Punch

Apparently, Turnbull is almost definitely out? Kevin Oklobzija ‏@kevinoDandC Unless there's a shift in thinking, don't expect to see the ‪#Sabres‬ re-sign C Travis Turnbull for the ‪#Amerks‬ either. Oklobzija has an interesting quote from Rolston regarding filling out the roster and how it pertains to the potential lockout: “I think we’re pretty close anyway (to a full roster), but if you look around the whole league, a lot of teams are holding off right now,” Rolston said. “If there’s a lockout and they have to send their young guys down, you want spots for them to play and continue their development. I think teams are holding off on a lot of those (additional) players.” http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/kevino/

FWIW, he then clarified the two way deal: Patrick Caisse ‏@patrickcaisse @NHLGossip @SabresProspects @BillHoppeNHL @kforbesy Frederick Roy : It's a one-year and two-way (AHL/ECHL) deal. Confirmed. Retweeted by Kris Baker

Fascinating. Friedman always has great stuff. I bet there's a better than average chance Darcy has called Nashville about Shea Weber. There was also this, at the very end--- apparently the Kings trainers thoroughly clean the shin pads: "44. Also, the Kings became the first champion to use only six defencemen the entire playoffs since the 1980 New York Islanders. When you're that healthy and that consistent, you're laughing."

13 fights in his his last NHL season, 2009-10--- not too successful but he took on some tough customers including Chris Neil, Konopka (3 times), Aaron Asham (twice) and Matt Carkner: http://www.hockeyfights.com/players/1704

Tarnasky previously played in Rochester briefly when he was a member of the Panthers organization. 6'2" 224 lbs, played 2 nearly full seasons with Tampa in 2006-07 & 2007-08. Surely a depth signing to add more size and toughness to the organization and make Amerks games more entertaining. http://sabres.nhl.co...s.htm?id=638076 Tarnasky's career numbers--- a lot of penalty minutes: http://forecaster.th...player.cgi?3442 I see chz posted these in the Rochester thread as I was typing... it's probably a better place for it rather than it's own thread.

SabreBuzz GARTH--- and yes, he's the Sabres blogger on Eklund's site but he doesn't mire himself in the rumor muck as Eklund does--- posted something interesting on the Doan front: "I've been told that Teppo Numminen is friend of Doan and the two have reportedly talked about Buffalo as a wonderful place to raise a family. I've heard from a source that Buffalo have made a four year offer, where other teams are offering 2-3 year deals for the trophy buck UFA of this Summer." http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/GARTH/Report-Sabres-Made-Offer-To-Doan/6/45629 FWIW, GARTH doesn't post much about secret "sources" and never gets into rampant speculation--- and this could certainly fall into the category of Stafford/Parise playing RockBand together in the offseason or whatever, but in a dreadfully slow NHL FA news cycle I thought it worth posting. For the record, Teppo and Doan were teammates for 8 seasons from 1995-96 to 2002-03, beginning with the last season for the Coyotes franchise as the Winnipeg Jets.

My first thought was Buffalo... second, I thought of Carolina. Rutherford has been aggressive, and aside from acquiring J. Staal have made pushes for Nash, Parise, Suter, et al--- although I'm not sure how much money they were willing to offer up. I'm going to hold on to the hope that it's the Sabres until it's pried away from my cold dead hands... or until he signs elsewhere.

FWIW, Doan's agent confirmed today that he and the Sabres "have been in touch". Doan may put together a list of acceptable teams tomorrow: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/tso/comments/sabres_doans_agent_have_talked/?tw_p=twt

Bobby Ryan, a real patriot: "@b_ryan9: Happy 4th to everyone out there! Is there anyone more iconic on this day than Will Smith? #independanceday"

What day is today?

Berglund is definitely an intriguing fit, and he's only 24--- any reluctance he has to use his big frame could be influenced by Ott's presence. The Blues will likely need to add defense via trade so it's not crazy talk. Trading strength meet trading strength: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/morning-skate/if-free-agency-fails-blues-may-have-to-swap-offense/article_cdcbb938-c44a-11e1-b4e6-001a4bcf6878.html

Anyhow--- HNiC's Elliotte Friedman on the other potential young players Gillis referred to in addition to Kassian: 4. In the March 6 edition of this blog, I mentioned that Vancouver "targeted" a few players in a possible Cody Hodgson deal. Zack Kassian was one, obviously. I also noted Brandon Sutter, who the Carolina Hurricanes love, and made an educated guess at John Carlson (which appears to be true). Canucks GM Mike Gillis said Tuesday there were six players. According to a couple of sources, sounds like the fourth was Erik Gudbranson and the fifth Kyle Clifford. No. 6? Not sure. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/2012/04/luongo-trade-talk-30-thoughts.html

A big, two-way center is definitely part of the solution thus offseason, which is to get bigger and tougher in general upfront. Now, technically Derek Roy was getting #1 center minutes. If you simply replace Roy with Staal I'd say that's a hell of an upgrade, and generates the kind of favorable defensive matchups that helped Ennis to thrive.

If Drew Stafford tried half as hard as you do then I wouldn't trade him for all the centers in Philly.

Oh I absolutely agree that Kassian has yet to show that kind of nastiness or consistent physical play--- and perhaps never will. But the Vancouver media at the very least was selling that 'Jr. Lucic' bill of goods. Honestly, if the reports of a rift between Vigneault and Hodgson & his agent are true then maybe it is possible the deal was made to unload Cody when a good return was still available. But if they didn't truly believe Kassian was ready to play the role they've asked him to play then they're putting an awful lot of pressure on that young man.

I don't think Vancouver makes the trade if it's solely with the future in mind. Hodgson was viewed as the heir apparent to Henrik Sedin as captain. The reasons stated for the trade were to add toughness to their lineup to win this year. They could certainly do alright in the trade once we see how everyone pans out but I don't think the Canucks were making deadline moves with next year in mind--- they were all in to win the Cup in 2012.

Remember, it all started near the trade deadline when TSN's Bob McKenzie reported that the Kings were considering trading Brown because they felt he wasn't a good fit for captain (!) and the Sabres were mentioned as one of the teams with strong interest. A lot has changed since then and at this point, it's only a fantasy.

Do you expect Foligno to hit "the wall" at some point next season or did he get enough seasoning in the AHL?

That's exactly the kind of commentary I was interested in seeing. With the group he had in DC it's definitely plausible it's a case of damning with faint praise but I agree with you about Boudreau being a straight shooter. My guess is it's a bit of both. I think the type of unrest running rampant in the two fanbases is pretty typical for dysfunctional teams suffering a disappointing season. Roy isn't as much of a cancer as many of us make him out to be, but I still think his time has come to be moved, and perhaps the same can be said for Getzlaf. He's a better physical fit than Roy for the Sabres' needs. I highly doubt he is traded but I'd like for us to be in the conversation.

I've been meaning to do a bit of research to see what has been reported by those that cover the Ducks and try and get a feeling (if possible) for how Boudreau played Getzlaf--- ice time, PP time, postgame comments, etc. Considering the rumors that Getzlaf was being shopped--- and specifically with the Sabres involved--- it's entirely possible that they're open to moving him and Darcy is interested. A caller to WGR yesterday mentioned that one reason the Sabres were adamant about obtaining a 1st for Goose was to turn around and flip it in another big deal (which was met with agreement by the hosts) and there were stories that some trade proposals discussed during the season were set aside to the backburner, to be resumed come draft time. I think Robyn Regehr was one such discussion from the previous year. Trade value at the trade deadline is always inflated, though. Goose would never fetch a 1st round pick in the offseason, unless you were playing X-Box.

When Ryan Malone became available in free agency a few years ago he was my dream acquisition. There was speculation that he was available at the trade deadline last year, as well. At this point I think I'd still prefer Dustin Brown for a number of reasons (age, salary, etc) but Malone would be a fantastic "consolation prize" if he were indeed on the block. I would hope Darcy makes the following phone calls on Draft day regarding possible trades for these players, in order: Ryan Getzlaf Dustin Brown Jarome Iginla Ryan Malone Rick Nash

Absolutely. Listening to Paul Hamilton's comments on WGR a few minutes ago was very interesting. It may be subtle, but anyone that thinks coaching and management are not prepared to make changes to the core group should listen at WGR550's audio vault.

I just misread this thread title as: Things that were AWESOME...

I completely understand why people don't like low scoring games where the neutral zone is clogged like my bathroom sink after shaving my beard, believe me. I honestly hate the trap for how it almost destroyed the game. I don't think the Blues' game really relies on clutching and grabbing anymore than the Ducks did in 2006-07. In a perfect world, the Sabres would be responsible for a whole lot of crashing and banging and enough skill players able to open up the ice. I sort of have a gutteral extreme reaction to the way the Sabres have been manhandled and overpowered over the years and I'd like to be the aggressor once in a while. If the franchise is modeling itself after the Detroit Red Wings from ownership, management, personnel, and coaching standpoints then I'm all for it.

Each of the teams on shrader's list were tough, hard nosed teams. Fights aren't the hallmark of toughness, rather those teams were all built to stand the war of attrition--- plus, they all had excellent skill players and balanced scoring throughout the top 9.