MORE PROSPECT PROFILES~

Once again, the thanks for this article go squarely to that bald-headed bastion of creativity, reporting "live" from the "University" of Michigan. [Editor's note: University there is in speech marks because my sub-editor went to Michigan State. He has since been fired for holding up a 7-11, and replaced by a man who graduated with a double First from Oxford, who had previously only been tasked with making coffee and ensuring that the anchor from the local TV news team only drank enough for him to avoid the shakes but not be paralytic on camera.]

"Michael Hemsley
University of Michigan Wolverines

I try to speaks with Michael on eight days, but his girl friends say me "he ain't here, crazy mo'fucker's in the hospital". I ask why he go to medical house, and they tell "guy drank some strong shit". I wonder why he drink poo, but go hospital anyways. The nurses there very rude, they say "go away! This is a sterile environment! You could have just infected the entire hospital!" I try say sorry and give Michael the gifts I brings him, but they call policemenists and I get arrest. Head policeman sheriff say "son, you're looking at ten to fifteen years, minimum! Who sold you the coke?" I tell them "You want coka? I go Wal-Mart and get some," then they hit me. It hurt. I get puts in a big cell with a lots of big man, but my good Canadian friend Wade Belak give me some advice in Toronto. He say "if y'ever get stuck in a holdin' cell f'being drunk n'disordly, find the smallest guy there and punch him right in the face, eh. T'others'll think you're a right hard bastard". I ask where he know this from, and he say "Oz". So I tries his advice, but the smallest man there was six feets tall and he and his friends hurt me. I gets released from prison later and go back to medical house with broke bones, and they puts me next to Michael, so I says "Michael, how you like Buffalo?" He whispers to mes "I want morphine...I think I'm dying here," then vomit ups blood. Overall, Michael must be verys good hockey player because I hear doctor say they were short-handeds and that Michael might kill the penalty. I think. I knows he say something about Michael and some dies."

We here would like to ask anybody who can make more sense out of that to call us immediately. We've sent Mats to Hawaii, it's the only place they'll understand hims...er, him.

PROSPECT PROFILES~

We here at the Buffalo News are keen believers in the phrase "Anything you can do, we can do so much better it makes you want to kill yourself", and since some of our less-reputable "friends" around the league have elected to move in on one of our many rackets, we see it as only fair to move in on theirs. Hence, profiles of the various young Sabres. We did, initially, have a spot of trouble finding guys to do these without degenerating into pieces of hate speech about our illustrious manager, but that problem was bypassed by finding a Swedish man to talk about The Creature From The Black Latrine and translating his gibberish. It did have to be edited - a LOT - before it was publishable, but it really was a small price to pay. Enjoy.

"Tomas Dellenbrant
Frolunda Goteburg

Tomas is a very good friend of mine. He scores lots of goals back home in Sweden for his team. This makes me sad as he makes me go in goal for him to score against. Tomas is very fast also. He can skate more fast than any man in Stockholm and so the many beautiful Swedish girls chase after him for his seed. But he is faster than them and so escapes every time. He has long hair, like that beautiful Swedish man Skwisgaar Skwigelf, but he cannot play the guitar as well. Tomas is a very very good player and will win the Rockets Richards many times. I speak to Tomas and he say "yo wigga, what up with yo ass". I ask him "Tomas are you liking going to America and playing for good America teams?" Tomas say "fo sho mo fucker, i gon shoot dey ass full of caps n shit". Tomas like your gangsters rapp, he very much like the new Two Pack singles we get here yesterday, he say "man, tupac so fuckin illin, nigga don got sum skillz son". Tomas say he hope he meet gorgeous America woman in your Buffalos and can have many beautiful Swedish babies. He very like your Britney Spear, he say "yo dat fuckin bitch got sum PHAT ASS son".

For that piece of literary excellence, you have our hockey correspondent Mats Sundin to thank. Mats is currently flying to the University of Michigan to talk to Buffalo's other first-round pick this year, Michael Hemsley. For those of you who don't understand his references or his transcript of HIS rantings, 
don't be too concerned. We didn't either.

2012 Predraft Wrap-Up (Part One)

Before we begin, it's important to note that these views are not just based on our own, absolutely true and solidly-based prejudices; the moment the first round of the draft went into the books, our Carolina-based comrades got to work and churned out a neat list of the attributes of all thirty picks that...well, basically confirmed everything we've ever said. Yes, even Mats Sundin's analysis of the Creature from Beyond was true, we were just as shocked as you.

#1) Jouko Vaijarvi, Goaltender, Calgary Flames
Remember kids, tanking is bad...except if you get the chance to draft a goalie like this. Ari Schacter's tanking ass picked up a player that even we have to admit is fucking fantastic, despite every instinct in our body being to mock and deride him for being a coke addict. I know the Finnish police say it was purely circumstantial evidence, but you can't spell "addict" without...at least four of the letters in circumstantial. His birth records are sketchy, but we like to think this kid is the result of Martin Brodeur's sperm being implanted into Terry Sawchuk's daughter.

#2) Tomas Dellenbrant, Winger, Buffalo Sabres
Bwaha, imagine a stadium full of people killing themselves and you'll get the impression.

#3) Kyle DeRose, Defenseman, Chicago Blackhawks
DeRose is a great, great prospect. Unfortunately, he's gone to Chicago, where good players go to suck, get fat, get signed to ridiculously huge extensions so they can suck some more and eventually get dumped in the minors. RIP Kyle DeRose's potential, we didn't know ye.

#4) Brad Lee, Winger, Vancouver Canucks
When picked, the Canucks general manager thought that the appropriate thing to do was imply that his newest acquisition was going to become Brad Shaindlin's gay love-slave. Others believe it was merely a metaphor but trust us, we know better.

#5) Steve Connolly, Winger, New York Islanders
Speaking of things nobody else caught, anybody else see Steve wipe his hand on his new jersey after shaking Jeff Holst's hand? Come on, you know you saw it really. Come on...

#6) Igor Koikov, Centre, Calgary Flames
This pick was actually Calgary's own. We say again - remember kids, tanking IS bad. It IS. Honestly.

#7) Maxim Miroschichenko, Winger, Pittsburgh Penguins
Hailing from the backwater boonies of Russia, there's barely anything to say about Max except that he has the most complicated name in ITC history. It's worse than Vaijarvi. It's worse than Bouwmeester. It's even worse than Zahajsky.

#8) Charles Goulet, Winger, Toronto Maple Leafs
There's been no word yet on his singing abilities, but he's shown himself to be an awful skater. It's true, we saw it on Youtube, it must be true.

#9) Sergei Filippov, Defenseman, Anaheim Ducks
Oh, Russian defensemen. When will you start being good? Yes Denis Ezhov, that WAS directed at you.

#10) Erick Carvey, Winger, New York Rangers
Fun fact, this should have been our pick. It should have been, but then our illustrious manager thought "picks? the future? lol who needs them?". What a cunt.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince.

It's official - Rick Nash is no longer a Buffalo Sabre. After lying through his teeth about why the constant stream of hockey figures were visiting the HSBC Arena, Jay Byers has now leapt into contention for the prestigious title of "Most Hated Man In America" - the smart money has him ahead of George W. Bush but just below Tom Brady - by announcing that the beloved winger and top-scoring Sabre was to be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. The move effectively represents the point at which this season became a complete bust, but as the under-fire general manager tried to point out to the rioting crowd of fans, the move was not about giving up entirely. In return for Nash, Philadelphia gave up unsettled centre Tom Burr, developing grinder Samuli Lehtinen and, the most important piece of the deal, New Jersey's first-round draft pick in the 2012 Entry Draft. Burr is most likely to join the pro team immediately, although his role is not yet known, while Lehtinen will report to Rochester.

GM Byers was quoted yesterday as saying "while Rick is obviously a big part of our offense, we feel his value is not likely to be this high again and so this trade made the most sense." If he was trying to rationalise his actions, it failed miserably, and he had to deliver the second part of his speech cowering behind a wall of bodyguards. From some of his previous actions, such as the pre-season trade that saw Pierre-Marc Bouchard move to San Jose, it's no surprise that Byers prefers to mould the players under his command himself - Valdis Rostoks has benefited greatly from his time in the AHL this year with the Rochester Americans - and this move is simply representative of his continued philosophy.

As it stands, there is an excellent chance New Jersey's pick will end the season at least as a top-ten pick, if not a top-five, and Byers is supposedly very optimistic that he can draft a player around whom the Sabres can rebuild. Targets include Jouko Vaijarvi, the goaltender ranked #1 by the Central Scouting Bureau, and defenseman Aaron Koharsky.

All Is Lost. All Is Lost!

The horrifying rumours that have been circulating around the HSBC Arena are...true. In a Buffalo News exclusive, we can inform you that Jay Byers, general manager of the Buffalo Sabres, has confirmed what every true fan of the team has feared from the moment the puck dropped on opening night.

Rick Nash is no longer untouchable.

We told you yesterday that Byers was spotted eating with Philadelphia's Thayne Bezanson, and that he met with New Jersey's Rob Ryan, but both meetings were explained away as being related to disgruntled winger Martin Havlat; that might still be true, but now we have to call everything into question. Nash currently has 35 points so far, making him the highest point producer on the Sabres so far, and would naturally draw a lot of attention if he were ever put straight up on the block. Even so, the announcement that the incessant requests to make Nash a Flyer/Devil/Blue Jacket/Penguin/whatever would no longer be confined straight to the special filing cabinet is a big move in itself.

Of course, it has an effect that will be obvious to everybody in the ITC - fans of the Sabres are already displeased. There was an outcry of protest against it on the official team message board, as well as on countless others, and early reports indicate that a pair of letterbombs were intercepted en route to the HSBC Arena (not to mention the envelope full of human faeces that was badly handled by an intern who is now currently in therapy). Sabres owner Thomas Golisano said earlier today that, while the response was probably "a bit excessive, it was the Nasher. Only morons hate the Nasher." It should be mentioned, of course, that Nash is going into free agency, and with the Sabres bumping up against the cap anyway, trading him or a fellow franchise player like Marian Hossa might even have been necessarily.

But who are we to be impartial? Fuck Byers, fuck Byers in his AIDS-infested ass with a cactus. All hail Nash! All hail Nash! Oh, Nash can you see, in the dawn's early light, some bitches for you to beat on!

02/01/12 - 08/01/12

Toronto Maple Leafs 2 - 2 Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres 2 - 0 Toronto Maple Leafs

It's not particularly surprising that both of these games between the Northeast Division rivals sold out their respective home arenas, nor that the first of them, at least, was filled with penalties. Since the Maple Leafs were significantly better in the Air Canada Centre than on the road, the expectations were that Toronto should at least be able to take two points away from the home-and-home, but the Maple Leaf-dominated eighteen thousand-strong crowd was stunned by the barrage of Sabre shots; for one of the few times so far this year, Buffalo outshot their opponent, 35-25, making Marek Schwarz's first-star rated performance all the more impressive. Robert Nilsson and Mike Ryder were the two to get past him, Nilsson in the first period and Ryder in the third, while Adam Mair and Kris Chucko had the Maple Leaf goals.

Where the first game was mostly offensive in nature, the return fixture at the HSBC Arena was far more defensive. Martin Havlat had 14 penalty minutes, the result of two minors and a misconduct call that saw him dismissed from the game, which some are seeing as the death knell for his time in Buffalo, but as usual, it was Ryan Miller's heroics that drew the most praise as he kept Toronto out through all of their 17 shots for his second shutout of the season. While the win wasn't exactly dominant, goals from Marian Hossa and Martin Legault were good enough for a much-appreciated pair of points, also marking the tenth win this year in front of the Sabres fans.

St. Louis Blues 4 - 3 Buffalo Sabres

With their excellent core of players, the Blues can point to a lot of reasons for why they're sitting pretty atop the the Western Conference; 20-goal scorers Aleksander Suglobov and Brian Sutherby on the first line is one, Eli Fagerholm's 2.39 GAA is another and the stellar defensive play of Anton Babchuk and Jean-Michel Bolduc is a third. And yet, even with all these advantages, they were still run close by the hot Sabres and it took a late Nathan Horton goal to give them the win. Suglobov and Sutherby had goals, both in powerplay situations, as did Mark Bell; while they might have been playing catch-up hockey for most of the game, tallies from Mike Cammalleri, Havlat and Jay McClement saw the Sabres draw level even for a matter of minutes. While this did no favours for Miller's stats, Fagerholm conceding three times on just 18 shots made Miller the best goaltender by default.

Current Record: 15-18-2-5, 37 points
Player of the Week: Rick Nash - 0 goals + 4 assists = 4 points
Goaltending Record: Ryan Miller - 3 games, 1 win, 1 shutout; 6 goals allowed, 2.00 GAA; 69 saves, 92.00 Save %

Happy New Year! (26/12/11 - 01/01/12)

Buffalo Sabres 4 - 3 Philadelphia Flyers

In their first game with Jay Byers back in the saddle - after being washed up on a California beach, discovered by a now-traumatised child and declared stupid on the scene by the Los Angeles police department - the low-flying Sabres delivered an impressive performance to derail the Atlantic Division leaders in spite of some surprisingly poor individual performances. While Robert Nilsson and Jay McClement proved the key factors on offense (Nilsson had a goal and an assist, McClement had two helpers), it was Ryan Miller who won the game for Buffalo, withstanding a barrage of shots from the Flyers and even adding an assist on Nilsson's powerplay goal. While Philadelphia had 38 shots - fully twice Buffalo's 19 - Miller stood strong with 35 saves to take a victory away from the misfiring Rick DiPietro.

Buffalo Sabres 3 - 2 Boston Bruins

Before the season began, this game was projected to be one in a series that would eventually determine which of these teams finished bottom of the Northeast Division; Buffalo had their toughness problems and Boston an implacable goaltending conundrum. While the Sabres might still be a little too soft for comfort, Boston general manager Chris Jennings traded for Miikka Kiprusoff to alleviate their problems in net and help Jonathan Bernier bed in in the ITC. Unfortunately, Bernier had the misfortune to meeting a Sabres team on what counts as a tear for them - Miller delivered another first-star performance, making 27 saves in all, while Sid Sorensen and Marian Hossa both had goals to down the Bruins and Mattias Thorssel ended a goal-less streak that stretched 31 games before then.

New York Islanders 1 - 2 Buffalo Sabres

Even with star rookie Rich Castellanos' good performance so far in the season, the New York Islanders looked to be heading swiftly towards another top-five draft pick to go with him and, unshockingly, Ryan Miller was again almost perfect. Gustav Kostuik's first-period was the only shot of the Islanders' 19 that pierced his defenses, and that was quickly denied by Martin Havlat earning his tenth of the year. Even Josef Esser, Long Island's favourite thug, beating Rick Nash in a fight couldn't deter Buffalo as Marian Hossa wiped New York from the ice with a second-period goal to take the Buffalo unbeaten streak to five games.

Buffalo Sabres 2 - 4 Ottawa Senators

The winning streak obviously couldn't last, but it was a particularly bitter pill to swallow that it had to end at the hands of a divisional rival. Nikolai Zherdev was the driving force in the Ottawa victory with his two goals, but Havlat's poor performance was an equal reason for the defeat - he had been complaining of low ice-time previously, and his morale was basically shot with the rumours that he would soon be traded. For yet another game, Buffalo was outshot, and this time Miller couldn't do all the work, conceding four times on 29 shots.

Current Record: 14-17-2-4, 34 points
Player of the Week: Marian Hossa - 3 goals + 2 assists = 5 points

17/10/11 - 23/10/11

Montreal Canadiens 4 - 2 Buffalo Sabres

Despite a decent last week, it was generally expected that the first of the Northeast division games would not go Buffalo's way, and it was Jason Spezza's scoring touch that put the Habs up for good - he scored twice, his fourth and fifth of the season so far, and provided Olli Jokinen with a third for a 3-0 lead. Jay McClement and Martin Legault both opened their accounts this year with their first goals, but the attempted comeback stuttered and stalled completely when Pascal Leclaire was pulled at the end of the third period and Joni Pitkanen sealed the victory with an empty netter. The Amerks had a little better luck, but still fell 3-2 to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Buffalo Sabres 4 - 2 Phoenix Coyotes

Likewise, this game was over almost before it had begun, with three goals in the first twenty-five minutes doing a lot of damage to the hapless Yotes. Rick Nash opened the game up with a goal in the eleventh minute and set up Martin Havlat to expand the margin to two, while Robert Nilsson waited until the second frame to score his first of the year. Bobby Ryan and Niklas Hagman were on hand for Phoenix to pull the game back in the opening minutes of the third period, but there was to be no love for them here; it wasn't an empty net goal, but Marian Hossa made do by scoring on a late powerplay to send the Sabres fans home happy. The Amerks fell to another defeat, being shut out by Dustin Butler and the Utah Grizzlies 4-0.

Detroit Red Wings 3 - 2 Buffalo Sabres

Once again, one of the teams involved got off to a flying start, and it was Devin Setoguchi's turn - his two goals in the first period gave him six for the season, and he also provided the assist for Ryan Stoa's short-handed goal in the second. Stoa's goal cancelled out Sid Sorensen's, and even though Rick Nash added another, there was never going to be any joy in this game, as the Red Wings came out pissed after being bested by St. Louis earlier in the week. Similarly, the Amerks found themselves facing a Grand Rapids Griffins team that was just different class, and were, unsurprisingly, locked down in a 2-0 defeat.

Current Record: Buffalo - 2-3-0-2, 6 points
Rochester - 1-6-0-0, 2 points
Player of the Sim: Sid Sorensen - 1 goal + 3 assists = 4 points

10/10/11 - 16/10/11

While the loss to Chicago was disappointing, the game against Edmonton looked like one that could - and should - be won, and to that end the Sabres cranked up the offence to outshoot the Oilers 36 to 14. Mattias Thorssel was the first to score, a surprise for the people who originally claimed he shouldn't even be on the main roster and doubling his projected goal totals for the season; Denis Ezhov got the play moving when he took up a loose puck in the Buffalo zone and fed Vladimir Sobotka, another player not believed to be fit to be a Sabre, to move into the neutral zone and past Brian Willems with ease. Tomas Vokoun did well to cover the angles, but Sobotoka's shot eluded him just long enough to let Thorssel in to score on the rebound and put the Sabres up 1-0. It didn't stay that way for too long, Phil Driscoll doing his damndest to justify his five million salary with his third goal on a nifty wrap-around to knot up the scoreline at one apiece. To their credit, the Buffalo players didn't waver as some elements were wont to do last year after going a goal down, and it paid off just over a minute into the second frame. The aforementioned Willems was penalised for a slash into Martin Havlat's gut that forced the winger off - Cam Barker's goal on the resulting powerplay was payback enough, although Branislav Mezei elected to exact a little extra revenge by blasting Willems with a questionable hit that he should be thankful wasn't penalised more harshly than the two minutes in the box he got. Despite the valiant efforts of the Oilers, both goaltenders stood strong in their respective nets from there on out, but more importantly, the victory cut off the Buffalo non-winning streak at 28 games. It may have been an ITC record, but it's no more.

Bouyed by the win, the Sabres continued their foray into West Canada by rolling into General Motors Place to take on the Vancouver Canucks, who'd drawn some interesting remarks for having Robin Fernsworth - the #1 pick in the 2011 Entry Draft - not just play in the big leagues but on the front line, alongside Alex Frolov and Brad Shaindlin. It was generally seen as a bold decision, if not a particularly sensible one; the winger had two points in the previous four games and had been bottled up fairly effectively previously. The game was a typical back-and-forth in the purest sense of word, with no team ever having more than a one goal lead. Rick Nash kicked off the match-up at speed, scoring a goal that was nullified a little after by Dick Tarnstrom that was in turn cancelled out by Martin Havlat, all in the first period. The second was no different, Dainius Zubrus pulling the score to 2-2 but being denied by Michael Ryder. Ryan Malone equalised yet again, Marian Hossa put Buffalo in the lead and finally, the three-point Matt Stajan gave Vancouver something to celebrate about and avoid falling to the same fate as Edmonton.

Current Record: 1-1-0-2, 4 points
Player of the Sim: Denis Ezhov - 0 goals + 2 assists = 2 points
Rick Nash - 1 goal + 1 assist = 2 points
Marian Hossa - 1 goal + 1 assist = 2 points

Week One - Still No Luck

With many integral parts of the team having never worn a Sabres jersey before, fans were hoping that the first week would bring with it an end to the colossal losing streak they'd racked up over the last year, going fully twenty-five games without a single win after beating Colorado in February. Hosting Chicago at the HSBC Arena seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so - the Blackhawks, like them, were coming off a poor season and had some significant holes in their line-up. Nobody wanted to say that it was a sure thing, but the odds were quite high of getting the precious two points. Surprisingly, it was former Amerk Mattias Thorssel who started the game off well for Buffalo, putting the puck between Joe Palmer's legs to put Chicago on the back foot; however, the momentum couldn't be kept up and Ralph Rosger equalised a few minutes after, taking advantage of a missed interference call by the referees on Cam Barker. Tomas Kaberle kept protesting after the goal and earned himself two minutes in the box for it.

Despite starting the second period short-handed, Rick Nash made a clear statement why he deserved a bigger, better contract, scoring once to put the Sabres back in the lead then setting up Sid Sorensen just moments after to stretch the lead to two, even if it was for a depressingly short time. Thorssel took a pair of penalties in quick succession, and on the second, Leo Bisaillon cut the scoreline from 3-1 to 3-2, then with just seconds left in the period, Martin Erat sprang up to equalise. From there, it was all downhill- the late goal had taken the wind out of the Sabres' sails, and when Premysl Navara put the Blackhawks up 4-3 right out of the gate,it was game over. Daniel Ryder added a fifth to pad the score when Ryan Miller was pulled, and the Sabres stayed winless.

Unlike the Chicago game, nobody expected Buffalo to do anything but suck and die against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings; while the Sabres had one line of undeniable quality, the Kings had four, and little was expected other than a massacre. Naturally, it came as no surprise to see the Kings come out swingin, with goals from Joe Thornton and Brad Stuart giving Los Angeles a comfortable 2-0 cushion in the first period, both coming from powerplay situations - when offseason acquisition Michael Ryder put away Mike Cammalleri's pass with a few seconds left, it was only seen as a minor irritation by the Kings fans who'd made the trip, and most of the Sabres fans in attendance were jaded enough to see it only as a consolation goal already. These naysayers were quieted through the second period - where the Sabres had been responsible for all five of the penalties in the first, the third and fourth lines were given some time to irritate the Kings where possible, and came away with four penalties on Los Angeles, two of which were on perennial scoring threats Shane Doan and Sidney Crosby. The second period was scoreless, and it looked very much like the Kings would eke out a win solely by restricting the amount of shots Buffalo had - just ten in the first two frames combined.

To this, it came down to former King Cammalleri. With time ticking down on what looked like another Kings victory to join the pile, the man affectionately known as the Dyslexic Squid bulldozed Vincent Lecavalier in the neutral zone, showing surprising strength in the hit, and set up Jay McClement. McClement's shot rebounded off Dan Blackburn, as did Rick Nash's that left the goaltender sprawling. Ben Shutron and Cam Barker fought for the puck, but neither got to it before Cammalleri skated in and blazed his slapshot deep in the net. Thankfully, the score stayed at 2-2 until the end; anyone scoring after that would just bring down the mood.

Current Record: 0-1-0-1 [Wins-Losses-Overtime Losses-Ties]
Player of the Week: Mike Cammalleri - 1 goal + 2 assists = 3 points

Sabres Improve In Waiver Draft

Despite frequently receiving criticism from many fronts, the waiver draft proved to be a welcome helping hand to Buffalo. While Vesa Toskala was never claimed, three players became Sabres with only one leaving; Eric Fehr was taken by San Jose in the first round, but they were happy to take advantage of the preceding teams' disdain for goaltenders by snapping up Pascal Leclaire from Nashville. Buffalo was also able to strengthen their defensive line with a pair of blueliners - first, offensive defenseman Johan Fransson from Florida, then hard-hitting enforcer Branislav Mezei from Toronto. Despite missing out on Patrick O'Sullivan, who was confusingly unprotected by the Edmonton Oilers in favour of Tom Kostopolous, the process has been a success this year. Mezei is likely to fit in alongside Trevor Daley or Denis Gauthier on the third defensive pairing, whereas Fransson is expected to join Rochester in the AHL.

Another Piece Of Last Year's Puzzle Leaves

This time, it's Pierre-Marc Bouchard. After a season-low 32 points in the full 82 games, the overriding opinion was that Bouchard was no longer worth the excessive salary he was being paid and so was actively being shipped around for potential buyers. There was interest on some fronts, but none seen to be better by the package paid by San Jose, who were allegedly most interested in Bouchard because he clicked with Calder Trophy winner Anatoli Ovsianikov and that made Cory Whitteaker wet himself - that's quoted verbatim from the trade confirmation, for your information, we did not make that up in any shape or form. The main attraction for the Sabres was slashing Bouchard's $3.5 million salary from the already over-the-cap salary budget, although the actual reduction was lessened by the $1.2 million in salary coming the other way. At the end of the season, Bouchard was seen as the third choice centre behind Mike Cammalleri and Jay McClement, and was effectively surplus to requirements.

In addition to the cap cut, the Sabres picked up two prospects and a penalty killer. Defenseman Valdis Rostoks was a second-round pick in the 2010 draft who was then noted for his defensive abilities and has developed well with the AHL's Cleveland Barons, and could easily team with Leon Fooland to provide a true top-quality pairing. Left winger Brian Barnes was another 2010 pick who has so far yet to play in the ITC, spending the past two seasons with Sault St. Marie of the OHL who projects as being a fantastic offensive talent, if a little lacking in his own end. Jordan Foote, the last part of the deal, has spent time with both San Jose and Detroit and has made his name as a hard-checking defensive forward most at home killing penalties. To go along with this, the Sabres have made an offer to the New York Rangers’ restricted free agent Martin Legault – if he accepts and the Rangers decline to match it, he’s expected to slot in the open third-line centre spot.

Along with these further changes, the annual training camp begins soon. Seven of the 2010 draftees will be attending, including nineteen-year-old goaltender Ed McCarty, as well as Charlie Harrah and Oleg Konovalov, the two 2009 draftees who spent time with the pro team last season.

Looking Within

The free agency period can be either the best or the worst time to be a hockey fan, or, indeed, a fan of any sport. On the one hand, there's the chance your team will wheel and deal and surprise everyone with their managerial acumen, snatching a prize free agent from the jaws of a rival or convincing a player who could easily be a key part of your side to sign for much less than he's worth. On the other hand, there's the chance your team could panic, be sluggish or get out of the blocks late, missing out on the prizes and paying excessive amounts to players worth a fraction of the cost. The trick, of course, is picking out which is which. So ahead of free agency, what do we have in Buffalo?

For one thing, an overpaid goaltender. It's no secret that Vesa Toskala's contract has been the worst move of Jay Byers' short tenure - while he attempted to justify it by explaining that Ryan Miller having a stable backup was vital if he wanted to keep playing 65+ games a season, there is no team that could possibly benefit from having their backup be paid almost twice as much money as their starter for less than 25% of the games. As if this weren't bad enough, the signing of Jay McClement and the resigning of Keith Ballard, among others, put Buffalo close enough to the cap anyway without Toskala's influence. If he can't find another team so desperate for a goaltender to take his cap hit, it's expected the Finn will be waived and left to play out his career in the minor leagues - an inauspicious end to his time in the ITC.

Aside from him, there are rumours of some other high earners leaving, although this time in trades. The recently-signed Jay McClement, who spent all of last season coaching the Bramption Battalion - his junior team - as an unsigned restricted free agent, has been targeted by Florida, who acquired Carl Soderberg from the Sabres not long ago; likewise, Pierre-Marc Bouchard has been the subject of inquiries from teams all across the nation. Aside from them, nobody is expected to leave except for Mathieu Dandenault, whose team option was declined; the acquisition of yet another ex-Panther, Michael Ryder, made him surplus to requirements.

Surprisingly for a team with their record, there are two positions where everything is seen as satisfactory. With the trading of Jochen Hecht, there may only be three left wingers but they ARE of great quality - Rick Nash, Sid Sorensen and Robert Nilsson, if you needed to be reminded; similarly, the defensive corps have both experience and youth on their side, and while the combination is untested, it is hard to see how it could be worse than last year.

Predraft Wrapup

When it rains, it rains hard. Or pours, I'm not sure which. It doesn't matter either, my point is when last season began to suck, it didn't stop; the team effectively tanked the season, at one point going a full 25 games without a win, but somehow didn't manage to quite be bad enough to pick first in the Entry Draft. That honour indirectly went to Vancouver, by way of their general manager fleecing New Jersey out of THEIR first-round pick, and left Buffalo with #4. There was to be no rejoicing - with the upcoming free agency period and the cap still unfairly rigid at $50 million, drafting had moved from important to "incredibly fucking important", in GM Byers' words. Hence, the frenzy of trading - first robbing Columbus of a second first-round simply for them to move up one space (where they picked Dmitry Mozgunov), then probably giving up too much to re-enter the first ten by shipping three high picks to the New York Islanders for Tampa Bay's original first, which sat at #10 and was used to select Gordie Coleman. Eventually, the five second-round picks the Sabres entered the day with were whittled down to two - one was packaged with Carl Soderberg in exchange for Robert Nilsson, one went to Pittsburgh for Maxence Veillette and one was included in the ridiculous overpayment mentioned above. So And so, to shill the individual players to the point of overhyping them and meaning they will never live up to their expectations.

Leon Fooland
[1st round, 4th overall, 17 years of age, defenseman, Kelowna Rockets]

Clocking in at 6'4 and over 22o pounds, Fooland is the archetypal physical defenseman; someone who may have trouble with penalties but will get away with more brutality than he gets called for. He will never be an offensive power on the blueline, but that was never why he was drafted - in time, he should mature into a real franchise defenseman in the mould of ex-Devil Scott Niedermayer. It's believed that the Sabres will let Fooland remain in the Western Hockey League for at least the next season, as at the moment the Buffalo defense corps is fairly solid despite the poor run of results thus far. One more thing to note about Fooland is that he will almost certainly be linked to the Blue Jackets' Mozgunov in the same way as Eli Manning and Philip Rivers are now, although the amount given up to get hold of Mozgunov isn't close to the amount the New York Giants paid up for Manning's services.

Gordie Coleman
[1st round, 10th overall, 18 years of age, centre, Val D'Or Foreurs]

When Coleman was picked, it was thought to be somewhat of a reach considering the players still available both offensively and defensively - Pelle Ottosson is believed to be less consistent but with a greater upside - but it was known GM Byers had been interested in Coleman for some time. In 77 games with the Foreurs, he had racked up a hundred and twenty-six points, a fantastic level of production for anybody, and this was thought to be the tipping point that prompted his selection. Like Fooland, he projects as being a franchise centre, a genuine playmaker not unlike Calgary's Mike Comrie.

Ben Certik
[2nd round, 43rd overall, 18 years of age, left winger, Kamloops Blazers]

The designation of "sniper" may well have been created solely for Certik's use, and if he pans out he will have been a real steal - he had eighty-nine goals last season in the WHL, and displayed a wristshot already worthy of the ITC. The comparisons to Martin St. Louis are inevitable, and we're not about to change that because he is an excellent skater and a deft stickhandler despite his small stature (5'10 and 190 pounds); additionally, Certik was the captain for the Blazers last season and will retain this position if he isn't brought to the ITC as he has already proven himself to be a leader.

William Sharlow
[2nd round, 44th overall, 18 years of age, left winger, Kootenay Ice]

If "sniper" wasn't designed for Certik, it was for Sharlow. While his point totals last year weren't as radical as Certik's were, sixty-nine goals is nothing to sniff at, particularly with Kootenay's comparative lack of support for him. Like Certik, his skills lie in his blistering shot and soft hands, but unlike Certik, Sharlow has the capability to play twenty or twenty-five minutes every night - he has the endurance to make this possible. Interestingly, he has been seen to have chemistry with new Sabre Robert Nilsson and Keith Ballard in a pre-draft training camp, something that may bode well for the future.

Regarding Kabby

Due to a variety of reasons, Tomas Kaberle’s time in Boston was widely expected to come to an abrupt end sooner or later. After being passed over for selection by the Czech Republic ahead of the World Championships – a tournament in which they claimed the bronze medal, defeating the United States 6-3 in the third-placed game – the rumours began to swirl that the Bruins wouldn’t be extending the veteran blueliner’s contract and instead would let him go into the free agency market on July 1^st. Whether these reports were true or not is uncertain, but the Boston management evidently tried one more roll of the dice, dropping their asking price from a centre capable of playing on the Bruins’ third line to a second-round pick and then, when General Manager Byers came calling, a pair of third-round picks. For a defenseman of Kaberle’s calibre, he evidently thought this a fair price to pay, and so relinquished the final picks of the third rounds – those originally belonging to Anaheim and Atlanta – to pick up what was described as “negotiating rights to [Kaberle’s] contract”. The move brings some stability to Buffalo’s defensive line as well as a voice of experience that doesn’t belong to Denis Gauthier. The earliest indication is that the Czech blueliner will instantly become one of the Sabres’ top two defensemen, slotting in alongside Cam Barker in even strength and probably seeing some time in powerplay or short-handed situations. He had thirty-four points during the regular season to help Boston into the playoffs for the second consecutive year, but in their first-round 4-2 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins he was held pointless with a minus-8 rating.

On the continuing subject of the ITC Draft, another clutch of picks have been made. Five more defensemen were drafted – James LaPointe to Carolina; Lukas Vorel to Toronto; Mo Fu to Columbus; Ilkka Heiskanen to Washington and Wayne Peca to Dallas – along with Pelle Ottosson (to Colorado), Alexei Metlyuk (to Nashville), Igor Nikishov (to Detroit) and Jonas Linhart (to Boston).

Cammalleri, Daley make Team Canada

While they were far from the only ones to be selected for their national teams, Mike Cammalleri and Trevor Daley were the only Sabres to represent one of North America’s teams as eleven of their team-mates declined to participate; Daley joins a defense lead by New Jersey’s Dion Phaneuf, whereas the Camel will be fighting for a place on the forward-loaded top lines. Others of note joining them at the World Championships are team captain Marian Hossa – who will also captain the Slovakian national side – and the Czech Republic’s recently-resigned right winger Martin Havlat; Denis Ezhov (Russia), Jochen Hecht (Germany) and Vladimir Sobotka (Czech Republic) round off those selected from the full team. Of more concern for the respective managers are the amount of Sabres who chose not to play – Rick Nash and Cam Barker both turned down the chance to play with Team Canada, Vesa Toskala did likewise with Finland and the Americans were hit hardest by the news that Ryan Miller, Keith Ballard and Sid Sorensen had all said “No”; Miller was the biggest blow, as he would have brought experience to a goaltending group lacking in it – none of Phillipe Sauve, Brian Boucher and Jeff Frazee have spent any significant time as a starter, and Frazee spent last season in the AHL with the Louisville Panthers.

However, the silver lining was sizable as, in the wake of Michal Grosek’s release, both Barker and restricted free agent Jay McClement accepted their respective offers. McClement, who spent the whole of last season unsigned when Buffalo chose not to extend his contract at the end of 2009/2010, will make $8.8 million over the next four years, whereas Barker will earn $13 million over the same time period. This follows from the resigning of Havlat, Ballard and Daley, leaving only Toskala and Mathieu Dandenault out of contract when free agency begins; Toskala and his agent have been in negotiations with the Sabres for some time, but Dandenault is not expected to brought back.

Nilsson Bolts The Sunshine State, Sabres Rejoin Top Ten

For the second time in the space of just eight picks, the Buffalo Sabres visited the trading floor with one of their fellow basement dwellers – after switching picks with Columbus, General Manager Jay Byers then sent centre Carl Soderberg along with Ottawa’s second-round draft pick, #52 overall, to the Florida Panthers in exchange for talented winger Robert Nilsson. The twenty-six-year-old was already part of a big trade in December 2010, when Florida gave the Columbus Blue Jackets two first-round picks in the 2011 draft, and a first-round and fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft in exchange for his services; he was coming off a pair of fifty-point seasons with the Blue Jackets, and finished the 2010/2011 season with 59 points split between the two teams. However, his salary and his attitude earned him few friends among the Panthers, least of all Philip Ricketts – with the Panthers sitting at $54 million and with players like German Kournikov, Martin Biron and Alex Bourret all out of contract after the season, removing Nilsson’s $2 million salary from the team was seen as a welcome move, albeit with only limited effects as Soderberg’s contract guarantees him $1.1 million for the next two years. The addition of Soderberg to the Panthers is expected to improve the hitting and defensive effort provided by their forwards, first and foremost, and he’s expected to anchor the second or third line in Florida.

Of more interest to us is the improvement Nilsson will provide to the Sabres offense. Like Soderberg, Nilsson’s expected place is to be on the second or third line depending on how the management chooses to handle Sid Sorensen; despite being a three-year veteran of the league at the tender age of 21, it’s not believed that Sorensen has finished developing and so Nilsson may well see both second-line and powerplay minutes in his stead. Of course, Sorensen is operating a good rate of point production, with a 63-point career year in 2009/2010 and a junior season where he amassed 156 points in 75 games for the Oshawa Generals, and is only expected to get better – this may mean Buffalo have a position battle on their hands already. On the subject of the ITC Draft, a further three picks have been made since Leon Fooland became a Sabre; Nashville picked up a second rookie defenseman to go with Ladislav Strnad in Jean-Michel Taillefer, Phoenix also opted for a blueline prospect with Simon Mulder and Chicago chose versatile winger Jason Mason.

But no sooner had this trade gone through than news of another emerged. The New York Islanders had been looking to move down and acquire more picks in the first or second round from their position at #10, and despite attention from Vancouver, it was Buffalo who came out on top, although there will surely be rumblings that they overpaid – for the tenth overall pick, GM Byers gave up picks #22, #30 and #34, which could either be a smart gamble or a big mistake – given the range of players who could conceivably have been picked at #10, the latter is though to be more likely. Candidates for the pick include forwards Gordie Coleman and Pelle Ottosson and defenseman Ilkka Heiskanen, but the Sabres have still not addressed their need at goaltender and so may elect for Andy Green instead.

To Better Know A Draft Pick

Three names were floating around the Buffalo war room, even before Vancouver chose not to go against the Central Scouting Bureau by picking Robin Fernsworth, the man the CSB deemed the top of the class, and even the picking of Ladislav Strnad by Nashville did little to dampen the good mood. The choice, it seemed, came down to a simple question of offense vs. defense – was the better pick fourth-ranked winger Dmitry Mozgunov of Amur Habarovsk, or hard-hitting defenseman Leon Fooland of the Kelowna Rockets – and yet it seemed nobody could reach a consensus about who the right choice was. Redline Report had Fooland ranked five places higher than the CBS at #16 with Mozgunov stationary at #4, but had little but good things to say about either; they did mention that Fooland’s WHL points were mediocre, eight goals and sixteen assists in 74 games, but also that he could easily grow into the mould of a franchise defenseman with time and patience. Mozgunov had one glaring criticism similar to the one meted out to Enver Lisin before the 2004 Draft, in that unless he had the puck or was at the head of an offensive drive, he was disinterested in the play around him; while Lisin was judged to only have one dimension, Mozgunov at least has two. Sports Illustrated, on the other hand, had Mazgunov as the one donning the blue and gold based heavily on Buffalo’s need for a right winger – Marian Hossa, in addition to being 32, has just one year left on his contract while Martin Havlat will become a restricted free agent if he and the team cannot agree to terms. It was also widely known that the fourth pick was rivalling Rick Nash as the most desired thing on the Sabres roster, with at least four teams interested in moving up; to actually trade it was not considered a smart move unless the reward was of exceptional quality.

Columbus provided that quality.

So eager were the Blue Jackets to move up in the wake of New York’s selection – they chose Rich Castellanos, ranked #42 – that they gave up their own pick, just one spot below Buffalo’s, as well as Atlanta’s first-rounder to land the fourth overall pick; faced with a win/win situation, the deal was quickly accepted and Dmitry Mozgunov became a Blue Jacket, leaving Leon Fooland as the obvious choice for the fifth overall selection. As a primarily-defensive defenseman, it is hoped that Fooland will be able to bring some balance back to the Buffalo blueline corps – offensive defenseman have proliferated since Cam Barker’s arrival – and help lessen the burden on the goaltenders. While free agency may cause problems, with Trevor Daley, Keith Ballard and Barker all out of contract this year, it might also be the opportunity Fooland needs to break into the squad, particularly if Denis Gauthier does leave. Also keeping a keen eye on the draft are prospects Jonas Isberg and Vladimir Sobotka, who both spent the season in Rochester playing with the Americans – Isberg’s chances of cracking the full roster took a hit with the drafting of Fooland, but Sobotka – who lead the Americans in scoring with 81 points – believes he has a shot. Speaking with a Czech newspaper, the winger said “Sure, it will be tough, Buffalo are a good team who are just in some trouble. But I’ve played in the NHL, I know the score and I think I can make it this time.”

The seventeen-year-old Canadian is thought to be one of the top defenseman in this year’s draft class, along with Nashville’s Strnad and Ilkka Heiskanen; all three have been categorised as physical defensemen, in contrast to Jean-Francois Lavoie’s “stay-at-home” and Lukas Vorel’s “offensive” monikers, and at first glance there appears to be little difference between their respective games. However, one of Buffalo’s senior scouts – who was assigned to scout a six-man shortlist as early as February – explained the differences lay in the intangible qualities the three bring. Strnad’s biggest unique skill is his booming slapshot which will undoubtedly lead to him spending some time on the powerplay if (and when, in all likelihood) he breaks into the league, whereas Heiskanen is already a fantastic skater and possibly the most NHL-ready of the three (and arguably all of the prospects on offer). Fooland’s attraction lay in his fists, as he was happy to play the role of enforcer with Kelowna, dealing out hits and checks but being prepared to drop the gloves when it was needed- that said, his 6’4, 226-pound frame was enough to deter plenty of would-be pugilists, albeit not enough to stop him racking up 110 minutes in the penalty box over the 74-game season.

Buffalo still has the twenty-second and thirtieth overall selections in the first round – from Ottawa and Atlanta respectively – along with five second-round picks.

Leaving The Season The Way They Entered

The ITC regular season drew to a blessed close with two consecutive games for the Buffalo Sabres, first losing 3-1 to the rock-bottom New York Islanders in the Nassau Coliseum then tying the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-2 on home ice. The woeful finish capped off a record-breaking twenty-five game winless streak for the beleaguered Sabres, and the one point gained from the Maple Leafs was the only one for some time. This leaves Buffalo 27^th in the league overall – 13^th in the Eastern Conference – with a total of just 53 points for the whole season; the 249 goals conceded is the fourth-worst total in the league, behind Carolina’s 265, Edmonton’s 257 and the 251 shared by Toronto, Nashville and Florida, while the 172 goals scored is also in the bottom ten.

Rick Nash returned to the line-up after being sidelined with his wrist injury for the Islanders game, and despite scoring Buffalo’s only goal – his 22^nd of the campaign – he was one of the many Sabres to take penalties, and it was his call for roughing that resulting in Marco Sturm doubling New York’s lead to 2-0 early in the third period; Sturm had opened the scoring already with under a minute to go in the first period, with what was his 200^th career goal. But just as the Buffalo fans felt like they could mount a comeback, Vyacheslav Truhnov killed their hopes with his sixth goal less than thirty seconds after, and with the Sabres offense firing blanks, goaltender Samuel Belanger had little to do to add another win to his total; at the other end of the rink, Vesa Toskala faced seventeen shots but allowed three goals on them to deliver a hit to his save percentage. Sturm took the first star honours, Truhnov the second and Greg Watson, who assisted on both of Sturm’s goals and brought his total to twenty helpers, was the third star.

After the sparsely-populated Coliseum – only six thousand five hundred fans turned up for the game – Buffalo returned home in front of a packed house for an always-intense game against dogged rivals Toronto. Regardless of the Leafs’ statistical superiority, it was Mike Cammalleri who drew first blood, netting his 24^th goal to keep the team lead off an exquisite pass from Trevor Daley in the second minute, and would later provide an assist for Nash on a powerplay goal. By that time, unfortunately, the Maple Leafs had regrouped and scored twice in the first period – Derek Roy scoring his 18^th and Jukka Poutanen chipped in with a go-ahead goal (also his first this year) – and thus the valiant effort only left Buffalo with one point for a 2-2 tie. Toskala weathered a late barrage of shots in overtime to emerge with 27 saves, while Mikael Tellqvist saved nineteen; Toskala also was nominated as the first star for his heroics, with Cammalleri second and Derek Roy third. The AHL game was more eventful, as the Rochester Americans came out 7-6 winners over the St. John’s Maple Leafs that saw St Johns’ Shawn Weller score a hat-trick and still come out on the losing side.

With the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft and another pick later, the Sabres have a lot of options in terms of players. The top-ranked player by the CSB, Robin Fernsworth, is unsurprisingly one of those on the list, but aside from him the Buffalo management is keeping their cards close to their chest. The fact is that since the team has holes everywhere, there’s not really a bad pick to be made. However, an inside source claims that the man they have their eye most closely on is Canadian all-round forward Rene Arsenault of the Red Deer Rebels, who is someone able to chip in all over the ice and thus would provide some welcome insurance. The 22^nd overall pick, the one formerly belonging to the Ottawa Senators, is being shopped around but it’s not really expected to be moving anywhere.

The Sabres - A Sinking Ship Or A Rising Submarine?

It's the 3rd of April, 2011, and the ITC regular season is drawing to an end. The playoff picture is almost completely set, with the sixteen teams who will compete for hockey's ultimate prize locked in and the battle lines being drawn; yet, despite being part of this privileged group last year, the Buffalo Sabres are nowhere to be seen until you cast your eyes down. And down...and down some more. Sitting in 27th place overall, on an eight-game losing streak, the Sabres make for sorry viewing - how, you might ask, can a team with luminaries such as Rick Nash, Marian Hossa, Ryan Miller and Cam Barker have fallen so hard?

The answer, if you listen to newly-appointed General Manager Jay Byers, is simple. "While I don't want to blame everything on the management before," he said in an NHL press conference, "they did make some questionable moves. The Lundqvist/Toskala trade, for instance? Not something I would have done." The trade alluded to was orchestrated by Byers' predecessor, Quinn Mulligan, seeing Henrik Lundqvist, Daniel Briere and a 3rd-round pick in 2011 head to San Jose in exchange for Vesa Toskala, Kyle Rossiter, Erik Fehr and a 2nd-round pick in 2011. It was viewed as a solution to the Sabres' goaltending logjam, with both Miller and Lundqvist vying for starting minutes, but Briere's inclusion was a tough one to take for Sabres fans. Byers continued "Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasoning behind the move, but in my opinion, the wrong goaltender left."

His remarks drew criticism from some, but Miller himself insisted he wasn't offended - "I know what [Jay] meant to say, even if I don't agree with him, so I'm not bothered." There was one man who opened fire on his new boss, although it wasn't exactly without provocation - what was almost Byers' first act was to demote Denis Gauthier from his position as captain and hand the "C" to top goalscorer Marian Hossa. In reply, Gauthier said "It's a ****ing pointless decision, there's only two ****ing games to go and it's a retarded way to start. Well ****ing done, boss." Whether this will prompt any further ramifications is yet to be seen. The question is, what does Byers have to work with?

To start with, a lot of picks. Various trades have left Buffalo with two first-round picks (their own, currently sitting at #4 in the draft order) and that of the Ottawa Senators (at #23), along with five second-round picks (their own, Ottawa's, San Jose's, Toronto's and Anaheim's), and it is believed that Byers is looking to shift some of these ahead of the draft in order to move up; the expected package is Ottawa's first-round pick and Toronto or San Jose's second-round for a middling first-round pick. Vancouver is being touted as a potential target, as they have four picks in this year's first round including their own, currently at #15 overall.

The Sabres are also in a position of power ahead of free agency, with approximately $5.5 million of cap space to play around with. While some players are looking at big paydays - Trevor Daley, in particular, will be looking to markedly increase his $600,000 salary - others may be moved before the draft. Mathieu Dandenault is not believed to have a future in Buffalo, while Martin Havlat and Vesa Toskala could also leave depending on how contract negotiations go; the latter's situation is made more interesting by the presence of goaltenders Andy Green and Daniel Ekroth, both of whom are likely first-round picks (Green has a CSB ranking of 6, Ekroth's is 13), as well as the number of goaltenders whose contracts expire after this season. Most will be resigned, but the Sabres will be hoping talks break down for someone.

Are the Sabres a ship or a submarine? It's too early to tell in truth. There is too much talent on the team to keep tanking - assuming they can keep both Cam Barker and Keith Ballard, they will retain the core of a dangerous defense - while the sky appears to be the limit for Sid Sorensen (even if his numbers did take a hit from last year's career best 63 points). And, of course, the draft will likely be a source of celebration for Buffalo's hockeyistas even if Byers can't pull off any trading magic beforehand. The future's bright...the present is a question everyone will have a different perspective on.