Keep this locker room disease-free

The drama of Regehr-gate is behind us now, with the Sabres boasting a new, no-nonsense bad ass on the blueline. The Sabres blueline is tougher and much improved as it stands today, with the addition of Regehr and the subtraction of Chris Butler. A tandem of Robyn Regehr and Tyler Myers sounds as right as peanut butter and jelly. Kelly and Reed. Vodka and cranberry. But there was a downside to this deal.

Buffalo had to swallow a $3 million dollar loafer in Ales Kotalik, the 6’1”, 225 lb. former Sabre.

Kotalik was once revered for his hard and heavy shot, ridiculous shootout move that, no matter how many times opposing netminders saw it, none could seem to stop, and his big, thick frame. He had career years in Buffalo, notching 114 goals over parts of seven seasons, with a career high of 25 goals and 62 points in 2005-06. That was then. But, even then, he left you wanting more.

Unapologetically, I have never been a fan of the professional hockey player who possesses million dollar skills, but in his chest beats a ten-cent heart. I have seen way too many of these players, and they have spread their disease throughout too many Sabre locker rooms over the years. Tim Connolly, Paul Cyr, Jason Dawe, Michal Grosek, Chris Gratton and Slava Kozlov come to mind.

So does Ales Kotalik.

The former shootout specialist should have been a perennial 30 goal man, with that shot of his. I have often heard his slap shot compared to Richard Martin’s, hard and heavy. I have, not quite as often, heard his wrist shot compared to Brett Hull’s, a laser. But, for me, it isn’t just the shot. It’s the fullback-type frame of his that left me wondering on many occasion, “why didn’t he just skate through him?!?!?!?”. It’s the sick hand/eye coordination that allowed him to pot so many of his shootout winning goals, and leave so many goalies just wondering,”WTF?”. These things are not the question.

The question is: why wasn’t/isn’t this guy putting up consistent, all-star numbers? The answer is: because he didn’t/doesn’t want it bad enough. So many of these types of players come in and out of the league, bounce around from team to team, and then fade away into obscurity. All because of a character flaw.

It was obvious that Calgary (and the New York Rangers before them) couldn’t wait to get out from underneath that albatross soon enough. This was a salary dump, obvious to everyone, unfortunate for Terry Pegula’s pocketbook. Only the Sabres know what the plan is for Kotalik. Do they buy him out? As it stands, his buyout would be around $1 million. I wouldn’t waste a million bucks worth of cap space on him. Do they waive him, and when there are no takers, bury him in the minors? Paying $3 million to a minor league player doesn’t seem like good business, but it’s the best option. His salary wouldn’t count against the cap.

All I know is this. I do not want these types of players on my team ANYMORE! Allowing Miroslav Satan to walk in 2005 was addition by subtraction. The cancer was cut out of the dressing room, and not taking any credit from the remaining players, the team started to win. This Sabres franchise, with it’s new regime and new approach, does not need a cancer.

Cancer spreads.

Actually, so does peanut butter and jelly.

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