One cut needed, one-eye on the waiver-wire, plus--the captains

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


The Sabres have finally named their captains: Brian Gionta will wear the "C" while Josh Gorges and Matt Moulson will be alternates.



New Buffalo Sabres captain Brian Gionta
is flanked byalternate captains Josh Gorges (l)
and Matt Moulson (r)
(photo courtesy, sabrespr.)



 

Yesterday forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and Zac Dalpe (pending waivers) were sent to Rochester. Those moves brought the Buffalo Sabres roster down to 24 active players. Three players--forwards Johan Larsson and Patrick Kaleta and defenseman Mark Pysyk--are on the injured list. In addition, goalie Matt Hackett, who would need to clear waivers, is also injured.

Both Kaleta and Hackett will be out for at least another month or two. Pysyk is close to returning from an upper body injury, but will probably miss the opener while Larsson has been on the ice skating in a non-contact jersey. He is recovering from what's believed to have been a concussion.

Because of those injuries, Sabres GM Tim Murray has plenty of roster flexibility and will only need to make one cut today.

Let's play--Name the Captains

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On Thursday, the Buffalo Sabres start their 2014-15 season with a home opener vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets and despite head coach Ted Nolan's proclamations that he'd name a captain earlier, it hasn't happened yet.

That will probably happen today as the team took the weekend off an will begin preparations for Thursday's game with a practice today. It should be a busy day as the team needs to make some moves to get to the final 23-man roster tomorrow.

One of the decisions will involve 18 yr. old Sam Reinhart, their 2014 2nd-round pick and whether or not they'll give him a look of up to nine games before he heads back to junior. Personally, others deserve the spot more than him, most notably, Mikhail Grigorenko.

"Grigo" is a 2012 first-rounder who came into camp ready to prove he wasn't a prima donna. Mission accomplished. Although he really needs to spend the entire year in Rochester, Grigorenko should be rewarded for his work with a few games while the Sabres get healthier upfront.

Another tough decision is who will land a spot on defense while Mark Pysyk recovers from his upper-body injury. Rookie Jake McCabe is going to be a stud and really looks as if he's ready to make the jump to the NHL as a soon to be 21-yr. old.

It's either McCabe or Tyson Strachan, a journeyman 29 yr. old defenseman with 138 games of NHL experience including 18 games last season with Washington. Originally when Strachan was signed on July 3 to a one-year contract, it was thought to be a depth-move. But he really impressed at camp and in preseason games. He's also someone who should get rewarded for his work. He'll be down in Rochester soon enough, should he clear waivers.

A tough Friday night for Buffalo and Rochester

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The sentence reads:

A slow start and poor special teams play plagued the __________  __________ in their _________ Hockey League preseason _________ on Friday night.

To which team does that headline belong to? The Buffalo Sabres or Rochester Americans?

For those who listened to or watched the Sabres last night in Carolina, a slow start that lasted through the first two periods put the Sabres in a hole from which they would not recover en route to a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. The 'Canes built a 4-0 lead before the Sabres scored their only goal with less than five minutes to go in the second period.

Some stout goaltending by Carolina goalie Cam Ward kept the Sabres off the board in the first period. He robbed Zemgus Girgensons after a sweet, knee-sliding, no-look backhand feed from defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Ward kicked out his pad and barely got his left toe on the shot headed far-side.

He also kicked out his left pad to rob former Hurricane, Zac Dalpe, on a point blank shot while the Sabres were on their second powerplay of the period.

Sabres at 'Canes for last preseason game, plus...

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The Buffalo Sabres are in Raleigh, NC tonight getting ready for their final preseason against the Carolina Hurricanes. And for a handful of players, this will be the last chance for them to impress before a decision is made on where they'll start the season.

It was a spirited, workmanlike 2014 training camp full of competition for roster spots, something that was a focal point of the organization heading into camp.

One of the players battling for a spot is Sabres defenseman Tyson Strachan who was signed by GM Tim Murray to a one-year deal back in early July. The well-traveled journeyman came into camp this season with promises from the Sabres that there would be an open competition for what roster spots were available. And to him, the team delivered on that promise.

"Honestly, that was what they told me in July, and I think that’s what they’re doing now,” defenseman Tyson Strachan said yesterday. “Really, at the end of the day, that’s all you can hope for and all you can appreciate is getting a fair look and being given the opportunity. What you do with it is on you.”

Strachan has performed very well thus far and the former 5th round pick (137th overall) will have another opportunity to show what he can offer while playing against the team that drafted him back in 2003.

One more step for Mikhail Grigorenko

Buffalo Sabres forward Mikhail Grigorenko's struggles since making his NHL debut have been well documented. The 12th overall pick in the 2012 draft first hit the ice on January 20, 2013 in a 5-2 Buffalo win vs. Philadelphia. The NHL was beginning it's lockout-shortened season and for him it would be the beginning of a tumultuous journey that now has him on the precipice of making the Buffalo Sabres roster to start the 2014-15 season.

A quick re-cap of Grigorenko's Journey:

• On January 29, 2013, Grigorenko plays his sixth game for the club as the team decides to keep him in Buffalo instead of sending him back to his junior team, the Quebec Remparts. His three-year entry-level deal kicks in.
• Is a healthy scratch on February 10, for the second time in the season (the first was to prolong the decision on his staying with the team.) Up to that point he had played in 12 games scoring one goal and two assists while posting a minus-2 rating. The team was 5-7-1 at the time.
• He plays in two of the next four games, the team goes 1-3 and on February 20, 2013, long-time head coach Lindy Ruff is fired. Ron Rolston is named interim coach.
• On March 16, former Sabres GM Darcy Regier sends Grigorenko to Quebec for their playoff run in a move he says "Is driven by what is best for Mikhail and best for his career.”
• Grigorenko returns to Buffalo for three games after Quebec is eliminated from the Memorial Cup. He finishes the season with one goal and four assists in 25 games. He also played in two playoff games for the Rochester Americans. It was a lost year on his entry-level contract for the team to which Regier replied, "It was an experiment."
• Grigorenko starts the 2013-14 season with the Sabres under Regier and head coach Ron Rolston. He plays in 15 of the team's first 20 games before Regier and Rolston are fired on November 13, 2013. He had two goals, one assist and was a minus-3 to that point. The team was 4-15-1 at the time.
• Pat LaFontaine is hired as President of Hockey Ops and Ted Nolan becomes interim coach. Grigorenko plays in three games before the team tries to buy some time by sending the 19 yr. old to Rochester for a two week "conditioning assignment." The CHL cries foul, citing an agreement with the NHL and the team must make a choice--the NHL or the CHL.
• He plays three of the ensuing eight games for the Sabres.
• On December 5, 2013, Buffalo loans Grigorenko to Russia for the World Juniors, buying the team more time.
• Russia wins the bronze medal, Grigorenko leads the team with five goals and eight points in seven games.
• The Sabres decide to send him to Quebec on January 11, 2014. Grigorenko refuses to accept the assignment.
• The following day he apologizes and on January 13, 2014, he reports to Quebec. In 23 games he scores 15 goals and adds 24 assists for the Remparts.
• After Quebec is eliminated from the Memorial Cup, Grigorenko heads to Rochester. He plays in nine regular season games registering four assists as well as five playoff games where he was held off the scoresheet.
• Grigorenko arrives at Sabres Develpoment Camp in July bigger and stronger. He now weighs in at 219 lbs. The coaches and staff take notice.

Girgensons yawns on GR. Plus Reinhart and Grigorenko

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The WGR morning guys must have woken up Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons a tad early to day for a phone interview. At the 4:40 mark, Girgensons was answering a comment by Sal Capaccio about his strong command of the English language when a yawn emerged.

Being the tropper that he is, Girgensons never trudged on through and answered the question throughout the gaping yawn. Jeremy White, was at the helm as Howard Simon was off and tried to smooth things out by bringing the very short 5:30 interview to a respectable close.

Still not sure what caused the yawn, a late night, over exertion from training camp or a previous question (statement?) from White that lasted over 40 seconds.

If WGR is looking to have "Gus" on regularly, they may want to push his timeslot back an hour or two so that he may fully wake up before the call.

More headed to Rochester, plus injury notes

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Chris Ryndak of BuffaloSabres.com says that seven players have been sent to Rochester:  Forwards Joel Armia, Matt Ellis, and Tim Schaller; defensemen Drew Bagnall and Nick Petrecki; and goaltenders Nathan Lieuwen and Andrey Makarov.

Lieuwen and Makarov both had starts with Buffalo and both played very well in losses. They'll hit Rochester and battle it out for the #1 goalie spot with the Amerks.

Unlike last season, Armia looks to be starting his second season in North America injury. Last year he suffered an injury in a preseason game and was sidelined for six weeks. He had a decent training camp and is looking for consistency in Rochester.

Schaller and Petrecki are young players who got their taste of the NHL and look to bring it in the AHL while Ellis and Bagnall are seasoned veterans who will need to clear waivers in order to stick with the organization.

Bagnall, it should be noted, played a big part in the development of Rasmus Ristolainen last season. Some youngin, probably Jake McCabe, will end up with Bagnall on the top pair and will be a better player for it.


**********

The Buffalo "Amerks" fall in Toronto in the shootout

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The Buffalo Sabres iced a large group of players who will be ticketed for Rochester, at least to start this season. Of the twenty players in the line-up, only three are sure to be on the Sabres--Cody Hodgson, Andrej Meszaros and Chris Stewart--while two other, defensemen Mike Weber and Rasmus Ristolainen will probably be with the team when they open the season October 9th vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Amerks open camp today, and many of those who played in last nights 3-2 SO loss at Toronto will be headed east to Rochester. The Sabres have only two more preseason games--Wednesday vs. the Capitals and Friday at Carolina--to get ready for the opener.

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

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz,com




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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Hoppe.

And onward we go.

Building the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres roster--LHD, Andrej Meszaros

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Before we get to Andrej Meszaros, the Buffalo Sabres are headed to Washington to take on the Capitals at 5pm this evening. Bill Hoppe reports that the roster for today (with no firm mention of lines and/or pairings) is:


Nick Deslauriers, Sam Reinhart, Joel Armia
Brian Flynn, Mikhail Grigorenko, Valclav Karabaek
Luke Adam, Zac Dalpe, Torrey Mitchell
Johan Larsson, Phil Varone, Matt Ellis

Andre Benoit, Rasmus Ristolainen
Mike Weber, Nikita Zadorov
Chad Ruhwedel, Tyson Strachan

Nathan Lieuwen
Andrey Makarov

**********


When laying out the top two defensive pairings for the Buffalo Sabres heading into the 2014-15 season, many eyebrows were raised at placing former Colorado Avalanche defenseman, Andre Benoit, on the second pairing. Besides the belief that Benoit was nothing more than a bottom-pairing/depth defenseman, there were questions as to why a player of Andrej Meszaros' caliber would be below Benoit on my depth chart.

It has nothing to do with Meszaros' skill-level, which is still apparent. He can still lead or jump into the rush, still can man the point on the power play and still put up offensive numbers. When he's healthy. And it's those words, "when he's healthy," can be looked as the asterisk at this point in his career. Although Meszaros is only 28 yrs. old, his body has a lot of wear and tear on it.