Thanks to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune for this glimpse into the Vanek-Pominville relationship.
Vanek, the Sabres co-captain who lives in Stillwater during the offseason, owns a piece of the city’s Lumberyard Hockey and Sports Center and trains at Mariucci Arena, is aware #PariseWatch and #SuterWatch on Twitter two summers ago has already turned into #VanekWatch in Minnesota.
But free agency, Vanek says, is not on his mind.
“I know right now we’re rebuilding and have a young team and a lot of good young players,” Vanek said during a phone interview Friday. “That’s the reason why I just wanted to hold off and wait to see what happens here. With that said, I’ve never said I wouldn’t sign an extension here. I have enjoyed my eight years going on nine in Buffalo. It’s a great hockey town. The people really live for the Buffalo Sabres, I live in a great neighborhood and my kids love it, my wife loves it. And that goes a long way.
“So whatever happens on the business side of it — if I leave or stay — I’m not going to be one of those guys that says anything bad about Buffalo because I’ve enjoyed my time here and still do.”
**
Almsot daily. Jason Pominville will get recognized around the Twin Cities. He’s always flattered, although inevitably the Wild winger knows where the conversation will usually end up.
It takes mere minutes for hockey-mad Wild and Gophers fans to ask Pominville if his former Buffalo Sabres teammate, Thomas Vanek, will soon be reuniting with him in Minnesota.
“It’s funny,” said Pominville, the former Sabres captain who faces his former team and buddy for the first time Monday night. “It feels like I answer that question at least once or twice a day. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out. He’s a very smart guy and talented player. I’m sure he’ll take his time and make the best decision when the time comes.”
**
Who cares about Bobby Ryan?
With all due respect to his former Anaheim line mate, Corey Perry led his Anaheim Ducks to a historic win over Ryan and his Ottawa Senators on Sunday night in SoCal. Ryan scored the only game of the game for the Sens, but that's a mere detail right now.
The Ducks busted out their retro eggplant-and-aqua
Mighty Ducks third sweaters and proceeded to whack away at the Sens on
"Throwback Night".
Perry, Getzlaf, Lindholm and the Ducks landed 56 shots on Senators goalie Robin Lehner in the 4-1 win. The Ducks set a franchise record by landing 24 of those shots on Lehner in the first period alone! They landed another 21 in the second period.
Talk about tired wings!
Perry scored twice and rookie defenseman Hampus Lindholm had two assists as Anaheim earned its fourth straight win after a season-opening 6-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. The 56 shots broke the previous mark of 54 against the Edmonton Oilers on March 27, 2009.
The Ducks have a pretty simple philosophy for winning games:
They play fast, they play quick, they finish checks, force turnovers, and they assault the iother team's goalie with buckets of pucks.
Thanks, NHL.com
Perry shares his memories of the historic win, courtesy Ducks TV
Perry stuck a fork in Ryan and the Sens.
Done.
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There's a published report from this morning that former first overall draft pick
Nail Yakupov may be considering a return to play in Russia. Igor Eronko brought it to my attention on twitter.
Neftekhimik head coach, Vladimir Krikunov, told Sov Sport that its
"possible" that Yakupov could return to Russia to continue playing with his junior club Neftekhimik.
"Nail's father saw possible future problems back in summer", says the report.
True or false?
Yakupov was benched by his Edmonton head coach Dallas Eakins on Saturday night in Toronto.
I'll keep a close eye on this story ...
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Happy Thanksgiving!
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Speaking of being done, there's a report this morning out of Russia that former Sabres D Steve Montador is going to retire from the NHL. Montador played for Medvescak this season.
The 33 year old Stanley Cup winner hasn't played in the NHL since 2011-12. He played 11 games in Russia this season after playing 14 games in AHL (Chicago) Rockford last season.
Montador played for Calgary, Florida, Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, and Chicago.
Best of luck to fellow "Kenny Powers" fan, Monty!
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