The competition for the entertainment dollar is fierce in the modern world, especially in the United States and Canada. Now there are so many other outlets for consumers to enjoy their time. The explosion of the technology world is a big contributor to this.

Where am I going with this?  Stick with me, this is a hockey blog and not an Apple or Microsoft blog, trust me!

With this boom in technology, has come a greater sense of instant gratification. Everything is moving faster.  And this mindset has unquestionably spilled into the sports world, with fans, players, coaches, GM’s and owners alike. In the ‘old’ days in the sports world, one can sell a fan base on the rebuilding project, because tickets were cheaper and other associated costs with attending a sporting event.

Oh no, I used the dreaded ‘R’ world. Rebuild. Run!!!!

That is how that the ‘rebuild’ word is perceived in the new sports world by most organizations in the NHL, Rebuild does not fit into the instant gratification bucket that so many of us now yearn for. Owners will think ‘We cannot tell our season ticket holders who are ponying up top dollar for tickets that we are rebuilding, how will we sell these seats’  The game of $port$ has changed.

But should this word be looked at with such negativity in the sports world? Depends on the situation.

Take the Buffalo Sabres for example. A team that is ‘Mired In the Muck’ of the 2013 shortened NHL season, 5 points out of 8th and going nowhere fast. An interim coach (who has done a nice job for record) a possible lame duck GM, and lots of uncertainty with the roster and rumored unrest in the locker room.

‘Mired in the Muck’ is the place where no sports organizations want to be, picking too low in the 1st round to be able to draft that franchise player, and good enough to tease the fans and ownership that things can turn around. That is a tired act Buffalo fans have seen for years.

For a team like the Buffalo Sabres, the world ‘rebuild’ shouldn’t be frowned upon. It should be embraced. Look at the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh. Boston. Montreal. New Jersey. Ottawa. And yes, even Toronto. Are the Sabres as currently constructed even close to these teams? Absolutely not. Even the Rangers, who are underachieving, have much more in place. The Sabres have had a talent level issue on this roster for years, and once and for all, it is time to fix it.

And with the trades that transpired this week in Western New York, that process has finally commenced.

Jason Pominville, the Sabres captain, was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for two well regarded prospects, goalie Matt Hackett, C/LW Johan Larsson, and a 1st round pick in 2013 and a 2nd round pick in 2014. Make no mistake, Pominville is a gamer, very solid player, and will always remember his shorthanded GWG to lift the Sabres to a stunning 5 game series win over Ottawa and a berth in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. Rick Jeanneret’s famous ‘Population Of Pominville’ goal calls will always live in Sabre lore.

I wish Jason all the best in Minnesota.

Include the three 2nd round picks the Sabres picked up for Robyn Rehger and Jordan Leopold, the Sabres will have quite an interesting time of it in the next three NHL Entry Drafts. Or, at the very least, chips to trade if the Sabres decide to move up in the NHL Draft or make off-season or Trade Deadline deals.

The advantages to these deals are four fold. First, it creates more cap room to make moves in the upcoming off-season. Second, it provides the Sabres with a stockpile of draft picks for current GM Darcy Regier to work with starting in 2013 (2 1sts and 2 2nds). Third, if Sabres owner Terry Pegula decides to replace Darcy Regier, the Sabres will become an attractive option when recruiting the next GM. And fourth, it gives the Sabres a true direction with the franchise, rebuilding from the inside out and further the goal to make Pegula’s ‘We are existence to win Stanley Cups’ statement carry some weight.

Should the Sabres be happy now with what transpired this week and consider that the rebuild this roster needed? Far from it. As the Sabres get closer to the NHL Draft and the Summer of 2013, longtime players like Tomas Vanek and Ryan Miller should squarely be on the block. Both players have rich contracts in 2013, but both contracts expire in 2013, and can both make attractive options to teams looking for a player to get over the hump.

Before some Sabres fans jump off the ledge about Vanek and Miller, ask yourselves this simple and honest question: How many 1st round playoff series have the Sabres won since the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals loss to Ottawa with Vanek and Miller being the faces of the franchise?  If you guessed zero, you are correct. How many stretches do we need to see Vanek disappear and be silent as the game becomes more physical?  How many cranky comments do we need from Ryan Miller when things are not going his way?

Sounds like a muck to me.

So Sabres fans, embrace the rebuild. One step back can definitely lead to two steps forward.  Don’t settle for the muck.