The Fifth Liners

Finally Dan Bylsma 's exodus from the NHL has ended. Today it was announced that he has been appointed the 17th head coach of the Buffalo Sabres . His hiring will no doubt come as positive news to Sabres fan, who are still aggrieved at losing out on Babcock. Here is a statement of intention by Sabres management to improve the dour situation at the First Niagara Centre. But the real question will remain, can Bylsma wring any life out this dying team? Although his previous life at Pittsburgh didn't have a happy ending, Bylsma still gave away with an impressive record. His team took home a Stanley Cup in 2009 and in each of his five seasons in charge, they reached the playoffs. But sadly despite having some of the NHL's elite players, he failed to replicate his cup win and slowly tested the patience of fans and management alike. What the Sabres off him is a completely clean slate and the possibility of having Jack Eichel on the roster. Having coached this same player at the...

Well today's NHL Trade Deadline didn't quite prove to be the Maple Leafs dominated affair that many expected. Princess Dion Phaneuf, Jonathan Bernier and Phil Kessel still remaining in Ontario (at least for now) so it appears Leafs fans will have to wait until summer time for any big changes. But there were still some interesting moves that could well shake up the mix come play off time. Keith Yandle ( Arizona Coyotes to New York Rangers ) At long last Keith Yandle is no longer playing desert hockey and moving to the Big Apple is the shot in the arm his career needs. A long time star of a continually dying franchise, Yandle has shown so much promise for nothing. The Rangers are keen to end their cup drought and grabbing a great blue liner like Yandle is key to that success. John Moore and Anthony Duclar have made the move across in place of this man- which is pretty fair quality for the Rangers to be giving back. We will see if this move pays off come play off time. Ant...

Today a long standing rumour was executed as after almost a year of speculation, the Buffalo Sabres have traded long time goaltender Ryan Miller along with captain Steve Ott to the St Louis Blues in exchange for fellow goalie Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, young prospect William Carrier along with a first round draft pick at the 2015 draft. The 2010 Veniza trophy winner has been under fire the last couple of seasons as the Sabres' form has declined considerably to the point of being laughable (their standing at the bottom of the Western Conference clearly reflects this point). As one of the prime assets on the market and a Olympic Gold Medalist, Miller has been one of the most sought after players in this trade deadline. But in the press conference when the announcement was made, Miller was visibly upset at leaving his home of the last 11 years. He leaves behind an impressive legacy at the HSBC Arena with 284 wins from 540 games played with a GAA average of 2.60! He also beat ...

My question this week once again turns to the city of St Louis as Mike poised this particular question to me:  “The St. Louis Blues are rebuilding their team, the big money signing of Bouwmeester and the extension of Pietrangelo show the team's commitment to its core group of players.T.J. Oshie and David Backes are great players but will the Blues need to shore up its group of forwards if they really want to challenge for the cup?”  Very good question Mike, so let’s go to work. In a city still reveling from the St Louis Cardinals victory in the 2011 World Series of Baseball, blues fans have had little to cheer about in recent years. Last year on paper appeared to be a success as the Blues finished Fourth in Western Conference and pushed the LA Kings all the way in their playoff quarter final and were only narrowly defeated in six games. St Louis now have a potentially great defensive pair after Calgary Flames’ financial problems forced them to trade Jay Bouwmeester las...