UPDATE!

The Sabres have announced that Kevin Sylvester and former player Danny Gare will take over calling road games in the absence of Rick Jeanneret and Harry Neale next season.  Not going to lie here, I think we all expected Kevin Sylvester’s name to be first in line, but where the heck did Danny Gare come from?

I personally was expecting RJ’s son to be Kevin’s partner in the absence of his father. Mark Jeanneret called game for the Portland Pirates last season and called a few games with Sylvester during his father’s mid-season vacation.  I thought they were pretty good, obviously nothing really competes with RJ and Harry Neale, but I guess we shall see.

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Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret announced today that he will be cutting back on the number of games he will call next season.  This should really come as no surprise, as Jeanneret and partner Harry Neale are not getting any younger and have been hinting that their time is coming.

A release from the Buffalo Sabres says that Jeanneret and Neale will call all home games and selected (10-15) road games, TBD when the 2011-2012 schedule is released.  While this is sad news, I would much rather have RJ around for a 10more years calling a few less games, then have him gone completely in 2 years because of the tedious travel involved in being an NHL announcer.

“It’s no secret that the constant travel has been wearing on me over the years, and there were several times last season when I thought that it might be my last,” Jeanneret said. “That’s why I presented this arrangement to Sabres management. I think it’s the best of both worlds, and allows me to continue doing the job I love. I really want to thank the Sabres for accommodating my request.”

So, the new question is, who will call the remainder of the road games?  Will it be Kevin Sylvester, who would seem to be the front runner, perhaps RJ’s son, who currently calls the games for the Sabres AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, or somebody else?  I personally would expect Sylveser to take the reigns, as he already has experience (calling games on the west coast swing last season) and has put in the time and travel with the team.  What do you think?

Stay tuned for an update!

Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today that Buffalo native, Marcus Foligno (yep Mike Foligno‘s youngest son!!), the 4th round pick of the team in 2009, agreed to terms on a 3 year entry level deal.  Foligno finished his final season with the Sudbury Wolves with a career high in goals (23), assists (36) and points (59).  The youngest Foligno finished his junior career with 54 goals, 85 assists, 139 points, 382 PIM’s in 245 games, all with the Wolves.  Foligno also served as the captain of the team for the 2010-2011 season, led all forwards in PIM’s (92) despite playing in only 42 games.  Foligno was also named to the OHL’s Second All-Star Team and was voted as the Best Body Checker in the Eastern Conference in the OHL Coaches Poll.

Sabres fans got their first real look at the next Foligno at the IIHF World U20 Championships, which took place in Buffalo this winter.  Foligno, along with Sabres prospect Zack Kassian, won a silver medal with Team Canada.  Foligno scored 2 goals and added 2 assists in the tournament and gave fans something to look forward to in the coming years.  His gritty style (Youtube search him and take a look at his glorious fighting reel!) is something the Sabres are in desperate need of, and just to add the cherry on top, Foligno appears to have found a scoring touch as of late.

The best thing about Foligno is he is truly a genuine person and was a pleasure to talk to while he was playing in the World Juniors in Buffalo.  He was so polite and always spoke to every reporter that wanted to talk to him, he never blew anyone off or cut interviews short, which was nice to see considering other players couldn’t be bothered.  The Buffalo media outlets raved about how he was a true Buffalonian in every sense of the word.  Even after he was first drafted and attending Sabres Prospect Camp for the first time, he stood signing autographs for throngs of kids for at least 20 minutes and when he was finished he asked if anyone needed anything else and thanked everyone for coming.  He is a native son, like Tim Kennedy, we can be proud of (yes that was a dig at you Pat Kane…).

Hopefully there are a lot of thundering body checks and Foligno Leap’s in our future!!!

Sabres defensive prospect Brayden McNabb has been suspended for one game of the Memorial Cup after receiving a a major penalty, as well as a game misconduct for an elbow to the head of Joey Hishon of the Owen Sound Attack.  McNabb will miss Kootenay’s next game against the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.

McNabb was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and is by far the most highly touted defensive prospective since the leaning tower of Tyler came onto the scene.  After signing an entry level contract with the Sabres last week many Sabres fans expect McNabb to be competing for a roster spot next season.  He currently serves as the captain of Kootenay, was second in scoring for defensemen in the WHL with 72 points, 22 of which were goals, and has 27 points so far in postseason play.

Looks like Terry Pegula is interested in bringing the kids closer to home.  Pegula has reportedly signed a letter of intent to purchase the Rochester Americans of the AHL (woot!).  The Amerks were the primary farm club for the Sabres until the 2007-2008 season, when the teams parted ways.  Since then the Sabres primary affiliate has been the Portland Pirates, which is not close to Buffalo (sadface).  For years, we jumped in the car and went to Amerks games, hell we watched Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and so many others come up through the ranks, now its just impossible unless you are willing to shell out a small fortune for gas or a plane ticket.
Hopefully this deal works out, because then there will be lots of one hour drives and Dinosaur BBQ in many Sabres fans futures!!!!

Stay tuned for an update!

Let it be known, Danny Briere’s chance to win the Stanley cup were swept out the door just as fast as the Flyers!!!  Sorry, it was necessary, but there are still other past Sabres left in the playoffs and I don’t mind if they win, well some of them….

J.P Dumont – Yepp still love him, miss him and want him back.  Even though he hasn’t played yet in the Vancouver series, he is still a great player, leader and person.  I would love to see him finally get his shot at a Cup, he’s not getting any younger you know…

Raffi Torres - ?? does he really count, no, ok moving on…

Daniel Paille – Oh PIEZY!! We still miss him, he’s a solid player when he’s on, when he’s not, get out of the way (or just get him out of the way).  So far he has 3 points (2G and 1A) in 11 playoff games, but he has the benefit of being a member of the Beast’s of the East.  Finger’s crossed for Paille, just because.

Dominic Moore – Oh yeah, he did play for us.  Well now he plays for Tampa (Go Bolts!) and has 2 goals and 6 assists in 11 games.  Even though he didn’t play here long, he was still a Sabre, so good luck to him and the Lightning, they have quite the test waiting for them.

Dwayne Roloson – Yepp he was a Sabre for 2 seasons too, he was the Dominator’s back-up.  He’s pretty hot going into the series with Boston, hopefully he can channel what he had in the Washington series and give the Bolts a fighting chance.

So now that the season is over, what should we talk about… the offseason, obviously!  Recently on WGR550 (the sports station in Buffalo for those of you that aren’t aware), the conversations have turned to offseason trades, which is a soft spot for us Buffalo fans.  Normally in the offseason, the Sabres don’t really do much, the extent of our offseason signings is normally a defenseman or 2 and possibly a 3^rd line forward and a back-up goalie (but we won’t be needing that this year ENROTH, ENROTH!!!!!).

This year, many people in Buffalo are expecting an interesting offseason now that the reigns are off as far as money and what Darcy Regier can/cannot do.  In the past, the Sabres have not traded draft picks very often or prospects.  The question everyone is asking, is will that change?

One of the more interesting conversations was whether the Sabres would or should look at offers for players such as Zack Kassian or Luke Adam, who are currently playing with the Portland Pirates and were 1^st and 2^nd round draft picks in 2009 and 2008, respectively.  The team in recent years would never have considered trading their young talent, but now it seems like everyone is on the table.

Personally, if the offer were a bag of pucks for Zack Kassian, I would take it.  It’s no secret I am not a fan of his and I was not happy when the Sabres selected him, he’s a reckless player who has no respect for other players on the ice.  My theory is that even if he somehow makes the team at some point, he’ll spend more time being suspended or sitting in the penalty box than actually playing.  Hopefully, the Sabres will be able to teach him and turn him into a player like Milan Lucic (who he has been compared), but I’m not optimistic.

In January of 2010, Kassian was suspended for 20 games by the OHL after a hit to the head of Matt Kennedy of the Barrie Colts.  In May of 2010 he was charged with assault after an incident outside of a bar in Windsor, Ontario.  At the World Junior Championships, played in Buffalo, he was suspended 2 games after a brutal blindside hit to the head of a Czech defenseman.  Just a few weeks ago, he was again suspended by the OHL for 4 games after he received an intent to injure match penalty at the end of a playoff game.  I think his record speaks for itself; he plays with reckless abandon, which is what the league is trying to crack down on.  When Patrice Cormier threw the dreadful elbow to the head of Michael Tam and was suspended for the remainder of the QMJHL season and the Playoffs, the New Jersey Devils TRADED him less than a month later.  Kassian is not a player I would want as a member of this organization, especially the direction is it now heading in.

Luke Adam is a completely different story.  The offer would have to be something pretty substantial to send him off.  He had an extremely successful year with the Portland Pirates scoring 29 goals and 33 assists.  He won AHL Rookie of the Year, won a silver medal with team Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championship (where he scored 8 points in 6 games) and made his debut in the NHL playing in 19 games and scoring 3 goals.  He is a center, which is something we are desperately in need of and he has shown amazing potential.

This is not to say I would not look at a trade offer if I was the GM, but the team has a history of developing young players (see Gaustad, Pominville, Miller, Roy…).  At this point, almost everyone and everything should be on the table, it’s about making the team better NOW, not 5 years from now.