Hockey's anti-fighting crusaders should let real men play "a man's game."

Sabres' captain Steve Ott was on the Howard Simon Show in his weekly slot today and he got into a discussion with Simon and Jeremy White concerning fighting and it's role in the NHL.

In case you hadn't noticed, Ott is old-school. When Simon asked if he'd ever been in a line brawl like the most recent Calgary/Vancouver scrum, Ott said he'd been in many line brawls and that it was common in Junior, "probably five or six a year."

Tipper Gore and her Parents Music Resource Center
did battle with Frank Zappa during the 80's.
The soccer-mom mentality began with
Tipper and her overbearing crusade against music.

The brawl between Calgary and Vancouver--about which much has been written including a snipe from ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons--has once again brought fighting in hockey to the forefront.

And not in a good way either as it would seem that more and more people, including media members, are crusading against it.

Ask anyone who'd followed hockey for the last 40-50 years and they'll tell you that what occurred in Vancouver was commonplace back then. And pretty sure that Ott would feel right at home playing the likes of the Broadstreet Bullies and the Big, Bad Bruins.

So the question posed to Ott is this, with the NHL cracking down on fighting, and less of these tough-guy, line brawls happening does Ott, having gone through junior expecting stuff like that, miss it and take solace in a kinder, gentler NHL?

Any way you slice it, the Sabres have valuable players that playoff-bound teams would be interested in

Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray will be headed into the Olympic break--and the eventual trade deadline--with a plethora of players that playoff-bound clubs will find attractive.

Goalie Ryan Miller and scoring winger Matt Moulson are obvious candidates to fill high-profile needs like goaltending and scoring while gritty veteran Steve Ott would provide intangibles like sandpaper and leadership to go along with tangibles like faceoffs skills, hits and secodary scoring.

On Sabres fans booing the home team

Last summer Steve Ott came over from Dallas in a trade for Derek Roy.

Most Sabres fans were elated:  in comes anti-core player, out goes one of Darcy Regier's "core" players. In other words:  in comes grit, out goes soft-but-skilled.

In the short time that Ott has taken the ice for the Sabres, he's become a fan favorite with his rugged style of play as well as his production.

Many even wanted him named captain after Jason Pominville was shipped to Minnesota at the trade deadline.

That's how beloved he is in Buffalo.

Ott has battled many an opponent on the ice in defense of his teammates. And now he has himself an off-ice battle with the Sabres fans who are booing and mocking his teammates.

The fan-base has witnessed years of poor play for many years at the F'N Center. Much of that poor play has lead to losses. It even lead to the eventual firing of long-time coach Lindy Ruff.

But the fans of Buffalo seem to have taken booing the home team to another level.

In a game vs. Boston with the game tied, they booed the team when the powerplay languished.

Sunday night vs. New Jersey, the Devils pinned the Sabres in their own zone for more than 2 minutes, which is an eternity. Eventually Kevin Porter took a cross-checking penalty to end the onslaught. The Devils scored 5 seconds into the powerplay.

For the rest of the game, They gave a Bronx cheer on many occasions when the Sabres cleared their zone.

The boo-birds also came out throughout the game, a game they eventually won in a shootout.

So, in essence, not only do the Sabres have to overcome the opponent, but they also need to overcome a very ornery "home" crowd.

Ott was on WGR's Howard Simon Show this morning and gave his take on the booing (via Howard Simon):

"It's completely ridiculous," he said. “Its disheartening when we get hemmed in our zone and they’re basically mocking us. When you get up past the blue line and you finally get it in their zone after a minute and a half shift where they didn’t even have a scoring opportunity. I guess you can say it was more of the mocking of my teammates that probably pissed a lot of guys off including myself. You're a fan of the Buffalo Sabres and hopefully, you come to cheer us on and motivate us."

Pretty sure that statement didn't sit well with the fan-base. And if it weren't for Ott's stature with the fans, the e-mails and texts the show received after the interview would have been much more negative than the 50/50 split the host said it was.

I can imagine if Ryan Miller came out and said the same thing. There would be a strong contingency grabbing their pitchforks yelling, "Miller is a friggen cry baby who should take his ass and his $6M salary and get the hell out of town!!!"

One can understand the frustration of watching cute, uninspired/uninspiring play that more often than not ends up in a loss. It's been going on since the 2007/08 season.

But most of the players that were on those teams are gone and there are a lot of fresh faces who were not a part of that.

Ott continued, "We've got a lot of young players on this team and they definitely don't deserve to be booed. They deserve to have that excitement and energy. It’s definitely not their fault for the last six years of frustration that's gone on.”

And it's not their fault. They're doing the best they can with their God-given talents, their individual will and what limited knowledge rookie coach Ron Rolston gives them for guidance.

The booing by fans is ridiculous. In some ways and in some instances, there is probably a large group of fans who are subconsciously booing their own piss-poor existence. They look upon the Sabres (or Bills) vicariously as a way to make them feel better about themselves and their existence.

That's what entertainment is for.

And when they cannot derive any satisfaction from their life or from their escape, out come the boos.

That's life for the Buffalo players right now. And they'll need to overcome it, as if overcoming their short-comings, youth and their mid-season bottom-feeder standings wasn't enough.

One of the good things is that players without thick skin will wilt under the pressure and be exposed for the soft players they are.

We've already seen some of them either shipped out or not re-signed:  Roy, Tim Connolly, Pominville, Jordan Leopold and Brad Boyes to name a few. Drew Stafford seems to be another one who's set to exit.

All of these players are of the same ilk:  soft-but-skilled.

All of them a part of Regier's grand plan.

Players like Ott and Patrick Kaleta and even Nate Gerbe all play an honest game and have thick skin.

Miller and Thomas Vanek have loads of skill, but have also passed through a myriad of thresholds to make them mostly impervious to the negativity of the boo-birds. And, if they desire, they'll be able to take their talents elsewhere after next season as UFA's.

As for the youngins like Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson, Brian Flynn, Mark Pysyk, etc., it's a good learning tool and will eventually flesh out any dishonest, wimpy players coming up through the ranks.

And as the team moves forward, purging the core and building for the future, one should look at this stretch to see who's performing under these stressful circumstances. These are the ones that will be able to collectively push Sisyphus' boulder up the hill and (hopefully) over the top.

Steve Ott was absolutely right to call out the fans, as much as the fans have every right to boo.

There's one thing the he, along with Miller, needs to stress to his teammates though:  that in no way shape or form should this team be playing for the fans.

Fans are fickle and generally uneducated. There could be multiple reasons why they're in the mood they're in.

It's not that Sabres' fans don't "deserve" a championship with all the heartbreak they've been through. In fact in a fair world Buffalo would be at the front of the line.

But no man or team for that matter should be looked to as a savior for a community. It doesn't work that way. Just ask Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills.

Simply put, the Sabres should be of the mindset to win a championship for themselves first.

They should be playing for their own pride as well as their teammates. They should also be playing for their coaching staff, the management team and their owner who put the crest on their sweater.

Then and only then will the team be able to bring the Cup to Buffalo.

The players still need to acknowledge the crowd and should continue to salute them at center ice.

But they should never look upon themselves as a "savior" first, Buffalo Sabre second. It doesn't work and will only lead to more boos.

From the purgatory of the last five seasons to "Hockey Hell"

"It's not about talent, it's about playing a certain way right now."

So said Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers after yesterday's 4-0 loss to the NY Islanders which dropped Buffalo right to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

That loss was their second under interim coach Ron Rolston, fourth in a row and sixth in their last seven games. For the month of February they are 3-9.

The boo-birds were out in full force last night at the F'N Center and many started leaving with about 15 minutes left in the 3rd period after John Tavares put the Isles up 3-0.

Fans actually could have started exiting after Mark Streit and Michael Grabner scored goals 65 seconds apart late in the second period.

The Sabres are playing like crap right now, and what's truly amazing about this team is how they crumble at the first sign of adversity.

They nearly weathered another suspect second period last night--that 20-minute time frame which has been downfall of this team all season. Yes, one should question, or stare in disbelief, as to how Isles winger Matt Moulson could thread a cross-ice pass through four Buffalo defenders to a streaking Streit for a tap-in. But more than that, you need to question why veteran Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff would attempt a cross-ice pass at the NY blueline a minute later.

Grabner, who is noted for anticipating that kind of stupidity, turned it into a breakaway. Not only did he put the puck past Ryan Miller, but Ehrhoff's stick also went, as the defenseman attempted a limp-wristed stick check.

Miller, who has been outstanding in the last six games, looked as if he just said "Screw it" on the play. He has turned aside countless shots on odd-man rushes and defensive giveaways with the opponents looking at a gaping wide net. Miller had, and has had for years, a birds eye view of a turnover heading back his way. Most of the time he comes up with the save.

The Sabres netminder has clearly been frustrated this year, and when it was mentioned by Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times that his teammates seem to be frustrated as well, Miller chirped, "Well, it's about God Damn time."


**************

K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple, stupid.

"I keep saying it, but it's a little thing, it's so big," said Myers postgame, "make simple plays throughout an entire game."

This team, especially in front of a home crowd, tends to get too fancy. They try to put on a show when their talent-level doesn't allow for that level of fanciness. The result is usually a turnover that often finds the back of the Sabres net.

Ehrhoff should have known better. He is a veteran on this team. He should know his opponent, know who's on the ice and know what they like to do. He should also know that it's Hockey 101:  don't make a cross ice pass like that with three defenders pressing, dumb-ass.

"We're a good team with a lot of stupid mistakes right now," said Sabres forward Steve Ott. "And it sucks."

Sure does, Steve. Is it correctable?

"We're on the bottom on the ground right now," he continued, "we're kicked in. But it's the guys that rise, the character that has to continue to show and that's when the team can start getting out of this hole."

Agreed. But who on this team is willing to say, "Me. I'll take it?"


*************

Where are the "character" guys? Is it within the leadership group?

Alternate captain Thomas Vanek was there post game. He missed another golden opportunity and was robbed by Evgeni Nabokov as well. "I'm a goal scorer that's not scoring goals right now," said Vanek.

Miller was there post game. "Not a very strong performance overall," he said matter of factly, "Nothin' else, man." His interview was short. "I had an opportunity to at least keep it to a one goal game, and [I] didn't step up and take it," he added.

Captain Jason Pominville....

was no where to be found. Perhaps he was off somewhere looking for Roysie's blankie. Pominville has 2 goals, 2 assists and is a minus-3 during the 12 games of February. His play is languishing.

The other alternate captain, Drew Stafford, was no where to be found as well. Just like his offense. He has one goal this season.

Those three with the letters on their sweater are the remnants of GM Darcy Regier's "vaunted" core of skaters. Those three were chosen as leaders last season along with other "core" members Derek "Roysie" Roy and Paul Gaustad who were traded last year. Last season the team missed he playoffs and it seems as if this team will miss the playoffs this year as well.

Is it a leadership void or issue in the locker room, Mr. Ott?

"No, I think this leadership group is solid," he said post game. "It's definitely not a leadership or accountability aspect."

Just go ask them. Oh, that's right. Where's Pominville? Where's Stafford?

God love him. Ott is there after every game talking to the media and for him the glass is always half-full. Had he been around Buffalo as long as Ryan Miller, though, methinks he'd be throwing around some unprintable words.

The proof is in the pudding with this leadership group. There is no leadership. No character. No passion. No intestinal fortitude.


*************

"It's almost like 'Here we go again,'" said Myers.

Only it's worse.

Buffalo having a glass jaw is nothing new. But there was a time when only a few teams could put them on the ropes via one mistake. Now, it's pretty much every team in the league.

This team is pretty bad right now, so bad that Jessica Pegula, daughter of Sabres owner Terry Pegula, was said to have tweeted (and quickly rescinded,) "Lets just call a spade a spade. The Sabres are really bad... #makesmemad".

Ouch.

A spade is a spade. The core is the core. The home crowd is still booing. And the Sabres record is a clear indicator of how good this team is right now.

Will Rolston be able to fix this team?

I like how WGR's Paul Hamilton put it, "When you watch this team, they are who they are, and I’m not sure what Ron Rolston or any other coach can do about it." he wrote. "It’s a soft, mentally weak group and always has been. If Rolston can get that trait out of them, he should win the Jack Adams Trophy."

Rolston has been in the pro ranks for all of a year and a half. He went from teaching teenagers to dealing with pros in Rochester to dealing with well-to-do pros in Buffalo. That may be more of a jump than rookie Mikhail Grigorenko going from junior to the pros.

It's to the point now where Rolston may just be an evaluator and if they continue their descent into "Hockey Hell," that's all he should be doing, eventually giving player evaluation to his superiors so that they can decide which players they want moving forward.

There's no reason to believe that this team can make it out of the basement, no matter how much they try to simplify and avoid mistakes.

Not with remnants of "the core" in leadership positions.

This may be one of the worst seasons since 2002/03 when Regier finished the dismantling of "the hardest working team in hockey" on his way to building "a team built for the new NHL."

That was a bad year. And this one may be even worse.

This team is unwatchable right now, the losses keep piling up and the Sabres are looking at a draft pick that might be higher than Vanek at #5-overall.

But, as my friend Cisco put it, "If you're going to shit the bed, at least do it in the shortest ever season."

So, what's next?

With the fireworks over across the country, except for those communities who had them rained out, it's now on to the dog days of summer.

NHL GM's, though, still have some work to do even though the two biggest names in this year's free agent crop--Zack Parise and Ryan Suter--have officially signed with Minnesota

A couple of quick notes on Parise and Suter.

It's really great to see the Wild outbid the big-market teams and land those two as opposed to the Rangers, Flyers and Wings. It was a hefty price to pay--$98M over 13 years with $25M up-front--but they did it. And they should feel pretty good about it.

In Buffalo, GM Darcy Regier, is still looking for a #1 center--Colorado's Paul Stastny keeps coming up--and he may be looking to upgrade on the wing as Anaheim's Bobby Ryan is said to be on the market. Rick Nash has not been moved either.

Regier has done some pretty good tweaking to the roster thus far. Bringing in behemoth John Scott and his Hulk-like "smash" demeanor will be useful in certain situations.

But trading Derek Roy for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy really changes the team.

Roy had been a whipping boy in Buffalo for years, and it rarely had anything to with his production. For years after Chris Drury and Daniel Briere left, Roy was near a point/game pace.

But, what he really lacked, and what was sorely needed, were the intangibles in a top-six role.

Even though he wore a letter, he never really exuded leadership. He wasn't on the ice to bring toughness. Nor was he pesky.

He was a skater, "soft-but-skilled" incarnate.

For five seasons we watched a whole team of soft-but-skilled skaters. The Sabres over that time span were considered "easy to play against." And over that time period they never made it past the first round of the playoffs, having missed them altogether three times.

Steve Ott is the antithesis of Roy. He has the grit and the leadership. He goes north/south, goes through, and goes at it.

Unfortunately, he's a bottom-six winger as opposed to a top-six center. And the Sabres are really thin down the middle.

The teams' centers at this time are Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson, and Cody McCormick.

Ennis and Hodgson are young (both are 22) and still have bountiful upside, but they're untested. Ennis showed glimpses of possibly being a top-six, maybe even top-line, center late last season when he, Marcus Foligno and Drew Stafford went on a tear that almost got the team into the playoffs.

Hodgson got off to a real slow start with the Sabres, but seemed to finished a bit stronger last season. After the trade from Vancouver he seemed to settle in. He's presently training with Gary Roberts.

As for McCormick, although he still brings grit and toughness to the team, his lack of production last season may see him start the season in Rochester.

The trade of Roy means that the purging of Regier's "vaunted" core players has really kicked in.

All four of the teams' top centers from 2007-08 are now gone. Tim Connolly left last off-season for free agency, Paul Gaustad was traded to Nashville this past February and it looks as if Jochen Hecht will not be offered a contract for this season.

Regier has been doing a masterful job of retooling this team on the fly over the past five months and has brought a sense of excitement as to where the team is headed.

Let's hope he keeps it going.



More on the Roy/Ott trade from Dallas:
http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/07/02/12/Ott-trade-to-Sabres-a-definite-shocker/landing_stars.html?blockID=755390&feedID=9341


puckdaddy on the Roy/Ott deal:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/sabres-finally-trade-derek-roy-acquire-steve-ott-221635734--nhl.html