I posed 10 questions to Tim Redinger, Buffalo Sabres blogger on Sabrenoise FanSided blog, and asked him 10 questions about the Sabres off-season and upcoming 2009/2010 season.
SenShot: What are some of the camp battles that are expected in Buffalo? Who are some rookies to watch for?
Sabrenoise: I don’t think there are going to be many battles this year. Look for pretty much the same team to hit the ice as we have seen in the past couple of years – minus the obvious changes. The Sabres have really only added on a one for one basis, lose a guy replace a guy. Nothing spectacular. With losing Andrew Peters the Sabres are going to be needing a tough guy – but your not going to see too many guys displaced because of training camp activities.
SenShot: Who is the most overrated player on the roster?
Sabrenoise: The most overrated player on the roster in my mind is Jochen Hecht. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, but since the departure of Drury and Briere this guy has not been the same. He does well on a team that can roll three lines any given night. Yes, he does carry the Olympian status, but hell, hes from Germany, bein able to skate gets you on their Olympic squad.
SenShot: Who is the most underrated player on the roster?
Sabrenoise: I think the most underrated player is Drew Stafford. I think the kid has a lot of potential and put on the right team with the right chemistry his numbers get even better.
SenShot: Who is your all-time favorite Buffalo Sabre?
Sabrenoise: My favorite all time player – I loved the goaltender position, and was always a fan of Don Edwards. He played all of his games prior to my being able to know and understand what hockey was, I was born in 1982, the year he left Buffalo and six years before he left hockey – but his name has always stuck in my head as a favorite player.
Senshot: If the Coyotes moved to Hamilton how would this effect hockey in Buffalo?
Sabrenoise: The move from Pheonix to Hamilton would hurt the Sabres more than the Leafs. Buffalo has not felt the recession that much because we were in one well before the rest of the country. If we lose Hamilton as a primary market, it is going to hurt at the box office.
SenShot: If you were GM of the Sabres what one player would be untouchable, who would you trade and what move would you make?
Sabrenoise: If I were GM for a day for the Sabres, no one would be untouchable, because I would always want whats best for the club. For the sake of argument though, Ryan Miller would be the safest guy in my locker room, because you have to have the goaltender to get anything done. I would want to make some moves to get the Sabres back to where they were just out of the lockout, the team that is going to skate you into the ground because they can roll three lines. I would bundle Hecht, Roy, and Sekera together and bring in a Sheldon Souray (Edmonton) or a Mike Green (Washington).
SenShot: How serious was Buffalo in acquiring Mr. Heatley?
Sabrenoise: I don’t think the Sabres looked to much into the Healty situation because of the salary cap issue – and the asking price. The Sabres were not going to give up a much Ottawa would have asked. I think they watched it curiously, because they should have been interested a great deal – but just hard enough to see if the price dropped enough where they would have felt comfortable paying it.
SenShot: Should the Sabers attempt to pickup Briere or Drury? If so which one would you want.
Sabrenoise: I actually just did a post on Mike Grier coming back might be greasing the skids for Drury to come back. Supposedly the Sabres offered the same deal but he chose the Rangers over the Sabres, but I think both sides are realizing the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I personally would not want either of them back.
SenShot: The Sabres will make the playoffs if …
Sabrenoise: The Sabres will make the playoffs if…well I could go on forever here, but to keep it short and sweet, they need to be able to roll four lines again, and get a backup goaltender. A lot of work to do in one or two seasons.
SenShot: The Sabres will miss the playoffs if …
Sabrenoise: The Sabres will miss the playoffs..if they continue to operate under the ruse of “we think the team we have is the team we can win with”. Its obvisously not working with these guys, and as long as they continue to think that way, they are going to keep missing out on playing hockey in April.