Why I Have Hope: Ryan Miller

Let's start with an easy point: At the very least, Ryan Miller can't be worse than he was last year. (Note to Hockey Gods: That's hyperbole. It's not a challenge.) At the end of the season, he was clearly gassed but even before that he wasn't very good. He looked off, he seemed to get rattled a little more easily, he was jumpy on breakaways, and just plain awful in the shootout.

Ladies and gentlemen, our franchise goalie!

No, I kid, I kid. I like Ryan Miller. I think he's a good goalie for the Sabres as they're currently built. He's shown that he's capable of handling odd-man rushes and breakaways and he's shown the ability to be patient in the net and let the shooter make the first move. Considering our team defense is an interesting experience even on the best nights - though some of them are getting better - that's important. He's shown a desire to be good which should be a given for a professional athlete but unfortunately isn't. He's also shown a desire to be better than what he is right now. He was clearly disappointed in how last season went for both him and the team. He didn't hide it and he didn't try to make the final result prettier than it was. They underachieved, he underachieved and he copped to both.

I have hope that Ryan is still getting better. When news of his re-signing first broke I was surprised at how many people at Sabres Edge criticized him based on his age. Yeah, at 28 he's a few years older than a lot of the young guys on the team but I think he has a number of years to improve yet. I scoured the internet last night for some info on when goalies hit their prime and came up empty-handed, but I don't think goalies develop at the same rate as skaters, especially forwards. So much of the position is mental and a lot of that is going to come more with experience. Even though he's 28, Ryan's only been the starting goalie for three years. Three years is not a lot of time over the course of a career, and I don't see why anyone as smart and driven as Ryan can't continue to improve especially since he's still kind of figuring out what works for his unique body and frame. And hello, in three years he's had one bad season and two Eastern Conference Finals appearances. In the first one he and the team were this close before being struck down by some hateful power and the Sabres were only in the second one because he dragged their sorry butts that far.

And come on, who embodies hope right now more than Ryan Miller? Did you see his press conference? It was practically a love fest. Even the media seemed happy. (I know!) Ryan loves Buffalo, loves management, loves the coaching staff, loves his teammates and loves us. He believes in what the team is doing and he believes in the guys in the room and instead of just paying lip service to that, he put his money where his mouth was and made a long-term commitment to the organization. That's awesome. I liked the team before this contract, but after a year of other people telling us that no one wants to play here and management has a horrible reputation among players and Ryan Miller was never going to choose to stay with a bunch of cheap-ass losers, it's pretty darn nice to find out those big talkers don't know everything.

One of my favorite pictures ever. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Why I Have Hope: Youth

In retrospect, I probably should have filed that first post about Darcy Regier under "Why I Have Hope" - even if it would disgust some people - so let's pretend I did, okay?

A few months ago - I think it was March, Kevin Sylvester's blog on Sabres.com featured the chart below:

I stole this chart from Kevin Sylvester's blog.

Now granted, this was in March so the final numbers and placements might have changed a bit. A professional would probably re-crunch the numbers but a tired, overworked blogger with no editor who isn't getting paid for this will just go with the above. Sylvester pulled some interesting observations from this chart. I'll also add a couple of my own.

1. Buffalo was the youngest team in the top five at the time - actually they were the youngest team in the top fifteen - and although it wasn't in the chart, he also mentioned that the Sabres are younger than the Capitals and the Blackhawks, both teams that are often mentioned as talented young teams on the rise.

2. Ottawa, Detroit and Carolina - especially Carolina - got huge chunks of their offense from players 26 and older with Carolina especially skewing old. The only team in the same neighborhood as Buffalo for scoring from players 25 and younger was Montreal but their second highest percentage by a pretty good margin came from players 30 and older. Buffalo's goals are more evenly spread out.

3. Most of the under 25 goals for Buffalo were scored by Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Danny Paille, and Drew Stafford. I'm not sure what's going on with Stafford at this point but Vanek and Roy are locked up long -term, discussions have begun with Paille, and talks will move to Pominville after something is hammered out with Ryan Miller. The offense that was near the top of the league last year will remain intact for a number of years to come and these players are just moving into their peak years. They should continue to match their output from last season if not improve upon it.

4. Most of the players listed above - Vanek, Roy, and Pominville - already have a ton of playoff experience, something that's pretty nice considering how young they are.

I know there are a lot of fans who hate the idea that we should just leave the team alone because they're young and they'll get better as they get older and I agree that the team needs some tweaking but... they're young and they'll get better. We saw it with Montreal last season. Two years ago they finished out of the playoffs with 90 points (hmmm... that sounds familiar...) and last season they won the Eastern Conference and they did it without any huge changes to their line-up. Heck, we saw the same thing here not that long ago. The 2003-2004 Sabres team made a last minute grab at a playoff spot and missed. They broke for the lockout, got some experience in Europe, and came back in 2005 with a couple of seemingly minor additions (Toni Lydman, Teppo Numminen) and a couple of kids (Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller) and they had a pretty darn good season. Some of it was an infusion of youth from Rochester through the season but some of it was players like Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, J.P. Dumont and Jay McKee getting more comfortable with playing with each other and getting more experience in their roles on the ice and in the dressing room. The team that gave up a lot of leads in 2003-2004 was suddenly playing till the end, sometimes making miraculous comebacks themselves. The captaincy that rotated in 2003-2004 finally found permanent homes on the chests of Drury and Briere. Or did we forget that they didn't show up in Buffalo as fully formed leaders of men?

Vanek and Roy initially struggled on the first line and really only had one good half last season. Stafford was up and down throughout the year. Miller put a lot of pressure on himself and played a lot more minutes than he's used to playing. Pominville took on more responsibility defensively. Paille played twice as many games in Buffalo as he ever had before. But most of them got noticeably better and more comfortable as the season went on and I don't see any reason not to expect that to continue. They're babies and babies need time to learn and develop. Additions like Craig Rivet will make a difference by bringing in some new energy and leadership but time will make a difference too.

I Like Darcy Regier (But No, I Am Not Related To Him)

Buffalo, I love you but you're crazy. You know that, right? Darcy Regier all but told you that most of what the Sabres did this year would probably be done via trade, he told you that they had a certain number of dollars they were willing to spend and they wouldn't go over it, he told you he thought it was a fairly weak UFA market this season, and he told you they had two very specific needs to fill. And even after all that - and even after they filled one of those needs - you still freaked out when the Sabres hadn't signed a big name by the end of the night.

Listen, I get it. Every hockey fan wants to wake up on UFA day and unwrap the shiny new toy. You know, that really cool toy that has the bright, running lights and the realistic sound effects, the one that everyone is grabbing for and only one or two lucky people get. But we all know what happens. You play with the toy for a few months and then the batteries start to run down. A speaker busts and the sound gets really tinny. The lights still run but only every other one blinks because the bulbs, on closer inspection, are really cheap. One of the plastic arms breaks off, making the toy kind of useless and ugly and you suddenly realize, "Wait a second! This toy doesn't play enough defense or kill enough penalties for the price I paid for it!" And then you're stuck. You can't sell the thing on eBay because no one wants it and you can't talk one of your buddies into making a trade, not even for the cheap action figure that doesn't bend at the knees and elbows. You have to either buy some other toys to pile around it and hope they hide it - although good luck because unfortunately you spent a huge chunk of your toy budget on that P.O.S. - or you just have to toss the friggin' thing in the garbage. And really, who wants that?

Here's what some other teams did today.

Toronto gave their fans the Finger (sorry, sorry) and signed a 28-year-old who's played in 94 NHL games to 3.5 million for 4 years.

The Rangers paid 6.5 million for a defenseman who didn't do well under pressure and was such a disappointment in the last two seasons that his team was desperate to get rid of him.

Tampa Bay signed, by my unofficial count, 18 forwards. They also signed Olaf Kolzig, which would be fine if they weren't already talking about shopping Mike Smith, their other (younger, potentially very good) goaltender. They've evidently decided their defense is in fine shape which is... not what my assessment would be.

The Capitals went from Cristobal Huet to Jose Theodore in net which seems like a serious downgrade to me especially for the money involved. Oh, sure Theodore has played well for at least one stretch in the past few years. Not sure that's really what a young, up-and-coming team needs.

The Chicago Blackhawks decided Brian Campbell should be paid almost as much as Nicklas Lidstrom. Granted, I think he actually will fit in with the players they have pretty well - okay, that's what I hear, I haven't watched Chicago recently and wouldn't know anyone who plays defense for them if Brent Seabrook hadn't been on my fantasy team last year - and I can see him being one of those rare guys who plays better once his contract is settled than while he's trying to earn said contract but seven million dollars? For EIGHT YEARS? Brian Campbell's not a baby anymore. He'll be 37 when that contract is done. The Blackhawks also have major cap issues though they do admittedly have some time to address those.

My point? Most of this is crazy. And this isn't even including the alleged 10 million per offer made to Mats Sundin, the alleged 9 million per offer made to Marion Hossa, and whatever ridiculous contract The Shift is going to earn Brooks Orpik. Seriously, what was the last huge UFA signing that really made a difference the following year? This is madness.

For all the crap, Darcy Regier takes from Buffalo, I like him and would take him over most of the yahoo GMs out there.

I like that he's too smart to get into bidding wars with other GMs or smart enough to bow out of them at the right time.

I like that he's put some thought into what he wants to spend where and then sticks to it.

I like that he's more likely to go out and find someone like Toni Lydman or Teppo Numminen or Nolan Pratt who isn't a huge, flashy name but who fills a need and does it for a much more reasonable price.

I like that he's not afraid to ignore the UFA market and focus on trades. You do remember how Chris Drury and Danny Briere got to Buffalo, right?

I like that when it comes to big money and years, he seems to be focusing more on players who are already in Buffalo and already an important part of the team. (Yeah, yeah, Drury and Briere. Moving on!)

I like that while everyone is freaking out about UFAs, he's slowly pulling together a good core of players. Right now we have Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jochen Hecht, and Paul Gaustad for four years or more with Ryan Miller and Jason Pominville hopefully soon to follow. Maybe it's just me but that doesn't seem like too bad a group.

I like that he seems to realize that signing a load of expensive UFAs isn't the only way - or even a good way - to build a winning team. I like that he realizes the problems that do exist don't have to all be fixed TODAY RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND OH MY GOD PLEASE HURRY UP!

I like that when we're all watching paint dry in three years because there's another lockout, my GM won't have had anything to do with it.

Buffalo, take a chill pill, okay? Believe it or not, you're in pretty good hands.

And I like his kickin' mustache.

Why I Have Hope: Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera

Very nice article about Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera by John Vogl in the Buffalo News today so I figure this is as good a day as any to bust out Why I Have Hope. I'm planning on this being the first in an ongoing off-season series so we'll see if it sticks.

Reason #1 Why I Have Hope for the Buffalo Sabres - Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera

Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera were one of the few highlights of the end of the season. Sekera had popped up in Buffalo a few times by then and while he did get a little stronger with every appearance, he suddenly looked like a guy who belonged in the NHL. And Weber was, for me, a total revelation. I haven't been watching hockey as long as some of you out there, but I don't think I've ever seen a defensive pairing, especially one so young, move to the NHL level and look so good.

I was especially impressed with Weber and Sekera because they were playing in important games - I mean, yes, the Sabres were pretty much out of the playoffs but they were theoretically fighting until the very end - and they were not playing soft minutes. Lindy Ruff didn't seem to be going out of his way to hide them from top lines, regular minutes, or special teams duty. In the twelve games they were both up, I know there were at least two games that went into overtime and Weber and Sekera were on the ice when both OTs started. Maybe I'm reading into things but I think that showed that Lindy had a lot of confidence in how they would handle themselves. (It was also maybe a message to Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman to get their garbage together fast.)

If they stay together - and I don't really see any reason to split them up unless they start to look overwhelmed although I am a little intrigued by the idea of mixing Tallinder-Lydman and Weber-Sekera - Weber and Sekera will also be exactly the kind of balanced pairing that the Sabres have had a tough time putting together over the last couple of seasons. Sekera seems to be a solid skating, puck-moving defenseman while Weber is a little bigger and a little more physical. If he grows into a Jay McKee like d-man, I think there will be a lot of happy Sabres fans out there.

I know, I know. Twelve games is a small sample size. With Drew Stafford we've seen that a great stint at the NHL level doesn't necessarily mean the transition to full-time NHLer is going to be smooth. I fully expect that there will be times when Weber and Sekera look overwhelmed or confused or just tired. But I'm optimistic. I'm encouraged by how well they've already looked and by the attitude they've expressed at prospect camp (we haven't made the team yet, nothing's set in stone, that's our only goal right now) and I am hopeful for their future, this coming year and in years to follow. Sekera will be Brian Campbell, Weber will be Jay McKee and all will be right with the world.

Just keep doing this, Mike, and you'll be fine. (Adrian Wyld/AP Photos)

On an unrelated note, if you click on TBN link above, you'll find a video stuck in the middle of the story. I've come across these videos on the website before but this is the first time I've ever seen one so obviously planted. (Apologies if I'm behind the times on this. I usually flip through the paper version of TBN at work. Remember those?) I love it. I hardly ever watch the news on TV and if I do it's only to see some video/interviews during the sports - hey, there's a reason I write a hockey blog and not a political blog - and now I'll probably skip the news altogether. I was just starting to realize that I've already seen most of the interviews I see on the news on Sabres.com and now this? Bah. Forget you nightly news.

I noticed TBN videos starting to pop up toward the end of the Sabres season and there were definitely some people who seemed more comfortable than others. The first one I saw with John Vogl made me giggle a little. He wasn't awful by any means but he was clearly a print journalist trying to attempt another form of media. He acquits himself pretty well here though. I actually prefer his more natural delivery to the robotic talking heads of the local news. He seems very likable. (If he's a jackass please don't tell me. I want to live with my illusions.)