The current favorability of the Sabres is hardly a matter of great subjectivity. By anyone’s standards, they are having a largely problematic season. So, of course, Ruff and Regier have been heavily criticized. I’m not here to dissuade anyone, only to point out the symmetry. We no longer allow the reputations of Ruff and Regier to exist autonomously, apart from the team, as we once did and presently do with individual players.

I want to be try and be as fair as possible with how I measure the Sabres. When attempting to understand and contextualize a team’s win/loss record, the first step I’m inclined to take involves designating eras. An oft-used benchmark in hockey circles is the 2004-2005 NHL lockout. Other eras commonly begin and end with ownership/executive/coaching changes and major player addition/subtractions. I think the Sabres, for example, are in the defining years of the Ryan Miller era and the beginning years of the Pegula era.

The Miller era has had its ups and down. In four years, the Sabres have made the playoffs twice but failed to advance beyond the first-round in each occasion. Heading into its fifth year, Regier chose to replace Connolly, Butler, and Montador with Leino, Regehr, and Ehrhoff — a sizeable investment in the short term future of the team. Regier’s motivations were affected by Pegula’s presence, no doubt, but it would be a mistake to label the previous summer as anything but an endorsement of the players already under contract. This is year five of an era, and there needs to be some results suggestive of progress.

The endorsement is arguably the most obvious problem with Regier at the moment. The Sabres won a division title in 2010, a reason to hope the team had finally taken a step forward, but the following fall the team put together an abysmal first-half of the regular season. At the very least, that period in the season was a sign of the group’s limitations.

Now here we are again, one year later, and the Sabres sit 4^th in their division and 11^th in their conference. Regier’s lack of foresight is a major factor in the current product. He never sold high on any one of his players. The people who are expecting Regier to make a trade now are minimizing the larger point which is that a significant trade should have already been executed. This is the wrong time. The ideal candidates to move off the team have extremely low market value.

Again, the Miller era has had its ups and downs. It has been surprising to watch the production from individual players oscillate from high to low. It’s primarily been the stars too — Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Ryan Miller, and formerly Tim Connolly. Each one of those players had long stretches of high production that make everyone wonder if this player can finally be relied upon. The letdown has historically proven itself inevitable under Lindy Ruff. Why?

I couldn’t even guess at the cause. I’m an outsider. I only know this season has been particularly troubling to watch. The secondary scoring, the depth on defense, the back-up goaltending — never has any of it been better in the Ryan Miller era. If the surrounding parts have never been better, why are key players still disappearing for long-stretches?

A lot of the questions and points of frustration with the Sabres can be interpreted and blamed in multiple fashions. The larger take-away is the urgency that Ruff and Regier are both functioning within now. Their job security is a source of public debate. Internally, there’s support for Ruff and Regier but to what point? This was supposed to be a season in which the Sabres show significant progress — the culmination of four years growing and developing a core. It’s tough to justify a continuation of this poor to middling product. What are they moving towards? Is there a foundation in place from which a winner can be built?

It’s time to consider some difficult questions but it’s too soon to expect serious answers.

What kind of message do people expect to hear from Pegula and Black in January? With an entire half-season remaining, it makes total sense for them to emphasize the injuries. The season is still salvageable. The team should know that the owner and president believe in a healthy version of this roster. It almost goes without saying — calling attention to the injuries as proof of the team’s misfortune will not hold up if the Sabres miss the playoffs. But we’re not at that point yet.

Their message isn’t something to agree or disagree with; it’s purpose is to enable the team to play to its potential. It’s not the time for reevaluation; that comes later. For now, throw away all the plans and expectations. Start over. This time the urgency is real. The pressure is real. It’s time for desperate hockey. Play desperate, or don’t. Either or Pegula and Black are wise to give the team a chance to make that decision themselves.

Over the course of these past few weeks, it’s become unclear to me what the long term plan is for Leino. Are the Sabres committed to making him into a reliable center or is the priority instead to make him into a productive scorer, regardless of position?

It took Ruff just seven games into the regular season to try Leino on the left wing. Three games later, Leino is moving back to the center position. Based on how Leino is being used, the Sabres seem desperate for him to start scoring in the short term. The question I have is why — why is there such urgency for Leino to start scoring?

It’s November 1st and the Sabres have collected enough points in the standings to be at least a little patient with Leino. Luke Adam’s emergence gives the coaching staff time, perhaps more than they thought they would have in the summer, to get Leino settled into his new role.

Speaking of Adam, he’s been extremely productive playing center for Vanek and Pominville. I really can’t say enough about Adam. He’s been outstanding. I certainly don’t think his scoring numbers can be totally credited to the offensive ability of his wingers. He’s made a lot of strong individual plays in addition to working well with Vanek and Pominville. Obviously Vanek and Pominville are both superior scorers to Adam but it’s crazy to assume their production would be the same if, to this point in the season, they had played even-strength hockey with a different forward.

Adam’s inexperience has not been the cause of many goals against for the Sabres either, thanks in large part to Pominville. I’ve noticed that Pominville has assumed many of the responsibilities traditionally delegated to the center. He takes a ton of face-offs and he’s the forward who has been covering the extra attacker in the Sabres zone. The unconventional usage of Pominville is not essential to what makes this line successful. It’s more of a side note. The main story, of course, is how effective they’ve been as a group while on the attack, and most the time this line is on the ice they’re attacking up ice. When the Sabres have possession of the puck, Adam is a more conventional center.

It’s interesting to consider how they’ve been able to make it work especially now that Adam appears to be getting replaced by Leino. In theory, Leino should be able to bring everything that Adam has brought to the Vanek and Pominville line. Pominville can and should continue to do a lot of the coverage in the Sabres zone as Leino, like Adam, has yet to prove himself a complete, two-way center. This is a major reason why it makes sense to put Leino alongside Pominville. It should work. Vanek-Leino-Pominville should be productive but maybe they won’t be.

What we know, at this point, is that Ruff is breaking up the best even-strength scoring line the Sabres have in order to get Leino more involved with the offense. Seems risky to me but, like everyone else, I’m observing from the outside. Leino must be frustrated by now. Maybe Ruff is concerned about Leino growing from a frustrated player into a toxic one. I want to give Ruff the benefit of the doubt but this reads like a desperate move to accommodate a player with a lot of public attention on him.

Ruff changes his forward lines so often that it’s almost pointless to discuss one of these moves but this is not just an ordinary skake-up. The Vanek-Adam-Pominville line has stayed together on even-strength for the entire season and Leino has been moved around a lot. Leino has been asked to play multiple positions alongside a lot of different forwards. It’s telling, even if Ruff should decide to reunite Adam with Vanek and Pominville after one shift.

I think with Leino, Ruff just needs to recommit to his initial plan, whatever that might have been. That means, at the very least, stop changing Leino’s position. Keep him at center, if that’s where they’d like him to play. It might take a while for him to get comfortable. So what? The Sabres are loaded with scorers. Behind Vanek and Pominville, there’s Stafford, Roy, Gerbe, Boyes, and Ennis (when he returns). Every one of those forwards can score. And again, the Sabres are doing fine in the standings. They’re right in the middle of things. They don’t need Leino to become productive right now and, to that end, they certainly don’t need to risk what’s working.

I can’t help wonder where exactly Leino’s head must be to warrant some of the decisions Ruff has made. I wasn’t concerned with Leino’s lack of production before this latest move but now I think I am because I can’t make sense of the impatience Ruff has shown towards him.

It should be interesting watching this play out.

Clearly the Sabres record cannot be pointed to one specific problem. There are many problems that fall within the larger issue of the Sabres inability to overcome crisis. The questions on my mind are questions that have surrounded this organization for quite some time now — long enough that most have pretty obvious answers. Familiarity, however, does not make them any less troubling.

On the ice, an obvious problem is the difficultly the Sabres are having keeping the puck out of their own net. The Sabres made some player substitutions within their defense last summer. Two solid, responsible defensemen were replaced by a player that’s supposed to put up higher scoring numbers and another player that’s supposed to allow Myers to remain a scoring force. The changes weakened the Sabres ability to defend in general especially away from the puck.

The justifications for doing so were clear. The Sabres needed an offensive scoring boost and building a defensive unit that featured one and enabled another within that group to skate up the ice, thereby creating the occasional odd-man situation, seemed reasonable. As did relying upon Miller to cover some flaws in the goal prevention department until some of the younger defensemen emerge into more reliable professionals. It obviously hasn’t played out quite like the decision makers had presumably planned.

Miller has stopped just 90.3 percent of the shots he has faced this season. There’s no disputing the fact that Miller needs to be better. There have been a lot of turnovers and breakdowns in coverage but those were expected to a certain extent, right? It’s going to take some time for players to adjust to playing with their new partners.

As for the offensive goal scoring rate, production from the defensemen has improved but, collectively, the scoring output from the forwards has regressed. I feel like I’ve seen this movie before. Considering the urgency, the frustration of watching this play out again can’t be understated. It speaks to the leadership and talent of some of the more prominent forwards.

Ultimately, everyone shares the blame though not just the players.

Darcy Regier has constructed a remarkably one dimensional roster. He should have made a least one more impactful change to the forwards. Was the idea that Vanek would have ten goals by now? How much longer can we call these stretches of games during which Vanek fails to finish scoring chances a slump? Connolly, Stafford, Hecht, Gaustad — round and round we go.

And then there’s Lindy Ruff. The relationship between coach and players couldn’t be more blatantly fractured. I was in the arena last night. Craig Rivet and Jason Pominville were both returning to the line-up. It was the first home game back from a humiliating road trip. The Sabres were rested. They were playing a hated opponent who eliminated them from the playoffs last spring for the first time this season. What more would it have taken for the Sabres to be motivated at the start of that game? It was a totally uninspired effort, preceded by a string of games lost because of, among other things, disappointing effort. A lot of that falls on the coach.

The Sabres will eventually play better but to what end? It’s fair to say we’ve confirmed a few things about this team, its coach, and its manager in these 13 games. They’re still without a stable, dependable leader that carries a hockey stick designed for shooting. There’s a powerful disconnect between the coach and the most important players. Added to that, the manager still has misguided expectations for established players. Round and round we go.

That being said, my opinion of Ruff at the end of the 2008-2009 season was as low as it has ever been. My position was that he seemed incapable of motivating this group of players to the point where they would consistently play up to their collective potential. So for progress to be made either Ruff had to be let go or a number of players would need to be replaced. When neither happened, my understanding of the flaws in this team suggested that next year wouldn’t be much better than the last.

Two significant developments occurred that I did not account for or predict: Tyler Myers’ impact and Ryan Miller’s ascension to superstar status. The Sabres gathered 9 more points in the 2009-2010 season than they were able to in 2008-2009. Miller and Myers must receive the bulk of the credit for that improvement.

But overall the Sabres are a more consistent team this year than they were last year too. They have a better record against the bottom feeders and I want to give Lindy Ruff some of the credit for that. Hecht and Tallinder had bounce-back years which should hopefully disabuse you of the notion that once players fall from grace under LR they’re incapable of restoring their careers in Buffalo.

Here’s the thing: Lindy Ruff has a tremendous relationship with the media in this town. Ruff offers frank, candid answers to their questions and for that, among other reasons that everyone including fans are exposed to, they respect him a great deal.

Despite this, fans and critics name forwards like Stafford and Vanek and wonder out loud why players of this kind seem to underachieve under Lindy Ruff. How long is this list of failed goal scorers? Chronologically it goes something like: MacArthur, Paille, Afinogenov, Pyatt, and these are just the most recent ones.

Of course very few prospects are going to fulfill their potential and establish a noteworthy role on this or any other NHL team, but it’s a troubling trend for forwards in Buffalo. Ruff needs to recover some of these players when they slump before it becomes a crisis and a lost season. As positive of a regular season as the Sabres had this year, some specific players were just miserable — some regressed badly.

And then there were the playoffs. I think Ruff was completely out-coached by Claude Jullien. By the way, Jullien, for what it’s worth, is no slouch. He’s won everywhere he’s been. But by any standard, Ruff had the more talented team and he was eliminated in six. Ruff doesn’t have the puck on his stick but someway, somehow, he needed to find a way to get his most talented scorers going.

What could he have done?

I would have tried putting Torres with players like Pominville, Connolly and Roy. I mean, Torres, what a nightmare his time here has been. I don’t think he was even given a fair chance. Ruff mentioning off hand that Torres came to Buffalo out of shape certainly started things out on the wrong foot. Then he got injured and he never even sniffed the scoring lines again. Wasn’t he brought in to score goals more consistently than what MacArthur was able to do for this team? He’s a bigger player who looked tough to push off the puck. I think we can all agree Pom-Con especially could have used a little more space to operate with the puck this series. Why not try Torres on the powerplay? I know this is all after the fact but I think Ruff mishandled Torres badly and he may have been able to help this team.

Ruff’s relationship with his players has always been tenuous. On one hand, he reveals that Torres, a professional athlete, has been out of shape. On the other hand, he blames the referees for costing the Sabres game-2 instead of making note that his highest paid scorers have been absolute fucking ghosts. Jag your players publicly one day then direct the spotlight elsewhere another after the lights justifiably got hot, I don’t follow.

I thought the Sabres looked unprepared to counter Boston’s game-plan in game-3 which was obviously to finish all checks and be aggressive. I thought the Sabres failure to twice protect a 2-goal lead against an offensively challenged team was telling. I thought the attention the coaching staff gave to the Sabres powerplay did more harm than good.

Ruff has always had this mystical reputation as a great playoff coach. He developed that by his ability to unify the troops, inspire them so as to maintain a high level of play, and eliminate the production of his opponents top forward line during even-strength play. The underdog Bruins presented an opponent unlike any we’ve seen a Ruff team play against. Ruff made his bones in coaching as an underdog creating hell for favorites. Ruff’s teams were beaten by superior talent, never by being outworked. That’s why he’s been immortal all these years. Ruff created diamonds when he exhaled over coal in the playoffs.

Just to be clear, Ruff’s job is safe and so is Regier’s. Don’t kid yourself. I think it’s fair to question their performance but the indisputable fact of the matter is that the two of them are each in the top quarter of the league in terms of ability to do their jobs and do it well. Their strengths greatly, greatly, outweigh their faults.

My greatest concern with Ruff is that this latest disappointing season with this group of players may have taken a lot out of him. The frustration has to be building. He hasn’t won a championship. That has to torment him. Hopefully he’s still got the fire. The day he stops believing in these players and his ability to make them better — to push them to the top — is the day his marriage to the Sabres needs to end.

We love what that team stood for and we kind of immortalize that season as one of the best ever. That Sabres team had a very recognizable never-give-up attitude and it was easy to get behind a young, scrappy group of overachievers who all seemed to have something to prove.

The personnel on this Sabres team is obviously very different from that one but collectively, they share some important characteristics. I don’t think it’s coincidence and I think you all know where this is going. Let’s say the following together now: Lin-dy-Ruff. Lindy Ruff, people. He deserves more than a little recognition for what has happened this year. I’m guilty too of not really mentioning him name here in quiet some time. I definitely take him for granted.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s no question Miller has been fantastic. He has worked hard to become the player we recognize him as and has fully grown into the professional game, learning to work the angles and understand what passing lanes are his responsibility and those of the defensemen’s. He deserves all the credit and praise that’s been showered upon him. Tyler Myers has been tremendous too. He’s the best player on the Sabres aside from Miller. The point I’m trying to make though is that the manner in which this Sabres team plays, specifically the way they have been able to grind out wins all season long, speaks to Lindy Ruff and the leadership on this team who support and promote his message. Rivet gets it, Grier gets it, and so do many of the older vets like Tallinder, Lydman and Hecht. These guys all sell out during their shifts on the penalty kill. They might not block shots with their teeth like Drury and Mckee did on that ’05-’06 team but they’re hustling, getting their sticks in passing lanes, and just playing smart. They’re certainly not the most talented players on the team but they provide a pretty great example of how Lindy Ruff likes his skaters to play.

If we’ve learned anything this seasons it’s that this Sabres team is a frustrating group of players to compete against. I cheer for them but I’m not blind. I know Miller has bailed them out and that they won more than a couple 2-1 games that they probably shouldn’t have but so what? Miller is on this team. What’s the point of speculating how they’d play without him? The Sabres, of course, do not feature a reliable offensive superstar but they have a few forwards who seemed to score a handful of goals every month. Couple that with the occasional goal the Sabres got from the checkers and defensemen and the Sabres more often than not had enough goal support to beat just about anyone. They did enough to win and were able to win consistently.

The playoffs should be a lot of fun. Anyone that’s dismissing the Sabres should have their head examined. Every team in the East is flawed and vulnerable against the right team. I could go on to list a dozen "if" statements but I’ll leave that to the "experts" or your imagination, whichever you prefer.

Everyone that cares about hockey even just a little knows that anything can happen in the playoffs. The most unlikely upsets occur every year. A team can get hot and burn through the most formidable opponent making them look like a JV team in the process. By all means, have expectations but keep in mind the extremes on either side of the playoff spectrum.

Me? I’m confident in the Sabres for a lot of reasons but the two in particular are Miller and Ruff. LR is a tremendous playoff coach and Miller is Miller. With those two on my side, I say bring on anyone. But even though I’m confident, I’m not pinning any expectations on this team. I think that would be a mistake.

Anything can happen. I can’t help but think that as far as the Sabres are concerned, this is a good thing.

I once read him describe Evgeni Malkin in a way that really made an impression on me. I don’t care enough to look through all the archives and find the specific article. It would just take too long. I also don’t want to paraphrase what he wrote because I simply wouldn’t be able to give his insight proper justice. I just want to acknowledge his words as inspiration for what I’m about to say with regards to Thomas Vanek.

I should preface by mentioning that I think Vanek is a tremendous scoring talent. He has great instincts around the opponents net and that, mixed with his considerable balance and strength, often allows him to get in great scoring position. He is a deceptively effective inside scorer. Further, he has outstanding hand-eye coordination and what I would consider to be an above-average shot. Few players have Vanek’s combination of stick skills, strength, and offensive instincts. It is why he’s such a great finisher.

The concern with Vanek, in my eyes, has always been his even-strength play. At the start of his career, his effort wasn’t good enough to be a quality defender in his own zone. I’ve come to realize though, that his physical attributes do not translate well into what is necessary to be a great defender in this league. He’s not a very quick or agile skater and has always struggled to make smart defensive reads. Vanek is not built or programed to ever be a defensive-minded forward. All he and the Sabres can do is try and manage his weaknesses in the defensive zone.

You know what, that’s fine. He’s playing with four other skaters that can balance the line. Unlike, Jason Spezza, who plays center for the Senators and similarly struggles as a defender, Vanek isn’t as much of a liability defensively because he’s plays on the wing. The biggest problem that’s inhibiting Vanek from becoming the elite, superstar player and scorer that everyone in western New York believes he can be, in my opinion, is his inability to consistently create his own scoring opportunities.

Which brings me back to Buccigross and his thoughts on Malkin’s effectiveness as a power forward. He, Malkin, like Vanek, is not a very agile skater with modest defensive instincts. Still, he’s a dynamic scorer on both the powerplay and during even-strength play. Malkin is a difference maker and most would argue is one of the top five talents, with regards to his position, in the NHL. Malkin is built like Vanek and they both share many of the same strengths. They differ primarily in that Malkin is better at carrying the puck. This is what I find difficult to explain. Why can’t Vanek assert himself as a similarly dangerous playmaker and scorer while rushing with the puck as Malkin? Why is Vanek so ineffective with the puck when he’s trying to beat a defender one-on-one?

Vanek takes long strides, so it’s difficult to get a perspective on how fast he’s skating. People often misinterpret his staking style as a lack of effort, which is not the case. Given that he primarily takes long, powerful strides, he must be made to understand that he will be unable to stickhandle around NHL defenders like some of the other forwards that are quicker and more shifty on their skates. Vanek seems to try to beat defenders the same way that Max Afinogenov does. Which is why he fails so often.

On the flip side, if you watch Evgeni Malkin play, he first priority is to protect the puck while on a rush. Then, with a combination of speed and strength, he gets the defender is out of position. Currently, on the Sabres, Stafford is the most like Malkin in this way. Vanek does not use his strength and speed to protect the puck. Consequently, he is easily poke-checked and is rendered essentially to a one dimensional player. As it stands right now, Vanek is a finisher only. It’s a shame because early in his career when the NHL was a much more open game, he showed great promise as a playmaker. The game has changed, certainly. That doesn’t mean, however, that Vanek’s effectiveness is limited in the new NHL. He just needs to evolve into the type of player that Malkin has become.

Obviously, Vanek’s opportunities are greatest while on the powerplay. He takes advantage of a large percentage of those chances, too. It’s easy to carry on and on about Vanek’s talent as a finisher. The hope is that the Sabres can maximize the number of scoring opportunities Vanek gets each game, right? Playing him often while on the powerplay is one way to get him opportunities. As far as even-strength play, the Sabres would be foolish to rely soly on Stafford, Roy, Connolly, or whomever to create scoring chances for Vanek. His linemates may be decent players, but they’re not on the same talent level as Vanek. He has superstar potential. And his effectiveness should not be directly tied to that of his linemates.

Think of any superstar, in any league, at any level. As a superstar, they may need and use their teammates to achieve that status but they still, clearly, rely on their own talent to create opportunities for themselves and for others. In the defensive and neutral zones, where opportunities start in hockey, Vanek has never been a positive factor. Conversely, Malkin is a threat, always, when he carries the puck into the offensive zone.

This is my greatest concern with the Sabres’ coaching staff: that they will mismanage Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek, both of whose style of play certainly does not fit nicely into the defensive system that Lindy Ruff has been trying to instill on his team the last two seasons. I wonder if any of the coaches know how to properly use and mentor either of those players.

The bottom line is that Vanek needs to stop using his stick skills when trying to beat defenders. He should use his size to protect the puck and his speed and strength to beat defenders like Malkin does. Vanek is a creative player; it’s in the best interest of the team for him to have the puck as often as possible. Right now, he is a very nonthreatening presence whenever he rushes with the puck. It’s up to the coaching staff and Vanek to change that. Isn’t it strange how infrequently Vanek is even noticed until he scores? And don’t you think he would be able to finish his opportunities more consistently if he were more involved in the game and in control of the puck more often?

There’s no doubt Vanek will work as hard as he needs to in order to maximize his potential. He strikes me as a highly motivated player. I’m just concerned with how well he fits into the coaching staff’s plans. The Sabres management is committed to the future of Vanek but I’m unsure as to whether the coaching staff can really take advantage of the scoring potential that the offensive-minded Vanek undeniably has boat-loads of.

The thing is, no one has a bigger audience as a hockey commentator – print, radio, television, or otherwise – in Western New York than Bucky Gleason. I feel ridiculous asking this, but has he forgotten who his readership consists of? Why, as a columnist for the Buffalo News, would you want to provoke Buffalo sports fans? I don’t understand. I’m sure he’s working through the mountains of hate mail he’s surely accumulated over the past couple days. If you haven’t read this article yet, don’t.

Here’s the problem: He doesn’t seem to have a good perspective on the thoughts of Buffalo sports fans. He’s a columnist and obviously is paid to share his opinions. That’s fine; I’m a reader of the Buffalo News and a Sabres fan and I share my opinions in this space. Right now my opinion is that lately he’s not been very good at his job.

I don’t really want to get into the Buffalo Bills and the relationship they have with their fans, but the idea that someone in my hometown paper calling the fans of my beloved hockey team soft is both insulting and just plain ignorant.

I’m not quite sure how Bucky Gleason can say something like, “Buffalo fans have lowered their standards and settled for mediocrity,” based on season ticket renewal rate (80 percent). Every Sabres fan I’ve spoken with is upset over the current standing of the team. People want change. No one wants to go into next year’s season with the same group of people. Season ticket renewal rate has more to do with Sabres fan’s dedication to their team than their willingness to accept status quo.

I’ve used this comparison before, but hockey to Buffalo is like what basketball is to New York. It’s essential. The passion people in Buffalo have for hockey and the Sabres has always been strong (and could be growing but the truth is I’m not old enough to be able to suggest that). If you want to get technical though, comparing the fan attendance before and after the Arena was opened is, in my opinion, like comparing apples and oranges. The Aud was a dump and the Arena is a state of the art facility. Let’s face it, hockey games at the Arena have to be considered some of the best nighttime entertainment the area has to offer and that makes a difference. The Sabres have and always will sell out the Arena so long as management produces a decent team with marketable stars.

The exception was during the 2001-2004 stretch after Hasek was traded and the owner ran into legal troubles. The Sabres were financially handcuffed and as a result could no longer fully commit to winning. That period in the Sabres history can’t really be compared to any other era. That’s why I just laugh when people try and use the stat of Ruff and Regier missing the playoffs five of the last seven years to justify their firing. In my opinion, you can’t include those years on either Ruff or Regier’s resume when ownership (or in that case lack-there-of) was failing to give them the resources to succeed. Fans recognized that and although attendance suffered badly, we remained faithful to both Ruff and Regier because they already proved to be great at their jobs.

As for the fan attendance prior to the Ruff/Regier era, consider that the Sabres hadn’t reached the conference finals since 1979-1980 and finished better than 3^rd in the division only five times during that same span (an 18 year period) before those two took over. That’s pathetic. It’s no wonder that attendence was sporadic. Those teams in the ‘80s and early ‘90s collectively stunk. Why would people want to pay to sit in a crummy building and watch a bad team with management that had proven to be inept at producing a winner?

But it is true that in this era, Sabres fans have more faith in their team than ever before. Fans have faith in Lindy Ruff’s ability to motivate and teach. Fans have faith in Darcy Regier’s ability to evaluate talent. Fans have faith in Ryan Miller and the honest players on this team.

The people of Buffalo seem to recognize that they have a better shot than ever before to be witness to a Stanley Cup winner. This is a new age and the Sabres have proven to consistently be a organization where talent emerges and success can be had. The Sabres have a couple things going for them aside from Ruff and Regier: The current Arena providing a terrific fan experience, the influx of youth leagues within the area raising the importance of the Sabres within the community, and the progress of the technology and the Internet helping to build a stronger more stable fan base.

Above it all is the fact that the people of Buffalo love hockey. Just wait until the television ratings for the playoffs become public. Buffalo is always one of the strongest markets in the country despite its smaller size. Is it that hard to see how the Sabres managed to get an 80 percent season ticket renewal rate? From my vantage point, it’s not that hard to understand. This management team hasn’t yet proved to be incompetent at building a winner. As it stands right now they’re only two seasons removed from the President Trophy and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Maybe if this were a town like Tampa Bay or Raleigh, the Arena would be empty. But this is Buffalo and I’m proud of the fact that this isn’t a community of bandwagon hockey fans. Things don’t always work out as managers and owners expect them to work out in sports. Mistakes have been made, fans know it and we’re upset about it, but there’s still plenty of reason to hope. And when it comes to season ticket renewal time in Buffalo, that’s all we need.

The Sabres have a defensive system in place where they try to mix young developing defenseman with cerebral older veterans. If you look back, you see it in every Sabres team since Lindy Ruff’s been coaching here. The Sabres prefer a quick skating, puck control type of defense. It works well if you have the right players. But the effectiveness of this defense is also directly dependent on the forwards and defenseman playing within the system.

That means that the players need to play with a lot of effort. The Sabres win when they play harder than other teams. That’s fine, I’m confident with Lindy Ruff’s ability to motivate his players but this is the National Hockey League, everyone is literally a professional. As an organization, you can’t expect your professional team to outwork every other professional team in order to win games.

There’s been a lot of talk around Western New York about lack of effort from the hometown team. Some say Lindy Ruff may have lost some of the players in the Sabres dressing room. I say BS. I think this defensive unit, and by extension, this team, is in a transitional period that is unlike any we’ve seen before from a Regier/Ruff team.

I noticed something in the Tuesday night Ottawa win that I haven’t seen from this team in a long time. Think back to when there was about seven minutes left in the third period and Ottawa was pushing for the tying goal. Ottawa was bringing pressure and the Sens’ forwards were swatting at Miller’s pads, trying to chip in an easy goal. The Sabres had been outplayed the entire third period. While Miller was trying to secure the puck, Craig Rivet absolutely bull-dozed two Ottawa players out of the crease, one with each arm. Rivet just overpowered the Senators with strength and aggression. It was the kind of aggression that leaves a memorable impression for opposing players. A scrum ensued and Rivet proceeded to announce to any opposing player within arms reach that he was not very pleased at the overall complacency and lack of respect Ottawa was showing his team. Now they know that if they want to take shots at Miller, there’s a tole that has to be paid and Craig Rivet will not forget to collect.

If there is one disturbing weakness that the Buffalo defensive unit has had over the years, it is their physical game. In particular, the physical play in front of their own net. In particular, the physical play in front of their own net during the playoffs. Sometimes you just need to have bigger and stronger guys on your team. There was no one bigger or stronger on the ice Tuesday night than Craig Rivet. He’ll always be there to test you, asking, do you really want it that bad because if you do, I’m going to punish you in the process.

It was a statement from a man still trying to earn his stripes on this team. But really, with further play like that, just hand this guy the keys. The Sabres saw it, the fans saw it, and you can bet that everyone wearing Ottawa jersey saw it. He’s already the captain and now we’re learning why. This is the guy that Jaroslav Spacek was supposed to be when they signed him in the ’06 summer and the guy that the Sabres have been missing on this team for years: a tough, gritty, passionate defenseman.

Any team worth discussing in this league has a clear and obvious advantage playing at home. Being consistently good at home is always part of the foundation with which every great team is built upon. And the best way to get victories at home is to create a dependable defensive unit.

Winning teams have identities on defense, often inspired by one or more standout players. Think about Detroit. Nick Lidstrom is a standout defenseman. He skates well, he’s smart with the puck and no one is better at positioning themselves in the defensive zone. That team and that defense, has an identity and it’s lead by Lidstrom.

Think about Chara in Boston or Phaneuf in Calgary and now Campbell in Chicago. Those teams win and are particularly successful at home with those guys dictating the tone of the game. Those players always have an effect on the outcome of their games.

Rivet will never be as dynamic of a player as the aforementioned. The guy’s 34 years old. But I like what he brings to the Sabres. He’s a difference maker and I wouldn’t mind seeing if the Sabres could pair up Mike Weber with Rivet in the future.

Sometimes I feel like the Sabres marquee players are sometimes afraid to battle with teams when they don’t have any competitive energy or physical support. A guy like Craig Rivet gives the Sabres both of those things.

Don’t believe me? Well, check out the following numbers. The Sabres record is 13-7-2 when Rivet is in the line-up this year. They are 7-8-3 when he’s not in the lineup. At home, the Sabres are 8-3-1 with Rivet in the line-up. The three losses came against Ottawa early in the season, Columbus when Lalime let in 4 goals on the first 8 shots he faced, and against Philadelphia later in November. With Rivet out of the line-up, at home, the Sabres are just 3-6-1.

After Rivet’s play, with 6:33 to play in the third, the Senators who up until that point had thrown 9 shots on net, managed only two more for the rest of the game.