Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-6-2018
The Anaheim Ducks are going to be in a foul mood when they hit the ice at KeyBank Center tonight. Their matchup with the Buffalo Sabres is the final game of their five-game road trip which started out well, but deteriorated. The Ducks started the trip out with a convincing 3-1 win at Boston against the Bruins then proceeded to drop the next three games in Canada to Ottawa (overtime,) Montreal (5-2) and Toronto (7-4 last night.)
Starting goalie John Gibson has been out since leaving the game against the Bruins in the third period and in his stead 37 yr. old backup Ryan Miller, a name Sabres fans are most familiar with, has been manning the pipes. Unfortunately for Miller, things haven't gone swimmingly since taking over. Outside the overtime loss where he stopped 30 of 32 shots, Miller allowed four goals on seven shots vs. the Canadiens before getting yanked and was on the ice for six of the seven goals-against vs. the Leafs last night (one empty-netter.) Miller's stat-line on the year: 6-4-5, 2.67 GAA, .915 Sv% and it looks as if he'll get the start tonight against his old team.
On another note, in today's Ducks/Sabres preview, the Associated Press called Anaheim's three-game swing through Canada "an abject disaster" while also noting that Corey Perry "was elevated from the fourth line back to the top unit for Monday's loss" against Toronto "and he responded with a season-best four assists."
The Ducks head to Buffalo to face a Sabres team that is not very good at home as they've dropped three straight and have the second-worst home record (Arizona) in the league at 6-15-3. Buffalo has only 14 overall wins this season and their 37 points are only slightly better than the tank teams of 2013-15 at this stage of the season. To say the Sabres have been struggling would be an understatement and the reasons why vary with each passing game.
The latest issue for Buffalo involves accountability, something that's been plaguing them for the better part of a decade. "A lack of player leadership and accountability were among the criticisms which led to the Buffalo Sabres cleaning house in April," wrote the Associated Press' John Wawrow yesterday. "Very little has changed 10 months into the Sabres’ new regime of general manager Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley in overseeing a team that ranks last in the Eastern Conference and 30th overall."
Last April, of course, is when owners Terry and Kim Pegula sat with then GM Tim Murray looking for answers as to why the team had so many disconnects leading to a disappointing season. Apparently Murray had no answers and both he and head coach Dan Bylsma were shown the door.
Things have gotten decidedly worse for the Sabres this season under a rookie GM and rookie coach and although there has been some turnover in the roster, many of the same 'key' players are still on the team in the same roles. Talent and speed, or the lack there of with either, is an obvious problem at this point, but the lack of accountability amongst the players seems to be coming to the fore.
"When you only have 14 wins, there’s a lot of areas that need to be addressed. One of those is culture, and we’ve got to continue to find a way to change it,” said Housley to the gathered media yesterday. "We all have to change. And that’s something I’m continuing to learn throughout the season.”
Goalie Robin Lehner was quite vociferous last season concerning his teammates not buying into what was being preached by Bylsma as was veteran defenseman Josh Gorges. "Collectively, do we have enough guys that say, ’82 games this year, did I do things the right way?’” Gorges told The AP. “Obviously, where we are right now, that answer is no.”
With the trade deadline nearing, changes are in the offing for this team. Both Lehner and Gorges could very well be joining forward Evander Kane as trade pieces for futures. All of them are free agents with Lehner being restricted.
The trade deadline is February 26, less than three weeks away, and the Sabres have 11 games to play before then. Tonight they should be facing a very ornery Ducks squad who come into KeyBank wounded while riding a 37 yr. old goalie playing in back-to-back games. Will they be able to take advantage of it?
We shall see.
Tonight's projected lineup based upon reports from today's morning skate:
Girgensons-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Wilson-Rodrigues-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Nolan
Scandella-Ristolainen
McCabe-Falk
Beaulieu-Nelson
Lehner looks to get the start in net for Buffalo.
Showing posts with label ryan miller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ryan miller. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Ryan Miller returns to Buffalo for the first time since he was traded
reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Let's just get this out of the way right now--I've always been a fan of Ryan Miller. During his 11-year career in Buffalo he was a bona fide No.1 goalie who's stat-line isn't purely indicative of what he brought to the table. Despite his numbers which were solid, but not Dominik Hasek-like spectacular he invariably gave the Sabres a chance to win every night.
For instance, his stat-line doesn't tell you that he faced countless odd-man rushes during Buffalo's "Ferrari" years, nor does it tell you how many countless times "the core" couldn't get it done offensively or defensively during the ensuing five seasons post Daniel Briere/Chris Drury. And there certainly won't be an asterisks for his final 80 games as a Sabre at a time when Buffalo was beginning to blow the whole thing up.
What his stat-line will tell you, however, is that in 11 seasons for Buffalo he had 284-186-57 record with a 2.60 goals against average and a .916 save percentage during the regular season. His 284 career wins is a Sabres record while he also holds the franchise record for most wins in a season with 41 (besting his previous mark of 40 in '06-'07) during his Vezina Trophy-winning 2009-10 season. The 2009-10 season was also a Calder Trophy-winning year for Tyler Myers and it was the best Buffalo finish in three years as they ended up atop the northeast division with a 45-27-10 record.
Miller added to that outstanding NHL season by leading Team USA to a surprising silver medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Despite the team losing to a loaded Team Canada, Miller took home the MVP Trophy as Team USA almost pulled off a stunning upset in the gold-medal game.
Let's just get this out of the way right now--I've always been a fan of Ryan Miller. During his 11-year career in Buffalo he was a bona fide No.1 goalie who's stat-line isn't purely indicative of what he brought to the table. Despite his numbers which were solid, but not Dominik Hasek-like spectacular he invariably gave the Sabres a chance to win every night.
For instance, his stat-line doesn't tell you that he faced countless odd-man rushes during Buffalo's "Ferrari" years, nor does it tell you how many countless times "the core" couldn't get it done offensively or defensively during the ensuing five seasons post Daniel Briere/Chris Drury. And there certainly won't be an asterisks for his final 80 games as a Sabre at a time when Buffalo was beginning to blow the whole thing up.
What his stat-line will tell you, however, is that in 11 seasons for Buffalo he had 284-186-57 record with a 2.60 goals against average and a .916 save percentage during the regular season. His 284 career wins is a Sabres record while he also holds the franchise record for most wins in a season with 41 (besting his previous mark of 40 in '06-'07) during his Vezina Trophy-winning 2009-10 season. The 2009-10 season was also a Calder Trophy-winning year for Tyler Myers and it was the best Buffalo finish in three years as they ended up atop the northeast division with a 45-27-10 record.
Miller added to that outstanding NHL season by leading Team USA to a surprising silver medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Despite the team losing to a loaded Team Canada, Miller took home the MVP Trophy as Team USA almost pulled off a stunning upset in the gold-medal game.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Sabres win, Briere honored, Miller denies Montreal
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
On a night when former Sabres and Flyers great Daniel Briere was honored for a stellar career in Philadelphia, with nods to his time in Buffalo, it was Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons who left a lasting impression at the Wells Fargo Center.
Girgensons took a chip pass from defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo (who played for Philadelphia last season) and deposited a breakaway goal in overtime to give Buffalo it's third win of the season and first one on the road. It was Girgensons' first goal of the season, and first point of the season and was well deserved. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Z,” said forward Jamie McGinn of Girgensons. “I thought he played a great game. He hustled all over the ice, and he did a lot of good things. There were a lot of plays where he turned a 50-50 puck into a scoring chance.”
McGinn himself garnered his first goal of the season while Colaiacovo, Johan Larsson and Brian Gionta all hit the score sheet for the first time this season. “It’s been trouble for all these games, not just for me,” said Girgensons. “It’s nice for the guys to open up a little bit.”
The Sabres were playing without injured top-line winger Evander Kane who will be out 4-6 weeks and as witnessed by nine players hitting the score sheet, it was a total team effort. "It was a great team win," said Larsson who's two assists made him the only multi-point player on the night for Buffalo. “Everyone battled hard. Every line was rolling. We were shooting, going to the net, so I think this was our best game so far."
On a night when former Sabres and Flyers great Daniel Briere was honored for a stellar career in Philadelphia, with nods to his time in Buffalo, it was Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons who left a lasting impression at the Wells Fargo Center.
Girgensons took a chip pass from defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo (who played for Philadelphia last season) and deposited a breakaway goal in overtime to give Buffalo it's third win of the season and first one on the road. It was Girgensons' first goal of the season, and first point of the season and was well deserved. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Z,” said forward Jamie McGinn of Girgensons. “I thought he played a great game. He hustled all over the ice, and he did a lot of good things. There were a lot of plays where he turned a 50-50 puck into a scoring chance.”
McGinn himself garnered his first goal of the season while Colaiacovo, Johan Larsson and Brian Gionta all hit the score sheet for the first time this season. “It’s been trouble for all these games, not just for me,” said Girgensons. “It’s nice for the guys to open up a little bit.”
The Sabres were playing without injured top-line winger Evander Kane who will be out 4-6 weeks and as witnessed by nine players hitting the score sheet, it was a total team effort. "It was a great team win," said Larsson who's two assists made him the only multi-point player on the night for Buffalo. “Everyone battled hard. Every line was rolling. We were shooting, going to the net, so I think this was our best game so far."
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Darcy Regier and his seeds scattered in the wind
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Former Sabres GM Darcy Regier signing on with the Arizona Coyotes, and like seeds flying in the wind, he and his former core landed all over the place the last few days.
Regier signed a multi year deal to become Senior Vice President and Assistant GM in Arizona. He'll have his hands in every aspect of the hockey operations department.
'Yotes GM Don Maloney has known Regier for a long time and considers him "his closest friend on the management side of the NHL" according to Sarah McClellan of azcentral.com.
Said Maloney of the hire, "He's done it all. If you think about the experience he's had over the last 17 years in Buffalo, everything from great success, Stanley Cup final, bankruptcy, coming out of that. There was a point at the end where there were limited resources. So there's nothing he hasn't seen or done or tried."
Former Sabres GM Darcy Regier signing on with the Arizona Coyotes, and like seeds flying in the wind, he and his former core landed all over the place the last few days.
Regier signed a multi year deal to become Senior Vice President and Assistant GM in Arizona. He'll have his hands in every aspect of the hockey operations department.
'Yotes GM Don Maloney has known Regier for a long time and considers him "his closest friend on the management side of the NHL" according to Sarah McClellan of azcentral.com.
Said Maloney of the hire, "He's done it all. If you think about the experience he's had over the last 17 years in Buffalo, everything from great success, Stanley Cup final, bankruptcy, coming out of that. There was a point at the end where there were limited resources. So there's nothing he hasn't seen or done or tried."
Thursday, May 1, 2014
What Sabres fans can take away from the first round of the 2014 playoffs
The St. Louis Blues were like Sabres
The St. Louis Blues were ousted by the defending Stanley Cup Champs in six games. In addition to former Sabre Ryan Miller, who was a 2014 trade deadline acquisition by St. Louis, three other former Sabres were on that team: Steve Ott, Jordan Leopold and Derek Roy.
There's a possibility that none will there next season. Miller, Ott and Roy are all UFA's while Leopold has one more year remaining on his contract that pays him $2.5M.
Although Leopold probably will be back, at least until the trade deadline, he really didn't do much of anything in his bottom-pairing role. He's an average player with average size and average skating ability that doesn't add a specific quality to the team. Vanilla, just like in Buffalo.
As for the others, Roy was a healthy scratch for two games and invisible for the four he played in. In typical fashion, when the heat was turned up, Roy folded. Which was exactly what he did for the Sabres.
Ott was the player that he is--a third line pest--which was fine until the final game when he got smoked by the highly skilled Hawks. Too many penalties and the injury to David Backes had him on the ice way too often throughout the series. It shows just how little talent Buffalo had when they were using Ott in a top-six role.
Although he could be back, Ott might better serve himself with a third-line role on a better team at a discount to his $3.2M salary or in a larger role on a lesser team for more money.
The St. Louis Blues were ousted by the defending Stanley Cup Champs in six games. In addition to former Sabre Ryan Miller, who was a 2014 trade deadline acquisition by St. Louis, three other former Sabres were on that team: Steve Ott, Jordan Leopold and Derek Roy.
There's a possibility that none will there next season. Miller, Ott and Roy are all UFA's while Leopold has one more year remaining on his contract that pays him $2.5M.
Although Leopold probably will be back, at least until the trade deadline, he really didn't do much of anything in his bottom-pairing role. He's an average player with average size and average skating ability that doesn't add a specific quality to the team. Vanilla, just like in Buffalo.
As for the others, Roy was a healthy scratch for two games and invisible for the four he played in. In typical fashion, when the heat was turned up, Roy folded. Which was exactly what he did for the Sabres.
Ott was the player that he is--a third line pest--which was fine until the final game when he got smoked by the highly skilled Hawks. Too many penalties and the injury to David Backes had him on the ice way too often throughout the series. It shows just how little talent Buffalo had when they were using Ott in a top-six role.
Although he could be back, Ott might better serve himself with a third-line role on a better team at a discount to his $3.2M salary or in a larger role on a lesser team for more money.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
It's a career-defining game for Ryan Miller today.
Former Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller was acquired by St. Louis to help them reach the next level.
A young, talented Blues team had been bounced in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs two years running and it was presumed that the 1/1A goalie tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot was in need of an upgrade.
It wasn't so much that the tandem was terrible, they shared the Jennings Trophy in 2011-12 for lowest goals against average, but the opportunity for an upgrade in net presented itself with the availability of Miller.
"Ryan Miller's resume' speaks for itself" said Blues GM Doug Armstrong about the trade for the netminder. “He has this little bit of swagger about him,” Armstrong said of Miller. “He’s got confidence...Selfishly, I think we have a better chance to win and I think he makes us a little bit better.”
The "bet" on acquiring Miller was that the team would not only get out of the first round but would make it to the Western Conference Finals. The move was looked upon as turning a Stanley Cup contender into a Stanley Cup favorite.
A young, talented Blues team had been bounced in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs two years running and it was presumed that the 1/1A goalie tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot was in need of an upgrade.
It wasn't so much that the tandem was terrible, they shared the Jennings Trophy in 2011-12 for lowest goals against average, but the opportunity for an upgrade in net presented itself with the availability of Miller.
"Ryan Miller's resume' speaks for itself" said Blues GM Doug Armstrong about the trade for the netminder. “He has this little bit of swagger about him,” Armstrong said of Miller. “He’s got confidence...Selfishly, I think we have a better chance to win and I think he makes us a little bit better.”
The "bet" on acquiring Miller was that the team would not only get out of the first round but would make it to the Western Conference Finals. The move was looked upon as turning a Stanley Cup contender into a Stanley Cup favorite.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
News and notes as the time change throws us all off
Spring ahead.
I hate losing an hour, but so be it.
And even as the Sabres continue their grasp on the last place spot in the league, they're moving forward.
With all the turmoil, I still find myself locked in, hoping for a victory.
I hate losing an hour, but so be it.
And even as the Sabres continue their grasp on the last place spot in the league, they're moving forward.
With all the turmoil, I still find myself locked in, hoping for a victory.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
On Ryan Miller
If I were to use one word to describe former Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, that word would be unappreciated.
Buffalo fans can be brutal out of frustration and/or ignorance and/or jealousy, and on many occasions they took their frustrations out on Miller.
I have written 49 pieces on the Miller, most all in his defense so I'm not gonna go there. If you want, you can scan his link by clicking here.
I had started this blog back in August of 2010 with my Sabres 40th Anniversary team.
Miller was an honorable mention in net behind Dominik Hasek and Don Edwards.
At the time he was still relatively young win a only a decent amount of games under his belt and he had just had his Vezina year. But more was needed.
And over the last three and a half years, more was found, with no better a season than the present one in which he faced a year of uncertainty backstopping the worst team in the league.
He heads to St. Louis and immediately makes them one of the top contenders for the Cup this year.
And I hope he gets it.
There's nothing I'd like better than to see Miller tooling around Buffalo in the Mr. Softee truck with the theme song blaring and Stanley Cup in tow.
Good luck to a true pro and a helluva goalie.
Buffalo fans can be brutal out of frustration and/or ignorance and/or jealousy, and on many occasions they took their frustrations out on Miller.
I have written 49 pieces on the Miller, most all in his defense so I'm not gonna go there. If you want, you can scan his link by clicking here.
I had started this blog back in August of 2010 with my Sabres 40th Anniversary team.
Miller was an honorable mention in net behind Dominik Hasek and Don Edwards.
At the time he was still relatively young win a only a decent amount of games under his belt and he had just had his Vezina year. But more was needed.
And over the last three and a half years, more was found, with no better a season than the present one in which he faced a year of uncertainty backstopping the worst team in the league.
He heads to St. Louis and immediately makes them one of the top contenders for the Cup this year.
And I hope he gets it.
There's nothing I'd like better than to see Miller tooling around Buffalo in the Mr. Softee truck with the theme song blaring and Stanley Cup in tow.
Good luck to a true pro and a helluva goalie.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
From Sochi to the Sabres: some of this and some of that
The Sabres kick off the post-Olympic NHL schedule with a make-up game at home vs. the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, the only game on the NHL schedule.
With the trade deadline a mere eight days away and a number of teams positioning themselves for the stretch run, Buffalo joins the NY Islanders, Edmonton and Florida as definitive sellers at the deadline.
Rumors are beginning to fly, including juxtaposed positions on the fate of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, and trade scenarios are coming out left and right. That's what makes the NHL trade deadline the most interesting and the most fun of all the four major North American sports.
But before we get into that, we'll touch upon one more thing from Sochi.
With the trade deadline a mere eight days away and a number of teams positioning themselves for the stretch run, Buffalo joins the NY Islanders, Edmonton and Florida as definitive sellers at the deadline.
Rumors are beginning to fly, including juxtaposed positions on the fate of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, and trade scenarios are coming out left and right. That's what makes the NHL trade deadline the most interesting and the most fun of all the four major North American sports.
But before we get into that, we'll touch upon one more thing from Sochi.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Any way you slice it, the Sabres have valuable players that playoff-bound teams would be interested in
Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray will be headed into the Olympic break--and the eventual trade deadline--with a plethora of players that playoff-bound clubs will find attractive.
Goalie Ryan Miller and scoring winger Matt Moulson are obvious candidates to fill high-profile needs like goaltending and scoring while gritty veteran Steve Ott would provide intangibles like sandpaper and leadership to go along with tangibles like faceoffs skills, hits and secodary scoring.
Goalie Ryan Miller and scoring winger Matt Moulson are obvious candidates to fill high-profile needs like goaltending and scoring while gritty veteran Steve Ott would provide intangibles like sandpaper and leadership to go along with tangibles like faceoffs skills, hits and secodary scoring.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Ryan Miller is a great fit in St. Louis. Would energize the fan base
At least one beat writer for the St. Louis Blues is aware of the questionable goaltending in St. Louis.
St. Louis Post Dispatch writer Joe Strauss penned a piece yesterday entitled The Blues are dominant, but goalie questions remain.
Strauss goes through all the stats on the team and adds in that the Blues will have 10 Olympians headed to Sochi, Russia next month. Their defense is as stout as it was last season and the questions about scoring have been answered thus far. Five Blues have 15+ goals and seven have at least 30 points.
But, he still thinks the goaltending situation is an Achilles heel.
St. Louis Post Dispatch writer Joe Strauss penned a piece yesterday entitled The Blues are dominant, but goalie questions remain.
Strauss goes through all the stats on the team and adds in that the Blues will have 10 Olympians headed to Sochi, Russia next month. Their defense is as stout as it was last season and the questions about scoring have been answered thus far. Five Blues have 15+ goals and seven have at least 30 points.
But, he still thinks the goaltending situation is an Achilles heel.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
World Junior play of Sabres d-prospects could have an affect on the future of Ryan Miller
Sabres d-prospect Rasmus Ristolainen scored the golden goal in the 2014 World Junior Championship, was named to the All Tournament Team, and was named the best defenseman of the tournament.
Fellow 2013 1st round draft pick Nikita Zadorov joined Ristolainen on the All Tournament Team.
A year earlier, Jake McCabe, Buffalo's 2nd round pick in 2012 (#44,) captained the US team to the Gold Medal in Ufa, Russia. He was named to the 2013 All Tournament Team.
The Buffalo Sabres took three of the four defensive spots on the All Tournament Team the last two years.
Fellow 2013 1st round draft pick Nikita Zadorov joined Ristolainen on the All Tournament Team.
A year earlier, Jake McCabe, Buffalo's 2nd round pick in 2012 (#44,) captained the US team to the Gold Medal in Ufa, Russia. He was named to the 2013 All Tournament Team.
The Buffalo Sabres took three of the four defensive spots on the All Tournament Team the last two years.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Ryan Miller solidifies his status as a bonafide, kick-ass goalie...
Just ask the Washington Capitals about Ryan Miller.
Fifty shots against him in regulation and overtime, just one goal against for a .980 save percentage. It was a performance that was only outdone by a 1.000 save percentage on six shooters in the shootout for the 2-1 win.
Rumor is that Miller will be one of three goalies headed to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The future rumor should be that he's being considered for MVP as well as the Vezina. He's been playing that well.
Sabres fans must be getting the heebie-jeebies watching this team go 5-4-2 for the month of December while generating points in six of their last seven games.
Interim coach Ted Nolan has this team of no-names playing exceptional team hockey that's producing points. But it's Miller that once again is carrying the team.
For December Miller has a 5-2-1 record, with the team getting points in his last five games (4-0-1.) In those eight December games he has faced 291 shots-against allowing 15 goals against for a .948 save percentage.
The stretch of games in December has the Sabres now only four points out of the 29th spot (EDM) with two games in hand and only five points out of 28th (NYI) with one game in hand.
There was a time before the firing of GM Darcy Regier and coach Ron Rolston that the Sabres were a lock for the worst record in the NHL and the best shot at the #1 overall pick in the 2014 Draft. Now we're not so sure.
And the longer Miller is on the team, the stronger the possibility that the team will climb out of the basement. There's even a possibility, albeit an extremely remote possibility, that they'll make their annual run to a spot just outside the playoffs.
That, of course, is with Miller in net.
Six weeks from now--February 9--is the Olympic break and Miller will be in Sochi, Russia, probably as the starter for Team USA. LA Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was the front-runner until he was injured and even if he gets some time in net before the break, Miller might still be the man. After all, in addition to his stellar play this NHL season, he was the MVP in Vancouver back in 2010 when the USA--another team lacking superstars--were one goal short of taking home the gold medal.
The Buffalo Sabres will be facing quite the decision after the Olympic break. A little over a week after play resumes in the NHL, the March 5th trade deadline will be upon them, and what to do with Miller is front and center on their list of UFA decisions.
They will either extend the 33-yr. old or trade him as its highly unlikely they'll let him walk this summer for nothing.
The great debate will be (and we already have our decision made) as to what they should do, but if Miller continues playing like he has been, there will be suitors for his services. And those suitors (maybe a Washington or a St. Louis or a Cup contender that has an injury to their top goalie) will be paying a premium for a premier goalie.
Regardless of how the Miller situation shakes out, or even those of pending UFA's Matt Moulson and Steve Ott, the Buffalo Sabres are playing inspired hockey right now under Nolan and it's safe to say that the franchise is on the upswing.
In large part, though, to the play of Ryan Miller.
Fifty shots against him in regulation and overtime, just one goal against for a .980 save percentage. It was a performance that was only outdone by a 1.000 save percentage on six shooters in the shootout for the 2-1 win.
Rumor is that Miller will be one of three goalies headed to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The future rumor should be that he's being considered for MVP as well as the Vezina. He's been playing that well.
Sabres fans must be getting the heebie-jeebies watching this team go 5-4-2 for the month of December while generating points in six of their last seven games.
Interim coach Ted Nolan has this team of no-names playing exceptional team hockey that's producing points. But it's Miller that once again is carrying the team.
For December Miller has a 5-2-1 record, with the team getting points in his last five games (4-0-1.) In those eight December games he has faced 291 shots-against allowing 15 goals against for a .948 save percentage.
The stretch of games in December has the Sabres now only four points out of the 29th spot (EDM) with two games in hand and only five points out of 28th (NYI) with one game in hand.
There was a time before the firing of GM Darcy Regier and coach Ron Rolston that the Sabres were a lock for the worst record in the NHL and the best shot at the #1 overall pick in the 2014 Draft. Now we're not so sure.
And the longer Miller is on the team, the stronger the possibility that the team will climb out of the basement. There's even a possibility, albeit an extremely remote possibility, that they'll make their annual run to a spot just outside the playoffs.
That, of course, is with Miller in net.
Six weeks from now--February 9--is the Olympic break and Miller will be in Sochi, Russia, probably as the starter for Team USA. LA Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was the front-runner until he was injured and even if he gets some time in net before the break, Miller might still be the man. After all, in addition to his stellar play this NHL season, he was the MVP in Vancouver back in 2010 when the USA--another team lacking superstars--were one goal short of taking home the gold medal.
The Buffalo Sabres will be facing quite the decision after the Olympic break. A little over a week after play resumes in the NHL, the March 5th trade deadline will be upon them, and what to do with Miller is front and center on their list of UFA decisions.
They will either extend the 33-yr. old or trade him as its highly unlikely they'll let him walk this summer for nothing.
The great debate will be (and we already have our decision made) as to what they should do, but if Miller continues playing like he has been, there will be suitors for his services. And those suitors (maybe a Washington or a St. Louis or a Cup contender that has an injury to their top goalie) will be paying a premium for a premier goalie.
Regardless of how the Miller situation shakes out, or even those of pending UFA's Matt Moulson and Steve Ott, the Buffalo Sabres are playing inspired hockey right now under Nolan and it's safe to say that the franchise is on the upswing.
In large part, though, to the play of Ryan Miller.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
News and notes for mid-December including Shawn Thorton and why Ryan Miller to St. Louis could help their finances
It's a long way to Tiperrary,
It's a long way to go.
Yup. Sure is.
Covering the Sabres this year is like covering an Emerald Ash Borer and the slow death of an ash tree. We've been watching this team slowly die and it's crashing down.
No biggie. We have plenty of firewood.
It's a cold December night, not all of us can hob-nob with athletes and celebs at Ryan Miller's Catwalk for Charity like our good friend Kris Baker.
Sorry that you're left with Molson Canadian to drink. Pooh, pooh, my friend.
But, he did leave us a little something to chew on, via his twitter page--an article from Russia on Sabres prospect Nikita Zadorov.
Zadorov for me, is already one of my favorite Sabres players. Love his child-like gait and smile and the purity of it.
Zadorov was sent to the London Knights for another year of junior as the Sabres work their way through the conundrum that befits a 7-23-3 team.
He's aware of what's going on, but has a positive outlook, 'At times we didn’t have the luck, at other times we lost without a chance, but I think everything will get better,' Zadorov told R-sport. 'The team is being reorganized right now and next season, the goals will be set higher.'
The gist of the very short piece from R-sport is that Zadorov is brimming with confidence, unlike last season, 'Last year, I didn’t go to the U20 world champs because I didn’t feel enough confidence. But now I’ve already played in the NHL, because I believed in myself,' Zadorov said. 'I know I’m ready to play, I must be a leader so that the other guys follow me.'
Can't wait for him to be a regular on the Sabres blueline.
*******
The Sabres can't score. That's been proven time and again.
Under interim coach Ted Nolan, they've gotten more scoring chances but just can't bury them.
And one of the reasons is that they can't get the puck up over a goalie's pads.
Valeri Nichushkin was drafted 10th overall by the Dallas Stars in June and has been in their lineup for 30 games this season. He has 5 goals on the season, which isn't bad for an 18 yr. old.
Back in November he talked with R-sport about the differences between goaltenders in the KHL and NHL.
'When I watched TV it all looked so easy, but now as I play here, I understand how difficult it is. I’m trying to the drive the puck into the net as I did in Traktor games, but here goalies play differently. They are taught to go down to their knees and block the lower part of the goal.'
'And the desire to score in such a way [by shooting low] is subconscious.'
From the mouths of babes.
It's not rocket science, get the puck up.
Nichushkin was selected two picks after the Sabres selected defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and many had thought that they should have selected the Russian winger.
Assistant GM and Head Amateur Scout Kevin Devine made the decision to go with Ristolainen, and he's pretty darned good at what he does.
The Sabres have an impressive group of young defensemen, including Zadorov and Ristolainen, both of whom should be up with the team within the next two seasons.
Until then, Sabres forwards need to take Nichushkin's word to heart and start consciously going top-shelf.
*******
Buffalo's lack of scoring, coupled with the probable departure of Miller, as well as possible departures of forwards Matt Moulson and Steve Ott will pretty much assure them of the top-pick in this year's draft.
Finishing last isn't a 100% guarantee of getting the first overall pick, but the chances are pretty strong and for the Sabres this season, forward help is on the horizon as center Sam Reinhart tops the 2014 NHL draft prospect list.
And next season isn't looking much better for Buffalo, whether by design or circumstance.
This is a young team that just doesn't have the horses to do anything but challenge for the 1st overall pick in 2015--otherwise known as the Connor McDavid sweepstakes.
McDavid is the 16 year old phenom that's drawing parallels to the likes of a Sidney Crosby.
The key for the Sabres in either year is increasing their odds of landing a top pick, and thanks to the NY Islanders, the odds have gotten much stronger.
When former GM Darcy Regier traded forward Thomas Vanek to the NY Islanders for Matt Moulson, he also received a conditional 1st round pick from the Isles. Should NY finish in the bottom 10, they will have the option of either sending this years 1st-rounder to the Sabres or deferring the pick to next year.
As of right now the Islanders are second to last in the league and if this keeps up, they will have a very difficult decision to make.
As for the Sabres, they're looking at three 1st round picks in the next two drafts.
Yes, my friends, forward help is on the way.
*******
Cam Neely was a pretty tough customer when he played for the Boston Bruins and although he didn't play during the "Slapshot days" of the NHL during the 70's, he would have had no problem having success with his power game.
Neely is president of the Boston Bruins, a team that won the Stanley Cup playing a style that made him proud.
The Bruins are filled with tough customers from Milan Lucic to Greg Campbell to Adam McQuaid to Shawn Thorton.
Thorton pulled a "Big, Bad Bruin" alley-fight thug-move on Brooks Orpik as the Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen was on the perimeter of a scrum.
Thorton's thugery included slew-footing Orpik then punching him in the face while Orpik was down on the ice defenseless.
Orpik was taken out on a stretcher.
The NHL handed down a 15-game suspension on Thorton and Neely thought it was excessive. “Higher than I expected and higher than I think is warranted,” Neely told ProHockeyTalk, referring to the length of the ban. "We’ve had our fair share of players hurt badly by concussions,” Neely added. “I don’t think anyone’s gotten a 15-game suspension out of those. Thornton is a guy who plays the role he plays and has never had any suspensions or issues. It comes down a little harsh for me.”
Yes they have.
The Sabres' own John Scott was suspended for 10 games for his hit to the head on Bruins forward Loui Erickson sending him to the sidelines for a couple of games with a concussion.
The hit was obviously high and was more stupid than it was malicious.
Scott had never been suspended before either and he received a Shanaban of 10 games, mainly just because he was John Scott. Most believe that he shouldn't even be in the game even though he "plays the role he plays," that of an enforcer.
Had Scott done what Thorton did to Orpik, he might have killed him.
After all, look what Scott did to Thorton here when they fought:
Sorry, Cam, 15 games wasn't enough for Thorton. It was malicious and vicious and there's no excuse for it.
.
And for those who think Scott shouldn't be on the Sabres, pretty sure Scott's teammates feel different. Neither Thorton, nor any other lunk head will be taking those kinds of liberties with the Sabres as long as Scott is on the bench.
(Thanx to nhlboy88 and hockeyfights.com for the vids)
*******
The St. Louis Blues once again have themselves a pretty good hockey team, a Stanley Cup contender most think.
They have a Cup-winning coach stressing a strong defensive game. They have a young leader in David Backes up-front and a young top-pairing, shut-down d-man in Alex Pietrangelo. Interspersed are a mix of vets and youngsters, skill and grit, and a whole lot of speed.
Despite their promise and their 22-6-3 record, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch writes that Blues fans are staying home this season.
The team has an average attendance of 16, 514 thus far this season, about 1000 less than last year.
The spin on the situation has them off to a slow start because of the St. Louis Cardinals who were in the playoffs until October 30th, or the first seven home games of the Blues season.
St. Louis is a baseball town and there's credence to what ownership is saying. But they're also well aware that it's only partly true.
Strauss acknowledges that, as well as other issues but also feels that maybe "part of the attendance hurdle stems from a show-me stance that fosters skepticism based on the last two postseason wipeouts against the Los Angeles Kings."
The Kings swept the Blues in the second round on their way to their first Stanley Cup in 2012.
Last season, the Blues lost to the Kings once again, this time in the first round.
According to Strauss, the Blues $3m deficit last season "might have been erased" by playing in the second round of the playoffs.
With the past two seasons in mind, and ownership raising ticket prices, there's a bit of a "chicken/egg" scenario going on. According to team president Bruce Affleck, "[the team] needs better support to make this sustainable," but fans remain skeptical and are staying away.
With the Blues close to the $64m salary-cap right now and attendance down, it's not surprising that Affleck has the team "a large dollar amount off for now. [But] If it goes this way the whole year it becomes a red flag.”
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has his team playing a Cup-winning formula of low shots against and opportunistic scoring, but their Achilles heel, once again, may be their goaltending.
It's not that Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot aren't good goalies. They are. And except for average save percentages, all of their numbers are real good.
The question remains, are either of them big-game goalies?
This may be the season for the Blues to go all-in. They have the pieces in place up-front for a Cup-run and if they can get themselves to make a deal for Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller they just might have that Eddie "the Eagle" Belfour piece that Dallas had for their first Stanley Cup under Hitchcock.
Miller proved what he could do with a solid team in front of him at the 2010 Olympics as he almost single-handedly brought home the gold medal for Team USA. That team had nothing close to the skill-level of the Canadian team yet took them to overtime. Miller was the MVP in the tournament.
Putting Miller--a positional goalie--in Hitchcock's low shots-against system makes for a winning combination.
Yes, they will need to score, but Miller represents more of an opportunity for the forward group to take a few more chances.
For years he's held the fort as the 2006-07 "Ferrari" Sabres and subsequent "core" Sabres have skated up-ice leaving odd-man rushes headed back his way.
For years he's covered for defensemen who screened him and/or couldn't cover a two on one properly.
Imagine what he could do with a defense that knows how to play defense in front of him?
Better yet, imagine how the fan-base would perceive a trade for Miller? He is still one of the faces, if not the face, of USA hockey. He's very recognizable even to the casual fan--the casual fan in St. Louis who might just take in a extra game or two because he's in net for the Blues.
Addendum:
Since the 2007-08 season when the Sabres went from back-to-back ECF's to the team know as "the core" and as the NHL was about to dump it's "unbalanced" scheduling format for a more traditional one, this is Ryan Miller's record vs. the teams the Blues have been having problems with:
LAK: 4-0-1
SJS: 7-1-0
ANA: 2-3-0
VAN: 3-2-0
CHI: 1-2-0
That 17-8-1 record also include a 2-3-0 record for this season.
Of note: to be fair, the Detroit Red Wings were a western conference powerhouse during that time frame. Miller's record against the Wings: 1-7-1, his only win coming in his 2009-10 Vezina season.
It's a long way to go.
Yup. Sure is.
Covering the Sabres this year is like covering an Emerald Ash Borer and the slow death of an ash tree. We've been watching this team slowly die and it's crashing down.
No biggie. We have plenty of firewood.
It's a cold December night, not all of us can hob-nob with athletes and celebs at Ryan Miller's Catwalk for Charity like our good friend Kris Baker.
Sorry that you're left with Molson Canadian to drink. Pooh, pooh, my friend.
But, he did leave us a little something to chew on, via his twitter page--an article from Russia on Sabres prospect Nikita Zadorov.
Zadorov for me, is already one of my favorite Sabres players. Love his child-like gait and smile and the purity of it.
 |
| Sabres prospect Nikita Zadorov had a blast in his short stint with the Sabres. |
When he says "I like to hit people" with a Cheshire grin on his face, I fully believe it. When he says that he's happy to be in the NHL, the best league in the world, believe it.
Zadorov was sent to the London Knights for another year of junior as the Sabres work their way through the conundrum that befits a 7-23-3 team.
He's aware of what's going on, but has a positive outlook, 'At times we didn’t have the luck, at other times we lost without a chance, but I think everything will get better,' Zadorov told R-sport. 'The team is being reorganized right now and next season, the goals will be set higher.'
The gist of the very short piece from R-sport is that Zadorov is brimming with confidence, unlike last season, 'Last year, I didn’t go to the U20 world champs because I didn’t feel enough confidence. But now I’ve already played in the NHL, because I believed in myself,' Zadorov said. 'I know I’m ready to play, I must be a leader so that the other guys follow me.'
Can't wait for him to be a regular on the Sabres blueline.
*******
The Sabres can't score. That's been proven time and again.
Under interim coach Ted Nolan, they've gotten more scoring chances but just can't bury them.
And one of the reasons is that they can't get the puck up over a goalie's pads.
Valeri Nichushkin was drafted 10th overall by the Dallas Stars in June and has been in their lineup for 30 games this season. He has 5 goals on the season, which isn't bad for an 18 yr. old.
Back in November he talked with R-sport about the differences between goaltenders in the KHL and NHL.
'When I watched TV it all looked so easy, but now as I play here, I understand how difficult it is. I’m trying to the drive the puck into the net as I did in Traktor games, but here goalies play differently. They are taught to go down to their knees and block the lower part of the goal.'
'And the desire to score in such a way [by shooting low] is subconscious.'
From the mouths of babes.
It's not rocket science, get the puck up.
Nichushkin was selected two picks after the Sabres selected defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and many had thought that they should have selected the Russian winger.
Assistant GM and Head Amateur Scout Kevin Devine made the decision to go with Ristolainen, and he's pretty darned good at what he does.
The Sabres have an impressive group of young defensemen, including Zadorov and Ristolainen, both of whom should be up with the team within the next two seasons.
Until then, Sabres forwards need to take Nichushkin's word to heart and start consciously going top-shelf.
*******
Buffalo's lack of scoring, coupled with the probable departure of Miller, as well as possible departures of forwards Matt Moulson and Steve Ott will pretty much assure them of the top-pick in this year's draft.
Finishing last isn't a 100% guarantee of getting the first overall pick, but the chances are pretty strong and for the Sabres this season, forward help is on the horizon as center Sam Reinhart tops the 2014 NHL draft prospect list.
And next season isn't looking much better for Buffalo, whether by design or circumstance.
This is a young team that just doesn't have the horses to do anything but challenge for the 1st overall pick in 2015--otherwise known as the Connor McDavid sweepstakes.
McDavid is the 16 year old phenom that's drawing parallels to the likes of a Sidney Crosby.
The key for the Sabres in either year is increasing their odds of landing a top pick, and thanks to the NY Islanders, the odds have gotten much stronger.
When former GM Darcy Regier traded forward Thomas Vanek to the NY Islanders for Matt Moulson, he also received a conditional 1st round pick from the Isles. Should NY finish in the bottom 10, they will have the option of either sending this years 1st-rounder to the Sabres or deferring the pick to next year.
As of right now the Islanders are second to last in the league and if this keeps up, they will have a very difficult decision to make.
As for the Sabres, they're looking at three 1st round picks in the next two drafts.
Yes, my friends, forward help is on the way.
*******
Cam Neely was a pretty tough customer when he played for the Boston Bruins and although he didn't play during the "Slapshot days" of the NHL during the 70's, he would have had no problem having success with his power game.
Neely is president of the Boston Bruins, a team that won the Stanley Cup playing a style that made him proud.
The Bruins are filled with tough customers from Milan Lucic to Greg Campbell to Adam McQuaid to Shawn Thorton.
Thorton pulled a "Big, Bad Bruin" alley-fight thug-move on Brooks Orpik as the Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen was on the perimeter of a scrum.
Thorton's thugery included slew-footing Orpik then punching him in the face while Orpik was down on the ice defenseless.
Orpik was taken out on a stretcher.
The NHL handed down a 15-game suspension on Thorton and Neely thought it was excessive. “Higher than I expected and higher than I think is warranted,” Neely told ProHockeyTalk, referring to the length of the ban. "We’ve had our fair share of players hurt badly by concussions,” Neely added. “I don’t think anyone’s gotten a 15-game suspension out of those. Thornton is a guy who plays the role he plays and has never had any suspensions or issues. It comes down a little harsh for me.”
Yes they have.
The Sabres' own John Scott was suspended for 10 games for his hit to the head on Bruins forward Loui Erickson sending him to the sidelines for a couple of games with a concussion.
The hit was obviously high and was more stupid than it was malicious.
Scott had never been suspended before either and he received a Shanaban of 10 games, mainly just because he was John Scott. Most believe that he shouldn't even be in the game even though he "plays the role he plays," that of an enforcer.
Had Scott done what Thorton did to Orpik, he might have killed him.
After all, look what Scott did to Thorton here when they fought:
Sorry, Cam, 15 games wasn't enough for Thorton. It was malicious and vicious and there's no excuse for it.
.
And for those who think Scott shouldn't be on the Sabres, pretty sure Scott's teammates feel different. Neither Thorton, nor any other lunk head will be taking those kinds of liberties with the Sabres as long as Scott is on the bench.
(Thanx to nhlboy88 and hockeyfights.com for the vids)
*******
The St. Louis Blues once again have themselves a pretty good hockey team, a Stanley Cup contender most think.
They have a Cup-winning coach stressing a strong defensive game. They have a young leader in David Backes up-front and a young top-pairing, shut-down d-man in Alex Pietrangelo. Interspersed are a mix of vets and youngsters, skill and grit, and a whole lot of speed.
Despite their promise and their 22-6-3 record, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch writes that Blues fans are staying home this season.
The team has an average attendance of 16, 514 thus far this season, about 1000 less than last year.
The spin on the situation has them off to a slow start because of the St. Louis Cardinals who were in the playoffs until October 30th, or the first seven home games of the Blues season.
St. Louis is a baseball town and there's credence to what ownership is saying. But they're also well aware that it's only partly true.
Strauss acknowledges that, as well as other issues but also feels that maybe "part of the attendance hurdle stems from a show-me stance that fosters skepticism based on the last two postseason wipeouts against the Los Angeles Kings."
The Kings swept the Blues in the second round on their way to their first Stanley Cup in 2012.
Last season, the Blues lost to the Kings once again, this time in the first round.
According to Strauss, the Blues $3m deficit last season "might have been erased" by playing in the second round of the playoffs.
With the past two seasons in mind, and ownership raising ticket prices, there's a bit of a "chicken/egg" scenario going on. According to team president Bruce Affleck, "[the team] needs better support to make this sustainable," but fans remain skeptical and are staying away.
With the Blues close to the $64m salary-cap right now and attendance down, it's not surprising that Affleck has the team "a large dollar amount off for now. [But] If it goes this way the whole year it becomes a red flag.”
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has his team playing a Cup-winning formula of low shots against and opportunistic scoring, but their Achilles heel, once again, may be their goaltending.
It's not that Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot aren't good goalies. They are. And except for average save percentages, all of their numbers are real good.
The question remains, are either of them big-game goalies?
This may be the season for the Blues to go all-in. They have the pieces in place up-front for a Cup-run and if they can get themselves to make a deal for Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller they just might have that Eddie "the Eagle" Belfour piece that Dallas had for their first Stanley Cup under Hitchcock.
Miller proved what he could do with a solid team in front of him at the 2010 Olympics as he almost single-handedly brought home the gold medal for Team USA. That team had nothing close to the skill-level of the Canadian team yet took them to overtime. Miller was the MVP in the tournament.
Putting Miller--a positional goalie--in Hitchcock's low shots-against system makes for a winning combination.
Yes, they will need to score, but Miller represents more of an opportunity for the forward group to take a few more chances.
For years he's held the fort as the 2006-07 "Ferrari" Sabres and subsequent "core" Sabres have skated up-ice leaving odd-man rushes headed back his way.
For years he's covered for defensemen who screened him and/or couldn't cover a two on one properly.
Imagine what he could do with a defense that knows how to play defense in front of him?
Better yet, imagine how the fan-base would perceive a trade for Miller? He is still one of the faces, if not the face, of USA hockey. He's very recognizable even to the casual fan--the casual fan in St. Louis who might just take in a extra game or two because he's in net for the Blues.
Addendum:
Since the 2007-08 season when the Sabres went from back-to-back ECF's to the team know as "the core" and as the NHL was about to dump it's "unbalanced" scheduling format for a more traditional one, this is Ryan Miller's record vs. the teams the Blues have been having problems with:
LAK: 4-0-1
SJS: 7-1-0
ANA: 2-3-0
VAN: 3-2-0
CHI: 1-2-0
That 17-8-1 record also include a 2-3-0 record for this season.
Of note: to be fair, the Detroit Red Wings were a western conference powerhouse during that time frame. Miller's record against the Wings: 1-7-1, his only win coming in his 2009-10 Vezina season.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
The great debate, Miller/Lundqvist and the merits of a well-paid, upper-echelon goalie
You can judge any player in any number of ways, stats and awards being just two of them. Or does said player have their name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
The big ta-do these days is Henrik Lundqvist's 7yr./$59.5m contract extension the Rangers just gave him. It's a very hefty $8.5m/season cap-hit for a goaltender. Of course one must keep in mind that it's the Rangers. They're in The Big Apple and have always had the benefit of television rights that allow them to spend as much as they want, whenever they want.
Over the course of the last six or seven years, there's been a debate over the merits of having a well-paid, upper-echelon goalie and how that affects a team's quest for the Cup. Are they even necessary? Would large chunks of salary-cap space be better spent on skaters? Is the goalie more important than the defense and/or the coach's system and/or a team's ability to score?
All this comes into play with the Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.
Miller is, and always has been a comparable goalie to Lundqvist. To the point where his last contract paid him a shade under what Lundqvist signed for.
Miller is an unrestricted free agent at season's end and the debate about his merits on the team had subsided. The entire hockey world had figured that his time in Buffalo had come to an end, especially with the team in full-fledged rebuild-mode and Miller entering his mid-30's.
The general consensus is that he did his time in Buffalo and that he'll finish his career on a Cup-contender and that the Sabres will move him by this season's trade deadline to make sure the get themselves a return.
Surely Sabres fans were writing their eulogy, no doubt espousing Miller's positives while invariably throwing in a "Mr. Softee" moment as a shot at a generally under appreciated netminder.
But a funny thing happened on the way to his funeral dirge, Buffalo's interim coach Ted Nolan said that he wants Miller on the team.
Nolan, who had future Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek in net for him with the Sabres before, has been touting the virtues of Miller ever since he became interim bench boss.
Yesterday, in light of the Lundqvist signing, Nolan had this to say, "You build around him versus as a pawn to try to get something to make you better,” he said after practice yesterday. “You learn to deal with the now as a coach, and we got one of the better goaltenders in the world here. I’d like to build around him, myself.”
Fair enough. Miller has proven to be a bonafide #1 goalie and not every team has one. He's also proved that he can be elite. He has a Vezina Trophy, just like Lundqvist does.
You can take all the stats you want. You can throw in awards. And you can even debate defenses and coaching systems and how they affected a goalies performance. You can add in the forwards, whether they back check, whether or not they can score, whether or not they are clutch, etc, etc, etc.
You can go on and on forever debating all of that.
But what it really comes down to with goalies is how much they can get into the heads of the opposition.
For my money, there are only a couple of players in the Eastern Conference who don't tighten their grip when facing Miller.
And only one has been in the east since the 2004 lockout--Sidney Crosby.
Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk is another that isn't intimidated by Miller.
You could throw in his teammate, former Ottawa Senator Daniel Alfredsson, in the mix as well. The Senators as a team managed to consistently beat the Sabres and their team play got in the heads of Buffalo allowing for gifts left and right.
But only Crosby has shown the natural ability and skates with the chutzpah to pick apart Miller.
When a goalie can intimidate nearly everyone in their conference into thinking they need to make a perfect shot, they stifle the opposition. That's the merit of having an upper-echelon goalie.
It's not to say a good scheme by the opposition or poor play by the team in front can doom even a great goalie, but for the most part they'll be in every game with an opportunity to win.
That's what Lundqvist brings, and that's why he's getting paid.
That's what Miller brings as well, and someone will pay him.
Will it be the Sabres?
It may not be up to them, but if they wanted to and did throw a big chunk of change at him, I wouldn't throw myself from a bridge in angst.
The big ta-do these days is Henrik Lundqvist's 7yr./$59.5m contract extension the Rangers just gave him. It's a very hefty $8.5m/season cap-hit for a goaltender. Of course one must keep in mind that it's the Rangers. They're in The Big Apple and have always had the benefit of television rights that allow them to spend as much as they want, whenever they want.
Over the course of the last six or seven years, there's been a debate over the merits of having a well-paid, upper-echelon goalie and how that affects a team's quest for the Cup. Are they even necessary? Would large chunks of salary-cap space be better spent on skaters? Is the goalie more important than the defense and/or the coach's system and/or a team's ability to score?
All this comes into play with the Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.
Miller is, and always has been a comparable goalie to Lundqvist. To the point where his last contract paid him a shade under what Lundqvist signed for.
Miller is an unrestricted free agent at season's end and the debate about his merits on the team had subsided. The entire hockey world had figured that his time in Buffalo had come to an end, especially with the team in full-fledged rebuild-mode and Miller entering his mid-30's.
The general consensus is that he did his time in Buffalo and that he'll finish his career on a Cup-contender and that the Sabres will move him by this season's trade deadline to make sure the get themselves a return.
Surely Sabres fans were writing their eulogy, no doubt espousing Miller's positives while invariably throwing in a "Mr. Softee" moment as a shot at a generally under appreciated netminder.
But a funny thing happened on the way to his funeral dirge, Buffalo's interim coach Ted Nolan said that he wants Miller on the team.
Nolan, who had future Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek in net for him with the Sabres before, has been touting the virtues of Miller ever since he became interim bench boss.
Yesterday, in light of the Lundqvist signing, Nolan had this to say, "You build around him versus as a pawn to try to get something to make you better,” he said after practice yesterday. “You learn to deal with the now as a coach, and we got one of the better goaltenders in the world here. I’d like to build around him, myself.”
Fair enough. Miller has proven to be a bonafide #1 goalie and not every team has one. He's also proved that he can be elite. He has a Vezina Trophy, just like Lundqvist does.
You can take all the stats you want. You can throw in awards. And you can even debate defenses and coaching systems and how they affected a goalies performance. You can add in the forwards, whether they back check, whether or not they can score, whether or not they are clutch, etc, etc, etc.
You can go on and on forever debating all of that.
But what it really comes down to with goalies is how much they can get into the heads of the opposition.
For my money, there are only a couple of players in the Eastern Conference who don't tighten their grip when facing Miller.
And only one has been in the east since the 2004 lockout--Sidney Crosby.
Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk is another that isn't intimidated by Miller.
You could throw in his teammate, former Ottawa Senator Daniel Alfredsson, in the mix as well. The Senators as a team managed to consistently beat the Sabres and their team play got in the heads of Buffalo allowing for gifts left and right.
But only Crosby has shown the natural ability and skates with the chutzpah to pick apart Miller.
When a goalie can intimidate nearly everyone in their conference into thinking they need to make a perfect shot, they stifle the opposition. That's the merit of having an upper-echelon goalie.
It's not to say a good scheme by the opposition or poor play by the team in front can doom even a great goalie, but for the most part they'll be in every game with an opportunity to win.
That's what Lundqvist brings, and that's why he's getting paid.
That's what Miller brings as well, and someone will pay him.
Will it be the Sabres?
It may not be up to them, but if they wanted to and did throw a big chunk of change at him, I wouldn't throw myself from a bridge in angst.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Buffalo/Toronto line brawl brings old-time hockey back. And it's only preseason. (Corey Tropp, John Scott)
The photo at your left is not photoshopped. It is an actual photo of the Sabres Ryan Miller and the Leaves Jonathan Bernier getting ready to square off in a preseason game in Toronto.
Miller had never been in an NHL fight (nor has Bernier.)
Although Miller lost the fight, he took all in stride and even took pride in going at it for the first time especially in Toronto, "I thought [Bernier] was just doing a little flair-for-the-crowd thing. Just kind of say, ‘Hey, Do you want to go?’ I wanted to just get my reps in. I’m not a fighter. I think Bernier even has me in weight,” Miller said.
“But you can’t pass up a fight in Toronto in Maple Leaf Gardens. Back off from that one and, you know, what kind of hockey player are you? So I figure might as well give it a shot. I thought I did OK. He got loose a little bit on me there but towards the end, kind of got back into it.
You gotta do what you gotta do. I thought it was actually kind of fun. Might as well have a fight on your resume in Maple Leaf Gardens.”
The bout was an addendum to the melee that ensued prior.
At 10:01 of the third period, the Sabres and Maple Leaves had themselves a good, old fashioned donnybrook with over 200 minutes in penalties, 11 misconducts, a 10-minute match penalty for the Leaves Phil Kessel, a 10-minute leaving the bench penalty for the Toronto's David Clarkson and three game misconducts.
Jonas Siegel of tsn.ca sets the scene:
"The story begins with a goal.
A third round selection of the Sabres in 2007, Corey Tropp had redirected an effort from the point by Jamie McBain, one that beat Jonathan Bernier and cut the Toronto lead to one midway through the third period. Lining up at centre ice seconds after his first marker of the preseason, Tropp takes a tug at the sweater of Jamie Devane, a player looming high above weight class. The pair exchange a series of awkward fisticuffs, capped by Tropp losing his bucket, his head landing square on the ice with an alarming thud.
Blood is chipped off the ice during the television timeout and order is seemingly restored. Lingering near the Toronto bench though at left wing for Buffalo is [John] Scott, he of 63 career fights, the 30-year-old with plans on redeeming his fallen teammate."
Toronto coach Randy Carlyle, who has the last change as the home team, sends out a scoring line featuring Kessel, Carter Ashton and Tyler Bozak.
 |
| The Sabres John Scott is at the bottom of this pile with only the top of his head and hands visible. |
Kessel was next to Scott on the faceoff and according to Kessel, “[Scott] said he was going to jump me.”
From there the fun began.
Ashton and former Sabre TJ Brennan as well as a linesman jump Scott. Burying him beneath a pile of bodies.
The Sabres Drew Bagnall jumps in to help. He gets double-teamed as Clarkson joins the fray from the bench and Ashton belts him with a sucker-punch.
Sabres d-man Chad Ruhwedel ends up ragdolling Bozak. Kessel ends up bloodying Flynn. Scott ends up dancing with Clarkson, a linesman clinging to his arm, and challenges the Leaves bench as they waltz on by.
Maybe what pissed off the Sabres is how it looked as if Devane purposely rammed Tropp's head into the ice with his forearm while the two were going down.
Or how just prior to Tropp's goal in the game, Marcus Foligno was boarded by Brennan, a play that should have been a penalty.
Said Flynn, "“It was obviously the shift before that. There’s a lot going on out there,” Flynn said. “That’s why we have John [Scott]. John handles those situations and their whole team jumped in, so we jumped in." Scott, by the way, had the primary assist on Nikita Zadorov's late first period goal.
The Leaves were an ornery bunch the night before as well. Ashton and the Sabres Steve Ott went at it while Dion Phaneuf harassed the Sabres' Patrick Kaleta trying to get him to drop the gloves late in the game.
Troy Bodie immediately followed Phaneuf's lead, goading Kaleta into dropping the gloves. The 6'5" Bodie got the worst of the fight with the 6'1" Kaleta.
And this was just preseason.
Can't wait for November 15th when the Leaves visit Buffalo. Or for a possible Round-3 when the Sabres head to Toronto the following night.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Notes as the Sabres ready themselves to hit the ice. Cody Hodgson extended
It's time.
Let the hockey season begin.
A few notes as the Sabres hit the ice today for the first time as the second day of training camp gets under way.
But first, the Sabres and Cody Hodgson have agreed to a contract extension. The 23 yr. old center signed a reported 6yr./$25.5M contract yesterday for a cap-hit of $4.25M.
The pros and cons of the long-term deal are many and will undoubtedly be hashed out and beaten to death for years to come. That's simply the way things work in Sabretown.
With the six-year commitment from Buffalo, Sabres GM Darcy Regier and his staff look at Hodgson as a top-six, potential top-line, center for years to come. Hodgson showed great chemistry in the offensive zone with bonafide top-line winger Thomas Vanek.
In the 68 games since coming to the Sabres from Vancouver, Hodgson has 18 goals and 24 assists for .62 pts/game.
But, on the negative side his plus/minus for Buffalo is minus-11. Which brings us the cons.
Matthew Coller of WGR wrote an extensive piece about Hodgson's defensive lapses using a boatload of advanced stats and concludes, "by all statistical measures, he was one of the worst defensive players in the NHL." He also throws in a couple of videos to stress his point.
Nothing earth-shattering. Even Canucks GM Mike Gillis openly admitted that he hid Hodgson's defensive shortcomings and anyone who has watched the Sabres for any length of time will tell you that he needs some serious work in the defensive zone. Something that's not lost on Hodgson.
One should also not dismiss Hodgson's skill and vision on the ice, though. Nor should one dismiss his realtively young age. Nor should one dismiss his commitment to an off season conditioning program which keeps him in top shape. Regier said that Hodgson has been working with Sabres skating coach Dawn Braid this summer in addition to his annual visit to Gary Roberts' camp.
The skill is there and the dedication seems to be there as well, which makes for a real solid contract, if not steal, down the road.
Hodgson is a very good player right now and seems like a pretty solid character-guy. After travelling from Vancouver to Buffalo to Rochester and back to Buffalo in a matter of 10 months, Hodgson must be pretty happy to establish some roots for the next six years.
For the Sabres, at the very least they have themselves a solid #2 center who should be good for around 60 points per season at a $4.25M cap-hit within an eventual $70-80M salary cap.
Which is a pretty good deal for all parties involved.
***
The Sabres have four players signed long-term, Hodgson, Ville Leino, Christian Ehrhoff and Tyler Myers.
Leino and Ehrhoff were signed at the start of free agency in 2011 while Myers signed an extension later in that off season.
Myers has seen his confidence and performance decline since he won the Calder Cup in 2010 when he was partnered with Henrik Tallinder (Ryan Miller won the Vezina that same year.)
Tallinder was allowed to walk in the 2010 off season (of which owner Terry Pegula was said to term the departure as "unbelievable,") which may or may not have affected Myers' play. But the team thought it would be advantageous to bring Tallinder back and made a trade with New Jersey to get him.
The tall, lanky former 2nd-round pick for Buffalo (1997) came to the defense of his former d-partner, "I think Tyler is an exceptional young man and player," Tallinder said. "When he came in his first year, I've never seen a guy that talented and that good at that age. Or very few of them, that I"ve played with at least. I think he's still young. I think you guys have been pretty hard on him too. He's going to be an exceptionally good player still. Just give him time. Let him play."
Oddly enough, Sabres head coach Ron Rolston has Myers paired with Ehrhoff to start camp while Tallinder will be with rookie defenseman Mark Pysyk.
Tallinder should prove to be a steadying force for a very young Buffalo Sabres squad and looks to be a very busy man.
In addition to helping Myers mature, he'll be mentoring Pysyk and bestowing fatherly advice on fellow Swede, goalie Jhonas Enroth.
Who knows, if he's healthy, maybe he'll even get some 2nd-pairing minutes.
***
This will be Rolston's first full season behind the bench for Buffalo and his first NHL training camp.
Among the things he mentioned:
Two of his assistants, Joe Sacco and Jerry Forton were professional acquaintances.
On Sacco who was hired July 2, Rolston emphasized his experience and success as a head coach (Jack Adams candidate with Colorado.) He talked about Sacco's work ethic, knowledge of the game and his communication skills who has been with young teams and knows how to develop them.
Rolston had known recent hire Forton for years through college connections. Forton, he said, "has a lot of character, a lot of integrity and a tremendous passion for the game. He shows a lot of grit as a person overall.
The final thing, which is probably most important, is he's an outstanding communicator and relationship-builder."
Forton will be up in the pressbox replacing Teppo Numminen.
Numminen has been up in the press box for the Sabres for two years and will now be on the bench.
Rolston said that Numminen wasn't in as prominent a position before as he will be now. "He'll be running the defensive core and he'll be working with our powerplay," said Rolston. "He in the position now where he'll be able to make a big difference for our hockey team."
Defense and powerplay? With the performance of the team in those two areas over the years, I'd say Numminen has his work cut out for him.
***
Regier took to the podium and talked about impending free agents Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller.
Not much needs to be said. Everyone's in a holding pattern, just like the league in general when it comes to player movement.
Late July, after second-tier free agent signings, and August are usually devoid of player movement and this summer was no exception. Especially with the salary cap diving to $64M from $70M.
Regier said the trade-window was "closed right now" and that he doesn't expect much to happen on that front until the deadline approaches.
Vanek addressed the issue in his cold, business-like fashion (which isn't necessarily a bad thing.) He basically said that he was here as a Buffalo Sabre and from his standpoint he'd like to see where this rebuild goes before talking extension. And he expects the Sabers to take the same approach.
Vanek has said before that he likes to keep his options open.
As for Miller, he was a bit warmer to Buffalo and the thought of an extension, "Darcy [Regier] has to build a team and maybe he feels he wants me here," said Miller. "I'm happy to be here, I have a great connection with the city."
He reiterated that he and his agent Mike Liut never asked for a trade yet also knew that it was a possibility and said of a possible trade, "I don't know if that was the best thing for me anyway."
Regier was on WGR this morning and made it clear that the organization would welcome the opportunity to talk to both players but emphasized that the club does not have a standing offer for Vanek or Miller.
Another player that will be a free agent at season's end is forward Steve Ott. Regier said that the two sides have had some preliminary conversations.
***
The Sabres training camp roster:
Let the hockey season begin.
A few notes as the Sabres hit the ice today for the first time as the second day of training camp gets under way.
But first, the Sabres and Cody Hodgson have agreed to a contract extension. The 23 yr. old center signed a reported 6yr./$25.5M contract yesterday for a cap-hit of $4.25M.
The pros and cons of the long-term deal are many and will undoubtedly be hashed out and beaten to death for years to come. That's simply the way things work in Sabretown.
With the six-year commitment from Buffalo, Sabres GM Darcy Regier and his staff look at Hodgson as a top-six, potential top-line, center for years to come. Hodgson showed great chemistry in the offensive zone with bonafide top-line winger Thomas Vanek.
In the 68 games since coming to the Sabres from Vancouver, Hodgson has 18 goals and 24 assists for .62 pts/game.
But, on the negative side his plus/minus for Buffalo is minus-11. Which brings us the cons.
Matthew Coller of WGR wrote an extensive piece about Hodgson's defensive lapses using a boatload of advanced stats and concludes, "by all statistical measures, he was one of the worst defensive players in the NHL." He also throws in a couple of videos to stress his point.
Nothing earth-shattering. Even Canucks GM Mike Gillis openly admitted that he hid Hodgson's defensive shortcomings and anyone who has watched the Sabres for any length of time will tell you that he needs some serious work in the defensive zone. Something that's not lost on Hodgson.
One should also not dismiss Hodgson's skill and vision on the ice, though. Nor should one dismiss his realtively young age. Nor should one dismiss his commitment to an off season conditioning program which keeps him in top shape. Regier said that Hodgson has been working with Sabres skating coach Dawn Braid this summer in addition to his annual visit to Gary Roberts' camp.
The skill is there and the dedication seems to be there as well, which makes for a real solid contract, if not steal, down the road.
Hodgson is a very good player right now and seems like a pretty solid character-guy. After travelling from Vancouver to Buffalo to Rochester and back to Buffalo in a matter of 10 months, Hodgson must be pretty happy to establish some roots for the next six years.
For the Sabres, at the very least they have themselves a solid #2 center who should be good for around 60 points per season at a $4.25M cap-hit within an eventual $70-80M salary cap.
Which is a pretty good deal for all parties involved.
***
The Sabres have four players signed long-term, Hodgson, Ville Leino, Christian Ehrhoff and Tyler Myers.
Leino and Ehrhoff were signed at the start of free agency in 2011 while Myers signed an extension later in that off season.
Myers has seen his confidence and performance decline since he won the Calder Cup in 2010 when he was partnered with Henrik Tallinder (Ryan Miller won the Vezina that same year.)
Tallinder was allowed to walk in the 2010 off season (of which owner Terry Pegula was said to term the departure as "unbelievable,") which may or may not have affected Myers' play. But the team thought it would be advantageous to bring Tallinder back and made a trade with New Jersey to get him.
The tall, lanky former 2nd-round pick for Buffalo (1997) came to the defense of his former d-partner, "I think Tyler is an exceptional young man and player," Tallinder said. "When he came in his first year, I've never seen a guy that talented and that good at that age. Or very few of them, that I"ve played with at least. I think he's still young. I think you guys have been pretty hard on him too. He's going to be an exceptionally good player still. Just give him time. Let him play."
Oddly enough, Sabres head coach Ron Rolston has Myers paired with Ehrhoff to start camp while Tallinder will be with rookie defenseman Mark Pysyk.
Tallinder should prove to be a steadying force for a very young Buffalo Sabres squad and looks to be a very busy man.
In addition to helping Myers mature, he'll be mentoring Pysyk and bestowing fatherly advice on fellow Swede, goalie Jhonas Enroth.
Who knows, if he's healthy, maybe he'll even get some 2nd-pairing minutes.
***
This will be Rolston's first full season behind the bench for Buffalo and his first NHL training camp.
Among the things he mentioned:
- Forward Tyler Ennis, whom Rolston likes at center, will start the season on left wing. Mikhail Grigorenko will join Hodgson down the middle
- He and his staff will decide the captain, not the players, and they will take their time
- All players look to be healthy, including Leino who's coming off of hip surgery, save for Chad Rhuwedel. The defenseman suffered an upper-body injury at Traverse City and is day-to-day
Two of his assistants, Joe Sacco and Jerry Forton were professional acquaintances.
On Sacco who was hired July 2, Rolston emphasized his experience and success as a head coach (Jack Adams candidate with Colorado.) He talked about Sacco's work ethic, knowledge of the game and his communication skills who has been with young teams and knows how to develop them.
Rolston had known recent hire Forton for years through college connections. Forton, he said, "has a lot of character, a lot of integrity and a tremendous passion for the game. He shows a lot of grit as a person overall.
The final thing, which is probably most important, is he's an outstanding communicator and relationship-builder."
Forton will be up in the pressbox replacing Teppo Numminen.
Numminen has been up in the press box for the Sabres for two years and will now be on the bench.
Rolston said that Numminen wasn't in as prominent a position before as he will be now. "He'll be running the defensive core and he'll be working with our powerplay," said Rolston. "He in the position now where he'll be able to make a big difference for our hockey team."
Defense and powerplay? With the performance of the team in those two areas over the years, I'd say Numminen has his work cut out for him.
***
Regier took to the podium and talked about impending free agents Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller.
Not much needs to be said. Everyone's in a holding pattern, just like the league in general when it comes to player movement.
Late July, after second-tier free agent signings, and August are usually devoid of player movement and this summer was no exception. Especially with the salary cap diving to $64M from $70M.
Regier said the trade-window was "closed right now" and that he doesn't expect much to happen on that front until the deadline approaches.
Vanek addressed the issue in his cold, business-like fashion (which isn't necessarily a bad thing.) He basically said that he was here as a Buffalo Sabre and from his standpoint he'd like to see where this rebuild goes before talking extension. And he expects the Sabers to take the same approach.
Vanek has said before that he likes to keep his options open.
As for Miller, he was a bit warmer to Buffalo and the thought of an extension, "Darcy [Regier] has to build a team and maybe he feels he wants me here," said Miller. "I'm happy to be here, I have a great connection with the city."
He reiterated that he and his agent Mike Liut never asked for a trade yet also knew that it was a possibility and said of a possible trade, "I don't know if that was the best thing for me anyway."
Regier was on WGR this morning and made it clear that the organization would welcome the opportunity to talk to both players but emphasized that the club does not have a standing offer for Vanek or Miller.
Another player that will be a free agent at season's end is forward Steve Ott. Regier said that the two sides have had some preliminary conversations.
***
The Sabres training camp roster:
BUFFALO SABRES 2013 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
# DEFENSE POS HT WT S BIRTHPLACE DATE 12-13 TEAM GP G A PTS PIM
67 Austin, Brady D 6-3 232 L Bobcaygeon, Ontario 6-16-93 Belleville (OHL) 64 8 15 23 22
24 Bagnall, Drew D 6-3 220 L Oakbank, Manitoba 10-26-83 Houston (AHL) 47 1 5 6 88
42 Boland, Connor D 6-2 200 L Whitby, Ontario 11-29-94 Peterborough (OHL) 49 1 2 3 34
62 Crawford, Nick D 6-1 192 L Brampton, Ontario 2-23-90 Rochester (AHL) 53 5 14 19 18
10 Ehrhoff, Christian D 6-2 203 L Moers, Germany 7-6-82 Buffalo Sabres 47 5 17 22 34
34 Gauthier-Leduc, Jerome D 6-1 190 R Quebec City, Quebec 7-30-92 Rochester (AHL) 48 3 4 7 8
51 Lepkowski, Alex D 6-4 202 L West Seneca, New York 4-8-93 Barrie (OHL) 60 0 9 9 78
47 MacKenzie, Matt D 6-5 212 R New Westminster, British Columbia 10-15-91 Rochester (AHL) 30 0 4 4 66
Gwinnett (ECHL) 2 1 0 1 2
4 McBain, Jamie D 6-2 200 R Edina, Minnesota 2-25-88 Carolina Hurricanes 40 1 7 8 12
44 McNabb, Brayden D 6-5 212 L Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 1-21-90 Rochester (AHL) 62 5 31 36 50
57 Myers, Tyler D 6-8 227 R Houston, Texas 2-1-90 Buffalo Sabres 39 3 5 8 32
3 Pysyk, Mark D 6-1 193 R Sherwood Park, Alberta 1-11-92 Rochester (AHL) 57 4 14 18 20
Buffalo Sabres 19 1 4 5 0
55 Ristolainen, Rasmus D 6-4 224 R Turku, Finland 10-27-94 TPS (SM-liiga) 56 3 12 15 32
5 Ruhwedel, Chad D 5-11 182 R San Diego, California 5-7-90 UMass-Lowell (H-East) 41 7 16 23 20
Buffalo Sabres 7 0 0 0 0
52 Sulzer, Alexander D 6-1 204 L Kaufbeuren, Germany 5-30-84 Buffalo Sabres 17 3 1 4 10
20 Tallinder, Henrik D 6-4 215 L Stockholm, Sweden 1-10-79 New Jersey Devils 25 1 3 4 10
6 Weber, Mike D 6-2 199 L Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 12-16-87 Buffalo Sabres 42 1 6 7 70
61 Zadorov, Nikita D 6-5 219 L Moscow, Russia 4-15-95 London (OHL) 63 6 19 25 54
# GOALTENDER POS. HT WT C BIRTHPLACE DATE 12-13 TEAM GP W-L-OT GAA
1 Enroth, Jhonas G 5-10 166 L Stockholm, Sweden 6-25-88 Buffalo Sabres 12 4-4-1 2.60
31 Hackett, Matt G 6-2 173 L London, Ontario 3-7-90 Houston (AHL) 43 19-20-3 2.66
Rochester (AHL) 3 3-0-0 1.62
Minnesota Wild 1 0-1-0 5.08
49 Knapp, Connor G 6-5 215 L York, New York 5-1-90 Rochester (AHL) 7 1-6-0 3.34
Greenville (ECHL) 12 5-7-0 3.05
50 Lieuwen, Nathan G 6-5 192 L Abbotsford, British Columbia 8-8-91 Rochester (AHL) 4 1-2-0 2.65
Greenville (ECHL) 27 14-10-2 2.93
35 Makarov, Andrey G 6-1 193 L Kazan, Russia 4-20-93 Saskatoon (WHL) 61 37-17-5 2.62
30 Miller, Ryan G 6-2 175 L East Lansing, Michigan 7-17-80 Buffalo Sabres 40 17-17-5 2.81
General Manager: Darcy Regier
Head Coach: Ron Rolston
Asst. Coach: Joe Sacco
Asst. Coach: Teppo Numminen
Asst. Coach: Jerry Forton
Goaltending Coach: Jim Corsi
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Doug McKenney
Admin. Asst. Coach: Corey Smith
Friday, September 6, 2013
Sabres news and notes as training camp draws near
With training camp set to begin next week, slowly but surely players are making their way to Buffalo.
Two veterans, Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek, have arrived. The pair are in the last year of their respective contracts and will be facing questions about trades and contract extensions all season until either a trade or extension is consumated.
Which is reminiscent of former Sabre Brian Campbell's situation back in the 2007-08 season.
Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News tracked down Campbell to discuss Miller and Vanek's situation and what he went through.
'I felt fine [for most of the season,] then the last few games before [the trade deadline] that I think it weighed on my mind pretty heavily,' Campbell said. 'I didn’t play very good the last couple games because mentally I wasn’t in it.'
The difference between Campbell and Miller/Vanek is that Campbell wanted to stay.
Both Miller and Vanek are playing their cards close to the vest for now and are looking at it as an emotionless business decision on the parties involved.
Just how long that will last remains to be seen.
***
Vogl pens a piece on Vanek and the star winger delves into the past and present while admitting that he's not surprised to still be with the team.
Alluding to the 2005-07 teams, Vanek said, '[our] teams in the past we’ve had, we had off nights and we would still win. I don’t think that’s going to happen too much anymore.' As for where the Sabres are now, 'Whoever makes our team, we won’t be favored by anyone.'
Vanek, in his business-like approach to the season, will be using his status as an unrestricted free agent at year's end to assess the situation in Buffalo and decide what's best for him on his side of the equation. The Sabres, of course, will be deciding what's best for the team on their end.
Said Vanek on the upcoming season, 'I just want to see where it goes. I have that right, and I’m taking it. I don’t feel like I’m doing a disservice to anyone. Some people might agree with me, some don’t. That’s the way it goes either way.'
Back in 2007, Vanek also had the right to sign Edmonton's 7yr./$51M offer sheet, which he did.
It's a business. He knows it and has known it.
Was he surprised that he's presently slated for the Sabres camp next week?
'No, not at all,' he said. 'My end-of-the-year meeting was good. I just said my thoughts. I never asked for a trade, so from that point on I’m not surprised that I’m still here. But at the same time, if they would have moved me, I wouldn’t have been surprised either way.'
I'd be surprised if Vanek was a Buffalo Sabre after the deadline. Opportunity is knocking. He could very well be looking for one of those teams who can have an off night and still win and be paid a handsome sum on said team.
***
What do Toronto's Nazem Kadri, Ottawa's Jared Cowen, the Ranger's Derek Stephan and Buffalo's Cody Hodgson all have in common?
They're all talented players coming off of their entry level contracts looking for a big raise after playing at a high level last season. And they're all unsigned as of yet.
As for Hodgson, he believes that he and the Sabres "[will] get something done."
Vogl quotes Hodgson as saying 'I like it here [in Buffalo],' and the 23 yr. old center points to the way Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis came off of their entry level deals.
'[Stafford] told me he was just about going on the ice when he signed his contract,” Hodgson said. “I know Ennis was right up to the last minute, too. I’m excited to be here, and I’m just focusing on what I’ve got to do to get ready for the training camp.”
Quite the proffesional approach.
***
Sabres forward Ville Leino and his contract will always be the butt of jokes. Something's not right if there's a Sabres season prediction and his $27M contract doesn't come up.
Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald writes that Leino will be ready for camp after having hip surgery this summer.
Leino says that he was having hip problems dating back to his days in Detroit four years ago. He had surgery on one side in 2010 and was playing through pain the last few years as the right side was acting up.
But, 'Now they’re both fixed up,' Leino said last week after skating with some teammates inside the Riverside Ice Rink. 'Obviously, the right one doesn’t feel exactly normal. It’s probably going to take a little bit. But it’s definitely better than it was.'
Another area that might have been "fixed up" for Leino is the coaching situation.
Leino couldn't get much going when Lindy Ruff was at the helm, but he seems to have taken to new bench-boss Ron Rolston and his approach. 'I like the way he coaches,' Leino said about Rolston. 'He demands a lot. He’s very detail-oriented. The stuff that he talks makes sense to me. I think he’s fair. If you play good and work really hard, you get to play. Yeah, I’m intrigued what this season brings.'
Throughout the last couple of seasons with Buffalo, Leino has had a littany of excuses for his below average play.
With healthy hips and a coach that "makes sense to him" it would seem as if there are no more excuses which leads to a make-or-break year for Leino.
For the sake of the Sabres, let's hope it's a "make."
Two veterans, Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek, have arrived. The pair are in the last year of their respective contracts and will be facing questions about trades and contract extensions all season until either a trade or extension is consumated.
Which is reminiscent of former Sabre Brian Campbell's situation back in the 2007-08 season.
Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News tracked down Campbell to discuss Miller and Vanek's situation and what he went through.
'I felt fine [for most of the season,] then the last few games before [the trade deadline] that I think it weighed on my mind pretty heavily,' Campbell said. 'I didn’t play very good the last couple games because mentally I wasn’t in it.'
The difference between Campbell and Miller/Vanek is that Campbell wanted to stay.
Both Miller and Vanek are playing their cards close to the vest for now and are looking at it as an emotionless business decision on the parties involved.
Just how long that will last remains to be seen.
***
Vogl pens a piece on Vanek and the star winger delves into the past and present while admitting that he's not surprised to still be with the team.
Alluding to the 2005-07 teams, Vanek said, '[our] teams in the past we’ve had, we had off nights and we would still win. I don’t think that’s going to happen too much anymore.' As for where the Sabres are now, 'Whoever makes our team, we won’t be favored by anyone.'
Vanek, in his business-like approach to the season, will be using his status as an unrestricted free agent at year's end to assess the situation in Buffalo and decide what's best for him on his side of the equation. The Sabres, of course, will be deciding what's best for the team on their end.
Said Vanek on the upcoming season, 'I just want to see where it goes. I have that right, and I’m taking it. I don’t feel like I’m doing a disservice to anyone. Some people might agree with me, some don’t. That’s the way it goes either way.'
Back in 2007, Vanek also had the right to sign Edmonton's 7yr./$51M offer sheet, which he did.
It's a business. He knows it and has known it.
Was he surprised that he's presently slated for the Sabres camp next week?
'No, not at all,' he said. 'My end-of-the-year meeting was good. I just said my thoughts. I never asked for a trade, so from that point on I’m not surprised that I’m still here. But at the same time, if they would have moved me, I wouldn’t have been surprised either way.'
I'd be surprised if Vanek was a Buffalo Sabre after the deadline. Opportunity is knocking. He could very well be looking for one of those teams who can have an off night and still win and be paid a handsome sum on said team.
***
What do Toronto's Nazem Kadri, Ottawa's Jared Cowen, the Ranger's Derek Stephan and Buffalo's Cody Hodgson all have in common?
They're all talented players coming off of their entry level contracts looking for a big raise after playing at a high level last season. And they're all unsigned as of yet.
As for Hodgson, he believes that he and the Sabres "[will] get something done."
Vogl quotes Hodgson as saying 'I like it here [in Buffalo],' and the 23 yr. old center points to the way Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis came off of their entry level deals.
'[Stafford] told me he was just about going on the ice when he signed his contract,” Hodgson said. “I know Ennis was right up to the last minute, too. I’m excited to be here, and I’m just focusing on what I’ve got to do to get ready for the training camp.”
Quite the proffesional approach.
***
Sabres forward Ville Leino and his contract will always be the butt of jokes. Something's not right if there's a Sabres season prediction and his $27M contract doesn't come up.
Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald writes that Leino will be ready for camp after having hip surgery this summer.
Leino says that he was having hip problems dating back to his days in Detroit four years ago. He had surgery on one side in 2010 and was playing through pain the last few years as the right side was acting up.
But, 'Now they’re both fixed up,' Leino said last week after skating with some teammates inside the Riverside Ice Rink. 'Obviously, the right one doesn’t feel exactly normal. It’s probably going to take a little bit. But it’s definitely better than it was.'
Another area that might have been "fixed up" for Leino is the coaching situation.
Leino couldn't get much going when Lindy Ruff was at the helm, but he seems to have taken to new bench-boss Ron Rolston and his approach. 'I like the way he coaches,' Leino said about Rolston. 'He demands a lot. He’s very detail-oriented. The stuff that he talks makes sense to me. I think he’s fair. If you play good and work really hard, you get to play. Yeah, I’m intrigued what this season brings.'
Throughout the last couple of seasons with Buffalo, Leino has had a littany of excuses for his below average play.
With healthy hips and a coach that "makes sense to him" it would seem as if there are no more excuses which leads to a make-or-break year for Leino.
For the sake of the Sabres, let's hope it's a "make."
Monday, September 2, 2013
"Would Ryan Miller for Paul Stastny make sense," was the question posed by Lyle Richardson...
...for The Hockey News' Rumor Roundup.
Richardson of spectorshockey.net was taking on a rumor that had been getting a lot of attention lately. In an off season with little movement and no major surprises, news is pretty hard to come by. The Miller for Stastny rumor seemed to work on the surface, but one shouldn't get their hopes up.
The similarities between Sabres goalie Miller and Avalanche center Stastny are uncanny.
Both carry a $6M+ cap hit (Miller-$6.25, Stastny-$6.6) and will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2013-14 season.
Both at one time were highly regarded at their positions--Miller won the Vezina in 2010, Stastny scored at nearly a point/game pace in his rookie season and was second for the Calder Trophy behind the Penguins Evgeni Malkin.
Yet both have seen their numbers decline in the last few years of their contract. They're on teams that are in various stages of a rebuild and both it could be said play at a position of strength in the organization.
Even though it might seemingly make sense, Adrian Dater of The Denver Post came right out and shot down the idea writing, "There were a couple of reports the last two days that a Paul Stastny-Ryan Miller trade could be happening. But it won’t. I’m told by reputable types that there is nothing to the rumors, that the deal won’t happen."
The Miller/Stastny rumor is packaged real nice. Packaged so nicely that any hockey fan, blogger, wanna-be blogger, rumor monger or rumor site could make a strong case for it to happen.
And it really could happen. But both the Sabres and the Avalanche have other needs while the players Miller and Stastny would supposedly unseat are still growing into their roles and have untapped potential.
In July 2011 the Avalanche traded away a first round and a second round pick to Washington for Semyon Varlamov who was coming off of a strong campaign in a limited role for the Caps. They immediately signed him to a three year/$8.5M contract as their #1 goalie.
Since going to Colorado, Varlamov's number have declined, but most attribute it to a porous defense (which also leads many to wonder why the 'Lanche didn't pick defenseman Seth Jones first overall at the draft.)
Does Miller heading to Colorado make sense? Will he be able to rescue their poor defense?
No. He hasn't been able to do it in Buffalo and he won't be able to do it their either. He's not that type of goalie. Miller's numbers have been in a similar decline to those of Varlamov.
As for Stastny, the Sabres no doubt could use a top-line center. But is Stastny a bonafide #1 center?
Stats would say no. He may have been four or five years ago, but right now he should be considered a top-six center.
At 27 yrs. old, Stastny is just hitting his prime, but his statistical output seems to be leveling off somewhat. Matt Duchene seems to have eclipsed him on the depth chart, and 2013 first-overall pick Nathan MacKinnon wasn't drafted to play third-line center.
The Sabres certainly have questions at the center position right now, but the answers will come within the organization this year and possibly even next.
Cody Hodgson looks to be the teams' #1 center for the upcoming season. He's young and showing signs of steady improvement. This year he scored 15 goals and had 19 assists in 48 games (Stastny had 9 goals, 15 assists in 40 games.)
Stastny and Hodgson are very similar players with a very similar build. The bid difference between the two seems to be upside. Stastny's may be limited while Hodgson still has a room to make a big jump.
This proposed trade really doesn't make a lot of sense for either team, but it does give hope to fans who have wanted to see both of them moved off of their respective teams.
It was fun to consider, and great for a debate, but this one's pretty much dead in the water.
Like Dater wrote, "let's move on to the next rumor."
Richardson of spectorshockey.net was taking on a rumor that had been getting a lot of attention lately. In an off season with little movement and no major surprises, news is pretty hard to come by. The Miller for Stastny rumor seemed to work on the surface, but one shouldn't get their hopes up.
The similarities between Sabres goalie Miller and Avalanche center Stastny are uncanny.
Both carry a $6M+ cap hit (Miller-$6.25, Stastny-$6.6) and will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2013-14 season.
Both at one time were highly regarded at their positions--Miller won the Vezina in 2010, Stastny scored at nearly a point/game pace in his rookie season and was second for the Calder Trophy behind the Penguins Evgeni Malkin.
Yet both have seen their numbers decline in the last few years of their contract. They're on teams that are in various stages of a rebuild and both it could be said play at a position of strength in the organization.
Even though it might seemingly make sense, Adrian Dater of The Denver Post came right out and shot down the idea writing, "There were a couple of reports the last two days that a Paul Stastny-Ryan Miller trade could be happening. But it won’t. I’m told by reputable types that there is nothing to the rumors, that the deal won’t happen."
The Miller/Stastny rumor is packaged real nice. Packaged so nicely that any hockey fan, blogger, wanna-be blogger, rumor monger or rumor site could make a strong case for it to happen.
And it really could happen. But both the Sabres and the Avalanche have other needs while the players Miller and Stastny would supposedly unseat are still growing into their roles and have untapped potential.
In July 2011 the Avalanche traded away a first round and a second round pick to Washington for Semyon Varlamov who was coming off of a strong campaign in a limited role for the Caps. They immediately signed him to a three year/$8.5M contract as their #1 goalie.
Since going to Colorado, Varlamov's number have declined, but most attribute it to a porous defense (which also leads many to wonder why the 'Lanche didn't pick defenseman Seth Jones first overall at the draft.)
Does Miller heading to Colorado make sense? Will he be able to rescue their poor defense?
No. He hasn't been able to do it in Buffalo and he won't be able to do it their either. He's not that type of goalie. Miller's numbers have been in a similar decline to those of Varlamov.
As for Stastny, the Sabres no doubt could use a top-line center. But is Stastny a bonafide #1 center?
Stats would say no. He may have been four or five years ago, but right now he should be considered a top-six center.
At 27 yrs. old, Stastny is just hitting his prime, but his statistical output seems to be leveling off somewhat. Matt Duchene seems to have eclipsed him on the depth chart, and 2013 first-overall pick Nathan MacKinnon wasn't drafted to play third-line center.
The Sabres certainly have questions at the center position right now, but the answers will come within the organization this year and possibly even next.
Cody Hodgson looks to be the teams' #1 center for the upcoming season. He's young and showing signs of steady improvement. This year he scored 15 goals and had 19 assists in 48 games (Stastny had 9 goals, 15 assists in 40 games.)
Stastny and Hodgson are very similar players with a very similar build. The bid difference between the two seems to be upside. Stastny's may be limited while Hodgson still has a room to make a big jump.
This proposed trade really doesn't make a lot of sense for either team, but it does give hope to fans who have wanted to see both of them moved off of their respective teams.
It was fun to consider, and great for a debate, but this one's pretty much dead in the water.
Like Dater wrote, "let's move on to the next rumor."
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Lock the Blues' Armstrong and the Sabres' Regier in a room until a deal is done
Rumors perked up over the past week concerning long-time Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.
Miller's name first surfaced on the trade market back in March when Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos (via prohockeytalk) said:
It's been four months since Kypreos said that and in that time, Sabres GM Darcy Regier has been unable to come up with a trade to his liking.
And it's driving Sabres fans nuts.
WGR's Matthew Coller wrote a piece about Miller's trade value being "gonzo" after a number of teams traded for or signed goalies this past week during the draft and the start of free agency.
There had been talks between the St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo Sabres going on, but according to a Pierre LeBrun tweet, the ESPN insider said, "the price was too high."
The "price" was not revealed.
Regier, though, is known for overvaluing his players. Former Toronto Maple Leaves GM Brian Burke, in a candid interview with The Score, called Regier "unreasonable" and "unrealistic" when it came to the value Regier put on his players. And it got to the point where Burke "didn't want to waste an hour" with a GM like that.
WGR's Howard Simon posed the question to TSN's Darren Dreger on his morning show, saying "the long-held belief amongst Sabres fans is that Regier, fairly consistently, over-plays his hand" when it comes to his players' value and asked, "is that what people believe around the league?"
Dreger's response, "Yes. The book on Darcy Regier is that he does overvalue his players and he is also too cautious, too conservative. But, when it comes to overvaluing players, every single manager, every owner does that. They just do. They're just trying to maximize the rate of return."
St. Louis Post Dispatch writer Jeff Gordon agrees and points to Blues GM Doug Armstrong.
While Armstrong "can make the Big Trade when necessary," says Gordon, "he tends to make changes on his terms, when circumstances favor the Blues. If that means the team has to carry three goaltenders for a while or experiment with myriad line combinations in the fall, so be it."
Two stubborn GM's, not unlike most GM's in professional sports.
Regier takes the rap in Sabreland because we've seen this throughout his 16-year tenure, and he always seems to want to be on the winning end of a trade.
He is capable of making a hockey trade, though, and we witnessed that at the 2012 trade deadline when he sent Zack Kassian to Vancouver for Cody Hodgson. Both teams had specific needs and both teams got what they wanted in the deal.
Likewise, St. Louis and Buffalo both have needs.
The Blues are knocking on the door of Stanley Cup contention with goaltending holding them back.
The Sabres are rebuilding.
The basis is there, but both need to put aside their ego.
Perhaps we need to lock them in a room until a deal gets done.
Miller's name first surfaced on the trade market back in March when Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos (via prohockeytalk) said:
"The other interesting name that's starting to float around is, yes, Ryan Miller. Miller's got another year at over $6M next season, but he's not going to get a contract extension and it's time to move on. They'd dearly love to move him at the deadline, but with that shrinking goaltender market out there it might not be the case. They might have to wait until the summer or even into next season.
But Ryan Miller's days are numbered in Buffalo."
It's been four months since Kypreos said that and in that time, Sabres GM Darcy Regier has been unable to come up with a trade to his liking.
And it's driving Sabres fans nuts.
WGR's Matthew Coller wrote a piece about Miller's trade value being "gonzo" after a number of teams traded for or signed goalies this past week during the draft and the start of free agency.
There had been talks between the St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo Sabres going on, but according to a Pierre LeBrun tweet, the ESPN insider said, "the price was too high."
The "price" was not revealed.
Regier, though, is known for overvaluing his players. Former Toronto Maple Leaves GM Brian Burke, in a candid interview with The Score, called Regier "unreasonable" and "unrealistic" when it came to the value Regier put on his players. And it got to the point where Burke "didn't want to waste an hour" with a GM like that.
WGR's Howard Simon posed the question to TSN's Darren Dreger on his morning show, saying "the long-held belief amongst Sabres fans is that Regier, fairly consistently, over-plays his hand" when it comes to his players' value and asked, "is that what people believe around the league?"
Dreger's response, "Yes. The book on Darcy Regier is that he does overvalue his players and he is also too cautious, too conservative. But, when it comes to overvaluing players, every single manager, every owner does that. They just do. They're just trying to maximize the rate of return."
St. Louis Post Dispatch writer Jeff Gordon agrees and points to Blues GM Doug Armstrong.
While Armstrong "can make the Big Trade when necessary," says Gordon, "he tends to make changes on his terms, when circumstances favor the Blues. If that means the team has to carry three goaltenders for a while or experiment with myriad line combinations in the fall, so be it."
Two stubborn GM's, not unlike most GM's in professional sports.
Regier takes the rap in Sabreland because we've seen this throughout his 16-year tenure, and he always seems to want to be on the winning end of a trade.
He is capable of making a hockey trade, though, and we witnessed that at the 2012 trade deadline when he sent Zack Kassian to Vancouver for Cody Hodgson. Both teams had specific needs and both teams got what they wanted in the deal.
Likewise, St. Louis and Buffalo both have needs.
The Blues are knocking on the door of Stanley Cup contention with goaltending holding them back.
The Sabres are rebuilding.
The basis is there, but both need to put aside their ego.
Perhaps we need to lock them in a room until a deal gets done.
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