Sabres backlash

My god, what the hell has happened to the Sabres? In a span of 5 days, they benched their captain, there’s talk of Lindy Ruff’s job being in jeopardy, Tyler Myers looks like Mike Myers, and the team is very close to the bottom of the NHL. Wow! This has been a great month for Buffalo sports. Now to the massacre:

1) You want my reaction to the Craig Rivet benching? It’s about fricken time. I know that a lot of fans are making a big deal about it, but I just don’t feel that way. For one, the Sabres are a bunch of guys that are just so inept to what motivation really is. What? You think Derek Roy or Tiny Tim are going to to come on the ice and go “Man, it’s time for us to really bring our A-game because old-man Rivet is sitting in the press box”. Give me a break. Obviously, Rivet’s benching did nothing, as the Sabres lost both games he didn’t play in. Secondly, and I’ve mentioned this about a month back, the whole term of “The Captain” on a hockey team is so overrated. Do you really need a guy to be the boss in the locker room? I’m sorry, but you’re adults and if you need Craig Rivet to motivate you then you really have issues. BTW, since everyone is all about trying to find the next captain (Frankly, I think it’s just a way for fans to ignore the problems of this team and look at something else to look forward to), I’m for giving the “C” to…..no one. Actually, just alternate the stupid thing until someone actually comes on this roster who deserves it.

2) Should the Sabres fire Lindy Ruff if things keep going down this road? Well, first off, it won’t happen. Now, I know everyone keeps saying that Darcy Regier would never let that happen because he and Lindy are like Ozzie and Harriet. However, another reason, which no one has brought up, has to do with money. If the Sabres fire Ruff, they would still have to pay him the remainder of his salary for the rest of the year. Sure, it seems like pennies, but these are the Buffalo Sabres we are talking about. A team that is so money conscious (See: Tim Kennedy), that paying two coaches to man the bench is probably to costly for the Sabres.  Now, would I fire Ruff? No. Have the players tuned out Ruff? More than likely.

3) Speaking of the players, yeah, they suck. Don’t give me this crap that you can’t fire your entire roster, because you certainly can trade about 5-6 of these guys, who have clogged up space for years. And that’s where the problem lies. This team isn’t good enough and management refuses to acknowledge it. I said it last year that the team overachieved and now they have come crashing down to Earth. Derek Roy and Tim Connolly aren’t top 20 centers. Nathan Gerbe and whoever you want to insert into the line-up from Portland aren’t going to really make an impact this year. The 3rd and 4th line players are interchangeable, because they resemble a bunch of Matt Ellis’s.

4) I know that 90% of the bloggers who write about the Sabres have sworn to an oath of demeaning Bucky Gleason and to yell at anyone who mentions the date July 1st, 2007. Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not one of those bloggers. The same problem that occurred on that fateful day still hasn’t been solved. The Sabres don’t have “Thee Guy”. They don’t have a player who can be a game changer on offense. I’m sorry, but I’ll still complain about it the same way that Bills fans complain about the team not finding the next Jim Kelly. The Sabres haven’t come close to finding the next Chris Drury or Daniel Briere, and quite honestly, I don’t even think they have tried. Why? Because it’s expensive. That’s why I can’t get on board with firing Ruff. I think these players just stink and if a new coach inherits this squad, it will probably work for about a month, but then we would be back to ground zero by December.

5) Tyler Myers SHOULDN’T get benched. Sorry, but the Sabres can’t shake-up the line-up at the expense of a player who is suppose to be your future. This team isn’t going to compete for a championship and are better suited to not damagethe psyche of the reigning rookie of the year.

6) I’m a big fan of Jim Kelley, going back to his days on the Sharp Shooters segment on WNSA and writing for TBN. However, for him to say that losing Hank and Toni was almost like losing Drury and Briere is just idiotic! Look, I wish the Sabres signed Hank, even though I wasn’t too big of a fan of Lydman. However, can’t we all remember how badly the duo played from 2007-2009? Hell, Toni got benched only 10 months ago! Sure, they miss them a little, but to say that the defensive pair are on the same level as losing the co-captains is a little too extreme.

7) So, you think Ryan Miller is pissed off? From reading what people in the media have said, he hasn’t exactly been giving the roster a glowing endorsement. Honestly, if it is 2-3 years from now, and the Sabres continue on this road of the business as usual stance of “tweaking” a roster that is just hovering around the 7th or 8th spot, don’t be surprised if Miller gets fed up. Do I need to go further into what “fed up” is? Think Hasek. BTW, Miller hasn’t played like an all-world goaltender this season.