After two substandard Sabres losses and a stirring Sunday third period between the Capitals and Penguins, Nick Mendola thinks Buffalo needs to make a big move to get right for April and/or May.
(WGR 550) -- My first thought when I heard that Atlanta had shipped Ilya Kovalchuk to New Jersey for Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick was that the Thrashers had either gotten just enough for their star, or perhaps a little too much.
Score one for Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils with the acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk on Thursday night. My first thought: O boy, the 2010 Stanley Cup run just got tougher for the Sabres. New Jersey traded John Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and a 2010 1st round pick for the 26-year-old left winger and Anssi Salmela.
The Atlanta Thrashers have traded forward Ilya Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have sent defenseman John Oduya, forwards Patrice Cormier, Niclas Bergfors and a first round draft pick to Atlanta for the 26-year-old winger.
Thrashers GM Don Waddell released a statement today, saying that Ilya Kovalchuk turned down a 12-year, $101 million dollar contract extension from the Thrashers. Waddell said that negotiations are at an "impasse" and that the team is exploring all of its options.
Kovalchuk is an 8-year veteran and was the first overall pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
Unfortunately, 82 isn't divisible by three, so 55 games is as close to two-thirds of the way through the Sabres season as you can get (besides 54). Even after back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and Ottawa, should we be having a positive discussion about this team?
Yes, but not without it's share of negatives. Nick Mendola gives the Sabres grades on games 28-55, and looks ahead to what's next on the plate for the blue-and-gold.
TSN in Canada is reporting that Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk could be traded soon. The network reports that Thrashers GM Don Waddell met with Kovalchuk on Wednesday and told him to expect a trade within a few hours or days.
(WGR 550) -- Make it two teams that have taken far less time than the Sabres to give up on the talent of Ales Kotalik.
The perturbed forward is no longer part of John Tortorella's stable in New York, as the Rangers shipped him and Chris Higgins to Calgary for an oft-traveled player with much better numbers, Olli Jokinen.
(WGR 550) -- If you're on any sort of message board or radio talk box today, chances are you're reading/hearing a lot about how Brian Burke acquired two key pieces to the Maple Leafs' rebuilding puzzle. Dion Phaneuf and J.S. Giguere are massive stabilizing blocks in the wobbly tower that is Toronto.
But if you're one of those thinking/writing that the Sabres and other teams were sleeping on the deal, you're sorely mistaken.
With five-plus weeks until the trade deadline, it's close enough to evaluate which teams might be buyers and sellers. Instead of just giving you five players who would help the Sabres -- like Nick Mendola did last year -- how about he looks at some deals that could behoove not just the Sabres, but the rest of the league (Hint: Obviously, he's made some calls around the league's media markets to see what might work for Buffalo).
The Sabres are in the middle of their longest road trip of the season. So far, Buffalo has stayed afloat in the Eastern Conference standings. The play hasn’t been impeccable. However, GM Darcy Regier told Schopp and the Bulldog he thinks his team has shown itself to be a contender. “I do think in terms of the Stanley Cup obviously."
To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 1 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 2 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; tournament; WGR; Jeremy White; Golf; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 3 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 4 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 5 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 6 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 7 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 8 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala;
