Dear God Why Us Sports
"You are a complete embarrassment to anyone legitimately trying to blog.
You're gonna ruin it for everyone else. Keep it up." - Mike Harrington, TBN
  • Blog
  • The Deeg Podcast Industries
  • Mission Statement
  • Contributors

Five Questions that Need Answers: A Look Ahead to Another Season of Sabres Hockey

9/23/2011

3 Comments

 
Picture
Here we go again.
The Barrister

It feels weird to even pay a shred of attention to the Buffalo Sabres - what with the apparent revival of football fever in Western New York - but I felt it necessary to weigh in on the topic of Buffalo professional ice hockey. The preseason has started and, even if it appears otherwise, the DGWU Crew has, in fact, noticed. And as happy as the Bills make me, we all know that it might be simply a matter of time before football stops being as much fun and our collective attention shifts to the bread and butter of the Buffalo sports scene. 

What can I say, I still think these Bills are an 8-8 team, and these Sabres are much more.  I hope.

If you've been paying attention to the summer goings-on of our Sabres, you know full well that there have been a LOT of changes. Blockbuster deals, at least by Buffalo standards; cosmetic refurbs of team facilities, including the de-slug-ifying of the newly named FN Center (a name which I HATE, btw...saved only by the easy joke it enables); an overhaul of team PR and use of media - both traditional, internet and social.  There's been tons of new stuff for us to have discussed as the summer marched on. Though, as you may have noticed, while these things garnered attention throughout the Sabres blogosphere, we at DGWU have been largely silent on these subjects. Perhaps it's a cautious skepticism of the fancy bells and whistles that have come with a new billionaire owner; an uneasy feeling of hypocrisy that accompanies this new role as hockey club; or maybe just the discomfort with my hockey team being run with the profits of arguably horrific assaults on the environment. HYDROFRACKING IS AWFUL BUT MOST OF US ARE OK WITH PEGULA AND THIS IS WEIRD.

It's a confusing ass time, this is for sure.

Yet, as much as I may still battle with my own expectations for this season, preseason has shocked me back into focus to at least start hashing those expectations out here and weigh in with some potentially incoherent rambling.  After the jump, check out the five questions kicking around in my muddled excuse for grey matter, and my baseless speculation on how things may end up playing out.


#1: Will the market-setting deals pay off on the ice?
PictureBallsy move with #23, Ville
This is, I think, the primary concern for most Sabres fans as we approach the new season.  Obviously we want the money spent on new players to pay dividends in the win/loss columns, though the simple desire to win doesn't really capture the crux of why the success of our big money players matters so much.

For fans of this small-market, previously thrifty team, the elephant in the room - though, certainly an elephant who has been discussed, but not yet resolved - is whether this transition to "big spender" will blow up in our faces as has happened in other cities with big spending teams.  After thriving off our snarky superiority over big spending clubs when they fail, Sabres fans (and to an extent, the franchise as well) must be aware that we may soon become what we've mocked and loathed: a cap-busting flop. Sure, we want Ehrhoff to play well, but what we really want is to avoid the buyers remorse and league-wide ridicule that would come with a sub-par first season from him.  And, of course, we hope that Ville Leino scores 25 or so and settles into a role as the center of the second scoring line, but we also don't want WGR to have an excuse to dig into Pegula, Ted Black and Regier about the wisdom of spending big on relatively unproven players. 

Those kinds of criticisms, if they follow poor play, will likely be deserved, but they'll also be a distraction. Honestly, is there anything that sucks the fun out of Sabres hockey more than WGR having a legitimate reason to bitch? As if they need one.

Of course, any one of the Sabres' big money signings could be a bust and the team still successful in spite of that, and that might soften the blow of a long term contract that proves dead weight. Yet, for all the criticism we, as a fan base, have lodged at awful deals in the league (see: DiPietro, Rick), it will be especially painful to have to watch Darcy dig himself out of one of these new contracts in a year or two.

This all said, I am optimistic for the personal success of Leino, Ehrhoff, Regehr and Myers (gotta throw him in... his deal is great, I think, but not without big risk), and the likelihood that they can collectively stave off any criticism of this team being a hot mess of overpriced parts. 


#2: Will Ryan Miller play fewer than 65 games?

Picture
With all the talk about the big signings of the summer, without a doubt the biggest barometer of Sabres success remains Ryan Miller.  We know this.  And, for someone carrying the team for so long, as Miller has, the biggest barometer of his success is how rested and on point he is, much of which is going to be linked to how many games he ends up playing.

I'm sure the stats end up bearing this out, or maybe they don't, but I don't think anyone would begrudge giving Miller more nights off, so long as they don't automatically mean that we lose. Finally, in the diminutive frame of Jhonas Enroth, the Sabres have a netminder with the apparent ability to go out and win, as well as the apparent confidence of his head coach.  With Enroth being the #2, particularly after the homestretch run he put together to put the Sabres into the playoffs, fans have every reason to expect that Miller will start around 60 games, and that he'll be better prepared for a long playoff run.

The big question is whether Lindy sticks with this ideal plan, or buckles under the pressure of a short stint of losses from the young Swedish goalie. Enroth has proven himself capable, so I hope that Lindy gives him a long enough leash for the kid to prove his worth to the team - both in terms of saving Miller and getting wins. 


#3: Will Drew Stafford Regress?


Picture
After I wrote this during the summer, this third question is of particular relevance for my own pride. Dude got a good - not great, I think - deal coming off a contract year performance.  As I wrote back in June, I liked this deal because it adhered to Pegula's promise to give the organization a clean slate when he took over. The message was clear: Put Up or Shut Up. Message received, Stafford was great during  the Sabres' stretch run, as well as all year, and even though his stats were arguably padded by a couple Bruins games, you simply couldn't cut this guy loose and expect everyone to still buy what Pegula was selling.

So, contract signed, the question is whether Stafford will perform his side of the deal and give the team a level of production commiserate with the money he's now making.  We saw greatness from Stafford over the course of last year, and with Derek Roy out, I think it's fair to say that Drew was the most consistent Sabre on the team.  Sure, TV Party carried the team on many, if not most, nights, but Stafford was a steady hand and producer on the ice.  And those things matter.

Finally, you may remember that, at the start of last season, reports came out that Stafford had been working out with Zach Parise during the off-season, which I saw to be a positive sign of things to come from #21.We now know that his commitment to physical excellence has continued, thank God....


#4:Will the Sabres' strides in social media and web access continue?

I'm not sure this even merits a spot on the list, given the meager significance it has for some fans. Indeed, this is less of a team issue, for sure, and will certainly not matter a lick to how the team performs on the ice, but I think it could be a seminal issue for fans and how they consume the Sabres brand over the next year. I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised with the things the Sabres have done to interact with fans via social media and live chats and, more recently, invitations to the public season ticket deliveries last week. All signs point to the team getting social media and its utility for the franchise, though our sample size is largely limited to off-season events and not games.  With the season starting and the issues for immediate discussion broadening towards actual results on the ice, I wonder how the team will either increase or scale back these kind of live chat initiatives. 

I don't have much of an opinion on how this will play out. Yet, for a City and a fan base starving for a greater swath of opinions and analysis than is currently produced by the tandem of WGR and TBN, I amconscious of my hope that the product of any team-blogger interactions is of high quality and does not amount to a lost opportunity.


#5: How long will it take for me to unleash hell on Derek Roy's Twitter feed?
Picture
Let me first say that I have come to accept Derek Roy on the ice. Dude is a talent, and he's matured beyond the ineffective young kid who we all used to love to hate. I like him as our #1 center, at least for now, and I'm less disappointed than some that we didn't hop headfirst into the Brad Richards sweepstakes (though, I remain a little angry that Yachtsman didn't follow directions when we told him to kidnap Paul Stastny when he went to Colorado this summer). 

That said, DEREK ROY IS HORRIBLE ON TWITTER. Some of you may find it endearing, or may casually find it amusing, but his fucking twitter feed is really less about giggles and more about face palms for me. I'm not sure if the dude is serious, but it seems pretty fucking likely that he is.  Despite the many moments of sheer bewilderment at the stupidity of his tweets this summer, I have thus far refrained from lashing out at him. Again, I like the guy as a player and increasingly veteran presence on the team, but I wonder how long this exercise in self-restraint will last.

When my rage becomes too much, I'll probably lash out here, rather than directly to him on the tweet machine, and I highly doubt that any of you want to watch me self-destruct so very completely. What am I saying? YOU ALL WANT THAT.  In any event, this will be tough for me.  Sure, I've pissed on Tim Connolly and the clowns at WGR, but those are easy targets - I don't like any of those guys.  Again, Derek Roy is our center, and I want to like him. I don't want to dish out a plate of "you're a small-minded midget who can't possibly comprehend how much of an ass bag you appear in your tweets." But, he's seriously pushing me to that place, and it's anyone's guess how long I can last before I open a bottle of whiskey and see what kind of drunken disaster I drop here.

Upside is that, when that day comes, it is going to be FUN.

So, wrapping up this post, it bears mentioning that, in the end, I'm absurdly pumped for this next journey of Sabres hockey to begin. Lots of questions to be answered, and the DGWU Crew will be breaking it down one poorly constructed post after the other. You know you're impressed.

Oh, and shit! The Sabres play tonight. Against the Leafs and Tim Connolly. HILARIOUS.

Let's Go Buffalo
3 Comments
Corey
9/24/2011 12:37:43 am

i think derek will stop using his twitter account during the regular season. should save you.

Reply
West of the Cascades
9/24/2011 02:53:39 am

Great article, and thanks especially for mentioning the Pegula-fracking tie-in. I live in Oregon and work exclusively on environmental issues and have friends who are fighting oil and gas drilling in PA and the Southern Tier and I still love Pegula and what he's done for the Sabres. And it does feel really weird and dirty some times, but I think winning the Cup would make it easier, and besides he's not doing it any more and if we just regulated the hell out of fracking it would stop and everything would be OK.

Or so I delude myself ...

Reply
BigCrockSound
9/25/2011 01:13:20 pm

This ought to help keep your Roy flames stoked!

http://youtu.be/JMdEDt-B3O0

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Follow DGWUSports on Twitter

    Recent Posts

    "I guess we have ourselves a reckoning." - Bills vs. Steelers Preview, Week 14

    "I got a nose for white supremacy, and he smells like bleach." Monday Night Football is back, folks.


    Dear God Why Us? In this Economy?

    DGWU Sports #CrapTastiCast Episode 49

    Us

    The Apologist
    @SamiquaLrhubarB

    The Barrister

    The Outlander
    @MattyRenn

    The Commander
    @essbeeay

    DEEG EMERITUS:

    The Yachtsman
    @Y_vo

    Guest Contributors


    And Them

    Black & Blue & Gold
    Buffalo Sabres Nation
    Die By The Blade
    Buffalo Wins
    Nick Mendola
    The Goose's Roost
    Bills Daily
    Sabres Prospects
    Shutdown Pair
    Sal Sports

    Email us!


    Past Drivel

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    January 2020
    August 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    August 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    March 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    April 2010
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009


    Tags

    All
    2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs
    Aaron Hernandez
    Aaron Williams
    Adventures In Douchebaggery
    Amar'e Stoudemire
    Analytics
    Andre Reed
    Apostles Of Bob
    Arizona Cardinals
    Arsenal FC
    Arsene Wenger
    Assbaggery
    Auto Racing
    Bad Idea Night
    Baltimore Orioles
    Baltimore Ravens
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Beards
    #becauseitsbuffalo
    Beer
    Big Lebowski
    Bigots
    Big Thoughts
    Bills Mafia
    Bills Previews
    Black Sabbath
    Blue Collar
    Boat Shoes
    Boner_Shorts
    Boobie Dixon
    Booze
    Boston Bruins
    Boston Celtics
    Boston Red Sox
    Boston Sucks
    Brian Moorman
    BroneCast
    Bucky Gleason
    Buddy Nix
    Buffalo Bills
    Buffalo For Real
    Buffalo Sabres
    BuffaloWins
    Buffao Sabres
    Canada Sucks
    Carmelo Anthony
    Cats
    CFL
    Chan Gailey
    Chelsea FC
    Chelsea Licks Taint
    Chicago Blackhawks
    Chicago Cubs
    Chris Hairston
    Christian Ehrhoff
    Christmas
    Circling The Wagons
    Citi Field
    C.J. Spiller
    CK Anal
    Clint Dempsey
    Clownpenis.fart
    CM Punk
    Cody Hodgson
    Cody Mccormick
    Colin Kaepernick
    College Basketball
    College Football
    Cordy Glenn
    Craig Schaller
    CrapTastiCast
    Criminallyvu1ga
    Daft Punk
    Dallas Cowboys
    Daniel Briere
    Daniel Murphy
    Daniel Sturridge
    Dan Snyder
    Dan Wheldon
    Darcy Regier
    David Wright
    Dax McCarty
    Defensemen
    De La Soul
    Derek Roy Sucks
    Detroit Sucks
    DGWU Crew
    DGWU Legal Bureau
    Dick Jauron
    Dominik Hasek
    Donald Sterling
    Donald Trump
    Don Cherry
    Doug Flutie
    Doug Marrone
    Doug Whaley
    DRAFT GOOD!
    Drew Stafford
    Drugs
    Drunk
    E.J. Manuel
    El Greasico
    Emeritus My Balls
    Epic Fail
    Epic Meltdowns
    Epic Rants
    EPL
    Eric Wood
    Examples Of Awful Journalism
    Expats
    Faceless Internet Potshots
    FA Cup
    Fandom
    Fantasy Football
    F.C. Buffalo
    FJM
    Football
    Former Bills
    Former Knicks
    Former Sabres
    Fred Jackson
    Fred Wilpon
    Free Agency
    French Revolution
    Fuck ESPN
    Game Previews
    Game Recaps
    Gangs Are For Pussies
    Gary Bettman
    Gold Cup
    Golf
    Greg Roman
    Guest Contributors
    Hall Of Fame
    Happiness
    Hard Work
    Haterade
    High Character!
    Hillsborough
    Hockey
    Hockey Hall Of Fame
    Hulk Hogan
    Hungover
    IIHF World Championships
    Ike Davis
    Indignation
    Infinite Sadness
    Jack Eichel
    Jairus Byrd
    @jambrones
    James Dolan
    Jason Pominville
    Jeremy White
    Jerry Jones
    Jerry Sullivan
    Jhonas Enroth
    Jim Boeheim
    Jochen Hecht
    Joe Pinz1
    Johan Santana
    Johnny White
    John Scott
    Jon Vogl
    Jordan Leopold
    Jose Reyes
    Josh Beckett
    Jurgen Klopp
    Justin Rogers
    Kawika Mitchell
    Kelly's NYC
    Kelvin Sheppard
    Kevin Durant
    Kevin Youkilis
    Khal Drogo
    Kim Martin
    Kim Pegula
    King Kenny
    Kirk Nieuwenhuis
    Kobe Bryant
    Kraig Urbik
    Kyle Orton
    Kyle Williams
    L.A. Lakers
    Larry Quinn
    Lebron James
    Lee Evans
    Legumes On Your Penis
    Lenny Palumbo
    Leodis McKelvin
    LeSean McCoy
    Lindy Ruff
    Links
    Liveblog
    Liverpool FC
    Long Island
    Los Angeles Kings
    Luis Suarez
    Luke Adam
    Lunchpail
    Mailbag
    Manchester City
    Manchester Fc
    Manchester United
    Maple Leafs
    Marcell Dareus
    Marcus Easley
    Marcus Foligno
    Marcus Stroud
    Mario Williams
    Marshawn Lynch
    Martin Skrtel
    Marv Levy
    Matt Ellis
    Matthew Barnaby
    Matt Moulson
    McFadden's NYC
    Mean
    @Mechaphil
    Media Access
    Media Hit Jobs
    Megsie
    Memories
    Messi
    Metal
    Metallica
    Mets
    Miami Dolphins
    Miami Heat
    Michael Jasper
    Michael Jordan
    Michael Phelps
    Michael Vick
    Michael Vick Is A Fuck
    Mike D'Antoni
    Mike Grier
    Mike Harrington
    Mike Richards Is A Loser
    Mike Schopp
    Mikhail Grigorenko
    Miller
    MLB
    MLS
    Monday Night Football
    Mondee
    Montreal Canadiens
    Moon Bills
    Morality In Sport
    Motorsports
    Mouth Breathers
    Movie Trailers
    Moxy Früvous
    Murderers
    NASCAR
    Nathan Gerbe
    NBA
    Nba Draft
    Near Death Experiences
    Nerd Alert
    New England Patriots
    New Jersey Devils
    New York
    New York City
    New York Islanders
    New York Jets
    New York Knicks
    New York Mets
    New York Rangers
    New York Red Bulls
    New York Yankees
    NFL
    NFL Draft
    Nfl Free Agency
    Nfl Lockout
    NFLPA
    NHL
    Nhl Draft
    Nhl Free Agency
    Nhl Lockout
    NHL Playoffs
    Niagara Falls Reporter
    Nick Mendola
    No Limit Soldiers
    NSFW
    Nwo
    NYCBBB
    Nyc Sabre Summit
    Ny Red Bulls
    Oakland Raiders
    Occupy Nassau
    Offseason
    Oklahoma City Thunder
    Olympic Hockey
    Olympic Soccer
    #OneBuffalo
    Open Bar
    Optimism
    Overtime
    Ozzie Guillen
    Ozzy
    Parenthood
    Party Bus
    Pat Lafontaine
    Patrick Kaleta
    Patrick Kane
    Patriots
    Pat Williams
    Paul Gaustad
    Paul Hamilton
    Paul Posluszny
    Philadelphia Flyers
    Phillipe Coutinho
    Pink Elephant
    Pittsburgh Penguins
    Playoff Hockey
    Playoff Hunt 2011
    Playoffs
    Podacst
    Podcast
    Podcasts
    Post Game Reflections
    Post Game Reflections With The Yachtsman
    Post-Game Reflections With The Yachtsman
    Poz
    Pre Game Panicking
    Premiere League
    Premier League
    Premiership
    Press Conferences
    Pretentiousism
    Professional Wrestling
    Pro Football Hall Of Fame
    Pro Wrestling
    Pussies On Skates
    Qb Suckitude
    Rabbi Darkside
    Racing
    Racism
    Racist Assholes
    R.A. Dickey
    Ra Dickey
    Rafael Benitez
    Raffi Torres
    Rage Against The Machine
    Rage Storms
    Ralph Wilson Jr
    Ramblings
    Rants
    Rare Moments Of Lucidity
    Ray Lewis
    Realignment
    Recaps
    Rednecks
    Reggie Corner
    Rex Ryan
    Rian Lindell
    Roadcast
    Roadcasts
    Roadtrips
    Robert Goulet
    Rob Johnson
    Rob Ray
    Rob Van Dam
    Robyn Regehr
    Rochester Amercks
    Roger Goodell
    Ron Rolston
    Roscoe Parrish
    Running Diaries
    Russ Brandon
    Ryan Fitzpatrick
    Ryan Meanra
    Ryan Miller
    Ryan Nassib
    Sabres
    Sabres Alumni
    Sabres Crunk Mix
    Sabres Development Camp
    Sabre Summit
    Sadness
    Saint Bonaventure
    Sally Ride
    Sammy Watkins
    San Antonio Spurs
    Sanctimonious Shit Sandwich
    San Francisco 49ers
    Scizzette
    Scizz Gets Hard
    Scott Chandler
    September 11th
    Shady
    Shanabans7f1abf80bf
    Shaun Powell
    Shaving Buttholes
    Shawne Merriman
    Shawn Merriman
    Shit Sammies
    Sidney Crosby
    Signings
    Site Update
    Smarten Up
    Snowman Erections
    Soccer
    Spencer Johnson
    Standards Of Decency
    Stan Fischler
    Stanley Cup
    Starlin Castro
    Stephon Gilmore
    Steven Gerrard
    Steve Ott
    Stevie Johnson
    Stoke City FC
    Streetcast
    Strippers
    Subway Series
    Suck It Ref
    Summer Lovin
    Summer Movie
    Summer Movie Preview
    Summer Olympics
    Super Punters
    Super Troopers
    #SupportSally
    Swedes
    Swimming
    Syracuse Basketball
    Tailgating
    Tailgating At The Ralph
    Tank Carder
    Tanking
    Taro Tsujimoto
    Tashard Choice
    Tbn
    Team Captains
    Ted Black
    Ted Nolan
    Terrance Mcgee
    Terrance Williams
    Terrell Owens
    Terrence Mcgee
    Terry Collins
    Terry Pegula
    Thad Lewis
    Thanksgiving
    The Adventures Of Walter Garbinski
    The Apologist
    The Aud
    The Barrister
    The Beautiful Game
    The Big Lebowski
    The Buffalo News
    The Casted Foot
    The Cincinnati Bengals Are Criminals
    The City Of Buffalo
    The Commander
    The Continental
    The Dark Knight
    The Deeg
    The Defenseman
    The Grouch
    The Happy Endings Podcast
    The Hit
    The Hosers
    The Jambrones
    The Kids In The Hall
    The Kinsale
    The Legal Limit
    The Outlander
    The Patriots
    The Pink Elephant
    The Ralph
    The Rock
    The Ronin
    The Scizz
    The Scizzette
    The Undertaker
    The Wayans Brothers
    The Wild Card
    The Wire
    The Wizard
    The Yachtsman
    Thierry Henry
    Things That Matter More Than Sports
    Things That Piss Me Off
    Thomas Vanek
    Thrashers
    Tiger Woods
    Tim Connolly
    Tim Graham
    Tim Kennedy
    Tim Murray
    Tim Tebow
    Todd Collins
    Tom Brady
    Tom Golisano
    Tom The Cat
    Toronto
    Tottenham Hotspur
    Trade Rumor
    Trent Edwards
    True Colors
    Twitter
    Tyler Ennis
    Tyler Myers
    Tyler Thigpen
    Tyrod Taylor
    Ugly Models
    Undertaker
    Undrafted Free Agents
    USMNT
    USWNT
    Vacation
    Vajazzling
    Vancouver
    Vanilla Ice
    Video Games
    Ville Leino
    Vince Mcmahon
    Vincent Tan
    Vince Young
    Violence Is Not Funny
    Von Miller
    Vulgarity
    Wall Of Fame
    Warpath
    Washington Capitals
    Washington Redskins
    Waste Of A Post
    Watkins Glen
    WCW
    WECK 1230
    Weed
    Weezer
    Wembley
    West Wing
    WGR
    Where Are They Now?
    Wilco Sucks
    Winnipeg Jets
    World Cup
    Wrestlemania
    Wrestling
    Wtf
    Wu Tang Forever
    WWE
    Yankees
    You Can Play
    Your Mom

this site powered by the inane musings of raving lunatics