Shutdown Pair

Tag: Buffalo

  • Well-deserved Honors for Miller

    First off, USA Hockey is going to give Ryan Miller their Bob Johnson Award for excellence in international competition.  Here’s the scoop from the Buffalo News:

    Miller was named the top goaltender and most valuable player of February’s Games in Vancouver. He posted a tournament-best .946 save percentage in six games, and his 1.35 goals-against average was the lowest in U.S. Olympic history.

    The award, named after the legendary coach, will be presented during USA Hockey’s annual congress to be held Thursday through June 13 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

    Miller is also a finalist for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, up against Sidney Crosby and Shane Doan.  When you throw in his Silver Medal, and Vezina trophy candidacy (should’ve had Hart nom too), Ryan might just need to expand the trophy case.

  • On Zack Kassian

    As you all have heard by now, Zack Kassian was arrested after a bar fight the other day.  The linked article at the Windsor Star has what few details there are, along with an epic picture of BZK that more than anything makes him look like a jerk.  One of the commenters at this article says the other guy ‘got what he deserved’.  Put as much stock in that as you would any random, anonymous internet comment.

    You have to wonder what this will do to Zack and his ELC.  Just a few weeks ago, it looked like Darcy was leaning towards signing him up and giving him a shot, now, who knows?  Would another year in juniors fix maturity issues?  Will being in Portland?  For that one, it might depend on whether or not Kevin Dineen jumps on one of the NHL coaching jobs.  The Sabres NEED his size and physicality, so it’ll be interesting to keep an eye on this situation over the next few weeks.

    edit:  Well this post was timely.  The Buffalo News reports Kassian was formally charged in this matter.

  • Interesting Target: Bobby Ryan

    Bobby Ryan is a restricted free agent, and a tweet from Jeff Marek of CBC got me thinking about him.

    Burke wants a forward who can score w/size. Bobby Ryan remains unsigned in ANA. Ducks may lose Nieds. Kaberle on the mrkt. Just sayin’…

    Obviously this is in reference to wheeler-dealer Brian Burke up the QEW, but this is a move the Sabres could make.  Ryan would be a solid pickup, adding size and scoring that the Sabres sure could use (back to back 30 goal seasons).  Now, the Sabres don’t have a Kaberle to dangle in trade talks, but may be able to work something with picks/prospects.  I would love to see Bobby Ryan opposite Thomas Vanek.

    Not directly related, but Kaberle has an interesting NTC:

    can name 10 teams that he will accept a trade to; if the Leafs miss the playoffs in 2008-09 or 2009-10, he can be traded without restriction from that Entry Draft until August 15

    Interesting that you can specify a window when you can be traded, to avoid deadline day, or early season trades., based on playoff performance (or non-performance, in the case of the Leafs).

  • Sabres Special Teams

    As promised, a rambling exploration of the Sabres’ performance in special teams situations.

    PP:  Ranked 17th, 17.6%.  The Sabres scored 55 total goals in man advantage situations (49 5 on 4, 3 at 5 on 3, 3 at 4 on 3).  It’s interesting to note that at home, they were quite good (21.2%, 34G), but horrific on the road (13.7%, wow).

    It was no secret throughout the year that the power play was struggling, which carried over into their dismal performance in the playoffs.  When you consider that Vanek (10 PPG) and Hecht (3 PPG) missed most or all of the Boston series, it was that much worse.  At various points, they had issues getting pucks in deep and getting established positions, which is why the elusive ‘puck moving/power play quarterback type defenseman’ was a deadline target, and probably remains one this offseason.  On the positive side, Tyler Myers was a solid addition on the power play, with his willingness to shoot early and often helping things quite a bit.  Several of his goals were just ‘screw it, I’m shooting’ plays that found their way through.

    PK:  Ranked 2nd, 86.6%.  For the record, Buffalo took 333 minors (less than 20 other teams), 28 majors, 6 misconducts, 3 game misconducts.  There were 8 bench minors.  They were tops in the league at home, killing 89.8% there, while clicking along at 84% on the road (still a solid 6th place).  Total allowed power play goals was 38, one more than Boston, the best team in that regard.

    Night and day difference, eh?  Tyler Myers and Henrik Tallinder lead from the rear here, average just over 3 minutes of short-handed time per game, with Jochen Hecht (that name again) and Mike Grier taking charge from a forward perspective.  I have no complaints here, the team was great at keeping opponents around the edges and clearing the puck, for the most part.

  • Ryan Miller on Stanley Cup Finals Game One Broadcast

    As noted by Steve Lepore over at Puck the Media, Ryan Miller will be a guest analyst on NBC’s coverage of Game One of the Stanley Cup finals tomorrow night.  Miller will be alongside Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury. As Sabres fans know, Ryan is a deep thinker and a student of the game, so we should be in for a treat (especially compared to Mike “hit ’em with your shoe” Milbury).  And hey, smart move by NBC, leveraging one of their Olympic stars.  Might’ve been a tiny bit more effective if the Sabres had, you know, been on NBC after the Olympics.  Stick tap to DaveDavisHockey on twitter for leading me to this story.

  • Sabres Even Strength Scoring and Defense

    I will be breaking down the Sabres’ scoring and defense from the 2009-2010 season, starting with their even strength performance.  All stats come from NHL.com.  On the year, Buffalo had 159 Goals For (GF) 5 on 5, 7 GF 4 on 4, for a total of 166. On the flip side, they ceded 145 Goals Against (GA) 5 on 5, 8 GA 4 on 4, for a total of 153.  They had no scoring for or against 3 on 3, which is pretty rare anyway.  The Sabres were 7th at 5 on 5 scoring, and 11th as far as 5 on 5 goals given up.

    These are solid numbers, especially in the context of the Eastern Conference, where only two teams were better in overall scoring.  Buffalo had a balanced scoring attack overall, with 12 players in double digits.  Thomas Vanek led the way with 28, 18 of which were at even strength.  Jochen Hecht actually tied with Vanek as far as goals at even strength, though, with 18.  Both missed some time, it go to show how much Hecht and Vanek were missed in the Boston series.

    Barring a trade or other move, Clarke MacArthur is the only one of those 12 who is gone (traded to Atlanta), so there shouldn’t be a huge dropoff next year.  What Buffalo needs, though, is a consistent centerman for Vanek to get his production back up to the 40 goal plateau.  Lindy shuffled things a lot last season, trying to get Vanek going.  We’ll see what happens July 1.

  • Can Myers Be Our Pronger Or Lidstrom?

    Steve Simmons has a column over at the Toronto Sun regarding Chris Pronger and what he brings to a team when he joins, and the wreckage left in his wake when he leaves.  GM Ken Holland of the Red Wings has this to say:

    “He does things that other players can’t do, haven’t done, don’t know how to do. And he just does them easily,” said Ken Holland, general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, who admitted to being “pretty damn happy” when the Ducks traded Pronger to the Eastern Conference.

    Kukla’s has a a bit more of Ken’s comments, which is where Lidstrom is reference:

    If you wonder why we’ve worried about Lidstrom leaving, it’s because look what happens when Pronger leaves teams.  They don’t recover. It’s pretty apparent what he does for teams and he’s even more appreciated when he’s not there because you come to appreciate all he does. Look at Edmonton. They had one great year. That wasn’t an accident. Look what’s happened to them since.

    Indeed.  Anyway, that brought me back to thinking of Tyler Myers.  His meteoric rise to the top of the defensive depth charts is not completely unexpected for those that saw his final year of Juniors.  That leaves us wondering just where his ceiling is.  Here are the relevant stats for the two mentioned guys and Myers in their rookie seasons:

    • Tyler Myers (Buffalo Sabres, 19yrs old) – 82GP,  11G 37A, +13, 32 PIM
    • Chris Pronger (Hartford Whalers, 19yrs old) – 81GP, 5G 25A, -3, 113 PIM
    • Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroid Red Wings, 21yrs old) – 80GP, 11G 49A, +36, 22 PIM

    You can see that Myers (as of now) fits in right between the two.  Pronger has a physical game right now that Myers can’t match, though his offseason goals to gain wait and strength would go a long way at putting him in that territory.  As for the much smaller Lidstrom, the offensive numbers are in line, with the +/- as the main outlier, thanks to the better goal-scoring of the Red Wings that year, compared to Buffalo this year (+64 goal differential).

    This second year is going to be huge for Myers.  Possibly a different defense partner, higher expectations, and adjustments from the rest of the NHL.  His offseason work will determine whether or not he becomes Chris Pronger/Zdeno Chara, or Andrej Sekera.

  • Tallinder, Sabres Talking

    This news comes to us from Nick Mendola, now over at WECK:

    Henrik Tallinder’s agent has spoken with the Buffalo Sabres about the Swedish defenseman’s upcoming unrestricted free agency, and they plan to speak again in the coming weeks before the start of free agency

    As we discussed previously, many (including me) believed Buffalo would at least attempt to bring one of the Tallinder/Lydman set back.  It remains to be seen if anything comes of this, or if Toni gets a call from Darcy too.  I’m betting he will;  I think Darcy remembers what happened the last time he had two guys at the same position hitting free agency.

  • The Untouchables

    Looking at the Sabres roster as it stands right now, before free agent signings, I’m trying to figure out who is ‘Untouchable’.  Who will not be traded no matter the offer (even if it’s 10 first-round picks)?  The list is short:

    • Ryan Miller – A great goalie, and the one true international star we have, thanks to the Olympics.
    • Tyler Myers – Barring something insane happening next year with his production, he’s the one guy I’d sign to one of thos ridiculous 8+ year deals.
    • Thomas Vanek – Our one true goal scorer, on a big contract.  Don’t know about you, but I’m keeping the 40+ goal guy (with a good center ice guy)
    • Paul Gaustad – Future captain, faceoff ninja, fan favorite. 

    There are a few others that are in that category by default (rookies on their ELC, just-signed Mike Grier) but that’s really it.  Seems like there should be more than that.  I can think of 4+ forwards alone on many teams.  I wonder if other teams view their rosters the way I do, though.  I know the Pensblog boys have been having fun with all the ‘Trade Malkin!’ articles that popped up after their playoff ouster.  I can think of a bunch of guys I’d keep if I were Pittsburgh, just not sure they’d agree.

    If you have any others that fit in there for Buffalo, let me know.

  • Sabres RFAs

    Thankfully, the Buffalo Sabres won’t have a lot of RFA drama this offseason.  As far as RFAs that made any sort of roster appearance with the big show this year, well, there ain’t that many:

    • Tim Kennedy
    • Patrick Kaleta

    You know those guys are coming back.  Neither one is worth enough for another team to make an offer sheet for, but they hold down important roles on the Sabres.  The next tier of RFAs are the ones leading the way for the Portland Pirates:

    • Mark Mancari
    • Marc-Andre Gragnani
    • Mike Weber
    • Phillip Gogulla

    Mike Weber (who got some PT with the Sabres a couple of years ago) is a guy that some are looking to step up to the show potentially, if Tallinder and Lydman both end up leaving.  No guarantees though, considering that Sekera and Butler had basically been sharing the 6th d-man spot down the stretch.

    The third tier of RFAs are guys I know very little about, to be honest.  You can get more info on them at Sabres Prospects, but if there are any RFA types that don’t get tendered an offer by the Sabres, it’s these guys

    • Matt Generous
    • Jean-Phillipe Lamoreaux
    • Michael Kostka
    • Derek Whitmore

    Not a bad year for Restricted Free Agency for Buffalo.  Only one guy is arbitration eligible, and he’s in the third tier (Generous).  Shouldn’t be too much stress there.