Nor can they afford their defensive liability, or their bad penalties.

Count me as one of the people who expressed concern over the fact we have no true heavyweight on our team. After 30+ games; I haven't seen this as a determining issue yet. Would it be nice to have someone who could play a regular role, and play the hevyweight role? Yes; of course, but there are not many who can play this role any longer.

We, much like Nolan's teams, have enough Light Heavyweights who will go if they need to. We have several tough players on this curent roster. Toughness begets toughness from team mates.

The remaining league goons only seem to fight each other, so if a team has no goon, there is little reason for their opponent to dress one either.

As there is no fighting in the playoffs; there is no reason to find one.

_________________
"I'll rap you with my cane; you pencil necked geek!!"

-Bowler, imitating Freddy Blassie, at the very first M & G.

Word. But if the cupboard is full, folks tend to overlook such details.

And, what Howie said - Very true that toughness begets toughness. It's a "team mentality" or a pack-mentality that starts to hold sway, as players bond and begin to show a greater committment to, and courage for, each other.

Grier is a primary catalyst, in this respect. He's elevated the sense of "team" to the next level. And we've needed that; desperately.

Yup, it just seems to make Peters past $2 million contract seem like the last act in the super trifecta series of screw-ups. Trade Lafontaine for a 2nd; draft Peters with that pick; resign him to 2 year deal.


Anyone know what Petey's doing these day?

Ya, and I'm kind of ashamed I didn't see that when we first signed him. I liked it, but had no idea it could have that effect. I guess we just kind of forgot what it meant to have a veteran guy with MORE than just potential.

...Maybe Craig deserves some big credit here too.

Islanders...? Devils...? I'll look it up...


Devils

_________________
Its NNYFAN, but you can just call me Kris.

LOL, no.

He's played in 17 games, is pointless(literally), -5, and has gotten in 5 fights. The only thing I might be reaching on is that he's thrown a total of 4 punches that have connected(j/k).

Rivet? Definitely - He was the first step.

Montador is helping in that respect, as well - It's a "Take no shit. Take no prisoners" mentality.

Very sound Hockey psychology. A divided locker-room, even if full of talent, tends to work against itself.

Peters, as a SECOND-ROUND PICK(?!!!) is insane...

WTF was Darcy thinking?

He was probably Drunk when he selcted him, must have been thinking he said another name but got him instead.

_________________

Was he on HEROIN when he re-signed him then??

Hmmmm, maybe he was.

_________________

I'm sure drug testing is ONLY for the players. We don't mind the owners "enhancing" themselves apparently. LOL

...has anyone looked at who we passed over?

We picked up Kalinin in the first-round (and we passed over a ton of great talent) then we chose Peters in the second, and Kotalik in the sixth round...

A very bad draft. Very friggin bad.

The 1998 Sabres' Draft Picks: (*shudder*)

18 Dmitri Kalinin
34 Andrew Peters
47 Norm Milley
50 Jaroslav Kristek
77 Mike Pandolfo
137 Aaron Goldade
164 Ales Kotalik
191 Brad Moran
218 David Moravec
249 Edo Terglav

...baaaaaaad, baaaaaad Darcy.

Now, look at the whole friggin draft:

1 Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay
2 David Legwand Nashville
3 Brad Stuart San Jose
4 Bryan Allen Vancouver
5 Vitaly Vishnevsky Anaheim
6 Rico Fata Calgary
7 Manny Malhotra NY Rangers
8 Mark Bell Chicago
9 Michael Rupp NY Islanders
10 Nikolai Antropov Toronto
11 Jeff Heerema Carolina
12 Alex Tanguay Colorado
13 Michael Henrich Edmonton
14 Patrick DesRochers Phoenix
15 Mathieu Chouinard Ottawa
16 Eric Chouinard Mtl. Canadiens
17 Martin Skoula Colorado
18 Dmitri Kalinin Buffalo
19 Robyn Regehr Colorado
20 Scott Parker Colorado
21 Mathieu Biron Los Angeles
22 Simon Gagne Philadelphia
23 Milan Kraft Pittsburgh
24 Christian Backman St. Louis
25 Jiri Fischer Detroit
26 Mike Van Ryn New Jersey
27 Scott Gomez New Jersey
28 Ramzi Abid Colorado
29 Jonathan Cheechoo San Jose
30 Kyle Rossiter Florida
31 Artem Chubarov Vancouver
32 Stephen Peat Anaheim
33 Blair Betts Calgary
34 Andrew Peters Buffalo
35 Petr Svoboda Toronto
36 Chris Nielsen NY Islanders
37 Christian Berglund New Jersey
38 Philippe Sauve Colorado
39 John Erskine Dallas
40 Randy Copley NY Rangers
41 Maxim Linnik St. Louis
42 Jason Beckett Philadelphia
43 Ossi Vaananen Phoenix
44 Mike Fisher Ottawa
45 Mike Ribeiro Mtl. Canadiens
46 Justin Papineau Los Angeles
47 Norm Milley Buffalo
48 Jonathan Girard Boston
49 Jomar Cruz Washington
50 Jaroslav Kristek Buffalo
51 Ian Forbes Philadelphia
52 Bobby Allen Boston
53 Steve Moore Colorado
54 Alexander Zevakhin Pittsburgh
55 Ryan Barnes Detroit
56 Tomek Valtonen Detroit
57 Tyler Bouck Dallas
58 Chris Bala Ottawa
59 Todd Hornung Washington
60 Denis Arkhipov Nashville
61 Joe DiPenta Florida
62 Paul Manning Calgary
63 Lance Ward Florida
64 Brad Richards Tampa Bay
65 Eric Laplante San Jose
66 Jason Labarbera NY Rangers
67 Alex Henry Edmonton
68 Jarkko Ruutu Vancouver
69 Jamie Hodson Toronto
70 Kevin Holdridge Carolina
71 Erik Cole Carolina
72 Dmitry Afanasenkov Tampa Bay
73 Pat O'Leary Phoenix
74 Julien Vauclair Ottawa
75 Francois Beauchemin Mtl. Canadiens
76 Alexei Volkov Los Angeles
77 Mike Pandolfo Buffalo
78 Peter Nordstrom Boston
79 Evgeny Lazarev Colorado
80 David Cameron Pittsburgh
81 Justin Morrison Vancouver
82 Brian Gionta New Jersey
83 Matt Walker St. Louis
84 Jake McCracken Detroit
85 Geoff Koch Nashville
86 Gabriel Karlsson Dallas
87 Alexei Ponikarovsky Toronto
88 Kent Sauer Nashville
89 Ryan Jardine Florida
90 Regan Darby Vancouver
91 Josef Vasicek Carolina
92 Eric Beaudoin Tampa Bay
93 Tommy Westlund Carolina
94 Matthias Trattnig Chicago
95 Andy Burnham NY Islanders
96 Mikko Jokela New Jersey
97 Chris Madden Carolina
98 Rob Davison San Jose
99 Shawn Horcoff Edmonton
100 Ryan Van Buskirk Phoenix
101 Petr Schastlivy Ottawa
102 Shaun Sutter Calgary
103 Kip Brennan Los Angeles
104 Miroslav Zalesak San Jose
105 Pierre Dagenais New Jersey
106 Krys Barch Washington
107 Chris Corrinet Washington
108 Dany Sabourin Calgary
109 J.P. Morin Philadelphia
110 Scott Myers Pittsburgh
111 Brent Hobday Detroit
112 Viktor Wallin Anaheim
113 Kristian Antila Edmonton
114 Boyd Kane NY Rangers
115 Jay Leach Phoenix
116 Josh Blackburn Phoenix
117 Jaroslav Spacek Florida
118 Mike Siklenka Washington
119 Anton But New Jersey
120 Brent Gauvreau Calgary
121 Curtis Rich Tampa Bay
122 Pat Leahy NY Rangers
123 Jiri Dopita NY Islanders
124 Francis Belanger Philadelphia
125 Erik Wendell Washington
126 Morgan Warren Toronto
127 Brandon Coalter San Jose
128 Paul Elliott Edmonton
129 Robert Schnabel Phoenix
130 Gavin McLeod Ottawa
131 Tomas Kloucek NY Rangers
132 Andre Bashkirov Mtl. Canadiens
133 Joe Rullier Los Angeles
134 Rob Scuderi Pittsburgh
135 Andrew Raycroft Boston
136 David Jonsson Vancouver
137 Aaron Goldade Buffalo
138 Martin Beauchesne Nashville
139 Garrett Prosofsky Philadelphia
140 Rick Bertran Vancouver
141 K.C. Timmons Colorado
142 Carl Steen Detroit
143 Ryan Flinn New Jersey
144 Oleg Smirnov Edmonton
145 Mikael Samuelsson San Jose
146 Sergei Kuznetsov Tampa Bay
147 Craig Brunel Nashville
148 Chris Ovington Florida
149 Paul Cabana Vancouver
150 Trent Hunter Anaheim
151 Adam DeLeeuw Detroit
152 Gordie Dwyer Mtl. Canadiens
153 Pavel Patera Dallas
154 Allan Rourke Toronto
155 Kevin Clauson NY Islanders
156 Kent Huskins Chicago
157 Brad Voth St. Louis
158 Jari Viuhkola Chicago
159 Trevor Ettinger Edmonton
160 Rickard Wallin Phoenix
161 Chris Neil Ottawa
162 Andrei Markov Mtl. Canadiens
163 Tomas Zizka Los Angeles
164 Ales Kotalik Buffalo
165 Ryan Milanovic Boston
166 Jonathan Pelletier Chicago
167 Alexander Riazantsev Colorado
168 Antero Niittymaki Philadelphia
169 Jan Fadrny Pittsburgh
170 Andrei Troschinsky St. Louis
171 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit
172 Jacques Lariviere New Jersey
173 Niko Kapanen Dallas
174 Brett Allan Tampa Bay
175 Cam Ondrik Philadelphia
176 B.J. Ketcheson Florida
177 Vince Malts Vancouver
178 Jesse Fibiger Anaheim
179 Nathan Forster Washington
180 Stefan Lundqvist NY Rangers
181 Jonathan Gagnon Toronto
182 Evgeny Korolev NY Islanders
183 Tyler Arnason Chicago
184 Don Smith Carolina
185 Robert Mulick San Jose
186 Mike Morrison Edmonton
187 Erik Westrum Phoenix
188 Michel Periard Ottawa
189 Andrei Kruchinin Mtl. Canadiens
190 Tommi Hannus Los Angeles
191 Brad Moran Buffalo
192 Radek Duda Calgary
193 Rastislav Stana Washington
194 Oak Hewer Tampa Bay
195 Tomas Divisek Philadelphia
196 Joel Scherban Pittsburgh
197 Brad Twordik St. Louis
198 Jeremy Goetzinger Detroit
199 Erik Jensen New Jersey
200 Scott Perry Dallas
201 Craig Murray Mtl. Canadiens
202 Martin Bartek Nashville
203 Ian Jacobs Florida
204 Graig Mischler Vancouver
205 David Bernier Anaheim
206 Jonas Frogren Calgary
207 Johan Witehall NY Rangers
208 Jaroslav Svoboda Carolina
209 Frederik Brind'Amour NY Islanders
210 Sean Griffin Chicago
211 Mark Kosick Carolina
212 Jim Fahey San Jose
213 Christian Lefebvre Edmonton
214 Justin Hansen Phoenix
215 Dwight Wolfe Toronto
216 Michael Ryder Mtl. Canadiens
217 Jim Henkel Los Angeles
218 David Moravec Buffalo
219 Curtis Valentine Vancouver
220 Mike Farrell Washington
221 Dan Hulak Tampa Bay
222 Lubomir Pistek Philadelphia
223 Sergei Verenkin Ottawa
224 Mika Lehto Pittsburgh
225 Evgeny Pastukh St. Louis
226 David Petrasek Detroit
227 Marko Ahosilta New Jersey
228 Mihail Travnicek Toronto
229 Chris Lyness Tampa Bay
230 Karlis Skrastins Nashville
231 Adrian Wichser Florida
232 Jason Metcalfe Vancouver
233 Pelle Prestberg Anaheim
234 Kevin Mitchell Calgary
235 Jan Mertzig NY Rangers
236 Sergei Rostov Toronto
237 Ben Blais NY Islanders
238 Alexandre Couture Chicago
239 Brent McDonald Carolina
240 Andrei Yershov Chicago
241 Maxim Spiridonov Edmonton
242 Jason Doyle NY Islanders
243 Petr Hubacek Philadelphia
244 Toby Petersen Pittsburgh
245 Andreas Andersson Anaheim
246 Rastislav Pavlikovsky Ottawa
247 Darcy Harris Mtl. Canadiens
248 Matthew Yeats Los Angeles
249 Edo Terglav Buffalo
250 Radek Matejovsky NY Islanders
251 Blake Evans Washington
252 Martin Cibak Tampa Bay
253 Bruno St. Jacques Philadelphia
254 Matt Hussey Pittsburgh
255 Johnny Pohl St. Louis
256 Petja Pietilainen Detroit
257 Ryan Held New Jersey
258 Sergei Skrobot Philadelphia

Chechoo, Gomez, and Gange were all taken after Kalinin.

Wow...

_________________
Wheelhouse

...and Regehr...and Datsyuk (who was picked after Peters and Kotalik!!!)



Ah, well. Hindsight is always 20/20....glad they're paying someone the "Big Money" to make all the right decisions.

We passed over Regehr for Kalinin?!

That draft has to be Regier's worst.

_________________
Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

Looking at the highlights, reports and watching the interview with that bag of smashed arseholes, Ruutu, I'm glad I missed the game last night. Not because of the score, or how we may have played, but because after seeing that hit today chances are in the heat of the game last night, my foot would have went through the TV where his ugly fucking mug was.

The NHL is going to give him a fine for his actions on Kaleta. A fine. Is it something? Yes. Is it the right thing that should happen? Unfortunately it is not. And if the Sabres come out loading up their lines to take that little bitch out of commission, then we get a stiff fine because it was premeditated.

If I were lindy, I'd risk sitting Kaleta the next one out against them (call it a maintenance day) and call up one of our knuckle draggers from the "A", and risk receiving a fine. The NHL wants to down play fighting in the league with its instigator rule; however it will not police these bastards or this kind of crap themselves in a proper way. So I say let the players take it upon themselves to teach this fucker a lesson and then we'll take the "Fine" just the same. I’d sooner use one of our AHL goons for the job and not an enforcer from our current roster in the likelihood of a suspension being handed out.

This bastard needs a lesson.

_________________
If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy