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Buffalo Sports
DON’T GET ME STARTED saw me end my vacation….while the Buffalo Sabres will be starting their vacations much earlier than they have in the past several years.
The disappointing Sabres were ousted from post-season play – not by Montreal’s 3-1 win over Buffalo; Not by Boston; not by Philadelphia; not by Washington. They were done in by a front office that totally disassembled a possible Stanley Cup winner.
Everyone knows the story of the blunders that cost Buffalo top front-line players, now performing very well for their new clubs.
The New York Rangers clinched a playoff spot last Tuesday with a win over Pittsburgh. Who scored the game winner? Chris Drury. A couple of days before that, Philadelphia won in a shoot-out. Who scored the game winner? Daniel Briere. And how about those San Jose Sharks who clinched the division title last weekend. And who led them to that title with outstanding play? Why it was Brian Campbell. Since Campbell was acquired, the Sharks reeled off a 16-0-2 record and won 20 straight games in regulation. They lost to the Kings Thursday night. The Sharks star Joe Thornton praised the play of Campbell.
Oh yes, let’s not forget J.P. Dumont. When last viewed he was on the cusp of a 30-goal season for Nashville. You know what happened to J.P. The front office wouldn’t pay what the arbitrator decided….over $2 mill a year. I wonder if the Sabres would be willing to pay that amount for a 30-goal scorer.
Imagine how well the Sabres would have done had they had that trio on board. Now, it’s a case of – “Wait until next season.” Sorry, looking forward to next season might be a chore considering how the front office has handled things in the past couple of years.
How could a team that captured the President’s Cup a year ago fall so fast and so low? You can look at the front office to find the answer. It’s no secret that Larry Quinn and Tom Golisano have been feeling the pain of criticism by dejected fans over the way the ownership and front office took a top team and made it less than mediocre.
Over the past couple of weeks, the Sabres went from controlling its own destiny to needing help. The players said they needed help from other teams; the coach said they would need help. The only place the Sabres could have been helped was in the front office a year ago.
I wonder who many of those on the waiting list for season tickets – who plunked down bucks for the right to be on that list – how many of them will actually want to plunk down huge dollars for next year’s season tickets. Following a couple of banner years, the Sabres have been selling out the house……while selling short the fortunes of the team.
Will Sekara, Weber and Kaleta be used as selling points? Will Afinogenov still be a Sabre next year? How many games will Connolly play since he gets hurt time and time again.
And, of course, there’s Ryan Miller. Look at his numbers in the month of March (that doomed the Sabres out of the playoffs.) Goals against average under 4 goals a game; a save percentage that fell under the .900 mark tells the story. Many of the people I speak with admit that Miller is an average goalie. Did they over-play him? Yep. There is absolutely no confidence in Thiebault, the back up so the goalie situation is thin. That’s because that front office simply let Ty Conklin walk out the door without even offering him up in trade. What did Conklin do? He righted the goalie ship in Pittsburgh when they needed it and now the Penguins are one of the best teams in the league.
So don’t place blame on the players; don’t place blame on the coach. Don’t even place blame on injuries. The blame game has to go back to last July – or even last January -when the Sabres wouldn’t cough up as the contracts of Drury and Briere could have been negotiated and signed. Ditto with Campbell.
You want to place blame? Don’t put it on the guys in uniforms. Put it on the guys with the suits and ties sitting in the suites counting the hundreds of thousands of fans who plunked their dough to watch the players self-destruct as the season was nearing its end. To their credit and to Lindy Ruff – they tried. But how many goals and points could they have garnered had Drury, Briere, Campbell were still with the team. And wouldn’t Conklin (giving the great year he had) provide Miller some relief?
It’s sad that Buffalo will be referred to as the team that went from President Cup champs to a team out of the playoffs. That’s the third time that’s happened in the NHL A year ago the sports world was focusing on Buffalo’s great achievements..
Something has to be done as far as the front office is concerned. It’s assumed that Darcy Regier’s hands are tied by Larry Quinn and Tom Golisano. As for Big Tom? Where has he been? He’s disappeared from the public faster than Mandrake the Magician. Quinn? I wonder what kind of a spin he’ll put on the Sabres situation now that the front office moves cost the team added play in the post-season. How will he explain that a few million bucks were lost because the Sabres missed the playoffs. How will he spin that to Big Tom, a businessman.
As for the players……get those clubs ready for a summer of golf. And while they’re doing that, imagine the guys who will have one season left before they become unrestricted free agents. That includes Miller, who has had his share of criticism for the team’s second half drop to 10th place. There will be others in the next year or two who will be eligible (plus any restricted free agents who receive offers from other teams.) The point is that these players will likely look at the way the Sabres front office has treated their trusted and performing players (Drury; Briere; Campbell; McKee; Dumont, Griere…and yes even Conklin.) They might not opt to stay regardless of the offer. Then again, if any offer is only $1 buck more than the Sabres offer…….well, let history be the teacher.
In the meantime…..it’s a shame that Sabres fans – loyal Sabres fans – will have to watch Drury, Campbell, Briere playing in the playoffs while all they can think about is the front office and mutter….”What If” on Don’t Get Me Started.
© Copyright 2008 by Speakupwny.com
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