Robby to the Sabres / Big Sexy / Mighty Ducks or Fighting Ducks?

It’s been reported this morning that Rob Niedermayer has signed with the Buffalo Sabres for one year.  Boy, talk about a guy who can’t sit still!  I guess New Jersey wasn’t cold enough for him.  Let’s hear it for “lake effect” snow which – as one of my colleagues described it – “sucks”.

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After a breakout rookie debut last season, Dan Sexton (aka Big Sexy) couldn’t take the pressure and got busted back down to the ECHL.  But despite the setback, Danny’s attending conditioning camp, still maintains a positive attitude and is looking forward to proving himself once again. 

With regard to the fans, Sexton said, “For a rookie to come up for 28 games, he could easily be forgotten. That happens to plenty of guys. But to look up in the stands and see people wearing my jersey was just surreal.”

So I raise a glass to the little guy (who is neither big nor sexy), the man who wears the Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything {42} and I wish him the best of luck and hope to see him wingin’ it next season.

The full interview with the Ducks Adam Brady can be found here.

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There was a time when the Ducks were not known for delicacy or finesse, but rather for their ability to turn a game into a street brawl of epic proportions.

The following video takes the notion of “don’t mess with our goaltender” to a whole other plane of existence.

It’s also a reminder of just how influential Jean-Sébastien Giguère could be on the ice.  With one little bump and a liberal trapper facewash, he manages to singlehandedly turn both the Ducks and the Calgary Flames into a couple of packs of ravening hyenas.  It’s totally nuts.  It’s more ridiculous than anything in “Slap Shot”.

At one point, the game’s three on three and there are only two guys on the Calgary bench.  If you listen carefully, you can hear the arena announcer attempting to relate all the penalties just as the next brawl breaks out.

The vid is a teensie bit long, but totally worth it.  Especially when everything escalates to the point of no return after a Duck blatantly slams the Flames goaltender in the mask with his stick.  So, would that be a cross check or a face check?

Another fun aspect of watching this is checking out the names on the jerseys as well as trying to tally up all the penalties, ejections and suspensions.

If only Jiggy had been micked up.  It would have been fun hearing him spewing French Canadian obscenities at the Flamers.