It's is kind of a dead time of the year in the hockey world, the draft takes place in June and free agency starts on July 1.  By the time late July roles around there isn't much to talk about but the Buffalo Sabres still have a little bit of work to do.  Jason Pominville is still on the list, another defenseman and some depth for the Portland Pirates.  We've already learned that Dennis Persson is staying in Sweden for another season and now it appears that Gogulla will be staying in Germany.  This makes it even more important for the Sabres to add some depth to their AHL affiliate.  The Sabres appear close to solving a couple of these problems.

• It appears that the Sabres will add defensive depth by adding a familiar face to the crowd, there are reports that the Sabres and 40 year-old defenseman Teppo Numminen are close to reaching a deal.  It is definitely a risk for the Sabres to sign Numminen because of his health risk but he adds another veteran guy to the blue-line.  It also will help alleviate the perception that there is bad blood between him and the team.
• There are also reports that the Sabres have signed Mathieu Darche to a one-year two way contract that would allow him to play in Portland to start the season.  Darche has spent most of his career in the minor leagues but he played 73 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.  In 73 games Darche scored seven goals to go along with 15 assists.  He has played in only 101 games in his career and he has eight goals and 16 assists.
• There is plenty of Ryan Miller talk over at the Sabres Website.  They have a press conference and an exclusive interview both posted right now.  The main topic was about Ryan buying into the franchise and that he probably could have made more money somewhere else.  The biggest part of the signing is not about Miller it's about perception of of the fans and media.

The criticism of management continues in Buffalo despite the team making some signings in the recent days, including the signing of goalie Ryan Miller.  Our favorite writer at the Buffalo news actually found it in his heart to praise management, although he never mentioned Larry Quinn.  In the same piece however he still found it necessary to mention how the team failed with Drury, Briere and Campbell.  I find it hilarious that he refuses to admit he was wrong even though it is quite apparent that there is no room for them here.  I would love for him or anyone else to explain how the Sabres would have been able to keep all of them along with Vanek, Roy, Gaustad, Miller and hopefully Pominville.

The criticism of management didn't initiate with the staff at the local paper, they just magnified it.  It really began the after the 2005-2006 season when Mike Grier and Jay McKee chose to leave via free agency.  Both players felt that it was necessary to publicly criticize management regarding their negotiating tactics and said the team was not committed to winning.  Here is a time line of events that have led us to where we are now...

2005-2006

• The Sabres surprise everyone in the hockey world by advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals and losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes.  The Sabres lost in seven games to Carolina despite suffering a bunch of injuries, including four regular defensemen.
• The Sabres lose Jay Mckee (St. Louis Blues) and Mike Grier (San Jose Sharks) to free agency
• Danny Briere and J.P. Dumont are among the Sabres players that file for salary arbitration.
• Danny Briere is awarded $5 million per season in arbitration, an award that the Sabres eventually agree to.
• J.P. Dumont was awarded $2.9 million per season in arbitration, the Sabres were forced to decline the award because of financial restrictions forced by the salary cap.

2006-2007

• The Sabres start the season by winning 10 consecutive games to begin the season.
• The Sabres are up against the salary cap all season and are forced to make roster moves daily to remain under the cap.
• Martin Biron is traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in order to free up salary cap space in an effort to strengthen the team for a run at the Stanley Cup.
• The Sabres complete the regular season as the Presidents Trophy winner for the first time in franchise history.
• The Ottawa Senators defeat the Sabres four games to one in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• Speculation begins immediately regarding the future of Danny Briere and Chris Drury.
• Danny Briere declines the Sabres five year $25 million contract offer and decides that he will test free agency, Chris Drury quickly follows suit and announces he will test free agency.
• Danny Briere signs with the Philadelphia Flyers and Chris Drury with the New York Rangers on the first day of free agency.
• The Sabres hold a press conference to explain the loss of Danny Briere and Chris Drury and this is where the war between the organization and the local paper escalates.
• The Edmonton Oilers offer Thomas Vanek a huge seven year contract for over $49 million and the Sabres quickly announce that they will match the offer.
• They re-sign Derek roy to a six-year $24 million contract.

2007-2008

• They trade away Brian Campbell at the trade deadline because they were unable to reach a contract extension with him.
• They fail to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals two consecutive seasons.
• Paul Gaustad is signed to a four-year deal before he reaches free agency on July 1.
• The Sabres trade away Steve Bernier and quickly trade for defenseman Craig Rivet.
• Ryan Miller is signed to a five-year contract extension and there are discussions with Jason Pominville on a possible contract extension.

When the past three seasons are all laid out it makes things much more clear as to how management has handled the team.  I was told last season that if I thought management was making good decisions, I just simply didn't get it.  The truth is that plenty of people understood how this would play out and management has made the right decisions all along.  There is not enough money to pay all these guys and they had to make decisions as to who were the most important, they chose the young guys and allowed the older guys to walk.

I'm not breaking any news here about Ryan Miller since it has been the big news of the day but it's good to see the Sabres make a commitment to an important cog on the team.  Sabres management has been harshly criticized and maybe now they have proven that they are committed to winning.  A quick glance at the Sabres salary makes it clear why they could not keep some very popular players.

I was among a large group of fans that have been preaching this for awhile now but some writers in the local paper continued to insist that the Sabres were not committed to winning.  I think today the Sabres proved once and for all why some writers work for the paper while they are in charge of running a NHL franchise.  I'd be interested to see what this team would like if Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Brian Campbell were all making $5 million per  season, I'm guessing they would not be too competitive  in two or three years.

The Sabres schedule, as well as the rest of the NHL, was released today and I've come to the conclusion that the league hates the Sabres.  I'm not much on conspiracy theories but is this schedule correct?  Three home games in all of January, are you serious?  I'll have much more on this later when I have more time but something is really wrong with this schedule.  Here is a little tidbit for you...

@ Detroit

@ Chicago

@ Dallas

vs. Carolina

@ Florida

@ Tampa

@ Edmonton

@ Calgary

@ Phoenix

@ Anaheim

That is one out of 10 games being played at home and traveling from as far South as any team could travel, to as far North as any team has to travel.  It's official that the Sabres are not liked by the league.

The Buffalo Sabres announced that their home opener will be played on October 10, 2008 at HSBC Arena against division rival Montreal Canadiens.  They also announced that that they will play home and home series against three Western Conference opponents.  The NHl obviously doesn't like the Sabres because they will play the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes.  The Ducks and Red Wings are the past two Stanley Cup Champions and the Coyotes are a young team that is on the rise.  The rest of the schedule will announced at noon on Thursday.

I did a little research on the Sabres Pre-Season schedule as well and I have found only two games so far.  They will play the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 22 and the Detroit Red Wings on October 5.  In addition they will not be playing against the Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals.

Regular Season

10/10  Montreal Canadiens

2/24  Anaheim Ducks

3/3  Phoenix Coyotes

4/6  Detroit Red Wings

Pre-Season

9/22  Toronto Maple Leafs

10/5  Detroit Red Wings

Daniel Paille signed a multi-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres today and this is truly good news for Sabres fans because we will have an opportunity to see Daniel Paille play for the Buffalo Sabres for at least a few more years.  The terms of the deal have not been disclosed yet but it is on the Sabres official website so it is a done deal. 

As I've mentioned before, Paille had a breakout season in 2007-2008 and I expect even better things out of him in 2009.  His career high 19 goals last season were sixth on the team and his three shorties were tied with Derek Roy for the team lead.  Paille has offensive capabilities and yet he is responsible in his own zone, he was a plus nine in 77 games (the fourth best plus/minus on the team).  Paille can also throw his body around if he wants to, the Sabres would like to see that on a more consistent basis however.

The Sabres also announced that both Clarke MacArthur and Mark Mancari have accepted their qualifying offers and will remain with the team for at least one more season.  MacArthur should have a good chance of making the Sabres opening day roster but Mancari is likely to start the season in Portland because of the Sabres forward depth at the NHL level.

This is a feature I started to help the summertime pass by so we can get back to hockey season.  There will be a new post with a new team posted whenever there is nothing else to talk about.

The rivalry I picked to kick things off is the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Truth be told there is no rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins despite the two teams being only four hours and basically two highways apart.  It seems that there is a natural geographic rivalry that is waiting to begin but hasn't been able to do it because of a lack of playoff history.  That being said these two teams have met in the playoffs and those are memories I wish I could forget.

You aren't really a Sabres fan if you don't remember Mario Lemieux scoring that back breaking goal in the waning moments of game six at The Igloo (I'm really not sure if it was Mellon Arena by then but it will always be the igloo to me).  The memories are even worse from there because Darius Kasparitis, yep Darius "friggin" Kasparitis scored on Dominic Hasek at the HSBC Arena in overtime of game seven and the Sabres went home for the season.  I'll never forget how mad I was when that goal was scored...the Sabres had the series wrapped up in Pittsburgh and they let it slip away, only to have Kasparitis put the nail in the coffin.

Frank from Pensburgh was kind enough to share his thoughts on this non-rivalry as well...

Penguins and Sabres.  Well, it's not the world's most blood-seething rivalry but they've certainly shared some history together.  The first thing that comes to mind when I think of these two teams matching up is not the Ice Bowl; as many would think.  In fact, I'm going to take it back to May 10, 2001.  In their third consecutive overtime game, winner heading to the Conference Championship, Buffalo and Pitt found themselves in the wrenches of a Game 7.  Notorious hard-hitting, but hardly a scoring, D-man Darius Kasparaitis launched a wrister from the right face-off circle in Buffalo's end to beat Hasek blocker-side for the game winner.  It isn't so much the goal that I remember, as much as it is the celebration afterwards when Darius belly-flopped onto the ice and slid towards the Penguins' goal.  In either case, Pitt went on to lose against NJ in the Conference Finals - so hey, no hard feelings guys.

Another great memory of mine that exists between these two teams is one of my fondest memories as a Penguins fan.  In the 92/93 season, Mario Lemieux missed two months after his diagnosis with Hodgkin's disease.  This was not only devastating on the level of mortality, but statistically speaking, Mario was on pace to annihilate Gretzky's record of 215 points.  Following treatment, Lemieux returned for a game against the Flyers only 12 points behind Lafontaine.  Pittsburgh won 17 straight, Lemieux averaged 2.67 points per game and wound up edging Lafontaine out by 12 points in the scoring race with a total of 160. 

And last but not least, our most recent venture together - The Ice Bowl.  I believe the fans of both teams developed a weird sense of camaraderie as both teams battled through the snow, ice and wind on New Year's Day.  Some would argue it possessed a storybook ending for the NHL, and I guess all I can say to that is "to each his own."  As I've been writing and blogging about the Penguins I've come to ignore such remarks (see also: Crosby dives, the NHL fixes Pittsburgh games and Bettman loves Crosby).  But you can't deny the excitement of the event, the attention for the sport and the overall exhibition of fans' love and commitment for a game that found them outside in whiteout conditions.

I'm sure there might be some more events between these two, but I put that into the hands of your trusty blogger D.O.

It's been two weeks since the start of the NHL free agency period and the Sabres have made very few moves.  Many Sabres fans had hoped the team would make a splash but Darcy Regier and Larry Quinn chose to stand back and watch all the other teams spend their money.  The team hasn't been completely quiet, adding two players to the roster while subtracting one.  After only a couple of moves in the first two weeks, how much of the off-season agenda is already complete and how much is left to work on?

Five Off-Season Goals

Improve the overall team defense

They acquired a steady stay-at-home defenseman when they sent a couple of draft picks to San Jose in return for veteran defenseman Craig Rivet.  Rivet is signed for three more seasons at a price tag of $3.5 per season, a relatively high number but based on the current state of NHL salaries it's pretty reasonable.  He will fill two voids for the Sabres franchise by adding a veteran presence and he is a solid positional defenseman.

The Sabres could still be in the market for another defenseman.  I said before free agency began that the team needed someone that could quarterback the power play, the problem is that guy is not currently available.  The Sabres will have to complete another trade in order to get a solid power play guy. 

Alleviate the logjam at Forward

Darcy Regier traded away restricted free agent Steve Bernier in order to acquire two draft picks, one was used to acquire Craig Rivet.  Bernier was acquired at last years trade deadline in the deal that sent Brian Campbell to San Jose but he was expendable because of the amount of NHL ready forwards on the Sabres roster.  At the time of the trade it seemed a bit odd that Bernier was the guy that was traded but at $2.5 million per season it seems they made the right decision.  Not only has Bernier not done anything to warrant that type of contract but the Sabres don't have that much money to spend.

The Sabres still have 14 NHL ready forwards on the roster, including restricted free agents Daniel Paille and Clarke MacArthur.  Buffalo will probably re-sign both players but will need to free up some salary to do it.  The most likely candidate to be traded is Max Afinogenov but Tim Connolly and Ales Kotalik could be considered as well.  All three players will be unrestricted free agents at the end of next season. 

Sign a reliable backup for Ryan Miller

Last season Ryan Miller played in 76 games because Lindy Ruff lost confidence in backup Jocelyn Thibault.  Thibault was 3-4-2 with a 3.31 Goals against Average in only 12 games for the Sabres last season.  It was important for the Sabres to go out and get a guy that was capable of playing anywhere from 15-25 games to help alleviate the pressure on Miller.  They accomplished that by signing Patrick Lalime to a two-year contract.

Continue reading this post »

The NHL free agency period is almost two weeks old and it's easy for us fans to get caught up in who we the Sabres to sign or not sign.  It's also easy to sit back and criticize management for not making any big moves but they have to consider the future as well.  Sabres management has been much maligned in the media for allowing  players to leave and  reportedly not negotiating fairly but we are talking about a team that has almost $30 million tied up next season in only 11 players that have NHL experience.  Does that sound like a franchise that is not willing to pay it's players fairly?  They are also expected to try hard to re-sign both Jason Pominville and Ryan Miller this off-season before they officially become free agents.

The Sabres free agent list next season is extensive and could possibly allow the team some flexibility at the trade deadline.  Every team hopes that the team they put on the ice is a good one but this may be a good season for the team to be on the outside looking in.  It would be frustrating for Sabres fans to live through another sub-par season but if the team can trade away players at the trade deadline, they may be a better club in the future.

2009-2010 Free Agent List

Unrestricted Free Agents

F- Max Afinogenov

D- Jaro Spacek

F- Tim Connolly

F- Ales Kotalik

F- Andrew Peters

Restricted Free Agents

F- Jason Pominville

F- Drew Stafford

D- Andrej Sekera

F- Patrick Kaleta

I would expect that Max Afinogenov, Ales Kotalik, Jaro Spacek and if healthy Tim Connolly would be attractive to a team that is making a run for the Stanley Cup.  It would be nice for the Sabres to get something for these guys and strengthen the farm system.

Similar to this season, I don't expect the Sabres to put a big effort into signing their own UFA's (with the exception of Miller).  I expect they will definitely try to sign all the RFA's but they won't have a lot of money left to spend.  If they sign all the RFA's and Ryan Miller they will have eight forwards, six defensemen and two goalies.

2009-2010 Current Roster

Forwards

1. Thomas Vanek- $6.4 million
2. Derek Roy- $3.5 million
3. Jochen Hecht- $3.8 million
4. Paul Gaustad- $2.5 million
5. Adam Mair- $775K

Defense

1. Craig Rivet- $3.5 million
2. Toni Lydman- $3.15 million
3. Henrik Tallinder- $3.25 million
4. Nathan Paetsch- $1.05 million
5. Mike Weber- $638K

Goalies

1. Patrick Lalime- $1 million

If the development of Nathan Gerbe and Tim Kennedy goes well than they may be able to help the Sabres in two years and will allow the team to be active in free agency but if they can't the Sabres will have a hard time filling their roster and staying under the teams self-imposed salary cap.  It should be an interesting couple of seasons for the Sabres both on and off the ice.

I did a post the other day about the Sabres roster as it is currently constructed and I received a response at the NHL Arena message board. 

Also, I think I would sub out MacArthur for Peters because Peters really gets in the team's face and we need more of that grittiness. When I used to be on the official Sabres board someone posted a thread that showed an interesting pattern - whenever Peters was starting we seemed to win more games than when he was not because he agitates the other team. I don't know about MacArthur, I just don't like how he plays and I've never seen anything special from him.

The statement above had me thinking about how accurate it was and whether or not the Sabres do play better with Peters in the lineup.  You will be stunned by the results of my investigation.

Now don't read too much into this because it isn't exactly rocket science. It's simply a guide to the Sabres record while each individual player is in the lineup. Do I think that Andrew Peters being the lineup helps the Sabres more than Tim Connolly being in the lineup?  Absolutely not, but maybe it's not as bad as I make it out to be when Peters is in the lineup.  I still don't think it helps the Sabres to have Peters in the lineup but it certainly doesn't hurt the team either.

I'm not surprised that Kalinin and Paetsch were so far down the list but I was a little surprised to see Tim Connolly, Drew Stafford and Adam Mair near the bottom.  How about you, what are your thoughts on this chart.