The Sabres have officially missed the NHL playoffs. The Amerks will play the Toronto Marlies in the first round of the AHL playoffs, and the schedule is set.
Even better, the Sabres regular season is over before the Amerks postseason starts. This means that any eligible players on Buffalo’s roster can be re-assigned to Rochester in time for start of the AHL playoffs. An ideal scenario for Amerks fans, right?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Mikhail Grigorenko’s season in the QMJHL ended this past weekend with a 4-1 series loss to Rouyn-Noranda. He only had 2 goals (with no assists) and was a big minus for the 5 game series. A disappointing finish for sure.
But with the conclusion of his QMJHL season, he has returned to the Buffalo Sabres and was on the ice with them for practice this morning.
Darcy has already said that Grigorenko will not likely play on Wednesday. Amerks fans are upset at the thought that Grigorenko will be sitting in the press box with Buffalo. In reality, this is likely a good sign, and makes it more likely that he’ll be playing in Rochester this weekend.
Here’s why.
Per @DaveDavisHockey (on Twitter), because of Grigorenko’s age, he needs to accrue 7 years of NHL service before he hits unrestricted free agency. In this strike shortened season, being dressed for 23 games will constitute 1 accrued season. Coincidentally enough, Darcy sent Grigorenko back to juniors after 22 games. Meaning, if he plays just 1 more game in the NHL this season, he will hit unrestricted free agency an entire season sooner. Darcy will do everything he can to have control over his prized first round draft pick as long as possible.
If Buffalo had a legitimate shot at a playoff spot, and Grigorenko’s offense had the potential to put them over the top, of course he’d dress. But Mikhail had his chance to show his skill earlier this season, and did not excel. Coach Rolston saw what he needed, and didn’t feel that Grigorenko would contribute enough over the remainder of the season. I can’t imagine anything changed over the past several weeks.
So, Griggy won’t be playing again in Buffalo this season.
Conversely, it doesn’t make much sense to bring him to Buffalo only to practice with Buffalo for the last 10 days of the season. He’s not going to learn anything in a few days of practice.
The Amerks weren’t on the ice today. Grigorenko may travel to Boston with the team today, and sit in the press box for tomorrow night’s game… but I would fully expect him to be on the ice in Rochester by Thursday morning so that he can get in some ice time with the Amerks before their 3-games-in-3-days, playoff-defining weekend coming up.
Darcy gets a lot of criticism for his decisions (some deserved, some not so much), but he absolutely has to realize that Grigorenko could make HUGE strides by coming to Rochester and attempting to lead the Amerks offense in a playoff run. Between injuries in Rochester and recalls to Buffalo, Darcy knows the Amerks offense is struggling. He has been in town for a couple of poor performances lately. There is NO WAY that he doesn’t see an opportunity for Grigorenko to learn and grow with the Amerks to close out the season.
The bigger question is… how far can Grigorenko carry the Amerks offense?
With one weekend left in the AHL season, the Western Conference is an incredibly tight race. Texas is virtually assured home ice advantage thru the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, but the entire rest of the Conference is up for grabs.
Currently, the Amerks sit in 6th place with 86 points. By the end of this weekend, they could end up anywhere from 2nd place to missing the postseason completely.
Not that there’s any pressure on them or anything.
For years, patrons of the Blue Cross Arena have complained about the quality of food and, to a lesser extent, the quality of amenities within the arena. The blame for those problems falls squarely on the shoulders of management company SMG. With the existing contract due to expire July 1st (I believe), the city of Rochester has been soliciting offers from groups to manage the arena thru its next contract.
Those proposals were due April 1st, and the results are in.
Its amazing what six months will do to an AHL roster.
Back in October, the Amerks were a team loaded with NHL prospects (thanks to the lockout), deep on defense, and light on veteran leadership.
Now in April, the Amerks light on prospects, are struggling to field a staff of AHL quality defensemen, but do have a stable of veterans.
The AHL playoffs are less than 4 weeks away. Will the Amerks make the postseason? If so, how strong will they be? There are lots of questions to be answered.
The Amerks have lost 4 straight games and 6 out of their last 7. Over that stretch, they have scored only 9 goals, or an average of just 1.2 per game.
Just a few weeks ago, Rochester was one of the stop scoring teams in the AHL. Their goals against were a little high, but at least they were scoring goals and winning higher-scoring games.
Suddenly, the Amerks are struggling to find the net. The offense has disappeared. Where did all the scoring go?
Black Wednesday has come and gone, and Lindy Ruff has been relieved of his duties after 16 years as Head Coach of the Buffalo Sabres. Former Rochester Americans coach Ron Rolston has been promoted and will lead Buffalo on an interim basis for the rest of the season.
What will this mean in Buffalo? What is going to change?
