Of Roy and Vanek: Our new La-la and AlMo?
Posted 1:08 PM ET | Comments 9
In the 37 year history of the Buffalo Sabres, this city has seen its fair share of dynamic offensive pairs and trios. From the French Connection in the 1970s, to the dynamic tandem of Pat Lafontaine and Alexander Mogilny in the 1990s, we as Sabre fans have been treated to some of the best offensive hockey in years.
And now, after the events of yesterday, we may have another big time offensive pair on our hands for years to come: Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy.
Vanek took the league by storm last season, silencing many of his critics after a sub-par rookie season to score 43 and 84 points, while becoming only the third player in the last 10 years to have 40 goals, 40 assists and a +40 rating.
But lost in all of Vanek's achievement this past season was the solid play of his regular centermen, Derek Roy. Ever since pairing with Roy during stretches of the 2005-06 season, these two players have shown an immediate connection on the ice. Roy was very strong last season, scoring 63 points while also having a +37 rating as well. The line showed an immediate knack for not only scoring goals, but for being responsible in their own end.
But now with the loss of scoring talent this past offseason, these two will be asked to take on an even bigger role with the team, that of top line scorers. And after the contracts they both received, we should have a top flight pairing for the next 6 seasons.
But what makes these two even scarier is the fact that they can be deadly together, regardless of who mans their right wings. That begs the question, could they be one good winger away from becoming one of the leagues best lines?
And if so, who? Some would argue that keeping Max Afinogenov with them would give them the speed dynamic that helped make Mogilny so deadly back in the early 1990s. Afinogenov is a speed demon with good play-making skills, but does not possess the hands Mogilny did, and for a line like Vanek and Roy that is very strong defensively at times, Afinogenov offers a weaker defensive element to the line.
Then there is the fan favorite, Drew Stafford. In just half a season, Stafford has conjured up visions of becoming one of the more beloved players in recent team history. He has great hands, good vision, and like Vanek, uses his size as a big strength, even more so in the corners and along the boards.
Staffords skill set alone makes many believe he will be a 30 goal scorer with the right center. While Tim Connolly may be the best playmaking center we have, Stafford may benefit more playing the more defensively responsible Roy, allowing Afinogenov to again reconnect with Connolly and give the Sabres a modern day version of Patty and Alex.
Regardless, this season could look to be a fun one at HSBC arena for years to come.
And now, after the events of yesterday, we may have another big time offensive pair on our hands for years to come: Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy.
Vanek took the league by storm last season, silencing many of his critics after a sub-par rookie season to score 43 and 84 points, while becoming only the third player in the last 10 years to have 40 goals, 40 assists and a +40 rating.
But lost in all of Vanek's achievement this past season was the solid play of his regular centermen, Derek Roy. Ever since pairing with Roy during stretches of the 2005-06 season, these two players have shown an immediate connection on the ice. Roy was very strong last season, scoring 63 points while also having a +37 rating as well. The line showed an immediate knack for not only scoring goals, but for being responsible in their own end.
But now with the loss of scoring talent this past offseason, these two will be asked to take on an even bigger role with the team, that of top line scorers. And after the contracts they both received, we should have a top flight pairing for the next 6 seasons.
But what makes these two even scarier is the fact that they can be deadly together, regardless of who mans their right wings. That begs the question, could they be one good winger away from becoming one of the leagues best lines?
And if so, who? Some would argue that keeping Max Afinogenov with them would give them the speed dynamic that helped make Mogilny so deadly back in the early 1990s. Afinogenov is a speed demon with good play-making skills, but does not possess the hands Mogilny did, and for a line like Vanek and Roy that is very strong defensively at times, Afinogenov offers a weaker defensive element to the line.
Then there is the fan favorite, Drew Stafford. In just half a season, Stafford has conjured up visions of becoming one of the more beloved players in recent team history. He has great hands, good vision, and like Vanek, uses his size as a big strength, even more so in the corners and along the boards.
Staffords skill set alone makes many believe he will be a 30 goal scorer with the right center. While Tim Connolly may be the best playmaking center we have, Stafford may benefit more playing the more defensively responsible Roy, allowing Afinogenov to again reconnect with Connolly and give the Sabres a modern day version of Patty and Alex.
Regardless, this season could look to be a fun one at HSBC arena for years to come.
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11 Connolly key to playoff success
12 Postseason fever is here
15 Take your finger OFF the panic button
22 What we learned from the Isles series
24 Sabres/Rangers preview
12 Postseason fever is here
15 Take your finger OFF the panic button
22 What we learned from the Isles series
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07 Darcy Regier: The man with a plan
23 Why Derek Roy is worth 3.5 million.
28 Of Roy and Vanek: Our new La-la and AlMo?
23 Why Derek Roy is worth 3.5 million.
28 Of Roy and Vanek: Our new La-la and AlMo?
16 Prospect In Depth: Mike Weber, Sekera to the big club?
18 Martin's deal a bar for Campbell? And Belfour to Sweden
24 Confirmed: Sabres/Pens Outdoors New Years Day
18 Martin's deal a bar for Campbell? And Belfour to Sweden
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03 Sabres Training Camp: 4 Burning Questions
10 Observations from Sabres Rookie Camp
20 Dynamic Duo no more for Sabres
25 Sabres 4 Burning Questions Revisited
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20 Dynamic Duo no more for Sabres
25 Sabres 4 Burning Questions Revisited
25 End of an Era: Sabres Lorentz retiring
01 Confirmed: Harry Neale New Sabres Commentator
02 Season preview: predictions, Sabres preview tomorrow
07 Mass Hysteria Ahand: Sabres 0-2
09 Sabres hit the ice: News and Notes
16 Leafs House of Horrors: HSBC Arena
16 Sportsnet: Sabres suck!
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02 Season preview: predictions, Sabres preview tomorrow
07 Mass Hysteria Ahand: Sabres 0-2
09 Sabres hit the ice: News and Notes
16 Leafs House of Horrors: HSBC Arena
16 Sportsnet: Sabres suck!
31 Sabres November Captain: Toni Lydman
16 Post game blog: Sabres trump Habs
22 Happy Turkey Day and Sabres/Sens wrap-up
23 Sabres top Habs, 4-4 on division swing
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I think the sabres will be fine with the lose of Brier and Drury. They have built depth from within for years...and finally all this depth in talent has surfaced and it is pay day for the players. This will happen to ever team with such good depth. With the new CBA (salary cap) you have to win "now" when you have the depth, or else you will lose players because you dont have salary cap room to re-sign the players.
I think Roy will have a very good season with the extra minutes and opportunities. There's no way that Buffalo is going to drop from being an elite team to being awful despite the defections they had. They have far too many excellent prospects in the system and didn't really miss a beat when they got hit with injuries last year. Good Stuff, CaptP.
I think that the right wing they do put there should have the best hands on the line. Why? Because if you can lay the puck in Roy's and Vanek's stick with an opportunity to score, they will.
Roy isn't quite LaFontaine, but he's still very good. Soon Vanek will be worth his contract to you.
Well Said Capt. With Lindy mix matching lines we could end up with some great combos. TV, Roy
while i dont expect thee Sabres to be as good as they were last year, they will still be a very good team. Vanek's salary is tough to ignore, as he will most likely be worth that 2 years from now. But I think many are underestimating the leadership and clutch play of Drury and Briere on the board, just my opinion
As much as I'd love to have Stafford on the wing, I don't wanna see the /- rating of a line with Connolly and Afinogenov. I think Afinogenov is a tough player to have good chemistry with, and Roy and Vanek already have that. So let's just stick with what's a sure thing.
Nicely written piece. However, I think expecting Roy to be an elite offensive player is expecting too much from him. That's not his role. He's a point per game player at best who is defensively responsible, and I think that's his plus side for playing with a guy like Vanek, who is defensively blah. Roy isn't the dazzling playmaker Lafontaine was, but he can shoot and pass while covering up for a guy like Vanek to go and do his goal-scoring thing. So I think this duo will only be dynamic if the right wing is dynamic, too. So I can't wait until the season starts because I'm sure Lindy will have a lot of fun seeing who works with who now that the two big shots are gone. The first month will be a helluva interesting experiment.