Off Season Buffalo Sabres

So in my spare time I looked up the status of the Buffalo Sabres and their off-season action.

I was happy to see the nhl.com experts mention that their weak finish to last season really started as goalie Ryan Miller went out for 13 games. They also mentioned that this coupled with injuries to top players in every other position really just was too much for anyone to compensate for. Though there is a lot of surprise that GM Regier, Coach Lindy Ruff and most of the players from last year have returned, meaning that no one has been made the scapegoat for a really unfortunate series of injuries. In fact, this years team looks largely like last years team.

Out of the six departures, only one was a consistant player for the Sabres last season as Jaroslav Spacek has gone to Montreal. The rest are relatively unknown and couldn't be considered an impact on the team. This is good news for a team that doesn't have a lot to give away.

Arrivals are a pretty good story too. Steve Montador of the Bruins will add some beef to the Defense, and we'll see what Joe DiPenta (European player) has to offer the team. I'm not sure exactly what Cody McCormick (formerly at Colorado) adds to the offense, but there's bound to be some reason we signed him (though it appears he's going to be on the fourth line? Maybe he'll brign some physical presence to our not so physical team). The BEST move is that we've got Mike Grier back! I LOVE Mike Grier...but you know what? Everyone loves Mike Grier. He's not a guy who will score a ton of points, but he'll sacrafice his body, he's a leader and he's got a ton of heart on the ice. Grier was with the sabres when Briere and Drury (known mostly as supportive stars) captained the Sabres to back to back post season appearances and a Presidents trophy. It possible for a bunch of relatively unknowns to make a huge difference in the league if they're the right group...Grier is one of the right guys to have on your team for a season liek that.

Moves still left: Afinogenov is still a free agent...he's been with the team for ages but has been pretty unhealthy for the past few seasons and hasn't made an impact with the team since his first few seasons. Its time to let him loose. There's a bunch of other free agents who are more no names. With a group of young prospects that the team seems to be much more excited about, its time to get rid of guys who haven't used their time to make an impact and work with the new guys you've decided to invest in.

Free Agents: So there's actually some decent guys still available on the free agent market. To me, there's kind of two categories: guys who can add the heart and leadership that the Sabres are kind of lacking, and guys who can still be consistent scorers.
Scorers: Miroslav Satan (former Sabre who still can put the puck in the back of the net to the tune of about 20 per season, maybe more if the gets on a line with some good chemistry), Petr Sykora (Still nabbing goals per season at 32 years of age), Mike Comrie (coming off a bad season, but is probably still a decent deal), Todd Bertuzzi (has some skills left and wisdom to bring to a younger team).
Leaders: Michael Peca (former Sabre captain isnt' the underrated offenseman he used to be, but he's still hell of a leader and a hitter and was the last guy to captain the Sabres to the Stanley cup finals...I just might die if we were able to bring Peca back to Buffalo, throw him on a line with Mike Grier), Darryl Sydor (has a few Stanley cup rings and brings so much experience and leadership to the table).

The point in bringing any of these guys in would be to take the pressure off players like Jochen Hecht, Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly to not be leaders on the ice. We've given them plenty of time and I think the organization just needs to realize that they just aren't going to fill that roll.

Keys for the season:
-Connolly, if he stays healthy, could be a point-per-game producer and that would be a huge weapon for the team.
-Miller has to stay healthy, we found out last season that loosing the guy for chunk of the season is just devastating.
-Getting a LEADER...I'm pulling for Peca or Sydor, but would appreciate a Bertuzzi or Comrie too. You've got guys that can score, you're really just missing this link of a real impact leader, the spiritual impact of the team, Grier was a huge step in the right direction. Stay on that track and get another guy in there (pleeeeeease Peca).