Buffalo Sabres Daily: Winter Classic, Saku Koivu

Good morning from “Pegulaville,” as some have christened Buffalo in the past few days. With the Buffalo Sabres season around the corner, the Buffalo Bills setting up their home opener this weekend and plenty of other exciting things happening in the city, there’s a lot to be excited about here.

Before we get to today’s daily links, let’s take a moment to reflect on the events of September 11, 2001. None of us will ever forget what happened that day, and all of us were touched in one way or another, including the NHL community. In remembrance of LA Kings Director of Pro Scouting Garnet “Ace” Bailey and scout Mark Bavis, as well as all the other lives that were lost that day — you are in our thoughts, not just today, but always.

Starting off today’s links is the news of Saku Koivu officially announcing his retirement from NHL hockey. Koivu spent 18 seasons in the NHL, 10 of which were spent as captain of the Montreal Canadiens. The 39-year-old Finn played 1,124 NHL games with Montreal and Anaheim.

Koivu’s storied hockey career has been recognized throughout the NHL, with teams, players and fans from across the league taking to Twitter to share memories and congratulations, including current Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges, who played with Koivu in Montreal from 2006 until 2009.

In other NHL news, the NHL announced Wednesday that the 2015 Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Capitals will be held at Nationals Park. The Capitals’ uniforms for the event will be revealed on September 23.

Nationals Park was a rumored location for some time, but nothing was finalized until all the negotiations were settled.

Talking about the Winter Classic always takes me back to January 1, 2008 when the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Ralph. While the outcome wasn’t ideal for Buffalonians, it was a great experience and one I’ll never forget. It was picture-perfect, like a snow globe with the light snow falling, the 71,000+ people in the crowd, temperature just right for an outdoor game…. I hope someday, the NHL will bring a Winter Classic back to Buffalo, but I guess that dream has to be pushed until at least 2016.

Finally, Guardian Liberty Voice says that this will be an impact year for the Buffalo Sabres.

We’re in the midst of a rebuild, but that preview gets a few things absolutely right. The Sabres are focused on developing their younger players, as Buffalo is in general younger team than most. But new additions like Gionta and Gorges will be great additions to the team, and developing guys like Sam Reinhart, Mikhail Grigorenko and Rasmus Ristolainen will help the Sabres for years to come.

It may take a few years for everything to kick in, but before you know it, the Sabres will be a team to look out for.