The Curious Case of Derek Roy.

I've been thinking about Derek Roy a lot the past few days.

As most of you are aware of, I'm not a particularly huge fan of the 5'9" center straight out of Ottawa, Ontario. I nitpick everything he does on the ice and don't give him enough credit, which most people don't seem to be doing anymore. Roy was on a career pace last season in every category across the board before he went down with his injury. It was also Roy who came back for Game 7 of the Flyers/Sabres series last year - not at 100% - because he wanted to try and help his teammates. I was actually extremely excited when he came back and was hoping maybe he could get a point or anything to help the team but to no avail. This year, he is the center of discussion when trade is brought up and hasn't played up to par this year.

Why am I thinking about this so much?

My brother Corey and I had a discussion with Nick Mendola on Saturday evening about the Sabres (mainly general thoughts) and Roy came up. Nick mentioned several of the points I made note of above, and that's when my brain really began churning. Perhaps I tried too hard to look for flaws in his gameplay because I don't respect the type of person he is. My big issue with athletes is that I judge them first on personality, and secondly on hockey skills. I got lucky with my favorite player being kind of good at hockey and from multiple things I've read, he has a good heart too. If you peruse through Roy's Twitter, he kind of comes off as a douchebag for the lack of a better term. I've heard several stories from female friends about how he acts towards women in public. He is clearly a womanizer. We've all seen the drunk photos that are plastered all over Google. I just have no respect for the type of person he comes off as and that's probably why I've disregarded how well he can play for so long.

This season isn't going well for a lot of guys who aren't named Thomas Vanek or Jason Pominville. Roy is third on the team in points with 25 in 49 games. 9 of those points are goals. Last year, he had 10 in 35 games before his season ended shortly. Actually, he was on a point-per-game pace last season. How much of the Sabres disastrous season's blame can you place on him? Not all of it - or at least, he doesn't deserve all of it. As a whole, the team really fell apart after the Lucic hit on Miller which has been discussed a million times by vast amounts of media outlets and even just blogs. Roy is one of the top guns who we should be looking at to score the big goals but he hasn't been doing it. Drew Stafford hasn't been doing much of it either. Before Vanek's injury, he had one goal in ten games. Pominville has been particularly the steadiest out of every player on the team but he's also played every game. We shouldn't be going around pointing fingers because I think everyone on the team has a part to play in this season going down the drain. It's not over yet, though. I have a good feeling that the core players are really going to step into their roles in this post-All Star break if their recent play has anything to show for it. Last night's game, while they lost, was a sign of hope that maybe they believe this season isn't over yet. We have to believe that, too.

So Derek, I'm sorry about being so hard on you these past few years. Go out there and help give this team something to believe in again.

Housecleaning

Yeah, it's been awhile for me.

I don't know what brought me back to my personal blog to write about the Sabres, but I feel like I know how to write about them best here when it comes to raw heart and emotion. Maybe that's it. I haven't written anything here in almost a year because of the other two blogs I write for but I've truly been thinking that I should try maintaining where I came from a little more. I used to post so much when I first got on the blogging scene. I've dwindled a lot recently possibly because of school and work taking up much of my time. I feel like with the recent happenings in Sabreland, I couldn't avoid my own blog anymore. I just have way too many emotions about this team where I don't want to clog up other websites with my ramblings or unconditional love for this team. I swear to God I just torture myself watching them play but I can't look away. I can't stop watching.

No, not even this Time Warner fiasco is keeping me from trying to find all the feeds possible to watch the Sabres. Considering their piss poor efforts in recent games, I don't see why I give them the time of day anymore. Watching this team had become a huge part of my life and I'll always be connected to the team in some way or form. Even if it kills me. At this rate, it probably could. Thanks, Sabres.

But really, what the hell is wrong with this team? We're all asking the same questions over and over again. Not even the players can answer what is going on. The fact is that we might never know what is going on in there until something changes. As fans, we have no idea what goes on in that locker room behind closed doors and we can speculate all we want to, to no avail. We've speculated that Derek Roy is really a cancer on this team but we don't know how the other players feel about him. Hell, Thomas Vanek could be the cancer and we don't know it. God forbid he is because that will ruin my picture perfect of image of him but you get what I'm saying. None of the bloggers, none of the media, none of the outsiders that aren't involved with the team can possibly know what is going on.

Ryan Miller says that a trade won't change this team because it'll be mostly the same group of guys. Does he feel this way because he's been with the same four or five guys his entire career or he truly believes that one person does not change a team? I feel like for most of the season the team has been led by three different guys all at different points, and that's probably not a good thing. Jason Pominville is leading this team on the ice but what effect does he have in the locker room? Can Vanek psychologically lock it down and get back into his torrid point-per-game pace from the first half of the season? If Stafford or Roy are in trade talks, what kind of value can we get back and can THEY make a difference? It's a bunch of questions that make my head hurt and make me wonder if this team can get in the right direction at all this year.

I refuse to give up on the Sabres, though. A friend of mine started a small but effective movement with the hashtag #BuffaloStillBelieves on Twitter and I believe Jhonas Enroth and Marc-Andre Gragnani have at least noticed it. Compared to the Tweets they probably receive, I'm sure they appreciate the support even with the recent losing streaks popping up all over the place. I'm going to keep using it even until the end of the season because I refuse to give up now.

Not yet.

The Evolution of Thomas Vanek.

Some of you may already know this but I now write for BuffaloWins.com and I just published my first post there. Here's a link if you would like to read it.

The Evolution of Thomas Vanek

Columbus Shenanigans.

It's nice to have slept in my own bed last night but this weekend seemed unreal. A huge win by the Sabres on Friday along with clinching a playoff spot made the trip to Columbus that much more exciting since we didn't have to be nervous about maybe not making the playoffs. Tamara and I left early Saturday morning for Ohio and arrived in the early afternoon. I have never seen so many things on the highway closed for renovations. At least it wasn't like when Denny's was closed when we were heading for Ottawa last season...

We arrived at Nationwide Arena pretty early and could already see about 40+ Sabres fans across the street at a local restaurant. There were jeers at Columbus fans of course, and one fan replied back that we could 'go back to the empty arena'. I replied to him that he should come up for a game and then see how empty it is.

The Rivet jerseys were worn for this game and we received several snide remarks from Sabres fans. Tamara and I never had this problem at home but considering we seemed to be the only Sabres fans in attendance who were wearing any sort of Rivet jersey, we were being heckled. It's about the logo on the front, not the name on the back. Of course, after his little scuffle with Tyler Ennis we took the jerseys off. I had my Vanek shirt underneath, it was all good.

Now the Columbus fans...I admire their dedication but yelling at Sabres fans that we're going to get out of the first round and saying 'let's go, Flyers!' is...well. I guess since they had nothing else going for them, they had to say that. There was an old lady one row in front of us a little ways down that was pointing and yelling at me, saying we were going to lose the 'first game'. First sweetie, a playoff series is a ROUND. Secondly, I know some badass elderly women in Buffalo who could kick your ass so sit down. Seriously, Ottawa and Montreal was fine regarding opposing fans. Columbus was brutal. Coming from a team who was only in the playoffs once during their ten years as an NHL team, they think they have a lot of firing ammunition against other team's fans. Please get out of here. It was nice to see the Sabres win their first game at Nationwide, though.

The Philadelphia/Buffalo series is bound to be a good one if Friday night's game is any indication. A lot of aggressiveness and goal-scoring I'm sure. I can see the Sabres winning this round because of their playoff surge, let's just hope I'm right.

The Hardware.

The Vancouver Canucks gave out some team awards last night in their 5-0 win over the Minnesota Wild and watching it reminded me the Sabres are doing the same thing this evening before the game. Within an otherwise very important night (the Sabres can clinch with at least one point), there's some fun to be had this evening too. For instance, at least 80 members of the Sabres Alumni are attending the Red Carpet Event to sign things for fans. The fact that a ton of them haven't been back to this city in a long while makes this all the more special.

I was thinking to myself about who might win what awards and I figured it would be fun to try and guess. Let's see what the awards are first:

• 2010-2011 MVP of the Year
• Rookie of the Year
• Hardest Working Player

My choice for MVP of the Year goes to...

Drew Stafford.

I called it in the beginning of the season that he might get more than 35 goals (he currently has 30, I'm close). This was the first time in his career he's hit the mark. Drew has come a long way since his rookie season and perhaps he finally has become the player we wanted him to be his sophomore year. He's helped a lot in killing hopes and dreams (preferably Boston) and I believe that he has been one of the highlights of this season. I say he gets this award.

• Runner Ups: Jhonas Enroth, Thomas Vanek, Nathan Gerbe.

My choice for Rookie of the Year goes to...

Tyler Ennis.

He's 5th on the team with 48 points and is one goal shy of the 20-goal mark. A lot of people were doubting him near the middle of the season because of work ethic and his size, but I think that he's coming into his own just fine. I'm excited to see what he has in store for the playoffs again.

• Runner Ups: Nathan Gerbe, Jhonas Enroth.

My choice for Hardest Working Player goes to...

Thomas Vanek.

He's grown up. He had the A sewn onto that sweater and he's become an immediate presence in the locker room and on the ice during games. You're looking at your (possible) future Captain of the Buffalo Sabres. He has worked on all areas of his game. His assist total is higher than goals for the first time in his career. You can see him mature throughout each and every game. Bank on this one.

• Runner Ups: Drew Stafford, Nathan Gerbe, Derek Roy.

Again, the most important thing tonight is getting at least a point so we can clinch. It'll be comforting to go to the Columbus game tomorrow already knowing we're going to the playoffs. Let's hope the boys make tonight more fun with a win. Go Sabres.

Expectations.

In 2003, Thomas Vanek was the 5th overall pick for the Buffalo Sabres. He was already deemed as 'a natural goal scorer' but many scouts considered him to be lazy on some nights. Regardless of this being the European stereotype or it being the typical terminology used with some college players, the Sabres still took him and expected huge things from him. He had a pretty good rookie season with the exception of the playoffs where he was scratched for the Eastern Conference Finals against Carolina. As we all know, he came back the next season with 43 goals, a +47, and an impending 7-year, $50 million contract in the summer.

Ever since that contract most of us have expected a lot of Vanek. We expect more than fifty goals a season, we expect him to be on the scoresheet every night, we expect him to play in every situation. Expectations go a long way with this guy. Jeremy White Tweeted the other night that he will remember this season as the year most Sabres fans finally embraced Vanek and what he's become in the past few years - except for those who still claim he's lazy and wish we had gotten the draft picks instead in the summer of '07.

Here's the problem with Vanek: it's the kind of person he is. This reflects on how he plays, the decisions he makes. It's no secret that Vanek has been my favorite player since 2006 so I've been watching him particularly close over any other player on this team which I believe causes me to over analyze on the type of person he is. I think I've only heard him throw someone under the bus in two of his interviews out of them ALL, while also throwing himself under the bus. He consistently puts himself down over and over again, even about plays he wasn't involved in. It's to the point where it's ridiculous.

He wants to work in all areas of his game which is what Lindy has wanted to do for so long, but there are Sabres fans who just want Vanek to be 'the goal scorer'. Nothing else. They don't expect more assist than goals (in fact, they abhor it). If he isn't right on a guy's ass on a backcheck, he's lazy. If he's coasting near the blueline to try and score on a breakaway, he's lazy. I always wonder if the Vanek haters have colored glasses on that block out all the positive aspects about him or what. I know I am biased but I think even if I hated the guy, I could see that he has changed quite a bit from the 22-year old who was stuck sitting in the pressbox; knowing he had to change something about his work ethic and self to be better in the fall of 2006.

This is the guy who stayed calm and collected after the Washington game to say that the game last night was more important - and they won. You have to wonder if he said anything in the lockerroom to get the guys going or if they already knew it by the look in his eyes. The faint outline of a 'C' should be stitched in Vanek's jersey in a light, gold color. Whether you guys like it or not, he has indeed grown up. You should, too.

Birthday Shenanigans.

LindyRuffsTie on Twitter last night decided that for Terry Pegula's birthday, a bunch of Sabres would go to the arena to sing happy birthday. Now all of us figured Terry wouldn't be there but the thought of it was still cool. Tamara and I had went and there were maybe about fifteen to twenty people present at the event. Tamara even mentioned to me when we were leaving that the sort of power Twitter has on the media and everyone else goes a long way. I think everyone at this thing was on Twitter. Scott has a picture and a nice writeup on what went down today so I hope everyone goes to check that out. Everyone should also keep an eye out on WIVB, WGRZ and YNN to see clips and interviews from today. Being a Sabres fan in this day and age are exciting times. I really wish more people had came but hey, if you think that we're taking the love too far...than you are welcome to continue being a party pooper. Myself, I'm just going to enjoy this time with being a Sabres fan.

Terry was also shown clips of it by his daughter Jessie so I consider this to be a successful event. I really hope we can do some more crazy stuff. Maybe if the Sabres win the Cup...but until then, my fellow fans. Go Sabres.

The Little Train That Could: Sabres Win 2-0.

Nathan Gerbe is a man on a mission these past few weeks. He scored both goals yesterday as the Sabres shutout the Habs, 2-0. His first goal had been a beautiful tip-in by a Tyler Myers shot. The second goal was all hard work as he dove to get the puck out of the zone, then won a battle versus a Habs player to ultimately shoot it into the empty net at the other end. A lot of Sabres fans have been getting on his case that he's too small and tries to act like he's a tougher player even though he tends to lose some battles no thanks to his size. Tyler Ennis is the same way but both of these guys have shown a lot of heart for the Sabres in the past few games. The two smallest players are certainly getting a lot done for the team, in a good way.

You can't say that the stellar play of Ryan Miller had nothing to do with this. He stood tall and made about three HUGE saves from what I remember. He kept the fort secure during the last minutes of play and it didn't turn into another Nashville fiasco even though the Sabres were pinned in their zone for a long time at the end of the second period. I personally thought Montreal would tie it up at some point but Miller stopped that from happening. Carey Price was great as well, and I can see why he is a candidate for the Vezina this season. Minus the almost goal he gave up, but he appeared calm and collected during that ordeal. Harry Neale mentioned Price tends to 'daydream' when he does moves like that. He clearly wasn't thinking when he gave the puck away. Good thing the Sabres sometimes forget they have an offense!

The next time the boys play is on Friday and I'll be missing it because of work. Florida isn't really a threat to us for a playoff spot but I hope that we won't treat them as a lowly team. Those always come back to bite us...

The Invigorated HSBC Arena.

That carpet cost $20,000.

You cannot say enough about Terry's idea to change how the arena looks and other things that have to do with the Sabres as a team. That carpet adds a lot more to the character of the team than you can imagine. The locker room was incredibly bland before that carpet was placed there. It's the symbol of the team and it wasn't shown enough in that locker room. It was definitely a great investment by Terry to have it furnished in there.

Some other things that will be changing:
-The 'slug' logo will soon disappear from the arena all together. The logos on the Jumbotron will be gone over the summer.
-A new pregame show for the Sabres will be starting before the game on March 19th. It will be a half hour long.
-Dominik Hasek is making an appearance at the beginning of the game that takes place against the Atlanta Thrashers. I think it's known to all of us that his jersey number will more than likely be retired.
-Miscellaneous arena renovations will be performed as well over the summer.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely ecstatic for these changes. I'm attending the game on Sunday and I already want to see if there's any changes that the fans can see. The pregame show is something I've been wanting for awhile and I'm already wondering if it will include segments of seeing the Sabres actually having personalities. Sort of like BHTV (Blackhawks TV), where they have a show every once and awhile and it has funny segments with the players. If we can't have Drew Stafford on Twitter, then I will accept this as an alternative.

My biggest hope is that these changes will bring a new atmosphere to every Sabres game. The fans really haven't been into the games for the past few years; even when the team is doing well. My favorite thing about attending games was the people. I hope this shoots some immense excitement into everyone.

As a personal side note not relating to hockey at all, please pray or those affected by the earthquake and tsunami. The world has been literally turning upside down and we need to stand united. Take a moment and count your blessings. Don't take anything for granted. Live your life.

Huge Win In Minny, postgame 3-6-11.

I didn't see any of the game yesterday but of course, I missed a good one. That's why I didn't have a recap of that. I'm pretty sure I would've died by the time it was over anyways.

Tonight, I was able to sit and watch tonight's game that took place between the boys in blue and gold and the Minnesota Wild. There was a beautiful tic-tac-toe play between Vanek, Pominville, and Montador that led to Jason getting his 17th goal of the season. If you haven't seen the highlights then I suggest that you do for that goal. The second Sabre to score? Rob Niedermayer. I shit you not! Rob Niedermayer does exist ladies and gentlemen, and he scored after a nice feed from Reggie. Before we know it, he'll have two on the season! Bank on it.

In all honesty, I was glad to see that he scored. It was getting ridiculous and now Sir Christopher is the last to score for this season. All is right within the world. Funny story with Rob scoring tonight...once I upload my photos from the Bandits game from last night against the Rochester Knighthawks, I will explain further. It's amusing to me, at least.

The pooper play continued to be just that - poop. The Wild had two great shorthanded chances that Jhonas easily kicked away. Speaking of the baby Swede, how confident is he looking now? I'm happy for him. I want Patty to play but at the same time, I'm glad that he is looking better and better in the net. I mean this game didn't go to a shootout SO this is clearly a sign of progress. You go, baby Swede.

The Sabres did squander another 2-0 lead though so that is sort of a dilemma. At least it was against a team that's in the other conference. Two points is huge for this team right now and with that, they moved into eighth. Hey Rangers - we're coming for you.

He does exist!

Tamara was doing some searching this morning to see if our beloved Rob Niedermayer has actually done something in his career, and here you go. He scored in the Stanley Cup clinching game and actually did work in the playoffs. Let's hope that if the Sabres actually make it then he'll score big goals then. Maybe that's his plan all along! Not scoring at all during this season just so that he can explode with 50 goals in the playoffs. Yes, he will have multi-hat tricks in every game. Watch out for Niedermayer. He's coming for you.

Playing Like You Want It, Postgame 3-3-11.

It's too bad that this postgame is actually going to be the opposite of what my title says.

The Sabres came out playing well in the first and for the beginning part of the second. There were a lot of Sabres fans in the crowd and I'm sure it made the Sabres feel right at home. There were plenty of hits and some good, missed chances. For instance, Thomas had a great chance that he just missed to put in the net since it went behind Cam Ward and across the crease. There were huge saves at each end of the ice but the first period turned out scoreless. You go to the second period, and Steve Montador scores the first goal of the game. Then the Canes came right back on a horrible, defensive breakdown. Brad Boyes managed to get his second in as many games as a Sabre to make it 2-1 again and then - you guessed it! - the Canes came back after Ryan Miller mishandled the puck and got stuck spun around in his net and facing the other way. If you look at both of those goals, they were terrible reads by Miller himself but the defense gave him no help at all, either. I just wonder how Ryan reacted to this on the postgame...I never listen to the WGR postgame after away games but perhaps I should start to hear what the players have to say. I'm sure it wasn't at all pleasant.

The game unfortunately went to overtime and it wasn't even a minute in when McBain scored the game winner for the Hurricanes. The shot easily went through his pads (five hole) and into the net. People saw my Twitter reaction to that goal...let's just say, that damn five hole needs to stay closed, Ryan. Seriously.

I am significantly less angry than I was as soon as the game had ended just so I could write this blog post with some logic. I realize, you Miller apologists out there that Ryan has played 38 of the Sabres last 39 games. You know how crazy that is? I bet his body is fatigued. It isn't his fault that Lindy is making him play, but maybe he should step up and say 'hey, maybe this is taking a toll on my body. I believe that my backup can win a game or two for us.' ...Or he's a hockey player, and a lot of fans don't believe that they're human in the slightest.

The Leafs won tonight so they're one point behind us, while we are now two points behind the Rangers. Looks like it's time to catch the blue shirts if anything. Also, just read on Alex's Facebook status that Ryan had indeed admitted to playing the puck badly. You sir are starting to realize that you can indeed make mistakes. Hopefully your fans start to realize the same.

Boyes Boyes Boyes, postgame 3-1-11.

After the lack of exciting trades in the NHL yesterday (seriously, the Sabres had one of the biggest ones), the Sabres came to the Big Apple to scrounge two huge points against the Rangers. Carolina won their game against Florida so they are still two behind, but continue to have two games in hand on the Hurricanes. They play against them Thursday so this should be a good game we have in our sights. At least, I hope so. I'm going to assume that it'll be a pretty tight affair with a lot of hitting and chances. At the same time, I don't think a lot of scoring will happen. Both teams aren't going to want to give up much...there's much at stake for this game.

Brad Boyes scored his first as a Sabre tonight and I'm pretty excited. Yes, we've seen this happened with Steve Bernier when he came here and scored two goals in his debut. At the same time, Boyes has been productive even in St. Louis so I certainly hope that this isn't just a flash of something that won't exist in the future as well. He had a number of hits during the game and made some pretty good plays. I say that this was an excellent debut for him. Tim Connolly got an assist tonight so I think that him and Boyes together is a good combination.

So Thomas Vanek likes to scare people (not just with his intense sniffling action) and when he limped off the ice, I was mildly concerned that it was extremely bad. So I didn't see him come back because I was searching for some things in my basement with Tamara, then I came back up to see that - BOOM - number twenty-six was back out there and being a boss. He had a great backcheck on Dubinsky I think, and overall had another great game. I think that A does something to him. Whatever it is, I like it. Lindy says he shouldn't be out at all but he was still limping when he got off the ice. I can't imagine if it's painful or just uncomfortable but I admire him either way for deciding to play through it. I just hope it doesn't hinder his game too much.

I'm thinking about making a new blog that combines both the Sabres and Canucks since I rarely talk about my second favorite team here...I've been trying to come up with a name but I lack in creativity. Also, I would switch to Wordpress if anything. I just feel like a need a change to spark my ability to write more here. I use school as an excuse too frequently. I miss blogging, you guys.

Let's talk about LAX.

I attended my first professional lacrosse game at the Bandits home opener a few weeks ago and had the time of my life. It helps that the game went to overtime so it was even more exciting than it already was. Against a divisional rival, the Bandits played strong in front of the home crowd and they always say it's fun to play at home and I could see why! The fans have way more fun at Bandits games than they do Sabres games; probably because the Bandits are champions unlike the latter.

It took me no time at all to have a lot of the chants down and I immediately got into the game. Ironically, I chose Brett Bucktooth as my favorite player because it's an awesome last name, but then I found out he was number twenty-six. I laughed when I found out. It was coincidental, I swear. So of course, I decided I had to go to more games this season and we had gone last night to the game against the Minnesota Swarm. That's when I saw my first lacrosse fight.

I remember a time when hockey fights use to be that real and aggressive, so seeing something like this in person got me on my feet right away. There were about ten fights last night I think, and each one turned out to be pretty awesome. Seeing the players throw one another against the boards; you can tell that they almost hate one another. I thought that a whole brawl might bust out and I was kind of hoping for it, to be honest. I watch hockey fights in Sabres games now and some of them aren't that great because a lot of the punches miss. In the game last night, there were a lot of hits and the next game I go to, I'm going to want to come back for more. I don't know when that will be but I think I have officially become a Bandits fan.

I didn't watch any of the Sabres game last night except for their two goals, but I hope they can get the W tonight. The Leafs are going to be looking for something to pick themselves up tonight for obvious reasons but the Sabres do need this win with Carolina and Atlanta playing one another. Let's go, Buffalo.

Rest in peace, Brendan Burke.

The Pegula Era, Part Two.

On a continuation of yesterday’s post (it was late so I had to cut short since I had a quiz today and needed sleep), I’m continuing to dissect the press conference that made the sale of the Buffalo Sabres to Terry Pegula official. I spoke a lot about facts last night so instead, I think today I’ll write about some thoughts I had while listening in on the presser.

I took notice that Golisano had said Ryan Miller and Tyler ENNIS had won awards (the Vezina and Calder, respectively). He corrected himself shortly afterwards, but he seemed to be making a lot of mistakes during this press conference if you paid enough attention. I’m not saying that ‘oh, maybe he’s been away from the Sabres too long’ but I feel like he had enough time to prepare for this media onslaught so why do you sound so nervous, Tom? Maybe I’m just displeased at him screwing up that much of a height difference. Seriously. One guy is tall enough to be a hobbit, and the other is tall enough to be the Jolly Green Giant. It’s hard to screw that up.

On the shovel matter – I had absolutely NO idea that Larry Quinn possibly came up with the idea for that with the entire league. It makes me wonder how they got rid of all of the ice shavings in the first place before the ice crew was formed. Yeah, there was zamboni, but I’m sure that not all of the shavings were off the ice after a quick sweep of that. I’m sure skating on that is a major pain. Regardless, apparently he created the whole idea and should get a lot of praise for it. If he really did then great job, Larry Quinn. Thanks for not brainwashing us with the whole ‘ice girls’ thing. There’s no need for that, at least in this city. (Watch as all the men and/or independent ladies attack me for that last sentence.) There’s a place for cheerleaders but I don’t think that place is hockey…sorry.

Dan DiPofi wasn’t asked any questions this conference and considering I don’t know much about him, I can’t say anything on him. When Larry Quinn began to tell of his sendoff, I could hear a sincere remorse in leaving his position as a managing partner up for grabs. Now, I never really liked the guy because I believed he was what held Darcy back from a lot of things but at the same time, you could tell he cared about the team and community. He took a lot of the heat while Golisano was out of town as well so I give him an abundance of credit for that. It’ll be interesting to see how Larry’s departure will affect how this team does during the Trade Deadline (even though this year he’ll still be around at the time, it appears) and also during Free Agency.

A VERY interesting portion of the press conference was when the trade deadline was being discussed, and Larry mentioned there was a note given to Terry that there are certain players on this team that are untradeable – but the list is small, and they could not reveal who those players were. It makes you wonder who they want this team to be formed around. To be honest, I don’t think it’s the guys that people are most likely to think it is. Examples are Vanek and Miller. I believe that they’re tradable (not like anyone wants Vanek’s contract, but you never know) and it could be other guys; the ones who seem like they would make excellent tradebait but are also great leaders and are still developing. Oh look, I did just describe Vanek. My bad. Either way, it gives us things to think about as the trade deadline fast approaches.

I don’t know if I’m just very observant or what, but during the press conference, Tom Golisano talks about how Drury and Briere left Buffalo because they were offered contracts that paid significantly more money than they were willing to pay them. During this little tirade, either Larry or Dan (though I believe it was Larry) begins to cough abruptly. Here I am getting too analytical about facial expressions/body language but seriously – who thinks Larry is a little upset that no deal could’ve been made with those two? Briere and Drury were actually compared to Vanek and Roy by Golisano and I believe that’s a lopsided comparison. Briere and Drury are a few years older and more experienced. Also, Vanek and Roy were, at the time, on the third line when Briere and Drury were here. Totally different caliber level players. I just think the comparison is a little unfair and believing that Roy or Vanek were soon going to turn into one of them is ridiculous. This might be why Vanek’s capabilities as a sniper are being hindered back by Lindy but that’s a whole ‘nother rant I can get into. Which I won’t.

Anyone else thought it to be unprofessional that Tom still had his phone on during the presser? As soon as you heard it go off, I rolled my eyes. Turn that off when you’re giving an important press conference such as this one, or at least turn it on silent. That just pissed me off for reasons unknown, maybe it’s because I’m a Business student and slowly learning the ways of being a professional. Meanwhile as I type this, I’m slouching and awkwardly on my couch.

My favorite part of the whole presser though? The Mike Harrington/Tom Golisano faceoff. I was waiting for a microphone to smash into one of their heads; if I had been there, I would’ve grabbed some popcorn and made myself comfortable. Talk about putting a little drama into things. It figures that the owner would’ve put a lot of blame on the players and the coaching staff for missing the playoffs two years in a row but I think collectively as an organization, you have to feel like you did something wrong. Maybe that’s me but there is no ‘I’ in team and while there are 23 guys who play on this team every night, there are others involved. It isn’t just one person’s fault, everyone is to blame. Maybe Tom Golisano can think about that as he heads back to his little ranch in Florida and take care of his business there. Thanks for saving my team, Tom – in more ways than one.

A new era of the Sabres begins today as they take on the Penguins at 7 PM. I won’t be watching since I’ll be at the Bandits game tonight, but I hope that long break helped them prepare for this crucial run to try and make the playoffs. Operation: Pegasaurus is a go. Let’s go, Buffalo!

Glasscast #3

Glasscast #3 Hurricanes vs. Sabres

Astronomical.

Last night, I watched the Sabres/Coyotes game at my eldest brother's house. Some if not most of you know Corey, who has been on WGR 550 and now writes periodically for the Goose's Roost. During the game last night, he had compared Vanek to an asteroid - in that with his inertia, it never looks like anyone can stop him. Well, maybe besides the sun. So after hearing that, this is what I came up with today.


Photoshop skills aren't what they used to be, but there you have it. VANEK. IN. SPAAAAAAACE.

A podcast should be up shortly. I have some stuff I want to dish out against people because they suck. Go Sabres.

She's back - with audio.

2010-12-25 21-36-50.466

It's good to be back for the holiday break, folks. Bring it.

PotG is on a hiatus at the moment if you couldn't tell.

For the meantime:
We'll be back to our original programming soon.

Time to Panic? A Reflection on the Season So Far.

I haven't written a blog post in awhile; specifically because I just have not been interested in typing up post game after post game about nearly the same thing. The Sabres have so far lost ten games this season and have only won three. All of those wins have been on the road. There has been a lack of motivation within me to write up stats or analyzing how the boys might have played one night. Not only do I work some game nights now, but I literally cannot pay attention to some games because they're either boring or the team just doesn't deserve that attention. I can easily be doing something else.

After attending the game last night with Tamara (and talking with my brother and Ryan from The Goose's Roost during the first intermission), I gained the motivation to write a post about the season so far. I don't even really know how to make of it, to be honest. Most people are hitting the panic button already thanks to their lackluster performances on the ice at home of all places, and it doesn't seem like anyone is putting much emotion into the game anymore. The defense is mediocre at best and I think Tyler Myers should be sat for at least one game to clear his head. Will Lindy make that moves? Who knows. He seemed to think that putting in Jhonas Enroth last night, a guy who has had the starter job taken from him in the minors, was a great idea and look what happened to him. It was his first game all over again. Ironically, that was also against the Bruins.

I could literally write maybe five posts about the power play and penalty kill on their own but I won't. The power play has taken off from where it ended last season and still looks horrible. It makes me question how Brian McCutcheon is still a part of this organization. No matter how many times you mix up those power play lines; if you don't shoot on the net, nothing is going to go in. Ryan made a good point to me last night during our discussion "Why is Paul Gaustad on the first power play unit when we have another guy who does the same thing, only a thousand times better?" As much as I love the Goose, he is no deflection master. The only one who is actually good at that on this team is Thomas Vanek even though the likes of Gaustad and Stafford can place themselves in front of the net and get hit on a nightly basis. They just can't score goals from that position. No comment on the short handed goals...

Last night also proved how awful our penalty kill has been this season. I think at the beginning it was all right since it took a few games for us to let in a goal on the opposing power play, but now we just can't seem to get it out of the zone. I believe that for the last few games we've at least let in one power play goal per game. Our defensive effort is a disaster so far. The only defenseman I've been impressed with at all this season is Jordan Leopold since he has seemed to be pretty consistent so far in that I only notice him when he's been on the score sheet.

I think everyone who reads my blog knows how much I despise Derek Roy, but I can't even find it within myself to make negative comments towards him anymore. I have to give credit where credit is due and say he has been our best player thus far because of his points. It actually pained me to type that up, ugh. Maybe I should actually appreciate him more since he is consistently getting points. Amazing what having a terrible team can do to you!

Thoughts on the captaincy - it looks like Rivet isn't going to give it up, and I think we have to try and remember that the guys on this team had chosen him as captain. As weird as that whole thing was, I think Craig has been a good voice when speaking in interviews. There are other guys in the locker room who have voiced their opinions too and could take on a leadership role. I don't think changing the captain will do this team any good, though. The 'C' is just a letter and nothing more. Maybe some more guys in the locker room should step up and admit that they haven't been playing as well as they should be. None of this 'oh, let's change the captaincy' crap.

Then there's the whole 'fire Lindy' option. If we look as some recent teams who fired their coaches and ended up going to the Finals (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia come to mind). Lindy Ruff can only work with so much and the guys at the helm are Larry Quinn and Darcy Regier. If anyone should be fired from their job, it's the guys at the top and not the bottom. If you give Lindy Ruff a good team to work with, he will work with them and teach them. Right now it is obviously not a good team and they can't even seem to work out any of their problems as of this moment.

I know that it's been nearly one month of hockey with only three wins, but my finger is hovering over that panic button. It hasn't been hit yet. How about you?