All Activity

Did anyone ever make a sabres crest with crossed palm trees? And a buffalo shaped tax return?

Tage has 1 point in his last 6 games. This team is an alpha star away from being legit - I like all the pieces - I like the change to the DNA of the roster that it’s a bit tougher and grittier. I don’t know what Owen Power does. Aside from steal money. That bust of a first overall pick has cost this team YEARS in the rebuild post Eichel.

Not me. I give Adams ZERO credit, and I think he handled Granato's firing in a sleazy way . I recall that Adams threw Granato under the bus. Adams touted the need for a "veteran coach and NHL experience", and he promised to do a thorough coaching search. Adams somehow got his players to repeat those same comments in their locker room cleanout season ending interviews. Granato was a popular coach with his players and I expected more defense for him, and some regret, and even some accountability from the players. There was very little of that, the players moved on, Adams gave them their excuse for getting their coach fired. Adams is not the guy to fix this team.

It's hard to win on the road.

Our team has gotten worse

I will argue it. I wouldn't even say Colorado SHOULD beat Buffalo. A video popped up in YT last night. I'm sure it was old. But Forton clearly was leading the draft room discussion.

Shake up Front Office. KA does not understand this is not a hockey daycare, (he wants guys who want to be here - gives no confidence in BUF as a destination, blames BUF climate & NY taxes). He is WRAK. He is unable to let guys he likes go. Then they force his hand (Eichel, Reinhart, O’Reilly (lost his love of game in BUF! For God’s sake!). Fire KA, Kacko make GM decisions as interim rest of year. Start with doing something with 3 mediocre G situation. p.s. While this has logical basis, won’t happen with Terry McScrooge Pants. JFC - EVERYONE is on expiring contracts. Really TP?

Yeah, he did his normal trope about how everyone needs to be better and he needs to be better, but at this point, all that was and is is merely words. The actions don't match. Personally, expect this team is ready to rejoin the NHL because there are actual NHLers at every spot and there are kids in Ra-cha-cha that have demonstrated they can handle playing in the NHL without getting caved in should callups be necessary. But, that's where they were 13/14 years ago at the time they decided to blow everything up. Don't expect they actually WILL join the NHL until Adams is gone. Hoping Christmas comes by NYD this year but by no means am expecting it.

It should be, but I really don’t think it is. I just don’t see anything happening (good or bad) as a result of it.

Maybe they slide Benson to the 1st line, Quinn to the 2nd, and Doan to the 3rd in that scenario. Don't want Quinn out there with the rookie. The rookie has good hockey sense and is decent in his own end. Quinn, um, does not. And didn't say that McLeod line would be a shutdown line. Intentionally said checking line. They'll try and do a reasonable job of it, but they'll face top lines sometimes and will get beat in those situations; but don't expect they'd get their brains pounded in. And not sure that I'd agree that the 4th line in your version was a true shut down line either.

We've got a poster getting ready to invade Poland over here.

Like.... Scoring goals???

I will give Adams a tiny bit of credit, and I mean tiny, when he fired Granato for whatever reason you can call it because I remember he did at least put some of the responsibility of the team's poor performance on himself as well as on the players back then. Well if Adams truly wanted to take some of the responsibility for his performance, then he should take some serious responsibility for his atrocious overall performance ever since being hired and RESIGN immediately.

Hoping we do not get on another long losing streak. I would hate to have to interrupt Terry during football season. The outcome of this road trip is huge.

Excellent question. Win every game they can. PA will argue against this, but this team SHOULD win in Calgary. Additionally, they might win in Vancouver; they should be able to win in Seattle, but until they ever finally beat them will always expect that to be an L. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll make that one a moral victory by only losing that one in OT. Know it won't happen, but would really like to see a bloodletting in the hockey department on Boxing Day (or whenever the roster / personnel freeze ends; and realize the FO and coaches don't get holiday job protection; but waiting 3 extra days to can them won't make any difference on this hockey season and if it lets folks have a good holiday with their families, why not). Find out what you have should Leone be the interim coach. (Or heck, let Appert be the interim coach to prove just how friggin' bad he is and keep him from getting the promotion to the job full time. Nah, on second thought, he might have a Rolston dead cat bounce and we'd be stuck with him for the next 5 years. Better to not risk it.) Let Kekelainen take the reins. And whomever Terry's advisor is (he's bouncing ideas off somebody's noggin or getting input lo these many years) make sure he's the 1st one sent packing (Forton perhaps?).

You still do not have a shut down line on that 3rd line. Put Quinn back in and they can contribute on the score sheet. Doan - Thompson - Tuch Benson - Norris - Zucker Östlund - McLeod - Quinn Greenway/Dunne - Kozak/Krebs - Malenstyn The fourth line with Kozak at center was a good shut down line until he got hurt.

The same guy that is instructing them in HOW to play D is the same guy that was doing so when Granato was the coach. Granted, that guy's system when he gets adequate goaltending is actually GOOD on the PK (at least it has been through the 1st 1/3 of the season) which is something that wasn't apparent when he was getting below average goaltending. But it is, has been, and likely always will be horrible at 5v5. With Ruff only making 2 moves altering the coaching staff in 2 years (1 being demoting Ellis and elevating Appert, and the other being the canning of a S&C coach), totally get being disappointed in how they play in their own end, but when they're getting told by the same people what to do, it really is a bit on the Sabre fan side of things to expect anything different. Sure, hope for something different, but to expect it, so, so, very Sabrey. (And, yeah, had hoped things would change under Ruff and even expected them at the time he was hired, but since he didn't make any changes other than using line matchups when available at home, not much has changed. He does have them playing better to start games than his predecessor did, but even that's not a huge change this year as they're tied for giving up the most 1st goals of the game w/ the Phlyers. 18 times in 28 games.)

Fired as a scapegoat? He was fired for his record, and because his teams were one-dimensional, but he got little help in term of resources from Adams and Pegula.

Krebs was really bad last night. He wasn’t alone, but he did stand out to me.

So, we now have nearly 4 games of Norris and all of them have been with Thompson on his wing. They were great in the 1 adrenaline game and have been bad in the other 3. When things were going well prior to Norris getting back in the lineup, Ruff had said he saw Thompson as his 1C and Norris as the 2C. Realize the sample size of them together has been very small, but this team has played its way into not having the luxury of letting the 1st line have 10 or so games to find itself and gel. So, IMHO (and likely most people's here) the time has come for Ruff to break those 2 up. Thompson and Tuch show a lot of chemistry with each other. Doan has played with Tuch a lot and has reasonable chemistry with him. IMHO there's your 1st line. Norris and Benson should have chemistry together. And, in the adrenaline game they did. (But pretty sure Norris would've had chemistry with people from here that day.) What winger to give them? Options are Zucker, Quinn, Östlund (yeah he's a C, he can slide), and Greenway. Personally am giving them Zucker as he's the best of the bunch. Now, who to play on McLeod's line? For now, would give him Östlund and Greenway or maybe see what Kozak gives you at W. Actually would like to see what Kozak gives at W. Don't want Quinn on this line as am planning on using it predominantly as a checking line and Quinn doesn't fit that bill. That McLeod and Östlund can contribute some O would be enough in that department, at least on an initial looksee at what we have. Which would leave Krebs and Malenstyn wtih either Greenway, Quinn, or Dunne. Give it to Greenway when he's available and Dunne when he isn't. Quinn hasn't really played his way out of a job, but last few games he hasn't exactly played his way into one either. Doan - Thompson - Tuch Benson - Norris - Zucker Östlund - McLeod - Kozak Greenway/Dunne - Krebs - Malenstyn

What makes you believe that a skid would make that happen?

This team is just bad and there is no fixing it with the players/staff they have. Developing players in the NHL is an epically bad plan especially when you give them the Temu of coaching staffs. Unless there is huge influx of money and wholesale changes this offseason I think I’m done with the Sabres. There is no future for this organization under Pegula. He is fine using this team as a tax write off and keeping fans chasing the carrot with their bulls#it and they will always have fans believing it.

Good post.

Wow. One year. I really thought it was later in the season.