Buffalo Boy's Blog

Any real Sabres fans out there who read this get my view. The 20 or so who showed up to support Tim Kennedy are the only 20 Sabres fans who don't get the what transpired a few weeks ago when the Sabres released Tim Kennedy.

Tim Kennedy had to be released. He had no leverage when he thought he would out do the Sabres and go to arbitration. The Sabres didn't feel he was a $1 million dollar player and quite frankly, I didn't either. Tim Kennedy could have taken the easy way and signed a qualifying offer from the Sabres and taken a 10% raise, pretty generous considering he got creamed by 40+ year old Mark Recchi in the corner this past playoffs.

Instead with no leverage, Kennedy took the Sabres to the wall and went to arbitration and came out with a 25% raise which is stealing money for someone who is not very strong on his skates.

Add to that he scored 10 goals....so what? Any two bit hockey player can step in there and give you 10 goals with any respectable amount of playing time but not every player is going to get swept off his feet in the corner. I keep harping on that one play, but seriously, any bit of stability on his feet and oh I don't know....talent and Kennedy at least makes that play look harder and maybe even prevents that goal.

That wasn't the only bone headed play I saw him make all season. There were long stretches during the regular season where he either disappeared or was a liability defensively for his inability to hold onto the puck in difficulty situations. At home he was a terrible -9, so I don't know what these people were looking at who think this guy is going to save the franchise.

The Sabres did give a local guy a nice contract who deserved it, Patrick Kaleta played his cards right and god a nice contract from the team. But he also doesn't get his ass kicked in key situations in playoff games either.

I love how we all bitch when they don't win in the first round and were bitching all year when this team lost, but when it comes time to make a roster decision about a mediocre hockey player who just happens to be from the area we go ape shit thinking hes the franchise savior. If Tim Kennedy is who you people really want then maybe we deserve to be that team that goes to the first round every year and gets their teeth kicked in.