Hardest Working Team in Hockey Comes Into Its Own
Hey, some Sabres season, huh?
It began with a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, and ended with a
1-1 tie against Dallas. In between, a whole bunch of exciting
things happened.
* If you can find a microcosm of the team's season in one game,
it would probably be the October 24 game on the Island. Down 4-0
after 35 minutes of play, the team stormed back with goals by
Curtis Brown, Wayne Primeau, Dixon Ward and Brian Holzinger.
Still labelled as an average team with a great goaltender which
could only go as far as Dominik Hasek could lug them, this
comeback was a tremendous step forward in the guys' development
as a team.
Claude Lapointe scored on a breakaway with 41 seconds left in
regulation to earn a 5-4 win for New York. That's the microcosm
part.
* When the Sabres beat the Devils on December 26, they upped
their record to 19-6-5, good for the best winning percentage in
the Eastern Conference. This earned Lindy Ruff coaching duty at
the All-Star game.
* Starting December 28, in the other end of a home-and-home with
New Jersey, the wheels started to come off a little bit. The
team went an ungainly 5-12-4 in its next 21, dropping them to
open-playoffs-on-the-road territory. They treaded water in the
standings after that, but never resurfaced -- until April.
* On February 17, Hasek pulled a groin against the Leafs -- his
own -- and missed the team's next game, against San Jose on the
19th. He was out until exactly a month later, when he beat the
Rangers in overtime. The team was 5-4-3 in his absence, and
including the playoffs, was 6-5-3 when Hasek was unavailable
because of injury.
* Given the opportunity to contend for home ice down the stretch,
the team instead knocked off a dreary 4-6-4 record in its last
14. All six losses were by one goal, and each costly tie was
against fellow Eastern playoff position-seekers: New Jersey,
Pittsburgh, Ottawa and Philadelphia.
* Ward had ten goals before almost anybody, and brought that sexy
goal-scorer's attention to a line which would be the Sabres', and
one of the league's, most effective night in and night out.
Flanked by Ward and Vaclav Varada, Michael Peca enjoyed another
Selke-calibre season. Brown emerged as a capable two-way
forward, and Primeau is getting there -- he had a better playoff
than his quite adequate regular season. Primeau carped about ice
time in the middle of the year, and was challenged by the coaches
to provide more enthusiasm and offense when given the opportunity
to play. He responded.
* You can't talk about Sabres who developed and emerged without
mentioning Erik Rasmussen. Ticketed for the Rochester shuttle
most of the year, he instead made the coaching staff keep him in
Buffalo with his thundering, smart play.
* Miroslav Satan started the year as an enigma and a holdout, not
in that order, necessarily, but signed as camp broke and after a
slow start racked up 40 goals.
* Another camp holdout, Alexei Zhitnik, signed as well and became
less the out-of-control buzz saw he was previously in his career
and more of a defensive force. Had the Sabres beaten the Stars,
he would have been a legitimate candidate for the Conn Smythe: he
led the team in minutes played and hits in the later rounds, and
tied Jason Woolley for the team lead in playoff scoring.
* Jay McKee's emergence is covered below.
* A couple guys who are a big part of the team's future had a
taste of the NHL this season. Cory Sarich, the team's top
defense prospect, spent a few games of his first pro year with
the big club. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, a King Kong Korab-sized
hulk of a man, was called up late in the year and stuck with the
team through the playoffs, though he saw no playoff ice. Martin
Biron was very good in the couple games he got into when Hasek
was hurting.
* The team shipped Donald Audette, another holdout, to the Kings
for a second round pick, and Mike Wilson's gangly tenure with the
team ended with a deadline deal that sent him to Florida in
exchange for Rhett Warrener. Joey Juneau also joined the team at
the deadline, a pit stop for Juneau on his way to a French
Canadian team. The biggest deal saw Matthew Barnaby wear out his
welcome and become a Flightless Waterfowl in exchange for Stu
Barnes. It sure looked like a bum move about two rounds into the
playoffs, but seven goals later, the Marena was chanting
"Stuuuuuuu" whenever Barnes touched the puck.
* When all is said and done, regarding the team's playoff run --
and it's been all said and done, in these pages and elsewhere --
the season was a smashing success. A six-game Stanley Cup final
loss to the two-time President's Trophy team, guys like Guy
Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Mike Keane, Ed Belfour, and a team of
legitimate champions? As stuck as the whole thing is in fans'
craws, we all would have taken that at the beginning of the
season.
Thank you, Sabres.
MVP: Hasek Da Man
Hasek is up for league MVP again, and although he won't win, Jagr
will, there's a good reason. Once again, Hasek proved himself
pound for pound the league's best goalie and the most valuable
hockey player on the Niagara Frontier. He may even lose his grip
on the Vezina to Curtis Joseph, but can we all get together on
this for once: Hasek is one of the best of all time. No one has
dominated the game over a five-year period the way Hasek has
since Gretzky was in his twenties, and no one has dominated a
"specialist" position so thoroughly since Bobby Orr.
Ironically, what may cost Hasek league accolades this year is the
fact the Sabres were able to tread water while he was out for
twelve games early in this calendar year. The team has grown up
around Hasek to the point where he's not the only flame in town
anymore.
SURPRISE: McKee - One Step Up
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Jay McKee
by Meredith Martini
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A credible argument can be made that the biggest surprise player
on the team this season was Miro Satan, who became the team's
first 40-goal scorer since Pat LaFontaine. What you get down to
brass tacks, though, 35 goals was probably a reasonable
expectation for a guy with hands like his on a contract drive, so
he really only "overachieved" by about five goals. And also,
some of you who watched the Dallas series are probably mildly
surprised to learn that Satan is still on the team.
The man who grew up the fastest in a Sabre uniform this year had
to be Jay McKee. In his first full NHL season, he went from
being paired with veteran Darryl Shannon in the hope of masking
any defensive deficiencies to anchoring the Sabres' best
defensive duo with fellow youngster Warrener. (Zhitnik and
Richard Smehlik would have been the Sabres' best defensive duo,
if not for the sheer adequacy of Smehlik.)
McKee was among the Sabres' leaders in hits during the regular
and postseasons, and he did it without racking up Rob Ray-like
PIMs. With punks like Derian Hatcher and Peter Forsberg running
around trying to kill people, the game needs more devastating,
clean hit machines. McKee took several steps forward, not just
one, in 1998-99.
DISAPPOINTMENT: Grosek - Two Steps Back
It was a season dabbled with little disappointments here and
there: Audette holding out for a trade, Wilson tripping all over
himself -- literally, Barnes going goal-less in the regular
season, Barnaby talking himself out of the organization, Peca
grinding his gears as the playoffs wore on, losing game six of
the Stanley Cup final in triple overtime on a disputed goal, that
sort of thing. As such, it seems unfair to single out Michal
Grosek, but we will anyway.
Grosek was second on the team in playoff goals in 1998, and began
the 98-99 season on the same high. As the season wore on, he
started to carp about being on Satan's line and not getting the
puck enough, and eventually played himself into a healthy scratch
near the end of the season. A guy who tries to play like Cam
Neely should have a little more oomph in his game on a consistent
basis. Grosek hasn't demonstrated the magic 'c' word in his
career to this point, and needs to take advantage of his
remaining opportunities -- they're probably going to be fewer and
farther between.
OFF-SEASON CHANGES: Don't Change a Thing
Owing to economics and the age of Dominik Hasek, this team can't
possibly stay together all that much longer. It should, for as
long as it can.
Joe Juneau, who you only noticed in the final because he was
often seen sitting next to Satan, is gone to Montreal, but the
organization will probably survive. Satan needs a new contract,
but a 40-goal regular year contrasted to his play against Dallas
is probably going to make for a holdout as he and the team try to
agree which level of performance he should be paid for.
Other Sabres whose contracts are up are Wayne Primeau, Curtis
Brown, Vaclav Varada, Stu Barnes, Geoff Sanderson, Dixon Ward,
McKee, Warrener and Jason Woolley.
Most of these guys ought to be back, and all effort should be
made to ensure they are. Ward can't keep it up and Varada may
never truly find himself, but throw them together with Peca for
another year and stand back. Brown is developing nicely, as is
Primeau, albeit more slowly. Sanderson's playoff may have
restored some of his former 40-goal-scoring moxie, and he ought
to be counted on as a contributor next season. Barnes would be
welcome back.
The defense is to drool over. If Shannon doesn't get Thrashed,
he's been one of the most consistent d-men in the game over the
last three years, and should maintain that level. Zhitnik and
McKee are in a race to see who gets a Norris Trophy nomination
first. Warrener is a delight, especially in light of the guy he
replaced. And if either or both of Sarich and Grand-Pierre can
develop as quickly as McKee and Rasmussen, the rich get richer.
The team could use a true sniper on the wing, and maybe a veteran
two-way centerman, but even without them, the future looks
bright.
And really. Do you think this team, if it stays together to any
extent, will be appropriately motivated to win next year?
