Shutdown Pair

Tag: NHL

  • Question: How do you pick your favorite player?

    Always kind of curious about this, as I’ve come into liking my favorite players in a few different ways.  I’ve come up with a few ways that people seem to decide on a guy, see if any of these types fit you:

    1. The best player on your favorite team:  You probably like Ryan Miller or Thomas Vanek.  It’s a great feeling to be watching someone who is going for a major trophy, or is starring in commercials, though some people will label you as a bandwagonner.
    2. Heart and soul guys:  You probably like Paul Gaustad or Mike Grier.  You know that goal scorers come and go, but the real glue of a team are the guys who bang bodies, go to the net, kill penalties, wear letters.  They might have gray in their beards.  These fans will talk about a player for years after they are gone, even if they only spent a year or two in town (say, Guerin in Pittsburgh).
    3. Eligible Bachelors:  I get the feeling that the younger puck bunnies go for (ugh) Derek Roy or Jason Pominville, while the non-teenager ones are more about the graybeard heart and soul guys mentioned above.  They have signs (and sometimes wear wedding dresses) for their favorites.  There may be some hockey knowledge, but it’s more about the guys.
    4. Fighters:  Most likely a fan of George Laraque, or Colton Orr, or even better, a fighter from the 70s or 80s that they obsess about.  They like MMA too, with the Tapout shirt and way out of date barbed wire tattoo giving them away.  Often these fans are unaware or at least uninterested in other aspects of hockey.
    5. Pity Party:  You like Drew Stafford, or Patrick Lalime.  Sometimes you just take a liking to the guy that’s getting kicked while he’s down.  You might very well do a doubletake if you see someone wearing their jersey.  Maybe this fan followed the player in college, or watched them tear up the AHL, and haven’t forgotten the glory days.

    I think that covers most situations.  Any disagreements?  Another category I missed?

  • Sabres Camp Details

    The Buffalo Sabres training camp opens Saturday with Puck Drop (which I’m still maybe attending!), and if you still need the dates and times of the open practices and scrimmages, here ya go:

    • Friday, September 17 – 1 p.m. scrimmage – Rookies only (HSBC Arena)
    • Saturday, September 18 – 9:45 a.m. practice; 11:45 a.m. scrimmage (HSBC Arena)
    • Sunday, September 19 – 9:45 a.m. practice; 11:45 a.m. scrimmage (HSBC Arena)
    • Monday, September 20 – 9:45 a.m. practice; 11:45 a.m. scrimmage (HSBC Arena)
    • Tuesday, September 21 – 9:45 a.m. practice; 11:45 a.m. scrimmage (Amherst Center)
    • Wednesday, September 22 – 9:30 a.m. practice (HSBC Arena)
    • Thursday, September 23 – 9:30 a.m. practice (HSBC Arena)
    • Friday, September 24 – 9:30 a.m. practice (HSBC Arena)
    • Saturday, September 25 – Toronto at Buffalo, 7 p.m. (HSBC Arena)
    • Monday, September 27 – Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m. (Air Canada Centre)
    • Tuesday, September 28 – Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. (Dundas, Ontario)
    • Thursday, September 30 – Buffalo at Montreal, 7:30 p.m. (Bell Centre)
    • Friday, October 1 – Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. (Wachovia Center)
    • Sunday, October 3 – Philadelphia at Buffalo, 6 p.m. (HSBC Arena)

    The camp roster is here, no surprises there.  IT’S ALMOST HERE FOLKS.

  • New Feature: Prediction Watch

    Just a heads-up that there is a new feature linked at the top of this page:  Prediction Watch.  We all read the preseason predictions levied by the various sportswriters and blog networks out there, but we hardly ever remember who was right or wrong.  So, I’m going to compile a list of predictions of where the Sabres will finish here, and we can see who had the right idea at the end of the season.  I need your help, though.  I don’t get every magazine or spot every article, so if you see one I don’t have, let me know!  Comment on this article, send me an email (thetick at shutdownpair dot com) or send me a tweet.

  • Can You Feel It?

    It’s hockey, and it’s here.  You can watch the first ‘classic game’ from last year tonight on MSG (the Tyler Myers shootout winner game), and Puck Drop is ten days away.  I’ll actually be able to attend it with my son now that plans have changed, so I hope to see all of you there.

  • Matt Ellis? Yeah, Sure, Why Not…

    The Sabres re-signed Matt Ellis yesterday, and according to Capgeek.com it’s a two-way deal.  It’s a one-year deal, $625,000 while in the NHL and just over 100k while in the AHL.  Not a bad example for the kids in Portland, as he works hard every night despite not being the most skilled guy in the league.  The move gives Buffalo a trusted forward to call up in case of injury.  They shouldn’t ask much more than that of him.

  • Buffalo Sabres: A Look At The Depth Chart

    With training camp less than a month away, and the Buffalo Sabres roster looking pretty much set, I thought now would be a good time to investigate the lines and defense pairings for the coming season.  Starting up front:

    Ennis – Connolly – Pominville
    Vanek – Roy – Stafford/McCormick?
    Gerbe – Gaustad – Kaleta
    Hecht – Niedermayer – Grier

    It’s an odd mix of diminutive players and size/grit, to be sure.  Zack Kassian could make things interesting when he’s off his time-out from GMDR and gets to sign.  I’m not sure what happens if McCormick gets one of the RW spots, Stafford really is the only one that can come out.  I don’t think you play anybody out of position to try and keep him in the lineup.  Gerbe, I suppose, could end up on the fourth line if Lindy wants to keep Hecht up on the third, though my hope is with cagey vets like Grier and Niedermayer taking over the fourth line will get more than 6 minutes a night.  It’s a lineup that has some scoring potential, but should help out the revamped defense core quite a bit as well.  Speaking of:

    Myers (RH) – Morrisonn (LH)
    Montador (RH) – Leopold (LH)
    Rivet (RH) – Sekera (LH)

    Butler (LH)

    Obviously Myers is the top dog, and I slotted Morrisonn next to him as he’s another more stay at home type as Tallinder was for Tyler last year.  You get a similar Off/Def pair with Montador/Leopold, leaving Rivet and his bad shoulder to mentor Sekera and Butler in the third pair.  This keeps the left hand/right hand balance, and keeps Rivet healthier so he can bulldoze some guys in front of Miller.  If Leopold can chip in points to balance the Myers pairing, the offense from the backend will be right where it needs to be.  Now, Morrisonn may not fit in as a first pair guy which blows all this up but I think this works the best.

    I don’t HAVE to go over the goalies, do I?  Miller gets more work than we like (without the Olympics thankfully), especially considering the TWENTY TWO back to back game situations.  Does Lalime get 15 games?  Lalime and Enroth combined for 14 starts last year, I’d like to see that at 20 with all the back to backs but I can’t predict it.

    Look, it’s not the wholesale changes in the top 6 we were looking for, but as we’ve investigated before, there aren’t a lot of guys available who are a for-sure improvement.  Stempniak might be a one-hit wonder, and there’s that self-imposed cap…

  • MacArthur, Kennedy and Arbitration: Validation for Darcy?

    The inestimable James Mirtle wrote an article about the arbitration process, and specifically Clarke MacArthur’s ridiculous award.  We now know how C-Mac got it:

    When it came time to meet with an arbitrator, the Thrashers simply asked for the award to be presented immediately, based on the player’s demands, so they could then walk away from the contract.

    <snip>

    “We said, you know what, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing if he gets this silly award,” Thrashers general manager Rick Dudley said. “We kind of encouraged it.”

    This was actually crazy like a fox, as it turned out.  With Clarke getting such a high award, the Thrashers could walk away.  If they had wrestled it down to $1.6mil or below, they would’ve been stuck with it the way Buffalo was with Tim Kennedy’s.  Could you imagine how much grief GMDR could’ve saved himself if he had gamed the system like that?  “Yes, please award him $2 million bucks.  WE DARE YOU.”

    Regier’s reasoning behind the arbitration problems:

    Sabres GM Darcy Regier said part of the problem stems from depth players being paid less under the salary cap as stars get a larger share of the pie.

    “The arbitration system has largely been built over the years on a pricing system for these players that, if it’s not obsolete, it’s going to be obsolete,” Regier said. “[Free agents] are available on the market for a price determined by the market and not by an arbitration system that’s running a little behind.”

    The Niemi/Turco situation is the prime example…why pay $2.75 million when there’s a guy who had similar numbers willing to take half (one reason:  if the guy is 10 years younger, but with the cap situation in Chicago…).  Rick Dudley, Thrashers GM says it best here:

    “My theory is very simple,” Dudley said. “If I put the player on waivers tomorrow, would he be claimed? If the answer’s no, then in all likelihood, that’s a contract I wouldn’t want.”

    Tim Kennedy passed through waivers.  Bottom line, his award (even if not crazy) is a contract no one wants.  Teams may regret it in a year or two, but I doubt it.

  • Goodbye, Max

    According to George James Malik on Twitter (via Sovetsky Sport and Sport-Express), Maxim Afinogenov has signed a 5 year contract with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL, with an option for a 6th year.  Kind of expected this after he didn’t re-sign right away with Atlanta.  He’s the sort of player who would get quite a bit more money there (though I don’t know the terms yet).

    I wish him the best of luck.  Max could bring a crowd to their feet like few others the Sabres have had recently, even when, more often then not, we ended up groaning and throwing up our hands in frustration when his dangle fizzled.

    Could’ve met Max at Puck Drop a few years back, but my son was restless so I gave my spot in line to a young lady that was wearing Max’s Dynamo Moscow jersey.

  • Tim Kennedy: WAIT I GOT IT

    You know what this is to me?  It’s like TK and the Sabres are dating in high school.  Tim is head over heels in ‘love’ with Buffalo, like OMG, I never want to go anywhere else!  The Sabres, on the other hand, were never really committed at all.  Nice guy, treats them well, will even watch Sabretooth while his beau is out of town.  Lately, though, the Sabres seem distracted.  They aren’t texting Tim back right away, and when they do, it’s a short reply.  She, sorry, Tim confronts the Sabres (at the arbitration hearing) and gives an ultimatum.  Buffalo shrugs and moves on, deciding the open time in the afternoon can be used to get back in WoW, whereas Kennedy goes home, cries into his pillow and plays Morrissey records for the next month.

    I have too much time on my hands.

  • Get to know Shaone Morrisonn

    I only had to check the spelling once for the title, but as stated, Shaone (pronounced like Shawn) Morrisonn was signed by Buffalo to a 2 year deal.  Financials not confirmed, rumored to be around $1.75mil/year but huge grains of salt there.  He’s 27, having played the last several years with Washington, at times paired with Mike Green.  1G, 11A last year, he is more of a stay-at-home guy that clears out the front of the net (6’4″, 210 lbs).  He had 163 hits last year, which would’ve put him first on the Sabres ahead of Kaleta.  His 104 blocked shots last season would put him second to Tyler Myers.

    Other notes on Morrisonn:

    Really, with all of this, he reminds of Jay McKee.  Big, similar numbers, shot blocker, hard hitter, all around tough guy.  Not a big splashy move, but definitely a guy that can play a role on this team now.