Buffalo Sabres & NHL: Tuesday Muse Day

Tuesday Muse Day is a ranting, raving, rambling weekly article relating to all things hockey, with a particular focus on the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres. There are typically 10 featured items. This is the eleventh edition. These are my personal thoughts and opinions; thus, they may not be lucid.

Last Place – It is now official. The Buffalo Sabres are now in last place in the Eastern Conference. They are 29th, out of 30 teams, in the entire NHL, treading just one point above the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team has become a hockey laughingstock, and it hurts…

54 – This is my estimation on how many points might be needed to make the 8th and final playoff spot. With only 13 points in 19 games, the Sabres would have to finish something along the lines of 20-8-1 in the final 29 games. Anyone that has been watching this team, including terrible losses to the Jets, Leafs, and Islanders,  knows the improbability of that type of finish by Buffalo…

Terry Pegula – The billionaire owner opened up his pocketbook to purge the penny-pinching Sabres past, opening up a perplexing and puzzling plethora of problems. Poor performances and pitiful play is all that this expensive team has exuded. In an effort to change the culture of the team, somehow, they have gotten worse…

Mikhail Grigorenko – What a waste to have him sitting in a press-box, rather than playing. If the Sabres did not intend to play him, why did they keep him in the NHL instead of sending him back to the QMJHL? All he might be learning from this current squad is some bad habits…

Tyler Myers – Speaking of sending players back to Juniors, reader Ronald Wolf made a good point on Tim’s article on Grigorenko the other day – would Myers be any better if he had stayed in Juniors developing his game, rather than try to learn it in the NHL? Granted, it does take longer for D-men to develop, but Myers seems to be regressing, rather than making small strides forward…

Thomas Vanek – Who sucked the life-force out of Vanek? Who stole his cape? In 6 of his last 7 games, Vanek has been held point-less. Despite the slump, he is still 3rd in the league in points. For some reason, it looks like number 26 is stuck at 25 points…

Chicago Blackhawks – Unbelievable. The Hawks have been able to open the season with earning points in all 19 games they have played. Color me envious. The question that will be answered as the season plays out, is, did they peak too early?

Evgeni Malkin – Malkin, the player with the name that every person pronounced differently at the NHL Awards, is the latest victim of a concussion. Though he is on a rival team, he is one of my favorite players to watch play hockey, and I hope he doesn’t miss too much time. If he was available for a trade, what Sabres would you trade to get him into a blue and gold uniform?

Changes – The Sabres made one step towards a hopefully brighter future by firing Lindy Ruff. So, what is next? It might be a great idea to strip Jason Pominville, Vanek, and Drew Stafford of their roles as Captain and Alternate Captains. If the Sabres did make this change, who would you nominate? Personally, I would go with Steve Ott for the C, with Hodgson (a possible future captain) and Ehrhoff with the A’s…

Darcy Regier – Speaking of changes, everyone is wondering about the status of Regier with the Sabres. The man swore he would always be glued at the hip with Lindy Ruff. Ruff is gone, but Regier remains, so what gives? Besides not sticking to his word and losing some credibility, do the Sabres plan on keeping him around? If they are waiting until the end of the season, they are somewhat handcuffing themselves – why would you entrust/let someone make changes or trades that isn’t sticking around? These current Sabres have been putting up some of the worst performances that I have seen in the entire Ruff-Regier era. It is time to move on…