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I think we all understand that at a minimum Tuch and Thompson are on the verge of demanding a trade if the team does not win this season. Wouldn’t be surprised if Dahlin is added to that list. I think it is fair to say the situation here has reached crisis stage. There is no data at all suggesting that Power and Quinn (at least, and an argument can be made for Benson too if he is to be used in a top 6 role) are at a point where the team can count on them to positively contribute to making the playoffs this year. Your stubbornness regarding these prospects would put this team back into teardown mode if they cannot take the next step, because it would result in us losing at least 2 of the core players on the roster. It is unnecessary risk given they are assets that could be moved for players that have proven they can perform at a playoff level. I agree with Thorny. As much as you say you dislike KA as a GM, you would operate similarly.

You are familiar with hyperbole, correct? I'm just not sure why a wedding picture is the inspiration for these observations/criticisms, but like I said, the offseason sucks. It brings on the stupid.

Was listening to Brad May say the same thing... players would love to come here if ownership hadnt created the pit of Misery... Dilly Dilly

I worry about this too... but in the end... we are going to have to see if we play better defensively without him... however the Norris concept... I think we got raked if this guy cant stay healthy...

Huge loss....

I have always been in the anyone is available for trade, including Phil Esposito, Pierre Turgeon, Pat LaFontaine etc... so I am fine trading literally anyone on this team... I have two requirements however LOL 1. Its not Adams making those trades 2. We get the best player in the trade Since 1. is not possible at this point, and 2 based on our history and reputation is about as impossible as me dunking a basket ball... I am going to agree with you...

I meant literally: Kulich and Olofsson each scored 15 goals last year, Norris had 20 to Cozens 16. Mittelstadt and Skinner combined for 69 points

re the vibe I get off Thompson and Power. (lol.)

Where are you seeing "outraged?" Other than from your own posts, that is. Chill, daddy. srsly

My stance is not incongruent with how I view the state of the team. I simply have a different view on some of the young players that many others do. I'm very high on Power, Quinn and Benson, especially when it comes to their potential. I'm not referring to long-term potential as I am to their play in the near future, including next season. That's the source of the disagreement. I believe these players are not the source of failure but rather the source of our future (near future) success.

We are outraged?

I agree with this part 100%, and it is also why I am so flabbergasted by your insistence upon strictly limiting who you are willing to move to get the team winning right away. Your understanding that losing is driving players wanting to leave, and players refusing to come here, is incongruent with your stance on refusing to move certain players to drive immediate improvement.

I'm happy if he's happy ☺️ I still have a skewed view of marriage in general on the whole, but that's not a discussion for this time or place. Can the regular season just start soon.

Back in the ‘70s there was a Rochester band called Buzzo’s Bandits. Was at the Penny Arcade one night and they had a heavy set lead singer who came out for the second set all wrapped up in tin foil and went into Iron Man. Hilarious.

I wonder what his relationship was with the other players, especially the veteran players like Zucker and Tuch? Did they try to counsel him on the importance of playing a more responsible defensive game? There was a game on TV in which Rob Ray commented on a play where the other team scored. The Sabres were stuck in the defensive zone with the opposition controlling the puck. Peterka was nowhere near the forward he was supposed to be covering. He was off wide along the sideboard when the player went to the net and put in a rebound shot. Rob Ray replayed that play a couple of time and pointedly noted that the scorer was his responsibility. I liked JJP and wanted him to stay a Sabre. And from what I read so did the GM. However, he was determined to get out, as have a number of our better players. It just seems that persistent losing can be dispiriting causing more players to want a change of scenery.

So we’re outraged that he got married? What on earth is going on in here right now? The offseason sucks.

I’d say Paranoid is top 10 rock song all time. Maybe best metal song ever. It’s certainly in the conversation.

I have a dramatically different take on the area hockey market. It is a fertile hockey market that has been laid to waste by an owner who has crushed its potential due to hideous incompetency. The fan base has steadily been shrinking because of his foolish stewardship for a generation. Fans who are unwilling to spend money on a lackluster team/product are the ones who are showing good judgment.

If you believe I’m a supporter of KA, you have grossly misread my posts about him. I’m almost as contemptuous of him as I am of the big boat owner.

they could push Pegula to sell the team ... personally I don't believe the Sabres in WNY are salvageable. i don't see how it can work. and I do not see another rich guy with WNY ties who will buy it. the franchise burned through Golisano and Pegula, I don't see who is next players don't want to be there. period. you can "Mario Williams" them and throw a pile of $$ at them, but that will get you 4 or 5 good players. then the money runs out.

I don’t mean to cause offence, although I probably should have anticipated that I might. I’m just calling it like I perceive it: Power and Thompson seem somewhat unusual relative to their peers — or at least relative to how I’ve generally perceived pro hockey players. Sociologically speaking, anyway. I haven’t. I’ll keep an eye out for it.

I don't think Norris will play more than half the season but maybe I'm just too pessimistic. Peterka on the other hand I think will have a great year as that Mammoth top 6 looks like a really solid group that should fit together nicely. You never know though. He could sit back and just enjoy his new contract.

Wouldn't Peterka also be part of that battle cry, yet now we have to count every one of his goals missing from the total? So you think Norris will perform about the same for the Sabres as he did last year?

McLeod and Zucker had great seasons to reach 106 combined points, but if Mitts had remained a Sabre at his scoring pace (.758 ppg would've gotten him to 60 points), he'd have made up the 7-point difference of Skinner's shortfall. Offensively, those two pairs were a push. (But McLeod and Zucker offer much more to the team overall. Though it could've been nice to have another non-rookie center in the lineup last year from the get-go.) Norris has outscored Cozens in points per game. That's good. But while Mitts/McLeod stay healthy and ppg could be reliable, with Norris it's not a useful measure. Because of his health, Norris has never outscored Cozens. His average season is well below Cozens' offensive output and his best season is 13 points shy of Cozens' high; even if you combine Norris' 8-game season with his best season it's shy of Cozens' 68-point campaign. It's why Ottawa wanted Cozens for the playoff push: he plays night-in and -out, despite his well-documented flaws. Kulich has not matched Olofsson… yet. Kulich has the potential to outdo anything Olofsson ever did (VO's shot, center, all-around game, 1st round talent) -- but last season he did not replace the offense. When Olofsson skates 14:00+/game as Kulich did last season, he's been a 40-point player. Kulich should get to .5 ppg this year, especially if he's going to skate with TNT or Tuch at 5-on-5, but last season he was .39 ppg and only 29 points.

Didn’t you watch American Primeval? You have the Mormons all wrong.