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Help Us Knock The Habs Out of 6th
Category: Buffalo Sabres Hockey | Hockey | Sports | Toronto Maple Leafs
Sabres Free Agency So Far....
I hope Darcy Regier knows what he is doing. So far the free agent signings are lukewarm at best. I get it if they work, but if they bomb? Well, maybe its time to get a GM that will be a little more agressive. With $10 million available under the cap, I expected more. Its not like you are breaking the bank with the enormous contracts you have and will payout to superstars Cody McCormick and Pat Kaleta.
It can't be the contracts you failed to sign Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder to. I get them leaving even, I get that they were let go. They have basically been the stud defensemen on this team since the lockout and despite some playoff runs they have won you nothing. You have some youth in the organization in Mike Weber knocking on the door and you went out and got Jordan Leopold who honestly I have liked since he played in Calgary. So okay, give them a shot.
But today was the most interesting day of the free agency season, which is good and sad at the same time. Adam Mair is gone and the Sabres went out and picked up Rob Niedermayer. You are going to essentially replace Mair with Niedermayer which is fine.
Niedermayer has a cup ring and probably has the potential to bring some desparately needed leadership to the lockeroom. But how much does he have in the tank? He had a 61 point season way back in 1995 with the Florida Panthers. Hes far from being that player now. I like the fact he comes from a New Jersey Devils team that plays a style that we never do well against, the dreaded neutral zone trap, but a lot has to be proven.
I don't care if Rob Niedermayer does next to nothing from October to March, but once April hits this guy better show this team the way. Thats what this signing is about, its about April to June. If thats what this signing does for this team then Darcy Regier is a genius.
The next few weeks should prove interesting. Another center means that Roy or Connolly is most likely packing their bags, could it be for Thomas Kaberle? Im torn on that as well, sure Kaberle would help on the power play, but we need a sniper on one of the top two lines and we need size at center, hell we need size period.
Coming:
Jordan Leopold- D
Rob Niedermayer- C
Going:
Adam Mair- C
Henrik Tallinder- D
Toni Lydman- D
Category: Buffalo Sabres Hockey | Hockey
3 Wins, 3 Shutouts: Go Flyers!
Okay, that hurt my fingers with every key stroke to type the last two words of the title, but if it means no more Habs then so be it.
This season has been about the return of the boring ass neutral zone trap and thankfully two teams will be going to the playoffs that DON'T feel the need to bore us with that garbage, no talent needed, neutral zone crap.
Michael Leighton has a chance to make it 4 wins, 4 shutouts in a playoff series. Has that ever been done? I looked and found 13 goalies have done three, but nothing about 4.
How sweet would that be for the Habs to lose in that fashion. No goals in four out of five games. That would have a lot of teams second guessing using that crappy trap system next year. Save film from this series because the Flyers are beating it.
After the Flyers finish this off its all about Brian Campbell, Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks, I have rooted for the Flyers more than I ever cared to admit and I am going to go cleanse myself both internally and externally after they finish it.
Category: Hockey
Habs Laying a BIG GOOSE EGG
This about sums it up for the Montreal Canadiens, Im going out on a limb, I bet they go goose egg for the series, there have been a lot of strange series in this playoffs might as well add to it, the Habs will not score a goal in this series:
Category: Hockey
We Could Have Had Them Both
Daniel Briere is doing what he does best right now, leading his team in the playoffs. He had a big goal the other night and tonight he got the Flyers Started.
The Sabres could have signed Briere. I was against this signing because I have always been of the thinking that if we sign Briere or Drury then we lose Vanek to Edmonton. That did not necessarily have to be the case.
Derek Roy was a restricted free agent and the Sabres decided to offer Derek Roy a 6 year deal worth $24 million or an average of $4 million a season. Who would you rather have? Derek Roy or Daniel Briere? If I want regular season performance Im signing Derek Roy 9 times out of 10. But, when it comes to the playoffs? As we are finding Daniel Briere still has it.
If only for his leadership alone I would take an unhealthy Briere over a Derek Roy. How much better would Thomas Vanek be if Daniel Briere was his center over the last two years?
I miss Daniel Briere and we could have had him, I bet he would have taken 6 years at Derek Roy money:
We could have also had Brian Campbell, hes still in the playoffs with the Chicago Blackhawks. Maybe not offering Teppo Numminen that final year or not signing Tim Connolly to his stupid contract. I miss Brian Campbell, we could have had him playing with Tyler Myers:Category: Hockey
Garbage
The Montreal Canadiens, love them or hate them, are arguably the second most storied franchise in sports next to the New York Yankees. They also have something in common with the Yankees. They are both ruining their respective sports.
The Yankees ruin baseball by spending more on individual players than some teams spend on their whole teams. It ruins the sport because no team in baseball can compete with the money the Yankees throw around and spending it foolishly on jackasses like Alex Rodriguez.
The Montreal Canadiens are ruining hockey in another way. On the ice. By playing a boring, garbage style of hockey that puts most people to sleep unless you are of course a Montreal fan blinded by your teams unbelievable luck.
The Montreal Canadiens have joined the ranks of the embarassingly ugly style of the teams that play the neutral zone trap. Is it any surprise? Jacques Martin used to coach the Ottawa Senators who were notorius for those boring 1-0 and 2-1 games where you would have to be lucky and score off a weird bounce. And then the fact that Montreal signed a bunch of former New Jersey Devils: Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez amongst others who come from that Devils style of play that forces most fans to fall asleep during games.
This is not the style of play the NHL wanted post lock out and within 4 short years it is exactly what we are back to. If the Eastern Conference final is Boston Vs Montreal be prepared to watch grass grow. Thats about as exciting as those two teams will be. You'll be lucky to see more than three goals a game and most unfortunately will go to overtime extending the agony for any casual fan who dares to get caught up in the series.
At least if its Philly they have a few skill players who can skate and hopefully unlike the crappy coaching that failed to adapt to the Habs ugliness against Pittsburgh and Washington, they can break the trap.
Going into next season the NHL has to do something about this and for starters they can start calling the clutching and grabbing and cross checking that goes on. They can also ditch the instigator rule that will allow players to police the garbage themselves again.
If there is a hockey god amongst us let him put an end to the Habs run, them, the Devils and every other neutral zone trapping team are ruining this sport.
Category: Hockey
Olympics/NHL/Sabres
After watching the last two weeks I can't help but feel that tonights game is going to be a let down. The intensity will not be nearly as high as it was over the last two weeks of Olympic hockey and the Sabres are no where near the team in front of Ryan Miller as the rest of the US squad.
So that said, I am looking forward to this week but since I didn't get a chance to write much on the Olympics and the gold medal game I'm taking my chance here.
First off, congradulations to Canada, it was deserved, that team got better throughout the tournament and as a diehard hockey fan I can't remember when hockey was more exciting in recent memory and yes that includes the Sabres runs with Drury and Briere. I hate Heatley and Crosby but after watching them the last two weeks there is a healthy hate/respect for many of those players.
What the last two weeks did for fans of hockey probably won't be measured until after this years playoffs. For me it took a diehard fan and made me all the more a fan of the game when its played right....with passion, grit and determination. For casual fans, they saw some of the best hockey has to offer and it may have made some casual fans diehards.
The biggest difference I saw of the players in those Olympic teams as compared to what we go back to tonight is that those players play with passion, they go to the net and they pay a price to put the puck in the net by any means. They don't screw around with behind the back passes and if they do its because they know exactly where players are on the ice.
Tonight we will probably see more Tim Connolly and Derek Roy dipsy doodle crap and no effort to go to the net. If there is any hope its that Ryan Miller, Toni Lydman, Henrik Tallinder, Jochen Hecht and Lindy Ruff come back and tell their peers what it takes to win hockey games, they all saw it, they all lived it for the last two weeks.
I wondered why Tim Connolly wasn't pcked for the US team, I now know why, hes not willing to go where these players were going. Hes not willing to go to the net.
So, the trade deadline is tomorrow and after tonight, if Buffalo loses its trade time. Even if they win there is not enough room on this team for Connolly and Roy, we need grit and leadership and someone who can contribute offensively. Who wouldn't take Chris Drury for Derek Roy at this point?
We need one solid, young, power play type defenseman who isn't afraid to grind a little too and we need some leadership/scoring up front.
Its fitting that we see Pittsburgh and Sid Crosby tonight first game back, its a good measure as to how good this team really is. Granted, Patrick Lalime is getting the start, but who cares. This team has to show they are a team and they have to play in front of him. If they don't I hope Darcy has a phone on speed dial to some willing trade partners in his hand to bolster this roster.
Category: Hockey
Olympics/NHL/Sabres
After watching the last two weeks I can't help but feel that tonights game is going to be a let down. The intensity will not be nearly as high as it was over the last two weeks of Olympic hockey and the Sabres are no where near the team in front of Ryan Miller as the rest of the US squad.
So that said, I am looking forward to this week but since I didn't get a chance to write much on the Olympics and the gold medal game I'm taking my chance here.
First off, congradulations to Canada, it was deserved, that team got better throughout the tournament and as a diehard hockey fan I can't remember when hockey was more exciting in recent memory and yes that includes the Sabres runs with Drury and Briere. I hate Heatley and Crosby but after watching them the last two weeks there is a healthy hate/respect for many of those players.
What the last two weeks did for fans of hockey probably won't be measured until after this years playoffs. For me it took a diehard fan and made me all the more a fan of the game when its played right....with passion, grit and determination. For casual fans, they saw some of the best hockey has to offer and it may have made some casual fans diehards.
The biggest difference I saw of the players in those Olympic teams as compared to what we go back to tonight is that those players play with passion, they go to the net and they pay a price to put the puck in the net by any means. They don't screw around with behind the back passes and if they do its because they know exactly where players are on the ice.
Tonight we will probably see more Tim Connolly and Derek Roy dipsy doodle crap and no effort to go to the net. If there is any hope its that Ryan Miller, Toni Lydman, Henrik Tallinder, Jochen Hecht and Lindy Ruff come back and tell their peers what it takes to win hockey games, they all saw it, they all lived it for the last two weeks.
I wondered why Tim Connolly wasn't pcked for the US team, I now know why, hes not willing to go where these players were going. Hes not willing to go to the net.
So, the trade deadline is tomorrow and after tonight, if Buffalo loses its trade time. Even if they win there is not enough room on this team for Connolly and Roy, we need grit and leadership and someone who can contribute offensively. Who wouldn't take Chris Drury for Derek Roy at this point?
We need one solid, young, power play type defenseman who isn't afraid to grind a little too and we need some leadership/scoring up front.
Its fitting that we see Pittsburgh and Sid Crosby tonight first game back, its a good measure as to how good this team really is. Granted, Patrick Lalime is getting the start, but who cares. This team has to show they are a team and they have to play in front of him. If they don't I hope Darcy has a phone on speed dial to some willing trade partners in his hand to bolster this roster.
Category: Hockey
NEXT UP: GOLD
Ryan Miller and Team USA just one upped what Team Canada did to the Russians. The US team manhandled Finland from the drop of the first puck with 6 goals in the first period the US team embarrassed Finland didn't stand a chance after the first goal was scored. It was a game that was supposed to be close.
Ron Wilson is coaching a masterpiece so far in this Olympics and it will culminate on Sunday with a win over who ever they play.
The beauty of it all is the Buffalo connections on the US team. First and most obvious is Ryan Miller who really didn't have much to do today and was taken out to rest for Tim Thomas a class move all the way.
Then Patrick Kane who had 2 of the 6 US goals today.
And of course there is Chris Drury who is playing like a man possessed, what else would you expect in big games from a big game player.
I can't wait, bring on Canada, bring on Slovakia, who cares at this point. My prediction for the gold medal game? Ryan Miller lets in no more than two and Drury nets the game winner with Patrick Kane assisting. That would be the ideal result.
Category: Hockey
30 Years Ago: The Miracle
Hard to believe its been 30 years. 30 years ago USA beat the Soviets against all odds. Al Michaels call still to this day still gets the heart pounding to hear that call.Category: Hockey
