Tim Connolly

[G.M.]

If this guy has a history of being injured then the Sabres had better find a way to keep him from having his head removed. Having the option to sign this quy at the end of the season or to even get half of what his trade value should be is of upmost importance. :chris:

 

The Sabres should start an on ice investment in this guy now, in the form of protection.

If anyone takes a run at him absorb the instigator penalty and attack the best player on the opposing team. The word needs to get out that if players are going after Tim then we will not be attacking the offending party but a player of equal skill. This guy needs to stay healthy at all costs. With the Sabres penalty killing Lindy and this crew need to send a message.

Ok I am 80 percent convinced this guy is for real. 99 had Semenko the Sabres need to be even more diligent concerning Tim.

What are the consequences of violating the instigator? Nothing compared to removing this guy from the lineup. With Connolly the Sabres can have two legitimate scoring lines as well as a much improved power play. Beat the living hell out of a Koivu or Heatly a couple of games and it will give this guy that much more room to move. The Sabres if need be need to cut their nose off to spite their face concerning this guy. The organization as well as the league can ill afford to lose players, to Mohican helicopter slashes, delicious hits from behind and brain altering open ice hits. Since the league will not enforce rules or protect its players I say to hell with the instigator rule anyway and do everything in ones power to even the score.

[bflobarry]

Connolly is hands down the most creative player on this team. They are sooo much better w/ him in the lineup. I haven't seen too many posts recently from the frothing morons calling for him to be cut b/c he has been injured so much. He has instantly made this team better upon his return. Anyone that can't see that doesn't know hockey. Kudos to Lindy for putting the new top line together: Vanek, Stafford and Connoly should be together, and they are dangerous every shift. If we weren't almost last in the league in blue line scoring, we'd be near the top of the conference, IMO.....

[DR HOLLIDAY]

He has so much skill.................. :wallbash:

[nucci]

Connolly is hands down the most creative player on this team. They are sooo much better w/ him in the lineup. I haven't seen too many posts recently from the frothing morons calling for him to be cut b/c he has been injured so much. He has instantly made this team better upon his return. Anyone that can't see that doesn't know hockey. Kudos to Lindy for putting the new top line together: Vanek, Stafford and Connoly should be together, and they are dangerous every shift. If we weren't almost last in the league in blue line scoring, we'd be near the top of the conference, IMO.....

Easy with the name calling around here!! If you bothered to read other posts regarding Connolly, you will see our frustration is with the number of games has missed over the years. All agree we are a better team WHEN he plays. Regarding the name calling, this place is not TSW!!

[inkman]

I haven't seen too many posts recently from the frothing morons calling for him to be cut b/c he has been injured so much.

I don't know if I have seen anyone post "cut him". I have seen many a poster complain that the Sabres should not have counted on him to play one game this year. They have put themselves into the undesireable position of having to rely on the unreliable. A situation that should have and could have been avoided before the season.

[rickshaw]

The unselfish play he made on the Stafford hattrick goal was ridiculous. He's 7 feet out in the slot and he passes to an even more open player. Sure they are up by 7 goals at the time, but he'd make that play if it were there any day of the week. He's got talent. Too bad he's not made of steel. The team is way better with him.

[Barnabov]

What I like about Timmy this year is that he's shooting the puck and big shocker, scoring some goals. Has already surpassed last year's goal total in 1/3 the games played. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of his injuries are either bad luck or his own mistake so not sure what putting an enforcer order out to protect him would accomplish but I'm always in favor of seeing more pummelings on the ice whether warranted or not!

[tom webster]

I don't know if I have seen anyone post "cut him". I have seen many a poster complain that the Sabres should not have counted on him to play one game this year. They have put themselves into the undesireable position of having to rely on the unreliable. A situation that should have and could have been avoided before the season.

 

I would like to add that the way the team is playing is further proof that if the team had a better back up plan at center, they wouldn't be fighting for 7th or 8th but rather would be firmly entrenched in a playoff position.

[carpandean]

I would like to add that the way the team is playing is further proof that if the team had a better back up plan at center, they wouldn't be fighting for 7th or 8th but rather would be firmly entrenched in a playoff position.

Exactly! Everyone says "see, look how much better we are with Timmy in the lineup" but, while I will grant you that he seems to be a very good center, it's hard to separate how much of this is Timmy in particular and how much of this is just having two capable second-line centers in the lineup. Before, you either had one very good scoring lines and one weak one or you had two that were just OK/good. Now, they can roll two very good scoring lines. I didn't like counting on Timmy there last year with Hecht as the next-best option, but I was absolutely pissed that they did the same thing again this year. If we don't make the playoffs again, I will place the biggest blame on that decision.

[LabattBlue]

If this guy has a history of being injured then the Sabres had better find a way to keep him from having his head removed. Having the option to sign this quy at the end of the season or to even get half of what his trade value should be is of upmost importance. :chris:

 

The Sabres should start an on ice investment in this guy now, in the form of protection.

If anyone takes a run at him absorb the instigator penalty and attack the best player on the opposing team. The word needs to get out that if players are going after Tim then we will not be attacking the offending party but a player of equal skill. This guy needs to stay healthy at all costs. With the Sabres penalty killing Lindy and this crew need to send a message.

Ok I am 80 percent convinced this guy is for real. 99 had Semenko the Sabres need to be even more diligent concerning Tim.

What are the consequences of violating the instigator? Nothing compared to removing this guy from the lineup. With Connolly the Sabres can have two legitimate scoring lines as well as a much improved power play. Beat the living hell out of a Koivu or Heatly a couple of games and it will give this guy that much more room to move. The Sabres if need be need to cut their nose off to spite their face concerning this guy. The organization as well as the league can ill afford to lose players, to Mohican helicopter slashes, delicious hits from behind and brain altering open ice hits. Since the league will not enforce rules or protect its players I say to hell with the instigator rule anyway and do everything in ones power to even the score.

So how does this help in terms of him getting hurt in training camp(which happened this year)? Oh by the way, getting an enforcer to "beat the hell out of Koivu" or another skilled opponent is about as unrealistic as it gets.

[Knightrider]

I don't know if I have seen anyone post "cut him". I have seen many a poster complain that the Sabres should not have counted on him to play one game this year. They have put themselves into the undesireable position of having to rely on the unreliable. A situation that should have and could have been avoided before the season.

 

Bigger than that question to me is "What has Timmy done to deserve a roster spot?"

They have put together a couple of wins. Why in the hell would the Sabres even contemplate disrupting the lineup for a game or two which is when he will get hurt again.

 

Send "The Skill" home for good and let the team move forward. Send Max with him. They can hang out and play with each others Wii.

 

 

:ph34r:

[That Aud Smell]

Connolly is hands down the most creative player on this team.

as others have said around these parts, he is arguably the most imaginative/creative player the franchise has ever had.

 

it was x. benedict who made that proffer first, as far as i can recall. whither x.? i'm off to check his profile for account activity. the fact that he's gone mostly quiet during the season is .. how you say, interesting.

 

EDIT: i'm an idiot - dude's been all over game discussion threads.

[spndnchz]

as others have said around these parts, he is arguably the most imaginative/creative player the franchise has ever had.

 

it was x. benedict who made that proffer first, as far as i can recall. whither x.? i'm off to check his profile for account activity. the fact that he's gone mostly quiet during the season is .. how you say, interesting.

 

EDIT: i'm an idiot - dude's been all over game discussion threads.

But if you look closely he's only on during intermissions. I think he posts from the locker room. :o

[That Aud Smell]

But if you look closely he's only on during intermissions. I think he posts from the locker room. :o

:blink:

[tom webster]

as others have said around these parts, he is arguably the most imaginative/creative player the franchise has ever had.

 

it was x. benedict who made that proffer first, as far as i can recall. whither x.? i'm off to check his profile for account activity. the fact that he's gone mostly quiet during the season is .. how you say, interesting.

 

EDIT: i'm an idiot - dude's been all over game discussion threads.

 

It was definitely "X" as that led to my first to do with him. While I still feel Tim couldn't hold Gil's stick when it comes to creativity and imaginatiion, I have since developed a significant amount of respect for "X" and you as well "Aud."

[That Aud Smell]

It was definitely "X" as that led to my first to do with him. While I still feel Tim couldn't hold Gil's stick when it comes to creativity and imaginatiion, I have since developed a significant amount of respect for "X" and you as well "Aud."

that was a great debate. and thanks for the kind words; it's a distinct honor to be grouped with x.

 

in the end, i agree that bert had the greatest vision and imagination with the puck of any sabre. the trick with having an objective assessment of #11's gifts in that regard is that his athleticism was so profound that it sometimes over-shadowed the more nuanced parts of his game -- that's not the case with connolly.

[Bmwolf21]

Exactly! Everyone says "see, look how much better we are with Timmy in the lineup" but, while I will grant you that he seems to be a very good center, it's hard to separate how much of this is Timmy in particular and how much of this is just having two capable second-line centers in the lineup. Before, you either had one very good scoring lines and one weak one or you had two that were just OK/good. Now, they can roll two very good scoring lines. I didn't like counting on Timmy there last year with Hecht as the next-best option, but I was absolutely pissed that they did the same thing again this year. If we don't make the playoffs again, I will place the biggest blame on that decision.

Timmy's mere presence in the lineup also allows Ruff to keep Hecht or Gaustad playing in roles they are much more comfortable with - Gaustad as 3rd-line center and Hecht as a winger - and not asking them to fill in as a no.2 center.

[carpandean]

Timmy's mere presence in the lineup also allows Ruff to keep Hecht or Gaustad playing in roles they are much more comfortable with - Gaustad as 3rd-line center and Hecht as a winger - and not asking them to fill in as a no.2 center.

Yes, yes. I forgot to say that part, but have said as much many times before. Definitely an indirect benefit of having another real center.

[deluca67]

:ph34r:

I still believe that today. I guess I should post since there appears to be "frothing morons" walking around with their Connolly boners because he has managed to stay healthy for a few games. With a 100% healthy Connolly are the Sabres a Cup contender? No. Is Connolly a player that you want to make a financial investment on past this season? No. Does Connolly have any trade value? No. Hopefully Connolly can stick around long enough to help the Sabres make the playoffs. It would be great if he earned at least some of the money he has been able to get from the Sabres.

 

No matter what Connolly does between now and the end of the season it will not make up for the mistake the Sabres made in giving him that three year contract. It was $10 million tied up that could have been used on a player that actually could stay in the lineup. I still believe that relying on Max and Connolly before the 2007-08 cost the Sabres a playoff spot.

 

That said, I hope that Connolly can stay healthy the rest of the season and helps the Sabres reach the playoffs. He owes them that much. I also hope that what ever Connolly does for the rest of the season that the Sabres turn a blind eye and let him walk. The worst thing the Sabres can do is make any further investment.

[Knightrider]

I still believe that today. I guess I should post since there appears to be "frothing morons" walking around with their Connolly boners because he has managed to stay healthy for a few games. With a 100% healthy Connolly are the Sabres a Cup contender? No. Is Connolly a player that you want to make a financial investment on past this season? No. Does Connolly have any trade value? No. Hopefully Connolly can stick around long enough to help the Sabres make the playoffs. It would be great if earned at least some of the money he has been able to get from the Sabres.

 

No matter what Connolly does between now and the end of the season will not make up for the mistake the Sabres made in giving him that three year contract. It was $10 million tied up that could have been used on a player that actually could stay in the lineup. I still believe that relying on Max and Connolly before the 2007-08 cost the Sabres a playoff spot.

 

That said, I hope that Connolly can stay healthy the rest of the season and helps the Sabres reach the playoffs. He owes them that much. I also hope that what ever Connolly does for the rest of the season that the Sabres turn a blind eye and let him walk. The worst thing the Sabres can do is make any further investment.

 

FWIW, I don't think you are a frothing moron... :thumbsup:

[deluca67]

FWIW, I don't think you are a frothing moron... :thumbsup:

I must not be trying hard enough :thumbsup:

 

Anyway, do morons "froth"? Don't they tend to just drool? When I think "froth" I think #1 Beer and #2 being rabid. So I guess if I were to be a "frothing moron" what I would actually be is a rabid fan who's opinions may not be easily agreed with. Nah, I'm probably just a "moron". :rolleyes:

[rbochan]

If only he'd STOP SKATING WITH HIS FRIKKEN HEAD DOWN!!!

[Kristian]

No matter what Connolly does between now and the end of the season it will not make up for the mistake the Sabres made in giving him that three year contract. It was $10 million tied up that could have been used on a player that actually could stay in the lineup. I still believe that relying on Max and Connolly before the 2007-08 cost the Sabres a playoff spot.

 

Very true, but at least Connolly is an asset when he does play, however rare that may be, whereas Max is an asset when he DOESN'T play.

[deluca67]

Very true, but at least Connolly is an asset when he does play, however rare that may be, whereas Max is an asset when he DOESN'T play.

What a better team this would be in Max had the injury bug not Timmy.

[tulax]

I think that playing Connolly with Stafford and Vanek works pretty nicely as an insurance policy. Think about it, both Stafford and Vanek excel in tight spots near the goal. I'm assuming that most defenders would be more apt to focus their attention on the guys camped in front of the net as opposed to Connolly. I think that by putting him with guys that will work for pucks deep and shield a goalie, there is not as much responsibility for Connolly to get creative with the puck to try to make plays (he's relied on to do this if he plays with guys like Pomminstein and Hecht). By not being forced to create, it seems he becomes more effective in creating (if that makes sense).