What’s not to like? (As long as Ryan Miller stays healthy, of course).
Darcy Regier made four deals on the National Hockey League’s final day of trading for the 2006-07 season which, added up, mean:
THE SABRES GIVE: Goalie Martin Biron, forward Jiri Novotny and first-, fourth- and fifth-round draft picks.
THE SABRES GET: Forward Dainius Zubrus, goalie Ty Conklin, defensemen Timo Helbling and Mikko Lehtonen and a second-round pick.
So, in dealing with multiple trading partners, Buffalo’s general manager parlayed a backup goalie who becomes an unrestricted this summer, a rookie fourth-line center who is at the moment sidelined with a chronic ankle injury that’s plagued him since mid-January and three lottery tickets (two of them of the barely-worth-it scratch-off variety) into a power forward who can score, a backup goalie who costs 25 percent as much as the guy he’s replacing, two young defensemen and one lottery ticket.
Of course, the reason Biron makes $2.12 million per year while Conklin earns $525,000 is that you might be reasonably comfortable if you’re a Sabres fan and Marty had to start one or more playoff games.
Conklin played 11 games this year at Columbus (the Blue Jackets sent him down to Syracuse of the AHL four times, most recently on Feb. 9), compiling a record of two wins, three losses and a 3.30 goals-against average, meaning he did a lot of mop-up work for the Blue Jackets.
If you’re saying to yourself -- “Conklin, Conklin … why do I remember that name?” – we’ll get to that in a minute.
After all, Regier wasn’t trying to beef up Buffalo’s goaltending depth today.
The first priority was getting a reinforcement for a battered group of forwards. Zubrus fills that need nicely.
At 6-foot-4 and 226 pounds, Zubrus brings some size to a unit notably lacking in that quality, particularly since Paul Gaustad went down with one of the more painful-sounding injuries in hockey history.
With 20 goals and 32 assists, he gives the Sabres a versatile offensive force up front. With nine goals coming when Washington had a man advantage, he could help spark the perpetually flailing power play. At age 28, he’s not as likely to wear down come April, May and, ideally, June, as some of the other comparably skilled names tossed around in the final pre-deadline days.
If there’s a question, it’s about how Zubrus will fit in. His page on Sportsnet.ca offers the following under “Flaws:”
Doesn't give an honest effort every night. Lacks consistency. Is still a non-factor in too many games. Was rushed to the NHL and is trying to catch up.
Further complicating matters, Zubrus is a free agent after the season and figures to fetch nearly as much, or maybe even more, than Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. That means he could pout if he’s not getting as many scoring opportunities as he’d like in order to pump up his numbers before he hits the market, a strong possibility given Buffalo’s offensive balance and Lindy Ruff’s equitable distribution of ice time.
But that’s what you have a coach for, right? In all, Zubrus’ upside makes it more than worth giving up a very expensive insurance goalie who, under the most likely scenario, would play three or four more games during the regular season and zero in the playoffs. And Zubrus' all-but-certain departure this summer will leave additional cap dollars to keep Briere, Drury or, if enough other things break right, both.
Helbling and Lehtonen give the Sabres additional blue-line depth in their system, a couple of guys in their mid-20s who have some NHL experience in case another freakish run of injuries to defensemen hits this spring. You figure Buffalo gets at least as much out of them as they’ll ever get out of the fourth- and fifth-rounders traded away Tuesday.
With 109 penalty minutes in 49 games with Hershey, the 6-foot-3, 217-pound Helbling brings an element of toughness – or stupidity, depending on your perspective – and a less-than-glowing scouting report from a previous stint with Tampa Bay. And If you’re fluent in Finnish, you can enjoy Lehtonen’s Wiki page in his native tongue here.
Now, about that other thing ...
Don’t feel bad if you missed it, since it took place in the first hockey game played after Buffalo was eliminated by Carolina in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. But Conklin was involved in a play that may well have cost Edmonton the Cup.
Behind long-ago Sabre Dwayne Roloson, the Oilers led 3-0 late in the second period of the Finals opener before the Hurricanes rallied to tie it at four. Roloson went down with a knee injury with six minutes left in regulation, bringing on Conklin.
He made three saves to keep the score tied, but with less than a minute left, ventured behind the net to clear the puck. Defenseman Jason Smith had the same idea. And that’s where things went horribly, horribly wrong.
Neither really seemed to know what to do with the puck. That scourge of Sabres fans, Rod Brind’Amour, did.
Brind’Amour dumped it into an empty net, with Conklin trapped behind it, with 32 seconds remaining, giving Carolina a 5-4 win. Conklin watched the rest of the series from the bench and was released shortly after the Hurricanes won the Cup in seven games.
You can see the misplay for yourself here. And hear the anguish of Oilers fans here.
On the upside, Conklin, who turns 31 on March 30, has a 2.60 career goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 71 NHL games, along with an extensive background at the AHL and college levels.
And if the riskiest part of Regier's day of dealing works out, the only time Conklin will be on the ice during the playoffs is for warm-ups and post-game celebrations.