| Friday, November 3
By Rob Parent
Special to ESPN.com |
|
It is time for reality to intercede in Buffalo.
The salad days of the undermanned Sabres and their flexible flyer of a
goaltender cheating the odds; the memories of so many one-goal wins riding on
the pointed shoulders of Dominik Hasek, so many surprising conquests of
offensively superior teams who couldn't handle their four-line transition
game ... all but gone now.
As the Florida Panthers proved three years before them, the Sabres
turned their discipline and Dom's dominance into a march to the Cup
finals last year. But when the fiscal aspects of the game are always weighed
against you, at some point, reality has to set in.
|  | | Could Hasek be the next big name on the trading block. |
So let it dawn on the Sabres now: The time has come to trade Hasek.
While there is no real evidence to suggest that the goalie with the
rubbery legs and even more flexible retirement plan is finally starting to
lose his grip at age 35, he also hasn't been able to re-ignite any magic since returning from a torn groin. That injury that not only sent them spinning in reverse early on, but
also made Hasek realize he didn't want to quit after all.
Hasek is now talking about leading the Sabres back onto a path
of glory, and why not this spring?
"If I want to play every game," Hasek said, "I have to play well. We all
have to play well."
Well, they all are on an ill-timed 1-4-1 slide heading into a game
Wednesday night with fellow-team-on-the-outs Boston. The Sabres may only be
three points out of a playoff spot, but they seem to be heading faster toward
the Bruins' last-place perch in the Northeast Division than they do toward
challenging the Rangers and Penguins for the last playoff chair.
And now, the Sabres' fate seems sealed since captain Mike Peca is
probably finished for the regular season after suffering a full dislocation
of his left shoulder Sunday at the end of a 2-1 loss to Washington. In poetic
style, Peca's shoulder came unglued while he was preparing to fight Steve
Konowalchuk.
So, now that the week leading up to the NHL trading deadline -- the most enjoyable respite of the league's regular season boreathon -- is in full swing, why not admit it's time
to reload for next year?
The best way for GM Darcy Regier to do so is by following the
example set this week by that tenured teacher of bad-faith management, Harry
Sinden. Got a local legend who isn't quite up to his old snuff but still
draws a lot of respect from contending teams with plenty to trade with?
Hold an auction.
In the words of dissed Philadelphia bidder Bob Clarke, just shortly before
Harry called him with a disappointing final answer, Sinden "did a masterful
job" in his selling of Ray Bourque to proclaimed genius Pierre Lacroix and
his Avalanche. And if 21 years in a Bruins uniform wasn't enough for Bourque
to set his own trading course when time came for an amicable parting with the
team he'll always be identified with, well, it's a tough business.
Harry will probably bring him back to coach in a couple of years, anyway.
Meanwhile, despite a mantleful of Vezina Trophies and plenty of memories,
Regier need not worry about alienating Sabres fans if he were to follow
Harry's lead and quietly sold Hasek to the highest bidder. The Dominator
isn't exactly an icon in Buffalo. Just an annually distracting presence ...
and the most dominating individual presence in the league when he's hot.
But the warming season is over in Buffalo, and the time has come to
re-plant some vital roots to build around Peca, one of the game's best-kept
secrets and still developing at 25. Ditto with goalie Martin Biron, who
will be a tremendous goalie in his own right once he's allowed to play
without fear of Hasek's shadow appearing every February.
But just how to do this when Hasek is scheduled to make $7.5 million next
season and a club-option $9 million if he wants to play another year? Simple
... Just show tapes of John Vanbiesbrouck's bad goals this season to
Clarke.
The Flyers certainly fit the bill of a monied team desperately seeking
goaltending help, but they're not alone among teams that would be willing to
take a deal for Hasek. In Los Angeles, he could be the difference
between finishing ninth in the West this season or perhaps going three-rounds
deep in the playoffs. And beyond that, the Kings could always use a bona fide
star to help sell tickets to their celebrity public.
Up the coast, the San Jose Sharks are as hot for goaltending help as the
Flyers are. A Hasek in the playoffs might make them a viable contender to
come out of the West this spring. And next season, they could probably find a
way to slice some fat veteran contracts to make room for Hasek on the payroll.
Ditto Phoenix, which apparently will never see eye-to-eye with Nikolai
Khabibulin again. And would you believe Detroit? Think Scotty Bowman would
mind handing Chris Osgood's crease over to Hasek to try to win another Cup?
Just like the course of hellish action that Harry took, Regier could do
such a Hasek deal by shipping the old man westward, where almost all haunting
reminders of him would be played out on SportsCenter rather than in the
Eastern Conference playoff standings or the Marine Midland Center three times.
Hasek will also bring a variety of dividends:
A veteran scorer to
pair Peca with.
Maybe a nice veteran goalie to help in the seasoning of
Biron.
A fine batch of draft picks to go along with them.
And one more thing about moving Hasek: It would free enough payroll space, so that
the Sabres could finally get real with contract negotiations with Peca, who's
perhaps the most underpaid player in the league.
Of course, doing a Hasek deal by the trading deadline Tuesday would mean
the Sabres are draping a white flag on this season. But so what? In Buffalo, it's time for a reality check to replace its biggest, most
problematic paycheck.
Other deadline musings ...
There is still strong sentiment among players, coaches and certainly the
media and fans in New York that Neil Smith should swallow his pride and bring
back Mark Messier. Though Vancouver GM Brian Burke says he'll move Messier
only if the old guy gives him a list of teams he'd like to play for, that
list could probably be pared down to two teams in the greater New York area.
Uh, no, the Islanders aren't one of them. And as for that team in Greater
Western New York, what good is a 39-year-old Messier without a 25-year-old
Peca?
Don't expect it, but also don't be shocked if Smith, in another one of
those lovely moments of self-contradiction he's good at, convinces himself
and Dave (Sign the) Checketts to bring back Mess for one more glorious
lap around the town. But only if Lou Lamoriello fools Smith into thinking
he's going to trade for him first.
Now that he's taking medication to control a spastic hernia, which was giving him indigestion problems and scaring him because his father
had died of cancer at a young age, Shayne Corson is happily
going about his tough business in Montreal. Just in time for the Canadiens to
trade him.
It's hard to figure if the Habs think Corson's recent revival has a lot to
do with their resurgence back into the playoff race, or whether they just see
him as an expendable luxury. Either way, with both Corson and recently hot
goalie Jeff Hackett, the Habs have two very valuable trading pieces. And now
defensive hitman Igor Ulanov is requesting a trade, which sets Montreal up
with a chance to seriously bolster its roster for the stretch drive.
As they were in the search for Bourque, the Flyers will be at the head
of the asking class when it comes to the Canadiens. Bob Clarke would likely be interested in a package deal of Hackett
with either Ulanov or Corson. The problem with the Canadiens for Clarke is
that they want goaltending prospect Maxime Ouellet, the kid
that played so well for Team Canada in the World Juniors and was also the
deal-breaker with Sinden in the Bourque mess.
"I'm not going to do that," Clarke said. But he'll probably do quite a bit
before the week is out. And it might include the rookie goalie who has played
so well this year, Brian Boucher. He's all-but officially displaced
Vanbiesbrouck as the starting goalie in Philadelphia, but on a team perceived
to be in the midst of a wake-up-or-break-them-up playoff drive -- both Eric
Lindros and John LeClair have contracts that expire this summer, and another
early playoff exit won't be tolerated -- it's not logical for the Flyers to
entrust the playoff goaltending to a rookie.
Of course, Clarke said that would be fine with him. See how much faith
Vanbiesbrouck is igniting in Philadelphia these days?
If a deal with Montreal can't come off, expect the Flyers to make
one more push for Khabibulin, probably in a package deal with former Flyer
icon Rick Tocchet. Very available in Philadelphia are Mikael Renberg, Chris
Therien, Sandy McCarthy, defensive prospects Andy Delmore and Mark Eaton and
perhaps Boucher.
In Tampa, there is an open auction for Lightning defenseman Petr Svoboda.
The Flyers, who traded him there in the first place, and the Sabres are two
teams that are said to want Svoboda back. Clarke denied he's interested, but
he denies everything.
The Bolts will probably move to make this a package deal, and there is
some sentiment that they've considered putting Chris Gratton on the block,
too. Tough to believe that will happen.
Sorry, just an accident
Another interesting trading option for a team which lacks speed on the
blue line could be Buffalo defenseman Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. Billed as a
skilled offensive defenseman who's a fast skater and has a terrific shot,
Grand-Pierre was just brought back after nearly a season-long demotion tour
in Rochester.
True, he had a rough start, but another possible reason? His girlfriend tripping
Regier. Seems that accident happened right after Grand-Pierre had been
demoted. But he said the tripping rumor is ridiculous.
"It was blown way out of proportion," Grand-Pierre said. "It got into the
locker room. It was nothing. She was sitting in a chair in the hallway and he
stepped on her foot. That's all it was."
Quote of the week
"I detest Phil Housley. I still hate him ... I played with Phil
Housley, and he treated me like (expletive) while he was here. He's someone, to
this day, I still hate. He showed you no respect and pretended that he was
'the man' and never gave you a chance as a young guy to fit in. I have a
problem with that guy," -- Buffalo's Rob Ray, on a former teammate who's
obviously a good friend.Rob Parent covers the NHL for the Delaware County (Pa.) Times. His NHL East column appears every week on ESPN.com. |  |
