Lebrun On Deadline Day

Lebrun says it right; don’t get your hopes up.  This is the Sabres we’re talking about.  ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun, as he always does, fielded some questions, including this one on the state of the Sabres…

bflo2balt: …We Sabres fans do expect a lot from our team, but I think that the anger regarding this road trip is misplaced. I still think they are one or two pieces away from becoming a complete team, perhaps a veteran scorer (Ray Whitney or Sykora come to mind) and a solid back-up goalie (MARTY! MARTY!), with no offense to Patty Lalime, who has showed some brilliance this year. What do you think of that assessment?

Lebrun’s take?

I spoke with Sabres GM Darcy Regier on Monday, passed on the many urgings from Sabres fans/readers for him to pick up more offense at the trade deadline, and he said he and Sabres coach Lindy Ruff may have helped fuel this desire from their fans by criticizing the production of their top-six forward group at times.

“We think that there’s more to get from our top-six forwards,” Regier told me from Vancouver, where the Sabres played Monday night. “Right now, Tim Connolly’s line with Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville has actually been very good. The other line with Drew Stafford, Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek has been more inconsistent, although I see that line competing harder than it has and getting more chances. …

“It’s about getting more from the six guys we have. Roy and Vanek are two prime examples of that. They are two guys who have offensively struggled. It’s more a focus of getting them back on track than it is looking on the outside and finding somebody you’ll bring in and solve it for you; and who knows what you have to give up to acquire that, as well.”

In other words, Sabres fans, don’t get your hopes up for trade deadline day.

A bland; but accurate assessment.  It’s not forward depth that we need.  We’ve got all the pieces in place, PK specialists, Faceoff specialists, PP snipers, a playmaking center, you name it, you can name a Sabre.

What you can’t name is a true powerplay quarterback.  Myers has done an admirable job, Butler is just OK, Rivet isn’t who he used to be.  If the Sabres are going to target somebody, I sure hope that’s on the top of Darcy’s list.