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I think the real issue is that I can't believe it gets worse every year. I mean, how can it possibly get any lower next year is my thought. And yet, here we are, lowest of the low.

I feel like this is a nearly annual post from @CallawaySabres.

I feel like you have posted this thread before. Not saying this one isn't true, as well, just that they keep making new lows. It's really quite astounding.

Barring a miracle in net, this team isn't good enough to make the playoffs. That said, last year was the low of lows. Our offense sucked two years ago, and by losing Skinner and Mittelstadt, we made it worse. Everything was bad and there was nothing to hope for. Last year our offense was okay. Losing JJP hurts, but there's reason to believe we could make that up with some growth from the kids. Moreover, we added some good expected goal % players while getting rid of some really, really bad ones (Clifton, Cozens, and Lafferty). Our defense is a lot better and it will be nice to see Mule in a highly reduced role. With surprise goaltending and growth from Benson and Peterka (and a full season from Norris, Dahlin, and Thompson), there's a way into the playoffs this year. At the beginning of last season, there was no possible path no matter how you sliced it.

Completely understand and I feel bad for you. Me — regardless of what my pragmatic brain knows to be true — I still get impatient for September training camp reports to start rolling in and the puck to drop on opening night. Rasmus Dahlin is worth my subscription: so ***** good. I'm excited to see if Kesselring plays with the same kind of wild stallion energy i saw in my limited Utah viewings. I'm curious if Doan has the selfless, grinding energy touted in his press clippings I wonder if Owen Power's balls dropped, or Mule's, and if either can consistently show the games they have given us glimpses of. Is Norris what we need? Can Byram take another step? Can Jack Quinn bounce back, because i loved that kid's game prior to last year. Can Zach Benson add production to what is truly a delightful style of game? Will this finally be the year Levi emerges? What does Kulich have in store for us? I like watching Alex Tuch play hockey Can Tage ride his Olympic dream to a 50-goal season? Lots of things I'm curious about, lots of of hopium available should I choose to inject it. I don't really care if that makes me a glutton for punishment. There's a pretty good chance they'll give me plenty of reason to be depressed and frustrated during the season. I'm going to take advantage of the preseason while I still can.

There is no room for positivity around here 🤣...

I'm really excited about the season and looking forward to seeing our boys soon. Don't want the summer to end, but it will be fun having the Sabres back on the ice Go Sabres!

Byram and Dahlin have some chemistry, both seem to be able to play both sides which is a benefit, but i agree his defensive game has been lacking. Him and Power need to tie up sticks around the net better, move people around more.

I voted Levi because i think he's more capable of doing that, but i don't think ruff/adams would pull the trigger on a change there even if he looks ready. I'm pretty out on UPL, happy to be proven wrong but i think he is another mediocre big dude. I assume they'll roll with him because of the mistake on the contract, but he's just not good. The high slot defense has been so bad for so long, i'm excited to see if he's better there. If you can get the puck back one step before they get the puck to the side of the net, its just as important as defensemen marking their guys more effectively.

Yeah, heading into this season, hope is as low as it's been on at least 4 occassions. When they went austerity after having only a couple of seasons before having had the 3rd highest payroll in the league; canning Muckler and effectively canning Nolan; trading away Peca and Hasek; and Black Sunday (which while it was devastating didn't feel quite like the others as they'd been so good the previous year and they still had (or should've had) Zubrus, Connolly, and Roy to man the top 3 C spots and they still had Miller. Yeah, they wouldn't be favorites to win but they still should've been good (guess not). 2 of those years, the team exceeded expectations. One is was as bad as expected and the other it was worse. Had they simply made a few FO and coaching moves, would be much higher on where they are now. How will it turn out? Well, still have tix because am still interested in watching it play out. Hoping for all our sakes this team plays well enough to get you bought back in.

Last seasons 13 game losing streak was probably when i hit an all-time low. Like 11-9-1 isn't a hot start, but you can work and build on that. 11-19-4 and the season was over before Christmas. Watching UPL get chased in back to back games on the 11th and 12th of the losing streak was also the absolute nail in the coffin - I have 0 faith in the player anymore and his ability to elevate his performance when needed.

Dormant is the perfect word.

I use terms like “dormant” and “latent” for my Sabres fandom. It’ll come roaring back once the team’s back on solid footing. This presumes Pegula doesn’t obliterate the franchise before that can occur.

Getting minutes in games is only part of the equation in terms of development as practicing with major leaguers lends a certain level of development as well. Not to mention the other ancillary aspects of being in the show.

Zach Benson at 19 10/18/28 TOI: 14:40 SAT% 55.5 GF% 51.2 xGF% 53.7 JJ Peterka at 20 12/20/32 TOI: 13:39 SAT% 49.0 GF% 43.5 xGF% 48.5 Benson was demonstrably more ready for the NHL at 19 than Peterka was at 20

Even after all those years of no playoffs, I still clung to a little bit of hope. There was always something to hold on to entering the season to make me think that this could be the year the playoff drought ends. I have never had such little interest entering a Sabres season in many decades. I look at this roster and to me, there seems to be a group of players that has little to no excitement about it. I suppose if the improved defense and goaltending take a major jump, they could be in the mix for the 8 spot, but man, I just don't see it. My friends viewed me as one of the biggest fans out there, watching every single second of every single game. My mood was down when they lost, and I would be thrilled to seem the team victorious. If this organization could take a fan like that and now paint me with apathy, what can the average fan be thinking. It would not take much to get me back on board, but again, looking at this roster, I see no end in sight. I really hope they turn it around some day and bring the joy back to a beyond tortured fanbase that deserves so so much more.

Have to agree on fixing the PP. If they can go from bottom 10 to like 10th - that is like 15 goals which would help offset some of the likely loss of 5on5 goalscoring after the peterka trade. Same with the PK - get that from bottom 10 to 10th and that is 10 fewer goals allowed.

I keep coming back to basics on this: Zach Benson was in the NHL the past two seasons because he was good enough to be in the NHL the past two seasons. People keep focusing on the 30 points part of the equation (which is NHL-calibre) and ignoring the defensive part of the equation: that he is an absolute unicorn for a teenager in that aspect of the game. All the development cliches that people keep leaning into come from players who can't play defence and have games built around overpowering opponents with skill-based tactics that don't work at higher levels; they turn pucks over, get caught cheating and get frustrated when those tactics fail; their numbers drop and their ice time gets cut because their coaches can't trust them.. That's not Benson: he's playing because his coaches trust him. People are confused because what he's doing is extremely rare; most teenage prospects make the league due to their superior offence while they learn defence on the fly; with Benson, its his advanced defence earns him a spot in the NHL while he learns offence on the fly. But there is one obvious comparable: Ryan O'Reilly who had 26 points in 81 games at 18, 26 points in 74 at 19 and 55 in 81 games at 20

As others have said there is no way of proving either side of this debate. The Sabres didn’t have enough talent on the roster to send him back and that is on KA’s watch but credit to Benson for doing well as a smallish 18 year old. Returning to juniors for one season would not have hurt his development but being around pros to practice, work out and travel accelerated the mental part of being a pro for him. His defensive game was good and he had already scored a lot at the junior level so his improvements there would have been some speed and strength by getting a year older. Matt Savoie went back to the same junior club they came from and I don’t think there was much benefit for him except getting traded to Moose Jaw and competing in the Memorial Cup. IMO, the NCAA would have been a great place for him to go, had that option been available at the time. This is now another option for prospects and could help a lot of them. A lot of guys from his draft class will be turning pro this year while he has two NHL years in his pocket. They will be up against a new challenge that he has already surmounted. I think he is ready for another bump up this year.

If you want BIG physical forwards, the 2026 draft has quite a few.

Remember when those crazy MAGA were making fun of Kamala for saying Trump will send the Army after it's citizens... Eyeroll if you like to kneel to Putin.

There are 2 things that can happen and for the most part we are only considering 1. First is what we are talking about, Benson goes back to jrs and gets lots of minutes a night which helps him learn about this or that and practice in a lower stakes and easier environment. The inverse is that by coming to the NHL he doesn't get those minutes and therefore does not get to learn in that lower stakes environment. Second, something we are not talking about much, is Benson could learn a few things in jrs but by mid-season he would be bored and not challenged. He then develops bad habits because for the most part he is better than those he faces. This actually happens a lot, it is why Justin Carbonneau should have moved on from the Q. Now it doesn't just break a player, lots of guys overcome it, but we should consider would Zach Benson have become bored in jrs and developed less because it lacked the challenge he needs? For example the speed of JR is easy for Benson to keep up with, the NHL was not. If Benson spent 2 years vigorously working on his speed to be closer to NHL levels as opposed to being confident in his jr level ability, he would not have developed as much. What about his shot? That is a big criticism around here and if he went back to jr could he have worked on it? Would he have realized where it was in relation to NHL goaltending? I tend to think Zach Benson in particular needs the 2nd development path. The more you push him, the more he responds. Stagnating by being too good for jrs would have been more detrimental to his NHL skillset than spending 2 years refining himself against NHL competition. That's just my opinion though.

I don’t disagree in general and as you say, it depends on the player. Benson has more hockey sense and skill than half of the older players on the team. He certainly has more heart and hustle as well. Instead of his development being stunted by not returning to juniors, his development has been accelerated by having to acclimate to the NHL early on. He will be that much more developed when he reaches the age he would have been by waiting. Perhaps a season or two in the A would have been beneficial but imo, additional time in juniors would have been of little to no benefit to his development. He had already surpassed that level of play.

Would he be better off playing at 18 and 19 in Juniors or in the NHL is the question at hand. It is an argument that either side cant really prove. Depends on the player and the team he is playing for. McDavid and Eichel could make the jump at 18. Reinhart didn't, Tage didn't, very few 18 year old players make that jump. Benson did it but did he get enough ice time and play in enough situations that maximized his development at 18? My opinion is that Adams blew it by not bringing in more veterans that would keep Benson in Juniors for at least another year. Benson making the team at 18 was more about how terrible the Sabres roster depth was. Benson does not have the skills of McDavid/Eichel. I say this and yet I still like Benson a lot. I don't think Benson will get hurt by being rushed because his mindset won't allow it. I can't say that about most 18 year olds.