Sabres Hockey Central

Buffalo is a city which at one point thrived and was one of the biggest in the country. It is no secret that Buffalo is on the decline and is need of some hope. Buffalo’s professional football team, the Bills made four straight Super bowl appearances in the early 90’s, but haven’t made the playoffs in 11 years.

The constant thing that has occurred for the city is that when the Sabres are playing, the city stops.  Many have lost faith in the Bills, but only few have lost faith in their beloved Sabres. The issue is how long can fans be dragged around in Buffalo being promised next year when next year still has never came.

The question has been raised whether or not Sabres management has the same desire as the city does to win a Stanley Cup. The Sabres, who came into the league in 1970, will be entering its 40th season with zero Stanley Cups and just two finals appearances, which both ended in heartbreak.

Buffalo is considered as a blue collar city and the Sabres reflect their blue collar ways on the ice. The Sabres are much under-appreciated in the NHL for their success and how they have always been competitive despite not having ever won the Stanley Cup. Read the rest of this entry →

There has been a lot of criticism of Craig Rivet’s play over this past season, and let’s be honest: most of it had merit. There has also been some recent unrest in his captaincy and leadership of the team. Should Rivet be the Captain? How has he done so far? And who could take his place? Let’s take a look.

Craig Rivet came to the Sabres in the summer of 2008 after Darcy Regier pulled a “just kidding” on the San Jose Sharks and got a mulligan on the Steve Bernier trade. Almost immediately he was given the captaincy of the team (traded July 4th – Made Captian October 8th) replacing the rotating captaincy system.

Rivet has been the captain for 2 seasons, let’s look at the stats. Rivet posted reasonable enough numbers in 2008-09 with 24 points and a +4 rating. He also added some sandpaper to the lineup. This past season however, he fell off the map with 15 points and a -6 rating.

His overall defensive play was lacking and it looked like he lost a step. At the end of last season Rivet admitted to playing injured for most of the season. He had torn his double labrum and was fighting through the pain for his teammates. Read the rest of this entry →

The Northeast Division is expected to be close once again this season, but the Sabres won’t have an easy time repeating as division champs again.  The Northeast saw many changes and will be as competitive as ever as Toronto is attempting to return back to the playoffs.

The Northeast is considered one of the toughest in the NHL and this year should prove that statement to be true. The Bruins improved the most in the during the offseason with the additions of Nathan Horton and Greg Campbell from the Florida Panthers. Horton was rumored to possibly land with the Sabres, but the Bruins swooped in and offered the Panthers Dennis Wideman.

Wideman will be missed dearly, but a change of scenery for Horton might be the solution to his injury plagued career. The Bruins selected such a talented player in Tyler Seguin at the draft. Questions have been raised whether or not Marc Savard will be moved to open up some cap or if he stays. The Bruins are very tight to the cap as of now but we will have to see how they manage it.

The highlight of the Bruins team last season was Tuukka Rask. Rask even out played the star goaltender Ryan Miller in the series against the Sabres. Boston turned heads as they upset the third seeded Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the playoffs.  In the second round they blew a 3-0 lead in the series to the Philadelphia Flyers.  Read the rest of this entry →

The Buffalo Sabres have announced that Matt Ellis has signed a 1-year, 2-way contract worth $650,000 with the team. Ellis had 13 points and 10 assists in 72 games played with the Sabres last season.

As Sabres fans look at this year’s team after the offseason moves (or lack of them), most likely they will be disappointed. Fans have been very critical of the management’s moves over recent years.  With a deeper look at the team, has the team improved? A quick comparison may not look better, but even with the lack of acquisitions, the Sabres may be set for a deep run into the playoffs.

The Sabres have bulked up and got tougher with the addition of Shaone Morrisonn. Morrisonn will add more grit to the defense that the Sabres have been missing. The Sabres also got tougher by moving Cody McCormick to the starting lineup after he played well in the Boston series when he was called up from Portland.

The Sabres lineup stayed similar to last season, but that may not be a bad thing. Many fans are forgetting that the Sabres did finish  third place in the Eastern Conference and were just a win away from finishing in the 2nd seed.

The Sabres have gained more experience and getting the taste of the playoffs may benefit them this year. Players like Tyler Ennis and Tyler Myers will be expected to do much more this season. Read the rest of this entry →