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Unfathomable/Vanek On Rebuilding

May 16, 2022, 7:00 PM ET [985 Comments]
Hank Balling
Buffalo Sabres Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Putting into words the unspeakable, horrific acts perpetrated against the people of Buffalo on Saturday afternoon is an almost impossible task. It’s unfathomable that a radicalized teenager traveled three hours from his home to the City of Good Neighbors with the express purpose of terrorizing and murdering people he had never met for no other reason than the amount of melanin they have in their skin.

It’s senseless that someone in their teens could harbor that much resentment against people who had never done anything to him. That level of pure hatred and brutal violence is truly hard to understand. My condolences go out to the families and friends of those who were needless murdered at the hands of this horribly misguided individual. May history forget his name but remember the 10 who lost their lives:


Roberta A. Drury

Margus D. Morrison

Andre Mackneil

Aaron Salter

Geraldine Talley

Celestine Chaney

Heyward Patterson

Katherine Massey

Pearl Young

Ruth Whitfield


May they all rest in peace.

At times like this it can be hard to know what concrete steps we can take to avoid the kind of tragedy Western New York experienced over the weekend. This isn’t the forum to discuss policy changes on broad societal issues, so I only offer this: check in on people in your life. If you see someone exhibiting violent or extreme tendencies, talk to them and offer to get them help. If you know someone who is struggling with the aftereffects of this horrific ordeal, offer support in any way you can.

It's tempting to react to the shooter’s actions with more hate and anger, but that is exactly the kind of reaction he hoped to elicit. The other option is to demonstrate empathy and positivity for those in need and to provide support in any way you can. The solution to hate isn’t more hate. Be a beacon of light in a dark time. Be kind to one another.



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There’s no good segue to start talking about hockey here. Frankly, it feels a little gross to talk about anything as trivial as hockey during a time like this, but this is a hockey blog and – despite the horrible events of Saturday – maybe it’s beneficial to take one’s mind off the weekend’s horror, if only for a minute.

Thomas Vanek, the Sabres’ 2003 first-round pick, recently joined Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet on their “After the Whistle” podcast to discuss all manner of things NHL related. The entire interview is worth a listen as Vanek touches on coaches, types of sticks, shooting styles and much more. Vanek is a thoughtful guest and he clearly still keeps up on the modern NHL from his home in Minnesota.

The 5th overall pick has always been somewhat of a controversial player in Sabres lore, with some people lauding his skill, while others say he was too lackadaisical with his style of play. I’ve always been in the first camp largely because he and former Sabre Jason Pominville were largely tasked with keeping the Sabres relevant without a number one center. Sure, they had a couple good years with Derek Roy in his prime, but after Roy left, the names of their centers include Luke Adam, Steve Ott, Cody Hodgson and a post-concussion Tim Connolly. Personally, I think Vanek was an underrated playmaker and obviously a hell of a goal scorer.

But I digress.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the interview was when Vanek was asked whether the Sabres should fortify the team by trading draft picks to bring in established talent in their mid-20s.

“Absolutely. That’s what teams like Buffalo – in my opinion – need to do,” Vanek said. “You gotta trade for players. You can’t sign ‘em… if a guy is available and it’s going to take Casey Mittelstadt, I’m making that deal.”

The former 40-goal scorer hasn’t exactly been convinced that the Sabres have totally and firmly turned a corner.

“I watched several Sabres games down the stretch, and the Sabres looked great, but the thing to me is: It’s a lot easier to play when you know by November that you’re out of the playoffs. The last 20 games? They’re just for fun. They come to the rink and what happens if they lose? Instead of picking 9th you pick 6th? So I want to see them at the beginning of the season, the first 20 games, can you play the same way? Can you win the same way?”

He went on to say that merely relying on the same cast of kids without making changes to bring in established talent is a risky proposition.

“If you lose the first 12-13 games out of the first 25, and you’re under .500, well guess what, you’re already 8-9 points back already. And then what is it again? It’s another year of ‘well, our young guys need to get better’… I… I cannot stand that.”

It's a good point, and a possibility that can’t be answered until the puck drops again in October. As the left wing pointed out, though, if patience is the approach the Sabres take, then by puck drop in the fall it will be too late to do anything about the problem. Vanek especially had plenty to say about relying purely on the development of players to take the team to the next level.

“When are you not young? Nowadays guys play at 19 or 18 and at 25, they’re still considered young. When does that end? How many games do you have to play until you’re not considered young anymore? Like, Dahlin, ‘ton of growth, still young,’ how long has he been in the league now? I’m not saying he can’t get better, he can get better, but he’s going to get better when you get better players around him, not because he’s going to get older.”

Vanek’s main point of emphasis with the Sabres is one almost all fans would agree with:

“I still think the whole thing starts with goaltending. If you don’t have a goaltender going into next season, I don’t care what move you make, you’re not going to touch the playoffs. So that’s gotta be your first upgrade.”

Well said, Thomas.
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