Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-11-2017
Much respect and gratitude to all veterans. This is your day.
Thank you for your service.
And Congratulations to Dave Andreychuk. Your Hockey Hall of Fame ring was well deserved and long overdue.
The Buffalo Sabres are coming off of a 4-1 loss at the hands of the Florida Panthers. After scoring first, the Sabres gave up four unanswered goals to a Panthers team that came into KeyBank Center on a five-game losing streak (0-3-2.)
Two of Florida's goals came late in the third period with Robin Lehner pulled in favor of the extra attacker which now brings the total to five empty net goals given up on the season (NYI, LAK, VAN, FLA-2) an two players have been on the ice for all five--Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly. Evander Kane has been on the ice for four while Sam Reinhart,, Jason Pominville and have been on the ice for three each.
The Sabres have scored two empty net goals with Eichel being on the ice for both. Larsson scored one for Buffalo at Anaheim with O'Reilly getting the primary assists while Kane scored against Washington on a Pominville feed.
Buffalo heads to Montreal tonight for the second of a back-to-back, their fourth such set this season. With the 4-1 loss at home to Florida last night, the Sabres fell to 1-3-0 in the first game and are 2-1-0 in the second game thus far.
Some interesting info on the Sabres/Canadiens matchup recently. Buffalo is 4-4-2 in their last 10 vs. Montreal, 6-4-0 on the road. And, since 2014-15, the Sabres have gone 7-4-3 against Les Habitants, 4-2-0 in Montreal. That would include a whale of a game last season in Montreal where the Sabres came out on top 3-2 in overtime. The goaltending duel between Montreal's Carey Price and Buffalo's Robin Lehner extended into overtime and included this beauty of a save from Lehner in the extra session:
(Thank you, NHL Magazine)
The Canadiens have struggled this season but seem to have righted the ship. After starting out with a dismal 1-6-1 record, Montreal has put together a nice 6-3-0 stretch which moved them up to sixth place in the conference, three points ahead of the Sabres.
Price has been out for Montreal but in his absence back-up Al Montoya chalked up a win before he was sidelined. In stepped rookie Charlie Lindgren who proceeded to shut out the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0. The 23 yr. old undrafted free agent followed that up with a win over the Vegas Golden Knights before dropping a 3-0 decision to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
*****
The Sabres are looking to overcome a lackluster performance at home against the Panthers. After skating to a 1-0 lead in the first period while doing many things right, their play slowly disintegrated and early in the third they found themselves down 2-1, eventually losing by a 4-1 score. Periods two and three were a departure from how they played in the first period. Through the first 20 minutes we saw a carryover from their 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals, a game widely considered their most complete game of the season.
It was something not lost on head coach Phil Housley as he said that all the work they did, and the success they had against the Capitals was thrown out the window in the second period due to poor decisions, penalties and turning the puck over. It put undue pressure on the defense, which has been hit hard by injuries, and allowed Florida to tie the game. A screened shot put the Panthers up by 2-1 early in the third and the Sabres couldn't get the game-tying goal.
Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, who's managed to remain very positive through a rather difficult season thus far, was on WGR550's Schopp and the Bulldog Show yesterday prior to the game and talked about consistency. He pointed to isolated positives throughout the season thus far but told the hosts that the team "hasn't been able to carry it on into the next game" saying it's "an element we need to work on."
The Sabres have yet to string together more than two wins in a row this season an the one time they did win back-to-back games, they got shellacked the next game. Through the last eight games they're 4-4-0 having won two and lost two before alternating between wins and losses the next four. Within those games there were a couple of dismal losses (CLB and DAL by the same 5-1 score,) a couple of schizophrenic wins (BOS and ARI by an identical 5-4 score) and two well played games, one that they lost (SJS) and the other a win (WSH.)
What will we see tonight?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Showing posts with label Dave Andreychuk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dave Andreychuk. Show all posts
Monday, November 13, 2017
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Fedun signing adds depth to D, plus the qualifiers and Andreychuk.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-27-2017
In addition to bring two assistant general managers aboard in Randy Sexton, who will be the GM in Rochester, and Steve Greeley the Sabres made some player moves.
But before we get to that, a tip of the hat to Dave Andreychuk who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday. The veteran of 23 NHL seasons heads to hockey immortality in a November 13 ceremony with the rest of the 2017 class--Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya, Mark Recchi along with Danielle Goyette and two in the builders category, Buffalo native and Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and Clare Drake.
Andreychuk spent 11 season with the Sabres using his long reach and big body go amass 368 goals and 904 points in 837 games. He would go on to total 648 goals and 1338 points in his 1639 game NHL career. The 640 goals ranks 14th all time and before his induction, he was the only one of the top-15 goals scores not in the HOF.
Although third on the all-time goals list for left wings, a good chunk of those goals came on the powerplay which may have kept him out of the Hall this long. Winning the Stanley Cup as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003 helped Andreychuk's chances of getting inducted but it still took him nine years to get in.
His days in Buffalo were marked by individual success but much like team mates Phil Housley and Tom Barrasso, lack of team success lead to a divided fan base when it came to his accomplishments. I was of the "meh" crowd who teetered on whether or not he was a Hall of Famer, but upon hearing about his induction I thought to myself, "Good for him."
*****
The Sabres are still in need of a defenseman to anchor the left side of the top-pairing. It's a difficult acquisition to make as they're not readily available and if they are, it will cost a bundle to land one. And by the looks of it, new GM Jason Botterill isn't going to pay the price even if one were available. I lieu of that, Botterill continues to add depth to the blueline.
Yesterday it was announced that the Sabres re-signed veteran d-man Taylor Fedun to a two year deal that will pay him $650k/year, according to CapFriendly. Fedun's Rochester Americans salary is $300k.
Since coming on board May 11, Botterill signed free agent Russian defenseman Victor Antipin, whom the previous regime set the table for, and traded for Montreal Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu.
With the signing of Fedun the depth chart looks something like this:
Jake McCabe-Rasmus Ristolainen
Zach Bogosian-Beaulieu
Antipin-Fedun-Josh Gorges-Justin Falk-Casey Nelson
Rookie Brendan Guhle is the wild card here. His athleticism, skill, skating and puck movement place him above the bottom-five listed above talent-wise, but Botterill and Co. may feel more comfortable having him start the year in Rochester.
The Sabres may carry eight defensemen or they may carry seven, but in either case, as of right now Nelson looks to be the odd man out unless there's a trade. Falk was re-signed in February and would be a strong veteran presence in Rochester were he not on the Sabres roster.
*****
Speaking of defense, 2012 seventh round pick (193rd overall,) Brady Austin was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Sabres which means he's an unrestricted free agent. The 6'4" 225 lb. rearguard, who is surprisingly mobile for a man his size, can still be resigned by the Sabres at a lower number that his $635K NHL salary from last season or he could be signed to a minor league contract with the Rochester Americans if Botterill's so inclined.
With Housley as the new head coach and Botterill coming from a Pittsburgh Penguins organization that leaned heavily on puck-movers on the back end, it's not too surprising that Austin wasn't qualified. The Bobcaygeon, Ontario native struggled in Rochester for much of his pro career with the Amerks but looked pretty solid in a five-game stint late last season with the Sabres and perhaps Botterill and Amerks GM Sexton may want to see more of Austin, but not at that price. The duo will need to rebuild a flawed Rochester club from top to bottom.
Should Guhle end up in Rochester, they have the makings of a pretty solid defense-core when you add in one or both of Falk and Fedun along with Nelson, who made great strides in the latter part of the season. They'll also be joined by first year pro Devante Stephens.
Others in the mix at this juncture could be Brycen Martin, who's signed for two more seasons and Anthony Florentino who had a five-game audition with Rochester on a minor league contract.
Forwards Jean Dupuy and Justin Kea also were not qualified.
The Sabres tendered qualifying offers to:
G, Robin Lehner--$3.15M
F, Marcus Foligno--$2.25M
F, Zemgus Girgensons--$1.15M
D, Nathan Beaulieu--$1M
F, Johan Larsson--$997k
F, Evan Rodrigues--$787k
In addition to bring two assistant general managers aboard in Randy Sexton, who will be the GM in Rochester, and Steve Greeley the Sabres made some player moves.
But before we get to that, a tip of the hat to Dave Andreychuk who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday. The veteran of 23 NHL seasons heads to hockey immortality in a November 13 ceremony with the rest of the 2017 class--Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya, Mark Recchi along with Danielle Goyette and two in the builders category, Buffalo native and Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and Clare Drake.
Andreychuk spent 11 season with the Sabres using his long reach and big body go amass 368 goals and 904 points in 837 games. He would go on to total 648 goals and 1338 points in his 1639 game NHL career. The 640 goals ranks 14th all time and before his induction, he was the only one of the top-15 goals scores not in the HOF.
Although third on the all-time goals list for left wings, a good chunk of those goals came on the powerplay which may have kept him out of the Hall this long. Winning the Stanley Cup as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003 helped Andreychuk's chances of getting inducted but it still took him nine years to get in.
His days in Buffalo were marked by individual success but much like team mates Phil Housley and Tom Barrasso, lack of team success lead to a divided fan base when it came to his accomplishments. I was of the "meh" crowd who teetered on whether or not he was a Hall of Famer, but upon hearing about his induction I thought to myself, "Good for him."
*****
The Sabres are still in need of a defenseman to anchor the left side of the top-pairing. It's a difficult acquisition to make as they're not readily available and if they are, it will cost a bundle to land one. And by the looks of it, new GM Jason Botterill isn't going to pay the price even if one were available. I lieu of that, Botterill continues to add depth to the blueline.
Yesterday it was announced that the Sabres re-signed veteran d-man Taylor Fedun to a two year deal that will pay him $650k/year, according to CapFriendly. Fedun's Rochester Americans salary is $300k.
Since coming on board May 11, Botterill signed free agent Russian defenseman Victor Antipin, whom the previous regime set the table for, and traded for Montreal Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu.
With the signing of Fedun the depth chart looks something like this:
Jake McCabe-Rasmus Ristolainen
Zach Bogosian-Beaulieu
Antipin-Fedun-Josh Gorges-Justin Falk-Casey Nelson
Rookie Brendan Guhle is the wild card here. His athleticism, skill, skating and puck movement place him above the bottom-five listed above talent-wise, but Botterill and Co. may feel more comfortable having him start the year in Rochester.
The Sabres may carry eight defensemen or they may carry seven, but in either case, as of right now Nelson looks to be the odd man out unless there's a trade. Falk was re-signed in February and would be a strong veteran presence in Rochester were he not on the Sabres roster.
*****
Speaking of defense, 2012 seventh round pick (193rd overall,) Brady Austin was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Sabres which means he's an unrestricted free agent. The 6'4" 225 lb. rearguard, who is surprisingly mobile for a man his size, can still be resigned by the Sabres at a lower number that his $635K NHL salary from last season or he could be signed to a minor league contract with the Rochester Americans if Botterill's so inclined.
With Housley as the new head coach and Botterill coming from a Pittsburgh Penguins organization that leaned heavily on puck-movers on the back end, it's not too surprising that Austin wasn't qualified. The Bobcaygeon, Ontario native struggled in Rochester for much of his pro career with the Amerks but looked pretty solid in a five-game stint late last season with the Sabres and perhaps Botterill and Amerks GM Sexton may want to see more of Austin, but not at that price. The duo will need to rebuild a flawed Rochester club from top to bottom.
Should Guhle end up in Rochester, they have the makings of a pretty solid defense-core when you add in one or both of Falk and Fedun along with Nelson, who made great strides in the latter part of the season. They'll also be joined by first year pro Devante Stephens.
Others in the mix at this juncture could be Brycen Martin, who's signed for two more seasons and Anthony Florentino who had a five-game audition with Rochester on a minor league contract.
Forwards Jean Dupuy and Justin Kea also were not qualified.
The Sabres tendered qualifying offers to:
G, Robin Lehner--$3.15M
F, Marcus Foligno--$2.25M
F, Zemgus Girgensons--$1.15M
D, Nathan Beaulieu--$1M
F, Johan Larsson--$997k
F, Evan Rodrigues--$787k
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