Trick Or Treat

It's Halloween 2011. And with the gobly fun, comes the end of October for our Battle teams. Well, albeit for one club with the Rangers hosting the Sharks later tonight- still without a home win at the renovated MSG.

Outside of a halfway decent start for the Sabres, the first month didn't treat anyone great. The Devils and Rangers are .500 in Bettman's league while the Islanders one under. All three have been punchless, combining for 58 goals or basically, a shade over two-per-game. Cue the ghosts and goblins howling above as day turns to night in a creepy hemisphere that saw snow fall before All Hallow's Eve- wreaking havoc in towns due to fallen trees. So much for global warming.

It's still hard to fathom that we got a few inches of the white stuff, setting records that even meteorologists never dreamed. Perhaps that can better explain the morbid state of the metro area's hockey teams, where offense has vanished into thin air. At least Buffalo's 6-4-0 with 29 goals nearly good for three-a-game despite a poor finish- blowing a one-goal third period lead to the surprising Panthers. Yes, maybe I and a lot of other skeptics were dead wrong mocking Dale Tallon's unorthodox approach- ignoring a great hire in Kevin Dineen, who has Hawks South playing a rambunctious brand of hockey we'd kill for. Time to put our Michael Myers and Jason masks on and awaken our teams.

COLD OCTOBERS

Ilya Kovalchuk 2 Goals, -5
Brandon Dubinsky 0 Goals, 41 PIM
Kyle Okposo 0 Goals, 18 SOG
Tyler Ennis 0 Points
Adam Larsson 0 Points, -4
Artem Anisimov 0 Goals, 8 SOG
Blake Comeau/Josh Bailey 0 Points, -4, 10 SOG
Ville Leino 1-1-2, -4, 5 SOG
Mattias Tedenby 0 Goals, 9 SOG
Derek Stepan 0 Goals
Brian Rolston 0 Goals
Derek Roy 1-3-4
Martin Brodeur 2 GS, Missed last 7 games
Steve Eminger -7 rating
Rick DiPietro 2 GP, 1 GS along with bizarre shootout relief appearance, Missed 7 games
Jordan Leopold 1-1-2

We could easily include a few more who turned into pumpkins, including John 'Re'Tortorella, whose mysterious line combos had Ranger fans questioning if it was Tom Renney in disguise. It'll be interesting to see what his Prucha treatment of Sean Avery will cause with the anticipated return unless a team claims him off re-entry waivers. Doubtful.

So, will Connecticut Whale recall Andre Deveaux wear a mask tonight when he debuts as a Blueshirt tonight? Assuming Tort has the guts to dress him. Amazing that Christmas ornament Erik Christensen somehow remains. And the D seems to be suffering from the Curse of Marc Staal. If only there was a doctor around like in Dark Shadows to cure Barnabas Collins. Trick Or Treat!



HAPPY HELLOWEEN

FA Frenzy: Buffalo Sabres

In the past, the Buffalo Sabres have rarely taken part in the free agent frenzy (FA Frenzy) known to diehard puckers as July 1. Okay. Brian would probably correct me and say an emphatic:

"NEVER!!!!!"

So yeah. It is pretty cool to see his team jump in among the Big Boy$ thanks to new owner Terry Pegula's win at all costs strategy. When they traded with the Islanders for the rights to Christian Ehrhoff, I admittedly didn't think much, assuming the German blueliner would predictably wind up in Detroit to replace Brian Rafalski. Instead, the unthinkable happened with Pegula able to convince the Ehrhoff that he could win as he had with Robyn Regehr, who originally said no before a trade with Calgary was finalized. Yes!!!!! The Sabres have teased their fans for years. No Goal withstanding, they were close in '06 until injuries that must've meant the Mets team doctor was at work dashed their hopes against Carolina. If only Dr. Seuss had been a not more gentle. :P Who will garner the first reaction to these references? The Met fan or the long suffering Sabre fan. I digress. There also was '07 but we'll just leave that alone after Sambone's classic rant on his show Friday.

When the Sabres announced the astronomical 10-year frontloaded $40 million deal with Ehrhoff, to say I was floored was an understatement. Shocked. Appalled. Flabbergasted. You name it. I couldn't believe it and neither could Hasan, who expressed disdain at the way the contract paid out. This is what the NHL wanted. A couple of more crazy deals by two Battle clubs to two of the top free agents (Ehrhoff, Richards). So yeah. There also were the usual absurd Flyers with their insane contract with Ilya Bryzgalov that cost both Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in a makeover. Just wait till next year folks. The party's over.

If it wasn't enough that Pegula signed off on Ehrhoff, then came another bomb with his team landing ex-Flyer Ville Leino. The terms. A cool six years at $27 million. Yes again! These are the Buffalo Sabres. Leino is a good player who turns 28 in the first year of the megadeal. Not bad for a Finn the Red Wings didn't want, allowing Philly to steal him off waivers. It wasn't until the 2010 postseason that he performed, totaling 21 points (7-14-21 in 19 GP) during the Flyers' surprising run that Chicago ended. He followed it up with a career best 53 points (19-34-53) and had three goals and two helpers in 11 postseason games that ended with a disappointing sweep to eventual champ Boston. So. Is a guy who never scored 20 goals worth $4.5 million-per-season? Such questions are the norm in a buyer's market with the cap escalating- allowing teams like Hawks South (Florida) to buy as many guys as possible.

At least Buffalo got two of the better FA's, adding to an already talented roster that features Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville, Tyler Ennis, Tyler Myers and other new D Robyn Regehr, who was swayed into coming thanks to talk of winning a Cup. On paper, the Sabres look pretty good with deadline pickup Brad Boyes in a contract year and miracle midget Nathan Gerbe along with Jordan Leopold and Andrej Sekera (arbitration). Still no idea if Buffalo re-signs backup Jhonas Enroth, who was largely responsible for getting the Sabres in the playoffs a second straight year before they fell in gut wrenching fashion to the hated Flyers. He's a Group II.

It's a roster you have to like after Boston, Washington and Tampa Bay with no clear favorite in the Atlantic. Certainly, the Sabres should be there. The time is now.