The Sabres keep making headlines, and for all the wrong reasons. They can't win a game, they are going to trade anyone decent for peanuts, and they now have more suspensions than wins. Woof!

Better days.

It isn't an easy time to be a hockey fan living in Western New York. Heck, it isn't a good time to be a hockey fan living anywhere in New York considering the poor start by the New York Rangers.

I must admit I've never been a big fan of Dominik Hasek. His unconventional, flop-everywhere-and-somehow-have-the-puck-hit-me style always bothered me. Plus, he helped stick the dagger in an overachieving Leafs squad during the 1999 Eastern Conference Final. Worst of all, he had one of the stupidest goalie helmets of all time. I can't forgive the helmet.

But I appreciate the brilliance of Hasek.

The 2011 NHL Entry Draft weekend was totally overshadowed by two mega-deals pulled off by the Philadelphia Flyers. Out are Mike Richards and Jeff Carter – two players who both thought they would stay in Philadelphia for their entire careers; in are a handful of highly touted prospects. The deals allowed the Flyers to finally acquire a legitimate goalie, one who is a Vezina Trophy finalist.

Other deals rose more than a few eyebrows: Brian Campbell, once thought definitively untradeable, found himself dumped in Florida for a former prospect turned big league bust; and Calgary jettisoned both Robyn Regehr and Ales Kotalik for a couple of spare parts in Buffalo.

The Brian Campbell deal is easy to understand: the Florida Panthers needed to reach the cap floor and still have about $20 million to go, even with Campbell’s $7 million cap hit. They could hypothetically offer Brad Richards a max contract and require further money wasting.

Alternatively, the Robyn Regehr deal represents everything wrong in Calgary.