The Pegula mushroom cloud that was June 16, 2020 in Sabreland

A few days ago on June 16, the owners of the Buffalo Sabres, Terry and Kim Pegula, dropped what would become a bomb on the hockey world beginning with the announcement that general manager Jason Botterill had been fired and an in-house replacement, Senior Vice President of Business Administration, Kevyn Adams would take over the position. We wouldn't know just how big of a bomb they had just dropped on the entire hockey operations department until we witnessed the huge mushroom cloud above Washington St. later that evening.

After a 2 pm Zoom conference call going over the morning events, the Sabres announced that Botterill's right hand men, AGM's Steve Greeley and Randy Sexton, the latter being the general manager of the Rochester Americans also got the boot. Sexton's staff in Rochester were also let go as head coach Chris Taylor plus his assistants Gord Dineen and Toby Peterson were shown the door as well as 14 of the team's 21 scouts, whom we'll name here:

Ryan Jankowski, Director of Amateur Scouting

Jeff Crisp, Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting

Amateur scouts Cory Banika, Steve Cocker, Mark Ferner, Marcus Fingal, Scott Halpenny, Randy Hansch, Tom O'Connor, Ron Pyette, Matt Tiesling and Magnus Weing

Pro Scout John Van Boxmeer

Player Development Coaches Krys Barch and Mike Komisarek

Dennis Miller, Rehab and Development (Performance Dept.)

BOOOOOM!

Frank Servalli, Senior Hockey Reporter for TSN tweeted of the purge, "It's a bloodletting that may be unprecedented in #NHL history - certainly in one day by one franchise."

Sure enough. It's now Friday, the dust has settled and the crater caused by this leaves Adams as a mere speck in the chasm created.

You know what many in WNY will be doing for some seven hours today?

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-21-2019

Getting their fill of the professional sports scene featuring the Sabres and the Bills.

The driving force behind the excitement of a Buffalo doubleheader today really begins with the Buffalo Bills as they head to Foxborough, Massachusetts with the opportunity to tie the New England Patriots in the standings. Buffalo is 10-4 so far this season and has the swagger of a contender ready to knock down the champ and though it might not happen, BillsMafia has no fear as they know the vaunted Patriots era is coming to a close soon and their beloved Bills are on the upswing ready to take their place in the East. 

Sabres and Bills both need to make a move

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-29-2019


Prior to Sunday the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills had a combined 14-3-1 record and both were in great spots moving forward--the Sabres were atop the NHL and the Bills were second in their division, squarely in a wild card spot. After this last night both were still in solid spots but a little shine taken off of their armor. The Sabres went 1-1-1 over a three-game stint from Thursday to Monday while the Bills ran into a road grader in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday who beat them 31-13 in Buffalo.

The Bills couldn't handle an Eagles team that was embarrassed the week before in Dallas. Philadelphia came to Buffalo with their backs against the wall in a fight for their playoff life and used an NFC East-style running game led by a big and mean offensive line to plow their way to 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns. After the game, Eagles running back Jordan Howard was quoted by the as saying, "We were able to wear their defense down. You could tell at the end of the game that they really didn't want to tackle us."

Having said that, you couldn't place the blame fully on the Bills defense as the offense sputtered. Once Buffalo fell behind they were throwing the ball more, getting nowhere in the process, and eventually the Eagles just ground them down as evidenced by a very lopsided 35:57 to 24:03 time of possession in favor of Philadelphia.

What a strange feeling after a winning weekend.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-9-2018


My notepad for yesterday's matinee between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Buffalo Sabres didn't have a lot written in it. Which is a good thing.

First off, the Sabres played a game that didn't warrant a lot of notes and the ones that did make it in are all of the positive variety. And when you look at their overall game, the passing and playmaking was so good that the highlights and the final score give a pretty good indication as to just how well Buffalo played yesterday.

The Sabres 4-2 win over Vegas featured leads of 2-0 and 4-1 for Buffalo before the Golden Knights made things a bit interesting with a goal midway through the third period. It also featured a solid transition game and team defense which made watching the game fun for a change. Add that onto a 35-save performance from goalie Carter Hutton and you have a lot of smiles emanating from the Sabres locker room afterwards.

For Sabres fans it was a fun game to watch. The crowd at KeyBank Center has been dying to roar for years and over the past two games the Sabres have given them something to roar about. From Conor Sheary's two goals on Saturday to captain Jack Eichel's two goals yesterday, the roar of excitement displaced years of booing at KeyBank Center.

Yesterday's win also put an end to a six-game winless streak of Kid's Day games under GM Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley dating back to last year. Whereas last season parents had to cover their children's eyes while wondering why they'd ever submit them to the nightmare unfolding on the ice, this season's schedule of six Kid's Day games began with a good, solid win yesterday.

The win over Vegas came on One Buffalo Day, as designated by Mayor Byron Brown three years ago to celebrate the Pegula's purchase of the Buffalo Bills on October 8, 2015. Terry and Kim Pegula had owned the Sabres and their purchase of the Bills made for a nice One Buffalo package. On Sunday their Bills came back home after a tough, two-game road trip where they went 1-1 and proceeded to defeat the Tennessee Titans on a field goal as time expired.

That One Buffalo win came on the heels of a 3-1 win by the Sabres over the Rangers on Saturday and just for good measure, another Buffalo team, the Beauts of the NWHL, pitched an afternoon shutout on the road in their season-opening win.

Four games, four wins.

It's a strange feeling to come off of a holiday weekend and not go over what went wrong in losses although there's been plenty of back and forth arguing about how the Bills won. Sure, it wasn't a pretty football win as they won with a little old fashioned Ground Chuck offense backed by some strong and opportunistic play on defense. Yet from the end of the game until now, there've been yammerings as to a poor offensive showing and how that style isn't sustainable in today's NFL. The Bills are in the midst of a brutal opening to the season where they play five of their first seven games on the road and just came off of games at Minnesota and at Green Bay. I'm of the opinion that a win's a win, especially for both the Sabres and Bills at this stage of their team developments

As for the Sabres, they played a strong game yesterday in many facets and despite allowing 37 shots on goal they looked like they were in control for large chunks of the game. Their breakouts were particularly strong, they played with speed and got to the puck fast. There was puck support all over the ice and they buried their opportunities, most notably in the second period when they scored three goals on their first three shots and ended up with on only five shots the entire period. They also looked very calm with the puck yesterday, waiting for the play to unfold instead of forcing the issue.

After a horrid season-opening shutout loss at home against the Boston Bruins, the Sabres came back and won two in a row to put them over the .500 mark for the first time since January, 2013. The NHL was coming out of the lockout that year and into a shortenened 48-game season. Lindy Ruff was behind the bench in what would be his final days coaching the Sabres. Ruff and his charges got off to a 2-0 start then lost a home-and-home January 24-25 to the Carolina Hurricanes that would drop them to .500 hockey and they wouldn't surpass that mark until 2,083 days had passed with 458 games played.

This was the opening night lineup for Buffalo that season:

Thomas Vanek-Cody Hodgson-Jason Pominville
Marcus Foligno-Tyler Ennis-Drew Stafford
Jochen Hecht-Mikhail Grigorenko-Steve Ott
Patrick Kaleta-Matt Ellis-John Scott

Robyn Regehr-Tyler Myers
Jordan Leopold-Andrej Sekera
Christian Ehrhoff-Alexander Sulzer

Ryan Miller


The Sabres are now on their fifth coach since then and are on their third general manager. Since dropping to .500 that January, the Sabres have a 156-230-53 record finishing last in the league three of those five seasons.

So if things fell a little strange for you this fine Tuesday, know that you're not alone. The sense of optimism permeating Sabreland right now, isn't the norm at this time of year and when you have a winning weekend like Buffalonians just had, it's good to feel that way.

Just roll with it.


*****

Some notes on yesterday's game

--It was good to see Buffalo's fourth line come through with a goal. The trio of Evan Rodrigues flanked by Zemgus Girgensons and Jason Pominville have been the Sabres most consistent line in these first three games. All the zone-time and cycling they'd done finally paid off as Pominville took a feed from Rodrigues and buried it (see below.) Housley loves this line as he can put them out in any situation, anywhere on the ice.

 

--Sometimes Eichel makes it look so easy. Eichel found himself all alone in front of Vegas goalie Mark Andre Fleury and roofed a backhand from in tight as shown here:

--Adding Sheary to the line of Eichel and Sam Reinhart looks pretty good so far. Sheary is a whirling dervish on the cycle in the offensive zone and so far Eichel and Reinhart have been able to play into that. They just missed scoring another goal yesterday when Reinhart hit the post on a feed from Eichel.

--Marco Scandella chalked one up for the defense last night in Buffalo's third game as he sent a change-up from the point that deflected before going in. Last season it was Jake McCabe scoring the first goal from a Buffalo defenseman. But he didn't do so until December 5, Buffalo's 29th game of the season.

--Speaking of McCabe, he's been solid for Buffalo on the back end as more of a stay-at-home d-man to Rasmus Dahlin's offensive-minded play. In looking at this duo, it's not a pure Bill Hajt/Phil Housley-type pairing as McCabe loves to find that that soft spot in the offensive zone and won't hesitate to jump in while Dahlin's anything but a cupcake on defense.

--Forwards Johan Larsson and Vladimir Sobotka look to be ready to return to the ice and should both be activated, someone will have to go. If Larsson fits into Buffalo's plans, the easiest thing for the Sabres to do would be to sent winger Tage Thompson to the Amerks. Thompson has had a decent three-game stint with the Sabres but really hasn't done nothing to stand out save for some nifty stickwork against Vegas. He's also waivers-exempt which makes it a no-brainer. That is if they want to keep Larsson with the big club.

--And, finally goalie Carter Hutton's stat-line through three games:  2-1-0 record, 2.06 goals-against average, .943 save percentage. That includes the 4-0 drubbing in the season opener when he allowed three goals on 25 shots.

Oh, and just for good measure, here's Eichel's, Alex Ovechkin-type one-timer from the circle to open the scoring:

All videos via Sabres.com

Frustration Sunday as Bills/Sabres struggle on offense. Guhle, Ullmark recalled

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-8-2017


It was a football game they could have, and probably should have, won yesterday. The Buffalo Bills held the Jacksonville Jaguars to 10 points in the AFC Wild Card game but could only manage a field goal from their offense. It was a game of inept quarterbacks with one of them finding a winning formula by using his feet instead of a shaky arm while the other just couldn't get it done. Again.

The Bills' defense played a helluva game, but for one drive couldn't stop Blake Bortles scrambling. As expected, the Jaguars defense, one of the best in the league, throttled the Bills except for one drive, but in the end, a penalty, some miscues and a total collapse kept Buffalo out of the end zone as they settled for the field goal instead.

For those following the Bills, it wasn't all that surprising to see Buffalo's offense struggle with the defense carrying the team. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Bills offense had one golden opportunity, which may have been just enough in this game, but a series of events left them short of the endzone leaving a fanbase frustrated once again.

Having this edition of the Bills break a 17-year playoff drought was a good thing, but leaving a win on the table like that wasn't very satisfying to many and they have every right to feel that way. However, the Bills can head into next season with the weight of the drought lifted and they should have a clear sense of what's needed to hopefully make the playoffs again.

While the Bills were in the main event for Western New Yorkers, the Buffalo Sabres were in Philadelphia to conclude a lengthy seven-game trip away from KeyBank Center with a matinee against the Flyers. This trip, like the season, had not gone very well and they proceeded to drop this one 4-1.

If it ain't one thing it's another with this team this year. Prior to yesterday's game, the Sabres were having trouble getting out of the gate and found themselves chasing the game. More often than not their comeback would fall short leading to a record of 10-23-9 would indicate. Yesterday, however, was different as they applied great pressure against the Flyers, outshooting them by a 12-5 margin in the first only to leave the period with the game tied at 0-0.

The Sabres came out strong in the second with Ryan O'Reilly scoring on Buffalo's third powerplay at the 1:55 mark of the period. From there things deteriorated. The Flyers scored 2:08 later and added another one at the 7:17 mark to take the lead.

As has happened throughout much of this season under new head coach Phil Housley, his Sabres, for reasons unknown, deviated from the game-plan against the Flyers. "We were staying with it, and then we got away from it and for some reason we wanted to make plays instead of trying to do the right thing and make the right choices," said Housley to the post-game media after.

Perhaps his players were left frustrated by a goalie who made some great saves in the first period, including one remarkable one on Sam Reinhart. As they continued to get stymied it looked like they were trying to do to much, got sloppy and choppy, and wound up getting burned in the process. "We just changed the way we were playing for some reason," said the coach. "A lot of East-West plays, turnovers. Puck management that was uncharacteristic from what we were doing in the first period."

The final two goals were empty-netters to make it 4-1.

This is a continuing problem for Housley and this group and it doesn't seem as if it's going to get ironed out anytime soon.


*****

Two top Sabres prospects playing in Rochester have been recalled. Defenseman Brendan Guhle and goalie Linus Ullmark have gotten the call and took the morning skate with the Sabres. Both have been integral parts of an Amerks turnaround that moved them from 26th in the league last season to second place in the AHL's Eastern Conference this year.

Guhle, who was selected in the second round (51st) of the 2015 NHL Draft, has been playing top-pairing, all-situations minutes in Rochester and is tied for second in scoring by a rookie defenseman with 20 points (7+13.) No word on any injuries right now but Victor Antipin has been out because of illness and didn't make the recent three game road trip to Minnesota, Winnipeg and Philadelphia (0-2-1.)

Ullmark is in his third pro season and has been a workhorse for the Amerks both this season and last. The Amerks 2016-17 Team MVP has continued to progress nicely for the club and is tied for the AHL lead with 17 wins. He also leads all AHL goalies with 26 games and has a .928 save percentage (4th) and a 2.27 goals-against average (6th.)

The 24 yr. old came to North America after helping MODO of Sweden's top league avoid relegation in 2014-15 then was rushed into duty after elective double hip surgery after goalie Robin Lehner went down with a high ankle sprain in the first game of Buffalo's 2015-16 season. He appeared in 20 games for the Sabres that season and had an 8-10-2 record with a 2.60 GAA and .913 sv%. Ullmark also played for the Amerks in his rookie season going 10-16-0 with a 3.41 GAA and .902 sv%.

Lehner, who has been the Sabres best and most consistent player lately, got dinged pretty good in the Philadelphia game as he took a hard shot off what looked like his collarbone in the second period. He would remain in to finish the game.

According to reports from the rink, Guhle skated on the second paring with Jake McCabe while Zach Bogosian was moved down to the third pairing with Nathan Beaulieu. Coach Housley mixed up his forward lines as well:

Girgensons-Eichel-Okposo
Kane-O’Reilly-Pominville
Wilson/Pouliot-Rodrigues-Reinhart
Larsson-Josefson-Nolan

Scandella-Ristolainen
Guhle-McCabe
Beaulieu-Bogosian

Gorges-Falk


The Sabres are home for the next two games and play three of the next four at KeyBank Center before heading out for a three-game Western Canada swing. The Winnipeg Jets come to town tomorrow and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

The Rochester Americans play Wednesday and Friday so it will be interesting to see where Guhle ends up this week and how they'll work Ullmark into the mix for Buffalo.

Sabres/Bills: One Buffalo, one day and a 1pm start for both

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-7-2018


The Buffalo Bills' first playoff game in 18 years is the main event for Buffalo sports fans today. Plain and simple. Whether you find yourself in a sports bar or at home, it's full audio with the Bills on the big screen while the Buffalo Sabres relegated to silent minor screens and/or smaller electronic devices. Today is a football event of epic proportions for Western New Yorkers and for the movement known as BillsMafia as their team will be in the playoffs for the first time this century.

Kickoff for the Bills/Jacksonville Jaguars game is at 1pm which happens to be the same time the 30th-place Sabres are finishing up a road trip in Philadelphia with a game against the Flyers.

Since we are on hockeybuzz and not footballbuzz, the Sabres are the focus, but there's always room for a football note or two before we dive into the shallow pool known as the Buffalo Sabres.

There are no other fans in football like Buffalo Bills fans and the BillsMafia has taken fandom to another level. From the shenanigans on Abbot Rd. in Orchard Park, NY to the outpouring of love directed at Andy Dalton and his foundation, it's an all-in approach and devotion that's unparalleled. They have invaded Jacksonville, FL, complete with grills, beer and portable tables, ready for action with a force that's seems to have caught the locals off guard. Chris Ostrander of twointhebox sums it up with this tweet, "Would’ve never guessed Jacksonville has a bigger inferiority complex than Buffalo."

Which is way cool.

So crank it up, Bills fans and enjoy.

The Sabres, meanwhile, are finishing up a stretch of seven games away from KeyBank Center. Normally it would be described as a seven-game road trip but in the middle was the Winter Classic at CitiField in New York City where the Sabres were dubbed the home team despite playing the NY Rangers. Buffalo took that to overtime but lost and then proceeded to drop back-to-back games in regulation for the first time in a month. It's something that sounds good on the surface, but they've piled up five overtime losses over that span and only four wins total.

Buffalo heads into Philadelphia for the last of their three-game series against the Flyers. The two teams met twice in an eight-day span last month with the Sabres holding the Flyboys to two goals each game. However, they dropped the first meeting 2-1 but pulled off a 4-2 win in the next one. Buffalo center Ryan O'Reilly was the lone Sabres player to score in both games and he got the Sabres on the board on both occasions.

Despite Buffalo's struggles over the past few years, they've managed to play the Flyers pretty tough going 5-4-1 in their last 10 games vs. Philadelphia although they're only 2-7-1 on the road. The game today is Buffalo's third in four days and it comes after a full day off for the team, unlike the Flyers who beat the NY Islanders last night by a 6-4 score.

Grab some wings and a frosty adult beverage and settle in for three-and-a-half hours of Buffalo sports as it's been a while since both teams played on the same day in January. The last time this happened was January 8, 2000. The Bills, of course, lost a heartbreaker in Tennessee thanks to the "Music City Miracle" while the Sabres thumped the Ottawa Senators 7-4 on the strength of Miroslav Satan's hat trick and five-point night.

It's been a long-time coming.

Highlights and notes from a busy weekend for Western New Yorker sports fans.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-2-2018


Is there anything better than Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams having his moment in the sun?

The 12 yr. Bills vet had been a beacon of professionalism throughout Buffalo's long, 17-year playoff drought which finally ended on New Years Eve with a Buffalo win and a Cincinnati Bengals upset of the Baltimore Ravens. In a game the Bills had to win on the final day of the 2017 NFL season, Williams was given the ball on a first and goal at the one, scored his first career touchdown then proceeded to lead one of the best touchdown celebrations we've seen all season:



(video from Highlight Haven)

After the Bills beat the Miami Dolphins to finish the regular season 9-7, it was off to the locker room for some scoreboard watching and this reaction (plus some additional cheering from Bills fans) after  Bengals scored the game-winning touchdown on a fourth and 12 with :44 seconds left in the fourth quarter:



We're two days removed from that glorious finish but it's still goosebumps-worthy video to watch.


*****

How do you top that?

The Buffalo Sabres had an opportunity to at least keep the celebration rolling with a New Year's Day outdoor clash against the NY Rangers in the 10th annual NHL Winter Classic, but unfortunately they came up just short in a 3-2 overtime loss.

Whether it was the 20 degree temperature at game-time, the gusty wind, a military flyover or the overall enormity of the lone NHL game of the day being played at Citi Field in The Big Apple before 41,000+ fans the Sabres found themselves in a hole. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period the Sabres clawed their way back with goals early in the second and third periods to take the game to overtime. But it ended when they allowed a powerplay goal to the Rangers in overtime.

Some notes on that game:

--We've heard plenty about the outdoor game losing it's luster, but for a fan whose team is actually playing, it doesn't. It was a helluva event and an extremely well played game that could've went either way.
--The Winter Classic sweaters designed by Adidas were outstanding for both the Sabres and the Rangers.
--"Doc" Emerick is considered to be one of the best announcers in the game. And rightfully so. His knowledge of the game and the players playing is top-notch and he can roll with the game as good as anybody. However, with all due respect to him, his play-by-play does not allow the game to breathe. Emerick is a wordsmith who's constant barrage of words and phrases describing nearly every name and nearly every moment. At times it comes off as if he's more interested in displaying his knowledge than calling the game. His calls are great for radio, but seemingly smothers the television audience.
--I was finally left with the impression that this group of Sabres players is finally looking like a team. Too bad it tool 38 1/2 games for it to be so. The holes are still there in the lineup, and they still have plenty to learn, but these players are finally developing some chemistry amongst themselves, which is great moving forward. Unfortunately, that might not last long as the next big NHL moment is the trade deadline and it's expected that some Sabres will be on the move.
--The "Ref-cam" was very cool in this game getting us as close to the action as possible. But where was it when Buffalo's Evander Kane got whacked in the face by an rough high stick? Kane tumbled to the ice and lay there while gathering his faculties. Oddly enough there was no gathering of officials which sometimes happens in the NHL. After he go up you could see blood pouring from the bridge of hid nose and when they showed a profile shot there was a huge lump forming. It was an egregious non-call and you have to wonder:  did the ref not see it, or did they just bury the tape from the "Ref-cam?
--Rasmus Ristolainen has goals in consecutive games and has been looking strong in the process. He played 26:00 yesterday had a goal and an assist and was a plus-1. In a curious move, Ristolainen was on the ice for only one shift (:33) in overtime last night.
--That was one of a few head-scratchers from Sabres head coach Phil Housley with the big one being, why was fourth-line center Jacob Josefson on the ice in overtime? Not sure what Housley was thinking on that one, but Josefson wouldn't you want to play your best players as much as possible in the five-minute overtime session?
--Kyle Okposo assisted on both Buffalo goals yesterday and was hard on the puck all game. It looks as if he's recovered from his off-season health issues. He would have been a better pick than Josefson. Benoit Pouliot has the speed to play in overtime. He would have been better. For as much as the players get hammered for their poor start to the season, Housley's been making rookie mistakes all season long.
--Housley also had Marco Scandella on the ice with the Rangers on the powerplay in overtime. Ristolainen had plenty of time to rest and is the team's best defenseman. Why was he not on the ice?
--The powerplay looked better, but on the whole, it still isn't anywhere close to where it should be.

The Sabres have a back-to-back on the road at Minnesota on Thursday and Winnipeg on Friday.


*****

Western New York hockey fans can still see action as the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships are being held downtown.

The elimination games begin today and five Sabres prospects will be playing:

12pm--G, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Finland take on D, Vojtech Budik and the Czechs
6pm--Forwards Alexander Nylander and Marcus Davidson lead Team Sweden against Slovakia
8pm--C, Casey Mittelstadt and Team USA are up against Russia

Mittelstadt and the Americans got this weekend rolling with a tough come-from-behind win over Canada on Friday in the first outdoor game in WJC history. On a cold, blustery evening at New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills, Mittelstadt set up two US third period goals to tie the score at 3-3 with Team USA eventually winning in the shootout.

Mittelstadt has been the unquestioned star pf the event thus far while leading the tournament in scoring with nine points (4+5) in four games.


*****

That win on Friday was the first of four big wins for WNY sports fans over the weekend.

On Saturday the Sabres beat the Metropolitan Division leading New Jersey Devils in overtime on Ristolainen's first goal of the season and the surging Rochester Americans took over first place in the AHL's Eastern Conference with a 2-0 shutout win in Toronto against the Marlies. And, of course, the Bills finally ended their 17-year playoff drought on Sunday.

Buffalo Sabres 2017-18 Team Stats--December

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-1-2018


Happy New Year everyone!!!

Congratulations to a playoff-bound Kyle Williams and the Buffalo Bills!!!

Not much more needs to be said as Western New York savors a taste of the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1999. Makes you wanna "Shout!"

Boom!!!


Buffalo's projected lineup for this afternoon's 2018 Winter Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and the NY Rangers in front of an expected 41,000-plus fans at Citi Field in NYC:

Girgensons-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Pouliot-Rodrigues-Pominville
Larsson-Josefson-Nolan

Scandella-Ristolainen
McCabe-Bogosian
Gorges-Beaulieu

Robin Lehner




Buffalo Sabres Team Stats (League Rankings)...(Leader):


Wins

--October: 3, (T-29th)...(STL, TBL, 10)
--November: 6, (T-29th)...(TBL, STL, TOR, 17)
--December:  10, (29th)...(TBL, 28)

--2016-17: 33 (25th)...(WSH, 55)
--2015-16: 35 (23rd)...(WSH, 56)
--2014-15: 23 (30th)...(ANA, 49)
--2013-14: 21 (30th)...(BOS, 54)


Atlantic Division Standing

--October: 8th...(TBL)
--November: 8th...(TBL)
--December: 8th...(TBL)

--2016-17: 8th...(MTL)
--2015-16: 7th...(FLA)
--2014-15: 8th...(MTL)
--2013-14: 8th...(BOS)


Eastern Conference Standing

--October: 16th...(TBL)
--November: 16th...(TBL)
--December:  16th...(TBL)

--2016-17: 15th...(WSH)
--2015-16: 14th...(WSH)
--2014-15: 16th...(NYR)
--2013-14: 16th...(BOS)


League standing/Points

--October: 29th/8...(TBL/21)
--November: T-30th/16...(TBL/36)
--December: 30th/28...(TBL/58)

--2016-17: 26th/78...(WSH/118)
--2015-16: 23rd/81...(WSH/120)
--2014-15: 30th/54...(NYR/113)
--2013-15: 30th/52...(BOS/117)


Points Percentage

--October: .333 (30th)...(STL, TBL/.808)
--November: .320 (30th)...(TBL/.720)
--December: .368 (30th)...(TBL/ .763)

--2016-17: .476 (26th)...(WSH, .720)
--2015-16: .494 (23rd)...(WSH, .732)
--2014-15: .329 (30th)...(NYR, .689)
--2013-14: .317 (30th)...(BOS, .713)


Goal Differential

--October: -15 (30th)...(TBL, +17)
--November: -30 (30th)...(TBL, +25)
--December:  -42 (30th)...(TBL, +51)

--2016-17: -36 (24th)...(WSH, +81)
--2015-16: -21 (20th)...(WSH, +59)
--2014-15 -113 (30th)...(NYR, +60)
--2013-14: -91 (30th)...(BOS, +84)


Goals/Game

--October: 2.42 (29th)...(TBL, 4.08)
--November: 2.20 (31st)...(NYI, 3.67)
--December: 2.21 (31st)...(TBL, 3.74)

--2016-17: 2.43 (24th)...(PIT, 3.39)
--2015-16: 2.43 (25th)...(DAL, 3.23)
--2014-15: 1.87 (30th)...(TBL, 3.16)
--2013-14: 1.83 (30th)...(ANA, 3.21)


Shots/Game

--October: 31.5 (17th)...(MTL, 38)
--November: 30.9 (20th)...(CAR, 35.7)
--December: 30.9 (19th)...(PIT, 34.9)

--2016-17: 30.4 (15th)...(PIT, 33.5)
--2015-16: 29.5 (17th)...(PIT, 33.2)
--2014-15: 24.2 (30th)...(CHI, 33.9)
--2013-14: 26.3 (30th)...(SJS, 34.8)


5v5 Goals

--October: 18 (19th)...(CLB, 28)
--November: 37 (29th)...(TOR, 66)
--December: 55 (29th)...(TOR, 92)

--2016-17: 126 (28th)...(MIN, 187)
--2015-16: 121 (28th)...(DAL, 167)
--2014-15: 110 (29th)...(TBL, 181)
--2013-14: 96 (30th)...(ANA, 190)


Powerplay

--October: 14.3 (23rd)...(DAL, 30.8)
--November: 12.8 (30th)...(TBL, 27.4)
--December:  12.4 (30th)...(TBL, 25.7)

--2016-17: 24.5 (1st)
--2015-16: 18.9 (12th)...(ANA, 23.1)
--2014-15: 13.4 (30th)...(WSH, 25.3)
--2013-14: 14.1 (29th)...(PIT, 23.4)


Goals-against/Game

--October: 3.58 (27th)...(LAK, 2.00)
--November: 3.36 (28th)...(SJS, 2.17)
--December: 3.29 (28th)...(LAK, 2.33)

--2016-17: 2.82 (19th)...(WSH, 2.16)
--2015-16: 2.62 (15th)...(ANA, 2.29)
--2014-15: 3.28 (29th)...(MTL, 2.24)
--2013-14: 2.96 (25th)...(LAK, 2.05)


Shots against/Game

--October: 32.5 (19th)...(SJS, 28.7)
--November: 31.2 (T-11th)...(SJS, 28.7)
--December:  32.4 (23rd)...(CAR, 29.6)

--2016-17: 34.3 (30th)...(LAK, 25.9)
--2015-16: 30.6 (22nd)...(NSH, 27.3)
--2014-15: 35.6 (30th)...(LAK, 27.0)
--2013-14: 34.3 (28th)...(NJD, 25.5)


Penalty Kill

--October: 82.5 (11th)...(LAK, 93.0)
--November: 81.1 (13th)...(LAK, 89.5)
--December:   81.9 (12th)...(LAK, 87.1)

--2016-17: 77.6 (25th)...(BOS, 85.7)
--2015-16: 82.6 (9th)...(ANA, 87.2)
--2014-15: 75.1 (30th)...(MIN, 86.3)
--2013-14: 81.4 (20th)...(NJD, 86.4)


Faceoff Percentage

--October: 50.4 (18th)...(OTT, 53.9)
--November: 51.4 (11th)...(PHI, 53.0)
--December:   51.2 (9th)...(WPG, 52.8)

--2016-17: 49.6 (17th)...(ANA, 54.7)
--2015-16: 49.4 (21st)...(ARI, 54.7)
--2014-15: 44.9 (30th)...(BOS, 53.6)
--2013-14: 46.8 (29th)...(NSH, 53.1)

BIlls and Sabres tonight. Some notes

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-2-2017


It's not an annual occurrence by any means, but neither is it rare when the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres have games on the same night. The Bills are on national TV with a big game at the Meadowlands in New Jersey against the NY Jets while the Sabres are headed to the desert to take on the Arizona Coyotes.

The Bills are eastbound and truckin' into the Meadowlands with a 5-2 record and playoff aspirations. They have a new regime, a new attitude a tone of new players and a recent addition at wide receiver to hopefully get them to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Buffalo acquired WR Kelvin Benjamin from the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday with a trade that was right up against the trade deadline's 4 pm end. Most think Benjamin will get a few plays in tonight as the Bills try to get one win closer to a playoff spot.

Both the Bills and the Sabres jettisoned their GM and coach at the end of their respective seasons leaving Western New York sports fans to wonder where this was all headed. In addition to the Bills playoff drought, the Sabres haven't made the playoffs since 2011 and the question remained, which team, the Bills or Sabres, will make the playoffs first.

With the Sabres off to a 3-7-2 start, it looks as if the Bills have the inside track. But then again, it's not how you start but how you finish. The Bills have been there before only to go on second-half swoons that left the fan-base crying "Why, Lord!?"

Tonight the Bills kick things off with an 8:30 pm start while the puck drops in Arizona at 10 pm.


*****

The last time both the Bills and the Sabres appeared in primetime was last October 16 with WNY having a good night. The Bills beat the San Francisco 49'ers 45-16 at home while the Sabres took down Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 in Edmonton.

A few weeks later on Monday, November 7, the Bills lost a hard fought game in Seattle against the Seahawks while the Sabres were shutout in Boston 4-0.

And, back on November 12, 2015 WNY was happy as they Bills beat the Jets at the Meadowlands 22-17 while the Sabres were in Florida beating the Panthers 3-2.


*****

Word from the morning skate is that Sabres forward Justin Bailey is out with a lower-body injury and that Nicholas Baptiste, who was recently called up, is a game-time decision but probably won't play, according to WGR 550 Radio's Paul Hamilton.

Here's what the lines were reported as by the local media in Arizona:

Kane-Eichel-Pominville
Pouliot-O'Reilly-Okposo
Girgensons-Reinhart-Griffith
Moulson/Baptiste-Larsson-Nolan


*****

We're still trying to figure out how Seth Griffith has held on to a spot in the lineup and playing him on the third line doesn't seem to make much sense.

And for those having flashbacks to the 40 games Derek Grant played for Buffalo last season while beating your head against the nearest wall. You're not alone.


*****

And if you've been beating your head wondering why Matt Tennyson continues to skate second-paring minutes on defense, it doesn't look as if there will be a reprieve either. “With the injuries, we’ve had to rely on the other players," said Housley the other day to the gathered media, "and Matt’s done a terrific job."

Find 'X' on wall. Beat head.

The Sabres recalled Taylor Fedun on Tuesday, but it looks as if he'll be in the pressbox tonight and Buffalo will have Justin Falk back in the lineup after he missed the entire season thus far.

John Vogl of The Buffalo News has these defense pairings going tonight:

Scandella-Ristolainen
McCabe-Tennyson
Falk-Antipin


*****

Robin Lehner looks to be the starter at Arizona.

Will the Sabres take a page out of the Bills playbook?

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-28-2017


Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and his bloated contract were traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday. Although the return for the former third-overall pick in 2011 was a conditional sixth-rounder that could end up being a fifth, expunging Dareus from the team should be good for both the team and the player himself.

When Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula brought in a new coach and GM after a disappointing season, a big reason behind the move was to change the culture of the team. Dareus was a two-time Pro Bowler with the size and skill to be a difference maker on the interior line but unfortunately he had a couple of suspensions and some off-field issues that drew the ire of those at One-Bills Drive.

In addition, he didn't buy into what the Bills were now doing and the new regime showed no hesitation in showing him the door when the opportunity arose. The biggest obstacle facing Bills GM Brandon Beane in the case of Dareus was the six-year, $96.6 million contract extension he signed in 2015. Reports had Dareus on the block all summer but finally the Jaguars came forward and the deal was done.

Buffalo will still be on the hook for $24 million in dead cap space through 2018, according to reports, but to them the cap-hit and low return was worth it just to move him.

The Buffalo Sabres are in a similar situation cap-wise to the Bills in that they have some high salaried players with low production whom they'd seemingly like to move. Although the NFL and NHL salary cap structure varies immensely, the bottom line is that there is only a limited amount of money for the roster. And, just like with the Bills, the Sabres have a new GM and head coach this season and are trying to change the culture at the foot of Washington St.

Sabres GM Jason Botterill inherited a number of contracts from the previous regime that will become thorny issues beginning next season. Although he still has flexibility this season while being a least $4 million under the NHL cap-ceiling, according to CapFriendly.com, next year Jack Eichel's $10 million cap-hit will be on the books and they'll need to do some financial finagling.

A lot of the near and long-term cap decisions this club needs to make have to do with the performance of the team and the individual players and this season the Sabres are off to a rough start. A 3-6-2 record isn't exactly ideal for a team that's headed towards the middle of the pack age-wise while having the 19th largest projected cap-hit amongst the 31 NHL teams.

Back in 2014, then GM Tim Murray brought three veterans on board to help stabilize and guide the team through impending troubled waters. Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges and Matt Moulson went into the 2014-15 season pretty hefty salaries but then it didn't matter too much as they fit easily into a team that filled with young players and journeymen players on low-paying contracts. But as Murray began building his team, he added higher priced players and things got tighter financially to the point where they were watching every penny last season.

Heading into this season, the Sabres have some bloated contracts that are beginning to weigh them down. Although Gionta and his $4.25 million cap-hit is off the books, the Sabres are paying Gorges $3.9 million in this the final year of his contract and are on the hook for $5 million to Moulson through the end of next season. That's $8.9 million for two players who've been healthy scratches for a combined 12 games in the Buffalo's short 11-game season thus far.

The Gorges contract will eventually take care of itself sometime between now and July 1 as he will either be traded before or at the NHL Trade Deadline or not re-signed come season's end. Moulson, on the other hand, is more of a problem.

No doubt the Sabres would move him in a heartbeat if someone would take on his contract and there is precedent for something like that happening. The Arizona Coyotes made three trades for bloated contracts over the course of the past two off seasons while on the other side of the equation,  Toronto Maple Leafs offloaded some pretty hefty contracts in 2015 and 2016 to help their rebuild.

Ideally Botterill could work something out with another team that has the cap-space for Moulson's contract without having to give up too much in return but if that doesn't happen, it's expected that the Sabres will buy him out and stretch out his buyout-hit over two seasons with a cap-hit of $3.67 million next season and $667K in 2019-20.

Those three contracts were expected to come off the books but the Sabres may also have unintended trouble on the horizon with a couple other contracts should things not turn around.

Defenseman Zach Bogosian was part of a blockbuster deal by Murray on February 11, 2015. The former third-overall pick (2008) came to Buffalo barely removed from signing a multi-year extension with his former team, the Winnipeg Jets. Bogosian has a cap-hit of $5.1 million through  2019-20 and was still part of the deal despite Murray knowing that injuries were becoming a part of the equation. The young vet as he had not played in over 70 games since the 2010-11 at the time the deal was made. In his first full season with Buffalo, Bogosian missed 18 game while last season he missed 26. He’s yet to play a game for Buffalo this season and is presently listed as week-to-week according to head coach Phil Housley.

Kyle Okposo was the best free agent on the market last season and Murray signed him to a 7-year/$42 million contract. Okposo had a good first season in Buffalo scoring 45 points (19+26) in 65 games, however it was cut short by a concussion. He had an adverse reaction to medication and was in the Intensive Care Unit before beginning his return to the ice in July.

Okposo is off to a rough start this season with only one assist in nine games thus far. Much of his slow start could be attributed to him trying to get up to game-speed, which may have taken a little longer than some anticipated, but uneasiness with his contract has begun to seep into the conversation.

Some may also look to defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's $5.4 million cap-hit for the next five seasons and there will always be questions as to whether Ryan O'Reilly's can achieve and maintain a top-level, two-way consistency to justify his $7.5 million cap-hit. Right now neither seem to be serious cause for concern, but things may change if the team can't turn things around within the next year or two.

However, those are the contracts of the future for Botterill and the Sabres to worry about. It doesn't look as if they'll be going for broke on a Stanley Cup run this year so the need for immediate cap-relief doesn't seem to be of the utmost importance. But next season, if things go as planned and desired, it might be different.

As the Dareus situation, and many in the NHL over the past couple of years, proves, an unwanted contract can be moved if a team is willing to do so and is willing to pay a price to get it done.

Will the Sabres be interested in taking a page out of the Bills' playbook?


*****

A quick note.

Today the Sabres are at home to take on the San Jose' Sharks. Game time is 1:00 pm.

*****

Quick note Part 2:

Today is Jack Eichel's 21st Birthday.

Buffalo Bills defense has road to success for Sabres. Plus other notes

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-2-2017


Although not quite as stunning as the Joe Namath-lead NY Jets upsetting Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, the Buffalo Bills win in Atlanta yesterday was a big one. As the last Matt Ryan pass went incomplete with no flags on the play, some joy swept through Western New York as the Buffalo Bills left Atlanta with a 23-17 win and on this glorious Fall morning, they find themselves alone atop the AFC East with a 3-1 record.

The Bills defense was a major factor in the win and it's somewhat amazing considering they have a new secondary and some new faces sprinkled about while their highest paid defensive player has been reduce to playing a role. Show of hands--who thought the Bills would be leading the league with only 54 points allowed this season?

There were overtones of joy on WGR550 radio this morning as co-hosts Howard Simon and Jeremy White reveled in a legitimate win as opposed to spending hours talking about the finding the quarterback of the future. Simon rightfully said that he's interested in hearing what the national media had to say about the Bills and after ticking off a couple of positives thrown the Bills' way from announcers and studio hosts, Simon paraphrased something that Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy had to say about the Buffalo defense.

"Dungy said he was impressed with how (Bills defensive coordinator) Leslie Frazier has this defense playing fast and attacking," said Simon paraphrasing the former head coach. "He said they're not really doing a lot on defense, they've got two or three defenses they use and they're just playing fast."
Two years ago a supposed defensive guru in Rex Ryan took an upper-level NFL defense as head coach of the Bills and tried to reinvent the wheel. He complicated things to the point where nobody seemed to be on the same page. He was fired two years into his five-year contract.

Oddly enough the something similar happened with the Buffalo Sabres.

Two years ago Stanley Cup-winning coach Dan Bylsma took over the Sabres and instilled a complicated system that seemed to have players thinking more about where they needed to be on the ice instead of allowing them to get into the flow of the game. At times it seemed to work but last season the bottom fell out as Bylsma was effectively putting a governor on a race car. The Sabres took a step back and Bylsma was fired two years into his five-year deal.

Granted, the Sabers were coming off of their second consecutive last place finish, but the fact of the matter remains, a strong case can be made that less coaching is better.

The Sabres have a new coach this season in Phil Housley. He was a free-wheeling offensive defenseman when he played the game and throughout his tenure as an assistant coach in Nashville, he had the Predators defenseman playing in a similar way. Housley's success with that group made them the most dangerous defense-corps in the league as Nashville made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Housley was hired by Buffalo to bring that style of hockey to the Sabres. He has some speed to work with upon his hiring and GM Jason Botterill added more in the off season. It's a different team headed in a different direction with training camp and preseason dedicated to playing the game fast. Housley has systematic things in place but throughout camp his directive has been to skate fast, skate hard and be aggressive in all three zones. The final results haven't been there yet as the team finished preseason with a 1-4-1 record, but the product on the ice has been much easier to watch.

Professional athletes invariably refer to their trade as "playing the game," with the key work being 'game.' Although there are foundational aspects and basic systems that need to be learned, applied and developed further, it's not rocket science.

Playing the game hard and fast, without over coaching and/or a strict adherence to a quantum mechanics playbook, can net positive results. It's more fun for the players and more fun for the fans too. It took the Bills defense a few weeks to get into that groove and perhaps Housley's Sabres are on that same path right now. It might take them a few weeks, or even a month or two to get the desired results, but it's not a bad thing to play the game fast and be on the attack, just like the Bills defense.


*****

It looks as if defenseman Taylor Fedun and forward Nicolas Deslauriers have cleared waivers and are in Rochester.

Fedun's clearing means he'll be joining Amerks returnee Casey Nelson and first-year pro Brendan Guhle as defensemen under contract with Buffalo. Rochester signees Nathan Paetsch, Adam MacWilliam and Conor Allen are also with the club.

In the process it was announced that the Amerks sent eight players to new ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones:

Forwards--Justin Danforth and Alex Kile
Defensemen--Arvin Atwal, Anthony Florentino, Brycen Martin and Devante Stephens
Goalies--Jonas Johansson, Jason Kasdorf

The Amerks begin regular season play on Friday as the Syracuse Crunch (TBL) visit Blue Cross Arena while the Cyclones open the season with a home date against the Kalamazoo Wings (VAN) on October 14.

Keeping up with the Pegulas. Plus other Sabres stuff

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-3-2017


Although they'll never keep up with the Kardashians as a (silly) reality show and social media dynasty, the Pegula's, Terry and Kim have their own dynasty centered around land development, sports, and music that's growing bigger by the day. Recently Pegula Sports and Entertainment just announced ventures with Labatt USA and Uber, however the areas of interest for us Buffalo sports fans is the ongoing saga with their two major sports frachises--the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the NFL's Buffalo Bills--both of which are ships without a captain at this time.

After two very disappointing seasons from both the Sabres and the Bills, the Pegulas ended up firing both of their GM's within a matter of a week-and-a-half. One, hockey GM Tim Murray, was a surprise firing not long after the Sabres season ended while Bills GM Doug Whaley was fired 10 days later after the completion of he three-day NFL Draft. Oh to have a camera rolling as Terry and Kim, along with other insiders like PSE President Russ Brandon, discussed the futures of those two and the franchises in general.

Regardless of the lack of reality show appeal, the reality for the Pegulas centers around getting their franchises out of the dregs. And there's a ton of work to do.

What's been going on with the Pegula's and their sports teams?

--The Sabres are getting closer to finding their general manager and although there's not been an official count of who they've interviewed so far, piecing things together via twitter and media reports has the total at six or more. But the big development is the Sabres reportedly bringing in Pittsburgh Penguins AGM Jason Botterill for a second interview. From what I've been told, the Pegulas were very impressed with him, fellow Penguins front office-man Bill Guerin and Calgary Flames AGM Craig Conroy during their respective interviews.

--As for the Bills GM search, things are just getting started. The Pegulas, in conjunction with head coach Sean McDermott, are said to be very interested in Carolina Panthers AGM Brandon Beane, whom McDermott worked with while in Carolina, and it's also been reported that Houston Texans director of player personnel, Brian Gaine is slated for an interview tomorrow.

--Be it known that contrary to popular belief, Sabres franchise center Jack Eichel is not involved in the search for either GM. He's busy in Germany and France playing for Team USA in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. Eichel was on the top line with wingers Anders Lee (NYI) and Johnny Gadreau (CGY) for USA as they had a tune-up game. Eichel scored with his a wicked-wrister 1:24 into the game. The real bullets fly beginning on Friday.

--Fellow Sabres Ryan O'Reilly is on Team Canada in the tournament. O'Reilly was playing right wing on the top line which is becoming the norm for him in international play.

--We all know the story of Evander Kane getting into some trouble last June while Buffalo was hosting the NHL Entry Draft. Kane and his attorney made a plea agreement with Buffalo City Court Judge Barbara Johnson-Lee who last fall, according to the Buffalo News, ordered an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal of the charges. Kane kept his nose clean and charges were dismissed. Now the big question. With one year left on his contract and a reported strong disliking of him by Kim Pegula (and presumably, Terry as well) where does the talented winger end up? Many (like myself) would like to see him extended at a reasonable rate and term while others can't wait for him to be moved.

--Speaking of things being moved, TBN's Mike Harrington wants the Sabres to move the eighth-overall pick in the NHL Draft. The reasoning, "Winning next year has to be an immediate priority and improving the blueline is paramount." Harrington wants the new GM to package the first-rounder to a "defense-rich" team to land an "NHL-level" defenseman. By NHL-level, I'm assuming he means at least a top-four.

--Harrington has a solid foundation for his beliefs, but perhaps it's a tad early to go for the immediacy of NHL-level help on the blueline. The Sabres have the eighth pick which should land them one of the top three defensemen in the draft. Although there aren't any marquis names in this draft, ala McDavid/Eichel, Matthews/Laine, it's a draft where an incubation period is to be expected for most prospects. Word from the draft pundits is that there are some talented  d-men in the draft that are pretty much equal but have different traits. I get the idea that patience sux for those of us in Sabreland, but perhaps we should let the new GM get a draft under his belt and get a feel for what he has before moving a first-rounder.

--UMASS commit Cale Makar, Tri-City (WHL) defenseman Juuso Valimaki and Swedish Super Elit d-man Timothy Liljegren are generally seen atop the group of d-prospects and dependent upon what those in front of the Sabres do, any or all could be there when the Sabres pick at No. 8.

--On Sunday Terry Pegula announced that not only did he fire his football GM, but also the entire Bills scouting department. With that in mind and the NHL Draft fast approaching, Sabres fans are worried about the team heading into this draft without a GM and a scouting department that might be on edge. The Buffalo News put fears to rest with an article saying that a massive overhaul of the scouting department isn't in the cards in Buffalo. As for the GM not being on board yet with the draft less than two months away, the scouting department has their lists and should be gathering soon to compare notes. And we should also not forget that Kevin Devine is still on board. Devine, a former Sabres AGM and Head Amateur Scout, has run drafts before so there shouldn't be that much to worry about in that department.

--Finally, amidst the positives coming out of PSE in the form of the Labatt and UBER joint ventures, the NHL announced that their Draft Combine will remain in Buffalo for 2019. The combine moved from Toronto to Buffalo in 2015 with the Sabres putting on quite the show downtown. HARBORCENTER with it's spaciousness and proximity to KeyBank Center plus two Marriotts right on the doorstep, makes an ideal setting for the combine, NHL reps, the media and attendees.

Crazy 8's and the Pegula's clean house again.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-30-2017


I’ll take full responsibility for the Buffalo Sabres drafting eighth overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Sabres Draft Lottery representative Larry Playfair and many in Sabreland watched as the Philadelphia Flyers, who finished 10 points ahead of them standings and had only a 2.2% chance of winning the lottery, leaped high over the Sabres and 10 other teams to the No. 2 slot. In a more reasonable move for Sabres fans (if there can be such a thing for a team that has no luck when it comes to this lottery thing,) the Dallas Stars, who finished with one more point in the standings than Buffalo, hurdled five teams to land at No. 3 overall while the New Jersey Devils, with slightly better than Buffalo 8.5% chance of winning the lottery will select first overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

The Colorado Avalanche bore the brunt of the ping-pong ball madness as they will pick fourth overall after finishing with the least number of points in a season since the league returned from the year-long lockout in 2005. The second-worst team in the league, The Vancouver Canucks will pick fifth while Bill Foley saw a $500 million expansion fee for his Las Vegas Knights turn into the sixth-overall pick. The Arizona Coyotes, who may have worse luck than Buffalo will draft seventh-overall.

When I wrote about symmetry and continuity for the Sabres at this year’s draft I was thinking that a second-overall pick would be apropos for a Buffalo team that had two consecutive No. 2 picks in 2014 and 2015 and after drafting No.8 overall last season, I was hoping that a little poetic justice would come into play as the Sabres missed out on the first-overall pick two years running after finishing in last place. Unfortunately, I received my wish of with a sense of symmetry featuring the Nos. 2 and 8.

When the Sabres started the rebuilding process in the latter half of the 2011-12 season their 89 points and third-place finish in the division netted them the 12th-overall pick in the draft. A year later they drafted eighth-overall after finishing 23rd-overall while 2014 and 2015 featured two second overalls. Last year they landed in the No. 8 slot and this year because of the luck of the ping-pong balls they're back in at No. 8 for a 12, 8, 2, 2, 8, 8 draft order from 2012-17.

 

Eighth-overall in this draft isn't such a bad spot considering the organizational needs. No doubt either Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier would be great additions to any club as both are very talented centers and considered the top-two players in the draft. And I wouldn't snub my nose at forwards Owen Tippet, Casey Mittelstadt and my personal favorite amongst the second-tier, Gabe Vilardi. The Sabres, however, have more pressing needs in the system than forward--defense.

 

No doubt a weak defense-corps was exposed this past season and as injuries hit, that position was exposed all the way down to Rochester. In his quest to bolster the forward ranks and depth, which was sub-par at best when he took over, especially at center, former GM Tim Murray's supreme focus seemed to be up front. In the last three drafts, minus the easy sells of centers Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel, both of whom were taken second-overall, Murray did not select a defenseman in the draft higher than 51st overall (Brendan Guhle, 2015.) In the 2014 draft, he selected only one defenseman out of nine selections and while he did draft five defensemen out of seven picks in 2015, after Guhle they were all fourth-round picks or lower.

 

Last year Murray waited until the third round to select a defenseman, and selected three more from the fifth round on down.

 

It's not to say that these d-men won't turn into anything. Guhle looks like a steal in the second round and has the tools to be a top-four NHL d-man. Will Borgen (2015, 92nd-overall) and Devante Stephens (2015, 122nd) look like they could be NHL defenseman with Stephens making his pro debut next season. There's also been plenty of talk about Casey Fitzgerald, (2016, 86th) and his strong development at Boston College. And I wouldn't dismiss completely players like Brady Austin or Casey Nelson, both of whom spent the bulk of there time in Rochester last season. Although they had mixed results, both players showed that they could be able to hang full-time in the NHL.

 

All of the above mentioned defensemen are at their proper developmental levels which does say a lot for how the Sabres approach player development, but the glaring weaknesses with the big club cast a pall over the organizational depth on defense. 

 

Which leads us now to a new and as of yet unnamed GM entering the 2017 NHL Draft with definitve needs system-wide on defense and a draft slot which may give them the opportunity to select one of the two or three best defensemen in the draft. From International Scouting Services the top defenseman in the draft is Timothy Liljegren whom they see as the sixth-best player in the draft. After him it's Callan Foote coming in as the ninth-best rated prospect and Juuso Valimaki ranked 11th-best. All of them are right in Buffalo's wheelhouse. Fast-rising Cale Makar may also be there when the Sabres step to the podium.

 

So you can put the blame on me for the ping-pong balls not falling the Sabres way, but also know that fate has them here and ultimately, it's what the new GM and his staff do with their picks that will determine where this team is headed in the near-mid future.

 

It's the draft and these are 18 yr. old kids. Very few make the immediate jump to the NHL and those are usually found at the top of the draft, even an NHL that keeps getting younger. Patience sucks but that's where we're at...again.

 

Hopefully next season a sign of progress will have us saying goodbye to 2's and 8's and hello to double digit draft positions once again, preferably upper-double digits.

 

 

*****

 

For posterity's sake, the Sabres have selected eighth-overall only twice--Rasmus Ristolainen, 2013 and Alexander Nylander, 2016.

 

 

*****

 

It was a bloody Sunday for Buffalo Bills GM Doug Whaley and the scouting department. After doing the work on the 2017 NFL Draft, Bills (and Sabres) owner Terry Pegula did a house cleaning today giving Whaley and the entire scouting department their walking papers less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the draft.

 

After disappointing seasons from both of his franchises, Pegula busted out the hatchet on both of his GM's a mere 10 days apart.

 

Pegula has been searching for a GM since dismissing Murray 10 days ago and he told the gathered media at today's presser that "we are close on the Sabres to having a final answer" on the Sabres GM position.

 

Nothing official has come out as of yet but some of the candidates that have been mentioned through sources are:  Jason Botterill, Bill Guerin, Michael Futa, Bill Zito, Norm MacIver and Paul Fenton.

 

Pegula's getting busy? More help for the defense. Plus...

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-27-2017


Rumor has it that the Buffalo Bills scouting department is in for a house-cleaning after the NFL Draft which begins today. Terry and Kim Pegula own both the Bills and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres through Pegula Sports and Entertainment.

If true, the Pegula's will have done a lot of spring cleaning this year after poor results from their franchises. They started their purge of undesirables this past winter when they jettisoned Bills head coach Rex Ryan with three years and one game left on his contract. Later they hired Sean McDermott has the new head coach and he's wielding enormous clout for a head coach, and a first-timer to boot. McDermott has been dubbed the "one voice" of the Bills, according to the media, and has complete control over the draft., pushing GM Doug Whaley to the side and, it would seem, out the door.

Over at the foot of Washington St., the Pegula's dumped Sabres GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma last week after what Terry Pegula described as a very disappointing 2016-17 season. Murray had just received a three-year extension in October and Bylsma also had three years on his contract. In the process, Pegula also said he was disappointed in himself for not being more involved in the hires of both Murray and Bylsma.

Apparently, PSE is liking what McDermott is doing with the Bills so far. Terry has been joining his head coach and "one voice" on scouting visits for quarterbacks and seems to have a liking to the way McDermott is approaching things and the entire scouting department is on alert. ProFootball Talk cited an unnamed Bills scout as saying, "We are all getting fired next week," which would be after the draft.

It's not really surprising. The scouting department has done a fair job, but nowhere near where they need to be for the franchise to rise above mediocrity. This is a team that spent the last three seasons within a game of .500 after going three consecutive seasons at 6-10. GM Whaley has been either around or in charge during this stretch and why he's still around is still somewhat of a mystery.

The timing is right, but to do so when they have a hockey department that's been laid to waste means a lot of work for the Pegula's and whatever helpers they've employed to guide them.

Pegula's hockey club didn't have a deep hockey department to begin with on the operations side. They went from having a couple of advisors when he first bought the team to Terry and Kim up top with President and Alternate Governor Russ Brandon just below the owners. After that it was Murray. At one point, for a very brief four-month stint, the Pegulas hires Pat LaFontaine to head the hockey ops, but he left in a cloud of mystery which placed a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Murray, whom they fired because it didn't work out.

If the rumors are true, the Pegulas, and presumably Brandon, are biting off a huge chunk as they'll be looking to build a scouting department for the Bills while looking to fill an empty hockey department for their Sabres who have a number of big-time things to deal with including the expansion draft, NHL Entry Draft, decisions on the 20 or so free agents they have, decisions on players in the system as well as free agency.

It's a huge undertaking the results of which won't be known for another couple of years, when they may be cleaning house again?



*****

Right now the Pegulas still have assistant general manager Mark Jakubowski his handling contract negotiations, which was his main focus with the club anyway. And yesterday Jakubowski got on th board as the club announced that junior defenseman Devante Stephens (2015, 122nd-overall) to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The 6'1" 172 lb. mobile rear-guard made huge strides in his third season with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League scoring 13 goals and adding 22 assists in 67 regular season games while adding seven assists in 15 playoff games. In addition to adding some bulk to deal with the rigors of the pro game, Stephens will probably spend at least a year or two in Rochester honing his defense against men, which is a huge jump for most junior players.

Buffalo's defense-corps had a rough go of it last season meaning change is on the horizon and opportunity for NHL-ready defensemen. Stephens isn't there yet but KHL d-man Viktor Antipin certainly is.

The 24 yr. old Antipin has spent his entire hockey career in Mother Russia, most recently with the Kontinental Hockey League, and was rumored to be signing with Buffalo weeks ago. There were questions as to what would happen after Murray was fired but according to a tweet from KHL insider/scout Aivis Kalnins, "Antipin and Buffalo Sabres have talked recently, feeling is that they will indeed get a deal done, most likely after World Champs."

The IIHF World Championships conclude May 21 and are being held in Cologne, Germany.

The question arises as to why Antipin would want to make his foray into the NHL amidst the tumult that is the Buffalo Sabres right now, but the 5'11" 174 lb. Antipin has an opportunity to jump right into the Sabres lineup, and if rumors about a no-AHL clause are true, then he'll spend his one-year deal playing in the NHL.

It's a nice fit for both player and team.


*****

Kris Baker of Sabresprospects/sabres.com tweeted that "the Stephens pick was made with info provided by Bylsma, who loved his athleticism when spending time with [Dan] Lambert in Kelowna."

Lambert was with the Rockets from 2009-15 before Bylsma brought him on board as an assistant. After one year as a Sabres assistant the organization moved Lambert behind the bench in Rochester. He was not part of the purge that happened last week.


*****

Last week I did a piece on Murray and how I'd be missing his media personality and demeanor. In a results-based business, things like that matter very little, in fact candor can often reveal too much and eventually work against you.

There were a lot of things wrong with the Sabres this past season and Murray took the hit for a roster that wasn't as talented as they could/should have been, especially on defense. However, I do feel that coaching had a lot to do with a sad Sabres season.

In watching the playoffs, most recently the Captials/Leafs series as well as Game-1 of the Oilers/Ducks series, the skating and aggressiveness with which played was something we'd see out of the Sabres, but very rarely. The big knock was Bylsma's system and the disconnect it caused with the players, especially the younger, more talented ones who could get up and down the ice.

Bylsma's system did nothing for this team in terms of speed and aggressiveness. Sure it was predicated upon his defense getting the puck to the forwards, which was an extremely difficult task for that corps, but to not deviate from a system that clearly wasn't working doesn't make sense.

I don't know how many times I wrote in my notes that teams seemed to know what the Sabres were about to do before they did it and simply broke things up before they got started. And it's been documented that often times players were more focused upon getting to a spot on the ice instead of playing the game. This insistence upon a rigid adherence to system throttled a team that had enough speed and skill to at least surpass last year's point-total.

In looking back, one can point to the 5-4 win in Ottawa the first game Jack Eichel returned from his injury. It was a game that Bylsma said was fun for the fans to watch but gave him and his staff indigestion. What a concept, a fun game for the fans to watch and to be on the winning end of a nine-goal game.

The skating and aggressiveness we saw in that Ottawa game rarely came to the fore again, unless it was when the team was behind and they needed to hit the go-switch.

It began with a game against the Los Angeles Kings in December after they found themselves down 2-0. Buffalo would storm back with four unanswered goals in just over six minutes en route to a 6-3 win in front of the home crowd. And in January the Sabres stormed back three consecutive games and won in overtime scoring 11 goals in the process.

Yet, it wasn't "The System."

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News tweeted on the eve of the second round of the playoffs that the Sabres, "went 12-6-4 (.636) against 8 remaining teams -- and 9-0-3 vs. OTT, NYR, NSH, EDM. Can't finish with 78 points when you can do that."

A lot of things weren't right with the Sabres last year, but I'm of the opinion, and will always be of the opinion, "The System" played a huge role in the crappy season we in Sabreland witnessed.

This is no reason to keep head coach Dan Bylsma.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-23-2017


When Sabres ownership and management look back on a season of stagnation (at best) in Buffalo, the most predominant themes running through will be injuries and an inadequate defense-corps that also dealt with a slew of injuries as well.

A quick recap on the injuries starts in the top-six with Jack Eichel missing the first 21 games, Evander Kane going down in the opener and missing 11 games plus Ryan O'Reilly suffering from, and trying to play through, back spasms early on while going under the knife for an emergency appendectomy at Christmas. Bottom-six checking center Johan Larsson was lost for the season on New Years Eve.

On the back end there's newcomer Dmitry Kulikov, who missed most of camp because of the World Cup of Hockey then proceeded to smack his tailbone into a open bench door during a preseason game. He was never the same and confessed to the press mid-season, “For old people, you get out of bed, you’re kind of stiff. It’s just a little stiffer for me, I would say." Zach Bogosian had his annual stint on the injured list with 26 games and Josh Gorges missed 16 which is around his average over the last six years.

Injuries like those will cripple almost any team, especially on that's in the second year of their build which coincides with how many years Bylsma's been at the helm in Buffalo.

Those are tangibles and then there are comparables as well.

On the rebuilding side there's the Toronto Maple Leafs who moved into third in the Atlantic Division with an impressive win over Columbus last night. The Leafs are in their first building season, are scoring over three goals per game (as opposed to Buffalo's 2.45) and have seemingly found instant success with an almost injury-free season.

On the injury front team-wise there's the Florida Panthers who were also beset by injuries to star players early on but also went through a coaching change. The Cats have gone from 103 points last season (third in the conference) to one point ahead of Buffalo, or 13th in the conference.

At season's end GM Tim Murray, who was just handed a contract extension this season, and ownership will take everything into consideration, including a dreadful Rochester Americans season,  and decide the future of Bylsma.

But one of the troublesome things that keeps cropping up in the conversation over Bylsma's future, is the three years remaining on his contract and the parallel between him and the recently fired coach of the NFL's Buffalo Bills, Rex Ryan. The Pegula family own both the Sabres and the Bills.

Both Ryan and Bylsma came to Buffalo with experience and reputations, most notably Bylsma who had won a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh. Both were signed to five-year contracts with the thought that they'd lay a foundation the franchises could move forward with. Ryan failed and was fired with one game left in his second season. Bylsma is nearing the end of his second season in Buffalo and may end up with a worse record than last season which itself was in the lower portion of the league.

Would the Pegula's fire both of their head coaches with three years remaining on their respective contracts?

Chris Nichols of Fanrag, delved into quotes from TSN/NBCSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie who chimed in on the situation. “I don’t think the Pegula family is keen on paying both Ryan and Bylsma not to coach the Bills and the Sabres," Nichols quotes McKenzie as saying, "and they obviously made that decision with Ryan and the Bills."

I get the gist of the Pegula's not wanting do dish out tens of millions of dollars for fired coaches, but that shouldn't come into consideration. Those involved in the signings of the coaches need to take responsibility. For Ryan and the Bills that would include the Pegulas themselves and President Russ Brandon, all of whom were said to be at the forefront of the hire. For Bylsma and the Sabres, departed team President Ted Black may have been involved in Bylsma's hire and we're pretty sure the Pegula's were involved as well, especially when you consider they lost out on Mike Babcock, the high-profile coach now leading an extremely young Leafs team to the brink of the playoffs.

Regardless of what happened with Ryan, if Bylsma was a bad hire, or more than likely a good coach who's just a bad fit for what Murray envisioned, then by all means pull the plug. But don't let the firing of Ryan into the equation. It something that might only prolong the inevitable and move the team further backward instead of forward.

Big test for Sabres, O'Reilly apendectomy, plus a lesson to learn from Rex Ryan

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-27-2016


The last six games before the Christmas break represented a big test for the Buffalo Sabres as they were trying to get back into the thick of things in the Atlantic Division. A rough opening quarter of the season left the club near the bottom of the division and the Eastern Conference. Head coach Dan Bylsma opted to stray from the "one game at a time" approach and instead talked to the media about the next stretch of games.

"After the loss to Washington, we really looked at these six games before the break for us to really bear down and focus here," said Bylsma prior to Buffalo's game against the NY Islanders on December 16. "I think that's really why the LA win is a real big win for this group and one we want to keep going here. Yes, you can look at our opponents - Carolina [Hurricanes] twice and the New York Islanders twice - but it's just a stretch of time in the season where we really have to bear down and try and get some wins here and go on a roll."

It started out well enough, but then went sour as the team failed miserably and headed into the break on a four-game losing streak. They went from consecutive wins to consecutive losses after regulation to consecutive losses in regulation. The worrisome part was the final two games is that they came out slow, just like the previous five games, but were unable to mount a comeback. In the last game at the NY Islanders, they were blown out 5-1 and looked every bit the part of a team that now sat last in the division and last in the conference.

A shot at redemption awaits Buffalo this week beginning tonight at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit where the Red Wings have been having all sorts of trouble in the Arena's swan song. Detroit is sporting a 7-9-3 record at home and have 34 points total, just two points ahead of the Sabres having played one more game.

It behooves Buffalo to avoid giving up the opening goal for the eighth straight game as it has done them no favors. Overall the Sabres are 4-12-3 when the opponent scores first, only 2-3-3 in the last seven leading up to tonight.

Having said all that, the Sabres will be without top-six center Ryan O'Reilly who underwent a successful appendectomy over the break, according to the team. O'Reilly will be out about two weeks according to Bylsma for "rest and recovery." With him on the sidelines, here were the lines at the morning skate according to the Sabres' Jourdon LaBarber :

Marcus Foligno-Jack Eichel-Matt Moulson
Zemgus Girgensons-Sam Reinhart-Kyle Okposo
Evander Kane-Johan Larsson-Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers-Derek Grant-William Carrier

LaBarber has the defense pairings as:

Dmitry Kulikov-Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe-Zach Bogosian
Josh Gorges-Cody Franson/Justin Falk

It's also been reported that Robin Lehner will be in goal tonight.

After tonight the Buffalo has a very important home-and-home with the division's third place Boston Bruins. The Sabres are eight points behind the B's with three games in hand. Boston plays the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets tonight, winners of 12 straight games and presently the NHL's top team.

To say that these three games are important to Buffalo is an understatement and having their best two-way forward out makes the task all the more difficult. However, when all's said and done, we'll have a pretty good indication as to the direction this team is headed.


***

Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan got the axe today with this statement from owner Terry Pegula (who also owns the Sabres):

“I spoke with Rex earlier today and we mutually agreed that the time to part ways is now. These decisions are never easy. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rex for all his efforts and wish him all the best moving forward. Kim and I and our entire Bills organization share in the same disappointment and frustration as our fans, but we remain committed to our goal of bringing a championship to Western New York.”

The list of reasons is long and varied but what stuck out most is the failure of Ryan's defense. He and his brother Rob, who was hired to guide the d through it's complicated workings failed miserably. Forget the overall numbers, when it counted the defense gave up huge chunks of yardage that ultimately lead to Rex Ryan's overall 15-16 record in Buffalo. And worse yet, there were many times where they didn't have the proper personnel and had mix ups where there were too many or not enough players on the field.

Maybe most important is that the team had trouble with something as basic as positioning and tackling. I remember hearing someone say recently that in 2015 the cornerbacks had a great season under Donnie Henderson because he taught things like positioning. New defensive backfield coach Ed Reed was brought in to help the Ryan's teach their complicated system. The d-backs were torched all season long.

While texting with a friend last night we got on the topic of the Sabres woes and I mentioned as I have often that the players on the ice for the Sabres seem preoccupied with where to be on the ice in Bylsma's system instead of playing the game instinctively. He said that hockey in general "seems to be a very over-coached sport at virtually every level and it's frustrating.

"They should be coaching skills and technique not systems."

Seems as if Ryan tried to put the carriage before the horse and he got burned mightily. Maybe Bylsma can learn a lesson from Rex and back off on the X's and O's a bit to allow the natural talent and instincts of his players to come through a bit more. His highly structured system has this team at the bottom of the conference at this juncture and if he can't adapt, he'll be on the same road as Rex.

Of scheduling, Eichel, injuries, the Panthers/analytics and Eric Wood

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-20-2016


Sabres bench boss Dan Bylsma was on WGR550 this morning mentioning what a good stretch of scheduling the team just had. "It feels a lot different," he told host Jeremy White. "This 10 days we're not playing in [rapid fire] succession."

Beginning November 1 they had a stretch of seven games in 12 nights, had their first two off-days in a row then followed up with six games in 10 nights.From thence it was three days off followed by five games in eight nights and on to the 10-day stretch he referred to where they had stretches of two, three and two days off with only one game between.

The final run to the Christmas break began last week where they played a back-to-back, had two days off and are now in Florida for a game against the Panthers tonight before finishing with a back-to-back Thursday and Friday.

Bylsma made no excuses using the schedule, nor did he make any excuses using injuries. "This is the NHL," he told White. "You have injuries, you have a lot of injuries, you get healthy and hopefully you can keep that health going forward."

Of course the big injury for Buffalo was that of Jack Eichel who missed the first 21 games of the season with a high ankle sprain suffered on the eve of the regular season. Eichel returned to the ice and put together two adrenaline-filled performances at Ottawa and at home vs. the NY Rangers, both wins for the Sabres, but started feeling the effects of the long layoff, according to Bylsma.

"His first two games back were pretty remarkable," the coach told White. "Then in games 3, 4, and 5 he started feeling [it]. He started to get some bumps and bruises in other areas and felt that ankle against Washington and was feeling pretty banged up. As he got acquainted to a higher level of work, playing more games, I think he started to feel a lot better, like he had that extra gear."

When Eichel is healthy, that extra gear is like switching on the nitrous tanks and it's good to see that he's rounded into game-shape.

Long-term injuries will do that. It's not just the recovery period off the ice and the body healing, it's also about getting up to speed and conditioning the body to take on the physical punishment. As we look back on the first quarter of this season we see a team that has had numerous long-term injuries to key players. Along with Eichel there was Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov, three more top-half players who were sidelined for extended lengths. However, beginning in Carolina on Saturday, all the Sabres players are back on the ice save for Tyler Ennis whom we barely even know as he has yet to play this season after appearing in only 23 games last year.

Bylsma pointed to this final stretch of six games as an area of focus for the club. Buffalo is 2-0-1 in the first half while the second half begins tonight at Florida against the Panthers and they're looking to get on a roll.


***

The Florida Panthers are a bit of a mess right now as ownership did some strange things in the off season.

After accumulating 103 points and winning the division last season, the team went through a philosophical change that has them struggling this season with a 14-13-5 record. The Panthers are only two points ahead of the Sabres having played two more games.

Analytics was at the crux of the decision to trade away defensemen Eric Gudbranson and Kulikov in the off season and it eventually lead to the firing of head coach Gerald Gallant last month. The mastermind behind the 'Cats rise to the top of the Atlantic Division was Dale Tallon. He, like Gallant, is a hockey guy and the players that were traded were hockey players. But in the world of analytics, there's no room at the inn for a mindset like that so they all were removed from the equation in some way. Tallon is still in the organization but was kicked up to an upper management role that took him away from hockey decisions.

Regardless of Tallon's place now, which is said to be back making hockey decisions, Pandora's box has been opened.

Florida joined the Arizona Coyotes and Toronto Maple Leafs in openly and overtly riding the analytics wave. All three have highly-touted "analytics gurus" in management positions--Tom Rowe is Florida's GM and interim head coach, John Chayka is GM in Arizona and Kyls Dubas is AGM for the Leafs.

These are the three teams to follow in the battle between new and old school and they're off to a rough start at this juncture. The Panthers' 33 points is best amongst the trio of teams, Toronto is next best at 31 while the Yotes have 27 points and presently sit 29th in the league.

The Sabres shutout Florida earlier this season 3-0 and tonight represents the second of four meetings between the Atlantic Division foes. Last year the Panthers went 3-1-0 vs. Buffalo outscoring them by a combined 17-10.


***

Injured Buffalo Bills center Eric Wood is a great interview and is the longest tenured player on the team right now. As rumors fly that head coach Rex Ryan will get the axe come season's end (or sooner,) Wood is none too pleased with that possibility. After already playing for four different coaches since being taken by Buffalo in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, Wood is backing his head coach.

“I’m a Rex guy. I like Rex a lot. I like him as a coach. I think he’s a great leader,” Wood said, via the Associated Press. “I know it doesn’t feel like it all the time, but we’re so freaking close.”

Wood is a pretty astute guy who's certainly in touch with One Buffalo the blanket thrown by Terry and Kim Pegula, owners of both the Sabres and the Bills and he used a hockey, the Sabres and tanking to make a point. “This isn’t like hockey where you scrap your franchise for a guy that you know is coming like a [Jack] Eichel or [Connor]McDavid,” Wood said, referring to the No. 2 overall pick in Buffalo's Eichel and the top overall pick in 2015 in Edmonton's McDavid. “This is football. You can get a No. 1 draft pick, and the best guy on the board is a tackle that year, and a tackle doesn't change your franchise."

I'm all for continuity as well but who knows what ownership will do, but those comments by Wood make me like him even more. He's a football player through and through.


***

Bylsma looks to be sticking with his lineup changes with a projected lineup, according to Sabres.com of:

Marcus Foligno-Ryan O'Reilly-Sam Reinhart
Matt Moulson-Jack Eichel-Kyle Okposo
Evander Kane-Johan Larsson-Brian Gionta
Zemgus Girgensons-Derek Grant-William Carrier

Jake McCabe-Rasmus Ristolainen
Dmitry Kulikov-Zach Bogosian
Josh Gorges-Cody Franson

Robin Lehner gets the start in net.

Dear Uncle Terry, please keep Russ Brandon away from hockey ops

Buffalo Bills fans are having yet another Groundhog Day Monday morning today. It's December, their beloved football team is effectively out of the playoffs and their hitting the various draft sites seeing who the Bills should pick with yet another middle-round draft pick. It's like clockwork. The season begins with hope, somewhere within the first handful of games a Jekyll and Hyde Bills team shows extreme promise and laughable ineptitude, things fall apart, they're "In the hunt" for a playoff spot in November and then the inevitable hits.

It's been going on for 17 years.

At the conclusion of this season, probably as soon as next week, the Buffalo Bills for the 17th consecutive season will miss the playoffs. It's the longest playoff drought in the four major North American sport.

The Bills have tried everything since 1999 to try and get it right. They're on their sixth GM, eighth head coach and have had a total of 16 quarterbacks play in a game since they last made the playoffs. They've tried it all and nothing has worked and throughout it all there have been only two constants--nearly unwavering support from Bills Nation, and Team President Russ Brandon.

"Russ Brandon, the team's managing partner and president, has been with the Bills 20 years and has been involved in football decisions the past nine years," writes Tim Graham of the Buffalo News this morning. "Since he became general manager in 2008, although his official bio in the Bills' media guide suspiciously omits any reference to him being GM, the Bills' record is 58-83."

Brandon "was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Buffalo Bills on January 8, 2008 with the responsibility of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organization, which includes Football and Business Operations" according to Buffalo Bills.com. Although he hired Buddy Nix as GM in 2010 then promoted the Bills present GM Doug Whaley to that spot in 2013. According to Graham "Brandon supposedly stopped having input on 'football decisions' after [Kim and Terry] Pegula bought the Bills. There are, however, myriad references to the contrary."

Graham quotes Terry Pegula as saying Brandon advised after interviewing Rex Ryan for the head coaching spot, "Don't let him out of the building," points to a Sports Illustrated story where Brandon gave Ryan tips on schmoozing Pegula and also states that Brandon is in on every Monday morning football call.

Since Brandon took the reigns in 2008 the Bills have finished with a record above .500 once at 9-7 and only because the New England Patriots were resting in the final game of the season to prepare for an eventual Super Bowl run.

Yet on July 27, 2015 Pegula Sports and Entertainment, the umbrella organization for the Pegulas, named Brandon Team President and Alternate Governor of the Buffalo Sabres. The statement from the Pegulas read like this:

"Since we purchased the Buffalo Bills last October, we have been highly impressed with the business acumen that Russ has shown with the Bills.

"Now is an appropriate time to give him additional responsibilities with the Sabres. Russ will work with Pegula Sports & Entertainment to create strong synergies between the Sabres and Bills. With Russ' strong ties to the area business community and sponsorship partners, he will effectively position both organizations for future growth."

Brandon's business acumen with the Bills rivals that of baseball's Chicago Cubs who filled the stands annually despite being the most lovable losers of the four major North American sports. For years Brandon worked his business magic selling hope at the beginning of the season and a promise of a better future at the end to keep Buffalo's Orchard Park stadium filled. And that's all well and good from the business side of the equation but his average at best track record as the head of the football department reveals a glaring hole in the football operations.

NFL owners have a veritable ATM when it comes to their team. Revenue streams are such that  spending to the cap ceiling won't even come close to putting a team in the red. It's pretty easy to throw money around but the difficult parts are finding the right players to pay big money to and finding the right GM and coaches to get the most out of the team. Brandon has proven incapable of getting the football operations past mediocrity.

The NHL is a much different game. Outside of the big television markets, much of team's revenue comes from ticket sales and merchandising (although a recent 10-year, $2 billion television contract.) The Sabres and their fans have witnessed the small-market conundrum for years.

From 2003, when the league was running the team until 2011 when Terry Pegula bought them, the Sabres had only two seasons where they could hang with the big boys on an leveled playing field. After the 2004-05 lockout the NHL imposed a salary cap and brought about revenue sharing that allowed teams like the Buffalo to make a competitive run. Three of the final four teams that first season were the small-market Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers. The fourth Anaheim, a team in a big market with little attention paid to them.

The NHL's salary cap kept things in check for the 2006-07 season but after that the big boys started taking over again as the salary cap increased. The owner at the time was Tom Golisano (along with managing partner Larry Quinn) and he was said to be ready to sell as early as 2007. From 2007 to 2011 the Sabres were on a strict budget with the mandate of "just break even" as Golisano looked for an owner that would keep the team in Buffalo. Mediocrity followed as the Sabres made the playoffs twice in four seasons but were bounced in the first round both times.

February 2011 brought about ownership change as Pegula bought the team. The presser was full of warm feelings and a sense of relief. Pegula teared up at the sight of his hockey hero, Sabres legend Gilbert Perreault, then famously stated what everyone in Sabreland wanted to hear, "Starting today, there will be no financial mandates on the Buffalo Sabres hockey department." There was one goal that the billionaire had for his team, "Starting today," Pegula said, "the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup."

Cost was not an issue for the founder of an energy company he sold for over $4 billion. "If I want to make some money, I'll go drill a gas well."

He proved that by going on a drunken sailor, free agent frenzy in the summer of 2011, but when it all went south Pegula and his charges went with a scorched-earth rebuild plan culminating with consecutive last place finishes and consecutive second-overall picks due to the NHL's Draft Lottery. The architect of that rebuild was team president Ted Black, the man Brandon replaced.

The Sabres are into year-two of the build portion of the program and they're struggling because of a rash of injuries. Franchise cornerstone Jack Eichel missed the first 21 games of the season due to injury and other key components like forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane also missed chunks of time due to injury. On the back-end the Sabres were elected to call up junior player Brendan Guhle on an emergency basis due injuries on the back end to Zach Bogosian, Dmitiry Kulikov, Josh Gorges and previous call-up Taylor Fedun.

Buffalo managed to stay afloat going 10-11-6 but they still find themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, last in the Eastern Conference and 27th in the league with team butting up against the salary cap. It put management in a difficult situation.

Throughout the injuries the Sabres were calling players up and sending them down as quickly as possible to save what pennies they could on cap-space. According to CapFriendly the Sabres have only $1.7 million in cap-space right now making things really tight. However, they could have gotten $1.5 million in cap relief by placing Cody McCormick on long-term injured reserve. McCormick has been dealing with blood clots and wasn't expected to play this season at all.

That would be a February, 2011 Pegula-driven move. Instead of giving his hockey department $1.5 million to add to the salary cap, he had his management team yo-yoing players between the Rochester Americans and Buffalo on an almost daily basis to save money.

It's a practice that has compromised both clubs.

As the Sabres pull talent from Rochester, their AHL affiliate takes the hit. The Amerks right now are 9-15-0-1 after coming off of a 1-3-0-0 road trip where their goalies were pummeled by the opposition.

And here's the rub.

While the Sabres are pulling talent from Rochester, the Amerks are left to sign players to tryout contracts and maybe an AHL contract or two. Teams are allowed 50 professional contracts to fill their NHL and AHL rosters. According to CapFriendly the Buffalo Sabres have 43. Most times teams leave themselves some wiggle room at 48 or so meaning the Sabres have five openings but have yet to fill them.

"There's no NHL salary cap on scouting budgets and player development budgets," is another line from Pegula's presser and to his word, he's done that. But in a difficult year when adding only one NHL-level defenseman could have helped both Buffalo and Rochester, management stood pat. Why?
The prevailing reason is the salary cap yet as we've seen from a team like the Philadelphia Flyers, you can walk a tightrope if there's a commitment to do so.

The Flyers always seem to be against the cap and they always seem to find a way around it, most notably through LTIR. Their an organization willing to spend whatever it takes to ice the best hockey team they can year-in, year-out no matter what the circumstances.

That commitment doesn't seem to be there right now in Buffalo and questions should be raised as to where the weak link is on that chain. As far as we know, the Sabres are Terry Pegula's baby and if his words from the first presser ring true, he'll spend what's necessary and there's no reason to think otherwise, especially the virtual ATM they have with the Bills to balance things out.

We also know that GM Tim Murray isn't afraid to pull the trigger on a trade to try and improve his club. He and AGM Mark Jakubowski haven't been shy about dishing out contracts, with many of them as of late being very solid, team-friendly ones.

The man between Pegula and Murray is Russ Brandon.

Not being inside KeyBank Center it's hard to know just much say Brandon has in the hockey operations department and hopefully, based upon his recent record with the Bills, it won't be much.

It looks as if the Buffalo Bills will miss the playoffs for the 17th consecutive season with Russ Brandon at the helm for nine of those. It seems pretty obvious that his business acumen hasn't transferred to the operations side of the equation and maybe the Pegulas should consider hiring a respected football guy like Bill Polian or Tom Coughlin to take over for him.

As for the Sabres, they need to nip this in the bud before it reaches Bills-level ineptitiude by keeping Brandon out of the hockey operations. If it takes hiring a vice president of hockey operations to be the go-between, so be it, because according to Terry Pegula, money is no object and in the end, etched in the Sabres dressing room is this quote from him:

"From this point forward, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win the Stanley Cup."