Yesterday was a hockey-heavy day across the States as the designated Hockey Day In America was rolled out on the 35th Anniversary of the Miracle On Ice. NBC was live at Lake Placid, NY helping us relive quite possibly the greatest upset in sports ever.
A clearly overmatched USA squad of collegians, semi-pro's and hockey misfits dethroned the Soviet Union and their juggernaut of hockey professionals in 1980. Interesting to note that the Soviet Union outshot the Americans 39-16 in "Miracle" game. A stat that looks all too familiar to Sabres fans.
Yesterday also marked a significant anniversary that hits a little closer to home, as February 22nd marks the four-year anniversary of Terry Pegula taking ownership of the Buffalo Sabres. And as we fans sit at the bottom of the league for the second year running while looking towards the future, on February 22, 2011 Pegula uttered these words which are now engraved on a plaque in the Sabres dressing room:
"From this point forward, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win the Stanley Cup"
Hockey fans outside of Buffalo might scoff at the notion, especially with the team in the state it's presently in, but those words were an exciting and definitive departure from the mandate from the previous regime. As laid out and mentioned on many occasions, former owner Tom Golisano and his Team President, Larry Quinn, merely wanted to break even from a financial standpoint and the on-ice product during the last three-plus seasons of ownership reflected that.
This isn't a condemnation of their approach as Golisano had taken over the team from the NHL who had presided over the franchise through bankruptcy thanks to the exploits of the Rigas', the previous owners of the Buffalo Sabres. Golisano bought the team, kept them in Buffalo and enjoyed a short period where his team was very successful whilst staying within the parameters laid out. But Pegula brought a whole new dynamic to the organization.
Say what you will about what's transpired over the course of the last four years as Pegula's thoughts of competing for the Cup in three years, and his financial huge financial investments, were ground to dust. Still alive are his vision for the type of team he wants and his longer-term commitments to scouting an player development.
At his presser four years ago Pegula answered a question about star players leaving.
"I wanna keep not only statistically good players, but winners gritty players."
Pegula had said before that it was the mid-70's Philadelphia Flyers "style of play that got me into [hockey]" while also stating that he soon fell in love with the skill of "The French Connection" around the same time.
Any moves the team makes can be seen in this light and it seems as if GM Tim Murray is, and always has been, fully on board with this concept. In going down the roster, Players like Zemgus Girgensons, Tyler Ennis, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nikita Zadorov, Nicolas Deslauriers and the recently acquired Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian all fit into that quote.
What Murray has at his disposal is something that Pegula also emphasized at his introductory press conference, an expanded scouting and development department:
"Starting today, there will be no financial mandates on the Buffalo Sabres hockey department. There is no salary cap in the National Hockey League on scouting budgets and player development budgets. I plan on increasing...our scouting budgets, both with bodies on the ground, and in areas we may not be hitting capably, and also enhancing our video department. Starting today, we will bring in more player development coaches, to help these guys become better hockey players, work on their weaknesses, or whatever the coaches think. We will aspire to be the best in the league at finding, developing, and keeping our players in their new Buffalo Sabre family."
Back in August, 2014, I juxtaposed the 2008-09 hockey department with ones from 2011-12 and the one they had this season in a piece entitled,
The growth of a hockey department. Thanks to the financial commitment from Pegula, the Sabres now have approximately 25 amateur and pro scouts on the ground, a far cry from the "VideoScout-3000" approach they'd used under the previous regime.
Although that approach got lost in all the fanfare of his "big-city signings in 2011" and the malaise their going through during this rebuild, it's an approach that's just beginning to pay dividends.
Last night the Sabres dropped a 2-1 decision to the league-leading Nashville Predators, another team that has used drafting and player development as their foundation. The Sabres were outshot 38-17 for the game, their lone goal was scored by a plucky Ennis and they received stellar goaltending from Michal Neuvirth. Buffalo's record is 17-38-5 and they sit five points behind the 29th-place Edmonton Oilers with one game in hand.
Tomorrow night the Sabres head south to the Buckeye State to face a resilient Columbus Blue Jackets club. Last night Columbus came back from a 3-0 deficit at Madison Square Garden to force a shootout where they were finished off by a former first-overall pick of theirs, Rick Nash (2002.)
Columbus, according to NHLnumbers.com, is the youngest team in the league (26.068 avg. age) but have shown a lot of the traits the Sabres are hoping to have. They're young, fast, gritty, strong on their skates, and while a strong group of players came over from the Nash to NY Rangers trade and the team has been augmented by other moves, many of their players are homegrown. They also have a top-10 group of prospects, according to Hockey'sfuture.
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The Sabres Road Crew will be in Columbus tonight.
From Sabres.com:
The Buffalo Sabres today announced that the team’s “Road Crew,” sponsored by Labatt’s and New Era Cap, will make its second “Tour Stop” of the 2014-15 season on Feb. 23 in Columbus, Ohio, prior to the team’s game against the Blue Jackets on Feb. 24.
This year’s second Tour Stop will take place at Spoonz Pub (7426 Sawmill Road Columbus, Ohio 43235) on Monday, Feb. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m.
For a $10 donation to the Buffalo Sabres Foundation, fans will get the opportunity to meet Sabres head coach Ted Nolan and his staff, alumni Brad May and Rob Ray, as well as broadcasters Rick Jeanneret, Brian Duff and Dan Dunleavy. The event will also include food and drink specials, Sabres trivia, giveaways, raffles and much more. In addition, everyone who purchases a ticket will receive an official Sabres Road Crew credential and lanyard. Tickets can be purchased online at sabres.com/roadcrew or by calling Nick Fearby at 716-855-4452.
Anyone headed there? Let me know. I'm going there and would love to meet you.
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