Archives for January 12, 2003

'Happy New Year, indeed.'

'There's plenty of wriggle room to get this deal done, to reconstruct the math, satisfy everyone's agenda. And, for myriad reasons, the deal must get done.'

'The fact is the Canadiens – aside from José Theodore (29 stops) – had a bad game, the kind of a game that prompts general managers to deliver sermons to their teams before the next one.'

'"If José didn't make the big saves he did, we would have lost 8-1," said Quintal. "We gave them far too many 2-on-1 chances and that was the difference. We had (defencemen) pitching in at the wrong times. There are times when you have to pitch in, but tonight wasn't a question of being down 4-1 and needing a goal. We have to play smarter."'

'The good news is that nine players who skated against Dallas in those 1999 Finals still are Sabres — Barnes, Curtis Brown, Jay McKee, James Patrick, Rob Ray, Miroslav Satan, Vaclav Varada, Warrener and Alexei Zhitnik. The bad news is that several of the holdovers probably should be retired or playing somewhere else and two of the departed players were the heart and soul of the franchise — Dominik Hasek and Michael Peca.'

'Despite erroneous widespread reports, the NHL's other 29 teams are not now supporting the Sabres. Nor does the league have any intention of soliciting funds from its clubs to meet the Buffalo payroll and operating obligations. Indeed, a bankruptcy filing would protect the NHL from assuming a further (or at least, immediate) burden in Western New York as George Pataki considers prospective buyer Mark Hamister's appeal for public aid – and would permit a constructive reorganization so that the season's payrolls can be met regardless of the governor's response to the request.'

'"I grew up in a rodeo environment, where if you get bucked off a horse you get right back on," Malarchuk, 41, said. "While the media was speculating my career was over, I was just saying, 'The sooner I get back in there, the better off I'll be.'"'

'“January's been good so far,'' Barnes said. “We've played better and we're just taking it a game at a time and a day at a time. It's the old cliche but really for us, that's where we're at. It's still a long road ahead.'''

'"I'm so happy to be able to play here and win the game," said Biron, a Quebec native. "This win was so good for my confidence. I really felt I was focused. I wanted to play so badly. I'm glad the coach gave me a chance."'