BUFFALO, NY - Buffalo, a team many thought were the top contenders to emerge from the eastern Conference, have done exactly that. They have emerged as one of the worst teams in conference. After 50 games, they sit in second to last place in the east, and 10 points out of a playoff spot. Their star players have not scored, their star defense has not stopped an opponent, and their up and coming goalie Ryan Miller, would not be able to stop a beachball from hitting the broad side of a barn. The situatin seems to be in dire straits. However, on Saturday night, GM Jason Fisher turned all the attention away from the team, and directed it at himself, by completing, without question, the biggest blockbuster trade in the history of the OTHL. Fisher has acquired the best hockey phenom since Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby. Crosby has almost single handedly carried the Caps to the top of Eastern Conference standings. He may just be able to do it for Buffalo as well. "This is a new experience for me. I am excited at the possibilities that I will now have playing in Buffalo with players like Marion Gaborik, Thomas Vanek, Chris Pronger, etc. I feel like we have better players here than in Washington, so I am really excited about finishing the season. All we need to do is rattle of some wins, and get ourselves in the playoffs. Once you are in, anything can happen." - Crosby said.
So who did the Sabres have to give up, to acquire such a young stud you ask? Well, the price was a steep one, as star winger Iyla Kovalchuk, star defenseman Jani Pitkanen, star center David Legwand, along with young Andrew Alberts and picks were sent to Washintno in exchange for the gifted Crosby, centerman Andrew Cassells, defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky, and winger Dmitri Afansekov. However, Sabres management has already informed Cassells, Tverdovsky, and Afansekov that they should not get comfortable. GM Fisher has told them that they will bemoved as soon as possible, that they do not fit into the future plans of the Sabres. Taking them on was the price of doing bussiness with the Capitals to get Crosby.
The Sabres need to pull a 180 degree turn around if they want to get back into this race. Crosby