fire bucky gleason, bucky continues to write stupid things edition

Bucky's constant contradiction is one of the main things that drives me crazy about the fact that he has a job writing about sports. Sportswriters appear to have the free reign of meteorologists: say whatever the hell you want, because just about everybody expects you to be wrong. So, after the colossally dumb love letter to Tim Kennedy, Bucky decides to give us what appears to be a simple lame excuse to slam the Sabres he doesn't like.¹

I only extracted the Sabres portion of Bucky's "Inside the NHL," which could qualify as a smorgasbord. But I don't feel like trying to figure out how dumb Bucky is when he talks about other teams. So this is it for now. I'm sure we'll get plenty more stupidity before the week is out.

You've heard the rhetoric numerous times over the past two-plus years, how the talent is there even when the goals are not,

Maybe because the talent is there, they've just been trying to develop their own identity after the team decided to invest in its youth instead of overpaying aging veterans with deteriorating skills. Maybe?

how every player endures scoring droughts, how they squeeze their sticks before eventually coming around.

Actually, I haven't heard this rhetoric numerous times. In fact, Lindy doesn't really hesitate to call his guys out when he feels like he has to. You know where I have heard this rhetoric though? In the Buffalo News. From you. Remember? When you said it was OK for Tim Kennedy to not score goals because he was on a defensive line that was very good at preventing them and preventing goals is just as important as scoring them? Do you remember that?

Zzzzzzzz. Say it often enough and long enough, and it eventually becomes the truth.

Hmm. Apparently not.

But it wasn't a good sign when Blackhawks grunt Dustin Byfuglien had eight goals, one more than Thomas Vanek had, going into the weekend. Or that Islanders rookie John Tavares, Blue Jackets plumber Raffi Torres and, yes, Thrashers winger Maxim Afinogenov each had nine — the same number that Derek Roy and Jason Pominville had combined.

Alright, if we're playing this game, Thomas Vanek has as many goals as Alex Kotalik and Chris Drury combined. Vanek is also currently has more goals than Joe Thornton and Shane Doan. And Alexander Frolov. Also, you are never allowed to complain about Maxim Afinogenov's production at any point from now until the end of all time.

Yikes.

What's with the "yikes"? Did you finish writing that last paragraph and then realize "Hey, it's really stupid comparing scoring paces 25 games into the season?" You did? Awesome! Progress!

The Sabres have $22.7 million locked into their five-highest paid forwards and through the first 22 games this season they combined for a grand total of 24 goals. It's not exactly the bargain they had in mind for Black Friday.

That's not a pretty hard cap hit, considering what other teams are blowing on their five highest paid forwards. I assume that's the bargain you're talking about, right? Because otherwise I don't understand the Black Friday reference. Once again, the Sabres won on Black Friday. Four goals. Against the Flyers.

In a financial sense, their best players have been their worst.

If that's the case, Montreal and the Rangers (but for Marian Gaborik, whose groin is due to explode any day now) have much worse "best" players.

It needs to change for the playoffs — which bounce from a given one week to a fantasy the next — to remain in reach.

Shenanigans. At no point were the Sabres out of playoff position, even during their absolutely "horrendous" 0-3-1 stretch. Not only do the playoffs remain very much in reach, but if the Sabres simply continue their pace from November they should do no worse than the sixth seed. Perhaps a few crude projections will shed some light here. Buffalo was 7-5-1 in November. Respectable, but by no means torrid. They finished the month with 32 points, and sole possession of the Northeast Division lead. Now, if they maintain that 7-5-1 pace, that projects out to approximately 98 points for the season. Solidly within any playoff bracket. If Buffalo manages to up their pace by one more point (7-4-2 instead of 7-5-1), we're looking at approximately 103 points, or a likely fourth seed. Is this an exact science? No. Can things change? Absolutely. But even with Buffalo's "terrible" week in November which caused you to immediately doubt their ability to play hockey at any kind of professional level ever again (because you're stupid), Buffalo maintained a very strong playoff pace. Got it? Good.

Vanek is making $6.4 million this season, which is $1.6 million less than he was pocketing in the front-loaded $50 million deal he signed while pointing the proverbial tommy gun at the Sabres' collective temple.

This is actually good news. Vanek's cap hit is still pretty high, but now that his actual salary is coming down, we have the opportunity to invest in some young talent, or perhaps give another front loaded contract to a free agent this offseason. Don't forget Chicago's going to have to have a huge firesale to clear space for the players they were supposed to sign weeks ago but still haven't re-upped.

Whether he's injured or disinterested, the pop has been missing almost all season.

But, he leads the team in goals. Does that count for anything?

Tim Connolly

I guess not, since we simply moved in to start whipping Bucky's Least Favorite Sabre.

is making $4.5 million this season, a $1 million raise per year after appearing in about one-third of the games under his previous contract.

A fair criticism. Now, I'm sure you'll point out that Connolly has been in the lineup for each and every single Sabres game this season.

The Sabres insisted he was their guy. But, really, he's the same player who has possessed great talent and produced mediocre results.

Or ignore that fact entirely. He is the Sabres' guy. And is turning into a pretty wise investment, as he leads the team is assists and points. And is scoring at a pace just off a point per game. So, really, I'm looking for the mediocre results of which you speak.

Connolly had one goal in 16 games before his best performance of the season, two goals and two assists against Philadelphia.

During that 16 game stretch, Tim Kennedy had no goals. In fact, up through Philadelphia, Tim Kennedy only had one goal in 22 games. Why the double standard?

OK, so he improved to three goals in 17 games.

By comparison, Tim Kennedy² now has two goals in 24 games. Again, I'm waiting for the explanation of the double standard. Is it based on Connolly's salary? His experience? What? All I know is we're supposed to love Tim Kennedy, who scores at a much slower rate than Tim Connolly, who leads the team in points. I haven't been given a single valid reason for this yet, sir.

He's had his usual flashes of brilliance, confirming he's able but not always willing.

His brilliance is only flashing? What? And his inconsistent goal scoring (which is a far cry from his markedly consistent point production, which means Connolly is helping generate goals, which is kind of important in terms of playing successful hockey I hear) "confirms" he's not willing to play well? Do me a favor. Start reading your columns out loud before submitting them. Maybe then you'll realize how dumb this all sounds. We certainly can't rely on your editor.

Pominville is pocketing Connolly money, getting Clarke MacArthur results.

MacArthur's playing pretty well this season.

Last season was dismissed as a poor year from a good player, but this year has been much the same. In part, his production (five goals) was down because the Sabres lack a power-play quarterback, taking him from the wing. It's also because he's been spending too much time on the perimeter at even strength.

Is this his fault? Or is Lindy not putting Pommers in a position to be successful? Both are equally plausible explanations, yet I have to guess which it is. Thanks.

Jochen Hecht

Oh god...

is making $3.8 million and had four points, putting him on pace for seven goals and 15 points, while averaging more than 16 minutes. Nobody on the team who has played every game has fewer points.

You know who on the team has played the same number of games as Hecht and produced the exact same number of points with half the goals? I'll give you a hint. It rhymes with "Shim Shmennedy." Who, I might add, skates on Hecht's line. Which I was told is not designed to score goals, but rather prevent them. Seeing how the Sabres currently lead the league in goals against, apparently Hecht is playing his role to a T.

Roy, making $3.5 million, needed 11 games to score his first goal, buried four goals in his next five games, fell silent for the next six.

I'm confused. Doesn't this actually prove the exact thesis you present in the opening paragraph? The one you didn't really dispute, but hung out there as a pathetic excuse? Even though you relied on it yourself not two weeks ago?

It's one thing to make big money, another thing to earn it.

This is surprisingly apt. It's one thing to make big money (or whatever money, hopefully it isn't big) writing about sports professionally. It's another thing to earn it by being reliable, accurate, and consistent.

¹ - "The Sabres he doesn't like" obviously consists of all the Sabres except for Tyler Myers, Tim Kennedy, and Patrick Kaleta.

² - I feel like at this point I need another disclaimer. I am actually a Sabres fan. When I follow my sports teams, I prefer to be a bit childlike in that I'll like the guy simply for putting on a Sabres' sweater. I like Kennedy. I know he's young. He's getting some good reviews, but also going through some growing pains. Same goes for Tyler Myers (a team leader in ice time, generating a lot of points from the blue line; embarrassing mistakes like essentially giving Max Afinogenov and Matt Cullen free goals). I'm excited about these guys. But I'm also excited about all the Sabres, including Tim Connolly, who I consider to actually be quite amazing, especially when he gets the puck (one of the "brilliant flashes" was when he froze two Panthers in their skates and then skated through two more during their 6-2 loss--such a hockey play should be criminal). It just happens to be that Bucky is so wildly inconsistent in his analysis, without ever giving any kind of reason, that it drives me crazy. So, unfortunately, Tim Kennedy becomes my whipping boy because we're told to love what he does, which isn't very much when juxtaposed with what the other guys are doing. OK, I feel better.