I spent a lot of time with the media as we cleaned out our lockers so I am sure that most of the people who read this have heard my opinion. The media generally asks questions that are tailored to fit into an article or a thought they have about a subject... That is what I expect and it is Journalism 101. It seemed like the media had a lot of advice for us even though they postured it through questions, that is why I kind of went off on a tangent and just talked non-stop for 10 minutes. I wanted my opinion out there unclouded and without a spin (allthough the News guys are pretty fair in that regard).

I would not have signed on to be a Buffalo Sabre for the next 5 years if I didn't think the assets were in place to be a championship team... I am going to stick to that. Where we have fallen short is our learning curve, it is taking a little longer than I thought to be a complete team. We have to admit we have short-comings and address them; for each player that can mean something different and it starts with me. I will be focusing on getting healthy and then I will be focusing on my game as spring becomes summer.

As for the team as a whole... We have a group of players that are still developing into the role of the premiere players in an organization. I would argue that it took a long time to develop players like Campbell, Briere,
Drury, McKee, Dumont, Grier, Biron (I use these players because it seems that a lot of the fans I talk to have these guys burned into their memories - and as I recall they had some years where they had to find an identity). I can't tell you just yet what we need to focus on specifically because it is still early in the autopsy of this season.

What I can tell you is that part of the development process is about falling flat on your face... And then recovering, learning, adapting and remaining motivated. I have had many of those moments... The catch is some people don't ever get to the point where they are fuming mad, so we have to evaluate that and I want to see who in our organization shows up in September with that motivation... Because this has to be all together, all for one and one for all, team first, it's not about what is on the back of the sweater, no man left behind, no "I" in Team, the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts... I had a few more quotes to drive the cliché spike home but it ended up being annoying. Like when companies put up motivational posters around the office and all the employees are just rolling their eyes and hating every second they spend at work... Screw the cliché posters...10th place works just fine.

As a side note congratulations to my brother Drew on his first playoff goal in the Ducks 3-2 victory over the Sharks on the 19th... He banged home a rebound that proved to be the game winner and he almost sealed the game later but I think the puck hit the shaft of Rob Blake's stick as it went past Nabakov. Awesome to see him playing a big role. He is the kind of player every NHL team needs because he is smart, hard working, talented and he understands what it means to compete. He is about as skinny as me and I don't think I have seen him truly knocked off a puck or be on the wrong side of a play...

I will be updating the blog when I can. I have a few summer projects that should be fun. I hope to be introducing an online portal for goaltending instruction and we will be doing filming around East Lansing in May and June.

Also anyone in the Buffalo area should know that I am going to be joining Jason Muzzati, a close friend and a former NHL goalie, to run a 5 day Goalie School beginning August 24 at the Holiday Twin Rinks in Cheektowaga. Jason has been running a clinic called "Just Goalies" for years and is one of the best teachers I have seen on the hockey circuit. I used to work his camps while I was in juniors and in college to get some extra ice time and some extra cash... I can tell you that all the skills he teaches are important, especially the work ethic that he commands. For more information or to reserve a spot check out www.justgoalies.net