Alaska Darin Posted January 13, 2007 Author Share Posted January 13, 2007 Agree on all accounts. Thank you! Somehow between June of last year and now, Mike Grier became a Hall of Famer on this board... It's not much different than this time last year when he was nothing more than a plumber with no worth to the team. The reality is, Mike Grier is very good at what he does and his value increases in the playoffs. Does that mean no one else on the team can fill that role? No. But someone is going to have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 can someone explain how the Sabres are not physical...they have 3 guys willing to drop at any time...Mair Gaustad and Peters...forwards willing to finish checks..Drury, Kotalik(no not a joke), Jiri, and Hecht...chippy prick forwards....Max, Briere...D that throw some helacious hits...Campbell(under-rated hitter IMO), Spacek(appears to be a prick on D), Lydman(finishes checks quite well), and a Stud forward(Vanek) that will pay the price in front of the net and get Ugly and Beautiful goals....the team is fully capable of playing a physical game..this is the regular season..they can win the way they are playing..when the playoffs come, they will be able to play with anyone...skill team or physical team..I am not worried... I agree...people seem to be forgetting how much guys like Roy contributed to our playoff run last year...I hated seeign Grier go, for precisely the same reasons as Silver N'Red states (the prescence he had in the playoffs), but I still think there are guys on this current team that can, and will pick that slack up. Hockey is a game of ebbs and flows. One team will rarely dominate another for a full 60 minutes, no matter what disparity there may be in talent. It is what a team does with its' chances to score that really count. The Sabres may not be vintage Flyer or Devils tough, but they are hardly a reincarnation of the Ottawa Senators either. There is still a long way to go...we knew they weren't going to be playing .900 hockey for five months straight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Somehow between June of last year and now, Mike Grier became a Hall of Famer on this board... I thought Grier and Drury were the best guys in Sabres uniforms, night in night out, during last years playoff run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Somehow between June of last year and now, Mike Grier became a Hall of Famer on this board... It was between March of last year and now, and the "somehow" was the playoffs. Because you need guys like that in the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Which Pyatt are we talking about - the 4th-line invisible man for most of his Sabres tenure, or the 1st-line scoring dynamo playing alongside the Sedin twins? There was no way Pyatt was staying here at $1M per to play on the 4th line and contribute 12 points and spend half the year in the press box... I was never a big fan of Grier, mainly because I felt he was dragging down the Drury line. If Grier was going to be a 3rd-line banger, working the PK and doing the grunt work, then I had no problem bringing him back. I just got tired of watching him mishandle the puck on odd-man rushes, etc - to me he was the Drury line's version of Adam Mair. Novotny, while frustrating at times, is still young and I have no problem being patient with him to see how he develops. Couple of things: 1) Right now, Grier is playing on a line with the league MVP Thornton and Patrick Marleau. So obviously, he must have some skills. You can contribute in other ways than just scoring. 2) Check this out: http://www.nhl.com/nhlstats/app?fetchKey=2...rtssPlayerStats Grier was far and away our leading hitter in the playoffs with 57(and 2nd in the entire league). Next was McKee with 41. In fact, our leading returning hitter was the Goose with 36. Breaking it down even further, 3 out of the top 6 and 4 out of the top 9 are gone. So what does this mean. It could mean nothing. The Sabres could skate circles around all teams and hoist the cup. But even though this is a "new" NHL, the playoffs is still an entirely different game. You need those grit guys to battle and send messages. The Sabres have a roster of scorers. The only problem with that is that the majority of them if they aren't scoring, aren't going to make a big impact in other ways. That's why guys like Grier and McKee were great. They could affect games without scoring. And in this role, we have the Goose and maybe Mair. I'm not panicking at all. But I do worry about the Sabres getting banged up like they did last year. We need a little grit to go with the flash, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Agree on all accounts. Thank you! Somehow between June of last year and now, Mike Grier became a Hall of Famer on this board... Watch Game 1 of the playoffs against Philly. Grier was the best player by far without scoring a goal. He was all over the ice and sent the message the Sabres weren't going to scare by the big, bad Flyers. And Grier was also our seventh leading scoring (tied with Max and Hecht) and ahead of Vanek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I'm not panicking at all. But I do worry about the Sabres getting banged up like they did last year. We need a little grit to go with the flash, IMO. Bingo, that's exactly it. It's not impossible to win the Cup by loading up on razzle dazzle players and very little grit. But I don't think that's the smartest way to attempt this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 And Grier was also our seventh leading scoring (tied with Max and Hecht) and ahead of Vanek. Vanek may be the most improved player, all around, of almost any team sport player I can think of, in one year. He has as much offensive skill as anyone we have seen in Buffalo in some time (up there with Connolly) and he is no kitty! Vanek 2006-2007 much > Vanek 2005-2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Probably gonna catch flak for this... But, I will say... Please, not meant to be a heated side-bar... I wonder why? Put 2 and 2 together there ace... Freakan' BFLO isn't exactly a sprawling diverse mecca... Who knows what the eff caught in his craw?... But, it has got to be something? And yes... I am alluding to his personal background... BUT... No, not making too wildy sweeping assumptions, that could make things controversial... Just stoking the racial fire a little. I am saying, If I was him... I wouldn't feel too comfortable in BFLO either... And yes... I am ragging on BFLO and its parochial attitudes... And yes... Again, these are all CRAZY assumptions on my part that aren't too wildy sweeping... Well, at least I think so... He is from Detroit... And I think two of his siblings work with NFL organizations... I am positive that one is a scout or something with the DOLPHINS organization... Ya, I know that is trivial... Mix in a whole bunch of OTHER facts and I can see why he would say, WTF... BFLO? Except that BFLO has a good shot at the Cup as does San Jose... There it is said... Fire away if need be... I could be wrong but I thought it had something to do with his wife's family being in Cali. Additionally, he was worried about the Sabres' long term commitment to keeping the team together. Which is understandable when a team enters the offseason with like 2 guys under contract. And while there could be some truth to the race issue, Grier was one of the most popular Sabres on the team (which had something to do with his blue collar play and I believe a little with his race). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Bingo, that's exactly it. It's not impossible to win the Cup by loading up on razzle dazzle players and very little grit. But I don't think that's the smartest way to attempt this. I argee and the games I remember the Sabres losing, they got physically dominated (which may have contributed to some of the injuries). I also forget to add Max to the list of gritty guys. While he didn't have the best postseason, he seemed to throw his body around and mix it up. I look forward to him having a huge postseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Vanek may be the most improved player, all around, of almost any team sport player I can think of, in one year. He has as much offensive skill as anyone we have seen in Buffalo in some time (up there with Connolly) and he is no kitty! Vanek 2006-2007 much > Vanek 2005-2006 Oh, I definitely argee. I was just pointing that along with adding the gritness, Grier did a decent job scoring as well. And the reason Vanek has improved is he seemed to embrace the all around game (hitting, back checking, and going to the net). The guy is big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Couple of things: 1) Right now, Grier is playing on a line with the league MVP Thornton and Patrick Marleau. So obviously, he must have some skills. You can contribute in other ways than just scoring. 2) Check this out: http://www.nhl.com/nhlstats/app?fetchKey=2...rtssPlayerStats Grier was far and away our leading hitter in the playoffs with 57(and 2nd in the entire league). Next was McKee with 41. In fact, our leading returning hitter was the Goose with 36. Breaking it down even further, 3 out of the top 6 and 4 out of the top 9 are gone. So what does this mean. It could mean nothing. The Sabres could skate circles around all teams and hoist the cup. But even though this is a "new" NHL, the playoffs is still an entirely different game. You need those grit guys to battle and send messages. The Sabres have a roster of scorers. The only problem with that is that the majority of them if they aren't scoring, aren't going to make a big impact in other ways. That's why guys like Grier and McKee were great. They could affect games without scoring. And in this role, we have the Goose and maybe Mair. I'm not panicking at all. But I do worry about the Sabres getting banged up like they did last year. We need a little grit to go with the flash, IMO. I don't disagree that Grier has value, as I said, in his role, he is fine - but there were too many times last year that he fumbled scoring chances, misplayed passes, or even stumbled and/or couldn't keep his skates under him. Maybe playing in Sn Jose's system, alongside guys like Marleau and Thornton - both really good to great players - suits him a little more than playing with a bunch of run-and-gun speedsters in Buffalo. He is playing a lot better this year, and is on pace to equal or break his career marks in goals and points. Would I rather have him than Peters or Mair in the lineup? Absolutely. I just don't want to see him slowing down a top scoring line - I think he is effective on the PK and banging bodies, and that's about it. All that being said, I am concerned with the team's physicality in the postseason, and I hope Mair & Gaustad are ready to step up their physical games - the Sabres will need them. And a much-improved Vanek + a healthy Connolly throughout the playoffs should scare the living crap out of whomever they face in the postseason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Maybe... MAYBE they will start calling the new rules during the playoff run?... And all will be good. It doesn't seem like they are enforcing them as strong as they did last year during the regular season?... Then is seemed they backed off a little in the playoffs... Weren't a few refs not given games in the later rounds because they were not calling the new rules? Now IT SEEMS IMO, the league seems to be back stepping on the new enforcement? Again... Maybe come playoff time, form fitting jersey's , and all... The league calls the game as it is on the books now? The Sabres will be just fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinandjokin Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Watch Game 1 of the playoffs against Philly. Grier was the best player by far without scoring a goal. He was all over the ice and sent the message the Sabres weren't going to scare by the big, bad Flyers. I was AT Game 1 against Philly. The score would've been 6-1 if Grier had an ounce of touch. You're right, he was all over the place, and got himself into position for three slam dunk scoring chances. Guess what? He could've been the best player on the ice with a hat trick instead the best player without a goal. Can we stop sweating the guy? Darin mentioned above, he was good at what he did, but he is far from irreplaceable. I think collectively they have filled the void left by Grier's departure, and individually, someone will step up and be that guy in the playoffs, I have no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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