Buffalo Sabres

[Bomm Bastic]

Completely non-fantasy hockey related news blurb for ya'll....

The Sabres are holding a news conference at the moment declaring the name change of their arena. It is now formally known as First Niagara Center.

For those non-local readers (assuming I have any readers at all, for that matter) HSBC bank has sold all of their NY branches to First Niagara Bank, as part of their consolidation of corporate holdings.

HSBC's full name is Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp, however, we Buffalonians liked to affectionately refer to the anagram in a more relevant way such as:

Holy Shit Buffalo's Cold - arena

or...

Hot Sauce/Blue Cheese Arena (for those chicken wing lovers out there).

I'm sure we'll drum up something for our new moniker, FNC.

[Bomm Bastic]

Ok, the last two weeks I've been buried in fantasy football preparations (not to mention new home updates). Luckily, football is a much easier beast to prepare for than hockey - also a lot less interesting - so two weeks, drafted Thursday and Friday and I'm done. Rosters are more or less set in football, barring injury or bye weeks. Pretty straight forward.

Now back to my favorite sport - hockey.

This is old news but still worthy of a mention. The Sabres for the first time will be participating in the NHL's Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan (Sept. 10 - 14).

Don't think I'll be able to find video, but if anyone knows of an online feed I'd be very much interested. Very excited to see the progress of Kassian, Adam, McNabb, Gauthier-Leduc, and Pysyk. As I've said before, I don't believe Adam and Kassian are quite ready for the jump (full-time) but they are very close. It will be very cool to see how they compare to the other prospect around the league.

Big additional expense for Pegula, and yet another example of his investing in the scouting/prospect development side of the biz. Overall team development is important to him, and he reinforces this by putting words to action - he sets an example.

The roster is as follows (I'll have to find out why Leggio isn't involved)

Forwards: Adam, Kassian, Foligno, Steven Beyers, Riley Boychuk, Daniel Catenacci, Cedrick Henley, Jacob Legace, Jonathan Parker, Steven Shipley, Kevin Sundher, Gregg Sutch, Shawn Szydlowski, Corey Tropp, Phil Varone.

Defense: Pysyk, McNabb, Lepkowski, Alex Biega, Nick Crawford, Corey Fienhage, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Matt MacKenzie.

Goalies: Nathan Lieuwen, Ryan Rondeau.

[JD88]

Been awhile and you may have something posted somewhere but what is the status on Pommer I cant find anything anywhere???

[Bomm Bastic]

Been awhile and you may have something posted somewhere but what is the status on Pommer I cant find anything anywhere???

Hey, JD88, good question. I have not heard any recent updates. At the time it was reported he would need 4-6 months post-surgery rehab. The six month mark would put him at Oct, so there is chance he misses camp.

Sorry, that's all I got at the moment. I'll be sure to post any updates.

[JD88]

Hey, JD88, good question. I have not heard any recent updates. At the time it was reported he would need 4-6 months post-surgery rehab. The six month mark would put him at Oct, so there is chance he misses camp.

Sorry, that's all I got at the moment. I'll be sure to post any updates.

I will be waiting patiently for an update thanks

[horrorfan]

Found this article posted yesterday, and it's good news. Here are some relevant parts:

"With training camp set to open next week, Pominville, who was injured April 22, said he's "able to do everything" again. He's just waiting to be cleared to play. Pominville believes he's ahead of the four-to-six month recovery timetable."

""I'm capable of doing any type of workout, any skate, any battle," said Pominville, who sports a scar several inches long just above his left ankle."

"Pominville's rehab went smoothly. He skated for the first time in late June, and then stayed on the ice for good after a week of other rehab."

http://tonawanda-news.com/sabres/x16...ad-of-schedule

[Bomm Bastic]

Found this article posted yesterday, and it's good news. Here are some relevant parts:

"With training camp set to open next week, Pominville, who was injured April 22, said he's "able to do everything" again. He's just waiting to be cleared to play. Pominville believes he's ahead of the four-to-six month recovery timetable."

""I’m capable of doing any type of workout, any skate, any battle," said Pominville, who sports a scar several inches long just above his left ankle."

"Pominville's rehab went smoothly. He skated for the first time in late June, and then stayed on the ice for good after a week of other rehab."

http://tonawanda-news.com/sabres/x16...ad-of-schedule

Just got that as an alert, myself. Seems he's been rehabbing at home, and everything looks to be right on schedule (f not ahead). Definitely looks promising.

Thanks, HF.

[tgraveline]

Man, I was just looking at capgeek and considering the team is already a few million above the cap, I realized that both Ennis and Myers are up for RFA contracts after this season. If they have good seasons, which I think they do, that's going to be a problem. Though I did see that Hecht, Boyes, Gaustad, and Kotalik's contracts are up after this season free them up over 10 million. So hopefully this ends up working out for them. I always liked Miller and hoped they could land a good team in front of him. Hope this season and the upcoming offseason shows some serious movement for the better.

[ridinryan44]

Man, I was just looking at capgeek and considering the team is already a few million above the cap, I realized that both Ennis and Myers are up for RFA contracts after this season. If they have good seasons, which I think they do, that's going to be a problem. Though I did see that Hecht, Boyes, Gaustad, and Kotalik's contracts are up after this season free them up over 10 million. So hopefully this ends up working out for them. I always liked Miller and hoped they could land a good team in front of him. Hope this season and the upcoming offseason shows some serious movement for the better.

No kidding, man. Hopefully it bodes well for a longer term/cheaper contract for Ennis (could use it in my cap league), but they are going to have some major work to do. Gerbe could be one of those guys who could benefit as his hit is very cap friendly for the next three years.

I still can't believe Pominville makes $5.3 million. More than Roy

[Bomm Bastic]

Just listening to Regier now, on local radio...

Nothing major to report on the tournament in Mich: top line of Foligno - Adam - Kassian. Adam was interviewed and quoted as saying he'd be disappointed if he didn't make the team out of camp. I still don't think he will.

I'm mentioning this cuz it segues (albeit awkwardly) into what tgraveline and RR44 were discussing re the cap hit and next year's problems w/ re-signing of Ennis and Myers.

Regier stated rather emphatically that the notion of burying salary in Rochester is a last resort. Ergo, trades need to occur in order for the Sabres to get below the cap.

Boyes and Pommer are my first two choices. Big salaries off the books, teams out there looking for vet role players with some offensive upside, Pommer not as needed w/ Leino on the team, and Boyes is well....Boyes. Maybe a d-man or two in the package (Leopold?) They would yield a nice return of picks.

Yes, everyone wants Kotalik moved, but realistically he needs to be a part of a package because no one will take him solo (he's already cleared waivers twice...hasn't he?). If not then he's the last resort being buried in Rochester.

Sabres could easily be $5mil under by opening night. Then in 2012 Hecht walks and Kassian and Foligno get the call for 2012-13

Point being at some point between now at the start of the 2013 season I see Hecht, Kotalik, Boyes, Pommer...possibly Gragnani, Weber or Leopold being on new teams. Adam, Kassian and Foligno being full time Sabres. That would certainly clear enough space to re-sign Myers and Ennis.

Maybe as consequence of the moves to get under this year, Adam winds up on the 3rd line after the first...ohhhhh, six weeks of the regular season. Nice spot for him really. No pressure, nice role players around him to help ease him in. I see that scenario as a strong possibility as well.

[TK12555]

Bomm, do you think that Pommer actually would get traded though? Like I'm not a Sabres follower, but isn't he a huge leader and a large part of the team for a while now?

I just feel that would be a total slap in the face to him. Am I wrong here?

[Bomm Bastic]

Bomm, do you think that Pommer actually would get traded though?

No I don't think they will, at least not this year. They need the depth and vet presence he brings to the team. It's such a big cap number though...that's my hang up (ie paying him at a Corey Perry rate).

At the end of this season the Sabres will have Hecht, Boyes, Morrisonn, Kotalik and Gaustad coming off the books. That's assuming no moves to get under right now...which isn't likely at all (obviously).

The above adds up to approx $12mil which is more than enough to sign Ennis and Myers, bring up Adam and Kassian (perhaps Foligno).

As for right now....moving Boyes and Kotalik gets them under w/room to spare.

[TK12555]

We'll find out soon I suppose. Only a few days until training camps start to open.

[Bomm Bastic]

We'll find out soon I suppose. Only a few days until training camps start to open.

Yeah it can go any number of ways, really. A lot of possible combinations to get under.

[TK12555]

Another question for you...how do you feel about Pegula breaking the bank this offseason?