Some of you out there may have heard of National Novel Writing Month, known in short-hand as NaNoWriMo. The goal is to write at least 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. I, however, do not write novels. I write this here blog. Which is why I'll be participating in NaBloWriMo instead. Every day for the entire month, I'll write something here. That's right! For the next thirty days, my thoughts on the Buffalo Sabres will be at your fingertips seven days a week. Sometimes the posts may be long and in-depth, sometimes they might be a few short sentences. But they will be here.
Now that I've gotten the emotional aspect of the scratching of Craig Rivet out of the way, I figured I'd give you my opinion about who should wear the "C" from here on out: Craig Rivet.
I've gone up and down the line-up, I've carefully studied The Goose's Roost's Power Rankings, and I just don't see that there are any good alternatives right now. I think Derek Roy has it in him, but I need to see him act like a grown-up for a while longer. (For what it's worth, if you'd asked me in 2006 who the eventual captain would be, I would have said Roy.) Mike Grier isn't playing as well on the ice. Jochen Hecht seems to be well-liked but also seems very subdued and mild-mannered. I don't want Thomas Vanek anywhere near a letter for a myriad of reasons, the biggest being that I think focusing on his own game is enough for his poor little psyche. And all the babies are too far away to carry that weight right now. Maybe some day but not yet.
My only reluctance in keeping the captaincy with Rivet is that I don't think his play is really going to improve. He's not a 30-year-old Henrik Tallinder who was scratched because he needed to play harder and focus more. I don't have any complaints about Rivet's work ethic or desire. I don't think that's his problem. I think his problem is that he went and got old, and once a professional athlete starts to get old, I'm not sure you can correct that. I don't see him suddenly becoming one of the six best d-men on the team (though I wouldn't be opposed to Myers sitting for a night or two and getting his head straight). So if the goal is to find a captain who's both mature, fit to lead, and really good at hockey, well, I'm not sure that guy is on the roster right now. Kind of a sad state of affairs
3 comments:
I have to agree with you - I think Ruff benching Rivet was his way of asking him to step down - and maybe the response Rivet has given is what Ruff wanted.
I'd like to trade for Shea Weber and make him captain.
mcguffers, excellent! I like it.
I kind of forgot about Pominville. I guess he wouldn't be a bad pick for captain. And maybe Montador. But for now, I'm fine with Craig keeping it. (That wasn't in response to anyone, btw. Just talking to myself.)
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