I don’t pretend to be the biggest hockey guru this side of the American Border, but what I do know is the way to build a great hockey team is right down the middle. You need centerman. Gretzky and Messier, Yzerman and Federov, Crosby and Malkin. The list goes on and on for Stanley Cup winning teams having elite centers.
The Sabres had that duo 3 years ago. I know some of you Sabres apologists hate when Drury and Briere are brought up. But the bottom line is the success of the Sabres during that time was because of the depth they had at center.
Since Drury and Briere left, the Sabres have tried to pass the torch to Derek Roy and Tim Connolly. I won’t say they’ve failed, but they sure as hell haven’t come close to filling their predecessor’s shoes.
I’ve been very critical of the Sabres brass over the months since writing this blog. But, if I were to pick players on this team who have pissed me off or left me amazed at their talent, it’s Connolly and Roy.
Lets start with Derek Roy. Roy is starting to become the Miro Satan and Alexander Mogilny of the team amongst the fans. Sure, he scores a lot of goals but there are just things he does that make you want to pull your hair out. For one thing, he dives…constantly! And even if diving wasn’t called a penalty in the NHL, it rubs me the wrong way that Roy isn’t fighting enough to make a play. It shows weakness.
Secondly, Roy doesn’t get dirty enough when he’s in front of the net. Roy normally likes to camp out at least 10-12 feet in front of the net. That’s not good enough. He needs to be on top of the goalie. Roy doesn’t have the blistering shot to just sit by the face off circle.
Roy maybe the Satan and Mogilny of the team, but Tim Connolly is becoming the Rob Johnson version of hockey. Remember how Johnson would have all the talent in the world, but he just couldn’t stay healthy.
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