looking for that #2/3 lw, part deux

ahhhh, the trade deadline...and new ownership ta boot...both are headed buffalo's way pretty soon...the question to ask would be, "will any player(s) be headed to the sabres under the directive of new owner terry pegula and his hockey people?"...

a few things to look at as we head towards the trade deadline:

• i doubt the sabres will trade for a true #1 center at the deadline for a myriad of reasons including availability and cost...although nothing is impossible, it's highly improbable
• the defense is pretty much set, although if the opportunity to snare a top-pairing d-man (like robyn regehr?) were to present itself, solidifying the d is always a good thing in the stretch-drive
• back-up goalie is still a problem, but will it be addressed?...(shrugs)...it should be, but it's getting to the point where it doesn't matter...they'll be riding miller all the way (perhaps right into the ground)

in addiiton to personnel, there's always the financial aspect...not only is the player's actual salary/cap-hit a serious consideration, but the ancillary effect of the player needs to be taken into consideration as well (see previous blog)...

the sabres have relied upon revenue-sharing for the "viability" of the franchise post-lockout...i can't see them deviating from the norm for the rest of the season...pegula and his people will have a clean slate for next season and the opportunity to formulate their plan over a full season...

that being said, as scary as it is for the sabres to be involved in a stretch-run with jochen hecht, tim connolly, rob nierdermayer, paul gaustad and rookie, paul byron at center, that may be what we're looking at for the rest of the season...hell, tim connolly may not even be here march 1st...

as for the right wing, jason pomminville, drew stafford, patrick kaleta, mike grier and even thomas vanek--who has seen plenty of time there--make for a pretty solid right side...

the problem for me is still the left side...tyler ennis and thomas vanek are in the top-six, then the we're looking at nathan gerbe and cody mccormick...gerbe is still inconsistent and mccormick is bottom-nine, although i like what both bring to the team...so it's back to an area we looked at back in november in looking for that #2 lw ...

the three players we looked at were, tampa bay's simon gagne, cory stillman of the florida panthers and wojtek wolski who was traded from the phoenix coyotes to the ny rangers in the interim...

here's three more as the trade-deadline draws nearer:

brooks laci

• brooks laich, washington capitals--the caps, by their standards, are having a very average year...washington is a highly skilled team, as we all know, but their 2.69 goals/game average (17th in the league) is way off their pace of last season when they lead the league with 3.82 g/g...they are strong on the wing and weak down the middle with only bonafide #1 center nicklas backstrom as a legit top-six...they have big bodies on the wing in jason chimera and mike knuble and they have the mad skill of alexander ovechkin and alexander semin out there as well...soon-to-be ufa laich comes in at 6'2", 200 lbs...the former 6th round pick (ottawa, 2001) is not affraid of the "bloody-nose" areas and has scored 20+ goals in each of the last three seasons...at 27, he seems to have found his game, much like undrafted free agent rene' bourque of the calgary flames...although he's having a mediocre year by those standards, and remains inconsistent, his play is north-south and edgy and he leaves it on the ice every minute....why would the caps trade him?...the caps could really use a center behind backstrom, especially a set-up man...tim connolly would certainly fill their void (while creating a void at center for the sabres)...both are ufa's come seasons' end and this could be one of those deals that benefit both teams...although there are cap problems for washington (they have $1.6m in cap-space to work with,) in this scenario, the difference could be made up somewhat easily...



curtis glencross

• curtis glencross, calgary flames--the flames are one of the hottest teams in the league right now...they are 7-0-1 in their last eight, and this surge has them knocking on the door of the western conference top-eight...28 year-old glencross seems to be following in the footsteps of fellow undrafted free agent bourque and has potted four goals during the flames run...although it doesn't look as if he'll reach the level of bourque, there's no reason to believe that he can't be right around 20 goals consistently...his price is right--$1.2m--and the guy works his butt off every game...his skill level is a notch above mccormick and, even in his inconsistency, he's still more consistent than the young gerbe is...why would the flames move him?...might be an low-impact ancillary move to free up some cap-space...the flames can take on about $1.3m in salary right now so moving glencross would give them even more to work with as they climb to a playoff spot...
• nick foligno, ottawa senators--sentimental pick?...mmmmmmm, yeah, in a way...in my humble opinion, i'd really love to see the sabres enter the pegula-era with the brother's foligno (nick joining sabres prospect marcus, who, btw, made the hockey news' hot list this week) battling for the blue and gold...is there any reason to think that foligno could contribute more in the goal department than mccormick?...i'm not sure, he's still young, and at 23, the former #1 pick (28th overall, 2006) still has up-side...maybe you can look at his last goal when he rifled a backhand from the slot top-shelf (i really like players who can pot a goal on the backhand) as a window to his skill-level...he's a character guy as well as big (6' 0", 210 lbs.) and gritty...ottawa will be in sell-mode this deadline and foligno might be available for a pick...that pick will probably be no less than a third, possibly a second and either well within darcy regier's comfort zone...

all-in-all, i really can't see the sabres making a big splash at the deadline, and this season i'm really ok with that...adding some punch on the left wing would be a move that would allow the team to up-grade without doing much damage to the roster for the start of the pegula-era...