Inside the NHL
Inside the NHL: Sabres need to make moves to get closer to goal
Updated: 11/25/08 9:03 AM
The NHL is just reaching the quarter pole this season, so nobody in these parts should be crying uncle. The Buffalo Sabres are a playoff team, no matter how intensely coach Lindy Ruff says they were overrated by the media. The talent is there, the goaltending is there and the coaching is definitely there.
Whether or not the Sabres reach the postseason is an entirely different matter. They took a step in the right direction Friday when they benched Maxim Afinogenov and promoted Mark Mancari from Portland. Henrik Tallinder no longer is an untouchable. Tim Connolly remains an untouchable, but only because he might break.
With that in mind, it’s time to start focusing on the goal. The goal? Winning the Stanley Cup.
Minority owner Larry Quinn made that abundantly clear over the summer. He should be applauded for saying as much, and the Sabres also should be held to that standard. Forget about this season, folks. It’s not going to happen with the current group, which is fragile. It’s a playoff-caliber team, nothing more.
For the umpteenth time, however, the Sabres should be much better a year or two from now, after their prospects grow up. But they can speed up the process. We’re not talking about teenagers learning life lessons from riding the buses. Buffalo’s top prospects are in their 20s. They’re hungry, they’ll listen and they can help.
It makes them a rarity on this team.
Mancari is 23 years old and was playing his third season in the AHL before joining the big club. Nathan Gerbe is 21 and played three years at Boston College. Tim Kennedy is 22 and spent three seasons playing for Michigan State. Gerbe and Kennedy won national championships at their respective schools. Mike Weber, who turns 21 next month, isn’t learning anything in Portland that he can’t learn here.
But there’s no room, you say? Make room.
I’m not talking about blowing up the ship so much as throwing a few broken chairs overboard. The Sabres aren’t desperate for an overhaul. They merely need to rid themselves of persistent problems that either A) can’t be fixed; B) no longer work in their long-term plans or C) need a change in scenery.
Afinogenov is all of the above. Ruff started pushing Afinogenov toward the door by benching him Friday, a year too late, and it’s time for General Manager Darcy Regier to close the door behind him. Regier is a patient man, often to a fault. He’s made three in-season trades before January since he took the job in 1997, none since he shipped defenseman Jason Woolley to Detroit in 2002.
Is there any such thing as the six-year itch?
Afinogenov should have been traded two years ago, back when people were howling over the suggestion, because that’s when they could have received something for him. Today’s value: three autographed practice sweaters and a case of beer.
Connolly should be gone, too. He has played less than 30 percent of the games since signing a three-year, $8.7 million contract. Enough is enough. Maybe another team would claim him off waivers once he’s healthy, saving the Sabres a few bucks.
Teppo Numminen is a nice story and a terrific guy. He can help younger players, but he can’t perform in the big leagues the way he once did. The fact Tallinder was angry over getting scratched Friday night was refreshing, but he needs to rediscover his game. Chris Butler is waiting in Portland. He played three years at the University of Denver.
Could the Sabres build a package for struggling Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester on the condition he signs a long-term deal before becoming an unrestricted free agent?
Ales Kotalik’s future isn’t quite clear. He had a good start this season before pulling his hamstring but largely has been a disappointment given his strength, size and shot. He’s averaged 20 goals in his five full seasons in the NHL, but he’s also a career minus-21. His injury and Ruff’s decisions have offered a peek into next season.
It’s time for people see more.
Little encouragement
Thrashers winger Bryan Little had been living in a hotel for about two months before management told him it was safe to get his own place. They waited because they didn’t want to mess with the karma after he was leading the team with eight goals, 17 points and a plus-8 rating.
“Unless they tell you to get a place, it’s best to stay in there,” Little said of the hotel.
Little had three goals and six assists during a six-game point streak before it was snapped last week against Pittsburgh. The former first-round pick had a goal and two assists against the Sabres. The only thing he didn’t have was a place to hang his hat.
“It’s almost like a mind game,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “I loved how he was playing. He deserved to stay here. But I don’t want him to get overconfident where he stops playing [hard]. I don’t think he’s
that type of person, but I don’t want to give him that excuse.”
Pens take shot
The Penguins’ decision to send Darryl Sydor back to Dallas wasn’t based on the defensenman’s shortcomings so much as what Philippe Boucher could bring in return: a puck-mover who could man the point on the power play.
Boucher had 35 goals and 94 points in the first two seasons after the lockout, but he has been the subject of trade rumors since last season. The Stars were looking for a steadier player, particularly in their own end. They know plenty about Sydor, a class act who is starting his third stint in Dallas.
“He’s nothing but one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” said Pens defenseman Brooks Orpik, who was raised in East Amherst. “Darryl chose to go about everything the right way.”
The Pens have been hurting without Sergei Gonchar, who has been sidelined since injuring his shoulder in the preseason opener. Pittsburgh had the NHL’s worst power play on the road (9.1 percent) and had allowed five
short-handed goals when they made the move. They were ranked 14th on the PP going into the weekend.
Ordinary Joes
Goalie Peter Budaj’s recent play has quieted critics who questioned whether he was a true No. 1 goalie, but the Avalanche aren’t going anywhere until they start playing better around him. Calgary peppered him with 50 shots last week in a 3-1 loss.
The Avs clearly are having trouble adjusting to life without Joe Sakic, who has been nursing a back injury suffered while lifting weights. Their top five scorers — Sakic, Paul Stastny, Milan Hejduk, Ryan Smyth and Wojtek Wolski — skated into the weekend a collective minus-25 through 17 games.
Rookie T. J. Hensick, promoted from AHL Cleveland two weeks ago, already has accomplished more than passenger Tyler Arnason. Hensick had three assists in six games while Arnason, a 22-goal, 55-point scorer in 2003-04 in Chicago, has two goals and no assists to show for his $1.75 million salary.
Penner and ink
Last week, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Oilers regretted signing Dustin Penner away from the Anaheim Ducks for $21.25 million over five years prior to last season and watching him underachieve.
The answer came a few days later. Oilers coach Craig MacTavish unloaded on Penner, who had four goals and one assist going into the weekend. Edmonton appears ready to trade him if it can find a taker.
“When we signed Dustin we thought he’d be a top two-line player,” MacTavish said. “We thought the contract was the starting point but he views it as the finish line. I can’t watch it, certainly not for another 2-plus years.”
The sad part: Penner is actually locked up for three-plus years, not 2- plus.
Quotable
Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock on his decision to leave goalie Pascal Leclaire in net for all seven goals, particularly the last three, against Edmonton: “They happened too quick to get him out of there.”
Around the boards
• In 110 career games going into the weekend, Wild goalie Nicklas Backstrom ranked first in goals-against average (2.15) and save percentage (.925) among goaltenders over the same period. He allowed three goals or fewer in 96 games and two goals or fewer in 67 games. He was 43-0-3 in his career when taking a lead into the third period.
• Barry Melrose wasted little time last week claiming that his former players came together and ran him out of Tampa Bay, but that wasn’t entirely true. GM Brian Lawton asked several players about Melrose’s approach, and they responded with their opinions. They obviously didn’t think highly of him.
• Predators coach Barry Trotz is thinking about shipping underachieving center David Legwand to the press box. Legwand, who signed a six-year deal worth $27 million despite putting together just one 50-point season, had three goals in his first 18 games. “I’ve considered it many times just to get him going,” Trotz said. “He’s on a very short leash.”
• Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who will win the Norris Trophy until he decides otherwise, played 17 games this season against the opponents’ top lines without being called for a penalty. Lidstrom is plus- 381 in his career and has never had an NHL season in which he was a minus player. Amazing.
