|
|
![[*]](./images/gosabres/default_icon.gif) posted on 3/6/2009 at 09:29 AM |
|
|
Jack
Founder & Lead Web Developer
Posts: 128
Registered: 9/9/2008
Location: Olean, NY
Member Is Offline
|
D-Day
Trade Deadline Day, for many teams, goes down as one of the most important days of the year. Whether it be the moves you do make, or the ones you
don't -- the decisions of the front office can make or break the rest of your season.
That being said, the Buffalo Sabres had perhaps the best trade deadline of all teams.
Re-Signing Tim Connolly was a huge move. Since he's returned, Connolly has proven that he's one of the top tier players in the league. To have him
locked up for two more years makes this off-season a lot easier on the front office, and makes the rest of this season easier on both Timmy
and the team: there's no more uncertainty. Buffalo is ready to take Timmy and move forward.
Their next big move was acquiring Dominic Moore from Toronto. Moore is an underachieving center with some size and some leadership skills. He's in the
middle of a career year and the future looks bright if he can continue playing to his ability. The downside: he is a UFA at the end of the year. But,
for now at least, he fills a huge void at Center that has haunted Buffalo since about the time Danny Briere and Chris Drury left town. He may not pan
out-- maybe he's just another Steve Bernier. But at the cost of just another underachieving player in Al Kotalik, it's probably worth the risk.
And finally, Mikael Tellqvist. With tons of uncertainty in the Miller injury situation, it's a great move to bring in another back up goalie. Jhonas
Enroth has shown promise, but he's not quite NHL-ready. If Lalime can't handle the long-term load, we'd be throwing away our season if we didn't bring
in another backup. Whether Lalime continues his starting role, or they alternate games, or Tellqvist eventually takes over -- until Miller gets back,
there will be tons of competition at the goaltending position, and that can only be good news for Buffalo.
And last but not least: the return of Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov. Obviously Afinogenov hasn't had a very strong year, but after missing more
than 2 months with injury, he might be ready to turn it around. He certainly showed signs of that in his game vs Montreal.
As for Thomas Vanek: he's missed three weeks and is still the Sabres leading goal scorer. His return comes just in the nick of time. The Buffalo
Sabres are currently in 9th place, 3 points behind Pittsburgh, New York, and Florida.
__________________________
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
