Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Such was the question coming from Buffalo Sabres play-by-play man Dan Dunleavy to rink-side analyst Rob Ray. Although you couldn't see him, you could hear a smile coming through when that question conjured up memories of a time when scenes like last night were commonplace. "Yeah, I love it," responded Ray, fondly recalling a raucous era of which he was a large part.
That was back in head coach Ted Nolan's first stint with the Sabres, and he had a rambunctious group to say the least. During the 1995-96 season, Matthew Barnaby, Brad May and Rob Ray accumulated 917 total penalty minutes, a good chunk of them from roughing calls and fighting majors. During that season, hockeyfights.com lists Barnaby with 28 fights, May with 17, and Ray, 27.
Of the three, though, the 6'0" 205 lb. Ray had the unenviable task of taking on the heavyweights. Yet he reveled in his role, never hesitating to drop 'em with the enforcers of the league like Todd Ewen, Ken Daneynko and Donald Brashear. His fights with Toronto's Tie Domi are legendary in both cities and he once had his orbital bone smashed by possibly the greatest fighter of all time, Tony Twist.
Showing posts with label rob ray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rob ray. Show all posts
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Let the 2012 off-season begin
The LA Kings won their first ever Stanley Cup as the 8th seed in the Western Conference. Darcy Regier had said around the trade deadline that a low seed has a good chance of winning it, and sure enough he was right. In fact he'd have been right in either case as the runner-up New Jersey Devils were the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.
Some notes from the Stanley Cup Final:
The Kings started every series on the road and won both games each time, something that was unprecedented. They beat the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seeds in the conference with only one series going six games (New Jersey.)
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick had a 1.41 gaa and a .946 save percentage.
GM Dean Lombardi built the Kings through the draft (Dustin Brown-2003, Anze Kopitar and Quick-2005, Thomas Hickey-2007, Drew Doughty #2 overall-2008. He augmented the team--Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene-2008, Willie Mitchell-2010.
In 2009 he began bringing in Stanley Cup winners with the trade for winger Justin Williams CAR, 2006.) Lombardi also signed unrestricted free agent Rob Scuderi (PIT, 2009) that same season. He also picked up Colin Fraser (CHI, 2010) in 2011.
Last off-season Lombardi went all-in up-front by trading two talented youngsters to Philadelphia for Mike Richards on June 23. On July 2 he augmented his scoring by signing Philadelphia UFA Simon Gagne. He completed the Flyers triumvirate by acquiring Jeff Carter. Three top-six forwards added to the line-up.
A masterful job by Lombardi.
There are no former Sabres on the Kings roster, but there were three on the Devils--defenseman Henrik Tallinder, winger Dainius Zubrus and Steve Bernier.
Tallinder was out of the line up until Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. He played well on the second-pairing but was vicimtimized by a strong forecheck throughout Game 6.
Zubrus was a non-factor in the last two rounds of the playoffs with no goals and three assists in 12 games to go along with a minus-four plus/minus rating.
As for Bernier, former Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's name is being frequently used with Bernier's.
Bernier was a part of the Brian Campbell trade at the deadline back in 2008. He came from San Jose' along with a 1st round pick (Tyler Ennis, #26 overall) for Campbell and a 7th rounder. After a ruckus first game with the Sabres he disappeared and eventually was traded to Vancouver in the 2008 off season for a 3rd rounder in 2009 (Brayden McNabb #66 overall) and a 2nd-rounder in 2010 (traded along with Nathan Paetsch to Columbus for Raffi Torres.)
Known more as an energy player than anything else, Bernier had a severe brain-cramp when he leveled Kings d-man Rob Scuderi from behind. He got a five minute major and a game misconduct.
“From my point of view, I don’t,” Bernier said when asked if the hit deserved a five-minute penalty. “I know he stayed down. It’s a fast game. There are hard hits all over the ice. You want to help your team win.”
The quote came from nj.com, in an article written to defend the player and direct the fans attention from rage to sympathy.
Rage may be a little strong. It's not like Boston in 1986 World Series when an 83 year Championship drought was on the line. The Devils having won three Cups in the last 18 years, took it all in stride as the champions they are.
No matter what anyone might say, though, it was a bone-headed move that cost the Devils the game and the ultimately the series. The Kings scored three goals on the power play which meant that the Devils needed four goals vs. Quick to win the game. They had scored seven goals total through the first five games.
And so it goes.
The Sabres are heading into the off season with four of the first 44 picks in the draft next weekend.
Director of Amateur Scouting, Kevin Devine, was on WGR yesterday saying that this is the most challenging draft he's had since becoming director.
Among the things he mentioned: injuries to the top prospects, the "Russian factor," and no player breaking from the pack.
Devine considers it a deep, balanced draft going as far to say that there's not much of a difference between their #12 and #21 picks. He also labeled the top five picks as "risky" and used that "risky" when describing the Russian players in the top-five.
The draft is deep with defensemen, an area of strength for the organization, but Devine goes on to say that the team should get two really good players with their first round picks. He mentions that there are some centers up their that look good to the team.
There will be a ton of mock drafts coming out in the next ten days, but Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com had his draft preview up last week. Among the players he has the Sabres looking at with the 12th pick are LW Teuvo Teravainen, D Cody Ceci and LW Pontus Aberg.
It's a good Sabres-centric read and some outstanding work by Baker.
The Sabres shook up the broadcast booth yesterday as well.
Rob Ray will be paired with play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret this season.
Make that Hall of Fame broadcaster, Rick Jeanneret . The long-time Sabres play-by-play man was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for Broadcasting and will be recognized at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto this November.
Ray will be Jeanneret's partner on the road from the booth and at home from his customary spot between the benches for home games.
He'll be replacing Harry Neale who moves to the studio to join Mike Robitaille for pregame and intermission reports.
Brian Duff will join the Sabres full-time as host for Sabres broadcasts and Kevin Sylvester heads to the WGR studios for a two-hour segment from 10AM to 12 noon called Sabres Hockey Hotline.
Ted Black on the Howard Simon Show this morning discussed the moves also saying that Jeanneret mentioning that he may have taken a little too much time off last season. So it would seem as if there will be more "RJ" this season. Which is good for Sabres fans.
Black also touched upon the needs for the organization mentioning that "they want to be a tougher team to play against," that they want to find "a top forward or top defenseman either through a trade, free agency, development within [the] system or perhaps some of the guys that didn't have the years that they had last year."
No mention of the draft in that statement, specifically no mention of landing a top-three/five impact player to help immediately. Couple that with Devine's "risk" aversion with the top prospects in the draft and it may be safe to say the the Sabres won't be trading into the top-five next week.
On other thing worth mentioning, Black had high praise for what GM Darcy Regier did in the trade with Nashville. He mentioned (without verification, he says) that in the past 30 years there were only 20 trade deadline deals that netted a team a first round pick and Regier got a first-rounder for Paul Gaustad, a "third/fourth line center."
The principals of the Sabres organization, according to Devine, will be meeting at Terry Pegula's place on Wednesday to discuss their plan of attack for this off-season which officially began with the Kings win last night.
Should be an interesting off-season.
Some notes from the Stanley Cup Final:
The Kings started every series on the road and won both games each time, something that was unprecedented. They beat the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seeds in the conference with only one series going six games (New Jersey.)
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick had a 1.41 gaa and a .946 save percentage.
GM Dean Lombardi built the Kings through the draft (Dustin Brown-2003, Anze Kopitar and Quick-2005, Thomas Hickey-2007, Drew Doughty #2 overall-2008. He augmented the team--Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene-2008, Willie Mitchell-2010.
In 2009 he began bringing in Stanley Cup winners with the trade for winger Justin Williams CAR, 2006.) Lombardi also signed unrestricted free agent Rob Scuderi (PIT, 2009) that same season. He also picked up Colin Fraser (CHI, 2010) in 2011.
Last off-season Lombardi went all-in up-front by trading two talented youngsters to Philadelphia for Mike Richards on June 23. On July 2 he augmented his scoring by signing Philadelphia UFA Simon Gagne. He completed the Flyers triumvirate by acquiring Jeff Carter. Three top-six forwards added to the line-up.
A masterful job by Lombardi.
**********
There are no former Sabres on the Kings roster, but there were three on the Devils--defenseman Henrik Tallinder, winger Dainius Zubrus and Steve Bernier.
Tallinder was out of the line up until Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. He played well on the second-pairing but was vicimtimized by a strong forecheck throughout Game 6.
Zubrus was a non-factor in the last two rounds of the playoffs with no goals and three assists in 12 games to go along with a minus-four plus/minus rating.
As for Bernier, former Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's name is being frequently used with Bernier's.
Bernier was a part of the Brian Campbell trade at the deadline back in 2008. He came from San Jose' along with a 1st round pick (Tyler Ennis, #26 overall) for Campbell and a 7th rounder. After a ruckus first game with the Sabres he disappeared and eventually was traded to Vancouver in the 2008 off season for a 3rd rounder in 2009 (Brayden McNabb #66 overall) and a 2nd-rounder in 2010 (traded along with Nathan Paetsch to Columbus for Raffi Torres.)
Known more as an energy player than anything else, Bernier had a severe brain-cramp when he leveled Kings d-man Rob Scuderi from behind. He got a five minute major and a game misconduct.
“From my point of view, I don’t,” Bernier said when asked if the hit deserved a five-minute penalty. “I know he stayed down. It’s a fast game. There are hard hits all over the ice. You want to help your team win.”
The quote came from nj.com, in an article written to defend the player and direct the fans attention from rage to sympathy.
Rage may be a little strong. It's not like Boston in 1986 World Series when an 83 year Championship drought was on the line. The Devils having won three Cups in the last 18 years, took it all in stride as the champions they are.
No matter what anyone might say, though, it was a bone-headed move that cost the Devils the game and the ultimately the series. The Kings scored three goals on the power play which meant that the Devils needed four goals vs. Quick to win the game. They had scored seven goals total through the first five games.
And so it goes.
**********
The Sabres are heading into the off season with four of the first 44 picks in the draft next weekend.
Director of Amateur Scouting, Kevin Devine, was on WGR yesterday saying that this is the most challenging draft he's had since becoming director.
Among the things he mentioned: injuries to the top prospects, the "Russian factor," and no player breaking from the pack.
Devine considers it a deep, balanced draft going as far to say that there's not much of a difference between their #12 and #21 picks. He also labeled the top five picks as "risky" and used that "risky" when describing the Russian players in the top-five.
The draft is deep with defensemen, an area of strength for the organization, but Devine goes on to say that the team should get two really good players with their first round picks. He mentions that there are some centers up their that look good to the team.
There will be a ton of mock drafts coming out in the next ten days, but Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com had his draft preview up last week. Among the players he has the Sabres looking at with the 12th pick are LW Teuvo Teravainen, D Cody Ceci and LW Pontus Aberg.
It's a good Sabres-centric read and some outstanding work by Baker.
**********
The Sabres shook up the broadcast booth yesterday as well.
Rob Ray will be paired with play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret this season.
Make that Hall of Fame broadcaster, Rick Jeanneret . The long-time Sabres play-by-play man was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for Broadcasting and will be recognized at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto this November.
Ray will be Jeanneret's partner on the road from the booth and at home from his customary spot between the benches for home games.
He'll be replacing Harry Neale who moves to the studio to join Mike Robitaille for pregame and intermission reports.
Brian Duff will join the Sabres full-time as host for Sabres broadcasts and Kevin Sylvester heads to the WGR studios for a two-hour segment from 10AM to 12 noon called Sabres Hockey Hotline.
Ted Black on the Howard Simon Show this morning discussed the moves also saying that Jeanneret mentioning that he may have taken a little too much time off last season. So it would seem as if there will be more "RJ" this season. Which is good for Sabres fans.
Black also touched upon the needs for the organization mentioning that "they want to be a tougher team to play against," that they want to find "a top forward or top defenseman either through a trade, free agency, development within [the] system or perhaps some of the guys that didn't have the years that they had last year."
No mention of the draft in that statement, specifically no mention of landing a top-three/five impact player to help immediately. Couple that with Devine's "risk" aversion with the top prospects in the draft and it may be safe to say the the Sabres won't be trading into the top-five next week.
On other thing worth mentioning, Black had high praise for what GM Darcy Regier did in the trade with Nashville. He mentioned (without verification, he says) that in the past 30 years there were only 20 trade deadline deals that netted a team a first round pick and Regier got a first-rounder for Paul Gaustad, a "third/fourth line center."
The principals of the Sabres organization, according to Devine, will be meeting at Terry Pegula's place on Wednesday to discuss their plan of attack for this off-season which officially began with the Kings win last night.
Should be an interesting off-season.
Friday, March 30, 2012
The Sabres are on their own in the playoff push (plus other notes)
Last night the Boston Bruins could have done the Buffalo Sabres a favor.
Of course, that's a phrase that doesn't work very well when it comes to a rivalry that dates back to the early days of the Sabres inception.
Or maybe, the Bruins could have done themselves a favor by securing a playoff spot with a win last night vs. the Washington Capitals. Two points would have put Boston in the playoffs.
Leave it to them to come back from two goals down late in the third period to tie the game, then lose in the fourth round of the shootout to a Washington team that needed the two points to stay right with Buffalo in the push for the final playoff spot.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, the team the Sabres meet tonight, could've helped Buffalo last Saturday as they faced a reeling Ottawa club. The Pens started their third goalie, Brad Thiessen, and he was promptly demolished in an 8-4 loss. The Sens gained a valuable two points as the Sabres are nippin' at their heels.
One week ago today, the Winnipeg Jets were battling for the eighth playoff spot with a game on the road vs. the Capitals. In a strange turn of events, the Jets overcame a three goal deficit in the third to force OT and ended up winning the game. And Sabres fans were thankful for that favor.
But Winnipeg, who's considered one of the best home teams in the league had a chance this past Monday to keep their playoff hopes alive as well as help the Sabres again. They faced Ottawa at home, and promptly lost 6-4.
So out of four games that the Sabres could have used some help on, in three they received none, and the fourth was partial help as Washington snared a loser point.
It's a good thing that Buffalo is in control of their own destiny. It's nearing the end of the season and weird things are happening as playoff teams are downshifting their intensity a bit as the playoffs near.
To be fair, everyone bemoaning the dismal state of the team had every right to feel that way. Sure the Sabres were losing and playing like crap, but for many it wasn't just that they were losing, but how they were losing. The just didn't seem to care.
While Black stressed patience, Owner Terry Pegula blamed the inordinate number of injuries to the team.
Neither seemed to realize that Sabres fans over the last four-plus seasons had been subject to Regier's patience (see Tim Connolly, Derek Roy, Max Afinogenov, the core, etc.) and had heard the injury excuse (2008/09) way too many times.
So when they blurted that out, the ire of fans reached crescendo level.
To be fair to both of them, injuries did play a major role in the teams' demise, although the injuries occurred mainly on the back-end and to goalie Ryan Miller. It should be interesting to note that as of January 2012, the defense-corps had gone through a major makeover dating back to the 2007 off-season. The core up-front remained intact with the "top-six" going through only a couple of changes.
So they were right in one sense and fans who'd been watching the team, were right as well.
It wasn't until a major blow to Regier's "core" was dealt as Paul Gaustad was shipped to Nashville at the deadline. Regier followed that up by bringing in a legit "top-six" center in Cody Hodgson that same day. Add in the fact that, finally, Tyler Ennis was moved to the pivot from wing and you have a pretty significant change in the top-six/nine. (plus we'll throw in Hodgson "throw-in," Alexander Sulzer, who's been rock-solid on defense, as having a positive influence on the Sabres fortunes)
Howard Simon asked Black if he had the urge to say "I told you so" to the doubters--both fans and media-types. After the obligatory "not really, we haven't won anything yet," Black comes out and says (2:35-mark) "I don't want this to slip into an 'I told you so' but earlier I said I liked the trajectory we were on. I'm dumbfounded that people don't think we're ahead of where we were a year ago."
Back in January during the Sabres plummet in the standings, Black was as "dumbfounded" as the Sabres' faithful. After a particularly excruciating loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on national TV, one that had the NBCSN hockey people criticizing the teams lack of competitiveness, he actually apologized on his weekly WGR spot "I apologize to the fans," he said, "it's not what we envisioned. It's painful for us and I'm sure it's more painful for the fans."
As the Sabres PR man, Black did a good job of dancing around the debacle unfolding but he seemed to be leaning towards next season without coming out and saying it. He mentioned sticking to "what they'd said all along" concerning Regier and Ruff, although he never mentioned what it was and never gave an outright vote of confidence. He referred to "the core" group of players on the team as "the Rochester Guys" and mentioned that "over a two or three year period teams flip over for the most part," indicating that a big changeover was coming.
And, when asked about how he'll approach the rest of the season--whether he'll be adding a piece for a run or selling pieces for next year-- his thoughts seemed to be leaning heavily towards next season, "you could argue either of those points," he said, "or a hybrid. By hybrid, I mean, maybe there's an opportunity to peel off pieces for future games, perhaps there's an opportunity to get a piece that either helps this year or next year."
Message to Ted Black, we Sabres fans have been "dumbfounded" for years starting with the 2007 off-season. This is not to take away anything that the Pegula regime is trying to accomplish, but we've waded through so much bullshit, words like "patience" and excuses like "injuries," no matter how valid they may or may not be, do not resonate well.
Of course, that's a phrase that doesn't work very well when it comes to a rivalry that dates back to the early days of the Sabres inception.
Or maybe, the Bruins could have done themselves a favor by securing a playoff spot with a win last night vs. the Washington Capitals. Two points would have put Boston in the playoffs.
Leave it to them to come back from two goals down late in the third period to tie the game, then lose in the fourth round of the shootout to a Washington team that needed the two points to stay right with Buffalo in the push for the final playoff spot.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, the team the Sabres meet tonight, could've helped Buffalo last Saturday as they faced a reeling Ottawa club. The Pens started their third goalie, Brad Thiessen, and he was promptly demolished in an 8-4 loss. The Sens gained a valuable two points as the Sabres are nippin' at their heels.
One week ago today, the Winnipeg Jets were battling for the eighth playoff spot with a game on the road vs. the Capitals. In a strange turn of events, the Jets overcame a three goal deficit in the third to force OT and ended up winning the game. And Sabres fans were thankful for that favor.
But Winnipeg, who's considered one of the best home teams in the league had a chance this past Monday to keep their playoff hopes alive as well as help the Sabres again. They faced Ottawa at home, and promptly lost 6-4.
So out of four games that the Sabres could have used some help on, in three they received none, and the fourth was partial help as Washington snared a loser point.
It's a good thing that Buffalo is in control of their own destiny. It's nearing the end of the season and weird things are happening as playoff teams are downshifting their intensity a bit as the playoffs near.
**********
Ted Black trys to refrain from "I told ya so," but really couldn't.
Sabres President Ted Black did his weekly radio show on WGR yesterday and tried not to say "I told you so" when asked if injuries were the main problem with the team two months ago.
The Sabres were in the East cellar, they couldn't win on the road and everybody had nearly every Sabres' player traded or demoted. They had Head Coach Lindy Ruff getting fired or moved within the organization and GM Darcy Reiger on a one-way flight to Uzbekistan.
To be fair, everyone bemoaning the dismal state of the team had every right to feel that way. Sure the Sabres were losing and playing like crap, but for many it wasn't just that they were losing, but how they were losing. The just didn't seem to care.
While Black stressed patience, Owner Terry Pegula blamed the inordinate number of injuries to the team.
Neither seemed to realize that Sabres fans over the last four-plus seasons had been subject to Regier's patience (see Tim Connolly, Derek Roy, Max Afinogenov, the core, etc.) and had heard the injury excuse (2008/09) way too many times.
So when they blurted that out, the ire of fans reached crescendo level.
To be fair to both of them, injuries did play a major role in the teams' demise, although the injuries occurred mainly on the back-end and to goalie Ryan Miller. It should be interesting to note that as of January 2012, the defense-corps had gone through a major makeover dating back to the 2007 off-season. The core up-front remained intact with the "top-six" going through only a couple of changes.
So they were right in one sense and fans who'd been watching the team, were right as well.
It wasn't until a major blow to Regier's "core" was dealt as Paul Gaustad was shipped to Nashville at the deadline. Regier followed that up by bringing in a legit "top-six" center in Cody Hodgson that same day. Add in the fact that, finally, Tyler Ennis was moved to the pivot from wing and you have a pretty significant change in the top-six/nine. (plus we'll throw in Hodgson "throw-in," Alexander Sulzer, who's been rock-solid on defense, as having a positive influence on the Sabres fortunes)
Howard Simon asked Black if he had the urge to say "I told you so" to the doubters--both fans and media-types. After the obligatory "not really, we haven't won anything yet," Black comes out and says (2:35-mark) "I don't want this to slip into an 'I told you so' but earlier I said I liked the trajectory we were on. I'm dumbfounded that people don't think we're ahead of where we were a year ago."
Back in January during the Sabres plummet in the standings, Black was as "dumbfounded" as the Sabres' faithful. After a particularly excruciating loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on national TV, one that had the NBCSN hockey people criticizing the teams lack of competitiveness, he actually apologized on his weekly WGR spot "I apologize to the fans," he said, "it's not what we envisioned. It's painful for us and I'm sure it's more painful for the fans."
As the Sabres PR man, Black did a good job of dancing around the debacle unfolding but he seemed to be leaning towards next season without coming out and saying it. He mentioned sticking to "what they'd said all along" concerning Regier and Ruff, although he never mentioned what it was and never gave an outright vote of confidence. He referred to "the core" group of players on the team as "the Rochester Guys" and mentioned that "over a two or three year period teams flip over for the most part," indicating that a big changeover was coming.
And, when asked about how he'll approach the rest of the season--whether he'll be adding a piece for a run or selling pieces for next year-- his thoughts seemed to be leaning heavily towards next season, "you could argue either of those points," he said, "or a hybrid. By hybrid, I mean, maybe there's an opportunity to peel off pieces for future games, perhaps there's an opportunity to get a piece that either helps this year or next year."
Message to Ted Black, we Sabres fans have been "dumbfounded" for years starting with the 2007 off-season. This is not to take away anything that the Pegula regime is trying to accomplish, but we've waded through so much bullshit, words like "patience" and excuses like "injuries," no matter how valid they may or may not be, do not resonate well.
**********
Say what you will about Regier, and I've said plenty and have wanted him fired for years.
But you can't take away what he accomplished at the deadline.
Cody Hodgson seems to be acclimating himself to his new team, teammates and linemates and shows top-six center promise.
The "throw-in" in the deal seems to be Alexander Sulzer. Sulzer has been nothing short of a revelation, though.
He's been paired with fellow German Christian Ehrhoff and has played real solid, nearly mistake free hockey.
For his part, Regier has been getting accolades for his team's incredible run since February 17 when they sat 10 points out of a playoff spot in 14th place.
Yesterday on NHL Network's NHL Hour with Commisioner Gary Bettman, Regier got to talk with big chief thunderclap himself concerning his team and what they've accomplished thus far.
Regier took the humble approach, "Where we are now, it's cautious optimism," he said, "you're respectfully grateful for where you are, recognizing you're not out of the woods yet."
Like Black Pegula before him, Regier mentioned injuries as playing a role in the near despondency the team was facing in January. The big injury for him being goalie Ryan Miller who he said, "Even though he came back and played I didn't think he was quite right, back to his normal form."
He touched upon other things like NY Islanders mentors GM Bill Torrey and Coach Al Arbour--giving them both high praise and thanks--as well as his and Ruff's relationship.
It's a good read: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=624899
**********
Before the big Washington Capitals match-up this week, Rob Ray, who was on the road with the team for a change, had this to say about the Capitals on WGR's Mike Schopp and the Bulldog before Tuesday's game "As far as the team?" he said, "you're not sure what you're gonna get."
He said that those involved with the Caps "don't know what to think, they don't know who's gonna show up, they don't know what players are gonna come to play. There are just so many questions they don't even want to predict how they're gonna play."
And that included Alexander Ovechkin. Bulldog was sure the "Ovie" would be showing up especially after his nine goal in seven game tear.
Ray had different thoughts, though, "You would think he (Ovechkin) would [show up], but I wouldn't bet a dime on it," he said. "Because it's happened too many times when you've seen him do that this year and then he kind of asleep for a few games." He concluded that he hoped Ovechkin "would take a real big nap for the game."
"The Oracle" that is Rob Ray.
Sure enough, the Caps dropped a crucial game to the Sabres 5-1 and Ovechkin's lackadaisical play at the blue-line on the powerplay lead to Jason Pominville's short-handed goal, a goal that pretty much sealed their fate.
Let's hope they have at least one more slip-up for the Caps the remainder of the season.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Rob Ray nails it on WGR
A couple days ago, Rob Ray was on WGR with Mike Schopp and had some interesting insights into the make-up of the Buffalo Sabres.
There's a progression that starts out with Jaromir Jagr and how he seems to appreciate what he's got in the NHL right now, which is a far cry from the perception of Jagr as a loafer post-Pittsburgh, pre-Philadelphia, his current team.
Ray hearkens back to Jagr's early days when the skilled forward "had no choice but to work hard because of Mario Lemieux and the guys that surrounded him." Once they left, Jagr became "a little sloppy and lazy" but now because of his new found appreciation for the NHL, Ray says that "he's become the perfect role model for these young guys [on Philadelphia]."
Schopp then directs the conversation to Drew Stafford and how the big forward doesn't seem to use his attributes like he should and he mentions the lack of a mentor for Stafford once Chris Drury left.
Getting to the root of it all, Ray begins to lay out what could be considered the most profound of Darcy Regier's design flaw when building the Buffalo Sabres during his 14-year tenure as GM for the team: the lack of veteran leadership.
WGR's beat writer Paul Hamilton has pointed out on numerous occasions over the past four to five years that there's no one on the ice that can keep this team calm when the pressure is on. There's no one on this team that says, "don't worry, I got it," as he's put it. At the first sign of adversity, the Sabres invariably fold. In fact Hamilton went as far to say on numerous occasions this season recently that this lack of intestinal fortitude and leadership is the identity of the team.
And no truer words have been said.
Go back to the 2002/03 and you'll see not only lack of center depth, but a lack of veteran leaders on the team. That all changed during in the months from the deadline to the off-season when the Regier acquired centers Daniel Briere and Stanley Cup winner Chris Drury. The following season the team was back on the upswing.
Following their departure along with the likes of Mike Grier, among others, the mantel of leadership fell to the young "core." They missed the playoffs in 2008 and 2009 and it was attributed to a "core" that was growing into their new roles as leaders on the team.
Not one player on that 2007/08 team had a Stanley Cup on their resume' and only three could be considered veteran "warhorses" of the playoffs--defensemen Teppo Numminen, Jaroslav Spacek and Toni Lydman. Numminen had never made it past the second round, but had years of playoff experience while Spacek and Lydman had both made it to Game-7 in the Finals in a losing cause (Spacek, Edmonton, 2006; Lydman, Calgary, 2004.)
The 2008/09 team was essentially the same save for the addition of defenseman Craig Rivet and the return of Numinnen who was out for all but one game the previous season. Yet, the result was the same, missed the playoffs. There was a convienient excuse for Sabres management that season, both Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek missed a chunk of time due to injury.
On a side note, Miller's injury was "lower body" caused when NY Rangers forward Scott Gomez, ran the goalie behind the net. Also of note, there was no on-ice retribution at the time.
Who would have thought that the return of forward Mike Grier for the 2009/10 season could make such a difference. Sure, he was getting up there in age and was very limited in the scoring department, but the leadership he brought this team propelled them to the Northeast Division crown and their first playoff appearance since the 2006/07 season.
Not only that, with a tight defense, buoyed by the addition of Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers, Ryan Miller had the best season of his career and wound up with the Vezina Trophy.
Grier was joined by Stanley Cup winner, Rob Neidermayer up front for the 2010/11 season along with veteran d-man Jordan Leopold and the team took Philadelphia to Game-7 of the opening round, only to fall short.
Grier and Neidermayer retired before this season. Their veteran leadership up-front was not replaced, although the team did add solid vets on the back-end in Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff.
The 2011/12 season can be dubbed "the year of the core." This is the year the those who came together in Rochester during the lockout were to have matured enough to take the mantel of leadership on the team. Former Alternate Captain Jason Pominville wore the "C" and Derek Roy continued with the "A." Another "Rochester-guy" (in the words of Sabres' President, Ted Black,) Thomas Vanek was named Alternate Captain (having served in that capacity for half of the previous season.
Two other forwards, Paul Gaustad, who had worn the "A" before, and Drew Stafford became the other alternate captains.
Five forwards, five of Regier's "core players" and one miserable season where they could end up with a top-five draft pick this June.
So what happened?
"When ya got young guys," Ray says (5:15-mark), "it doesn't matter how talented they are, or what they've done in the past, what you think they might do or how big, it doesn't matter. If you don't have those veteran guys around that are going to teach them the game, and even the game within the game, and life away from the game, then you're kinda just wasting time."
He continues, "You're gonna get improvement out of them, but you're not gonna get the best out of them because I don't care how much the coach coaches, you learn more from the guys around you. You don't learn the game from the coach, you learn it from the veteran players in the room."
Going back to the 2002/03 season, and 2007/08, and this season as well, the prevailing theme, and possibly the ultimate reason for poor, underachieving performances has been the lack of leadership up-front to guide Regier's "core."
Ray gave mad props to former Sabre Dave Andreychuk for the latter's leadership and contributions to the development of himself and the other young players. It was something that Andreychuk did willingly. And he carried that to Tampa Bay, being instrumental in that teams' first Stanley Cup.
Ray sums it up this way, in a way that pretty much sums up why the current edition of the Buffalo Sabres sit near the bottom of the league, "If you don't have that type of person working with your young guys, it's gonna take a lot longer for them to develop sometimes, and sometimes they'll never, ever get it."
http://audio.wgr550.com/a/51985932/2-16-rob-ray.htm?pageid=28473
There's a progression that starts out with Jaromir Jagr and how he seems to appreciate what he's got in the NHL right now, which is a far cry from the perception of Jagr as a loafer post-Pittsburgh, pre-Philadelphia, his current team.
Ray hearkens back to Jagr's early days when the skilled forward "had no choice but to work hard because of Mario Lemieux and the guys that surrounded him." Once they left, Jagr became "a little sloppy and lazy" but now because of his new found appreciation for the NHL, Ray says that "he's become the perfect role model for these young guys [on Philadelphia]."
Schopp then directs the conversation to Drew Stafford and how the big forward doesn't seem to use his attributes like he should and he mentions the lack of a mentor for Stafford once Chris Drury left.
Getting to the root of it all, Ray begins to lay out what could be considered the most profound of Darcy Regier's design flaw when building the Buffalo Sabres during his 14-year tenure as GM for the team: the lack of veteran leadership.
WGR's beat writer Paul Hamilton has pointed out on numerous occasions over the past four to five years that there's no one on the ice that can keep this team calm when the pressure is on. There's no one on this team that says, "don't worry, I got it," as he's put it. At the first sign of adversity, the Sabres invariably fold. In fact Hamilton went as far to say on numerous occasions this season recently that this lack of intestinal fortitude and leadership is the identity of the team.
And no truer words have been said.
Go back to the 2002/03 and you'll see not only lack of center depth, but a lack of veteran leaders on the team. That all changed during in the months from the deadline to the off-season when the Regier acquired centers Daniel Briere and Stanley Cup winner Chris Drury. The following season the team was back on the upswing.
Following their departure along with the likes of Mike Grier, among others, the mantel of leadership fell to the young "core." They missed the playoffs in 2008 and 2009 and it was attributed to a "core" that was growing into their new roles as leaders on the team.
Not one player on that 2007/08 team had a Stanley Cup on their resume' and only three could be considered veteran "warhorses" of the playoffs--defensemen Teppo Numminen, Jaroslav Spacek and Toni Lydman. Numminen had never made it past the second round, but had years of playoff experience while Spacek and Lydman had both made it to Game-7 in the Finals in a losing cause (Spacek, Edmonton, 2006; Lydman, Calgary, 2004.)
The 2008/09 team was essentially the same save for the addition of defenseman Craig Rivet and the return of Numinnen who was out for all but one game the previous season. Yet, the result was the same, missed the playoffs. There was a convienient excuse for Sabres management that season, both Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek missed a chunk of time due to injury.
On a side note, Miller's injury was "lower body" caused when NY Rangers forward Scott Gomez, ran the goalie behind the net. Also of note, there was no on-ice retribution at the time.
Who would have thought that the return of forward Mike Grier for the 2009/10 season could make such a difference. Sure, he was getting up there in age and was very limited in the scoring department, but the leadership he brought this team propelled them to the Northeast Division crown and their first playoff appearance since the 2006/07 season.
Not only that, with a tight defense, buoyed by the addition of Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers, Ryan Miller had the best season of his career and wound up with the Vezina Trophy.
Grier was joined by Stanley Cup winner, Rob Neidermayer up front for the 2010/11 season along with veteran d-man Jordan Leopold and the team took Philadelphia to Game-7 of the opening round, only to fall short.
Grier and Neidermayer retired before this season. Their veteran leadership up-front was not replaced, although the team did add solid vets on the back-end in Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff.
The 2011/12 season can be dubbed "the year of the core." This is the year the those who came together in Rochester during the lockout were to have matured enough to take the mantel of leadership on the team. Former Alternate Captain Jason Pominville wore the "C" and Derek Roy continued with the "A." Another "Rochester-guy" (in the words of Sabres' President, Ted Black,) Thomas Vanek was named Alternate Captain (having served in that capacity for half of the previous season.
Two other forwards, Paul Gaustad, who had worn the "A" before, and Drew Stafford became the other alternate captains.
Five forwards, five of Regier's "core players" and one miserable season where they could end up with a top-five draft pick this June.
So what happened?
"When ya got young guys," Ray says (5:15-mark), "it doesn't matter how talented they are, or what they've done in the past, what you think they might do or how big, it doesn't matter. If you don't have those veteran guys around that are going to teach them the game, and even the game within the game, and life away from the game, then you're kinda just wasting time."
He continues, "You're gonna get improvement out of them, but you're not gonna get the best out of them because I don't care how much the coach coaches, you learn more from the guys around you. You don't learn the game from the coach, you learn it from the veteran players in the room."
Going back to the 2002/03 season, and 2007/08, and this season as well, the prevailing theme, and possibly the ultimate reason for poor, underachieving performances has been the lack of leadership up-front to guide Regier's "core."
Ray gave mad props to former Sabre Dave Andreychuk for the latter's leadership and contributions to the development of himself and the other young players. It was something that Andreychuk did willingly. And he carried that to Tampa Bay, being instrumental in that teams' first Stanley Cup.
Ray sums it up this way, in a way that pretty much sums up why the current edition of the Buffalo Sabres sit near the bottom of the league, "If you don't have that type of person working with your young guys, it's gonna take a lot longer for them to develop sometimes, and sometimes they'll never, ever get it."
http://audio.wgr550.com/a/51985932/2-16-rob-ray.htm?pageid=28473
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