Center of attention Part II

Now for a quick update on who will be standing on that center ice logo that Mike Harrington wrote about this morning (and by the way, it does look cool). Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he plans to keep Jochen Hecht at center. Hecht moved there from left wing last year to replace the injured Tim Connolly.

What that means is the Sabres' top three centers would be Derek Roy, Hecht and Connolly. Not bad.

"I think if we could come up with Derek Roy, Tim Connolly and Jochen Hecht sitting in the middle, we’re sitting pretty good," Ruff said today. "I don’t know where Adam Mair will be at the end of camp with his injury, whether he’ll be able to play. We’ll know that by the end of the month. But that would put Paul Gaustad back on the wing for us, which I think he’s pretty comfortable there. We’ve liked him playing the wing, so to have top three lines that would have those centermen, I think we’d be in good shape."

The possible top three lines, then, would be:

Thomas Vanek-Derek Roy-Drew Stafford

Daniel Paille-Jochen Hecht-Jason Pominville

Paul Gaustad-Tim Connolly-Ales Kotalik

Again, not bad. For more on Paille, see Friday's paper.

---John Vogl

Comments

[Tim]

The only thing I don't like about those center lines is that no one is particularly efficient in the face-off dot. That's an underrated stat, face-off percentage, and not one of those guys at center is very adept at pulling a win when we really need one. It's nice we can put up points with those centers, but how many times last year did we get scored on directly from a lost face-off? We need someone to step up and be consistent. Gaustad was supposed to be that guy after Drury left, but he wasn't. Who is going to fill those shoes this year?

[jan]

Gerbe would do better playing lots of minutes in games for Portland than playing very few minutes or sitting up in the press box in Buffalo. Let's see how Gerbe does playing with and against bigger players. (there will be a target on his back for sure) If he's that impressive, maybe that'll motivate some of the other guys to play harder, etc. because they know there's someone in Portland who's looking for his opportunity.
Lindy has, at times, sat someone down and called someone up to give them a chance. This season will be a make-it-or-break-it year for some players. (ie: Max, Mancari, etc. I'd like to see Max on the third line and move Gaustad to the fourth, but that depends on whether Max is willing to play a "team" game. Max needs to produce this year-- he should know by now that if he doesn't, he may end up looking for another place to play hockey.

[David S.]

Saying Gaustad should be on the 4th line is a joke. He has shown potential in front of the net and is good on faceoffs. I'm still waiting for him to provide a consistent offensive spark but I like the idea of matching him up with Connolly's speed and finesse and Kotalik's shot. I think that his goals have a chance to increase significantly if this line can gel.

[Chad]

"I am no fan of Max but can we get over Gaustad please... he should be on the 4th line."

I am actually with you, Jim. I applaud his effort for even getting to this point after he could hardly skate when he got to Rochester, but I think fans are overly-enamored with him. I'd actually like to see him as the 4th line center. I think that would get him to be more of a banger (which he needs to go back to) and he has more skill than most opposing 4th lines, whereas he is sometimes overmatched against good 3rd lines. Doing this would allow to move Max to the 3rd line to play with Connolly and Kotalik who are more of Max's equal in terms of pure skill. That, or put Mancari there if he impresses in camp which would add size to the team.

"I am asking in all seriousness, does anyone think Nathan Gerbe is good enough to play with the big club this year?"

As Ken Holland said about Jimmy Howard, Detroit's rookie goaltender, all ties are going to be resolved against Gerbe. That's because Gerbe still has all of his options left and, maybe more importantly, would be better served playing 18 minutes per night in Portland rather than 8 or 9 minutes per night in Buffalo. That said, if he proves he's really that much better than a bunch of other guys, he'll stick.

[tim]

I am asking in all seriousness, does anyone think Nathan Gerbe is good enough to play with the big club this year? Does he jump past some of the older Sabres in Portland?

[jim]

Oye.

I am no fan of Max but can we get over Gaustad please... he should be on the 4th line.

[Chad]

Doug and Bill, I think it depends on who he is on the 4th line with. It almost sounds like they don't think Mair is going to be ready for the season. That's the impression I get when I read that quote. So that begs the question: who will be the 4th line center? I'm guessing it will most likely be MacArthur or even Zagrapan (if they're looking for more size). I'm guessing Clarke may make the team out of camp since he is out of options and, in the event they send him back to the minors, he would have to clear waivers. I think Buffalo would rather see what MacArthur can do with the big club before the make a decision about what to do with him. That would make for a line of Afinogenov-Mac-Peters/Kaleta. That said, I'm still not buying that they're just going to give Stafford that other wing position with the Roy/Vanek line after his disappointing season.

I must say, I like the idea of pairing Connolly and Kotalik. I was clamoring for that last year. You have a guy who is a great passer but shooting averse (Connolly) and a guy with a huge shot but can't create on his own. One would think that Connolly should be an ideal match for Kotalik.

Finally, I think starting Hecht at center is likely insurance for when/if Connolly gets injured. That way, Hecht will have played 40-50 games at center instead of wing. The team will then just move Gaustad inside or, dare I say, call up Gerbe.

[Bill]

Max on the 4th line, John?

Or is something afoot?

[doug]

Where does that leave Max? not that after last years performance do i think he deserves to play with any of the top lines, but if he is put with the forth line doesn't that waste his talent because he will be skating with people that can't keep up? or are we just hoping he isn't around this season.