HockeyRhetoric

I usually find time to read John Buccigross’ column . He has a way of articulating his feelings and observations in sports that is not unlike Bill Simmons’ style of writing. Although I don’t always agree with what Buccigross says, he’s always interesting.

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. » Read the rest of this entry «

I pretty much hate having to write about this right now. I hate that I felt strongly enough about Bucky Gleason’s flimsy take on the Ruff/Regier situation that I had to actually criticize him for it on this site. I hate that the playoffs are being played right now and I have to take time out of my day to actually address an unrelated column he wrote yesterday.

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. » Read the rest of this entry «

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. » Read the rest of this entry «