Posted by Scott Michalak on May 6, 2013 at 10:17 am
It’s hard to figure out where we go from here.
It’s very difficult to envision what direction the Sabres are heading in as they now skate headlong into a rebuild. But that uncertainty is nothing new. This team has lacked direction for a good while now.
We had a great coach in Lindy Ruff, and a strong contingent of reliable, inveterate players.
But something went wrong.
After his departure, Jordan Leopold described the Buffalo locker room as “chaos.”
So what the happened? How does this all get fixed? These kinds of questions should never be a part of the discussion for a pro franchise. Leaders – be they coaches or team captains – are the guys who are supposed to have all the answers before the locker room, media, or fan base need to ask the questions.
The leaders on the Sabres failed in that capacity.
Jason Pominville wore the C. He was the most consistent player on the most inconsistent team. The offense couldn’t follow his routine on the ice, and whatever he said in the locker room didn’t translate well, either.
The other remaining leaders on the team, Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller, have both voiced their desire to be moved to new teams if this is going to be a long rebuild. In other words, they have no faith in the system. No faith in management, the team, or their teammates, to turn this thing around quickly.
Are those the kind of leaders that we want in a rebuild, long or short?
What this team needs is confidence. Insistent, boisterous hockey players who can help lift the talent in the club up now. The Sabres don’t need guys who would wait to see what the team looks like after the draft, or after trades. This group needs glue, and Vanek and Miller’s remarks are sentiments that are nothing but more damage on a team that is already deeply rattled.
A locker room of chaos and an on-ice product that was much the same: that’s what we had this season with Pommers, Vanek, Miller, Regehr, Leopold, Hecht, and Ehrhoff in the lineup. It doesn’t make much sense. That’s a hearty group of guys that should have easily been able to stabilize the locker room and win enough hockey games to get the Blue and Gold into the playoffs. They didn’t. They were a paper tiger.
Regier was quick to ship out his veterans at the deadline. All that remain are doubting Thomas, Miller, and Ehrhoff (with Hecht retiring with his family back to their home in Germany). I don’t think there is a coincidence here: the Sabres fell down hard when the names on that roster became real voices in the locker room, and real teammates on the ice.
What’s left of that group is a couple guys who want to find a way out of town. If I’m Darcy Regier, I wish them well and grant their wishes. It’s time to move on from proven failure, and find new heart for this team.
Simple enough.
We don’t need guys shaking their heads after a loss, wondering why the effort just wasn’t there. We don’t need players that spend any amount of time talking about how to get more cheers than boos out of the audience at the FNC. And we certainly don’t need players that are just looking for a way out of town.
What we do need is cohesion. We need everyone from the owner to the management, from the coach to the players, and all the way down to the media and fans to buy in.
The next leaders to make that happen may already be in the Sabres’ pipeline. They may arrive via the draft, or by trade(s). It doesn’t really matter. It is just time to move on, remove all the doubt, and allow for a new bloom of confidence and belief.
And that’s where we go, as grey and foggy as that future may be.
It’s time to take a leap of confidence.
Go Sabres.
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Posted by Scott Michalak on April 5, 2013 at 4:02 pm
There’s some hyperbole up there in that title.
Still, Pominville was the consummate core player – the most consistent player on the most inconsistent team. This is a team desperate to find consistency. The simple fact that it is willing to trade it away spells doom for the remaining vets on this team. (Or glory. Frankly, a trade to a contender isn’t such a horrible thing.)
Here’s the absolute certain future of most of our remaining vets:
Jochen Hecht – pretty sure he’ll actually survive this season, physically.
Thomas Vanek – is all sad that he lost neighbors and stuff. But people get fired from jobs and have to leave Buffalo to look for employment all the freakin’ time, so he should still just consider himself lucky Kevin Lowe paid for his family’s mortgage (for the next 5 generations). If the “rebuild” happens as quickly as it did for the Blue Jackets, he may stick around. Or not. Dollars aside, we all know he deserves a legitimate shot at a Cup.
Ryan Miller – Dude is PISSED. He wants out. I’m pretty sure he’s run out of lovely buildings to take pictures of anyway. Good luck Millsie. Hope you’re not traded to a team that has to face Crosby in the playoffs next year.
Drew Stafford – amnesty buyout.
Ville Leino – will compete hard for Stafford’s amnesty buyout.
Gerbe – will reap the rewards of the aforementioned amnesty buyout. Or be cut.
All the rest – need a new coach/GM.
Should be fun.
Go Sabres.
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Posted by Scott Michalak on March 1, 2013 at 9:54 am
We’re all in this together.
Ron Rolston is the new interim coach, and his Sabres are currently basking in the glow of their sweep of the Sunshine State.
Rolston, as it was announced by Darcy Regier, is here as an interim coach. He’s on a tryout. He’s been tweaking a few things. Tinkering. Trying to get The Most Inconsistently Working Team in Hockey working again. He’s a very knowledgeable man, and I wish him the best of luck. But this is a try-out for him.
Nothing is guaranteed for Rolston, and the same should be said for the rest of the Sabres.
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Posted by Scott Michalak on February 9, 2013 at 10:24 pm
Sabres/Isles.
At least for tonight, our Vanek was better than their Tavares. But that wasn’t the story.
Plenty of bally-hoo was being made throughout the game about the ice time of Mikhail Grigorenko (upon the Twitter). With scantly more than a minute of ice time heading into the 3rd, Lindy finally decided to use him in the clutch – the rookie would finish with 7:13 of ice time.
Well, he does play hockey.
Go Sabres.
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Posted by Scott Michalak on January 18, 2013 at 9:26 am
Remember hockey? It’s back.
This is what it used to feel like:
Then we were dragged through hockey hell…
Fan reaction happened. This was the smartest, in my opinion:
And now hockey is back, and in a wonderful new way:
Obviously, you can add Ennis to that old tweet.
A new era of Sabres hockey begins this weekend. A few big pieces of the old core (Pominville, Vanek, Roy, Stafford and Hecht) remain in the Blue and Gold, but the culture has vastly changed. Gone are Roy and Connolly, whose games brought plenty of flair but never struck any fear against the opposition.
Yes, the Sabres haven’t played a single game yet. But they look fearsome on paper. And don’t think for a minute other teams haven’t been reading up.
Remember the “Hardest Working Team in Hockey?” By far, that Ted Nolan led squad was not the most talented group of guys in the league, but they were fun as hell to watch. And they were a hell of a team to play against.
This year’s squad is an intriguing mix of – dare I say it – elite talent AND fear inducing grinders. Obviously, Vanek, Pominville, Ennis (possibly even Grigorenko) et al will put up the points. This team has never really been at a lack for goal scoring in recent years. The trade of Roy for Ott might seem like a swap of points for punches, but that is far too simple. That trade might be the centerpiece around what is really an entire culture change for the Sabres.
A return to a “Hardest working team in Hockey” mentality.
A return to a team that opponents fear to play against.
Yes, the Sabres haven’t played a single game yet. But they look fearsome on paper. And don’t think for a minute other teams haven’t been reading up.
- Foligno
- Gerbe
- Kaleta
- McCormick
- Ott
- Scott
- Regehr
- Weber
Darcy Regier has been slowly, quietly writing his roster on sandpaper. Ott is just the latest piece. The best part about this new “grit,” really, is that most of these guys can score. Foligno, Gerbe, and Ott can chirp, hit, and chip in their share of points. McCormick can score. Kaleta’s got offense.
These are the types of guys that make a team a nightmare to play against – they keep the opposition’s head on a swivel and help to keep the red light active all at once. It sure doesn’t hurt that they make it far easier for guys like Vanek and Pominville to play their game.
Hockey Heaven has some Hell on ice in store for the NHL for this go around.
This is going to be a fun ride.
FEARSOME Prediction:
The Sabres will take the NE Division. They’ve got veteran scoring up front, and dynamic young studs like Ennis and Hodgson that are ready to come out and party. They are deep and seasoned corps at defense. They have a roster infused with former and current team captains. They have a (former) Vezina winning goaltender and a very capable backup. They’ve got two checking lines that can control the puck and the boards (or put it the puck in the net and the bodies into the dashers).
Most importantly, this is a team to fear. Last year’s late-season mantra of “We’ve got to take their will away from them” is going to be a lot easier this time around.
Badass.
I’m hoping that’s the word that sticks to Buffalo this year. That, and playoffs.
Give ‘em hell, boys.
Go Sabres.
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