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Sometimes you just run in to a better defense. It is what it is, I’m not reading much in your this loss.

I’ll be at Union. Looking forward to it!

What I would like to this is... Terry is workng behind the scenes to identify a major FO talent with experience and credibility to take over this ship and will allow that person to decide on what it next... while not allowing Adams to move any assets with the excepton of Tuch who we will lose in FA for zero if he doesnt.... and they only reason no one is fired is because he doesnt want to interfere with the next GMs plan... and when he has found his guy he will bring them in to re-do the team.... But this is a little bit like having 9 beers, no dates in 2 years, and rating how good looking someone is at 2am... not steeped in any kind of sober reality.... What I really think is happening is that he is letting these people run out their contracts so he doesnt have to pay them to sit at home... when they expire he will promote internally from this incestuous cesspool of dysfunction making Appert HC after an exhaustive search and Keko GM after an exhaustive search lol... and not replace thier positions to save money... and we will continue on the same painful treadmill we have been on for years... major players will defect starting with Tuch and we will have successfully devoided our franchise of anyone worth watching for draft picks and prospects... I would literally bet money on this.

I agree that this seems like the most logical rationale for what Pegula is doing. It is perhaps a contradiction though, that they are spending to the cap this year, and were willing to give substantial two-year extensions to players like Zucker and Greenway and a one-way deal to a player like Georgiev. I'm sure that Georgiev, who Pegula may soon be paying to play in the KHL, makes as much or more than what Ellis and Wilford make combined. It is difficult to understand why Pegula pinches pennies in one area but not in others. The reality is that no NHL team fires an entire front office or coaching staff mid-season. It is also pretty rare for a GM to get fired mid-season. Those sort of truly transformational changes, happen in the off-season. What is incomprehensible to me, is that they don't replace Ruff on an interim basis with Leone or even (gag) Appert. Backfilling an AHL coach or NHL assistant for 3/4 of a season would cost less than what Pegula is paying Curtis Leschsysheynshyynsn. And, you never know, it might work. Mid-season coaching changes have positive impacts quite often. A fresh voice and outlook at the helm combined with getting healthy and, perhaps, a good trade, might position the team to get on an actual roll before it is too late. Loyalty to Ruff for doing Pegula and Adams a solid and taking this job on a two-year contract, might be preventing them from throwing Ruff under the bus. All of which just adds more to the already mountainous evidence that the Sabres are just not run like a normal NHL team. Finally, one last frightening thought: there is no requirement for an organization to announce that the GM's contract has been extended.

No doubt that the increased costs for the new stadium was a concern. But he significantly addressed it by selling minority shares for his franchise and he also used PSL revenue to defray much of the cost. The NFL Bills are a big money-maker and wll be more so with the new stadium in operation. The silent owner has failed with the Sabres because from a hockey standpoint he is inept.

It is the most likely scenario but from a Fan's point of view there is.. not one a few but one really big major flaw I see. If it plays out that way, Kekalainen is the new GM. Where is the exhaustive search for the new GM? Where are multiple interviews, where is the chance to see different points of view? If it does play out that way, and I think it's the most likely scenario at this point, it's another case of Terry pegula not taking any chances, going with someone he's comfortable with, rather than the best person for the job.

I understand your reasoning, and it makes a lot of sense. However, I take the opposite view that not getting a deal done is another setback in a cycle of setbacks. The Sabres are an incongruent roster that doesn't need another iteration of obliteration as it needs some judicious moves to better balance out the roster. The loss of Tuch will not advance this team, it will set it back. It's more likely than not that the return will be mostly futures rather than immediate help. No matter where one positions oneself on the issue, the prospective transaction requires a GM who can make a move that upgrades the roster. When your GM is a dullard that caliber of move is outside of his limited talents. Our organization is staffed with mediocre talents. Until that central issue is addressed, this franchise will continue on with its meandering path. The stark reality that few people are mentioning is that Tuch might not want to be here. He might just ride out his contract and then pursue his best options. If that happens, then a return on any trade will be very much diminished. If he takes that route it will be another indication that our better players want out of this fading franchise in order to salvage their careers.

What if Forton's right and everyone else is getting in his way?😁 Ok, I'll leave.

I agree it was the obvious pick. I disagree that the only reason Benson was on the Sabres’s radar is because they had drafted Savoie the year before. I spend maybe 3 hours reading draft previews every year and Benson was on MY radar. He was on everyone’s radar. The Sabres didn’t need to see him 10 extra times to know who he was or how good he was.

I know negotiations don't always work like this...but that is all the more reason to not rush to sign Tuch now to a big dollar contract. That is one way it is in HIS interest to not push for top dollar to get those 2 more years. If the Sabres sign him for 8 years at $10.5, they are dumber than any of us thought..when no one else can sign him for more than 6. Those 2 extra years he will be 36 and 37 years old. No rush to sign him to guarantee you are taking a $10m+ cap hit on a player that age....at least in my opinion. Of course, I'm one of the ones who is in no rush to sign him...and as much as I think he's the 2nd or 3rd best player on this team right now, and I LIKE him as a player, I'm not going to be heartbroken if he isn't here next year.

Too many injuries and not a big fan of the play calling. Need a lot of help entering next year. Allen can only do so much.

Tuch can sign 8yrs with the team he's on b4 July 1. He can sign 6yrs on or after July 1.

I have said it a bunch but I'll add it here. I believe Terry is worried about stadium costs and that's his sole focus. He saw that he had a bunch of front office guys with 1yr deals, so decided to punt on the season. He brought in Kekalainen to audition for gm and knows Ruff will retire at years end. It's a winning formula is Terry's mind where he doesn't have to pay 2 staffs, gets to see if he likes the new gm, and allows Adams to move up into whatever role Terry plans while the stadium overruns get paid off. Bottom line is Terry doesn't care about this year because the stadium and Bills are more important. On top of all that, he's working to get public funding for a arena overhaul. The product on the ice is irrelevant.

I don't follow the nfl draft much, but I do have a friend who's big into it. He says this is a decent wr draft with some talent that would be available in the 1st. He likes Chris Bell.

That has been my opinion for a while. Had a few arguments here that even in the past, the OL, WR group, basically everything on this team is, and has been in the past...at best a borderline playoff team with an 'average' qb instead of Allen. The OL thing is the one that always drove me crazy...the last couple years most people have said they are one of the top 5 in the league. I don't see it.

Yep. Sabres get an asset, Tuch gets a playoff run. Its not like it seems he is giving them a hometown discount. If they are going to have to 'pay up' for him now, they can do so in the offseason. If he wants to go someplace else, he can just not sign here anyway. If the Sabres are out of it, no reason to sign him now, trade him and see where things take you. ESPECIALLY if you have a new front office in the offseason. Terry can tell that front office how much he likes Tuch (if he does) but let it be up to the new front office. Don't sign too many people in advance and let the new front office have little/less roster options to work with.

A select few of them care about winning more than anything, but many. The rest, they care about winning but ONLY after making lots and lots more money. That must come first.

Zach Benson is the pick that convinced me elite prospects do a better job at scouting than most nhl teams. The ability to win battles, manipulate defenders, and put pucks into HD areas all while being excellent defensively is apparently hard to see for most teams. It's why this draft season I wonder about Stenberg and Belchetz being more effective at the nhl than McKenna.

Or just tell Tuch, we trade you and talk again in the offseason ? 🙂

Looks like the Bills like the Sabres need a total house cleaning and Let’s face it Pegula ***** sucks, ***** him

Let’s face it the Bills hit a grand slam with Josh Allen and if he’s not here the Bills are a non playoff team just like the Sabres.

Josh Allen’s prime years being wasted by a GM who can’t put the proper pieces around him to get them over the hump. He never addressed the #1 receiver that this team desperately needs, the offensive line isn’t that great, the defense needs a ton of help. Beane hasn’t drafted that well and has more misses than hits. But what do you expect from a Terry Pegula run team. Without Allen the Bills are a bottom feeder like the Sabres.

He clearly couldn't give a rats ass about the fans, billionaires only care about the bottom line but some also hate to lose although Terry doesn't seem to really care. I haven't been to a game in so long and i don't miss a thing. I've said for a long time if they're doing great and in the playoffs I'll support them but I haven't had to waste my money on them at all, no jersey's no tickets, no merch of any kind. I will not parade that gear around until it's worthy of being paraded around imo.

Why not? I can save ya a bunch of reading, the simple answer is this is not a serious hockey organization.

Hit me like a brick tonight watching highlights (you honestly do sort of become desensitized to it): we had Eichel AND Reinhart along with Dahlin. There was no gun to anyone’s head just because the Taylor Hall, Covid! short season failed. We really could and should have made something of that excellent core and, instead, opted to punt expectations. They should have had a spine. Main requirement of next GM oh damn 40k