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play calling??....brilliant and superlucky

Except it seems like, at least in the past few years, Pegula hardly makes any appearances at all let alone changes. Its like he got to a certain age and just decided "I'm going to sit back and watch, not do anything" At least that is the impression I get.

have the Bills DBs won one battle?

That’s a positive way to think of it. If we let force them to drive the ball for 10 mins each time. They will only get 4 drives in the entire game and 28 points. Smart Yes but it’s only 7 points a quarter at this point lol

2 drives, 2 TDs allowed. 5/5 third down conversions allowed.

The Sabres have a lot of problems, but goaltending is, again, bad. Expected goals is supposed to take into consideration not just shots,but what are considered scoring chance, high danger chances, where the shots were taken from etc. Its basically the quality and quantity of scoring chances translated into how many goals that usually translates to based on the quality of the opportunities. I only went back 20 games, so maybe the number gets worse...but in the last 20 games, the Sabres goalies have allowed MORE goals than the expected goal number 16 times. 16 out of 20 time, the goalies have underperformed the expected goals, which INCLUDES defensive breakdowns in that number.

Only gave up 7 points in 1 quarter. I would take that all day, the Bills needed to score more than 30 no matter what.

Another first half defensive masterclass by McDermott and staff Sad I don't mind losses by both my teams (Sabres and Bills) cause I desperately needed change.

Absolutely and he can use it as a write off. Win win

Tuch SHOULD be a slightly better version of Zucker on a good team going forward into his early 30s....as you said playing 'middle six' minutes. If he can make that adjustment to his game where he doesn't rely on his declining speed. As you said, it doesn't look like this roster would be the best place for that (for the next few years if he stays here, he will be asked to do TOO much, more than he would likely be capable of doing into his 30's).

I am a Tuch fan. This is the best assessment of him I have read here. I myself could not come up with all the data that backs your assessment. By so many measures he one of the better player on this team. Of course I am disappointed in his recent two bad turnovers that both led to goals against. Despite those mistakes, @pi2000 just put up some stats (TRpm and +/-) that shows Tuch is still one of the better players on the team. All that said, Tuch is almost 30 and going forward will have to rely more on experience and vet savvy than speed. He strikes me as a guy that will figure this out and still be a key contributor for several years to come. He left one of the best teams in the league to play for the home town team and has been a good soldier. But right now Tuch should be asking for a trade, not a long term extension. I think this next big life change that he is facing is a distraction for him. A poor GM like Adams let this negotiation go for too long and Adams faces getting less for him or overpaying to keep him. . He can go to any contending team and play middle 6, still score 25+ goals, still kill penalties, and enjoy the game. He should be asking to go and I hate to say it, but this team is still miles away from contending for a Cup. Just getting the 7/8 spot in the conference is not close to getting to the top 4-6 teams in the league. I just wish we had a GM that could either get the right value for him or sign for just 2-3 year extension - But we have Adams.

After 14 years of this not a one. Don't get me wrong I do like several of the players currently on this team. i.e. Dahlin, Benson, Tage, Zucker, Doan, Mcleod. I agree with the premise I've seen stated by some of the posters here in SS that the team is not constructed properly with the balance of veteran, youth, grit, and skills players. Last that requires the proper plan and coaching for the style of players needed to win consistently and succeed in playoffs having that team balance. So I happily would defer the choice of players to keep for the new experienced GM and staff he would hire that would provide the blueprint.

Something, something, fiddled our hearts with a promise of heaven, more and more fiddling that's been seen and heard while this franchise burns. Pegula > Nero; Nero may have fiddled for a few days, Pegula is on 14 years.

The numbers are screaming that the Sabres have a guy who is going to be 30 very soon. Who is getting slower by the year each year for the last 4 seasons. Who has a shot that is losing power and speed by the year each and every year for the last 4 seasons. Who this year has even has a slightly declining scoring pace. It sounds just about right that this management group heading the Sabres is going to try to sign him a a massive, cap-eating contract that will hinder them for most of the next decade.

I wouldn't be bothered if a dealt goalie is serviceable or even does well on another team. So what? The strategy that the shallow GM is taking with respect to determining which goalie or goalies to keep is self-defeating. By keeping three of them instead of the usual two goalies on the roster, he is putting all of them in a position to fail because of the lack of steady work. UPL has had enough time to demonstrate what level of goalie he is. There will be games where he will shine, just enough to tantalize you. Then he will revert into true his baseline level of being a pedestrian goalie. If I had to make a judgment on which goalie will turn out to be the best of the current trio, I would say Ellis. But I don't say it with much conviction. It should also be noted that Levi is in Rochester, and it appears he has recently been on a bumpy road. But even so, if the dullard GM keeps two instead of three goalies on the big club roster, he still has a fallback position of bringing up Levi if a goalie is hurt. It shouldn't be a surprise that a third-rate organization with third-rate decision makers make third-rate decisions. When you shoot yourself in the foot it shouldn't be surprising that you limp. A lot of people don't know that the Sabres were the inspiration for the making of a movie. It was called: Dumb and dumber. And unsurprisingly, it had more box office success than the Sabres have had on the ice.

Why would Terry prioritize winning? We have fans on this site that love to justify not winning to get a better pick starting right about this time every season. He can save some money while keeping a core group interested. And no pressure. He’s got to be happy as a clam how this whole thing is working out.

Pat Lafontaine

How can a team that gets more than their share of high draft picks not have high end players? The Sabres don't lack high end players. We have talent. The trouble is that being a high end player doesn't mean a thing if they don't perform to the best of their ability collectively as a group or for whatever reason they are not performing. That, combined with the fact that when it comes to high end players that produce, and picking the right kinds of grinders to compliment those players, or getting us a goalie who can make the big save, this GM consistently fails. Add to that the fact that this coaching staff has yet to accomplish anything with this team and it's a formula for disaster. Anyway, I think we do have high end players, just that some of them don't even need to take a shower after the game.

I think Tuch is still the best winger on this team (I'm couting Tage as a part time center/winger). The team would be worse without him. He's one of the top 25 wingers in the leauge to me RIGHT NOW. But I think he is starting to show the very first hints of 'aging past his prime'. Unless you are a mega superstar (and even some cases with them), we know that MOST forwards (and the averages in the numbers show this) have their peak offense production years between the ages of 24-28. Yeah, some guys hang on to that high level a bit better than others, but once you get to 29-30, your best years are usually behind you (just what the numbers say). This isn't to say they can't have a great/bounce back year once or twice past 30, but normally production has already peaked. So how does this relate to Tuch? Hes 29 now. If the Sabres made the playoffs he woudl be 30 during this years playoffs. The FIRST year of any new contract for him has turning 31 at the end of year 1 of that deal. -Its only 1/4 season, but to my eye, he seems to be having more 'lapses' where he makes bad plays. A handful of more games compared to the last few years where he's just not as noticable. Not much, but enough to notice. -His numbers: Over the last 3 previous seasons, he averaged 33.4 goals per 82 games and +13.8 per 82 on a negative team. This year, his 82 game pace is 26.3 goals and a +2.9. Not a huge drop, but noticable. His PP numbers are dropping. The last few years he went from 20 PP points, to 11 PP points, to 11 PP points again, and now hes on a pace for 5.8pp points. -His ice time is down. He hasn't been injured this year, but he has the lowest average ice time this year of any other year (or partial year) since he has been in Buffalo. Now for the actual skill based numbers (and remember, he seems to be healthier this year than in the past): His shot speed: 93.4 his first year with the Sabres. Down to 89.2 and 89.7 the past 2 years. This year? 85.1 Top skaing speed: 23.2 mph 3 years ago (when he was 26).....23mph 2 years ago (when he was 27)....22.6mph last year (when he was 28)....and now this year 21.83 this year. In terms of MPH, a drop of more than 1mph is a LOT in the NHL. He is losing speed, that is 100% true. How about his skating "speed bursts over 20mph"? This year 1.25 per game (at age 29). How does that compare to the most recent years? 1.75 per game last year (age 28), and 2.36 per game the previous 2 years (since he was with the Sabres, ages 26-27) -Tuch relies SO MUCH on his speed and skating. His shorthanded breakaway goals. His forchecking (which is the best part of his game). As he loses skating speed, that is going to impact the best part of his game the most. Its staring to happen now. Its only going to get worse as he gets older. Again...Hes 29, going on 30 this season. The FIRST year of any new contract for him has turning 31 at the end of year 1 of that deal. This is not to say he's not one of the better players on the team. But the 'eye test' to me says his game is SLIGHTLY off compared to the past (just slighly), and the more you dig into the numbers, especially his skating, it shows you those numbers are, without a doubt, on a downward trend already. For me it further reinforces that I'd like him back here, but not on a big dollar, long term deal. His "raw skill" numbers in terms of top speed, how often he uses his speed, and his shot are already in clear decline. The production is showing signs of a decline, as are his deeper analytics. If, and I realize this is an "if", the recent trends in his skating and production continue, you might be regretting a $10m+ deal with Tuch...not in 5 to 6 years from now, but possibly in year 2 of the extension.

Terry doesn’t care about winning when it comes to the Sabres. In my opinion, he’s purposely trying not to win. The Sabres are the Indians in Major League.

Pegula doesn't seem to be too worried about the huge number of empty seats in the arena lately. At the very least it's a tax write-off for him, so I'm not buying it that people not buying tickets are the only thing that will pressure him to clean house. I think you do make a good point about Hamilton and Harrington speaking up, though.

Tage, simply because the most exciting/fun thing in hockey for me is not a great save, its not a fight, its not a good defensive battle..but rather exciting goals. He's the best on this team at that. Other than that, at this point I don't care.

Not one!

And smart enough to avoid this ***** show of an organization