The Sabres will count on Daniel Briere to help make up for the loss of Miroslav Satan's offense.

Connolly key to Sabres' revival
By John McGourty | NHL.com
Sept. 4, 2005

What do you think Tim Connolly will cost you in a fantasy league and what are his chances of putting up 50 or more points this season? Give it some thought and the answers are probably not much and pretty good.

Few players with Connolly's offensive skills are more likely to slip under the radar at season's start. That's because he missed the last NHL season following a concussion in a 2003 preseason game.

Connolly was ready to go last September, but the season was canceled. He played a little bit at midseason in Switzerland and then returned home. He's been keeping fit and itching for training camp to start. Connolly figures to center the Sabres' third line, behind centers Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.

"I'm completely healed now," Connolly said. "I'm excited about playing in the NHL again. I was ready to go last year. Then, almost two months into the Swiss league season, I joined Langnau, with Rob DiMaio and Fernando Pisani, who were also there a short while. Jeff Shantz and Jamie Heward played the whole season. I pulled a muscle and tried to play on it when I shouldn't have, so I came back here for the proper treatment.

"I could see how playing in Switzerland could suit some guys. I wouldn't want to do it with a young family."

Connolly, 25, has an interesting distinction. He's played on teams in the Toronto Metropolitan Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the NHL, but he has never played for a team outside of New York state. The Baldwinsville, N.Y., native played for the Syracuse Stars in the high-level Toronto youth league, the Erie Otters of the OHL and the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres.

Connolly is part of a wave of upstate New York players making an impact in the NHL. Thirteen New Yorkers played in the NHL in 2003-04. Aaron Miller and Craig Conroy, both 34, are the oldest. The youngest is 21-year-old Dustin Brown. No other New Yorkers are Connolly's age. He's two years younger than Rochester's Brian Gionta and two years older than Stephen Gionta, a senior who followed his brother to Boston College. So it was surprising to hear the list of former Syracuse Stars teammates now in the NHL.

"I never played high school, only travel hockey and Brian played on several summer-league teams with me and a winter travel team, too," Connolly said. "Matt Murley, who is with Pittsburgh, was my linemate for 10 years. I played in a couple of tournaments with Erik Cole, the Empire State Games too. He's a little older. So is Robert Esche from Binghamton, but I practiced with him. He skated out of Syracuse.

"The Stars have gotten stronger and stronger over the years. My coach throughout my childhood was Don Kirnan. His daughter, Nicole, played on our team. Don was really knowledgeable and taught me how to play the offensive game. My dad was his assistant a couple of years."

Connolly had an explosive second season at Erie with 34 goals and 34 assists for 68 points in 46 games. He went fifth overall in the 1999 Entry Draft behind Atlanta's Patrik Stefan, Vancouver's unique acquisition of twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and the New York Rangers' Pavel Brendl. To this point, St. Louis's Barret Jackman, taken 18th and the 2003 Calder Memorial Trophy winner, has made the most impact.

Connolly went directly to the Islanders that season and had a decent rookie year with 14 goals and 20 assists in 81 games. He improved the next season with 10 goals and 31 assists, then was dealt at the 2001 Entry Draft to Buffalo with Taylor Pyatt, the Islanders' second pick, eighth overall, in the 1999 draft for Michael Peca.

Connolly continued to prove to be more of a set-up man than a scorer, getting 10 goals and 35 assists in 2001-02 and 12 goals and 13 assists the next year. Before you buy into the idea that he's injury prone, Connolly missed only three games in four NHL seasons. A suspension in 2003 ended a streak of 286 consecutive games played, third longest in the NHL at that point. He's got 46 goals and 99 assists for 145 points in 325 NHL games.

Connolly liked the international rules in the Swiss league, especially the elimination of the two-line pass infraction, which the NHL is implementing this season. He'd seen it before in international play when he represented the United States in the 1999 World Junior Championship in Manitoba and the 2001 World Championship in Germany.

"I enjoyed playing the Swiss game. It was a pretty offensively oriented game," Connolly said. "Lots of skating and wide-open ice. I really enjoyed the 'no two-line pass' rule."

Connolly has been thinking a lot about the rule changes. As a member of the Buffalo's power-play, he'll appreciate the additional four feet in the offensive zone. As a guy who would like to get back to 30 goals a season, he's thinking of other changes.

"The goaltending equipment getting smaller is the best rule change they made," he said. "The equipment got so big, there was not a lot of open net. Even an inch or two will create more goals and generate more excitement. Some guys are against the two-line pass rule, but I'm for it. It stretches out offenses and defenses so there's not as many guys crammed into half the ice.

"Tired teams will have to stay on the ice if they ice the puck and it's a penalty to flip it out of play," Connolly continued. "That will create a lot more power plays, which is more exciting. It's been a pretty defensive game for a few years and the new rules mean more skating and scoring. It will help teams that skate well, like the Sabres."

Connolly is banking on Buffalo returning to the playoffs because of that team speed. Players like Briere and Jochen Hecht can flat out fly and Maxim Afinogenov has wheels too.

"We have a lot of offensive talent," Connolly said. "Briere is an exceptional player and J.P. Dumont can score. Hecht and Afinogenov are very creative. We have a lot of guys capable of putting the puck in the net."