Pegulaville26

I'm not at all surprised we didn't move a pick. A rebuilding team doesn't move picks for an established player they stay at 8 and 16 and pick two good players. I love the move in the 2nd round with Carolina to get Compher more than acquiring McBain. Also Rolston was given the job because he is excellent at developing young players. See Foligno, Pysyk, McNabb, and Flynn. This team is going to be littered with young players that need to be developed in order to succeed and Rolston is a good fit for that job.

I think it would be good to bring him back for the lockeroom, however I can't see Briere wanting to come back after the mess of the 07 offseason.

Pegula deserves every. single. bit. of criticism he's getting. 16 years with the same GM and the team is going backwards and then the GM comes on at the end of the year and talks about "suffering" that fans are going to have to deal with for the next few years and a full rebuild. Then the owner comes on and says he wants to keep Miller and Vanek and how the Sabres can be a part of UFA still. It seems the like the Sabres have no plan and are just going with flow.

I might be the only person in Buffalo that hates this idea of moving up to 1st. It would cost you probably Grigorneko or Armia or Girgensons or Hodgson and Pysyk or McNabb or Myers and 8th and 16th and probably a pick next year for Nathan McKinnon? At least if Colorado is smart that's what it should cost. No thank you though. Why not keep 16 move up to like 5th maybe draft Barkov or Nichushkin and then come back at 16 and draft a good blue liner or a player like Erne (Grigorenko's best friend and junior line mate). Then you have two good players in a stacked draft. They have two 2nd's this year and next to use as chips to move up a few spots. This also allows you to keep your good young players and build to it. Then you have Miller and Vanek as chips to acquire more assets outside of the draft. The Sabres could really kill it this offseason if they do it right. This should be a rebuild not trade a lot of young talent and future for one guy.

In light of the news that Brad Richards will be a healthy scratch for the Blue Shirts tonight in game 4 I thought it would be interesting to look at back some UFA busts that teams bet big on. I love July 1st as much of the next guy, however if I were running a NHL I would be cautious of the damage it can do. Numerous teams have bet big and lost big. More times than not that July 1st signing doesn't pan out. So here's a look at my top 10 free agency busts: 10. Michael Nylander-Washington Capitals-4 years 19.5 million On July 2nd 2007 Michael Nylander signed a 4 year deal with the Washington Capitals to be the Caps #1 center. If you remember the controversy behind the Nylander signing, the Oilers thought they had a deal worked out with Nylander only to find out that he instead stiffed the Oilers to sign with the Capitals. Nylander's tenure in DC started off bad when he tore is rotar cuff in December 2007. Nylander never really recovered from that injury. In two years in Washington, Nylander played 112 games and scored 20 goals and 70 pts in those two seasons. After the 2008-09 season Nylander would finish his career in the AHL and Europe. 9. Sean Avery-Dallas Stars-4 years 15.5 million On July 2nd 2008 the Dallas Stars made a splash when they signed pest Sean Avery. Then Stars GM Brett Hull thought Avery could bring grit and scoring to Dallas. Instead all Avery brought were headaches. Avery played 23 games in Dallas scoring 3 goals and 10 points. Avery was suspended for controversial comments he made about a Calgary Flames player Dion Phaneuf who was dating Avery's ex-girlfriend. After Avery's suspension the Stars waived Avery who would eventually wind up back in NY the next season, but never truly made an impact again in the NHL. Avery would end up wearing out his welcome in NY and went on to retire. 8. Sheldon Souray-Edmonton Oilers-5 years 27 million On July 12th, 2007 Souray signed a 5 year deal with the Oilers to bring stability to a struggling blue line in Edmonton. The year before the Oilers were in the cup finals and ready to make another run. In the 07-08 season Souray struggled with injuries. In 08-09 Souray produced on a poor Oiler team, but however in 09-10 the injury bug bit Souray again. The 2010-11 season the Oilers burried the big D man in the AHL as they tried to move him, but were unable to do so with his contract. Souray would have a NHL revival in his time in Dallas and Anaheim. Souray would put up 76 points in his 124 games with the Oilers. 7. Jeff Finger-Toronto Maple Leafs-4 years 14 million On July 1st, 2008 the Leafs signed Finger away from the Avalanche with a 4 year deal. At the time a lot of people believed that the Leafs over paid for Finger. Finger never played a full season in his two years with Toronto. He played a total of 105 games in two years. Finger would play the final two years of his deal in the AHL and would not play another game in the NHL again. 6. Mike Komisarek-Toronto Maple Leafs-5 years 22.5 million On July 1st, 2009 the Leafs for the 2nd straight season signed a defeseman that turned out to be a disaster. Komisarek like Finger never played a full season in Toronto. He dealt with injury issues his three seasons with the Leafs. Komisarek often looked slow and was a whipping boy in Toronto. The Komisarek deal is one of the moves Burke haters stood on to help oust Burke. This season when healthy Komisarek played in the AHL after Toronto was unable to move him with his large contract. Komisarek has one more season left on his deal and is likely headed for a compliance buy out at the end of this season. 5. Wade Redden-New York Rangers-6 years 39 million On July 1st, 2008 Redden signed a big deal with the Rangers after a great career in Ottawa. Redden would only wind up playing 2 of those 6 years in the NHL with NY. After two tough years in Manhattan the Rangers assigned Redden to AHL where he would play for the next 2 seasons until he was bought out by Rangers this last offseason. The Rangers still had to pay Redden 5.6 million dollars this season even though he played in St. Louis and Boston. Like Souray Redden has had a career revival of sorts this season. 4. Brad Richards-New York Rangers-9 years 58.5 million On July 2nd, 2011 the Rangers signed the top free agent Brad Richards to a 9 year deal to be the Blue Shirts #1 center. Here we are into only the second season of the 9 year deal Richards is going to be a healthy scratch in game 4 of the ECQF. Before being scratched Richards was in Tort's dog house and was playing on the 4th line. Richards had 66 pts in 82 games his first season in NY and 34 pts this season in 46 games. Richards is starting to slow down and has been a big disappointment in the playoffs this year. With 7 more years left on Richards contract the Rangers are stuck and can only hope Richards can still produce at some level in the years to come or he could be a compliance buy out in the near future. 3. Scott Gomez-New York Rangers-7 years 51.5 million On July 1st, 2007 the Rangers made a statement signing both Chris Drury and Scott Gomez to big deals. Neither player really worked out for NY, but Gomez is the big eye sore. Gomez played two years in NY and was a huge let down. In 158 games Gomez put up 128 points with 16 goals in each of the two seasons. To the Rangers credit they managed to get the Montreal Canadiens to take Gomez off their hands and ended up picking up Ryan McDonagh in that trade. Gomez went on to continue his decline in Montreal and kill the Candiens cap until they bought him out this offseason. Gomez is now at best a 3rd line player. 2. Bobby Holik-New York Rangers-5 years 45 million We will end the run of Rangers awful signings with Bobby Holik. On July 1st, 2002 the Rangers signed Holik to a monster contract. Holik never came close to living up to that deal in NY, which was a mistake the second the Rangers offered that deal to Holik. In two years in NY Holik put up 91 pts in 146 games. After the 04-05 lockout the Rangers bought out the final two years of Holik's deal. Holik would go on to play 4 more seasons in the NHL with a minor role in Atlanta and NJ. 1. Alexei Yashin-New York Islanders-10 years 87.5 million This move was more of a trade and sign that happened on draft day 2001, but is still needed on this list. On draft day 2001 the Islanders acquired Yashin for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt, and the 2nd overall pick that year (Jason Spezza). The Islander quickly signed Yashin to perhaps one of the if not the worst deals in NHL history. Yashin played 5 seasons on Long Island reaching over 65 points once and over 50 pts three times. In 2007 the Islanders bought out the remainder of Yashin's deal and since then the Russain forward has played in his homeland Russia. The Islanders will be finished paying Yashin after the 2014-15 season. Honorable mentions- Ville Leino Buffalo, Tim Connolly- Toronto, Cristobal Huet- Chicago, Martin Lapointe- Boston, Dustin Penner- Edmonton, Ilya Bryzgalov-Philadelphia

Don't look now, but all of the sudden the Buffalo Sabres are fielding the youngest team in the NHL. At an average age of 26.41 the Sabres have quickly flipped into develop the future mode. After this season with the likely departures of Jochen Hecht (35), John Scott (30), Ville Leino (29), Adam Pardy (29), and Ryan Miller (32), then put onto the roster possibly Mikhail Grigorenko (18), Zemgus Girgensons (18), Johan Larsson (20), Matt Hackett (24), Brayden McNabb (22), Chad Ruhwedel (23), and/or Joel Armia (20) the Sabres could be younger next year. With youth however comes a growing process and mistakes. Sabres fans will deal with games where they will want to pull their hair out, but will also have games where the team will give promise. It's not likely that all of the kids I just mentioned will turn out to be great NHL players, but I would rather be in this postion than a team stuck in mediocrity. The Sabres are on pace to miss the playoffs for the 4th time in 6 years and as this season comes to end I feel they are in a better place now than at the end of any of those six seasons. Now the Sabres need to watch what is happening in Edmonton and remember to surround your youth with good veteran players. The Sabres already have some good vets in place with Ehrhoff, Ott, and Vanek. Next season those three players could very well be the three players with letters on their jerseys. As the season comes to an end a few players are making strong strides to secure roster spots next season. One of the players is Brian Flynn. Flynn turns in a strong performance every night and you never walk away sayin that the 24 year old didn't put in a lot of effort. Flynn has 10 points in 21 games, which would be on pace for around 40 points in a 82 game season. Flynn won't be a top line winger, but will be a good player that can provide secondary scoring and kill penalties. Newest Sabre Chad Ruhwedel has played well in his two games so far. Ruhwedel is a smooth skater and shows great poise. He stepped right into the NHL from the college level and didn't blink an eye. The most exciting perhaps is defenseman Mark Pysyk. Pysyk also shows great poise in his own zone. He is not a flashy player, but he makes smart and quick decisions. The 21 year old defender is seeing time now on the PP and becoming more of a pressance in the offensive zone with his increased ice time. A pairing of Brayden McNabb and Mark Pysyk should have Sabres fans excited for their future. Mikhail Grigorenko joined the Sabres today after his team was eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs. Grigorenko will not play tomorrow in Boston, but will play the final 4 games of the season with Buffalo before joining the Rochester Americans in the NHL playoffs. Grigo will get his second look of the season in likely a 2nd line role this time with Drew Stafford and Steve Ott. I can say personally I've had more fun watching this kids play with speed and energy than the team the Sabres entered the season with. Hopefully Buffalo can finish strong and build toward next season.

Sabres have announced they signed All American Dman Chad Ruhwedel from Lowell UMass. The 5'11 180 LB defender signed a 2 year ELC and will debut this afternoon for the Sabres against the Flyers.

Sabres announced today that Tyler Myers broke a bone in his leg and will miss the final 8 games of the season. Myers blocked two straight PK Subban shots late in the 3rd on a 5 on 3 likely causing the injury. Myers finishes a bad season with 3 goals 8 points and a -8. Sabres top priority will be getting the 6'8 dman back to top form in the offseason. Myers final quote of the season after last night's embarrassment of a 5-1 loss to the Habs was perhaps the quote of the season..."We lost every single battle. It was the worst effort the Buffalo Sabres have put on the ice since I've been a part of it." Alex Biega will likely replace the Myers the rest of the season. Sabres opening night D: Regher, Myers, Leopold, Sulzer, Ehrhoff, Sekera Likely final game D: Ehrhoff, Sekera, Pardy, Pysyk, Biega, Weber

With the trade deadline now passed the Sabres have choosen a direction for the future. That direction is exactly that, the future. Over the last week the Sabres shipped out Robyn Regehr, Jordan Leopold, and captain Jason Pominville. Regier has finally come to reality that the current core will not take the Sabres to the promise land. Buffalo is set to miss the playoffs for the 2nd straight season. Sabres GM Darcy Regier would not use the "R" word as he put in his post deadline press conference. However with Ryan Miller and maybe Thomas Vanek set to suffer the same fate as Pominville this summer, the Sabres seem to be ready for a youth movement. Next years opening night roster could feature youngsters such as Foligno, Pysyk, McNabb, Larsson, Grigorenko, Armia, Girgensons, Flynn, and Tropp leading the skaters with Enroth and Hackett in the blue paint. A lot of Sabres fans say they are ready for a fresh start, but next year will be the real test to see if they're ready. I want to shift focus a little bit and talk about the three moves the Sabres made at the deadline. Leopold and Regehr have been on the block for most of the season and both brought back a good return for the Sabres in the form of high draft picks. The possibilty of Pominville being moved started to come to the surface in the last week. Many believed that one if not two of the big three (Pominville, Vanek, and Miller) would be moved at the deadline. Pominville was the one choosen and he brought a great return to the Sabres. This move could perhaps have been a job saver for Darcy Regier. Minnesota sent back young Swedish forward John Larsson, goaltending prospect Matt Hackett, a 2013 1st round pick, and a 2014 2nd round pick. Larsson is 20 years old and was the captain of the Sweden Junior Team when they won the World Juniors. The 5'10 200 lb C/LW is a good two way player, that has leadership qualities. Larsson won't wow you with flashy skills, but can put the puck in the net and is responsible in his own end. Larsson had 37 points in 62 games with the Aeros this year. Matt Hackett has seen some NHL action in the last few years as the Wild had to rush the young goaltender due to injuries over the last year and a half. Last year Hackett was 3-6 in the NHL with a 2.38 GAA and .921 SV%. This year with the Aeros of the AHL Hackett was 19-20-3 with a 2.66 GAA and .907 SV%. The 23 year old goaltender is still at least another year from being ready to be a full time starter in the NHL, but gives the Sabres some goaltending youth along with Andrey Makarov. Both Larsson and Hackett will start with the Rochester Americans as they prepare for the AHL playoffs. With the picks the Sabres picked up they now have two 1st round picks and three 2nd round picks in 2013, as well as two 2nd round picks in 2014. So to recap the Sabres deadline moves: Traded: Robyn Regehr (LA) Jordan Leopold (STL) Jason Pominville (MIN) Return: John Larsson Matt Hackett 2013 1st rd pick 2 2013 2nd rd picks 1 2014 2nd rd pick 1 2015 2nd rd pick Tonight the Sabres host the young Ottawa Senators who the Sabres can hope to model themselves after. They will have to deal with new acquisition Cory Conacher in his Sens debut. Buffalo sits 5 points out of 8th with 11 games to go. Sabres are more likely to finish in the bottom 5 of the NHL than a playoff spot. However watching some of the kids play will help me get through the next 11 games. Without Vanek and Leino in the lineup due to injury the roster looks a lot different than opening night. Gerbe-Hodgson-Ott Stafford-Ennis-Foligno Adam-Porter-Flynn Kaleta-Hecht-Scott Ehrhoff-Myers Pysyk-Weber Sekera-Pardy Miller Prediction: I expect the Sabres to take a step back with the loss of their captain the Sens to come out flying with Conacher joining the lineup. 4-1 Sens.

I was with you until you said that. I think Miller is very undervalued in Buffalo and will be missed. Makarov and Hackett are still a year if not two away. Enroth can carry the load for the next season or two as long as your willing to take a step back in goal until one of the kids are ready. As for Leggio he's doing great in Rochester, but he is an AHL goalie. NHL is a different animal and his good stats very likely would not transfer to the next level.

Good deal by Darcy here. Larsson will likely get a look with the Sabres at some point this year. Also this move puts the writing on the wall for Miller to be shown the door with Hackett coming in.

No need for Jokinen on the Sabres. A rebuilding team doesn't claim a $3 million dollar 3rd line center with another year left on the contract. Sabres have their own overpaid players they have to get rid of like Stafford and Leopold to name a few. I would have been mad if the Sabres did it. Would of made 0 sense.

Here we are again for the 3rd straight season the Buffalo Sabres are looking to make a late season run to the playoffs. With 16 games left the Sabres sit 3 points out of the 8th and final playoff spot. Sabres have a date tonight with the struggling Lightning on a three game winning streak. This week will be a huge week for Sabres management to decide what they want to do next week at the deadline. With matchups against the Lightning, Panthers, Capitals, and Bruins this week the Sabres can take 6 or 7 points this week. I'm still at put at least two weeks of solid hockey together and then I will buy in. Last time the Sabres were in this position about a month ago they followed a good 3-0-1 week with a 0-3-1 week. This time I will admit I have more faith in the Sabres putting up another solid week. I see imporvement and changes under new coach Ron Rolston. The defensive play has imporved greatly in their own end. The Sabres PP is starting to crawl out of the basement with PP goals in 3 straight and 5 PP goals in those 3 games. One main reason is the turn around play of Tyler Myers. Myers has once again started to return to his old dominate form. He is skating better, being more physical, and getting more involved in the offensive zone. I have always felt as Myers goes so the Sabres go. His value to this team is far more important than people realize. Rolston has been a calming influence for Myers and has forced the 6'8 d-man to turn his game around. Rolston had Myers playing with Ehrhoff and logging 25 minutes a game whether he was playing well or not. I like how Rolston allowed the 22 year old to play his way out of the funk instead of style Ruff took which was to take away his minutes. Marcus Foligno, Tyler Ennis, Steve Ott, Mike Weber, and Brian Flynn have also taken off under Rolston. Drew Stafford will again be a healthy scratch tonight for the second straight game. Rolston has cited Stafford's work ethic as a reason for his benching. I think all signs point to Stafford not wearing a Sabres jersey again. If a team comes in with an offer in the next week I believe Stafford will be sent packing. Mark Pysyk will remain in the lineup tonight for Andrej Sekera who is still not ready to return from injury. Pysyk has surprised me in his 5 games with the Sabres. He shows his smarts and poise under pressure at a very young age. He makes great decisions with the puck and doesn't look flustered under pressure. He is not going to do anything flashy, but at 21 years old is a solid 3rd pairing defenseman. Bright future ahead on the Sabres blue line with Pysyk, McNabb, Myers, and Ehrhoff. Lineup: Pominville-Hodgson-Ott Leino-Ennis-Vanek Flynn-Porter-Foligno Gerbe-Hecht-Kaleta Ehrhoff-Leopold Myers-Regehr Pysyk-Weber Miller Prediction: Close game, but I think the Sabres keep rolling to make it 4 straight 3-2.

Hate to burst your bubble, but where you saw this is full of poop. Myers is actually one of the few Sabres players that are still untouchable at this point. Outside of a crazy can't refuse offer he isn't going anywhere. He has been back to his old form the last few weeks, which explains a little why the Sabres are now winning games.

I think Kaleta is acting like a baby. He's a professional hockey player, he should act like one. He made a stupid and selfish play that cost his team. Now he has to pay the price. I like Rolston making a point that it won't be tolerated. I also love what Miller said after the game last night about the situation. He was asked what he thought about Kaleta's comments. Miller would go on to say that Kaleta needed to "grow up". I 100% agree. In Buffalo Miller will get killed for what he said because PK is a fan favorite, but I like that he has the balls to hold people accountable inside that room. Outside of Miller and Ott no true leader is in that room. It shows on the ice with the lack of effort and emotion. Here are Miller's comments....http://video.sabres.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=222888&catid=-6

The Sabres again find a way to tick of their fan base. With Ville Leino ready to return to the lineup tomorrow instead of waiving the 35 year old Jochen Hecht or Kevin Porter the Sabers decide to burn a year of Grigorenko's ELC by sending him back to Quebec. Absolutely makes no sense. It might be a little better for a team competing for a playoff spot, but they are one of the worst teams in hockey this year. He could of used the playing time and experience in the NHL. They have handled Grigo very poorly this year and does not bode well for Armia and Girgensons coming up the ranks. Hockey Heaven folks...

@ruxpin it's hard to say he flopped around and was faking. Was Brad Richards faking when Kaleta hit him? He was laying on the ice for a while then got up and skated to the bench and played the next shift. He would go on to miss the next two Rangers games. Gerbe had back surgery last year from being hit from behind and a concussion last season from a similar hit too. You can't really judge unless your in that position. Personally I've been hit from behind before and it scares u more than anything. One particular hit tore a ligament in my knee. I'm not saying Gerbe wasn't milking it, but I don't think he should be criticized for it. If I'm not mistaken both Gerbe and Ennis are not practicing today.

That's Gerbe's game and for 5'4 guy I love the heart and effort the rest of the team lacks. He's one of those guys where on ur team u love him and against him u hate him. He doesn't care how big you are he never backs down gotta respect that.

I know I'm going to get killed her because I'm out numbered 100-1 but both the Simmonds and Schenn hits were boarding penaltys. I thought Schenn's was actually worse seeing he had time to let up but decided not to. Simmonds should have got a penalty but nothing more than 2. Ennis turned and put himself in a bad spot. Actually 2nd time in a week he's done that. Officiating was brutal tonight though on both sides. Scott getting a 10 minute misconduct for talking to Rinaldo. Phantom unsportsmanlike on Brennan for idk what. Rinaldo penalty was a joke too. Refs wouldn't let them play.

@flyercanuck I know that save happens daily, it was more to make fun of the awful Sabres D that wasn't even in the picture on a PP. By the way good news to all the Flyers fans on here, Ville Leino could make his season debut Sunday in Philly. AKA Sabres season savior.

While were at it showing videos here is a glimpse of how Miller has played all year and how good the Sabres D has been all year. This play happened on a SABRES PP......

One of the few bright spots for the Sabres has been the emergence of Cody Hodgson as #1 center. Check out his 10th of the year SH tonight nasty....http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1pyGSyfkO6I

Last week the Sabres showed signs of being an NHL hockey club picking up 7 of 8 points last week with wins against Florida, Tampa, NJ, and shootout loss against the Rangers. I'm still on the side of they are dead in the water however if they go out and take another 5 of 6 points this week against Carolina, NJ, and Philly then maybe they are in business. With the awful start the Sabres sit three points back of the Flyers going into tonight's game with 25 games left. However with teams only playing within their own Conference it is extremly hard to make up points. Since Ron Rolston has taken over the Sabres have shown signs of shaking bad habits. They no longer seem to be playing scared and fragile. Last week Buffalo locked down Tampa in 3rd to win 2-1 and also showed a lot of push back. In the Ranger game Sunday, the second game of a back to back, two weeks ago they would of lost that game 6-2. They were controlling the Rangers playing a perfect road game until Kaleta decided to be stupid and give the Rangers a 5 min PP and part of that was a 5 on 3. The Rangers quickly flipped the from 1-0 to 2-1 and I was ready for things to get out of hand. However before the 5 minute PP was over the Sabres tied it with a shorty via Nathan Gerbe and the Sabres were able to walk away with a loser point. Rolston has preached attention to detail to his club since taking over and it is starting to show on the ice. The goals against and shots against are down. The turnovers are no longer a constant occurence in the Sabres zone. Again it was only one week, but I am curious to see how this week goes with Rolston's message now being able to sink in. Rolston has also sent a clear message to players that ice time will be earned not given on reputation. Marcus Foligno was shown the press box last week with his poor play last week and has come back like the player that finished last season. Mikhail Grigorenko was scratched for the first two games of the Rolston era and once he got in the lineup was only given around five minutes of ice time. However over the last two games Grigorenko has stepped it up and is riding a two game point streak, getting minutes on the PP, and played over ten minutes in NY on Sunday. Nathan Gerbe is another player that has seized the opportunity under Rolston. Gerbe has 3 goals in his last two games and is back to playing a top six role on a line with Ennis and Ott. Gerbe has always had the drive and skill to be a good secondary producer in the NHL the key is now that he is healthy after back surgery and is being given the chance. Gerbe was normally a healthy scratch under Ruff or a 4th line winger. Looking forward to tonight's game in Raleigh the Sabres visit the Hurricanes. The Canes will place Justin Peters between the pipes tonight with Ward hurt and Ellis sick. Buffalo needs to get to Peters early and not let him settle in. Good news for the Sabres is team leading scorer Thomas Vanek is returning tonight after missing the last two games. Ryan Miller will again be in goal playing in his 300th straight game or so it seems that way. Miller is having an excellent year and solidifying his spot as the starting goalie for team USA next year in Sochi. The Canes took the first two meetings of the season back when the Sabres were in the middle of their downward spiral. The Staal brothers had their way in the first two meetings including Erik having a hat-trick in the first meeting, which was the last game Jhonas Enroth played this season. Lineup: Vanek-Hodgson-Pominville Ott-Ennis-Gerbe Stafford-Grigorenko-Foligno Hecht-Porter-Flynn Myers-Ehrhoff Regher-Sekera Weber-Brennan Miller Enroth Prediction: Close low scoring game...3-1 Sabres.

Tomorrow night at the Air Canada Center against division rival the Toronto Maple Leafs the Buffalo Sabres will have a new coach behind the bench for the first time in 14 years. Lindy Ruff was relieved of his duties today as head coach of the struggling Sabres. Although I've been calling for it and after last night expected it I was still shocked. Ruff coached the Sabres in 1165 games and had a 571-432-78(ties)-84 record for a .559 winning %. He led the Sabres to the playoffs 8 times in 14 years. He led the Sabres to one cup final and three conference finals appearances. Under Ruff the Sabres won the Northeast Division two times. Ruff also won the Jack Adams Award in 2006 while leading perhaps one of the best Sabres teams in franchise history. This move is something I believed the Sabres should have made after last season. Ruff is not a bad coach and will likely have another job in the NHL soon if he wants it, but his time in Buffalo was up. The reason it was down today mid-season was because the Sabres needed to save face with the fans. The fanbase was turning on Terry Pegula and his honeymoon period had run out. He was left with no choice and had to do something. I have a few reasons why Ruff needed to be let go and I won't give you the "he lost the room" speech because I think that is just something people run with. I'll start with the way Ruff has handled the young talent in Buffalo. This is a bigger deal that most people would think. Ruff is a big reason Luke Adam is out of favor with the franchise. He went from leading the Sabres first line to being irrelevant. Ruff hammered on him and just hammered defense first into his head and ruined the kids offensive ability. Adam will likely never play for the Sabres again and won't surprise me if he is not tendered when his deal is up at the end of this year or traded before that. Tyler Myers won the Calder Trophy and after that season Ruff wanted Myers to focus on his defensive game more. Since then Myers has never been the same. Finally with Grigorenko this year Ruff tried the Barry Melrose method and that is not how it is done in today's NHL. Young players are given the chance to play and be a big factor in their first season. With Joel Armia, Brian Flynn, Brayden McNabb, Jake McCabe, Andrey Makarov, and Zemgus Girgensons coming through the system a coach who know how to hand young talent is vital. I'll get back to that later. Another thing to look at is Ruff's system. Let's start with his PP over his 14 years as coach from 97-13 the Sabres PP has finished 19, 21, 28, 17, 27, 20, 19, 3, 17, 14, 17, 9, 16, and 28th this year for an average of 18th place. All of the top teams in the NHL have excellent PP's and the Sabres have never been able to get out of their own way. I think a new coach with a fresh idea on how to use the players on the roster will improve the PP. Also Ruff's system he jammed into the Sabres head was starting to hold the Sabres hostage. If they got a lead it was time to focus on defense, the Sabres had no killer instinct under Ruff. Almost a play not to lose attitude. So ends the Lindy Ruff era and begins the Ron Rolston era. Rolston the current coach of the Sabres AHL affiliate the Rochester Amerks will take over as the interm coach for the rest of the season. Rolston is the older brother of NHLer Brian Rolston. The 46 year old coach was vital in the growth of USA hockey as a coach of young USA players as he climbed through the USA hockey ranks. Rolston has been the Amerks coach for the last two years and is familiar with a lot of the young talent now playing with the Sabres now and in the future. Rolston is perfect for infusion of youth coming through the system and on the current roster. He knows how to handle young players and develop them. Rolston has a big hand in the development of Marcus Foligno. His goal will be to get a grip on the Veteran core of this team in Vanek, Miller, Stafford, and Pominville. If Rolston is not kept as coach next season I think Tony Granato and Patrick Roy are a few names to watch. Regier is fond of Roy and the former junior coach of Mikhail Grigorenko. Granato is a name to watch as well because of the Sabres management connection to Pittsburgh and I think he's due for a chance. Also look for players like Brayden McNabb and Brian Flynn to crack the Sabres lineup in the next few weeks.

Don't over think this guys. The reason this was done now is a face saving move. Pegula was getting hammered by critics the honeymoon period is over. Last night the fans booed almost the entire game and the arena is silent almost every night now. Also with the way the McCormick waiving was handled this morning in his wife finding out via the Internet before McCormick had time to tell her. PR battle was getting ugly in Buffalo this buys Pegula some time to turn things around.