) be out of Buffalo.
--With a few games left in the regular season an his team out of the playoffs, I watched Vanek do his best Derek "dipsy doodle" Roy impersonation--a little between the legs, a little blind, back-hand passes and a whole lot of fancy. And, like Roy, nothing came of it. Yeah, he checked out. At 29 years old he's in his prime and has said a few times that he's not interested in a draft-driven rebuild. It will take too long for his liking. And that's if the direction of the organization, he believes "it makes sense for both parties to move on." Vanek is a talented goal-scorer. He also showed, and has shown, his true colors dating back to 2007. He was a mercenary for the payout back then, and he'll be a mercenary for the Stanely Cup now. Trading Vanek now should land them a bounty on par with the take for Jason Pominville. GM Darcy Regier won't say as much, but it's a pretty easy choice. So long and thanks for all the fish.--Good
The Rochester Americans are down 2-0 to the Toronto Marlies in the AHL playoffs.
--For the second year in a row, the Amerks drew the Marlies in the first round of the AHL playoffs. For the second year in a row they find themselves down 2-0 as the series heads to Rochester. Last year they were swept out of the playoffs. This weekend, in their 6-3 opening loss, goalie David Leggio surrendered five goals on 17 shots as the Amerks surrendered three third period goals in defeat. Game 2 saw NHL trade-deadline acquisition Matt Hackett (Minn) give up two goals on 18 shots as the Amerks were shut out 2-0. The Amerks cannot seem to beat the Marlies, even with the additions of C, Mikhail Grigorenko, D Mark Pysyk and F Brian Flynn, all of whom rejoined the team after the Sabres finished the season. Oh, and the goalie who's beaten them is former Amerk Drew MacIntyre who's allowed three goals on 59 shots and garnered a 2nd star and 1st star, respectively, in the process--Ugly
Zemgus Girgensons is really developing.
--The "Latvian Locomotive" has come a long way since he first hit the AHL ice as the youngest player in the league. He took it to another level in Game-1 of the playoffs scoring two goals. He should have had a hat-trick but was absolutely robbed by MacIntyre with the game tied in the third period (click here for a replay of both his goals and the save as well.) Girgensons (#14-overall, 2012) is developing into the player that everyone projected him to be--a talented player with a lot of heart who's able to turn it up in big games. To me, it would seem as if the Sabres have themselves a potential Ryan Callahan/Mike Richards-type, someone they haven't had since Chris Drury left. GM Darcy Regier did...--Good
The Luke Adam boat, it would seem, has sailed.
--The big centerman has no goals and is a minus-2 in the series. He has not scored a goal in his last five playoff games and has one assist. What's more disconcerting is what Paul Hamilton reminded us of on WGR today. Adam had the opportunity to really show what he was made of when he was called up this season. And he proved he wasn't made of much. Yes, he scored a goal in his first game, but after that, he looked as if he really didn't belong in the NHL either because his lack of talent or his lack of interest.--Ugly
Tyler Myers said he needs to focus on his off-season conditioning.
--The former Calder winner has been in decline since that rookie year and he left this season with a broken foot. Myers' skill-level is undeniable, but his willingness to put in the work necessary to excell is suspect. Myers said he will work on his condintioning this off-season. Hamilton also pointed out that when Myers plays more physical, his overall game approaches that Calder-level. He either doesn't have the professional drive or isn't in the proper game-shape to do that on a game-to-game basis. It's reminiscent of what's been said about F Drew Stafford over the last few seasons. And that's not good.--Bad
Disturbing stats concerning the team in front of Miller, and what if he leaves?
--WGR's Matthew Coller wrote a good piece concerning "advanced stats" and the Sabres in front of Miller. Encapsulating his statistical analysis: the Sabres were a really bad team and were it not for "good" goaltending, they'd have been worse in the standings. Just watching the games throughout the last six seasons, Miller and a slew of incompetent back-ups have faced an inordinant amount of prime scoring chances because of a poor team in front of them (save for the 2009/10 season.) You don't need "advanced stats" to come to the conclusion that Miller is the reason they haven't been at the bottom of the league. What's even scarier is that some are willing to put Jhonas Enroth or Matt Hackett on the ice with the youngest team in the league in front of them. The youngest team in the league carrying the worst "advanced stats" of any team with a young goalie in net would be...--Ugly
Darcy Regier looks to be back as GM
--The media hates it. The fans hate it. The numbers dictate he should have been gone years ago. The Buffalo News' Bucky Gleason wanted him gone after the Drury/Daniel Briere fiasco. He should have been gone when he stated that Derek Roy and Tim Connolly were two of the top-20 centers in the league three years ago. Nobody who watched his "core" believed, as he did, that the team was "good enough." He's redeemed himself, though, since Terry Pegula took over the team by tearing down his core and getting full return in his trades. But, can a leopard change his spots? Can you trust him to acquire players who make the team tough to play against? Possible, but not probable. When having the choice between "soft-but-skilled" and grit, he still seems to prefer the former and I don't think that will ever change. Brad Boyes, Ville Leino, Christian Ehrhoff (kudos for the Robyn Regehr trade,) Joel Armia, Grigorenko (#12) before Girgensons (#14, whom they had to trade up for) and even Cody Hodgson, to an extent. Which means the team will never change and the team will always be easy to play against, as shown by their mediocre play over the last six seasons. If Regier does not build with the likes of more Steve Ott's, that's bad, If he cannot change his spots, then it's going to get real...--Ugly
The Bills add a few players with a troubled past
--EJ Manuel seems to be a real character-guy. But...the Bills, somewhat uncharacteristically, drafted a few players who have marks on their record. 2nd round pick (#46-overall) "Kiko" Alonso seems to have had problems with alcohol during college which got him in trouble a couple of times. Fourth-round pick (#105) Michael "Duke" Williams also had some alcohol problems and was caught driving on a suspended license. The Bills also signed free agent WR Da'Rick Rogers immediately after the draft. Rogers, apparently, liked to smoke pot, and was kicked out of Tennessee for failing drug tests (that's plural.) Rogers went to Tennessee Tech and had an average year, nobody drafted him, but the Bills jumped at the chance to sign him. All three of these players are talented and play with some serious edge--Good...as in, I hope they become some Bad-ass mofo's for the Bills, they need that
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Maybe it's time to bring Gerry Meehan back into the fold
When I was a youngin', I had this little train radio. I'd take it to bed with me and often fall asleep listening to Sabres games.
If the Sabres were being televised I always had to watch the game on television, which for us was an analog 19" black and white screen with rabbit ears on top. The picture was pretty bad and following the puck was difficult because you could barely see it.
It didn't matter. There was always plenty of action, and the play-by-play of Ted Darling.
Back in those fledgling years of the early 70's, there were some thrills worked into a lot of losses, thrills mainly courtesy of Gilbert Perreault.
In 1972 the Sabres struggled, which was typical for a second year expansion team. But, on the last day of the season, they had something to play for.
It was against the Philadelphia Flyers who were fighting for a playoff spot.
My first real memory as a Sabres fan, and one of the greatest, was of that game. Namely the end when captain Gerry Meehan scored the game-winning goal with :04 left. Buffalo had eliminated Philadelphia from the playoffs with a 3-2 victory.
I can still remember the excitement I felt, running around the kitchen "Meehan! Meehan!"
You can click here and relive that moment thanks to Mark Miller and his blog gerrymeehan.com.
What does that have to do with the Buffalo Sabres now, other than nostalgia?
We'll get to that.
But first, there are probably a lot of fans who don't know much, if anything, about the former Sabres captain.
In his book 100 Things Sabres Fans Should Know Before They Die, Sal Maiorana devotes one of his chapters to Meehan.
Maiorana starts out with this, "If [GM] Punch Imlach hadn't plucked Gerry Meehan off the Philadelphia Flyers' unprotected player list in the 1970 expansion draft, the 23 yr. old was ready and willing to join the working force in the 'real' world."
Meehan became the captain of the team in the 1971-72 season, the same year he haunted his former team with his "Flyer-killer" goal. He played with the Sabres until he was traded to Vancouver early in the 1974-75 season. He played five more seasons after that for a total of 670 NHL games.
During that time frame he went to school at night earning his undergraduate degree from Canisius College and received his law degree from the University of Buffalo soon after he retired in 1978.
He found his way back into the Sabers organization, according to Maiorana, through a law firm headed by Sabres board member Robert Swados and was soon "dabbling in the Sabres' legal affairs."
In 1984 he was named Assistant General Manager to Scotty Bowman.
When Bowman was fired in 1986, Meehan took over the GM position and held that spot until 1993 when he was promoted to executive vice president of sports operations. He handed over his GM responsibilities to John Muckler.
"But," writes Maiorana, "his ultimate goal of becoming team president was shattered when the Knox brothers hired Doug Moss for the position in 1994."
In 1995 Meehan left the Sabres. 'I became aware,' he said, 'as a result of Doug Moss' hiring, that there had been a ceiling placed on my career aspirations."
Quite the slight for a man who is linked to legendary Sabres players like Dominic Hasek and Pat LaFontaine as well as Hall of Famer, Dale Hawerchuk.
A man, by the way, who also was at the helm in the late 80's when the team helped bust down the Berlin Wall by bringing in defector, Alexander Mogilny. "I would never have used the draft pick (1988 5th round) if I didn't think he was coming," Meehan said. (from The Historic Defection, iihf.com)
It should also be noted that Meehan's successor at GM, Muckler, was the architect of "the hardest working team in hockey," one of the most beloved teams in franchise history.
Why bring this up now?
Because the Sabres' organization is a mess.
The team is floundering, the fan-base is booing, and despite all the good intentions of owner Terry Pegula, they're embroiled in a public relations quagmire.
The tumult is rooted in failure of management to use Pegula's vast financial resources to take a step towards a Stanley Cup contender. They've gone backwards.
Although Pegula's commitment to winning should not be debated, his management choices, mainly the retention of GM Darcy Regier, should.
It's assumed that Regier has been in charge of hockey operations since Pegula took over in 2011. Between Pegula and Regier in the Sabres hierarchy are Team President Ted Black and Senior Advisor Ken Sawyer. Both are Pegula confidants who came from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
Regier, on the other hand, was a carryover from the previous regimes and whether he remains with the team beyond this season is yet to be determined. He has made enough moves over the last two years to get an extension from Pegula and garner a "genius" moniker from Sawyer.
The team is now in rebuild-mode, and it's the second time in Regier's tenure he's dismantled the team for futures. His first was in the early 2000's when he tore down "the hardest working team in hockey" and turned it into "the team built for the new-NHL."
Beyond a short, two-year new-NHL run, his era-specific "core" hasn't gotten the job done.
Firing Regier would leave a gaping hole in the organization, specifically the hockey operations department. Black is more of a public relations guy while Sawyer is an advisor. There seems to be a need for a real hockey mind to define the Buffalo Sabres and guide the rebuild even if Regier is retained.
That's where Meehan comes in.
I'm not sure how deep the rift is, or if Meehan would even be interested in returning to the team nearly 20 years later. Nor am I sure if he has his pulse on the NHL as it's played today. But bringing in Meehan could certainly help this organization on a number of levels.
First off, hiring Meehan would further enhance Pegula's reputation for healing strained relations with former players. One only need look at Rene' Robert coming back into the fold, and the French Connection reunion at his first home game as owner, as a major step towards bringing all Sabres' together.
You could throw Hasek's name in there as well. And Michael Peca, coach of the Junior Sabres. Both of whom left on acrimonious terms, but are back into the fold.
Meehan also has a strong, successful hockey background to fend off any accusations of nepotism and of blindly reaching for a "former Sabre." (of note, when he was hired as assistant to Bowman, he was the first former Sabre to come back in an off-ice position.) There are four eras in Sabres' history that fans can look back to with immense pride and Meehan had a hand in two of them. His teams made the playoffs all seven times that he was in charge.
The biggest problem for Pegula right now might be limiting the damage caused by two unsuccessful seasons under a GM who's on the brink of being lynched by the fan-base. Many think that when the fans are booing the team they're subconsciously booing the Regier regime.
Pegula's PR quagmire, being rooted in his poor on-ice product, is exacerbated by his inability and/or unwillingness to talk publicly about the state of the team, specifically (for the Buffalo News at least) the firing of the long-time coach and Pegula favorite, Lindy Ruff. Pegula is not comfortable in the limelight and to say he's awkward behind the podium is being kind.
His hockey ops has one public voice at this juncture--Regier. After 16 years and limited, distant success it would seem as if fans and media have had it with him.
Pegula needs a trusted voice to be the face of his hockey operations. A voice they can connect with once again.
It's not uncommon for an owner to go after a former player. The player, of course, knows the culture of the team and the area and also has a finger on the pulse of both the fans and media.
Meehan has had fairly recent success and his roots in Buffalo stretch all the way back to the Sabres formative years with Punch Imlach. It also encompasses the genesis of Pegula's love of hockey dating back to the 70's, initially with the Broad Street Bullies, then with the French Connection soon after.
Those are the roots of Buffalo Sabres hockey.
Meehan also has ties with and/or bridges three exciting times for the franchise, from the French Connection to the offensive juggernaut of Lafontaine and Mogilny to "the hardest working team in hockey."
With all due respect to the job Black and Sawyer did in Pittsburgh, the two organizations are vastly different and their Pittsburgh model might not be a good fit for Buffalo.
Meehan knows the Sabres, he knows their roots. He's 66 yrs. old and has had a long, nearly 20-year career outside the game after leaving Buffalo.
Even if his career as a lawyer is still going strong, maybe there's a sense of unfinished business in hockey, and more specifically with the Sabres. And with Buffalo in need of a hockey guy, I don't think there's a Sabres fan anywhere who would dislike Meehan coming back into the fold and taking the reigns of the hockey department.
Wonder if he's interested?
If the Sabres were being televised I always had to watch the game on television, which for us was an analog 19" black and white screen with rabbit ears on top. The picture was pretty bad and following the puck was difficult because you could barely see it.
It didn't matter. There was always plenty of action, and the play-by-play of Ted Darling.
Back in those fledgling years of the early 70's, there were some thrills worked into a lot of losses, thrills mainly courtesy of Gilbert Perreault.
In 1972 the Sabres struggled, which was typical for a second year expansion team. But, on the last day of the season, they had something to play for.
It was against the Philadelphia Flyers who were fighting for a playoff spot.
My first real memory as a Sabres fan, and one of the greatest, was of that game. Namely the end when captain Gerry Meehan scored the game-winning goal with :04 left. Buffalo had eliminated Philadelphia from the playoffs with a 3-2 victory.
I can still remember the excitement I felt, running around the kitchen "Meehan! Meehan!"
You can click here and relive that moment thanks to Mark Miller and his blog gerrymeehan.com.
What does that have to do with the Buffalo Sabres now, other than nostalgia?
We'll get to that.
But first, there are probably a lot of fans who don't know much, if anything, about the former Sabres captain.
In his book 100 Things Sabres Fans Should Know Before They Die, Sal Maiorana devotes one of his chapters to Meehan.
Maiorana starts out with this, "If [GM] Punch Imlach hadn't plucked Gerry Meehan off the Philadelphia Flyers' unprotected player list in the 1970 expansion draft, the 23 yr. old was ready and willing to join the working force in the 'real' world."
Meehan became the captain of the team in the 1971-72 season, the same year he haunted his former team with his "Flyer-killer" goal. He played with the Sabres until he was traded to Vancouver early in the 1974-75 season. He played five more seasons after that for a total of 670 NHL games.
During that time frame he went to school at night earning his undergraduate degree from Canisius College and received his law degree from the University of Buffalo soon after he retired in 1978.
He found his way back into the Sabers organization, according to Maiorana, through a law firm headed by Sabres board member Robert Swados and was soon "dabbling in the Sabres' legal affairs."
In 1984 he was named Assistant General Manager to Scotty Bowman.
When Bowman was fired in 1986, Meehan took over the GM position and held that spot until 1993 when he was promoted to executive vice president of sports operations. He handed over his GM responsibilities to John Muckler.
"But," writes Maiorana, "his ultimate goal of becoming team president was shattered when the Knox brothers hired Doug Moss for the position in 1994."
In 1995 Meehan left the Sabres. 'I became aware,' he said, 'as a result of Doug Moss' hiring, that there had been a ceiling placed on my career aspirations."
Quite the slight for a man who is linked to legendary Sabres players like Dominic Hasek and Pat LaFontaine as well as Hall of Famer, Dale Hawerchuk.
A man, by the way, who also was at the helm in the late 80's when the team helped bust down the Berlin Wall by bringing in defector, Alexander Mogilny. "I would never have used the draft pick (1988 5th round) if I didn't think he was coming," Meehan said. (from The Historic Defection, iihf.com)
It should also be noted that Meehan's successor at GM, Muckler, was the architect of "the hardest working team in hockey," one of the most beloved teams in franchise history.
Why bring this up now?
Because the Sabres' organization is a mess.
The team is floundering, the fan-base is booing, and despite all the good intentions of owner Terry Pegula, they're embroiled in a public relations quagmire.
The tumult is rooted in failure of management to use Pegula's vast financial resources to take a step towards a Stanley Cup contender. They've gone backwards.
Although Pegula's commitment to winning should not be debated, his management choices, mainly the retention of GM Darcy Regier, should.
It's assumed that Regier has been in charge of hockey operations since Pegula took over in 2011. Between Pegula and Regier in the Sabres hierarchy are Team President Ted Black and Senior Advisor Ken Sawyer. Both are Pegula confidants who came from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
Regier, on the other hand, was a carryover from the previous regimes and whether he remains with the team beyond this season is yet to be determined. He has made enough moves over the last two years to get an extension from Pegula and garner a "genius" moniker from Sawyer.
The team is now in rebuild-mode, and it's the second time in Regier's tenure he's dismantled the team for futures. His first was in the early 2000's when he tore down "the hardest working team in hockey" and turned it into "the team built for the new-NHL."
Beyond a short, two-year new-NHL run, his era-specific "core" hasn't gotten the job done.
Firing Regier would leave a gaping hole in the organization, specifically the hockey operations department. Black is more of a public relations guy while Sawyer is an advisor. There seems to be a need for a real hockey mind to define the Buffalo Sabres and guide the rebuild even if Regier is retained.
That's where Meehan comes in.
I'm not sure how deep the rift is, or if Meehan would even be interested in returning to the team nearly 20 years later. Nor am I sure if he has his pulse on the NHL as it's played today. But bringing in Meehan could certainly help this organization on a number of levels.
First off, hiring Meehan would further enhance Pegula's reputation for healing strained relations with former players. One only need look at Rene' Robert coming back into the fold, and the French Connection reunion at his first home game as owner, as a major step towards bringing all Sabres' together.
You could throw Hasek's name in there as well. And Michael Peca, coach of the Junior Sabres. Both of whom left on acrimonious terms, but are back into the fold.
Meehan also has a strong, successful hockey background to fend off any accusations of nepotism and of blindly reaching for a "former Sabre." (of note, when he was hired as assistant to Bowman, he was the first former Sabre to come back in an off-ice position.) There are four eras in Sabres' history that fans can look back to with immense pride and Meehan had a hand in two of them. His teams made the playoffs all seven times that he was in charge.
The biggest problem for Pegula right now might be limiting the damage caused by two unsuccessful seasons under a GM who's on the brink of being lynched by the fan-base. Many think that when the fans are booing the team they're subconsciously booing the Regier regime.
Pegula's PR quagmire, being rooted in his poor on-ice product, is exacerbated by his inability and/or unwillingness to talk publicly about the state of the team, specifically (for the Buffalo News at least) the firing of the long-time coach and Pegula favorite, Lindy Ruff. Pegula is not comfortable in the limelight and to say he's awkward behind the podium is being kind.
His hockey ops has one public voice at this juncture--Regier. After 16 years and limited, distant success it would seem as if fans and media have had it with him.
Pegula needs a trusted voice to be the face of his hockey operations. A voice they can connect with once again.
It's not uncommon for an owner to go after a former player. The player, of course, knows the culture of the team and the area and also has a finger on the pulse of both the fans and media.
Meehan has had fairly recent success and his roots in Buffalo stretch all the way back to the Sabres formative years with Punch Imlach. It also encompasses the genesis of Pegula's love of hockey dating back to the 70's, initially with the Broad Street Bullies, then with the French Connection soon after.
Those are the roots of Buffalo Sabres hockey.
Meehan also has ties with and/or bridges three exciting times for the franchise, from the French Connection to the offensive juggernaut of Lafontaine and Mogilny to "the hardest working team in hockey."
With all due respect to the job Black and Sawyer did in Pittsburgh, the two organizations are vastly different and their Pittsburgh model might not be a good fit for Buffalo.
Meehan knows the Sabres, he knows their roots. He's 66 yrs. old and has had a long, nearly 20-year career outside the game after leaving Buffalo.
Even if his career as a lawyer is still going strong, maybe there's a sense of unfinished business in hockey, and more specifically with the Sabres. And with Buffalo in need of a hockey guy, I don't think there's a Sabres fan anywhere who would dislike Meehan coming back into the fold and taking the reigns of the hockey department.
Wonder if he's interested?
Monday, April 22, 2013
Happy hour might be over, Miller-time can't seem to satisfy Sabres' fans needs
On Friday the Buffalo Sabres were officially eliminated from the playoffs.
This would be the second season in a row they will have missed the dance, twice in three years under the ownership of "Uncle" Terry Pegula.
It wasn't all that surprising that they were eliminated as many had felt for weeks that the Sabres really didn't have what it took to make it. But an 8-3 loss on home ice, including a 6-0 deficit, was a brutal way end their playoff hopes.
The supreme focus now, officially, is on the rebuild. GM Darcy Regier has been dismantling his "vaunted" core for nearly two years and only two "Rochester Guys" remain: goalie Ryan Miller and forward Thomas Vanek.
Miller and Vanek are the two keys as to whether this will be a complete rebuild or a somewhat partial one.
Both play key roles on the team, both are in their prime, both are signed for one more season and both, it would seem, are somewhat ambivalent about re-signing in Buffalo.
They're not getting any younger either--Miller is 32 and Vanek, 29. One would think that Father Time is pulling them towards an established playoff team with a chance to win the Cup, of which the Sabres are not and are unlikely to be in the near future.
And if that wasn't enough to guide them away from re-signing in Buffalo, the fans and media certainly could push them out the door.
With former whipping boys Tim Connolly and Derek Roy gone, Miller is now the face of "the core's" failure and has endured a steady stream of anger directed at the team.
He's heard the boos and felt the jeers sporadically throughout his career in Buffalo but it has never been this bad or has never been felt this often. He had never, up until Friday's game against the Rangers, outwardly reacted to the fans at the game.
On Friday he watched the Rangers first two goals deflect in off a teammates' skate then fumbled the puck in front of his own net for another goal real late in the first period.
His blunder lead to a Bronx Cheer when he played a puck hard off the boards. He responded with a "faux" salute to the crowd.
"If the [fans] can dish it out, they can take it back," Miller said.
Ummmmm. No they can't.
For as much as the team touts Buffalo as a great hockey town, it's a brutal town with a large contingent downtrodden fans suffering from "damsel in distress" syndrome. The damsels in Buffalo are always looking for that savior to lift the team, and themselves, to a championship.
Incoming players and/or management and/or owners like to call the fans of Buffalo "very knowledgeable" of the game. But as "knowledgeable" as these fans are said to be, or think like to think they are, nuances within the game seem to elude them and eventually leads them to boo their team in a tie game while their still in well within reach of a playoff spot.
Just ask Steve Ott, who found the booing "completely ridiculous," and soon incurred the wrath of the ticket-buying public. This isn't Miller complaining (or some would say, whining) about the lack of support from the fans. This is burgeoning cult hero Steve Ott, such a fan favorite for his grit and lunch-bucket mentality, that he was being christened as the next captain of the team even before captain Jason Pominville was traded.
One has to think that most of these "knowledgeable fans" attain their knowledge through stats and the new trend, "analytics." Kind of makes the casual fan believe they are now "experts."
Stats, unfortunately for Miller, are not really his strong suit, nor have they been for his entire career in Buffalo. He had one year when he won the Vezina in 2009/10. It was a great season that featured a strong defense lead by Calder-winning defenseman Tyler Myers.
And, although his playoff stats are comparable to that of the Rangers Henrik Lundqvist, fans will not put him on the same elite level they do with "King Henrik." They look at Miller, who commanded nearly the same salary as Lundqvist, as overrated and extremely overpaid.
The "knowledgeable" fan base rarely saw, or failed to acknowledge, the inordinate amount of odd-man rushes he faced nightly and the poor defense over the years which produced countless "layups" for the opposition.
"They're paying him elite money, he should be making elite saves,"screams the fan base. "The Dominator (Dominik Hasek) would've saved them."
And there's another point.
Miller, unfortunately, has worked under the shadow of Hasek--future Hall-of-Famer and Sabre great--his entire time in Buffalo. Yes, Martin Biron was the first starter to take over, but the legacy of Hasek has still hovered over Miller and this team. After all, he was considered a "savior" and almost single-handedly won the Cup. (Hasek himself got fed up with the Buffalo hockey scene and demanded a trade)
Miller was always compared to Hasek (an unfair comparison) and the scrutiny increased after he signed a contract for $6.25M per season. The simple rule of thumb: he's paid like an elite goalie, he should play like one.
Yet, Miller did so on many occasions. The argument could easily be made that he single-handedly kept this team in playoff contention over the past six seasons despite a parade of players that featured only one true top-line player--Vanek. He is the sole reason that this team did not end up near the bottom of the league and get a top-3 selection in the draft for the six seasons post Chris Drury/Daniel Briere.
Not good enough, though. Especially for the fan-base. "You don't win over Buffalo fans by losing hockey games and putting up mediocre seasons," he said. "And the last three years have been pretty much that."
I've come to Miller's defense on many occasions. Just click on his link. But this may be one of the last times I write of him as a Buffalo Sabre.
Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News penned a good piece concerning Miller and the probable end of the road in Buffalo for him. He started it with this, "Sometimes, you just know. If you’ve seen enough hockey stars reach the end of the line in Buffalo, you can feel it coming."
That last part, "hockey stars reaching the end of the line in Buffalo" is telling in and of itself. Stars like Hasek, Michael Peca, Briere and dating back to Tom Barrasso, Phil "Wowie" Housley and Dave Andreychuk in the 80's and 90's, are not finishing their careers in Buffalo.
We could be adding Miller's name to that list and you can tell it's on his mind as well. (Probably Vanek too)
When asked about that possibility, Miller brought up Montreal Canadians/Colorado Avalanche great, HOF goalie, Patrick Roy. "Well, I would love to have what happened after that,” he said. “Just saying. It doesn’t mean I want to leave, but if that’s what you’re getting at. [Roy] won two Stanley Cups after that so, hey, why not?”
Sounds as if he's had it with hockey in Buffalo, a place he's often said he wants to stay and win.
He should move on, though. Not because he's statistically inept or a goalie that's not worth the money he makes, but because there's a pall over the F'N Center and the team will need more that just him to shine through it.
The weight of the fan base and their damsel in distress expectations can't be carried by one or two, or even three or four individuals. Especially the types of individual, thin-skinned players, that Regier has loaded his team with over the past decade.
"We haven't done it," Miller said post game. "We haven't lived up to any expectation and it's just been years and years of not getting it done. If [the fans] want change, if their pissed off, that's fine. It's not like we haven't been searching for a way to satisfy our needs that basically satisfy their needs. We just haven't gotten the job done."
Miller, like former head coach Lindy Ruff, has paid his dues in Buffalo.
As much as they wanted to satisfy Buffalo's thirst for a championship, there was just not enough talent and not enough of a supporting cast to pull it off.
It will be up to a "new core" players. And they'll need some pretty thick skin for the rebuilding years.
The team will need to keep thick-skinned players like Ott. They'll need to acquire thick-skinned, crusty players like the departed Robyn Regehr. And they'll need to find a goalie with thick skin as well.
If I were him, I'd have flipped off the fan-base and demanded a trade years ago.
Buffalo just can't seem to appreciate quality.
Just ask Hasek and Peca, Barrasso, Andreychuk and Housley.
This would be the second season in a row they will have missed the dance, twice in three years under the ownership of "Uncle" Terry Pegula.
It wasn't all that surprising that they were eliminated as many had felt for weeks that the Sabres really didn't have what it took to make it. But an 8-3 loss on home ice, including a 6-0 deficit, was a brutal way end their playoff hopes.
The supreme focus now, officially, is on the rebuild. GM Darcy Regier has been dismantling his "vaunted" core for nearly two years and only two "Rochester Guys" remain: goalie Ryan Miller and forward Thomas Vanek.
Miller and Vanek are the two keys as to whether this will be a complete rebuild or a somewhat partial one.
Both play key roles on the team, both are in their prime, both are signed for one more season and both, it would seem, are somewhat ambivalent about re-signing in Buffalo.
They're not getting any younger either--Miller is 32 and Vanek, 29. One would think that Father Time is pulling them towards an established playoff team with a chance to win the Cup, of which the Sabres are not and are unlikely to be in the near future.
And if that wasn't enough to guide them away from re-signing in Buffalo, the fans and media certainly could push them out the door.
With former whipping boys Tim Connolly and Derek Roy gone, Miller is now the face of "the core's" failure and has endured a steady stream of anger directed at the team.
He's heard the boos and felt the jeers sporadically throughout his career in Buffalo but it has never been this bad or has never been felt this often. He had never, up until Friday's game against the Rangers, outwardly reacted to the fans at the game.
On Friday he watched the Rangers first two goals deflect in off a teammates' skate then fumbled the puck in front of his own net for another goal real late in the first period.
His blunder lead to a Bronx Cheer when he played a puck hard off the boards. He responded with a "faux" salute to the crowd.
"If the [fans] can dish it out, they can take it back," Miller said.
Ummmmm. No they can't.
For as much as the team touts Buffalo as a great hockey town, it's a brutal town with a large contingent downtrodden fans suffering from "damsel in distress" syndrome. The damsels in Buffalo are always looking for that savior to lift the team, and themselves, to a championship.
Incoming players and/or management and/or owners like to call the fans of Buffalo "very knowledgeable" of the game. But as "knowledgeable" as these fans are said to be, or think like to think they are, nuances within the game seem to elude them and eventually leads them to boo their team in a tie game while their still in well within reach of a playoff spot.
Just ask Steve Ott, who found the booing "completely ridiculous," and soon incurred the wrath of the ticket-buying public. This isn't Miller complaining (or some would say, whining) about the lack of support from the fans. This is burgeoning cult hero Steve Ott, such a fan favorite for his grit and lunch-bucket mentality, that he was being christened as the next captain of the team even before captain Jason Pominville was traded.
One has to think that most of these "knowledgeable fans" attain their knowledge through stats and the new trend, "analytics." Kind of makes the casual fan believe they are now "experts."
Stats, unfortunately for Miller, are not really his strong suit, nor have they been for his entire career in Buffalo. He had one year when he won the Vezina in 2009/10. It was a great season that featured a strong defense lead by Calder-winning defenseman Tyler Myers.
And, although his playoff stats are comparable to that of the Rangers Henrik Lundqvist, fans will not put him on the same elite level they do with "King Henrik." They look at Miller, who commanded nearly the same salary as Lundqvist, as overrated and extremely overpaid.
The "knowledgeable" fan base rarely saw, or failed to acknowledge, the inordinate amount of odd-man rushes he faced nightly and the poor defense over the years which produced countless "layups" for the opposition.
"They're paying him elite money, he should be making elite saves,"screams the fan base. "The Dominator (Dominik Hasek) would've saved them."
And there's another point.
Miller, unfortunately, has worked under the shadow of Hasek--future Hall-of-Famer and Sabre great--his entire time in Buffalo. Yes, Martin Biron was the first starter to take over, but the legacy of Hasek has still hovered over Miller and this team. After all, he was considered a "savior" and almost single-handedly won the Cup. (Hasek himself got fed up with the Buffalo hockey scene and demanded a trade)
Miller was always compared to Hasek (an unfair comparison) and the scrutiny increased after he signed a contract for $6.25M per season. The simple rule of thumb: he's paid like an elite goalie, he should play like one.
Yet, Miller did so on many occasions. The argument could easily be made that he single-handedly kept this team in playoff contention over the past six seasons despite a parade of players that featured only one true top-line player--Vanek. He is the sole reason that this team did not end up near the bottom of the league and get a top-3 selection in the draft for the six seasons post Chris Drury/Daniel Briere.
Not good enough, though. Especially for the fan-base. "You don't win over Buffalo fans by losing hockey games and putting up mediocre seasons," he said. "And the last three years have been pretty much that."
I've come to Miller's defense on many occasions. Just click on his link. But this may be one of the last times I write of him as a Buffalo Sabre.
Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News penned a good piece concerning Miller and the probable end of the road in Buffalo for him. He started it with this, "Sometimes, you just know. If you’ve seen enough hockey stars reach the end of the line in Buffalo, you can feel it coming."
That last part, "hockey stars reaching the end of the line in Buffalo" is telling in and of itself. Stars like Hasek, Michael Peca, Briere and dating back to Tom Barrasso, Phil "Wowie" Housley and Dave Andreychuk in the 80's and 90's, are not finishing their careers in Buffalo.
We could be adding Miller's name to that list and you can tell it's on his mind as well. (Probably Vanek too)
When asked about that possibility, Miller brought up Montreal Canadians/Colorado Avalanche great, HOF goalie, Patrick Roy. "Well, I would love to have what happened after that,” he said. “Just saying. It doesn’t mean I want to leave, but if that’s what you’re getting at. [Roy] won two Stanley Cups after that so, hey, why not?”
Sounds as if he's had it with hockey in Buffalo, a place he's often said he wants to stay and win.
He should move on, though. Not because he's statistically inept or a goalie that's not worth the money he makes, but because there's a pall over the F'N Center and the team will need more that just him to shine through it.
The weight of the fan base and their damsel in distress expectations can't be carried by one or two, or even three or four individuals. Especially the types of individual, thin-skinned players, that Regier has loaded his team with over the past decade.
"We haven't done it," Miller said post game. "We haven't lived up to any expectation and it's just been years and years of not getting it done. If [the fans] want change, if their pissed off, that's fine. It's not like we haven't been searching for a way to satisfy our needs that basically satisfy their needs. We just haven't gotten the job done."
Miller, like former head coach Lindy Ruff, has paid his dues in Buffalo.
As much as they wanted to satisfy Buffalo's thirst for a championship, there was just not enough talent and not enough of a supporting cast to pull it off.
It will be up to a "new core" players. And they'll need some pretty thick skin for the rebuilding years.
The team will need to keep thick-skinned players like Ott. They'll need to acquire thick-skinned, crusty players like the departed Robyn Regehr. And they'll need to find a goalie with thick skin as well.
If I were him, I'd have flipped off the fan-base and demanded a trade years ago.
Buffalo just can't seem to appreciate quality.
Just ask Hasek and Peca, Barrasso, Andreychuk and Housley.
Friday, April 19, 2013
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