Aside from the thrilling signings of Kevin Porter and Mark Mancari not much is going on in Hockey Heaven these days. So I thought today I would share my ideas for the new CBA. I hope the NHL and NHLPA to come to an agreement quickly so that we can have hockey in October. However deep down I think the season will start in November or December. First and foremost I think the NHL needs to revisit the rulebook. The NHL needs to get back to calling interference and holding. Nothing makes more m
Darcy Reiger pulled off the trade that Sabres fans have been waiting for since the end of the 2010-11 season. Derek Roy was traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy. Roy has been on the trade block for almost a year and it was feared he was untradeable. Fans were fed with Roy's inconsistent play and lack of energy and hustle at times. He also never really seemed to be on the same page with Lindy Ruff in his entire time in Buffalo. The rift between the two was magn
At noon on Sunday the biding war will begin. Large amounts of money will be thrown around, a new Ville Leino will be crowned. Thanks to the poor excuse for a management team in Calgary the free agent market for defenseman just went way up. The Flames handed Dennis Wideman a 5 year 26.25 million dollar contract with a full "no movement" clause. Yes that is a 5.25 millon dollar cap hit for Wideman, people laughing at the Ehrhoff contract (I don't know why) he only has a cap hit of 4 million.
The 2012 NHL draft weekend didn't disappoint with big trades, rumors, draft winners, and draft losers. Jordan Staal, Sergei Bobrovsky, Lubomir Visnovsky, Mike Ribero and Brandon Sutter all have new homes after the draft weekend. Yakupov went first as expected and Scott Howson made people scratch their heads as expected. Sabres Draft With the their 12th selection Buffalo took the risk and selected highly talented Russian center Mikhail Grigorenko. Grigorenko started as a top 3 prospect in the
The headline of the 2012 offseason outside of the new CBA will be eventual trade of Rick Nash. Nash has been on the block since the trade deadline. This offseason teams will line up to give away prospects, draft picks, and good young players to acquire Nash. However is Nash worth the high return Columbus will receive in any deal? First let me say this, I believe that Nash is a great player in this league. However I don't consider him to be a top 10 player in the NHL talent barely top 25 (see
This is part three of a four part outlook into the Sabres offseason. This section will focus on potential draft picks at 12th overall to keep it short. Also look into the possibilities of trading up or trading of picks in general. Buffalo is a powerful position with 4 picks in the top 44 this year (12, 21, 41, 44). Potential Picks 1. Alex Galchenyuk-C-Sarnia Sting 6'2 185 lbs Galchenyuk is number 1, 2 and 3 on the Sabres board. Any trade up in the draft Buffalo will be attempting to draft G
Today's blog is part two of my part offseason preview for the Buffalo Sabres. Part two is going to look at the possible trade opportunities that the Sabres may be presented with. I'm going to break it into two categories: players Buffalo may target and current Sabres players on the Trade Block. Targets 1. Jordan Staal-C-Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins may be looking to deal their big center in an attempt to bring in a top flight defenseman. Pittsburgh is running into a situation where they h
I am going to do a four part preview of the Sabres offseason looking at the Draft, Current Prospects in the system, Free Agency, and the Trade Market. Today I am going to start with the Prospects portion, so let's get to the fun. 1. Joel Armia-Assat-SM Liga Armia was the 1st round pick of the Sabres in last year's draft. He was the first European player selected by the Sabres in five years. The 6'3 200 lb Finish winger has been playing in the Finish Elite League for two years now. Armia has
After some time away from the NHL and only enjoying playoff hockey on TV I am ready to get back into the blog/hockeyforums world. I was reading an article the other day about the top 100 NFL players of 2011-12. That inspired me to put together my own top 100 of current NHL players. I have worked on this for a few days and I'm 99% sure I will not put in someone important. So with your help maybe we can put a list together with all of your input. So without any more delay here is my top 100 N
Tonight begins the best playoffs in all of sports. Even the though the Sabres are not part of the tourney, I'm still excited. Anyways I stated in the last blog that I was going to focus on some league issues. Today I am going to start with the point system the NHL has in place, specifically the "loser point". For winning a hockey game via regulation, overtime, or shootout a team is awarded two points in the standings and loser gets zero unless the loss comes in OT or a shootout, in which the
This year is perhaps the most open the race to the cup has ever been. Not one team is a favorite, the Cup winner could come from a bottom or a top seed. Should make for a fun playoffs full of drama. Well let's get to the predictions. Eastern Conference: 1. New York Rangers (51-24-7 109 pts) vs 8. Ottawa Senators (41-31-10 92 pts) I think that the Rangers should be happy with this matchup. The Rangers would have prefered the Capitals, but the Sens are not a bad matchup either. Ottawa stumbled
For the second straight season, the Sabres were sent home after a game in the Wells Fargo Center. Offically making it 5 years without a playoff series victory and missing the playoffs 3 out of last 5 years. As I take a step back today and look at the big picture, I ask myself what this run really did for the Sabres as an organization. Sure you found out Miller can still play, Foligno is promising, and Ennis has a bright future. However Buffalo now sits with a mid first round pick and a late
Personally I would rather the Sabres play any of the other 28 NHL teams tonight besides the Flyers. This goes all the way back to game 7 of the playoffs last year, when Philly blew the doors off a injured and overmatched Sabres squad to send them home. Well tonight the Flyers may have that chance again. With a Caps victory against Florida tonight and a Sabres loss the playoff race is over. However flip that scenerio and the Sabres will have a playoff birth by the throat. All that will be ne
Last night was the entire Sabres season wrapped up into one game. At 3-0 you were angry and thought it was over, at 3-2 there was hope, 4-2 it was over again, 4-3 hope again, 5-3 this time it is really over, 5-4 it was well maybe, at 5-5 it was are you kidding, and at 6-5 it was pandemonium. This could be just a game that in the end is just another game of 82 in a disappointing non playoff season. It also could be the game that makes you believe Buffalo is destined for the post season. With
At this time last night Buffalo appeared to be in good position in the playoff race. After a tough 5-3 loss to the Penguins last night the Sabres no longer have the game in hand and sit in 9th with the Capitals owning the tie breaker. Sidney "Sabres Killer" Crosby was at top form last night with 1 goal and 3 assists. The Sabres didn't help themselves missing numerous chances to put the puck past Johnson. I am stunned that Buffalo did not put at least 8 into the cage on Johnson. He looked clu
Tonight at the FN Center the Buffalo Sabres will honor their fans. We deserve a lot of praise for putting up with the horrible start and constant stress that comes with a playoff push. Some of the things that will occur tonight include the "Shirt off our Back" Promotion, where at the end of the game, 20 lucky fans will be randomly selected to receive the game worn jerseys of all the Sabres dressed. Also a 50/50 raffle with a minimum prize of 25K (or you could $640 million with the mega millio
As Gus Johnson would say, the Sabres were Coooold Blooooded last night. They walked into the Verizon Center and they dropped the hammer on the Capitals. Buffalo skated and hit their way to a 5-1 win and sole ownership of 8th place. After the first 10 minutes of the first period this game was never close. Alex Ovechkin had the chance to again carry his team and prove he is a true superstar. Instead he literally and figurativley fell on his face. Ovechkin was dangerous one maybe two times th
Tonight is the night when most of the hockey world will focus on the Sabres vs Capitals game tonight in the Verizon Center. Buffalo and Washington come into tonight's game tied for 8th place in the Eastern Conference with 84 points. Winner takes lone possession of 8th place. Let me say this before I go any further. THE LOSER OF THIS GAME WHETHER IT BE BUFFALO OR WASHINGTON IS NOT OUT OF IT. With that being said whatever team walks away with the two points will feel pretty good going into th
Tonight Buffalo will have another shot to tie the idle 8th Washington Capitals. Another team they are creeping closer is the Ottawa Senators. A win tonight puts Buffalo 4 points behing Ottawa, within yelling distance. Ottawa plays Montreal, Pittsburgh, and Winnipeg in their next three (at Winnipeg). Right now though the focus remains on Washington. Tonight division rival the Montreal Canadiens come into the FN Center. Buffalo has won 4 of the 5 meetings this season. The last game was a 3-2
Believe it or not the hottest line in hockey calls Hockey Heaven home. Tyler Ennis, Drew Stafford, and Marcus Foligno are on an absolute tear right now. This line alone could have put up 7 goals on Tampa Bay Monday. They dominated the game almost every shift. The combination of speed and size that this line presents is the type of offense Buffalo has looked for all season. In the last 5 games since Foligno's recall that line has 11 goals, 14 assists, 25 points, and is a combined +22. Let's
Another big game tonight for Buffalo. Tonight's meeting with the Lightning is for a 8th place tie with the Caps, as long as Detroit does their job in Hockeytown tonight. Tampa comes in tonight's game struggling losing 6 of 7. The loss of Matheiu Garon has been a killer for the Bolts, Tampa was making a push however they now seem out of it. Steven Stamkos has hit the 50 goal milestone for the second time in his career. He is red hot and will need to be contained for Buffalo to have a chance t
For the second straight game Buffalo gets the loser point after a shootout loss. In a week of three winable games, Buffalo wins one. Where to begin? I guess lets start with the standings, Buffalo gains a point and sits two behind Washington (three points actually with the tie breaker). Sure mathematically it's not over, but the eye test will tell you different. Let me jump back to March 5th in Winnipeg, a HUGE game Buffalo needed badly. They don't show up and lose 3-1, I let that one go be
I finally dragged myself back to a hockey mindset today after three thrilling days in Buffalo known as the "Mario Party". The Bills signing of Mario Williams has given me new energy to root for a final push by the Sabres. I want to touch on Wednesday's game against the Avalanche. First off Marcus Foligno is showing more and more why Zach Kassian became available in a trade. Foligno has 4 points in 4 NHL games, all 4 coming in his last three games (3 goals 1 assist). To bad the Sabres defens
The Sabres have 3 games this week 2 at home and 1 on the road. If the Sabres want to stay in the race they need to win all 3. Tonight it starts with a visit from the Montreal Canadiens coming off a 4-1 against the struggling Nucks in Vancouver Saturday. Wednesday the Avalanche visit the FN Center and Buffalo then takes a trip to Sunrise to play the Panthers in a BIG playoff type game. All three games MUST win in my opinion. Buffalo received no help on the scoreboard last night with 2-0 wins
The Sabres return to TD Garden tonight for the first time since Milan Lucic steam rolled Ryan Miller. Since that game the Sabres are 2-0-1 against Boston in 3 meetings in Buffalo. They have stood up to Boston in all three meetings and have out played them during most of those games. Another story line tonight for Buffalo is that 8th place is on the line with a little help on the out of town scoreboard. First off the goaltending matchup will feature Tim Thomas against most likely Jhonas Enroth
