NBC's Pierre McGuire astutely, and in my opinion, correctly describes the struggles of Sabres D Tyler Myers. Pierre compares the pairing of the inconsistent Myers with veteran Tallinder to that of the Hartford Whalers partnering the late Brad McCrimmon with a then struggling 19 year old named Chris Pronger.
McGuire, then head coach of the Whalers, paired the veteran McCrimmon with the kid, and the rest is history. The advantage that Myers has right now is that he is already familiar with Tallinder in that they played together for most of the 2009-10 season. Myers won the NHL Rookie of The Year after that season.
Rolston and Regier are looking to go back to the future.
Thanks, Adam Benigni, WGRZ
The only aspect of the Tallinder trade that I don't like is that in order to get him top four minutes with Myers, Rolston is going to have to take ice time away from his kids like Weber, Pysyk, and perhaps McNabb.
Otherwise, I like the Tallinder a lot. I was one who hated seeing him leave at the end of the 2010 season, When healthy, Hank is a Swedish version of his old teammate and new boss, Teppo Numminen. Automatic. No stress. No panic. No running around.
The onus is now squarely on Myers to get himself in the best cardio and physical shape of his life and to bury his butt ugly 2013 season.
I'm excited to be heading back to the rink to cover hockey.
I haven't been inside First Niagara Center since April. I can't wait to see "veterans" Mikhail Grigorenko, Zemgus Girgensons, Mark Pysyk, Brayden McNabb lead the first and second timers, like Buffalo kid Justin Bailey who the sabres selected in the second round of the NHL draft last weekend. Ristolainen and Zadorov will be there, as will "Captain USA" Jake McCabe. Another Buffalo kid, Tyler Gjurich, of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres will be an invitee to the camp.
I'm also going to keep my eyes on goalie Andrey Makarov. I think this kid is about to become a star and I'll be watching him closely in camp.
his will mark the second year in a row that the ice will be installed during the summer and the development camp will be held at the home of the Sabres. Camp will conclude with “Sabres Summer Fan Fest,” a day of hockey-themed entertainment on Buffalo’s waterfront, on July 12, beginning at 3 p.m.
Here's the confirmed lineup of camp attendees:
Forwards:
Justin Bailey
Nick Baptiste
TJ Compfer
Zemgus Girgensons (returnee)
Tyler Gjurich
Mikhail Grigorenko (returnee)
Connor Hurley
Alex Iaffalo
Christian Isaakson (returnee)
Colin Jacobs (returnee0
Justin Kea
Eric Locke
Sean Malone
Brad Navin
Logan Nelson (returnee)
Jonathon Parker (returnee)
Judd Peterson
Gusav Possler
Tim Schaller
Kevin Sundher (returnee)
Phil Varone (returnee)
Defensemen:
Brady Austin
Kevin Czuczman
Anthony Florentino
Jerome Leduc-Gauthier (returnee)
Alex Lepkowski (returnee)
Matt MacKenzie (returnee)
Jake McCabe (returnee)
Brayden McNabb (returnee)
Mark Pysyk (returnee)
Rasmus Ristolainen
Nikita Zadorov
On-ice camp sessions will be open to the public each day, Wednesday through Friday, with the Wednesday and Thursday sessions being free-of-charge. Tickets for Friday’s scrimmage, as part of a Sabres Summer Fan Fest package, are available for $10.
The following is a tentative schedule of on-ice workouts open to the public at First Niagara Center during development camp. All times are subject to change and any updates will be posted at Sabres.com.
Wednesday, July 10
Group 1: 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Group 2: 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 11
Group 1: 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Group 2: 2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Friday, July 12
Blue & Gold Scrimmage – Begins at 4 p.m.
The camp will feature approximately 40 Sabres prospects, including the team’s 2013 NHL Draft picks, all of whom are scheduled to participate in camp.
The players will take part in both on-ice and off-ice workouts. The goals of the camp are to show prospective players the fundamental ideas of the Sabres’ playing system and expose them to the conditioning programs of an NHL player. Camp participants will also study and examine NHL rules and the successful techniques a player must possess to become a professional athlete.
‘Sabres Summer Fan Fest,’ being hosted in conjunction with Buffalo Place, will begin with the annual Blue & Gold scrimmage at First Niagara Center and will be followed by a concert at Canalside with alternative rock group 10,000 Maniacs serving as the night’s headlining act.
Fans can begin arriving at First Niagara Center at 3 p.m. to watch the Sabres rookies wrap up their development camp by participating in an intra-squad scrimmage, which begins at 4 p.m. Family-friendly food prices will be available to fans at concession stands throughout the arena.
Following the scrimmage, the Sabres and Buffalo Place will continue the evening entertainment at Canalside, the site of Buffalo Place’s popular summer concert series. Beginning at 6 p.m., children 12 years-old and younger can participate in an autograph session with the Sabres rookies. Music will also begin at 6 p.m., with 10,000 Maniacs scheduled to take the stage at 8 p.m. A post-concert fireworks show will conclude the night’s festivities.
When the St. Louis Blues signed UFA center Derek Roy to a new one year, $4-million contract on Saturday, it left St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong in a tough spot. The Blues right now have only $7.85 million in cap space for the 2013-14 season. It bears repeating that the cap will reduce from $70.4 million to $64.3 million for next season.
Armstrong has said on the record that he feels confident that he can get his three stud RFAs signed with his available cap space. I say poppycock. Armstrong is saying all the right things after signing UFA centers Max Lapierre and Derek Roy, however, he's going to have to face facts that he's going to have to move out a contract or two in order to sign all star blue liner Alex Pietrangelo, power forward Chris Stewart and goalie of the future Jake Allen
Pietrangelo's entry level deal just expired and he's going to cash in on some serious loot when he finally signs with the Blues.
I look for Pietrangelo to earn between $4-$4.5 million per season. Yes, folks, he's THAT good. He's one of the top fve D in the NHL right now and he's only 23 years old. His demand is high and he's a hot commodity around the NHL. STL D Kevin Shattenkirk was RFA, however, just signed for similar money last week.
Stewart is a rock solid power forward and he jist ended a one year $3 million contract. He's arbitration eligible and will likely get north of $4 million per season if he gets to the arb meeting.
Allen is the goalie of the future and will likely get a bridge contract in the $1.5 million range.
If I'm Darcy Regier, I'm calling Armstrong daily looking to take forward TJ Oshie's $4 million cap hit of his hands.
What are the Buffalo Sabres waiting for? Its time to make a decisive move in free agency.
The Detroit Red Wings signed a great center when they signed Swiss star Damien Brunner as a free agent on July 1, 2012.
Brunner was a breath of fresh air in Detroit this season, scoring 12 goals and adding 14 assists in 44 games. He led the Red Wings in goals (5) in the playoffs.
Today, the Red Wings are moving in a new direction, without the UFA Brunner.
By signing jumbo UFAs Daniel Alfredsson ($5.5 million for one year)and Stephen Weiss ($4.9 million x 5 years), the Red Wings have more or less maxed out their 2013-14 salary cap.
The Wings have only $2.3 million left in cap space and still have unsigned UFAs Brunner and veteran Danny Clearly. RFAs Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson are still unsigned. In order to get the kid RFAs locked up for next season, the Wings will have to get rid of contracts of youngsters Tomas Tatar and/or Cory Emmerton.
The Buffalo Sabres would be wise to investigate (if they haven't done so already) Brunner in the UFA market. Their RW depth chart is exactly awe inspiring at this time with Right Wing
Stafford, Drew, Patrick Kaleta, Brian Flynn. Rookie Joel Armia should get a look in Buffalo, but will likely start in Rochester, then get called up to the Sabres after 15-20 games in the AHL.
Brunner's a complete player.
Brunner made quite a respectable name for himself in his first season in the NHL after his illustrious pro career in his native Switzerland.
He's a RW who can find the open man and can distribute the puck on the move. He's an impressive skater and can stand up to the clutch-n-grab game that's become so popular in the Eastern conference over the past few seasons. He earned $1.35 million in Detroit last seasons.
2013 Playoffs: Led Red Wings with 5 postseason goals
2012-13:
Appeared in 44 games.
Registered a career-high 4 points (2-2-4) on Feb. 24 vs VAN.
Missed 3 games due to injury
Career Highlights:
Led Switzerland's National League A in scoring prior to joining Red Wings (25-32-57 in 33 GP for EV Zug in 2012-13).
Led National League A in regular season and playoff scoring in 2011-12.
Named to 2011-12 Swiss National League A All-Star Team.
Represented Switzerland at the 2010 and 2012 IIHF World Championships.
Led Team Switzerland in scoring at the 2012 IIHF World Championships (7GP, 3-4-7)
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