Not Buying In Just Yet

m patton

I know that it is being circulated around the media that Tom Golisano has publicly claimed that the Sabres will not spend up to the cap this off-season. Fine. I also know that he said the same thing last year. The difference between this year and last year is a written letter to season ticket holders claiming a "fiscal responsibility" that goes along with owning a pro hockey team. In case you forgot, it was last year when he wrote the letter and we all know how last year's spending went.


It would be not wise to assume that Golisano won't do everything in his power to try to sign at least one of his two most marketable players. He prob won't go tight to the cap to do it, and for that I don't blame him (a la injury issues from this past year), but the man didn't become a billionaire solely for his mastery in cost-cutting. He is, most surely, a businessman who does know the importance of keeping spending in check, but if you ask any successful business owner what the most important element in a successful business is, he or she will almost certainly tell you that a sound product with happy customers is king.

I'm not saying that TG will be spending like Brian Cashman to get a good product, but I think that we need to put ourselves in a mindset of a businessman. I think what he is saying is that the Sabres will be smart about their spending and cutting. I also think that he knows that Drury, Briere and Vanek are smart spends for business. He never mentions anything about the free agency issues, which I think is a brilliant move in proving that he stays out of hockey affairs, he only talks about business in general.

We have to assume that TG understands different markets and the difference between making stockholders happy and making fans happy. He understands that the only decent revenue streams in the NHL do not come from TV and revenue sharing, they come from ticket sales and merchandising. If he understood how to make stockholders of Paychex happy, we also have to assume he knows how to make his hockey fans happy as well.

I do believe that there is still some reason to worry about what the team will look like in a few months, but as far as the doom and gloom that Briere and Drury are definitely gone based on TG's recent comments, I'm not buying that product just yet.

In Conclusion

m patton

So the season is over, no cup in Buffalo and it is the beginning of another somber summer as a Sabres enthusiast. There really isn't much to really complain about other than it sucks that you really can't have it all. 10-0 start, wire to wire divisional leader, wire to wire conference leader and the President's Trophy were all we would get, one step short of the ultimate goal. Enough about the end result for now, we have all summer to think what could have been if.

Conference Finals
This series was as simple as it was short. Ottawa hit their peak performance in the Spring and rode it all the way into and through the playoffs. If they keep up the same pace in the Finals, they will be Cup Champs. At no point during this series did Buffalo match the skill, speed, or intense pressure that Ottawa brought every game and in the end, it cost the series.

It's debatable as to whether the Sabres were even a match for the almost perfect hockey played by Ottawa's deep defense and top scoring line, but the one undebatable fact is that the line everyone in Buffalo, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh now loaths was the difference maker in each series. As much as it pains this writer to admit, Spezza, Heatley, and Alfredsson do make up the best line in the playoffs this year.

Enough about Ottawa for now. The Sabres didn't hang themselves out there, but they did build the gallows. Two power play goals in 5 games on over 20 tries is the first stat that showed that Buffalo was in deep trouble. The power play was so bad, that the tone for the series was set very early when Ottawa's first goal of the series game on Buffalo's second power play. The extra man offense is something that Lindy Ruff will surely be haunted by this summer when he tries to figure what went wrong and how to fix it next year.

About the only thing that did work in that series for Buffalo was Ryan Miller. It's cliche by now, but the series would have been a sweep had he not kept them in every game. Aside from his play, his attitude and leadership off the ice was top notch and he shows that his experience in the playoffs last year made him even better this year. Ryan Miller represents the only bright spot of the playoffs for the Sabres.

Early Rounds
The one thing that makes my blood boil more than anything is the stupid hockey press that keeps saying that Buffalo barely got by the Islanders and squeaked by the Rangers.

Let's start with the Islanders series. This was a series won in five games by the Sabres that included only two games where the Islanders ever lead during the game. Should the top team beat the eight seed? Yes. Should they sweep them? Maybe. Do they need to sweep while winning every game by more than one goal? No. A five game series with two games won on the road hardly constitutes a case where one would say the Sabres barely got by. They out-skilled the Isles and won the series because of it.

The Rangers series was more challenging for Buffalo. It was a six game series with all but one game decided by one goal. However, what the hockey heads refuse to take into account is the clutch play by the Sabres, offensively and defensively. This was a series that forced the Sabres to play a different style of game and have to rely on defense and grit to win. Last I checked, they won the series by grinding out some close games, even after their fast paced speed game was "marginalized" by a big hitting Ranger defense. There was nothing lucky about that series win. The Sabres were the better team and it showed by the different ways they found to win. Also, let us not forget that Lundqvist was by far the hottest goalie in the playoffs at the time and if he didn't out of his mind, then that series would have been over a lot sooner.

It remains a mystery where the hockey press gets the information that support their conclusions

Another Summer On Edge
Even though there are a lot less players that need to be signed this summer, they are three of the most important and include the entire co-captaincy and the leading goal scorer. I don't want to speculate as to who they should sign. I want both Briere and Drury wearing Sabres jerseys next fall. Is it likely? No. But is it possible? Yes.

Signing Briere and Drury will come down to a few key things, money and years. Obviously, we have the cap to worry about and some trimming will need to be done in order to stay under the cap. Some of that trimming will be take care of itself while other trimming will need to be chosen.

We have to figure that Teppo Numminen will either retire, or play somewhere else next year. He is pushing 40 and although he has had 2 great seasons in Buffalo, we are not likely to ante up the 2.5 - 3 million that he will most likely command. I personally think that given his age, his hockey stick business and his safe-for-now record of playing the most games as a European born player, he will hang it up and call it a career. Before his 2 seasons for the Sabres, he had never been past the first round of the playoffs, and I think he realizes it will be tough to get further with another team.

Zubrus is one of those wait-and-see players for now. The reality is that we wont be able to sign him, Briere, and Drury. And given the status of the later two, they will be first priority. However, if talks reach an impasse with either Chris or Danny before July 1, then expect talks to quickly spark up with Zubrus as he proved himself as a valuable asset that Lindy can build some physical play around.

Spacek, while signed for 3 years, remains someone who might find himself somewhere else. While I know that it is not smart to cut up the defense, we have to really look at value here. Spacek got paid due to his great numbers in the playoffs last year. When we look at the horror show of stats from this year, we might start to think that his value peaked last year and that his playing with Chris Pronger in Edmonton could have helped that along. I still think he is all-around a great player and did do some things this year that helped us win some games, I'm not so sure that we can justify keeping his salary around when we want to lock in Vanek long-term and re-sign the co-captains. Trying to score a few draft picks for Spacek might be a better option than trying to find out if he can bounce back after a disastrous playoff showing this year.

The biggest wild-card will be the years in the contracts for Drury and Briere. We know that they both will want contracts that will essentially close out their careers so we are talking 4-5 years each. We also now that Darcy is notorious for being reluctant to sign long term deals like that (thanks for that, Dominator). But, I think that Darcy realizes what these two guys mean to this town and what they mean to this team's success. I think that once Tom Golisano realizes the business impact that losing these two could have on the team, he will give Darcy the old Steinbrenner lean to get these two locked up. For the record, I am in no way comparing Tom Golisano to Steinbrenner.

Of course this is all speculation and I was completely wrong last summer as I thought Darcy wouldn't find a way to lose Mike Grier and J.P. Dumont. So like any off-season, anything can happen.

Liking This Town
One of things that separates this off-season from any other off-season in regards to free agents is the openness of the soon-to-be free agents' desire to stay in Buffalo. This is usually never the case. For Briere to come right out and say that he wants to be a Sabre and would accept the proverbial hometown discount should mean a lot to fans. Since most players whose stock peaks in Buffalo usually can't get out soon enough, for him to say that means a lot. Even for a player like Adam Mair, who is unrestricted, to share the same sentiments shows a change in tide. Add Zubrus to that mix and it looks like the players really believe in the team and the system, along with the city and the fans. I give Drury a pass for not being as vocal, but he has come out to say that he loves this town as a hockey town and would love to play here for years to come. After the episodes involving Hasek, Kozlov, and Doug Gilmore, it is refreshing to see true superstars show the desire to remain a part of this team in Buffalo

Must Not See TV
With the Finals set with Ottawa and Anaheim, it will be tragically humorous to see TV ratings on Vs. and NBC. I just hope they can compete with Arena Football on ESPN2.

Going Down With The Ship

by: mpatton

There is not much to say. 15 shots on goal in a pivotal game says it all. In order for the Sabres to attempt to claw back into this series, the effort needed to be about survival, pride and passion. Those needs evolved into 15 shots on goal, 0 for 6 on the power play and eventually, 0-3 against a team that seems to be destined for the finals. At the risk of sounding defeatist, all we have left to do is sit and wait for what we know is coming soon.

This is going to be a very difficult summer filled with memories of a lot of great nights that will be easily neutralized by memories of one series that ended it all, yet again. This series is not like last year. Last year, we were the darlings of the new NHL who played the underdog role with an Oscar caliber flare. We rode out the storm all the way to the end and left everything but pints of blood on the ice in Raleigh. Last summer wasn't easy because none of us could wait till October when a team even hungrier would make another push. This summer it's going to be tough because we will find out which teams each of our co-captains will play for and will they, like so many other former Sabres, find glory with another team.

This summer will also be filled with a lot of resentment and many what if's. Hindsight always being 20/20, it's impossible not to ask what if. What if Darcy Regeir doesn't sign Spacek and instead promotes Paetsch uses the extra money to sign J.P. Dumont to a few years? Could the line of Pomminville, Briere and Dumont be the French Connection 2K, but this time with a Cup? Could Briere be convinced that he could never leave such a great line situation behind? We will never know. What if Mike Grier didn't listen to locker room and media gossip and signed with Buffalo rather than San Jose? Could he and Drury locked down the Ottawa top line like last year? We will never know. I fell terrible for saying this but, what if we don't re-sign Tim Connolly and we keep Taylor Pyatt? Between Pyatt, Grier, and Zubrus, it's safe to say Buffalo would not have been banged around like rag-dolls this series. But again, we will never know.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. We do have one more game to lose yet. I have already been chastised as being a coward for giving up after Saturday night's loss by family and friends and perhaps they are right. But, was it my pessimism that lost tonight's game or was it one shot on goal in 6 power play attempts? Was it my lack of confidence in a miracle comeback or was it the Sabres' only two superstars putting up one shot, combined? This is a tough pill because it seems the captains are primed to go down with the ship. I don't doubt for one minute the drive and the resolve of our captains, but it is sure a let down to see them play so brilliantly all year long and then fade out in the Conference Finals. In order for a 2004 Red Sox miracle to take place, aside from Ottawa's top line coming down with the measles, Danny Briere and Chris Drury would have to combine all their good play from the entire regular season and compress it into 4 games of play that would only be described as god-like. I like the thought, but then I wake up with my hand down my pants.

Inside this ugly and disgusting waxy ball of negativity and pessimism that could only come from a transplanted Sabres fan in a state like Maryland, there is one ray of light that is still shining bright and that is Ryan Miller. The entire year, he was the best non-shutout goalie in the league. He didn't dominate like Brodeur or Luongo, but he always did his job which was to keep his team in the game. His mental toughness improved even more than it did last year and his leadership on and off the ice was that of a seasoned veteran. He encapsulates what it means to be a Buffalo Sabre. His goal isn't stardom or headlines in the New York Post, his goal is to win games and to do his job well for his team. My only real wish is that he is a Sabre for a long time and wins the games he deserves to win, such as tonight, because he is the face of this team and what it should stand for.

So, all that is left to do is wait. Much like the Sopranos, we don't know how it will end but we do know that it is going to end. Will it end Wednesday with an embarrassing and demoralizing sweep in front of the Ottawans, or will it be Saturday in front of 19,000 teary eyed Buffalonians? One thing is for sure; in my lifetime, only one team came back from a 0-3 hole in a playoff series. Can't remember? I'll give you a hint, they are one of three teams that are more cursed than the Sabres and they had to wait 86 years for a ring. You know what? If I could be guaranteed the same fate for the Sabres, I would learn to be patient because even at 77 years old, it would be worth the wait.

Kings Of New York

m patton

This is it for the Rangers series. It's over and Ottawa is on every one's mind but we should, as fans, reflect on what we saw in this series. This team is different now than it was 59:52.2 seconds into game 5. This team is more focused than it ever has been this season. It sounds melodramatic, but the Sabres smell blood and their sense of mission is more clear than it ever was during the season or these playoffs. We couldn't have drawn Ottawa at a more opportune time.

Had we played the Senators in the first or second round, we may not be here today. With the way Ottawa blazed into the playoffs and played during the first two rounds, I'm not so sure we could have made it through them given some of the games we played against the New Yorks. But now we are here and I think it's important to discuss the latest series that brought us here, one last time.

Out-clutched

Twice was Tom Renney behind the bench pulling his hair out due to the fact that his team didn't know how to close a game with a late lead. The one time, they escaped with some help from video replay. The second time, they arguably lost the series by giving up a demoralizing tying goal with 7.7 seconds left before going on to lose in OT.

I can't blame them too much because the Rangers are not the first, nor the second, team that Chris Drury has robbed before, but to play careless and scared in the dying seconds of a game twice in one series is indicative that the Rangers may have let the pressure get to them. I would rather be ugly and win than pretty and lose and I'm sure the Rangers would too.

The Swede

Minus some of the best goal tending that the playoffs have seen and the Rangers aren't even in that series. Lundqvist played out of his mind and if you are a Ranger fan, then you have to at least feel relieved that you finally have a goaltender that is steady and will perform in the playoffs. Truth be told, without Lundqvist's 40+ saves in game 5, the Rangers would have never even been in the position to blow the lead because the score could have easily been 4-1 had Lund not put up a performance like he did.

Of course, Buffalo had a formidable counter-part guarding its net who did steal some big chances away from NY in all games. The Sabres could have easily been out of some of their wins had Ryan Miller not played as well as he has played all throughout these playoffs thus far.

Avery A Non-Factor

For all his talk, and all the praise from the media, Sean Avery didn't accomplish much more than some great sound bytes and some gratuitous power plays for Buffalo. Offensively, he was invisible, opposite to what he was in round 1. Defensively, his hits were pretty routine and he really did not make any game changing defensive plays that lead to anything offensive for the Rangers.

Also, he forgot to hurt the Sabres, despite his promises and I'm pretty sure that the only thing that Buffalo and the fans hated were his comments off the ice, and not his game on the ice. In the end I think the only people afraid of him are Ranger fans because they are most likely petrified of what he will say next.

Special Teams Battles

The Rangers power play, on paper, was much better than Buffalo's PK. But, when you look back at key opportunities and challenges for the power play and penalty kill, the Sabres definitely won the battles when they counted.

Game 2, Sabres were up 3-2 late in the 3rd when two simultaneous Sabre penalties gave NY a five on three for 2 minutes to try and tie it up, the Sabres PK, anchored by superior goal tending, held up to keep the lead.

Obviously, Game 5, Max's power play goal that changed the series was a clutch goal that came seconds after the Sabres already killed a Ranger power play in the same OT.

The lesson learned here is that some power play goals are worth more than others and the Sabres definitely won the battle of important special teams situations.

Stick To What You Know Best

For some strange reason, the Rangers decided to try to tie up the series by playing an open skating game against the fastest team in the league. After all we heard for days about how good the slow, ugly defense of NY had slowed the Sabres down and forced so many mistakes, the Rangers abandoned that style to play an open free flowing game. In the end, it killed them because it finally allowed for Buffalo to get good high shots through to Lundqvist and eventually the most goals, non empty net, of any game in the series. Had the Rangers played that stingy defensive game that kept Buffalo to average less than 2 goals over 3 games, we might be writing about a game 7 that would have been played tomorrow.

In all, it was a great wake up call for Buffalo. The Rangers were formidable foes and gave us, especially me, a scare. They forced the Sabres to play desperate and to play passionate hockey and gave Buffalo a great challenge on how to adjust to a style of play that had typically given the Sabres problems. Sabres fans couldn't have asked for a better adjustment to happen at a better time. Now Buffalo is ready for Ottawa and should be ready for a tough series. As always, I predict a hard fought series but I do like our chances.