Buffalo Sabres & NHL: Tuesday Muse Day

Tuesday Muse Day will be a ranting, raving, rambling weekly article relating to all things hockey, with a particular focus on the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres. This is the second edition. These are my personal thoughts and opinions; thus, they may not be lucid.

Derek Roy – Bummer. The Dallas Stars announced that Derek Roy will miss some games in the beginning of the season, following his trade from the Buffalo Sabres. Apparently, Roy needs some repairs to his shoulder. How did this happen? It couldn’t be from too much checking…

Hits – Speaking of checking, the Sabres finished 29th in hits in the NHL last season. That stat was more scary than the squad itself. With the removal of Roy and addition of Steve Ott, combined with Marcus Foligno playing a full season, Buffalo should improve in this category immediately. More frightening stat: if the Sabres add Shane Doan to the roster, Buffalo would jump to about 5th in the league in hits. Talk about an attitude change…

Steve Ott – Ott was a fan favorite in Dallas, and it should not take him long to endear himself to Sabres fans. Ott stated the he “felt like a kid at Christmas” when his new blue & gold gloves arrived today:

Shane Doan – Doan still has not made a decision on where he will play next year. Reports out of Phoenix have confirmed that the Sabres are one of seven teams that have made Doan offers. Buffalo would appear to be an outsider for Doan’s services when you factor in Detroit, Pittsburgh, and San Jose among the interested teams, but the Sabres have one card in their pocket: assistant coach Teppo Numminen. The pair spent 8 seasons together on the Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes.

Alexander Semin – Semin is also still an available free-agent, despite his scoring touch and proficiency in the plus/minus category. One team will reap these rewards, but who? I believe that Semin will one day hold the Stanley Cup before former teammate Alex Ovechkin does…

Nick Tarnasky – speaking of Russia, Darcy Regier announced today that the Sabres have signed Nick Tarnasky, who spent last season in the KHL. A former 9th round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003, Tarnasky has 245 games of NHL experience, with 30 points and 297 penalty minutes. At 6’2, 225 lbs, Tarnasky is another sizable signing for Buffalo.

Mike Modano – Modano is considering an NHL comeback attempt. Why, Mike? Please stay retired.

Dominik Hasek – Hasek is considering an NHL comeback attempt. Good for you, Dom. The Sabres met twice with the Dominator, and decided against his services. I appear to be in the minority of hockey fans and media that believe Hasek can still perform at a fairly high level, and hope that someone takes the chance on him. I would love to see Hasek prove people wrong yet again.

NHL Lockout – The NHL was able to come back from the last lockout in an admirable way, experiencing a growth in viewship and profits since the lost 2004-05 season. It would not be in the best interests of all parties involved to allow this to happen again, especially so soon.

Ondrej Pavelec – Pavelec was reportedly involved in a car accident, and ordered not to drive in the Czech Republic for 20 months. This is not confirmed news, but I am glad that Pavelec did not become the latest Pelle Lindbergh.

TJ Brennan – The Sabres also re-signed TJ Brennan to a 1-year contract today. Time is running low on the 23-year old defensemen to start etching out an NHL career, and he is currently in a tough spot with the logjam on the Buffalo blue-line.

Breakouts – Here is my prediction that Tyler Myers and Cody Hodgson are going to have their breakout, standout seasons this year.

P.S. – Who has the best ‘Beef On Weck’ in Buffalo? The two places that in Buffalo that ordered this item from last season did not meet the exponentially high expectations that I had.

P.S. II – With the Sabres unveiling the new French Connection statue and the upcoming Alumni Plaza, it was revealed that there are plans for other future statues. Who would you want the next statue to be?

Leave your comments, objections, and praises below!