Darcy vs. the Deadline
Posted 5:24 PM ET | Comments 0
The Sabres have 57 points and are just 3 points back of the eighth and final playoff spot heading into this Sundays afternoon game vs. the Islanders. They have 2 games in hand on Carolina who sits 9th and play them three times. Atlanta now sits 8th at 60 points after beating the Rangers 3-2 Friday night. We have 4 games in hand on Atlanta and the Rangers who hold 7th with 62 points. Is it time to set our sites on the Rangers and the 7th seed? If the Pegula owned Sabres are a legit playoff team, then yes. They have played as a team and with what appears to be accountability over this 3 game win streak. They would scare a team or two in the first round, Tampa, Boston.
The Sabres still play without a "C"aptain on the ice. That's not done by all the other teams in the NHL for a reason, it's not good. This is not a call for Rivet to be in the lineup, but for Lindy to make the hard decisions. Or Darcy, dump Rivet for a late round draft pick or as a throw in player by the deadline. Playoff teams in the NHL have captains on the ice twenty minutes a night. They are the driving force behind there teams success. This sounds a lot like the play of Stafford and Vanek lately. Lock Staff up with a contract and then put the "C" and "A" on these two guys, either way.
Some deadline deals have to happen, nothing crazy but the trades that show we know what needs to be done. Leaving our core strength with a strong addition upfront for immediately on the ice returns. There is a long list of dead weight the Sabres carry this season. In all reality I would be elated if three of the players to be listed were dealt for a legit first line player/25 plus goal scorer with 65 plus pts on consistent basis. Am I dreaming or just really stretching here? This is the "Pegula Sabres" things are going to be done right and with winning above breaking even or the bottomline, right. So in that case...
...the whole Grier, Goose, Nieds line can go. TC, Broken (Jochen), Pominfail some teams could see upside in these guys. And then Rivet. Now I believe enough in the talents of Hecht and Pommer that I don't see this as impossible to accomplish. Any combination of three players above for a respected producer, thats a win.
I hate defending a guy I have despised over many a trade deadline but I am about to. Darcy, like the players has accountability to deal with plus a looser budget, with a win first attitude from ownership. Darcy privately, may have been the most excited by Pegula coming in now. He has one more trade deadline to work some magic (save his job) and has what we hope is the type of owner that players want to play and win for. As a Sabres fan I havent been this optimistic about us making trades and improving our team since the late 90's and I believe Darcy can get that done, because he has to this time.
You can follow Tim Kane on twitter @tjkanejr
The Sabres still play without a "C"aptain on the ice. That's not done by all the other teams in the NHL for a reason, it's not good. This is not a call for Rivet to be in the lineup, but for Lindy to make the hard decisions. Or Darcy, dump Rivet for a late round draft pick or as a throw in player by the deadline. Playoff teams in the NHL have captains on the ice twenty minutes a night. They are the driving force behind there teams success. This sounds a lot like the play of Stafford and Vanek lately. Lock Staff up with a contract and then put the "C" and "A" on these two guys, either way.
Some deadline deals have to happen, nothing crazy but the trades that show we know what needs to be done. Leaving our core strength with a strong addition upfront for immediately on the ice returns. There is a long list of dead weight the Sabres carry this season. In all reality I would be elated if three of the players to be listed were dealt for a legit first line player/25 plus goal scorer with 65 plus pts on consistent basis. Am I dreaming or just really stretching here? This is the "Pegula Sabres" things are going to be done right and with winning above breaking even or the bottomline, right. So in that case...
...the whole Grier, Goose, Nieds line can go. TC, Broken (Jochen), Pominfail some teams could see upside in these guys. And then Rivet. Now I believe enough in the talents of Hecht and Pommer that I don't see this as impossible to accomplish. Any combination of three players above for a respected producer, thats a win.
I hate defending a guy I have despised over many a trade deadline but I am about to. Darcy, like the players has accountability to deal with plus a looser budget, with a win first attitude from ownership. Darcy privately, may have been the most excited by Pegula coming in now. He has one more trade deadline to work some magic (save his job) and has what we hope is the type of owner that players want to play and win for. As a Sabres fan I havent been this optimistic about us making trades and improving our team since the late 90's and I believe Darcy can get that done, because he has to this time.
You can follow Tim Kane on twitter @tjkanejr