Buffalo Sabres
 

Dear Faithful Dobberites,

Looks like yours truly will be the newest beat writer on the block. The team (he says stating the obvious) will be the Buffalo Sabres.

Now I've neither written professionally nor unprofessionally [wink-wink] during my brief existence on this Earth. In fact, if my high school English teacher knew I was writing in any way, her head would probably split wide open from the sheer irony of the event.

What I am, however, is a life long Sabres fan. Father had season tickets at the old Aud back in the 70s and into the 80s so I've seen my share of games. Of course, back in the 70s it was as Rodney Dangerfield once said I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out. Luckily for me, at that age all I really about cared was my next box of popcorn and extra mustard for my pretzel.

Fast forward [CENSORED] years and here I am in the Pegula-era Sabres. To say that I am excited about the new ownership would be akin to saying Kate Beckinsale has "Nice epidermis" - words that hardly grasp the magnitude (and in Kates case, the beauty) of what's before us.

So if there was ever a time to be a two-bit beat writer for a most righteous fantasy hockey web site it would be now, and the team would definitely be the Sabres. It will be my honor to provide the astute readers of this site with, what I expect to be, the voluminous wheelings-and-dealings of Pegula's management team - and the ramifications and permutations thereof - as they rebuild this proud Sabres franchise into legit Cup contenders.

Keep in mind, I am brand spanking new at this kind of thing, coupled w/ the fact this all came about w/ in the last 24 hrs (thanks to TK, for getting the thought planted in my head) so I am somewhat unprepared. The next couple weeks will be touch and go, until I settle down and find my groove. So I apologize in advance for any anticipated incongruity between my first few posts, and thank you for your patience.

Ideally what I hope to achieve is a thread that is fun, informative from a fantasy perspective, and full of open debate. I welcome all feedback.

Father always said If you can't dazzle them w/ brilliance then baffle them w/ bullshit. Of course, he also said Mommy only drinks cuz you cry, but we'll save that for another time.

I digress...

Whether I dazzled or baffled Gates and Praba, I am unaware but I will assume the latter. Thanks to the both of you for allowing me this opportunity. I hope to live up to the high standard set in this section of the forum. Thank you.

Now, let's get it on, bitches...

p.s. Gates, help a brother out w/ the "sticky thread" thing...thanks

great job..look forward to it and good luck dude

so much for copying your confirmation PM to Gates to my PM box like you promised...assface :p

Great opening, looking forward to reading lots about our Niagra Rivals.

P.S. For not copying the PM to me, I found a youtube clip more mind-numbing and disturbing than chapstick...have fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYW6C44zo24

Thanks a ton, wildhendy. Appreciate the rep and support, brother.

TK, friggin Leafs fans!! lol...thanks,man.

Hey now...my first official order of business....where's STONE??? STONE you out there, bud?

Andrej Sekara earns NHL Star of the Week (along w/ Iginla and Price). I am going to keep this short tonight, but if you own Sekera in a dynasty league- SELL HIGH. If you own him in a one year, points only,keep him and ride the wave.

That's all I'll say for now.

I'm in love already, this will be a great team thread!

Stickied!

GMG

Nice opening, Bomm. I agree that it's great timing to start a Buffalo thread. I thought the coverage of Pegula's introduction to the fans was excellent. I felt like I wasn't looking at a billionaire, but rather a fan of hockey and his favorite team in particular, living a dream to actually own it. The line about the French Connection being his heroes was class all the way. The Sabres aren't my favorite team, but right now Pegula is probably my favorite owner. Exciting time indeed for the swordsmen!

Look forward to following your posts.

Thanks, MCT!

One other very minor thing I overlooked in my original post (heh-heh)...call it an "Ooops" if you will.

Thanks to Dobber.

Stumbled on your site via a THN article, and from then the rest is history. You do a hell of a job with this. Thanks for the forum and opportunity.

Much respect.

Ok, a couple of quick hits before the work day gets under way. I'll be able to get a better grasp on what I want to do with this over the weekend, when i have some down time. Until then it will be mostly quick updates/advice re pending Sabres games for this week.

• Winning 69% of their games played since just prior to January, 3-0-2 in their last 5 games, and sitting in the eighth overall spot for the playoffs the Sabres are indeed rollllling.
• BUT they are also fatigued, as was evident during the third period of the Wild game on Sunday. Poor bastards could barely finish a shift. Ruff, being ever so wise and Zen-like gave the entire team the day off on Monday. The only two skaters were Gier and Hecht who missed time due to injury.
• Speaking of injury...if you're looking for PIMs, don't count on Kaleta. The bone bruise on his knee (suffered on Sunday) was worse than originally thought. Ruff has indicated that he will indeed miss tonights game versus the Penguins and Thursday at the Bruins. While Hecht and Grier practiced Monday, they are still considered questionable for tonight's game - more on them later in the day. Besides, if your playoff hopes rest on Grier and Hecht than you have bigger issues.
• If no news is good news, then look for Ennis to start in tonight's matchup. Ruff made no comment about the water bug's rib injury, so I consider that a good thing.
• I would never overtly advocate benching Miller, especially coming off his current respite. That said, the team in front of him is beginning to tire, they're on a long road trip, and their defense is thin. If I owned Brodeur or Rinne, I would probably start either of them over Miller.
• Stafford is still not a "must start", despite his clutch goal the other night. Yes, he's playing much better but when your baseline has been zero for so long it's really difficult to not improve. He has 40pts on the year so let's not annoint him yet.
• Must starts for tonights game (see Miller comments above): Myers, Ennis, Boyes, Vanek, and....wait for it...wait for it....Sekera (that hurt).

That's all for now.....duty calls.

EDIT: Word is the Sabres have recalled vet Mark Parrish, as well as Prospect Luke Adam. Looks like at least one of Grier or Hecht is out tonight.

Adam is the only fantasy relevant one here. If you're in a daily-start league and need a filler w/ some upside you could do a lot worse than Adam.

Dude, how are we supposed to sell high when you write like this (my deadline's past). Unsticky this thread! Start a new thread. Suggested Titles:

Sekera = The New Mike Green
The New Big 3: Crosby, Ovechkin, Sekera (who needs Malkin or Stamkos)
Norris Trophy for Rej!

Although if this guy gets another 2 points tonight, I'm not selling at any cost.

Few things in prep for tonight's game vs the Pens (an update to my post from earlier today)

• Vanek, Kaleta, Grier and Hecht are out
• Luke Adam and Mark Parrish got the call up
• Enroth remains with the team (to avoid another call up). He WILL be playing this weekend - either Saturday @ Leafs; or Sunday vs Senators
• Keep the above in mind when making goalie preparations for next week. I'm sure I will post a reminder mid-week, but i have been known to forget a thing or two in my day. So forewarned is forearmed
• Haven't verified the lines but look for: Adam-Boyes-Stafford; Goose-Connolly-Pommer; and Mancari-Ennis-Gerbe
• I'll try to have a game recap up at some point tomorrow...I'm outtie