Buffalo Sabres

Addition of Gwinnett Gladiators affiliation gives Sabres more options

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The Gwinnett Gladiators made some news yesterday, as they announced an affiliation agreement with the Buffalo Sabres.

The ECHL club will likely serve as a safety valve for the Rochester Americans if they’re in need of reinforcements. The Gladiators may also end up being a place to stash additional players in the event that there is no room in Rochester. Based on the training camp roster, the Sabres have a few players who may end up being bumped to the Coast.

After sending ten players back to junior yesterday, the Sabres were left with 47 players in training camp, only 23 will end up on the Sabres opening night roster. Buffalo kept a few interesting names pas the first cut, namely forwards Riley Boychuk, Jonathon Parker and Phil Varone; and defensemen Corey Finenhage, Joe Finley and Matt Mackenzie.

Both Boychuk and MacKenzie are eligible to return to their respective junior clubs while Parker and Varone continue to extend invitations that extend back to prospect camp. Fienhage and Finley stand out to me because of Finley’s size, draft position and lack of a contract and Fienhage simply doesn’t have a deal with the Sabres, that I know of.

I would expect Varone to get a contract, while Parker is probably toeing the line between staying and leaving. Boychuk and MacKenzie will ultimately return to their junior clubs but Fienhage and Finley very well may battle for a spot with the Amerks.

The majority of the 47 players will end up split between Buffalo and Rochester, however there is the opportunity to send additional players to the ECHL and keep them within the system. In the past, players like Fienhage may have been discarded after fizzling in the pipeline, but the new affiliation allows players to be stashed away while still playing the professional game. This will be a great tool for the Sabres to utilize.

For example, goaltender Jeff Jakaitis will be kept as an insurance policy for the Amerks in the event Drew MacIntyre or David Leggio are recalled or injured. The Buffalo News reported that Jakaitis was signed to an AHL contract, today. Maxime Legault and Jacob Lagace are also likely targets for the Gladiators. Both will have a great chance to make the Amerks, but if they are to be cut, they can be sent to Gwinnett and kept in the system for the year. Fienhage, Finley, Parker and even Dennis Persson are on my list of ECHL candidates.

While this affiliation won’t necessarily allow the Sabres to cultivate the next Gretzky, it will keep assets in the system when they would have previously been lost because the AHL club lacked the roster space.

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Canadiens

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The Buffalo Sabres will take the ice in Montreal for their second preseason contest of the year, tonight.

Fresh off a 3-1 victory over Carolina on Monday, the Sabres will go with a line up heavy with veterans and only a few tweeners against Montreal. The lines are as follows:

Vanek – Roy – Pominville

Ennis – Leino – Stafford

Gerbe – Adam – Boyes

Foligno – Ellis – Kassian

The defensemen were listed by the Sabres’ Twitter as Ehrhoff, Regher, Myers, Gragnani, Schiestel and Persson. Whether or not those are in order of pairs, I can’t be sure (s/t to Kevin at sabres.com). UPDATE: It appears that Regher will skate with Myers. This probably meansEhrhoff will skate with Gragnani. Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth will split time in net. I would guess Miller gets the start with Enroth coming off the bench again. Continue reading →

Who wears the ‘C’?

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For the first time since the summer of 2008, the Buffalo Sabres are without a full-time captain. The last captain, Craig Rivet, was waived in February and the Sabres have gone without an official captain since.

Tyler Myers wore a letter for the first time as a Sabres against the Hurricanes on Monday.

As the first puckdrop of the 2011-12 season fast approaches, the organization will need to peg the next man to adorn the ‘C’ soon. To offer a barometer for when an announcement may occur, Rivet was named captain on October 8, 2008. Rivet became the 27th captain in franchise history and it is rather unfortunate to think there have been 27 captains in this team’s history. Twelve earned the honor during the “rotating captaincy” years of 2003-04 and 07-08. Now that idea may be the most preposterous thing I have ever heard of. At the most you should have co-captiains – as they had in 2007-08 with Drury and Briere – but it is a shame to think a professional hockey team would need to rotate the captaincy, there had to be one or two candidates who could have easily filled that role.

Personally, I see four front-runners for this honor. Paul Gaustad, Tyler Myers, Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek. Each have their own pros and cons but are also likely the best candidates to become the 28th captain in Sabres history. With only four players deserving of a look, I am confident that a crime such as a rotation will not occur. Continue reading →

Sabres season preview: The Centers

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This is the final part in a series previewing the Buffalo Sabres season. Part five focuses on the centers, read the previous entries here: 1,2,3,4,5.

The Buffalo Sabres organization is painfully thin at center. This was a point of emphasis when the offseason began and remains a sticking point today. There was hope that a center would be found either before the draft or when free agency opened. Neither market yielded the result the Sabres desired.

Instead, Buffalo added Ville Leino in hopes of playing him as a pivot with their top six. Leino was a consolation prize, of sorts, after the Sabres missed out on the Brad Richards sweeps. Leino is a dynamic talent who couples silky smooth agility with scary hands. It has been said Leino will translate well to center because he played low in the Flyers system and was a center during his time in Finland.

So far I am sold on Leino stepping in at center. I only saw him in one preseason game, but he finds open ice and clears lanes for his line mates. Although he won’t see time on the penalty kill, I could Leino as an absolute upgrade over Tim Connolly as the “second-line center”. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres 3 – Hurricanes 1

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Nathan Gerbe nets the game winner as the Sabres beat Carolina 3-1.

It was Slug Appreciation Day, every one and their third cousin came to the First Niagara Center to upgrade their logos. Tonight also marked the first time all the arena upgrades would be on display for the fans to see as the first hockey game was played under the First Niagara Center banner. Oh yeah, the Sabres came back to win 3-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

While there wasn’t any pomp or circumstance to the new arena name, or the snazzy new upgrades, the Sabres played to a sell out crowd for a preseason hockey game. It was pretty clear that the hockey community was beyond ready for this game to happen as the Pegula Effect has been in full swing all summer.

The Sabres iced a pretty strong roster with about a 50/50 split of players expected to play with the big club and those destined for Rochester. Ville Leino and Drew MacIntrye were the only new faces to play this evening. For what it’s worth, Paul Gaustad wore the ‘C’ while Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford both served as alternate captains. Of course, the ‘C’ and ‘A’s will rotate as the preseason carries on, but Gaustad and Myers are certainly on the leadership track for this hockey club.

As for the game: Continue reading →

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Hurricanes

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Hockey is officially back in Buffalo. Last week offered a tease as the Sabres’ prospects took a 5-2 victory in the Traverse City championship. However, today the big club takes the ice for the first time in preparation for the 2011-12 season.

The Sabres are currently split into practice groups and the first group will be taking the ice this evening. It will be a fun roster to watch as there are plenty of familiar faces along with some young players who should offer fans an  interesting vantage point.Villie Leino will play his first game as a Sabre and Luke Adam, Marcus Foligno and Zack Kassian will remain together after dominating in Traverse City. Here is the remainder of the roster: Continue reading →

Buffalo Sabres season preview: Black Aces

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This is part five of a series previewing the Buffalo Sabres 2011-12 season. This edition will focus on the wingers and centers expected to play in Rochester. Here are links for parts one through four: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Zack Kassian is on the fence between Buffalo and Rochester at this point.

It is fairly easy to write out a rough depth chart based on the abundance of talent the Sabres have at wing. It has a trickle-down effect to the AHL level based on the players who are assumed to make the NHL roster, and those who will be riding the bus in Rochester.

The centers are being roped into this equation simple because there is very little organizational depth at the center position.

Aside from Zack Kassian and Ales Kotalik, the rest of the wingers in the Buffalo Sabres system are penciled in to begin the year playing for the Americans. Even Kotalik is likely to be sent down due to salary constraints. Since Kassian has seen little time at the AHL level, let alone against NHL talent, some seasoning in the minors will do him well. I fully expect to see him playing in every situation for Rochester as he is likely the top candidate to snag the AHL Rookie of the Year award for the Sabres organization. Continue reading →

We have Zambonis with frickin’ laser beams attached to them?

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We have Zambonis with frickin' laser beams attached to them!?!?
Late in the summer of 2010 a guy named Terry Pegula gave a bunch of money to Penn State in order to lift their hockey program from the ACHA club ranks to NCAA Division I. It was only a short time later that the first rumor of his interest in the Buffalo Sabres was broken by the Buffalo media.
In the eight or nine months that have followed the winds of change have blown through the Buffalo Sabres organization. Suddenly the organization is spending as much money as they need to in order to get the players they need to succeed and spending cash on any type of arena upgrade you can think of.
I can only think of what Mr. Pegula would look like in a gray jumpsuit, with a big Sabres ring on his pinky as he raises it to his mouth and says, “We have Zambonis with frickin’ laser beams attached to them!” Continue reading →

Sabres extend Tyler Myers for seven years

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The Buffalo Sabres announced in a news release this morning that they have signed Tyler Myers to a seven-year contract extension.

There were numerous reports of contract talks yesterday as it appeared the two sides were close in their negations. Clearly they were closer than most thought.

If the original reports are true, Myers will get $38 million over the span of the deal which equals a $5.5 million cap hit. This is a major victory for the Sabres as they has locked up thief franchise defenseman while keeping the cap number relatively low. The money saved should allow for some additional spending at other positions.

Obviously Myers wasn’t going to get Shea Weber money, but he was deserving of a serious raise. Kudos to Darcy Regier for getting the deal done before 2008 draft alums Drew Doughty and Luke Schenn. Their deals could have seriously altered the Myers negotiations.

The Sabres have seven years to relax with Tyler Myers making a very manageable number. It won’t be until 2018 when they need to think about a serious raise. Until then it will be smooth sailing with a potential Norris candidate patrolling the blue line.

Double Minors: Sabres prospects claim Traverse City championship

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Count it as the first championship in the Pegula era. The Buffalo Sabres prospects claimed the 2011 Traverse City NHL Prospect Tournament championship in their first appearance in the event with a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers prospects. Be sure to check out Sabres.com for Kevin Snow’s coverage and video highlights.

Buffalo sent a squad with numerous veterans, including the reigning AHL Rookie of the Year, and their dominance showed. The Sabres never trailed in the contest and asserted their victory with three third period goals. Nathan Lieuwen provided another strong performance as he ran his tournament record to 2-0 with five goals against.

The gamesheets are all kinds of incorrect on the Pointstreak website, so I can’t give a full statistical analysis. For example, Zack Kassian was credited with the final Sabres goal which was clearly scored by Marcus Foligno. Still, Kassian finished with four points which ties him with Luke Adam, Nick Crawford, Jonathon Parker and Phil Varone. If my math is correct, Marcus Foligno led the Sabres with five points (3+2).

Continue reading →