Holy Rope-a-Dope, The Anti-Ryan Miller, and Various Mixed Nuts

by Ryan

Oh hey there. We haven’t talked much since the trade deadline, have we? I’d love to catch up, but right now I’m having a hard time stringing thoughts together for extended periods of time. We have plenty to talk about, but let’s start with this:

- I spent the majority of this past weekend in Albany for the MAAC Championship. I spent most of that weekend sitting right here:

Of course I was sitting a bit to the left of that so I could actually see. I’m not going to lie, sitting on press row was a lot of fun. The food was good and you can’t argue with four basketball games in one day. I didn’t get around to writing about the weekend here, but I did talk about it for a bit during the last podcast if you’re interested.

- Speaking of that podcast, we’ve done three episodes to date and we’re looking for some feedback, both good and bad. Give it a listen and let us know what you think. Should we talk about something different? Should we never do another one again? Does the music suck? We’re wondering what you think, so feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an email. It would be greatly appreciated if you do.

- We haven’t said a whole lot about Ryan Miller’s media tour, but it did generate our best Caption Contest yet. That may have something to do with the fact that we haven’t written anything since then, but whatever. Good turnout everyone, keep it up.

In all seriousness, Miller’s media blitz is exactly what I hoped would happen to him post-Vancouver. I said so in the first podcast we ran (synergy!) and I still mean it: Miller should be carted around as much as possible over the next few weeks.

Forget all the “good of the game” crap and the potential post-Olympic boost the NHL’s Q Rating may get, Ryan Miller deserves to be recognized for just how good he was in Vancouver and how good he has been for the last few seasons.

A few trips under the hot studio lights aren’t going to hurt his concentration one bit. I’m not saying he should host Saturday Night Live anytime soon (unless he gets to play an emo photographer for 90 minutes…) but an Oprah appearance or two isn’t going to ruin the guy.

- Speaking of media blitzes, this only goes to show you how much Sidney Crosby is the anti-Ryan Miller. We discussed this in Episode 2 of RoostCast (Bam!) and I really think there is something to it. Also, Ray Shero defending him is absolutely adorable. What a wuss.

As little as Bill Simmons knows about hockey, he got this right: Sidney Crosby is a lifeless corpse when it comes to dealing with the public. Maybe it’s better he said no after all.

- The new NFL logos suck. All of them.

- Being five hours away this weekend meant I missed the Pirates game at HSBC Arena on Sunday. If you missed it as well, Roll the Highlight Film has a good recap of the day’s events. I’d check it out.

- Speaking of the Pirates, head coach Kevin Dineen was suspended indefinitely after something that happened in their Saturday night game against Syracuse. I spoke to someone in the crowd that night who said the game’s conclusion was downright bizarre.

The goal that was in dispute was never actually replayed in house, which probably caused a lot of the post-game conclusion. Either way it will be interesting to see how things are sorted out.

- If you’re curious to see how big musical instruments are transported across country, you should go read this blog as well. I have no idea who is writing it, but she seems nice.

- If you’re looking for someone awesome to follow on Twitter, go with Roger Ebert. He doesn’t sleep and links to awesome YouTube clips at all hours of the night. Sound familiar?

Some more structured writing is on the way, I promise. The Sabres have a big game coming tonight and another big weekend coming up. After the Olympic break and the deadline chaos it will be nice to get back into the swing of things. For now, bear with us.

RoostCast Episode 3: Road Trips and Raffi’s Debut

by Ryan

Episode 3 of RoostCast is available for download here, or you can listen to it below.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In addition to Rich and Ryan’s snarky musings, Episode 3 of RoostCast features the following music:

“Time is Running Out” – Muse

“L’Via L’Viaquez” – The Mars Volta

“9x’s Outta 10″ – DJ Quik and Kurupt

“Malibu” – Jaguar

This is “Today”

Anyone up for a caption contest?

Third to First

We haven’t written much here since the trade deadline, but when we’ve wanted to write it’s about Pat Kaleta. Look for a podcast and a lot more content this week. For now, learn to do that celebration for your pickup hockey games.

Last Chance Mancari

By Chris

Mark Mancari is in the lineup tonight as the Sabres take on the Rangers. With Drew Stafford out with an injury (this seems to happen a lot), it looks like Mancari will see some time on one of the top two lines and on the poweplay.

He’s torn it up in the AHL over the last two seasons, but has been less than impressive whenever he’s thrown on a Sabres uniform — with the exception of the new uniform unveiling scrimmage game in 2006 (too bad that game never counted for anything). If Mancari fails to impress this time around, it’s unlikely he’ll ever get another shot with the team.

The puck drops at 7 p.m. in a rare Sunday night start. If the game becomes unwatchable, you can always flip to Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosting the Oscars. To put it bluntly, they’re funny.

A Russian Falls in a Forest…

by Ryan

How in the world is this the best video we have of the Kaleta hit on Ovechkin?

Seriously, this is the only video I’ve seen since Wednesday. The YouTube trail has run dry, and there are zero hits to pick from in the NHL.com video library for this game.

Am I missing something here, or is this a serious failure of the internet?

UPDATE: The Internet hasn’t failed us yet. Thanks, Garrett.

What a freakin’ awesome hit.

Thank You

Just wanted to take the time to to thank everyone who participated in yesterday’s mega live blog. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Maybe we can do something on that large scale again come July 1 (when it will be warm enough for Darcy to enjoy his creamsicle).

In the meantime, don’t forget that BfloBlog hosts a live chat every game night. The Sabres next touch the ice on Friday against the Flyers where we’ll find out what number Raffi Torres will wear.

Fresh Blood

By Chris

Deadline Day is when fans can really start getting excited about their team again. Whether it’s from acquiring players or addition through subtraction, hopefully your general manager did something that will improve your club.

Darcy Regier improved the Sabres today.

He traded Nathan Paetsch and a second round pick to Columbus for Raffi Torres and then moved Clarke MacArthur to Atlanta for third and fourth round picks. Good work.

Also, it’s nice to see some hard work of our own pay off. Not to toot my own horn, but when looking at the Bluejackets roster, I had pegged Torres as a potential rental player Regier could be interested in. He improves the scoring and adds some depth to the roster.

More importantly, he’s essentially replacing Clarke MacArthur. And Torres is an upgrade over Sparky.

I called trading for Torres a potentially low-risk, high-reward scenario. I still feel that way. Paetsch was dead weight that was probably not going to be re-signed and getting two picks for MacArthur soften the loss of the second round pick.

Regier might be able to take these extra picks and move up in June’s draft if he so chooses. He’s got some flexibility now.

On a relatively quiet Deadline Day, no true gamebreakers were moved. Many of the deals were for complimentary players and, right now, it’s why I like what Regier did even more. He didn’t break the bank and didn’t give up on players who had a bright future here. Torres probably won’t be back next year, but neither were MacArthur or Paetsch.

The team still has a lot to overcome. Watching them play last night against Pittsburgh was uninspiring — especially given the rest they received and the exciting hockey we had grown accustomed to watching in the Olympics.

WGR is reporting that it’s unlikely that Torres will make his Sabres debut tonight. So that means we won’t get our first glimpse of him until Friday when Buffalo hosts Philadelphia. And that’s OK. We can wait. It’s not like MacArthur really dressed last night anyways.

Torres is a top six forward on this team. Put him on the left wing with Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville. Then Jochen Hecht can worry less about scoring, which isn’t his strongest asset. With Paul Gaustad out, a third line of Hecht-Tim Kennedy-Mike Grier could be very effective. The Sabres have three decent lines — and a grinding line in Matt Ellis, Adam Mair and Patrick Kaleta that won’t score a lick.

Today was a good day. Now let’s hope it works out.

A Brief Departure

by Ryan

With all the Trade Deadline craziness and a game tonight we probably won’t be talking about last night’s loss very much. However, I wanted to make sure everyone saw this:

A very, very classy showing from the people of Pittsburgh. Kudos to them and the Penguins for the pregame ceremonies they did. Still, for as loud as Miller’s ovation was in Mellon I can’t wait to hear HSBC Arena explode tonight.

I won’t be in the crowd to cheer for him, but those of you who will be better make us proud.

Wants and Needs: Toronto Maple Leafs

By Chris

At 3 p.m. today, the Sabres’ roster will be set for the stretch run and the playoffs. Until then, general manager Darcy Regier should be working the phones and looking at ways to improve this team. And after watching last night’s game, the list of improvements could be longer than a 9-year-old’s Christmas list.

What we’ve been trying to do with these “Wants and Needs” posts is look for players on non-playoff teams that have expiring contracts that the Sabres could realistically acquire. We’re not looking to spread rumors or theorize about that blockbuster/pipedream Nathan Horton deal, we’re trying to identify the types of rental players Regier has been known to find and surprise fans with (your Stu Barneses and Dainius Zubruses).

One team has been a bottom-feeder for quite some time now and has already started selling assets. However, if I’m Darcy Regier, there’s no chance in hell I’m making a deal with Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I don’t care if Tomas Kaberle could fill the Sabres’ need for a powerplay quarterback (the powerpoint, as it were). I don’t want to be involved in anything that could make the Leafs better.

Make no mistake about it, Brian Burke is a frightening man. He knows exactly what he wants and will do anything in his power to get it. Read about how he was able to draft the Sedin twins when he was with Vancouver.

“Rick Dudley played it tough,” said Burke. “We’re friends, but you should have heard the profanity over the phone. He said, ‘I’m taking Daniel Sedin and I don’t care what you do.’ I said, ‘You’re going to take a guy you can’t sign? They’re not coming unless they come together to the same team. You have to make a deal.’ Dudley got his back up and said, ‘You don’t run my team.’ If we had been in the same hotel, we would have had a fistfight. That’s how heated it got.”

A frustrated Burke remembers taking a walk around Boston to clear his head.

“It was a beautiful day in Boston,” said Burke. “I bumped into the twins three different times on a 20-minute walk and remember my wife saying, ‘It’s an omen. You’re going to get these guys.’”

Sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, Dudley realized there was no point in drafting Daniel if he wasn’t going to play in Tampa Bay. A deal was struck.

Yeah, Dudley played hardball, but Burke won in the end. Like he always seems to.

When Burke took over the Ducks, he acquired Chris Pronger in another hard-nosed deal, won a Stanley Cup and changed the style of play in the post-lockout NHL. The combination of skill and speed was replaced with size and speed and those Burke teams had a ton of it.

Look at Team USA this year. He didn’t fill it with the best players, but the right ones. People may have been scratching their heads when Ryan Callahan was named to the team, but his relentless penalty killing during the tournament justified his spot. The team got solid goaltending from Ryan Miller and played well in its own zone. They finished one shot away from Gold.

Now, Burke is in the midst of re-imagining the Maple Leafs. The team is terrible now, but you can see what Burke is trying to do with the team. He walked into an awful situation as the franchise had serious cap issues and what seemed like a dozen players with no-movement clauses.

He’s sloshing his way through the mess and establishing a new core. He’s added Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf and parted ways with Jason Blake and Pavel Kubina.

Regier already got suckered into trading a second round pick for Dominic Moore last season. Fool me once, shame on me. Don’t give Burke the chance to fool you twice. Simply avoid the man at all costs. Tell him your fax machine broke. He’ll believe you. You’ve got a history of that.

Maybe your cell phone died or you’re on the phone with Schwan’s ordering another box of creamsicles (wait…they don’t sell creamsicles? Burkie’s on to you).

Just, please, for the sake of the sake of the hockey world, don’t help the Leafs get better. Burke knows what he’s doing and it’s scary. If there was ever a time to impose a trade embargo on a team, this is it. Just say no.

Trade Deadline Mega Live Blog

Well this is going to be a lot of fun. Any posts about trade news and other things will go below this one. Feel free to join us, we should have a lot of people chatting with us today. Thanks to all the other sites that are helping us out today, it’s going to be a lot of fun going through the chaos with you guys.

We also have a number of Twitter feeds automatically updating in there so we get the very latest from accredited news sources. No Eklund anywhere in sight here today. Here are a few resources you may want use throughout the day:

NHL Numbers: A great place for a look at other team’s salary cap and individual player cap hits.

Hockey Reference: An easy-to-use site for player and team stats.

Behind the Net: Great advanced statistics site, if you want to really get involved today.

NHL Standings: Pretty straightforward, really.

Globe on Hockey: Wherever James Mirtle calls home, you should as well. Here are two things you’ll want to keep checking, 1) a prediction of buyers and sellers and 2) a look at the 90+ Points or Bust chart.

They’re Back (Not a Dinosaur Story)

By Chris

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a Sabres game to take in. Not that I’m complaining. The hockey we saw in the Olympics was awesome.

But tonight we get back into the swing of things with 22 games left, starting with the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.

A majority of the team is fresh and the rest should really benefit everyone. Every forward besides Jochen Hecht had two weeks off. The extra rest means Patrick Kaleta can get back into the lineup and — who knows — maybe it can wake up Jason Pominville as well.

For the defense, Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman and Andrej Sekera may have played, but the old horses (Craig Rivet and Steve Montador) were able to take it easy and get healthy.

Ryan Miller did not have the Olympic break off, but he’ll have a chance to sit tonight. Patrick Lalime will start and if he has the same game as he did the last time he played the Penguins then the Sabres should be OK.

Will the rest pay off? We’ll find out. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

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