Now That Was a Day of Hockey

Friends, I'm not going to lie. While I absolutely wish the Sabres were in the playoffs, I'm kind of enjoying the postseason without them. It's so nice to watch a game and pick a team to root for but not care enough about that team winning that I'm a devastated emotional mess when they don't. And what a great day for hockey! Today was full of good, bad, and ugly.

First up, the bad and the ugly, the Devils vs. the Rangers. Tonight's game was the first one from this series that I've been able to watch but I told you no one with a soul could cheer for the Rangers. Sean Avery's display today was just ridiculous. Here's video for anyone who missed it but basically Avery stood face-to-face with Marty Brodeur, turning his back completely on the play, and waved his hands in Marty's face like a third grader would. Seriously, the only thing missing was him sticking his tongue out and singing "na na na na boo boo, stick your head in doo doo." I understand that Avery has a job to do and part of that is getting under people's skin but this was so far beyond anything I've ever seen. It was immature, obnoxious, and the very epitome of unsportsmanlike conduct. He was completely ignoring the play, he was in no position to tip in a shot or tie up a defender. He was just being a first class, grade A jackass. I was pretty annoyed with the Versus broadcast for pumping him up all night and then ignoring the level of douchebaggery of that play but thank goodness CBC got it right (also in the linked video). Ron MacLean called it dishonorable and cited a rule that he would've used to level a ten minute misconduct for unsportsmanlike behavior and Kelly Hrudey agreed and said that it had no place in the game. Seriously, that display goes against everything I love about playoff hockey. Guys like Brendan Shanahan and Chris Drury should be chewing his ass out even as I type this for that. I realize "honor" is a tough concept for Avery but get a little, why don't you?

(Oh, I had this whole paragraph here about how awesome it was that replays showed Drury skate over and give Avery a little shove which had us all speculating that he was telling Avery to cut the crap and pay attention to the play and how even though I'm not as distraught over his departure as some people I did think it was really cool of him to do that and how it seemed very in character and indicative of how much he always seemed to respect the game and the people on the ice with him but then NHL Network isolated the play and zoomed in on Drury and it turns out that what he was actually saying was, "Stick down" which isn't nearly as endearing.)

Fortunately, the Devils won and the Hockey Gods saw fit to pour even more manna from heaven in the late game between Calgary and San Jose. Usually I kind of hate when an organization tries to get the crowd to all wear one color but the Calgary crowd really looked amazing. Not only were they all wearing red, almost everyone appeared to be wearing jerseys. Those people are hardcore! When the camera panned up some and you could see three or four rows of solid jerseys it was a very cool effect. Which is why it seemed so cruel that the Sharks scored a goal a minute for the first three minutes and chased Kipper out of net. Kipper, who had a kick ass game in their loss a couple of nights ago!

And then everything started to turn. I'll admit, I don't always buy "That hit turned the game around!" but geez, that hit on Patrick Marleau really did change the momentum of the game. The Flames were clearly picking up steam and the Sharks were clearly panicking which is something I guess they're familiar with. With all apologies to the Sharks fans of the world, watching Calgary claw their way back into the game in front of their backup goaltender with the crowd getting more and more crazy as time went on was pretty awesome, an example of sports at its very finest. Watching a team and its fans feed off of each other like that is always a little breath-taking. It seems ridiculous that 18,000 people could care that much about who puts more pucks in a net and it seems ridiculous that professional athletes who get paid a lot of money to do what they do could be that inspired by strangers rooting them on but as ridiculous as it may be, I think it's beautiful and I don't care how stupid some people probably think that sounds.

And I'm not going to lie. Brian Campbell being in the thick of things made it even better. He was playing his particular brand of "I'll just stand back here and wave at the shooter" defense on the game-winning goal and he did a totally needless spin-o-rama and turned over the puck right in front of his net which oh by way, had NO GOALIE IN IT. Uh, Brian... There's less than a minute left in the game and your team kind of needs a goal. Maybe you should pass the puck up the ice or chip it off the glass or something. If Alex Tanguay hadn't tanked the shot, he'd have looked even dumber. I'm sure we'll get video of that spin-o-rama up on Sabres Edge, right? Right? I mean, we miss Campbell and want to wallow in all his highlights, right? Again, with apologies to Sharks fans and bloggers, it's been kind of entertaining watching them go from, "Campbell is awesome!" to "Wait... I thought this guy was a #1 defenseman." I feel triumphant!

I am exhausted by hockey right now and I love it!

Flame on! (Photo by Mike Ridewood/Getty Images)

Let's Have a Presser!

Thoughts on the press conference and interview Larry Quinn, Darcy Regier, and Lindy Ruff did today:

- I do appreciate management admitting they made some mistakes and mishandled some situations. Now can we move on and give them a chance to act differently in the future? Mistakes were made, mistakes were admitted, no amount of complaining is going to change the things that already happened. Moving along, moving along.

- I liked Darcy Regier's comments that teams have to be careful with long-term contracts. He's absolutely right that you can't give everyone six and seven years especially when you're handing them out when players are so young. I think Thomas Vanek has been consistent enough that he'll probably be a valuable player for six more years but if he doesn't pan out he wouldn't be the first player to get off to a promising start and then peter out. When you've got a bunch of guys tied up for years and some of them don't work out the way you were hoping, you're stuck. Long-term contracts should be saved for special players. I think there will probably always be disagreements about who those guys are - I'm glad they traded Brian Campbell instead of giving him one of those deals, others are insistent that he should have been earmarked for one - but I really don't see how you can disagree with a more cautious approach at least on this issue. I may be in the minority but I'd rather have a GM who occasionally lets the wrong guy go but leaves some flexibility to recover from the mistake than a GM who throws huge money and terms at everyone and ties the organization up for years because those guys were busts and can't be moved.

- Larry Quinn went a little hard on the reminders that Tom Golisano saved the Sabres. Yes, he bought the team when it was close to ending up elsewhere. Yes, he spent a lot of money on losing seasons before the lockout. We get it. Overall though I do think Quinn was a touch less assy than he usually is.

- I do think management was pretty agreeable to some of the criticisms of the current team especially a lack of leadership and overuse of Ryan Miller. I think those are things pretty much everyone can agree on so I was glad to hear them just admit it rather than trying to wiggle out of it or spin it.

- Lindy Ruff's criticism of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman hurt my heart but he's right. They were very inconsistent this year. There were a lot of stretches where either both of them were playing poorly or one of them was playing poorly enough that it was bringing down the other. In a season where a lot of the players were looking at different roles and big changes, the Sabres really needed Tallinder and Lydman, who were in the same role as last year, to be steady especially at the beginning of the season. Instead they were as shaky as everyone else. There was a point in February where Hank was, by some standards (pretty good ones, I think), the best defensive d-man in the league. By the end of the year he'd tumbled to 20th. I don't think it's coincidence that when Tallinder and Lydman were playing their best hockey, the team was succeeding and when they were struggling, the team was losing. (I would also put Ryan Miller in with Five and Dime. He was as shaky as they were - even before the stretch run when he was obviously running on fumes - and slightly better defense or slightly better goaltending during the ten game losing streak means the Sabres are probably still playing.) (Also, I still love you, Hank. Get in terrific shape this summer, okay?)

- I don't really understand the criticism of the Sabres offering Campbell a three year deal. If they didn't want to give him a lot of money long-term but they were interested in him coming back, what does it hurt to see if he'll take more money for shorter years? What if it had come out later that Campbell would've taken a shorter contract but the Sabres didn't offer it? The front office would've been lambasted. And Darcy is right about San Jose. I was talking to a Sharks fan about that not long ago. The Sharks have not made it a habit to hand out long-term contracts even to their stars. I suppose they could start this season but it is a little much to accuse the Sabres of insulting Campbell with a three year deal for a lot of money when they're hardly the only franchise that's being careful. (Please note that I'm not saying the reporter who asked about Campbell's contract offer was implying that - although maybe he was, I don't know. That was more a response to complaints I've heard from others.)

- Maybe you could argue that the Sabres haven't done a good job of setting the market for their own players (although Derek Roy at four million a year is a good start) but how in the world can you suggest that they're partly to blame for escalating salaries across the league? Because they have one outrageous contract on the books? As long as the Sabres are under the current management and the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Kevin Lowe are in the league, I think that's a pretty dumb suggestion. (That had to be Bucky.)

- I can't always tell everyone's voices apart but I think I really like John Vogl at press conferences. He always asks questions I want to know the answers to but he manages to do it without sounding accusatory or biased. He's always very even-keeled. that might just be John's personality and I know sometimes reporters have to be more aggressive to get a real answer out of someone like Larry Quinn but I appreciate that his initial approach is more professional than um... other's.

- I'll accept youth as an excuse this year. The team is young, they went through a lot of change, and they had their first year of regular season struggle. Next year I don't know if I'll buy that excuse from these guys though. This was your year to be stubborn and stupid, boys. Let's fix all that next season.

- On Schopp and the Bulldog, Darcy talked some about the scouting department which I thought was pretty interesting if you didn't hear it. Since we've been given the impression that the scouting department has been reduced to a nine-year-old watching grainy black-and-white video on one of those televisions people have on the counters in their kitchens, it was nice to get more detail. I'm shocked that things might have been exaggerated a little bit.

- Also shocking? Darcy Regier evidently isn't interested in telling us what the Sabres are planning on offering Ryan Miller.

Press conference
Schopp and the Bulldog Part 1
Schopp and the Bulldog Part 2

Go West, Young Man

While I would much rather be rooting for the Sabres in the playoffs, it's possible that it might be kind of fun to watch the playoffs with no real emotional investment. I can hop on a bandwagon and not be devastated if that bandwagon derails some time in the next couple of months. I'll just hop on another one. So because I know you're all dying to know, let's take a look at who Heather B. will be cheering for on the Western side of things.

Before we get started, I will say that this is all sure to change once I actually start watching games especially in the Western Conference where I really know very little about the teams. Every post-season I find myself cheering for someone I never really predicted (never at the expense of the Sabres of course). Last year it was Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars. And sometimes, if a match-up is really bad, I find myself getting sucked into a team and then looking back and wondering what I was thinking. Last year I was fully behind the Ducks in the Finals even though I don't really hate the Sens and I can boil it down to a few very basic reasons: The brutal loss to the Sens was too fresh as was my outrage at Daniel Alfredsson's boarding of Henrik Tallinder and I really warmed to the stories of J.S. Giguere's sick baby, Teemu Selanne flying all his childhood friends in from Finland to watch the Finals and Scott and Rob Niedermayer winning a Cup together. Now I hate the Ducks. I really disliked Selanne and Niedermayer's half retirements and I think Chris Pronger is a blight on the NHL (how I overlooked that, I don't know). I can't believe I was rooting for them. But I was. Behold the power of the Playoff Goggles. Anyway... all that to say, this is where I stand now but don't hold me to it.

1. DETROIT RED WINGS
I know some people hate the Red Wings because they've won so many Cups and I know a few people who still hate them for how much press they got during that run. And I know some people around here hate them because of Dominik Hasek. I wasn't really following hockey very closely during their last run or during most of Hasek's Buffalo career so I have no real beef with the Red Wings. In fact, I'd be fine with them winning for one reason.

Nicklas Lidstrom.

Seriously, loving defense the way I do, how could I not love Nick Lidstrom? He's amazing. He boggles my mind. He's so good on both the defensive and offensive sides and he's been that good for a long time now. I wish we played him more often because I would love to watch him in person where I could just focus on him and what he's doing on the ice. On top of being amazingly talented, he never resorts to dirty play and he seems like a heck of a nice guy. So yeah, I could get behind seeing him with another Stanley Cup if it comes to that.

2. SAN JOSE SHARKS
This is a heart-breaker because I really do like the Sharks. I like Evgeni Nabokov and I love Joe Thornton. I'd like to see them do well. But they went and added Brian Campbell and guys, I don't think I can handle Brian Campbell winning a Stanley Cup. I can't handle a summer of Bucky Gleason crowing (because that's what he'd be doing) about how the great and wonderful Campbell was mistreated by Buffalo and went on to bigger and better things with an organization that really cares about its team and players. And just when I was thinking maybe I could handle it because once upon a time I did really like Brian Campbell and I thought maybe my heart would soften a little once I actually saw him hoisting that Cup with his big ear-to-ear grin, I read an article that included this quote from him: “I wanted to stay in Buffalo, we all did,” Campbell said after the trade that made a very good San Jose team even better. “Buffalo didn’t want to pay us.”

That quote made me totally cranky. First of all, way to speak for everyone who has ever left Buffalo. Second of all, way to look stupid doing it since in a couple of cases Buffalo did want to pay them and the players just chose to go elsewhere. And third of all, is it that hard to just go away gracefully? Really? I feel like that's not really asking that much.

So while it is with much sadness that I cast aside the Sharks and Brian Campbell, cast them aside I will. (I hope you do great, Joe.)

3. MINNESOTA WILD
Let's see... Here's what I know about the Wild. Marion Gaborik and Mikko Koivu play for them and their jerseys are very Christmas-y. (I like them although it is a little excessive when paired with the green pants.) I have nothing against them in theory and I think Minnesota would adore having a Cup champion so that's cool. But I always hear about them playing defensive hockey and that worries me. If I sit down to watch them play and it's like watching Boston, I'm out. No way I can get behind that.

4. ANAHEIM DUCKS
I hate just about everyone on this team so no thanks. I disliked Selanne and Niedermayer playing half the season and I hated the way the media slobbered all over Niedermayer's triumphant return. I despise the way Chris Pronger is handled with kid gloves and constantly getting special treatment no matter how dangerous his actions are to other players. And while this is not directly related, I think one of the funniest moments of the season was J.S. Giguere actually ducking a shot that then sailed over him and into the net. What a doofus. I wish I could find video because it was hysterical. Anyway, Ducks... It was nice rooting for you guys last season but I'm sorry to say, it was just a fling.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Jochen Hecht, Still Underrated

So I know I'm not supposed to be reading The Buffalo News right now but someone mentioned a chart that was in the paper today and I really had to check it out. What can I say, I'm weak. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here it is:


This chart is completely ridiculous for three reasons I can think of off the top of my head:

1. It compares sixty-four games to three. That's... not really a very good comparison.

2. I've seen Brian Campbell play defense. I'm not buying that his presence would've made a huge difference against three playoff teams and two of the top four powerplays in the league. His absence hurts because now Paetsch is in the line-up? Maybe. His absence hurts because he was a defensive dynamo? No.

3. Jochen Hecht was also missing for all of those games. He's the best defensive forward on the team and on the first penalty killing unit. Let's just rename this the "Sabres Without Hecht" chart because that would actually make sense.

And for all you distraught about Campbell's spin-o-rama goal in San Jose last night, come on! When was the last time he made that move work for a goal in Buffalo? Did he ever? When was the last time he scored a goal in Buffalo that wasn't from the point? How soon before he spin-o-ramas in front of his own goalie and gives up the puck? Three games, people. Three games. That's all it is.

I have some thoughts on tonight's scratches (I don't love Paille's and I hate Kalinin's) but I'm going to save them for after the game. Even if the game is a disaster, I will be here later.

One Last Spin-O-Rama

Brian Campbell and a seventh round pick for Steve Bernier and a first round pick.

The hockey talk first: A lot of people seem to be a little disappointed but while it's not a great trade, I don't think it's a terrible one either. There are a few factors you have to keep in mind. One, I think GMs maybe finally learned a lesson after so many of last year's rentals were a bust and came into this season willing to give up less for them. (Yes, of course they learn a lesson right as it would have benefited Buffalo.) Two, a huge part of the league is still in the playoff hunt so while teams want to pick up pieces, they don't want to give up a lot of roster players for them. And three, everyone knew Buffalo needed to move Campbell or risk losing him from nothing.

Those things considered, I think we did okay. We got a kid who, while inconsistent up to this point, is definitely talented, has size, uses his size, and is still young and cheap. He has a nice accent, I love the way he pronounces "Pominville," and people call him "Big Bear." What's not to like? And while San Jose's first round pick is not likely to be high, I think the first round is supposed to be fairly deep this year (I might be making that up) and Rochester is getting fairly thin so any pick is a good pick, especially a first rounder.

Now that the madness is over - I'm ignoring all the "WAY TO GO DARCY YOU SUCK AND NO ONE SHOULD BE CHEERING FOR THIS TEAM EVER AGAIN" crazies - I find myself feeling both happy and sad. Happy because now that I know the Sabres aren't going to give Soupy a ridiculous contract I suddenly remember all the things I really liked about him. It's been a rough year for me and ol' Soup so I am glad about that. Sad because well... it's sad.

I don't think there's really a bad guy here. For me this is very much like the Jay McKee situation. There was such a large difference in money and/or terms between what the Sabres were offering and what others will offer that it's tough to blame Campbell for going. But what other teams will offer is so out-of-whack for what Campbell's really worth, that it's tough to blame the Sabres for not matching. If you put Campbell on an island all by himself I don't think he's worth that kind of money. If you look at him as part of a puzzle that involves a lot of different pieces and contracts, it's even more questionable.

But I'm sad because I think everyone on both sides was sincere. I think Soupy did love his time here and loved the fans and loves his teammates and respects Darcy and Lindy. I think Darcy (and Lindy) do like Soupy and do feel invested in his career and are proud of how much he's grown as a player since he was drafted. I think if they could've waved a magic wand and come to an agreement that made both sides happy, they would have and I think they're all genuinely sad that it doesn't work that way.

So here, in honor of Brian Campbell, is a portion of a post I wrote about him last summer (6/17/07) back when things weren't all crazy and riled up. Some of the sentiment has changed - you might want to strike that last line - but when I wrote it, I absolutely meant it. And I mean a lot of it still.

Why I Love Hockey #5 - Brian Campbell
I'll admit I was first drawn to Brian Campbell for a ridiculous reason - he's a red-head. But over the past few years I've found more defensible reasons to love Brian Campbell although most of them still don't really have much to do with hockey. Don't get me wrong - I do enjoy watching him play. He's quick and creative and there are times I actually mistake him for Maxim Afinogenov of all people before realizing what I thought was a 61 is actually a 51. It's been fun watching him really begin to put things together over the past couple of seaons, just as fans in Buffalo - and probably more than a few people within the organization - were beginning to think he was never going to stick at the NHL level.

But that's all secondary. I really just like Brian Campbell the person. In a league full of humble, down-to-earth guys, Brian still manages to stick out as particularly down-to-earth. I love watching him interviewed because he's very laid-back and really funny. And not funny in the desperate, trying-too-hard, overly prepared kind of way that many pro athletes are - just easily and naturally funny. I love watching him play because he looks like he's having so much fun. I adore Chris Drury and I hope he stays in Buffalo but he's so somber all the time. While it's a little unfair because I know that's just Drury's personality, he often looks like he's working in a coal mine instead of getting paid millions of dollars to play a game. Atleast once a game there's a shot of Brian on the ice or the bench with a huge "I can't believe I'm getting PAID for this" grin on his face. A fantasic, ear-to-ear, face splitting grin. I was thrilled when he made the All-Star game because there was no doubt in my mind that a) he really never did think that he'd be an All-Star starter unlike some guys who say that but don't mean it and b) he would have a blast. Miller, Vanek, Tallinder, and Lydman are on my "Cannot be traded because they're too important" list. Brian is on my "Cannot be traded because I'd miss him too darn much" list.

Soupy sounds his barbaric yawp.
Soupy, I'll kinda miss you, you know? Back when I was first trying to understand hockey, you were one of the things I loved most about it and for that I'll always owe you one.

This Game Never Happened

Raise your hand if you knew the second that delay of game penalty was called on Jason Pominville that the Sabres were going to lose this game. Yep. Me too.

Even I, the eternal optimist, cannot deny that that game sucked and blew in so many ways that it's tough to quantify. Choking away a three goal lead? To a team that's missing something like 18 forwards? And on a ten game losing streak? Loose play in the defensive zone? Again? Soft goaltending when it mattered? Letting Danny Briere be the hero? Sweet moses that game was pretty much my hockey nightmare come to life.

- Versus was making my head spin. One moment they'd say something that was actually kind of insightful and right on the nose for people who probably don't watch every Sabres game (Jochen Hecht has been the team's best all-around player, Jason Pominville has developed into a mature, responsible player, Roy is becoming a good playmaker) and then they'd say stuff that was not so right (Campbell and Spacek are the top guys (at certain things yes, but "top guys" with no qualifier is not acceptable), Campbell is an amazing open ice hitter, and I know there was another one but I can't remember it. Trust me though, it was there.)

- I was very wishy-washy on the little turtleneck thing Henrik Tallinder was wearing tonight until someone mentioned it was a neck protector. It may look a little silly but by golly, if it means I'll never have to watch Hank hustle to the bench with blood gushing from his throat, I'm all for it.

- Ryan Miller was not good tonight. He didn't get a lot of help most of the night and there were some great saves mixed in but he has to be better, especially in games that are so important. Sometimes I hate how much fans put on the goalie's shoulders but it comes with the position. I know he has a little stretch every season where he seems to wear down a bit before finally snapping out of it but he needs to snap out of sooner this year.

- I was going to shoot my TV if I had to watch that Alexander Ovechkin 60 Goals commercial one. more. time. Mark pointed out to me that when the player names pop up all over the ice, HULL pops up in the crease which was very amusing... but only the first 37 times. After that I hated Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Captials, the NHL, and Gary Bettman.

- Also, Versus was killing me with the Umberger "poetic justice" bit. Nothing they were calling "poetic justice" was actually "poetic justice." And scoring on a power play is not really scoring in an "unusual circumstance." I hate you, Versus.

- While I certainly will not blame this loss on injuries - that would be ridiculous, especially considering the Flyers were even worse off than us in that regard - I will say again that I don't think Jochen Hecht's absence can be underestimated even though it totally will be. Taking him out means losing our best defensive forward, one of our most responsible players, and one of the guys who never seems to hit panic mode and it means shuffling two lines that have been playing really well together (Roy-Connolly-Vanek, Pominville-Hecht-Player X). I think Jochen is one of the cards on the bottom of the house of cards that is the Sabres roster. Pull him out and the whole thing tumbles down or at least starts teetering an awful lot.

- Some good things: Derek Roy was a beast on the first goal, Timmy made a gorgeous pass on Pommers' goal, Pommers continues to be his steady, reliable self, ummmm... Henrik Tallinder was wearing a neck guard... Timmy was really funny yapping at the Flyers bench... let's see... Oh! Andrew Peters threw a punch! Lindy was screaming and that always amuses me... That's pretty good, right?

- This game was so bad that I can't even fully enjoy the Sens 5-0 loss to the Leafs and that is just not right. Let's forget this game happened and move on, okay?

Tomorrow is trade deadline day and all I can say is thank the Lord. I can't wait for this to be over. I don't think it'll surprise anyone to hear me say I'm firmly on the side of trading Brian Campbell. I think the Sabres are absolutely right to not budge on their most recent offer because Campbell is simply not worth a big money contract. And considering how clearly unfocused he's been for the past few weeks, I have to wonder how well he'll handle the expectations that come with a big contract. Get something for him and then let's all move on and, Darcy, don't even think about calling one of your "Everything is under control!" press conferences because you don't owe anyone an apology for trading an overrated, overpriced d-man. Oh, I know there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth from some quarters about how he's gone and how the Sabres were stupid to let him go and how they should have paid him but I feel pretty good about ignoring those quarters because they are, quite simply, wrong. (As always, feel free to disagree. But you're not changing my mind on this one.) Also I totally want to re-sign Dmitri Kalinin. I would like for Darcy to announce Kalinin's re-signing and Campbell's trade at the same time. It would send some people over the edge but I? I would be very happy.

Dan Boyle's contract? Ridiculous. One, it's awfully close to Nicklas Lidstrom money and while I know Lidstrom probably gave the Red Wings a little bit of a discount, that still ain't right. Two, he got ridiculous money AND a no-trade clause. Really? After all the guys refusing to waive NTCs, GMs are still giving those out? And they're not going to ask the guy to take a little less money if they're included? Three, did I mention that it's ridiculous? Because I don't know if you guys remember but we just had a lockout and part of the justification of the lockout was the need to institute cost control. Which is HI-larious considering that Brian Campbell is probably going to be making Brad Boyle money come July.

Tomorrow - today by the time most of you read this - I'll be strapped to the laptop. Mark has elected me to update him and his co-workers on any breaking trades. Next up: My sparkling commentary on said trades and finally - finally! - my thoughts (and yours) on the shootout.

The End of the Road

Starting tomorrow, Top Shelf is a Buffalo News-free zone, excluding Sabres Edge as long as I can read it while avoiding Bucky Gleason and Jerry Sullivan. I did this once before and it was so nice that I'm not sure why I went back to reading TBN in the first place. I've completely had my fill. But let's go out with a bang, shall we?

Today we were treated to the Chris Drury column that was so effin' predictable that Kevin at Bfloblog called it last night. I'm going to do this the Fire Joe Morgan way because there's a whole lot of stupid in this column.

Drury received a mix between cheers and jeers when he was introduced before the Rangers’ 4-3 victory, confirming certain fans comprehended the impact Drury had in Buffalo while many others didn’t have a clue. Then again, the same divide exists between the dressing room and the owner’s suite.

One group gets it, and the other never will.

First of all, enough with the "fans who boo don't understand what Chris Drury meant" garbage. We get it, Bucky, and you are such a condescending little prick to suggest that we, the fans of Buffalo, do not get or appreciate Chris Drury. We cheered for him every single night he wore a Buffalo uniform. We loved him and embraced him and wanted desperately for him to be the guy to bring a Stanley Cup to Buffalo. We made his jersey one of the best-selling jerseys in the NHL. We appreciated all the little things he did on the ice to contribute to wins. We understand how he influenced the players who are still here. We know he's a nice guy. But we also understand that he was here for three years and that he now plays for another team. Fans are not obligated to cheer for players on the other side. Fans are not obligated to think logically and objectively. Fans can cheer or boo as they see fit and for many, many fans it really only comes down to, "What jersey is he wearing? Oh, right, not ours."

Second of all, enough with the "managment doesn't get it" garbage. Larry Quinn said it was a mistake to let Chris Drury go. Darcy Regier said it was a mistake to let Chris Drury go, looked devastated when it happened, and admitted that the team wouldn't be as competitive without him. Management signed Jochen Hecht to a long-term deal during the season. Management started negotiating with Brian Campbell when they could and did so right up until he brought a halt to talks and have since started negotiating with him again. I'm not even going to touch how stupid it is to put Brian Campbell's ridiculous contract demands in the same grouping as Drury and Daniel Briere.

But because he didn’t bow to management after they mishandled his contract last season, a good many fans roasted him every time he touched the puck.

That is probably why some people booed him. And you know what? That's their right as a fan. That is not however why everyone booed him. Some people booed him because he's not a Sabre. Some people booed him because he's a Ranger. Some people booed him because he's overpaid and - whether you like it or not - underachieving. Some people booed him because they think he didn't appreciate how much his teammates in Buffalo contributed to his game. Some people booed because they felt like he didn't love us the way we loved him. Some people booed him because they like to boo. I feel pretty safe in suggesting that most people's booing did not have anything to do with player vs. management.

To review, again, Drury agreed to a four-year contract worth $21.5 million, splitting the difference between the Sabres’ offer and his proposal. He grew tired of waiting for management to finalize the deal, the market changed and he decided to hit the road. Basically, the Sabres could have had him at a discount and let him get away.

To review, we don't really need the review because you haven't let us forget this yet. To review, everyone agrees that it was a mistake to let Chris Drury go. What's your point?

If fans wanted to boo someone, they should have started with owner Tom Golisano and managing partner Larry Quinn. They created the Drury mess, and they spent months manipulating the truth. It’w amazing how people continue swallowing the company line.

It's not swallowing the company line. It's moving on. It's realizing that no matter how many times you write this article, Chris Drury is not going to magically reappear in a Sabres uniform. It's choosing to cheer for the team on the ice in front of us even though it lost important pieces. It's waiting to see if management handles the next important piece - that would be Ryan Miller, not Brian Campbell - differently.

Golisano confirmed his ignorance on the radio recently when he referenced Drury’s plus-minus rating this season, a subtle hint the center was struggling. If he had a shred of hockey knowledge, he have known Drury spent half the year shuffling between lines, switching positions and trying to appease high-maintenance winger Jaromir Jagr.

I cannot believe this. I cannot believe that the columnist who has refused to make any excuses for the Sabres - age, new roles, different responsibilities, line changes, injuries - is making excuses for a guy who is not even on the team anymore. Are you fucking kidding me? Bucky, let me break this down for you. CHRIS DRURY HAS STRUGGLED! CHRIS DRURY HAS NOT LIVED UP TO A 7 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT! Jaromir Jagr being high-maintenance is not exactly news. This is not a surprise. I'm pretty sure Drury should have factored this into his decision to play for the Rangers. I'm pretty sure that's not a good excuse. If Derek Roy said, "It's tough to play with Max because he's hard to predict and all over the place," what would you say?

I also cannot believe that Bucky Gleason - who last year said that Derek Roy had maxed out at age 23 and wouldn't be worth his contract and had him being re-signed for under a million dollars in his "How I Would Handle the Team" article (real good understanding of the NHL market, Buckster) - is calling into question the hockey knowledge of someone who has admitted time and time again that he doesn't really know that much about hockey. I don't know about you guys, but I'm reeeeally impressed.

Drury is a minus-9. Funny, it never bothered Golisano when he was minus-11 two years ago while leading the Sabres into the conference finals and filling the owner’s pockets.

Right. Because then he was a Sabre. Now he's not. Owner likes player better when he's making him money! Whoa, somebody alert the media because that is some breaking news right there!

Drury and Campbell had dinner Friday night at Tempo, an upscale restaurant in Allentown. They didn’t discuss how Campbell’s persistent contract problems, but you can bet Campbell learned a thing or two while watching Drury’s situation unfold last season.

Hopefully he learned that it's really hard to live up to an insane contract. That sometimes your teammates make you as much as you make them. That the love of a city is fickle and not based on things like logic and objectivity. That big market teams with lots of big names are not necessarily more competitive than smaller market teams with a bunch of complementary pieces. That there is some value in playing with guys you know inside and out on the ice and off.

Probably he just learned that MANAGEMENT IS EVIL FOR NOT MEETING HIS DEMANDS.

We’ll see what happens. Don’t be surprised if you see Campbell follow his former captain one more time, right out the door.

Great. Because Campbell is not worth a penny over five million dollars and the Sabres defense will probably be okay without him in the end. We could use that money to insure that Miller, Jason Pominville, and Paul Gaustad stick around for a while. What? That wasn't your point? Oh, right. THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID!

P.S. to Bucky: Jay Pandolfo, Selke nominee and one of the most important interchangeable parts of the New Jersey Devils, is a UFA at the end of this season and currently unsigned - along with three other guys - so maybe you should do a quick internet search before you make loud declarations like THE DEVILS HAVE SIGNED EVERYONE EVER.

I Hate Trade Deadline Day

Remember how I said yesterday that I wasn't going to talk about Brian Campbell again until after the trade deadline? Forget that ever happened, okay?

I need trade deadline day to be over and I need it to be over now. It's totally messing with my head! I first saw the Brian Campbell quote, "It’s not easy, and I can’t sit here and say I’m having fun with it. I wish it wasn’t me, to be honest with you," in the Buffalo News yesterday and I'll admit, when I read that I totally rolled my eyes and grumbled about him being a baby. Seriously, this is life as an in-demand free agent. If you don't want to be part of trade rumors, sign a contract. If you're intent on holding out for more money, then deal with it and all the ramifications like an adult.

But then I actually saw the interview on the local news and you guys... it made me so sad. It partly made me sad because to me it seems so obvious that if he's really that unhappy about the prospect of being traded or leaving Buffalo, there's a simple solution - sacrifice some of the money you want for the opportunity to stay in an organization and city that you know you love with teammates who you're already attached to. You're still going to be pretty fairly paid and you're still going to be extremely wealthy. Seriously, I do not understand why more athletes aren't more willing to do this. I can't wrap my brain around it.

But it also made me sad because I like Brian Campbell. I know I've mentioned this in passing in a couple of posts about him but I also know it was a half-hearted throwaway at best, something to temper the angry rantings about his contract demands. But watching him, lip all trembly, looking down at the ground, I remembered that yes, I really, really do like him. I don't like everything about how he's handled this season but when I first started watching hockey, he was one of the guys I attached to the quickest and it was because he was totally a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy. I loved that you could tell exactly how he was feeling - happy, excited, bummed, frustrated. As recently as the beginning of this season I listed him as my third favorite Sabre. Third! This year I was annoyed when he made the All-Star team because I knew certain people were never going to quit crowing about how that made him the awesomemest but last year? I was freaking thrilled for him. I sat at my computer and voted for him over and over and over during entire movies or TV shows. I loved how openly tickled he was to be there and how genuinely humbled he seemed that fans (and his mom) had voted him in.

Listen, I still don't think he's worth a penny over 5.5 million a year - and honestly I think that's a bit of an overpayment - and I have no desire to see the Sabres sink that kind of money into him long-term. I don't like a lot of things about how he's handled this season and I think he's lost some of his fun, happy shininess, but I did realize that if and when Brian Campbell leaves Buffalo... I'll be sad. He's been a Sabre as long as I've been a Sabres fan and I'll be really sad to see him in another jersey.

So I was already dealing with that this morning when Mark emailed me a rumor he'd read about the Sabres wanting to shake up the defense by trading Campbell, Dmitri Kalinin, and Henrik Tallinder. I made a list of all the reasons this rumor is ridiculous:

1. It was posted on a message board by a guy who claims to have sources in Tampa. Could he be for real? Sure. Could he be full of it? Absolutely.

2. Henrik Tallinder is currently the best defensive d-man on the team and one of the best bargains. He has an extremely reasonable contract with two years left on it. For an organization that is often caught up in the financial aspect of things, his contract is a gem.

3. Hank, Tri, and Soupy are all former Sabres draft picks and Darcy has often shown some attachment to players he drafted and raised. Is he really going to trade all the homegrown talent and keep all the guys who came in from somewhere else?

4. Rarely have I heard rumors about a Sabres trade that then actually takes place. Darcy Regier holds his cards close to his chest. Paul Hamilton was saying this on WGR yesterday and even went as far as to say that if a deal gets out, Darcy will pull back on it because he doesn't want any rumors out about it.

So as you can see, there are many, many reasons to completely ignore this rumor. I mean, it's totally ridiculous, right? Right? It is, right?

Geez, being a fan is so hard sometimes.

He IS the Suck!

If anyone tries to say, "See! This is why we have to keep Brian Campbell! The Sabres would suck without him!" I'm kicking them in the head. He IS the suck! Why can't everyone see this? Am I crazy? He was on the ice for all four first period goals and desperately ineffective on every one of them. The second two were totally stoppable shots but still, a little bit of defense never hurt anyone. Six million dollars? SIX MILLION DOLLARS?! Kiss my grits, Brian Campbell.

Seriously, in my opinion, this game is a perfect example of why the Sabres aren't leaping to sign Campbell for the money he's demanding. When you have Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad, Daniel Paille, Ales Kotali, Tim Connolly, and Maxim Afinogenov coming up in the next couple of years, you have to use your brain. And that's not to say all of the above should be re-signed, just that you can't deal with one player without thinking about all the rest. Six million dollars is a huge amount of money to sink into a defensemen who, despite his reputation, is simply not an elite defensemen.

On a totally different note, I love that when it was reported that Richard Zednik had chicken wings, half of the Buffalo internet presence went nuts that he got wings from Picasso's and not Anchor Bar, Duffs, or La Nova. Only in Buffalo!

Geez, this game really sucked. And it had to be the Rangers. Ugh. More later when I'm not so disgusted.

10 Things I Think I Think

I'm not a huge football fan but I do occasionally read Peter King's "Ten Things I Think I Think" column. I have a few things bouncing around in my head that don't really seem worthy of entire posts but I wanted to throw them out there anyway. Just so you're forewarned, one of my favorite things about King's columns is that every thing he thinks ends up with at least 18 subpoints so instead of 10 things, you actually end up with 180. In case you haven't noticed, I can be long-winded so I wouldn't expect that to be any different here.

1. I THINK THE IDEA THAT ALEXANDER OVECHKIN'S DEAL WILL EVER BE A BARGAIN IS RIDICULOUS.

Yeah, I don't understand this at all. Just because there is a maximum salary in the league doesn't mean there's anyone in the league who should be making it. Ovechkin will be eating up a huge amount of his team's salary cap by himself. How do you build a team around that, especially when a lot of his current teammates are young and going to be in line for raises of their own eventually?

And that's just the money. Thirteen years is crazy. Maybe I'm cautious because I've been raised by Darcy Regier but I can't imagine signing anyone for ten years or more. There's so much that can go wrong. How many players start out great and peter out after a few years? And what about injuries? If Eric Lindros were in his first few years now he'd get a similar contract and yeah, that would've worked out really well for the Flyers. Ovechkin is an amazing talent for sure and he hasn't had injury problems yet but he plays a very tough, physical style. On top of the regular wear and tear of hockey, that can add up to be trouble. Look at Peter Forsberg. He was considered a force of nature right up until the moment he started falling apart and he's never been healthy since. If Ovechkin gets hurt in the latter part of his contract, after the insurance coverage runs out, the Caps are on the hook for his salary and they're screwed big time. Somewhere along the way one of these contracts is going to go bad and it's going to completely cripple a franchise for a very long time.

Also, on a side note, I think Alexander Ovechkin is probably not the only guy in the NHL who loves playing hockey. He's happy and exuberant, I get it. I hope Caps fans are happy that Ovechkin is getting so much attention right now because I'm officially as tired of him as I was of Sidney Crosby two years ago. Shut up and let me watch the kid play. I have two eyes that, with a little help, see perfectly well. I can see that he's really, really good. I can see that he's really, really happy. I can see that he really, really likes playing hockey. Now leave me alone.

2. I THINK IT'S STUPID TO THINK THE SALARY CAP IS GOING TO GO UP FOREVER.

Okay, maybe it's not stupid. But I really don't understand it. I know there were things built into the CBA to insure that the cap goes up the first few years, but is it really going to keep climbing? And if it does, what's that going to mean for the league? There are a handful of teams, including Buffalo, that are already spending more money on player salaries under the cap system than they were pre-lockout. It's my understanding that at least a few teams are increasing their gates, not by attracting more fans but by raising ticket prices. If that continues and teams have to keep raising ticket prices to keep up their revenues, aren't they eventually going to price themselves out of the local market? Aren't we already seeing that in places like Detroit? They have one of the best teams in the league - if not THE best team - and they're not drawing, largely because tickets are too expensive for the local economy. And if fans stop going to games are they really going to drive out to the arena to pay marked up prices for a t-shirt they can buy at the mall instead? And if revenues start dropping, what's that going to do to the financial health of the league?

I will admit that all of this stuff is totally over my head so if anyone out there can explain this to me, please do. For now however I don't believe the salary cap will ever go up enough that Ovechkin is a deal and if it does, I think the league is going to have big problems.

3. I THINK MOST GENERAL MANAGERS ARE STUPID.

Seriously. Players are getting life-time contracts. Young guys are being paid for what they might be some day instead of what they are right now. RFAs are making as much money as UFAs used to make which makes free agency fairly pointless and gives teams very little time to develop their young talent before having to decide whether they're worth a decade long commitment. When guys do get to UFA they're getting ridiculous contracts. I love Danny Briere but seven million dollars? Come on. And instead of responding by saying, "Man, that guy is an idiot," most GMs rush out and make equally stupid offers. Or even worse, they make it a mission to top the previous guy and make an even stupider offer. So then the stupid GMs stand around and pat each other on the back about how they've shown their fanbase that they're serious about winning even though all they did was throw money at the first big name they saw and the smart GMs (Darcy and Lou Lamoriello) sit around wondering what the heck is going on.

Yeah, I'm real glad we did that whole lockout thing, guys. Dion Phaneuf should totally be within a million dollars of Nicklas Lidstrom and Thomas Vanek should absolutely be making ten million in his third year in the league.

(I'd completely forgotten this until I saw I already had a "GMs are stupid" tag but I've written about this a little before.)

4. I THINK WADE REDDEN IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT TO REFUSE TO WAIVE HIS NO TRADE CLAUSE.

Well, gee, if you didn't want him to use the no trade clause, maybe you shouldn't have given it to him. The guy actually wants to stay in one place and he's willing to take less money to do it and we're gonna crucify him for it? I get that he's been a disappointment and Wade, if you suck in the playoffs everyone in Ottawa will hate you forever, but I give him a lot of credit for knowing what he wants and sticking to it. I'm curious to see if a) more players start refusing to waive the no trade and if b) GMs respond to that by refusing to hand them out. Do any Sabres have no trade clauses? I don't know but I'd be surprised if any of them did.

5. I THINK THESE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY INTERESTING.

Daniel Briere: 21 G, 33 A, 54 points, -20... 6.5 million cap hit
Jason Pominville: 16 G, 35 A, 51 points, +11... 1 million cap hit

Chris Drury: 18 G, 22 A, 40 points, -11... 7 million cap hit
Derek Roy: 21 G, 25 A, 46 points, +9... 4 million cap hit

Briere and Pommers aren't really comparable since one's a wing and one's a center. I just matched them up because of all the talk about how Pommers was going to be lost without Briere. Maybe Briere is lost without Jason and Yo-Yo? If nothing else, I think it's pretty fair to say that Jochen was doing the defensive work on that line. Ouch.

Roy-Z should probably be compared to Briere since he's moved into his place as top line center but that comparison turns out pretty well too. I'm certainly not going to pretend that we don't miss Danny and Chris in some regards but right now at least, their salaries are ridiculous.

6. I THINK GOOGLE ANALYTICS IS THE MOST ENTERTAINING THING EVER.

Google Analytics is a tool that allows a blogger to see what kind of traffic he (or she) is getting and how that traffic is being directed to his (or her) blog. My favorite thing is looking at the various internet searches that have brought people to Top Shelf. Usually there's some fluctuation - recently "Brian Campbell negotiations" has been number one but that wouldn't have been the case six months ago - but there's one search that is always, always in my top five: "Rod Brind'Amour's girlfriend." And I get two or three variations on spelling. This is... perplexing. I can only recall talking about Rod a few times and I don't think his significant other was involved in any of those discussions. But for the record, internet searchers of the world, I have no idea if Rod Brind'Amour has a girlfriend or not. There seems to be a lot of you wondering however so you might want to make your move quickly.

7. I THINK LINDY RUFF HAS DONE THE BEST COACHING OF HIS CAREER THIS SEASON.

I admit it, as much as I love Lindy there were times this season when I questioned how he was handling the team. I wanted so badly for bad-ass Lindy to rear his head and knock some sense into a struggling, seemingly uncaring team. But you know what? He was right. As fragile and shaky as they were even a month ago, he was right to gather his players up under his wing and protect them from the negative media and the increasingly desperate fans. He was right to assure them, "You're still good, you're still good, don't listen to them." And now that they're playing better and looking more confident, he has been a little more critical like when he called them out for playing stupid a few games ago. He knew when to protect, when to criticize, he knew who to call out and when to do it. Basically, Lindy Ruff rocks. He should get a lifetime contract.

8. I THINK JOHN BUCCIGROSS IS AN IDIOT.

I have a love/hate relationship with Buccigross - I think his annual "Here's how I think your team is going to do and here's a cool, hip song to go with it!" column is one of the dumbest, most pretentious things ever - and this week's column pushed me more toward hate.

Which means a highly competitive team probably would go to eight years, $50 million. This is the reality the Sabres have to deal with. This is why this should have been dealt with a year or two ago. If they aren't prepared to pay that or can't stomach that kind of contract, they will need to trade Campbell before the Feb. 26 deadline, then get out of the NHL business.

Here is what I have to say to John Buccigross:

a) Read point 3 above, John. Just because some idiot out there is willing to give Brian Campbell between six and seven million dollars doesn't make it a good deal.

b) The reality the Sabres have to deal with is re-signing a number of upcoming UFAs and RFAs while staying under the salary cap. The reality is having to prioritize players and deciding who's replaceable and who isn't. You can't give everyone six million dollars especially with Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy already making a lot of money. I think if the Sabres do refuse to re-sign Campbell it's not because they're cheap or stupid, it's because a fella named Ryan Miller is coming up for renewal next and HE'S the must-sign player. He's the heart of the team on and off the ice.

c) The Sabres couldn't deal with Campbell "a year or two ago" because the current CBA doesn't allow teams to negotiate with players until the summer before the last year of a player's contract. (Gee, shouldn't the leading hockey mind at ESPN know that?) All sides have acknowledged that negotiations have been going on all season. So... what exactly were the Sabres supposed to do differently here? I suppose talks have been mishandled because the Sabres didn't just give Campbell what he wanted, right?

d) In a league that consists of the Kings, the Oilers, the Leafs, and the Rangers, the Sabres are the ones who need to get out of the league? Really? Because that's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. Has Sabres management made some mistakes over the past couple of years? Sure. Are they the worst run team in the league? Are you serious?

e) Hey, have you noticed which Eastern Conference team is playing the most consistent hockey at exactly the right time of the season?

f) Put your man crush on Chris Drury away and get over yourself. By the way, did you get a look at point number 5? Sure hope the Rangers are enjoying their seven million dollars worth of intangibles.

9. I THINK PATRICK KALETA HAS TO STAY IN THE STARTING LINE-UP EVEN WHEN EVERYONE IS HEALTHY.

Does that even need an explanation? Really?

10. I THINK I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT SO I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH SOME RANDOM FACTS

Movies I've recently watched: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (seen it before but I really like it), The Great Escape (my second all-time favorite movie), Meet John Doe (pretty good), The Apartment (good), Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries (good enough that I'm moving onto the series next)

Books I've recently read: Boy: Tales of Childhood and The Witches (read them both before but you can't go wrong re-reading Roald Dahl, How Doctors Think (a little disconcerting to read while undergoing medical care but very interesting), Born Standing Up: A Comics Life (Steven Martin's autobiography and a great read) and T is for Trespass (the latest Sue Grafton - I love this series unashamedly)

The last 15 songs that played in my iTunes: Life Ain't Always Beautiful (Gary Allan), Poor Little Fool (Ricky Nelson), Listen to the Band (The Monkees), Step by Step (New Kids on the Block), Just What I Needed (The Cars), Under Pressure (Queen), Somebody to Love (Queen), Thirteen (Big Star), Right on the Money (Alan Jackson), I Will Follow (U2), Lullaby (The Dixie Chicks), So Happy Together (The Turtles), Papa Gene's Blues (The Monkees), Don't Worry Baby (The Beach Boys), Bring it on Home to Me (Sam Cooke)

Holy smokes, this is long. Sorry.

We're Number 8! We're Number 8!

I feel very strongly that Sabres fans got to see something really amazing and special tonight. Something that is far too awesome for words. Something we may never see again:

That old Mike Robitaille Hockey Night in Canada feature.

Seriously, that thing was incredible. I wanted to change the channel but Mark wouldn't let me and I'm so glad he didn't. That house? Those clothes? That hair-do? And my personal favorite, that kickin' reel-to-reel stereo? Totally sweet. I hope somebody YouTube's that baby. Anybody who watched the game outside of the Buffalo feed really missed out.

Okay, okay, the game...

- How about Thomas Vanek, eh? He's been so strong over the past few games that I wasn't the least bit surprised to see him explode like that. The way he's slowly moved toward this makes me feel like he really is finally starting to get his head on straight, starting to get more comfortable in his role on the team this year. It's probably too soon to say, "I told you so," but it's ridiculous that so many people have been so ready to declare him a bust at just-turned 24, in year one of a seven year contract. In the past few season there have been a fair number of very young players who have come in and made a difference immediately - Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews - but most stars need time to figure things out. Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, and Daniel Alfredsson, just to name a few, took a few seasons to pull it all together. I know Vanek's contract puts him in a tough spot but let's not forget how young he is and how much talent we've already seen from him. Anyone who can watch him and Derek Roy over the past couple of weeks and say it was a mistake to keep them is crazy.

- One of the little things about hockey that bothers me: Why doesn't a shot that hits the crossbar count as a shot on goal? It hits the goal! It's an inch from being in the goal! I don't get it.

- Ottawa was definitely a little flat but I think this was also what Ottawa looks like without their top line clicking - a good but not great hockey team. Rob and Roby said all this in the postgame show so I know I'm repeating them but you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that I said the same things to Mark during the game. (I did!) If Ottawa runs into a team that can contain their top line OR if their top line goes cold, they're going to struggle. They're capable of rolling over every team in the conference but I certainly don't see it as a given especially with their unpredictable goaltending.

- Ottawa's flatness has to be credited at least a little bit to the Sabres because they played a very good defensive game. The Senators scare me and while I was definitely nervous about going into the third period with just a one goal lead, there weren't a lot of scoring chances that really made me groan. Big glove taps to Henrik Tallinder (yay!) and Toni Lydman in particular.

- What the heck is Tim Connolly doing with his facial hair? I told him last year that the fu manchu was a bad idea. Seriously, do you think that looks good, Tim?

- My list of Sabres who are better than Brian Campbell:
Ryan Miller (this one seems obvious)
Derek Roy (this one too)
Thomas Vanek (even while struggling Vanek has put up some points and been much improved in the defensive end)
Jason Pominville (developing into a very good two-way player)

Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who are more valuable to the Sabres:
Jochen Hecht (good defensive forward, always works hard, so consistent)
Henrik Tallinder (the best defensive d-man on the team and for me, that will always be more valuable than offense in a d-man)

Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who have been more valuable to the Sabres recently:
Daniel Paille
Patrick Kaleta

Brian Campbell is fine but the more people blow him up, the more I find myself disliking him and picking apart his game. Please, please let's settle this one way or the other as soon as possible so we can stop talking about him.

- Is it completely naive of me to think we could move up at least two or three more sports in the standings? Too optimistic?

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

A Little Levity

When I pulled up the Buffalo News website this morning, I was intrigued by Bucky Gleason's headline, Sabres have the chips to retool. That seemed somewhat promising since "retool" suggests that the team has some talent and just needs a little tweaking which is much better than the usual, "This team blows without Chris and Danny!" chatter. And then I got to this:

The Sabres would like to keep Campbell. He’s their best player.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

:::deep breaths, wiping tears streaming from my eyes:::

I don't even know what to say other than that might be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read in the paper. And I've read quite a few ridiculous things there. I can think of three guys off the top of my head who should be offended by that statement.

Oh, Bucky... I needed a good laugh this morning. Thanks, man.

A Little Perspective

Wow, that sold out crowd being so quiet you could hear the Zamboni scraping the ice was easily one of the spookiest things I've ever heard. Devastating. I'm glad they managed to get Richard Zednik off the ice so quickly. He was clearly going limp as they hit the bench. Clint Malarchuk was before my time in Buffalo and I'm glad. Tonight was more than enough for me. I would hope every crowd would respond appropriately but when the PA announcer let the crowd know that Zednik was stable and on his way to the hospital and the crowd stood up and cheered and the players started tapping their sticks (one of my favorite little things about hockey), I definitely got teary-eyed.

I almost feel bad talking about the game so let's just hit some quick points.

- Tim Connolly made it through the whole game in one piece! Granted, I have no idea how he's feeling now so I guess we'll have to see. I will say this for Tim, our powerplay is unquestionably better when he's in the line-up. He gets the puck moving better and quicker than anyone else out there.

- After Brian Campbell gave that puck to the Panthers on the tying goal, I would've gladly put him on the Panthers' plane in exchange for Olli Jokinen or a pile of hockey sticks, whichever they were willing to part with.

- Four goals in six games for Thomas Vanek. He's been looking much more confident the past few games. Is he finally busting out of his slump?

- Another game where Ryan Miller kept the Sabres in it until they pulled it together.

- I did have to giggle a little when while doing the post-game highlights Mike Robitaille responded to the tying goal with, "The Sabres had to be feeling their necks here." Kind of an unfortunate turn of phrase considering the events of the evening, Roby.

- I won't get too excited about the fact that we pulled ahead in the third and held on for the win since I doubt either team - the Panthers especially - had their heads completely in the game but we did get the win.

Man. Weird night. Let's not do that again.

Oh, you might have noticed that there's currently a poll about the shootout at the top right of the page. Every once in a while I kind of assign my opinion to others - real fans hate the shootout! - which is ridiculous so I'm curious to see what everyone else really thinks. If you're here, take a second to vote even if you don't leave a comment. The poll will be up for a week or until I get tired of looking at, whichever comes first.

Prayers and positive vibes to Zednik and his family.

The Wheels on the Bus Fall Off in the Third Period

First a few comments on the Tom Golisano interview:

1. Tom, don't think we're impressed that you're showing your face during a win streak while avoiding us during the ten game losing streak.

2. That interview was clearly very carefully planned. Have you seen the commercial Roby does for the back healing guy? The one where's he's obviously reading cue cards? Yeah, that's what he sounded like tonight.

3. If Buffalo is such a great place to be, Tom, then why are you being beamed in via satellite? If the team is so much fun to watch why no TV shots of you grinning in your box at HSBC Arena? At least Darcy Regier shows his face in public.

4. Dude, I get what you're saying about it creating cap relief but you might want to avoid expressing sentiments that sound anything like, "Boy, we're really lucky ol' Teppo had to have that heart surgery, huh?"

5. Buffalo owners suck. No wonder we think God hates us.

That said, I don't really care to dredge up the Drury/Briere fiasco yet again. Could management have done something different to keep one or both of them here? Maybe. Probably. Would it be nice to hear Golisano take some blame? Sure. Should he be called out for his garbage? Absolutely. Is anything going to change what happened last summer now? No. Seriously, how long are we going to hammer the same people for the same mistakes over and over and over? We're more than halfway through the season. At some point don't you have to step back and see if management learned from the mistakes? Jochen Hecht was signed during the season. Not liking the player or the contract doesn't make that any less true. They've been negotiating with Brian Campbell during the season. The fact that a contract hasn't been signed is not management's fault since it is ultimately Campbell who has to sign the thing. Don't complain about the team a) not trading Campbell or b) not re-signing Campbell until we see what actually happens. They have another huge free agent coming up in Ryan Miller. Instead of talking about Miller going to the Red Wings, let's see WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS.

And please, for the love of all that is holy and right in this world, stop calling Thomas Vanek lazy! He's not lazy! Hesitant? Yes! Lacking in confidence? Possibly! Lazy? NO! He's not converting consistently but he's working hard. His goal tonight was created by his own work. His backchecking has been miles better. He's generally in good position on the ice. You wanna know why he looks slow? Do you?! BECAUSE HE'S SLOW! BECAUSE HE'S NOT FAST!

Oh, man, I'm doing that "make a point by asking yourself a question then answering it" thing which I hate. There's someone at my place of employment who does that and I find it to be annoying and a little condescending. I apologize. I'll take a deep breath before we move on to the game.

- I hate shootouts. I really do. They have nothing to do with who has the better team/shooters/goalies or who played the best that night. (Which is not to say that I think we deserved to win tonight because we did not.) The NHL keeps saying shootouts are for the fans but I wonder what kind of result they would find if they polled fans at games. I kind of feel like this was a change they made in an attempt to appeal to the mythological casual fan while ignoring what traditional fans would prefer but that might just be my bias showing.

I hate ties though. I hate them. Maybe it's because I grew up watching baseball and not hockey but I feel very strongly that there should be a winner and a loser at the end of a sporting event. I'd like to see the NHL increase the overtime period to ten minutes of 4 on 4. As it is now, OTs are always the same. Four minutes of teams trying not to lose followed by one minute of pretty intense back and forth. By the time anyone creates any pressure, the period is over. I think if we went ten minutes, more often than not we'd end up with a winnder.

- That said, nice try, Hank. Couldn't quite get it over Auld's leg but it was a good move nonetheless. (The fact that one of our best defensive d-men looks better than any of our forwards in the shootout shows you that either a) shootouts are a stupid way to decide a game or b) our forwards are really, really bad.)

- Thank you, Dmitri Kalinin for taking a penalty to protect your goalie. Wow, I didn't think any of them had that in them.

- Listen, I know I'm beating a dead horse at this point but Brian Campbell was brutal in this game. Completely brutal. We really want to pay him six million dollars? I had to laugh at Pierre McGuire's "he's a better true defensemen than Sheldon Souray" because that is seriously damning with faint praise.

- I'm not into booing your team. I understand why other people do it, I'm certainly not going to tell someone else they shouldn't. They can do whatever they want as far as I'm concerned. Booing just isn't my thing. (I prefer writing hate letters on my blog.) But I adore Bronx cheers. I'm fascinated by how the sound of a crowd cheering can shift enough that you can't mistake it for the real thing. The loathing and sarcasm within it is impossible to miss. How you could get that deep into the third period - with multiple power plays - and not get a shot on goal is mind-boggling. The team earned that sarcastic cheering.

- It was not a pretty loss but the team was eventually going to lose again. I'm not ready to toss them overboard yet. We'll see how they respond on Sunday. I'm at least encouraged that there were no excuses floating around as far as I heard. Jason Pominville and Jaroslav Spacek both admitted the team choked the game away by not playing a full sixty minutes and Lindy Ruff said, "We didn't deserve a point, Ryan earned it for us."

Since I know you're all dying to know how my doctor's appointment went today, I'll fill you in. The good news: I got the cast off and the bones look good. The bad news: The joint is still weak and I have to remain non-weight bearing for another month. I'm now rocking a snazzy moon boot.

A couple people have asked to see my scar so if you're interested, you can check it out here. It's under a link for the squeamish. I think it's awesome but I'm weird like that. As a kid I always wanted my uniform to be dirty (which partially explains my love for Craig Biggio) and I loved injuries that bled and scarred (which partially explains my love for Jay McKee). Earlier I was watching an interview on the Bills website with Paul Posluszny and he talked about the plates in his arm and I admit, as dumb as it is, I felt pretty cool about the fact that I have hardware in my body too. It's weird because if you feel along the scar in the right spot, you can feel the outline of the plate.

Anyway, yeah. I hate the Bruins.

A Few More Statbits

I just wanted to add a couple of things to the post below but I decided to make a separate entry since I know a lot of people have already read the original Hank vs. Soupy post and will probably not scroll down that way again. If you haven't read it, please do. It took me forever to write and I really am curious to know what people think about it. If you're too shy to comment, shoot me an email.

- I should have mentioned yesterday that Before the Net's numbers are updated regularly so if you happen to wander over there, it's possible that you'll see slightly different numbers than the ones Meg and I used. I'm pretty sure the numbers we used didn't include the most recent game so that would explain some fluctuation.

- You could really almost make a case that Brian Campbell is the fourth most valuable defenseman on the team. If you look at goal differentials (Goals For On/60 - Goals Against On/60), Henrik Tallinder (+1), Toni Lydman (+.45), and Jaroslav Spacek (+.29) all have a better number than Campbell (+.13). Additionally, Tallinder, Lydman, and Spacek all have higher Quality of Competition ratings although Spacek's is very, very close to the same as Campbell's. For the record, Dmitri Kalinin has a good differential (+.67) but he and Nathan Paetsch are playing the lowest Quality of Competition out of the d-men. Paetsch has the lowest differential and is just a touch above Kalinin in Quality of Competition.

- Just for fun, here are the top five forwards in Quality of Competition and goal differential (at least 30 games played):

QUALITY OF COMPETITION
1. Jochen Hecht (0.14)
2. Jason Pominville (0.13)
3. Derek Roy (0.04)
4. Tim Connolly (0.04)
5. Thomas Vanek (0.01)

No real surprises although it does show just how often Hecht and Pominville are matching up with top lines. Clarke MacArthur's rating was up there with them but he didn't meet the 30 game criteria.

GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
1. Daniel Paille (3.06 GF On/60, 1.84 GA On/60)
2. Derek Roy (3.81 GF On/60, 2.67 GA On/60)
3. Drew Stafford (3.12 GF On/60, 2.16 GA On/60)
4. Jason Pominville (3.20 GF On/60, 2.47 GA On/60)
5. Thomas Vanek (3.36 GF On/60, 2.88 GA On/60)

Okay, no more stats for a while, I promise.

I do have one more thing to say though. I know a lot of the attachment to Brian Campbell is sentimental. He was drafted by the Sabres, he's come up through the system, and we've watched him go from healthy scratch to two-time All-Star. I get that, I do. And it's okay for us as fans to value that, maybe even above other things. But as much as we say we want our GM to be the same way, we really don't. That's not what GMs do. GMs have to strip away personality (to a degree) and sentiment and look at what the player is contributing to the team and decide whether his contributions justify his cost. It's one thing when you're the Dallas Stars and the player you're showing loyalty to is Mike Modano. Modano is one of the best hockey players of his generation. He can change games and he can make a difference for a franchise in years when they might be struggling. Brian Campbell is not that player. He's a fine hockey player. But I don't think he's a guy you build a team around and when we're talking about six million dollars, that's what he'll end up being. He'll be part of the core that other pieces get moved around. If the Sabres sign him to a five or six million dollar contract I really, truly believe he's not going to live up to the expectations that come with it. And eventually all of us who wanted Campbell to stay for sentimental reasons will be moaning and groaning about why we're paying him so much money.

And that is my official last word on Brian Campbell. For this week at least.

Soupy vs. Hank: Only One Can Survive

All right, kids, pull up a chair, turn on your brains, and bring a calculator. This post is going to be wordy - okay, they're all wordy but this one's gonna be way worse - and filled to the brim with numbers. Today we shall prove once and for all that Brian Campbell is not that much more valuable than Henrik Tallinder if he is indeed more valuable at all. If you get bored and/or confused, scroll down to the bottom where I will summarize our findings in few short, easy-to-read bullet points

Now most people compare two players at the same position in one way: point totals. Brian Campbell has a robust 33 points so far this season (4 goals, 29 assists) while Henrik Tallinder has a measly 6 points (0 goals, 6 assists). Campbell must be better, right? Not so fast. I really don't think simply looking at point totals works in this case and not just because it works against my favorite player (although that's definitely a strike against it). Here are my problems with just comparing points in this situation: One, it favors Campbell's strength as a player (offense) while disregarding Tallinder's strength (defense). Two, you're not looking at defense at all which is at least a little bit important when you're talking about defensemen. (I know, it's crazy.) So we're gonna bust out some other numbers up in here.

First a few disclaimers. All numbers were taken from BehindTheNet.ca which is an absolutely amazing website. It's a gold mine of statistics and it boggles my mind what you can find there. I also have to give a huge shout-out to reader, commenter, and fellow blogger Meg. She did all the foot work in parsing the following numbers. All I'm doing is writing it up in blog form. (I did ask for her permission which she kindly granted.) Finally all numbers are based on defensemen who have played at least 30 games this season and who play at least 15 minutes at even strength per 60 minutes of game time. That eliminates any outliers - guys who have great numbers but have only played 3 shifts all season due to injuries or whatever. Meg just looked at even strength numbers because she was laaaa-zy (just kidding, Meg!) but I think that's okay with these two players anyway. I would consider special teams kind of a wash. Most people aren't going to argue that Tallinder isn't more valuable on the penalty kill and most people aren't going to argue that Campbell isn't more valuable on the powerplay. And if you are going to argue either of those things, well, you'll have to do it somewhere else. Ha! So all that said, let's get ready to rumble!

The first stat we'll look at is Quality of Competition. This takes into consideration who the players in question are playing against. I think this is pretty important because to me, for a guy to be considered a top pairing defenseman, he needs to play his share of time against the opposing teams' top lines. Even against a team like Ottawa where the third line still has talent, the top line is well, the top line. No other line on the Sens team is as good as the Heatley-Alfredsson-Spezza line. And on teams that don't have as much talent as Ottawa, let's say, Tampa Bay for example, there's an even bigger difference between playing against the top line and playing against a lower line.

Tallinder's Quality of Competition rating is .15, the highest on the Sabres and good for 13th out of the defensemen who met our criteria. I won't bore you with all the names above him but it's a very solid group that includes Nick Lidstrom and Anton Volchenkov just as a couple of examples.

Campbell's Quality of Competition rating is .01 which puts him below Tallinder as well as in the lower half of the defensemen we're looking at here.

So that shows us that Tallinder is playing against tougher players but it doesn't tell us how he's handling them. To judge that we move on to a stat called Goals Against On/60 which tallies how many goals the opposing teams scores while the player in question is on the ice. Just to be clear, the lower the number, the better.

Tallinder's GA ON/60 is 1.82 good for 10th best in the league out of the players who met our criteria. Above Tallinder are players such as Nick Lidstrom (really, the man is not human), Mathieu Schneider, Chris Pronger, and Paul Martin.

Campbell's GA ON/60 is 3.03, 10th worst out of the group we're looking at. That means that Campbell is facing a lower level of competition than Tallinder - considerably lower, I'd say - but allowing more goals per 60 minutes. Out of all the Sabres defensemen, Tallinder is facing the hardest competition while also allowing the fewest goals per 60 minutes of ice time.

Great, Heather, but what about the offense? Hold on, I'm getting there. The next stat we'll look at is the opposite - Goals For On/60 or how many goals the Sabres score while the defenseman in question is on the ice. In this case, the higher the number, the better.

Tallinder's GF ON/60 is 2.82 which is right in the middle of the pack. Not great, not terrible. It is important to note however that, as average as it is, it is a good bit higher than his GA ON/60. For every 60 minutes Tallinder spends on the ice, the Sabres score one more goal than they allow.

Campbell does have Tallinder beat in this category. His GF ON/60 is 3.17, putting him at 12th best among the defensemen we're looking at. (I don't have a list of the guys ahead of him but I'm sure Lidstrom is one of them. Seriously, he's a freak of nature.) So you could definitely make a case that Campbell does bring a lot to the table offensively. However his GF ON/60 is negated somewhat by his high GA ON/60. The Sabres score .35 more goals when Campbell is on the ice than when he's not but they also allow 1.21 goals more when he's on the ice.

One thing Meg pointed out that is in Campbell's favor is that he's lower than Tallinder in Quality of Teammates, meaning Tallinder plays with either a higher rated defensive partner or with higher rated forwards or some mixture of both. Tallinder's rating is a .10 while Campbell's is a -.09. So that could account for some of the difference in their overall numbers but their rankings are close enough here that I don't think it accounts for everything.

So let's summarize:

- Campbell averages about a minute and a half more in ice-time than Tallinder per 60 minutes but Tallinder is facing a much higher level of competition, almost always taking on the opponent's first line.

- Despite playing a higher level of competition, Tallinder is on the ice for fewer goals against than Campbell. For every 60 minutes Tallinder is on the ice, the Sabres score one more goal than they allow.

- Campbell is on the ice for more goals for the Sabres but also on the ice for more goals against the Sabres. In fact, his goals for number (3.17) is almost completely wiped out by his goals against number (3.03).

So while you could say that Campbell is more valuable than Tallinder offensively, you could also say that Tallinder's defensive ability is, in the long-run, more valuable to the Sabres because of how often Campbell's defensive lapses hurt his offensive contributions and again, this is despite Campbell playing against lesser skilled lines. I know I'm really pounding that but these are defensemen. I think it's important to take defense into consideration. And let's not forget that this is all based on a season that most everyone would agree has been pretty uneven for Tallinder.

In other words, I win! Brian Campbell is NOT worth 5 million dollars plus per season and the Sabres are NOT going to fall apart without him. I win! Tell all your friends!

(Thanks again, Meg! You're awesome!)

Hank Tallinder FTW!

Sweet Relief!

This morning I got the following email from Mark.

If Derek plays tonight, he will have a huge game. When I came in this morning and turned on my adding machine, the number 9 appeared! Okay, I must have bumped the 9 key, but still!!

Monday we're going to see if he can accidentally punch in 26.

In a season when a couple of my favorites have fallen hard (Spinorama on outta here, Soupy! Dipsy-doodle your way to a new city, Timmy!), I'm a little relieved to report that I've really missed having Derek Roy in the line-up the last few games. He hasn't had a very good season and he can be completely exasperating - we have a very intense love/hate relationship - but dang, when I love him, I love him. It sure looks like he took Lindy's words about certain players needing to step up to heart because he had a great game. He was buzzing everywhere, he was involved in a handful of the goals and I admit it, I'm totally tickled at the goalie - I think it was Kari Lehtonen at that point - shooting the puck at him. Hee. Even though he was kind of tripped into the crease, I do think little Roy-Z is at his best when he's bugging other people. I'm a little disappointed that his hat-trick was awarded after the game though. I hate when that happens! Here's a hat from me to you, Roy-Z! You were my first star of the game.



Other observations:

- Despite the fact that he keeps hitting crossbars, I think Thomas Vanek looked pretty good tonight. He was going to the net more often than not and made some really nice passes to the front of the net. I fully expect the message board denizens to pick everything he did apart to pieces and fault him for not earning $70 million in one game but for tonight, they should really give it a rest.

- That was one of the most complete games they've played all season. They'd start to cool off just for a couple of minutes and I'd start getting a little worried but they always pulled it together quickly. The Sabres definitely got some bounces but they also worked really hard for sixty minutes. It's a cliche that you create your own bounces but it's a cliche because it's true.

- I try to not let the girlie side of me come out here too often because I don't want to be accused of being a puckbunny - seriously, try it and see what happens - but that backhand by Smokin' Jochen Hecht was seriously sexy. You can keep your showy slapshots, backhands make me swoon. (Of course, I also have a terrible, terrible slapshot so maybe I'm just pretending to not be impressed with them. I do, however, have a pretty good backhand if I do say so myself. Yo-Yo and I are hockey soul mates because I'd be all about ugly goals, I think.)

- I admit, I tend to kind of ignore it when Henrik Tallinder isn't playing well - he's my favorite player so that earns him a little slack - but he really has looked a ton better the last handful or so of games, even in some of the losses. Good job, Hank. It's nice to be able to actually say, "Hey, my guy is playing really well!" instead of just closing my eyes and pretending I'm not seeing you.

- If I were nice, I wouldn't point out that a clean giveaway by Brian "Six Million Dollar Man" Campbell led directly to the Thrashers only goal. But hey, if you guys want to give him that much money... Okay, seriously, it's just as likely that was Ryan Miller's fault. I mean, the poor guy had a FOUR GOAL LEAD. He was probably panicky and confused. And hey, atleast we didn't have to hold our breaths waiting for the last second goal to ruin the potential shutout.

- Two gorgeous passes from Dmitri Kalinin. Oh, geez. That pass/shot over to Vanek on the side of the net was so, so nice.

- Loved the mic'd up segment when Adam Mair hollers for a piece of gum and somebody brought out a little tupperware dish full of sticks of gum. I don't know, for some reason that little dish cracked me up. I can't believe they chew gum while skating and getting knocked around though. Seems dangerous.

- Nice to see some bumping and scrapping from a lot of different guys. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get full-blown fights out of Hecht and Toni Lydman though. They're not very good fighters and it doesn't happen very often but I love the way they go from mild-mannered to total flip out and they didn't quite get there tonight. And geez, Jason Pominville got nailed by Eric Boulton. I think I heard him whimpering from my living room.

- All in all, a much needed victory for both the team and the fans, I think. Part of my brain is whispering that it doesn't mean anything until we string a bunch of wins together but the other half of my brain is telling that half to shut up. For tonight, I'm happy. At the very least, it was nice to see some smiles on the bench again.

Odds and Ends

Odds and ends ahoy!

As much as I love Darcy Regier, I really hate his tendency to respond to building hysteria by calling press gatherings where he gives some variance on "EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL! PLEASE REMAIN CALM!" They don't work. It just feeds into the panic. It's like poking a sleepy but awakening bear with a really pointy stick. I suppose I can understand responding to the masses, but I don't know, I think he'd be better off just leaving it alone. Pick up the phone when the newspaper calls and leave it at that especially since, last I saw, Brian Campbell is still here. I understand fans getting nervous, but geez, nothing has even happened yet. (Note: I actually do NOT understand getting nervous because Brian Campbell is not Chris Drury or Daniel Briere.)

More than a few people have pointed out to me that, regardless of how I feel about Brian Campbell, the market is the market and the Sabres can't expect to pay an offensive defensman less than everyone else is. To them I say... you're right! Ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you? I'll admit that part of my problem on this issue is an overall frustration with how quickly the GM's and owners have let the market spiral out of control post-lockout. Brian Campbell shouldn't be within spitting distance of making what Nicklas Lidstrom makes and he might be when all is said and done. I'm amazed that a group of people with so much knowledge can - time after time - shoot themselves in the collective foot. I give Darcy a lot of credit in this area. He may be cautious, sometimes overly so, but atleast he's attempting to use his brain. Too often I think that puts him in the minority.

For the record, however, I'm not changing my tune on Soupy. Six million plus is too much of the team's cap to sink into a player like him. So there! I am not, however, looking forward to the sure-to-come city-wide freak-out if Soupy moves on.

Quick injury update. I had my first post-op appointment a week or so ago. The doctor said everything looks okay - which was mildly amusing because my foot looked pretty disgusting - but I still can't put any weight on it until the next appointment which is at the beginning of February and that's only if everything still looks good. The staples were taken out and I got a shiny new plaster cast (white - I was so disappointed that I didn't get to choose a color) and I'm getting a little better on the crutches but it's still pretty darn boring sitting around all day which is why I've posted something almost every single day. Apologies in advance if you get tired of me. This isn't my personal x-ray but this is the surgery I had done and pretty much what mine looks like:


Pretty snazzy, eh?

And finally, a few days ago I wondered about Paul Hamilton generally being the only person who speaks in the media scrums after Sabres games. Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News happened to see that and he emailed and elaborated on it a little more. A few of you commented when I mentioned it so I thought you might like to read what Mike had to say because it's pretty interesting. (This is fully with Mike's permission, just in case you're wondering.) I cut out a few sections just so it wasn't quite as long so if it seems to flows funny, that's all on me.

He is very knowledgeable (played in college at Iowa State FYI) and well-respected in the media. When you see a gaggle of microphones around a guy after the game, Paul is usually the only REPORTER there. The local TVs, in what I think is just a ridiculous decision, often do NOT send a reporter into the locker room after a game and just have a cameraman so that guy isn't a journalist and for the most part couldn't ask a question if his life depended on it.

Furthermore, the print guys very rarely go to the same guy Hamilton and the cameras go to. I don't mind Paul using one of my questions but when a station just sends a camera, they're sponging off me and I don't like that. So if Paul goes to say Pommer, the cameras tend to follow and I'll go to maybe Kotalik. Then switch off, etc. So you'll almost NEVER see or hear us on those interviews.

On the road, it might be a little different cuz there's usually no one in the locker room except Paul, me or John Vogl and maybe a local AP guy. You might hear us once in a while there.

At the end of an interview, you'll hear Paul say, "That's Jason Pominville on the postgame show, back up to you." But that's not the end of the interview. Paul is off to the next guy but after that, the player usually talks for another few minutes to us ink-stained print wretches.

Something else to consider: Paul is a rights-holder collecting comments for a live postgame show on the station that broadcasts the game. Professional courtesy dictates you try not to step over his questions too much, especially since his stuff has to get to air within 10 minutes or so. You let him get the first 2-3 questions before you jump in if you're with the same player.

And on the road, Paul is in a major time jam. He flies home on the team charter (because he's on the flagship station). We do not. He has to be on the plane within an hour after the final horn so he has to email his MP3s to the station for air. You gotta let him get done and go.

So as you can see, there are a lot more dynamics to the situation than just people letting Paul ask all the questions.

I had no idea Paul Hamilton played in college. That's totally awesome. Also, I'm really surprised that the TV stations don't send reporters into the dressing room if for no other reason than to build some kind of relationship with the players. Crazy.

(Thanks, Mike! Tell Bucky I said hi!)