Buffalo Sabres

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports Do you miss the 40th Anniversary sweaters the Buffalo Sabres wore for a couple of seasons?  If you didn’t like them, you were probably happy that they were retired by the team.  There are lots of changes the Buffalo Sabres need to make before the 2013-2014 season, and apparently a new alternate sweater is among them. The Buffalo Sabres will be releasing a third jersey this year. Team President Ted Black mentioned that it will be revealed this summer, which means we could see it anytime from the draft on out.  With the Buffalo Sabres hosting a draft party – they could choose to release the sweater then, or more likely as training camp roles around, which is their norm. What will the sweater look like?  It will most likely be a darker uniform, sporting the blue color.  Black revealed on WGR550 that it will not be a throwback, but will feature the teams iconic and beloved logo, which has been brought back although slightly redesigned. So the Buffalo Sabres will get another new sweater – adding to their already diluted history of uniforms.  This will be the Buffalo Sabres fourth alternate sweater – since 2000 when the team first donned the predominantly red alternate look. Just another way for the National Hockey League teams to recover some of the lost revenue from the lockout.  Buffalo will join Dallas and Carolina who have already revealed new sweaters.  Also look for new designs for Calgary, San Jose, Minnesota, and maybe even Montreal getting a face lift?  San Jose, Montreal and Minnesota are revamping their home and away, while Calgary is looking to change/add to their alternate sweater. Thanks to Icethetics.info for the information.  I always enjoy perusing their site for templates and possible sweater outcomes.

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports Remember T.J. Brennan?  He lit the AHL on fire and almost broke a 40 year old Rochester Americans record for goals in a single season by a defenseman. Then he was called up by the Buffalo Sabres – and unceremoniously shipped to the Florida Panthers for a late round draft pick. Well his tenure in Florida is over before it had a chance to get started. T.J. Brennan now calls Nashville home, as the Nashville Predators have traded one restricted free agent in Bobby Butler to the Florida Panthers for another in Brennan. It was likely that the Panthers made this move because they weren’t going to resign the defenseman, despite his potential to be a star blue liner. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers resign Butler, or use him in another deal at the draft to bolster their picks with a package. Will Brennan be signed by the Nashville Predators – be qualified with an offer, or be allowed to hit the open market. Brennan could also be used by the Nashville Predators to move up in the draft – if they feel they need to be higher on the board than they are now. Could the Buffalo Sabres get back in on the Brennan sweepstakes?

This infographic from Backhand Shelf is a useful representation of how the two cup teams have spent their money for this season.  Thus I thought it would be fun to see how the Sabres compared.  When you get sad, here’s some good memories:

Andrej Sekera #44 / Defenseman / Buffalo Sabres Height: 6-0 Weight: 201 Born: Jun 08, 1986 GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG GTG SOG PCT 2012 - Andrej Sekera 37 2 10 12 -2 4 0 0 0 33 Contract: Signed through the 2014-15 season at $2.75 million Report Card Grade in 2012: 7 out of 10 Introduction: Andrej Sekera is a player who's caused some dissension among Sabres fans over the past few seasons. On the one hand, he's a very solid, reliable, two-way defenseman, but on the other hand, he doesn't stand out in any category that's easy for fans to relate to. Key Stat: Splits are the key stat(s) for Sekera. In the first two months of the season, he was a -6 with just 4 points, while over the last two Sekera posted a +4 with 8 points. In home games, Charles Barkley would have called Sekera turrible, with a -7 in 19 games, but in 18 road games he was a +5. We've seen Sekera's talent in the past, but one of his issues has always been consistency. The 27-year old is entering a phase of his career where he needs to show it more consistently over the next two seasons if he's going to earn his big payday in the summer of 2015. Thumbs Up: Andrej Sekera played against the most difficult competition of any defenseman on the Sabres blue line. Sekera was the tenth highest scorer on the team, and second highest among defensemen behind Christian Ehrhoff. He racked up over 21 minutes of ice time, third on the team, and accrued only 4 minutes of penalty time. The Slovakian d-man racked up 73 blocked shots, good for third on the team, despite playing in only 37 games. Thumbs Down: Sekera had the third worst Relative Corsi mark on the team, meaning the opposition outshot the Sabres while he was on the ice more than almost anyone on the team. He doesn't hit much, with only 30 in 27 games, and had almost twice as many giveaways as takeaways. He contributes a bit on both the power play and penalty kill, though not much compared to other blueliners. Voting: Using the good old grade school system of A, B, C, D, F, with A representing a great season, C an average season, and F a very poor season, grade Andrej Sekera on his performance this year according to the expectations you had for him. Poll What grade would you give Andrej Sekera for his 2012-13 season? A B C D F 2 votes | Results

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports What happened to the Chicago Blackhawks?  Games 1 and 2 quickly entered history books and the Boston Bruins have stopped treating the ‘Hawks like a formidable opponent, and have started treating them like the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Chicago will need to figure things out before tomorrow night’s game four – especially their power play – more importantly Tuukka Rask if they don’t want to head back to Chicago in a must win situation. Remember Daniel Paille?  He was a Darcy Regier draft pick in 2002, a first round draft pick to be exact - and now he’s a force to be reckon with for the Boston Bruins.  No – he’s not the guy to build a team around – but he’s a lot more important than the “expendable” tag that Darcy put on him just seven years, and two complete NHL seasons with the blue and gold.  Strike against Darcy, yet he is still here.  [Sports Media 101]. Buffalo has lots of options as draft day approaches.  They got bigger up the middle with last years first round in Girgensons and Grigorenko.  Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek are on the trading block, and Darcy’s eyes are targetting the number one overall pick.  Do you still trust a Darcy Regier trade – if so, see above on the first link.  If not, check out the Buffalo Sabres draft primer from the New York Hockey Journal.  [New York Hockey Journal]. Darcy,  Dan Paille has two game winning goals in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Boston Bruins.  This will be his second Stanley Cup in four years with the Bruins.  After you got a third round pick and a conditional fourth for your former first round pick in 2002.  But don’t worry, Chicago doesn’t have an answer for him either.  [The New York Times]. Sure we haven’t even finished this Stanley Cup yet – but here’s looking at the most memorable Stanley Cup Finals plays in the last decade.  [Bleacher Report].

Clarence alumna ('81) Sarah Wells Frank passed away on June 16, 2013. May she rest in peace. FRANK - Sarah Wells February 25, 1963-June 16, 2013, passed away peacefully in her Clarence home, loving and devoted mother of Alexander James Frank; beloved fiance; of Jeffrey Frank Plewak; dear daughter of Carol Wells (nee Burkhardt) and the late Charles L. Wells; survived by her sisters Elizabeth Wells (James Rozanski), Carol J. Wells (William Browne), Cathleen (Joseph) McGreevy, and Allison Mac Kenzie (late Brian Mac Kenzie); loving stepmother of Brittany, Jeffrey R. and Andrew Plewak and grandmother of Alivia McMahon; ex-wife of Dennis Frank and stepmother of Emily, Dennis and Aubrey; Sarah is also survived by nieces and nephews, and many friends, aunts, uncles and cousins. The family will be present to receive friends Wednesday 6-8 and Thursday 2-4 and 6-8 at BEACH-TUYN FUNERAL HOME, INC., 5541 Main St. (at Cayuga Rd), Williamsville. Friends are invited to a memorial service at a date and time to be announced. Sarah was one of the co-founders of Orchard Park Antique Mall. Sarah loved children, animals, antiques, travelling, gardening and swimming. Graduate of Clarence High School and Buffalo State College. Flowers gratefully declined. Memorials may be made to The Buffalo Zoo or The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.

The Buffalo Sabres announced yesterday that they've made two additions to their internal staff - Craig Kanalley has been hired as the team's new social media manager and Chris Ryndak will write in some capacity on the editorial side. On the surface, this might not seem like that important of an announcement, however, both of these writers share two important traits - they come from the ever-growing online pool of quality bloggers/writers, and they each have unique Buffalo connections. Kanalley was born in Buffalo, graduated from St. John-Fisher college, and his namesake is Buffalo Sabres great Craig Ramsay, while Ryndak was a writer for popular Buffalo-based blog The Goose's Roost before covering the team for NHL.com. These are two smart hirings by the Sabres that received instant praise amongst Buffalo's Twitterati, not only because they both have strong personal connections to the team, but because the Sabres went out and found two guys who produce high-quality work, and brought them in to the fold. When you combine this with the fact that the organization has already been utilizing the talents of Kris Baker from the excellent Sabres Prospects blog to help with their draft coverage, you can see the organizational pattern of targeting smart voices who have a passion for Sabres hockey, and using their talents to improve the team's coverage of itself. The off-ice product should improve with the team's recent additions, and improvement in any area is a good thing. However, this now puts the onus on GM Darcy Regier and his team to improve the on-ice product in a meaningful way come the draft and free agency. All the insightful Tweets and editorials in the world won't mean much if the team plays as poorly as it did for stretches last season. I'm looking forward to seeing what Kanalley and Ryndak bring to the organization, but I'm looking forward even more to how they cover the team's inevitable changes.

Sabres Links Coller: Who should the Sabres target in free agency? [WGR 550] Sabres hire Craig Kanalley for social media [Sabres.com] Around The League Alain Vigneault to be named Rangers coach [TSN] Flyers agree to four year contract with Mark Streit [TSN] Coyotes would move to Seattle if ownership falls through [Seattle Times] Red Wings interested in Stephen Weiss [M Live] Canucks sign Swedish goaltender Joacim Eriksson [NHL.com]

What would you want for Miller or Vanek? For Miller the price for him would be a First (either 2013 or 2014), a proven player in the league (preferably a scoring winger or a top 4 defenseman), plus a couple of top prospects. For the prospects I would want to get a winger or center, possibly a goalie prospect. The thing is that not all teams want to give up that much or they don't have that much ammunition to give up. In reality the Sabres may only get a First, a mediocre player, and a top prospect. For Vanek the price would be a First (either 2013 or 2014), a young hitting/scoring winger (20-24), and another prospect (center or a defenseman). I don't think the Sabres will be able to get as much for Vanek as they will for Miller. Miller will be more valuable to a team. Vanek would be the right fit for most teams. My top 5 teams for Miller to land on are 1. Phoenix Coyotes (I know they may be moving to Seattle, that may sway Miller away from wanting to go there) 2. St. Louis Blues 3. Colorado Avalanche 4. New York Islanders 5. Anaheim Ducks My top 5 teams for Vanek to land on are 1. Minnesota Wild 2. LA Kings 3. Philadelphia Flyers 4. Winnipeg Jets 5. Washington Capitals I might be dreaming a little bit on the trade values of Miller and Vanek. I don't know how much teams are willing to give up but the way I think is how will Miller or Vanek impact the team once they are there. Miller would be the top goalie he was on the right team. Vanek could be a high 30 or low 40's goal scorer on the right team. There is no questioning that Miller and Vanek are top players right now and there is no reason why they shouldn't be attracting teams. Darcy just needs to find the right partner. What would you want for Miller or Vanek? For Miller the price for him would be a First (either 2013 or 2014), a proven player in the league (preferably a scoring winger or a top 4 defenseman), plus a couple of top prospects. For the prospects I would want to get a winger or center, possibly a goalie prospect. The thing is that not all teams want to give up that much or they don't have that much ammunition to give up. In reality the Sabres may only get a First, a mediocre player, and a top prospect. For Vanek the price would be a First (either 2013 or 2014), a young hitting/scoring winger (20-24), and another prospect (center or a defenseman). I don't think the Sabres will be able to get as much for Vanek as they will for Miller. Miller will be more valuable to a team. Vanek would be the right fit for most teams. My top 5 teams for Miller to land on are 1. Phoenix Coyotes (I know they may be moving to Seattle, that may sway Miller away from wanting to go there) 2. St. Louis Blues 3. Colorado Avalanche 4. New York Islanders 5. Anaheim Ducks My top 5 teams for Vanek to land on are 1. Minnesota Wild 2. LA Kings 3. Philadelphia Flyers 4. Winnipeg Jets 5. Washington Capitals I might be dreaming a little bit on the trade values of Miller and Vanek. I don't know how much teams are willing to give up but the way I think is how will Miller or Vanek impact the team o

I’m not going to spend much time recapping this.  The Sabres lured  Craig Kanalley from the Huffington Post to do social media stuff and Chris Ryndak of The Goose’s Roost to do editorial stuff and if you want to learn more you should use what I assume is a passable talent for navigating the internet.  Without knowing a huge amount about either guy, I do like both moves.  I think hiring Ryndak shows that the team is starting to have a better finger on the pulse of what Sabres fans enjoy consuming locally, and the Kanalley moves shows that the organization is willing to try to woo premiere national talent.  Certainly that Kanalley has spent time living outside of Buffalo and that there are so many expatriate Sabres fans bodes well because we deserve a voice too. But hockey and hockey organizations are all about winning Stanley Cups and it’s hard to envision how these moves get us closer to that goal, right?  Right.  One of my favorite things about sports is how a team with a history of failure gets bagged on for literally every move they make.  I bet if you go to the Sabres Facebook page you’ll find a comment lamenting the shittiness of the team or Darcy Regier, or something on every single post, whether it’s related to the actual hockey part of the organization or not.  Because having players bring puppies to orphans or visit sick children or stand against bullying doesn’t bring us any trophies so fuck it all. The great thing about sports (or the shitty thing if you’re an idiot) is that there are all these aspects of an organization that have nothing to do with the actual sport, other than the fact that the players participate or the team sanctions them or whatever.  (That’s why a lot of us like certain players, there is an appeal to them that goes beyond the sport they play or how they play it.)  Obviously the largest factors in whether or not a team is successful lie within the front office and the actual team, but it’s foolish to say that none of the other stuff is a part of the ultimate goal.  And even if you actually believe it isn’t, wouldn’t you want your team to be good at everything anyway?  In all its obnoxiousness, isn’t what the @LAKings are doing kind of fun?  Aren’t the Canucks and the Bruins marching in their cities’ respective Pride Parades fantastic gesutres?  (If not, I’ll save you some time.) At the very least it looks like the Sabres care about this stuff a little more than they did before, and I think that’s a small reason to get excited, even if the team is a work in progress.