Pat Kaleta: Out with the Old, In with the New
Posted 7:34 PM ET | Comments 2
I'll start this first ever blog by saying that I like Pat Kaleta. As a goalie for 14 years, the guys who throw their body around to block shots and give everything up on the PK tend to be my personal favorite teammates. It's no wonder him and Miller are such biffs.
However, it's about time he was sent down. Kaleta, another leftover of the Ruff era, does not have what it takes to play in the national hockey league. The guy can block shots but he cannot, for the life of him, stay out of Brendan Shanahan's eternal spotlight. Also, whatever minuscule amount of offensive "talent" he ever had has swiftly deteriorated into nothingness. The Sabres have a new, renowned aggravator in the lineup. His name is Steve Ott, he is captain material, and he can play in ALL THREE zones.
The only thing that Sabres fans should now be hoping for is the same fate for John Scott. "Oh but he's a nice guy and I like the photo bombs" said the know nothing fan. For one thing, with Scott in the lineup we basically don't even have a fourth line, or at least one that Rolaton can play for even 5 minutes of a game. Secondly, do we really want to be that team that loses every game and just tries to bully teams? Some may say why not? Personally I think it's embarrassing. Lastly and most importantly, let him open a spot up for a young guy. "Oh but the Sabres are gonna get pushed around!" Oh stop it. They can take care of themselves.
The point of this rage blog is to say that we need to keep filtering out the Ruff era players. Stop half-a**ing this rebuild. Commit it to it 100% or not at all. The near future of the Sabres is out with the old and in with the new.
However, it's about time he was sent down. Kaleta, another leftover of the Ruff era, does not have what it takes to play in the national hockey league. The guy can block shots but he cannot, for the life of him, stay out of Brendan Shanahan's eternal spotlight. Also, whatever minuscule amount of offensive "talent" he ever had has swiftly deteriorated into nothingness. The Sabres have a new, renowned aggravator in the lineup. His name is Steve Ott, he is captain material, and he can play in ALL THREE zones.
The only thing that Sabres fans should now be hoping for is the same fate for John Scott. "Oh but he's a nice guy and I like the photo bombs" said the know nothing fan. For one thing, with Scott in the lineup we basically don't even have a fourth line, or at least one that Rolaton can play for even 5 minutes of a game. Secondly, do we really want to be that team that loses every game and just tries to bully teams? Some may say why not? Personally I think it's embarrassing. Lastly and most importantly, let him open a spot up for a young guy. "Oh but the Sabres are gonna get pushed around!" Oh stop it. They can take care of themselves.
The point of this rage blog is to say that we need to keep filtering out the Ruff era players. Stop half-a**ing this rebuild. Commit it to it 100% or not at all. The near future of the Sabres is out with the old and in with the new.
The time has come for Pat.The has Ott,McCormik,and now Tropp is healthy. The time for him to get waved is now hopefully Armeia gets healthy and Scott gets the ax and believe it or not Luke Adam is looking good in Rochester.
Here is the thing with Kaleta. When he plays physical, smart, and focuses on hockey he CAN play the game. He has shown it. Aggitating, hitting, and chipping in. He has shown he can be a useful player. Now that said all through his career even getting to the NHL is the problem of him ending up cheapshotting and becoming a liability to his team. He gets away from contributing and winds up being ineffective, hurting his own team, and contributing little at all.Can he reinvent himself, stick to playing hard nosed hockey without the sideshow antics? That will be the question and time will tell but he is going to have to earn his spot back at this point and show he can change how he plays the game. He COULD still help buffalo a lot, but it is a big IF.