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NHL East
Friday, November 3
With Peca injured,
Sabres may be dealing




It is time for reality to intercede in Buffalo.

The salad days of the undermanned Sabres and their flexible flyer of a goaltender cheating the odds; the memories of so many one-goal wins riding on the pointed shoulders of Dominik Hasek, so many surprising conquests of offensively superior teams who couldn't handle their four-line transition game ... all but gone now.

As the Florida Panthers proved three years before them, the Sabres turned their discipline and Dom's dominance into a march to the Cup finals last year. But when the fiscal aspects of the game are always weighed against you, at some point, reality has to set in.

Dominik Hasek
Could Hasek be the next big name on the trading block.

So let it dawn on the Sabres now: The time has come to trade Hasek.

While there is no real evidence to suggest that the goalie with the rubbery legs and even more flexible retirement plan is finally starting to lose his grip at age 35, he also hasn't been able to re-ignite any magic since returning from a torn groin. That injury that not only sent them spinning in reverse early on, but also made Hasek realize he didn't want to quit after all.

Hasek is now talking about leading the Sabres back onto a path of glory, and why not this spring?

"If I want to play every game," Hasek said, "I have to play well. We all have to play well."

Well, they all are on an ill-timed 1-4-1 slide heading into a game Wednesday night with fellow-team-on-the-outs Boston. The Sabres may only be three points out of a playoff spot, but they seem to be heading faster toward the Bruins' last-place perch in the Northeast Division than they do toward challenging the Rangers and Penguins for the last playoff chair.

And now, the Sabres' fate seems sealed since captain Mike Peca is probably finished for the regular season after suffering a full dislocation of his left shoulder Sunday at the end of a 2-1 loss to Washington. In poetic style, Peca's shoulder came unglued while he was preparing to fight Steve Konowalchuk.

So, now that the week leading up to the NHL trading deadline -- the most enjoyable respite of the league's regular season boreathon -- is in full swing, why not admit it's time to reload for next year?

The best way for GM Darcy Regier to do so is by following the example set this week by that tenured teacher of bad-faith management, Harry Sinden. Got a local legend who isn't quite up to his old snuff but still draws a lot of respect from contending teams with plenty to trade with?

Hold an auction.

In the words of dissed Philadelphia bidder Bob Clarke, just shortly before Harry called him with a disappointing final answer, Sinden "did a masterful job" in his selling of Ray Bourque to proclaimed genius Pierre Lacroix and his Avalanche. And if 21 years in a Bruins uniform wasn't enough for Bourque to set his own trading course when time came for an amicable parting with the team he'll always be identified with, well, it's a tough business.

Harry will probably bring him back to coach in a couple of years, anyway.

Meanwhile, despite a mantleful of Vezina Trophies and plenty of memories, Regier need not worry about alienating Sabres fans if he were to follow Harry's lead and quietly sold Hasek to the highest bidder. The Dominator isn't exactly an icon in Buffalo. Just an annually distracting presence ... and the most dominating individual presence in the league when he's hot.

But the warming season is over in Buffalo, and the time has come to re-plant some vital roots to build around Peca, one of the game's best-kept secrets and still developing at 25. Ditto with goalie Martin Biron, who will be a tremendous goalie in his own right once he's allowed to play without fear of Hasek's shadow appearing every February.

But just how to do this when Hasek is scheduled to make $7.5 million next season and a club-option $9 million if he wants to play another year? Simple ... Just show tapes of John Vanbiesbrouck's bad goals this season to Clarke.

The Flyers certainly fit the bill of a monied team desperately seeking goaltending help, but they're not alone among teams that would be willing to take a deal for Hasek. In Los Angeles, he could be the difference between finishing ninth in the West this season or perhaps going three-rounds deep in the playoffs. And beyond that, the Kings could always use a bona fide star to help sell tickets to their celebrity public.

Up the coast, the San Jose Sharks are as hot for goaltending help as the Flyers are. A Hasek in the playoffs might make them a viable contender to come out of the West this spring. And next season, they could probably find a way to slice some fat veteran contracts to make room for Hasek on the payroll.

Ditto Phoenix, which apparently will never see eye-to-eye with Nikolai Khabibulin again. And would you believe Detroit? Think Scotty Bowman would mind handing Chris Osgood's crease over to Hasek to try to win another Cup?

Just like the course of hellish action that Harry took, Regier could do such a Hasek deal by shipping the old man westward, where almost all haunting reminders of him would be played out on SportsCenter rather than in the Eastern Conference playoff standings or the Marine Midland Center three times.

Hasek will also bring a variety of dividends:

  • A veteran scorer to pair Peca with.

  • Maybe a nice veteran goalie to help in the seasoning of Biron.

  • A fine batch of draft picks to go along with them.

    And one more thing about moving Hasek: It would free enough payroll space, so that the Sabres could finally get real with contract negotiations with Peca, who's perhaps the most underpaid player in the league.

    Of course, doing a Hasek deal by the trading deadline Tuesday would mean the Sabres are draping a white flag on this season. But so what? In Buffalo, it's time for a reality check to replace its biggest, most problematic paycheck.

    Other deadline musings ...
  • There is still strong sentiment among players, coaches and certainly the media and fans in New York that Neil Smith should swallow his pride and bring back Mark Messier. Though Vancouver GM Brian Burke says he'll move Messier only if the old guy gives him a list of teams he'd like to play for, that list could probably be pared down to two teams in the greater New York area.

    Uh, no, the Islanders aren't one of them. And as for that team in Greater Western New York, what good is a 39-year-old Messier without a 25-year-old Peca?

    Don't expect it, but also don't be shocked if Smith, in another one of those lovely moments of self-contradiction he's good at, convinces himself and Dave (Sign the) Checketts to bring back Mess for one more glorious lap around the town. But only if Lou Lamoriello fools Smith into thinking he's going to trade for him first.

  • Now that he's taking medication to control a spastic hernia, which was giving him indigestion problems and scaring him because his father had died of cancer at a young age, Shayne Corson is happily going about his tough business in Montreal. Just in time for the Canadiens to trade him.

    It's hard to figure if the Habs think Corson's recent revival has a lot to do with their resurgence back into the playoff race, or whether they just see him as an expendable luxury. Either way, with both Corson and recently hot goalie Jeff Hackett, the Habs have two very valuable trading pieces. And now defensive hitman Igor Ulanov is requesting a trade, which sets Montreal up with a chance to seriously bolster its roster for the stretch drive.

  • As they were in the search for Bourque, the Flyers will be at the head of the asking class when it comes to the Canadiens. Bob Clarke would likely be interested in a package deal of Hackett with either Ulanov or Corson. The problem with the Canadiens for Clarke is that they want goaltending prospect Maxime Ouellet, the kid that played so well for Team Canada in the World Juniors and was also the deal-breaker with Sinden in the Bourque mess.

    "I'm not going to do that," Clarke said. But he'll probably do quite a bit before the week is out. And it might include the rookie goalie who has played so well this year, Brian Boucher. He's all-but officially displaced Vanbiesbrouck as the starting goalie in Philadelphia, but on a team perceived to be in the midst of a wake-up-or-break-them-up playoff drive -- both Eric Lindros and John LeClair have contracts that expire this summer, and another early playoff exit won't be tolerated -- it's not logical for the Flyers to entrust the playoff goaltending to a rookie.

    Of course, Clarke said that would be fine with him. See how much faith Vanbiesbrouck is igniting in Philadelphia these days?

    If a deal with Montreal can't come off, expect the Flyers to make one more push for Khabibulin, probably in a package deal with former Flyer icon Rick Tocchet. Very available in Philadelphia are Mikael Renberg, Chris Therien, Sandy McCarthy, defensive prospects Andy Delmore and Mark Eaton and perhaps Boucher.

  • In Tampa, there is an open auction for Lightning defenseman Petr Svoboda. The Flyers, who traded him there in the first place, and the Sabres are two teams that are said to want Svoboda back. Clarke denied he's interested, but he denies everything.

    The Bolts will probably move to make this a package deal, and there is some sentiment that they've considered putting Chris Gratton on the block, too. Tough to believe that will happen.

    Sorry, just an accident
    Another interesting trading option for a team which lacks speed on the blue line could be Buffalo defenseman Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. Billed as a skilled offensive defenseman who's a fast skater and has a terrific shot, Grand-Pierre was just brought back after nearly a season-long demotion tour in Rochester.

    True, he had a rough start, but another possible reason? His girlfriend tripping Regier. Seems that accident happened right after Grand-Pierre had been demoted. But he said the tripping rumor is ridiculous.

    "It was blown way out of proportion," Grand-Pierre said. "It got into the locker room. It was nothing. She was sitting in a chair in the hallway and he stepped on her foot. That's all it was."

    Quote of the week
    "I detest Phil Housley. I still hate him ... I played with Phil Housley, and he treated me like (expletive) while he was here. He's someone, to this day, I still hate. He showed you no respect and pretended that he was 'the man' and never gave you a chance as a young guy to fit in. I have a problem with that guy," -- Buffalo's Rob Ray, on a former teammate who's obviously a good friend.

    Rob Parent covers the NHL for the Delaware County (Pa.) Times. His NHL East column appears every week on ESPN.com.


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