Alexei Zhitnik

[PTS]

Games like yesterday just further my belief that the Sabres were SOOOOOOOO wrong in letting "Z" leave. A majority of us undervalued what Zhitnik meant to this team. He would have been the guy that would have played every minute against Ottawa's top line and I can guarantee you that Ottawa doesn't put anywhere near 10 goals.

 

We are incredibly weak at defense and in this new NHL, Zhitnik is probably in the Top 3-5 best defensemen in the game. The guy wanted to stay here, his teammates liked him and his coach liked him. Why he wasn't offered a deal I just can't understand.

[Guest AT]

I humbly beg to differ.

 

I do not miss the guy at all.

 

How many seasons did we have of Zhit being useless on the powerplay? High and wide, high and wide, out of the zone, high and wide... The man could not shoot straight and low (how many Sabres took one of his shots of the back of their neck?) discouraging teammates from standing in the slot. (I was actually begining to hate Sabre powerplays -- until the last 30 seconds, or so, when he was replaced on the point!)

 

And he could not pinch to save his life.

 

And then there were all those late period dumb penalties -- usually killing momentum or ending a powerplay. (See his last game against the Sabres when he took two of them -- directly leading to the Sabres' victory!)

 

And, as for defense, he was not particularly good at clearing the front of the crease and did not work well with his d partner.

 

Did he really play all that much against the other teams' best line???? Some times, but I remember seeing the Warriner/McKee tandem doing that more than Smelik-Kalinen/Zhit pair.

 

I challenge anyone with a bunch of Zhitnik Sabre games on video to review 4 or 5 of them, with a piece of paper handy, and make note of the result of his shifts -- then tell me that the Sabres would be better off with him in the lineup.

 

Zhitnik, Biron, Satan -- my three least favorite Sabres over the past 5 years.

Biron, Drury, Pyatt -- my current least favorite.

[Kristian]

I humbly beg to differ.

 

I do not miss the guy at all.

 

How many seasons did we have of Zhit being useless on the powerplay? High and wide, high and wide, out of the zone, high and wide... The man could not shoot straight and low (how many Sabres took one of his shots of the back of their neck?) discouraging teammates from standing in the slot. (I was actually begining to hate Sabre powerplays -- until the last 30 seconds, or so, when he was replaced on the point!)

 

And he could not pinch to save his life.

 

And then there were all those late period dumb penalties -- usually killing momentum or ending a powerplay. (See his last game against the Sabres when he took two of them -- directly leading to the Sabres' victory!)

 

And, as for defense, he was not particularly good at clearing the front of the crease and did not work well with his d partner.

 

Did he really play all that much against the other teams' best line???? Some times, but I remember seeing the Warriner/McKee tandem doing that more than Smelik-Kalinen/Zhit pair.

 

I challenge anyone with a bunch of Zhitnik Sabre games on video to review 4 or 5 of them, with a piece of paper handy, and make note of the result of his shifts -- then tell me that the Sabres would be better off with him in the lineup.

 

Zhitnik, Biron, Satan -- my three least favorite Sabres over the past 5 years.

Biron, Drury, Pyatt -- my current least favorite.

Amen.

 

Zhitnik logged minutes, minutes and minutes, and he was better than average defensively, but that's it.

 

The less said about his so-called offensive upside, the better.

 

No way was he worth his salary. That said though, Regier should be shot for not beefing up the blueline properly in the offseason.

 

Biron... If I get started I'll never stop.... Suffice it to say that I have hated this guy with a vengeance ever since I first saw him grinning ear to ear at the post game interview after giving up three goals in the third period of a game The Sabres led by two. Soft goals, I might add, every single one.

 

Pyatt - I have to wonder sometimes, do you think he's actually on the roster to make the other stiffs out there look good???

[Taro T]

Games like yesterday just further my belief that the Sabres were SOOOOOOOO wrong in letting "Z" leave. A majority of us undervalued what Zhitnik meant to this team. He would have been the guy that would have played every minute against Ottawa's top line and I can guarantee you that Ottawa doesn't put anywhere near 10 goals.

 

We are incredibly weak at defense and in this new NHL, Zhitnik is probably in the Top 3-5 best defensemen in the game. The guy wanted to stay here, his teammates liked him and his coach liked him. Why he wasn't offered a deal I just can't understand.

The Sabres did not just let him leave. The Sabres made him what I considered to be a very good offer at the end of the '03-'04 season. This season, the Islanders gave him a 4 year deal that he felt was better than the one Buffalo offered. He will be close to 37 when the contract is finished and he plays a very physical game. Will he be worth $3.5MM / year in 4 years, I don't know.

 

I agree that it would be great if Zhitnik were still a Sabre. He was the best Sabres defenseman during the time he was in Buffalo. He was the only D-man to regularly lug the puck out of his own zone, he would play physical, as poor as his shots were he was probably still the Sabres second best D-man in the offensive zone behind Kalinin, and I think he was close to the best in his own end.

 

I disagree that Z is one of the 3-5 best in the game today. I'd probably put him in the top 20, though. Just off the top of my head, I'd say Lisdtrom, Blake, Niedermayer, Aucoin, Jovanovski, Pronger, and Chara (in no particular order) are better than Z.

[Saber61]

Amen.

 

Zhitnik logged minutes, minutes and minutes, and he was better than average defensively, but that's it.

 

The less said about his so-called offensive upside, the better.

 

No way was he worth his salary. That said though, Regier should be shot for not beefing up the blueline properly in the offseason.

 

Biron... If I get started I'll never stop.... Suffice it to say that I have hated this guy with a vengeance ever since I first saw him grinning ear to ear at the post game interview after giving up three goals in the third period of a game The Sabres led by two. Soft goals, I might add, every single one.

 

Pyatt - I have to wonder sometimes, do you think he's actually on the roster to make the other stiffs out there look good???

agreed about biron... soft as hell... can't see him leading this team... ah well what can you do... its better then having a 3rd or 4th stringer in net all the time like in atlanta... poor bastards.

[DrunkenSabre]

Z is an alright defenseman, nothing more. Regier was going to offer him a deal, but NYI got stupid and offered him silly money, so we weren't going to offer that and he left. offensively poor, defensively ok. Had the 2nd worst +/- last season. 2nd to satan ironically. logged minutes.

 

glad his gone, time for a change.

[Saber61]

time for a change is good... but i see no change... all i see is a gapeing hole were zhitnik used to be... wheres the change... is numinen and lydman supposed to represent change... cuze if it is... were in for it.

[Swedesessed]

Missing Zhitnik after a 10-4 loss? Hardly.

 

That game is an indicment of how the rules changes now might have created too much offense. The refs are calling TOO many penalties, let the guys play a little...

 

If this continues, is it unrealistic to think a player or players will net 80? Not to me it isnt.

[Taro T]

Missing Zhitnik after a 10-4 loss? Hardly.

 

That game is an indicment of how the rules changes now might have created too much offense. The refs are calling TOO many penalties, let the guys play a little...

 

If this continues, is it unrealistic to think a player or players will net 80? Not to me it isnt.

Could you please clarify on how a game where Ottawa had 4 powerplays is an indication that the refs are calling too many penalties?

[Saber61]

Could you please clarify on how a game where Ottawa had 4 powerplays is an indication that the refs are calling too many penalties?

good call... i thought there were more... i guess not... it didn't matter whether they were down 2 men... they were still getting chances... it was nuts...

[PTS]

You guys are wrong about Zhitnik. He would have made a big difference. Maybe you don't agree that he's not in the elite of the NHL like I do, but there is not one defenseman on this team that comes close to his playing abilities.

[LabattBlue]

If Darcy would have cut his losses with Pyatt and Connolly, that would have been 2 million that they could have used towards paying Zhitnik. He was a disaster on the PP, but he would have been a welcome addition on the blue line.

[Satan81]

Z is over...rated. Glad he's gone. Watching an NYI game the other night I saw him take one of his dumb penalties. Can't wait to see what the Islander fans think of him when he pulls that with a minute to go in a game that is deadlocked.

[Kristian]

Z is over...rated. Glad he's gone. Watching an NYI game the other night I saw him take one of his dumb penalties. Can't wait to see what the Islander fans think of him when he pulls that with a minute to go in a game that is deadlocked.

He did it twice against The Sabres tied at four a piece, in case you forgot. Sabres won that game 6-4, which says everything about how little I miss Z.

[deluca67]

You guys are wrong about Zhitnik. He would have made a big difference. Maybe you don't agree that he's not in the elite of the NHL like I do, but there is not one defenseman on this team that comes close to his playing abilities.

You're preaching to the choir here. He would have brought the Sabres D to a higher level. He was the Sabres best defenseman. He would have gave Buffalo a true #1 defensive pairing with Kalinin. Now? Kalinin is all by himself back there. Which is why he rushed back from injury too soon.

[Saber61]

You're preaching to the choir here. He would have brought the Sabres D to a higher level. He was the Sabres best defenseman. He would have gave Buffalo a true #1 defensive pairing with Kalinin. Now? Kalinin is all by himself back there. Which is why he rushed back from injury too soon.

agreed... poor kalinin... another player rushed into responsibility that he's not ready for... just like biron, noronen, roy, miller (almost), pyatt, connolly, Afinogenov perhaps... the list goes on and on...

[deluca67]

It doesn't, or shouldn't, matter if you like Z or not. The same with Satan. The fact is the Sabres did nothing to replace two players from the top of their depth chart. Z was the Sabres best defensemen and Satan their only true goal scorer. They cheaped out and paid $2 million for Teppo. Which is $1 million more then any other team had offered him. Why does that get swept under the rug. A penny wise team throws away an extra $1 million for nothing? Why am I the only one bothered by this. Please say I'm not.

[Shorty]

I saw highlights from the Sens NYI game last night and thought "thank god he's not a Sabre anymore" Zhitnik was at fault for two of the goals. Shooting at a player charging him down on the PP and giving up a short handed goal and not tying up a guys stick in front. And of course he took a penalty to give the Sens a power play and another goal.

 

I don't like the fact we got nothing for him but then again I'd prefer nothing at all than have him taking stupid penalties and giving away scoring chances by making such basic errors as shooting straight at a player charging him down.

 

I'd take a kid from Rochester and give him some ice time rather than have Zhitnik back.

[Saber61]

I'd take a kid from Rochester and give him some ice time rather than have Zhitnik back.

have you seen the 'kids' from rochester... problem is thats just what they are... kids... i could do better and im 20 years old and play goalie casually in street hockey... come on... the defense down there is useless... we may not like zhitnik but hell get something back for him... this cannot happen again down the road... losing briere or kotalik or the likes for nothing will kill this team... we can only draft good players for sooo long before no one cares anymore to watch a team in the basement for 10 years before they finally develop

[DrunkenSabre]

his choice to leave was simple. NYI offered him a ridiculous contract, he asked sabres to match we (IMHO rightly) said no, he left. he got a better deal, thats all. i didnt want him locked up for more than a year, he had other idea's. dont miss him, tho i dont like Numminen as a replacement.

[Kristian]

I saw highlights from the Sens NYI game last night and thought "thank god he's not a Sabre anymore" Zhitnik was at fault for two of the goals. Shooting at a player charging him down on the PP and giving up a short handed goal and not tying up a guys stick in front. And of course he took a penalty to give the Sens a power play and another goal.

 

I don't like the fact we got nothing for him but then again I'd prefer nothing at all than have him taking stupid penalties and giving away scoring chances by making such basic errors as shooting straight at a player charging him down.

 

I'd take a kid from Rochester and give him some ice time rather than have Zhitnik back.

One of these days, I'm gonna buy you a beer.