Its baffling to me how Brennan has gone from "can't miss NHL prospect" status to NHL suitcase.
In 36 games in Rochester this season, Brennan scored 14 goals and added 21 assists. He was -10 however.
In 10 games with Buffalo this season, Brennan had only one goal and no assists. He was a -1 player.
He was then traded to Sunrise, where he scored two goals and added seven assists in 19 games. He was an ugly -8 in his brief stint in Florida.
Why can't Brennan's NHL offensive game transition to the NHL? He's still young and has plenty of time to figure it out.
Known for his bomb of a point shot on the PP, Brennan struggled mightily in the NHL to get his shot on net. In the AHL, where forwards and D a half-step slower, Brennan was given ample time and space to get his clapper off. Not so in the NHL, where the scouting report says for defenders to show Brennan zero respect and to shoot the points to deny him time and space to get his gun out of hits holster.
In Nashville, Brennan will will learn from Phil Housley, the best American born offensive D to ever play the game, in my own humble opinion, all due respect to Brian Leetch. Housley was hired last month by Barry Trotz. Brennan, if he cracks the top six in on impressive D corps (Weber, Josi, Klein, Gill, Blum) will be used on the PP point.
Perhaps Preds GM David Pile is preparing to trade a D before or at the NHL Entry Draft on June 30. Can never have too many NHL D on your roster, especially offensively gifted ones.
On Wednesday, when Kevin Devine, Buffalo Sabres Director of Amateur Scouting said in a radio interview that he and Darcy Regier have been in conversations with Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche about the prospects of making a mutually beneficial hockey trade, it sent shock waves across the internet and the hockey blogosphere. Rightly so.
In this corner, Sabres Nation have spoken out vociferously in support of the idea of making a blockbuster trade with Colorado in order to acquire the #1 pick in the June 30th NHL Entry Draft. Sabres fans have an insatiable thirst for their team to organization to return to the glory days that it experienced when the 2004 lockout ended. The tens of thousands of Sabres fans that I interact with on a regular basis in this blog, on Twitter, and on the street, tell me that they would literally give their collective eye teeth for the right to acquire the covered #1 pick in the NHL Draft. Their reasoning is simple to understand. They feel that their team's re-boot, re-tool project will be completed sooner rather than later when they do it with an All-World player like Nathan MacKinnon, whose been compared to other former #1 pick difference makers Steve Stamkos and John Tavares.
In the other corner, Colorado Avalanche fans and media who are not cool at all with the the braintrust of their young, re-building team's desire to deal the first overall pick in the draft to Buffalo, or any other team for that matter. Its a territorial battle that the Avs fans don't want to lose.
I think what flipped out some of the detractors of any potential trade are the players who are rumored to be involved in the "deal". Ryan Miller, Mikhail Grigorenko, Thomas Vanek, Tyler Myers, Brayden McNabb and the No. 8 pick to the Avs for the first pick.
Denver Post hockey guru, the inimitable Adran Dater, is not a fan of a Buffalo-Colorado trade for the #1 pick in the draft. Dater represents the majority of most Avs fans, which is, why would rookie Exec VPs of Hockey Ops, Roy and Sakic, want to trade the first overall pick in the draft for aging stars like Miller or Vanek, top organizational prospects and the 8th overall pick in the draft?
Dater's take on the "deal":
If the Avs were to trade away such a blue-chipper for overpaid Buffalo Sabres old guys, then the Avs’ new and exciting era that we all thought would be the case under Sakic and Roy would instantly be over. A lot of teams are probably going to want to see if they can sucker green front-office guys Sakic and Roy. We’ll see if they bite on such foolishness. But consider this fair warning that they shouldn’t
.
Dater joined WGRs Schoop and The Bulldog on Thursday afternoon.
Take a listen here. Just press play:
Interview courtesy wgr550.com
I happen to agree wholeheartedly with AD's take that the Sabres have to find a dance partner in Dale Tallon of the Florida Panthers or Steve Yzerman of the Tampa Lightning to get into the exclusive Top 3 Club, otherwise, its no dice. The Avs WANT to draft either one of Jones, MacKinnon or Drouin. They NEED to come away from the draft with one of these three studs in their thoroughbred trailer that they will drive back to Denver from Newark.
The rumored package of players from Buffalo to Colorado looks something like this: Ryan Miller, center Mikhail Grigorenko, a defensive prospect and the No. 8 pick to the Avs for the first pick. Note: this trade "proposal" was just an internet-created item. Kinda like: "Hey, dude, do you think Millsie, Grigo, Pysyk, and the 8th overall to the Avs for the 1st overall pick on the draft?".
Hashtag #rumor.
Do I believe that the Sabres and Avs talking about a trade? Yes, I do. Do I think that its a blockbuster that will involve the #1 overall pick in the entry draft? No.
I happen to believe that the Avs are looking for an upgrade to their back-end. They want to improve their goaltending and their defense. They don't have problems scoring goals. Their Achilles Heel is keeping the puck out of their own net.
Do I envision a Tyler Myers and 8th overall pick for Matt Duchene trade? Or, Buffalo's 16h overall pick for Paul Stastny? Or, Ryan Miller and Reggie Sekera for Stastny and a second rounder in this year's draft?
I do.
I was asked on Twitter yesterday (why the Hell aren't you following me?) at Follow @SabresBuzz
whether I think the Sabres have a legitimate shot at trading with the Avs for the 1st overall pick.
(Note: I erroneously compared the "chance" to that of Peter McNeeley beating Mike Tyson back in the day. I'm a boxing fan and I'm embarrassed to say that I was reminded that Tyson beat McNeeley. The comparison I meant to make instead was when Buster Douglas shocked the world when he KO'd then-heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.)
Long story short: Yes. I do believe the Sabres have a smidgen of a "chance" I call it a "puncher's chance". Just like the bomb that Douglas applied to Tyson's jaw back in 1990. Is it likely to happen? No, its not. However, the chance does exist, albeit a minute chance. Its like the lottery guy says:
Is there a more polarizing figure in Buffalo Sabres history than Max Afinonogenov?
You still see his #61 sweaters at Sabres home games. The guy was a rockstar-- when he wanted to be one.
He drove me crazy because he refused to play the Lindy Ruff north-south game. Max was an east-west guy. Thats how he rolled. When it worked for him, he looked great. When it failed, he found his way into Ruff's doghouse.
Afinogenov's greatest moment as a Sabre?
This:
Today, Max plays in the KHL in Russia.
He has been traded:
Transaction News: SKA trades Maxim Afinogenov to Vityaz for a 1st round pick. He is a veteran of 10 NHL seasons and spent the past 3 w/ SKA.
Being passed over and stiffed at the NHL draft sucks.
Being passed over and stiffed for the NHL draft two years in a row really blows chunks.
Now you know why Blackhawks man on a mission, Andrew Shaw, is always amped-up and ready to drill opponents into the glass. The dude is your classic rags to riches story.
Shaw's junior career was a rather eventful one. He wasn't a star by any means, however, he was a classic over achiever. In two season with the Niagara Ice Dogs, he hit, scored, skated and pissed off as many opponents as he possibly could. He was then traded to Owen Sound where he would take his ball busting ways to new heights. In 2010-11, he was named to the CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team. He also earned the CHL Memorial Cup Most Points "Ed Chynoweth Award" (7) for the OHL Champion Owen Sound Attack
Fast track to the NHL, right?
When it came time for the NHL draft, Shaw's phone never rang. Nobody was looking for him. The Belleville native deserved a shot at the NHL, but none of the 30 teams were interested in him. In 2011, the Hawks selected Shaw in the 5th round (139th overall pick) of the NHL Entry Draft. He reported immediately to AHL Rockford where he piled up 99 PIMs in 38 games played. He scored 12 goals and added 1 assists in his rookie season in Rockford.
The very next season, he was called up to the Blackhawks, He signed his entry level deal in January 2012, and the rest is history.
His locker room neighbor, Pat Kane said Thursday that there are times that he has to tell the chirping Shaw to "shut up". Brent Seabrook said that Shaw's high energy vibe is a uniue element in the Hawks' room.
Thanks, Blackhawks TV
Shaw's a vocal, emotional, high energy guy. He's 5'10" and 190 lbs. yet he stalked Zdeno Chara (6'9" 270 lbs.) and plastered him into the walls in Game 1. Though his teammates grind his gears, and bust his chops, they don't want Shaw to change his Tasmanian Devil ways. Down deep, they love him just the way he is: twitchy, loud, disruptive and physical.
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