Lydman was second on the team in blocked shots after Myers and second on the team in hits after Kaleta. The guy brings a great physical presence to our back end and other than his occasional poorly timed penalty, the dude's a rock. One of, if not, our best defensive defenseman this playoffs. Just putting that out there.

_________________

I agree, I would keep Lydman.

That's exactly why I put him on my keep list. He is one those unsung kind of guys. Not exactly the greatest, but dude can play his own end pretty well. He is a great 2nd pairing defenseman and can step up to 1st pairing if necessary.

_________________
Rest in Peace Nani. 10/3/10

Gerbacity



"Grier coming in over the line. He leaves it to Gaustad. The shot. THEY SCOOOREE!! RING UP ANOTHER ONE FOR THE GOOSE!!! HONK IF YA HEAR THE GOOSE!! 3-0 BUFFALO!"

I agree, hope he stays.

As a Sabre newb I humbly ask that you respect my opinion, as I respect yours...

"Rebuild" is a word thrown about lightly, and it should not be. If you're serious about it, then I must vehemently disagree. The Sabres are close, VERY close. At the very least please consider this as Year One of the rebuilding process. Guys like Kennedy and Myers have gained A TON of experience, among others.

They were not victimized by the refs, they were undisciplined. True, the refs shit the bed in this series, and I am still steamed about it and I feel bad for Lindy Ruff and the players. But, there were calls that could have been avoided if the team were better disciplined, and that to me, is an issue of more importantance then player personal.

It's possible that the team has lost the ear of the coaches, and if Ruff is the good cop then they need a bad cop assistant to get in peoples faces and throw shit when they are playing like a bunch of (for lack of a better word) brats. To me, Ruff is still the man to command this ship, but I think the supporting cast in the coaching department needs an overhaul. Rick Tocchet would be a fine assistant coach.

For the players on the ice, I completely agree, changes need to be made. The team MUST get at least TWO "bigger" forwards. I use that word in quotes because to me bigger doesn't necessarily mean taller or stronger as much as the attitude. There are some punishing 5'11" hitters in the league, they will do nicely. Conversely there are a lot of BIG players that need their pulses checked between periods to see if they are still alive, see Ponikarovsky, Alexie. Not to get too far off topic but...STAY AWAY FROM PONIKAROVSKY HE IS A LAZY DOG!!!!

I'm not exactly sure who I would consider a must keep on the team, or who I would want gone no matter what. I haven't been focusing on this team as long as many of you have. However, sometimes a fresh pari of eyes can see better. I would agree with Tallinder, I think he is average AT BEST and the winning attitude was absolutely vacant from his game in the playoffs, no intensity. Stafford wasn't very impressive either but I would like to see what he can do next season, he's only 23, only hitting the cap for 1.9, and could be poised for a 50+ point season. Connelly is the toughest of the three you mentioned. He's talented, productive, but quite possibly not a clutch player. At 28, he's probably not going to find another level to his game. So, if the deal is right, ship him.

Honestly, with the Sabres system, speed, and goal-tending there are only a couple of areas they need to focus on before becoming a serious contender. Toughness and discipline. They could use a Matt Cooke (UFA and quite possibly out of the Penguins price range), and I would certainly try to trade for RFA Jarrod Boll of Columbus. The Sabres are fast and skilled but unable to intimidate or wear teams down, you have GOT to be able to win in a variety of ways to win the Stanley Cup! You need a diversified cast playing under a shared system.

I know how you feel, Penguins fan believe in the tank method of rebuilding, but the Sabres have a team that is far from hopeless. They can spend to the cap, and they can WIN! This will be my first off-season as a Sabre fan and I am not one to pull any punches when I feel like the GM is doing a poor job.

EDIT: Meant to say, "the coach has lost the ear of the team."

_________________
"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

Not only keep Mike Grier and sign him for a few years..Give him The C

Hank's play is ok..him and Myers have to deal with the best every night..He and Myres make a good pair for now..

Yeah, I agree with x-pens fan. The Sabres aren't the Leafs. They don't need to rebuild.

_________________
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

I would agree with x-pens fan. I know emotions run high with a tough loss, but now isn't the time to usher in a 'new era'. That being said, some moderately important changes need to be made.

While I'm on the ropes about Reiger's status of employment, he needs to make a few bold moves in the market this summer. A Patrick Marleau'eske player wouldn't be a bad start. I'd like to see Conolly gone, he's overstayed his welcome.

As for the defense, we're probably going to have to lose either Tallinder or Lydman to make changes for the better good. That being said, a high-class defenseman would also be a good pick-up.

Lalime's status I'm indifferent, because with everything going according to plan, Lalime played his role this year. As a backup goalie, you need to play 10-15 games max when your regular goalie is healthy, which was the case. Bottom line, let's fuel our effort to what needs it, the offense and the POWERPLAY.

_________________
Only One Me.

GET ROY OFF THIS TEAM, all that loser does is hangout at soho and hit on 18 yr old girls, hes soft and falls down every 5 seconds, GOOOOD BYE

_________________
Buffalo born, Buffalo Bred, Ill love my hockey, till im Buffalo dead!

The bright side IS the younger players coming up. The problem is, the core of the team is made of guys who are expected to play apparently above their talent level. Why? Well, because they are paid above their talent level, especially Roy, Pominville and Connolly.

Whether you want to call it a "rebuild" or not, the core needs to be, what's the word Dell uses? Oh yeah: refurbished.

http://nhlnumbers.com/

Click around, play GM!

_________________

I would get rid of:

Stafford, because he only shows up for 3 games a season after he got benched.
Rivet, because he's getting to old and slow and I feel it's getting worse.

I'm indifferent about Montador. He had horrible and great games. I wouldn't mind him as 6th defenseman but not higher.
I'd keep Lydman and Tallinder for a reasonable price.

_________________

We should give Kurtis Foster a shot.

_________________
Rest in Peace Nani. 10/3/10

Gerbacity



"Grier coming in over the line. He leaves it to Gaustad. The shot. THEY SCOOOREE!! RING UP ANOTHER ONE FOR THE GOOSE!!! HONK IF YA HEAR THE GOOSE!! 3-0 BUFFALO!"

Just was looking at it. And wondering who to keep and who to send away.

I'd say resign Lydman, let Hank go, and then bring up Weber.

_________________

No, but they do need some tweaks.... Ennis put in full time.... Bring up Weber... find another D-man, just not sure to do with that D spot... Staff can go... I still like Timmy, just think he came back to early....

_________________

They don't need a rebuild.

They need to find someone who can be the go to guy when it's tight. When your leading scorer in a playoff series is a guy who was playing in the AHL 6 weeks ago, you've got a problem.

Connolly and Roy have had 3 years to prove that they can be top line centers. They haven't. End the experiment if you can, and move on.

Oh, a PP coach would be nice too.

Interesting that Vanek isn't on your list, because for as much as he makes you would think that he was a 50 goal scorer. Pominville at 5.3 is a little high, but players that are good for 60-80 points make close to that. Connelly is missing way too many games, he produces points fine when he's healthy but he's just one of those players that you can't count on. At 4.5/year I would trade him for the right return. There has to be a market for him. Roy is incredibly small, or maybe that's just the way he looked bouncing off of Chara time after time. Roy averages 74 points per 82 games played over the past 4 seasons and despite the diminutive stature he doesn't miss a ton of games. 4m/year is more than a fair price for that kind of production. Get him some meaty wingers and he could do even better, especially in the playoffs.

_________________
"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

Put me down for keeping Lydman as well.

_________________
"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

No, but they do need some tweaks.... Ennis put in full time.... Bring up Weber... find another D-man, just not sure to do with that D spot... Staff can go... I still like Timmy, just think he came back to early....

_________________

No, but they do need some tweaks.... Ennis put in full time.... Bring up Weber... find another D-man, just not sure to do with that D spot... Staff can go... I still like Timmy, just think he came back to early....

_________________