shack said:
Pronger was signed in the off-season and was on the roster the entire year.
Roloson was in no way, shape or form a big name signing. He was a big question mark but can only now be considered a "gun" seeing as he has played up to what the Oiler management could see in him that others didn`t and had the foresight and balls to take a risk and address a need. The Stanley Cup is awarded to an organization, including the management, not just the players. As such the hardworking players and fans will have been let down by the management once the `Canes complete the task for which they are poised.
Small consolation, being able to call yourself a Cinderella team but losing when you could have won with a bit more depth. I think I`d rather be in the final like the young Oilers instead of being pure Cinderellas but watching from the outside. The young warriors of the west beat the class of the NHL in the first round, then the young speedy Edmontonians have overcome whatever obstacles have been put in front of them. The unselfish,team-first determination of the young, plucky Albertans has been a pleasure to watch.
Not to take anything away from the Sabres, they`ve been fun to watch, especially when they beat the Flyers, but it looks like the young, classy Oilers will be playing Carolina for the fitting of the glass slipper.
Average age:
Sabres--27.2
Oilers--27.9
Not much difference.
LOL!!! First of all, you are right about Pronger. What the good doc really meant was
Sergei Samsonov. He was acquired by the Oilers at the trade deadline from the Boston Bruins.
With regard to Roloson, give credit to the Oilers management for having the foresight to appreciate Roloson’s goaltending abilities. The Oilers certainly would not give away the first round draft pick during trade deadline for somebody insignificant. Without Roloson’s spectacular goaltending, the good doc doubts the Oilers will win the Western Conference championship.
BTW, Roloson is an ex-Sabres and so as Michael Peca, the ex-Sabres captain. Both of them are on fire for this playoff run.
Now to the idea of purity, I do not believe that you are disputing
the criteria of purity I discussed in the earlier post in an answer to poster New2game. That is no doubt acquiring ‘hire guns’ to enhance the chance of winning playoff games and the Stanley Cup has a long NHL history and the new NHL is no different. Would the Sabres management sacrifice the Sabres` pure Cinderella image to shore up its depth for a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup? That is a very interesting question that the good doc cannot answer. Will the fans, the players, and the WNY communities feel let down by Sabres’ management if the Sabres were eliminated either by the Hurricanes or Oilers? You bet Darcy Regier and his gang will become goats for a long, long time to come.
My impression is 1) The Sabres management did not foresee the Sabres will go so far and deep into playoffs. 2) If they did, they did not anticipate three of the important defensemen will not be able to play when they are badly needed. 3) They overestimated the minor league Amerks defensemen in their abilities to help the Sabres` depleted defense corp.
Well, perhaps it is too early for you to write the obituary for the young Sabres.
The series is at 3-2. There is at least one game to be played. If the young Sabres win and keep winning, victories will be so much sweeter in view of the formidable adversities they face. If they lose, the young Sabres certainly have nothing to be ashamed of. They have far exceeded most people`s reasonable expectations on them.
