Guest Writer Hockey Freak
Lindy Ruff is the most tenured coach in the NHL. But Lindy is missing the one thing every Sabres fan wants: A Stanley Cup. Lindy struggles with criticism of fans that want change for the sake of change, and others that berate him for his system or attention to newcomers to the league. The double edge sword: some say he tries to be a strict father, others say his system is not working within the player matrix he designed.
The “father figure” role he plays to the young lads just starting their NHL career, in my opinion is a fallacy. There are plenty of rookies leaving home and going to a new state or country without their parents around. Kids leave every year to go to college or wherever life may lead but how many have “father figures” around every day? Personally I don’t think that has much to do with it.
I believe that every person wants the truth. If they wanted to hear bullshit they could walk down to the local bar on any given night and hear the local douche bag tell his best pickup line or how many goals he scored in juniors. Nobody wants to hear that shit.
I don’t want to be told that my work proposal was great just to find out that when I present it in a meeting that it isn’t what the marketing company had in mind. Where will this type of “sunshine up my ass” approach lead to? The unemployment line possibly? Tell me that my proposal sucks otherwise I’ll think it’s great and Ill tank in every meeting. Many coaches blow sunshine up their players asses and tell them how great they are. Many of the “band wagon” fans and even their color commentators (especially where I live), just chalk up a loss to “a bad game”. While Lindy tells the media about the good plays his team has made and praises players when needed, he doesn’t give excuses. He will hold his players responsible and let them know what they screwed up on and he’ll say it to the press knowing damn well that the fans and the players will hear every word of the interview. Lindy constantly holds his players accountable for their actions and will tell the world “it’s not good enough”.
As Lindy himself said “shots and chances alone aren’t going to win games. We need to play the system, we need to throw our bodies at them and make life miserable for them. Not a single guy threw their body out there.” This kind of leadership is what makes people love him. We stand by him, we support him and we trust him to lead our team in the right direction (the direction of the cup would be nice). He understands the energy and chemistry needed to play and he can change the lineup with the best of them. Lindy is responsible for the chemistry on this team and he tries constantly to figure out what works and what doesn’t work. If it doesn’t work he changes the lineup. However, it is the players themselves that have to believe in the system and find the creativity, the flow and the energy that Lindy is trying to get into this teams head.
So what will they do tonight? If the Sabres have a “bad night” I doubt we will hear any excuses, and the players will face Lindy's fire of truth until they can start winning. That’s why I love this coach. He'll tell us the truth. He'll tell the players the truth. That’s what we want to hear and it what the players need to hear. This is a time where BS and excuses are antithetical to staying on the playoff path. Especially the way this team has been playing lately. Sometimes for the players, the truth hurts. If they don’t want to hear the truth then I’m sure there are a few douche bags in one of the bars on Chippewa or Oliver street they could hang out with or asked to be traded to a team where the coach owns a big bag of sunshine.
In the Spotlight
From my friend and guest writer Hockey Freak
The Sabres cannot start playing like just a spoiler team. There is a lot of steep competition and the next few games are critical. Any loss right now could be crushing to their morale and perhaps even suicidal for a first round playoff run.
And where have our “opportunistic” scorers Grier and Kennedy been? We're relying on Adam Mair, folks if that tells you anything. I’m not going to sit here and insult anyone’s intelligence by telling you their stats, hell anyone can read that, but my point is that we need auxilliary players. Everyone is watching Miller, Vanek and Connolly. Other teams have every reason to watch them, they are the ones pulling and dragging this team through the playoffs. What we need are the “underdogs” to step up. They may not get much ice time but they need to make the most out of every shift they have. They need to shoot when they have a shot and they need to grow a set of “Kaletas” and check someone if that’s what it takes to get the damn puck. They need to stop relying on the people in the spotlight. Everyone knows they are there, everyone’s watching them. Darcy has already shown us that he doesn’t make major changes during the playoff BUT he will make them during the summer. The season is almost over, (insert curse word and crying noises here), and 13 guys are reaching contract expiration or will be added to the free agency list post season.
Players beware…..if you think the grass is greener on the other side then dump and chase all day long. I KNOW you won’t find a bigger, more loyal fan base than right here in Buffalo, just ask Torres. While there’s no guarantee of who’s “safe” and who’s not, we can bet Molsons and Blues all day, that some players have got a lot to prove. I bet there are a lot of tadpoles in the pond who would play for a fraction of the salary some players are making. These players aren’t just playing to win the cup and get a ring. The whole Sabre Nation is watching and counting on their success. The Olympics were a breeze compared to the expectations we have in Buffalo.
Can Torres Bring It Home?
I sat at my desk at work trying to feed numbers in an Excel sheet and watch transactions on trade day. I didn't expect to see Buffalo on the list, nor did my inside source who was telling me who's cell phones were ringing and whos weren't.
This one came right out of nowhere. It was as if Regier would have faced his own mortality had he sat idle on trade day.
Torres is not a Kovalchuck or a Dany Heatley but at least Regier actually took a valium and stepped outside his comfort zone a little.
So without rambling on, two questions: What did we get and where is going to play?
Raffi Torres is a stong forward that will bring some grit along the boards, could add scoring to our power-play and take the place of hard-nosed Paul Gausted who is out with a hand injury. He walks into the locker room already being the highest goal-scorer on the team. Buffalo has had one win and six losses in the last 7 games. If Raffi can get that friggen red light to glow he could instantly become a hero in Buffalo.
Having said that Torres can bring some morale into a locker room that has zero confidence right now. Perhaps he can boost some competitve spirit in Vanek, making the slumping 6 million dollar should-be franchise player realize there's a new Sherriff in town -- and if he thought he was in the shadows before, wait till fans start showing up with Raffi's name on the back instead of his. Sometimes that competition between established lines really makes a team formidable because every line wants to score, every line wants to compete. Every line wants to be on the ice.
So where will he play? Speculation from practice scouts say he will be playing with Roy and Pominville. They also say Vanek, Stafford and Connelly were bundled to make up the second line; the idea being Connelly can feed Vanek the biscuit and they can have some power-play magic when the Raffi line is resting.
The make-or-break for the Sabres will be the chemistry they get or don't get with the Raffi addition. He could be the clutch goal-scorer for Buffalo when their auxilliary scoring drops, but if the Sabres rely on him alone to do it all, they'll be in trouble.
The competition is fierce and every team anywhere near the 8th spot and above is ravenous for wins right now. This is the time for the Sabres to figure out which lines are going to work. It's time for them to keep killing penalties tenaciously but find some offense - especially on the anorexic powerplay. They have to act as though the season has started all over again because in essence, it has. They're lucky to be in the spot they're in but maintaining it will take playing every game like its a playoff game.
If it works, I will personally go to Regier's office and bring him a LaNova pizza, a case of Molson and a thank you card for actually giving a shit.
We shall see... No pressure, Raffi.
The Screams Unheard in Buffalo So the real question is….where has the rest of the team been? Not much out of our newcomer Torres who had one assist in the past two games.
Kaleta once again was playing like winning meant another day breathing. Hecht, Connelly and Grier were non-factors. And as usual, the power-play was worse than anemic.
But aside from the disappointing loss, there is a deeper issue that broke through the ice and sunk into the heads of everyone that loves the Buffalo Sabres. What's most disturbing is that we have all been here before.... and here we go again.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Jordan Leopold and now Ponikarovsky. Ottawa, a team we already struggle with, now has Matt Cullen and strength on the blueline with Andy Sutton and Scott Walker has been added to the already formidable Washington Capitals.
Teams that are making a serious run are at the very least on the phone, on email, texting, perhaps even facebooking eachother about offers, possibilities... And where is Darcy Regier today? I sure as hell would like to know. If I were to guess probably in some fancy establishment drinking his favorite scotch while Ryan Miller, with jet lag gets on another plane so he can try to get some sleep before facing Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on national television tonight.
As a fan that draws months (ok years) of hope and then you stand at the precipice and stare out at just one dream coming true -- and one single person keeps it from happening, has a foot in the crease, or worse someone from your own team's organization keeps the screams of the passionate fans in a jar and leaves them sitting on the floor in front of Gillasano's door.
Darcy if you are listening, turn up your hearing aid and take a moment to seriously listen to the screams in Buffalo. The days of the Sabres staying competitive in the current landscape are vastly dwindling.
If you dont hear anything else, hear this:
Watching Ryan Miller talk to ESPN and journalists that never gave a shit about hockey before the Olympics is heart breaking. It is painful watching him talk about the enormous pride in America, the crap we get as a border city from Canadians every single time we play the Leafs or in local taverns where Canadians come over and shove in our faces any and every hockey achievement they have gained.
"It's, (they are) pretty tough sometimes." Miller said looking downward, "They (Canadians) give you a hard time."
He's talking about the Leaf flags being waved in the faces of the Sabres fans. The fights in the parking lot outside of HSBC arena and on Elmwood where loose lips and flying beer bottles bring the sirens of the Buffalo Police Dept. Pride foregoes discretion, especially when your pride is hurt time and time again.
The domestic migration loss in the Buffalo region is staggaring and rises every year. The Bills could potentially leave Buffalo. As if the city didnt have enough despair, our economy is going south (literally) and it's the northern industrial cities like Buffalo feeling it the hardest.
Hockey has always been far bigger in Buffalo than even the people living there realize. And if there is one thing that could solidify the city, bring some pride and bragging rights, and set free the hearts of the Queen city -- coined the "City of Hockey", it is a Stanley Cup.
The picture above reperesents the response this city has over moderate success of this team. It turned the City of Buffalo into a Sabres Woodstock. Just imagine...
As a Sabres fan I have gone through all the stages of grief from a death: Denial, Anger, Bargaining with Darcy, God, Bret Hull... Blaming everything and everyone, and Depression. The final stage is Acceptance. For some reason Sabres fans are refusing to go there.
Like a dog who's crazy owner has chopped it's paw off, we won't accept it, we will wag our tails and come back, hoping to be pet and fed.
Even Miller said, "Thats why I stay with this group of guys. Thats why I stay here. I have hope." Perhaps he is in the Denial stage.
My Conversation with Regier
The proverbial cocaine rush of the Olympics has turned into a morning-after hangover. The headache for us Sabres fans is the realization that we now have to look at the last quarter of the season with a tired, embarrassed netminder that didnt bring home the gold.
Miller can use this loss - the silver medal - as a motivation to shoot for the silver that matters: Stanley's chalice. He gained a tremendous amount of respect and profile from the Olympics and the Sabres owe him the equal respect of giving him a chance to play in the finals. Anything else, in my opinion would be an effing slap in the face.
Having two goaltenders (Hasek and Miller) that can carry a team on its back and disguise your teams weaknesses is like winning the lottery. Regier had his palms out under the tray while the coin spewed from the slot machine - twice. How often is this going to happen and when the fucking hell will the Sabres brass get smacked upside the head with this thing called a clue.
There is one day for Regier to make a move. One day.
Firing Ruff is the worst possible thing we can do despite the justified anger of some Sabres fans. That man (Ruff) has more heart for the Sabres than anyone I know. He would throw himself in front of a friggen bus for this team.
I have this feeling in my gut that the team is one or two players away from a Stanley Cup. I met Regier, had a Molson with him, and said to his face (among other things), “With all due respect, your desire for this teams success is nothing like the fans. That’s the problem with you, Sir, is that you are not a fan. You're here to earn a paycheck and get this team close. Many of us feel that you are here to take advantage of the loyalty of Sabres fans; let them win just enough to keep the bottom line, but make no gamble to win a cup.”
He said, "Please, call me Darcy. Dan, my well-being relies on this franchise, why would I not be a fan?" Darcy then asked me, “What should I do, Dan? I don’t have the money with this cap to grab any players. And who would you trade for them? WHO would you send packing and what can I get with the cash left over?”"Umm... Lydman, Rivet, Mair, and Vanek if he doesnt become the 6 mil 'franchise player' were expecting him to be."
I said, “Darcy the window of opportunity may have passed. Nobody wanted Dany Heatley in August last year and I was screaming for us to make that acquisition, while other fans were screaming about someone... ANYONE to give us some offense. How can an idiot hammer-head hockey fan like myself see this, but you cant? How many goals does Heatley now have? If we really wanted a cup we should have grabbed him or Kovalchuck. Heatley was a stray dog and beaten by the brass of our biggest rival - Ottawa!"
Then... he had to friggen say it... "Kovo and Dany are 'rental players'".
Holy effing... seriously.
I said, "So were Recchi and Weight for the Hurricanes. They have a Cup, Darcy. The goddamn Whale franchise moved and 5 fucking years later, they have a cup. No one on this team above Lindy seems to have a manifest destiny, and not a single one of us that bleed blue and gold understand why.”
He then waxed eloquent with an excuse I am all too familiar with - politics. Politics often shades the truth and in an effort to keep your job, to avoid looking stupid or save someone elses ass you exercise whatever verbal gymnastics it takes. I understand Darcy has a hierarchy that he has to answer to. But to use the excuse “They are all rental players” just demonstrates how incredibly out of touch he really is. Teams in the NHL do not put the same players on the ice for year after year after year wearing their embroidered team jacket on the Greyhound bus. Those days are gone.
And Darcy has GOT to know this.
Miller is tired. He is going to need help. He deserved a gold, he didn’t get it. He deserves a cup. The fans in Buffalo deserve a cup. So for the love of God and all holy things, give him and this team everything they need to get one.
One last thing Darcy... Stop telling the intelligent hockey fans in Buffalo that it can’t be done; because we all know it’s a puck bag full of bull shit. Trades could be made and a serious drive at making this THE season can happen if you would find a heart in your old wrinkled chest and stand up against your political opposition for us fans. Or - just pack your fucking bags and hand your position over.There are an aweful lot of smart young hockey minds not earning a paycheck.
Get a clue, get a heart, get some respect for the fans of Buffalo.
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