Misery loves company. Top 3 East seeds gone.
Shows how little the regular season means (aside from April, you could plainly see the Devils and Sabres backing into the playoffs).
My steps for putting the Sabres over the hump for next year:
1. Dump Drew Stafford, he has hit a wall and could get a decent return for a "change of scenery".
2. Keep, at all costs, Mike Grier. Make him fucking captain, too, if necessary.
3. Tallinder and Lydman are UFAs. Keep one, and if I had to pick, I'd say Tallinder. He was a perfect linemate for Tyler Myers.
4. Bring in a power-play quarterback to replace Lydman. I'll have a better idea of who's available once free agency gets closer and I see who won't be re-signed.
5. We don't necessarily need a high-paid sniper, that's what Vanek is capable of/is already. We need some fucking SIZE, and someone who can win a faceoff other than Gaustad. Someone like a Nik Antropov, but with playoff experience. Roy and Connolly were huge no-shows this spring, and there's a good chance Timmy C just played (or didn't play) his way out of town.