Buffalo Sabres
As the Stanley Cup Final draws near, so does the NHL Draft and unrestricted free agency. For those who follow the Sabres, the latter two are what they are likely looking forward to most.
The Sabres are entering this offseason after an underwhelming 2011-12 regular season in which the organization failed to live up to the lofty expectations set by those expecting a deep playoff run. In case you hadn’t heard, they didn’t even qualify for the playoffs. Many are expecting the Sabres to make a number of moves to ensure a playoff berth in 2012-13. But what moves will be the ones to push them to the next level?
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I'd love to go back there.
To be able to enter a room and share my knowledge about what you are about to embark on. None of that crap about how you are going to make it if you work hard and treat people well. Sure, anyone can get far with that mindset, but at the end of the day, people who don't work well, especially with others, can make it to the top as well. They didn't name the show "My Big Beautiful, Nice, Astute Boss" did they? Every fighter has a plan until they get hit and that pretty much goes for college students.
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I'm borrowing this post form the fine folks at Dear God, Why us? Sports. Be sure to check out their awesome website which is dedicated to snark, the Bills, the Sabres and the greatest invention in the history of the world...Cuss words. You can also follow them on Twitter.
“I think we have good players. There has to be a decision about what kind of game we’re going to play. Yeah we had our shortcomings. I think that there’s enough talent in that group of guys to be on a winning hockey club, but we didn’t get the job done and that takes some soul searching. I don’t want to waste seasons.”
“Goaltender reflects team, team reflects goaltender. You guys are writing for the fans who like to talk about hockey, and it’s always a chicken or the egg, you know whatever. It’s always about goaltending at such a high level, and a goaltender steals a game and the goaltender is the difference. Yeah, I understand that whole part of it. I also see the importance of being a complete team.”
“You have to prove you’re a good team over the course of a season. I don’t think we ever qualified and I don’t think we ever stepped up to that level we talked about.” - Ryan Miller
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What?
You didn't think I wasn't going to chime in on the "We miss #48" OR "Get over it! He's old and TBN is obsessed with him" debate, did you? Please. I love this topic. I love relishing the days of old when it comes to our sports teams. Remember when may be the lowest form of conversation, but Buffalo fans love it. Ask the radio guys who always seem to roll out the nostalgia topics for happiness/sadness at least twice a month.
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2010-11 Regular Season stats:
|
57 |
D |
80 |
10 |
27 |
37 |
0 |
40 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
122 |
8.2 |
2011 Postseason stats:
|
57 |
D |
7 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
-4 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
11.1 |
Career:
|
57 |
D |
162 |
21 |
64 |
85 |
13 |
72 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
226 |
9.3 |
Look Back: After starting the season with the proverbial ‘sophomore slump,’ Tyler Myers continued his evolution into what fans hope is a world class defenseman. Myers played in 80 games in 2010-2011. He only ended even in +/- but started the season -13 and was able to improve upon that down the stretch. Playing most of the second half of the season with Chris Butler, Myers developed an edge to his game. In the playoff series against the Flyers he was routinely there to clean up the crease in front of Ryan Miller and delivered some of the biggest hits in the postseason. Half of his ten goals were game- winners for the Sabres and he led all defense in points in the regular season and was second on the team in playoff points.
Look Ahead: Although his aggression in the playoffs at times hurt the team (16 PIM and -4 rating), the evolution of an edge to his game will be crucial for Myers. At 21 and still growing into his body, it appears that he has every opportunity to fit the mold for the Sabres the way players like Zdeno Chara, Scott Stevens, Darien Hatcher and others have for their teams. The plan appears to be for the Sabres to acquire a legitimate, top-two defenseman this offseason to pair with Myers, eventually evolving into a top flight shutdown pair. Myers is easily one of, if not the cornerstone players this team is going to use to build around. He and Tyler Ennis are both RFAs after the 2011-12 season, and I would fully expect that the front office will do everything to secure that deal as soon as possible.
Fake Darcy’s Take: Someone needs to piss in this kid’s Corn Flakes. If he developed a mean streak, he’d be a monster. He is our future Captain; we’re just waiting for him to grow into the part. He fell to us at #12 in the 2008 Draft and I couldn’t get his name to the podium quick enough. He loves Twizzlers.
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