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SABRES EAGER TO MAKE A DEAL ? |
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Things are quiet on the Niagara Frontier today as the Sabres workout in anticipation of their date with The Edmonton Oilers at home on Thursday night.
The cold winds are blowing heavy snow, Arctic air, and, a couple of fresh trade rumours.
Heard this one from a friend earlier this morning.
Ben Eager to Buffalo for Mike Ryan.
At first blush, this idea made little sense to me.
Why trade a skill guy for a fourth line banger?
"Wait a minute", I said me, to myself.
The divot that Paul Gaustad's absence places in the Sabres roster is a prodigious one indeed.
Goose's abilities to bang, win wall battles, screen goalies, wreak havoc, and, cycle down low will be sorely missed in the weeks and months to come.
If you saw the Flyers -v- Red Wings game last night,you saw Eager flatten Winged Wheels for sixty minutes. Eager's 6'2' and 225ish. He plays the left wall. Not 6'5" and 222 like Goose, but he has the size and ability to play bigger. He's a straight line guy, with nice wheels, who creates ice for his linemates and his not shy about tossing the mitts to defend his teammates. His aggressive forecheck is perfectly suited to augment Mair and Paille, or, Mair and Peters. One thinks that Paille will get Gaustad's wall.
Ryan, on the other hand, is a skilled guy who may not get another look with the big club until training camp. He's not known for his jam and slam, as much as he is for his hands and feet. A nice player to be sure, however, Ryan would not be Lindy Ruff's first call-up in a time of need coming down the stretch as Rochester is loaded with MacArthur, Mancari, Zagrapan, Kaleta, and Hunter.
I watched Eager nuke everything in a Winged Wheel last night. To me, the kid looks like a young Darren McCarty. With the proper amount of coaching and ice time, he may develop his offense game.
Don Luce is a guy that knows a lot about the Sabres prospects in Rochester, having scouted them for the years.
Luce now is active in the Flyers' front office.
Would Philly be willing to send Eager and Umberger for a top 6 forward and a prospect?
Hey, you never know......
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