Sabre Rattling

Moving Brodeur Follow-Up

Link: INSIDE HOCKEY: "Time To Trade Brodeur?" by Kevin Greenstein.

Over at Inside Hockey Kevin Greenstein further explores something that I talked about here last week,  the possibility of the Devils cutting ties with Martin Brodeur.  Now as much as I'd like to think of myself as a progressive thinker, or, to use the newly-minted cliche, "Out of the Box Thinker," it's simply not the case.  My argument was simply that the Devils could train Brodeur's replacement behind that very expensive defense corps with little trauma to the kid's psyche and set themselves up better for the future.  Greenstein's is more detailed, working through the reasons why a three-way deal that sent Brodeur to Vancouver and being replaced by Roberto Luongo, with Eddie Jo and dan Cloutier going to Florida.

This only nets the Devils $2.2 million in salary and does not set them up for either the return of Patrick Elias or adding depth at the deadline.  Moreover, they still have to add a backup goalie.  My idea of solving the Sabres Three-Headed Monster in goal still seems like a stronger fit for both teams.  Ship Miller, Biron and a cheap forward (Kotalik or Bartovic) to NJ for Brodeur and Colin White.  Add picks to balance and any of our extra defensemen you like.

The Sabres get the Marquee player that they can sell to the public and toughness on defense, while New Jersey gets two potential replacements for Marty and forward depth that they desperately need.

I know I must be smoking something good to think that there's even a hope in hell of something like this happening, but then again, Kevin Greenstein's proposal is no better.  The Canucks cannot afford to remove Jovanovski from their blueline and still be considered cup contenders.  No way.  And, in no way, with the Devils in the kind of cap trouble that they're in, does anyone trade Luongo and Bouwmeester for Cloutier and Jovanovski.  I just don't see anyone doind Lou Lamarillo that big a favor.

I may think Mike Keenan's a prick, but I don't think he's a stone-cold idiot either.

Ta,

Razor's Aware that Some Stare at his Hair...

Link: Dallas Stars Blog.

I think I'm going to nominate Wednesdays as Sabre Rattling's Complete Day of Fluff (CDoF). And, for our inaugural post of such comes this Carnie-Worthy entry from the inimicable Darryl Reaugh, entitled YOU CHOOSE RAZOR'S NEW DO.

To be honest, if Razor's got the stones to wear the Britney Spears Schoolgirl one live on the air I'll send him to the top of the Most Wanted Color Guy List (MWCGL).

Or how about the 'Horny' Razor... A guy with a forehead like Fabio and a chin like Kurt Russel, and ten more pounds than either one after a Ben and Jerry's Incident, smiling like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

For the love of God, put down the Hairbands and step away from the camera!

Talk about the new NHL, indeed.

Ta,

OLN - "Doc" Emrick in the Booth

Link: Outdoor Life Network -.

Great news here.  OLN has grabbed who I consider the best hockey play-by-play man in the business to call the Monday and Tuesday night national broadcasts.  I've been an absolute Center Ice junkie for the past 4 seasons and without a doubt, Emrick is the best there is currently.  Anyone who can make dueling neutral-zone traps sound exciting has got to be good.

Honorable mentions for me go to R.J. in Buffalo ("TOP SHELF, Where Mamma Hides the Cookies!!!!), who is simply unique, a real treasure to listen to, and Randy Hahn out in San Jose.  Hahn, unlike most of the p-b-p guys actually understands the game.  He and his partner Drew Remenda are both well prepared and competent.

I would hope that OLN looks seriously at giving these guys a look for the early round playoff coverage.  Stay away from the ESPN castoffs like Gary Thorne (a great baseball guy) and J.P. Dellacamra (a great soccer guy). 

And, with the devastating news coming out of New Orleans (*sigh*), the world could use a little more of Jenneret's enthusiasm and professionalism.

Ta,

TBN -- Tom G. on Building a Winner

Link: Buffalo News - Despite bad vibes, Golisano says Sabres doing it right.

I've been very impressed with Tom Golisano's handling of the Sabres since he took over.  Quibbling aside it looks to me that he has a goal in mind and a plan by which to get there.  I know that some of the fans I've talked to (and I'd love Chainshot's follow-up opinion on this) have wondered if that plan is the optimal one or not.  There are no doubt glaring holes in the Sabres current lineup.  Make no mistake, this does not look like a Stanley Cup capable team right now, but, given the demographics of the market and dire circumstances of just three years ago having a plan that is profitable within those parameters is the surest way to building a long-term success on the ice.

Gleason's hyperbole doesn't help the situation at all:

With so many box-office hits in one week, who needs public-relations disasters? Of course, the negative vibes reverberating from South Park and Main came after fans were so disenchanted with Buffalo's performance in free agency that they practically longed for the good ol' days under the previous collective bargaining agreement.

Not this fan.  Some yes.  But, certainly not me.

Tom Golisano has built a helluva lot more in his life than most of his detractors, and while he may not be the most experienced hockey mind around, he does understand how to build something up from nothing.  My view is that when he took over the Sabres were nothing.  There wasn't much if anything of value other than the personel in the organization.  The price he paid only covered their current debt load, if I remember correctly.  You don't build a house from the roof trusses down.  And regardless of what Tom Benjamin and his ilk are saying about not being able to build through the draft under this CBA, or any CBA, you don't build a hockey franchise from the Star Player down either.  You still build through shrewd acquisition of talent, buying low and selling high. The draft is still an important part of that equation. [see comments for edits, which are bolded... *hangs head in shame*]

Keenanization Means Never Failing to be a Prick

Link: Herald.com | 08/15/2005 | 'Keenanization' of Panthers is under way.

Mike Keenan is a prick.  That's it, and recently, not even a winning prick.  Check out this surprisingly good article from the Miami Herald.  It's a great run-down of why Keenan may not succeed in Florida.  Who says there are no knowledgable hockey people in the south?

His moves with Luongo will backfire on him, in my opinion, even if Roberto shows class and plays Vezina-class hockey for him this year.  If Keenan is around next year when they do this again, expect the same result.  All contract overtures will be denied and Luongo will move from Miami when he's able. 

Ta,

Sabres Stabilize Defense with Lydman

Link: WGR 550 : Sabres Trade For A Defenseman.

Yesterday Darth Regier released his anger and pulled the trigger on a trade that was painfully obvious to all and sundry acquiring left-handed defenseman Toni Lydman from the Calgary Flames.  It only cost him a 3rd round pick (presumably a mid-third rounder at that) to complete the deal that brings the 6'1", 204lb Lydman to Buffalo.

This is exactly the trade that many of us were expecting Regier to pull off.  I'm a little shocked that it didn't cost us a roster player or a prospect.  With the acquisition of Roman Hamrlik Lydman had slipped down to at least #5 on Calgary's depth chart and it seems to me to be bad asset management to hold onto someone making $1.9 million to play those kind of minutes.  Couple that with needing to get the highly-touted Dion Phaneuf some experience to continue his growth, this makes perfect sense from Calgary's standpoint. 

For Buffalo they get someone who helps plug the hole left by Alexei Zhitnik.  he can log a ton of minutes if he needs to, has a solid offensive side to his game, skates very well and, most importantly to me, has been good on a bad team before.  I don't know much about his character, Flames fans seem to speak very highly of him, but I've watched him play enough to know that like most Scandinavian defensemen he is positionally sound and keeps his head in his own zone. 

Something's Gotta Give in the Swamp

Link: TSN.ca - NHL - Canada's Sports Leader.

New Jersey Devils

Player                     Contract Notes                      2005-2006 Salary (US)
Martin Brodeur                                                               $5,237,238
Brian Rafalski             Re-signed UFA (New Jersey)          $4.2 million
Patrik Elias                 Re-signed RFA (New Jersey)          $4.18 million
John Madden                                                                 $3,861,561
Vladimir Malakhov        UFA (Philadelphia)                       $3.6 million
Alexander Mogilny        UFA (Toronto)                             $3.5 million
Jeff Friesen                 Re-signed RFA (NJersey)              $2.28 million
Scott Gomez                Re-signed RFA (NJersey)              $2.2 million
Dan McGillis                 UFA (Boston)                               $2.2 million
Viktor Kozlov                Re-signed RFA (NJersey)              $1.746 million
Colin White                  Re-signed RFA (NJersey)              $1.71 million
Jamie Langenbrunner   Re-signed RFA (NJersey)               $1,655,130
Sergei Brylin                                                                   $1.52 million
Richard Matvichuk                                                          $1.368 million
Jay Pandolfo                                                                   $836,000
Krzysztof Oliwa                                                               $836,000
Grant Marshall                                                                $760,000
Brian Gionta                 Re-signed RFA (New Jersey)         $627,000
Erik Rasmussen                                                              $532,000
Darren Langdon                                                              $450,000
Sean Brown                   Re-signed RFA (NJersey)             $450,000

21 Players                                                     $43,748,929

I have to wonder if Marty Brodeur is the odd-man out in New Jersey?   Crazy?  Maybe, but with the money Lou has thrown at the three UFA's listed above, someone's obviously gotta go... and Marty can't score goals for this team.  If he's not gone then Elias/Madden along with someone else certainly is. 

But, to make matters worse the Devils have the following at LW currently under contract:
Elias, Rassmussen, Oliwa and Pandolfo.... On RW you have Mogilny, Langenbrunner, Friesen, Gionta and Marshall.  Gionta's not going anywhere, he's one of the few real bargains on this team.  Friesen or Langenbrunner are making real money, and neither should be getting 3rd lines minutes.  Probably Friesen goes in this case, but that's only $2.2 mill and you still have Jay Pandolfo penciled in as your #2 LW?  BTW, do note the lack of Backup-goalie at this point... so add a minimum of $450k to the above salary picture.

Maybe someone who knows the Devils organization better can enlighten me as to how they get out of cap hell without turning Elias or John Madden (this team is deep at center as well) and Friesen into two Top-6 quality forwards for around $1.5 million total?

You move Brodeur for a cheap young goalie to learn behind that stellar defense and a great many problems are solved.  Paging Darth Regier... Ryan Miller, a pick and 2 forwards for Brodeur and either Colin White or David Hale. Or something like that.

Ta,

TBN - McKee still Waiting

Link: Buffalo News - Unsigned McKee waits for call.

I'm not sure what Darth Regier is waiting for, but knowing him Jay's been the subject of multiple phone conversations and he will exhaust all possibilities of a trade before committing to a contract of any length.

When one considers the news of the past couple of days, with my namesake's staring contest with Mike Keenan, the Hossa soap opera (Good stuff by Chris M there.), and St. Louis signing for 6 years (!!) in Tampa, there are probably more opportunities to make deal involving McKee than there were a week ago.

That's the best spin I can put on it at this point. 

TBN - Sullivan's Useless Follow-Up

Link: Buffalo News - Sabres looking penny wise, hockey foolish.
I would expect a local newspaper to employ someone as a sports writer whose articles can rise above the worst level of internet message board writing.  But, the Buffalo News can't seem to do that.  Jerry Sullivan may really care about the Buffalo Sabres but he has a funny way of showing it.  He sounds like every busybody with a pet cause complianing to their local government to just 'DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING!"  Maybe Darcy should show Jerry he cares by sending him a get well card for the burr up his ass!

As I said yesterday who cares about the malcontents leaving because they didn't feel like they were treated properly.  Maybe it was they who had the loser mentality while Ruff, in an unbelievably bad situation, demanded that they play a brand of hockey that would give them the best chance for success and still expected them to give a full accounting of themselves on every shift, no exceptions, no special favors because your Doug Gilmour or whoever it was you used to be. Regier and Ruff have been slowly acquiring what they think is a balanced group of players with both talent and heart. 

Sayeth La Sullivan:

 

You can bet that the typical free agent is aware that Lindy Ruff's defensive-minded system has suppressed the offensive statistics of virtually every skilled forward who has played for him in Buffalo.

And, tell me Jerry just who would those skilled forwards be?  Dixon Ward?  Michael Peca? Chris Gratton?  or maybe it was the paragon of NHL ability Michael Grosek?  This is typical lazy, straw-man stuff.   The truth is people like Peca, Stu Barnes, Varada, and yes, Satan were never better than when they played for Lindy Ruff and his so-called defensive system.  Seemed to work for Bowman and LeMaire, didn't it?   I mean, how many coaches in the NHL currently would have been able to extract 17+ minutes a night from career AHL'er Rory Fitzpatrick and not have it cost them their job? 

Ruff is the teams greatest asset.  Anyone who can't see this is in desperate need of an eye exam.  Then again, this team was 10th in Goals For last year and no one had more than 30, including the Dark Lord himself. Zhitnik wasn't expendable, he just wasn't worht $3.5 milion a year for 4 years, and he was an impediment to Dmitri Kalinin's growth, which became obvious once Z was injured during the stretch run of '03-04.

TBN -- Briere, Captain Material?

Link: Buffalo News - Sabres still working to get in the game.

Well, we must be getting close to hockey season The Buffalo News has actually had some Sabres coverage.  I may faint, three articles in two days this week.  On the heels of yesterdays dirty laundry list comes this more reasonable assessment of the Sabres current situation.  I'm pleased that Tim Graham decided not to take any pot shots at the organization lack of current moves and place them in the longer-term context.

The quotes he got from Daniel Briere though sum up the kind of attitude that needs to be universal in the locker room for this team to succeed:

"Some teams will have to unload, and that's where we can take advantage," said Briere, acquired for Chris Gratton at the 2002 trade deadline, one of Regier's all-time best moves. "If we as players can put ourselves in good position through the first two or three months and don't fall off the charts right off the bat, we could become a very dangerous team if we can pick up an extra guy or two.

"It's up to the players we have right now to keep us in a playoff spot. When management sees how we have done they'll make the appropriate moves."

He's placing the burden of success on his shoulders.  This team has been lacking in leadership since Peca left and it seems that now we're beginning to see who is and who will be the leadership going forward.  Zhitnik and Satan either didn't want to or were incapable of doing it.   

If Briere backs these words up with his play on the ice and gets the rest to do the same then I'll be too happy watching them win to remember what did or did not happen during the off-season.

Ta,