With the 2011-12 Buffalo Sabres ending in disappointment and after a few weeks for us to gather our thoughts, it’s time for us to issue our report cards on the season. Over the next few weeks, we’ll grade every player that wore a Buffalo Sabres uniform in 2011 and 2012, from Luke Adam to Mike Weber.
Introduction: The acquisition of Robyn Regehr was the first big salvo fired last year from a Buffalo Sabres team desperate to make waves and prove to the hockey world that with new owner Terry Pegula behind the wheel, things would be different in Buffalo. Not only was it nice to see the Sabres aggressively pursue a player they wanted, but the fact that Regehr waived his NTC to come to Buffalo got fans thinking, maybe things really are different?
Today, Robyn Regehr is probably not regretting his decision to come to Buffalo; the Sabres are in much better shape for the immediate future than the Calgary Flames are. But it couldn’t have felt good to uproot your family on the promise of a team poised to compete for the Cup, only to fall short of the playoffs by an inch and a half. Still, Regehr endeared himself to Sabres fans quickly with his solid defensive play and ability to land cone-crunching hits on opposing forwards. Let’s explore his first season in the blue and gold a bit more after the break.
Key Stat: April 19, 1980. With Jochen Hecht likely gone, Regehr inherits the mantle of elder statesman of the Sabres. We saw some signs of slowing last year, will this turn into another Craig Rivet situation? Will Regehr’s minutes have to be reduced further than they were last season?
Thumbs Up: Regehr was far and away the defenseman that the Sabres trusted to guard the opponents best players. Oh, and guess who led the Sabres in hits? Yeah, and it wasn’t even close. Another stat that Regehr led by a large margin was shorthanded TOI. Regehr was second on the team in blocked shots as well, and had double the number of takeaways as he did giveaways. Put all those stats together and it sounds like the model of a defensive defenseman to me.
Regehr did well controlling the raging beast inside him, earning the fewest penalty minutes of his career. Played the 900th game of his career this season, becoming the 130th NHL defenseman to do so.
Thumbs Down: He wasn’t signed for his offensive prowess, but five points from a guy who played 76 games is Travis Turnbull territory, and it was Regehr’s lowest point total in 11 years. That was in part to Regehr taking the fewest shots in a season of his career, and in part to reduced overall TOI – just over 18:00 per game. He also managed to accrue his worst plus/minus of the last 10 years. Finally, while he’s not as bad as Craig Rivet was for Buffalo, Regehr is starting to show signs of his age, and he was burned along the boards on several high-profile occasions this season.
Voting: On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest, grade Robyn Regehr on his season according to the expectations you had for him. If he met them, give him a five or a six. If he eclipsed them, aim for a seven or beyond. If he failed to meet them, give him a lower number relating to how poorly he missed the target.
On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, how would you rate Robyn Regehr for his 2011-12 season?
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 18 |
| 5 | 30 |
| 6 | 43 |
| 7 | 58 |
| 8 | 28 |
| 9 | 7 |
| 10 | 3 |