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01-20-2005, 12:59 AM
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#51 | ||
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. June 14, 2004:
I've neglected to talk about our organization's prospects and their development through the season. Here is a look at the Rochester Americans statistics for 2003-04 (note: any player in CAPS is not a member of the Sabres organization): Code:
Thorburn was a nice surprise this year and offers depth in case a guy like Adam Mair goes down. Other plusses include Rory Fitzpatrick's play and the ongoing development of Milan Bartovic, who I'm already pencilling in as a fourth liner in Buffalo next season. First year pro Nathan Paetsch also had a decent season, as did unheralded goaltender Tom Askey. The often mentioned Jason Pominville was superb both in Rochester and in Buffalo. Disappointments include Derek Roy, one of the organization's top prospects. I likely rushed him to the NHL and he never regained his confidence after going a long stretch without points. I feel he'll recover to be a fine NHL'er, but will likely keep him on the farm next year until he catches fire offensively. Paul Gaustad also regressed this year, likely due to the depth we have at centre in the organization, as he didn't get a lot of minutes. Another centreman, former first round pick Jiri Novotny continues to prove he is a bust. Now, let's take a look at the Sabres organization's unsigned prospects, in alphabetical order, with age noted: Code:
Our prized possession, Thomas Vanek, had a monstrous year in Minnesota and will vie for a spot on the Sabres next season. My players in the Canadian Junior Leagues all played quite well last year: Paille, Wideman and Tessier will likely suit up in Rochester next season. Clarke MacArthur and Louis-Phillippe Martin both have turned into nice prospects and will play one more season in junior next year. I'll likely try to sign Voroshnin before the June 30th deadline and have him play in Rochester next season. Thomas Morrow from B.U. is progressing nicely and is a monster on the blue line at 6'5". I also have a couple veterans in Hecl and Kuntos; Hecl is interesting to me as possible depth and I'm thinking of bringing him over to the States next season. Artem Kryukov is another first round bust like Novotny. Thu. June 17, 2004: I traded winger Norm Milley to Montreal for a sixth round pick in 2004 and an 8th round pick in 2005. Milley wasn't progressing in Rochester and I've got guys like Paille and Tessier coming into the pro ranks that will require ice time so Milley was expendable. I've tried to make numerous trades before the Saturday draft to get a few extra picks but can't get any value for guys like Paul Gaustad and Mike Grier, who I've put on the block. His salary is pretty high for a guy I consider a fourth liner and I'd like to put Bartovic in the lineup next season. ON TAP: - 2004 NHL Draft Preview - Buffalo Sabres Inside Report: 2004 Draft - 2004 NHL Entry Draft
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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01-23-2005, 03:23 PM
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#52 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Fri. June 18, 2004:
NHL Entry Draft Preview - My scouts seem to feel that there are four potential franchise players in this draft class, unanimously giving five star grades to the following youngsters: - Rostislav Olesz, 18 yrs, C, Czech, 6'2" 202 lbs, Vitkovice (Czech) - Yevgeni Malkin, 17 yrs, C, Russian, 6'3" 231 lbs, Metallurg M. (Russia) - Alexander Ovechkin, 18 yrs, LW, Russian, 6'3" 227 lbs, Dynamo (Russia) - Robbie Schremp, 17 yrs, C, American, 5'11" 198 lbs, London (OHL) All of these players are out of my reach considering the fact that I get the 21st selection in the draft this year. Buffalo Sabres Inside Report: 2004 NHL Entry Draft Here is a look at our picks for the coming draft: First Round (21st Pick) Second Round (21st Pick) Third Round (11th Pick) Sixth Round (4th Pick and 21st Pick) Eighth Round (4th Pick and 21st Pick) Ninth Round (21st Pick) Pretty thin from a pick standpoint, as I traded a bunch of my picks in order to get Pittsburgh's first rounder in next year's draft. My main focus is finding a potential #1 defenseman in this draft, something that will be incredibly difficult drafting in the 21st position. The top rated defenseman is Medicine Hat's Cam Barker, who is rated as the 10th best prospect by the International Scouting Service. I would certainly like to trade up to get a chance at Barker but I'm not willing to sell the farm for an unproven commodity. Other defensemen scheduled to go in the first round are Andrej Meszaros from Trencin in the Czech Republic (15th rated prospect), Kyle Wharton from Ottawa in the OHL (18th), A.J. Thelen from Michigan State in the NCAA (19th), Emil Axelsson from Djurgarden in Sweden (20th), Mitch Maunu from Windsor in the OHL (22nd) and Wes O'Neill from Notre Dame in the NCAA (25th). My instincts say that Thelen is the guy right now from that group. There is another defenseman rated as a second round pick by the ISS that my scouts love: Mike Green, an offensive defenseman from Saskatoon in the WHL has great speed and leadership ability but is very raw from a skill standpoint. I also need to find more goaltending as well, as I only have four goaltenders in the entire system right now. I have great depth at forward right now but won't hesitate selecting a winger or centre that has fantastic potential. I'm a big believer in picking the best talent available, regardless of positional needs, especially in the later rounds. Speaking of later rounds, I plan on taking chances on some older players in the 8th and 9th rounds; guys who can step in and contribute immediately. My scouts like a few European players that I'm keeping tabs on and I'd love to find an experienced goaltender to challenge Martin Biron and Ryan Miller.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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01-24-2005, 02:34 PM
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#53 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto
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if Crosby becomes a sabre, ill throw up......
He got drafted by the Habs in my game, and i think that is perfect.
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FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML |
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01-25-2005, 12:01 PM
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#54 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Quote:
 Someone REALLY hates the Sabres!  Pittsburgh had a pretty nice year in 2003 and would really have to regress for me to have a chance at #1 overall with their pick. Add that to the fact that I won't try to take advantage of the A.I. by trading with the team that DOES get the #1 pick and it means it would be a miracle to get Crosby from either of my two selections. Finished the draft last night and will have my report online tonight. The draft is a LOT of fun in EHM and I was pleasantly surprised at how things deviated from the I.S.S. rankings.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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01-26-2005, 10:18 PM
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#55 | |||||||||
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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2004 NHL Entry Draft
1. Florida Panthers: Rostislav Olesz, C, 18 years old, 62 202 lbs, L, Czech (Rated #1 by I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Vitkovice (Cze) 49GP 21g 21a 42pts +2 50pim Very strong and skilled offensive player; can be a bit selfish on the ice at times and must improve his play away from the puck; potential to be franchise player. 2. Minnesota Wild: Yevgeni Malkin, C, 17 years old, 63 231 lbs, R, Russian (#2 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Metallurg M. (Rus) 53GP 11g 17a 28pts 0 34pim Well trained on the technical side of things but needs to improve his skating if hes to dominate at next level; very skilled and another possible franchise player. 3. Chicago Blackhawks: Robbie Schremp, C, 17 years old, 511 198 lbs, L, American (#4 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: London (OHL) 61GP 25g 44a 69pts +30 70pim Great leader, responsible defensively and talented offensively; no major weaknesses; captain material and scouts tab him as a potential franchise player. 4. Columbus Blue Jackets: Alexander Ovechkin, LW, 18 years old, 63 227 lbs, R, Russian (#3 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Dynamo (Rus) 60GP 18g 25a 43pts -4 50pim Supremely skilled offensive player and not a liability defensively; character is questionable as he feels hes above his Dynamo teammates; needs to develop more strength; should terrorize NHL goaltenders. 5. Montreal Canadiens: Andrew Ladd, LW/RW, 18 years old, 63 227 lbs, L, Canadian (#8 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Calgary (WHL) 64GP 35g 45a 80pts +53 91pim Hard worker with skills; skating needs work; good leader. 6. Atlanta Thrashers: Cam Barker, LD, 18 years old, 63 209 lbs, L, Canadian (#10 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Medicine Hat (WHL) 66GP 5g 47a 52pts +26 145pim Very good leader with excellent defensive awareness; wont be a big scorer in the NHL; still pretty raw; top rated defenseman in draft. 7. San Jose Sharks: Andrej Meszaros, LD, 18 years old, 6 189 lbs, L, Slovakian (#15 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Trencin (Slo) 48GP 5g 21a 26pts +6 58pim Smallish offensive defenseman; very green; needs to improve skating and get stronger. 8. New York Rangers: Petteri Nokelainen, C, 18 years old, 61 220 lbs, R, Finnish (#32 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: SaiPa (Fin) 55GP 13g 13a 26pts 15 32pim Leave it to the Rangers to pull off the first surprise in the draft; big, skilled and mature player who conceivably could step in immediately; still room to grow physically. 9. Nashville Predators: Kyle Chipchura, C, 18 years old, 63 198 lbs, L, Canadian (#6 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Prince Albert (WHL) 72GP 30g 33a 63pts +25 111pim Solid all-around player with no major strengths or weaknesses. 10. Edmonton Oilers: Wojtek Wolski, LW, 18 years old, 64 220 lbs, L, Canadian (#11 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Brampton (OHL) 66GP 40g 51a 91pts +29 44pim Huge winger built in same mold as Taylor Pyatt; a gentle giant; good hands but needs to get meaner. 11. Phoenix Coyotes: Alexandre Picard, LW, 18 years old, 63 191 lbs, L, Canadian (#9 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Lewiston (QMJHL) 63GP 36g 40a 76pts +16 72pim Excellent skills and very determined to succeed; tends to be a bit selfish on the ice and lacks great skating ability. 12. New York Islanders: Marek Schwarz, G, 18 years old, 59 183 lbs, L, Czech (#5 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Plzen (Cze) 33GP 11-13-9 2.21GAA .910 S% Top rated goalkeeper in the draft; very small but agile; good technical skills; my scouts werent enamored with him. 13. Pittsburgh Penguins: Roman Voloshenko, LW, 18 years old, 6 205 lbs, R, Russian (#7 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Krylja Sovetov (Rus-2) 57GP 54g 43a 97pts +26 80pim Excellent defensive awareness already with good playmaking skills; will not score at the same level in the NHL; needs to play against better players to aid his development. 14. New York Rangers: John Vigilante, LW, 19 years old, 6 189 lbs, L, American (#12 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Plymouth (WHL) 60GP 40g 42a 82pts +49 52pim Hard working defensive specialist with good shot; a Kris Draper-type that wont likely put a lot of points on the board in the big leagues. 15. St. Louis Blues: Alexander Radulov, LW, 17 years old, 510 209 lbs, R, Russian (#29 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Dynamo (Rus) 40GP 10g 14a 24pts -8 24pim Highly skilled and dynamic player; great shot and shows flair on the ice; played with Ovechkin at Dynamo; I was looking at him strongly. 16. Tampa Bay Lightning: Kyle Wharton, LD, 18 years old, 63 227 lbs, L, Canadian (#18 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Ottawa (OHL) 67GP 12g 44a 56pts +11 80pim Hard hitter and solid defenseman; pretty good skills but scored low on mental tests. 17. Ottawa Senators: Emil Axelsson, RD, 18 years old, 63 222 lbs, L, Swedish (#20 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Orebro (Swe-2) 45GP 7g 14a 21pts +3 24pim Excellent stay-at-home type with good puck skills; plays with an edge on the ice but is clean; skating needs work. 18. Anaheim Mighty Ducks: Lukas Kaspar, LW, 18 years old, 63 231 lbs, L, Czech (#35 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Chemopetrol (Cze) 46GP 10g 10a 20pts +2 20pim Hulking left winger with hard shot but very slow; a project. 19. Montreal Canadiens: Johannes Salmonsson, LW, 18 years old, 63 178 lbs, L, Swedish (#39 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Djurgarden (Swe) 45GP 7g 13a 20pts -3 20pim Lanky power forward with lots of room to grow; good leader. 20. Vancouver Canucks: A.J. Thelen, LD/RD, 18 years old, 64 205 lbs, L, American (#19 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Michigan State (NCAA) 54GP 16g 28a 44pts +28 86pim Very hard hitter with good skills; skating needs work. DAMN!  Vancouver just HAS to take the guy I want with the selection before mine. Figures! I focus my attention on getting Mike Green from Saskatoon, a guy I can likely get at the end of the first round, so I make a trade with New Jersey to swap picks and get some other picks in return.TO NEW JERSEY: Buffalos First Round Pick #21 TO BUFFALO: New Jerseys First Round Pick #30, New Jerseys Fifth Round Pick #150 & New Jerseys Seventh Round Pick #210 21. New Jersey Devils: Ryan Garlock, C, 18 years old, 61 213 lbs, L, Canadian (#14 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Windsor (OHL) 67GP 29g 36a 65pts +8 49pim Polished power forward with good defensive awareness; fits in well with the Devils and their tactics; played well on a brutal Windsor team. 22. Carolina Panthers: Jakub Sindel, RW, 18 years old, 6 194 lbs, R, Czech (#16 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Sparta (Cze) 45GP 10g 15a 25pts +12 46pim Well rounded offensive player with good shot; needs work on the defensive side of the game. 23. Edmonton Oilers: Jean-Michel Rizk, RW, 18 years old, 61 200 lbs, R, Canadian (#21 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Saginaw (QMJHL) 67GP 28g 31a 59pts +10 73pim Big winger with good technical ability but extremely raw. 24. Calgary Flames: Ryan Callahan, C, 19 years old, 510 194 lbs, R, American (#17 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Guelph (OHL) 61GP 21g 36a 57pts +1 43pim Well rounded and pretty complete player with excellent shooting ability. 25. Washington Capitals: Mitch Maunu, LD, 17 years old, 62 222 lbs, L, Canadian (#22 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Windsor (OHL) 66GP 14g 34a 48pts -34 166pim Hard hitter with good puck skills; still room for physical growth. 26. New York Islanders: Wes ONeill, LD/RD, 18 years old, 65 235 lbs, L, Canadian (#25 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Notre Dame (NCAA) 59GP 6g 30a 36pts +23 91pim Huge, capable defenseman who dominated at Notre Dame; excellent defensively but a poor skater. 27. Los Angeles Kings: Enver Lisin, C, 18 years old, 62 198 lbs, R, Russian (#42 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Dynamo (Rus) 49GP 7g 16a 23pts -4 42pim Another Dynamo player; very determined, with good technical skill but plays small. 28. Washington Capitals: Bryan Bickell, LW, 18 years old, 510 200 lbs, L, Canadian (#24 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Ottawa (OHL) 68GP 41g 44a 85pts +12 58pim American-born scorer with good defensive instincts. 29. Colorado Avalanche: Geoff Platt, C, 18 years old, 58 169 lbs, L, Canadian (#13 I.S.S.) 2003/04 Stats: Erie (OHL) 65P 30g 34a 64pts +10 69pim Tiny but elusive centreman who plays bigger than his size; feisty with skill. Quote:
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I didnt see much else available with my last selection in the draft so I decided to pull another trade to pick up a better pick next year. TO ATLANTA: Buffalos Ninth Round Pick in 2004 and Buffalos Ninth Round Pick in 2005 TO BUFFALO: Atlantas Seventh Round Pick in 2005 Overall, Im pretty happy with my first draft. I missed out on a couple players I had closely scouted (namely winger Drew Stafford from North Dakota and goaltender Al Montoya from Michigan), both of whom went earlier than expected. Ruthemann and Buhrer were two favourites of my scouting staff but I wouldnt even KNOW about them if it wasnt for Karims dynasty at FOFC thanks Karim! (I hope!)
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-05-2005, 05:46 PM
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#56 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. June 28, 2004:
I decided to take a one week vacation after the draft to refuel in time for the upcoming free agency period. I'd still like to go after an elite goaltender and also get a top drawer defenseman. I may have to enter the trade market if I'm unsuccessful with the free agents. Buffalo Sabres fans have chosen their Player of the Year: Miroslav Satan picks up the honour. Tue. June 29, 2004: It was a big day today, as the board of directors handed down our budget for the coming year, along with their expectations... First of all, we were profitable last year to the point where well over $6,000,000 in dividends were paid out to the shareholders. Chairman Thomas Golisano has also upped our player budget to $47,000,000 for 2004/05, a huge $10 million increase! Sweet! However, the additional funds bring bigger expectations, as Golisano tells me that he expects the team to be a serious Stanley Cup contender this year. Don't worry Tom; so do I! Wed. June 30, 2004: The deadline to sign players with expiring contracts has come and gone, leaving a number of big names eligible for free agency starting tomorrow. Here is a partial list of the stars available: Ed Belfour, Toronto, G, 39 years old (52GP 21-22-9 2.70GAA .899 S%) Dominik Hasek, Detroit, G, 39 years old (54GP 28-21-4 2.31GAA .912 S%) Sean Hill, Carolina, D, 34 years old (67GP 4g 32a 36pts) Richard Matvichuk, Dallas, D, 31 years old (81GP 1g 22a 23pts) Dan McGillis, Boston, D, 32 years old (70GP 4g 15a 19pts) Lyle Odelein, Atlanta, D, 35 years old (58GP 3g 20a 23pts) Mathieu Schneider, Detroit, D, 35 years old (72GP 7g 23a 30pts) Bret Hedican, Carolina, D, 33 years old (78GP 8g 26a 34pts) Glen Murray, Boston, LW, 31 years old (70GP 36g 34a 70pts) Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa, LW, 31 years old (53GP 19g 18a 37pts) Jere Lehtinen, Dallas, LW, 31 years old (81GP 26g 26a 52pts) Mike Modano, Dallas, C, 34 years old (77GP 26g 32a 58pts) Craig Conroy, Calgary, C, 32 years old (70GP 12g 31a 43pts) Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh, C, 38 years old (70GP 17g 22a 39pts) Keith Primeau, Philadelphia, C, 32 years old (72GP 19g 26a 45pts) Steve Yzerman, Detroit, C, 39 years old (40GP 5g 11a 16pts) Michael Nylander, Boston, C, 31 years old (82GP 25g 40a 65pts) Brett Hull, Detroit, RW, 39 years old (82GP 31g 30a 61pts) Mark Recchi, Philadelphia, RW, 36 years old (82GP 27g 22a 49pts) Tony Amonte, Philadelphia, RW, 33 years old (82GP 20g 13a 33pts) Teemu Selanne, Colorado, RW, 33 years old (82GP 36g 39a 75pts) Alexei Kovalev, Dallas, RW, 31 years old (75GP 28g 27a 55pts) Peter Bondra, Ottawa, RW, 36 years old (80GP 27g 32a 59pts) Zigmund Palffy, Los Angeles, RW, 32 years old (78GP 36g 37a 73pts) I'm interested in picking up one of those defensemen and definitely interested in bringing a certain Czech goaltender back to Buffalo for his last hurrah. Sat. July 3, 2004: I've sent out offers to Hasek, Hill, Hedican and Matvichuk. In the meantime, goaltender Marco Buhrer has accepted my 4 year, $2,625,000 two-way offer to play in North America. Fellow Swiss star Ivo Ruthemann also accepted a contract that will see him paid $4,050,000 over a four year period.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-05-2005, 06:33 PM
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#57 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. July 5, 2004:
After not being able to get anything for Mike Grier a week ago, Boston calls and offers me Andy _elmore (there's no 'D' in Delmore!  ), a 2005 Second Round Pick, a 2006 3rd Round Pick and a 2007 Seventh Round Pick for Grier. Wow! I have no need for Delmore but that's a lot of picks. I decide to negotiate the offer without Delmore in there.Carolina signs the first big free agency deal, with Lyle Odelein going to the Hurricanes for a one year and $2,900,000. Tue. July 6, 2004: Three more players arrived in Buffalo today from the Junior ranks, as forwards Michael Tessier and Daniel Paille and defenseman Dennis Wideman all became members of the Sabres organization. I envision all three playing in Rochester this season. Wed. July 7, 2004: Dominik Hasek turned down my first contract offer so I throw another deal at him. Restricted free agent Sheldon Souray accepted a new deal with Montreal today for $5,900,000 over four years. I also complete the following deal with Boston: TO BOSTON: Mike Grier TO BUFFALO: 2005 Second Round Pick, 2006 Third Round Pick & 2007 Fifth Round Pick I love that trade! Grier will be missed but I have many other players in the organization that can handle his fourth line role at a lower salary. I would have prefered to ship Grier out of my division but that was an offer I couldn't refuse. Thu. July 8, 2004: Doug MacLean has been appointed the General Manager of the Ottawa Senators, leaving Columbus without a G.M. Pretty damn unrealistic there, unfortunately...  Fri. July 9, 2004: A couple more free agents have been signed. I lost out on the Richard Matvichuk sweepstakes, as he gets signed by the New York Rangers for $4,800,000 over two years. The first superstar also gets signed, as Mike Modano leaves the Stars franchise for Calgary, receiving a whopping $13,500,000 over two years! Go Flames! Sat. July 10, 2004: Sean Hill becomes the latest to snub the Sabres, accepting a two year, $6,400,000 deal with Detroit. I offer a larger contract to Bret Hedican as a rebuttal. Dominik Hasek rejects another contract offer from me as well. I did resign restricted free agent left winger Andrew Peters to a one year, $275,000 two-way deal. In other free agency news, the Rangers bring back forward Alexei Kovalev for his third stint with the team, signing him to a three year, $21,000,000 deal.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-05-2005, 07:54 PM
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#58 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. July 12, 2004:
The University of Alaska-Anchorage has been busy, signing two of my 2004 draft picks to play for their school this season. Both Travis Zajac, my second round pick and Raymond Sawada, an eighth round selection, will suit up for the Seawolves this season. Tue. July 13, 2004: Two of my scouts have just retired, leaving me with only six scouts at the moment. I throw a couple offers out to some available scouts. Wed. July 14, 2004: I just CAN'T get a free agent, as Bret Hedican decides to go with the offer from St. Louis, a $4,700,000 two year deal. I don't remember exactly what my offer was but it was certainly close to that. I'm likely going to have to trade one of my talented right wingers to get a top-four defenseman. In other NHL news, Dallas has signed Ziggy Palffy to replace Modano in a $23,750,000 three year deal. On a smaller note, defenseman Todd Simpson signed with Carolina for $5,400,000 over two years...that's a lot of money for Simpson. My third round selection from 2004, Blake Wheeler signed a letter of intent with the Ohio State Buckeyes today. Fri. July 16, 2004: I signed assistant coach Brad Scafe from the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the BCJHL today; he will be my new goaltender's coach. I'm also attempting to sign a couple of scouts, without luck so far. I've sent a contract offer to unrestricted free agent Dan McGillis in an attempt to add to my defensive corps. I also have sent various trade offers to Calgary, trying to rid them of their subpar prospect Dion Phaneuf . They won't bite, however, even after offering J.P. Dumont, Maxim Afinogenov and other players along with a First Round Pick in next year's draft.Tue. July 20, 2004: Another one bites the dust, as Dan McGillis accepts an offer from Dallas over mine. I now set my sights on Mathieu Schneider. Dominik Hasek also rejected a $6,000,000 deal to play for me. Thu. July 22, 2004: I was able to finally sign a couple of scouts today. One of them, Alex McLaren, I stole from Prince Albert from the WHL and had to pay the club compensation. Sun. July 25, 2004: Finally! I signed defenseman Mathieu Schneider today to a two year, $5,800,000 deal with a player option. I've never been a big fan of the guy but he should provide some offense from the blue line for us. Fri. July 30, 2004: I made a trade today with Dallas, sending them centre Paul Gaustad for a 2005 Fourth Round Pick. Gaustad declined last year and just isn't in my future plans. Sun. August 1, 2004: Dominik Hasek rejected a one year, $6,750,000 deal to play with the Sabres. I think I'm done with the guy and will go to camp hoping that one of Biron, Miller or Buhrer take hold of the job.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-05-2005, 11:55 PM
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#59 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. August 2, 2004:
Detroit locked up winger Teemu Selanne today in a 2 year, $10,000,000 deal. Wed. August 4, 2004: The Prospect Cup will be an annual event for Sabres rookies, newcomers, and younger players and will feature our players in a cup competition versus the champions from the WHL, OHL and QMJHL from the previous year. The participants this year will be the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Guelph Storm and Sidney Crosby's Rimouski Oceanic. The inaugural event takes place the weekend of the 14th, with the Sabres prospects going up against Guelph, while the other side of the draw has Rimouski facing Medicine Hat. Mon. August 9, 2004: I've changed the team's training regimine back to 'medium' intensity in preparation for the start of camp. The players were all completely exhausted from the intense July training. I hope the young players regain strength in time for the Prospect Cup on the weekend. Fri. August 13, 2004: Here are the players that will partake in the first annual Prospect Cup for the Sabres. Eligible players include rookies, prospects, players under 24 years old and Sabres newcomers. Goaltenders: Marco Buhrer, 24; Ryan Miller, 24 Defense: Brian Campbell, 25; Ryan Jorde, 22; Nathan Paetsch, 22; Dennis Wideman, 21; Jeff Jillson, 24; Mathieu Schneider, 35 Forwards: Michael Tessier, 20; Daniel Paille, 20; Ivo Ruthemann, 27; Thomas Vanek, 20; Derek Roy, 21; Chris Thorburn, 21; Jiri Novotny, 21; Tim Connolly, 23; Jason Pominville, 21; Milan Bartovic, 23; Sean McMorrow, 22; Andrew Peters, 24 Sat. August 14, 2004: I've come to terms with Slovakian defenseman Radoslav Hecl on a two year, $1,350,000 two-way deal. He should get here in time to play in tomorrow's Prospect Cup game but won't be there for tonight's game. Code:
 Umm...that's just not fair. Only five players (Buhrer, Vanek, McMorrow, Wideman and Schneider) were held pointless. Medicine Hat prevailed in the other contest in a shootout to advance to the Prospect Cup final.Sun August 15, 2004: The only change I make is to put newcomer Hecl in the lineup in place of Brian Campbell. I also switch up the lines and put the lesser players on the top lines to make things fairer. Code:
Much closer game, with the Sabres winning the first annual Prospect Cup. Strange game, as my team was COMPLETELY GASSED to the point where many players didn't even hit the ice until the third period! Sean McMorrow was so tired from the previous game that he didn't even play a second! Thomas Vanek got kicked out of the game after a spearing major.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-06-2005, 12:10 AM
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#60 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. August 16, 2004:
Wonderful. Thomas Vanek was suspended for an incredible 14 NHL games after the spearing incident last night! I can't even appeal the decision! What a terrible start to his NHL career. I decide to fine him a week's wages for his 'violent behavior' on the ice, which he accepts without comment.Wed. August 18, 2004: Philadelphia traded goaltender Sean Burke to Tampa Bay today for the rights to former second round pick Matt Smaby. Mon. August 23, 2004: The World Cup of Hockey is scheduled to begin on August 30th and a few Sabres have been selected to represent their country in the event. Here is the breakdown of players invited to play international hockey: USA: Chris Drury, C Slovakia: Radoslav Hecl, D Russia: Maxim Afinogenov, RW; Alexei Zhitnik, D Germany: Jochen Hecht, LW Sweden: Henrik Tallinder, D The only strange omission is Miroslav Satan not getting selected to play for Slovakia but I suspect that a chest injury he picked up in training is the reason for that. On Tap Next Week: Training Camp Begins
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-06-2005, 02:12 AM
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#61 | |||||
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. August 30, 2004:
2004/05 Buffalo Sabres Training Camp The 2004/05 Training Camp roster has been finalized. Here is the list of players segregated by position, along with brief notes on each guy, starting with our netminders: Training Camp Roster: Goaltending Quote:
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Pre-Training Camp Thoughts: At this point, the goaltender position is completely up for grabs, with no front runners at all. If Biron fails to grab the #1 slot, I will likely try to trade him.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-09-2005, 12:46 AM
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Training Camp Roster: Defensemen
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Pre-Training Camp Thoughts: I still would like to have a true #1 defenseman, a game breaker. However, I'm prepared to start the season with what we have. Things are pretty set here, with spots 1 through 6 seemingly locked up. Campbell and Hecl will try to force their way in to my plans but it looks as if Kalinin, Zhitnik, Jillson, McKee, Schneider and Tallinder will get the majority of the playing time.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-13-2005, 12:20 AM
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Training Camp Roster: Forwards
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Pre-Training Camp Thoughts: My depth at right wing (Satan, Dumont, Afinogenov, Kotalik, Pominville) provides me with a problem, albeit a pleasant one. Someone may have to be traded. I also have plenty of depth now at the other two positions, with youngsters like Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek knocking at the door. I'm likely going to try to play Drury with newcomer Ruthemann to see if they have any chemistry together.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-13-2005, 12:37 AM
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#64 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Tue. August 31, 2004:
Sabres forward Jochen Hecht scored two goals and was named first star in Germany's 3-1 upset victory over Sweden in the World Cup. Sun. September 5, 2004: Canada and the Czech Republic both go 3-0 in the preliminary stage of the World Cup and will head into the playoffs as the top seeds. On Tap Next Week: Monday September 6, 2004: AT FLORIDA PANTHERS (Exhibition) Friday September 10, 2004: AT NEW YORK RANGERS (Exhibition) Sunday September 12, 2004: vs. Dallas Stars (Exhibition)
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-13-2005, 11:24 AM
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#65 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon September 6, 2004:
I've put two guys destined for Rochester on the trading block: forwards Sean McMorrow and Jiri Novotny. Vancouver shows interest in McMorrow so I throw a trade offer at them. Mathieu Schneider strained his hip flexor and is out for about two weeks. Shouldn't be too big a deal in training camp. Finland upset the top ranked Czech Republic 5-4 in the World Cup Quarterfinals behind Carolina Hurricanes forward Jarkko Ruutu's pair of goals. Our exhibition season begins in Florida tonight against the Panthers. I'm going to continue to use the tactics I employed in the playoffs, namely a 'Normal' offensive system as opposed to 'Aggressive'. Hopefully that will help keep the goals allowed to a minimum. I have over 40 players in camp and will rotate them in on a game-by-game basis. Code:
Florida outshot us 15 to 4 in the first period but we came back with a great second period to take control. The line of Paille/Roy/Pominville was superb. Tue. September 7, 2004: Canada destroyed Russia 10-6 in quarterfinal action of the World Cup while Sweden came back from a 3-0 deficit to upend the fiesty Germans 4-3. Wed. September 8, 2004: Slovakia continues to play great hockey in the World Cup, upsetting the Americans 3-1. Sabres defenseman Radoslav Hecl had an assist and was +2 in the big win. Fri. September 10, 2004: Recent draft pick Justin Pogge puts on a Sabres uniform for the first time tonight in Madison Square Garden. Code:
Funny that Lindros is playing, considering the fact that he's still in the World Cup! Pogge acquitted himself well in his debut but the Rangers were too good on this night. I was pleased with the play of Clarke MacArthur as well. Sun. September 12, 2004: The finals are set for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, as Canada will take on Finland. The Canadians absolutely obliterated Slovakia 9-1 on the strength of New Jersey Devil forward Jeff Friesen's 2 goals and 1 assist performance. Meanwhile, Finland scored twice in the last three minutes of the game to defeat Sweden 4-2. Florida's Olli Jokinen starred, scoring twice and assisting on another in the win. The final is set for Thursday in Calgary at the Saddledome. Marco Buhrer gets the start in net at home versus Dallas. Code:
I went to an aggressive offensive system in the third period where Briere was able to tie the game on a nice tip in from a Pavel Voroshnin slapshot. After the game, I sent goaltender Justin Pogge and forwards Clarke MacArthur and Louis-Philippe Martin back to their junior clubs for the rest of the season. I also decided to send winger Thomas Vanek down to Rochester for the remainder of training camp. Vanek will have to start his career on the sidelines for 14 games so I'd like him to see some action in the professional ranks before he has to sit in the press box for a month when the NHL season begins. On Tap Next Week: Thu. September 16, 2004: Canada vs. Finland (World Cup Final) Sun. September 19, 2004: AT MINNESOTA WILD (Exhibition)
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-13-2005, 12:02 PM
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#66 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The State of Rutgers
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Keep up the good work NoSkillz
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Boise Stampede Continental Football League Jacksonville Jaguars GM North American Football League Nebraska Coach FOFC-BBCF Rutgers & Washington coach Bowl Bound-BBCF |
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02-16-2005, 07:45 PM
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#67 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Thanks General Mike!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thu September 16, 2004: Canada defeated Finland 4-0 to take the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. New York Rangers forward Eric Lindros scored two goals in the victory and lead the tournament with 8 goals and 11 points. In Sabres news, the trial period ended for defensemen Mike Green and Pavel Voroshnin. Green was sent back to his junior club while Voroshnin, who played very well in his trial, ventures back to Russia. Meanwhile, Mathieu Schneider has returned to practice but won't resume hitting drills for about 10 days. Sun. September 19, 2004: Code:
Pretty lousy effort in this game. Ryan Miller was horrible in net tonight; I was hoping that he would be the guy taking the reins this year in goal. Derek Roy, on the other hand, continues to make it difficult for me to contemplate sending him down to Rochester. After the game, I send Sean McMorrow and Michael Tessier to the farm. Speaking of Rochester, I scheduled an exhibition game with them in midseason, which may not be the best move but I thought it was cool nonetheless. It will give me a chance to see the farm team in action up close and scout some of my prospects. I only hope no one gets injured in the game! On Tap Next Week: Tue. September 21, 2004: AT PHOENIX COYOTES (Exhibition) Fri. September 24, 2004: AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (Exhibition)
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-16-2005, 09:38 PM
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#68 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Tue September 21, 2004:
The Carolina Hurricanes traded the rights to forward Eric Hunter to Atlanta for goaltender Pasi Nurminen today. Junior aged goalie Jeff Weber gets a shot in net tonight for the first time in our exhibition matchup against Phoenix. Code:
Utter domination by Phoenix here, as junior goaltender Jeff Weber stood on his head for the first two periods but got tired in the third. Good performance for the youngster, even if it looks ugly on the stat sheet. Wed. September 22, 2004: The roster freeze begins in a week and I'm going mad trying to make some trades before the upcoming waiver draft. I notice that I'll have 8 solid draft-eligible defensemen available and I can only protect 6. I'm desperately trying to make a trade to get rid of Brian Campbell but can't get any value in return. I've even tried some blockbusters, offering Martin Biron, Campbell, Henrik Tallinder and Maxim Afinogenov to Calgary for either Robyn Regehr or Dion Phaneuf without success. I even included Chris Drury but still no bite. In other news, goaltender Jeff Weber's trial with the club ended and he was sent back to junior today. Fri. September 24, 2004: Martin Biron gets his second preseason start tonight in net versus Pittsburgh. Our lineup is getting closer to what it will look like on opening night but I still have about five or six guys who'll likely suit up in Rochester still with the club. Code:
Much better effort in this one, as the Hecht-Briere-Satan line played great hockey. I experimented with Derek Roy centring Ivo Ruthemann and J.P. Dumont as well; if Roy is up to the task, I could possibly trade the ineffective Chris Drury. So far, the odd man out this preseason seems to be Maxim Afinogenov, who I'm having a difficult time getting into the lineup. Sat. September 25, 2004: I decided to go to my coaching staff today to get their opinion on our goaltender situation. The coaches certainly weren't blown away by any of our guys, unanimously saying both Ryan Miller and Martin Biron were "useful players". I was surprised by the negative reaction to Marco Buhrer, however, as Lindy Ruff feels he's "overrated" while goaltender coach Brad Scafe feels he'll have trouble holding onto a position in Buffalo. In my opinion, Buhrer has been the best goalie in camp. Sun. September 26, 2004: The trial period has ended for defensemen Tim O'Connell and Denis Ezhov and also for forward Artem Kryukov. O'Connell goes back to Johnstown in the ECHL while Ezhov, who showed great polish in camp, goes back to Russia. Ezhov has come a long way in the past year and I'll follow his season with great interest. Kryukov also goes back to Russia. On Tap Next Week: Tue. September 21, 2004: AT PHOENIX COYOTES (Exhibition) Fri. September 24, 2004: AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (Exhibition)
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-16-2005, 11:35 PM
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#69 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Tue. September 25, 2004:
Marco Buhrer gets thrown in the fire in an exhibition matchup versus the Leafs. We'll see what the kid is made of tonight! I also sent forward Jason Pominville down to Rochester before the game, a victim of the numbers game here with so many good right wingers. Code:
Toronto stormed out to a 3-0 lead in this game but we continued to chip away and were able to persevere. However, some awful news came in the second period when centre Tim Connolly separated his shoulder and is out for two months. The chemistry he had with linemates Taylor Pyatt and Ales Kotalik will be tested now. Thankfully, I have Derek Roy ready to step in; he's had an excellent camp this year. Also promising is the developing chemistry between newcomer Ivo Ruthemann and centre Chris Drury. Ruthemann has been absolutely spectacular in the exhibition season. After the game, I sent defenseman Dennis Wideman down to Rochester. Wed. September 29, 2004: I had to submit my protected list for the upcoming waiver draft today. I was mistaken earlier when I said I could only protect six defensemen: I'm able to protect 18 SKATERS, regardless of position. Here is my protected list of 19 players: G: Martin Biron D: Jay McKee, Brian Campbell, Dmitri Kalinin, Jeff Jillson, Alexei Zhitnik, Mathieu Schneider, Henrik Tallinder F: Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Tim Connolly, Adam Mair, Jochen Hecht, Taylor Pyatt, Eric Boulton, Miroslav Satan, J.P. Dumont, Ales Kotalik, Maxim Afinogenov That means the players I've left unprotected are Chris Taylor, Andrew Peters and Radoslav Hecl. I hope I don't lose Hecl, as I see him playing a role as a depth player in Buffalo this year. Fri. October 1, 2004: The I.S.S. Preliminary Rankings for the 2005 NHL Draft were released today. No drama here, as Sydney Crosby is the top ranked prospect, followed by Erie Otters winger Michael Blunden and Finnish winger Mika Halava. The Waiver Draft was also held today. The pickings were unbelievably slim: I didn't pick anyone up nor did I lose anyone. Here are the details: G Jamie Storr, Toronto Maple Leafs (FROM CAROLINA) G Brent Johnson, Nashville Predators (FROM PHOENIX) D Stan Neckar, Chicago Blackhawks (FROM TAMPA BAY) D Steve Montador, Boston Bruins (FROM CALGARY) D Bryan Helmer, Boston Bruins (FROM PHOENIX) F Harold Druken, Dallas Stars (FROM TORONTO) F Marty Murray, St. Louis Blues (FROM CAROLINA) The only guy that's a surprise is Storr, who was sensational last year for the Hurricanes. However, their recent pickup Pasi Nurminen meant Storr was expendable. The Leafs are now without Ed Belfour, so their goalie situation sees Storr joining Scott Clemmensen as the two Toronto puck-stoppers. On to tonight's game. Ryan Miller gets one more chance to keep a spot in Buffalo. Derek Roy centres Pyatt and Kotalik tonight. Code:
Well, see ya in Rochester Mr. Miller! What an ugly display! I pulled Miller after the sixth Anaheim goal, which happened to be Petr Sykora's fourth in the game. He received an incredible "3" rating for his 'performance', one that earned him a fine for a week's wages. He wasn't pleased but I don't give a sh@t! One more exhibition game left to pull our socks up. After the game, I sent down Andrew Peters, Chris Taylor and Radoslav Hecl to Rochester with Miller, leaving 22 players on the active roster. I hope to bring Thomas Vanek up to sit in the press box during our regular season games and then send him back to Rochester to get him playing time in between the suspension. He's got 5 points in 5 games thus far in the AHL.On Tap Next Week: Mon. October 4, 2004: AT VANCOUVER CANUCKS (Exhibition Game) Sat. October 9, 2004: AT PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (Regular Season Debut)
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-19-2005, 04:38 PM
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#70 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. October 4, 2004:
Our last exhibition game is against Vancouver and projected starting keeper Martin Biron gets the start. Code:
Well it doesn't get any uglier than that folks. I have major problems still defensively and in net. No matter what type of defensive system I employ, I just let in goals. I wonder if this is because I watch/coach the games myself as opposed to simming. Oh well...I've got to find an answer for the season's opener against Philly. Here are the stats from the 2004 Preseason: ('*' = Rookie) Code:
Ivo Ruthemann came through with a fantastic camp and will play a large role offensively on this club. Goaltending was dreadful and is a major concern. I don't think we'll have trouble scoring but we have to find a way to keep the puck out of our net. Here is how our opening night lineup will look: Code:
The big surprise here is Maxim Afinogenov being relegated to the bench. I don't feel like playing him in a fourth line role, as he isn't suited for it. I may try to trade him in a package to upgrade my goaltending or my defense. Derek Roy is in until Tim Connolly gets back from his shoulder injury. I will call up Thomas Vanek for every Sabres game to serve his suspension and have him play in Rochester on off nights. Brian Campbell is trade bait as well. Sat. October 9, 2004: Opening night! Martin Biron gets the start in goal against Philadelphia, who are going with 27 year old newcomer Roman Malek. Malek has played most of his professional hockey in the Czech Republic and makes his NHL debut tonight. Here are my tactics to start the season: Mentality: Normal Off. Zone: Crash the Net Forecheck: Neutral Zone Trap Defensive Coverage: Zone Backchecking: Hard Pressing: Normal Hitting: Normal Boardplay: Power I've almost always used an 'Attacking' philosophy but changed to 'Normal' for the playoffs last year with some success. We'll see how it translates to regular season action and if it helps keep the goals against down. Code:
Oh boy...here we go already. Biron was brutal and I pulled him after he let in his fifth goal. Marco Buhrer came in and let in a goal on his first NHL shot but settled down for the third period. The Pyatt-Roy-Kotalik line struggled immensely too, as they can't seem to get any chemistry going with Roy in there. We had a nice third period when we went to a forechecking system but it wasn't enough. Sun. October 10, 2004: The New York Rangers fired Glen Sather today. I play the Rangers tomorrow night so I wonder what kind of effect it'll have on the team. On Tap Next Week: Mon. October 11, 2004: vs. New York Rangers Wed. October 13, 2004: vs. Phoenix Coyotes Sat. October 16, 2004: AT EDMONTON OILERS
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-25-2005, 09:40 PM
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#71 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. October 11, 2004: New York Rangers (0-1-0-0 T-13th) at Buffalo Sabres (0-1-0-0 T-13th)
I'm going with the same lineup tonight with the notable exception of giving Marco Buhrer his first career start in the NHL. Code:
A game like this makes me think that it's not my tactics that are causing problems but my brutal goaltending. Buhrer was dreadful in his first big league start, allowing five goals (the second Lindros marker was an empty netter. My penalty killing unit is a weakness as well. We actually took a 3-2 second period lead in this one and went into the third tied at 4 but Josh Green roofed a wrister from the top of the circle to send the Rangers to victory. After the game, I put defenseman Brian Campbell on the trade block. Wed. October 13, 2004: Phoenix Coyotes (1-1-0-0 T-6th) at Buffalo Sabres (0-2-0-0 T-14th) I'll continue to be patient with the club and stick with the same lineup and tactics. I'll give Buhrer another chance to redeem himself tonight against the Coyotes, who go with Brian Boucher in goal. Code:
What a dreadful start to the season. Nagy scored only 14 seconds into the game and I had steam coming out of my ears! We settled down and took a lead into the intermission but we were unable to hold on. Two goals in the last four minutes of the game gave Phoenix the 2 goal victory. Marco Buhrer just doesn't look good right now. We now go on the road for a season-high six game road trip - hopefully we can pull it together out west. In Sabres prospect news, 2003 draft pick Louis-Philippe Martin from Drummondville won the QMJHL Player of the Week award for scoring 6 goals and 2 assists in 3 games. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Alexander Steen (TOR) 2GP 3g 3a 6pts +6 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Chris Pronger (STL) 2GP 1g 2a 3pts +3 Sat. October 16, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (0-3-0-0 15th) at Edmonton Oilers (2-1-0-0 T-4th) Martin Biron will get the call in goal tonight as we look for just an AVERAGE performance in goal. With the amount of goals we can score, that's all we need...I hope! I'm changing my tactics to a more defensive system in order to help out the goaltender. Code:
Finally! Pretty crazy game that saw us fall behind 2-0 early in the second; I switched out tactics to an aggressive forechecking system and we moved into a 3-2 lead. However, Edmonton stormed back to take a 4-3 lead four minutes into the third before Miro Satan potted a couple of markers to put us into the lead for good. On the negative side, the pairing of Mathieu Schneider and Henrik Tallinder went a combined -8 on the night...ugly! My goaltending still sucks by the way. On Tap Next Week: Monday October 18, 2004: AT CALGARY FLAMES Wednesday October 20, 2004: AT MINNESOTA WILD Saturday October 23, 2004: AT SAN JOSE SHARKS Sunday October 24, 2004: AT LOS ANGELES KINGS
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-25-2005, 11:42 PM
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#72 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. October 18, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (1-3-0-0 T-14th) at Calgary Flames (1-1-0-1 T-9th)
We'll bring renewed confidence into Calgary tonight after the victory over cross-province rival Edmonton the other night. Biron gets his second consecutive start in goal. I also make my first lineup change of the year, inserting defenseman Brian Campbell in place of the struggling Henrik Tallinder. Code:
We did not deserve to win this game, one which was completely dominated by Calgary. Turek was brutal, playing like a Sabres goaltender in this one!  Calgary had a 5-3 lead with about 14 minutes to play but we came back hard, scoring 3 times in a five minute span late in the contest to eke out the win, our second straight. Defenseman Jay McKee went down with a knee injury in the first period but it doesn't look serious. He'll likely miss only a few games. Brian Campbell was a +1 in limited action.In league news, Craig Ludwig was named the New York Rangers new general manager. Figures that the Rangers would go for an unproven commodity!  Wed. October 20, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (2-3-0-0 T-12th) at Minnesota Wild (1-3-1-0 13th) We go into Minnesota to face the struggling Wild. Tallinder goes back into the lineup to replace the injured McKee, while Martin Biron starts his third in a row. I'm going with a defensive philosophy in this game and hope that my offensive players can lead me to a close victory. The Wild are going with unheralded youngster Derek Gustafson in goal so I hope to take advantage of his inexperience. Code:
Very tight defensive battle that saw all the action in the first period. Dumont's goal was only 2 minutes in and I thought we would be able to rattle Gustafson for the entire game. I thought wrong. He was solid when called upon. Biron was tremendous in a game we were dominated pretty much throughout. I really need to work on my tactical play right now. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Alexei Kovalev (NYR) 3GP 3g 3a 6pts +7 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Derek Morris (PHO) 3GP 0g 2a 2pts +2 Thu. October 21, 2004: I put forward Maxim Afinogenov on the trade block today. I like the guy and he played well for us offensively last year but I need to parlay him into a defenseman or a goaltender. Our depth at forward makes him expendable and he hasn't been able to crack the lineup yet this season. I'm going with some new tactics as well. I'm going to try a man-to-man defensive coverage scheme for a few games instead of a 'zone'. I'm also reverting back to my 'Attacking Trap' system that worked well in my playoff run from a year ago. I'll still change things up depending on the team I'm playing but we'll give these tactics a try for now. In order to get the players on the same page, everyone on the roster is in intensive tactical training right now. Sat. October 23, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (2-4-0-0 T-13th) at San Jose Sharks (0-5-1-0 15th) The Sharks are in last place in the NHL right now and we'll come out looking to win this one. I'm hoping desperation sets in early for San Jose, causing them to make mistakes. Milan Michalek and Mike Ricci both have 5 points in 6 games to lead the charge for the Sharks. Evgeni Nabokov has been brutal thus far with an 0-5 record. Martin Biron starts again tonight for our club, with the current plan having Buhrer get the start tomorrow night against Los Angeles. Jay McKee returned to practice today but I don't think he's ready to play yet. Code:
Great road game that saw us control the action for the majority of the game. The Sharks came out flying early but they took a penalty about five minutes in that killed their momentum. We didn't score on that powerplay but potted two markers before the intermission and never looked back. Ivo Ruthemann continues to impress early on, scoring his fifth of the season in this game. Sun. October 24, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (3-4-0-0 T-10th) at Los Angeles Kings (3-3-0-1 T-5th) The Kings will be missing stalwart defenseman Aaron Miller, who's out with a rotator cuff strain. They aren't scoring a lot early in the year, as Luc Robitaille leads the team with only 2 goals and 2 assists in 7 games. A couple of changes in this game for us, as Marco Buhrer will tend goal in the second of back-to-back games and Maxim Afinogenov gets placed in the lineup for the first time this season as well. I've scratched struggling forward Derek Roy, who's pointless on the year. Roy just hasn't been able to translate his fine preseason play into the regular season. Winger Ales Kotalik will centre the third line between Taylor Pyatt and Afinogenov. McKee will rest his knee for one more game. Code:
Los Angeles had two 5-on-3 advantages in the game and got a lot of shots in on the powerplay. Buhrer actually was decent in this game but we didn't seem to have the right gameplan in place tonight. Just chalk it up to a solid effort by the opposition. On Tap Next Week: Tuesday October 26, 2004: AT COLORADO AVALANCHE Thursday October 28, 2004: vs. Vancouver Canucks Saturday October 30, 2004: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-26-2005, 03:03 AM
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#73 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. October 25, 2004:
The San Jose Sharks signed free agent forward Bill Guerin today. Incidently, there are a number of high-profile forwards currently available on the market, including Mario Lemieux, Daniel Alfredsson, Brett Hull and Keith Primeau. Alfredsson and Primeau interest me but again, my problems lie in goal and on D. Tue. October 26, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (3-5-0-0 T-13th) at Colorado Avalanche (4-2-1-0 3rd) The last game of the road trip sees us venture to Colorado to take on the superstars in Avalanche land. Funny that Matthew Barnaby leads the club in scoring early on with 4 goals and 2 assists in six games. I'm going with a hard hitting style of play to get the finesse players off their game in Colorado. Martin Biron is back in goal for this one. Also, Jay McKee will return to the lineup after missing three games with his knee injury; he takes the place of the ineffective Henrik Tallinder. I'm also slotting Derek Roy back into the lineup tonight in place of Maxim Afinogenov. Code:
Pretty decent effort against a solid Colorado team but a loss is a loss. I can't complain too much about a 3-3 record on the road trip, however. Unfortunately, Milan Bartovic was injured in the second period and is likely out a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury. Wed. October 27, 2004: J.P. Dumont suffered a neck strain in practice today and will miss about two weeks. I've called up Chris Taylor from Rochester to take Bartovic's fourth line position, while Maxim Afinogenov gets put into Dumont's slot. I've also decided to send the disappointing Derek Roy down to the farm and I've called up Chris Thorburn from Rochester to take the third line centre position. Thorburn led the Amerks last year in points and already had 8 points in 7 games this year on the farm. He'll get into his first NHL game tomorrow night. Sabres prospect Louis-Philippe Martin from Drummondville won his second QMJHL Player of the Week award of the year after scoring twice and assisting on three others in only two games. Martin has 12 goals and 13 assists in 15 games so far this year and is progressing nicely for a ninth round pick. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Scott Hartnell (NAS) 3GP 4g 3a 7pts +6 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Niklas Lidstrom (DET) 3GP 1g 4a 5pts +2 Thu. October 28, 2004: Vancouver Canucks (4-5-0-0 8th) at Buffalo Sabres (3-6-0-0 T-13th) Martin Biron goes again tonight in goal, Afinogenov plays the right wing on the Ruthemann-Drury line, rookie Chris Thorburn makes his NHL debut at centre with Pyatt-Kotalik and Chris Taylor is in at right wing on the fourth line. Injured forwards J.P. Dumont and Milan Bartovic were put on the injured reserve list before the game. I've also put Henrik Tallinder back into the defensive rotation against the Canucks, hoping his size will help negate guys like Todd Bertuzzi, who leads the Canucks in points with 10. Brian Campbell, while playing well right now, just isn't big enough to compete with the Vancouver forwards and will be scratched. Code:
Excellent game! Holding a great offensive team like Vancouver to only 23 shots is a great feat. Chris Thorburn played very well and scored in his first NHL game. The only two disappointments in the game were Henrik Tallinder, who continues to struggle this season, and Martin Biron, weak again in net but good enough to win. I'll take it! Sat. October 30, 2004: Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2-2-1 T-5th) at Buffalo Sabres (4-6-0-0 T-11th) HUGE NEWS before the game, as I came to terms with free agent centre Keith Primeau on a three year, $7,800,000 deal. He will add a huge presence to the middle of our lineup and provides great leadership, determination and skill. This means Chris Thorburn's stay in Buffalo is short-lived but he'll likely be back in the future. The dilemna is what to do when Tim Connolly comes back; at this point, I'm not too worried. Primeau will be in the lineup tonight against Toronto, who are led by Mats Sundin, who already has 16 points in only 9 games thus far. Rookie forward Alexander Steen is also impressing, with 10 points centring the third line. I'll continue to ride Martin Biron, as he seems to give us the best chance at victory. Brian Campbell returns to the lineup for Henrik Tallinder. I will play a high forechecking style that seems to work against the Leafs. Code:
We were outshot 19-9 in the first period but somehow had the lead. Tucker opened the scoring for Toronto but Daniel Briere was taken down by Bryan McCabe on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot. Briere made no mistake in putting it by goaltender Jamie Storr to tie it at one. Maxim Afinogenov scored a late powerplay goal to make it 2-1 and we didn't look back from there. The second and third period were dominated by our club and Martin Biron had his finest game of the season. I got terrible news when defenseman Jay McKee got injured again, this time for two months with a dislocated shoulder. Henrik Tallinder is going to have to step it up in his absence. Sun. October 31, 2004: Forward Tim Connolly resumed light practice today but is still at least three weeks away from making his return to the lineup after his shoulder injury. We fought back nicely to get to within one game of .500 for the month. It's no surprise that we're near the top of the league in goals scored but once again we're at the bottom in defensive stats. Heck, we haven't given up fewer than 2 goals in a game yet! We must improve in that area. Here are the player stats for the first month of the season: Code:
NHL Offensive Player of the Month: Daymond Langkow (PHO) 10GP 6g 9a 15pts +8 10PIM NHL Defensive Player of the Month: Chris Pronger (STL) 9GP 1g 4a 5pts +7 6PIM NHL Rookie of the Month: Dion Phaneuf (CAL) 5GP 0g 4a 4pts +3 0PIM Sabres prospect Clarke MacArthur was named the WHL Player of the Month for October. Clarke played 12 games, scoring 10 goals and 12 assists while going an incredible +23! On Tap Next Week: Monday November 1, 2004: AT OTTAWA SENATORS Friday November 5, 2004: vs. Washington Capitals Sunday November 7, 2004: vs. Montreal Canadiens
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-26-2005, 01:50 PM
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#74 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. November 1, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (5-6-0-0 T-8th) at Ottawa Senators (4-2-2-0 T-8th)
The Toronto Maple Leafs have offered a contract to former Senator Daniel Alfredsson and I'm tempted to bid for him just to keep him out of Toronto! Anyway, to the game against Ottawa, who are playing fine hockey to start the year. Marian Hossa already has 7 goals and 11 points in the Sens first 8 games. Henrik Tallinder will go in for the injured Jay McKee and play with Mathieu Schneider, while Brian Campbell, who's surprised me thus far with his solid defensive play, will get more icetime playing with Jeff Jillson in our second defensive pairing. I'm going to stay with the same high forechecking & hard hitting style we used to great effect against Toronto. Biron gets the call in goal again tonight. Code:
Pretty much the best first period for the Sabres in my year managing the team. Prusek's subpar goaltending certainly helped. This was likely Chris Drury's finest performance in a Sabres uniform as well. Alexei Zhitnik (2a) also had a multipoint game. We finally reach .500 after the 0-3 start to the season. Martin Biron is starting to play much better in net as well. The board of directors expresses their delight with our performance for the first time this year. Wed. November 3, 2004: Forward Milan Bartovic resumed non-contact drills in practice today but is likely still out for about two weeks. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Nathan Horton (FLO) 2GP 3g 3a 6pts +4 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Ed Jovanovski (VAN) 3GP 1g 5a 6pts -1 Fri. November 5, 2004: Washington Capitals (5-5-0-2 T-8th) at Buffalo Sabres (6-6-0-0 T-8th) We will go with the exact same lineup and tactics for the Washington game as we did the Ottawa game. Danius Zubrus and last year's Calder Trophy winner Alexander Semin lead the Caps in goals with 5. Tough defenseman Brendan Witt will miss this game with bruised ribs. Code:
I may have to reconsider trading Afinogenov now! He's on fire and seems to be fitting in well with Drury and Ruthemann. What to do with Dumont when he comes back?! Henrik Tallinder scored his first goal in over a year but we couldn't hold onto a two goal lead in this game. Thankfully, Afinogenov made no mistake on a breakaway in overtime to give us our fourth win in a row. Sat. November 6, 2004: The Leafs did sign Daniel Alfredsson to a 2 year, $7,300,000 deal today. I don't like this, as Alfredsson is a Sabres killer. Sun. November 7, 2004: Montreal Canadiens (5-7-1-0 12th) at Buffalo Sabres (7-6-0-0 6th) Montreal started the season in fine form but have dropped 4 games in a row. Their goaltending seems fine and they're scoring in bunches right now, second in the NHL in goals behind us. Saku Koivu has 18 points in their 13 games to lead the club and that's good enough for second in the NHL behind Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin. Our own Miroslav Satan is third in league scoring right now with 17 points. One change for this game: I sent Chris Taylor down to Rochester and recalled Chris Thorburn to play on the fourth line. Code:
We were a bit undisciplined in this one but played a strong last half of the third period to beat Montreal in the first of a home-and-home series. I think I'm better playing a trap against Montreal and will try it tomorrow night. Chris Drury continues to light it up with Afinogenov on the right side; Drury has 8 points in his last three games. J.P. Dumont will be ready to play tomorrow night but he's unfortunately lost his slot to Afinogenov - I'd be crazy to break up that line right now! Miroslav Satan (2a) also had a multipoint effort in the win. That's five wins in a row, which matches the best win streak in my tenure with the Sabres! On Tap Next Week: Monday November 8, 2004: AT MONTREAL CANADIENS Friday November 12, 2004: vs. New York Islanders Sunday November 14, 2004: vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-26-2005, 01:57 PM
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#75 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
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8-6 looks much better than 3-6, keep up the good work
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02-27-2005, 03:31 AM
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#76 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. November 8, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (8-6-0-0 6th) at Montreal Canadiens (5-8-1-0 13th)
Eric Boulton will be scratched tonight in favour of J.P. Dumont, who'll be relegated to the fourth line. I'll still involve him on the powerplay, however, to get him a chance to get some points. Martin Biron is still in the cage, although I'm not keen on playing him on back-to-back nights. He's just in a groove right now. Montreal is starting Paul Drew in goal tonight, a 20 year old making his NHL debut. Code:
The score flattered the Canadiens in this one. We were able to send Drew to the bench late in the second period - hopefully the youngster can bounce back after a rough first NHL game. I was able to play my fourth liners a lot in the third period, even getting them some powerplay time. Jeff Jillson (2a), Keith Primeau (1g 1a), Miroslav Satan (2a) and Maxim Afinogenov (2a) all had multipoint games along with Briere. I've now set a personal record for wins in a row with six and the board of directors offer me their congratulations. In other Sabres news, young goaltending prospect Justin Pogge from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL has been getting some negative press, with reports saying his "erratic play may cause the team to look for a replacement in the near future." Pogge has a 9-5-1 record thus far with a 3.10 goals against average with Brandon. Wed. November 10, 2004: Continuing his tear through the QMJHL, Sabres prospect Louis-Philippe Martin won his third Player of the Week award of the year after scoring three times and assisting on two others in two games. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Martin Gelinas (CAL) 2GP 3g 1a 4pts +4 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Bryan McCabe (TOR) 3GP 1g 2a 3pts +2 Thu. November 11, 2004: Another Sabres prospect, Artem Kryukov had his contract bought out by Metallurg Magnitogorsk and is now a free agent. Kryukov was actually playing well for Metallurg, notching 8 points in 14 games. Hopefully someone picks him up so he can continue his (ahem, very slow) development. In more positive news, Medicine Hat journalists have been praising the performance of centre Clarke MacArthur, saying he's a player with a bright future. MacArthur has continued his fine play into November and now has 17 goals and 19 assists in 21 games.Fri. November 13, 2004: New York Islanders (5-6-2-0 13th) at Buffalo Sabres (9-6-0-0 T-5th) I'm not changing a thing for this contest except for playing a high forechecking style instead of the trap we employed against Montreal. Enigmatic forward Alexei Yashin leads the Islanders in points with 9 in 14 games thus far. Goaltender Rick DiPietro has been excellent this year but the club isn't scoring enough to win games. Code:
We absolutely dominated the third period, with 21 shots on goal but Rick DiPietro made a number of enormous saves to get the Isles the victory and end our big winning streak at six games. No complaints here...the team played pretty well but we ran into a hot goalie. Sun. November 15, 2004: Pittsburgh Penguins (8-4-0-2 T-8th) at Buffalo Sabres (9-7-0-0 T-8th) The Mario Lemieux-less Penguins come to the HSBC Arena playing great hockey. Konstantin Koltsov and Aleksey Morozov lead the club with 12 points in 13 games. Pittsburgh is starting former Sabre Mika Noronen in net tonight. I'm going to revert back to the trap for this affair but won't make any other lineup changes. I'll eventually have to get goaltender Marco Buhrer into the lineup but it won't be tonight. Code:
Pittsburgh controlled the action through two periods of play and we were lucky to be tied at two going to the third. I ended up switching to a high forechecking attack in the final frame and we proceeded to outplay the Pens the rest of the way and pick up the victory. Pyatt finally broke out of his goal scoring slump but he was still contributing points throughout the season. Ales Kotalik joined Pyatt and Keith Primeau in the multipoint game parade with his two assists. Schneider's goal was his first as a Sabre. Thomas Vanek has now completed his 14 game NHL suspension but I'm going to keep him in Rochester to continue his development. He currently has 5 goals and 6 assists in 13 games with the Amerks this year. On Tap Next Week: Wednesday November 17, 2004: AT OTTAWA SENATORS Friday November 19, 2004: AT NEW YORK ISLANDERS Sunday November 21, 2004: vs. Atlanta Thrashers
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-27-2005, 12:08 PM
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#77 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto
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Quote:
WORST DYNASTY EVER!!!!!!!!!
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FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML |
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02-27-2005, 03:24 PM
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#78 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Quote:
Not an Alfredsson fan either!? He's teaming up well right now with fellow Swede Sundin, who's leading the league in scoring right now. Alfredsson has 6 points in his first 7 games with T.O.
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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02-27-2005, 03:28 PM
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#79 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. November 15, 2004:
Milan Bartovic returned to full practice today and I've sent Chris Thorburn back down to Rochester. Thorburn has played excellent hockey when called up and he'll continue to be my first choice when injuries come up. Wed. November 17, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (10-7-0-0 6th) at Ottawa Senators (6-5-4-0 T-10th) The Senators are coming off a crazy 10-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night so hopefully they're a bit wiped out! Winger Toni Dahlman had a hat trick and an assist in that game. Marian Hossa still leads the club offensively, with 17 points in 15 games. I'm going with the same tactical scheme as I did a couple weeks ago against the club, a high forechecking system. Milan Bartovic will man the left side of the fourth line with Adam Mair and J.P. Dumont. Code:
Unbelievably, it took 18 games for us to allow less than 2 goals in one game but here it is. Biron was truly fantastic, especially robbing the Bonk-Havlat-Hossa line all night long. Just a good, solid defensive effort that saw everyone show up. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Jeremy Roenick (PHI) 3GP 2g 4a 6pts +3 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Paul Drew (MON) 2GP 1-0-0 2.64GAA .925 S% Very nice to see that Drew bounced back after his poor debut against us to (somehow) win the Defensive Player of the Week award. Fri. November 19, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (11-7-0-0 2nd) at New York Islanders (6-6-4-0 T-10th) We're up to second place now, my best spot in the standings since I started with the club last year. We face a team we always have difficulty with in the Islanders. I'm going with the exact same lineup and high forechecking, hard hitting tactics that were employed against Ottawa. Rick DiPietro was excellent the last time we faced New York but the Isles will go with Garth Snow in net tonight. Snow was the Vezina Trophy winner last season but is splitting duty this year with the talented DiPietro. Alexei Yashin leads the team with 12 points in 16 games. Code:
The Islanders scored at will in the first period, where I pulled Biron after he allowed the fourth goal. We moved to a high press attack for the rest of the game and almost made the miraculous comeback, only to be denied when Trent Hunter scored with our goalie pulled with 4 seconds left in the game. Miroslav Satan (1g 2a) and Daniel Briere (2a) had multipoint games. Sat. November 20, 2004: News reports are saying that "the Buffalo Sabres are expected to pick up Sidney Crosby in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft". LOL If only it were that easy! (Johnny93g won't be happy if it happens!! )Sun. November 21, 2004: Atlanta Thrashers (5-11-3-0 14th) at Buffalo Sabres (11-8-0-0 T-5th) The Thrashers come to town off a 1-1 tie in Ottawa last night. I'm hoping they're tired so I'll come out with a high forechecking, hard pressing style early. A couple of lineup changes for tonight: Marco Buhrer finally gets a start in goal while I'm inserting Eric Boulton to add a bit of physical presence to the lineup. Ilya Kovalchuk already has 22 points in 19 games this year; Dany Heatley is second on the club with only 10 so it seems like a one man show in Atlanta right now. Code:
Wow! Just a fantastic performance right from the opening puck drop. We outshot Atlanta 18-7 in the first period and just had constant pressure throughout the game. Ivo Ruthemann's five points are the most by one player in a game since I started managing the team and his linemates combined for ten points on the night. Other multipoint games went to Dmitri Kalinin (2a) and Jeff Jillson (2a). Marco Buhrer won his first NHL game and was very solid.After the game, I noticed that I now have two players with 'Superb' reputations in Chris Drury and Miroslav Satan. Satan is still second in league scoring behind Toronto's Mats Sundin. On Tap Next Week: Monday November 22, 2004: AT FLORIDA PANTHERS Wednesday November 24, 2004: AT CAROLINA HURRICANES Friday November 26, 2004: vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday November 28, 2004: vs. Carolina Hurricanes
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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03-05-2005, 11:22 PM
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#80 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. November 22, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (12-8-0-0 2nd) at Florida Panthers (10-4-0-1 7th)
The Panthers are playing fantastic hockey this season behind the strong play of leading scorer Olli Jokinen. A couple of rookies are also making contributions: the 2004 first overall pick Rostislav Olesz has 11 points in 15 games while 2003 pick Anthony Stewart has 7 goals already. Other than inserting Martin Biron as the starting goaltender, I plan on making no changes from our last game. Code:
Luongo stood on his head for Florida while Biron was just brutal again. The Drury line was as bad tonight as it was good in the last game. I disciplined Biron after the game and he feels it was unfair. Tough crap! I may call up Ryan Miller soon if my goaltending doesn't improve. Tue. November 23, 2004: Centre Tim Connolly has returned to full practice, giving me plenty of options on forward. Keith Primeau (11GP 5g 4a 9pts) has played very well in Connolly's absence on the third line but I'm going to reunite Connolly with Pyatt and Kotalik after their great year together last year. Primeau will centre the fourth line for now, with Mair and Dumont on the wings. Wed. November 24, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (12-9-0-0 T-4th) at Carolina Hurricanes (6-9-6-1 T-10th) I'm going to stick with Biron in this game. I'm also going to stick with a high forechecking attack, although I'm going to a normal press system. Rod Brind'Amour leads the Hurricanes with 11 goals and 22 points in 22 games thus far. Kevin Weekes has been weak in net, going 2-9-3 in the early going so Pasi Nurminen gets the start in goal tonight for Carolina. Code:
A fantastic comeback in this game! Carolina got undisciplined late in the game and we scored on a 5-on-3 advantage with less than two minutes remaining to get within a goal. Then, with only 18 seconds left in regulation, Daniel Briere put the puck in the net after a goalmouth scramble to tie it at 4. Carolina dominated this game right from the start and it's a miracle that we came away with a point. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Mattias Weinhandl (NYI) 2GP 1g 3a 4pts +1 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Brad Lukowich (TB) 3GP 0g 5a 5pts +8 Fri. November 26, 2004: Tampa Bay Lightning (9-6-5-1 T-5th) at Buffalo Sabres (12-9-1-0 4th) The always challenging Tampa Bay Lightning come to town, coming off a 5-4 loss in Nashville the other night. Martin St. Louis has 15 goals and 25 points to lead the charge in Tampa. Newcomer Sean Burke has been getting the majority of the work in net this year, with Nikolai Khabibulin relegated to the bench most nights. Khabibulin is going tonight though. I'm going with the same lineup as the Carolina game but will revert to the attacking trap for this contest. Code:
Tampa came back late to make it close but we prevailed in the end. We got bad news in the first period when stalwart first year player Ivo Ruthemann was stretchered off the ice with a chest injury. He'll miss about two weeks. Keith Primeau will now centre the second line, with Chris Drury moving to left wing and Afinogenov manning the right side. Brian Campbell, much maligned in my tenure, has 6 points in his last three contests and is playing sound defensively. I'm getting a LOT of trade offers for him now but I don't think I'm that anxious to move him right now! Tim Connolly also had two assists in the game.I also found out after the game that Dmitri Kalinin suffered a contusion to his leg and will be out a few days. I'm going to call up Radoslav Hecl from Rochester (12GP 1g 4a 5pts +2) to take his place. Sat. November 27, 2004 Sabres defensive prospect Pavel Voroshnin is getting praised in the Russian media for his fine performances with Lada Togliatti. Voroshnin has 16 points in 26 games and a plus/minus rating of +12. I hope to sign him in the summer. Sun. November 28, 2004: Carolina Hurricanes (6-10-7-1 T-11th) at Buffalo Sabres (13-9-1-0 4th) We play the Hurricanes for the second time this week. Erik Cole missed the contest earlier in the week due to a shoulder contusion but he should be ready to go tonight. I'll play the same style of game as we did against Tampa. Marco Buhrer gets the start in goal tonight, as I'm going to save Biron for tomorrow night's road tilt against the St. Louis Blues. Radoslav Hecl will team up with Alexei Zhitnik tonight in Dmitri Kalinin's absence. Eric Boulton returns to the lineup after we had to place Ivo Ruthemann on the I.R. Code:
The referees made life a living hell for us here, giving them a distinct powerplay advantage. Alexei Zhitnik once again feels "victimized by NHL refs" and is unhappy. Buhrer was a bright spot for us here. We always have trouble with this team, for some reason. On Tap Next Week: Monday November 29, 2004: AT ST. LOUIS BLUES Friday December 3, 2004: AT DETROIT RED WINGS Saturday December 4, 2004: vs. Anaheim Mighty Ducks
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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03-06-2005, 12:45 PM
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#81 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. November 29, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (13-10-1-0 4th) at St. Louis Blues (9-10-3-0 T-8th)
Biron gets the call in net tonight. I've decided to move Keith Primeau to right wing on the Drury-Afinogenov line to help the power forecheck tonight. St. Louis is banged up, with Pavol Demitra and Mike Sillinger likely out of the lineup for tonight's game. Their leading scorer is Scott Pellerin with 16 points in 22 games. I'll stick with the attacking trap tonight.Code:
Just an awful performance the whole way around. Biron was placed on the trading block after this game, as he's put together a string of 5 terrible games in a row. Henrik Tallinder was a -3 and is not playing well enough to keep his spot in the lineup right now. Chris Drury and Keith Primeau both had a goal and an assist in the contest. Tue. November 30, 2004: Two injured defensemen returned to practice today: Dmitri Kalinin is ready to return to game action after his shoulder contusion while Jay McKee has resumed non-contact drills. The club went 8-5-1 during the month of November to move into solid position in the conference. I'm very alarmed at the amount of goals we're allowing, a total even higher than last year. Thankfully, we're scoring even more as well. Code:
While we're letting in a bunch of goals, a positive thing is that our plus/minus ratings are improving. However, this is just disguising a sudden weakness that we have killing penalties (21st in the NHL now). Plus, our powerplay has been sputtering lately. NHL Offensive Player of the Month: Anson Carter (LA) 13GP 9g 9a 18pts +3 5PIM NHL Defensive Player of the Month: Pavel Kubina (TB) 14GP 1g 12a 13pts +9 6PIM NHL Rookie of the Month: Rostislav Olesz (FLO) 13GP 5g 7a 12pts +1 8PIM Wed. December 1, 2004: NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Todd Bertuzzi (VAN) 3GP 2g 6a 8pts +6 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Ed Jovanovski (VAN) 3GP 1g 1a 2pts +5 Interesting that the board of directors is just "generally satisfied" with my performance as G.M. thus far. We're going to have to step it up! Thu. December 2, 2004: I took Brian Campbell off the trading block for now and put Henrik Tallinder on it. He's playing very poorly thus far. I've called up rookie defenseman Dennis Wideman from Rochester and he'll play in Tallinder's place tomorrow night at Joe Louis Arena in his NHL debut versus the Red Wings. Wideman has 6 points in 14 games in Rochester so far this season and is a +7. I've also called up goaltender Ryan Miller, who's gone 6-3-4 with a 2.52 GAA and a .906 S% in Rochester. I plan on Miller playing against the Mighty Ducks on the weekend to get some revenge for his dreadful last preseason perfomance. Fri. December 3, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (13-11-1-0 5th) at Detroit Red Wings (11-7-7-0 3rd) Unheralded forward Stacy Roest leads the Wings in scoring with 20 points in 25 games so far. I catch a break considering the fact that top defenseman Niklas Lidstrom will miss this game due to injury. Biron will go in net tonight, with Ryan Miller watching from the press box tonight. We'll play our trapping tactic tonight as well against the skilled Wings. Code:
Well, it's a win but I'm really becoming concerned with the powerplay, always a strength during my tenure. I'm going to switch things up in the next few games to see if we can click with different personnel. Biron was very good in his first game after being put on the block. Matt Schneider had a splendid game against his former club. Sat. December 4, 2004: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (13-6-5-0 2nd) at Buffalo Sabres (14-11-1-0 4th) I lost the only game I played against the Ducks 4-3 last year and they're playing very well in 2004. Sergei Fedorov (25 points) and Petr Sykora (23 points) lead the way offensively while J.S. Giguere has played well in goal. Steve Rucchin and Mike LeClerc will both miss the game with injuries. Dennis Wideman will play his second game in a row for the ineffective Henrik Tallinder. Ryan Miller gets his first start in goal on the season in Buffalo. Code:
27 shots and 6 goals against. This is becoming really depressing. I'm at a COMPLETE LOSS over what to do with my tactics to better myself defensively. Does anyone out there reading have an idea what to do?? Geez. Kalinin was a monster in this game but what can you do when your goalie lets in EVERYTHING. I disciplined Miller and sent his ass right back down to Rochester. Must not panic...still above .500... On Tap Next Week: Monday December 6, 2004: vs. Florida Panthers Friday December 10, 2004: vs. Nashville Predators Sunday December 12, 2004: vs. New Jersey Devils
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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05-27-2005, 02:51 PM
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#82 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. December 6, 2004: Florida Panthers (11-8-2-1 T-8th) at Buffalo Sabres (14-12-1-0 T-5th)
Dennis Wideman was sent back to Rochester before the game and Henrik Tallinder gets back into the lineup tonight. Martin Biron is back in the cage tonight. Code:
Undisciplined play got us in this one. Connolly's goal was shorthanded. Jokinen is an absolute Sabre killer! I just can't find a way to stop him. Wed. December 8, 2004: I've been attempting to make a number of trades for New York Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro, without success. In lineup news, I've made some moves with our forwards in order to balance things out more. Line one sees Briere centring Hecht and Satan, while line two now has Drury in the middle of Pyatt and Afinogenov. Keith Primeau now centres the third line between Connolly and Kotalik and the fourth line is Mair at centre with Boulton and Dumont on the wings. The defense pairings are Kalinin/Zhitnik, Schneider/Jillson and Campbell/Tallinder. NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Dany Heatley (ATL) 3GP 4g 4a 8pts +3 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Robert Esche (PHI) 2GP 1-0-1 0.96GAA .961 S% Fri. December 10, 2004: Nashville Predators (8-15-5-1 13th) at Buffalo Sabres (14-13-1-0 T-6th) We'll see how my lineup changes work tonight. I'm going with an attacking system coupled with the neutral zone trap. Hard hitting and low pressing as well. Biron gets another start in the nets. Code:
Total domination here! The Drury/Pyatt/Afinogenov line was tremendous and Biron played a decent game as well. Good stuff here. I was able to get some extra playing time for the fourth line in this one due to the big lead. Interesting to see what I'll do when Ruthemann is ready to return. In other league news, Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi is being lavished with praise by TSN.ca. GM Brian Burke also agrees, saying his recent performances have been spectacular. Yikes! Checking his stats, Bertuzzi's on a 12-game point streak and has 42 points in only 28 games this year. Wow. Sun. December 12, 2004: New Jersey Devils (17-8-3-0 1st) at Buffalo Sabres (15-13-1-0 T-6th) The number one team in the conference visits us tonight. Patrik Elias leads the team in goals and points with 14 & 26 respectively while Martin Brodeur continues to man the pipes to the highest standard. My lineup will be unchanged from the Nashville game, although I may tone down my attack for this one. Code:
What a great hockey game this was!!! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! Fantastic goaltending on both sides; this was Biron's best performance of the year by far! Mair's goal was shorthanded while TWO MEN DOWN!. Wow!!! The refereeing was awful here, as the Devils had seven powerplays to our zero. I registered a complaint with the NHL head office and they agreed with my assessment so I may get some preferential treatment as I head out west. On Tap Next Week: Monday December 13, 2004: AT VANCOUVER CANUCKS Thursday December 16, 2004: AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Sunday December 19, 2004: vs. New York Islanders
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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05-27-2005, 05:40 PM
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#83 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Mon. December 13, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (15-13-2-0 T-5th) at Vancouver Canucks (17-11-1-0 T-4th)
Tough trip out west for one game against the streaking Canucks. The aforementioned Bertuzzi leads the league with goals and points with 23 and 44 respectively. Linemate Markus Naslund leads the NHL in assists with 27. I'll be starting Marco Buhrer in this game to give Biron a bit of a rest. I'll be playing a 'Normal' offensive system as well. Code:
Announcer Jim Hughson said it best: "What a dramatic comeback by Buffalo!". We scored twice in the last 1:01 of the third period to tie the game up at six and almost won it right at the 60 minute mark as well. Vancouver's powerplay was unstoppable while ours has turned into a huge weakness. We didn't register a chance on our final three opportunities and I'll be working on some new tactics in practice. Satan passed 500 career points in a Sabres uniform with his three goal performance. Unreal comeback! Tue. December 14, 2004: Tampa Bay star centre Brad Richards went through season-ending surgery to repair a torn hamstring. He had 20 points in 30 games for the season. Wed. October 13, 2004: NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Ilya Kovalchuk (ATL) 3GP 4g 2a 6pts +1 NHL Defensive Player of the Week: Evgeny Nabokov (SJ) 2GP 2-0-0 1.00GAA .969 S% Thu. December 16, 2004: Buffalo Sabres (15-13-3 6th) at Pittsburgh Penguins (12-11-2-4 T-10th) Good news to start the day, as Ivo Ruthemann is fully fit from his chest injury after missing two weeks. He'll be slotted back in with Drury and Afinogenov. Shockingly enough, I'm going to scratch J.P. Dumont for the game tonight: he hasn't scored in eight games and is without a point in five. Now that I'm getting healthy, I may have to pull the trigger on a big trade for a defenseman or goalie. For Pittsburgh, Rico Fata leads the team in goal scoring with 14 and points with 26. Former Sabre Mika Noronen shares the goaltending load with Sebastien Caron. Caron will go for the Pens tonight. Code:
Ruthemann played like he hadn't missed any games; brilliant! Powerplay was better but still needs work. Biron has been tremendous ever since I put him on the trade block, coming up with another huge performance here. We seem to be hitting our stride right now, playing excellent 5-on-5 hockey. Sat. December 18, 2004: Prospect Louis-Philippe Martin continues to get praised for his play in the QMJHL with Drummondville this season. Martin is up to 56 points in 36 games and lies in 5th in the 'Q' in scoring. Of course, Rimouski C/W Sidney Crosby is at the top with 80 points and 40 goals in only 37 games! Sun. December 19, 2004: New York Islanders (12-12-6-0 T-12th) at Buffalo Sabres (16-13-3-0 T-3rd) We're now tied for the Northeast Division lead with Boston and face the pesky Islanders, who always give our club trouble. Our fans won't be able to pick on leading point scorer Mike Peca tonight, as he's injured at the moment. In his absence, the scoring will likely come from Mariusz Czerkawski, who leads the club with 12 goals. Rick DiPietro and Garth Snow share the goaltending duties. Snow, who won the Vezina Trophy last year, is struggling this year. For the Sabres, a few changes. Dumont will return to the lineup tonight to face the team that drafted him and I'm scratching Eric Boulton. Dumont will play the fourth line with Primeau and Mair and also see time on the powerplay. Tim Connolly moves up to centre Pyatt and Kotalik. Biron will start again in goal and hopefully continue his excellent recent form. Code:
We were down 4-0 at one point in the second period but went to an attacking style with great success. We actually came all the way back and led 5-4 before Scatchard completed his amazing game with a shorthanded tally with only 3 minutes left in regulation. Biron obviously wasn't sharp. J.P. Dumont was a -4; just disgusting for a fourth line player. I think I know who's trade bait...and I've always liked the guy. On Tap Next Week: Thursday December 23, 2004: vs. Ottawa Senators Sunday December 26, 2004: vs. Atlanta Thrashers
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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