Tim Murray makes one move during a weak trade deadline, eyes the off season

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The Buffalo Sabres head into tonight's matchup with the Edmonton Oilers minus two players who were with the club when the season began--D, Mike Weber and F, Jamie McGinn. Sabres GM Tim Murray started out yesterday's post-trade deadline press conference by thanking both for their services in Buffalo.

"First I'd really like to thank Mike [Weber] and Jamie [McGinn] for their contributions here," said Murray to the gathered press. "Obviously Mike [was here in Buffalo] a long time, [was] a very good Sabre on and off the ice. Very good to me [during] my time here even down the stretch when he knew that he could be leaving town.

"I just spoke to Jamie and he was very gracious too. I want to thank both of those guys. They're character guys that more often than not you're looking for versus trading away but that's the position we're in."

Weber to Washington a good fit, plus more on the Sabres roster and pending free agents

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It's not an earth-shattering move for the league-leading Washington Capitals, but then again, with the team loaded for bear, a big move wasn't necessary.

The Capitals have amassed 92 points already this season and are 17 points ahead of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference. They lead the league in goals/game (3.29) are second in goals-against/game (2.28) and their +61 goal-differential is 33 better than the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.

They have Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Kuznetsov, Niklas Backstrom, Justin Williams and TJ Oshie up front, one of the top goalies in the league in Braden Holtby and a solid mix of scoring and grit on the blueline lead by Karl Alzner and Matt Niskanen. But, as all good teams do, they needed to add depth and about the only thing they didn't have was a lot cap-space to do so. That's where the Buffalo Sabres and Mike Weber came into play.

Sabres GM Tim Murray's mantra from the time he came on board is that he doesn't want to see an unrestricted free agent leave without getting a return, and true to his word, he did that with Weber. Murray found a nice fit for the 6'2" 212 lb. stay-at-home defenseman who's cap-hit for the season was $1.67M, a figure right in line with Washington's needs.

Almost.

Rookie scoring race recap plus, Leafs trade and trade partners for Buffalo

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With Chicago's Artemi Panarin scoring his first career hat trick this week while adding another goal and assist, his 57 point total and 16 point lead may make this a race for second place in overall points. Buffalo's Jack Eichel and Max Domi are tied for second in overall points with 41 after Eichel added three assists this week while Domi lit it up with four goals and two assists in three games for the Arizona Coyotes. Detroit's Dylan Larkin had a rough week with only one goal added to his resume. Larkin is in fourth with 39 points.

Philadelphia defenseman Shane Gostisbehere continues to marvel in the point production department as the 22 yr. old third round pick (2012) extended his record for points in consecutive games by a defenseman to 15 games. Gostisbehere added a point in all three games played this past week (2g +1a) and extended his streak in style with the overtime winner at Toronto on Saturday night.

According to NHL.com, Gostisbehere has the longest points-streak by a defenseman since 1995 when Chris Chelios had a 15-game streak beginning on October 26. He also now has the third longest streak behind any rookie since 1987-88. Paul Stastny (Feb. 3 to March 17, 2007) holds the longest streak during that period with 20 games while Teemu Selanne had a 17-game streak beginning March 9, 1993.

Gostisbehere also held on to the fourth spot in rookie assists with a total of 22. Panarin leads that category with 35, Eichel and Domi are tied for second with 24 while Larkin is in fifth with 20.

Eichel rips one home. Ristoainen rocks it. Buffalo downs Arizona

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Buffalo Sabres fans have seen rookie center Jack Eichel's wrist shot, which is top-notch. Late in a 5-on-3 powerplay last night against the Arizona Coyotes, Eichel unleashed the fury of his slapshot as Rasmus Ristolainen sent a cross-ice pass right in his wheel-house. In channeling Alexader Ovechkin and his patented one-timer, Eichel's composite stick bent like a fly-rod with a lunker on it as he blistered home his 14th goal of the season.

Eichel was named the game's first star as he finished with a goal and an assist.

The Sabres, who had just defeated the league-leading Washington Capitals two days before, rode a wave of confidence and played a fast game against the 'Yotes en route to a 2-1 victory. Buffalo has now won four of five and are on a three-game road win-streak and they seemed to have found a pretty good winning formula.

Chad Johnson got the start in net for the Sabres on the heels of that impressive 4-1 victory over the Caps. Starter Robin Lehner may have been scheduled prior to the Washington game, but when you shut down the Capitals like "Johnny" did in stopping 33 of 34 shots, it was a performance worthy of another start.

2015-16 Individual Stats--December

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"Just the facts, Ma'am," was a classic Joe Friday line from the 1950's TV crime series, Dragnet, and the cool part about doing these month by month stats, is that oft times our preconceived notions about a player and/or how he's been playing is either propped up or derailed by "just the stats."

Case in point No. 1--Evander Kane.

Nary a Sabres fan out there would disagree that Ryan O'Reilly is the MVP of the team right now as he leads Buffalo in goals (15) and points (33,) and is tied for the lead in assists (18) while leading all forwards in average time on ice. Nor would they argue that after hitting the rookie wall in December, Jack Eichel has begun to assert himself on the scoresheet with two goals and seven assists in his last six games. Both are extremely good players who don't rock the boat (O'Reilly's off-season escapade at Tim Hortons not withstanding.)

Kane, however, is cut from a different cloth. He's been vilified for a non-criminal (as of yet) off-ice issue that occurred last month while on the ice Sabres fans have been chastising his play to the point where some seem ready to tie a noose around GM Tim Murray's neck for making that trade with Winnipeg.

After a slow start upon his return from injury midway through the month of November (zero points in three games) he proceeded to end the month with three points (1+2) in three games. In December he would bump it up a notch to six goals in 14 games for the Sabres placing him second behind O'Reilly's seven.

Building the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres roster--D, Mike Weber

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The top-five defensemen headed into the 2015-16 are pretty much a lock. Defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges, Cody Franson and Mark Pysyk have all made their mark for the team in one way or another and all that's left to figure out is, who the No. 6 d-man will be.

In the mix is 32 yr. old, defensive defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo whom GM Tim Murray signed for depth. Edmond, OK native and puck-mover Matt Donovan was up with the NY Islanders last season but only played in 12 games and was signed by the Sabres after the Islanders opted not to qualify him. Buffalo rookie Jake McCabe is the fans choice but he still needs to iron out some inconsistencies in his two-way game and Rochester is as good a place as any to do that. Puck-mover Chad Ruhwedel who's shown a nice scoring touch in Rochester has yet to turn heads in Buffalo.

Eighteen year old Brendan Guhle, a 2015 second round pick (51st overall) has piqued the interest of many with his advanced skating, athleticism and acute hockey sense but, why rush the kid? Another year at Prince Albert (WHL) with the Raiders playing top minutes is a logical step. Of note: Murray has already signed him to his entry-level deal.

And then there's 27 yr. old Mike Weber. The Pittsburgh, PA native, who will be entering his eighth season with the club, is the longest-tenured Sabre.

Prime years: The void grows bigger as the 2006 draft flops

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The Buffalo Sabres had a real strong 2005-06 NHL season, making it to within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was wide open first NHL season after the lockout in both the style of play and in the standings. Through tight officiating the league took the clutching, grabbing and hooking out of the game on the ice while off it they also created a competitive balance through the salary cap. The "final four" that year included three "small-market" teams--Buffalo and Carolina in the east and Edmonton in the west--with Carolina defeating Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Sabres surprisingly successful campaign (complete with a bitter end) can be directly related to using the 2004-05 lockout as a way to get their young players playing the type of game they'd be playing on the big club once the lockout was over. The future "core" of the Sabres spent that entire season in Rochester playing for the Amerks and developing a chemistry that would lead the big club to a 52-win, 2005-06 NHL campaign (the first time ever they eclipsed the 50-win mark) and the fifth best record in the league.

The success of the 2005-06 season can be traced in part to player development mostly in the forward ranks as rookies Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy along with Jason Pominville made significant contributions to the big club that season in secondary scoring roles.

The defense was a bit different, however, as the Sabres d-corps was composed of vets who would spend the lockout playing overseas. Three d-men who were in Rochester the entire year--Nathan Paetsch, Doug Janik and Rory Fitzpatrick--are dubiously linked to the Sabres bitter end in the Eastern Conference Finals that season (along with Jeff Jillson) as they were forced into service due to an inordinate number of injuries on the blueline.

2014-15 Individual Stats--March

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Normally we do team stats before individual stats, but with the Sabres finishing up their month yesterday and a game kicking off April on the 1st, individual stats for the month are complete, so we'll begin with them.

Sometimes it takes a while for the older folk to get themselves going. Two of the elder statesman on the Sabres, Brian Gionta (35 yrs. old) and Matt Moulson (31) are really beginning to roll.

Moulson started picking it up last month as he lead the team in assists (7) and and points (9.) He followed that up with another seven assists and 10 more points in the month of march. Joining him in the scoring department was Gionta. The veteran winger had four goals and totaled nine points for the month which represents about a third of his point total for the entire season.

Through all of the static last night, there emerged a sense of finality

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The so called "Battle of the Basement" took place last night in front of a sparse crowd at the First Niagara Center and I'm pretty sure that most Sabres fans would agree that this just might have been the lowest point of the last two seasons.

The game itself pitted two teams at the bottom of the standings playing out the string with a roster devoid of major talent (save for a couple of players.) Oft times it looked as if we were witnessing a pickup game and though individual players showed sparks of intensity, or in the case of Buffalo's Tyler Ennis and Arizona's Oliver Ekman-Larsson a high level of natural skill, the game had very few redeeming qualities.

Nothing against the players as they were on the ice giving it what they had. The Sabres Patrick Kaleta came back from injury and was as annoying to the opposition as ever. Buffalo captain Brian Gionta buried an inexcusable turnover by his Arizona counterpart, Shane Doan, with under four minutes in the third period to tie the score. Sabres goalie Matt Hackett endured a shoulder injury but would end up toughing it out. Ennis went into the boards late in the second period and never returned for the third.

It was a somewhat typical hockey game that featured shots, scoring, hits and injuries.

Building the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres roster--The Reserves

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Before we finish up with the roster, some quick notes, via Bill Hoppe of buffalohockeybeat.com:

--The Sabres sent winger Justin Bailey to his junior team, the Kitchener Rangers.

--Former Sabres' defenseman Henrik Tallinder is slated to hit the ice with Toronto this evening as he is on a tryout basis with the Leafs

--Sabres forward Tim Schaller, who was profiled here, will make his Sabres debut tonight. 'This is a dream come true,' Schaller said, 'I’ll bring my A game, that’s for sure.'

--Schaller, according to Hoppe, skated between Brian Flynn and Cody McCormick on one line

--The other lines were: Tyler Ennis/Matt Moulson/Drew Stafford; Cody Hodgson/Sam Reinhart/Brian Gionta; Marcus Foligno/Torrey Mitchell/Chris Stewart.

--The defensemen are: Jake McCabe, Andrej Meszaros, Tyler Myers, Rasmus Ristolainen, Mike Weber, Nikita Zadorov.

Thank you, Mr. Hoppe.

And onward we go.

Tallinder and Weber should be thanking their lucky stars as the Sabres send four youngins down

With defenseman Mike Weber coming back from injury, the Buffalo Sabres needed to make a roster move.

Which they did. In fact they made four moves sending 18 yr. old defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to Rochester along with 21 yr. old forward Johan Larsson.

Joining those two in Rochester will be 19 yr. old forward Mikhail Grigorenko, who is allowed to play in the minors on a 14-day conditioning stint. Afterwards he will either be with Buffalo or will be headed back to junior.

18 yr. old defenseman Nikita Zadorov was sent to his junior club, the London Knights, and it is assumed that he will be there for the rest of the season. London will be hosting the Memorial Cup this season and will be getting an automatic bid to the tournament.

New bench-boss Ted Nolan had mentioned that the team was alot younger than he thought and hinted that some changes would be made.

He also mentioned that there are some players in Rochester who's play has earned them a call-up. Although no names were mentioned, forward Luke Adam is tied for the AHL with 13 goals and defenseman Brayden McNabb has been playing a solid all-around game while rediscovering his grit.

The moves sure did make some vets happy.

Henrik Tallinder, who was benched in New Jersey last season before big-daddy Darcy Regier rescued him via tradel, thought that the youngsters had it a bit too easy making the Sabres, "It’s not about getting the spot; it’s about earning the spot,” he said.

Ole' Hank is a former 2nd round pick of the Buffalo Sabres (#48, 1997) who happened to be developing (1 yr. in Rochester) while Regier was dismantling "the hardest working team in hockey," a team that was coached at one time by Nolan.

His game has been in decline ever since the 2009/10 season, which happens to coincide with the decline of the hands-off, "new-NHL."

Tallinder is still a non-hitter (read:  wuss,) is slow and at times flops around like a rookie out there.

He's lucky he's a vet. Ristolainen has similar attributes as Tallinder, but also adds a serious edge to his game. Risto has played at least as well as Hank, and were they contemporaries, Tallinder would've been waived, given the choice.

Veteran defenseman Mike Weber has been nothing short of a train wreck this season. About the only thing that saved him from having a worse plus/minus rating than his present minus-12 (third-worst in the league) is the fact that he's been injured and has missed half of the Sabres 22 games.

"You got to develop in the minors," said Weber, "You got to play junior. You got to earn the right to be here."

Yeah, I guess if you're Mike Weber you needed to.

Yet, most Sabres fans can handle an 18 yr. old Zadorov, his one goal and minus-4 rating in seven games, learning the NHL game.

He likes to hit, just like Weber.

Tallinder and Weber are lucky they're on a crappy team with so much youth, otherwise their play would've gotten them waived by now.

Nolan, though, put it all in perspective. The Sabres have always been known as a team that will take their time developing players, and it would seem as if the new regime featuring Pat LaFontaine as Director of Hockey Ops wants to get back to that.

"Whether I saw them or not," said Nolan, "I don’t think it really made much of a difference. We look at where we are with this organization and where we have to go to, and proper development is so important.”

Tallinder and Weber should be thanking their lucky stars.


Thanks to Bill Hoppe for his article

i like mike

"I have never felt comfortable...I'm always on my toes"
--mike weber, from a 2006 prospects interview with hockeysfuture.com

"always on [his] toes" because sabres d-man mike weber realized early on that nothing would be given to him, that, although he "might not be the best or most talented player on the ice," he'd be the guy "working the hardest, trying to be the smartest."

it's a great q&a with a young prospect who would spend the next 4+ years battling his way into the nhl...

what stands out in the piece is the comfort level he has with himself and his game, his focus on what he needs to do to reach the nhl and his humble thanks to the teammates who helped him early on...what also comes through in the interview is his discomfort with complacency, as there are constant references to working hard and a realization that "there are always younger guys coming up the ranks looking to take a job"...

when you look at weber's game, you see the same things that lured the sabres to pick the pittsburgh, pa native with the 57th overall pick in 2006...as a big (6' 2", 210 lb,) stay-at-home d-man with an attitude, weber represented a departure from the traditional darcy regier-era top-round pick...

although it wasn't really that shocking that weber was picked in the 2nd round that year (he was the #34-ranked north american skater at the time,) it was somewhat surprising...the sabres were in full "new-nhl" mode usually drafting highly skilled, smooth-skating puck-movers on the back end when they drafted weber, and it was a pick that got this blogger, and much of the fan-base excited...

yeah, i knew the guy could hit, fight and punish the opposition...i knew he was a stay-at-home d-man and was impressed (lately) with the way he passed the puck with authority in his own zone...but what stood out last night, and it's something that i haven't noticed with him, was his skating...he seems to be alot faster...and it seems as if it's a confidence thing, as if he's passed through a thresh-hold to another level...

as i'm writing this, i'm listening to wgr...howard simon keeps bringing up weber mentioning him to paul hamilton as well as mike robitaille...both agree with simon that weber's game is worth noting...the focus of sabres talk is mostly on tyler myers' game winning ot goal, the sabres first three-game winning streak of the season, a nearly perfect road game last night and how they're knocking on the door of the eastern conference top-eight...all well worthy of talk...

i really like the fact that simon brought up weber because i thought he played a helluva game last night and has been playing well for a number of weeks...he's playing with a ton of confidence and it shows in his skating...

there's been alot of talk about drew stafford and the panic over his impending rfa status come years end, but this morning i woke up thinking that the sabres should seriously consider signing weber to a five or six year extension...even though jeremy white today, as i was typing this, mentioned trading him in one of his typical hubristic "epiphanies"...

nah, jeremy...weber has attributes like toughness, grit, 100% effort, and attitude...he's also comfortable in himself and with his game...and...he skates with a sense of purpose which is an endearing quality to those who've watched "la core" skate with a sense of entitlement the past 3+ seasons...all of these attributes are fully ingrained in him and no matter what the situation, as long as he's physically able, he'll bring these to the table...he's the type of player that's a building-block, not trade-fodder...

yeah, i like mike

mike weber vs. george parros, plus

when i was a kid, i had this plastic train radio...when the games were not on tv, which was fairly often, i'd listen to rick jeannerete call the game, and many times i'd fall asleep listening...

those who did the radio play-by-play did a fantastic job of bringing the action into your home, calling it so that you were there...they were your eyes and the cool part about it was that you used your imagination to fill in...it was exciting...

a throwback last night as versus ruled the airwaves with their nj vs. wash game as tv was blacked out for all games below the u.s.-canadian border...anaheim visited buffalo in a radio-only broadcast...as nostalgic as i can be, i still prefer tv if i can't make it to the game...if i can't get tv, there are a few websites that stream the game, much to the dismay of the nhl...

for those who could not see the game, we're left with the highlights...

here's mike weber taking on nhl-heavyweight george parros...a daunting task to say the least and weber acquits himself well:




the sabres potted five goals vs. a road-weary ducks team with nathan gerbe and craig rivet netting their first of the season, drew stafford snagging one and tyler ennis doing some great work on his two goals, especially the second one where he roofs a wrister short-side with very little room...also, cody mccormick takes on the ducks ryan getzlaf to open the second period with the sabres up 3-0...good stuff here at nhl.com: 

of note...weber, mccormick and paul gaustad all got into fights last night...this is the second time this month that a western conference team came to buffalo throwing their weight around and both times the sabres responded admirably...columbus came at buffalo in the sabres first game of december with patrick kaleta pounded derek dorsett for being an idiot...

patrick kaleta got nailed by a cheapshot from the ducks jason blake...nate gerbe displays his spunk and character by immediately jumping on blake: