Buffalo Sabres

Conjecture department: Could a lockout benefit the Sabres?

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

Might this lockout be a good thing? Not for the game or fans, mind you; but for the season.

When I look at the Sabres past few seasons, there has been a significant lull in performance at some point. Whether that came at the beginning of the year (2010-11) or in the middle of the year (2011-12), the team has suffered from a drop off that ultimately cost the team wins and position in the standings.

Obviously last year’s mid-winter slump was centered around injuries and horrible play, but fatigue and the grind of the season likely had something to do with it. Since it seems as if a lockout is inevitable at this point, could it be somewhat beneficial for the Sabres to play a shortened schedule?

Perhaps a shortened season would allow for Buffalo’s offensive players to stay fresh over the entire course of the season. The same would go for the goaltending and defense. In fact, shortening the schedule could be massively beneficial for Ryan Miller, whose workload would potentially go from 60+ games to 40+ games. That is, of course, if Lindy Ruff utilizes Jhonas Enroth properly.

There are a few permutations here that serve as counterpoints to this train of thought. First, a shorter schedule would also cause the league to condense games into a smaller package in hopes of keeping the 2012-13 season to an adequate length. This will cause more back-to-back matchups and could potentially create more wear and tear on the players.

Secondly, every team will be playing a shorter schedule. Because of that, every team will reap the same benefits from trimming the schedule down from 82 games. It’s not as if the Sabres are tailor-made to sprint as opposed to finishing a marathon or gaining any sort of added advantage compared to the rest of the league. Continue reading →

Pegula Ice Arena progressing towards completion

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This is a special guest submission from Kyle Rossi who runs the blog Thank You Terry. His blog is all about Penn State hockey – both club and NCAA – and is full of phenomenal information. I highly recommend reading it on a regular basis. Kyle was kind enough to offer some insight to the progress being made on the Pegula Ice Arena down in State College. Given the Sabres recent victory regarding the Webster Block, I thought there would be no one better to provide some insight on the scope of a Pegula funded project such as the PIA or the HARBORcenter. Enjoy.

Hey Sabres fans! My name is Kyle Rossi, and I write Thank You Terry, a blog covering the soon-to-be four hockey teams representing Penn State (men’s and women’s NCAA, men’s and women’s ACHA). As I’m sure you know, you and I both share a debt of gratitude to one rather wealthy man: Terry Pegula.

The rendering of what the finished Pegula Ice Arena will look like.

Our stories are actually somewhat parallel. While Buffalo was wandering through a purgatory characterized by an always-competitive team that never saw a free agent it couldn’t lose (or a scouting department it couldn’t slash) and therefore couldn’t take the final couple of steps, Penn State was dealing with its own sort of limbo. Our non-varsity teams, known as the Icers and Lady Icers, had been considered candidates to make the jump to the big time, NCAA Division I, for decades – if only the school could find some money for a DI-caliber hockey arena. Despite PSU’s glut of success in the ACHA (including seven national championships), the program’s rabid supporters were always just one “hey, when are you guys going DI?” from an outsider away from a feeling of hopelessness.

Suddenly, in swoops this billionaire nobody had ever heard of to write large checks and save the day. In the Sabres’ case, I suppose he wasn’t a complete unknown, but there still had to be a “wait…this guy’s a Sabres fan…and he wants to buy the team?!?” moment for you guys.

Anyway, Chris invited me to write this post to update you on the progress of something possibly of interest of you, the arena bearing Pegula’s name on Penn State’s campus.

You might be familiar with some of the widely-reported basics. There will be two NHL-sized sheets, one in what’s being called the Community Rink, which will have 300 seats, the other in the main arena, which will seat 6,000. Five thousand of those seats will be arranged in a single-level horseshoe, with a ring of suites above the open concourse that will be at the top of the “regular person” seating. The final thousand seats will be the student section, to be located behind the net Penn State will attack twice. It will be as steep as code allows, helping to meet the one major directive Pegula has given on the project, that the building “sound like a hockey game inside of a garbage can” on game days.

“It should sound like a hockey game inside a garbage can.” Terry Pegula

The price tag – $89 million – is absolutely staggering for a college hockey facility of its size. For context on that, one only needs to consider some of the venues toured by a Penn State contingent (including Pegula) in 2010 to generate design ideas. Notre Dame’s Compton Family Ice Arena, which opened last season, cost about $50 million. Miami’s Goggin Ice Center cost $35 million (in 2006). Minnesota-Duluth’s AMSOIL Arena opened in late 2010 at a cost of $38 million, while RIT’s proposed Gene Polisseni Center, the most likely candidate to replace the Pegula Ice Arena as the newest in college hockey, is estimated to cost around $35 million. Basically, if Penn State gets anything approaching dollar-for-dollar value on this project, it will instantly become the crown jewel of college hockey. Continue reading →

Sabres Harbor Center chosen for the Webster Block

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It is official. The development team led by Terry Pegula and the Buffalo Sabres has been selected to develop the Webster Block.

Work can now begin on the HARBORcenter project that won the bid process for the Sabres’ group. When finished, the building will include parking, a hotel, two ice rinks along with retail and restaurant space. Their official proposal tabbed March as the start of construction, which is the date the Sabres will stick with.

News reports indicate that the restaurant, retail, ice rinks and parking will be ready for the start of the 2014-15 season with the hotel to follow shortly after. With the ground breaking set for March, I would anticipate that significant process will be occurring late in the summer of 2013.

Coupled with the progress on One Canalside (Donovan Building), the faux canals and the rest of the Aud Block, the Canalside footprint will suddenly be awash with construction projects. For a district that stayed afloat on renderings and proposals, this is a breath of fresh air.

The choice of the HARBORcenter over and Carl Paladino’s proposal likely came down to the office component that was part of the Paladino project. With the HSBC tower set to be largely vacated, there was no need for over 100,000 square feet of new office space so close to what is soon to be a vacant tower. In addition, the year-round draw that will come from the ice rink component makes HARBORcenter an extremely viable project.

In addition, the inclusion of Tim Horton’s and New Era as retail partners in the HARBORcenter plans showed that the retail component is going to have an immediate impact. Hearing the word “destination” attached to the Tim Horton’s location is particularly intriguing. I know one source pointed to this as potentially being built as the world’s largest Tim Horton’s.

One thing that should be noted is that this project was kept out of the hands of ECHDC. Byron Brown wanted to keep this as a city parcel and fast track the development and did just thatNot to denigrate the work that has been done by ECHDC at Canalside, but that project has has run into its fair share of snags, holdups and setbacks over the past few years. So much so that all that can be shown for the development of Canalside are a few plush lawns and some colorful chairs. Even one of the lawns came courtesy of Terry Pegula.

Before Donn Esmonde takes the time to credit the slower, dumber, cheaper approach that is being taken at Canalside, realize that lawn chairs have nothing to do with this project. This was a parcel that was identified as prime for major development and the city didn’t settle for anything less. So, if you see some form of rhetoric touting the Adirondack chairs and their influence on this project, realize it is bull crap.

What should be pointed out is that the relationship that HARBORcenter and Canalside will have is definitely going to be give and take. Canalside, while devoid of permanent attractions and activities, draws massive crowds every summer. Once the compressors are active in the canals, it will be a year-round destination. The throngs of people that frequent Canalside will be happy to find accessible parking and real, sit down food options at HARBORcenter. On the other hand, those planning on heading to HARBORcenter for hockey or a meal will be lucky enough to stroll down to the waterfront and take in everything that Canalside has become.

Adding Tim Horton’s and New Era brings the first real private retailers to Canalside’s doorstep along with a full-scale sit down restaurant. Add in the restaurant space at One Canalside and there will be a trio of restaurants (Liberty Hound) just outside of FNC set to serve fans and participants of youth or adult hockey games. Then, of course, there are the hotel patrons that will be staying in either HARBORcenter or One Canalside.

These hotel rooms will serve out-of-town travelers, hockey families and a number of other directly in the heart of downtown near what is now becoming one of the more exciting areas of the city.

There is a ton of positive momentum building at Canalside. Some of it has come from the ancillary installations that have been put in in lieu of any concrete development over the past five years. However, today’s announcement welcomes a second full-scale piece of development that will serve as a true cornerstone for the district.

Choosing HARBORcenter may have been a difficult decision to come to, but it most certainly was the right conclusion to reach.

Poll: What are your thoughts on the All-American Prospects game uniforms?

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USA Hockey released the design of the uniforms for the All-American Prospects game that will be played at First Niagara Center on September 29. The uniforms, designed by Nike, have quite a bit going on. To say the least.

I don’t hate them. In fact, the white looks pretty sharp thanks to the red and blue accents. However, the blue uniform has a nice Pro Beach Hockey, RHI, minor-league feel to it. I think the watermark/sublimated USA Hockey logo that is set to the background of each pops more on the blue uniform, making it a little more busy. My only question is in regard to Nike making the jerseys for a CCM sponsored event. I know there are whispers of some hockey companies (CCM, Reebok, The Hockey Company etc.) being purchased. I just wonder if this represents one of those deals.

But enough about what I think. Share your thoughts in the comments and on the poll below.

The Instigator Podcast 1.18 – Featuring Die by the Blade

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Eric and I were joined by Zach, from Die by the Blade to talk about the Sabres Alumni Golf Tournament, Shane Doan, the leadership void in the locker room and plus/minus.

Thanks again to Zach for coming on the show, he is the first official guest we have had on the Instigator and it was fun to have him in the conversation. You probably already read Die by the Blade, and if you don’t you should start doing so immediately.

What makes you elite?

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The word elite gets tossed around a lot by hockey fans and members of the media. It seems to be one of those terms that is easy to use to qualify a player’s talent level when discussing career potential or, more often, their trade value.

But is there a way to draw the line on elite players? Is there a specific number that represents the cut off between elite and very good players? Or perhaps the term is so arbitrary that it is nothing more than an adjective that provides a simple way to quantify certain players.

Is Rick Nash elite? Prove it.

What is interesting about determining “elite” players is that the qualifications seem to change every season. Not to mention the fact that those who fall into the “elite” category change on a regular basis.

There is a group of players at every position in the NHL who deserve to be called elite, or superstars. However, with this term being used so loosely, I wonder if the opinion of elite status is a bit skewed.

There is no doubt that players like Shea Weber, Sidney Crosby and Henrik Lundqvist are elite. Whether you’re talking centers, defensemen, wings or goaltenders, there is a magic number of true elite players and those who fall into other categories. It is my opinion that this is not only a sliding scale on a yearly basis but based on position as well.

Perhaps the league’s elite goaltenders fall somewhere in the 7-10 range, whereas an elite defensemen could potentially be found anywhere from the 15-20 range depending on how the players were ordered and, of course, depending on who is doing the ranking.

The issue is that there is no way to truly draw a line between “elite” and “not elite”. The gray area leaves room for debate (which is fun) but also makes the term rather arbitrary. Continue reading →

Ryan Miller is a what now?

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When NHL 13 rolls out next month, Ryan Miller will sport a 92 rating. That is a rating that comes in above such tenders as Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Jonathon Quick and every other goalie in the league.

Yes, Miller is the highest rated goalie in NHL 13 based on what is probably a crazy algorithm developed by EA Sports based on performance, stats and perhaps a spousal hotness x-factor. This rating was determined by a bunch of coding experts who developed that algorithm and poured over results from the past few years to determine the number.

The best part of all this is how infuriated all of Miller’s detractors will be. Continue reading →

Unessentials: The Buffalo Sabres

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Puck Daddy is pretty much the gold standard for hockey blogging. Just about every guy or girl who starts up a hockey-centric blog is hoping to turn into Wyshynski one day.

This summer, Puck Daddy rolled out a new series call Essentials. This is a post that revolves around the Essential player, goal, season, game etc. about each team in the league. While the Sabres version has yet to come out, I wanted to have a little fun with this idea.

So, rather than step on the toes of Puck Daddy, Wysh and whichever Sabres blog is awarded the Sabres Essentials, I chose to go a different direction. This will be the Unessentials for the sabres franchise. For the most part this will just be the opposite of what the Puck Daddy series has highlighted. For example, the unsung hero may be an overrated player, the best game will be the exact opposite of that. Hopefully you get the point.

So, I give you, the Sabres Unessentials:

Player: Slava Kozlov

Kozlov was what the Sabres got in return for Dominik Hasek. The Sabres also ended up with a draft pick that was eventually ended up with Atlanta for the 2002 Draft. Kozlov’s tenure in Buffalo was short and uneventful. He played 38 games and scored nine goals before a laceration put him on the shelf for most of the year. Kozlov hasn’t been shy about complaining about the city and his time here. He is also probably a big reason why many Sabres fans think that all Russians are lazy jackasses.

Season: 2002-03

Six months prior to the start of the 02-03 season, John Rigas and his sons were shipped off to jail, the Sabres lost their owners and started on a spiral to the bottom of the league. At that point, “Hockey Heaven”was only drawing about 10,000 fans per game, the team couldn’t win and there were whispers that the Sabres could potentially leave town.

The 02-03 season led to the draft pick that became Thomas Vanek, the Golisano ownership, Daniel Briere’s arrival and the moves that would build the foundation for the 2005-06 team. However, the time after Hasek left in the early 2000s were dark days for the Sabres franchise. Continue reading →

History should speed up CBA talks

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Some people never learn. Of course, when you’re talking millions and millions of dollars, it is hard to figure out any sort of logic.

The last time hockey fans were facing labor talks between the owners and Players Association, a lockout was nearly a certainty. What resulted was a lost season, a crap TV contract, fan apprehension and a complete loss of respect from a sports network capable of pumping any event full of propaganda.

Maybe losing any sort of foothold on ESPN’ airwaves was a minor setback, but “the worldwide leader” is nothing more than a televised tabloid capable of steering sports fans interest towards a singular message if they so choose. Regardless, the lost season in 2004-05 was a massive setback for the NHL and caused the necessity for a whole lot of rebuilding.

Only seven years later we are almost back to where we started. Salaries have ballooned (thanks to skyrocketing revenues) and the owners are getting over their heads when it comes to paying out cash. With just over a month to go, it appears as if the worst may be on the horizon, another lockout. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 1.17 – Waiting on Webster

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Eric and I are back with another episode of The Instigator Podcast. We chat a little bit about the Webster Block, what could be next for the arena district and play plus/minus.