has one point in eight games and has been a healthy scrat

The Buffalo Sabres have been a complete mess in the 2013-2014 NHL season, accumulating just nine points in 20 games, and it cost general manager Darcy Regier and head coach Ron Rolston their jobs Wednesday, with Sabres legend Pat Lafontaine taking over as President of Hockey Operations and Ted Nolan assuming head coaching duties. Scott Cullen looks at the state of a team for which things can only look up. Last season, the Sabres finished with 48 points in 48 games, finishing 22nd out of 30 teams; not nearly good enough for the playoffs, but not utterly disastrous, which means not bad enough to secure a premium pick at the top of the first round. They traded veteran winger Jason Pominville and defenceman Jordan Leopold during the season, but seven of their top eight scorers were returning for the 2013-2014 season. Even so, the Sabres ranked 29th in my preseason Power Rankings, with not enough proven talent, aside from left winger Thomas Vanek and goaltender Ryan Miller who, as pending unrestricted free agents, were prime candidates for trade. Of course, Vanek was traded, to the New York Islanders and the Sabres received a quality package in return, but it is a curious turn of events to allow Darcy Regier to oversee the start of a rebuilding process and take responsibility for trading the clubs best player, only to clean house in the front office two-and-a-half weeks later. Now, this doesnt mean that people shouldnt have been fired (On XM NHL Network Radio last Friday, I said that Rolston was my pick to be the next coach canned). The Sabres have been unabashedly terrible. They have one regulation win in 20 games and that was in a game at Florida in which they were outshot 45-21 by the Panthers, a team that sits a lofty 28th in the NHL standings. The Sabres have the worst puck possession stats in the league, by a sizeable margin and, given these poor underlying conditions, will need patience in order to develop a roster that is consistently competitive because they cant even argue that theyve been especially unlucky to have this poor record. Matt Moulson, a pending unrestricted free agent who was acquired as part of the package in exchange for Vanek, has 17 points in 18 games with the Islanders and Sabres, and Cody Hodgson has 15 points in 20 games; they are the only Sabres with more than 10 points through the first 20 games of the season. These are the skaters at the top of Buffalos pay scale: RW Drew Stafford, who has a $4-million cap hit, has two goals and six points. A three-time 20-goal scorer, Stafford topped out with 31 goals in 62 games as recently as 2010-2011. LW Ville Leino, a $4.5-million cap hit through 2016-2017, has one point in eight games and has been a healthy scratch even when hes not injured. D Christian Ehrhoff, signed through 2020-2021 at a $4-million cap hit, has four assists in 19 games. Hes not playing poorly, but isnt good enough to be a difference-maker on a bad club. D Tyler Myers, inked through 2018-2019 for $5.5-million per, has four points and is minus-9. His play has declined dramatically since his impressive rookie campaign of 2009-2010. No team can generate positive results in a salary cap league when their highest-paid players are so unproductive. The highest-paid player remaining in Buffalo is G Ryan Miller, who has a $6.25-million cap hit on a contract that expires at seasons end. Miller has a .916 save percentage, pretty much his standard since 2010-2011, and good enough that he will likely hold some appeal on the trade market when the time finally comes to move out a 33-year-old who is not a fit for a team at this level of rebuilding. Once Miller is moved, that would be right down to the foundation. Is there hope for the future? Sure, eventually. The Sabres have given substantial playing time to young players this season. Teenage defencemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov have played more than 17 minutes per game, immediately after they were drafted in 2013 and 21-year-old rookie Mark Pysyk plays 21 minutes per game on the blueline, ranking third behind Ehrhoff and Myers. As the experience with Myers has shown, there is not necessarily a linear path from teen NHL defenceman to future NHL star, so even if the young defencemen pan out, there is some risk and it should take time before they can be counted on to anchor the unit. The Sabres also have prospects Brayden McNabb and Chad Ruhwedel toiling in the AHL for Rochester and they could be due for a look this season. Add in University of Wisconsin defenceman Jake McCabe and Buffalo has a solid crop of blueliners in the organization. Solid enough that they might want to consider sending Zadorov back to the Ontario Hockey League for another season rather than letting the first year of his entry-level deal burn as part of this disastrous campaign. The story is less promising up front. Hodgson, Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, and Mikhail Grigorenko are all under 25, and Joel Armia holds potential as a scoring winger but, even in the best-case scenario, its going to be a while before they become impact players, if any are going to have a notable impact at all. (Incidentally, Armia is ready to make his AHL debut after suffering a broken hand in training camp). Assuming that Miller gets moved, the Sabres will have Jhonas Enroth and Matt Hackett as their top two goaltenders (depending on the return for Miller). Thats not the strongest duo, but Enroth has a .914 save percentage in 60 NHL games as Millers backup, so hes worth a try, at least while the rebuilding process is in full effect. What is most promising for the Sabres is that they have seriously stockpiled draft picks over the next couple seasons (something for which the next GM, or even Lafontaine, can thank Regier. The Sabres own the Islanders first-round pick in 2014 (Vanek trade) as well as second-round picks from the Kings (two, for Robyn Regehr), Wild (Pominville deal) and Islanders (Vanek) over the next two seasons, plus whatever returns they might get for their veteran unrestricted free agents that could be moved before this seasons trade deadline. Including their own first and second-round picks, the Sabres will have eight picks in the first two rounds over the next two drafts. Then consider that Miller, Moulson and Steve Ott are all pending unrestricted free agents that should hold significant appeal around the league. Getting picks and prospects in return could give the Sabres in the neighbourhood of a dozen picks in the first two rounds over the next two drafts. Times are tough now, but those picks should really replenish the talent in the organization. (Note: the Sabres likely cant empty the cupboard completely because they will have to get to the salary cap floor in 2014-2015 and, per Cap Geek, they have 14 players under contract for $34.9-million next season.) Draft picks and prospects are uncertain, but if a team is as bad as the Sabres are currently, its encouraging to have picks that could help change the direction of the franchise and, given their current place in the standings, the Sabres are not likely to be dramatically better as soon as next season, which means they could be in contention for the Connor McDavid Sweepstakes, also known as the 2015 NHL Draft. Acquiring talent through the draft should ultimately change the Sabres fortunes, but that build is a slow process -- it could be five years before a playoff berth is a reasonable expectation (or, ask the Edmonton Oilers, the process can take even longer). In the meantime, Ted Nolan is going to have to instill a work ethic in the Sabres young players; something could have a lasting effect going forward. Given that this is already a lost season, there is no reason for Nolan not to play his young players and play them a lot, since they might as well find out who can handle playing at the NHL level. There is a feeling, in some circles, that by digging into the franchises past to hire Lafontaine and Nolan (and rumours have begun that ex-Sabre Rick Dudley could be the next GM), the Sabres are merely looking for some positive PR spin. Maybe thats the case. Well have to see what kind of decisions the new braintrust makes and how well they set the franchise up for the future. It will be a big job for a team is going to have a lot of long nights for this season and beyond. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Colin Kaepernick Jersey . The Canadian defensive tackle suffered the injury on Monday and had tests done on Tuesday. He was a potential starter on the defensive line but head coach Mike OShea said he wasnt even thinking about the ratio when he got the news. Tom Rathman Jersey . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. http://www.authenticsf49erspro.com/Jerry...rs-jersey/.FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45. Steve Young Jersey . CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. Joe Montana Jersey . Atletico Madrid made it three wins from three thanks to a double from in-form striker Diego Costa in a 3-0 victory at Austria Vienna, leaving the Spanish side on the brink of the last 16 already to continue its brilliant start to the season. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Brooklyn Nets relied on Joe Johnson early, Brook Lopez late and mixed in Andray Blatche to snap a two-game losing streak. Johnson scored 26 points, Lopez added 12 of his 20 in the fourth quarter, and the Nets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 97-88 on Saturday night. The Nets had dropped seven of eight, including a 114-95 loss at Houston on Friday night. "Im glad guys came out with the mindset and attitude that we had to leave here with a win," Johnson said. Johnson scored 16 points in the first quarter. Blatche took over through the middle stages, finishing with 21 points off the Nets bench and making all three shots from beyond the arc. The backup centre entered the game 1 for 7 from 3-point range this season. "It was just in the course of the game," Blatche said of his long-range success. "The shot presented itself, and I took it. Its all about playing the game. Dont think, just react." While the Nets snapped a two-game losing streak, Memphis dropped its fourth straight at home. Johnson hurt the Grizzlies early as Memphis failed to come out with energy, despite Brooklyn playing the second night of a back-to-back. "By and large, we eased into the game instead of coming out and playing with a lot of energy and hitting first," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "We stood around a lot and kind of got lulled into their game." Quincy Pondexter, who had not played in the Grizzlies two previous games, scored a career-high 22 points. Mike Conley had 16 points and 10 assists, while Tony Allen had 13 points. "I dont care about that," Pondexter said of the performance. "I just hate for our team to lose. . It would have felt better if we got the win." Both teams played without key forwards. Paul Pierce sat out with a bruised hand for the Nets, and the Grizzlies were without Zach Randolph, who had surgery on an ingrown toenail earlier Saturday. Not long after Memphis got within 75-74 in the fourth, Brooklyn began getting the ball deep in the post to Lopez, who worked over Grizzlies centre Kosta Koufos.ddddddddddddLopez had 11 of the Nets 13 points during the middle stages of the fourth. Lopez returned Friday night against Houston after missing seven games with a right foot sprain. "Weve got somebody at the end of the game who can close the game for us," Blatche said of Lopez. "Thats key. Thats been one of our downfalls, not finishing quarters. Now that hes back, we can feed him and play off him." The Nets used the offensive punch of Johnson and Blatche to carry a 48-37 lead into the break. Brooklyn then relied on its long-range shooting to open the second half. When Blatche and Mirza Teletovic connected on back-to-back shots outside the arc, the Nets had extended the advantage to 71-57. Pondexter scored the final five points of the third period, and continued the run in the fourth, his last 3-pointer cutting the Nets lead to 75-74 with 9:41 left That was as close as Memphis could get as Brooklyn, kick-started by two field goals from Teletovic, went on an 11-2 run to extend the lead back to double digits. "Those guys stayed together," Nets coach Jason Kidd said of his team. "No one hung their head. No one panicked. We got stops when we had to. (The Grizzlies) made their run, but we responded." NOTES: The Grizzlies are the only Western Conference team with a better record on the road (5-3), than at home (3-5). ... Pierce had missed one other game this season. It was the first game Randolph sat out, although he did leave in the middle of one game to get to the hospital in time for the birth of his son. ... Since Randolph joined the Grizzlies in the 2009-10 season, Saturday night marked the first regular-season game both he and Gasol were out of the Memphis lineup. ... Pondexters previous career high in scoring was 17 late last season against Sacramento. ... The Nets entered the game committing the third-highest fouls in the league - an average of 23.4 per game. Brooklyn was whistled for only 10 against Memphis. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '