Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Dominik Hasek's No. 39 will take it's rightful place in the rafters of the First Niagara Center in a ceremony tonight. Fittingly, the Buffalo Sabres will play the Detroit Red Wings, the team he was traded to for sole purpose of winning a Stanley Cup. Which he did with them, twice.
The 2014 Hockey Hall of Famer was a 1983 draft pick (199th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded twice during his NHL career with both of the trades having significant impact on his legacy.
For posterity's sake, on August 8, 1992, the Chicago Blackhawks traded Hasek to the Buffalo Sabres for Stephane Beauregard, and a fourth-round pick (Eric Daze.) Hasek would play nine seasons in Buffalo and during that time he won the Hart Trophy for most valuable player twice (1997, 1998,) the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie six times (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,) the William Jennings Trophy for lowest goals against average twice (1994, 2001,) and the Lester B. Pearson Trophy (now Ted Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player as selected by his peers twice (1997, 1998.)
On June 30, 2001, Hasek was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Vyacheslav Kozlov, a 2002 first-round draft choice and future considerations.
While in Detroit he would add one more Jennings Trophy (2002) but most importantly, and to put an exclamation point on his career, Hasek lifted the Stanley Cup twice (2002, 2008.)
Those trades and accolades are the principles of a NHL career from a player who arguably could be considered the best to ever play the position in the NHL or the world, for that matter. Also of note, Hasek lead his 1998 Czech Republic Hockey Team to a gold medal in Nagano, Japan. It was the first Olympics ever to allow professional players.
Showing posts with label dominik hasek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dominik hasek. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Dominik Hasek heads to the Hall. Na Zdravi, Dominator
Reprinted with permission form hockeybuzz.com
In as much as Taro Tsujimoto is legendary in Buffalo and around the league for being a 10th round draft pick that never existed, tonight the NHL will induct a real Sabres' legend into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Dominik Hasek.
The Czechoslovakian native was drafted in the 10th round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft as an 18 yr. old by the Chicago Blackhawks but he was unable to come to North America because his nation was behind the Berlin Wall. When that fell in 1990, he began his trek to the Hall as backup to fellow rookie Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour for the Chicago.
In as much as Taro Tsujimoto is legendary in Buffalo and around the league for being a 10th round draft pick that never existed, tonight the NHL will induct a real Sabres' legend into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Dominik Hasek.
The Czechoslovakian native was drafted in the 10th round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft as an 18 yr. old by the Chicago Blackhawks but he was unable to come to North America because his nation was behind the Berlin Wall. When that fell in 1990, he began his trek to the Hall as backup to fellow rookie Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour for the Chicago.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Time is the great healer as the Sabres recognize Dominik Hasek.
Fomer Sabres great Dominik Hasek is back into the fold in Buffalo where he belongs as tonight he will be enshrined in the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame.
It's been a long time coming, and an incredible 180 for the Buffalo Sabres franchise as a whole.
At the beginning of this season, long-time GM Darcy Regier was still at the helm eventually concluding a 17 yr. run. Sabres interim coach Ted Nolan was coaching in Latvia at the time while Hasek was enjoying the first year of his final retirement, tooling around his native Czech Republic playing pickup games.
The front office turmoil earlier this month in Sabreland is nothing new to this franchise.
Back in 1997, Hasek was becoming legendary, Nolan was winning coach of the year and John Muckler, the GM who put together a group of Sabres that were dubbed "the hardest working team in hockey" had himself a team that won their first division title in 16 years.
Then the bottom fell out.
 |
| Time heals all wounds. Ted Nolan and Dominik Hasek, March 28, 2014 |
At the beginning of this season, long-time GM Darcy Regier was still at the helm eventually concluding a 17 yr. run. Sabres interim coach Ted Nolan was coaching in Latvia at the time while Hasek was enjoying the first year of his final retirement, tooling around his native Czech Republic playing pickup games.
The front office turmoil earlier this month in Sabreland is nothing new to this franchise.
Back in 1997, Hasek was becoming legendary, Nolan was winning coach of the year and John Muckler, the GM who put together a group of Sabres that were dubbed "the hardest working team in hockey" had himself a team that won their first division title in 16 years.
Then the bottom fell out.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Dominator is done, (or so he tells the hockey world...again,)...
plus other notes.
Dominik Hasek is calling it a career.
On Monday one of the greatest (arguably the greatest) goalies of his generation, if not all time, decided to hang up his skates.
Hasek was trying to get back into the NHL and would've played in the AHL if that's what it took, "There were training camps starting in the AHL and I wanted to participate," he said. "I needed to play pre-season games, to be part of the hockey environment [in North America]. I was in touch with one NHL club and I had pretty good feelings about it, but then they called my agent and told him there was no interest from their side anymore."
Six Vezinas, two Hart's and two Stanley Cup Rings (both with Detroit) and a Olympic Gold Medal For Czechoslovakia in 1998 (the first time pros were allowed to participate) highlight his outstanding career.
"Unorthodox." A "slinky." "The Dominator." All accurate descriptions of Hasek throughout a stellar career that spanned 735 games. He finished with a career 2.13 GAA and a .913 SV%.
A sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer, Hasek's ties with Buffalo are deep and seem fully recovered from a rift that occurred when he demanded a trade.
Sabres President Ted Black has been waiting for Hasek to officially retire so that the team may retire his jersey.
That's good. But now the real question, which hat will Hasek wear in immortality--The Detroit Red Wings or the Buffalo Sabres?
For a bit more on Hasek, click here. Some insight from former NHL goalies Darren Pang and Darren Elliot via USA Today.
*************
The NHL and NHLPA still haven't gotten it done. But their meeting today and tomorrow...to discuss secondary issues.
Let's face it, there's a serious stalemate.
Player Rep Donald Fehr was in Toronto meeting with the Toronto Star Editorial Board, and he seems to be getting flustered, "“If this goes on for an extended period of time, I don’t know what they (the players) are going to do. But I think it’s safe to say, they would be exploring all options,” he said.
That statement is now beginning to take on a life of it's own as some have it meaning that the salary cap will be on the table, as the title of the above link reads, 'Donald Fehr says longer work stoppage could lead to unrest over salary cap.'
But, what's at the core of the lockout is revenue and the revenue generated by hockey and what is derived from the sport. And for all those railing against the players saying take the offer and let's get on with hockey, here's the core issue that Fehr is getting at.
This is taken from a follow up Q&A from thestar.com:
Question from Anthony Alexopoulos: Why does the NHLPA think the players are entitled to more (money) than the owners?
Donald Fehr: It’s not true. We’re dealing with HRR, hockey-related revenue. That is much less than all revenue. We estimate, when you calculate all revenue, the players are between 50 and 51 per cent. Secondly, there’s a whole lot of things the owners don’t share on franchise values and franchise sales. Or a lot of related businesses the owners get into because they own hockey teams, like the tall apartment buildings (Maple Leaf Square) outside the arena a block and a half away. It’s not a sense of entitlement in that there’s some law or religious edict that this is what you should get."
It's getting to the bottom line numbers of what constitutes a revenue split for the players, who are the game. Fehr continues with this:
"It’s a question of what you can negotiate and what is the value to the league that the players bring? I tend to answer that in the following way: If you changed all the people in the suits tomorrow, all the front office people, all the officials, the scouts, the entire players’ association staff, and you still had the same players, no one would know the difference. If you kept all the people in the suits and got the next best 750 players in the world, everyone would know. The only reason anyone generates any money in this league is because the players do what they do."
There was a great call to HockeyHotline on WGR today. The caller said that the salaries are commensurate with what the top 750 lawyers in the country make. Or maybe what the top 750 actors make.
Once again, please refrain from "Average Joe" comparisons, nobody will pay to see Joe flip burgers, make pizzas or even build a house. That's not entertainment.
*************
Originally, it was thought that the Buffalo Bills would be a welcome distraction to the lockout.
Ummmmm...not really. Unless you're extremely bi-polar.
The Bills have been a case of extremities, with the last two games being blowouts by Super Bowl-calibre teams--New England and San Francisco.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is taking the heat on offense. He's been missing wide open receivers, which is not unusual, and can't seem to hit receivers deep (still.)
But the brunt of the ire of the media and fans lies with the defense.
They cannot stop anyone. They gave up nearly 600 yards of offense to the Patriots and, not to be outdone, they surrendered over 600 yards to the 49'ers. They made Niner QB Alex Smith look like Tom Brady as he scorched the Bills for over 300 yards passing.
AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Anyhow.
The Bills linebacking corps is in really rough shape right now. It's to the point where rookie, Nigel Bradham (4th-round) is set to replace Arthur Moats. Which is no big deal. Could be he any worse?
Bradham was inconsistent, but one thing he showed is that he's a ball-hawk and plays with intensity, something GM Buddy Nix called for when he said the Bills D must step it up.
Linebacker isn't the only problem (feel free to salute Captain Obvious,) the corners are having some serious trouble as well.
Rookie Stephon Gilmore is doing OK, but is still getting burned on plays he should have learned from. His development is probably right on track, but is being seen as a little slow in the light of the last two games.
On the other side there's second-year CB, Aaron Williams.
Williams is getting torched, regularly. It's to the point where Leodis McKelvin might be an upgrade. Paul Hamilton is adamant that Williams is not a corner--"he can't turn his hips." (2:00-mark)
Insult to injury, Aaron Williams was taken in the 2nd round with the 34th-overall pick...one spot ahead of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.
Also taken in that draft was DT Marcell Dareus the #3-overall pick. He and DT Kyle Williams, a former Pro-bowler, are getting blown off the line of scrimmage.
And no one has an answer why. There's no way in hell that they are that bad.
WGR's John Murphy had former NFL lineman Ross Tucker on the show and the two dug right into the defense.
Tucker called their performance "disheartening" and said that he, like most others, had high hopes for the Bills this season.
He looks at the talent on the defense and says that he can only come up with two plausible explanations, "One, there are some guys that are not putting forth their best effort, or the other one is that they're at a decided schematic disadvantage [read getting outcoached]."
He continues by saying it's hard for him to imagine some of those players laying down, but is just flabbergasted at how, at the littlest sign of adversity, "the roof falls in." (kinda sounds the the Sabres with "the core," doesn't it?)
Tucker says that the Bills do not have enough of the type of players who are willing to make a difference and that it's during blowouts that you really "identify the guys who you want to go to war with." And he encourages the Bills to watch the fourth quarter of the last two games and see "who's giving maximum effort on every play."
My guess is that there may be one or two.
***********
The defensive front four, who were considered one of the best in the AFC on paper, are looking like wet paper bags.
DE Mario Williams has been largely ineffective (and seems to be healing from a wrist injury) while his counterpart on the right side, Mark Anderson, has been largely invisible. Couple that with the troubles of the aforementioned K. Williams and Dareus, plus the questionable scheming of Defensive coordinator Dave Wanndsedt and it's no wonder the defense has given up over 1200 yards in offense over the last two games.
But, Hall of Famer Bruce Smith says that there's something else that seems to be the root of the problem, the d-line needs more time. 'I see these guys are not on the same page just yet," he said, "whether it's the trust factor, their trusting in the scheme, doing more than they should be doing when the play is called.
There's a tremendous amount of talent. We're going to have to give them some time to be able to jell together and trust one another. The good thing is they're young, so they have some time. Unfortunately, we may have a half-season of some growing pains.'
It's a pretty strong backing, as well as a belief in, the defensive line. Funny. When asked about Wanndstedt, Smith said it wouldn't be fair to scrutinize a game plan from afar but did say, "I know a game plan doesn't allow a team to go out and score 45 points in the second half."
*************
Speaking of Mario Williams, players in Houston don't really seem to care that he's gone, in fact most don't have anything good to say about him. Mostly they seem to be saying he was a primadonna for the Texans and they're doing better without him.
Evidence suggests that as well. Williams' replacement, JJ Watts is having a tremendous All-Pro calibre season thus far. But...
The Texans suffered a serious blow when linebacker Brian Cushing went down for the year after suffering a torn ACL.
Not that they'll completely crumble, but it's a big hit. Cushing is a former first-round pick in 2009 who was an All-Pro last season. Former Bills head coach Wade Phillips is the defensive coordinator for the Texans and is doing an outstanding job and Houston looks to have a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl.
Two former Bills head coaches have already won Super Bowls as defensive coordinators with other teams--Greg Williams, New Orleans and Perry Fewell, NY Giants.
But, getting back to Cushing, he was selected with the 15th pick in the 2009 draft, four picks behind former Bill, Aaron Maybin.
Just sayin'.
 |
| Will those be Hasek's colors when he enters the hockey Hall of Fame? |
On Monday one of the greatest (arguably the greatest) goalies of his generation, if not all time, decided to hang up his skates.
Hasek was trying to get back into the NHL and would've played in the AHL if that's what it took, "There were training camps starting in the AHL and I wanted to participate," he said. "I needed to play pre-season games, to be part of the hockey environment [in North America]. I was in touch with one NHL club and I had pretty good feelings about it, but then they called my agent and told him there was no interest from their side anymore."
Six Vezinas, two Hart's and two Stanley Cup Rings (both with Detroit) and a Olympic Gold Medal For Czechoslovakia in 1998 (the first time pros were allowed to participate) highlight his outstanding career.
"Unorthodox." A "slinky." "The Dominator." All accurate descriptions of Hasek throughout a stellar career that spanned 735 games. He finished with a career 2.13 GAA and a .913 SV%.
A sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer, Hasek's ties with Buffalo are deep and seem fully recovered from a rift that occurred when he demanded a trade.
Sabres President Ted Black has been waiting for Hasek to officially retire so that the team may retire his jersey.
That's good. But now the real question, which hat will Hasek wear in immortality--The Detroit Red Wings or the Buffalo Sabres?
For a bit more on Hasek, click here. Some insight from former NHL goalies Darren Pang and Darren Elliot via USA Today.
*************
The NHL and NHLPA still haven't gotten it done. But their meeting today and tomorrow...to discuss secondary issues.
Let's face it, there's a serious stalemate.
Player Rep Donald Fehr was in Toronto meeting with the Toronto Star Editorial Board, and he seems to be getting flustered, "“If this goes on for an extended period of time, I don’t know what they (the players) are going to do. But I think it’s safe to say, they would be exploring all options,” he said.
That statement is now beginning to take on a life of it's own as some have it meaning that the salary cap will be on the table, as the title of the above link reads, 'Donald Fehr says longer work stoppage could lead to unrest over salary cap.'
But, what's at the core of the lockout is revenue and the revenue generated by hockey and what is derived from the sport. And for all those railing against the players saying take the offer and let's get on with hockey, here's the core issue that Fehr is getting at.
This is taken from a follow up Q&A from thestar.com:
Question from Anthony Alexopoulos: Why does the NHLPA think the players are entitled to more (money) than the owners?
Donald Fehr: It’s not true. We’re dealing with HRR, hockey-related revenue. That is much less than all revenue. We estimate, when you calculate all revenue, the players are between 50 and 51 per cent. Secondly, there’s a whole lot of things the owners don’t share on franchise values and franchise sales. Or a lot of related businesses the owners get into because they own hockey teams, like the tall apartment buildings (Maple Leaf Square) outside the arena a block and a half away. It’s not a sense of entitlement in that there’s some law or religious edict that this is what you should get."
It's getting to the bottom line numbers of what constitutes a revenue split for the players, who are the game. Fehr continues with this:
"It’s a question of what you can negotiate and what is the value to the league that the players bring? I tend to answer that in the following way: If you changed all the people in the suits tomorrow, all the front office people, all the officials, the scouts, the entire players’ association staff, and you still had the same players, no one would know the difference. If you kept all the people in the suits and got the next best 750 players in the world, everyone would know. The only reason anyone generates any money in this league is because the players do what they do."
There was a great call to HockeyHotline on WGR today. The caller said that the salaries are commensurate with what the top 750 lawyers in the country make. Or maybe what the top 750 actors make.
Once again, please refrain from "Average Joe" comparisons, nobody will pay to see Joe flip burgers, make pizzas or even build a house. That's not entertainment.
*************
Originally, it was thought that the Buffalo Bills would be a welcome distraction to the lockout.
Ummmmm...not really. Unless you're extremely bi-polar.
The Bills have been a case of extremities, with the last two games being blowouts by Super Bowl-calibre teams--New England and San Francisco.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is taking the heat on offense. He's been missing wide open receivers, which is not unusual, and can't seem to hit receivers deep (still.)
But the brunt of the ire of the media and fans lies with the defense.
They cannot stop anyone. They gave up nearly 600 yards of offense to the Patriots and, not to be outdone, they surrendered over 600 yards to the 49'ers. They made Niner QB Alex Smith look like Tom Brady as he scorched the Bills for over 300 yards passing.
AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Anyhow.
The Bills linebacking corps is in really rough shape right now. It's to the point where rookie, Nigel Bradham (4th-round) is set to replace Arthur Moats. Which is no big deal. Could be he any worse?
Bradham was inconsistent, but one thing he showed is that he's a ball-hawk and plays with intensity, something GM Buddy Nix called for when he said the Bills D must step it up.
Linebacker isn't the only problem (feel free to salute Captain Obvious,) the corners are having some serious trouble as well.
Rookie Stephon Gilmore is doing OK, but is still getting burned on plays he should have learned from. His development is probably right on track, but is being seen as a little slow in the light of the last two games.
On the other side there's second-year CB, Aaron Williams.
Williams is getting torched, regularly. It's to the point where Leodis McKelvin might be an upgrade. Paul Hamilton is adamant that Williams is not a corner--"he can't turn his hips." (2:00-mark)
Insult to injury, Aaron Williams was taken in the 2nd round with the 34th-overall pick...one spot ahead of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.
Also taken in that draft was DT Marcell Dareus the #3-overall pick. He and DT Kyle Williams, a former Pro-bowler, are getting blown off the line of scrimmage.
And no one has an answer why. There's no way in hell that they are that bad.
WGR's John Murphy had former NFL lineman Ross Tucker on the show and the two dug right into the defense.
Tucker called their performance "disheartening" and said that he, like most others, had high hopes for the Bills this season.
He looks at the talent on the defense and says that he can only come up with two plausible explanations, "One, there are some guys that are not putting forth their best effort, or the other one is that they're at a decided schematic disadvantage [read getting outcoached]."
He continues by saying it's hard for him to imagine some of those players laying down, but is just flabbergasted at how, at the littlest sign of adversity, "the roof falls in." (kinda sounds the the Sabres with "the core," doesn't it?)
Tucker says that the Bills do not have enough of the type of players who are willing to make a difference and that it's during blowouts that you really "identify the guys who you want to go to war with." And he encourages the Bills to watch the fourth quarter of the last two games and see "who's giving maximum effort on every play."
My guess is that there may be one or two.
***********
The defensive front four, who were considered one of the best in the AFC on paper, are looking like wet paper bags.
DE Mario Williams has been largely ineffective (and seems to be healing from a wrist injury) while his counterpart on the right side, Mark Anderson, has been largely invisible. Couple that with the troubles of the aforementioned K. Williams and Dareus, plus the questionable scheming of Defensive coordinator Dave Wanndsedt and it's no wonder the defense has given up over 1200 yards in offense over the last two games.
 |
| Yeah, He was a bad man, and I'd listen to him. |
There's a tremendous amount of talent. We're going to have to give them some time to be able to jell together and trust one another. The good thing is they're young, so they have some time. Unfortunately, we may have a half-season of some growing pains.'
It's a pretty strong backing, as well as a belief in, the defensive line. Funny. When asked about Wanndstedt, Smith said it wouldn't be fair to scrutinize a game plan from afar but did say, "I know a game plan doesn't allow a team to go out and score 45 points in the second half."
*************
Speaking of Mario Williams, players in Houston don't really seem to care that he's gone, in fact most don't have anything good to say about him. Mostly they seem to be saying he was a primadonna for the Texans and they're doing better without him.
Evidence suggests that as well. Williams' replacement, JJ Watts is having a tremendous All-Pro calibre season thus far. But...
The Texans suffered a serious blow when linebacker Brian Cushing went down for the year after suffering a torn ACL.
Not that they'll completely crumble, but it's a big hit. Cushing is a former first-round pick in 2009 who was an All-Pro last season. Former Bills head coach Wade Phillips is the defensive coordinator for the Texans and is doing an outstanding job and Houston looks to have a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl.
Two former Bills head coaches have already won Super Bowls as defensive coordinators with other teams--Greg Williams, New Orleans and Perry Fewell, NY Giants.
But, getting back to Cushing, he was selected with the 15th pick in the 2009 draft, four picks behind former Bill, Aaron Maybin.
Just sayin'.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Some thoughts while recovering from computer woes
The yard looks good, the garden's mostly in and the newspaper has once again been a source of information.
That's what happens when technology gets put on hold because of a virus, or in this case a couple of them.
It was a good thing. The Stanley Cup Finals is set with New Jersey taking on Los Angeles, but not too much going on in Sabreland. The draft is approaching, and with two first-round and two second rounders, it'll be interesting to see what GM Darcy Regier does.
Time to play a little catch-up.
R.I.P Paul Cyr
The ninth overall selection in the 1982 draft, Cyr had a relatively short career (470 games,) and it's a shame that a heart attack at the age of 48 made his life even shorter.
Sabres ink defenseman Alexander Sulzer to a one-year extension
The "throw-in" in the Zack Kassian (and Marc-Andre Gragnani) for Cody Hodgson deal with Vancouver this past deadline played very well, especially beside his fellow German countryman, Christian Ehrhoff.
Athird-round pick in 2003 by Nashville, Sulzer was well traveled with minimal minutes in the NHL. But the Sabres, due to injuries, gave him the opportunity to showcase his talents, and he took advantage of it.
It makes for an interesting off-season for the team when it comes to defensemen. Buffalo has Ehrhoff, Tyler Myers, Robyn Regehr and Jordan Leopold in as their top-four. Sulzer and Andrej Sekera round out the defense corps.
Mike Weber is in the mix for a bottom-pairing/depth d-man. Thrown in rookie Brayden McNabb who's set to stake a claim on the blue line and the possibility of T.J. Brennan making a push and that's nine d-men who are NHL ready.
That doesn't include former first round pick (#23-overall, 2010) Mark Pysyk. The captain of the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL saw his junior career come to an end this past week.
For years Regier has been building defensive depth and the organization is loaded with prospects on the blue line.
Obviously, somethings got to give.
Quick notes on the Stanley Cup Finals
Both the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings made it to the Finals this playoffs with a relentless forecheck, solid defense and great goaltending. Both sides have the star power to beat top-notch goaltending as proven when the Devils beat Henrik Lundqvist of the NY Rangers and the Kings beat Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Ageless Martin Brodeur of the Devils and young Jonathan Quick of the Kings are both bonafide #1 goalies and should put an end, for now at least, to the debate on the importance of having a top-notch goalie in net for a championship team.
The Sabres have Ryan Miller in net and a defense that's on par with both teams. But what they don't have is the tenacity of a relentless forecheck and bonafide star power up-front.
How they address that in the near future is yet to be seen, but you can bet owner Terry Pegula has his charges searching for that type of player.
"The Dominator" looking to get back in the NHL
Dominik Hasek has been playing overseas since leaving Detroit in 2008 with two cup rings and it would seem as if he's looking to get back into the NHL.
He was in Detroit recently and hinted that he and his agent have some kind of plan.
Buffalo, of course, will be in the rumor mill mix as a potential destination for the former Sabre, but...really?
Hasek is 47 years old and although he's in great shape, his Gumby-like attributes have diminished with age. Maybe not a significant drop-off yet, but he ain't in his 20's or 30's anymore.
Hasek will be in the Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible. Maybe he should sign with the team who's cap he'll wear during his enshrinement. He said that it would be Detroit, completely shunning Buffalo where he garnered his Hall Of Fame credentials.
Maybe he'll let by-gones be by-gones and don a Sabres cap.
Doesn't matter. Sign with the team, retire and go into the Hall.
That's what happens when technology gets put on hold because of a virus, or in this case a couple of them.
It was a good thing. The Stanley Cup Finals is set with New Jersey taking on Los Angeles, but not too much going on in Sabreland. The draft is approaching, and with two first-round and two second rounders, it'll be interesting to see what GM Darcy Regier does.
Time to play a little catch-up.
R.I.P Paul Cyr
The ninth overall selection in the 1982 draft, Cyr had a relatively short career (470 games,) and it's a shame that a heart attack at the age of 48 made his life even shorter.
Sabres ink defenseman Alexander Sulzer to a one-year extension
The "throw-in" in the Zack Kassian (and Marc-Andre Gragnani) for Cody Hodgson deal with Vancouver this past deadline played very well, especially beside his fellow German countryman, Christian Ehrhoff.
Athird-round pick in 2003 by Nashville, Sulzer was well traveled with minimal minutes in the NHL. But the Sabres, due to injuries, gave him the opportunity to showcase his talents, and he took advantage of it.
It makes for an interesting off-season for the team when it comes to defensemen. Buffalo has Ehrhoff, Tyler Myers, Robyn Regehr and Jordan Leopold in as their top-four. Sulzer and Andrej Sekera round out the defense corps.
Mike Weber is in the mix for a bottom-pairing/depth d-man. Thrown in rookie Brayden McNabb who's set to stake a claim on the blue line and the possibility of T.J. Brennan making a push and that's nine d-men who are NHL ready.
That doesn't include former first round pick (#23-overall, 2010) Mark Pysyk. The captain of the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL saw his junior career come to an end this past week.
For years Regier has been building defensive depth and the organization is loaded with prospects on the blue line.
Obviously, somethings got to give.
Quick notes on the Stanley Cup Finals
Both the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings made it to the Finals this playoffs with a relentless forecheck, solid defense and great goaltending. Both sides have the star power to beat top-notch goaltending as proven when the Devils beat Henrik Lundqvist of the NY Rangers and the Kings beat Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Ageless Martin Brodeur of the Devils and young Jonathan Quick of the Kings are both bonafide #1 goalies and should put an end, for now at least, to the debate on the importance of having a top-notch goalie in net for a championship team.
The Sabres have Ryan Miller in net and a defense that's on par with both teams. But what they don't have is the tenacity of a relentless forecheck and bonafide star power up-front.
How they address that in the near future is yet to be seen, but you can bet owner Terry Pegula has his charges searching for that type of player.
"The Dominator" looking to get back in the NHL
Dominik Hasek has been playing overseas since leaving Detroit in 2008 with two cup rings and it would seem as if he's looking to get back into the NHL.
He was in Detroit recently and hinted that he and his agent have some kind of plan.
Buffalo, of course, will be in the rumor mill mix as a potential destination for the former Sabre, but...really?
Hasek is 47 years old and although he's in great shape, his Gumby-like attributes have diminished with age. Maybe not a significant drop-off yet, but he ain't in his 20's or 30's anymore.
Hasek will be in the Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible. Maybe he should sign with the team who's cap he'll wear during his enshrinement. He said that it would be Detroit, completely shunning Buffalo where he garnered his Hall Of Fame credentials.
Maybe he'll let by-gones be by-gones and don a Sabres cap.
Doesn't matter. Sign with the team, retire and go into the Hall.
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