Butler Sits

by Anne

Noooooo. No. NO.

Chris Butler will not be playing tonight. This is not a good thing. Butler isn't sitting because he's been playing badly, he's sitting because we have 8 defensemen. Butler is good enough to be in the NHL, he's definitely proven it this call-up, so him sitting while Tallinder, who hasn't been on his best behavior is playing, is very frustrating. If Butler wasn't ready, they would send him back to Portland.  I suppose they could be getting ready to send him back but they've been hesitant because of a rash of the common cold aka "flu" moving through the defensive corps recently, striking Toni and Teppo. Therefore, one wonders, if we're keeping Butler because of potential injuries, why is Nathan Paetsch still here? I like Paetsch and sometimes he makes smart moves. Sometimes. Not often, but sometimes. This is the second year in a row he's been looked over in favor of a rookie or rookies. The only reason he saw so much ice time at the end of last season is because after Soupy left, Spacek and Kalinin were hurt and we needed warm bodies on the blue line. That's why Mike Funk was up here, had like 3 good shifts and then went back to Rochester.

So what do the Sabres do? They can't put Paetsch on waivers because someone will snatch him up and we'll get nothing in return. Therefore, where do we all think Patches will be traded to?