Buffalo Sabres Daily Dasher: Latvia, Luke Adam, NBA, Seattle
By Tim Redinger
Good morning Buffalo Sabres fans. Hopefully you are warm and dry this morning, and if you are affected by area flooding, please stay as safe as possible. If your stuck indoors and have nothing better to do, what better way to spend your morning than here with us, so here are some Buffalo Sabres stories and a healthy dose of opinion.
But first off, a golf rant. So I topped a shot in the tee box yesterday on a relatively short par three. From the patch of crappy grass that I was lying in, I had a nice swing, and put the ball close enough to the pin to save par, but in the mean time snapped by club clean in two pieces. So I am without a six iron until I get get it back re-shafted by Taylor Made. Not a happy ending to a decent round of golf.
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Buffalo Sabres Links
Zemgus Girgensons believes he is on two teams that are right on track, Team Latvia and the Buffalo Sabres. [IIHF].
Can Latvia get passed the doping from the Olymics and improve on their placing in the IIHF annual tournament? Who knows, and who really cares right? I mean it will come down to one of the big four that wins the tournament right? Sweden, USA, Canada, or Russia right? They are a feel good story that the world of hockey can get behind however, and it is nice that one of our young prospects can see the benefits of being coached into a good hockey club. Maybe that will translate over into successful leadership for the Buffalo Sabres.
Latvia is 2-1 in the tournament, beating Finland and Kazakhstan. Their only loss is to Germany.
Breaking down the Rochester Americans and the players that can impact the Buffalo Sabres. [WGR550].
Looking down the list of players the one that jumps out at me the most, Luke Adam. I just don’t see him getting many more chances with this organization, unless the team thinks like the author of this article and that he is a late bloomer.
On a good team, Adam might be a pretty solid third line player. Just look at how Daniel Paille is in the Boston system. You hear his name a lot because when your top two lines are nasty good, it trickles down into the bottom lines. Luke Adam could be a late bloomer and on a good team, could be our Paille
NHL Links
The NBA is beating the NHL in the war for cable viewers. [Forbes].
Why is that you ask? I don’t think it has anything to do with interesting games or storylines, and everything to do with the phenomenon outside called, the weather.
Hockey is a winter sports. The NHL doesn’t start until October. You move your season up to start in September with training camps in August and the draft in early June or late May, and your ratings will go up naturally.
Speaking of the NHL versus the NBA, the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ( I promised myself never to use foul language on this site, but please forgive me this time) was in Seattle on a “meet and greet”. [My Northwest].
The National Hockey League wants to expand. The NHL wants to be in Seattle. Get an arena, and you have a team. It makes sense, it gives Vancouver a regional rival. It gives the Northwest a presence in the sport. It helps to even out the misappropriated realignment by sending Detroit and Columbus East.
It makes sense for the league to grow.
Stanley Cup Playoff Tracker
New York Rangers vs Boston Bruins (3) or Montreal Canadiens (3)
Chicago Blackhawks vs Anaheim Ducks (3) or Los Angeles Kings (2)