The Sabres should continue doing what they've been doing the past two games...

worry about competing and playing hockey.

The Toronto Maple Leaves have their pugnacity and truculence, as well as a number of pugilists who will drop the gloves. They also have a pack mentality and won't hesitate to jump an opposing player as a third man in.

Buffalo Sabres enforcer John Scott gets jumped from behind
by Leaves tough-guy Frazer McLaren. Scott was assessed
14 mins in penalties and was cofused as to why.
(photo from Associated Press)

Good for them. As thug-like as they may be, they're a bit of old-school, and it serves them well. Last season

that identity lead them to the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

The Buffalo Sabres are struggling and in the midst of an ugly transition period. They lack the overall skill to compete with the better clubs, but they do have some overall grit and character to at least hold their own in an alley brawl.

In fact they stand up to Toronto pretty well and only get into trouble when two or more Leaves jump them (see video below, 4:35-mark,) which has happened in two of the last three meetings between the fierce rivals. (click here for access to the September line brawl.)

As much as the Sabres are fighting for respect, both literally and figuratively, having a "Gangs of New York" brawl doesn't do much for a struggling Buffalo team. And as much as this Sabres fan would love to see one-on-one fisticuffs between the teams' pugilists, the Sabres have other pressing problems right now.

New head coach Ted Nolan had a message for his troops when he took over as interim coach. He wants them to focus upon competing and playing hockey. That's what he directed enforcer John Scott to do. That's why Patrick Kaleta is still in Rochester.

And as for Toronto and Buffalo engaging in a line brawl over the weekend? Nolan instructed Scott to back off from any staged confrontation, especially with the Leaves heavyweights Colton Orr or Frazer McLaren (or even if the Leaves "Princess Phaneuf" [snicker, snicker] tries to ignite a brawl.)

There will come a time when the Sabres will engage in a street brawl with the Leaves, but not right now. An individual bout here and there like Sabres captain Steve Ott landing a couple of haymakers to the face of David Clarkson or John "Gulliver" Scott getting jumped by a group of Lilliputians in blue and white sweaters will have to do.



(video from Fred Murtz)


The Sabres came away with a split in the home-and-home vs. the Leaves this weekend, playing some pretty good hockey in the process.

Their 3-1 victory at home was an inspiring game in Nolan's return to the bench in Buffalo for the first time in 16 years. And it should have been.

Last night the team fell into their usual rut to start the game and found themselves in a 3-0 hole headed into the third period. A valiant effort brought them to within a goal but a late penalty and late powerplay goal by Toronto's Mason Raymond with just over a minute to play sealed their fate.

The Buffalo Sabres have proven that they're willing to stand up to anybody as evidenced by their leading the league in fights.

But their 5-16-1 record, 11 total pts. and last place standing in the league indicate that they have much more pressing problems than worrying about getting jumped by the Leaves.

They'll be able to take care of that later.







Thanks to Maple Leafs Online for the above video

The Hockey News' Ken Campbell is misguided

Two days ago Sabres owner Terry Pegula dropped a bomb on the hockey world by firing long-time GM Darcy Regier and his head coach Ron Rolston. Pegula hired Sabre-legend Pat LaFontaine as Director of Hockey Operations and LaFontaine dropped his own bomb by hiring former Sabres coach, and 1997 Jack Adams Award winner, Ted Nolan to straighten things out on the ice.

Everyone has an opinion on the matter. Hell, even ESPN gave some airtime to the firing.

The troublesome part about everyone's opinion is that some of them can be asinine and/or seriously misguided.

The basic facts were in place:  Regier served as GM in Buffalo for over 16 years, the team was rebuilding, the team was a mess, etc.

Pegula, an owner with the financial wherewithal to spend money like the Toronto Maple Leaves, Philadelphia Flyers and NY Rangers, had freed Regier of the financial shackles from the previous regime and was rewarded with a $27m Ville Leino contract.

Those are the facts, and anyone from posters on rumor sites to the best hockey writers in North America have those facts out front of them. But it's the surrounding grey areas where the writer uses their knowledge to grasp the situation and consequently offer their opinion on it.

In the case of the Buffalo Sabres and their short history under Pegula, probably the most egregious misinterpretation of what's going on, and what has been going on in Buffalo, comes from The Hockey News' Ken Campbell.

Being Canada's "hockey publication," The Hockey News is required to opine on everything hockey related. The writers for the publication, of course, are looked upon for their "expert" analysis of every hockey situation, no matter how far removed from the matter they might be.

Toronto is only a stone's throw away from Buffalo, but Campbell may as well be in Edmonton when he says that Pegula has done more harm on the ice than good.

On the surface, Campbell has a point and his overall premise is sound:  Pegula took over a team that made the playoffs as a 7th seed and took the Flyers to seven games in the first round before bowing out. Since then, the team has taken a nose-dive to the bottom of the standings.

Those are simple facts.

He's also correct in pointing out that throwing money around doesn't necessarily equate to a Stanley Cup.

Pegula allowed Regier to waste a ton of money on the aforementioned contract of Leino as well as toss some serious cash to Christian Ehrhoff and Tyler Myers. Campbell would be correct to varying degrees concerning those contracts. But for Buffalo fans who were accustomed to tight spending ever since the Rigas' were busted for embezzlement, it was a lot of fun watching the Sabres trade for the rights to Ehrhoff then signing him long-term without financial worry.

It was also refreshing to see them sign Myers to a long-term contract early-on instead of wondering whether or not the former Calder-winner would be headed out the door as soon as he became unrestricted. It was unusual for Buffalo to target a player that early and dub him a core player.

Those were two clear-cut departures from the previous regime and regardless of outcome, both were seemed like pretty solid moves at the time. They just haven't worked out as planned. Yet.

As for the Leino contract? That was just plain bad.

But, for Campbell to say that "those moves have crippled the Sabres" to the point where they needed to trade Jason Pominville because of future cap problems is far removed from the truth.

Those contracts have nothing to do with the trading away of Pominville or (eventually) Thomas Vanek for that matter. Nor will they affect the future of impending UFA Ryan Miller.

Those moves have nothing to do with a "downward spiral that has resulted in the Sabres having to tear down and rebuild" either.

The tear-down and rebuild was already in motion prior to the Pominville trade. Piece by piece, Regier's core was being dismantled and a full-fledged rebuild was necessary not because of financial considerations, but because the core that Regier built was stuck in the middle--an average team that as constructed, was too good to finish at the bottom of the league but not good enough to even sniff the Stanley Cup.

They did have individual talent, but on the whole were a vanilla team that lacked an identity.

Regier's core did not have the talent to skate with the likes of Pittsburgh and Chicago, nor did they have the grit and toughness to overcome Philly and Boston, nor did they have the defensive prowess to be able to handle a puck-possession team like Detroit.

They lacked intestinal fortitude, clutch scoring and an internal fire and desire to compete on a regular basis.

It needed to be dismantled, not because they couldn't afford the key players, but because those key players just weren't getting the job done, nor did it look like they'd be able to get it done in the future.

Pegula's spending really didn't hurt the team on the ice, rather the Sabres were done in lagely by poor drafting for a big chunk of the years surrounding the 2004 lockout.

Take out the easy pick, Vanek, from one of the greatest draft classes of all time, 2003, and you have mostly bad to slightly above-average first round picks from 2000 to 2006--picks that would be in various stages of their prime right now had they worked out.

For a small market team, having that many misses in the first round was the kiss of death.

There has been plenty of talk at the foot of Washington St. concerning building through the draft. Pegula and his charges are now fully committed to building a foundation homegrown players.

All the free-spending, including the locker room, is merely cosmetic stuff.

What was lost in Pegula's first presser and his free-spending summer of 2011, was when he said that "there's no NHL salary cap on scouting budgets and player development budgets" and how he planned on increasing both.

Underneath the surface is a dedication to rebuilding their scouting staff and a commitment to player development. The years of the "Video-scout 3000" scouting department are gone. According to Sabres President Ted Black, they have over 25 scouts out there now including an increased presence overseas.

"Mr. Moneybags" has also allowed AGM/Director of Amateur Scouting Kevin Devine to hold their own Sabres Combine to get an up-close look at draft prospects. And he is also footing the bill for an annual trip to the Traverse City Tournament.

The buzzphrase at the LaFontaine/Nolan presser two days ago was "changing the culture."

LaFontaine will be heading a hockey department and building a team based upon another Pegula directive, "I want not only statistically good players, but winners, gritty players," he said. It's another nugget from Pegula's initial press conference got lost amidst the talk of drilling oil wells and "the reason for the existence of the Sabres," etc.

And for Sabres fans who have been watching Regier's core game-in, game-out, that statement meant "anti-core."

One must remember that Pegula's introduction to hockey was back in the mid-70's, first with the Broad Street Bullies, going as far to say that it was their style that got him into hockey in the first place. He then fell in love with "The French Connection."

The core that Regier built was neither, yet somehow he convinced Pegula that with a little tweaking and some free agents, the team he built could compete for the Stanley Cup.

Regier failed, and his team is being dismantled right down to the very foundations of the organization.

This is a true and complete rebuild that had very little to do with finances, Mr. Campbell, and more to do with culture, more specifically the changing of a culture that has been instilled for 16 yrs.

Once the Sabres have built a foundation through the draft it will be time to start spending Pegula's money on players again.

Can't wait.

The Regier era ends and the LaFontaine era begins

In a back-to-the-future move, the Buffalo Sabres announced yesterday that long-time Sabres GM Darcy Regier has been fired and former Sabre-great Pat LaFontaine has been named Director of Hockey Operations.

In addition, Sabres head coach Ron Rolston has been fired and replaced by former Sabres coach, and 1997 Jack Adams Award winner, Ted Nolan.

Back to 1996.

It was a major shock to the collective system of Buffalo sports fans. The shocking part wasn't that Regier and Rolston were fired, considering the performance of the team and the overall toxic atmosphere permeating Washington St., the shocking part is that it actually happened.

Regier has had more lives in his 17 or so years than Felix the Cat, and has gotten away with countless faux pas'. But just when it looked as if he'd finally get shown the door, he'd either pull off a "hockey genius" type of move or ownership would change.

Unlike most franchises in major sports, Regier was a constant through four different owners. Instead of one owner going through four GM's over a 17 yr. period, Regier the GM lasted through four owners.

And so it goes.

The future is finally now and Sabres owner Pegula couldn't have done better with the hiring of LaFontaine, who is a legend in Buffalo.

During yesterday's presser, LaFontaine seemed confident and at ease with what was before him. He knew what was happening, and seems to have a firm grasp as to what needs to be done.

Whether it was a PR move or genuine hockey move--or a likely combination of both--the fan base stood on it's ear with the hiring.

And if that wasn't enough, LaFontaine's first move was to hire his former Sabres coach in Nolan.

Nolan had come full circle sitting at the press table, in effect taking the place of Regier who had sat there 17 years earlier announcing that Nolan had been relieved of his duties.


Ted Nolan and Pat LaFontaine--
Grit and skill.

It was all taken in stride as the former coach, clearly still somewhat embittered, bit his tongue and kept it positive even going as far to say that if what had preceded hadn't happened, he wouldn't be sitting there right now.

Nolan was also overtaken by emotions at times, seemingly overwhelmed with his place at the table, almost like a prodigal son. He was humbled and sincere and extremely grateful that he got the call from LaFontaine to become Buffalo's interim coach--"interim" being the operative word.

It was a good move for the new Director of Hockey Ops. Nolan will be in charge of weeding out the slackers while instilling discipline and a sense of compete. And maybe most important, as mentioned by former Sabres captain Michael Peca, his hiring energized the fan-base.

In addition to Nolan, LaFontaine laid out a few other organizational things at the presser.

First, he said flat-out that he's not a GM. The search for a new one is on, and until then he will be working with Assistant GM Kevin Devine with personnel in Buffalo, Rochester and next year's draft..

He also made it clear that Nolan is the interim coach of the Sabres and that a new GM will pick his coach.


The Buffalo Sabres
retired Pat LaFontaine's
number 16 in
March, 2006



Assistant coaches Joe Sacco, Teppo Numminen and Jerry Forton will be retained as well as goalie coach, Jim Corsi.

The most pressing issue right now is Nolan and his coaching staff getting getting "the ship righted."

LaFontaine hired Nolan to change the culture of the team. Right now it's in disarray and one of the biggest problems is vets packing it in and having an adverse impact on the youngins.

It's a bad environment and the new regime is placing a heavy emphasis on compete with Nolan saying you either skate hard or hit the road.

Having LaFontaine and Nolan center stage was a strange sight not only for the flashback effect but also for the divergence in styles and what each bring to the organization.

LaFontaine was an immensely skilled player and a prolific scorer who could score or set up. He was a part of that early 90's fast skating/high-scoring Sabres team that saw his linemate, Alexander Mogilny, score 76 goals in a season. LaFontaine's a hockey Hall of Famer, and has his number 16 in the rafters at the F'N Center.

Nolan, on the other hand, is the champion of hard workers, the grunts so to speak. He coached in the NHL's "trap era" and oversaw a Sabres team known as "the hardest working team in hockey." It should be noted that Regier had dismantled that team beginning with the firing of Nolan.

If this harmonic convergence takes hold and grows, it could be a home run for Buffalo. When putting those two styles together I think of Mark Messier, Brendan Shanahan, Owen Nolan and John LeClair, very talented yet extremely hard-working players who could make a difference in a number of ways.

While talking about his previous tenure and the timbre of his players, Nolan pointed out that players like LaFontaine, Matthew Barnaby, Rob Ray and Brad May had "a certain element, a certain mystique" about them. As he learns more about the players that he inherited, he'll be looking for those qualities in them to build a championship team.

It's a mind-blowingly fresh start for the Buffalo Sabres, even with the team going back to the future.

Let the LaFontaine era begin.

http://video.sabres.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=1373&id=484126&lang=en&navid=DL|BUF|home

Edmonton Oil and Water. The Yakupov saga

During the 2011-12 season, fans of teams stuck at the bottom of the league during the stretch-run had a great slogan for the drive to the #1 overall draft pick:  "Fail For Nail."

That "Nail" would be Nail Yakupov, consensus #1 overall pick in the 2012 draft.

The Edmonton Oilers kept their streak alive by winning the rights to the first pick in the draft for the third consecutive year. They picked Yakupov.

Yakupov was a good pick. In his rookie season he had 17 goals and 31 points in 48 games. Unfortunately, it hasn't carried over to this season.

Head coach Ralph Krueger was replaced in the off season by former Toronto Marlies bench boss, Dallas Eakins and apparently, it hasn't worked out too well for Yakupov.

This season, in 17 games, Yakupov has a mere two goals and two assists. But the alarming part, especially in Eakins "two-way" oriented system, is his minus-14 plus/minus rating. That was enough for him to get a couple of games as a healthy scratch, diminished powerplay time and a demotion to the bottom-six with some time on the fourth line.

Yakupov should never be confused with Henrik Zetterberg because a two-way game is not his forte'. He's a gamebreaker, a quicker, yet smaller version of Alexander Ovechkin.

Ovechkin, by the way, was stymied in Washington when head coach Dale Hunter, another two-way oriented coach, took over the reigns of the Capitals in November of 2011. Hunter would step down at the end of the season giving way to present coach Adam Oates. Ovechkin was a perennial top-five scorer before Hunter. That season he finished 37th in the league in scoring.

Last year under Oates "The Great 8" took his rightful spot near the top of the league finishing third in scoring. Presently Ovechkin sits sixth in the league with 14 goals and 21 points in 17 games. The Capitals are second in the Metropolitan Division.

With that as a backdrop, it's no wonder that Yakupov's agent, Igor Larionov, is reportedly headed to Edmonton.

According to Craig Custance, via the Edmonton Journal, Larionov wants to discuss how Yakupov is being used.  And, if Edmonton is unhappy with Yakupov, Custance quotes Larionov as saying "We’re willing to make a move. Any team. That happens and that’s part of life.”

Rumors of a disconnect have been swirling around ever since Yakupov was scratched early in the season on October 12. In the four games prior, he was pointless and was a minus-3. Said Eakins of Yakupov's play before he scratched him, "He hasn’t been up to speed. I think he’ll tell you the same thing."

Well, not quite.

Two days later, a frustrated, defiant Yakupov had this to say, "I wasn’t happy about [the scratch] last night. You can say a million words about getting better but coach says I’m not playing, so I’m not playing."

And why was he not playing? Said Eakins, “The kids’ passion is to score and he was just going to take it all on himself to do that. I don’t care how good you are, you can’t produce by yourself in this league. You have to use your linemates."

“He’s young and he has so much to learn about the proper way to play the game," continued Eakins, "once he grasps that, he is going to be dangerous when he steps on the ice. The thing about these guys who have that special gift of being able to put the puck in the net, is that once it starts not going in for them in the first couple of games, it can snowball quickly the other way where they maybe start cheating for offence then maybe looking away from the defensive part of the game."

Apparently Yakupov isn't very happy with Eakins' approach, “I’m going to play my game,” he said. “I’m not going to change but maybe play better without the puck, or forecheck more, but I love playing with the puck. I really don’t like skating all the time, and forechecking, and hitting somebody every shift. I don’t think it’s my game.”

It's no wonder Larionov is headed to Edmonton and Oilers GM Craig MacTavish left the GM meetings in Toronto a little early yesterday. It's oil and water right now.

MacTavish tried to settle things down while in Toronto saying, "I don’t know what the big deal is. It’s a bit of a distraction for us to have to answer to these comments."

And he made the hockey world know that they still liked Yakupov and his future, "“Our feelings about Yak are we like him. I like Yak a lot. I don’t feel any different today than the day that we drafted him. I feel like he’s going to be a great, dynamic scorer in this league.”

Yakupov, for his part, addressed the issue after practice yesterday.

Although he said that he wasn't asking for a trade nor was he bad-mouthing the team and/or city, he remains frustrated with his playing time, ""I know that (Larionov is) coming and we've got to do something because I don't see any trust in me now," said Yakupov. "I'm playing lower and lower minutes.

I just want to play. I don't want to play nine or five minutes. I think I can play more and I can help my teammates to do something to get some points. We need points. I'm 20 years-old and I think that's a pretty important year for me to learn how to play hockey."

Something isn't right in Edmonton with Yakupov, and it would seem as if there's a high probability that he will be moved.

What does it all mean for the Sabres? Probably not too much. Buffalo is presently dealing with their own problems including their 2012 first round pick (12th overall) Mikhail Grigorenko who has struggled to adapt to the NHL.
In a season where the Sabres are in full rebuild mode and dead last in the league, and with pressure mounting on the entire management staff, would they consider Yakupov?

I don't think there's a team in the league who shouldn't inquire about a "great, dynamic scorer."

And if the price was right, why not?

Jeremy White's "auto-pick" leaves much to be desired

The WGR sports jocks are there to entertain, and with the backdrop of a really poor professional sports scene in Buffalo right now, they need to come up with ideas to keep people interested. Even if the only real interest in their ideas is from themselves.

The latest came from WGR's morning guy, Jeremy White, last week.

White is the same guy who, after watching years of futility at under center for the Bills, believed that the team should select a quarterback in every round of the NFL Draft this past year. That's how bad he wanted his "franchise" quarterback.

Just take the best quarterback available in every round and the odds are one of them will work out was his basic philosophy (no real mention of the offensive co-ordinator, or head coach, and how they fit into the development and success of an NFL qb.)

Extreme? Yes. Practical? No. Fodder for the airwaves? Absolutely--for hours, days and weeks on-end.

Now he's bringing that same co-host draft ingenuity to the NHL.

White's premise is that anyone can draft players, therefore, instead of the GM and his amateur scouts watching and deliberating, they will simply use his "auto-draft" formula.

Auto-draft would simply have the team draft whomever is slotted in a particluar spot as determined by the Central Scouting or ISS lists or whatever list that's available. For instance, if Joe Hockey is rated #2, then you simply pick him at #2.

Simple and easy. And...no accountability either. Perfect for a talk show co-host.

He does qualify it somewhat by directing his theory to the top half of the draft or so, but somehow I think he would take it further.

I guess he's forgotten that the Sabres used the "Video-scout 3000" for their drafting needs under former owner Tom Golisano. Golisano's directive was to cut the scouting staff to a bare minumum and use video to save money. Couldn't hurt, could it?

White's theory is convienient, albeit flawed, but he does have a point, especially when you're at the top of the draft. It doesn't take a "hockey genius" to figure out that Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones, or Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin are top players that will be picked #1 or #2.

Even at #3 there's a good chance that a monkey could pick the right player.

But it's assessing talent in the top-15 to 20 and also what surrounds the year or years of the top pick(s) that can make a difference in the fortunes of a franchise. Not to mention assessing team needs at the time of the draft.

Case in point would be the Edmonton Oilers.

Not that anyone can blame them for the choices they've made the past few years, nor have they been bad draft picks, but with three consecutive #1 overall picks (2010-2012) they should be better than 29th in the league this year, three points ahead of the Sabres.

White calls them an aberration. Or you could just say that they're still too young. Or, considering that the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with one of the youngest teams in recent memory, you could say that something just isn't right.

Prior to Edmonton picking Hall (#1, 2010,) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (#1, 2011) and Nail Yakupov (#1, 2012,) the Oilers were in a similar situation as Buffalo--a middling team on the down-side who had tasted recent success.

In the five years prior to Hall, Edmonton never had a pick higher than 6th-overall (Sam Gagner, 2007.) They had, the 25th pick in 2005, the 22nd in 2008 and the 10th in 2009. In 2006 they did not have a first round pick.

They also had multiple first rounders during their rebuild as well:  three in 2007, and two in 2011.

Yet, with all of those first-rounders and three #1 overall picks, they're still near the bottom of the league.

From 2005 to 2012, they mostly "Jeremy White auto-picked" and followed the scouting bureaus by drafting the best player available.

An auto-draft pick from the 2007 season would have had Gagner right in that #6 overall range. Not that he's a bad pick, but Logan Couture who was rated in the low-teens was picked 9th San Jose' and is considered one of the top up and coming centers in the league.

An auto pick at 3rd-overall from that same year would have had Phoenix taking Alex Cherepanov. He went #17 to the NY Rangers, played in the KHL, and suffered an untimely death while on the bench during a game.

In fact, 2007 is a definitive case-study against an "auto-draft."

Had the previously mentioned 2010 Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks followed Central Scouting's draft list and auto-picked, they would have passed on Patrick Kane in favor of Kyle Turris. Kane scored the 'Hawks Cup-winning goal in 2010. Turris spent that season in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage.

TSN's Bob McKenzie, who's pretty good when it comes to rankings, nailed the first three picks of the draft, but after that everything was scatter-shot.

Then there's the 2009 draft where the top-10 were pretty close to projections, including the Oilers pick at #10.

In that draft McKenzie had Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson going 10th, and that's who the Oilers drafted.

Two spots later the Nashville Predators selected defenseman, Ryan Ellis.

Auto-pick would have had Paajarvi-Svensson or any number of forwards going at #10, yet it would have failed to take into consideration that the Oilers had not selected a defenseman in the first round since 1996.

The ramifications of neglecting defensemen in the upper portion of the draft is starting to bite Edmonton. And they had the opportunity to address it three years later.

After picking forwards for years in the first round, as well as using the previous two #1 overall picks on forwards, the Oilers auto-picked Nail Yakupov in 2012. Which isn't a bad thing as the RW was considered the consensus top overall pick.

Sitting right behind him, though, was highly touted defenseman Ryan Murray, who was picked by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Had the Oilers selected Ellis and Murray instead of Paajarvi-Svensson (who's no longer with the team) and Yakupov (who was in the doghouse this season) one would think that they would be climbing up instead of being stuck in neutral or regressing.

Edmonton and Buffalo have many parallels as hockey cities right now. Both are small markets, both cannot attract elite-level free agents and both are relying on the draft to change the fortunes of their franchises.

This season, the Sabres are heading down to the level of where the Oilers were at the close of 2010 and they're looking at a top pick in the upcoming draft.

Buffalo began accumulating draft picks two years ago trading veterans for picks.

Beginning with the 2012 draft, here's what the auto-picks would have been for Buffalo: 

• 2012, 12th pick--D, Derrick Pouliot, (CSS) C, Mikhail Grigorenko TSN (rated #3 by CSS)
• 2012, 14th pick--C, Colton Sissons (CSS) D, Cody Ceci (TSN)
• 2013, 8th pick--C, Fredrick Gauthier, (CSS) D, Rasmus Ristolainen (TSN)
• 2013, 16th pick--RW, Ryan Hartman (CSS) D, Mirco Mueller (TSN)

The Sabres picked Grigorenko and C, Zemgus Girgensons in 2012 then selected Ristolainen and D, Nikita Zadarov in 2013.

As young as they are, both Girgensons and Zadorov are the types of players that the Sabres have been lacking during "the core years," and they're fast becoming fan-favorites as well.

Within the next few years, Buffalo will be looking for them to be part of a foundation for the top picks they look to be getting over the next couple of years.

How they pan out will be another story, but I'd rather have their scouting staff assess need and worth as opposed to Jeremy White's "auto-draft."

Would "auto-draft" have asked Owner Terry Pegula and GM Darcy Regier if they wanted to get "tougher to play against" before picking Zadorov like AGM Kevin Devine did?

Quick hit on the John Scott ruling

The NHL's Department of Player Safety really showed John Scott and the Buffalo Sabres who's boss.

Scott who has never been suspended by the league, nor has he ever been fined, went before Brendan Shanahan for his hit to the head on Loui Eriksson.

Seven games was the verdict.

Really?

Scott's past doesn't matter. Nor do the other (lesser) suspensions matter. It just doesn't matter.

The Sabres are at the bottom of the league, so no one really cares. It's like hauling someone off from the ghetto as opposed to someon from the suburbs. Dude from the ghetto will get a much stiffer sentence for a lesser crime.

So it goes.

BTW, Georges Laraque is said to be entertaining the notion of coming back. Would love to see the look on Gary Bettman's face if the Sabres announced signing the former NHL pugilist.

Sabres are in a win-win with Matt Moulson, even if they decide to trade him

(but, they should keep him)

Being fully aware of how Steve Bernier came into Buffalo and wowwed the fans during his first game, only to fall off the face of the earth and quickly leave Buffalo, I'm loving what Matt Moulson brought to the table in his first game.

And knowing full well that the Sabres could more than likely add to their bounty of first round picks if they decided to trade him, I wouldn't move Matt Moulson unless he can't be re-signed or unless the return is too good to pass up.

Here's why.

Unlike the former #26, Moulson plays a full 200' game from start to finish. Everyone in Buffalo noticed it, head coach Ron Rolston was raving about it.

And his linemates certainly responded to how he plays the game. Tyler Ennis got his first two assists of the season and Cody Hodgson had a little more pep than usual.

This is the type of player Sabres fans have been wanting for a while--a top-six forward, that's in constant motion, skating hard in all three zones for the entire game.

Matt Moulson has always played that way.

Also, how many times over the last two or three years, or even longer, have various Sabres said post-game that they had opportunities, but just couldn't finish? Including the former #26.

Moulson is a finisher.

Sure, he had John Tavares during those multiple 30-goal seasons. But Moulson finished the play. Tavares didn't pass him the puck, skate over to him and help him put the puck in the net.

Moulson buried those passes from Tavares. And as showed in his first game, he can finish no matter who's passing him the puck.

During the next few months Sabres fans will see just how much finish he has and whether or not he can do it consistently. They'll see what affect the 31 yr. old veteran has on the team.

But should he continue to play a 200' game at a 30-goal pace, is there any reason why the Sabres shouldn't attempt to re-sign him to a long-term contract?

There's absolutely no legitimate reason as to why they should not.

"Buffalo could add another first-round pick, maybe more if they traded Moulson," you might say. But the retort would be, how many more draft picks do the Sabres want to acquire before there are too many? They will need players. They need players with skill and will, players who are "un-core like." They will need veterans as well. Preferably vets who contribute consistently in a positive way, especially on the scoresheet. Moulson fits into that category.

Besides, Ryan Miller is on the block and he should land at least a first-rounder. If that's not enough, Christian Ehrhoff doesn't look like his "core-like" game fits into the future of "hard to play against." He's a trade possibility.

And there's also Tyler Myers as well. Methinks that Edmonton would seriously entertain Myers for a first-rounder. They've had plenty of those.

"The Sabres will need to overpay to keep Moulson," you say.

I say, "so what."

There's a salary cap and a salary floor. Buffalo can't ice a team of all rookies and fourth liners, they will need to pay someone.

The salary floor for next season will be somewhere around $45m. The Sabres are slated to have $35m tied up in 15 players.

They could conceivably drop $4m on Ott and $6m on Moulson (they won't, it's just an example,) and hit the cap floor with only six more players to sign. With the cap ceiling is slated to be somewhere around $67m, they will have plenty of room to do whatever they want to do. So overpayment really isn't an issue.

No matter what GM Darcy Regier decides to do with Moulson, the Sabres are in a win-win situation. If they decide to trade him, another first round pick (at least) is on the way.

If the Sabres decide to keep him and sign him long-term, which I hope they do, they'll have found themselves a finisher who plays a 200' game.

Pretty sure every Cup-winner had at least one player like that.