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Harrington Drops the Hammer

by Ryan

One of the great things about The Buffalo News' Sabres Edge blog is that it gives beat writers a chance to give their opinions. The majority of a beat writer's job is to report the story and nothing more, but oftentimes they know the team they cover better than anyone else. That's what I was glad to see Mike Harrington weighing in on the loss last night. Excuse me for quoting almost all of it, but he made a lot of good points:

I wanted to see some real anger from Ruff after last night's game. But he seemed as defeated as his team. He tried to say the Thrashers didn't have any real good chances in the last minute, which was true. There were no shots on goal until Ron Hainsey's point drive. But the Sabres never got the puck out of the zone for the entire final minute either. It looked like that 76-second shift in Philly last month. How many weak clearing passes will this team make? When is sombody going to demand the puck in the final seconds and get it out of the zone?

Here's a novel thought: When is this team going to take advantage of somebody's empty net?

Why do we keep seeing soft plays from the likes of Jason Pominville, Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman late in games? How about Craig Rivet or Paul Gaustad on the ice in the late going instead? Dominic Moore? Bad clearing attempt and then got run over in the corner. No help.

Who puts guys on the ice in the late going? Ruff. You can crab about Regier not doing much at the deadline (cue up the "they sure missed Kotalik in the shootout" cracks) but this one was on Ruff. What should never happen has happened twice in the same season against lousy teams.

Yes, the Thrashers are lousy. Don't tell me about their winning streak. They're 13th in the East, they were 48 hours removed from a game in Edmonton and their best player was home hurt. Ruff tried to say the Sabres played a strong game offensively. What was he watching for the first 34 minutes? I say they did nothing until Derek Roy woke them up.

Yes, the Sabres got a point. Yes, they lost ground to no one in the East Saturday. But Ruff certainly didn't distinguish himself at the end of this one. Or after it. He should be happy the owners and the GM -- and, frankly, many of the fans -- have his back. Because lots of coaches are sent packing for a lot less than what we're seeing.

Harrington is echoing a lot of the points we've made here throughout the season about Ruff's performance and why there should at least be some discussion about his job security. It's not a banging of war drums as much as a simple question: is Lindy making the right decisions, and is he getting through to his team anymore?

There are a lot of people who will get caught up in the post-lockout playoff runs, but the fact of the matter is that the Sabres are in danger of missing the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons. That's a lot of failure for a coaching staff that's practically infallible within city limits.

I'm not saying anything will change. In fact, we all know that Lindy will be behind the bench next season and beyond. As long as Darcy Regier is making front office decisions, Lindy Ruff will be the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. But for as often as Darcy gets flack for what happens with this team, Ruff seems immune to blame for any wrongdoing. I know many people think otherwise, but to me that's at the very least... curious.

Nothing will change, but to be honest it was just nice to see a person many respect say the things few people have.

A View from the Roost: Monumental Failure

by Ryan

According to the standings no real damage was done, but we all know otherwise. There are no more excuses, no more explanations or second chances.

This is a loss you don't recover from.



What's so unfortunate about the Sabres choking away a point is that beforehand there were plenty to positives to take away from this game. The play of Lalime, the secondary scoring, Roy stepping up, even Afinogenov playing well with Vanek; all reasons to like a strong showing on home ice.

But that's all gone now. That's right, there is nothing left to take from this game that is positive. Why? Because they blew a two goal lead at home with less than seven minutes left in a game they had to have against an awful team missing their best player. That's why, and there is nothing you can say to justify that. Nothing.

The shorthanded goal was completely unacceptable on every level. Spacek shooting into two Thrashers was just stupid hockey, he was completely turned around trying to defend it, and he took himself right out of the play. However, that's not as embarrassing as watching Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly coasting eighteen inches behind Marty Reasoner as he put in the rebound.

If you want to see how badly a team wants it, look at how they back check. On the most important power play of the game, a chance for the Sabres to put the game out of reach and get two points on a big night, the Sabres just didn't want it. That's the worst possible sign from a team that's supposed to be making a playoff push. If you can't find the strength to close out Atlanta, how are you beating Boston four times in April? How are you even getting there in the first place?

Last night was yet another sign that we won't have to worry about that. As I type the Sabres are two points out of a playoff spot, but it's never seemed further away than it does right now. Last night we didn't see a playoff team out there. Maybe we did in the second period, but they finished like a team looking for a tenth place finish and a mediocre draft spot. They still need nine wins in thirteen games, and they just choked away their chance for one against a softie.

If there is one positive to take away from this game, it happened three seconds into the third period. Tim Connolly takes the faceoff and gets crushed by Perrin, who gets the charging penalty and a misconduct. Now while no one felt the need to stand up for Timmy, who was trying to figure out what the hell just happened, he eventually got back up and stood up for himself.

For a player who is supposed to be fragile and needing protection, I thought it was great to see him getting angry. This is no longer a guy coming back from injuries, this is a guy whose head is clearly in the game, and that's great to see. He was the only guy who took exception to what Scott Gomez did to Ryan Miller, and he was the only person to take exception to what Perrin did last night.

I'm not sure if that's more sad or impressive, but it is interesting to note. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm much more worried about Jason Pominville's monstrosity of a contract with him playing like garbage all season than I am about Tim Connolly's deal. Pominville has been such a monumental letdown all year, it's hard to properly comprehend the fact that he's making $5.3 million next season.



Still, what bothers me most of all about last night's game is that I'm okay with it. The way it all went down was so predictable that there wasn't anything left when it was over. No anger, no disbelief, none of the usual feelings that go along with a third period collapse were there. What bothers me is that in a way I expected it to happen, and in some sense I'm content with it.

Chris is in New York City this weekend, and I was keeping him updated on the game. When I told him it got tied up, he said they'll lose in a shootout. It had nothing to do with Kotalik's absence or Lalime's play, he just knew that's what the Sabres would do. This is an unpredictable, schizophrenic team at times; but so far when it really matters we've seen more bad signs than good.

If you ask me, there just isn't enough time to reverse those signals.

On Jonny

by Ryan

It just wasn't enough.



After four games and seven overtimes, the Syracuse Orange finally ran out of gas on Saturday night. It was an improbable stretch of games that ultimately fell just short, but one that no 'Cuse fan will forget for some time. The unending UCONN game, watching them fight through West Virginia; it was an impressive showing that will help with the selection committee, but you can tell how badly they wanted that trophy.

I have always been a Syracuse fan, but the last few seasons have been even more interesting because of where I'm from. It's been mentioned before, but I share my hometown with Paul Harris and Jonny Flynn: Niagara Falls, New York. It's a place well known around the world and well ridiculed by many, even for the actions of a certain Syracuse star.

Still, I've never been prouder of my hometown than I was last night. As sports fans we talk about indescribable intangibles like heart all the time, but it's very har to pinpoint just what we're saying. What Syracuse tried to do at the Big East Tournament took just that: heart. Some people argue that a tournament like that doesn't matter, that the NCAA Tourney is where it really counts. That last part may be true, but I didn't see any signal that what we saw this week didn't matter to those kids.

For the amount of minutes guys like Flynn, Devendorf, and Harris played their performances immediately go from great to spectacular. Flynn in particular was absurdly good, and I got dozens of text messages throughout the week praising just about every aspect of his game. His ball skills, his determination, and the way he ran the court was so impressive that you forget just how young he is.

He's also by all accounts a great kid, and he deserves everything that will come his way. For a town that gets such a bad rap, it's nice to see someone like Flynn having so much success; "doing it right" so to speak. One of the most important things about Jonny is that he's not just a college basketball player but a top flight NBA prospect, and one that will adjust to the game and take the next logical step.

It's just nice to see local kids making good on the opportunities they've been given, and that's exactly what is going on a Syracuse. They may have lost the Big East Tourney, but they showed that this team can make some noise in the NCAA Tourney with an impressive performance that has turned a lot of heads. The great thing about that game is that, despite the loss, the best is yet to come for this team and those kids. Saturday night was not the end but rather the start of something very, very good.



On a night full of disappointments, Jonny Flynn wasn't one of them.

From Hogtown to Sin City

by Ryan

If you've been reading for a while now, you may remember that I went to the NHL Awards in Toronto last year as a seat filler. It was probably one of my favorite moments as a sports fan, and one of the most fun things to write about on the site.

Yesterday the league announced that for the next three years the NHL Awards will be held in Las Vegas. This is upsetting to say the least, as being a seatfiller for this event gets a little harder. In fact, the draw of the event was that you didn't have to go very far to do something really cool, and that's about gone now.



I guess it's one and done for playing dress up in Toronto.

I Can't Believe That Worked

by Ryan

NFL.com isn't the best of resources for news about the Bills, but last night they were all over the front page. The first story is about Jason Peters and his contract talks. The second is, of course, about Terrel Owens. However, the one that caught my eye was entitled the following:

Even coming off injury, LB Crowell still has many suitors

Now wait a minute, that injury wasn't that big a deal, right? Well not according to this story. It says Tampa Bay has been talking to the linebacker about a one year deal, and he has also met with the Lions this past week. The Eagles have also expressed interest, and a meeting with the Bills is scheduled for Monday if no contract is signed. But here's what got me:

Philadelphia has also expressed interest in Crowell, 27, who is coming off knee surgery that landed him on injured reserve for the entire 2008 season. Crowell has not met with the Eagles.

Crowell’s health is an issue but he is expected to be cleared for full football activity by the time teams start full-team, non-contact workouts after the draft in May or June.

Wait, are we suddenly forgetting why he was on IR all season? Let's see what Allen Wilson wrote for The Buffalo News back on September 5, when all this injury business went down:

Outside linebacker Angelo Crowell was placed on the injured reserve list Thursday evening, just three hours after head coach Dick Jauron announced that Crowell had elected to have arthroscopic surgery on a troublesome left knee.

Such a procedure usually requires only one to four weeks of recovery time.

So the Bills placed their strong side linebacker on IR with an injury that takes four weeks at most to recover from on the eve of his contract year. That means he would be healthy and ready to play for 75% of the season, right? There's nothing fishy about that, is there?

Well at the time it seemed the general consensus was that the Bills did it to spite Crowell for electing for surgery without notifying them. Putting him on IR would hurt his ability to leverage and get a contract when free agency hits. Now if I remember correctly we all thought this was shady and clearly hurt the Bills in the long run. It never helps to take away a football team's strong side linebacker, but when the Bills started so fast everyone seemed to forget that Crowell sat at home healthy while injuries started to pile up once again.

And now here we are in the middle of free agency and people are wondering how much Crowell's minor surgery from September will hurt his contract value. It's funny to see how quickly the league forgets the little details, isn't it?

Also, if Crowell does meet with the Bills on Monday, is it safe to say that putting him on IR... worked? I mean it seemed very unlikely at that time that Crowell would re-sign with the Bills, and popular opinion was that their relationship was shattered when this happened in September. It still seems very unlikely, but it would be very interesting if it worked out that way.

I guess we'll have to wait until Monday to find out.

What to Watch, Tonight and Monday

by Ryan

There are two hockey games tonight, but neither matter to the Sabres. Instead, I'll be watching college basketball and getting ready for next week. Here's what's on tap tonight:

Buffalo vs. Ball State, 7:30pm



The last time the two teams met, Ball State escaped with a 53-51 win. This time it's for a spot in the MAC Championship game. The Greatest Night... has a solid preview, so head over there.

Syracuse vs. West Virginia 9pm



I know that shot didn't count, but that's a nice photo. We'll get to see what the Orange have left in the tank against the couch burners, who have looked strong in the tourney so far. The winner takes on Louisville or Villanova, who square off at 7. I'm not sure if the UB game will be on TV, so it looks like I'm watching the Big East all night. Should be fun.

If you don't plan on stopping by this weekend, make sure you come back Monday to get ready for the NCAA Tournament. We have something special planned, and we're very excited about it. If you're going to Aces and Blades tonight, have fun.

Bounce

by Ryan

Since I just finished watching the game, let's just go with some bullet points.

- It was nice to see them come through when it mattered, but all they really did with the win was keep pace. There's still another nine wins out there they need to find, but it was a pretty strong showing on home ice. These are the games the Sabres need to win, and they did. Simple as that.

- Patrick Lalime continues to impress. He wasn't spectacular, but he put up another one goal game for a team that finally managed to give him some so-called run support.



- It was good to see the Sabres get a bounce for once as well. Vanek's goal was a result of a strong forecheck, but it was also a lot of right place at the right time. It was such an important goal, and it's not often the Sabres get a nice break at the right time.

- On that late power play for Florida, Patrick Lalime showed why everyone is supposed to yell "UP!" when the puck is in the air. He was the only one to see it, and it pretty much saved the game. Last week at the Coyotes game something similar happened, but Lalime never saw it. He was lucky to have it bounce in front of him, but the only guy that was trying to tell him about it was the guy behind me, who did indeed scream "UP!" See, he knows how important communication is...



- I liked Moore's game, and he played well with Afinogenov. What Moore does well isn't going to wow anyone, but he puts in a strong game and worked well on the penalty kill.



- I know the big deal was Zednik's return to Buffalo, but he played a really great game. What a season he's having after what happened last year. Who could blame him for coming back slowly after the injury, but he's come back as strong as ever and put Florida in a good position to make the playoffs.

- I was surprised to see that Jaro's numbers weren't all that different from Jay Bouwmeester. Seems like a lot of hype for a goofy-looking defenseman. Hrm... where have we heard that before?



- It was weird seeing Connolly on the ice with Pominville and Hecht. I know it was just while the teams were changing, but still. I'm not sure how I feel about him potentially centering the Line of Fail.

- It was good to see a win, but we still haven't seen a few players step up. Pominville, Hecht, and a few others are still just coasting along, and that can't happen anymore. Rob Ray said it last night, this team needs four lines going at all times, and that's something to look for on Saturday against Atlanta.

Oh Tampa

by Ryan



As a sports fan who knows a lot about second place finishes, let me say this:

You're doing it wrong.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go dryclean my Buffalo Bills AFC Champion neckties...

In Case You Didn't See It

I freaking love March Madness.

You can go to sleep now

Six overtimes later, Jonny Flynn is still clutch.

Missouri Game

by Ryan

If there is a team the Sabres have a chance to "catch" right now, it's Florida.

The Panthers are currently four points back, 5-4-1 in their last ten, and dealing with the loss of Nathan Horton and Bryan McCabe. If you believe in the "Deadline Bump", the only thing Florida did to improve was not pull a Brian Campbell. That may not sound much better than the Sabres' current situation, but they're the only team within striking distance that is "struggling" at the moment.

Therefore, tonight is important. Every game this time of year is, but the "four point game" category is clearly in play, and the Sabres are running out of games that aren't just that. They're also running out of chances to get on a roll, and we've heard again and again how important it is to go into the postseason on a winning streak.

Still, the Sabres have to get there; and the last few outings haven't shown us much of anything. If the Sabres have any business in the postseason, they have to start showing us that they can beat the teams that are going to be there. That means they can't afford to fall further behind a team they need to chase, and these "games in hand" need to be wins.

So that's what I'm looking for tonight: a team that shows me they're serious about making a run. There are no more reset buttons, no more excuses, and no moral victories. A two point game with the Sabres coming out on top. Show it to me.



Show me a playoff team wearing blue tonight.

T.O. on the Radio

By Chris

The Shredd and Ragan Show scored Buffalo's first one-on-one radio interview with Terrell Owens yesterday. You can listen to it here and read a brief transcript here.

The silence at the beginning is a little awkward and doesn't kick the interview off very well, but the rest of the way, T.O. says a lot of good things.

It almost sounds like he's ready to be a team player and carry the Bills to the playoffs. And that's something the team has been missing the last few years--a player who's going to keep his teammates accountable (I know, I know, it's like watching one of those old cartoons where you know the trains are going to collide, but you can't stop watching).

Sure he believes he does no wrong, but that's part of the T.O. package we're going to have to deal with for the next year. But if he's able to help the Bills to a few more wins (and doesn't drop as many balls as he did last season), then it's going to be a nice, long honeymoon period.

Quick Question

by Ryan

If you were to file a missing persons report for Jason Pominville, how many Buffalo Police Department officers would let you do it?



Well, the ones that watch hockey sure would. Jason has one goal in his last 11 games, and only two in his last 29. Yes, I checked that three times. Twenty-nine games. That's 35% of the season.

I guess it's okay because he's only making $1.375 million this season. What's his cap hit next year? 5.3 million? Holy f#$k.

Next question: Which contract do you worry about more? Tim Connolly's, or Jason Pominville's?

Sabres Win 3-2 Tonight

by Ryan

At least that's what Kevin Sylvester says. He wrote a blog post that gives the score for every game the rest of this year. He was already wrong about Tuesday nights' game against the Flyers, although he did say it would be an overtime loss. We'll cut him some slack for making predictions, so that's a mulligan.

He says the Sabres will need 94 points to get the 8th seed, which is a bit higher than Mirtle's numbers but the threshold continues to rise as the season moves on. We both say ten wins will do it, so let's see what Sylvester says the Sabres do over the next five games:

3/12 vs. Florida: 3-2 win. Defeat the Panthers who will struggle for two weeks without Nathan Horton [finger].

3/14 vs. Atlanta: 4-1 win. Back-to-back home victories will get everyone feeling good.

3/17 at Ottawa: 4-3 OT win. St. Patrick Lalime gets most satisfying victory of his season.

3/20 vs. Philly: 3-2 loss. A surprisingly defensive Flyers team halts a three-game win streak.

3/21 at NYR: 2-0 win. Ryan Miller returns exactly one month after the Scott Gomez hit that caused the ankle injury. Could I have written this any other way?

So yeah, there's that. The Sabres go 4-1 over their next five, and Ryan Miller comes back to play on March 21. I can't decide if he's being coy because of the time and opponent, but I suppose that's irrelevant. Either way, it's an interesting look at what he thinks will happen.

My take? Well... that's one way it could happen. He does admit that the predictions don't take into account what other teams are doing, so I suppose there are some possible holes. Still, my big thing is that while every other team in the playoff race can afford to suddenly play mediocre hockey, the Sabres no longer can. Even the Rangers only need to play one game over .500 to make the top eight.

Buffalo doesn't have that option, and that's certainly an issue for this team in its current state.

The Off-White Glow

by Ryan

With the Bills sudden acquisition of Terrell Owens, Buffalo has been on the mind of every sports fan, if only for a moment. Of course, it's been a very long time since that has been the case. Many fans hope that this sudden focus of attention can be an opportunity to change the national opinion of the city and the area. Most residents are tired of the same old same old that is discussed by outsiders, and it is important we utilize this attention to sculpt how others see our hometown.

Yeah, like that's going to happen. With the T.O. signing there have been two major discussion points in the national media. They are as follow:

1) Terrel Owens is a bad fit for a small town like Buffalo.

2) Will the Bills make the playoffs with Owens?

That's been about it, with the exception of this beauty, which wonders if the offseason moves will push the Bills to a Super Bowl appearance. Somehow I'm thinking no. Either way, there's not much variety with the columns we've seen thus far.

We've already talked about the magic that is Hat Guy, and some have lamented all the stupid, misguided columns we're going to see this season because of Owens. Now while the petty blogger in me is excited for all the columns Rich will get to tear apart for us, the fan in me does get upset about all the stupidity that some will fall for.

But that's the problem with national columnists: they don't understand us. They can call Buffalo "hard working" and "blue collar" all they want, but they don't understand anything outside of those cliches because they've never been here and don't know what it's really like. That's why people around here get so upset when we make "Most Depressing Cities" lists and said lists make national news. Miami may be on a list like that, too; but it's not the city people remember for something like that.

Chris and I were talking about this yesterday and he made a great point. He said that very few national guys get us because they aren't fans like us. He cited what Will Leitch had to say about the Owens deal on Deadspin. Here's what Will had to say:

Because of The Lady, I make a yearly trip to a Buffalo Bills game, and I have to say: I'm looking for it more now than I could have anticipated. Think about it: Is there any team in organized football that Terrell Owens could have signed with that you would have preferred more than Buffalo? I hate Terrell Owens, and I was excited to see him go here. Buffalo desperately, profoundly needs something to get excited about, and Terrell Owens is just the prescription. If he's great, Buffalo has an identity again, something to rally around, someone for everyone to talk about and get angry at. If he's terrible, Buffalo will be unified, and overpowering, in its malevolence. Buffalo hasn't been relevant enough to cheer against lately, to have gravitas, to put some meat on its bones. Terrell Owens provides them that. I still hope he somehow hurts himself. But if he were going to redeem himself anywhere, it would have to be here. Admit it: If Terrell Owens can bring a Super Bowl title to Buffalo — which of course he isn't going to do, but still ... if — you'd re-evaluate him a little bit, wouldn't you? I would.

You may not agree with all of what he says, but I think that's as close to what any of us in the Buffalo Blogosphere have had to say about the signing. Chris said that's because Leitch is a fan, too; and I tend to agree with that. He may not always say great things about Buffalo, but he has at least visited the place enough to gauge how people would react to Owens without doing a phone survey first.



The point is, over the next year there are going to be a lot of people writing about Buffalo that have no idea what they're talking about. We will know better and will get upset at times, but there's not much we can really do about it. The national spotlight has its advantages, but a major disadvantage is that a lot of people think they know a lot of things they don't. Personally, I welcome the change and hope people get a chance to learn more about a place that rarely sees the big stage.

It will be fun to see who gets it right over the next year or so. We'll be here to clean up the ones that miss.

Tonight's Watchlist

By Chris


After seeing Buffalo choke away two points to the Flyers last night, Sabres fans might be surprised to hear that the race to the Top Eight in the Eastern Conference is still pretty wide open. Carolina, currently in eighth place, travels to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks tonight. Faceoff is at 8:30 p.m.

Let's hope Pat Kane can work a miracle for his hometown team.

Other games of interest include Tampa at Ottawa, which is on right now (and really isn't that interesting), and Vancouver at Anaheim at 10 p.m., with Vancouver being one of the hottest teams in the league right now and Anaheim fighting for their postseason lives (the Ducks are three points out of 7th with a game in hand on the Oilers; the Canucks are sitting pretty comfortably in 5th).

And if none of that floats your boat, I've got two seasons worth of SportsNight on tap.

About That Goal...

by Ryan



I know this goal was reviewed and was completely inconsequential to the final score, but I have to ask. Remember this goal Pominville scored against the Leafs on February 17th? The one that went off his chest? Somehow they called it back, saying he directed it in, right?



How is that not the same thing? I agree that the Hartnell goal should stand, but I just don't see much difference between the two goals. I know fighting is the big issue at the GM Meetings, but how about a little consistency in video reviews?

Make Yourself

by Ryan

Maxim Afinogenov has scored three goals this season. This is one of them.



The last time Afinogenov scored was December 26th, and it looked a little something like this:



I think the similarities between the two are unmistakable. In fact, here's what I wrote about that game way back when:

I think it's pretty clear the differences between the two teams. The Washington Capitals pinned their hopes on a superstar making a spectacular play, while the Sabres had theirs riding on an utter disappointment getting really, really lucky. Is that really where the Sabres are right now? I know injuries have taken a toll and the backup was in last night, but can Maxim Afinogenov really be the hero of this team?

If you substituted "Washington Capitals" for "Philadelphia Flyers", would that paragraph be out of place here today? The last time the Sabres left Philly the score didn't match the game. This time it does. Buffalo was outclassed in every aspect of a game they absolutely needed. The Flyers may be the better team, but Buffalo had to be better and wasn't.

What makes it so frustrating is that the game was right there. Tied up after 40 minutes, the Sabres needed a good third period to steal two points and stay with everyone else in the playoff race. How many times has this team been close with 20 minutes left, only to see the third period explode? I'm not sure the exact number, but the phrase "too many" comes to mind.



It took 27 seconds for the third period to explode. That's almost record time for a team that has made a habit out of third period disasters. Sure, the effort was there for two periods, but that third period was embarrassing. The defense fell apart, the forwards didn't get enough chances, and Lalime could always be better. Still, when you allow a goal on the first shift of a period you absolutely have to win you can't expect to steal two points.

We're starting to get to the point where you can say this team just doesn't have it. It's no longer pessimism, but the feeling you get watching a team get close and not have enough to get over the hump. If they can't win a period, what should make me think they go 10-5 down the stretch against a schedule of mostly playoff teams? The trade deadline boost is gone, and there are too many teams playing above .500 hockey while the Sabres hover around mediocre.

There are still 15 games left, and I'm sure somewhere down the line Buffalo will get it together and make a run. Still, the feeling we all had last night is usually a strong indicator of the truth. It will take an improbable run to get where they want to be, and they have been pretty ordinary all season. They are also not getting any help from the teams around them, but when you can't win games on your own how much help can you really ask for?



This team may have some fight left in it, but it's going to take a lot for it to matter.

Mahna Mahna

by Ryan

Instead of wasting your time with the postgame interviews, we summed up what the Sabres had to say last night with this handy video.



You're welcome.

Worst-Case Scenario

Bernie Madoff is going to plead guilty for fraud.
Perhaps the Sabres should do the same.
We'll have more on the inexcusable 5-2 loss to the Flyers later. For now, we won't even mention the Montreal/Edmonton or Pittsburgh/Florida games.

The Maine Blueline Blues

by Ryan

Last week prior to the trade deadline I asked what Darcy would need to do with Portland. Now that we know just what has happened at the deadline, it would make sense to assess how the Sabres and Pirates General Manager did. Here's what I said last week:

However, I'm just not sure how much Darcy Regier is willing to do given the assets this team has. Is it really worth moving Afinogenov for a few AHL-ready defenseman, or should more long-term goals be in mind tomorrow? When it comes down to it, is the demand for action with the Sabres or Pirates the larger concern at the deadline? Can Darcy manage to buy, sell, and restock the farm team at the same time?

I think we're more than likely to see him try doing all three, and that may include something similar to the Zubrus deal we saw two years ago. Sabres brass won't be looking for guys to make a major push, but they will be looking for help up in Maine for sure. It won't be the priority, but it has to be on the radar, right?

So, how did Darcy do? Well, I hadn't really thought about it until yesterday when I was checking Maine Hockey Journal. It appears that the Pirates problems on the blue line are getting worse, with Nathan Gerbe a potential emergency defenseman. Here's what Chris Roy had to say:

The Sabres made several moves on trade deadline day, but they failed miserably in addressing the Pirates need for a defenseman, by either sending a player down or acquiring a player by means of an AHL trade. The result of those inactions is the Pirates using assistant coach Eric Weinrich and Nathan Gerbe on the blueline. Weinrich is not attempting a comeback, but to take one of your top offensive players and use him on the blueline as a need is baffling.

While the Sabres sit five players, two who could be better served by playing in Portland, the Pirates are scrambling to have a roster that resembles an AHL team by Saturday.

There was quite a lively debate about the role of an AHL team in the comments, but I'm not going to get into that. In fact, I wasn't going to address this at all until I saw this post claiming the Pirates are back down to five defenseman.

So was Darcy responsible to the Pirates at the trade deadline? Many people certainly think so, and while a Sabres fan may not feel the farm team needs to be much more than that, he does serve as their GM as well. So why didn't Darcy pull the trigger on Wednesday? Was he ignoring the Pirates?

As I wrote last week, Darcy would try to serve the Pirates as best he could, but there were other things on the agenda. Connolly's contract, the goaltending situation, and what to do with the UFAs on the roster just to name a few. It would be absurd to think Darcy isn't aware of the problems in Portland, but where they rank on the totem pole is up to him.

Now we're no Darcy apologists, but I think you have to cut him some slack here. Regier wasn't exactly standing around on Deadline Day. In fact, it was one of his most active as a Sabres GM. Starting with the Connolly extension, Buffalo was a big part of the trading landscape throughout the afternoon. The Tellqvist trade, the Moore deal, and the late announcement of Kotalik's departure put us right up against the deadline, and it's hard to believe there was much more Regier could have done with the day.

It's a fair criticism to say that Darcy didn't pick up a defenseman for Portland, but you can't ask him to rush a trade just to do something. A hurried trade to move a minor league player could cost the franchise more than the short-term return that player brings, and we know that Regier is anything if not careful.

Besides, it's not exactly fair to say Darcy completely ignored the farm team. The Tellqvist trade was a move solely to give Jhonas Enroth back to the Pirates, who were also experiencing some serious injury issues between the pipes. Tellqvist will get some starts for the Sabres before the season ends, but the Sabres traded away a 4th round pick for a few spot starts from a UFA and to give Portland their goaltender back. Darcy may have ignored the blue line, but that shouldn't be forgotten, either.

There is reason to be upset about the situation on defense if you're a Pirates fan. However, Sabres fans do know what it's like to have one good defenseman. It wasn't very long ago that Jay McKee put the final nail in the coffin in Carolina, and the image of a motionless puck between Rory Fitzpatrick's skates still haunts us to this day. It is unfortunate that a player like Butler sits in the press box every other game, but seeing the front office err on the side of caution in this case is tough to criticize from this view.

It may be tough to defend, but it's not hard to understand.

Joe Beninati: Web Log Wordsmith

by Ryan

In case you weren't aware, tonight's Sabres game is on Versus. This is perfect, as any Flyers game on Versus is a good time, with their studios located in Philadelphia and all that poetic justice and whatnot. Still, Sabres fans will have to offset the analysis for HD broadcast. That seems reasonable when you really think about it.

Still, I thought this would be as good a time as any to talk about our favorite Versus announcer: Joe Beninati. I was watching the Caps/Penguins game on Sunday when something came across the screen: It said, "Read Joe's Blog!" Surely not the Joe who pontificates about hockey weekly. It must be some other Joe.

Oh no, it's that Joe.



Actually, after giving it a look there isn't much to make fun of. He doesn't use his command of the English language as much, but he does sound very knowledgeable and gives some good opinions on the games he covers. It's clear that Joe knows his hockey, and he really does seem to love covering guys like Ovechkin and Semin for the Caps. Then again, who wouldn't?

That said, I totally want Rick Jeanneret to start a blog. Think of the possibilities. His diatribe against composite sticks would be epic.

Hat Guy on T.O.

by Ryan

It's times like this when you discover that we have fantastic readers. Tonight we found in our inbox not only the Trent Edwards Insider article I asked about earlier, but this gem about T.O. from Mike Celizic. Oh yes, FJM fans, it's Hat Guy!

Owens in Buffalo is a recipe for disaster
T.O.'s too old to put Bills into playoffs, and he's incapable of good behavior

The popular analogy for what Buffalo did when it signed Terrell Owens for the 2009 season is to say that the Bills put their money down and rolled the dice. But that’s giving them too much credit.

Did they not pay? Playing with the house's money? So many routes to go with this one...

The craps analogy doesn’t work because in dice, you have an actual chance of winning. What the Bills did is more like doubling down on 19 in blackjack when the dealer’s showing 20. Unless you’re the luckiest cuss alive, you’re losing that bet, and everybody knows it.

So far "everybody" consists of Mike Celizic and his hat, but close enough.

Somewhere in the Buffalo front office, people are saying, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Or "Holy crap we signed T.O.", but whatever.

This is what people say when they buy lottery tickets, and it’s true enough — if all you’re risking is a dollar that you’d just spend somewhere else. But when you or I buy a lottery ticket, we’re not planning our future on the prospect of winning. The Bills are.

So wait, you buy the sports car after the numbers are drawn? I'm lost already, hat guy.

The Bills paid $6.5 million for that chance.

Wait, are they paying for a lottery ticket? Blackjack? Craps? What metaphorical game of chance are the Bills paying for in T.O.? Then again, we're just lucky he hasn't compared Owens to a bag of M&Ms yet.

This isn’t a 50-50 proposition. It’s not 40-60 or 30-70. It’s hard to say what the actual odds are-

But definitely NOT 50-50, 40-60, or 30-70. That much is CLEAR.

-since Owens is batting a perfectly imperfect oh-for-3 with teams so far. No matter how well he’s done on the field, he’s always left a toxic slick behind him in the locker room.

He's like an evil, chemistry-destroying snail.

No team has been better off when he left than it was when he got there.

Not even the dodgeball team he played for in elementary school. He called a teammate icky and demanded a trade to a team that didn't have cooties.

There’s a track record here that the Bills are ignoring, and it’s going to come back to haunt them. They may as well lick their fingers and stick them in an electric socket. The effect is going to be the same.

Somehow I'd rather electrocute myself than bang my head against the same 7-9 wall year after year.

The Bills aren't renting T.O. in his prime. It’s a 35-year-old wide out whose great skills are slowly declining. It’s a guy who is incapable of being a team player. If Jerry Jones gave up on him, who in Buffalo can change him?

I can't argue with much of that, but you still haven't told me why the Bills shouldn't have signed him. Are we getting there yet? Oh okay, good.


The biggest reason the Bills should not have signed him is because he’s willing to take the job.

...What?

Think about it.

I... I'm trying.

If Owens is willing to work for Buffalo, it’s only because he’s desperate for work.

So he's ready, willing, and able to work; but you want him unemployed? What are you, Ford?

T.O. knows he’s running out of options.

We all know this, yes.

When he had grown tired of San Francisco, he engineered his trade to Philly, refusing to participate in a trade to the Ravens, where he thought his great talents would not be fully utilized. After Philly, he went to another top team, the Cowboys. But after being thrown under the buckboard by Jerry Jones, Owens looked around and saw the top teams cowering behind lead shields lest he contaminate them with his presence.

Good, I was hoping there would be a history lesson somewhere in this. After this can we talk about the Pacific Theater of World War II? I've always been fuzzy with my Guadalcanal.

With no other way to make several million dollars, Owens made it sound as if Buffalo is his kind of town.

Oh no, I know what's coming.

We know that’s a blatant lie. T.O. is the ultimate glamour hound, and Buffalo’s glamour quotient is in negative numbers.

Really? Are we going to do the "all that's wrong with Buffalo list?" You're better than this, Hat Guy.

“Desperate Housewives” stars don’t sneak into the Bills’ locker room to sneak a snuggle with a player. Jessica Simpson doesn’t hang with the quarterback. Phil Knight doesn’t have any of the Bills on speed dial.

Buffalo’s idea of gourmet fare is the hot wings at the Anchor Bar.

It's true, every wedding reception I've ever been to was held at a bar. At the last one the cake was made out of potato skins and every course was deep fried. In other news, I weigh 637 lbs.

This is no criticism of either the meal or the venue — the Anchor invented hot wings, and if you ever find yourself within 100 miles of Buffalo, my advice is to take the detour and get yourself an infusion of the best wings you’ll ever have.

Hat Guy freaking loves those wings.

It’s just that I don’t see Owens hanging out at the Anchor eating wings. And while there are things to do in Buffalo, it’s not where the beautiful people go for excitement.

Only ugly people eat chicken wings. It's science, people.

Owens embracing employment in Buffalo is like Donald Trump welcoming the chance to build a trailer park. It’s not something he’s doing because that’s the only place he wants to be, but because it’s the only place that will pay him to do his thing.

Again, have we figured out what's wrong with that? Oh shit there's another page, maybe he gets around to it eventually. Or maybe he can just talk about Loganberry and Mighty Taco's philosophical impact on the 3-4 defense. Or something.

So we know it’s only about the money this time around. If he could have signed with a team worthy of his own opinion of himself, he would have. But he couldn’t and didn’t.

Right. From what I could tell everyone understood and was okay with this. What is so bad about that?

This is a recipe for disaster.

Really? Why do you say that?

It’s not even about pretending to want to win a championship. Even if T.O. is on his best behavior and plays better than he has in years, the Bills still aren’t going to win the AFC East. They probably won’t make the playoffs. They’re just not good enough.

Is that the disaster? Because that sounds pretty ordinary to me.

We know what he wants — a chance to somehow get through a season without a major public relations disaster and then coax another contract out of either the Bills or another team that’s lost its senses.

So we've established that the Bills have lost their senses and are playing some sort of $6.5 million dollar blackjack/craps/lottery ticket game that will put them on the brink of disaster. I have no fucking clue what Celizic is talking about, but I'm pretty sure he does not want that Buffalo Creek Casino built.

But first he’s got to get through a year in Buffalo without incident, and we know that’s not going to happen. It’s not because Owens doesn’t want to be a good soldier. It’s because he’s incapable of it. The programming isn’t there.

ROBO T.O. DOES NOT FEEL. WHAT. IS. TEAM? DOES NOT COMPUTE.

It’s like asking a wolf to swear off lamb chops or second-grader not to laugh at potty jokes.

For the record, I was a pretty damn mature second-grader. Penis.

Vegas should set an over-under on how many games Owens will last before he starts spewing acid.

Again with the gambling. C'mon, Hat Guy!

I’d put it at eight games — half the season.

And he'd bet $6.5 million on it, too.

By then, the Bills should be struggling and he should be explaining to the media it’s because Trent Edwards is a lousy quarterback who doesn’t have the brains to throw every ball to Owens.

Yeah, that sounds about right. I can see it now: "Trent Edwards relies on his tight end too much." Not a hint of truth in that.

When he finally reverts to form, he won’t find apologists in Buffalo as he did in Dallas and even in Philly.

Because no one in Buffalo likes to criticize the front office or coaching staff. Anything Owens has to say will fall on deaf ears for sure.

Bills fans are people who work hard for their money, people who take the worst weather nature can throw at a city without complaint, people who expect their sports stars to be as down-to-earth as they are.

SALT OF GODDAMN THE EARTH!!!

T.O. fails on every count, which is why this experiment is doomed before it begins.

If I don't see my wide receiver at Wegmans, I don't want him on my team. Simple as that.

He’s in it for money and himself.

Yeah, what a jerk with his contract and whatnot.

The Bills say they’re in it to win, not realizing that they’ve lost already.

See that? The season hasn't started and the Bills have already lost the biggest prize: their souls. They've lost their souls by signing a wide receiver who clearly doesn't like chicken wings. That heartless, beautiful bastard. He won't fit in here, and you heard it from Hat Guy first.

What to Watch and Such

by Ryan

- James Mirtle is back from a trip to Nashville and has a very cool story about the visit. We always hear the cliches when it comes to southern hockey markets, so it's interesting to get a first person account of the Preds and their fans.

- Likely #1 overall pick John Tavares recently broke the OHL's scoring record. It's interesting, the way the Isles have been playing these days he might be Tampa's pick to lose.

- I wanted to read this but I am not an "insider". If anyone is and wants to give us a summary, let me know.

- Oh, and this is just freaking hilarious. No wonder I stopped reading Page 2 three years ago...

- Last night we got an email about a liveblog a friend was putting on for the NU game. I didn't catch the email until it was too late, but word is that he will have another one for the MAAC Championship game tonight. I'd encourage you to join them starting at 9pm. Should be a fun night for local hoops.

- I really don't have much to add about the passing of Colleen Howe, but this picture is pretty cool:



- Tonight on the "games that matter" agenda is Hurricanes/Rangers. The best we can do is pray that it doesn't end up a three point game. No, I have no idea who to root for. Your guess is as good as mine.

-And in other breaking news-style ramblings, Guy Carbonneau is out as coach of the Montreal Canadiens. General Manager Bob Gainey will take over behind the bench. The Canadiens sit in 5th place in the East and are 5-2 in their last seven; they picked up a big win in Dallas last night. The Habs host Edmonton tomorrow night as the Centennial keeps getting more and more interesting. -Chris

Trent Asked For It

by Ryan

If there was any worry about what Trent Edwards thinks of bringing in Owens, this should take care of that. From Peter King:

"How about T.O.?''

Bills chief operating office Russ Brandon woke up sometime after midnight Friday morning and noticed there was a text message on his cell phone. So he reached over and looked. It was from Trent Edwards, the quarterback of the Bills. "How about T.O.?'' That's all it said.

Brandon shot back with this: "?''

"T.O. was released. Go get him,'' Edwards texted back.

Brandon still seemed surprised when I spoke to him late Sunday. "I went back to sleep,'' he said, "but I was stunned by it. The next morning, [coach] Dick Jauron and I talked, and he said, 'I think it's something we certainly should take a look at.' I put a call into [owner] Ralph Wilson, and he said, 'Absolutely look into it.'''

No matter what happens this season you have to keep in mind that Trent asked for it.

I think by now the initial shock of the signing has worn off, so we should probably talk about it a little. The majority of stories I've seen outside of the area have claimed this will be trouble and that the Bills are taking a huge risk. Owens will rip apart the small Buffalo market, ruin Trent Edwards, and destroy the chemistry in the locker room. Now while that may be true, I think they are missing the point.

Here's my question: how much worse can it get? After three straight 7-9 seasons and a decade-long playoff drought, why not do something drastic and see what happens? When the news came down on Saturday, I wasn't shocked that we picked up Owens but rather shocked the Bills did something that high profile. After Coles ran away screaming the next best thing looked like Joey Galloway. Owens? Really?

This could turn out to be a terrible decision but frankly, I don't care. Doing something, anything is better than standing pat. Think about it: would you rather have him playing here or beating the coverage for the Jets? The potential is now endless with an Evans/Owens 1a/1b formation. For an offense that was very, very easy to scheme against last season this must be a welcome change.

Of course, there could be trouble. We know the staff we have can be frustrating, and every Bills fan is waiting to see what happens that first time Trent checks down to Derek Fine while T.O. is running free down the sidelines. Still, when he makes some noise about the coaches or the players, it's not going to be hard to agree with him. After what we saw from the coaching staff last season, maybe someone saying it in the locker room will make for more effective criticism.

There is high risk involved with the move, but I'm just glad they finally took a risk. I would rather sign up for the chance to make something happen than stand around and wait for another 7-9 season. If it works and Owens has a 1,000 yard, 10 TD year then the Bills got their money's worth. If it's a disaster and they go 5-11, well, it's a better draft pick.

Either way, it's going to be fun to watch.

A Simple Plea

by Ryan



Hi. I'm Paul Gaustad of the Buffalo Sabres with an important message about conservation.



Looks nice, doesn't it? It's always an exciting time following the trade deadline, and new players are always quick to gain fans. And what better way to show your fandom than by making the ultimate purchase to support your favorite player: buying a jersey.

But hold on there, let's not lose our heads. There are certain... circumstances that are important to remember. See Dom's a great guy, but there's really no telling how long he's going to be on this team with his contract status. That's not something we talk about in the locker room, but as a fan you need to be thinking about this. You want to get some mileage out of that jersey, right?

Let's forget about how much it costs and instead focus on the environment. When a player leaves a team, the jerseys left behind suddenly lose purpose. So what happens to these priceless artifacts? Well, most are never seen again, eventually used for pickup hockey and thrown out when the smell becomes unbearable. That's a lot of waste put into our garbage dumps, especially if you're a Peter Forsberg fan.



If that jersey isn't thrown out, however, the results are even more catastrophic. When a fan continues to wear a blatantly outdated jersey, a process begins that is called Jersey Toxification. Jersey Toxification is a process where the presence of an outdated jersey fouls the mood of the section that person sits in at sporting events. This air of shame slowly spreads throughout the venue, and soon the entire building is cast in a shadow of Briere and Drury jerseys.

It's not hard to imagine that what happens on the ice is affected by this mood, and the number of scientists that believe in Jersey Toxification is staggering. The evidence has grown to a point beyond denying, and the sooner we address the JT issue the better. Each season JT affects millions of fans, and is by far the leading cause of shameless ridicule. I'm looking at you, Vladimir Tsyplakov fans.

So please, be aware when you are purchasing your jerseys. Mikael Tellqvist may now be your favorite player, and I admit that he has fantastic hair. Still, check his contract status before you threaten the environment with your frivolous purchase. With your help, we can prevent further harm to our environment, and turn the tide against the threat of Jersey Toxification.



Do I even have to say it?

I Don't Get It

by Ryan

Everyone admits that something happens when the Sabres play the Ottawa Senators. The record speaks for itself: over the last four years Ottawa has gone 19-6-4 against the Sabres. Since the Senators have fallen from perennial playoff team to one-dimensional bottom dweller this record is even more shocking. We've called it the "ghosts" or "demons" associated with Ottawa, but there is something tangible to this inability to get past them.

The thing is, no one on the team seems to know what the problem is, either. I suppose that's a good thing, as inaction despite awareness of a solution would be an even bigger problem when you really think about it. Players are asked and give the usual answers, but nothing concrete has been established that explains what happens when the two square off.

The general consensus is that Ottawa "gets up" for games against the Sabres because of the rivalry between the two teams. If that is the case, it would seem to me that the problem once again comes back to the Sabres. Shouldn't both teams "get up" for this game and, if so, the superior talent come through in the end? That isn't asking too much of a good hockey team, right?

What I do know is that Ottawa isn't blowing Buffalo away by playing great hockey. They may play better against Buffalo, but it isn't a spectacular performance getting it done. While it's natural as a fan to find fault with your own team instead of giving the other team credit, there wasn't much Ottawa did that was all that impressive on Saturday, and I was certainly looking.

The defense was very suspect, with guys standing around and letting Ottawa's one good line beat them. No wait, Foligno scoring twice as well. Oh and Chris Kelly, too. Wow. The fact of the matter is that the Ruutu line shouldn't be scoring, yet this is the third game in a row where they get at least one goal. The Sabres are letting mediocre players on bad teams beat them.

Buffalo was awful at even strength, and if not for a good power play and shaky goaltending from Brian Elliot they would be looking at another weak offensive performance against an inferior team. In fact, the way Elliot was playing three goals doesn't sound all that impressive. The rebounds were big, the goals were soft, and the chances just weren't cashed in.

It wasn't all that bad, but the mistakes did cost them. Patrick Lalime was less than impressive, giving way to the discussion of whether or not Tellqvist should have been given his first start as a Sabre. Looking at the schedule I don't think you can start him for the next two games, and that's a lot of consecutive starts for a guy who can't be acclimated with the workload just yet.

I suppose you could give them credit for clawing back into the game multiple times, but it was their poor play that put them behind to begin with; and it certainly was their fault that Ottawa exploded in the third. Say what you want about Buffalo pressing and giving up those chances late, but with ten minutes left in the third it shouldn't be impossible to score a goal without giving up two more.

I'm tired of the excuses given for this team's failure to convert these chances. Their play is erratic, the results constantly fluctuating, and the expectations are always changing because of it. The fact of the matter is that the Sabres can't play .500 hockey and make the playoffs. There was a time when that was possible, but they've been playing below that mark for too long while other teams improve.

If you watched hockey yesterday you know that the Sabres aren't getting any help these days. The Penguins just went 5-0 on a road trip, and Carolina dropping at least six on whoever they play recently. With the amount of four point games on the schedule Buffalo is officially out of games they can blow. They will lose more games, but they have give a solid effort and lose because a team still outplays them. It's not over, but it's going to be tight for sure. Too many teams are still in it to glide to the finish and be okay.

The Sabres don't play until tomorrow, so until then take a look at the schedule and find ten wins. Don't worry, I'll be looking too.

Hitler's Not Happy

An Odd Couple

Who else can't wait for the start of training camp?

Manny Fernandez Hates Us

by Ryan

Did anyone watch the Rangers/Bruins game today? Tim Thomas had the day off, and the Bruins backup proceeded to personally punch Sabres fans in the face. Check it out.

Those are three really, really weak goals. Embarrassing. The only goal that had anything on it was the first one, and even that was from long range. The Bruins played a good game, but it's hard to come back from softies like that, especially the fourth one that late.

It's a frustrating game to watch for Sabres fans, but you have to keep in mind that the Sabres did it to themselves by not coming through last night. There are two more "games that matter" today, with the Pens taking on the Caps as I type, and Montreal playing Dallas later tonight. After a mysterious absence, hockey is back, if you catch my drift.

Flattened

by Ryan



Spacek may have come back, but the Sabres sure didn't. We will have plenty to talk about tomorrow, but for now it may be best to sleep off a confusing, shocking day in Buffalo sports.

Introducing Marshawn's New Roommate: T.O.

One year. $6.5 million. Oh yes. It happened.

Rumors Become Reality

by Ryan

Repeat after me: holy shit.



Sometime in the near future I will have something to say about this. At the moment, I'm just shocked that this actually happened.

Much, much more to come.

Graveyard Game

by Ryan

As big a win as it was last night, tonight is even more important. The Sabres just can't seem to get past Ottawa this season, and if there was ever a time to shake some old demons it would be in the middle of a playoff push. A win tonight puts Buffalo back in the top eight and would start putting the pressure back on the other teams in the East. The Sabres are currently two points out of 5th, and with 17 games to play that's plenty of time left to make some moves.

I know I've said before that the goal is to stay afloat while Miller heals, but the goaltending performance we've seen from Patrick Lalime gives me a bit more confidence in what this team can do. Clearly they feel the same, and when a team has that much swagger with the backup playing there's no telling just how high they can climb if/when Miller comes back.

Still, there is Ottawa. It's hard to say what makes the Sens such a tough win, but you have to think that sooner or later this Sabres team can shake it and take care of a weak division rival. Last night I had a discussion about mentally weak teams, and I wouldn't necessarily put the Sabres into the category of weak in that regard. There clearly is something there with Ottawa, however, and it's alarming to watch a team try distinguishing themselves from the non-playoff crowd and still lose to a team like this.

According to Sabres Edge, Lalime is in and Max may sit. I'm going to be honest: I expect a win tonight. It has to be there, and this team has to be done with dropping these games to silly little teams with a bit of history.

Exorcise the demons while you can and get out alive with two points. Otherwise, this team may sit in a position that's just as good as 12th come season's end.

Pipedreams Becoming Rumors

By Chris

The Bills may actually be interested in Terrell Owens. Shocked? Yeah, well so is probably every other Bills fan out there.

From ProFootballTalk.com:

The Buffalo Bills, not yet a member of the Anti-T.O. List, supposedly are interested in receiver Terrell Owens.

Per Capaccio, coach Dick Jauron initiated the process, lobbying the front office (which is now essentially run by non-football guy Russ Brandon) to consider Owens.

It’s unknown whether the Bills have a realistic chance of signing Owens. Earlier this week, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN (who hosted the Terrell Owens Christmas Special) said that T.O. wants to play for a team with a quarterback who can get him the ball (there’s a shock).

Smith specifically mentioned the Giants, Colts, and Patriots as preferred destinations.

In Buffalo, the quarterback is the unaccomplished Trent Edwards, whom Owens probably doesn’t regard as being worthy of T.O.’s talents.

The fact that Buffalo is interested is a bit surprising. But, as a practical matter, any of the teams that reportedly were interested in receiver Laveranues Coles would potentially be interested in Owens, and the Bills reportedly were one of those teams.

If the rumor's true, credit Buffalo for at least showing interest in addressing a critical need (a wide receiver capable of taking pressure off of Lee Evans).

We're all aware of the baggage that comes with having T.O. on your team. And if it's Dick Jauron that wants to bring him in, then he's more than prepared to deal with the drama.

Signing Owens would bring a buzz back to One Bills Drive, and with the fan base's patience with the franchise reaching critical mass, a T.O. spark may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Get your popcorn ready.

UPDATE: FoxSports.com is reporting Owens is visiting One Bills Drive, as well as that the Bills are likely to offer a one year contract. If we get a text from Marv about this, it will make my day.

More and Moore

by Ryan

Just a few other things about the game last night:

- I really feel like the "if he stays healthy" angle is going to get beaten into the ground very quickly, so I won't be saying that anymore. I think you have to assume that Connolly's injury problems are behind him, and that what we saw last night is the Tim Connolly we signed up for until 2011. It seems like a silly optimistic point of view, but I just know I'm going to get sick of thinking about injuries. Hockey players get hurt, and it's almost unfair to demean what he's doing on the ice right now with a "when is he going to get hurt" cloud.

I could explain it further with a long list of reasons and circumstances, but instead I'll do this. Right now, I look at Tim Connolly and I see this number: 1. That's his point-per-game average this season, and right now that's good enough for me.

- Watching from that close made me really pat attention to the players I like watching. In other words, the evolution of Paul Gaustad as a complete player was quite evident last night. His strengths in the faceoff circle, his skating and effort on the forecheck, and even his passing have all gotten better as he plays more and more, and that's a direct result of how hard he works on his game. He may never be able to tip shots like Timmy or Vanek, but the work he puts in is starting to pay off. Perhaps he can live up to his cap hit, unlike some of the other bigger numbers on this team.

- Near the end of the game when it was 4 on 4 Connolly was paired with Stafford instead of Vanek. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Vanek and Connolly were out for 4 on 4 earlier in the game, so was this to punish Vanek or rest him? I haven't loved Vanek's game since coming back but I think you have to give him the benefit of the doubt considering how soon he came back.

- Clarke was the right guy to sit hands down.

- I am in this picture:



Hat tip to whoever identifies my body part first.

- I didn't pay really close attention to Moore last night, but I did like what I saw. He and Connolly worked well on the penalty kill, and he was in a tough spot considering he had no practice and hasn't played in a week. I don't mind him on the fourth line for now, and I think it will take a few games to properly assess his impact for this team.

- Speaking of UFAs that won't be here next year, Maxim Afinogenov has played very well since returning from a vegetative state. I think it's important to note that there's no freaking way he plays in a Sabres uniform next season. However, if we can get 17 games out of him when he plays like that, I'm right there with Darcy shaking his hand and thanking him for his services on June 30th. It wasn't long ago that he was a major part of the offense. If he can even get a fraction of that production, he's worth keeping in the lineup for the duration.

- Petr Prucha is freaking terrible. I know I've said this before, but what the hell happened to this kid? He scored 30 goals as a rookie, but has dropped off the face of the earth ever since. Disturbing, really.

- They used the wide angle camera again!



Someone was listening to us, but it would be nice if our page was wider so the photo would show up bigger. Bummer.

- The standings have been updated on the sidebar, and we will have plenty to talk about today with Ottawa. It seems like every Saturday we have a huge game to talk about, doesn't it?

A View from the Roost: Game in Hand

by Ryan

There were plenty of things that made Tim Connolly's four point night happen.



I suppose it's only rational to begin with what Tim Connolly did for himself, so let's start there. Simply put, the shift he had to set up the first goal was absolutely phenomenal. He goes hard into the corner, lays a hit on the defenseman to cause a turnover, then takes a pass and brings it out front for a shot that gets blocked.

He could give up and drift out of the zone for a change, but that's not the end of it. The defense keeps it in, and he slides back into position down by the net. Jaro's shot comes through, and brings his stick all the way across his body to get the tip on Spacek's shot. A spectacular sequence that was only possible because of where he puts himself and his ability to chip a puck while adjusting so severely.



Sekera's goal was all Connolly, too. He talked to Andrej before the draw and told him what he was going to do, then went out and did it. It's as simple as that. That's one of the cleanest faceoff wins you'll ever see, and a Coyote was screening the goaltender so Bryzgalov never had a chance. Sekera was put in a position do score only because of what Connolly did, and it's one of the purest assists in the game.

Connolly's second goal, of course, all depends on his ability to get lift on the puck while falling backwards. The truly awesome thing about Connolly is that he makes very difficult things look so freaking easy, and that's exactly what he did last night. The tip, the faceoff win, and the shot in front all were impressive athletic feats that not many hockey players can do so easily.

However, for as great a physical specimen Timmy was last night, there was a lot of his teammates behind him. Sekera's vision and awareness is what lets him see Jaro coming off the bench, and Jaro's vision is what makes him shoot to Connolly instead of Bryzgalov. As awesome a goal it is for Connolly, it has everything to do with the personnel being able to get it to him.

The same goes with Sekera's goal, as he was smart enough to listen to his center and be ready for the shot when it came. He also did look at the net to make sure it would get through, something not many defenseman find time for on shots like that. Sekera may have been pointing to Connolly after the goal, but he was the one that capitalized on a chance that many times we've seen go down as a blocked shot or missed net.



The point is that for as locked in as Connolly was last night, this team was right there with him. The lines worked well together, they were excellent on the penalty kill once again, and Patrick Lalime was there to keep them in it at important times. Again. I don't think you can say enough about Lalime's performances since Miller's injury. To see a veteran guy step in and keep this team afloat is downright impressive, and that includes a period when Buffalo wasn't giving him any help on the scoreboard.



People who watch this team closely have always respected the way he has handled playing the role of Miller's backup and cheerleader, but I have enormous respect for the way Lalime has played as the starter. He hasn't missed a beat, and this team has needed a rock between the pipes. No fan dare say Miller's return isn't important, but I think at this point they are confident in what Lalime can do while Ryan gets healthy. That's a good spot to be in for sure.

Last night the Buffalo Sabres dominated a hockey game they absolutely needed to win. The funny thing about a "game in hand" is that you have to win it for the phrase to apply. Suddenly this team is doing just that after a stretch where beating the Islanders felt almost impossible. The lines are clicking, the defense looked much better, and they are relatively healthy all things considered.

More importantly, they stood up for each other last night. It was another physical game that most of the team didn't back down from, and when trouble came about there was no backing down there, either. When Maxim Afinogenov goes down in a heap, Craig Rivet and Paul Gaustad were there to make someone pay. Remember that this is a player who demanded a trade just a few days ago. He didn't want anything to do with the Sabres until he learned that literally no one else wanted him, but there are the two biggest leaders on the team standing up for him.

Now I have less of a problem with the hit than I do the knee to the face afterwards, but like most things in hockey it's about principal. Still, I loved Rivet flipping out and challenging Shane Doan to a fight. The misconduct and interference by the officials was sickening, but that's for another time. The fact of the matter is that when Max was on the ice the Sabres didn't just skate away. No matter what take you have on events in the past, this was a good sign that we saw tonight.

This applies to Pat Kaleta later on as well. I have no problem with his hit on Turris, but Scottie Upshall clearly did. Kaleta sold that elbow pretty well, but the Sabres were there again to make sure someone knew they didn't appreciate Upshall taking liberties. When people talk about "toughness" and "grit" they don't mean that everyone checks players through the Plexiglas; they mean situations like this. At this time of year you can't show weakness, and there was no lack of grit last night.



It's also worth noting that when the opportunity arose, the Sabres dropped the hammer on Phoenix. Two goals in less than a minute closed the door on any chance of giving away points, and it was good to see the power play come through when it mattered. Who would have imagined the line of Stafford/Gaustad/Afinogenov would combine for one of the prettiest passing plays of the season? Everything was working for the Sabres last night, and as the clock was winding down they were still looking for more.

On a night where there was so much to like, what I enjoyed most of all was what happened after the final horn sounded. The teams spilled out onto the ice to congratulate and console, but something else was brewing. Jovanovski was talking to an official, and Shane Doan clearly didn't like what Pat Kaleta was doing all night.

Suddenly the head nuzzles stopped and the two teams were staring at each other at center ice. Nothing was going to happen, and it didn't matter because they won't play each other until next season. Still, everyone was just standing there, and Gaustad and Rivet and Roy were screaming right back at the Coyotes players while the linesmen tried to cut the ice in half. After a while it became obvious that Buffalo wasn't leaving the ice until the Coyotes were gone, and so they slowly filed off the ice to a chorous of boos before the building erupted for the Sabres' triumphant exit.

The Sabres weren't leaving their home ice first, and I wasn't leaving until I could give Timmy one more cheer.

Earning That Raise

Four points for Tim Connolly.
Twenty-nine saves for Patrick Lalime.

Two critical points for the Sabres.
More to come.

Late Breaking

by Ryan

So I fell into ridiculously good seats for tonight's game, so I'm on my way to the arena now. Expect a "View" post tonight, but one in name only. Patrick Lalime will be in net tonight, and I'll have a good view of said net all night.

When I worked the press box for the Pirates game I sat next to a goal judge for a good portion of it. Of course he has a job to do, but during breaks I asked him a ton of questions about his job and what he felt about sitting there as opposed to where he should be, behind the net. He was honest: it sucked. Although he doesn't like being away from the action and with a partially obstructed view, he understood that his job isn't as valuable anymore with the advent of instant replay.

Why did I mention it? Well, since having that conversation I've divided sitting in the arena between two different experiences. The first is the former goal judge position, right next to the action and able to call everything. That's a really good seat, and one I have tonight. The others are HSBC goal judge seats. You're in the building and it's a solid view, but it's just not the same.

It's very rare that I'm in the category of the former. I'm excited.

Beast Mode that Realtor!

by Ryan

I find this story f#$king phenomenal. Marshawn Lynch just bought Jim Kelly's house.

The property was officially logged into the local real estate multiple listing on Tuesday and a "sold" sign appeared on its front yard on Thursday.

The asking price for the three-story, brick and cedar home was $589,000, but the agent declined to disclose the purchase price.

Constructed in 1989, the 4,800-square-foot, custom-built home has everything a professional athlete needs. In addition to a poker room, bar with walk-in cooler and dance floor, home theater, office suite, workout studio and bocce court, it also features a museum-quality trophy room where Kelly’s collection of football memorabilia had been on display.

The five-bedroom home, situated on a full-acre lot, has an additional three-bedroom suite on its basement level.

I can't imagine what the moving period is going to look like in this neighborhood. All I know is that I want to be involved. If Marshawn Lynch needs someone to move some boxes or furnature, you know how to get a hold of me. I hope Money knows how to play bocce...

We Could Live With the Drama

Oh it'll never happen, but it is pretty exciting to think about him lining up next to Evans and catching a longball from Edwards, isn't it?

Waiting for Moore

By Chris

It really is tough to get a job in the United States these days. The newest Sabre, Dominic Moore, a native of Toronto, is apparently having some visa issues that prohibit him from working in the U.S. Buffalo didn't need Moore on Wednesday, but the sooner he can get acclimated with the team, the better off the Sabres will be. The team does believe that Moore will make his Buffalo debut tonight.

And tonight they face a Phoenix Coyotes team that sold two of its hottest commodities, center Olli Jokinen and defenseman Derek Morris at the trade deadline. The Coyotes also shipped out Daniel Carcillo to the Flyers and backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist to the Sabres.

They received a bunch of players in return, including Dmitri Kalinin, Nigel Dawes, Pert Prucha, Matthew Lomabrdi, Brandon Prust, Scotty Upshall, a first round pick, a second round pick and a fourth rounder.

The Coyotes are rebuilding for sure and it will be interesting to see what kind of attitude the new players bring to a franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2002 and hasn't won a playoff series since it moved from Winnipeg in 1996.

The Sabres shut out the Coyotes, 2-0, on Jan. 31 behind stellar play from Ryan Miller.

It's a new Phoenix team, but from the show Buffalo put on Wednesday, we may be looking at a new Sabres team as well.

It's a 7:30 p.m. face off at HSBC Arena. Gotta love the stretch run.

Break out the Board

by Ryan

We've officially gone past the trading deadline, and you know what that means:



The standings are on the sidebar, and once again Carolina doesn't exist. We'll try to keep these posted and have a quick recap of the games that matter each morning. I can't promise there will be games that matter each night, but it gives us an excuse to watch more hockey if we have to talk about them.

The Sabres still have games in hand thanks to a ton of action last night, so let's recap the night that was:

- The Rangers beat the Islanders 4-2 in Sean Avery's first game back. Am I the only one who doesn't think Avery playing in the league is an awful thing? I mean, it's not like he somehow lost the skills that made him a good player in the first place, right? Either way, I'm pretty sure this win had everything to do with getting Dmitri Kalinin off the roster.

- Calgary did us a favor and beat Philly, who may already be out of reach anyway. This game saw Oli Jokinen do the "first game with a new team" thing and score twice. There's a lot of talk about Jokinen's value in the playoffs, but I think Calgary is a pretty scary team these days. The Western Conference playoffs are going to be fun to watch this year, that's for sure.

- The Penguins beat Florida 4-1 in last night's "game where we'd rather see the arena blow up." We can be thankful it wasn't an overtime of shootout final here, but that's about it. Crosby played for the Pens and scored, and Bill Guerin had an assist and is 85 years old. Crosby played with Guerin and Kunitz, players that weren't even on the team a week ago. Think there's a chemistry problem in Pittsburgh?

- There's no way the Maple Leafs are making the playoffs, but I thought it was worth mentioning that Martin Gerber stood on his head in Washington last night, stopping 37 shots and beating the Caps 2-1. That's too shabby. We'll be back in a bit with some Coyotes stuff and hopefully who is starting in net tonight.

Why Timmy Stayed

by Ryan



Tim Connolly is scheduled to be a Buffalo Sabre until the summer of 2011.

There are a lot of people who would have viewed this as crazy talk back in October. In fact, even today there are a lot of people who don't like the fact that Connolly is under contract for another two seasons. However, something interesting has happened this year with regard to our collective opinion of Tim Connolly, and I think that has a lot to do with how we feel about this contract.

If you remember as far back as last season, I said that guys like Kotalik, Connolly, and Afinogenov will be in very similar situations this season and therefore playing against each other. All three are playing for new contracts, and only one has the potential to sign with the Sabres at season's end. I wrote about each case and asked people to pick who they thought would be worth keeping after this season. Here were the results:

Which Sabre is most likely to make "The Leap"?
Tim Connolly 13 (22%)

Ales Kotalik 27 (46%)

Maxim Afinogenov 18 (31%)

Halfway through the season I mentioned it again, and the results were very different. By then Afinogenov had been struggling beyond belief and injured, leaving Kotalik and Connolly as the two choices. Here were their numbers at that point:

Kotalik 40GP, 10G, 13A, 23PTS, -5, 20PIM, 12PPP (.575PPG)

Connolly 13GP, 5G, 5A, 10PTS, -1, 0PIM, 4PPP (.769PPG)

The general consensus we got from this post was that the guy to keep was Connolly, but he had to come cheap. There was no exact definition of "cheap", but presumably it would mean at or below his current cap hit of $2.9 million. I held that opinion as well, but as the season went on and his points per game rose, more and more people were hoping Tim Connolly would re-sign with the Sabres before the trade deadline.

He did, but we all know it wasn't for "cheap".

As Chris and I were live-blogging the day, we each posted some brief thoughts on the deal on the page. We both had the same thoughts on it: wow that's a lot of money, but I'm glad he signed. In fact, I think everyone who wanted Tim Connolly to come back next season wound up saying the same thing. I think Kevin said it best:

That doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like re-signing Connolly. Everybody and their brother has already thrown in the obligatory “IF he stays healthy” disclaimer, so it has become unnecessary to do so at this point. In fact, that’s a safe thing to say about any player. That being said, I’ve grown rather fond of our little version of Napoleon Dynamite, and I know it’s the sentimental fan in me talking but I hope he performs up to his contract and surprises all of us. The one thing Buffalo’s management can’t do next year is blame a Connolly injury for their woes if it were to happen. You decided to roll the dice, you have to live with the results.

For a lot of people there was an element of sentimentality involved in our reaction. I've said over and over again how much I like Tim Connolly's game, but watching him over the years has been a frustrating exercise to say the least. But through all the problems with Tim Connolly, his strength is this: when he is in the lineup he produces.

His points per game has hovered around fantastic throughout his career, and that single reason is why he is coming back in October. The Sabres choose an injury-prone points machine over an erratic speed skater and a seldom-used cannon, and if you ask most fans they would tell you they made the right choice.

That doesn't mean they like the contract, though. I'll admit, I don't like it either. I was shocked when I woke up Wednesday morning and word was the Sabres were talking $4 million per year, and I was even more surprised when I found out the actual total was 2 years, $9 million. That's a lot of money to sink into a player who hasn't shown long-term consistency, and it's almost redundant at this point to talk about it any further.

Still, it will be hindsight that tells the tale here. There were plenty of people (myself included) who loved the Hecht signing last year, and many of those same fans (not including me) were wondering if he could get shipped out of town. We're just a few short months away from Jason Pominville's $5.3 million deal to kick in, and he's certainly not playing up to that standard this year. We really won't know what the right move was until we get there, but I'm still with the many who are glad he's still on this team.

I suppose this means we'll have plenty to talk about for the next two years.

Money Pays

By Chris

Marshawn Lynch pled gulity to a misdemeanor count of carrying a firearm in a vehicle. The Bills running back is looking at three years probation.

From the Buffalo News:

Two other misdemeanor counts against Lynch - one for carrying a loaded firearm and one for carrying an unregistered firearm - were dropped, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court officials.

Lynch was sentenced to 36 months probation and was ordered to do 80 hours of community service by Sept. 1.

Lynch released a statement through his attorney, Gerald Schwartzbach. The statement read:

"Today I pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of having a firearm in a vehicle. I am embarrassed by my recent arrest and conviction. I deeply regret that I placed myself in this situation. I have made mistakes in the past. Although I have learned many lessons over recent years, I obviously have not learned enough. I apologize to my family, the Buffalo Bills organization, my teammates, the Buffalo community, and Commissioner Goodell. I have already learned from this recent mistake and am sincerely committed to being a more responsible citizen and better representative of the NFL."

It is Lynch's second court case in the past year. His involvement in a hit-and-run incident in Buffalo last year was reduced to a traffic violation.

Hopefully this is the last time we have to hear about Lynch and the law although it's likely the league will come down on him in some way, shape or form. The Bills have more than enough on-the-field problems to worry about as it is.

Goose on Tape

by Ryan

In case you somehow missed Paul Guastad's hit on Kovalev, here it is:



I'm not going to make a huge deal out of the penalty call for obvious reasons, but I will say that you'd be hard pressed to say Gaustad knew Kovalev didn't have the puck when he hit him. I think Gaustad started lining Kovalev up before Tallinder stripped, but I guess it doesn't matter. Either way, this was the hit that set the tone for what was a big game for the Sabres.

Oh, and he happened to score. Twice. The first was a great tip in front; something we know he's been working on all year, while the latter was downright spectacular. That's the kind of hustle you love to see on the penalty kill, and I was very happy to see him rewarded for it while putting the game well out of reach in the process.

Everyone who is familiar with this team knows how valuable Gaustad is to the Sabres, and it was nice to see him get rewarded for the work he puts in night in and night out. It may be a long time before Paul Gaustad sees a letter sewn on his jersey to reward him for his play, but it was a nice to see the goofy smile on his face when he was on the bench after that breakaway goal.

Last I heard we needed a guy to lead off in the shootout. Hrm...

The HD Difference

by Ryan

Looks like someone pulled out the wide lens last night, and the results were pretty cool:



Penalty!



There were a ton of pictures of this play, but you really get a feel for what happened here with this one in particular. Very cool shot. As you can tell, I really like the wide lens shots. Whoever was using it, please stick around. Thank you for your time.

Swagger So Nice

by Ryan

Thirty five seconds into the hockey game, Paul Gaustad translated a message sent by the front office directly into output on the ice. It may have landed him in the penalty box, but it set the tone for what may turn out to be a huge game for this team in the end.

The game right after the trade deadline is always very interesting, and it's difficult to say where a team is headed because of all the emotions involved in the day. A player appearing somewhere for the first time always seems to make a big splash, and a team may play over their heads for a bit based on the extra bit of confidence a major move can give them. And if a team doesn't make a move, they may not react well to the lack of help their GM gave them.

Tonight the Sabres didn't have a new player in the lineup, and despite Montreal staying put they didn't come out weak at all. In fact, Buffalo got into penalty trouble early and Montreal looked to be on the brink of taking over this game. At one point shots in the first period were 18-3, and chances 9-0 for Montreal; but there was Patrick Lalime continuing to come through for this team.



One power play for Buffalo, and it was 1-0. You didn't know it at the time, but it was all over after that. The box score will show the Sabres getting badly outshot, but they outplayed a very good Montreal team tonight. The Habs got plenty of chances and were oftentimes bested by Lalime alone, but there was something very different about the Sabres team we saw tonight.

Simply put, Buffalo refused to get outplayed tonight. Everyone on the team was skating hard, checking harder, and making the most out of their opportunity to play hockey. Teppo made a few very nice plays. Hank and Lydman were relatively mistake-free. Dan Paille was very strong, and Maxim Afinogenov also justified his existence tonight; making plays on both ends and picking up an assist. The players given a chance in the lineup came through, and that's something Buffalo has missed for the past few weeks.



What we saw tonight was something that we haven't seen from this team in a long time. Tonight the Sabres showed some swagger in their game, and I don't think it was just because Thomas Vanek was on the ice. He played surprisingly well and complimented Connolly nicely in his return, but every line played with some serious jump in a game that everyone in the league knew mattered for their playoff hopes.

This swagger could be the result of a number of things, many of which may be temporary. It could be the post-deadline boost, or maybe a bit of deflation from Montreal that caused the game to wind up so uneven. Once their power play failed to convert the Habs played like they were in a ton of trouble, and that turned out to be the case.

Still, it's a performance once again gives you hope that Buffalo can get it together. We've seen flashes of good things from this team with Vanek and Miller out, but what we saw tonight was a dangerous hockey club. The Sabres looked like a playoff-caliber team while still missing their best player, and if they can skate like that every night until Miller gets back I don't see how they don't make up the gap and get back into the top eight.



There was a lot of tension around these parts over the last few weeks, and tonight I think a lot of fans finally had the chance to release some of it. The Sabres clearly did it and the results were pretty stunning, but the next step is making it happen again. I think the best thing we saw tonight was the reaction from the players when Lalime lost the shutout. Even at 5-0 they wanted that shutout for Lalime, and I love seeing the little things matter to them again.

No matter how much worth you put into this game there's one thing that's clear: the pieces are still here to make a playoff push, and those pieces look like they're ready to do just that.

Trade Deadline Live Blog

Happy Trade Deadline Day.

Starting right now, we will be live blogging the trade deadline and keeping you up to date on everything we hear. Check back in all day to see what's going on, and be sure to talk to us in the comments. Any new posts will be below this one but we will be sure to link them and let you know what's going on.

This is going to be fun.

12:19 AM- Dave from Lonely End of the Rink just IMed me with good news for Tim Connolly fans. See, things are exciting already.

-Ryan

1:30 AM- In case you were wondering about what happened tonight, Buffalo got absolutely no help. Everyone won, and right now the Sabres sit in tenth place. The saving grace is games in hand, but they don't look so great at the moment.

-Ryan

3:16 AM- I've been thinking a lot about the potential Connolly deal and I must say I'm happy the Sabres appear close to signing him. There has been plenty of discussion regarding what Timmy is worth, and I honestly think he's worth exactly what he's making right now. If Connolly can be had somewhere within the $2-3.5 million range it could wind up to be a steal or a complete disaster. We've lived with a few seasons of $3 million disasters in Tim and Afinogenov before, so I think I could handle it if something terrible goes wrong. The upside with Connolly is worth the risk.

Why is it so important to sign Connolly now? Well, if he plays at a .9/PPG rate for the rest of the year he could get a ton of looks in the offseason. If Buffalo tries to sign him then, his agent could start throwing around a few big numbers that go to other players. Check out the line from Martin Havlat, who is making $6 million this season and has only produced slightly more than Connolly while facing similar injury issues.

It's an unfair comparison for sure, but it's not a hard one to make with potential suitors elsewhere. Havlat is once again a UFA this summer, and it will be interesting to see what kind of demand there is for his talent and at what price. Hopefully it isn't an issue for Connolly, and by the time I wake up we have him signed.

-Ryan

4:48 AM- Post with some links is up, and I'm going to sleep. Expect an update around 10:30 if anything has happened.

-Ryan

9:37 AM- Chris here. I'll help take you through most of today. TSN is reporting that Chris Pronger is off the market.

And an update from Darren Dreger of TSN on Connolly:

Sources tell TSN the Buffalo Sabres have tabled a two-year contract extension at better than $4 million per season to keep forward Tim Connolly in Buffalo.

Although the offer is considered to be strong, it may not be quite good enough to get the deal done without further negotiations.

A three-year term was also discussed, however sources say the money offered was less than Connolly was willing to accept.

Four million doesn't sound so bad, but it probably means the Sabres will have to skimp on salaries for the defense next year, meaning a Connolly extension makes tough decisions for Jaroslav Spacek and Henrik Tallinder.

Re-signing Connolly also means Drew Stafford might inadvertently be on the trading block as he will be a restricted free agent this off-season. It's a little early to predict, but we could have Steve Bernier Part II on our hands if management doesn't have a plan in place for Stafford now.

-Chris

10:11 AM- Good morning. Since I went to bed Ottawa has re-signed Philip Kuba, and traded Vermette to Columbus for Pascal Leclare. I guess Bryan Murray got tired of kicking the tires while I was in bed.

Also I'm with Chris when it comes to Tim Connolly. I think two years, $8 million sounds like a lot but as I said last night that's a number that will only go up during the summer. If he can take that deal to the bank, so can I.

-Ryan

10:31 AM- More from the TFP blog:

[10:24am] Quick update on Connolly. Apparently the deal has been agreed to, but isn't signed just yet.

We'll let you know as soon as we hear official word.

And a report from their Web site:

The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension with center Tim Connolly

The deal is not yet signed, a source told TFP.

Details to follow.

Not sure I completely agree with the decision. As someone I work with put it, don't the Sabres know Connolly hasn't played out his first contract yet? Yes the Sabres need offense and stability, but I would rather risk losing Connolly than lock up that much money into damaged goods. I'd rather bring in reliable players and some tough defense. That's just me though.

-Chris

10:40 AM- Mike Harrington has an update from the Sabres morning skate:

As it turns out, you can't read much into the roll call from the Sabres' morning skate because it's an optional. Not on the ice are Tim Connolly, Derek Roy, Paul Gaustad and Craig Rivet.

Three names also floated in trade talk -- Maxim Afinogenov, Ales Kotalik and Henrik Tallinder -- are all skating.

So much for reading tea leaves.

-Chris

10:53 AM- Connolly re-signed. Two years, $4.5 million per. Confirmed by TSN and TFP.

Can't say I like it. I'm looking for the Sabres now to make more moves.

-Chris

11:04 AM- Another Sabres Edge update. From the lips of Henrik Tallinder:

"I have no idea about any rumors. Whatever happens, happens. I'm here for a game today. If not, there's a trade so we'll see. Anyone is expendable so I'm not surprised.

"I'm not nervous but you never know what to expect. It's part of the business I guess. I've never been traded before so we'll see what happens."

If he isn't traded today, then expect it before the start of next season. I just can't see him being a Sabre at $3.5 million next year (and to think it sounded like a bargain a year-and-a-half ago.

-Chris

11:19 AM- My posts keep getting eatean, but I think I'm okay with this Connolly deal. TSN just had Ray Ferraro on and said the Sabres cheered when they found out about the deal. This is the kind of thing that may prove to them that there's some faith in the team to be good in the long term, and I think that's a very important statement. Health is of course going to be the concern, but we all know the potential Connolly has. Maybe this time around potential will translate to reality.

-Ryan

11:23 AM- The NHL texting service just informed me that Pascal Leclaire is an Ottawa Senator and Antione Vermette is a Blue Jacket. Nothing quite like up-to-the-minute news. Thanks, NHL.

-Chris

11:56 AM- Two more trades are in the books via TSN. Colorado sends Jordan Leopold to Calgary for Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson and a pick.

Also, the Penguins acquire St. Louis' Andy Wozniewski for Danny Richmond.

-Chris

12:10 PM- Sabres make another move, and it's for a goaltender. Buffalo traded a fourth round pick to Phoenix for Mikael Tellqvist. This brings up a lot more questions than answers to me. Is this a message that the Sabres aren't confident in Lalime, or is Miller's injury a lot worse than they'd let on? I think it's more the latter than the former, but that's just me. We will know much more very soon.

-Ryan

12:17 PM- My knee-jerk reaction to the Tellqvist deal was that I wasn't thrilled by it. However, it's actually a smart deal. Tellqvist makes $800,000 this year and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

It's not so much a vote of no confidence for Lalime as it is a move for more depth. Clearly management doesn't think Enroth is ready for the NHL and it's better to have him starting in Portland than riding the bench in Buffalo.

Who knows when Miller will be ready to go, so between Lalime and Tellqvist, the Sabres are in decent hands. They should still look to upgrade the defense and add a reliable scorer, but this has the potential to be a quiet little deal that really pays off in the long run.

-Chris

12:30 PM- The Leafs have claimed Martin Gerber off waivers. Speculation is that Vesa Toskala is done for the year so the Leafs are looking for some stability between the pipes--and Gerber has been anything but steady since he left Carolina. Toronto also claimed Erik Reitz from the Rangers.

-Chris

12:35 PM- In a side note, I got a text message from the Sabres at 12:10 telling me that Darcy Regier would be holding a press conference at noon. I love the timeliness of mass text messages.

-Chris

12:38 PM- We're a little late on these, but the Stars claimed veteran Brendan Morrison off of waivers. Pittsburgh also claimed Craig Adams from the Blackhawks. They're moves that certainly won't hurt either team.

-Chris

12:46 PM- The Jokinen to Calgary deal is done, and it includes Matt Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a first round pick. That makes Calgary a big threat in the postseason. The West will be a ton of fun to watch come this postseason.

-Ryan

12:50 PM- Just got a text from the NHL about a big Sabres trade. Tellqvist. NHL text messages are useless.

-Ryan

1:08 PM- Harrington spoke with Regier. Here's what the general manager had to say about Ryan Miller:

"We have an understanding of what is the best-case scenario, which isn't out that far,"Regier said. "We have a worst-case scenario."

So I asked if that worst-case is out for the season. Regier said no.

"Not where we're standing now," Regier said. "He will play. It's just a question of when."

-Chris

1:22: The Fourth Period is reporting that Leafs forward Dominic Moore has been traded to Chicago and that Mark Recchi is going from Tampa to Boston. More to come.

-Chris

1:38 PM- Just saw a guy buying a Mike Comrie Islanders jersey in the background on NHL Network. Good pickup.

-Ryan

1:45 PM- We're about 75 minutes from the trade deadline, and the Connolly and Tellqvist deals are starting to sink in. The opinion of most is that Darcy can't be done yet, but we've said that before and have been left with nothing. I have to day I'd be shocked if Max, Kotalik, and Jaro are all playing tonight. Then again, I'm still shocked Tim Connolly will be making $4.5 million next season and will be playing with the Sabres.

-Ryan

1:49 PM- From the Sabres Edge live chat going on right now:

1:44 Comment From PB: They won't finish the day without unloading Max, will they?

Bucky Gleason: I expect Max to be in the lineup tonight. The Sabres wanted to trade him last summer, if not earlier, but haven't had any takers. Max has about $800,000 or so left on his contract. The last thing other teams want, when the money is tight, is a rental who hasn't played all year. And when he has played, he hasn't played well. We have another 75 minutes until the deadline. I would be very surprised if they traded him at this point.

Man do I hope Bucky's wrong.

-Chris

2:02 PM- With just about an hour to go, one of the biggest names on the market has been traded. TSN reports that Bill Guerin is going to Pittsburgh. I can see Guerin playing the Gary Roberts role a bit, something the Pens have been missing this year. No word yet on what the Penguins have given up.

-Chris

2:09 PM- Just finished up a quick post about Tellqvist and his numbers.

-Ryan

2:10 PM- So... the Sabres can't be done yet, right? So far they haven't really improved the team this season today, which is a bit of a concern if you ask me. Still time, but we're getting close...

-Ryan

2:12 PM- The cost for Guerin is a conditional pick. Wow. He's making $4.5 million, but you're not paying a whole lot of that at this point. The Pens have to make the playoffs just to get Tellqvist-level value.

-Ryan

2:42 PM- It's been over a half hour since anything has gone down. Some rumors about Neil to Florida, but nothing official yet. We're less than 20 minutes away now.

-Ryan

2:47 PM- The Flyers have made something happen, trading Scottie Upshall and a second round pick for Daniel Carcillo. Fantasy guys know Carcillo as a penalty minute monster, so the Flyers just got tougher. In a related story, I would have loved to pick up Upshall. He was a UFA, but the price looks pretty cheap for his services.

-Ryan

2:49 PM- Antropov goes from the Leafs to the Rangers for a second round and conditional pick.

-Ryan

2:57 PM- Three minutes. Pull the trigger, Darcy.

-Ryan

3:00 PM- Word is Jay Bouwmeester is staying put.

-Ryan

3:03 PM- Hockeybuzz says Scott Gomez is going to the Coyotes for Derrick Morris. He's close. It's Morris for Nigel Dawes, Dmitri Kalinin, and Petr Prucha according to TSN. That was fun.

-Ryan

3:08 PM- Wow. Dominic Moore to Buffalo for a second round pick. Really? Did that just happen?

-Ryan

3:12 PM- So the Sabres added another forward. Great. Who did they move out? Right now it seems like nobody. Here's to hoping Darcy had a few more phone calls in place before 3 p.m. Moore's been in the league for four years. Buffalo will be his fifth team. Since he couldn't get a deal done with Toronto, Brian Burke shipped him out. There has to be more, right?

-Chris

3:25 PM- From ESPN.com:

LeBrun (3:12 p.m. ET): We are told the Toronto Maple Leafs moved Dominic Moore in a three-way trade that saw Buffalo get Moore and the Leafs get a second-round pick, but we're not sure who the third team is and what it got. We're also told Alexei Ponikarovsky stayed put after almost being dealt.

So it definitely looks like there's a third team in the mix. Curious to see what else the Sabres gave up.

-Chris

3:38- Tampa trades Noah Welch and a third round pick to Florida for Steve Eminger. ESPN.com reporting that Jay Bouwmeester has not been traded. And the Hurricanes have called a 4 p.m. press conference.

-Chris

3:44 PM- Word is Travis Moen will be headed to San Jose. No word on what for just yet. Chris is working on a post that will be up shortly. UPDATE: It's up now.

-Ryan

3:51 PM- Anaheim sends Moen and Huskins to San Jose for a goalie, a prospect, and a conditional. The Hurricanes also picked up O'Sullivan from the Kings. Oilers will also have a trade to announce. Suddenly we're up to 18 trades, which is getting near the usual.

-Ryan

4:02 PM- Hey ya'll, Jon here. The Cole/Williams/O'Sullivan deal is one of the most complicated, strange three-team deals I have ever seen. In fact, one of TSN's commentators (I'm not sure which one) just called it "a two-sided triangle." Uh.... what?

-Jon

4:09 PM- Sportnset.ca has this trade going down:
Eric Cole to Carolina
Justin Williams to Los Angeles
Patrick O'Sullivan and Ales Kotalik to Edmonton
2nd round pick to Buffalo

So the Sabres essentially traded Moore for Kotalik? Not sure how that helps the team.

-Chris

4:15 PM- During Brian Burke's press conference, TSN just reported Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rogers and a 4th round pick from the Lighting for Richard Petiot. What the hell? That doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense to me. Burke opened the presser saying there was another "minor deal" involving a minor leaguer, but I think he underplayed it a bit.

-Jon

4:27 PM- So at the end of the day, here's how it goes down...

Sabres acquire: Mikael Tellvqist, Dominic Moore
Sabres give up: Ales Kotalik, fourth rounder

Plus, they move down a few picks in the 2nd round.

I'll take it. I was a big fan of keeping Kotalik for his shootout prowess, but I'll give up a half-season of shootout goals and not much else for Moore.

-Jon

4:35 PM- Another late-breaking deal... Laveranues Coles is heading to the Bengals. Oh... wait...

-Jon

Farewell, Ales

Your facial hair and backhand shot will be missed.

Heavy Up Top

By Chris



If Dominic Moore plays tonight, here are your Buffalo Sabres forwards:

1. Thomas Vanek
2. Tim Connolly
3. Derek Roy
4. Jason Pominville
5. Jochen Hecht
6. Paul Gaustad
7. Derek Roy
8. Adam Mair
9. Ales Kotalik
10. Patrick Kaleta
11. Maxim Afinogenov
12. Daniel Paille
13. Clarke MacArthur
14. Matt Ellis
15. Andrew Peters
16. Dominic Moore

Four players will be in the press box. Odds are we won't see much more of MacArthur, Paille, Ellis or Peters.

Still wish the team would have added a veteran defensemen, but with the 4:00 hour coming up, it looks like we've got our stretch run lineup.

UPDATE: Scratch Ales Kotalik off that list with the latest trade.

Mikael Who?

by Ryan

The Sabres just traded for a goaltender, and it's one that many Sabres fans have never heard of. Here's a bit about Mikael Tellqvist while we're inching closer to the deadline:



Tellqvist have played for two teams over six seasons in the NHL, the majority of those with Phoenix. Last season he played in 22 games with the Coyotes, but was bumped down the depth chart when Bryzgalov was picked up. He went 9-8-2 during that stretch, with a 2.75 GAA and .908 SV%. That's not awful, but is certainly not starting goaltender-type numbers.

This year Tellqvist has made 15 appearances, going 7-5-1 over that stretch. His GAA (2.86) and save percentage (.907) are decent, but it isn't clear if he can be a starting goaltender by any means. It looks like the Sabres will be splitting starts between Tellqvist and Lalime, with Enroth moving back down to Portland. I'm sure Pirates fans will welcome the move, as it gives them a warm body and their star goaltender back.

Based on Darcy's earlier comments it appears Miller will be back before the season is over, so it makes Tellqvist a rental for sure. His $800k contract isn't bad, but it is almost like picking up another Patrick Lalime with less experience. Darren Pang raved about him on TSN earlier, but he hasn't proven much of anything during his NHL career.

In case you were wondering, he has never played in an NHL postseason game.

High Roller

by Ryan



Look out, Buffalo. Tonight, Tim Connolly is buying the top shelf Champagna. It's going to be a fun two years.

Important Things

by Ryan

We've all gone through the deadline before and know where to get information, but I thought I'd make a quick little post with where to get information today.

Honestly, some of the best ways to get information is to go through your usual blog routine. There are plenty of Sabres blogs out there that will be doing the same thing we are, so browse around and see what's going on at the other sites and get a feel for what people are thinking. We're certainly not the first blog to cover the deadline, and strength in numbers means more information. Aside from that, here are some other things you should know.

Important Sabres links:

-Here is a list of Darcy's deadline deals during his tenure with the team.

-NHLNumbers is invaluable when it comes to looking at cap hits and players status.

-I doubt the Sabres site will be breaking anything, but that usually is the last word on these type of things. If it's a done deal, it will be up there.

Here are some solid websites to follow:

-TSN.ca- best official site by far. Lots of information.

-From the Rink is sure to have a ton of updates as well. James Mirtle was all over the place last year and I'm sure he will do the same this season. SB Nation also has a Trade Deadline page set up, so be sure to check that out as well.

-I'm sure the Buffalo News will have a few people at the Arena all day and will have updates on Sabres Edge as far as lines and other reports from the Sabres.

-Spectors and The Fourth Period are two good sites for rumors if you're into that kind of thing.

-If you want a laugh there's always hockeybuzz. I'm sure he will be useful, so make sure you pay him for telling you absolutely nothing.

Some other things if you're not near a computer:

-You can text "NHL" to 81812 to get updates on your mobile phone.

-WGR550 will be local all day to cover the deadline and bring you up to date.

-NHL Network has a free preview this week, so check your televisions if you don't already have it.

We're going to be here all day, so let's have some fun with this. Sit back and enjoy the show.

Also On Tap Tonight

by Ryan

Syracuse has their last home game of the season, which means March Madness is just a few weeks away. I'm excited already. Actually, I just wanted to show you this video:



Yeah, I think that was worth posting.

On Satan, Marty, and Gary

by Ryan

Just a few things on a Tuesday afternoon. We will have something more substantial later on.

- I'm almost positive we will be liveblogging the trade deadline in some way, shape or form. (No CoveritLive, just old school) Maybe even starting at midnight. Stay tuned.

- Top Shelf has a nice interview with Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, which I should have mentioned much sooner. Coming soon.

- Miroslav Satan was waived by the Penguins today, which makes me a bit sad. It was fun watching him flounder on the wing with Crosby or Malkin as they expected so much more from a guy who clearly doesn't have it. I still don't understand why Shero thought he would sign Satan and Fedotenko from the Isles and expect to get more out of them. Strange.

- I will say this: I would love to have Gary Roberts on this team, even if it lasts only for 19 games.

- Also, isn't this one of the craziest "kind of sort of plausible but crazy" things you've ever heard? That's not a statement about Gleason or anyone reporting the rumor: that deal is freaking crazy enough to work. It would even solve the "goaltender trade takes Lalime off the roster" problem because Marty's a UFA this summer. Holy crap, that could actually work. No way.

- I'm trying to put together a trade deadline guide, but there's not much we really know about where to go that you don't. Either way, we're going to have a ton of things on the deadline because we're quite excited about it, even if it will be a complete letdown like it always is.

- Games of importance tonight? Philly, Carolina, Florida, Toronto, and Pittsburgh all play. No matter who wins or loses, the standings will look very different by midnight tonight.

Who knows, everything could be different by then...

Farmhand Needed

by Ryan

There has been so much talk regarding what Darcy Regier will do tomorrow that it is hard to write about it any more. The angles have been covered, the team's best interests discussed, and many of the possibilities have been examined. So have we missed anything in all this trade talk? Well, maybe we have.

Chris Roy of Maine Hockey Journal writes that Darcy should tend to the farm on Wednesday, and he makes an interesting case for it. I'd read the whole thing, but here's a bit of what he has to say:

The Pirates have skated with five defensemen for a large part of the season and the Sabres have done nary a thing that about it.

To be fair, who could have seen the Pirates go without the services of Mike Card, Mike Funk and now Mike Weber, but that doesn’t change the fact that Buffalo recalled Chris Butler and have had eight healthy defensemen, while the Pirates have to scrap the ECHL barrel for warm bodies.

How does that benefit Mike Kostka or Marc-Andre Gragnani when they are forced to play significantly more minutes, in a schedule that often see the Pirates play four games in five nights or three games in three days?

...

While the Pirates current role is to develop players for the Sabres, it’s not their sole purpose.

The Pirates are in the entertainment business. They exist to provide entertainment for the residents of the Greater Portland area and Southern Maine and while many in Buffalo land may not like to hear this, developing player’s is secondary in the minds of those who sit in the stands.

As the paying customer, they are the one’s who matter.

I do agree with a lot of what Chris has to say, but the larger question he posed still remains unanswered. Will Darcy do anything to shore up the farm team and, maybe more importantly, what are his obligations to do so?

It seems to me that many of the problems Portland has are out of his control. The numerous injuries the Pirates have suffered on defense and between the pipes have forced their hand a bit, and it doesn't help that Buffalo has faced similar concerns this season. Butler would not be on the active roster unless he was completely necessary at the time he was called up, and as Roy admits you would be hard pressed to send him down based on play.

However, it's a tough sell to say a transaction must be made to offset the loss of Butler. Sabres fans are all too familiar with losing defenseman down the stretch run, and while eight healthy defenseman may seem like an unnecessary surplus it may turn out to be a shortage within a matter of a few games. It's also worth noting that trading Teppo seems extremely unlikely due to his age and contract, and I would be shocked to see management give up on Paetsch for the sake of the farm team.

The need for Enroth is obvious with Miller out, and while it hurts the Pirates to have him sit on the bench in Buffalo behind Lalime you would be hard pressed to say Darcy should have made a move instead. If Regier is known for anything it is not making panic trades, and fans hoping for an overnight move to bring in a goaltender were left wanting.

Still, that doesn't mean nothing will be done to help the Pirates. Darcy has made moves exclusively with the intent to help Rochester, but it has been a while. The last time I can recall a case was back in 2007 at the trade deadline. The Sabres picked up Mikko Lehtonen from Nashville in exchange for a 4th round pick. The move was obviously designed to help the farm team in light of the callups required on defense, which once again was seriously depleted at the NHL and AHL level. Buffalo also picked up defenseman Timo Helbling from Washington in the Zubrus/Novotny deal, and Helbling also suited up for the Amerks.

Clearly there is a history of Regier making moves to help the farm team when deemed necessary, so I suppose the question is whether or not the need is there. Chris Roy makes a good case that it is, and I happen to agree with him when he says something should be done. At the very least it would be a show of good faith to help out Portland and reinforce the notion that Buffalo will be a good parent club. Both sides are still feeling the relationship out, and it can't help that Buffalo has taken from an already depleted defense along with Portland's top scorers all season. Toss in the fact that their only healthy goaltender is sitting in Buffalo right now, and there's plenty of reason Pirates fans should be upset.

However, I'm just not sure how much Darcy Regier is willing to do given the assets this team has. Is it really worth moving Afinogenov for a few AHL-ready defenseman, or should more long-term goals be in mind tomorrow? When it comes down to it, is the demand for action with the Sabres or Pirates the larger concern at the deadline? Can Darcy manage to buy, sell, and restock the farm team at the same time?

I think we're more than likely to see him try doing all three, and that may include something similar to the Zubrus deal we saw two years ago. Sabres brass won't be looking for guys to make a major push, but they will be looking for help up in Maine for sure. It won't be the priority, but it has to be on the radar, right?

Redskins and Hangartners

by Rich

This weekend was an eventful one in the sports world, so I figured I'd touch on a couple of things that may have gone under the radar locally as we continue to struggle through this lovely Miller/Vanek-less period of hockey season:

The NFL's free agency period began Friday, and to put it bluntly, I don't know what the hell has been going on. There were hints around the league that owners may have been reluctant to spend money, what with the world ending around us and such (oh, wait...that's just sensationalistic media coverage artificially damaging consumer confidence...clearly a gripe for another time). Of course, it really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise that Dan Snyder evidently comes from the "when there's blood on the streets, it's time to buy" school; I don't know how else to explain him forking out $155 million-plus for DeAngelo "Code Red" Hall and Al Haynesworth.

Yes, both guys are premiere players at their positions, but...is this really the best way that money could have been used to improve the team? Washington missed the playoffs last year, but their defense was the fourth best in the league. Granted, Hall was part of that unit, and his re-signing makes a decent amount of sense, but...I guess it just seems counterintuitive that the team that finished last season with the #4 defense and the #19 offense would immediately go out and spend a hundred million dollars on the defensive line.

Oh, and they signed some offensive lineman, too. I'm still not a hundred percent sure what happened with the Dockery situation, but Brian Galliford over at Buffalo Rumblings has indicated that the gentlemen at One Bills Drive may have passed up the opportunity to get value for Dockery, rather than simply releasing him. While that is a disconcerting possibility, it's not nearly as scary as the alternative; the fact that the Lions may have realized that Buffalo would have to release Dockery in the near future anyhow if the trade were not completed, and actually made a smart football move. If Matt Millen were still employed in Detroit, this would never have happened. The Bills would have asked him if he were interested in acquiring Dockery, and Millen would likely have offered three to six first-round picks and/or Calvin Johnson in exchange.

The Bills did respond however, shoring up the interior of the line with former Panther Jeff Hangartner. Once again, I will point you to Buffalo Rumblings, specifically their "guest take" by their network's Panthers blogger. I consider myself relatively informed about the NFL, but NFC South backup interior linemen are not my strength. Hangartner seems like a solid pickup though; at the very least it's a good thing that he has the versatility to play both guard and center.

Other transactions of note:

• TJ Houshmandzadeh, formerly of the Bengals, signed a 5-year deal with Seattle today. As a Seahawks wide receiver, he is scheduled for a physical (as well as the amputation of his hands) sometime later this week.

• The Broncos have been busy, signing (among others) S Brian Dawkins, ILB Andra Davis, WR Jabar Gaffney and RB Correll Buckhalter. They also talked about trading Jay Cutler, and boy is he pissed.

• The Redskins also released former Dolphin Jason Taylor today after just one season in the capital. Apparently there was some sort of disagreement about Taylor restructuring his deal and attending team offseason workouts (read: he didn't want to do either). What's odd is that the same sort of thing seemed to happen just before his departure from Miami. Not often you see someone who is hyped as a "character guy" like Taylor has been wear out their welcome with two front offices in less than a year.

I'll chime in from time to time with more Bills-relevant news as free agency progresses. Word on the street is that One Bills Drive is going after Laveranues Coles pretty hard, but nothing's done yet. Obviously, we'll let you know if anything develops on this front.

Tonight on Versus!

by Ryan

If you remember the week-long fiasco that was last year's trade deadline, you remember the Monday night Versus game that week. Let me remind you with a simple phrase: poetic justice.



Ah yes, the Flyers game that was called "Brian Campbell's last game as a Sabre" by his own agent. That was an awesome week, wasn't it? The Sabres go up 3-0, only to lose in a shootout thanks to a Briere game winner. The Flyers traded for Vinny Prospal 11 seconds after the game was over, and it was all downhill from there.

Sure, Bernier was a nice little blip on the radar, but by then the die was cast with the Sabres. Sure they tried to cross the Rubicon, but Dmitri Kalinin set fire to the boat and it seems only Vanek was able to tread water in the wreckage.

Where am I going with this? Well, as relatively meaningless as the Monday night Versus broadcast is, it sure set an exciting tone for the week that was. The Sabres and Flyers were both battling for playoff position, and we all know the drama involving Briere and Biron. No matter how it ended for the Sabres, it was a good game for the league to showcase.

So what's on tap tonight? Well, I heard the radio ad for it earlier today...

"Tonight on Versus, Islanders star Kyle Okposo takes on Ryan Smyth and the Edmonton Colorado Avalanche!"

Islanders/Avalanche? Really?



I mean, holy crap schedule makers. You're sitting in the league offices in August and thought an East/West matchup with zero playoff intrigue would fit the bill for the national television broadcast prior to the trade deadline? The Isles and Avs are making some noise this postseason? You may as well take the week of and show bullriding repeats. Or just show an Ovechkin goal montage for three hours.

Of course there's no way to guess who will be sitting where, but both these teams are pretty far down the totem pole in preseason rankings if you ask around the league. The Islanders were tanking from the start, and unless they play a team like Buffalo they don't put up much of a fight. Colorado was a bit of a mystery, but then again almost everyone in the West is still in line for a playoff spot. Except them.

It's almost perfect if you think about it: the two teams ranked last in their conference square off for the right to draft John Tavares two days before they both hold impromptu firesales of their current wares. That, my friends, is exciting hockey. Make sure you tune in to watch Bill Guerin sitting in the press box and Ryan Smyth warming up the tear ducts between shifts.




I'm excited.

Riter Radio Starts Today

In case you forgot, Brad Riter's radio show on 1230AM is moving up to 4 p.m. starting today.

Brad's been around the blogosphere since October 2007 and has been back on the air for almost a year now. His show is a nice alternative to pretty much all of the talk radio on during that time. Brad's also a friend of the Roost so be sure to check it out.

You can listen online here.

Simmons, Stern, and Bettman

by Ryan

In the interview I mentioned yesterday we talked about Bill Simmons' propensity to go podcast only over the past few weeks. Simmons has had some issues with how ESPN is handling his material, so I suspected that's why he hasn't been writing. He also has an NBA book coming out, which would take up some time as well.

Of course, Friday he wrote a great column about the NBA's financial state. I'm not saying it was just to prove Tedd and I wrong, but you never know. It's just as likely he cares what we have to say that he hacked our email accounts and wrote a 6,000 word missive just to spite us.

Simmons clearly loves basketball, which is why the piece is so interesting: he genuinely cares for the state of the game and is worried about the league's finances. His Celtics have very little to worry about, yet things like the SuperSonics debacle and the threat of teams shuffling around does concern him. To be honest, that's quite refreshing. This isn't about a news peg or a good column topic, this is something he actually cares about; which in turn makes the product better.

However, of course he drops this beauty in there about the NHL:

Looking at the big picture, the league won't struggle even 1/10th as much as the NHL in years to come -- of all the wildest predictions I heard in Phoenix, the craziest came from a connected executive who predicted that fifteen NHL teams would go under within the next two years (and was dead serious) -- and Major League Baseball is about to get creamed beyond belief.

Emphasis his.

Simmons used a lot of crazy stats in the piece, most of which were believable. This one is not. I truly doubt Bettman will let something like that happen, and he has stated countless times that the league is in good shape.

However, the prospect of David Stern blinking before Gary Bettman does is very interesting, especially when the issue is finances. Bettman has been consistently against moving teams out of troubled areas or smaller markets, while Stern has been more than willing to ship a franchise out of town if venues aren't getting built. The two leagues have a distinctly different philosophy when it comes to handling franchises, and in a time like this we will see the strengths and weaknesses of both strategies.

Another topic of interest is the demand for assistance itself. We all know the Coyotes are getting help from Glendale, but who knows if overall demand for assistance is similar to the NBA's level of aid. Many teams in the league operate at a loss for the year, and while attendance figures are a tough statistic to use effectively (way too easy to fudge), the majority of league revenue is gate-driven.

The problem we face is that there just isn't much material out there. I can't remember seeing anything written about the NHL's financial state as comprehensive as the Simmons' piece, and that makes it hard to judge the validity of what he says about the league. Whether the reason be availability of information or desire, the fact of the matter is that we just don't know as much as we'd like about how sound the league's finances are. When Bettman says the league is going to be fine, we almost have to take his word on that.

For some people, that just isn't good enough.

Monday Morning Title

by Ryan

There just isn't much going on today, unless you like centers with high Wonderlic scores. Here are a few other things going on out there in the sporting world.

- Die By The Blade has a look at the Sabres schedule in March.

- Actually, I think this explains the Sabres' scoring woes nicely:

The Sabres are 25-4-3 when scoring at least three goals. In 12 of the last 14 games, Buffalo's goaltenders have kept the opponents to three goals or fewer.

But the magic numbers haven't coincided. The Sabres are 6-6-2 during their goalies' run. The Sabres were held to two goals or fewer in eight of them.

Good times.

- Uni Watch has a nice feature on the goalie mask.

- I know HockeyBuzz get a lot of flack for doing what it does, but you have to admit that it is pretty hilarious to see what's going on over there. "Garth" is wondering why Afinogenov isn't being showcased, and if he's healthy enough to play, and junk like that. Sorry, I was trying to write like him there for a second.

The problem is that anyone who has been watching this team knows that Lindy has given up on Max and he hasn't seen the lineup because of it. Afinogenov also isn't much of a fan of Ruff as well, but he's been coy in saying so for obvious reasons. Not to mention the fact that Vogl gives us answers to two of those big questions: Max has been healthy for at least a week, but getting him into the active roster would require making another roster move that Buffalo can't afford. He's not cracking the top 12 just to "showcase" him because this season there just isn't much to showcase.

In other words that post was a poorly written, pointless piece of garbage. Does the league really let these guys into the press box? Really? Also, Pronger to Buffalo. (e15)

- No Sabres fan wants to see the team sitting in 9th place, but it's important to note that Buffalo will have at least a game in hand on everyone around them by the time they play again. That doesn't mean they will win that game in hand (as we saw on Saturday night), but it's still important to remember.

- Also, sledge hockey fight:



There are two things I have not done on ice that I'd like to do someday: go curling and play sledge hockey. This only makes me want it more.

- I'm still trying to figure out this Twitter thing but I do know one thing: Shaq's Twitter is by far one of the best things I've seen on the Internet. This is the reason why Al Gore invented computers and killed ManBearPig. Thank God we live in this time.

Sunday Night Sickness

by Ryan

I'm not sure why, but I've been sick for about three weeks. This illness isn't exactly classified, but is somewhere between The Plague and dying. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Anyway, while I try to sleep or something, check out an interview I did over at FTLT during the week. It's part of their "Sunday Conversations" series, and from what I hear they have a pretty solid lineup planned for it. There aren't many things out there to read on a Sunday, so I'd give them a look if you're in need of some reading material.

Hopefully I get rid of this sickness before the deadline, I have a feeling I will need the strength.

The Un-Leap Year

by Ryan

As you can tell by the post below this, I was at the Bandits game last night working the press box. That means as far as I know, hockey wasn't played. There are a few photos of some game from Long Island floating around, but I'm pretty sure they're not real.



Yeah, I don't think that happened. Maybe some other games really were played. Let's check the scoreboard...



Okay that definitely didn't happen. Someone threw numbers up on a wall and tossed darts at it. There's no way Detroit and Buffalo were both shut out, that would just be embarrassing.

...

...

Oh God, it happened didn't it?

The game was on a few TVs in the press box, but it felt like some weird parallel universe was being broadcast on a random channel. Something akin to watching Telemundo at 4 AM, I'd imagine. Suddenly I was frantically praying for the Sabres to squeak out a goal against the worst team in hockey. It had the emotional involvement of a game against an elite team like the Sharks or Red Wings. Please, just get a goal and hold on. Please. It was bizarre, and I didn't like feeling like that at all.

It's only one game, and we're not supposed to take much from a single 60 minutes of hockey. This mantra should be extended to include the formation of an entire trading deadline philosophy, and us Sabres fans need to keep that in mind. Still, Saturday night was an awful, awful sign of potential things to come. It's scary, unnerving, and very troublesome.

I don't know what will happen to this team down the stretch, and I have no idea what will happen on Wednesday. However, I do know that sometime before then I will re-watch this Islanders game and search for clues about the next 19 games. Like a blind archaeologist translating ancient runes, I will try to figure out what the hell is going on with this team, and if it's going to get better with a few roster moves.

I'm not sure I will like what I see.

Swarm Too Much To Handle For Bandits

by Ryan

The Buffalo Bandits may have the best record in the NLL, but Saturday showed they have plenty of room for improvement.

Buffalo dropped a 16-15 final against the Minnesota Swarm in front of a crowd of 18,690 at HSBC Arena. The Bandits held multi-goal leads all night but allowed five straight goals from Minnesota late in the fourth quarter. The loss is their first at home this season, and sends Buffalo into the All Star Break with a 7-2 record.

“We didn’t play hard enough. We didn’t play smart enough” said Bandits head coach Darris Kilgore. “We lost focus.”

After Mark Steenhuis opened the scoring for Buffalo, Minnesota took a 2-1 lead midway through the first quarter with goals from Chad Culp and Kevin Ross. The Bandits answered with three goals in seventy seconds to end the quarter, including Steenhuis’ second of the night.

Buffalo’s John Tavares added to the lead with two straight in the second, including a shorthanded tally to make the score 6-2. The goal would be challenged by Minnesota but upheld. Tavares would answer a Minnesota goal with a power play tally of his own, his fourth goal of the night. Sean Greenhalgh would add another power play goal to give the Bandits an 8-3 lead with less than five minutes left in the second. Greenhalgh’s goal chased Swarm netminder Kevin Croswell, who allowed eight goals on just 14 shots.

Minnesota closed the gap to 8-7 with four straight goals to end the half, including two from Aaron Wilson. Wilson netted the hat trick just 1:04 into the third, and Kevin Buchannan’s second of the night gave Minnesota their first lead since the early in the first. After Minnesota made it 10-8, Buffalo closed the gap to one with a power play goal from Mike Accursi.

The sellout crowd saw a wild fourth quarter, with twelve goals scored between the two teams. Bandits’ defenseman Chris White picked up an illegal cross checking major and game misconduct just 14 seconds into the quarter, giving the Swarm a five minute power play. A Clay Hill check from behind gave Minnesota a 5 on 3 just 14 seconds later, and Aaron Wilson capitalized with his fourth goal of the night to give the Swarm a 11-9 lead.

Buffalo answered with two shorthanded goals from Accursi and Steenhuis, and took the lead with a Roger Vyse power play goal just over halfway through the quarter. Accursi and Steenhuis would each add one more goal, making it five straight for the Bandits. Each player would finish with four on the night along with Tavares, who led the team with seven points.

Minnesota stormed right back with five goals of their own in just over three minutes, including two by Kevin Ross. Marhol’s behind the net goal gave Minnesota a 16-14 lead with one minute left on the clock. The comeback was the Storm’s second string of five or more goals in the game, and it proved too much for Buffalo to overcome.

"It was a roller coaster game," said Buffalo’s John Tavares. "We can't give away leads all the time. We have to learn to step on peoples' throats and bury them when we have the chance."

Cory Bomberry scored for the Bandits with the extra attacker on to make it 16-15, but Buffalo couldn’t tie it before time expired.

The Swarm may have played Friday night in Toronto but they were ready for the Bandits, winning battles on the boards and getting to loose balls late in the game.
“We don’t play often enough to really be tired”, Coach Kilgore said. “They will have a lot to think about for two weeks.”

Bandits goaltender Ken Montour made 39 saves in the loss, while Minnesota’s Nick Patterson stopped 24 of 31 shots faced in relief to pick up the win.
After the NLL All Star Game, Buffalo travels to Rochester to take on the Knighthawks on March 14th.


Notes: Bandits were outshot 55-45 in the game, including a 22-13 margin in the final quarter. Buffalo went 5 for 9 on the power play, while Minnesota went 3 for 12. Steenhuis’ four goal performance marks the fifth time he has scored at least four goals this season. Minnesota went 21/35 on faceoffs, with Travis Hill notching 18 wins. Minnesota’s 16 goals ties Buffalo’s season high in goals allowed (Toronto 2/20).