Buffalo Sabres

Sabres in review: What went right

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Hopefully my season recap provided a broad view of the ups and downs of the Sabres’ season. Chances are that I didn’t accomplish such a goal, apologies. I would also like to highlight some more specific cases as to the pros and cons, the good and bad of the 2011-12 Buffalo Sabres season. What went right and wrong will be presented in different posts. First, what went right.

Tyler Ennis

Like just about everyone on the roster, Ennis didn’t enjoy a full year of successful hockey. However, when Ennis finally got healthy, he was one of Buffalo’s most consistent and dangerous forwards.

Despite missing 34 games with a high ankle sprain, Ennis finished the season with 34 points (15+19) in 48 games. His early season struggles were caused by his injury. Seven of Ennis’ multi-point games came in the final 15 contests of the season. His move to center not only jump started his production, but it provided a spark to the entire roster. He found instant chemistry with Drew Stafford and eventually Marcus Foligno. Ennis has suddenly become the best center in the Sabres organization and will be due a healthy raise, I’m guessing in the $3M range.

Jason Pominville

Pominville won the team MVP award and he earned it. Despite all of their struggles this season, Pominville was the only consistent performer over 82 games. Aside from last year, Pominville has always been a consistent point scorer over the entire year. He hit 30 goals, the only Sabre to do so this season.

He embraced the captaincy, despite not being an outspoken, rah-rah player. His first All-Star appearance was great to see and well deserved from a player who used to be a whipping boy for many fans. I have to think he could have achieved more had he been kept with the same linemates for a majority of the season. Separating he and Thomas Vanek didn’t do well for either player’s numbers.

Thomas Vanek (1st Half)

Vanek’s first half play probably surpassed the contributions that Pominville at certain points. However, January brought some bumps and bruises that developed into what seem to be nagging injuries. His second half was one of the biggest disappointments on the year, but his first half play was one of the reasons the Sabres were competitive on some nights.

I won’t include Vanek in both the highs and lows, but understand that he did need to be better during the homestretch this year. Perhaps if he was given the same center for the entire year and treated like an actual superstar, not a 13-minute third line winger, he would continue to top the 30-goal plateau. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 1.8 – No Answer

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After a moderate layoff, Eric and I are back at it with a new edition of The Instigator. We take a look at what decisions have been made by the Sabres as of late and what decisions may lie in the future. Our conversation is based on conjecture more than anything, but share your thoughts if you think we are on the right, or wrong, path. As always, we play Plus/Minus and this week likely features the best intermission music yet.

Comments, criticism, music and topic requests are welcome here or on Twitter: @3rdmanin @2ITB_Buffalo

American prospects are coming to Buffalo

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You can’t argue that Terry Pegula and the Buffalo Sabres aren’t interested in growing the game of hockey. The Sabres and USA Hockey hooked up for the second time in two years to announce that Buffalo will host the inaugural All-American Prospects Game.

The game will be played at First Niagara Center on September 29, 2012. According to the release from the Sabres and USA Hockey, 40 of the top draft-eligible prospects will participate. From the release:

“It’s a concept we’ve been talking about for a couple of years and we’re excited to bring it to life in partnership with the Buffalo Sabres,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “The talent level on the First Niagara Center ice on Sept. 29 will be exceptional. We view this game as an opportunity to gain additional exposure for hockey and help influence growth of the sport through showcasing the future stars of the game.”
“We’re extremely pleased to have this inaugural event come to Buffalo,” said Ted Black, president of the Buffalo Sabres. “We have a tremendous working relationship with USA Hockey and I know our fans will embrace the All-American Prospects Game.”

The release specifies that the rosters will be comprised of players from major junior and collegiate programs with additional players from elite high school and prep hockey programs. Expect roster information to come out in June or July, with ticketing information to be released in May. Continue reading →

Inaugural 2ITB Sabres season awards

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Since the 2011-12 campaign ended without a playoff berth, I have decided that the inaugural 2ITB Awards will have some real awards and some awards that are more worthy of a Dundie. If you don’t like the winners, leave a comment; perhaps you will get a vote for the second annual awards next spring. Here are the winners:

Most Valuable Player – Jason Pominville

In line with the players’ choice, Pominville is an easy choice on a team that did underachieve for portions of the season. I was happy to see him hit the 30-goal plateau, it was a well deserved accomplishment. Pominville embraced his captaincy this season and had a great year. I think consistent line mates could yield similar results in 2012-13.

Least Valuable Player – Brad Boyes

Boyes suffered through a miserable 82-game season with little to show for it. Sure he was stuck on the fourth line and had little chance to produce, but at $4M you can’t afford to be not scoring goals. I was happy to see him come to Buffalo, things just didn’t work out for him this year.

Top Prospect – Marcus Foligno

This was a tough one for me to pick. Foligno was right up there with Brayden McNabb, David Leggio and Joel Armia for the organizational award. However, Foligno’s arrival was such a shot in the arm for the Sabres that it was too difficult to ignore.

Jekyll and Hyde Award – Ryan Miller

It is actually pretty easy to sum up Ryan Miller’s season. Elite hockey, then garbage hockey and then more elite hockey. Sounds like a pretty decent sandwich, no? October was kind to the netminder before suffering a rough start against Philly on national television. He followed that game with a five-goal win against the Jets. His GAA didn’t get any help when he was knocked from his next start in Boston by Milan Lucic. He didn’t start again until December and struggled to find his game for the entire month. He then locked down beginning on January 1 and didn’t look back, putting together a 2.27 GAA and .924 SV%.

Consistently Consistent Award – Tyler Ennis

He didn’t start rolling at a regular clip until after he had missed 34 games with injury. He only played 48 games but picked up 34 points (15+19) in that span. He was indeed a consistent weapon the Sabres could rely on down the stretch, making him extremely valuable heading into next season.

Unsung Hero – Christian Ehrhoff

In case you were wondering, Ehrhoff only makes $4M per year, technically. Considering that cap hit, he was really freaking valuable for most of the season. He was easily the most consistent defenseman the Sabres had and they missed him desperately when he was hurt. Too many people ignored his performance because he wasn’t scoring goals and because he makes $10M per season. He caught a lot of flak for not putting up monster numbers offensively, but he was still extremely valuable. Continue reading →

Sabres retain Ruff and Regier for 2012-13

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Ted Black confirmed to a number of sources that the Sabres will retain Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff in their respective roles as general manager and head coach for the 2012-13 season. This should come as a surprise to no one.

I just posted some thoughts on how the pair did this season while wondering if it is time for them to be replaced. That post was written knowing that there was a better than good chance the pair would be retained. It was also written not knowing that this announcement would be made minutes before it going up. My goal was to evaluate where the two stood after yet another season without a playoff berth, not to speculate whether or not they would remain with the team.

The choice to retain Regier and Ruff was likely made sometime in December or January, when the injury bug had a firm grip on a team mired in a franchise-record losing streak. While nearly everyone in Hockey Heaven wondered if the organization would make a change at the top, Ted Black identified the course of action the team planned to take. By saying they were not married to any particular “core” players should have told everyone that Regier and Ruff were safe and it was the players who should be on watch.

To his credit, and Regier’s, they stuck with the plan. Regier moved a cornerstone member of the locker room while also trading away a useless defenseman and a highly touted prospect this season. I would imagine he had been working the phones to move additional players, but the offers probably weren’t there. Expect to see at least one or two players from the post-Drury/Briere era shipped off in the summer. Continue reading →

Is it time for Ruff and Regier to move on?

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The comments made by some players, namely Derek Roy, at Monday’s locker clean out makes me wonder what the shelf life of Lindy Ruff may be. I have little doubt that both Ruff and Darcy Regier will remain in place as the Sabres enter the 2012-13 season. The question that many are asking is should the two remain in charge of the Sabres?

Based on their track record over the past decade and a half –particularly since the lockout – I think the duo may be overdue to be replaced with a new general manager and head coach combination. But the organizational heading seems to be to proceed with the current coach and GM while allowing them to find the right players to win games.

It is ok if Terry Pegula, Ted Black and the rest of the executive staff think this is the proper course of action. I am glad they have identified a strategy that they wish to move forward with. Whether or not this is the right strategy is a whole different question. I do not disagree with the heading the ownership has chosen to take, I just wonder if Regier and Ruff are indeed the pair to get the job done.

There are two facts staring everyone in the face regarding this debate are the Sabres failure to make the playoffs and their failure to win a playoff series. The Sabres have missed the playoffs three times since the lockout and have made the playoffs four times. However, they haven’t won a playoff series since dispatching the Rangers in 2007.

Questions about the makeup of the roster, the team’s tougheness and the coaching style would still be questioned had the Sabres snuck into the playoffs this year. In fact, I would argue that the missing the playoffs argument would be moot with a third-straight berth under their belt. Of course they’re not in the playoffs and the balance between missing and making the playoffs remains pretty even. The roster is expected to change this summer, but maybe the management needs to change as well.

Darcy Regier

This summer very well may be make or break for Darcy Regier. He shot for the moon last year but didn’t get the expected results. Regier will have significantly less cap space to work with and will likely need to make a trade or two if he wishes to land a big fish in free agency.

With Jochen Hecht and Brad Boyes off the books, Regier will need to find a bona fide checking center to replace Hecht’s defensive responsibility and the traits lost when Paul Gaustad was traded to Nashville. Regier does have four picks in the top 65 selections and could certainly use them to leverage a trade including one of his roster players.

Regier needs to identify the shortcomings his team had this year and shore them up immediately. He made a great move in acquiring Cody Hodgson and Alex Sulzer. Sulzer paid immediate dividends and is probably due for a new contract, but Hodgson is the big prize. He is a young, dynamic center who will need to play a big role next year. Regier still needs to find his team a true number one center, but that will be a tall task. Along with adding a little more size an toughness, Regier will need to have another successful offseason, despite operating with fewer resources. Continue reading →

Great expectations led to a greater letdown

Chris Ostrander5 Comments

*This is the first part of my season recap and review for the Sabres. In the coming days and weeks I will have further reviews of the team and season, player-by-player grades and offer some thoughts on Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier. I will provide a full schedule of posts coming soon.*

This scenario happened far too often throughout the year.

The bottom line with regard to this season is that the Sabres didn’t meet their goal. Ignore the goodwill created by their late push or even the 10-5 start they enjoyed in the fall. Of course, that means you need to ignore the mid-season slump as well. Lump it all together and accept the failure to make the playoffs. Sure, you can review and discuss the different portions of this schizophrenic season, but just understand that everything adds up to the end result.

Obviously there were plenty of factors that conspired to keep the Sabres from the postseason. Injuries played a part, along with the arguments of a mentally fragile team, coaching issues and under-performing players. There wasn’t one single factor that stood out to me as the primary reason the Sabres struggled so mightily. However, some stand out more than others.

There is no ignoring the Milan Lucic incident as the tipping point for this year. Lucic isn’t the reason the Sabres missed the playoffs, but his actions certainly started the snowball down the mountain. First off, the injury that Ryan Miller suffered set him back nearly three months. His play was strong early in the year, regressed some in late October and didn’t fully recover until late January. Not having Miller for all of November and December had a terrible effect on the roster. Continue reading →

Buffalo Hockey Night Live

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I jumped on Buffalo Hockey Night Live with Sydney from Sabreland and Brittany from Sabres in Seven for a little Sabres talk this evening. If you didn’t catch it earlier, have a listen:

The embed code doesn’t seem to be working. This link will take you directly to the podcast.

Listen to internet radio with Buffalo Hockey Night Live on Blog Talk Radio

Double Minors: One more for the road

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It is entirely possible that all three of these players are wearing new uniforms next year.

The 2011-12 NHL season is in the books for the Buffalo Sabres. Ultimately, it was a disappointing year considering the mid-season struggles and the failure to reach the playoffs. I’ll attempt to merely focus on yesterday’s loss in Boston.

Brad Boyes enjoyed what should be a nice swan song with the Sabres, picking up a pair of goals. I fully expect that he will be seeking a new city to play in for the 2012-13 season. Boyes’ first two goals staked the Sabres to a 2-1 lead before Jason Pominville’s 30th goal gave Buffalo a 3-1 lead. However, as was the case for portions of the season, Buffalo’s two-goal lead was not enough for a victory.

Jhonas Enroth was hardly to blame, turning aside 37 shots (including six in overtime). Tyler Seguin scored a pair and Brad Marchand tied the game on an interesting piece of defense from the Sabres. Enroth didn’t get enough playing time this season and it shows in his record. Winless since November, Enroth wasn’t the player so many fans fell in love with last spring. I’m wondering if the love affair would continue if he was indeed the full-time starter?

Regardless, yesterday’s failure was just another chapter in a season full of them. It was a meaningless game, so the outcome matters little in my opinion. The season finale was basically bonus hockey for me and that is how I treated it. Now comes a few months of playoff hockey and then what should be an interesting offseason for the Sabres organization.

  • Good on Boyes to pick up that pair of goals. He has caught a bad wrap during his time here and has justified much of his criticism. Boyes was largely misused for most of his tenure but didn’t find much success with the power play time he was given most of the time.
  • Brayden McNabb was rewarded with some serious ice time in Boston. He should be contending for a spot with the top-six next fall. Hopefully he continues to get big minutes for the remainder of the year in Rochester.
  • McNabb has shown some great attributes. His physical game and two-way skills make him quite valuable. T.J. Brennan has been less impressive in my opinion, I think he will be an admirable cog to fill a spot until a player like Mark Pysyk is ready for the NHL.
  • Great to see Jason Pominville hit 30 goals. He had a great year and deserved that milestone. Too bad Thomas Vanek couldn’t continue his early season success that had him pacing towards 40 goals. 2012 has been rough on Vanek, he needs to find more consistency in the coming seasons. Vanek is too valuable to continue this up and down play.
  • Tyler Ennis and Andrej Sekera must have been listening to the Benny Hill Theme on the tying goal. Ennis made a poor choice trying to clear the zone and Sekera offered little help for his goaltender.
  • Sekera chose a really poor time for his game to go to hell. He had a really rough few weeks and they happened to come when they needed him to be the shutdown defender that he and Robyn Regehr became as the calendar year turned.
  • I’ll have a full load of coverage as the offseason gets rolling, keep your eyes peeled for a rough schedule regarding what will be coming along for the offseason. Thanks for reading this year.

Game Summary/Event Summary

 

The Morning Skate: Can’t hold anything back now

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In what became a very schizophrenic season, the Sabres enter their final game with little to play for. The Bruins enter today’s game with a first-round series against Ottawa waiting around the corner. Boston rested a number of players this past week, but I’d expect Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Tim Thomas all to play this afternoon as a tune-up for the playoffs.

This will be a strange game as the Bruins will be just trying to avoid injuries and the Sabres will likely be just going through the motions. Jhonas Enroth will be the starter for the Sabres while Thomas will go for Boston. If Claude Julien is really playing it safe, Anton Khudobin or Marty Turco will start, but I would guess he wants his stud to get one more game under his belt. The only reason Turco would play, it could be his last game of his career.

Given that today will be a glorified exhibition game, I’ll just list a few bullet points to check out during the game.

  • Jochen Hecht isn’t expected to play, but this will be the final game you get to see Brad Boyes in a Sabres uniform. Boyes is a pretty unfortunate case. He lit it up his first few weeks on the job before tailing off last season. He has been nearly invisible this year and has been somewhat under-utilized, in my opinion. Either way, his acquisition was wise but didn’t pan out. That will be $4M towards another player come July 1.
  • Hecht may not be back in Buffalo either, unfortunately he won’t have a chance to play today. Matt Ellis could also be in the boat heading away from Buffalo as well.
  • Derek Roy and Drew Stafford were hot trade topics in January. Stafford has turned things around but could still be out the door, the same goes for Roy. They both have had solid runs to end the year, maybe that helps their trade value.
  • Thomas Vanek has historically been a final game superstar. Hopefully he can tally once or twice just to boost his numbers.
  • The goal of the day should be to get Jason Pominville to 30 goals. He is on the cusp and deserves to hit that milestone.
  • I’d venture a guess that the minutes will be spread evenly this afternoon. Cody McCormick, Matt Ellis and others will get a healthy does of ice time.
  • Jhonas Enroth could really use a win. He hasn’t necessarily fared well against the Bruins in his career, but it would be good to send him off with a victory, especially considering the way he has played since November.
  • So many people are calling for Lindy Ruff’s head. I doubt very much that this will be his final game in Buffalo. I will analyze exactly where he may be headed, but Ted Black’s previous statements make me think the players will be gone before Ruff or Darcy Regier. Those clamoring for his removal, don’t hold your breath.
  • Counted among those to get healthy ice time, T.J. Brennan and Brayden McNabb. Both will be heading back to Rochester to offer reinforcements. They will be counted on for big contributions, giving them a full go this afternoon would be good for the players and the Amerks.
  • One last piece of advice. Just enjoy this game for what it is, hockey. So many bandwagon fans are saying how much the team sucks and how they knew this would happen. Just shut up and enjoy the game. There were too many flaws on the roster for this to be a legitimate contender. Should they be a playoff team? Probably. But they aren’t, so root for them to win and start mulling over their offseason moves.