Important Tallinder Update

All right, it's been kind of heavy around here this week. Since it's the weekend, and a holiday weekend at that, let's lighten the mood.

One of my very favorite things in the world is when people send me emails. I'm not kidding, I'm an email addict. I can't even tell you how many times a day I check my email because I pretty much always have it open in a tab in my browser.

Yesterday I received a delightful email from Tamara of Robbing Him Blind. Those of you who remember my Puck Drop post from last season will remember that my pleasure upon meeting Hank was dampened only by the revelation that he'd recently gotten a buzz cut. Hank was, in the end, handsome enough to carry off the look but even he was cutting it close. (Ha! Buzz cut? Cutting it close? That's funny, right? No?)

Well, Tamara and Shelby of Puck Over the Glass went to practice at the Pepsi Center this week. Obviously the issue of the buzz cut bothered them as much as it did me because when Hank stopped to sign an autograph after practice, Tamara asked him if he had any hair these days. Not only did Hank answer, he took off his helmet, tousled his hair, and then agreed to pose for photographic proof.

Two things. One, I love, love, love Hank for good-naturedly answering what is a silly, if very important, inquiry. I like players who don't mind a little silliness. Two, I love, love, love Tamara for thinking to asking this question. I doubt Mike Harrington or John Vogl would think of that, and that's a strike against them as far as I'm concerned.

Tamara assures me that there's even more hair than appears in this photo. The sweat was working against him.


I think that's the face of a d-man about to have a great season, Buffalo.

On Henrik Tallinder

This post has no real direction, flow, or possibly point and I can't quite figure out how to address any of those things. But I'm trying to get back in hockey mode and I did want to say a few (thousand) words about Hank so it's going up anyway. Please just remember that this is the preseason for hockey bloggers too. I just need to work out some kinks, get back in game shape, get back in the rhythm. By October, everything will be fine.

To be completely honest, I was sure that by this point in the year, I'd be putting together a new header for Top Shelf. It seemed a foregone conclusion that Henrik Tallinder had played his last game in a Sabres jersey, and I know that many of you out there are disappointed that, so far at least, that doesn't appear to be the case. Well, guess what? I'm disappointed too.

Let me be clear about this upfront. While I do sometimes try to step back and look at the Sabres from a slightly more rational point-of-view than maybe some people, this is not one of those times. This post is definitely being written as a fan (Kevin :P). These are strictly my opinions, my feelings and I don't expect very many people - if any - to agree with them.

Okay, where were we? Yes. Hank.

A couple weeks ago when I wrote about Maxim Afinogenov, I talked about how, for me, there are just certain players that, for whatever reason, I get really attached to. When their situation sours, even if they play a part in it, I feel bad for them in a way that I don't for other players. An anonymous commenter got on me for defending Max while slamming Derek Roy because Roy is a better hockey player but my feelings here don't necessarily have anything to do with the players' on-ice peformance. It makes me feel bad to see some players struggle, it gets on my nerves to see other players struggle. That's all there is to it.

Needles to say, last season was a hard year to be a Henrik Tallinder fan. Again, let me stress, that I know why people - coaches, fans, and media - were down on him. He definitely struggled. He definitely started playing much softer after his string of injuries, shying away from contact. He was scattered and sloppy and inconsistent and he deserved it the first time he was a healthy scratch.

But after that I think he ended up being a bit of a scapegoat. While he deserved the first scratching, I don't think he deserved the second one or the third one. I think Hank pulled it together a bit but he kept taking the hit for the entire defensive corp. Teppo Numminen struggled to keep up in many games and by the end of the season, I think Toni Lydman was playing much worse than Hank. While I know some people don't agree with my assertion that Lindy Ruff buries people once he's given up on them, I think that's what's happened with Hank. Jochen Hecht struggled as much as Hank - I'd say even more so - but the worst reprimand he ever got was not playing for the first 10 minutes of a game. Ruff seem frustrated and concerned about him but it was always expressed in a supportive, "Well, we're all hoping he pushes through it. He's trying to get through it" way which is a far cry from the very blunt, very public assessment that Hank was not the player he was two years ago and might never be that guy again.

While Ruff is correct that Hank was not playing the way he was two years ago and is probably correct to be concerned about whether Hank will ever play at that level again, I was pretty stunned to hear him come right out with it like that. If I were Hank, I'd be hurt and pissed at being singled out that sharply especially since the whole team was playing like garbage for most of the season. Again, I'm a fan and I'm admittedly overly sensitive but I felt like that was a different level of criticism and that that, along with Hank's admission that a change in scenery can be good for a player, was probably indicative of a serious breakdown between player and coach and possibly between player and franchise.

So part of me was hoping to see Hank get dealt because while I would prefer to see him play well in Buffalo, I really just want to see him play well somewhere. If that means he needs a new coach and new teammates in a new city, well, that's what it means. Because I really like him and it bums me out to see him in a dysfunctional situation. I hope that he's able to put the last couple of years behind him and play more like he played in 2005-2007. I hope Ruff is really willing to give Hank a chance to get out of the doghouse rather than just handing his spot over to one of the babies (especially Tyler Myers who I will continue to insist is not necessarily ready for the NHL just because he tore up juniors). I hope the power of the contract year goes into effect here because jeez, with the market probably being even worse next season when the cap goes down, another poor year could very easily mean Hank's not playing in the NHL anywhere in 2010-2011.

But regardless of the past, I will show up at HSBC in October, proudly wearing my TALLINDER 10 jersey. Because I like him. Just in case I'd never made that clear.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANK!

Hey, remember like last week when we had d-men out the wazoo and everyone was all, "Golly, how is Lindy going to decide who to play and who to sit?" Yeah, that was nice. Considering how thin things are in Portland right now with Mike Weber dealing with knee problems and Mike Funk suffering from concussions, the timing could not be worse. It's deja vu all over again. I wouldn't be surprised if Lindy Ruff is waking up in the middle of the night with flashbacks.

For the record, I'm guessing Henrik Tallinder separated his shoulder. I've seen some speculation that he re-broke his arm but I know he finally got a plate put in last time he broke it and the surgeon told me the plate in my ankle would make that bone pretty much impossible to re-break. Of course there is more than one bone in your arm and I don't know how his plate is set. And also, if I'm remembering correctly, Hank was favoring his right arm and it was his left arm/wrist he had all the previous problems with. Of course there's no law saying he can't break the other arm, I guess. Sounds like exactly the kind of thing he would do actually. Dang. He was starting to straighten himself out a bit too, I thought. (I am biased. In case you haven't caught on to that fact yet.)

I do have a few longer posts half started and I'm hoping to finish some of them off over the All-Star break. I've just been fried this week for some reason. I actually slept through half the game tonight - I woke up just in time to see Hank get hurt - and if Hank hadn't gotten hurt, I wouldn't have been able to remember a single thing about that game. I'm planning on getting back in the groove in the next few days.

But hey, how funny is it that the rumors say the Flyers are already trying to dump Daniel Briere's contract? I have no ill will toward Danny - I think it was pretty clear the Sabres had no intention of re-signing him - but come on, who really thought that contract was a good idea? I can't believe Philly gave him that much money, that many years AND a no trade clause. Between this and Rick DiPietro officially being ruled out for the season, a little caution when dealing with contracts suddenly seems pretty smart.

Panic!

So when I discovered that Chris Butler was going to start and Henrik Tallinder was a healthy scratch, I was sure Hank was going to be traded before morning. One of my best blogging buddies, Patty (in Dallas) of Penalty Killing, watched her favorite player, Philippe Boucher, get traded after being a healthy scratch and with that fresh in my mind, I went into a bit of a panic.

Putting on my GM hat, I could make perfect sense of dealing Hank. Chris Butler clearly has to play somewhere and the Sabres don't seem to want to send him back to Portland. That means we have too many d-men. Someone has to go somewhere, right? Even though people in Buffalo feel like Hank has never quite turned into what we thought he was going to be, listening to other team's broadcasts or national broadcasts makes it clear that he's still well thought of around the league. He's a good defenseman. He's also an appealing trade because he's signed through the end of next season and to a very reasonable contract by the standards of today's market. Out of our defensive corp, he'd probably get one of the better returns.

But emotionally I'm not prepared for this scenario at all. Who's my next favorite player? Whose jersey will I wear? For crying out loud, who will go in the banner of this here freakin' blog?! Weird thing about favorite players... Logic goes out the window. Elma left a comment a couple of weeks ago suggesting that I was cranky out of disappointment with Hank and that's just not the case. I'm disappointed, yes. I really thought he and Toni Lydman were on the cusp of being a really great shut-down pairing and they've never really made that leap. But somehow that doesn't make me like him (or Toni, for the record) any less because... I love him. I just do. I can't explain it. There's something about him that strikes me in a way that no one else on the team quite does and that's just the way it is. When he leaves Buffalo, whether it's now or later, I'll be really, really sad in a way that I haven't been since Andy Van Slyke left the Pirates in 1994.

Besides, if we're sitting people on merit shouldn't it be Teppo Numminen in the press box? I love Teppo and can't wait to see him wandering around behind the bench in a suit next season. I'm certainly not going to backtrack and say he never should've been re-signed because I loved the deal when it happened. I totally get why Sabres management decided to give the old guy one more season. I really think it made sense on both sides. But it hasn't worked out. Teppo has definitely lost a step this season and it's probably time for him to hang 'em up at the end of the year. But he's playing while Hank, who's been better since the last scratching, I thought, is watching. But maybe I'm biased.

So I don't know... What do you guys think? Is Hank getting traded? (There's only one answer to that question, btw.) What needs to be done on defense? Who plays and who sits? I'm going to go to work and wait for a phone call telling me my favorite player is on his way to Phoenix a.ka. Off the Edge of the World.

(As for the games this weekend, nice to see Ryan Miller steal - or attempt to steal - a couple. Can't believe the team wasted his effort against Detroit although I suppose that's what happens when you let them have 48 shots especially when you're going to take about half that many shots yourself. Hey, maybe Lindy should reconsider which d-man he sat...)

Outrage

What?! Hank is scratched AGAIN?! But we LOST! It didn't work! Scratching Hank didn't make it better! We still got zero points!

I had a wonderfully thoughtful and inspiring post planned for today but unfortunately for you, I'm too busy pouting to write it now. I was resigned to watching one Hank-less game in person this weekend. I was NOT planning on watching two.

I'm feeling (and looking) a little unhinged.

Ha!

Nothing good comes of scratching Henrik Tallinder. You brought this on yourself, Lindy.

TGIF

I just want everyone to know that every time someone sent me a link of Hank's goal/goal celebration, here or via email, I sat down and watched it at least three times - even Vanek's Hair's link (it's funny cuz it's true). I had the WORST day at work - if the day had been one hour longer I probably would've walked right out of the classroom and never looked back - and as stupid as it may sound, coming home to all those clips made me so happy. Hey, sometimes it's the little things. I've managed to work myself into such a better mood that I really don't want to dwell on last night's game. Outside of the initial barrage of shots/goals and Hank's goal, I thought things were pretty sloppy. Also, I am outraged that Andrew Peters got the pigeon.

In case you've somehow escaped it, here's the best video I watched of Hank's antics. (Thanks to the Tick for putting it together for me! If you go through to You Tube you can watch a higher quality version of it.) It really is adorably dorky. I love how everyone else is always particularly excited when someone who doesn't score a lot of goals comes up with one. I can't tell for sure who's patting Hank on the head on the bench (I think Jaroslav Spacek) but it's awesome. Hey, did you realize this was the game-winning goal?



A few quick words about Jay McKee:

For all the crap Darcy Regier took about letting Jay McKee go, I really think that move, maybe more than any other in recent years, shows what a very good GM Darcy is. He recognized that Jay was being overrated and overpaid by other teams and instead of jumping into the fray in an effort to appease fans and media, he put sentiment aside and let Jay walk. Sentiment and affection are great for fans but GMs - especially ones who have to count every single penny - can't think like that. Is there really any doubt that St. Louis has not gotten what they've paid for out of Jay?

That said, I do wonder what would have had happened had Jay stayed here. I really do believe that some athletes are just made to play in certain cities for certain fans with certain coaches and teammates and I really do believe that Jay's place was in Buffalo. He was Buffalo: not beautifully skilled but tough, hard-working and mostly lovable. Reading some of the articles leading up to the game about how unhappy the St. Louis organization and fans are with Jay really made me sad. I certainly understand where they're coming from - he was pretty terrible last night - but it still bums me out. We loved him. If he had taken less money and stayed in Buffalo I think we would have gone right on loving him even if he'd missed the same number of games and even if he'd suffered the same drop-off in play because we had such a history with him. We saw him fight night in and night out, season after season, for us and for our team in a way that St. Louis never did. Even if his body started to fall apart while he was wearing a Sabres uniform, we would have understood that it was falling apart partly because of the way he played in that Sabres uniform. On an emotional level, I don't miss Chris Drury or Daniel Briere. I definitely appreciated them as hockey players but I never felt that connection with them and when all is said and done, the amount of time they spent in Buffalo will be a blip in their careers. But I desperately miss Jay because he was one of us and I really feel like he should have finished his career as one of us. And while he's probably perfectly fine, I wonder sometimes if he doesn't look back and feel the same way.

Crap. Now I'm depressed again.

Let's enter this hockey weekend with a bit of happy non-hockey news. (I know it doesn't make sense. Just go with it. I'm trying to change the mood!) Wanna see what I'm getting for Christmas/my birthday/pretty much every other holiday for the next year?


That's Marlowe, my two week old St. Bernard.

Here's her mom, Diva (on the left) and dad, Willie (on the right). She'll be a rough coat (long-haired) like her Pop.

Click to enlarge.

Due to vacation in December I won't be picking her up until after Christmas but I'm awfully excited already. Pretty cute, right?

Okay, good. Now I feel better. Happy Friday!

Best Worst Game Ever!

HENRIK TALLINDER SCORED THE GAME-WINNING GOAL (and an assist) AND WAS THE FIRST STAR! Everything else about this stink bomb of a win is just details.

Go Hank, go Hank, go, go, go Hank!

Hank is now on pace for 5.46 goals this season! He's a scoring machine!

(If MSG showed good footage of Hank's little "I just scored a freakin' GOAL!" dance and someone happens to have that footage and some way to get it on the internet well, that person would be my very best friend. Just putting that out there.)

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

I promise I would've said this regardless of the outcome but Ryan Miller dumping the puck into his own net? Easily one of the best things I've ever seen. I've seen some goalie brain farts but that is definitely way up there on the list. Even when I was sure it was the death knell I was rolling on the couch laughing.

I don't know where the heck that win came from but I can tell you this: Henrik Tallinder had the primary assist - a really nice one too - on the game-winning goal and Lindy Ruff said afterwards that he did a great job on that shift. I can sleep a contented and peaceful sleep, resting easy in the knowledge that tonight is not the night Hank will be traded while I dream. Hey, sometimes it's the little things.

More in-depth thoughts tomorrow evening when I don't feel like I'm about to pass out on my keyboard.

Next Up... Real Hockey!

I wish I could say I was attentively watching the Sabres and taking meticulous notes but I really wasn't. I was partly distracted by the Bills-induced moaning and crying coming from the other room and partly just... distracted. It was nice to actually see a preseason game but in the end it's still a preseason game, you know? I'm a firm believer that you can't place too much importance on what happens in a preaseason game. For example, no way Ryan Miller gives up that crap ass goal in a real game. Right, Ryan?

The important thing is this: Henrik Tallinder was in the top six where he belongs. Looking at the pairs I think it's probably likely that he and Teppo Numminen are currently the third pairing but I'm fine with that. Lindy, you were pushing it but I'm happy to say that I'm not going to use the firelindyruff.com domain that I bought after all. It's there though, Ruff so stay on your toes.

So let's talk about some other sports:

- Wow, I'm guessing everyone who ran around looking for an antenna so they could watch the Bills game is real happy they did so. When I first met Mark I thought the "Buffalo is cursed" thing was kind of ridiculous but I don't know. It's one thing to lose your starting QB. Hey, it happens. But to start the season 4-0, getting everyone's hopes up, and THEN lose your starting QB? That's harsh, dude. In J.P. Losman's defense however it's hardly his fault the defense wouldn't have been able to stop me from scoring today. Hopefully this is not a Tim Connolly fall off the face of the earth level concussion.

- I'm way behind but I've been thinking about this for a while. People are being awfully harsh on Vince Young. I guess I understand why but I don't know, isn't it possible that he's realized that he just doesn't really want to play football? And is it that bad if that's how he feels? Don't people go out into the workforce after college and realize they kind of hate their chosen field all the time? I'm totally speculating here, I know, but if that's what's happening, how hard do you think it is for a still young kid who has probably gotten a whole lot of what he has in life because he was a great football player to realize he might hate playing pro ball? I guess if I was a Titans fan I might be frustrated but some of the criticism of Young has been a little much, I think.

- I've watched more of the first round of the baseball playoffs this year than I have in the last few years but I don't know why because it's been a pretty boring round so far. I was really pulling for the Angels to beat the Red Sox - as I'm writing this we're in the 11th inning of Game 3 so I don't know if the series is over yet or not - but I am pretty happy that Jason Bay has had such a good series. I'm sorry it's not in a Pirates jersey but when he was traded I heard a lot of grumbling that it was one thing to be good in Pittsburgh where he got very little attention and another thing to be good under the bright lights of playoff baseball in Boston. So far he's doing all right for himself.

- I haven't made a final decision yet but I think I might be pulling for the Rays and their itty bitty payroll to win the whole shebang.

A Little Preseason Panic

So the season officially starts today in Europe blah blah blah blah blah. I have more important things on my mind right now.

I pulled up Sabres Edge yesterday to see if there was any of kind of report on practice and sure enough, John Vogl hit us with all the lines and defensive pairings on the ice. The lines were fine - you can see them at the above link if you're so included - but I immediately skipped down and checked out the pairings, being a defense girl and all. Here's what I find:

Toni Lydman-Craig Rivet
Jaroslav Spacek-Andrej Sekera
Mike Weber-Teppo Numminen
Henrik Tallinder-Nathan Paetsch

Hmm. When you remove Nathan Paetsch - and I think most would agree he is kind of the odd man out - you'll notice that a certain Swedish d-man is left hanging there all by himself with no partner to play with. But it is practice. And I do sometimes get a little fixated on what's going on with said Swedish d-man so I figure I'm probably overreacting, reading into things, making trouble where there isn't any.

And then I pull up the latest video of Lindy Ruff on Sabres.com (you'll have to find it yourself because I'm an idiot when it comes to linking video from there and I refuse to embed it because it eats my blog) and Paul Hamilton asks, "Looking at your defensive pairings today, I'm wondering has Henrik dropped out of your top six?"

So. I'm not the only one reading into things.

The good news is Lindy didn't immediately say, "Heck, yeah, he has, I'm tired of that jackass being on my team." But he didn't say, "Of course not, I love Hank," and he totally changed the subject to how well Teppo played in back-to-back games. I've worked with kids for a number of years and I know that one of the best ways to avoid answering a question you don't want to answer is to change the subject to something else that the asker might be interested in not that I'm comparing the local media to my emotionally disturbed children. Wait, was Bucky there? Then I might be a little bit.

Anyway, as the season begins today somewhere in the world, that's the mood here at Top Shelf. Slightly panicked and a little irrational.

Hockey, Hockey, Hockey!

A couple of posts have already popped up about the Sabres-Wild game I had the pleasure of attending with Kate and really, they've already covered what I wanted to say. But heck, I'm going to say some of it anyway very quickly before heading off to bed for the night.

- Early on Sunday I was feeling a little melancholy for some unknown reason. I had a major case of the blahs and not even the thought of hockey was doing much to cheer me up. But once I got out of my car and started walking toward the arena, my spirits were immediately lifted. Seeing people walking around in Sabres jerseys, slipping in with the crowd filtering into the arena, seeing skaters on the ice... I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I sat down in my seat and just stared all around, taking in every detail I could. It felt amazing to be in HSBC for real(ish) hockey again.

- Speaking of seats, thanks to the awesome Keller for giving Kate, and in turn me, his fantastic seats for the night. Kate has a picture of our view in her post but we were nineteen rows back right behind the goalie on the end where the Sabres shoot twice. It was a very cool perspective. I've sat in similar seats once before and I love watching guys clear the puck down the ice from that angle. You really get a good feel for just how hard and far they're hitting the puck and just how fast it's moving.

- A lot of people have been really high on Nathan Gerbe - TBN's John Vogl has been practically raving about him - so I was really anxious to see him in action. He's clearly talented and based on what I saw probably should be the first call-up but I don't think he's ready to start in Buffalo. I'm just not sure who he should leap over at this point except for Clarke MacArthur and I think most of us can agree that it would be much better for Gerbe to be playing regular minutes in Portland than sitting in the press box in Buffalo.

That said, I don't think Gerbe will be in Portland long. He definitely looks confident and comfortable and I'm sure he's eager to prove himself.

- Tim Kennedy looked a little more overwhelmed. He was by no means bad but he definitely needs some seasoning in the AHL. It was very cool to get to see his first moments in a Sabres uniform though. The crowd gave him a huge roar of approval every time he had the puck, especially during the shootout. I can't even imagine how awesome that must've been for him.

- Maxim Afinogenov was easily the best Sabre on the ice. Granted a lot of the veteran forwards were out for this game but Max looked really good. There was very, very little of the bad Max - no stupid drop passes, not as much stick handling through the entire crowd, no pulling his line mates offside - and a lot of speedy reasonably smart hockey. It was pretty remarkable. If Max puts together a good season I think the Sabres are really in good shape. I'm sure someone somewhere will complain that he isn't locked up long-term even though we've spent all summer complaining that he's not playing in another city right now but I'll gladly take one more good season out of Max before we part ways. For the record, I'll point out one more time that it's really important that Max play with guys who can skate and think fast.

- Second game in a row where someone in a Buffalo sweater dropped the gloves to defend a teammate. I love it and I hope it continues. Paul Gaustad is usually pretty good about that anyway but I also think this is Craig Rivet's presence in the line-up making an impact.

- Despite the loss, the Sabres looked really good. I have no idea how many of Minnesota's players were NHL level and how many of them were AHL/juniors babies but for the most part, the Sabres really controlled the play and outside of the Jaroslav Spacek's deflection into his own goal I don't remember any glaring mistakes especially on the defensive end which is what's going to make or break this season, I think.

- Henrik Tallinder was fantastic. Amazing. SPECTACULAR even. I'm confident he's going to have a fabulous 2008-2009 season.

- Kate and I really did have a pretty lengthy discussion about Mike Weber's number change. I seem to be in the minority but I really liked him in 34 and I'm not a fan of 4 at all. It's partly because I don't like the way most single digits look on a jersey - 5 is good, 9 is acceptable and that's it - but I realized tonight that it's also partly the font. I'm not a big fan of the number font used on the slug jerseys.

- Hockey is BACK, you guys!

PreseasZzzzzzz

Just in case you're looking for some deep thoughts on the preseason games I should let you know that I really don't care. I care in the sense that preseason means the real season is right around the corner but that's about it. I like to pretend I'm all knowledgeable about the prospects and I am casually interested in how they're playing in the AHL - before that they're not even on my radar outside of the few days they're in camp - but really they don't mean anything to me until they're in Sabres jerseys. I can't get attached before then.

I also have a really hard time commenting on games I can't see. I love Rick Jeanneret and it was HEAVENLY to hear his voice again last night but when you're just listening to a game I think you're definitely influenced by how the announcer is presenting it and let's be honest, ol' RJ can make anything sound good. On the flip side, I'm never quite sure how seriously to take people's criticism because well, people see things different ways, you know? In two places TBN's John Vogl mentioned Henrik Tallinder making the first bad decision of the season but I didn't actually see it with my own eyes so I think it's really best to pretend it didn't happen. You see what I'm saying?

Still, I am trying to get back into the blogging routine so here are a few random thoughts from the last few days:

- I'm totally bummed that Lindy Ruff hasn't openly and publicly cast off the rotating captaincy. I hated the co-captaincy. I hate the rotating captaincy. I want one captain like everyone else in the world! Why can't I have that? I don't care if the players like it! Tell them to suck it up! It's a hard world out there, Sabres, and teams only have one captain! And for the record, I do not enjoy the sight of Tim Connolly with the C.

- How do you do a story about Henrik Tallinder and not run a photo with it? Not even on the website! I'm outraged. Isn't the web all about graphics and stuff? Work with me here, TBN.

- On the flip side (and slightly off-topic) kudos to Mark Mulville of TBN for this awesome photo taken right before the game-winning field goal of Sunday's Bills game.

- Back to hockey, I tend to get a lot of sympathy every time Hank and Toni Lydman are broken up and while it does bum me out some - I like having one consistent pairing/line on the team - I am kind of intrigued to see how the whole thing shakes out. With Teppo back, Craig Rivet in and Andrej Sekera up, that is a lot of new faces. May as well try some things out. But what the heck is with telling the whole world they're going to be split up and then playing them together during the Montreal game last night? You can't play around with their hearts like that, Lindy! I know it's early and I know they have practices too but you'd think maybe new pairings would actually play together during the preseason. Anyway, we'll see if this sticks. It never has before.


I wrote that last paragraph while at work. Unlike some of you slackers I don't really have computer access during the day most of the time so I feel so daring!

Puck Drop 2008: A Novella

I admit it, there were times this summer when I felt like this day was never, ever going to come. Doesn't it feel like it's been years since the Sabres played their last game? It does to me. When I finally stepped into HSBC Arena Saturday morning, I felt like I'd just entered the pearly gates. Ahhhhh...

Noticeable right away was the brand new Winter Classic mural in the pavilion. I'm not gonna lie, I could do without the pictures of the fans mixed in. I get that it was a huge community thing blah blah blah but I really liked the huge player photos, the fu manchu Tim Connolly excepted.

Click on the image for a closer look.

Luckily for me - and them - there was a huge Henrik Tallinder photo in almost exactly the same place there was one before.

You can click here too.

We didn't lollygag too long before making our way to the ice. It was still fairly early but people were starting to stream in and I wanted to sit up close. For games I'm definitely a believer in sitting far enough back that you can see the whole ice but for stuff like this I think it's fun to sit as close as possible and see the ice and the players in a way we don't usually get to see them.

Ooh! Ooh! Hank is on the ice! Ladies and gentlemen, Henrik Tallinder is on the ice!

The stripes on those practice jerseys absolutely glow when photographed, making everyone look like they're in a science fiction movie.

Unfortunately, when Hank was playing defense, this is what I saw through the entire first period:

Down in front!

This girl, in her spunky little glasses and her hand-lettered jersey was cute for about five minutes. And then she was just really, really annoying. I can understand leaping up when something exciting happens or standing through a real game but come on, please sit down. Those pictures are not going to come out anyway. And you know, for a girl who had Stafford on her back she spent an awful lot of time cheering for Max. We also had a somewhat rowdy Roy-Z contingent("ROOOOOOOY-ZEEEEEEEE! ROY-Z YOU ARE AMAAAAAZING!") and a comedy troupe of college-age boys - you know the ones who act like they know everything while every word coming out of their mouth proves they know very little - behind us. But hey, it's not hockey unless there's one fan around you you kind of want to punch in the head!

And still... HOCKEY!

Look! Hockey!

Usually Mark and I end up pulling for different teams in scrimmages but today his guy - Drew Stafford - and my guy - hello, are you new here? - were both wearing blue. And lo and behold, they won 7-4. The numbers on the roster handed out didn't match what the players were wearing, making them pretty much useless, but I do know Mark Mancari had two goals, one beautifully placed slap shot and one very nice tip-in, while Drew Stafford also had a pretty good-looking goal. Alas, Hank did not score any goals but he also did not get hurt so we'll call it a wash.

Speaking of not getting hurt, not only were the rumors of Tim Connolly's death greatly exaggerated, he made it through the first practice of the season in one piece! Let's give him a round of applause!


We were sitting right next to the Sabres TV set-up so we ended up seeing all kinds of cool people up close and personal.

Kevin Sylvester and Rick Jeanneret! (And Harry Neale.) They're pretty cute in their little matching jackets, aren't they?


Jaroslav Spacek! (Jaro, Toni Lydman and Teppo Numminen didn't participate in the scrimmage. There may have been others missing but they were the ones I noticed. Toni and Teppo did practice after the scrimmage. I didn't notice if Jaro did or not.)

Enter hilarious Czech inflected gibberish here.

And your General Manager, Darcy John Regier!

Darcy! Wheeee!

After I took this picture I stood there for a few seconds, trying to see if I could hear what they were talking about. As I walked back toward Mark I clapped and squealed "Darcy!" (Mark: "You're an odd one all right.") That led to this conversation with the guy at the end of the row we were standing next to:

"Oh, don't tell me you were just clapping for DARCY REGIER?!"
"I sure was," I said defiantly. "I love Darcy Regier!"
"I hate that guy! He lets all the good players go and keeps all the shitty guys. I can't wait till we get rid of him."

Many responses went through my head - Who brought those good players here in the first place? Exactly which player signed this off-season is the shitty one? How easy do you think his job is? Do you enjoy being a sheep-like idiot? among some more unprintable thoughts - but I just walked away. I had a feeling the two of us were not going to have a friendly, logical discussion about Darcy Regier's tenure in Buffalo. (And yes, I'm probably as biased in Darcy's favor as that guy was against him, I know.) It did make me wish I had some Top Shelf business cards though. I could've handed that guy a card, told him to look up the web address and instructed him to read all the posts labeled Darcy Regier.

I'm not super familiar with Maria Genero - I never, never watch the news - so I'm trying not to pass judgement on her before she really gets a chance to do her thing. I'm very excited about increased web content because I really, really love what the San Jose Sharks do with Shark Byte and it sounds kind of like that's what the Sabres are going for with the web features/magazine show. I love seeing the guys in more casual, fun situations. But holy moses, the bejeweled slug shirt she was wearing today was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. I don't know how it translated on video but up close and in person it was terrible. I guess you can take it with a grain of salt though because that shirt is pretty much the opposite of anything I would ever, ever wear.

Looking at this photo, the sheer awfulness of that shirt doesn't really translate. Trust me, it was bad.

After scrimmage was the big jersey reveal. It should have been a little anti-climactic since Sabres Edge had a leaked photo of the jersey a few days ago but it was still pretty exciting. The lights were dimmed, a neat little video was shown, the dry ice was released and the players were individually introduced by RJ. The usuals got huge cheers along with Teppo Numminen who I think got the loudest ovation for good reason. Craig Rivet and Patrick Lalime also got warm welcomes. Mike Weber, Andrej Sekera, Clarke MacArthur and Patrick Kaleta were included in the introductions with the established starters.

Overall I'd say the jerseys looked really sharp in person and on the players. I liked the colors a lot more than I thought I would and the logo, of course, is awesome. The blue in the jersey still doesn't quite match the blue of the breezers though which is a tad annoying and I really, really hate that silver piping and unfortunately I hate it in person even more than in the photo. The stylized piping looks stupid with the classic striping and it's a touch too busy to have both. For now it would keep me from buying a third jersey but when the time comes to replace my current vintage, I'd have no problem picking one up. Anyway, the team did a lap around the ice so we could all get a good look before heading to center ice for a stick salute.

Click for a closer look. No C on Pommers. We were on the look-out for that.

The whole morning had Mark feeling VERY excited!

Look alive, man!

After that it was on to the autograph sessions. Mark and I had a pretty laid-back attitude toward autographs. Neither of us is really a collector and neither of us was super eager to have a long conversation with our favorite player but we did think it would kinda cool to get our jerseys signed if we could.

There were tables spread out around the 100 and 200 sections, two to three players to a table. Each table had its own line and each line was capped at 500. When you got in line you were given a ticket by a security guy and once the tickets were gone that line was closed. Here's the tricky part: No one knew which players were going to be at what table until the players showed up so you had to decide if you wanted to stand in a line and see who was signing there or walk around until a certain player showed and then get in his line. Obviously the risk there is the line being full by the time you realize who is where.

The way it was supposed to work as explained by the guard who gave us the ticket for the line we finally decided to stand in was that when the player showed up if you decided to get out of line, you gave your ticket back to the guard so someone else could use it. For example, if a Ryan Miller fan discovers she's in line for Henrik Tallinder but really wants to find Ryan, she gives the ticket back to the guard so there's a ticket for the Henrik Tallinder fan who's discovered she's in line for Andrew Peters. It all makes a very convoluted kind of sense, I guess.

The way it actually worked was like this: People just kept the tickets they had, went in search of the player they really wanted and once they found him, went back to the previous line. The guard pretty clearly told us that once you had a ticket you had to stay in line. If you left that line, you wouldn't be let back in whether you had a ticket or not. But anyone carrying a ticket was let back in line, no questions asked which is understandable. If I'm an arena security guard I'm certainly not going to get into a pissing match about someone wanting to get in line when they have a ticket. So the problem was, lines were running out of tickets even when there weren't a lot of people in line. When we finally found Hank, his line was not super long and there was still a lot of time left until 2:00 but there were no tickets left so the line had been closed. I'd be curious to know how many people took a ticket and jumped in line but then took off with said ticket in their hand when they realized they were waiting for Hank and not Jason Pominville or Derek Roy. I think the tickets are a fine idea. I certainly understand the need to cut off lines at a certain point and that's an easy, clear cut way to decide who gets in a line and who doesn't. But I don't understand why they can't just tell us what player is going to be at what table. If it takes 15 seconds to hand out 500 tickets at Ryan Miller's table so what? Tell everyone after that the line's closed and move on. At least people know who they are and aren't getting. That was the biggest complaint I heard from other fans. The lady in front of me in Hank's line said she'd gladly spend the whole time in Maxim Afinogenov's line even if meant only getting him but she couldn't find him and she was afraid if she kept looking she'd end up missing everyone.

Anyway, to make a long story even longer (another sign that hockey season is finally upon us: really long-ass posts from Heather B.), the lines in the 100 section were already absurd by the time Mark and I made our way up from the ice so we decided to head straight for the 200s. There's less room up there so we thought maybe they'd put some of the lower profile players up there. We found Drew Stafford pretty quickly and Mark jumped in line while I made my way around the rest of the level, trying to see if Hank was up there. I had to circle a few times because while some players had already started signing, some hadn't shown up yet so there were still empty tables. Mark had his jersey signed and was ready to move on and half the players still hadn't showed.

A little slow with the camera so I missed Mark with Staffy. Here he is pretending to care about Clarke MacArthur and Philip Gogulla.

Somewhere in the course of that half hour or so my nonchalance had morphed into borderline obsessive determination. I don't know if seeing other players up close made me realize it might be really neat to see Hank like that or if I got caught up in the crazed crowd or if I was jealous that Mark got his jersey signed but I was turning insane. I was running around the 200s, making sure Hank wasn't up there before I headed down to the 100s, looking everywhere but in front of me, thinking only, "HANK! HANK! HANK!" I suddenly ran into someone, half stepping on his foot and hitting him with my messenger bag. I glanced up, mumbled an apology and walked a few more steps before my brain registered, "Hey, that was Derek Roy." I don't know if there are many females in Buffalo who can say they ran over Derek to get to Hank but I'm one of the proud few. And if it comes out soon that Roy-Z is out with a broken toe, it's on me. Sorry.

Once it was clear Hank wasn't in the 200s, we rushed to the 100s. Okay, I rushed. Mark poked along behind me. And finally, finally! There he was!

Hank!

I jumped in the line, excited that, as I said before, it wasn't really that long. The security guard wandered over to ask if I had a ticket which I didn't because they were all gone. He announced that anyone who didn't have a ticket had to leave the line. So I did. At first. And then I decided hey, eff that. I've been running around this place like crazy and unlike some of the people in the line I actually WANTED Hank's autograph. So I got back in line. The guard made his announcement a few more times, looking at me every time, but I guess he decided to leave me alone because he never really kicked me out of line. He did close the line right behind me though.

That blue is my jersey which I had taken off for autograph purposes (I had a t-shirt on so get your mind out of the gutter) and that's the end of the line right behind me.

I was hoping that they wouldn't get to me, the very last person in line, and declare that I couldn't have an autograph because I didn't have a ticket and if it did happen I was prepared to wave my Tallinder jersey around and appeal directly to Hank since he seems like a pretty nice guy. Just in case however, I managed to snag a ticket from someone who was bailing because they'd heard that Max had finally showed up at his line and there were still tickets left.

(As an aside, I think every third person was looking for Max. My mind, it was boggled. I knew he was popular but I guess I didn't realize he was still that popular. Every line I waited at for a few minutes contained a herd of people who were hoping and praying they were in Max's line. And not just kids although there was a lot of them too. Craziness.)

So now I could relax a little, plan what I was going to say when I finally came face-to-face with the guy whose picture is at the top of my blog, and stand back and observe a little. I was pretty delighted to see that Hank really is as pleasant and friendly as he always appears to be in interviews. I don't think being nice to people for a couple of hours is too much to ask of a person but we've all been to those autograph sessions where it's clear, especially toward the end, that players are going through the motions: take jersey/picture from fan, sign, say "no problem," reach for the next item. Not Henrik Tallinder. He looked up and made eye contact with everyone, he had a huge grin on his face the whole time, he made different comments to everyone, posed for as many pictures as people wanted, occasionally suggesting they check and make sure they got their picture and he went out of his way to fuss over any kids that came through the line. I think it was exactly the kind of experience that a small kid will remember years later as a really nice moment and I think that's lovely. I'm a grown-up so I've long come to accept that sometimes pro athletes aren't people I'd necessarily like and sometimes you just have to put personality aside and appreciate a guy's skill on the field of play... but I still want to like players, especially my favorites, so I was really happy to come away really liking Hank. But I'm jumping ahead of things. (I know, you were probably quite thrilled with that development at this point :P)

So it was finally my turn. Locked in on my target, I walked right by Drew Schiestel (sorry, Drew!) and spread my jersey out on the table in front of Hank. Being a less popular player he'd been signing a lot of other people's jerseys along with the little photos and slugs they were giving out. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Heather: HI!
Hank: (sees jersey, smile gets a little bigger) Ah, that's the number I like to see!
Heather: (after much thought about what to say, I say the first thing that pops into my head) YOU'RE MY FAVORITE! (I'd like to think I said that in a very calm, composed way but I fear there might have been a hint of a squeal in my voice. No idea what happened.)
Hank: And that's what I like to hear! Thank you.

I asked him if I could get a photo and he said, "Sure, you just have to come back here," so I shoved the security guy to the side. Hank was very, very tall - more on that in a second - and I was a little worried that Mark wasn't going to get us both in the picture. He's not super comfortable with a camera and he had already expressed concern about messing it up. Fortunately, Mark said aloud, "Wow, I can barely get both of you in. You're a tall guy!" at which point Hank leaned down a little closer to me. And the picture you saw yesterday was the happy result. Oh, heck. Here it is again in case you missed it.

:::happy sigh:::

Okay. Would any gentlemen reading this please skip to the next paragraph? I need to talk to the ladies. Personal stuff. You wouldn't want to hear it. Might be embarrassing for you. Really. Move along, move along... Are they gone? Okay, let me tell you this, ladies. Henrik Tallinder? Is beautiful even with that awful buzz cut. You know how in cartoons, sometimes the good-looking guy smiles and you get the little "ping!" sound effect with the twinkly glint and the sparkle in the eye? Well, Hank is the real-life equivalent of that. He's just so very sparkly. Noticeably blue eyes, big dimples, extremely charming. And when he stood up for the picture, holy cow, I thought he was going to go on forever. He's very lean which probably accentuates his height but man. Man! And you know what else? His hand was THIS CLOSE to being on my butt. Seriously. I'm pretty sure only the presence of my husband held him back. So, so, so pretty. Once again, Top Shelf business cards would've come in handy. I totally could've slipped one into the pocket of his hoodie.

Anyway, gentlemen, as I was telling the ladies, I really laid out my expectations for this season to Hank. I insisted on fewer turnovers and stronger play on the puck. "You're 6'3"," I said. "Now, I know you're a slim guy but really, there's no reason for you to get pushed around like that out there." He nodded in total agreement and thanked me for the help. It was a good talk. I'm confident he'll have a great 2008-2009.

One more note about Hank. I love him (in case I've been too subtle in the rest of this post) but he has the WORST signature in the world.


I know it's probably terrible signing your name over and over and over and I should talk because even in the best of circumstances my signature is H--th-- B followed by a squiggle way too short to actually be my last name. But Hank, come on now. He wrote HT 10 and then that little squiggle at the end. I don't know if that's supposed to be the rest of Tallinder or what. Mark interpreted as a little hockey stick which it does sort of resemble. Upon closer inspection I'm pretty sure it's Swedish for "Top Shelf is the best blog on the internet and I love Heather B."

And that was pretty much all she wrote for Puck Drop '08. We walked back to ice level to watch the end of practice but we were pretty wiped by that point, not to mention starving so we headed out after a few minutes.

The day had two more hockey surprise for us. One came with the announcement that Darcy had been renewed for two more years. I know of one guy in Buffalo who wasn't very happy when he heard that (ha ha!) but I love it. The second came when we fetched the mail.


We were beginning to quietly freak about not getting our tickets yet since it seemed everyone else in the blogosphere had received theirs. Turns out they were just sent to our old address - even though we changed our address with the Sabres - and caught up in mail forwarding.

Oh, hockey, sweet hockey. It's so good to see you again.

Puck Drop 2008, Part 1

(More later.)

There Is Nothing To Blog About

Elma mentioned this in the comment section a couple of days ago and while I didn't respond to it - he was trying to distract me from my argument, I know it! - it did send me off to YouTube. I have nothing else to blog about so here, for your viewing enjoyment, is the only shootout that's ever mattered.



Look at that grin!

Oh, Hank. You're just full of surprises. Please come back soon!

Top Shelf Programming Note and Other Things

A word of warning: Things might be fairly quiet around here for the next few weeks. I'm sure I'll pop in here and there - I'm pretty incapable of not getting on the internet unless someone kills our connection and even then I have my ways - but I suspect it'll be irregular at best.

This coming week is the last week of summer school and while that is definitely a good thing, there's a reason some of us refer to it as Hell Week. The kids are totally off the wall. They're partly excited about getting out of school. Most of their friends and siblings haven't been in school all summer so they're not very happy about those six weeks of summer school. But they're also partly nervous about being at home for two weeks. It's unfortunate but many of them will go home and get no attention - or very negative attention - until school starts back up. And then at this point of the year there are a number of kids who are moving to new classes in September or changing programs altogether and both of these things cause a lot of stress for our kids. Take a bunch of kids who have a hard time recognizing and identifying their emotions and don't always cope with them in the best way and pour a ton of conflicting emotions on them and you have a lot of acting out. A lot of acting out equals tired staff. A lot of acting out with five days till break equals VERY tired staff. We're going to be walking around all week, hands raised and fingers wiggling, yelling, "SERENITY NOW!" Survival is the name of the game.

The following week we'll hopefully be moving into the house. We had a bit of a snafu that made it look for a while like the deal was going to fall apart but we got it all straightened out (and actually ended up paying less so we're not complaining) but it's slowed everything down. Mark called our realtor this week to remind me him that hey, you know, we have NO PLACE TO LIVE once August is over so we're still hoping that everything will pull together so we can move some time over the course of that week. We'll be moving at least all of the small stuff ourselves so I'm going to be making quite a few car trips from the Southtowns to the Northtowns.

The week after that I'll be driving around Pennsylvania with the family. My mom and two of my brothers are flying into Buffalo and we'll then drive to Pittsburgh and pick up my grandmother and my other brother and his family who are coming in from Florida before heading out to Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Hershey and back to Pittsburgh. And maybe Lancaster. I forget if that got dropped or not. I'm totally stoked because it'll be the first time in almost two years that all of my family has been together. My mom, Grandma, and I have done some variation of this trip for quite a few years now but Lee and Chris, the two who still live in Birmingham, have taken turns coming up and John and Sarah haven't joined us since before they got married. And that was before Luke, the world's cutest nephew, joined the team. However, since we'll be on the road for a lot of the trip, I don't know how often I'll have a wireless signal although I will have the laptop with me.

So all that to say, if it's quiet around here for a while, don't forget me. I'll be back. And that's if I actually go away in the first place.

A few quick thoughts before I call it a night:

- I'm super happy that Teppo Numminen has officially re-signed and I think $1.1 million is a great deal for him even if he does end up being a 7th man who takes a night off every few games. (Though I'm totally fine with him being in the top six too.) I'm not sure how that means the rest of the defense shakes out. I'm guessing Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman, Jaroslav Spacek, Craig Rivet, Teppo and Andrej Sekera start the season in the top six with Nathan Paetsch acting as the 7th. I'd really, really like to see Mike Weber playing up with Sekera since I think Sekera played his best hockey last season when Weber was up with him, but I'm just not sure there's room and Weber is definitely better off playing every night in Portland than sitting in the press box in Buffalo. Plus I think Teppo will be a wonderful partner for Sekera on and off the ice. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Sabres missed Teppo desperately last season and his loss might have been the death knell of the season. The kids came into camp girded for the season without Chris Drury and Daniel Briere but they fully expected Teppo to be with them. Losing him so unexpectedly, right before the season, for such serious reasons had to have an effect. I love Teppo.

- All that said, I think Hank and Toni are the key to the defense. If they struggle the way they did last season, the whole group is going to struggle. If they return to previous form, the defense should be very solid if unspectacular. Hopefully Teppo can soothe their nerves and frustration when they don't play well. And hopefully the don't need that very often.

- Another reason Mike Harrington is the best guy at the Buffalo News? Check out that headline on his post about Teppo's return. I have a soft spot for punny/jokey headlines to begin with but a headline that's also a Seinfeld shout-out? Awesome.

- Speaking of Sabres Edge, on Thursday Bucky Gleason writes about how he thinks it's a terrible idea to re-sign Teppo. On Friday the Sabres announce that they've re-signed Teppo. I'm pretty sure Darcy Regier and co. held out all these weeks, waiting for Bucky to go on the record about this. Of course, in my world, everyone does everything to spite Bucky.

- While we're on the subject of TBN, the one sports blog I never, ever read unless someone points me there is Jerry Sullivan's blog. I don't think Jerry Sullivan likes blogs. I don't think he likes people who write blogs. I don't think he likes people who read blogs. I don't think he understands blogs at all. How he ended up with a blog of his very own is a mystery to me. I'd rather read the opinion of pretty much everyone else in the sports department. But I knew he was going to Beijing to cover the Olympics and I was pretty curious to see how often he would blog from there so I've been keeping one eye on things and you know, he's done a pretty good job so far. He's updated often and he's shared some really interesting things. And kudos to him for coming out in support of softball which, despite what anyone says about the lack of competition, got voted out of the Games because of an unfair association with baseball and its steroid scandal. It's a shame because the Olympics are pretty much the height of a softball career. Little boys who grow up playing baseball dream of playing in the Majors. Little girls who grow up playing softball dream of playing for Team USA. Hopefully the push for reinstatement is successful. Anyway, if you're a fan of the Olympics I'd check out Sullivan's blog. I'd get out as soon as they're over though.

- I was all geared up to watch the Cubs on Fox this afternoon so I was pretty disappointed to find the friggin' Yankees. I understand that I'm in the minority in the Buffalo market but just once I would like to get a national game that doesn't involve the Yankees or the Red Sox. Is that too much to ask? Really? It was shortly after that that I discovered the Ultimate Sports Road Trip's tribute to Yankee Stadium. Beautiful. In this case, a picture really does say a thousand words.

- So I have a steel plate on the outside bone of my ankle, I don't know, 3 or so inches long. When I first went back to work, people asked me if I could feel it when it rains. The last time we got a lot of rain it was hard to tell because my ankle was still hurting a lot, especially at the end of the work day. Well, now I can tell you definitely, yes, I can feel it in my ankle when it rains. Sometimes it really hurts, sometimes it doesn't hurt so much as I'm just really, really conscious of the plate's presence. I feel like a robot.

Odds and Ends

- In honor of Danny Paille's new contract, I sound a barbaric "Yippe Paille, Mother@#!$@&!" (Link includes language that might not be safe for work.)

I was a little surprised that the deal was only for two years, but I'm not sure it isn't a good idea. Paille's only played one full season in the NHL and while it was a pretty impressive one at times, I think teams need to be careful about the trend of investing a lot of time and money into young players based on potential. You can probably get away with doing that for a couple of people, but if you do it with too many you run a risk of really screwing yourself if someone doesn't pan out. If I'm understanding things correctly, Paille will still be a RFA at the end of this deal and at that point I think the Sabres will have a better idea what kind of player they have on their hands. Maybe it costs them a little more money in the long run, but it'll be based on a much larger sample. I'm definitely curious to see what Paille develops into. I did not expect 19 goals from him - I'm not sure he expected 19 goals from himself based on some interviews - so it'll be interesting to see if that keeps up or if he settles into being more of a mucker and grinder. One thing's for sure, the money is very good. I was surprised he's getting less than a million in his first year. That's a very good cap hit.

- I'm not a puck bunny, I think we've made that clear. I'm married, I'm increasingly older than a lot of the players, and quite frankly, considering some of the stories I've heard about some of the Sabres, I'm not entirely convinced bagging a hockey player is all that hard much less something to be proud of. If I ever dump my husband it's not going to be for a skanky-ass pro athlete. I am, however, a female and I do occasionally notice if a hockey player happens to be good-looking. In response to a fan video posted on Puck Daddy (you can't see me but I'm rolling my eyes at the stupid name of that otherwise fine blog), Margee of Sportsquee fame is taking a poll on who fans think are the best-looking players in the NHL. For the curious, here's my list in no particular order.

1. Henrik Tallinder, BUF (Unless this is your first day, this should be obvious.)
2. Jochen Hecht, BUF (I get why he isn't a big puck bunny target - he's a little older, he's married, he has young children, he seems terribly shy - but it doesn't change the fact that Jochen is Smokin'.)
3. Travis Zajac, NJ
4. Mike Fisher, OTT (Yeah, even if he is a Senator.)
5. Sammy Pahlsson, ANA
6. Mike Komisarek, MON
7. Jay McKee, STL (Forever and ever, amen.)
8. Saku Koivu, MON (Also owner of the best name in hockey.)
9. Marty Turco, DAL (Dependably good-looking. He's like the neighborhood dad you had a crush on when you were a kid.)
10. Nicklas Lidstrom, DET

Guys, feel free to chime in with your own list of dreamy players! If you want to know even more about my Squee history and you missed it the first time around, check out my full interview with Margee. And for pete's sake, read her blog.

- Speaking of Sportsquee, today Life_As_A_Redhead dropped this amazing link on me in the comment section over there. It's a website for a cattle breeder but check this out (click on the picture to see a larger image because you really need to see the print):


This might be the best thing I've seen all week. I'm always amused when hockey shows up in unexpected places like this.

- In roughly 48 hours from this typing, I'll be leaving The Dark Knight. I'm super stoked. Tickets have already been purchased for an IMAX showing and it better be good because I can't remember the last time Mark and I have both been looking forward to a movie so much.

- Still not enough Heather B. for ya? Then check out this post, co-written by Katebits and me. (You should be reading the Willful Caboose every day anyway.) Kate and I have longed dreamed of being the only two people in Buffalo to buy season tickets and once again, we got a little lost in the fantasy.

How We Got to Hank (Or How Many Post Titles Can I Squeeze Henrik Tallinder Into This Month?)

I've been thinking a lot the last few weeks about favorite players. I love knowing who other fans love and why. I think it's really cool how different things about different players call out to different people. I think it's really interesting how different fans appreciate different skills and abilities. Since my hockey fandom is still relatively young, it's pretty easy to trace my favorite hockey players through the years.

My first favorite hockey player was Ron Francis. I was born in Pittsburgh and still have family there so before I even knew the Buffalo Sabres existed, I had a soft spot for the Penguins. I partly liked Francis because he was handsome - even as a kid I was more drawn to more mature looking men than baby-faced pretty boys so that salt and pepper hair was a killer. I also liked him because he seemed like the low-key, slightly overlooked guy on a very good team. Mario Lemeiux was on one side, Jaromir Jagr on the other, Francis in the middle. My brother once said he was kind of the Penguins' version of Andy Van Slyke who, while popular, was often overlooked in favor of Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla. I also very clearly remember reading this Sports Illustrated article and falling in love with the story of him and his younger brother Ricky and how he asked the Penguins if he could take time off during the season to go see Ricky run in the Special Olympics. As I've become more knowledgeable about hockey, I've been pretty delighted to discover that everything I thought about Ronnie all those years ago is apparently true. I could probably count on one hand the number of games I actually watched him play but I was definitely aware of him and he was the first guy who really brought hockey to the forefront for me even if it was in a kind of a superficial way. I think I've mentioned this before but the first hockey jersey I ever bought was a Francis #10. Even though I'd never wear it now it's still in a box somewhere because I've never been able to throw it out.

The first two Buffalo Sabres I really liked were Matthew Barnaby and Michael Peca. I have to admit that looking back, I'm not sure how this worked. I was thinking that the Sabres weren't on my radar at all until the '99 Cup run but Barnaby wasn't on that team, at least not by that point. Mark said he was pretty integral in the previous season's success and talking over dates and trips to Buffalo with him, I must have gotten attached to Matt during that season. I remember a big interview with him in ESPN Magazine that probably ran around that time even though I was sure it was after we'd actually moved to Buffalo. So it turns out the Sabres were working their way into my blood before I even remember. I liked Barnaby because he was small and scrappy. Looking back I also think maybe his role on the team was easy for a new hockey fan to get a handle on. He was there to bug the heck out of the other team and try to sucker them into doing something stupid. I didn't need to understand a lot of strategy and intricacies to recognize when he was doing his job well. I also thought that little rat-faced grin - you know the one - was totally charming.

Mike Peca is also kind of a surprise looking back because I would swear that I saw him play a fair amount in person while he was with Buffalo but I didn't. The year that Mark and I moved to Buffalo we went to the preseason carnival the Sabres used to do (they should really bring that back, by the way) and Peca wasn't there because he was holding out. And then he never played for the Sabres again. I saw him once on a pre-move trip we made to Buffalo and once on our honeymoon. (We spent our honeymoon in the mountains of Tennesse - absolutely beautiful - and our trip home just happened to coincide with a Sabres visit to Atlanta so we stopped for the game on the way back to Birmingham. I hadn't thought about it until just now but seeing the Sabres on our honeymoon seems pretty fitting in retrospect.) So I mostly saw him via TV, but I think Peca was my first stepping stone towards really becoming a hockey fan even though it still took a few years for the bug to really bite me. There was probably a little bit of "hey, I know what that guy is supposed to be doing!" involved because of his propensity for big hits but he was the first guy that really made me ask a lot of questions about the sport. What's the Selke? How exactly is a forward defensive? Is there an award for offensive defensemen? Why not? But if offensive defensive win the Norris what about defensive defensemen? How come some guys are good penalty killers and some aren't? Even then I was kind of fascinated by penalty killing. My pea hockey brain figured it was easy to be good on the power play - I mean, you have more players on the ice than the other team! - but penalty killing was totally different. It seemed hard and challenging and I automatically liked a guy a little more if he was a penalty killer, something I still feel today.

Barnaby and Peca led to Jay McKee who was probably my first genuine, real-thing favorite Sabre. I saw him play a lot on TV, I saw him play a fair amount in person, he was here while I was in Buffalo, I read all those daily game interviews and quotes from him, I saw him on the news... all those little ordinary things that you take for granted that somehow add up. I'm not going to lie. At first I liked him for two reasons. One, I thought he was handsome in a slightly off-beat kind of way. Two, he's the same age as me which was pretty young at the time. I thought it was cool that someone my age was in the NHL full-time. Eventually I did come to like the way he played and my fondness for defense fully bloomed. I was especially taken with Jay in the 2005-2006 season. The New NHL favored speedy skaters and puck carriers and that wasn't his game. He did a great job of finding a way to make his skills work in a changing game by becoming one of the best shotblockers in the league. I think shotblocking can be overrated sometimes but I admired his fearlessness and how he he would just show up and play with some pretty gnarly bruises and cuts. I know he's hardly the only hockey player to play through pain but he was a toughie. Since I was actually in Buffalo for a chunk of his time here he was also the first hockey player I loved who I really connected with the community. He was fully embedded in Buffalo by that point - we loved him and he loved us - and I thought that was very cool. Remember I didn't grow up with professional sports teams so I'd never really seen that firsthand before. The only reason I never bought a McKee jersey is because by the time I decided I wanted one it was his last season here and Mark suggested I wait to see if he re-signed. Even though he didn't and I wouldn't have gotten much use out of it, I'm a little sorry that I didn't buy that jersey anyway. It would've been right for Jay to be my first Sabres jersey.

Instead it was Tim Connolly. I know, weird, right? Mark said one day a few months ago, "I always thought Timmy was just a fling for you," and I guess that's what he was. Sometimes you have to date the bad boy to know the bad boy isn't your thing. I had to cheer for the flashy offensive player to realize that flashy offense isn't my thing. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoy seeing Sabres score - kind of hard to win games when that doesn't happen - and I do think Timmy is amazingly gifted (when not hurt) but I really am more thrilled by an awesome defensive play or a nerve-wracking penalty kill. When the 2006 playoffs started I, like most of the city, was totally swept up and decided I had to have a jersey and I had to have it stat. Mark had scared me off the McKee so I had kind of decided a Connolly would do and one day while walking through the mall I saw one hanging in the window of Laux. I think sometimes an impulse buy like that is pretty indicative of how you really feel but sometimes an impulse buy is just an impulse buy. If I'd waited until a few months into the next season I wouldn't have made that purchase but now I'll always have a memento of my short but intense love affair with Timmy.

When the 2006 season started, Jay was gone (::sniff:::) and Timmy was still sidelined with his concussion. While I missed Timmy and worried about him at first, eventually I... kind of forgot about him. That was my first hint that I was probably not as attached to him as I thought. And before I knew it, bam! I was in love with the unassuming Swedish d-man who was coming off a great postseason. I've written many a post, including one mini-opus, about why I love Henrik Tallinder but the short story is this: beautiful skater, often unnoticed and underrated, smart, and super pleasant. I think Hank is partly a reflection on my growth as a hockey fan - understanding and appreciating defense requires a little more knowledge, I think because it's not always obvious and easy to miss - but I also think part of me has always been drawn to guys like him. Barnaby to Tallinder seems like a bit of a leap but Barnaby to Peca to McKee to Tallinder makes some sense. And I suppose it comes as no surprise that Mike Weber is the youngster I'm most excited about. As Mark said, "Yep, you have a type."

How about you guys? Who's your favorite now? Whose jersey do you don at game time? Who's your all-time favorite? Who was your first favorite? Do your favorites have similarities? Or are you all over the map? Can you articulate why your guy is your guy or is it just a gut feeling that can't be explained? Please share if you're so inclined. Like I said, I love knowing who other people love.