I’ve begun to realize that although the Sabres are a successful organization when it comes to grooming prospects, they have difficulty producing leaders. Sure, the Sabres have homegrown players that have served as assistants or even “rotating” captains, but no one has been able to step-up and take the role as the ultimate leader.
The only reason I started thinking about this is because of the acquisition of Rob Niedermayer. Darcy brought in Niedermayer to bring his veteran presence to the locker room that the Sabres desperately needed. I am beginning to think it is mildly sad that the Sabres must bring in outside sources to create leadership.
The year before Craig Rivet joined the organization and ultimately assumed the role of captain, the Sabres issued the “rotating” captaincy policy once again. It was clear that none of the current Sabres were able to step-up to the position of captaincy and it was awarded to the new comer Craig Rivet. Don’t get me wrong here. I think Craig Rivet is a very capable captain, but I just think it is sad that players must be brought into the organization to create leadership. Leadership should come from within- not brought in.
Maybe this is the underlying problem with the Sabres organization. Maybe the problem isn’t that they need more size; need more grit; or need more speed. Maybe they need more leaders on the team. If you have a team full of pawns, but no one to motivate them to continue working hard, then you’re just going to have a listless organization. It’s time for the younger players to stand up and become the new leaders of the organization. I’m looking at you Meyers.
Original Story:
http://sabrenoise.com/2010/09/01/lead...
