Front office continuity and success in the annual Entry Draft were just two of the reasons the Buffalo Sabres finished third overall in The Hockey News’ annual franchise rankings. The Sabres trailed only the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins in the rankings that were based on objective, statistical factors that take into account both past and present performance. (The article is attached as a PDF)
The complete rankings and story appear in the June 13 issue of The Hockey News that is on newsstands now.
All 30 NHL teams were graded in nine categories: Front Office, Regular Season, Future Watch, Playoffs, Draft Success, Franchise Value, Ownership, 2010-11 Standings and Attendance. Each category was assigned a maximum point value a team could earn, concentrating primarily on seasons spanning from 2006-07 through this year. Detroit led all teams with a final total of 131.7, followed by Pittsburgh (120.7), Buffalo (114.4), San Jose (113.8) and Anaheim (111.0).
Continue reading ‘Sabres Finish Third In Hockey News’ Franchise Rankings’
News broke yesterday via the social media that NBA basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is retiring after a legendary 18-year career. Since then, a host of athletes and coaches have chimed in on O’Neal, including a former Buffalo Bills receiver that crossed paths with him before either went on to professional stardom— Eric Moulds.
Check out the picture (left) of a very young Moulds and O’Neal. According to Moulds, the story goes that while O’Neal was already a star on the LSU basketball team in 1991, Moulds was being recruited to the school for football and O’Neal was part of that recruiting team.
Moulds ended up going to Mississippi State, where he played for three seasons before joining the Bills in 1996.
(Photo courtesy of Eric Moulds)
Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today that defenseman Mark Pysyk has signed a three-year entry level contract. Pysyk (pronounced Pess-ick) was selected 23rd overall by Buffalo in the 2010 Entry Draft.
“Mark is a very intelligent hockey player who has played in all situations in junior,” said Regier. “He is a very strong skater with good puck moving abilities, and is developing into a very solid two-way defenseman.”
Pysyk (6’2”, 182 lbs., 1/11/1992) rebounded from a foot injury in his draft year to post career highs in games played (63), points (40), assists (34) and plus/minus (+29) this season with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. The right-handed shooting Pysyk was named team captain last season, and led all Edmonton defensemen in scoring. Entering the 2010 Entry Draft, Pysyk was ranked seventh among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Continue reading ‘Sabres Sign 2010 First Rounder Mark Pysyk’
Roughly a year ago, former Niagara Falls high school standout Jonny Flynn appeared well on his way toward NBA stardom. The Minnesota Timberwolves starting point guard averaged 13.5 points and 4.4 assists per game his first season in the league and bigger things seemed imminent with another year of experience. It was even plausable that it’d be just a matter of time before he joined Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo in the conversation among the league’s elite point guards.
A flip of the calendar later and Flynn is almost certain to be suiting up for a new team before he begins his third season next fall.
Sources have told Yahoo Sports that star prospect Ricky Rubio has committed to leaving Spain and joining the Timberwolves for the 2011-12 season. Combine Rubio’s arrival with Flynn’s decline this past season, in part due to injury and also head coach Kurt Rambis’ decline in confidence, and it’s a near certainty Flynn will be traded sometime this summer.
Continue reading ‘Jonny Flynn Could Be On His Way Out Of Minnesota’
Brian Moorman will undoubtedly go down as the greatest punter in Buffalo Bills history. The undrafted free agent out of Pittsburg State has been mostly spectacular throughout his 10-year career; punting 975 times for 33,705 yards and drilling 221 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Did you know that the Bills have only drafted four punters in the history of the franchise? The first punter the team ever took was Brian Doherty from Notre Dame, who was selected in the ninth round of the 1974 draft.
The other three punters to be drafted by Buffalo were Greg Carter (1980), John Kidd (1984) and John Nies (1990). Kidd had a prolific NFL career (for a punter). The other two—not so much.
Now that the dust of the 2011 Draft has settled, it’s time to analyze the current state of Buffalo’s roster. We’ll be taking a look at one position at a time. Today: TE.
Oh boy…here’s a potential problem. Tight end continues to be a prepetual problem for Buffalo, as the Bills have not had a truly productive tight end in years. 2010 was no different, as the foursome of Jonathan Stupar, Scott Chandler, David Martin, and Shawn Nelson combined for an uninspiring 23 receptions, 187 yards, and 1 touchdown.
The Bills responded by not tendering Stupar a contract before the lockout started – meaning chances are good he won’t be back. Then the team went ahead and did nothing to upgrade the position via the draft. Here’s who’s left.
Players Under Contract (4): Shawn Nelson, Scott Chandler, David Martin, Mike Caussin
Possibly Departing Free Agents: Jonathan Stupar
Continue reading ‘Buffalo Bills Post-Draft Roster Analysis: Tight End’
Tim Graham, ESPN AFC East blogger has an excellent piece about how the NFL lockout is affecting more than just the players and owners. His article titled “Faces of Lockout: Hangout for Bills fans” is a highly recommended read.
Buffalo Rumbling’s Matt Rich Warren has an article about Buffalo Bills players Brian Moorman and David Nelson helping out residents in Joplin, Missouri following tornadoes that ravaged the area last month.
As I’m sure you know by now, the Bills will officially unveil their new uniforms at a Uniform Launch event at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Friday, June 24.
Bills.com has an article that will give you plenty of insight on Bills seventh-round draft pick Michael Jasper.
Continue reading ‘The Daily Links – June 2, 2011′
