Auburn Citizen

'Terry Pegula's words nine years ago should've served as a warning, not a beacon of hope. He and his wife Kim want to be the heroes in this story, but it's clear they're better served being in the background, signing checks and saying nothing. Instead, their meddling and insistence on day-to-day involvement has turned a once-proud hockey team into a laughingstock.' … [Read more...] about Ritzel: Thanks to Pegulas, Sabres are rudderless ship

'The Sabres haven't been broke enough to relocate and they haven't been bad enough to fold. For the most part, Buffalo's hockey team is just there, a team for opposing franchises to play 82 times a year before someone else captures the sport's most coveted trophy.' … [Read more...] about Ritzel: Sabres begin Golden Season, but franchise still lacks the silver trophy it covets

'The 10-game winning streak aside, the Sabres haven't met expectations. A big reason for that is the coaching. Housley doesn't seem to have an answer for why his team's defensive unit continues to struggle. The Sabres have allowed 3.12 goals against per game, the 11th-highest total in the NHL. They have also given up 32.4 shots against per game, the ninth-highest total in the … [Read more...] about Harding: Time for Buffalo Sabres to can coach Phil Housley

'Are the Sabres as good as their 17-8-4 record would indicate? Can this team win the Stanley Cup this year? I'd say no to both, but even the most optimistic preseason expectations said that Buffalo at best could be in the mix for a wild-card position, and the Sabres are way ahead of the curve on that. It would take a serious meltdown, like 15 wins in their last 50 games, to … [Read more...] about Ritzel: Sabres reigniting Buffalo’s love for hockey

'Losing might get you top draft picks, but the Sabres failed to build around Eichel. The defense has been atrocious. The team had the third-worst goals against per game average in 2017-18. With a save percentage of .896, goaltending and defense are the team's most glaring needs.' … [Read more...] about Harding: With No. 1 overall pick, Buffalo Sabres can end tank era

'And all things considered, Buffalo is in decent shape money-wise looking ahead. The entire core of the team — Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly, Kyle Okposo and Rasmus Ristolainen — are locked in long term. There's enough flexibility in upcoming years, especially with Evander Kane ($5.25 million) and Josh Gorges ($3.9 million) coming off the books, that the Sabres can still add impact … [Read more...] about Eichel’s big extension with Sabres makes sense for both sides