Well so much for that idea

(In which I use a ridiculous number of (parentheses) for some reason that is probably grammatically wrong, but I'm too tired and lazy to sort them all out. You get the point.)

I had this New Year's resolution of a sort to blog more.. then MSG and TWC decided to have a little spat and I wasn't able to watch my team for most of January and half of February (aside from a few games on NBCSPorts) It's hard to write about a team you can't watch.

So I fell off the wagon a little. But now the boys are back on tv, and they are playing much better hockey since the All-Star break so there's something to be said for all that.

They will probably still make a valiant (but ultimately too late) push to the playoffs, only to fall short by a point or 2 and thus getting a middling draft pick. (we should be used to this by now). or they might surprise us and squeak in at the 11th hour. Time will tell.

But tomorrow is DOOMSDAY - (AKA Trade Deadline Day) Last year I missed the madness because I was in New Zealand (or en route, the "time travel" to get there was a little whacky and kind of made my head hurt) and away from internets and computers and anything resembling hockey, as I was chillin the summer of the southern hemisphere (totally weird, btw, in a cool way) and didn't really worry too much about it. (ANd the Sabres didn't do much so that was little to worry about.)

But this year is (or may be) different. Roy is a name we've heard being tossed about quite a bit, as well as Gaustad (even The Hockey News mentions him as a decent pickup) and the thing is.. unlike last year when I was practically BEGGING someone to take Timmay Connolly off our hands and please for the loveofSabretooth SELL SELL SELL Stafford (while the selling was hot) I actually LIKE those two guys. I mean, really, who doesn't love Goose, with his funny nickname and his GreenTeam-ness and his good attitude and foxy faceoff skills? Right?

And Royzie, well, he's Royzie. He's infuriating at times, and occasionally quite skillful and brilliant with the puck (when he's not giftwrapping and presenting it to his opponents' sticks!) When he's playing hard (as he has been lately and did in the early days of his career when I fell for him in the first place), he's a great asset. When he's being lazy and boneheaded, he's a nusicance and you want him as far away as possible so he doesn't contaminate anyone else. He seems to be one of those polarizing player- you either love him or he drives you nuts. (And sometimes he does both at the same time, what a multi-tasker!)

But, from the time when I really started watching the Sabres in earnest (the playoff run of 2006, though I was living far away at the time) and the next season (when I came back), Roy always stood out. I picked him as "my" Sabre, and thus he remained. I officially switched my allegiance to Nathan Gerbe (you may recall my many soul-searchings and arguments with myself on the blog about it)... but even though I went with my gut and bought a Gerbe jersey with my Christmas money this year, I still love Royzie. He's still one of my favs and I will always have a place for him in my heart.

I don't want him to leave Buffalo, but I've felt it in my gut that he's going to be gone for a while now. (I even wrote about it here.) He's young enough and talented enough that in the right setting he could really thrive. His contract is not insane. The Sabres could actually get a decent return for him and he could be a legit #2 center on a team with a solid #1. He doesn't seem to do that well in the #1 role (though his faceoffs have improved significantly this season, I've noticed.)

Back to Goose for a second. On paper, he's not all that thrilling. Not a lot of goals, not a lot of flash and dash. BUT he owns faceoffs (and is very consistent about it) and he is the definition of "intangibles". He's a tough customer who will stand up for his boys (put aside for a moment the "Lucic incident-- I still maintain that the referees were letting nothing happen that night- I was AT the game and I noticed that from the beginning, AND any Sabre who had challenged Lucic would have been destroyed and they didn't need that. Moving on..) He generally plays tough and is not afraid to get his hands dirty. I like that about Goose. He seems to be a good guy in the room, and is a proven leader- again with the intangibles, things that aren't recorded, other than in the visual of watching him play. But those are the details that win hockey games, not just the goals and statbits.

So who knows what the next day will bring.. but we'll be here watching it happen. And I'll write some sort of recap of what news there is.

(Also in my "guys I don't want to see leave" category is Rick Nash from Columbus. He's the face of the franchise, and though he's maybe been coasting for a bit, during this terrible run of a season, I still think he wants to stay there- he SAID HE DID in an interview a few weeks back. And I'd prefer to see him in a CBJ uniform for a few more years at least. Just till they get a legit shot at the playoffs. It would be good for my home state.)