In case you didn't know I'm obsessed with a certain devil-eyed goalie...

Well well well, where to begin? It's been quite an emotional week or two, in life and in the world of hockey but thankfully I only have to write about the latter here but I can't promise this won't get sappy and sentimental because I am slowly realizing that I took a great player for granted and am now kicking myself for it but really excited for what's in store too.

Trade deadline has come and gone and it's always a stressing time for fans Foppa went to Nashville making it arguably the most dangerous move for anyone set to face them come play off time. We'll see. Guerin to the Sharks also struck a particular chord with me because he's been a key player with St. Louis this year. Arguably the most important along with Legace in my option (on the plus side he resigned for two years~) and they also lost Tkachuk to Atlanta. Steph did point me toward information that basically stated outright that Guerin was a rental player and i don't see why that might not be the case with the later too though his contract did have an addition if it isn't. So all is not lost for them. Unlike Edmonton, with the most heartbreaking news of all which I'm sure I don't even need to restate here but I was rather broken up about it too. But STILL not as much as I was over this, the trade that hit home most of all. And that was no small news either but I am still reeling from disbelief over the trade of Martin Biron, quite possibly one of the most beloved athletes in the sport, to the Philadelphia Flyers; as in from number one to dead last and I don't think it's possible for me to be any more torn.

What adds salt to the wound is that when all was said and done the Sabres pretty much officially stated that this was a direct result of all the injuries we were taking, to free up money from the cap which they had maxed out. The acid in the wound is that to replace him we signed Ty fucking Conklin . To be fair I am not so bent up over that part of the deal anymore but I don't think I'll ever accept him as a Sabre unless he's in for a long haul. Doubtful. Moving back to the québécois goalie, as much as I don't want to see him leave this is an opportunity for him and he seems more or less excited about it in interviews, any number of which I could point out at home but seeing as I'm writing this at school this is the only one I can access but they're all about the same. Some people have noted that he doesn't seem himself in these but you know what? I don't blame him if that's the case and I don't think that's any reason to assume that he's lying about being happy. He wanted to start more than anything else. He wanted to play probably even more than he wanted to win a cup at least as back up and you know what? If he starts for the Flyers for the rest of the season he will probably end up getting more games than he would have with the Sabres even in post season barring any injuries with Miller [Oh please no injuries. I am having horrible nightmares of facing the Islanders with Bergeron and watching last season in new colours on repeat in slow motion it's horrible]. So in the end, who are we to deny him the opportunity to prove himself again just because we want to hold on to our longest tenured player who we adore? And for that I am glad he's not stuck in the shadow anymore just providing comic relief.

But I still miss him. Still miss him as much as the day the trade went through and I'll admit I cried a little when he was absent from the bench and Conks was there acting like he was just one of the guys with everyone else. It hurt. It felt wrong. He's been a constant from before I departed from hockey for a while and I regret missing a big part of the most important years of his career now. But I do remember him from when he was still a regular in minors which means he's been part of this organization for more than half of my life. The team just doesn't seem the same without him there anymore. And I think the players feel the same way. Nearly all of them were interviewed about the trade and all of them had glowing opinions of him especially Miller who has no doubt been influenced by him greatly. Add to that both captains singling him out as the best teammate they've ever had in their career [and Drury has been with quite a few notable players to be sure] and Brian Campbell actually reacting angrily about it, toward Miller unfortunately but he understood and didn't hold it against Campbell. Earlier in the year Brian also said:

"I really don't know what I would do without Marty out there. Everybody on the team enjoys him so much. Everybody has fun with him and he has fun with us. Marty is the big time key to all of it --- I think the only reason all of this is working is because of the personality of Marty."

And it seems to be holding true. The Sabres have had their fair share of stars to come through their ranks but Biron was something else altogether for them. He seemed sort of like a wall. He was knowledgable , he was supportive, he was sweet, he was funny, he was a notable optimist for them, always looking ahead and I feel like the importance of what he did for them off the ice maybe even doubles what he did on it. The Flyers know they're getting a great goalie in him [and I don't say great lightly, you don't hold records for thirteen straight wins and one for shut outs for your team on mediocrity] but I hope they also realize what a fantastic person they are getting too. I think they do.

My reasoning? Well lets just say in a stunning display of failure to cope with the change coupled with lack of logical reasoning I picked up a ticket to see the Flyers play the Pens yesterday and made a rather expensive day trip of it that was totally worth it. Biron stole the show for me and I couldn't even tell you how good the game might have been though it was ridiculously fun. And unlike seeing him absent from the Sabres bench, seeing him clad in black and orange did not evoke any feelings of sadness. I was just so glad to see him play and get so into the game. But what I wanted to note here is what I observed in watching the other Flyers interact with him. I think they were really trying their best for him. Really going out of their way to help him feel like he fits in because I'm sure they realize he is there to save their sorry last place butts. But it was genuine and cute too. And I'm almost afraid to admit that I warmed to them just a little because anyone that is THAT nice to Biron will get points with me. All I can actually describe here as an example though is how every time there was a break in play, and I do mean every time, so long as they were at centre ice or in their zone one or more players would go over and poke him and or talk with him a little if time allowed. Sometimes the whole line did it! It was excessive and I was happy to see it.

The thing that worries me most is how the management seems to be baiting him. Or it feels like that to me. In interviews it feels like they are being critical of Buffalo and calling the Sabres on only considering him a back up goaltender. Um no. We recognized that Biron was good enough to start or we would not have started him after Hasek left! We knew he could play at that level considering all his accomplishments and I think Darcy and Lindy did a lot to ensure he still got time to show that. But the fact of the matter is Miller was still better and there should be no question about starting the better goalie. The other thing that rubs me the wrong way is how much they are pushing him to sign a new contract now which I suppose is only to be expected but I still hate seeing it happen and I kind of would like to see him hold out. There's no telling what kind of opportunity free agency could bring him so long as he can keep it together for the rest of the season in spite of the team that is fronting him now. He's a desirable goalie and I suppose I just want to see him make out with the very best... and if after all that, it means choosing to stay with the Flyers then so much the better.

Regardless of where he goes from here, I will continue to follow him and love him and miss him and wish him the very best in the rest of his career. Though like any loss it is still sad, over all I am happy for him and I want him to prove his skills can shine as brightly as his personality. So for all we know this could be the beginning of something even better.

And with that I will shut up now! I know I shouldn't have let this get so long winded but I think I really needed to get that out. It's been bothering me this whole time and I'll get over it and move on soon enough and I rambling incessantly probably helped speed that process along~

In other news I can find a really lengthy and amazingly incoherent [to me] interview with Marty's brother Mathieu en français! And I find it horribly unfair that the same does not exist of so many other French Canadian players so readily!

I am also linking NPI to Ty Conklin in an attempt to google bomb because page three just isn't good enough. Though they claim to have fixed the programing to keep bombing from happening I believe it can still be gotten around.