Puck Daddy previews the Sabres, using wrestling metaphors

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/NHL-2010-11-Season-Preview-Wrestling-with-Buffa?urn=nhl-267395



Love the photoshopped poster

Here are some nuggets:

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This guy is a moron. He thinks the Sabres are nothing more than the Miller and Myers show. Maybe if he'd watched a few games before giving a review then he'd be able to make a more accurate statement.

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"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." ~ Han Solo


We truly are not worthy of Miller!

in fairness, after miller and myers, the sabres are an extremely average team. they have some good players, but seriously... hes on the dot.

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Behind maybe two or three players ALL teams are average.

Look at Pittsburgh when they won the cup. Behind Malkin and Crosby scoring every goal, who was there?

Chicago, yes they had better output from others, but most notably, Toews, Kane, Big Buff and Niemi really, anyone else just player their roles.

Even Detroit, behind Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Lidstrom they aren't that much, proved this year with their injuries and Osgood just sucking.

We have Miller, Myers, and Vanek as our three guys the team needs to be behind, and that's ok. I still think our defense is much much better then a C- ranking though. The team is solid, great PK and goltending and our defense should be strong. Offense always leaves a little to be desired with, but keep the other team from outscoring you, you got a good chance of winning.

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Puck Daddy is a good blog. Biased at times, but very manageable bias.

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That's kind of funny, and interesting too.

I definitely think that the two are intertwined, if one goes the other wont be far behind. I think they are both really great at their jobs, but it's a results business. Cold, hard, results. If the desired result is to win the Stanley Cup, then they are caught in a fan/ownership vice that has been tightening for years. Sooner or later they will get crushed. Or, they could break the vice and win It before it's too late.

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"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

Excellent point. In fact, I will ever take it a step further by adding that because of Miller, and their system, they are more resilient to a few injuries then most teams would be. Not to mention their stellar selection of AHL talent to poll from.

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"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

It is true, most teams are built that way, if not all have a few guys to rely on then the rest the team sorta is just average.

I would go about to say who teams relied on who, but simply does it matter too much, you can look at who the team relied on the most and make your own argument.

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One of the biggest problems with the Sabres is that there still isn't really an offensive go-to guy. Many teams have at least ONE, some even have TWO. I'm talking about a player who you get the puck to in close games, who will much more likely than not, put it between the pipes.

Vanek is the closest thing to that, but he's too streaky to really depend on.

You can argue about the importance of certain traits in different positions, but having at least one clutch guy is critical, both emotionally and on the scoreboard.

Leahy is right about the Sabres. An injury to Miller or Myers could be a very bad thing for the team.

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mechaphil

Not in Buffalo...

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It's not a terrible analysis. It's very fair I's say.

I's be agreeing.

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Did he take into consideration Vanek coming back this year and being a beast?

There's no way Vanek doesn't tear it up this season. He's got it locked now.

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Wheelhouse

There's no guarantee that Vanek will be a 'beast' this year. He may have an average year, he may get injured again. He may even be great this season.

No way to know this.

Assumptions save time and in the end, no one will hold you to them.

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Revenge is sweet... Revenge is best served cold... Revenge is ice cream.

I only read what you posted, but I will agree with other that our D is better than a C-. I mean, no one really knows yet. But based on potential I would give them at least a C+. Another thing off tangent here, I can't understand why so many people sackride LOODS. He played well last year, but he was terrible before that. Seriously, it got to the point where every time he touched the puck I made fun of him lol. He gave it away CONSTANTLY. Blah, anyways, don't forget about Ennis. Obviously we aren't talking D anymore, but this kid could turn out to be a Calder runner or winner himself. I can't wait to see this kid play.

I didn't really get that take from the column... Miller and Myers were clearly our best players on the team last year and they will probably be again next season. He was just emphasizing the importance of them and how much of an impact they have on the team's success. Every team has their best guys, and what he said was really no different when discussing any other team's best players.

Although I do think he underestimated our defense... I think we're a little higher than C-.

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"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