THE RETURN OF TIM CONNOLLY AND THE D.R.R., AND RUMORS IN PORTLAND

No one is happier than this girl to not only see this face again, but to see it bearing a grin.

Alright. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way… Seeing as how Timmmmaaaay is returning tomorrow night, I thought it might be interesting to examine his case.

If you asked me if I could sum up Connolly’s career in one word, I’d chose unfortunate, the definition of which states that it is something marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune. Tim Connolly is incredibly gifted and is a fantastic hockey player, but the poor guy has had more injuries that I can count.

The serious ones began back in his junior year, while playing down the 90 in Erie, with the Otters. In the 1998-99 season, Connolly broke his leg during a game, resulting in a rod being placed in his tibia.

This injury hardly affected his draft status, as the New York Islanders took him fifth overall that year. Despite just coming off of his broken leg, Connolly made the team out of camp. He played 81 games in his rookie season, recording only 10 goals, but snagging 20 assists for 34 points on the year. Not too shabby for a rookie, especially in the Old NHL, but more would definitely be expected of a first-round pick.

In his sophomore season, Connolly appeared in all 82 games, this time posting 10 goals, but 31 assists, improving his points total to a high 41.

The summer after that season, Tim was attending the high school graduation of his younger twin sisters, Caitlin and Shannon. Their graduation coincided with the second day of the NHL Entry Draft. Connolly admitted being excited, due to NYI’s acquisition of Alexei Yashin and Chris Osgood, and since the first day is usually when the wheeling and dealing occurs, he was completely shocked when GM Mike Milbury called–during the ceremony–to tell him that he and Taylor Pyatt had been sent packing to Buffalo, in exchange for Mike Peca.

So, Connolly suited up in the red and black. In his first season for the Sabres, Connolly again played all 82 games, but struggled to produce, improving on his previous totals, but hardly significantly. He scored 10 goals again, and tallied 35 assists, heightening his points total by four to 45.

In his fourth career season–second with the Sabres–Connolly severly underachieved, only netting 12 goals and 13 assists, for 25 points. Tim appeared in 80 games, and only missed the last two of the season due to a suspension, warranted due to swinging a stick at an opponent.

At this point in time, Tim looked reliable, at least health-wise. He was one of the leading Iron Men in the league, playing over 300 straight games (I believe he had a run of over 320, but I can’t find the exact number, and I think that put him at third in the rank).

But it all went downhill from there.

In the preseason of the 2003-2004 season, the Sabres were playing an exhibition game against the Chicago Blackhawks. This is what Tim had to say:

I took a mid-ice, shoulder-to-head hit with Scott Nichol from the Blackhawks. It was a clean hit, but I had just taken a shot, so I was in a vulnerable position where I couldn’t really brace myself. I didn’t get knocked out, I skated to the bench, but I was out of it. My legs gave out a little bit. I had never suffered a concussion before, but it was one of those situations where it wouldn’t go away. It took more than six months before my head was clear and I was able to work out and get back in the swing of things. (From ESPN.com)

Needless to say, as I’m sure you’re all well aware, Tim missed that entire season.

Cue the lockout. Tim opted to play in Switzerland, with HC Lugano. There, he played 16 games, had seven goals and three assists. His stay in Europe was cut short, though, due to a knee injury.

So Tim returned to New York, and rehabbed his knee to be sure that it would be ready for the upcoming NHL season.

In 2005-2006, Connolly was limited to 63 games in the regular season, due to a controversial knee injury. This happened when Darius Kasparaitis, then of the New York Rangers, checked Connolly low, causing him to miss time. In this season, though, Connolly recorded 16 goals and 39 assists, combining for 55 points, career highs across the board. At this point in time, he was registering .87 points per game. Hardly anything to sneeze at.

In his first playoff appearance, Connolly only played in 8 games, but registered five goals and six assists for 11 points, which would be 1.375 points per game. He did not conclude the Sabres’ playoff push with them, though, because he suffered a second concussion, thanks to a vicious, but clean, hit, from the Ottawa Senators’ Peter Schaefer, now with the Boston Bruins.

Because of problems thought to be related to his second concussion, Connolly sat out all but the last two games of the 2006-2007 season. In those last two games, he recorded one goal.

In the playoffs that year, though, Tim played 16 games, recording nine assists.

On to the 2007-2008 season. Connolly struggled throughout the year with bone spurs in his hip, which eventually required surgery. He suited up for only 48 games, scoring only seven goals, adding 33 helpers, but in the end only posted 40 points. Obviously more is needed from Connolly, whose points per game total for the season then sat at .83.

Thus far this season, Connolly has had fractured vertebrae and a broken rib, limiting him to only six of the the Sabres’ 40 games. In those six games, though, Connolly has put up two goals and five assists, for a points per game average of 1.167.

None of this goes to show how skilled Connolly is, though. He has long been Ruff’s PP QB, and always sees ice time on the PK. His teammates will always say how gifted he is, and how difficult he can be to play against.

But what do his numbers really mean to us? Why is he valuable to this team?

Let’s allow his career totals to do the talking, shall we? In the nine seasons Connolly was with an NHL team (the season he missed due to concussion symptoms and the current season included), he’s only played 444 of a possible 696 games (only 63.8%). In those games, he’s recorded 72 goals and 176 assists, for a total of 248 points. That’s only an average of .558 points per game, which would equate to 45.8 points on a season.

Like I said, I love Tim Connolly more than the next Sabres fan. I have since we acquired him, but that’s a whole ‘nother story. My point is, his numbers suck. They definitely do not portray the player we all know Connolly has the potential to be. The problem is, he is so injury-plagued that he probably will never live up to his own expectations, let alone ours.

But I’m glad to see he’ll be back tomorrow. Our power play sure as hell needs him, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a center who can really see the ice and find good passing lanes out there.

The question remains, how much longer will Timmy be wearing blue and gold? Will he be gone by the trade deadline? Is he going to leave that day? Over the summer? Or will he stay with us? Your guess is as good as mine, seeing as how Afinogenov is a bigger problem, and Kotalik would probably garner the most interest from other teams. It doesn’t hurt that the coaching staff loves Connolly. If he does stay, though, he’d better be willing to take a sizeable pay cut, because there is no way, talent aside, that a guy that injury-riddled deserves a salary of $2.9 million per season.

*****

Speaking of trades, there are rumors spreading up in Portland. They’ve hit a snag this season with goaltending, as Adam Dennis recently required season-ending hip surgery. That means Jhonas Enroth has been shouldering all of the duties, now coming up on his (I believe) 11th game in a row.

Their need of a goalie, combined with the Sabres’ supposed interest in keeping Chris Butler (we’ll see about that one) and Matt Ellis up in Buffalo, would obviously present the Sabres with a predicament. In order to keep extra bodies up in the NHL, they’d have to clear roster space. The obvious bodies to move would be Afinogenov and Paetsch, Max for obvious reasons, and Paetsch because he’s the odd man out. Kotalik and Connolly could also be moved due to contract years, but that’s hardly likely; Kotalik is a force on this team, and Connolly has virtually no stock.

Maine Hockey Journal reported that Kevin Dineen, the coach of the Portland Pirates, had some interesting sound bytes one the subject, suggesting the Buffalo brass have something in the works:

“(Goalie search) has been put off for a reason and won’t be clarified til Friday at the earliest,” said Dineen.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens, that’s for sure.

*****

And seeing as Derek Roy actually called up Kiss 98.5 this morning, I can tell you what he had to say. Honestly, though, I think this is the first actual D.R.R. in about a month, mostly due to the holidays falling on Thursdays…

– Andrew Peters’ thumb is bruised, was bleeding yesterday, and it still hurts.
– Derek suggested that Andy’s fingers taste like chicken wings.
– He says you shouldn’t bite people unless your life is in danger. Nick added, “Unless you’re on Chippewa.”
– He’s excited to play against Chris Drury.
– Is he doing anything differently? No. He’s sticking with his system.
– VitaminWater flavor? Endurance/Mango.
– Sometimes works out after games.
– January has a ridiculous travel schedule. He may just leave his suitcase packed.
– Doesn’t have any pets.
– Did he send a baby gift to Rob Ray? No.
– He was 3 when he first skated. His brothers were about that age as well. He was awful, falling everywhere. Couldn’t stop until he was “like 10 years old.”

Finally, he called them, and finally some oddball information.

Well, kids, it snowed again. Big surprise. I’m off to shovel, and the hopefully I’ll feel spry enough to head to the gym. That’s my plan, at least. I’ll be back if I hear any juicy information.

SERIOUSLY?

Okay, so in reviewing all of my posts since Kim and I started this wonderful little blog, I must say I am quite surprised at myself. I really prided myself on knowing all sorts of stuff about hockey, and really truly say that I am not a puck bunny, but in all honesty, I’ve done nothing to convince you of the sort since, probably, mid-October.

So my New Year’s Resolution for SC is to return to smart and intuitive hockey blogging. I’m still going to gush on my love for the guys, but I’m going to make an earnest effort to supply much more clever blogging.

And I’m hoping that begins now, and continues.

I had no idea that when I turned on the game, not only would I almost miss Matt Ellis’ fourth goal of the season, but I hadn’t a clue that I would be watching Jarkko Ruutu’s best imitation of Tyson v. Holyfield.

(I enjoyed Andrew Peters’ comments on that, as he spouted cliche after cliche. True, he has to hold himself accountable for his own actions, and no doubt knows that if he said something stupid, he’d be in deep, but still. Who didn’t want to hear Petey call out Ruutu and just say, “Yeah, I’m aware we play them again on Saturday, February 7th, and don’t worry, I know Jarkko’s number.” Hopefully the NHL will step in and hold Ruutu accountable for that action, which was not only embarrassing to himself and the Senators, but also the league, and the game in general. And if the NHL doesn’t step in, I’ll be angry, but it wouldn’t surprise me since they all but ignored Denis Gauthier’s sucker punch to Patrick Kaleta, who is still out, mind you, due to that cheap shot.)

But it was nice to see Ellis continue on his little goal streak. Four goals in three games ain’t to shabby if you ask me.

I was slightly disappointed the game lost a lot of it’s intensity after the first period. I know the coaches probably harped on the players to get their heads in the game, cool their tempers, get a grip, blah, blah, blah, but seriously, I had planned on watching a highly spirited game with loads of fisticuffs and all that jazz, you know, seeing as how high emotions were running the last time we faced off against the Sens. But Captain Craig didn’t disappoint in his return, that’s for sure. He all but took on every guy in red and black on the ice, and bloodied up one of them, just because they got too close to Ryan Miller. It’s nice to see someone standing up for Miller and immediately and instinctively jumping the culprit. That’s the leadership this Sabres team has been missing for the past season and a half, give or take the games Rivet was healthy for.

And thankfully that puck tipped by Derek Roy bounced into the net off of Carrie Underwood’s boyfriend Mike Fisher’s skate, or else Miller probably would’ve been kicking himself tonight.

Oh, and anyone else notice how similar Drew Stafford’s little move in front of the Sens’ net was to Jason Pominville’s playoff game winner, way back when? If Roy hadn’t been in the corner and had fed the puck to Staffy, and instead he had broken in all alone, those two goals could possibly have been identical.

There’s one other thing I want to point out: Thomas Vanek’s 27th goal was scored with 26 seconds left. The only thing that could have made it better would be #26 scoring his 26th with 0:26 left. How weird would that be?

So, my stars, for the game, since I haven’t done that since October:

(1) Derek Roy. (Not just because he’s my guy, but because he had a solid night, with one goal and two assists, that goal being the game winner.)

(2) Jason Spezza. (Yes, he’s a Senator, but still, a two goal game is quite impressive, especially when the only guy who scores is one of three who make up half of the scoring for the entire team.)

(3) Ryan Miller. (True, he single-handedly allowed the Senators a chance at a comeback, but if he hadn’t snapped out of whatever funk he had gotten himself into after that second goal, the Sabres would have been in real big trouble.)

Overall, very good game, boys. I’m very impressed at the little streak you’ve put together for yourself, but I’m not holding my breath. We’ll see how it goes on Friday, and we’ll see how happy I am with the NHL in the next couple days.

YAY WE WON, But There’s No Channel 4..

Okay, so I’m full of mixed emotions today.  SO EXCITED BECAUSE WE COULD FINISH THE PRESEASON ABOVE .500!!!  But totally bummed because Channel 4 has been replaced with CBS College Sports and The CW is MIA.  On that subject, tonight I’m going to be missing the season premier of a show that I sometimes watch (because for some odd reason math intrigues me), Numb3rs, and that also means Sunday afternoon I’ll be missing the first 45 minutes of the Bills game, and I’ll be sad, because I love the Bills.  And on Monday, I’ll be without my teenage angst-driven dramas, Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill; Tuesday evening I’ll be missing my dear Anthony DiNozzo on NCIS.  Guys, I’m really upset about this.  Like… well, not nearly as upset as I am when the Sabres lose, but close enough.

On to happier subjects.  Can I PLEASE just express my love for Craig Rivet and Patrick Lalime right now?  They are pretty much two of my favorite people now.  At first I wasn’t so sure I liked that Rivet had The C, but hell, he can have it.  I like any guy who sticks up for his teammates and can actually fight (coughcoughandrewpeters).  And Lalime, you can stop pucks AND you fight?  I love you.  This brings me back to the days of my childhood in which basically every other game I can remember, either Steve Shields, Dwayne Roloson, or Marty Biron were fighting.  LOVE.  Goalie fights are the absolute best.

OH and I basically love Matt Ellis now too.  Watch this and you will appreciate him as well.  First of all, HAHAHAHA because they’re blasting “Promiscuous Girl,”  and then someone came in and turned it down.  But back to Matt:  I mean, how can you not love someone who grew up playing with Danny Paille???  He’s a member of the Man-Child crew now, as far as I’m concerned.  And he was so excited when he got the call saying we claimed him…  Normally, these guys are pissed when they get waived and claimed by a new team, but he was all smiles and giggles.  How cute is he?

And before I talk at all about the game (and by at all, I mean not really at all since I couldn’t see it and therefore don’t really have anything constructive to say), let me get my Derek Roy fix.  Janet and Nick on Kiss 98.5 I believe have the Derek Roy Report, or whatever it’s called, on Thursday mornings, but it could be Friday.  I’m not usually up that early, but if I am, I’m usually listening to my iPod because I LOATHE Janet and Nick.  But whatever.  So they had some snippet of an interview with Derek yesterday which went like this:

Janet:  So what exciting stuff did you do this summer?

Derek:  Uhhh, I went to Cabo for a week.

Janet:  Nice!

Nick:  Didn’t you skates get stuck in the sand?

Derek:  [Chuckles, followed by a dramatic pause, then seriously,]  Um, no.

HAHAA.  Ask Kim; I DO THE SAME THING.  Now, I have to take a page out of MJ’s book right here, because I swear this is fate.  I DESIRE MORE THAN ANYTHING TO GO TO CABO.  That is, if you bump going back to Germany off of the top of my list.  But whatever.  Derek, how could you go to Cabo without me???  And then not take me to your lake house up in Muskoka?  You know I love the ocean, and I love lakes.  That’s just mean.  But, in your favor, our favorite shows do include Entourage, and you can’t go skydiving due to contractual stipulations, and I won’t go skydiving due to a fear of heights, so I mean, look!  It’s totally fate.  And now I’m kind of creeping myself out…

And this video of certain players just BEGS for commentary:

Mark Mancari  :  Yay!  I’m so excited you cut your hair.  Kim probably won’t be too thrilled, but I am, and since I won you in our lame little draft thing we had last year, that’s all that matters.  And honestly,  I’m so glad your parents moved from Italy to Canada, and that you have random family in Buffalo, because then I have a better chance to see you than, say, if you lived in Italy.  Plus, you’re a beast, so play your heart out, and if you don’t make the Sabres, I’ll see you November 7th in Portland.

Mike Weber  :  Is staying out of the penalty box a part of your plan?  Because it should be.

Nathan Paetsch  :  (1) You’re adorable.  (2) That’s the Brotherhood of the Traveling Hoodie hoodie!  Don’t you own any other clothing?  Every time I see you, you’re wearing that hoodie.  It doesn’t look bad or anything, I’m just curious as to if I took it away, if you’d just be walking around with nothing on.  Now THAT’S a win-win situation.  (3) You were injured?  That’s why you weren’t playing?  I wish I knew…  I can’t wait to have complete injury/ailment updates when the regular season starts.  This not knowing is bull.

Sparky Clarkey  :  Your hair’s getting long…  I like the curly poofy thing you had; kinda like old-school Timmy C.

OH!!! I am SO excited that the game will be on TV on SUNDAYYY!!!  That means I’ll actually have something to watch since the Bills game (probably) won’t be on.  But I will have to sync up the radio so I can listen to Rick and Harry.  Hopefully there won’t be too much of a delay.  Whatever though.

Now I’m going to go pamper myself a bit; I’m getting my hair done today which is SO exciting because I haven’t gone in, like, 4 months, and my highlights are so grown out it isn’t even funny, and my ends are so split.  But I’m definitely having Kim (my hairdresser, not the Kim on this thing) thin it, dye it back to my natural dark red, and some sweepy bangs might be in order.  But then because my hair won’t be so strawberry blonde, I definitely have to go tanning, or else my pale, pale skin that’s COVERED in freckles would look freakish.  I’d be a female version of Brian Campbell.  Yuck.  (I think I’m the girliest legit hockey fan ever…)  So I think I’d better go do that.  Then work yet another double.  So I probably won’t be back until Sunday, unless I find something good in the meantime.

Have a nice weekend, loves!

Ramblings, and Ding Dong Ditch Anyone??

So while I should be in my Medical Terminology and Anatomy/Physiology lectures today, I’m posting, shopping, tanning, and not giving a damn.  I just had 2 major exams and I’ve worked 4 nights in a row with crazy old people.  Literally, they’re crazy old people.  Not just the lady at the corner of my street who yelled at us when we were waiting at the bus stop if we put a toe on her lawn, but certifiable old people with Dementia and Alzheimer’s.  So, yeah.  I’m taking a day off, especially since this is the only day I’m not working this week.

Topic #1  :  Derek Roy

AHHHHH!  My baby was captain!  So last night I was listening to the game at work on my headphones, not that I’m allowed to or anything, but since when do I care?  And when Rick said that some punk knocked Derek down, I got all offended.  And then someone slashed him or something, and I got even more offended.  The text messages between Kim and I were so frequent that I couldn’t tell exactly what happened there, because every time I’d send or receive a message, my reception would go all fuzzy.  You give and you take, I guess.

Topic #2  :  NHL.com

I seem to remember the NHL mandating that all 30 teams in the league reformat and redesign their websites so that they all corresponded in layout and all that jazz with http://www.NHL.com.  Now, one year later, they’ve gone and changed their whole website.  That’s pretty lame if you ask me, and I, for one, am not crazy about the look of it.  It’s sleek, yes, but it’s lacking color.  And they don’t let you get the real-time scores anymore.  I wanted it last night at work, but all they give you now is the option to watch any game, live, on your computer.  BUT you have to pay.  It’s Center Ice online, basically.  There is, however, a free preview on opening weekend.  I think I just might have to check it out; probably won’t, though, since I can finally watch Rick and Harry.

Topic #3  :  New NHL Commercials

It was brought to my attention after reading someone’s blog (sorry, I can’t remember which one) that the NHL has a new campaign this year.  Well, actually, it’s still the “Is this the year?” deal, but tweaked.  I’m not crazy about it.  There are the platform league commercials, and then each team has two of their own:  One focuses on the team, and then the other highlights a certain player.  Ours is Miller, obviously.  But they really could’ve taken the time to actually FILM a commercial, instead of putting a slideshow of pictures together and throwing some little diddy over it.  The one-liners at the end are pretty funny, but I preferred last season’s clips which actually featured the players themselves.  Watch them here, but click on “NHL Presents,” and they’ll be on the menu on the right-hand side.  Miller’s is last on Page 3, and the team one (or should I say Derek, Tommy, and Jason’s) is first on 4.

Topic #4  :  Matt Ellis

WHO?  Um, can someone please explain to me why we claimed him?  I mean, I realize that he’ll end up a Portland guy, but still.  They can snag this guy off of waivers and sign a whole bunch of randoms over the summer, BUT THEY CAN’T CONVINCE MIKE RYAN TO SIGN??  Lame.  No offense, Matt.  I just like Mike.

Topic #5  :  Chris Drury

Before you smack yourself in the face, this isn’t another rant about how we let him get away.  Personally, I couldn’t care less anymore.  We couldn’t win it with him, so who’s to say we can’t win it without him, am I right, or am I right?  ANYWAYS, the TBN had an article featuring him today.  One, he now plays on the wing.  If Chris Drury is as good as he is at faceoffs, why the hell wouldn’t you want him at center?  That’s like using Martin Brodeur as your backup goalie when you know he had a 2.17 GAA and a save percentage of .920 through 77 games and 2,089 shots.  Two, he’s making a push to be named the Rangers’ captain.  Well, obviously.  But the paper says that he has been extremely vocal with the guys lately.  Now that’s something I don’t remember him being in Buffalo.  I remember him being the one to lead by example, on the ice.  All the talking and the pow-wows were left to Briere, I thought.  I don’t know, but maybe the Big City has affected Chris.

Topic #6  :  Heather B

Heather B, the beautiful author of Top Shelf, was featured in the TBN this morning!!!  So exciting!  So go read about her there.

Topic #7  :  Injuries

All I’m going to say is WHY ISN’T PAUL GAUSTAD ON THIS STUPID THING?

Topic #8  :  Portland Pirates

The Pirates open their training camp this morning.  Exciting stuff!  Except for the fact that it’s just a continuation of the Sabres camp, but whatever.  It’s the first glimpse of our guys for the fans up in Maine, so it’s cool.  I just can’t wait to go to a game there in November!  Yay!

Topic #9  :  Ding Dong Ditch Proposal

(I feel like that should say Love Potion #9 in honor of Derek’s boat)

I had this idea yesterday while Kim and I were out for lunch.  Now, most of my ideas, when they involve the Sabres, can get pretty crazy, but they’re always fun.  I came up with this little scheme to play DDD with our boys.  That could get interesting, but I think it would be oodles of fun, don’t you?  Who wants in?  Anyone????

That’s it for now, I guess.  Maybe some more later after tonight’s game, since I’m not working!!  That’s exciting.