TIM'S TAKE: Leafs keep swinging big — and missing » Sabres

Sabres

October 30, 2009

TIM'S TAKE: Leafs keep swinging big — and missing

By Tim Schmitt The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Fri Oct 30, 2009, 11:01 PM EDT

BUFFALO — Thumbing through the coaches handbook for the quintessential example of a bad turnover?

Toronto’s Niklas Hagman had just the thing for you Friday night.

Hagman’s incredible momentum-swinging pass midway through the second period was the kind of play bad teams suffer through on a nightly basis, and was perfectly representative of the National Hockey League’s richest — and worst — franchise.

Hagman had a teammate driving to the net and another trailing the play with the score tied at 1-1. The safe play was to hit the net, hoping the commotion in front of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller would be enough to create a rebound.

Instead, Hagman looked back, and made what proved to be an errant pass, right on the stick of Jason Pominville. In what seemed like a second, Pominville found Tim Connolly breaking down the middle.

What seemed like another second passed, and Connolly calmly deposited the puck behind Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson to give Buffalo the lead.

It’s indicative of a team that garners the most fan support — and has the fewest points through 11 games.

The Leafs keep looking for the big play, keep throwing dollars at a problem that could have long ago been solved by adhering to a simple plan of building young talent and being critical of their development.

Hagman’s nine points in 10 games nearly justify his $3 million salary, but combing through the rest of the Leafs’ payroll, you wonder what the team’s braintrust has been sipping.

Mike Komisarek — still scoreless in 11 starts and a minus-6 — was the team’s big free-agent signing, and is Toronto’s highest paid player. Vesa Toskala, who rakes in a cool $4 million, is nailed to the bench with a 5.57 goals against average. Jeff Finger and his nearly $4 million salary spent Friday in the press box, a healthy scratch for the third straight contest.

Truth be told, the Sabres weren’t the better team on Friday. Tyler Myers had his worst game as a Sabre, showing nerves and freshman mistakes we expected to see weeks ago. Another young defenseman, Chris Butler, wasn’t his silky smooth self.

But give the Sabres credit — they haven’t wavered from their mantra of finding good young players and letting them develop. When fans clamored for high-priced free agents over the summer, Darcy Regier stood firm, believing his young team was ready to ripen.

Although Friday’s 3-2 overtime win wasn’t much of an indication, it looks like he was right.

Good teams beat bad teams, even on their off-nights.

Friday was clearly one of those. The Leafs controlled the play late, outshooting the hosts 16-5 in the third, often skating circles around a team that looked surprisingly tired despite a light schedule.

Toronto even got the equalizer, getting a well-deserved point.

But two years into the Brian Burke regime, the same problems seem prevalent. The Leafs keep snubbing mid-level free agents and hoping that July 1 splashes will make the difference.

So far, they haven’t.

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.

Text Only

Sabres

Sabres sign Sulzer to one-year deal
The Buffalo Sabres rewarded Alexander Sulzer on Monday, signing him to a one-year, $725,000 contract.

May 21, 2012
Staying put
Quickly putting aside the disappointment of missing the playoffs, the Buffalo Sabres are already turning their focus to how to improve next season.

April 11, 2012 1 Photo
What went wrong?
The Associated Press

April 9, 2012 1 Photo
Sabres playoff hopes vanish
Matt Read and Marc-Andre Bourdon each scored goals to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 win Thursday night over Buffalo that eliminated the Sabres from a postseason spot.

April 5, 2012 1 Photo
Never too late for Sabres
Derek Roy scored a power-play goal at 3:29 of overtime to cap a frantic comeback that kept the Buffalo Sabres’ playoff hopes firmly alive with a 6-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

April 3, 2012 1 Photo
Crosby sparks Pens past Sabres
Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins’ mini-slump and slowing the Sabres’ late-season surge.

March 30, 2012 1 Photo
Sabres lose D Christian Ehrhoff to knee injury
Injuries played a contributing role in the Buffalo Sabres’ midseason swoon. And the Sabres are going to have to deal with them again if they intend to complete a late-season playoff push.

March 28, 2012 1 Photo
Dynamic turnaround
The thinking went like this: Drew Stafford, fresh off a breakout offensive campaign, was a cinch for another big season. After all, the Sabres winger tallied 31 times in only 62 games last year.

March 28, 2012 1 Photo
Sabres beat Caps, move into 8th
With a magnificent performance on the road in a pivotal late-season game, the surging Buffalo Sabres took another huge step in their charge to the playoffs.

March 28, 2012
Slow start, big finish
The Buffalo Sabres’ slow start and big finish in a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night reflects how their season has gone.

March 25, 2012 1 Photo
More Sabres Headlines

Sabres

Search Results

TIM'S TAKE: Leafs keep swinging big — and missing

Site Map

Contact Us