I've had some more time to think more about the Tyrod Taylor contract over the weekend. Last year in training camp as the Bills were figuring out who their QB was between a then-relative unknown Tyrod , E.J. Manuel, and Matt Cassel. Doug Whaley mentioned how the Bills were in "Quarterback Purgatory."
I think we are kind of still in QB Purgatory as Tyrod is not yet great or really bad somewhere in between. He's still has not a ton of experience where he might be able to grow and maybe could drop off. Chances are that at 27 years old, he is who he is which is not yet great but not terrible. I think that's somewhere between 15-20 which is not great but not terrible somewhere in the middle.
This is where QB Purgatory reigns guys like Alex Smith, Ryan Tannehill, Jay Cutler, Kirk Cousins, and well I suppose Ryan Fitzpatrick as these mediocre QBs are getting paid a ridiculous amount.I think of Fitz as a backup QB but he has his moments as the Jets, and even the Bills, bought into Fitz's good games to give him a decent chunk of change and not seriously looking at drafting his replacement.
It's easy to get excited over this contract because of the outs and it's not like he's getting all $92 million guaranteed regardless of what the national media is telling you. For this contract to truly be worth it is either Tyrod is really good if not great to keep exercising the options or is really bad where they can get out of it.
Wouldn't it be better to give $27.5 million over five years to a first round pick QB than $27.5 million to a middle of the road QB for one year? I would rather draft the QB always and when I get my guy then I'll be set and then I'll pay him top dollar.
The Sabres would always do this where they gave relatively big contracts to middle of the road players like Derek Roy, Tim Connolly, Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers among others and Darcy Regier would always say wait until the back half of the contract then they'd be undervalued. How many times did that happen? The answer is zero and by the end of the contract we were ready to dump them, Get the guy and don't be afraid to pay him top dollar.
The worst thing is if Tyrod is middle of the road QB where he is neither really good or really bad and the Bills will keep extending him and giving a middle of the road QB big time money which is never good. They'll be just good enough to miss the playoffs and good enough to keep costing them a shot at a top QB in the draft and good enough to prevent the Bills from drafting a QB in the first two rounds. That's the worst thing that could happen with this contract.
By really good I'm saying around top-10-12 QBs in the league. The bottom 10-12 QBs are Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, Matt Ryan, and Andy Dalton depending on who you think. These are really good QBs but not quite elite as they need talent but they can and have won in this league. That could and should be Tyrod. Of course if he was higher that's even better.
It's hard to rank young QBs Derek Carr, Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, and Blake Bortles even all of these young QBs show great potential and star ability and eventually could make their way into the top-10-14 spots in the league.
They are still so young so they can't officially be put in the rankings yet although I'd take any one of these over Tyrod because of being so young and starting right away from day 1 or close to day 1. Right now, even though they have so much more room to grow and are generally high draft picks first round and to early second round (Carr).
By really bad it's pretty self explanatory by basically saying this guy can't start in the NFL and he's nothing more than a backup. That's Blaine Gabbert, Nick Foles, Matt Cassel, Colin Kaepernick, E.J., Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, Josh McCown, and perhaps RG3 and so on.
The worst thing is that he is say Tannehill, Cutler, or Smith and that's usually finishing 7-9, 8-8 every year missing the playoffs (Tannehill) or being lucky and not very good and safe and lucking into the playoffs but never winning (Smith).
The Bills are usually Tannehill and the Dolphins or Cutler and the Bears where they win enough games to miss the playoffs but win enough to not have a high draft pick and usually draft a franchise QB. Tannehill is a decent QB, better than what the Bills have had before Tyrod, but not good enough and they do nothing to upgrade the position except add a receiver or fix the line or change the coaches etc. That's QB Purgatory my friends.
The Bills have lived it for the last 20 years. The reason I believe if they Tyrod is just middle and pretty good they'd keep extending his option is because I've seen worse QBs do less and get the benefit of the doubt from this franchise and assurance that they won't go draft his replacement until the bottom completely fell out and they absolutely had to draft one.
I know the Bills don't make the playoffs so I'm sure some of you would like to be Alex Smith and KC and make the playoffs but lose. They will never do anything to change or upgrade the QB position because they are comfortable with making the playoffs and don't want to miss the playoffs. The Chiefs have no chance at winning a Super Bowl with Alex Smith and the way they are built in my opinion.
I want to win and make the playoffs I really do, but I don't want to just make the playoffs and lose and have really no shot at winning the Super Bowl. My goal and the team's goal should be to win the Super Bowl not to just end the playoff drought.
Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't being a Super Bowl contender year in and year out more than end the playoff drought? They would be in the playoffs just about every year and every year they would be one of the 3-5 favorites to win the Super Bowl.
We say the same about the Sabres. They decided not to just make the playoffs and instead try to be a Stanley Cup contender and win the Cup if not multiple Cups. Their goal is not to just finish in 8th and instead be one of the best teams and they had a plan and followed through with it. The plan is easier to execute as you can finish at the bottom and get high draft picks to build from. The NFL is go get a franchise QB but it's not easy to get.
The Bills during this playoff drought with the exception of a couple of years usually try everything to just end the drought. The only years they didn't and figured they were really bad and rebuilding and finished at the bottom of the league in 2001 and 2010 and those were the only years they'd draft in the top-5 despite being bad for 16 years.
The other years they'd finish middle or middle-bottom of the league and never really close to the playoffs and never close to the top pick of the draft. The rest of the time, they'd change coaches, change GMs, give weapons to help their QB, change QBs, sign big free agents, etc. They went in to just about every single off season trying to end the playoff drought.
The one thing they never did and should do is draft QB every single year until they find their guy and I still want them to do so, but this potential contract could definitely prohibit them from thinking it. They never did this and I want them to start yesterday but now for sure.
I do like the Tyrod contract because of the outs. It's only great if he's either really good or great or he's really bad. In between, they'll overpay him to be their QB and won't do anything to upgrade the position.
Showing posts with label Buffalo Sabres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buffalo Sabres. Show all posts
Monday, August 15, 2016
Monday, July 27, 2015
Shocking Ted Black Out; Russ Brandon In as President of the Sabres
Much to the shock of myself, the Sabres announced they parted ways with team president Ted Black and replacing him with current Buffalo Bills President Russ Brandon. Brandon now is the President of both Buffalo pro sports teams. Why not? Both are owned by Terry and Kim Pegula and they must have loved the job Brandon did with the Bills, running the business side of that team for 18 years.
I know many around dislike Brandon and the job he's done with the Bills as evidenced by their 15 year playoff drought. Now Russ might be responsible a little bit but he's not totally to blame for terrible ownership running this team into the ground in Ralph's last decade and a half as owner with all due respect to Mr. Wilson. All Brandon did was run the business Mr. Wilson wanted it be run and he made the team very profitable. He gets credit albeit a little too much credit for selling this franchise and selling tickets to a team that's terrible.
The reason I say too much credit is because this is Buffalo and fans are Bills crazy and sadly there's not much else to do in late fall early winter then go to or watch Bills football on Sunday. I think I can sell the team to this fan base too. Try selling a fan base to Jacksonville or Tampa or Miami or San Diego where there's beautiful weather all year and more to do.
If the Toronto series did make the team more profitable to buy and keep the team here then fine it was a success. I think we can all no longer talk about Toronto. Many don't like or trust him for the Toronto series and neither do I to a point. As long as he's not running the hockey department, like he's no longer running the football department of the Bills, and simply just running the team as a business we'll be fine.
I did not like the job he did as President of the Bills when he replaced Ralph Wilson on January 1, 2013. He hired Doug Marrone after an "extensive coaching search" all of five days and then made sure he signed here over Cleveland by putting in an opt clause where he can leave three days after the season ended in a season in which an ownership change occurred. Why does he get such a deal for being a .500 coach in Syracuse? Russ dropped the ball on that one but thankfully to a point he did or else we wouldn't have Rex Ryan so half-thank you Russ.
He also did a pretty poor job as the Bills GM in 2008-09, but was he really that much worse than our past GMs? Was he so much worse than Marv Levy or Buddy Nix or Tom Donahoe? He did just as good as them while yes Aaron Maybin and James Hardy were awful, really awful.
But he did get Eric Wood, Andy Levitre, Jairus Byrd, and Stevie Johnson in his two drafts. So it's a wash just like other GMs some good picks, some bad picks, some awful picks. He did also sign Terrell Owens too. As you know my feelings on GMs no one is better or worse at picking a player it's all a crap shoot and everyone is 50-50 except for those who have a franchise QB.
One thing he did not do which could have made or break his GM career and that's draft a Quarterback. Trent Edwards was already on the roster and he didn't do anything to draft or get a QB in the offseason. His tenure could have been spectacular had he gotten the right QB or Edwards became the guy or it could have been a disaster where Donahoe, Levy, and Nix's tenure was.
Finding the right QB can make any GM look good and you don't have to be a "football guy." Sometimes being a football guy is even worse because you think you know all this crap while the entire draft and QB is nothing but a crap shoot.
It's a gamble and a coin flip. Those who get the coin flip right will be a GM for life and missing the coin flip means you will be fired. He wasn't great but not terrible, he was about the same maybe even slightly better than the other GMs during this playoff drought. All that matters really is who is your QB and any GM is amazing or terrible based on how good or bad the QB is.
One thing reportedly the Pegulas do like about Brandon and that helped make him the President of the Sabres. That was after the season ended and Marrone left, Brandon and Doug Whaley contacted various head coaching candidates and setup interviews as quickly as possible. That impressed both Terry and Kim Pegula, especially getting Rex Ryan in for an interview and the rest is history.
I don't know the whole detail behind Black's departure nor will I pretend like I know. Black did a great job every week coming on WGR 550 and listening to fans call in and voice their satisfaction or displeasure. Black was also good at taking emails and getting back to as many fans as he could, which was a lot. He made sure he handled fan emails about what to do at the arena and improve the team with a lot of respect. He cared a lot about the opinions of the fans and how to make the team and arena better.
Black was really good at letting season ticket holders know what their plan on rebuilding was by sending them a letter that detailed how important getting first round picks, really highly drafted first round picks were to success of teams around the NHL.
He detailed how much percentage of goals are scored by players drafted in the first two rounds, then by how big of a percentage were scored simply by first round picks, and then how much of a large percentage of goals scored in the NHL by players picked in the top-3-5 picks and why it was so important that the Sabres get to where they finished to get high draft picks. He also outlined the success of teams with a great amount of top-3 picks. I liked Ted Black and wish him the best in his future endeavors but I guess it's time to move on.
The Sabres, Bills, and mostly the Pegulas show they aren't thinking the past or or going old guard like a lot of teams even here in the past (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/lou-lamoriello-shockingly-new-toronto.html). They are full of fresh, new ideas which is what this area needs.
I know many around dislike Brandon and the job he's done with the Bills as evidenced by their 15 year playoff drought. Now Russ might be responsible a little bit but he's not totally to blame for terrible ownership running this team into the ground in Ralph's last decade and a half as owner with all due respect to Mr. Wilson. All Brandon did was run the business Mr. Wilson wanted it be run and he made the team very profitable. He gets credit albeit a little too much credit for selling this franchise and selling tickets to a team that's terrible.
The reason I say too much credit is because this is Buffalo and fans are Bills crazy and sadly there's not much else to do in late fall early winter then go to or watch Bills football on Sunday. I think I can sell the team to this fan base too. Try selling a fan base to Jacksonville or Tampa or Miami or San Diego where there's beautiful weather all year and more to do.
If the Toronto series did make the team more profitable to buy and keep the team here then fine it was a success. I think we can all no longer talk about Toronto. Many don't like or trust him for the Toronto series and neither do I to a point. As long as he's not running the hockey department, like he's no longer running the football department of the Bills, and simply just running the team as a business we'll be fine.
I did not like the job he did as President of the Bills when he replaced Ralph Wilson on January 1, 2013. He hired Doug Marrone after an "extensive coaching search" all of five days and then made sure he signed here over Cleveland by putting in an opt clause where he can leave three days after the season ended in a season in which an ownership change occurred. Why does he get such a deal for being a .500 coach in Syracuse? Russ dropped the ball on that one but thankfully to a point he did or else we wouldn't have Rex Ryan so half-thank you Russ.
He also did a pretty poor job as the Bills GM in 2008-09, but was he really that much worse than our past GMs? Was he so much worse than Marv Levy or Buddy Nix or Tom Donahoe? He did just as good as them while yes Aaron Maybin and James Hardy were awful, really awful.
But he did get Eric Wood, Andy Levitre, Jairus Byrd, and Stevie Johnson in his two drafts. So it's a wash just like other GMs some good picks, some bad picks, some awful picks. He did also sign Terrell Owens too. As you know my feelings on GMs no one is better or worse at picking a player it's all a crap shoot and everyone is 50-50 except for those who have a franchise QB.
One thing he did not do which could have made or break his GM career and that's draft a Quarterback. Trent Edwards was already on the roster and he didn't do anything to draft or get a QB in the offseason. His tenure could have been spectacular had he gotten the right QB or Edwards became the guy or it could have been a disaster where Donahoe, Levy, and Nix's tenure was.
Finding the right QB can make any GM look good and you don't have to be a "football guy." Sometimes being a football guy is even worse because you think you know all this crap while the entire draft and QB is nothing but a crap shoot.
It's a gamble and a coin flip. Those who get the coin flip right will be a GM for life and missing the coin flip means you will be fired. He wasn't great but not terrible, he was about the same maybe even slightly better than the other GMs during this playoff drought. All that matters really is who is your QB and any GM is amazing or terrible based on how good or bad the QB is.
One thing reportedly the Pegulas do like about Brandon and that helped make him the President of the Sabres. That was after the season ended and Marrone left, Brandon and Doug Whaley contacted various head coaching candidates and setup interviews as quickly as possible. That impressed both Terry and Kim Pegula, especially getting Rex Ryan in for an interview and the rest is history.
I don't know the whole detail behind Black's departure nor will I pretend like I know. Black did a great job every week coming on WGR 550 and listening to fans call in and voice their satisfaction or displeasure. Black was also good at taking emails and getting back to as many fans as he could, which was a lot. He made sure he handled fan emails about what to do at the arena and improve the team with a lot of respect. He cared a lot about the opinions of the fans and how to make the team and arena better.
Black was really good at letting season ticket holders know what their plan on rebuilding was by sending them a letter that detailed how important getting first round picks, really highly drafted first round picks were to success of teams around the NHL.
He detailed how much percentage of goals are scored by players drafted in the first two rounds, then by how big of a percentage were scored simply by first round picks, and then how much of a large percentage of goals scored in the NHL by players picked in the top-3-5 picks and why it was so important that the Sabres get to where they finished to get high draft picks. He also outlined the success of teams with a great amount of top-3 picks. I liked Ted Black and wish him the best in his future endeavors but I guess it's time to move on.
The Sabres, Bills, and mostly the Pegulas show they aren't thinking the past or or going old guard like a lot of teams even here in the past (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/lou-lamoriello-shockingly-new-toronto.html). They are full of fresh, new ideas which is what this area needs.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Flyers Are in Terrible Cap Situation; One of the Teams I Don't Want to Be; They Should have Tanked for McEichel
Boy I've said it many times just recently but I've also been saying it since the beginning of last season, the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the top teams I'd least like to be. Now after a season in which they finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and were 14 points out of the playoffs, the prophecy is even more true. Now word on the street is that they are facing a horrific cap situation to make matters even worse (http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25244976/flyers-face-daunting-salary-cap-situation-in-2015-16-and-beyond).
The Flyers should have really bottomed out for McEichel. They were in a terrible spot, so bad not to make the playoffs but not bad enough to finish 30th or 29th. I'm sure Philadelphia was fine not finishing last because they have too much pride like the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, the tough gritty northeastern teams. Boston is the team I'd least like to be because of their idiocy at the top of the organization letting go of top notch players for ridiculous reasons.
New Jersey and Philadelphia are very close and all three of these teams need to reload and retool and bottom out and need several years of high draft picks to be great again. These are long rebuilds unlike the Sabres. Of course Boston had several high draft picks gifted to them only to throw them away for nothing. Montreal, despite their regular season successes the last three years, is approaching team I least like to be status due to lack of big play scoring forwards (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/carey-price-cleans-up-nhl-awards.html).
The Flyers also made numerous dumb moves much like the Bruins have. They got rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because they "partied too much", well Richards turned out to be ok to let go of because of recent events and his decline but not before winning two Stanley Cups with the Kings. Carter on the other hand was a very foolish move to get rid of him. He's been great for LA. They got good players in return for both such as Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, and Sean Couturier.
The problem isn't what they got back it's that no one else has stepped up. The bottom six forwards don't score and the defense and goaltending have been nightmares. And the flyers have spent a ton on absolutely nothing and that's what's been ruining them. Other dumb moves the Flyers have made include trading Carter and Richards to clear up cap space to sign Ilya Bryzgalov. Their goaltending wasn't great but they went to the finals in 2010 with three goalies and lost in six games to Chicago. One of those goalies ended up being Sergei Bobrovsky, who's won a Vezina and has been great for Columbus. Had they not blown it all on Bryzgalov they'd still had Bobrovsky.
After buying out Bryzgalov after two lousy years, they went back with Ray Emery and Steve Mason as neither worked out. Other foolish moves include trading former number two overall pick James van Riemsdyk to Toronto for failed defenseman Luke Schenn and signing 35 year old Vincent Lecavalier to a five year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit, 37 year old Mark Streit to a four year deal, and Andrew MacDonald to a six year $30 million deal. All these moves the Flyers have made have only given them only half a million dollars worth of cap space left.
That doesn't include the fact that Voracek is set to be an unrestricted free agent and they must do whatever to keep him and both Couturier and Brayden Schenn are set to be restricted free agents next year. That's insane some of your best young players are set to be free agents with that low amount of cap room shows just how awfully mismanaged the Flyers really are. Claude Giroux has a $8.275 million cap hit but he's obviously worth it. Simmonds has a cap hit just under $4 million and that looks like an incredible bargain.
Good news is that Sam Gagner's $3.2 million cap hit and Luke Schenn's $3.6 million cap hit both come off the books after this season and RJ Umberger's $4.6 million cap hit, Mason's $4.1 million cap hit, and Streit's ludicrous $5.2 million cap hit (when he's 39) come off the books after the 2016-17 season. Lecavalier doesn't come off the books until 2018. That's messed up considering he scored only 8 goals and 20 points in 57 games last year as it will only get better keep telling yourself. Same with newly signed defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who signed a two year deal to help the struggling blue line and carries a $3.875 million cap hit.
What's happened to the Flyers? They were the team I wanted to be back around 2008-2011 because of the moves they made. Of course I wanted to be a lot of teams not named the Sabres at that time now I'm proud what the Sabres are doing. Anyways, the Flyers had the worst record in 2006-07 with 22 wins and 56 points. The Sabres won the President's Trophy with 53 wins and 113 points and they destroyed the Flyers 9-1 early that season, which saw them fire both Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke shortly after.
The Flyers made a ton of spectacular moves by acquiring Martin Biron, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, drafting JVR second overall, and then signing Daniel Briere from the Sabres along with youngsters like Richards and Carter stepping up. The changes saw the Flyers goes from 56 points to a whopping 95 and made the Eastern Conference Finals. Many thought the Flyers would not make the playoffs let alone go to the Eastern Conference Finals one year after being the worst team in the league. It shows you that turnarounds don't have to take forever as the Sabres are looking to show the NHL that same thing.
Two years later, the Flyers lost in the finals to Chicago and beat the Sabres in the first round in 2011 before they started to make puzzling moves to put them in the position they are currently in. I hope the Sabres show similar progress from last year to this year, which is not crazy to do. Let's hope however they don't make the same mistakes the Flyers did or like the Bruins by letting go of great players for stupid reasons.
The Flyers should have really bottomed out for McEichel. They were in a terrible spot, so bad not to make the playoffs but not bad enough to finish 30th or 29th. I'm sure Philadelphia was fine not finishing last because they have too much pride like the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, the tough gritty northeastern teams. Boston is the team I'd least like to be because of their idiocy at the top of the organization letting go of top notch players for ridiculous reasons.
New Jersey and Philadelphia are very close and all three of these teams need to reload and retool and bottom out and need several years of high draft picks to be great again. These are long rebuilds unlike the Sabres. Of course Boston had several high draft picks gifted to them only to throw them away for nothing. Montreal, despite their regular season successes the last three years, is approaching team I least like to be status due to lack of big play scoring forwards (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/carey-price-cleans-up-nhl-awards.html).
The Flyers also made numerous dumb moves much like the Bruins have. They got rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because they "partied too much", well Richards turned out to be ok to let go of because of recent events and his decline but not before winning two Stanley Cups with the Kings. Carter on the other hand was a very foolish move to get rid of him. He's been great for LA. They got good players in return for both such as Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, and Sean Couturier.
The problem isn't what they got back it's that no one else has stepped up. The bottom six forwards don't score and the defense and goaltending have been nightmares. And the flyers have spent a ton on absolutely nothing and that's what's been ruining them. Other dumb moves the Flyers have made include trading Carter and Richards to clear up cap space to sign Ilya Bryzgalov. Their goaltending wasn't great but they went to the finals in 2010 with three goalies and lost in six games to Chicago. One of those goalies ended up being Sergei Bobrovsky, who's won a Vezina and has been great for Columbus. Had they not blown it all on Bryzgalov they'd still had Bobrovsky.
After buying out Bryzgalov after two lousy years, they went back with Ray Emery and Steve Mason as neither worked out. Other foolish moves include trading former number two overall pick James van Riemsdyk to Toronto for failed defenseman Luke Schenn and signing 35 year old Vincent Lecavalier to a five year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit, 37 year old Mark Streit to a four year deal, and Andrew MacDonald to a six year $30 million deal. All these moves the Flyers have made have only given them only half a million dollars worth of cap space left.
That doesn't include the fact that Voracek is set to be an unrestricted free agent and they must do whatever to keep him and both Couturier and Brayden Schenn are set to be restricted free agents next year. That's insane some of your best young players are set to be free agents with that low amount of cap room shows just how awfully mismanaged the Flyers really are. Claude Giroux has a $8.275 million cap hit but he's obviously worth it. Simmonds has a cap hit just under $4 million and that looks like an incredible bargain.
Good news is that Sam Gagner's $3.2 million cap hit and Luke Schenn's $3.6 million cap hit both come off the books after this season and RJ Umberger's $4.6 million cap hit, Mason's $4.1 million cap hit, and Streit's ludicrous $5.2 million cap hit (when he's 39) come off the books after the 2016-17 season. Lecavalier doesn't come off the books until 2018. That's messed up considering he scored only 8 goals and 20 points in 57 games last year as it will only get better keep telling yourself. Same with newly signed defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who signed a two year deal to help the struggling blue line and carries a $3.875 million cap hit.
What's happened to the Flyers? They were the team I wanted to be back around 2008-2011 because of the moves they made. Of course I wanted to be a lot of teams not named the Sabres at that time now I'm proud what the Sabres are doing. Anyways, the Flyers had the worst record in 2006-07 with 22 wins and 56 points. The Sabres won the President's Trophy with 53 wins and 113 points and they destroyed the Flyers 9-1 early that season, which saw them fire both Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke shortly after.
The Flyers made a ton of spectacular moves by acquiring Martin Biron, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, drafting JVR second overall, and then signing Daniel Briere from the Sabres along with youngsters like Richards and Carter stepping up. The changes saw the Flyers goes from 56 points to a whopping 95 and made the Eastern Conference Finals. Many thought the Flyers would not make the playoffs let alone go to the Eastern Conference Finals one year after being the worst team in the league. It shows you that turnarounds don't have to take forever as the Sabres are looking to show the NHL that same thing.
Two years later, the Flyers lost in the finals to Chicago and beat the Sabres in the first round in 2011 before they started to make puzzling moves to put them in the position they are currently in. I hope the Sabres show similar progress from last year to this year, which is not crazy to do. Let's hope however they don't make the same mistakes the Flyers did or like the Bruins by letting go of great players for stupid reasons.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
What's Going On Here in Buffalo? First Aaron Kromer Now Ryan O'Reilly
The Buffalo summer is well underway. The weather is finally starting to be nice and the fans are very excited for this upcoming Bills and Sabres season. I can' remember how long it's been for fans to be very excited for both teams, let alone simply one. With the wait comes a lot of down time and in that down time as many of you know leads to some interesting and exciting things happening, both good and bad.
That's especially true with both the Bills and Sabres as one member of each organization did something over the last couple of days that brought upon shame and embarrassment to themselves and their respective organizations. Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has been arrested for allegedly pushing down and punching a minor over what appears to be three boys taking beach chairs from his property without permission. The other is recent Sabres' acquisition Ryan O'Reilly crashed his truck into a Tim Horton's and left his truck behind. His blood alcohol level was apparently a .08.
Kromer spotted three young boys taking lawn beach chairs from his yard without his permission. He heard what was going on and saw some kids (i don't know how he could tell they were kids assuming it's as dark as it was) doing something. Rather than call the cops, he went out there to confront the kids. After a heated argument, Kromer grabbed one of the kids, pushed him to the ground and punched him according to the police report. If you can't trust a police report what can you trust? Until I learn otherwise I will go by what the police report says.
Another disturbing thing listed on the police report was that Kromer threatened to kill the boy and his parents if they called the police about this. That's not a good look. Unfortunately for Kromer, the threat to kill did not work. Can you imagine Kromer's wife? "Honey you should call the cops about what's going on outside." Aaron replies "no, I will go out there and I will threaten them, punch one of them, and threaten to kill them and their families. We're all good honey."
Why wouldn't Kromer just call the cops especially if it's dark outside? Why would you risk going out there and you don't know who they are and maybe one of them has a gun or something? It's not very smart on Kromer but based on this guy's past track record of judgment, he doesn't have very good judgment. Just like a lot of football people, a lot of these meatheads use their football culture of violence to try to solve issues rather than use common sense.
Don't forget, Kromer last year leaked out to the media that the Chicago Bears regretted giving Jay Cutler that big contract the year before. That drew the ire of many in the Bears' facility and locker room and the media which led to Kromer being fired after the season was over. He should have been gone right on the spot. He seems like an idiot. He should probably be gone over this but I am sure the Bills will wait for the facts to come out before making a move.
I believe in innocent until proven guilty but I would not be upset if they let him go. It's not the end of the world if Aaron Kromer isn't on the staff. You can find another offensive line coach and I am sure many of the players know what's going on as it is because they've had mini camp and OTAs to learn. It's not the end of the world, at least it wasn't Rex Ryan doing this. If that's the case they'd have to do what they can to keep him and discipline him. Kromer, not so much you can move on from him. I didn't like the hire of him in the first place as I am not a fan of the guy based on what happened last year and now this makes me like him even less.
This isn't the first time this offseason a member of the Buffalo Bills has been in hot water for something. Remember last week when second round pick Ronald Darby was criticized for his comments on the Florida State QB hitting that woman on the camera and has been kicked out of the school (http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/2015/07/07/bills-cornerback-under-fire-for-response-to-fsu-assault/29821723/)?
Darby did say hitting women is 100% wrong but drew criticism for saying there was a double standard because the woman hit the QB first before the QB (De'Andre Johnson) slugged her in retaliation and it was caught on camera. While I do agree with Darby about the double standard because I don't think women should hit men in case they think they can get away with it, men should not hit women back because it's simply common sense.
Darby seems to also be sticking up for his college teammate and unfortunately, these young kids are too committed to their teammates, especially college teammates, to the point where they lose proper perspective. Much like Kromer using his football instincts, Darby uses them along with his blind college love to defend a Florida State player. Much like a lot of Bills fans who don't think the Bills do anything wrong, Darby defends a Florida State player for thinking he's done nothing wrong.
Let's not forget, Darby might have a role in covering up the Jameis Winston rape case in December 2012. He was named a witness in the investigation to the rape committed by Winston, who was never charged with rape. Darby did not testify against Winston in a student conduct hearing and was not disciplined by the school. I said it after the draft, I wouldn't have drafted Darby despite some of his skills simply because of what has been alleged to have happened.
Isn't it possible to find someone albeit not as fast but somewhat closely skilled that doesn't have some sort of baggage around him you can take instead? What really is a second round pick cornerback going to do to make this team a playoff and championship team? He might be a very good corner, he might be a great corner. Obviously the Bills and Rex Ryan love him or else they wouldn't draft him with their "first pick." I guess we'll see in due time.
I don't need him that badly to make this team look more foolish as they already have had some interesting things going on such as signing Richie Incognito, the Kromer incident, the taking La'El Collins to dinner while he was being investigated for being a suspect in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, and even drafting Darby's Florida State teammate Karlos Williams, who was alleged to have punched his pregnant girlfriend. Good job Florida State, way to run a great program Jimbo Fisher. He needs to be fired because coaches have been fired for a lot less. I guess the Bills are "building a bully" for sure.
O'Reilly has brought upon further excitement for the upcoming Sabres season (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/sabres-officially-draft-jack-eichel-and.html (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/ryan-oreilly-signs-seven-year-deal-its.html). Optimism should still be high, but it will be a little bit deflated. O'Reilly is due in court on August 20 and if convicted he will face up to six months in jail, $400-$2,000 fine, seven points on his license, and a suspended license up to two years.
O'Reilly probably will and should be suspended by the NHL and even Buffalo Sabres. I wouldn't mind him being sat for however long at the start of the season to teach him a lesson and the others a lesson. Thank God he didn't hurt or kill anyone else. I do want him punished but I don't want him gone and I am not regretting getting him. He's young and made a mistake, albeit a big one. But we've all done that ourselves. It's a ridiculous double standard I get it as he would get punished but not kicked off the team like a 4th line player would, much like an offensive line coach like Kromer would be fired instead of a head coach or even top notch coordinator.
That's just the way sports works. You don't have to like it but it's the way it works.
That's especially true with both the Bills and Sabres as one member of each organization did something over the last couple of days that brought upon shame and embarrassment to themselves and their respective organizations. Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has been arrested for allegedly pushing down and punching a minor over what appears to be three boys taking beach chairs from his property without permission. The other is recent Sabres' acquisition Ryan O'Reilly crashed his truck into a Tim Horton's and left his truck behind. His blood alcohol level was apparently a .08.
Kromer spotted three young boys taking lawn beach chairs from his yard without his permission. He heard what was going on and saw some kids (i don't know how he could tell they were kids assuming it's as dark as it was) doing something. Rather than call the cops, he went out there to confront the kids. After a heated argument, Kromer grabbed one of the kids, pushed him to the ground and punched him according to the police report. If you can't trust a police report what can you trust? Until I learn otherwise I will go by what the police report says.
Another disturbing thing listed on the police report was that Kromer threatened to kill the boy and his parents if they called the police about this. That's not a good look. Unfortunately for Kromer, the threat to kill did not work. Can you imagine Kromer's wife? "Honey you should call the cops about what's going on outside." Aaron replies "no, I will go out there and I will threaten them, punch one of them, and threaten to kill them and their families. We're all good honey."
Why wouldn't Kromer just call the cops especially if it's dark outside? Why would you risk going out there and you don't know who they are and maybe one of them has a gun or something? It's not very smart on Kromer but based on this guy's past track record of judgment, he doesn't have very good judgment. Just like a lot of football people, a lot of these meatheads use their football culture of violence to try to solve issues rather than use common sense.
Don't forget, Kromer last year leaked out to the media that the Chicago Bears regretted giving Jay Cutler that big contract the year before. That drew the ire of many in the Bears' facility and locker room and the media which led to Kromer being fired after the season was over. He should have been gone right on the spot. He seems like an idiot. He should probably be gone over this but I am sure the Bills will wait for the facts to come out before making a move.
I believe in innocent until proven guilty but I would not be upset if they let him go. It's not the end of the world if Aaron Kromer isn't on the staff. You can find another offensive line coach and I am sure many of the players know what's going on as it is because they've had mini camp and OTAs to learn. It's not the end of the world, at least it wasn't Rex Ryan doing this. If that's the case they'd have to do what they can to keep him and discipline him. Kromer, not so much you can move on from him. I didn't like the hire of him in the first place as I am not a fan of the guy based on what happened last year and now this makes me like him even less.
This isn't the first time this offseason a member of the Buffalo Bills has been in hot water for something. Remember last week when second round pick Ronald Darby was criticized for his comments on the Florida State QB hitting that woman on the camera and has been kicked out of the school (http://www.wgrz.com/story/news/2015/07/07/bills-cornerback-under-fire-for-response-to-fsu-assault/29821723/)?
Darby did say hitting women is 100% wrong but drew criticism for saying there was a double standard because the woman hit the QB first before the QB (De'Andre Johnson) slugged her in retaliation and it was caught on camera. While I do agree with Darby about the double standard because I don't think women should hit men in case they think they can get away with it, men should not hit women back because it's simply common sense.
Darby seems to also be sticking up for his college teammate and unfortunately, these young kids are too committed to their teammates, especially college teammates, to the point where they lose proper perspective. Much like Kromer using his football instincts, Darby uses them along with his blind college love to defend a Florida State player. Much like a lot of Bills fans who don't think the Bills do anything wrong, Darby defends a Florida State player for thinking he's done nothing wrong.
Let's not forget, Darby might have a role in covering up the Jameis Winston rape case in December 2012. He was named a witness in the investigation to the rape committed by Winston, who was never charged with rape. Darby did not testify against Winston in a student conduct hearing and was not disciplined by the school. I said it after the draft, I wouldn't have drafted Darby despite some of his skills simply because of what has been alleged to have happened.
Isn't it possible to find someone albeit not as fast but somewhat closely skilled that doesn't have some sort of baggage around him you can take instead? What really is a second round pick cornerback going to do to make this team a playoff and championship team? He might be a very good corner, he might be a great corner. Obviously the Bills and Rex Ryan love him or else they wouldn't draft him with their "first pick." I guess we'll see in due time.
I don't need him that badly to make this team look more foolish as they already have had some interesting things going on such as signing Richie Incognito, the Kromer incident, the taking La'El Collins to dinner while he was being investigated for being a suspect in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, and even drafting Darby's Florida State teammate Karlos Williams, who was alleged to have punched his pregnant girlfriend. Good job Florida State, way to run a great program Jimbo Fisher. He needs to be fired because coaches have been fired for a lot less. I guess the Bills are "building a bully" for sure.
O'Reilly has brought upon further excitement for the upcoming Sabres season (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/sabres-officially-draft-jack-eichel-and.html (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/ryan-oreilly-signs-seven-year-deal-its.html). Optimism should still be high, but it will be a little bit deflated. O'Reilly is due in court on August 20 and if convicted he will face up to six months in jail, $400-$2,000 fine, seven points on his license, and a suspended license up to two years.
O'Reilly probably will and should be suspended by the NHL and even Buffalo Sabres. I wouldn't mind him being sat for however long at the start of the season to teach him a lesson and the others a lesson. Thank God he didn't hurt or kill anyone else. I do want him punished but I don't want him gone and I am not regretting getting him. He's young and made a mistake, albeit a big one. But we've all done that ourselves. It's a ridiculous double standard I get it as he would get punished but not kicked off the team like a 4th line player would, much like an offensive line coach like Kromer would be fired instead of a head coach or even top notch coordinator.
That's just the way sports works. You don't have to like it but it's the way it works.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Ryan O'Reilly Signs Seven-Year Deal; It's Not Crazy to Think the Sabres Can Make the Playoffs; Looking at Really Quick Turnarounds in One Year
Ryan O'Reilly officially signed a contract extension with the Sabres at 7 years, $52.5 million, the largest in Sabres history at least until Jack Eichel's contract comes up. That doesn't actually kick in until the 2016-17 season. He will actually make $11 million that first season but the thing we focus on is not salary but rather cap hit, which will be $7.5 million. I know it sounds like a lot but it's really not. The fact is the cap is going up because revenues are going up. That is the going rate for a center who is great defensively, at possessing the puck, and on 5-on-5, which is what the game has become.
O'Reilly's cap hit is topped by only elite level players and some players that are better than him, don't cost their team as much against the cap. But they signed their deals within the last couple of years or so and are older than O'Reilly, who is only 24. You have to also take into consideration, this isn't the cap coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, where $7.5 million would have been looked down upon. While his cap number counts 10.5% of the total cap, it would have counted almost double at 19.2% back 10 years ago. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews $10.5 million cap hits count 14.7% of the cap each.
O'Reilly's 5-on-5 numbers are among the best among centers and his points per game over the last four seasons is 19th best among centers (http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=2012&year_max=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&rookie=N&age_min=0&age_max=99&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=C&handed=&is_playoffs=N&c1stat=points_per_game&c1comp=gt&c1val=0.7&c2stat=games_played&c2comp=gt&c2val=250&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&threshhold=5&order_by=points_per_game). The ones ahead of him are all pretty much elite.
He has great 5-on-5 Corsi numbers despite being on one of the worst possession teams in the NHL and with not a lot of skilled talent. Defensively he can shut down any line and has the most takeaways in the NHL the last two years. He also has one of the best even strength points per 60 minutes of any player as well. So yeah, he is not one of the elite number one centers, but he is very good and the going rate will show this will be a bargain in years to come.
The Sabres look to really improve from finishing in last place the last two years with all their additions. Now going from last season's total of 54 points to going into say the low 90s to get into the playoffs seems like a ginormous task. Heck, many think just a 20-point jump is a challenge not 40 points and they'll think that this will be a long rebuild. I am here to tell you that it won't take long even though they were the worst team by miles the last two years.
It wouldn't shock me if they made the playoffs. That's right I think this team can make it because one-year jumps, no matter how bleak it may look, happen on a regular basis in the NHL more than you think. The only way a team does have to go five years or longer to rebuild is because they don't have enough high draft picks and great players. That turns your franchise around quickly, especially in a salary cap era.
It doesn't take much to make the playoffs as if you finish in the top-3 in a division you automatically are locked into a playoff spot. I see the Sabres being better than pretty much every team except Tampa, Montreal (only because they have a great goalie and high point total but that will come down if they don't get better scorers), and Florida I think will be very good but it's only because they've been ahead of the Sabres in the rebuilding department.
It's possible they can finish in the top-3. Detroit is on their way down along with Boston. Ottawa doesn't scare me and Toronto is rebuilding and needs at least one more really great draft. Plus the Sabres were artificially awful as they did everything to ensure they finish 30th for Jack Eichel this past season. If they really tried and got better players by bringing them up or signing them, they could have had 65-70 points, but who wants that? That doesn't get you a potentially elite number one center like Eichel. So don't count last year's point total too much as it was meant to be awful. It wasn't an accident.
I am going to show you non-believers some teams who were awful and turned it around quickly, going from worst to first (or close to first in the division) in just one year thanks to some great high draft picks as well as great free agent and trade pickups.
The San Jose Sharks went from 47 and 62 points in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons to making the playoffs in 1997-98 with just 78 points, but it was enough. They picked Patrick Marleau second overall in the 1997 draft behind current Shark Joe Thornton.
Since then, the Sharks were one of the better teams in the NHL missing the playoffs only twice since then, one was just this past season, despite never making it to the finals. Point is, they went from a bottom feeder to drafting and acquiring great talent and for nearly 20 years were a contender to win the Cup.
Speaking of Thornton, the Bruins finished dead last in the 1996-97 season with 61 points and won the lottery and drafted Thornton. The following year, they made the playoffs with 91 points, a 30-point jump. The Bruins then had a bad run post 2004-05 lockout posting 74 and 76 points in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons where the Sabres were at the top of the league and running over the Bruins.
Since then, the Bruins had been on the NHL's best teams with additions of former #2 overall pick Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, and top-5 pick Phil Kessel, who was then spun off for first round draft picks that became Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton.
The Bruins were perennially a 100-point team, winning their first Stanley Cup in 29 years, going to another Stanley Cup Finals, and winning a President's Trophy. Of course the Bruins are stupid trading both Seguin and Hamilton for nothing and they missed the playoffs this past season and are on the decline.
The New York Islanders missed the playoffs seven straight seasons before 2001-02. That year, they hired an unknown Peter Laviolette as their head coach and made some purchases such as Alexi Yashin and Michael Peca among others and went from 52 points the year before to making the playoffs with 96 points (44 point jump).
In recent years, the Islanders missed the playoffs five straight seasons before acquiring some top picks like John Tavares and Kyle Okposo and made the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. After missing the playoffs in 2013-14 with just 79 points, the Islanders rebounded this past season after some retooling with 101 points.
The Carolina Hurricanes had 61 and 76 points when Laviolette took over in 2003-04. The next season, he led Carolina to 112 points and the Stanley Cup thanks to a number two overall pick in Eric Staal and other veteran acquisitions.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were awful when they drafted Sidney Crosby 1st overall in 2005. In fact, Crosby's rookie year, they were still the worst team record wise with 58 points. After getting Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal second overall in drafts, the pens went from 58 points to 105 the next season. The year after that, they lost in the Cup finals. The year after that, they won the Cup. They have also been a perennial 100-point team every year since.
The Washington Capitals were really bad before they drafted Alex Ovechkin 1st overall in 2004. They were still bad in Ovechkin's first two years with 70 points each season before adding players like Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green (when he was an offensive machine) to finish with 94 points in 2007-08 and win the Southeast Division. They have made the playoffs all but one season since and even won the President's Trophy in 2009-10.
The Los Angeles Kings missed the playoffs six straight seasons before having a 101-point season in 2009-10. Along the way, the Kings had some high draft picks such as Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar and two other top-5 picks were traded for pieces such as Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, which helped them win two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.
The Philadelphia Flyers had a season to forget in 2006-07 where they only had 56 points, worst in the NHL and worst in franchise history. That was the same season where they were destroyed by the Sabres 9-1 and Ken Hitchcock and many of the front office staff were fired. I am sure that 56 points was no accident they probably thought they'd win the Cup or something and then realized we need to retool.
They traded a lot of awful pieces, brought in some of their young talented prospects, brought in players such as Danny Briere, Marty Biron, Scott Hartnell, and Kimmo Timonen and drafted James Van Riemsdyk second overall. The flyers jumped from 56 points to 95 in 2007-08 and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in one year. Two years later, they lost in the Staney Cup Finals.
Ryan O'Reilly's old team the Colorado Avalanche had the second-worst record in 2012-13, they won the draft lottery and drafted Nate MacKinnon to go along with other top-2 draft picks Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. the very next season saw the Avalanche jump to 112 points and won the division.
The Montreal Canadiens were the third-worst team and worst in the Eastern Conference with 78 points. They ended up getting a new coach (Michel Therrian) and GM (Marc Bergevin) and a few other things and went from worst to first winning the division in 2012-13. They finished with 100 and 110 points and another division the next two seasons and have been one of the better teams in the East in terms of record. I don't know how exactly, outside of Carey Price and PK Subban they don't have much. They can't score and their forwards aren't that great. They drafted Alex Galchenyuk third overall in 2012 and he's been decent, he hasn't lived up to the hype of his draft status.
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to be the team to beat for years to come thanks to their high draft picks. They had the third-worst record in 2012-13 but rebounded to 101 points the following season. This past season, they had 108 points and lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to Chicago. Thanks to first overall pick Steven Stamkos and second overall pick defenseman Victor Hedman along with gems like second round pick Nikita Kucherov and undrafted free agent turned sensation Tyler Johnson, the Lightning will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. They will be the team that wins Cups and the Sabres will have to fight them to get there. Even 2013 third overall pick Jonathan Drouin hasn't done much. He spent 2013-14 in the juniors and didn't contribute a whole lot this season as he was a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs. When he does live up to his potential, watch out.
The Blackhawks have been the gold standard for the NHL the last 7-8 years, winning three of the last six Stanley Cups and lost in the conference finals two other times. Before that, they were one of the worst teams not only in the NHL but in all professional sports. They missed the playoffs 9 out of 10 seasons and were considered a laughing stock. The fans didn't go to Blackhawk games, instead they went to the AHL Chicago Wolves games. But they drafted Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and along with two of the best defenseman Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, and others they built what is somewhat of a dynasty. In Kane and Toews first season, they went from 71 points to 88, just missing the playoffs but the groundwork for success was laid out.
The Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets are two teams on the rise. The Panthers went from 66 points two seasons ago to 91 this past season. They have had three top-3 picks in recent years; Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Aaron Ekblad, who have helped this young team develop and win quickly.
The Blue Jackets don't have a ton of high draft picks except 4th overall pick Ryan Johansen, 3rd overall pick Jack Johnson, who's done well since being traded by the Kings, and 2nd overall pick defenseman Ryan Murray, who has been injured a lot and has not lived up to the hype. But the players they get off of other teams such as Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Johnson, and Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky have helped turn this moribund franchise into a young promising playoff team. They went from a league worst 65 points in 2011-12 to just missing the playoffs by one point in 2012-13. They made the playoffs in 2013-14 with 93 points, but missed the playoffs this season despite having 89 points with over 500 man games lost due to injury.
So as you see, it doesn't take a lot to get your team from the bottom to just making the playoffs the following season. Even at worst, it might take two years but even the year before shows the team just barely misses the playoffs and shows tremendous progress. It's not that hard as long as you rebuild the right way, which i believe the Sabres did.
O'Reilly's cap hit is topped by only elite level players and some players that are better than him, don't cost their team as much against the cap. But they signed their deals within the last couple of years or so and are older than O'Reilly, who is only 24. You have to also take into consideration, this isn't the cap coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, where $7.5 million would have been looked down upon. While his cap number counts 10.5% of the total cap, it would have counted almost double at 19.2% back 10 years ago. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews $10.5 million cap hits count 14.7% of the cap each.
O'Reilly's 5-on-5 numbers are among the best among centers and his points per game over the last four seasons is 19th best among centers (http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=2012&year_max=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&rookie=N&age_min=0&age_max=99&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=C&handed=&is_playoffs=N&c1stat=points_per_game&c1comp=gt&c1val=0.7&c2stat=games_played&c2comp=gt&c2val=250&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&threshhold=5&order_by=points_per_game). The ones ahead of him are all pretty much elite.
He has great 5-on-5 Corsi numbers despite being on one of the worst possession teams in the NHL and with not a lot of skilled talent. Defensively he can shut down any line and has the most takeaways in the NHL the last two years. He also has one of the best even strength points per 60 minutes of any player as well. So yeah, he is not one of the elite number one centers, but he is very good and the going rate will show this will be a bargain in years to come.
The Sabres look to really improve from finishing in last place the last two years with all their additions. Now going from last season's total of 54 points to going into say the low 90s to get into the playoffs seems like a ginormous task. Heck, many think just a 20-point jump is a challenge not 40 points and they'll think that this will be a long rebuild. I am here to tell you that it won't take long even though they were the worst team by miles the last two years.
It wouldn't shock me if they made the playoffs. That's right I think this team can make it because one-year jumps, no matter how bleak it may look, happen on a regular basis in the NHL more than you think. The only way a team does have to go five years or longer to rebuild is because they don't have enough high draft picks and great players. That turns your franchise around quickly, especially in a salary cap era.
It doesn't take much to make the playoffs as if you finish in the top-3 in a division you automatically are locked into a playoff spot. I see the Sabres being better than pretty much every team except Tampa, Montreal (only because they have a great goalie and high point total but that will come down if they don't get better scorers), and Florida I think will be very good but it's only because they've been ahead of the Sabres in the rebuilding department.
It's possible they can finish in the top-3. Detroit is on their way down along with Boston. Ottawa doesn't scare me and Toronto is rebuilding and needs at least one more really great draft. Plus the Sabres were artificially awful as they did everything to ensure they finish 30th for Jack Eichel this past season. If they really tried and got better players by bringing them up or signing them, they could have had 65-70 points, but who wants that? That doesn't get you a potentially elite number one center like Eichel. So don't count last year's point total too much as it was meant to be awful. It wasn't an accident.
I am going to show you non-believers some teams who were awful and turned it around quickly, going from worst to first (or close to first in the division) in just one year thanks to some great high draft picks as well as great free agent and trade pickups.
The San Jose Sharks went from 47 and 62 points in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons to making the playoffs in 1997-98 with just 78 points, but it was enough. They picked Patrick Marleau second overall in the 1997 draft behind current Shark Joe Thornton.
Since then, the Sharks were one of the better teams in the NHL missing the playoffs only twice since then, one was just this past season, despite never making it to the finals. Point is, they went from a bottom feeder to drafting and acquiring great talent and for nearly 20 years were a contender to win the Cup.
Speaking of Thornton, the Bruins finished dead last in the 1996-97 season with 61 points and won the lottery and drafted Thornton. The following year, they made the playoffs with 91 points, a 30-point jump. The Bruins then had a bad run post 2004-05 lockout posting 74 and 76 points in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons where the Sabres were at the top of the league and running over the Bruins.
Since then, the Bruins had been on the NHL's best teams with additions of former #2 overall pick Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, and top-5 pick Phil Kessel, who was then spun off for first round draft picks that became Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton.
The Bruins were perennially a 100-point team, winning their first Stanley Cup in 29 years, going to another Stanley Cup Finals, and winning a President's Trophy. Of course the Bruins are stupid trading both Seguin and Hamilton for nothing and they missed the playoffs this past season and are on the decline.
The New York Islanders missed the playoffs seven straight seasons before 2001-02. That year, they hired an unknown Peter Laviolette as their head coach and made some purchases such as Alexi Yashin and Michael Peca among others and went from 52 points the year before to making the playoffs with 96 points (44 point jump).
In recent years, the Islanders missed the playoffs five straight seasons before acquiring some top picks like John Tavares and Kyle Okposo and made the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. After missing the playoffs in 2013-14 with just 79 points, the Islanders rebounded this past season after some retooling with 101 points.
The Carolina Hurricanes had 61 and 76 points when Laviolette took over in 2003-04. The next season, he led Carolina to 112 points and the Stanley Cup thanks to a number two overall pick in Eric Staal and other veteran acquisitions.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were awful when they drafted Sidney Crosby 1st overall in 2005. In fact, Crosby's rookie year, they were still the worst team record wise with 58 points. After getting Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal second overall in drafts, the pens went from 58 points to 105 the next season. The year after that, they lost in the Cup finals. The year after that, they won the Cup. They have also been a perennial 100-point team every year since.
The Washington Capitals were really bad before they drafted Alex Ovechkin 1st overall in 2004. They were still bad in Ovechkin's first two years with 70 points each season before adding players like Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green (when he was an offensive machine) to finish with 94 points in 2007-08 and win the Southeast Division. They have made the playoffs all but one season since and even won the President's Trophy in 2009-10.
The Los Angeles Kings missed the playoffs six straight seasons before having a 101-point season in 2009-10. Along the way, the Kings had some high draft picks such as Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar and two other top-5 picks were traded for pieces such as Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, which helped them win two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.
The Philadelphia Flyers had a season to forget in 2006-07 where they only had 56 points, worst in the NHL and worst in franchise history. That was the same season where they were destroyed by the Sabres 9-1 and Ken Hitchcock and many of the front office staff were fired. I am sure that 56 points was no accident they probably thought they'd win the Cup or something and then realized we need to retool.
They traded a lot of awful pieces, brought in some of their young talented prospects, brought in players such as Danny Briere, Marty Biron, Scott Hartnell, and Kimmo Timonen and drafted James Van Riemsdyk second overall. The flyers jumped from 56 points to 95 in 2007-08 and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in one year. Two years later, they lost in the Staney Cup Finals.
Ryan O'Reilly's old team the Colorado Avalanche had the second-worst record in 2012-13, they won the draft lottery and drafted Nate MacKinnon to go along with other top-2 draft picks Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. the very next season saw the Avalanche jump to 112 points and won the division.
The Montreal Canadiens were the third-worst team and worst in the Eastern Conference with 78 points. They ended up getting a new coach (Michel Therrian) and GM (Marc Bergevin) and a few other things and went from worst to first winning the division in 2012-13. They finished with 100 and 110 points and another division the next two seasons and have been one of the better teams in the East in terms of record. I don't know how exactly, outside of Carey Price and PK Subban they don't have much. They can't score and their forwards aren't that great. They drafted Alex Galchenyuk third overall in 2012 and he's been decent, he hasn't lived up to the hype of his draft status.
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to be the team to beat for years to come thanks to their high draft picks. They had the third-worst record in 2012-13 but rebounded to 101 points the following season. This past season, they had 108 points and lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to Chicago. Thanks to first overall pick Steven Stamkos and second overall pick defenseman Victor Hedman along with gems like second round pick Nikita Kucherov and undrafted free agent turned sensation Tyler Johnson, the Lightning will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. They will be the team that wins Cups and the Sabres will have to fight them to get there. Even 2013 third overall pick Jonathan Drouin hasn't done much. He spent 2013-14 in the juniors and didn't contribute a whole lot this season as he was a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs. When he does live up to his potential, watch out.
The Blackhawks have been the gold standard for the NHL the last 7-8 years, winning three of the last six Stanley Cups and lost in the conference finals two other times. Before that, they were one of the worst teams not only in the NHL but in all professional sports. They missed the playoffs 9 out of 10 seasons and were considered a laughing stock. The fans didn't go to Blackhawk games, instead they went to the AHL Chicago Wolves games. But they drafted Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and along with two of the best defenseman Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, and others they built what is somewhat of a dynasty. In Kane and Toews first season, they went from 71 points to 88, just missing the playoffs but the groundwork for success was laid out.
The Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets are two teams on the rise. The Panthers went from 66 points two seasons ago to 91 this past season. They have had three top-3 picks in recent years; Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Aaron Ekblad, who have helped this young team develop and win quickly.
The Blue Jackets don't have a ton of high draft picks except 4th overall pick Ryan Johansen, 3rd overall pick Jack Johnson, who's done well since being traded by the Kings, and 2nd overall pick defenseman Ryan Murray, who has been injured a lot and has not lived up to the hype. But the players they get off of other teams such as Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Johnson, and Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky have helped turn this moribund franchise into a young promising playoff team. They went from a league worst 65 points in 2011-12 to just missing the playoffs by one point in 2012-13. They made the playoffs in 2013-14 with 93 points, but missed the playoffs this season despite having 89 points with over 500 man games lost due to injury.
So as you see, it doesn't take a lot to get your team from the bottom to just making the playoffs the following season. Even at worst, it might take two years but even the year before shows the team just barely misses the playoffs and shows tremendous progress. It's not that hard as long as you rebuild the right way, which i believe the Sabres did.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Eichel officially signs with Us!! He's not going back to BU so Stop Worrying About him not Coming Back Here!! Other big time signings and trades today
Well any worries about Jack Eichel not signing with the Sabres and going back to BU are officially done. Today, he signed his 3-year entry level contract and hopefully three years from now, we will have him signed to a really long-term deal. July 1st for Sabres fans usually meant disappointment and heartbreak. Eight years ago today, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere left via free agency after winning the President's Trophy. July 1st also seen the Sabres be snubbed by high profile free agents Brad Richards, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, and Shane Doan after Terry Pegula bought the team and wanted to spend top dollar. It also meant we got Ville Leino as well.
July 1st now means the official signing and berth of the Jack Eichel era in Buffalo, NY. We'll never have to think of that ever again. We are still waiting for the announcement of the extension of Ryan O'Reilly for seven to eight years for around $7-8 million a year. To help further keep him here, his brother Cal O'Reilly signed earlier for a two-year, one-way deal which means if he plays in the NHL or AHL he's still getting the same salary.
Some former Sabres were involved in trades or signings. Cody Hodgson, waived and bought out one day ago, was signed by Nashville to a one-year deal, not 12 years. I thought Arizona and Darcy Regier would sign him. Goalies Jhonas Enroth signed with the Los Angeles Kings while Michal Neuvirth signed with the Philadelphia Flyes and Anders Lindback with Arizona. So it means currently the Sabres are going with Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson as their goalies so far as they did not bring back any of their former goalies. Drew Stafford signed a two-year deal worth around $4.35 million a season yesterday to remain in Winnipeg.
Speaking of not bringing back any former Sabres, Andrej Sekera signed with Edmonton for six years which is a great move for the Oilers. I liked Sekera and wished he came back here but he moved on. He was very good in Carolina and was used very well unlike his time here with Lindy Ruff. Vancouver did not win the Hodgson trade either as they traded Zack Kassian, who was a disappointment, to Montreal for Brandon Prust and a fifth round pick.
The biggest move of the day was the Pittsburgh Penguins trading for Phil Kessel. The Penguins didn't give up much to get Kessel out of Toronto. Kessel is a very productive scorer (a point a game player) who doesn't always play hard or try hard (as evidenced by last season) and doesn't play great defense. Maybe getting him out of a horrible situation in Toronto and playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will help him. Hopefully Crosby can keep him in line but he's the type of player they need badly. I think it's a great move for Pittsburgh unless they continue to go belly-up in the playoffs and he doesn't perform.
The St. Louis Blues are trying to move on from their core that's failed them in the playoffs the last few years. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is reportedly on the trade market and I would love for the Sabres to get him. The Blues let star forward Vladimir Tarasenko hit restricted free agency but they said they'll match any offer and rightfully so. They can't let him go and need to build around him. Dallas reportedly signed him to an offer sheet for 6 years, $45 million. I bet they'll match it and eventually part ways with players like David Backes and TJ Oshie.
The Chicago Blackhawks made a big move yesterday trading restricted free agent Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was a shock because many thought the Blackhawks would have kept him as there were talks of them negotiating a long term deal. They dealt his rights to the Blue Jackets for Artem Anisimov and Marko Dano. GM Stan Bowman was worried that with the Hawks' cap trouble that teams would load up on an offer sheet for Saad.
One defenseman the Sabres would have liked, Paul Martin, signed a four-year deal with the San Jose Sharks. They also traded for and signed goalie Martin Jones. They did not resign Antii Niemi, who signed with Dallas. The Sharks sent a 2016 First Round pick and prospect Sean Kuraly to the Bruins for Jones as the Sharks immediately signed him to a 3-year deal.
Barrett Jackman's 13-year career with the Blues came to an end when he signed with Nashville. Detroit surprisingly signed Mike Green to a three-year deal while also signing Brad Richards to a one-year deal. Richards won a Cup with Chicago after signing a one-year deal one year after being bought out by the New York Rangers.
The buyouts from a day ago were very interesting. The Kings terminated Mike Richards' gigantic contract after he was stopped at the border with possession of Oxycontin. Others bought out not named Cody Hodgson were Alexander Semin and former Sabre Brad Boyes. I have no interest in any of them. I liked Semin a couple years ago when he signed with Carolina for one year and was very good. He was given a ridiculous longterm contract and never lived up close to it. And to think Jim Rutherford was fired from Carolina but hired in Pittsburgh. Go figure.
This was a very interesting first day of free agency with so much going on. More deals will be made in the coming days hopefully for Buffalo as well to get a defenseman and sign O'Reilly.
July 1st now means the official signing and berth of the Jack Eichel era in Buffalo, NY. We'll never have to think of that ever again. We are still waiting for the announcement of the extension of Ryan O'Reilly for seven to eight years for around $7-8 million a year. To help further keep him here, his brother Cal O'Reilly signed earlier for a two-year, one-way deal which means if he plays in the NHL or AHL he's still getting the same salary.
Some former Sabres were involved in trades or signings. Cody Hodgson, waived and bought out one day ago, was signed by Nashville to a one-year deal, not 12 years. I thought Arizona and Darcy Regier would sign him. Goalies Jhonas Enroth signed with the Los Angeles Kings while Michal Neuvirth signed with the Philadelphia Flyes and Anders Lindback with Arizona. So it means currently the Sabres are going with Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson as their goalies so far as they did not bring back any of their former goalies. Drew Stafford signed a two-year deal worth around $4.35 million a season yesterday to remain in Winnipeg.
Speaking of not bringing back any former Sabres, Andrej Sekera signed with Edmonton for six years which is a great move for the Oilers. I liked Sekera and wished he came back here but he moved on. He was very good in Carolina and was used very well unlike his time here with Lindy Ruff. Vancouver did not win the Hodgson trade either as they traded Zack Kassian, who was a disappointment, to Montreal for Brandon Prust and a fifth round pick.
The biggest move of the day was the Pittsburgh Penguins trading for Phil Kessel. The Penguins didn't give up much to get Kessel out of Toronto. Kessel is a very productive scorer (a point a game player) who doesn't always play hard or try hard (as evidenced by last season) and doesn't play great defense. Maybe getting him out of a horrible situation in Toronto and playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will help him. Hopefully Crosby can keep him in line but he's the type of player they need badly. I think it's a great move for Pittsburgh unless they continue to go belly-up in the playoffs and he doesn't perform.
The St. Louis Blues are trying to move on from their core that's failed them in the playoffs the last few years. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is reportedly on the trade market and I would love for the Sabres to get him. The Blues let star forward Vladimir Tarasenko hit restricted free agency but they said they'll match any offer and rightfully so. They can't let him go and need to build around him. Dallas reportedly signed him to an offer sheet for 6 years, $45 million. I bet they'll match it and eventually part ways with players like David Backes and TJ Oshie.
The Chicago Blackhawks made a big move yesterday trading restricted free agent Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was a shock because many thought the Blackhawks would have kept him as there were talks of them negotiating a long term deal. They dealt his rights to the Blue Jackets for Artem Anisimov and Marko Dano. GM Stan Bowman was worried that with the Hawks' cap trouble that teams would load up on an offer sheet for Saad.
One defenseman the Sabres would have liked, Paul Martin, signed a four-year deal with the San Jose Sharks. They also traded for and signed goalie Martin Jones. They did not resign Antii Niemi, who signed with Dallas. The Sharks sent a 2016 First Round pick and prospect Sean Kuraly to the Bruins for Jones as the Sharks immediately signed him to a 3-year deal.
Barrett Jackman's 13-year career with the Blues came to an end when he signed with Nashville. Detroit surprisingly signed Mike Green to a three-year deal while also signing Brad Richards to a one-year deal. Richards won a Cup with Chicago after signing a one-year deal one year after being bought out by the New York Rangers.
The buyouts from a day ago were very interesting. The Kings terminated Mike Richards' gigantic contract after he was stopped at the border with possession of Oxycontin. Others bought out not named Cody Hodgson were Alexander Semin and former Sabre Brad Boyes. I have no interest in any of them. I liked Semin a couple years ago when he signed with Carolina for one year and was very good. He was given a ridiculous longterm contract and never lived up close to it. And to think Jim Rutherford was fired from Carolina but hired in Pittsburgh. Go figure.
This was a very interesting first day of free agency with so much going on. More deals will be made in the coming days hopefully for Buffalo as well to get a defenseman and sign O'Reilly.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Cody Hodgson Put on Waivers; to be Bought Out!! Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish
Cody Hodgson has been waived and will be bought out by the Buffalo Sabres, ending what has been a very disappointing tenure since he came over here in a trade at the 2012 Trade Deadline. I'm glad we are getting rid of him as there is no place for him and his large salary. That large salary was in part of Darcy Regier always overvaluing players and giving him a six-year contract, rather than giving him a three or maybe even four-year deal at most.
As much of a disappointment he was here in Buffalo and Vancouver as well I will put myself on record saying I was for the trade when in it first happened. In the 2011-12 season, the Sabres had lousy center depth, one of the worst if not the worst. Ville Leino was a major bust of a signing as he was brought in to be a center despite never playing it in the NHL. As it turns out, he wasn't that good of a winger either here. More on Leino later don't miss that.
Luke Adam started that season as the "number one center" as he centered a line between Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville. Adam produced early on, but struggled and eventually was demoted until he was sent down to Rochester. Derek Roy came back from a serious quad injury he suffered the year before and struggled to come back from the injury, posting career-low numbers in any season in Buffalo for him. Tim Connolly left the team in free agency and things were so bad we could have used him. Heck, Paul Szczechura centered Vanek and Pominville for a while.
Injuries and the lack of a center which led to a lack of scoring and poor defense had the Sabres at the bottom of the league standings by the All-Star break. We were looking at a top-3 pick for hopefully that number one center. Mikhail Grigorenko's name was floating around there at the time as he was projected to be a top pick in that year's draft before he fell to the Sabres at number 12. The Sabres, however, got healthy and started to win. Tyler Ennis was hurt but came back and Lindy Ruff decided to try him at center when he should have done that earlier with their lack of depth at center.
Ennis played very well back from injury at center as his playmaking ability more fit the center position up the middle instead of on the wing. Ennis was very good the last two months of the season and the line of him, Drew Stafford, and Marcus Foligno were the best line on the team and one of the hottest in the NHL. They each averaged more than a point a game down the stretch and had incredibly high shooting percentages. We all knew they would start to come back down a bit from those ridiculous numbers but still thought that maybe the chemistry of them three together would give the Sabres a formidable line for years to come.
Then at the trade deadline, Regier first shipped out Paul Gaustad to Nashville for surprising a first round pick (which turned out to be Zemgus Girgensons). Then he brought Hodgson in from Vancouver for another disappointing prospect Zack Kassian, who failed to live up to the hype of the "legend of Zack Kassian." Hodgson had a falling out in Vancouver dating back to before the 2009-10 season when he had a back injury he suffered working out. He was initially cleared by team doctors and he failed to make the team and was sent back to juniors in the preseason.
Hodgson got a third opinion and had to have surgery, which led to a rift between himself and then-head coach Alain Vigneault, who claimed Hodgson had a procedure because he didn't make the team and blamed it on that. Their GM said there was no rift between themselves and Hodgson. He finally played for Vancouver in 2010-11 and appeared in 12 playoff games, registering a single point, as the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Hodgson's first full season was 2011-12, where he had 16 points and 33 points in 63 games before being traded to the Sabres at the trade deadline. Hodgson didn't get a lot of playing time as he was the third line center behind Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler, but he put up a decent amount of points, which excited me. There was the potential for him to maybe become the number one center. Things did not start off well as he did not register a single point in 10 games and was a -5.
Things eventually changed as he centered a line between Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville and the final 10 games Hodgson had 3 goals and 8 points. Vanek and Pominville both were a point a game in the final 10 games as the offense looked a lot better. Hodgson was second to Vanek in 2012-13 with 15 goals and 34 points in the 48-game lockout shortened season.
After signing a ridiculous six-year deal before the 2013-14 season which he had yet totally prove himself, Hodgson led the team with 20 goals and 44 points in 72 games on the worst team in hockey that year. Hodgson was an effective scorer, but his defense was a huge problem and he was a huge liability in his own end. He was terrible at back-checking and turned the puck over a lot in his own end which led to a bunch of goals being scored while he was on the ice. At least he could score even if he's giving up goals, which isn't luck or by chance or by accident.
The "he could score" defense (no pun intended) came to a crashing end this past season as he had an awful 6 goals and 13 points in 78 games with an awful 4.7 shooting % and fallen out of favor with Ted Nolan. He went from a top-two center to a top-six winger to out of the top-six altogether. A lot has to do with his awful defensive game while his offense completely disappeared. He wasn't even getting power play time on the worst power play and offense in the NHL.
Another reason for the demotion was his awful possession game. He was a lousy 5-on-5 player as evidenced by his Corsi rankings listed below.
264th 2011-12 (49.4 career-high)
349th 2012-13 (46.5)
468th 2013-14 (42.5)
476th 2014-15 (38.7)
He was never a positive Corsi player in any of his NHL seasons and never ranked in the top-250 and just barely in the top-500 the past two seasons. His -65 as a Sabre further cemented his defensive liabilities and poor even strength play. He was a healthy scratch a few times this season for his awful play and the potential for him being a buyout grew further as the season wore on.
We all know 13 points in 78 games is awful, but just how awful was it? Ville Leino had zero goals in 58 games in 2013-14 which was awful and we make fun of that and rightfully so. But Leino had 15 assists and had two more points than Hodgson had IN 20 FEWER GAMES!!! That's not a misprint, Hodgson played 20 more games than Leino did last season and had two fewer points to a guy who didn't score a single goal in 3/4 of a season.
Hodgson looks like a complete joke when we look at how he scored fewer points than Ville Leino did the previous season. Leino was an awful signing and only had 10 goals in three seasons for the Sabres. Leino, however, was a significantly better possession player as his worst season here in Corsi was about as good as Hodgson's best here. Leino could definitely carry the puck in, but would not shoot the puck ever as evidenced by his low goal scoring totals and low shooting %.
Leino and Hodgson were both terrible additions by Regier and it makes me so happy they got Jack Eichel. These failures of Regier reaching for mediocre at best players and hoping they can turn into stars, which never happens, made me want the Sabres to finish 30th this past season for either Eichel and McDavid to find that franchise, elite number one center who will be the best player for years to come.
With the drafting of Eichel and the trade for Ryan O'Reilly among other additions, Hodgson had no role on this team. He was a winger at best on the third line even though they upgraded at coach in Dan Bylsma, who could help him with his possession game. But with a $4+ million cap hit, it didn't make much sense. One thing for Hodgson could have been give him more power play time, but that role was diminished with Eichel, O'Reilly, and Evander Kane among others getting power play time, which meant there was no room or place for Hodgson on this team.
One thing that bothered me about Hodgson was his lack of self awareness and his ability to be uncoachable. Throughout this awful season, Hodgson always thought he was very good and never listened to coaches always thinking he knew better than they did. I usually take what players say with a grain of salt because most of them are delusional. But Hodgson's comments about how good he is and how good his game is made even the most delusional athlete say "shut the bleep up." What a loser he was.
I definitely did not respect Hodgson's game and especially his commentary about himself. Even worse was I did not respect Darcy Regier to give him a six-year contract, putting us and himself in this giant mess. Typical Regier handed out big contracts to unproven players all the time, which always brought unbelievably high expectations which they could never live up. He ruined this team so much with his decision making. I have zero or less than zero respect for the job Regier did.
Thank God Tim Murray is not that. Regier would not give up on him waiting to see if he can live up to his potential, which they never would. Murray knows to make moves to better the team and if the player does do better elsewhere, great. Who cares? Usually those players aren't good and don't do better elsewhere. Even if they do, i don't care and neither does Murray. Good luck Cody I won't miss you or your awful two-way game.
As much of a disappointment he was here in Buffalo and Vancouver as well I will put myself on record saying I was for the trade when in it first happened. In the 2011-12 season, the Sabres had lousy center depth, one of the worst if not the worst. Ville Leino was a major bust of a signing as he was brought in to be a center despite never playing it in the NHL. As it turns out, he wasn't that good of a winger either here. More on Leino later don't miss that.
Luke Adam started that season as the "number one center" as he centered a line between Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville. Adam produced early on, but struggled and eventually was demoted until he was sent down to Rochester. Derek Roy came back from a serious quad injury he suffered the year before and struggled to come back from the injury, posting career-low numbers in any season in Buffalo for him. Tim Connolly left the team in free agency and things were so bad we could have used him. Heck, Paul Szczechura centered Vanek and Pominville for a while.
Injuries and the lack of a center which led to a lack of scoring and poor defense had the Sabres at the bottom of the league standings by the All-Star break. We were looking at a top-3 pick for hopefully that number one center. Mikhail Grigorenko's name was floating around there at the time as he was projected to be a top pick in that year's draft before he fell to the Sabres at number 12. The Sabres, however, got healthy and started to win. Tyler Ennis was hurt but came back and Lindy Ruff decided to try him at center when he should have done that earlier with their lack of depth at center.
Ennis played very well back from injury at center as his playmaking ability more fit the center position up the middle instead of on the wing. Ennis was very good the last two months of the season and the line of him, Drew Stafford, and Marcus Foligno were the best line on the team and one of the hottest in the NHL. They each averaged more than a point a game down the stretch and had incredibly high shooting percentages. We all knew they would start to come back down a bit from those ridiculous numbers but still thought that maybe the chemistry of them three together would give the Sabres a formidable line for years to come.
Then at the trade deadline, Regier first shipped out Paul Gaustad to Nashville for surprising a first round pick (which turned out to be Zemgus Girgensons). Then he brought Hodgson in from Vancouver for another disappointing prospect Zack Kassian, who failed to live up to the hype of the "legend of Zack Kassian." Hodgson had a falling out in Vancouver dating back to before the 2009-10 season when he had a back injury he suffered working out. He was initially cleared by team doctors and he failed to make the team and was sent back to juniors in the preseason.
Hodgson got a third opinion and had to have surgery, which led to a rift between himself and then-head coach Alain Vigneault, who claimed Hodgson had a procedure because he didn't make the team and blamed it on that. Their GM said there was no rift between themselves and Hodgson. He finally played for Vancouver in 2010-11 and appeared in 12 playoff games, registering a single point, as the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Hodgson's first full season was 2011-12, where he had 16 points and 33 points in 63 games before being traded to the Sabres at the trade deadline. Hodgson didn't get a lot of playing time as he was the third line center behind Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler, but he put up a decent amount of points, which excited me. There was the potential for him to maybe become the number one center. Things did not start off well as he did not register a single point in 10 games and was a -5.
Things eventually changed as he centered a line between Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville and the final 10 games Hodgson had 3 goals and 8 points. Vanek and Pominville both were a point a game in the final 10 games as the offense looked a lot better. Hodgson was second to Vanek in 2012-13 with 15 goals and 34 points in the 48-game lockout shortened season.
After signing a ridiculous six-year deal before the 2013-14 season which he had yet totally prove himself, Hodgson led the team with 20 goals and 44 points in 72 games on the worst team in hockey that year. Hodgson was an effective scorer, but his defense was a huge problem and he was a huge liability in his own end. He was terrible at back-checking and turned the puck over a lot in his own end which led to a bunch of goals being scored while he was on the ice. At least he could score even if he's giving up goals, which isn't luck or by chance or by accident.
The "he could score" defense (no pun intended) came to a crashing end this past season as he had an awful 6 goals and 13 points in 78 games with an awful 4.7 shooting % and fallen out of favor with Ted Nolan. He went from a top-two center to a top-six winger to out of the top-six altogether. A lot has to do with his awful defensive game while his offense completely disappeared. He wasn't even getting power play time on the worst power play and offense in the NHL.
Another reason for the demotion was his awful possession game. He was a lousy 5-on-5 player as evidenced by his Corsi rankings listed below.
264th 2011-12 (49.4 career-high)
349th 2012-13 (46.5)
468th 2013-14 (42.5)
476th 2014-15 (38.7)
He was never a positive Corsi player in any of his NHL seasons and never ranked in the top-250 and just barely in the top-500 the past two seasons. His -65 as a Sabre further cemented his defensive liabilities and poor even strength play. He was a healthy scratch a few times this season for his awful play and the potential for him being a buyout grew further as the season wore on.
We all know 13 points in 78 games is awful, but just how awful was it? Ville Leino had zero goals in 58 games in 2013-14 which was awful and we make fun of that and rightfully so. But Leino had 15 assists and had two more points than Hodgson had IN 20 FEWER GAMES!!! That's not a misprint, Hodgson played 20 more games than Leino did last season and had two fewer points to a guy who didn't score a single goal in 3/4 of a season.
Hodgson looks like a complete joke when we look at how he scored fewer points than Ville Leino did the previous season. Leino was an awful signing and only had 10 goals in three seasons for the Sabres. Leino, however, was a significantly better possession player as his worst season here in Corsi was about as good as Hodgson's best here. Leino could definitely carry the puck in, but would not shoot the puck ever as evidenced by his low goal scoring totals and low shooting %.
Leino and Hodgson were both terrible additions by Regier and it makes me so happy they got Jack Eichel. These failures of Regier reaching for mediocre at best players and hoping they can turn into stars, which never happens, made me want the Sabres to finish 30th this past season for either Eichel and McDavid to find that franchise, elite number one center who will be the best player for years to come.
With the drafting of Eichel and the trade for Ryan O'Reilly among other additions, Hodgson had no role on this team. He was a winger at best on the third line even though they upgraded at coach in Dan Bylsma, who could help him with his possession game. But with a $4+ million cap hit, it didn't make much sense. One thing for Hodgson could have been give him more power play time, but that role was diminished with Eichel, O'Reilly, and Evander Kane among others getting power play time, which meant there was no room or place for Hodgson on this team.
One thing that bothered me about Hodgson was his lack of self awareness and his ability to be uncoachable. Throughout this awful season, Hodgson always thought he was very good and never listened to coaches always thinking he knew better than they did. I usually take what players say with a grain of salt because most of them are delusional. But Hodgson's comments about how good he is and how good his game is made even the most delusional athlete say "shut the bleep up." What a loser he was.
I definitely did not respect Hodgson's game and especially his commentary about himself. Even worse was I did not respect Darcy Regier to give him a six-year contract, putting us and himself in this giant mess. Typical Regier handed out big contracts to unproven players all the time, which always brought unbelievably high expectations which they could never live up. He ruined this team so much with his decision making. I have zero or less than zero respect for the job Regier did.
Thank God Tim Murray is not that. Regier would not give up on him waiting to see if he can live up to his potential, which they never would. Murray knows to make moves to better the team and if the player does do better elsewhere, great. Who cares? Usually those players aren't good and don't do better elsewhere. Even if they do, i don't care and neither does Murray. Good luck Cody I won't miss you or your awful two-way game.
Former Sabre Phil Housley along with Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Federov and Chris Pronger Headline 2015 Hockey Hall of Fame Class; Lindros, Andreychuk, and Roenick Not in
Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Phil Housley was announced that he will inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2015. Headlining that class are fellow defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Pronger along with center Sergei Federov. Four-time U.S. Olympian Angela Ruggeiro became the fourth woman to be elected into the hall and is joined by Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. and executive Bill Hay.
Housley finally got into the Hockey Hall of Fame 12 years after he retired from the NHL after a stellar 21-year career. Housley was an offensive defenseman if there ever was one. His 1,232 points are the most ever by a U.S.-born defenseman and are the second most points by a U.S. born player behind only Mike Modano. He also played the third most games (1,495) by an American-born player behind only Modano and Chris Chelios. Housley also played the most games by a player who never won the Stanley Cup as he was in the Cup finals with the Washington Captials, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings and fellow Hall of Fame inductees Lidstrom and Federov.
Housley was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres with the 6th overall pick in the 1982 NHL Draft. He played right away as an 18-year-old right out of high school and scored 19 goals and 66 points and was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 1983 as the league's rookie of the year. His second year, Housley had 31 goals and 77 points in 75 games. He had a stellar eight-year career in Buffalo with 178 goals, 380 assists, and 558 points in 608 games.
He was traded in 1990 along with a first round pick (which turned out to be fellow American great Keith Tkachuk) to the Winnipeg Jets for Dale Hawerchuk and their first round pick which would be Brad May. Hawerchuk had a great career in Buffalo. Housley was spectacular in three seasons in Winnipeg scoring 64 goals, 195 assists, and 259 points in 232 games. His last season in Winnipeg (1992-93) was his best ever with 79 assists and 97 points. He also helped rookie Teemu Selanne score 76 goals that season as well.
Housley would be traded to St. Louis and bounce around with Calgary, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago, and ending his career with one game in Toronto. While he was still productive, he failed to live up to his high-scoring ways in Buffalo and Winnipeg. Housley played for the United States in 10 international events as well. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2007. Housley coached Team USA to the gold medal in the 2013 World Junior championships and is currently an assistant head coach for the Nashville Predators.
Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Federov were successful teammates when they were drafted together in 1989 and were teammates on the Red Wings from 1991-2003. Both led Detroit to three Stanley Cups in 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2001-02 and three President's Trophies as the Red Wings were the best team in the NHL in the 1990s and 2000s. Federov left Detroit in 2003 to play for Anaheim and then played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals before heading to the KHL in 2009. Lidstrom stayed in Detroit until he retired in 2012, where he led the Wings to another Cup in 2008 and three more President's Trophies and was the captain for his last six seasons with the team following the retirement of long-time captain Steve Yzerman.
Federov quietly defected to Detroit from Russia in 1990. He was considered one of the best players in the world in the 1990s and early 2000s and considered to be one of the best playoff performers in NHL history. His best individual season came in 1993-94 when he scored 56 goals and 120 points in 82 games to win both the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and the first of his two Selke Trophies (best defensive forward). He won a second Selke in 1996 and was one of the best two-way centers in the league during his prime, breaking a stereotype that Russian and European players are soft and won't play defense. He'd even play as a defenseman at times for Scotty Bowman in Detroit.
Federov played in three Olympics for Team Russia as well. He scored 483 goals and 1,179 points in his 1,248 game career. He's the all-time leading scorer in both goals and points for a Russian player in NHL history. He also had 176 in 183 career playoff games. In 2009, he became the oldest player to score a game-winning Game 7 goal when he led Washington to a first round series victory over the New York Rangers. He currently is the general manager for CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
Lidstrom is considered to be one of the greatest defensemen ever to play in the NHL. He scored 1,142 points in 1,564 games during his 20-year career, all with the Wings. In addition to winning the Cup four times, Lidstrom won seven Norris Trophies as the league's best defenseman, joining Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr (who won eight) to win as many as seven. Lidstrom was a finalist for the Norris Trophy 12 of his last 14 seasons and won it seven of his last ten seasons. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup MVP in 2002, becoming the first European player to win playoff MVP and became the first European captain to win a Stanley Cup in 2008.
Lidstrom appeared in 263 Stanley Cup Playoff games, second most all-time only to former teammate Chris Chelios' 266. Lidstrom shares a record with Larry Robinson for playing in 20 consecutive playoff appearances. Lidstrom was incredibly durable as he was usually among the leaders in ice time per game and never missed more than 12 games in a single season (which occurred in his final season). Lidstrom led Team Sweden to the gold medal in 2006 Olympics when he scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game, giving him a Stanley Cup, a gold medal in the World Championships, and a gold medal in the Olympics.
Chris Pronger saw his Hall of Fame career come to an abrupt end in 2011 when he suffered post-concussion syndrome and an eye injury due to three separate incidents shortly after being named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. Pronger currently works for the NHL in their department of player safety and is in the hall despite being under contract with the Arizona Coyotes. He was traded to the Coyotes last week by the Philadelphia Flyers, who were unloading his contract. The Coyotes took on his salary to help them get to the cap floor.
Pronger was drafted second overall in the 1993 NHL Draft by the Hartford Whalers, before playing for the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Anahiem Ducks, and Flyers from 1993-2011. He was also the captain of both the Blues and Ducks in addition to being captain of the Flyers. Pronger is one of the most fierce and physically imposing defensemen of his era. He also added some offense to his physical game with 698 points in 1,167 career games.
Pronger won the Cup in 2007 with the Ducks and helped lead the Oilers in 2006 and the Flyers in 2010 to the Cup Finals, where they lost. He has been in the playoffs in every year except his first two in Hartford. His best years where in St. Louis, where he was a five-time All-Star and helped lead them to the President's Trophy in 1999-2000. That same season he also won the Norris Trophy and became the first defenseman to win the Hart Trophy since Bobby Orr in 1972. No defenseman has won it since.
Current Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. His contributions are that he created the Detroit Compuware youth hockey program in the 1970s, which produced 235 Division I hockey players and 14 NHL first-round picks. He owned several OHL franchises before he purchased the Hartford Whalers in 1994. He moved them to Raleigh, North Carolina a few years later and they became the Carolina Hurricanes (boo!!).
Housley finally got into the Hockey Hall of Fame 12 years after he retired from the NHL after a stellar 21-year career. Housley was an offensive defenseman if there ever was one. His 1,232 points are the most ever by a U.S.-born defenseman and are the second most points by a U.S. born player behind only Mike Modano. He also played the third most games (1,495) by an American-born player behind only Modano and Chris Chelios. Housley also played the most games by a player who never won the Stanley Cup as he was in the Cup finals with the Washington Captials, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings and fellow Hall of Fame inductees Lidstrom and Federov.
Housley was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres with the 6th overall pick in the 1982 NHL Draft. He played right away as an 18-year-old right out of high school and scored 19 goals and 66 points and was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 1983 as the league's rookie of the year. His second year, Housley had 31 goals and 77 points in 75 games. He had a stellar eight-year career in Buffalo with 178 goals, 380 assists, and 558 points in 608 games.
He was traded in 1990 along with a first round pick (which turned out to be fellow American great Keith Tkachuk) to the Winnipeg Jets for Dale Hawerchuk and their first round pick which would be Brad May. Hawerchuk had a great career in Buffalo. Housley was spectacular in three seasons in Winnipeg scoring 64 goals, 195 assists, and 259 points in 232 games. His last season in Winnipeg (1992-93) was his best ever with 79 assists and 97 points. He also helped rookie Teemu Selanne score 76 goals that season as well.
Housley would be traded to St. Louis and bounce around with Calgary, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago, and ending his career with one game in Toronto. While he was still productive, he failed to live up to his high-scoring ways in Buffalo and Winnipeg. Housley played for the United States in 10 international events as well. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2007. Housley coached Team USA to the gold medal in the 2013 World Junior championships and is currently an assistant head coach for the Nashville Predators.
Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Federov were successful teammates when they were drafted together in 1989 and were teammates on the Red Wings from 1991-2003. Both led Detroit to three Stanley Cups in 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2001-02 and three President's Trophies as the Red Wings were the best team in the NHL in the 1990s and 2000s. Federov left Detroit in 2003 to play for Anaheim and then played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals before heading to the KHL in 2009. Lidstrom stayed in Detroit until he retired in 2012, where he led the Wings to another Cup in 2008 and three more President's Trophies and was the captain for his last six seasons with the team following the retirement of long-time captain Steve Yzerman.
Federov quietly defected to Detroit from Russia in 1990. He was considered one of the best players in the world in the 1990s and early 2000s and considered to be one of the best playoff performers in NHL history. His best individual season came in 1993-94 when he scored 56 goals and 120 points in 82 games to win both the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and the first of his two Selke Trophies (best defensive forward). He won a second Selke in 1996 and was one of the best two-way centers in the league during his prime, breaking a stereotype that Russian and European players are soft and won't play defense. He'd even play as a defenseman at times for Scotty Bowman in Detroit.
Federov played in three Olympics for Team Russia as well. He scored 483 goals and 1,179 points in his 1,248 game career. He's the all-time leading scorer in both goals and points for a Russian player in NHL history. He also had 176 in 183 career playoff games. In 2009, he became the oldest player to score a game-winning Game 7 goal when he led Washington to a first round series victory over the New York Rangers. He currently is the general manager for CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
Lidstrom is considered to be one of the greatest defensemen ever to play in the NHL. He scored 1,142 points in 1,564 games during his 20-year career, all with the Wings. In addition to winning the Cup four times, Lidstrom won seven Norris Trophies as the league's best defenseman, joining Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr (who won eight) to win as many as seven. Lidstrom was a finalist for the Norris Trophy 12 of his last 14 seasons and won it seven of his last ten seasons. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup MVP in 2002, becoming the first European player to win playoff MVP and became the first European captain to win a Stanley Cup in 2008.
Lidstrom appeared in 263 Stanley Cup Playoff games, second most all-time only to former teammate Chris Chelios' 266. Lidstrom shares a record with Larry Robinson for playing in 20 consecutive playoff appearances. Lidstrom was incredibly durable as he was usually among the leaders in ice time per game and never missed more than 12 games in a single season (which occurred in his final season). Lidstrom led Team Sweden to the gold medal in 2006 Olympics when he scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game, giving him a Stanley Cup, a gold medal in the World Championships, and a gold medal in the Olympics.
Chris Pronger saw his Hall of Fame career come to an abrupt end in 2011 when he suffered post-concussion syndrome and an eye injury due to three separate incidents shortly after being named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. Pronger currently works for the NHL in their department of player safety and is in the hall despite being under contract with the Arizona Coyotes. He was traded to the Coyotes last week by the Philadelphia Flyers, who were unloading his contract. The Coyotes took on his salary to help them get to the cap floor.
Pronger was drafted second overall in the 1993 NHL Draft by the Hartford Whalers, before playing for the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Anahiem Ducks, and Flyers from 1993-2011. He was also the captain of both the Blues and Ducks in addition to being captain of the Flyers. Pronger is one of the most fierce and physically imposing defensemen of his era. He also added some offense to his physical game with 698 points in 1,167 career games.
Pronger won the Cup in 2007 with the Ducks and helped lead the Oilers in 2006 and the Flyers in 2010 to the Cup Finals, where they lost. He has been in the playoffs in every year except his first two in Hartford. His best years where in St. Louis, where he was a five-time All-Star and helped lead them to the President's Trophy in 1999-2000. That same season he also won the Norris Trophy and became the first defenseman to win the Hart Trophy since Bobby Orr in 1972. No defenseman has won it since.
Current Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. His contributions are that he created the Detroit Compuware youth hockey program in the 1970s, which produced 235 Division I hockey players and 14 NHL first-round picks. He owned several OHL franchises before he purchased the Hartford Whalers in 1994. He moved them to Raleigh, North Carolina a few years later and they became the Carolina Hurricanes (boo!!).
Karmanos interestingly has some involvement with some of the fellow Hall of Famers in this class. He signed Federov to an offer sheet in 1998 worth $38 million after Federov was holding out in a bitter contract dispute with the Red Wings, who decided to match the offer sheet, bringing Federov back to Detroit. His Hurricanes lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002 to both Federov and Lidstrom. He did however beat Pronger's Oilers in 2006 to win the Stanley Cup (which I vomitted in my mouth at that). He did trade Pronger to St. Louis in 1995 when he owned the Whalers.
Bill Hay was the first NCAA graduate to play in the NHL, where he played for the Chicago Blackhawks for eight seasons, winning a Stanley Cup in 1961. Hay was the President and CEO of the Calgary Flames before becoming the Chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Angela Ruggeiro won a gold and two silver medals in the Olympics as well as four world championships in her 13-year career. She also became the first woman non-goalie to play in a professional hockey regular season game when she played for the Tulsa Oilers of the Continental Hockey League on January 28, 2005.
Those missing were Eric Lindros, Dave Andreychuk, and Jeremy Roenick as only six can be voted on one ballot each year which I think is ridiculous. There should be 10 if there are 10 guys eligible just like if there are only one or two eligible that's how many should be in. I never agreed with someone is not a first ballot hall of famer but can make it several years later. If your a hall of famer, you're a hall of famer enough said and you should go in whenever you are eligible.
Lindros missed the hall of fame for the fifth year in a row, which is getting ridiculous. How is he not a hall of famer? His 1.138 points per game rank 19th all time. He was the 1995 Hart Trophy winner and is one of a few Hart Trophy winners who are not active to not be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I know because of injuries (concussions) keeping him out of many games and not winning the Stanley Cup have kept him from being in the Hall of Fame. But the guy made a huge impact and was one of the best players in the 1990s and early 2000s. Watching him play and his presence on the ice makes you think hall of famer. He was also one of the best junior players of all time, which is why many thought he'd be the next Wayne Gretzky. Just because he wasn't Gretzky doesn't mean he's not an elite player.
Our old buddy Andreychuk should be in as he scored the most power play goals in NHL history and his 640 goals were the most of anyone who's not active who is not in the Hall of Fame. He had a stellar 11-year career with the Sabres and was spectacular with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Andreychuk also finally won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Roenick scored 513 goals and is up there with Phil Housley and Mike Modano as one of the best U.S. born players in NHL history.
Those missing were Eric Lindros, Dave Andreychuk, and Jeremy Roenick as only six can be voted on one ballot each year which I think is ridiculous. There should be 10 if there are 10 guys eligible just like if there are only one or two eligible that's how many should be in. I never agreed with someone is not a first ballot hall of famer but can make it several years later. If your a hall of famer, you're a hall of famer enough said and you should go in whenever you are eligible.
Lindros missed the hall of fame for the fifth year in a row, which is getting ridiculous. How is he not a hall of famer? His 1.138 points per game rank 19th all time. He was the 1995 Hart Trophy winner and is one of a few Hart Trophy winners who are not active to not be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I know because of injuries (concussions) keeping him out of many games and not winning the Stanley Cup have kept him from being in the Hall of Fame. But the guy made a huge impact and was one of the best players in the 1990s and early 2000s. Watching him play and his presence on the ice makes you think hall of famer. He was also one of the best junior players of all time, which is why many thought he'd be the next Wayne Gretzky. Just because he wasn't Gretzky doesn't mean he's not an elite player.
Our old buddy Andreychuk should be in as he scored the most power play goals in NHL history and his 640 goals were the most of anyone who's not active who is not in the Hall of Fame. He had a stellar 11-year career with the Sabres and was spectacular with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Andreychuk also finally won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Roenick scored 513 goals and is up there with Phil Housley and Mike Modano as one of the best U.S. born players in NHL history.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
I'm Glad the Sabres No Longer Reaching in the Past Like Other Teams; They are a Completely Different Team than Last Season; a Complete 180
One thing I took real notice when I was watching the draft last night were the amount of teams that weren't very good that had former players from that franchise that were running their team as either a GM, President, head coach, or some sort of front office position. Three teams that really took notice to me were the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Colorado Avalanche.
The Bruins might be the worst position by trading Dougie Hamilton for a mid 1st round pick and parting ways with their number one defenseman. They brought in former players Cam Neely and Don Sweeney recently to be the President and General Manager respectively. So far they've done a horrible job and picked up where the last regimes left off.
In the last decade, the Bruins have traded Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel, Tyler Seguin, and now Hamilton. They also traded Ray Bourque 15 years ago but that was more to help Bourque get a Cup per his request so that doesn't count. Just because they won a Cup and been to another finals doesn't mean they've done things very well lately.
The moves they made remind of moves the Flyers used to make by getting rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because "they partied" plus needed to free up cap space to give goalie Ilyz Bryzgalov a lucrative contract which blew up in their face. This wasn't the lone move that's made the Flyers a joke to the point where they're way too far away from being championship contenders but way too far away from the top picks of the draft to get elite players such as McDavid and Eichel and keeping them in the worst possible spot, "Hockey Purgatory."
They did get some decent pieces in the Carter and Richards trades that brought them in Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, and a first round pick that became Sean Couturier. Simmonds and especially Voracek have been great. Claude Giroux has also been very good as well. However, the Flyers lack secondary scoring outside their top players along with a terrible defense corps and lackluster goaltending.
Other moves that blew up in their face were giving up on former second overall pick James Van Riemsdyk, trading him to the Leafs for failed defenseman Luke Schenn, also giving up on future Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky after signing Bryzgalov, trading Scott Hartnell, and signing a past his prime Vincent LeCavalier. Despite those awful moves by Paul Holmgren, Holmgren, a former Flyers player, was promoted to team President and replaced by yet another former Flyer player, Ron Hextall as GM.
They recently fired former Flyer player Craig Berube and replaced him with the successful University of North Dakota head coach, a move I like that's different. This is the same franchise that kept Bobby Clarke as GM forever after he played for them and was their captain when they won two Stanley Cups in the 1970s. Clarke of course is still in the organization in the front office after making a lot of bonehead moves as a GM. This is a team, like the Bruins, who have to keep their former players in the organization and parade them out to the fans despite their failures.
In recent years, the Colorado Avalanche have hired former Stanley Cup winners goalie Patrick Roy as both head coach and vice president of hockey operations and former captain Joe Sakic as GM. Can they add Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote to the team as well? Maybe even Claude Lemieux? Their first year they went from the second-worst record to winning the division and a 100-point season in 2013-14 season. They lost in the first round as many analytics experts thought they were lucky and called for them to lose to the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
They called for a serious regression this season even though Roy and Sakic laughed at that. They "played the game" and knew more than "analytics nerds" know. They had the second-worst Corsi for (only behind the Sabres) this past season and missed the playoffs and finished with the 10th worst record this season. Once again, the analytics and advanced stats crowd called a regression much like they did a couple years ago with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The problem is that in any sport, not just hockey, bringing in players or coaches or whatever from the past glory days is usually a problem. Very teams had success when bringing in past glory because players don't usually make great coaches or GMs or front office personnel. Players with that same franchise usually don't bring a fresh perspective to a struggling team and try to relive the glory days. They also try to sell the past to fans which almost always never works out. You need a fresh perspective and a fresh set of eyes from outside the organization to tell what's really wrong with the organization.
Recently, the Edmonton Oilers had problems with former players Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish being the President and GM and even head coach and running that team into the ground. They were a joke for a long time as for some reason, the organization could not let go of the past. Now they seem to have done a better job at bringing in GM and head coach from outside the organization.
New Jersey has had Lou Lamoriello as GM forever and had success but recently, they've struggled as Lamoriello has failed to adapt to the newer NHL. Last year, they fired Peter DeBoar as head coach and brought in, get this, former Devil Scott Stevens along with another former Hall of Fame player Adam Oates (who failed as a head coach with his former team Washington how about that) to be the head coach.
If bringing in former franchise players are a problem, bringing in former longtime failure coaches and GMs to be coaches and GMs because they're buddy-buddy with other coaches and GMs to bring more stench of failure. New Jersey brought in former failed Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero as their new GM. Way to keep up with the times and evolve and grow. That's why the Devils aren't going anywhere for a long time. It's like when the Penguins replaced Shero last year with another former failure GM Jim Rutherford, who was fired by Carolina after he did a miserable job.
The Bills and Sabres used to have these problems for years, bringing in former players and coaches back to the team or bringing in failed coaches and GMs and scouts, etc. That is until now as both Bills and Sabres, thanks to Terry and Kim Pegula, have brought in fresh brand new ideas with people from outside the organization to bring in a fresh pair of eyes and perspective to build a winner. These are organizations both known for losing and to build a winner, you need to go away from the stench of failure that breeds among both teams.
I love the direction both the Bills and especially Sabres are heading into. It's great to see how the Sabres are almost nothing like the team a year ago. They're adding Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, and Ryan O'Reilly to the mix. This is a complete 180 from last year's mess.
The Bruins might be the worst position by trading Dougie Hamilton for a mid 1st round pick and parting ways with their number one defenseman. They brought in former players Cam Neely and Don Sweeney recently to be the President and General Manager respectively. So far they've done a horrible job and picked up where the last regimes left off.
In the last decade, the Bruins have traded Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel, Tyler Seguin, and now Hamilton. They also traded Ray Bourque 15 years ago but that was more to help Bourque get a Cup per his request so that doesn't count. Just because they won a Cup and been to another finals doesn't mean they've done things very well lately.
The moves they made remind of moves the Flyers used to make by getting rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because "they partied" plus needed to free up cap space to give goalie Ilyz Bryzgalov a lucrative contract which blew up in their face. This wasn't the lone move that's made the Flyers a joke to the point where they're way too far away from being championship contenders but way too far away from the top picks of the draft to get elite players such as McDavid and Eichel and keeping them in the worst possible spot, "Hockey Purgatory."
They did get some decent pieces in the Carter and Richards trades that brought them in Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, and a first round pick that became Sean Couturier. Simmonds and especially Voracek have been great. Claude Giroux has also been very good as well. However, the Flyers lack secondary scoring outside their top players along with a terrible defense corps and lackluster goaltending.
Other moves that blew up in their face were giving up on former second overall pick James Van Riemsdyk, trading him to the Leafs for failed defenseman Luke Schenn, also giving up on future Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky after signing Bryzgalov, trading Scott Hartnell, and signing a past his prime Vincent LeCavalier. Despite those awful moves by Paul Holmgren, Holmgren, a former Flyers player, was promoted to team President and replaced by yet another former Flyer player, Ron Hextall as GM.
They recently fired former Flyer player Craig Berube and replaced him with the successful University of North Dakota head coach, a move I like that's different. This is the same franchise that kept Bobby Clarke as GM forever after he played for them and was their captain when they won two Stanley Cups in the 1970s. Clarke of course is still in the organization in the front office after making a lot of bonehead moves as a GM. This is a team, like the Bruins, who have to keep their former players in the organization and parade them out to the fans despite their failures.
In recent years, the Colorado Avalanche have hired former Stanley Cup winners goalie Patrick Roy as both head coach and vice president of hockey operations and former captain Joe Sakic as GM. Can they add Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote to the team as well? Maybe even Claude Lemieux? Their first year they went from the second-worst record to winning the division and a 100-point season in 2013-14 season. They lost in the first round as many analytics experts thought they were lucky and called for them to lose to the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
They called for a serious regression this season even though Roy and Sakic laughed at that. They "played the game" and knew more than "analytics nerds" know. They had the second-worst Corsi for (only behind the Sabres) this past season and missed the playoffs and finished with the 10th worst record this season. Once again, the analytics and advanced stats crowd called a regression much like they did a couple years ago with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The problem is that in any sport, not just hockey, bringing in players or coaches or whatever from the past glory days is usually a problem. Very teams had success when bringing in past glory because players don't usually make great coaches or GMs or front office personnel. Players with that same franchise usually don't bring a fresh perspective to a struggling team and try to relive the glory days. They also try to sell the past to fans which almost always never works out. You need a fresh perspective and a fresh set of eyes from outside the organization to tell what's really wrong with the organization.
Recently, the Edmonton Oilers had problems with former players Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish being the President and GM and even head coach and running that team into the ground. They were a joke for a long time as for some reason, the organization could not let go of the past. Now they seem to have done a better job at bringing in GM and head coach from outside the organization.
New Jersey has had Lou Lamoriello as GM forever and had success but recently, they've struggled as Lamoriello has failed to adapt to the newer NHL. Last year, they fired Peter DeBoar as head coach and brought in, get this, former Devil Scott Stevens along with another former Hall of Fame player Adam Oates (who failed as a head coach with his former team Washington how about that) to be the head coach.
If bringing in former franchise players are a problem, bringing in former longtime failure coaches and GMs to be coaches and GMs because they're buddy-buddy with other coaches and GMs to bring more stench of failure. New Jersey brought in former failed Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero as their new GM. Way to keep up with the times and evolve and grow. That's why the Devils aren't going anywhere for a long time. It's like when the Penguins replaced Shero last year with another former failure GM Jim Rutherford, who was fired by Carolina after he did a miserable job.
The Bills and Sabres used to have these problems for years, bringing in former players and coaches back to the team or bringing in failed coaches and GMs and scouts, etc. That is until now as both Bills and Sabres, thanks to Terry and Kim Pegula, have brought in fresh brand new ideas with people from outside the organization to bring in a fresh pair of eyes and perspective to build a winner. These are organizations both known for losing and to build a winner, you need to go away from the stench of failure that breeds among both teams.
I love the direction both the Bills and especially Sabres are heading into. It's great to see how the Sabres are almost nothing like the team a year ago. They're adding Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, and Ryan O'Reilly to the mix. This is a complete 180 from last year's mess.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Sabres Officially Draft Jack Eichel and Acquire O'Reiily on Busy and Exciting Draft Day
The future of the Buffalo Sabres starts tonight with the drafting of Jack Eichel (assuming he signs with us and doesn't go back to college which I believe he won't). He's our franchise player and it will be awesome to have a forward/ No. 1 center be our franchise elite player. It's been way too long since what LaFontaine or maybe even Perrault? Sure even Briere and Drury were very good for the short time they were here but this is an 18-year-old kid who will be here for a good 15 years or so helping leading this team to the promised land. Who doesn't love it when Tim Murray doesn't do the BS of thanking everyone just goes "Buffalo selects Jack Eichel" like he did last year with Sam Reinhart?
Eichel is considered to be one of the best prospects in the last what 15-20 years? Since then Eichel has been considered the number one pick in every draft in that time except the Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and of course the Connor McDavid years. Ovechkin and Crosby helped turn their teams around from miserable failures to success and McDavid should do the same with Edmonton. I've heard Eichel compared to fellow American Mike Modano (1988 #1 overall pick) and current stars Steven Stamkos and Jeff Carter.
As of that wasn't enough, they traded for a goalie early in the day (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/sabres-acquire-goalie-robin-lehner-and.html) and right after selecting Eichel, the Sabres announced they traded for Ryan O'Reilly. They traded Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, JT Compher, and the 31st pick in this year's draft for O'Reilly and forward Jamie McGinn. O'Reilly gives them a legitimate number two center behind Eichel and gives the Sabres one of the best center depth in the NHL with Zemgus Girgensons and Sam Reinhart also on the roster.
Now O'Reilly has one year left on his deal that carries a $6 million cap hit which the Avalanche matched an offer sheet signed two years ago by the Calgary Flames and that basically ruined the relationship between the Avs and O'Reilly. We have to sign O'Reilly and it appears he wants a deal in the $8 million range which might be steep but also kind of worth it given his offensive production and amazing two-way, possession game. He's the complete opposite of Cody Hodgson as a two-way player. Murray said they are preparing to offer him a big contract or else why did they trade so much for him?
Murray got a lot of flack for making this deal especially trading Zadorov. Zadorov can be a very good defenseman and showed flashes of brilliance last season. But he also really struggled at times and got benched and suspended and had an attitude of entitlement. That doesn't mean he should be gone yet he became expendable to make a big trade. Like I wrote the other day (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-would-trade-reinhart-for-oreilly-i.html), you have to be prepared to trade someone you might not want or be comfortable trading to improve your team and Zadorov (and maybe some who still had hope for Grigorenko) were the ones to go. Rasmus Ristolainen and Eichel are the only "untouchables" on this roster. We can fill another spot in free agency and one guy I'm very interested in is former Sabre Andrej Seker, who is a UFA. We don't have a guy on the defense for the power play and he's always been good at that and point producing even though a lot of people didn't like him here. I liked Sekera.
No surprise obviously McDavid went first overall with the Oilers. Arizona was not able to trade it's third overall pick (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/coyotes-looking-to-trade-pick-3-bruins.html) and instead took McDavid's Erie Otters' teammate Dylan Strome. Had the Sabres not picked in the top-2 for McDavid or Eichel, Strome would have been my top pick at number three. Toronto and Mike Babcock select center Mitch Marner, who finished a close second behind Strome for the OHL scoring title this past season which McDavid would have easily won had he not gotten hurt for six weeks of the season.
Carolina took Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifan and Carolina looks to get better on the blue line and they're a team I could see on the rise. Hanifan would make an excellent addition and partner for fellow defenseman Justin Faulk, who had a breakout season and franchise record-breaking season for most points by a defenseman. If they keep both Staals and maybe Jeff Skinner or get a great trade for him (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/jeff-skinner-might-be-available-id-go.html) they'll be on the rise no doubt. They're penalty kill (which dramatically) and possession numbers are both very great as first year head coach Bill Peters has done a great job and they finished the second half of the season really strong. They get a good goalie, they're a playoff team.
The team who hosted the draft, the Florida Panthers, took Lawson Crouse 11th overall. Crouse was talked as a possible top-5 pick as he was 5th in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings because of his size and scoring ability plus his play in the World Juniors this past season for Team Canada. He did not score a lot in juniors which is a red flag in my opinion as he was nowhere even close to the scoring leaders, but he did jump up significantly this past season from the season before as he went from 27 to 51 points. However, he still ranked 63rd in the OHL scoring race. 63rd!!! He just averaged under a point a game in a league where the best scorers averaged 2 points a game (or in McDavid's case close to 3 points a game). He has high bust potential but could be the next Milan Lucic or Todd Bertuzzi if it pans out, maybe even better. We shall see.
Ottawa took young American center prospect Colin White, who is considered one of the better prospects in this deep draft, 21st overall with the Sabres pick. White is considered to play for Boston College this upcoming season but who knows. The one and only goalie taken in the first round one pick after as the Washington Capitals took Ilya Samsonov 22nd overall as he was expected to go late in round one and if the Sabres still had pick 21, they'd probably take him.
One last thing is that the Boston Bruins continue to make mind numbing decision after decision. It didn't matter that Peter Chiarelli was fired for making mind numbing trades like Phil Kessel for two first round picks what turned out to be Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton then trading Seguin for garbage and put them in the place they're currently in. I didn't even mention Joe Thornton going for practically nothing before Chiarelli was GM but they get credit because they won the Cup. Yes they did get lucky trading Kessel, who even though he produces points, he doesn't always show up and puts in terrible efforts night in night out and is awful defensively. Seguin and Hamilton should have taken your team to the Cup for many years to come. I don't know what's in the water in Boston but whoever the GM is, makes dumb decisions enough said.
Reports were they were interested in trading top defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the Coyotes for the third pick in the draft to take Hanifan but instead, they trade him to Calgary for the 15th overall pick?!?! Huh? Don Sweeney is doing a great job let me tell you (smh). They also traded Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for the 13th overall pick and restricted free agent goalie Martin Jones combine the two picks with their own, they had the 13th, 14th, and 15th overall picks in the draft. Many thought they'd trade all 3 or 2 of the 3 along with either Jones or Tukka Rask to move up but did not.
Trading Lucic no big deal as he's on the decline. But trading Hamilton a #1 defenseman for many years to come for basically nothing is just pathetic and I will enjoy them being a bottom feeder for quite some time. They fired Chiarelli and should fired Sweeney as well along with President Cam Neely. They want to be a physical and tough team and I say fine, we'll just circle around you like we did 10 years ago after the lockout. I love how teams bring in former players to run their teams into the ground. I'll write more about that in the coming days.
Buffalo is a team on the rise and I for one can't wait for this season to start. Next year's draft will be held here in Buffalo even though more than likely next year's draft won't be as important as they should be on the way towards winning. Let's go Buffalo!!
Eichel is considered to be one of the best prospects in the last what 15-20 years? Since then Eichel has been considered the number one pick in every draft in that time except the Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and of course the Connor McDavid years. Ovechkin and Crosby helped turn their teams around from miserable failures to success and McDavid should do the same with Edmonton. I've heard Eichel compared to fellow American Mike Modano (1988 #1 overall pick) and current stars Steven Stamkos and Jeff Carter.
As of that wasn't enough, they traded for a goalie early in the day (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/sabres-acquire-goalie-robin-lehner-and.html) and right after selecting Eichel, the Sabres announced they traded for Ryan O'Reilly. They traded Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, JT Compher, and the 31st pick in this year's draft for O'Reilly and forward Jamie McGinn. O'Reilly gives them a legitimate number two center behind Eichel and gives the Sabres one of the best center depth in the NHL with Zemgus Girgensons and Sam Reinhart also on the roster.
Now O'Reilly has one year left on his deal that carries a $6 million cap hit which the Avalanche matched an offer sheet signed two years ago by the Calgary Flames and that basically ruined the relationship between the Avs and O'Reilly. We have to sign O'Reilly and it appears he wants a deal in the $8 million range which might be steep but also kind of worth it given his offensive production and amazing two-way, possession game. He's the complete opposite of Cody Hodgson as a two-way player. Murray said they are preparing to offer him a big contract or else why did they trade so much for him?
Murray got a lot of flack for making this deal especially trading Zadorov. Zadorov can be a very good defenseman and showed flashes of brilliance last season. But he also really struggled at times and got benched and suspended and had an attitude of entitlement. That doesn't mean he should be gone yet he became expendable to make a big trade. Like I wrote the other day (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-would-trade-reinhart-for-oreilly-i.html), you have to be prepared to trade someone you might not want or be comfortable trading to improve your team and Zadorov (and maybe some who still had hope for Grigorenko) were the ones to go. Rasmus Ristolainen and Eichel are the only "untouchables" on this roster. We can fill another spot in free agency and one guy I'm very interested in is former Sabre Andrej Seker, who is a UFA. We don't have a guy on the defense for the power play and he's always been good at that and point producing even though a lot of people didn't like him here. I liked Sekera.
No surprise obviously McDavid went first overall with the Oilers. Arizona was not able to trade it's third overall pick (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/coyotes-looking-to-trade-pick-3-bruins.html) and instead took McDavid's Erie Otters' teammate Dylan Strome. Had the Sabres not picked in the top-2 for McDavid or Eichel, Strome would have been my top pick at number three. Toronto and Mike Babcock select center Mitch Marner, who finished a close second behind Strome for the OHL scoring title this past season which McDavid would have easily won had he not gotten hurt for six weeks of the season.
Carolina took Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifan and Carolina looks to get better on the blue line and they're a team I could see on the rise. Hanifan would make an excellent addition and partner for fellow defenseman Justin Faulk, who had a breakout season and franchise record-breaking season for most points by a defenseman. If they keep both Staals and maybe Jeff Skinner or get a great trade for him (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/jeff-skinner-might-be-available-id-go.html) they'll be on the rise no doubt. They're penalty kill (which dramatically) and possession numbers are both very great as first year head coach Bill Peters has done a great job and they finished the second half of the season really strong. They get a good goalie, they're a playoff team.
The team who hosted the draft, the Florida Panthers, took Lawson Crouse 11th overall. Crouse was talked as a possible top-5 pick as he was 5th in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings because of his size and scoring ability plus his play in the World Juniors this past season for Team Canada. He did not score a lot in juniors which is a red flag in my opinion as he was nowhere even close to the scoring leaders, but he did jump up significantly this past season from the season before as he went from 27 to 51 points. However, he still ranked 63rd in the OHL scoring race. 63rd!!! He just averaged under a point a game in a league where the best scorers averaged 2 points a game (or in McDavid's case close to 3 points a game). He has high bust potential but could be the next Milan Lucic or Todd Bertuzzi if it pans out, maybe even better. We shall see.
Ottawa took young American center prospect Colin White, who is considered one of the better prospects in this deep draft, 21st overall with the Sabres pick. White is considered to play for Boston College this upcoming season but who knows. The one and only goalie taken in the first round one pick after as the Washington Capitals took Ilya Samsonov 22nd overall as he was expected to go late in round one and if the Sabres still had pick 21, they'd probably take him.
One last thing is that the Boston Bruins continue to make mind numbing decision after decision. It didn't matter that Peter Chiarelli was fired for making mind numbing trades like Phil Kessel for two first round picks what turned out to be Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton then trading Seguin for garbage and put them in the place they're currently in. I didn't even mention Joe Thornton going for practically nothing before Chiarelli was GM but they get credit because they won the Cup. Yes they did get lucky trading Kessel, who even though he produces points, he doesn't always show up and puts in terrible efforts night in night out and is awful defensively. Seguin and Hamilton should have taken your team to the Cup for many years to come. I don't know what's in the water in Boston but whoever the GM is, makes dumb decisions enough said.
Reports were they were interested in trading top defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the Coyotes for the third pick in the draft to take Hanifan but instead, they trade him to Calgary for the 15th overall pick?!?! Huh? Don Sweeney is doing a great job let me tell you (smh). They also traded Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for the 13th overall pick and restricted free agent goalie Martin Jones combine the two picks with their own, they had the 13th, 14th, and 15th overall picks in the draft. Many thought they'd trade all 3 or 2 of the 3 along with either Jones or Tukka Rask to move up but did not.
Trading Lucic no big deal as he's on the decline. But trading Hamilton a #1 defenseman for many years to come for basically nothing is just pathetic and I will enjoy them being a bottom feeder for quite some time. They fired Chiarelli and should fired Sweeney as well along with President Cam Neely. They want to be a physical and tough team and I say fine, we'll just circle around you like we did 10 years ago after the lockout. I love how teams bring in former players to run their teams into the ground. I'll write more about that in the coming days.
Buffalo is a team on the rise and I for one can't wait for this season to start. Next year's draft will be held here in Buffalo even though more than likely next year's draft won't be as important as they should be on the way towards winning. Let's go Buffalo!!
Sabres Acquire Goalie Robin Lehner and David Legwand from the Senators for the 21st Pick; That's a Very Steep Price for a Backup Goalie; I Have to Admit This is My First Move from Murray That I Seriously Question!!! Prove Me Wrong Tim
The Sabres announced they traded their 21st overall pick (from the New York Islanders) to the Ottawa Senators for Goalie Robin Lehner and soon-to-be 35-year-old Center David Legwand. Tim Murray goes back to his roots in Ottawa getting a guy who he scouted and drafted. The price seems a little steep because he's 30-36-13 record with a 2.88 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Essentially, the Sabres traded Thomas Vanek back in Oct. 2013 for Lehner and Legwand.
Lehner got off to a great start in his career with a .935 and .936 save percentages in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons in limited starts. He got off to a great start with a .930 save % the first half of the 2013-14 season then ended the second half under .900 to finish with a .913. This past season, Lehner was sharing with Craig Anderson and only went 9-12-3 with a .905 save percentage before sustaining a concussion on Feb. 16 and did not play the rest of the season.
The emergence of Andrew Hammond last season further made Lehner expendable on the trade market. Hammond went 20-1-2 with a .941 save percentage following Lehner's injury and helped guide the Senators to the playoffs. Like I said, it seems like a steep price sending the 21st overall pick for him. There must be more than meets than eye however. Murray scouted him and spent time with him in the AHL and Ottawa so he must know about him and sees something in him.
The asking prices of Cam Talbot or Martin Jones must be too high and if that's the case and Lehner performs, then it's a steal. I am in the middle I don't think it's the worst move ever but definitely don't think it's the best move either. Andrew Peters is too unobjectionable about this giving it too much credit. You don't have to bash it but don't act like it's the best move ever as well. I will have to wait and see.
He turns 24 in July and has two years left on his deal and would only be a restricted free agent when his contract is done so maybe that drove the price up. Also, maybe there's more teams interested and Bryan Murray was trying to get the best offer possible and the Sabres gave him the best. Other teams probably weren't interested in offering a first round pick whereas the Sabres can and would.
I like some of the things I've read and heard about him. I've also liked what I heard about Ville Leino too but let's not go there. Lehner should benefit from a better team and hopefully a better offense and defense that the Sabres will have. Ottawa is not that great. Legwand means nothing too me, he's got only one-year left at $3 million and could be waived.
It will be interesting to see Lehner vs. Hammond goalie matchups. Did Tim Murray raise the goalie market up significantly? We'll see what others go for. New York and LA and others will definitely ask for much more than the Senators did. Will Murray part ways with next year's first round pick for a top-6 forward? Hopefully even though that pick can turn into a lottery top-3 pick if they miss the playoffs and get a top-3 pick in the lottery.
Lehner got off to a great start in his career with a .935 and .936 save percentages in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons in limited starts. He got off to a great start with a .930 save % the first half of the 2013-14 season then ended the second half under .900 to finish with a .913. This past season, Lehner was sharing with Craig Anderson and only went 9-12-3 with a .905 save percentage before sustaining a concussion on Feb. 16 and did not play the rest of the season.
The emergence of Andrew Hammond last season further made Lehner expendable on the trade market. Hammond went 20-1-2 with a .941 save percentage following Lehner's injury and helped guide the Senators to the playoffs. Like I said, it seems like a steep price sending the 21st overall pick for him. There must be more than meets than eye however. Murray scouted him and spent time with him in the AHL and Ottawa so he must know about him and sees something in him.
The asking prices of Cam Talbot or Martin Jones must be too high and if that's the case and Lehner performs, then it's a steal. I am in the middle I don't think it's the worst move ever but definitely don't think it's the best move either. Andrew Peters is too unobjectionable about this giving it too much credit. You don't have to bash it but don't act like it's the best move ever as well. I will have to wait and see.
He turns 24 in July and has two years left on his deal and would only be a restricted free agent when his contract is done so maybe that drove the price up. Also, maybe there's more teams interested and Bryan Murray was trying to get the best offer possible and the Sabres gave him the best. Other teams probably weren't interested in offering a first round pick whereas the Sabres can and would.
I like some of the things I've read and heard about him. I've also liked what I heard about Ville Leino too but let's not go there. Lehner should benefit from a better team and hopefully a better offense and defense that the Sabres will have. Ottawa is not that great. Legwand means nothing too me, he's got only one-year left at $3 million and could be waived.
It will be interesting to see Lehner vs. Hammond goalie matchups. Did Tim Murray raise the goalie market up significantly? We'll see what others go for. New York and LA and others will definitely ask for much more than the Senators did. Will Murray part ways with next year's first round pick for a top-6 forward? Hopefully even though that pick can turn into a lottery top-3 pick if they miss the playoffs and get a top-3 pick in the lottery.
What Can the Sabres Do at 21? Get a Goalie? Or Get a Top-6 Forward Like Skinner, O'Reilly, or Okposo?
With all the hype of getting Jack Eichel, there is the question of what to do at pick #21? Do the Sabres get a goalie and/or a top-6 forward like Jeff Skinner, Ryan O'Reilly, or even Kyle Okposo? For goalie, the top guys to be traded are New York Rangers' backup Cam Talbot and Vancouver's backup Eddie Lack.
The Rangers reportedly want two first round picks but could just want pick #21 from the Sabres and a conditional pick, That pick might be too high for a goalie. Lack could go for a 2nd or even 3rd round pick and that could be a good price. There's also LA Kings' backup Martin Jones, who they could go after with an offer sheet as he's a restricted free agent.
The Hurricanes are looking to move Skinner (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/jeff-skinner-might-be-available-id-go.html) as they want to re-sign both Eric Staal and Cam Ward (I don't know why). The Hurricanes are in the position they are in because of giving Ward a big contract years ago in the first place. He's been mediocre at best and even great goalies who sign big contracts aren't worth that, it's even worse for a mediocre or worse goalie. I remember the game against them in the final week of the season last year where he was awful and cost them the game by allowing 4 goals and almost hurt our chances at McEichel.
O'Reilly (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-would-trade-reinhart-for-oreilly-i.html) is pretty much done in Colorado especially after they just gave Carl Soderberg a five-year deal nearly worth five million a year. I love how the Avalanche continue to fail and not use analytics to their advantage. Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic continue to thumb their nose at analytics because "they played the game."
Analytics called for a regression this past season after they miraculously won the division and had a 100-point season in 2013-14 after finishing with the second-worst record in 2012-13. Many analytics experts felt they were lucky to win the division and called for them to lose in the first round (which they did) and expected them to fail, which they did as they had the 10th worst record this past season.
Islanders' GM Garth Snow said he wasn't going to trade Okposo but take that with a grain of salt. Okposo is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Okposo is a solid player who would be a good fit for the Sabres perhaps for the 21st overall pick. He's had 18 or more goals in three of the last four seasons (the only one he didn't was the lockout-shortened season) and has had 27 goals two seasons ago. He had 18 in only 60 games as he missed 22 with injury, which would put him around his career-high if he played the full season.
Patrick Sharp is also available but unlikely for the Sabres because of the steep asking price of the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks reportedly want a first round pick, a top prospect, AND a top six forward on an entry level contract. I expect the asking price to drop because Chicago needs to ,over some salaries because they're in cap trouble with the upcoming raises of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. I like Sharp but not at that price.
Whatever happens later today will be very interesting. Don't expect Tim Murray to not just take Eichel as he will do whatever to improve this team as quickly as possible. For those who think this is a five-year project will be in for a rude awakening.
The Rangers reportedly want two first round picks but could just want pick #21 from the Sabres and a conditional pick, That pick might be too high for a goalie. Lack could go for a 2nd or even 3rd round pick and that could be a good price. There's also LA Kings' backup Martin Jones, who they could go after with an offer sheet as he's a restricted free agent.
The Hurricanes are looking to move Skinner (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/jeff-skinner-might-be-available-id-go.html) as they want to re-sign both Eric Staal and Cam Ward (I don't know why). The Hurricanes are in the position they are in because of giving Ward a big contract years ago in the first place. He's been mediocre at best and even great goalies who sign big contracts aren't worth that, it's even worse for a mediocre or worse goalie. I remember the game against them in the final week of the season last year where he was awful and cost them the game by allowing 4 goals and almost hurt our chances at McEichel.
O'Reilly (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-would-trade-reinhart-for-oreilly-i.html) is pretty much done in Colorado especially after they just gave Carl Soderberg a five-year deal nearly worth five million a year. I love how the Avalanche continue to fail and not use analytics to their advantage. Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic continue to thumb their nose at analytics because "they played the game."
Analytics called for a regression this past season after they miraculously won the division and had a 100-point season in 2013-14 after finishing with the second-worst record in 2012-13. Many analytics experts felt they were lucky to win the division and called for them to lose in the first round (which they did) and expected them to fail, which they did as they had the 10th worst record this past season.
Islanders' GM Garth Snow said he wasn't going to trade Okposo but take that with a grain of salt. Okposo is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Okposo is a solid player who would be a good fit for the Sabres perhaps for the 21st overall pick. He's had 18 or more goals in three of the last four seasons (the only one he didn't was the lockout-shortened season) and has had 27 goals two seasons ago. He had 18 in only 60 games as he missed 22 with injury, which would put him around his career-high if he played the full season.
Patrick Sharp is also available but unlikely for the Sabres because of the steep asking price of the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks reportedly want a first round pick, a top prospect, AND a top six forward on an entry level contract. I expect the asking price to drop because Chicago needs to ,over some salaries because they're in cap trouble with the upcoming raises of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. I like Sharp but not at that price.
Whatever happens later today will be very interesting. Don't expect Tim Murray to not just take Eichel as he will do whatever to improve this team as quickly as possible. For those who think this is a five-year project will be in for a rude awakening.
Happy Eichel Day!!! This Will Be Our Best (Non Goalie) Player Since LaFontaine? Perrault?
"Today is the Greatest Day Ever!" - Smashing Pumpkins
This is great!! Tonight in about 12 hours or so the Sabres make it official they're drafting Jack Eichel second overall!! This has to be the most excited anyone has ever been over the second overall pick in the NHL or any draft for that matter maybe ever?! We've been talking about Eichel for over a year more like a year and a half when we started hearing about how he was going to challenge Connor McDavid for the top spot in the 2015 NHL Draft.
It felt like June 26, 2015 would never come but it's here finally!!! All our patience and sacrifice and suffering have finally paid off. Waiting and watching the team lose and getting into arguments with each other about whether or not we want the Sabres to win or lose for "McEichel" are all done. Thank God!!
This is the best offensive player since what? LaFontaine or even Perrault? I wasn't old enough to see Gilbert Perrault as he retired when i was about 4 or 5 years old. I definitely don't know the feeling it was when the Sabres drafted him as their first ever draft pick as I am sure no one really knew as the information isn't like it was today. I'm sure most felt he was the best player in the draft and the Sabres thankfully won the spinning of the wheel to get him so there might be some excitement. But I am sure no one followed this guy's career and even life for about two years.
I was only about 10 years old when LaFontaine was traded here and I wasn't quite following hockey yet. A couple of years later is when I really started to follow hockey and the Sabres so LaFontaine (and Mogilny) were already here kicking ass. I'm sure most know he was a star with the Islanders when he was traded here and most were very excited to get him. But he wasn't a draft pick of ours and this isn't the same as it is today.
Both LaFontaine and Perrault are Hall of Famers and we should expect Jack Eichel to be in that group maybe even better (no pressure). I expect him to be the best player in franchise history not just forward but even better than Dominik Hasek. I definitely want the greatest player in franchise history to be a scoring forward and not a goalie. I'm sick and tired of our better players in recent history to be a goalie and constantly be bailed out by a goalie every night.
This is a new day and a new era!! The draft can't come soon enough.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Jeff Skinner might be Available I'd go For Him; Maybe Eric or Jordan Staal Are Available Too
Jeff Skinner appears to now be on the trade market as well. Carolina is rebuilding picking in 5th in tomorrow night's draft. They are trying to get another high pick next year as well as possibly re-sign Eric Staal or else move him and brother Jordan and continue to rebuild. I'd take either Skinner or either Staal or take Skinner and maybe even Eric in a salary dump and let him play out one year before he becomes a UFA.
Skinner is a very talented and productive offensive player. He's only 22 soon to be 23 years old so he's just beginning his career really despite being in the league for five seasons already. Skinner was the 2011 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, playing all 82 games and scoring 31 goals at just 18 years old. He's the first player to win the award entirely as an 18 year old since Buffalo's Tom Barrasso did it in 1983-84.
Skinner has had injury problems especially with concussions as he only appeared in 64 games the following season but scoring 20 goals. He had 13 goals in the lockout shortened season in 2012-13 which would have amounted to about 25 goals in a full season. Skinner had a career-high 33 goals in 2013-14 after playing in 71 games after missing games because of a concussion. He regressed to 18 goals, 31 points in 77 games on a terrible Hurricanes team.
I'm sure Carolina would want a lot for Skinner and if I were them, I'd ask for next year's first round pick because if the Sabres miss the playoffs which is likely, they can get a chance at a top-3 pick next year in the lottery. I'm sure they're going to want one of our defenseman either Zadorov or Pysyk and maybe one of our top young forwards. If the Sabres are interested in winning which I think they are, they can't worry about next year's pick or any prospects, which I don't think Tim Murray will.
Skinner is a very talented and productive offensive player. He's only 22 soon to be 23 years old so he's just beginning his career really despite being in the league for five seasons already. Skinner was the 2011 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, playing all 82 games and scoring 31 goals at just 18 years old. He's the first player to win the award entirely as an 18 year old since Buffalo's Tom Barrasso did it in 1983-84.
Skinner has had injury problems especially with concussions as he only appeared in 64 games the following season but scoring 20 goals. He had 13 goals in the lockout shortened season in 2012-13 which would have amounted to about 25 goals in a full season. Skinner had a career-high 33 goals in 2013-14 after playing in 71 games after missing games because of a concussion. He regressed to 18 goals, 31 points in 77 games on a terrible Hurricanes team.
I'm sure Carolina would want a lot for Skinner and if I were them, I'd ask for next year's first round pick because if the Sabres miss the playoffs which is likely, they can get a chance at a top-3 pick next year in the lottery. I'm sure they're going to want one of our defenseman either Zadorov or Pysyk and maybe one of our top young forwards. If the Sabres are interested in winning which I think they are, they can't worry about next year's pick or any prospects, which I don't think Tim Murray will.
This is a Deep Draft But Will it Rival the 2003 Draft?
Tomorrow's NHL draft is considered to be a very deep, talent rich draft, especially in the first round. It's not just Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, which are the top prizes, but the top-5, 10, maybe even the entire first round has potential great talent. It's supposed to be the deepest draft since the 2003 NHL Draft. The question is will be be as deep as 2003? (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-draft-can-this-year-s-class-rival-2003-1.3126035) Here's an old article from five years ago (http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/further-proof-that-the-2003-nhl-entry-draft-was-the-best-of-all-time).
NHL drafts usually don't produce a ton except for the top three-to-five picks. It's really a crap shoot when you get out of the top-5, top-10. The 2003 NHL Draft however did not just produce talent at the top. No way, the vast majority of the first round picks turned out to have very productive careers in the NHL. Not only was the first round very successful, the second produced a decent amount of talent as did the rest of the rounds in that draft.
This is probably the best draft in NHL history, some say even better than the 1979 NHL draft that featured a total of five hall of famers including Mark Messier, Ray Bourque, and Mike Gartner with three of the hall of famers selected in the first round (Messier was taken the 3rd round). Technically there's six hall of famers from that draft if you count Dino Ciccarelli, who went undrafted.
12 of the 21 first round picks that year were selected to at least one All-Star game, 19 of the 21 picks played in at least 450 NHL games and every one of the 21 picks played in at least 200 games. 82% of the total picks played in at least NHL game. This might still be the best of all time depending on how many of the players from the 2003 draft make it to the Hall of Fame. The 1979 draft could be even greater if then 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky entered the draft, but his rights were retained by the Edmonton Oilers after they had him in the WHA before they moved to the NHL.
Anyways back to 2003, every one of the 30 picks in the first round went on to play at least one game in the NHL with 28 of those playing in at least 200 games. 14 of those 30 made it to at least one All-Star game, 12 have representer their country in the Olympics, and nine have won the Stanley Cup. Five players in the draft (including second round pick Patrice Bergeron) played significant playing time in their rookie seasons and every player drafted in the top-10 played in at least nine games by the end of the 2005-06 season.
The first overall pick of that year's draft was Marc-Andre Fleury. This is second time ever and hasn't happened since that the #1 overall pick was used on a goalie (Rick DiPietro in 2000 was the other). Roberto Luongo was the previous highest at #4 in 1997 and Kari Lehtonen was second in 2002. Drafting goalies in round 1 is never really a good idea (unless its at the bottom of round 1 and you have depth everywhere else) because you can find goalies anywhere in the draft. Many of the best goalies in NHL history were taken outside the first round.
Both #1 overall pick goalies have been busts, DiPietro more so because of his 15-year contract but he was pretty good until then until injuries and inconsistent play along with having to live up to that gigantic contract. Fleury was actually very good early in Pittsburgh, winning a Stanley Cup in 2009 after being in the finals the year before. He was very good in those two playoff runs and gave the Penguins hope for a long term goalie. Since then however, his performances have been laughable in the postseason with sub-.900 save percentages from 2010-15 playoffs and usually losing in the first or second rounds to lesser teams because of his awful play.
It makes you think he was only good because of the teams he had early on with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and other veterans they'd acquire at the trade deadlines. Fleury's postseason performances post-Cup have gotten current Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma fired from Pittsburgh. Fleury has looked like a bust since 2009 and does not look like anything worth the number one overall pick, which is why I would never use a top-3, top-5, top-10, pretty much almost any first round pick on a goalie. He was the first of four consecutive top-2 picks in the draft followed by Crosby, Malkin, and Staal.
The Penguins could have been better served with the number two overall pick, center Eric Staal, who went to Carolina and helped them win the Cup in 2006. Third went to Florida, who took winger Nathan Horton, who has had a very good career but injuries prevented what could have been an even better career. He did help Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and to the finals again in 2013. He had six consecutive 20-goal seasons and had 17 and 13 after playing in 46 and 43 games in 2012 and 2013 respectively. A back injury has pretty much ended his career now. Interestingly, Florida held the number one overall pick as they won the draft lottery for the second year in a row. But for the second year in a row, they traded the pick to move down to #3. In 2002, they passed on a chance to take Rick Nash 1st overall to move down to take defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.
Nikolay Zherdev went fourth with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had a couple of productive 27 and 26 goal seasons with Columbus before being traded to the New York Rangers in 2008. He had 23 goals and 58 points with the Rangers before leaving to go to the KHL in a messy contract dispute. He since bounced around between teams in the KHL and one year in Philadelphia and has since become somewhat of a bust.
Buffalo took Thomas Vanek fifth overall in what was a great pick and never had fewer than 20 goals in any season in the NHL. Twice he's had 40 goal seasons along two other 30+ goal seasons with the Sabres. His 20 goals in 2012-13 came in only 38 games as it was a lockout-shortened season and it would have projected to 43 over a full 82-game season, which would tie his career high. The Sabres drafted Vanek shortly after he led the Minnesota Golden Gophers to the 2003 NCAA National Championship and was named Frozen Four Tournament MVP in Buffalo nonetheless.
The rest of the top-10 Milan Michalek, Ryan Suter, Brayden Coburn, Dion Phaneuf, and Andrei Kostitsyn. All have been pretty good except Coburn, who started strong but has fallen off, and Kostitsyn, who had three 20+ goal seasons before injuries and going to the KHL ended his time in the NHL. Phaneuf had a 20-goal season his rookie season and was a force in his first few seasons with Calgary before he regressed both offensively and defensively and was traded to Toronto, and has never lived up to his early years.
Other great players in the first round include: Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Brent Burns, Ryan Kessler, Mike Richards, and Anaheim got two players who helped them win a Cup in 2007 and have been one of the better teams in the NHL post-2004 Lockout in Ryan Getzlaf (19th overall) and Corey Perry (who went 28th overall). Tim Murray was working in Anaheim at that time under his uncle and then-Ducks' GM Bryan Murray.
The first round wasn't the only round to produce All-Star talent. The second round produced such talent as Loui Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Carle, Shea Weber, Corey Crawford, David Backes, and Jimmy Howard. After a couple of so-so rounds 3 and 4, which saw the Sabres take Clarke MacArthur in the 3rd round, the talent picks back up again with Western New York's own Lee Stempniak being picked in round 5. Joe Pavelski was taken in the 7th round. Defensemen Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien were taken in the 8th round (the NHL Draft is only 7 rounds long now). The ninth and final round produced current Sabre Matt Moulson and goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott (who was the next-to-last pick of the draft).
That's an amazing amount talent in one entire draft. It's tough to say whether this draft will produce anything close to that. It will be a deep draft no doubt. Will it be like 2003? Only time will tell. One thing for sure though is the top two picks this year will definitely be better than 2003. The Sabres will get their franchise guy no doubt.
NHL drafts usually don't produce a ton except for the top three-to-five picks. It's really a crap shoot when you get out of the top-5, top-10. The 2003 NHL Draft however did not just produce talent at the top. No way, the vast majority of the first round picks turned out to have very productive careers in the NHL. Not only was the first round very successful, the second produced a decent amount of talent as did the rest of the rounds in that draft.
This is probably the best draft in NHL history, some say even better than the 1979 NHL draft that featured a total of five hall of famers including Mark Messier, Ray Bourque, and Mike Gartner with three of the hall of famers selected in the first round (Messier was taken the 3rd round). Technically there's six hall of famers from that draft if you count Dino Ciccarelli, who went undrafted.
12 of the 21 first round picks that year were selected to at least one All-Star game, 19 of the 21 picks played in at least 450 NHL games and every one of the 21 picks played in at least 200 games. 82% of the total picks played in at least NHL game. This might still be the best of all time depending on how many of the players from the 2003 draft make it to the Hall of Fame. The 1979 draft could be even greater if then 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky entered the draft, but his rights were retained by the Edmonton Oilers after they had him in the WHA before they moved to the NHL.
Anyways back to 2003, every one of the 30 picks in the first round went on to play at least one game in the NHL with 28 of those playing in at least 200 games. 14 of those 30 made it to at least one All-Star game, 12 have representer their country in the Olympics, and nine have won the Stanley Cup. Five players in the draft (including second round pick Patrice Bergeron) played significant playing time in their rookie seasons and every player drafted in the top-10 played in at least nine games by the end of the 2005-06 season.
The first overall pick of that year's draft was Marc-Andre Fleury. This is second time ever and hasn't happened since that the #1 overall pick was used on a goalie (Rick DiPietro in 2000 was the other). Roberto Luongo was the previous highest at #4 in 1997 and Kari Lehtonen was second in 2002. Drafting goalies in round 1 is never really a good idea (unless its at the bottom of round 1 and you have depth everywhere else) because you can find goalies anywhere in the draft. Many of the best goalies in NHL history were taken outside the first round.
Both #1 overall pick goalies have been busts, DiPietro more so because of his 15-year contract but he was pretty good until then until injuries and inconsistent play along with having to live up to that gigantic contract. Fleury was actually very good early in Pittsburgh, winning a Stanley Cup in 2009 after being in the finals the year before. He was very good in those two playoff runs and gave the Penguins hope for a long term goalie. Since then however, his performances have been laughable in the postseason with sub-.900 save percentages from 2010-15 playoffs and usually losing in the first or second rounds to lesser teams because of his awful play.
It makes you think he was only good because of the teams he had early on with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and other veterans they'd acquire at the trade deadlines. Fleury's postseason performances post-Cup have gotten current Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma fired from Pittsburgh. Fleury has looked like a bust since 2009 and does not look like anything worth the number one overall pick, which is why I would never use a top-3, top-5, top-10, pretty much almost any first round pick on a goalie. He was the first of four consecutive top-2 picks in the draft followed by Crosby, Malkin, and Staal.
The Penguins could have been better served with the number two overall pick, center Eric Staal, who went to Carolina and helped them win the Cup in 2006. Third went to Florida, who took winger Nathan Horton, who has had a very good career but injuries prevented what could have been an even better career. He did help Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and to the finals again in 2013. He had six consecutive 20-goal seasons and had 17 and 13 after playing in 46 and 43 games in 2012 and 2013 respectively. A back injury has pretty much ended his career now. Interestingly, Florida held the number one overall pick as they won the draft lottery for the second year in a row. But for the second year in a row, they traded the pick to move down to #3. In 2002, they passed on a chance to take Rick Nash 1st overall to move down to take defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.
Nikolay Zherdev went fourth with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had a couple of productive 27 and 26 goal seasons with Columbus before being traded to the New York Rangers in 2008. He had 23 goals and 58 points with the Rangers before leaving to go to the KHL in a messy contract dispute. He since bounced around between teams in the KHL and one year in Philadelphia and has since become somewhat of a bust.
Buffalo took Thomas Vanek fifth overall in what was a great pick and never had fewer than 20 goals in any season in the NHL. Twice he's had 40 goal seasons along two other 30+ goal seasons with the Sabres. His 20 goals in 2012-13 came in only 38 games as it was a lockout-shortened season and it would have projected to 43 over a full 82-game season, which would tie his career high. The Sabres drafted Vanek shortly after he led the Minnesota Golden Gophers to the 2003 NCAA National Championship and was named Frozen Four Tournament MVP in Buffalo nonetheless.
The rest of the top-10 Milan Michalek, Ryan Suter, Brayden Coburn, Dion Phaneuf, and Andrei Kostitsyn. All have been pretty good except Coburn, who started strong but has fallen off, and Kostitsyn, who had three 20+ goal seasons before injuries and going to the KHL ended his time in the NHL. Phaneuf had a 20-goal season his rookie season and was a force in his first few seasons with Calgary before he regressed both offensively and defensively and was traded to Toronto, and has never lived up to his early years.
Other great players in the first round include: Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Brent Burns, Ryan Kessler, Mike Richards, and Anaheim got two players who helped them win a Cup in 2007 and have been one of the better teams in the NHL post-2004 Lockout in Ryan Getzlaf (19th overall) and Corey Perry (who went 28th overall). Tim Murray was working in Anaheim at that time under his uncle and then-Ducks' GM Bryan Murray.
The first round wasn't the only round to produce All-Star talent. The second round produced such talent as Loui Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Carle, Shea Weber, Corey Crawford, David Backes, and Jimmy Howard. After a couple of so-so rounds 3 and 4, which saw the Sabres take Clarke MacArthur in the 3rd round, the talent picks back up again with Western New York's own Lee Stempniak being picked in round 5. Joe Pavelski was taken in the 7th round. Defensemen Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien were taken in the 8th round (the NHL Draft is only 7 rounds long now). The ninth and final round produced current Sabre Matt Moulson and goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott (who was the next-to-last pick of the draft).
That's an amazing amount talent in one entire draft. It's tough to say whether this draft will produce anything close to that. It will be a deep draft no doubt. Will it be like 2003? Only time will tell. One thing for sure though is the top two picks this year will definitely be better than 2003. The Sabres will get their franchise guy no doubt.
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