Newton's Law of Motion:
If a force acts upon a body, then an equal and opposite force must act upon the body that exerts the force.
Darcy's Law of Motion:
If a desperate -to-win-now Nashville GM offers you a 1st round draft choice for a UFA-to-be Paul Gaustad, you take it and skate away.
The shock waves and after shocks of the trade of long time Sabres centre, Paul Gaustad, are still reverberating through the Buffalo room. Gaustad was a popular man in the Buffalo room. I've told you many a Goose story in this space in the past seven years. His bros kaleta and Gerbe adore and admire him for being a mentor and a big brother to them.
Yesterday, while I was sitting in the Buffalo media room at the First Niagara Center, I heard the news that Goose had been dealt to Nashville for a first round pick. The first thought that entered my head was:
"What is Ryan Miller going to think about the team's decision to trade away his best friend?"
Today, John Vogl of the Buffalo news got Miller's action. As I expected, Ryan Miller is upset right now at the departure of his team mate of the past ten seasons.
"It was a pretty tough day," Miller said today after practice in Anaheim Ice. "I’m not going to lie. I’m not real happy about the way it all turned out. But that’s the business of hockey.
"Like I’ve said, we don’t make those decisions. That’s more proof because if I had any more influence Paul would still be here. I appreciate the way he plays. He’s been one of my best friends for a long time there. Obviously, that’s going to continue, but it was nice to have him as a teammate and have those other intangibles."
Talk about bros? Miller and Gaustad are extremely tight, both on the ice and off.
Both men are private, introspective and thoughtful people. They have similar interests away from the rink.
At work, they are dogged competitors and the demand the best effort from themselves and their team mates every day.
I'll be honest with you. Not seeing Gaustad in the Sabres room is going to take a little time for me to adjust to. I can only imagine how Miller feels. Gaustad's stall is three spots to the left of Miller in the newly configured Buffalo locker room.
I can understand how Miller feels, however, hockey is a business and he, nor any of the other players in the room have any control over the business aspects of the team. Players play. Coaches coach. Managers manage.
When darcy Regier was offered a first round draft choice in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Goose, he had to take the deal. It would be bad business to leave a premium first round pick on the table for a player of Gaustad's ilk and staure.
Still, Miller can't help but wish that Gaustad were still on his team.
"He does the things that are not easy to do every night," Miller said of Gaustad. "It’s just too important for a hockey team, and it is a little frustrating in that regard"
"Personally, he’s a close friend, and also I think he’s a big part of the team. No matter the way you view hockey, you have to understand how important players like Paul can be and how long it takes to develop a guy that plays that way at such a high level. Winning those faceoffs is not easy. Killing those penalties is not easy. Not a lot of guys are willing to do that job every night, and he was.
Perhaps, down deep, Miller was hoping that Nashvilel would not up their ante to a first rounder for Goose, and that the Preds would try to take Derek Roy off the Sabres hands.
No such luck.
Miller is a professional. The veteran tender knows the gravity of the situation. Its a part of the business. he also knows that Gaustad will be free to re-sign in Buffalo once the Predators are knocked out of the playoffs. Gaustad becomes a free agent on July 1 and will be free to sign with any team that he so chooses.
On Tuesday, at approximately three hours before the trade deadline, Miller re-iterated his philosophy on making trades just for the sake of making trades.
He talked about employing forward-thinking while keeping the eye on the future of the organization, not just blowing up a roster with deals meant to improve short term success.
In my humble opinion, the players brought about this change with their erratic play on the ice this season. You want to keep the core group together? Win more games. I bet that Regier doesn't make this trade if the Sabres were in the top six teams in the East right now.
Pat Kaleta laments to loss of his bro, Paul Gaustad from the Sabres.
thanks, sabres.com
****
After today's prax in Anaheim, Lindy Ruff mentioned that he would like to immediately create a line that features Cody Hodgson, Drew Stafford, and Tyler Ennis.
I like it.
thanks, sabres.com
Tyler Ennis talks about his time playing with Cody Hodgson at the 2009 WJCs
thanks, sabres.com
Tyler Myers has high praise for Hodgson
thanks, sabres.com
***
Cody Hodgson paid his first ever visit to his new home today. Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer were in Buffalo to take physicals and to get their visa paper work in order.
Sabres TV followed along as Kevin Devine, Sabres Scouting Director, gave Hodgson his first ever tour o the new facilities.
thanks, sabres.com
Hodgson will have to high-tail it bck to the Left Coast in order to catch up with his team mates in Anaheim tonight.
****
I'm personally thanking Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler, and Alain Vigneault for their key assists on the Cody Hodgson acquisition.
Unseating two Alpha Dogs like a Hart Trophy winner and a Selke-decorated stud is a near impossibility for any player.
Winning a debate with your head coach as a young prospect is a near impossibility.
Cody Hodgson turns the page on the next phase of his career. he will start with a clean slate in Buffalo, where he will be high-fived at the gas station and at the local Wegmans sub shop. He'll be adored and will be giving the red carpet treatment in the hockey-sick small market that just so happens to be a par five from his hometown of Markham. His family and friends will love the short commute on the eastbound QEW, rather than having to jump over two times zones and a thousand miles of travel.
To understand where Cody Hodgson is at today, you must first understand where he's been in his brief NHL career.
When Mike Gillis was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks, he was looking to the future. There's no way in H-E double hockey sticks that Hodgson was ever going to play centre on one of the top two lines in Vancouver. That is, unless Sedin and or Kesler were traded out of Van City. The odds were slim to none for the kid to steal centre job on the top two lines. Moving Hodgson to one of the walls, rather than having him play centre, was an option that Vancouver had considered. However, Hodgson learned that the Canucks are just as deep on their wings as they are on the dot.
lets face it, the Vancouver Canucks are like the Harlem Globetrotters. They are a freakin machine. Talent and skill are their strong suit. Hodgson represented yet another heavy dollop of whip cream on top of their offensive sundae.
Problem was, that when the music stopped, Cody Hodgson didn't have a seat to sit down on. He feel prey to talent.
Eventually, Hodgson, his family, and his agent asked the question to Gillis:
How does a gifted skill player like Cody continue to develop, then flourish in an organization that has such an embarrassment of riches? Three years in the minors did not seem appealing to a kid who recently had won the Canadian junior player of the year award. Asking a thoroughbred to become a plow horse is a lot to ask of a youngster.
I think any player, given Hodgson's predicament, would want to ask the question:
"Where do I fit in on the Canucks roster"?.
That's Hodgson's right as a tenth overall pick in the draft, to ask such thorny question.
In the end, the kid was an uber-talented first- line centre, trapped in a third liner's uniform. Good luck taking ice time away from Hank and Kes. Take it or leave it, right?
Despite his lack of ice time this season, Hodgson has been able to build value for himself by scoring 16 goals and addising 17 assists. He's also been very dependable on the defensive side of the puck. Imagine what the kid could do if Vigneault could find him another 2-3 minutes of TOI per game.
Lets TiVo back to where Hodgson's challenges began in Vancouver.
I recall following the story of Hodgson's awkward introduction to the Canucks during the Summer of 2008. Having just been drafted, Hodgson had injured his back while lifting weights and working out in his native Toronto. The super-rookie was eager to get his pro career started on the right skated, so he jumped into the gym to begin the arduous process of getting his body prepared for the pro game.
Hodgson, the bright young star that Gillis had drafted in order to be the future face of the franchise, quickly fell out of favor with his coach when his family asked fr and sight out a second opinion regarding Cody's back ailment. The family was entitled to seek their own medical opinion, and did, however, the decision to do so seemed to cause hard feelings inside the Canucks organization.
His coach, Alain Vigneault offered these thoughts to the Vancouver Province regarding the Hodgson injury:
“He (Hodgson) had an opinion back home from a specialist, who gave the exact same report that our back specialist gave him", Vigneault was quoted.
Fair enough. Then, Vigneault added fuel to a fire by suggesting that Hodgson may have been feeling sour grapes as a result of his being cut and sent back to juniors from the Canucks after his first NHL training camp.
“I think Cody is a very young man who hasn’t had a lot of disappointments throughout his life. He’s probably having as tough time, personally, dealing with this one and trying to find a reason why it happened. We’ve all had times where we’ve encountered disappointment and tried to roll the (blame) in a different direction.”
Ouch. Doesn't sound like the type of support that a young star's looking for from his veteran NHL mentor and coach.
To his credit, Hodgson invested the requisite amount of time and then committed himself in doing the proper amount of physical therapy that was necessary that was required to get him back on the ice, and back to skating and playing at his high standard.
Hodgson will be a rock star in Buffalo, rather than being a cog in the machine in Vancouver. He won't be a third line pivot. He'll be given top six ice time and special team opps.
The kid is a star. Always has been, always will be. In Couver, he was a role player. In Buffalo he will be relied upon to deliver immediate offense. With the new opportunity comes higher expectations. Lindy Ruff will line Hogdson up with to six players and will put the kid in the best position to succeed. Imagine if Hodgson is the guy who kick starts the consistency train for Ville Leino.
He'll be a prime mover with the Sabres, and he'll certainly get more than 12 minutes per game TOI.
He's earning $1,666,666 this year and next.
He won't have to live in the shadows of Hank Sedin and Ryan Kesler anymore. He's now free to be his own man and to create his own person.
The stage is yours, Cody. Do with it what you will.
Bar down, baby!
***
Hodgson will skate with his new mates today in Anaheim.
Lindy Ruff will get him involved in the top six mix immediately. He'll also get second unit PP time.
My guess is that he'll spend a lot of time today and tomorrow learning the art of the draw from assistant coach, Kevyn Adams.
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