Author: Chris Ostrander

Revisiting my US Olympic Hockey roster projections

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Earlier in the summer I took the time to project who I felt would be donning the red, white and blue for the United States in the 2014 Olympic Games. With a quarter of the NHL season in the books there is a potential for a number of players to have cemented their spots or even opened the eyes of the USA Hockey executive team.

Considering the US doesn’t have the mountain of talent that is touted by the Canadians to pull from, there are more than a few assumed locks for the team. Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel are both enjoying strong starts to the season and will certainly be counted upon to continue their elite scoring ways in Sochi. The story remains the same for many of the forwards I assumed would be making the squad.

What it will likely come down to is who has the strongest resume as the games near. While the orientation camp and preseason rosters were based on career resumes and the assumed growth of players, others have shot out of the gates and bear watching as the season progresses. Due to that, there is likely to be some shuffling amongst the names who already were considered favorites.

Max Pacioretty has only played 15 games and has accounted for nine points (7+2) in that span. His absence from the lineup and the slower start could bump him off the roster as could be the case for James Van Riemsdyk. He has 16 points (9+7) in 22 games and has a natural chemistry with Kessel, but he could also be supplanted by a new face should the executive staff go with who is playing best.

JVR is probably more of a longshot to be left off the roster than to make it at this point and Ryan Callahan’s injury issues to start the year and Dustin Brown’s unimpressive offensive output won’t win them many favorites. However, Brown and Callahan both serve incredibly well in a checking and leadership role, which will likely cement their spot on the roster.

My original roster only accounted for 13 forwards and seven defensemen as I didn’t account for the two extra roster spots made available for this year’s games. Given that my original roster now has two gift openings, there isn’t nearly as much trouble trying to narrow down who should and shouldn’t be packing up for Russia.

The players who have motivated me to revisit my picks include; Jason Pominville (13 goals already), TJ Oshie (21 points) along with a few others who I originally considered little more than darkhorse candidates (Alex Galchenyuk, Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Fowler).

I truly believe that most of the American roster was decided early on as players like David Backes, Kane, Kessel, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were all but decided the minute the orientation camp roster came out. Others would certainly be favorites but would need a solid first half of the year to cement their spot, this is where I see some opportunity for turnover. Here’s my new roster with new names highlighted in blue: Continue reading →

Between the Pipes: Sabres throw away another quick start

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Yet another clunker befell the Sabres on their first trip to Philadelphia during the Suck For Sam campaign. For the second-straight game the Sabres drew first blood only to see their opponent run away with a regulation victory.

It should be noted that if you’re a fan who, at any point, clamored for the team to tear it down and get the first pick, regulation losses are a primary part of the blueprint.

Thursday’s loss was highlighted more by undisciplined play than plain and simple bad play. Buffalo’s steady stream to the penalty box allowed the Flyers to rack up 31 shots through 40 minutes and 46 shots for the entire game.

Both goaltenders played quite well and the possession and shot totals ultimately favored the victors in a 4-1 victory. Continue reading →

Sabres GM search taking shape

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Pat LaFontaine’s search for the Sabres’ next General Manager has likely hit high gear now that he’s had time to get settled, take a look at his team an begin contacting candidates.

The moment news broke that LaFontaine wouldn’t just be coming in as Buffalo’s new President of Hockey Operations, but that he’d be conducting the search for a new GM, speculation began to run rampant over who hey may interview, and which candidate would serve the Sabres best.

The name many fans turned to first was Rick Dudley. He’s the guy that Bucky Gleason has floated a number of times in hopes of seeing him installed in the GM chair for the Sabres. Considering Bucky had also previously suggested the thought of LaFontaine in his new role, certainly some connected the dots to his train of thought.

That isn’t to say that Sabres management is consistently scouring The Buffalo News, WGR Whiner Line or other outlets for hockey theories for hiring and trade ideas – at least I hope they aren’t – but it shows that Gleason does indeed understand the direction that the NHL hiring practices can follow.

Dudley wouldn’t be a bad hire by any stretch. He has a solid resume that saw him begin to shape some of the stronger parts of the current Winnipeg Jets core (his time was spent in Atlanta). He also spent a season with Toronto before catching on as Montreal’s Assistant GM in a role providing guidance to the Canadiens’ new General Manager, Marc Bergevin. Considering Bergevin’s relative inexperience, Dudley could be considered a guiding force in many ways.

Dudley also happens to have strong connections to the Sabres organization. Given the wave of nostalgia that has swept through the team offices, there wouldn’t be much surprise if yet another individual with ties to the team was brought in. Dudley has hopped around a bit in recent seasons which may be motivated by a desire to hold a significant role with an organization.

He doesn’t slot in as my preferred candidate, however. Sure, he has a nice resume and certainly has shown a penchant for strong talent evaluation. For this hire I wouldn’t mind seeing the Sabres go with more of an up-and-coming hire. While the associated risks are obvious, and it should be noted that Dudley isn’t in any way a re-tread or tired candidate, it seems that allowing a rising star in the executive ranks to take over would serve the team well.

One other thing to consider would be someone who has spent a significant portion of his time with a team that has not only had success, but built themselves to that level of success. Here’s a handful of other rumored candidates and some information on where they may fall into place during this search: Continue reading →

There’s no longer room for a traditional enforcer on Sabres roster

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Merely mention John Scott’s name amongst Sabres fans and you’re sure to get a divisive response. The hulking enforcer has managed to win over or alienate his fair share of Sabres fans over the past 44 games.

He enters tonight’s contest with Philly with 44 games played in Buffalo, 102 PIMs, zero points and one significant suspension as a result of a check to the head. Oh, and he’s a -6. Scott’s effectiveness on the ice has never really been in question. He is a big huge dude who is paid to keep the peace, not score goals.

Scott was deemed a necessary addition after the lack of response surrounding the Miller/Lucic incident signified a need for more toughness in the Buffalo locker room. So Darcy Regier went out and found the one guy who was capable of fighting anyone.  A 6’8” behemoth who had fought 22 times (according to HockeyFights.com) in four previous NHL seasons.

He was to be Buffalo’s great nuclear deterrent. The man who could stand up for his teammates, handle himself against each and every NHL heavyweight and the one player who would best instill a notion of confidence in his teammates.

The one problem is that the nuclear deterrent doesn’t seem to carry the clout that he was expected. The limited ice time that Scott receives means that he’s rarely available when duty calls and when he is dropping the gloves, it’s typically with another fighter who fits in the ICBM category.

The issue with Scott isn’t all that complicated. First, he isn’t the greatest hockey player out there, which limits his ice time. Because he doesn’t get much ice time he’s rarely available to fight. Because he’s rarely available to fight would indicate that he’s not much use to the Sabres. Continue reading →

Weekend yields roster moves for Sabres

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It would appear that two games behind the bench is all that Ted Nolan needed to make some concrete decisions on the Sabres roster. A number of changes in the forward lines accompanied Nolan tipping his hand regarding the goaltenders after last weekend’s home-and-home with Toronto.

After Ryan Miller turned aside 33 shots in a 3-1 victory, Jhonas Enroth was victimized by screens and deflections in a 4-2 loss that saw the young Swede only make 22 saves. The decision to run with Miller was likely made not only due to his strong performance on Friday, but the play he has exhibited over his last five starts. Continue reading →

Let @FakeDarcy’s end serve as a death to parody accounts

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Yesterday marked an end of an era in Buffalo. More specifically, the end of a social media era.

The departure of Darcy Regier from the Sabres front office also signified the end of the line for Fake Darcy as the latter posted one final farewell tweet as news broke of Regier’s termination from the Sabres.

https://twitter.com/FakeDarcy/status/400649349064974336

Fake Darcy managed to operate at the forefront of the Sabres Twitterverse with a steady stream of obvious, snarky tweets that were always taking the lighter side of things into account. It was always just right, not trying too hard, but funny enough to elicit a chuckle.

That’s not always the case when it comes to Sabres-related Twitter accounts. This is probably true of most Twitter feeds that surround professional teams, but given the cottage industry that is Sabres parody accounts, yesterday’s actions should serve as the end of the line for such accounts.

Go ahead and search Twitter for Ron Rolston or Ted Nolan. Be prepared to scroll for a while as there is an account for everything imaginable for the former and current coach of the Sabres. But none of them carry the personality that was found with the feed that was Fake Darcy. To their credit, the Lindy Ruff’s Tie guys have also done a fine job in maintaining a Twitter feed that is entertaining enough to justify. But they’re less a parody and more just a Sabres-related feed in many way.

A quick visual survey shows one account with a single tweet to its credit, two that stopped late last spring and a few others that managed to stay active but truly offered little in the sense of following.

I suppose all parody accounts come with an acquired taste, sort of like comedians. If a particular brand of comedy doesn’t do the trick, you’re not going to find much use for them. But when one account in a veritable sea of them offers even the slightest comedic value, it would seem that the trend for such accounts is crap. I’d like to think that the fanbase is better than this, but I’d be lying.

So consider this a clarion call of sorts. The Sabres Twitterverse was blessed with a mildly entertaining – much like the mildly successful real GM – parody account that was run very well. Whoever was the voice behind the account knew well enough to step down when Regier was fired. Let Fake Darcy’s retirement serve as the end of the line for any further accounts of the ilk.

Goodbye to Fake Darcy, your run was entertaining and well received. Let’s hope that Sabres fans have enough sense to know that they won’t replicate what you perfected.

Sabres make sweeping changes as LaFontaine and Nolan return

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A pair of very familiar faces are back in prominent positions with the Sabres organization as Pat LaFontaine and Ted Nolan were brought back in the fold after a massive shake up at First Niagara Center.

LaFontaine takes over as the team’s President of Hockey Operations with Ted Nolan stepping in as the interim head coach. Both Ron Rolston and Darcy Regier were relieved of their duties prior to LaFontaine and Nolan stepping in.

Ousting Rolston seemed like an inevitable choice given Buffalo’s woeful record and the ugly way they went about earning it. Exactly when the axe was to fall on Rolston was left to guesswork due to Buffalo’s current campaign for the first overall pick. The heat was rising fast, however, as Buffalo’s string of first period flops and ugly losses was punctuated by an inability to draw any sort of redemption from the progression of the team’s young players. When a coach lauded for his ability to develop players isn’t even doing that, obviously there is a problem.

Regier’s departure is only shocking when you consider the scope of this shakeup. The construction of the roster left plenty to be desired and his quest to mimic the toughness of the Bruins ended up sacrificing the overall skill level of Buffalo’s forward group. Like Rolston, Regier’s departure was something that was expected at some point in the coming calendar year, the timing is what comes as something of a shock, as were his replacements. Continue reading →

Elimination of goalie fights can be avoided

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With a handful of events sitting at the forefront of everyone’s collective memories, the NHL’s GM meetings are set to look like a breakdown of current events based on the potential changes that are set to be discussed.

Amongst the topics are diving, bullying and goalie fights. Exactly how goalie fights may be impacted could be quite severe.

Thanks to Ray Emery’s antics against the Capitals, talks surrounding goalie fights are likely to revolve around supplementary discipline or perhaps even doing away with the practice altogether. A few reports have indicated that a 10-game ban will be levied against any goaltender who chooses to cross the red line to fight his counterpart and I say that’s one step too far.

Even though a situation like what unfolded in Philadelphia is about as rare as a John Scott hat trick, the League needs to have some sort of safeguard against such events after coming away from the Philly brawl with egg on their face. It was a situation that likely called for a suspension to Emery for a reckless decision to (basically) attack a player who had no interest in engaging in a fight. But without any safeguards in place, there was nothing done by the League.

Now the League is likely to make a move to compensate for the previous shortcoming. If the chatter serves to be true, it will be something of an overreaction to the situation. Continue reading →

Extra Point: Offense sputters in Steel City

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Sunday’s loss to the Steelers not only dropped the Bills to 3-7 on the year, but brought the Draft and offseason process closer to the forefront as the 2013 season is slowly turning towards yet another chapter in the tragic novel that is the Bills playoff drought.

The story this week was an inability to control the game at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Playing against one of the worst lines in the league, Buffalo’s vaunted front four didn’t have much of an impact while the Bills running game never got rolling against the sputtering Steeler defense. It was almost as if the teams underwent a complete role reversal after the optimism surrounding this game. Continue reading →

Late Extra Points: Bills throw away loss to Chiefs

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Since it is already Thursday and I’m two full days past when I typically do a write up on the Bills game that was I’ll keep this to a minimum. Consider it a drive thru version of the Extra Point. Continue reading →