SabresFan526

I think you hit it. This looks like LaFontaine vs. Batistta and LaFontaine lost. If you believe that this had nothing to do with Miller and Nolan, then this is the only plausible thing that makes sense. This would also seem like a power struggle between an insider with the title of VP of Hockey Businesses who does not report to the outsider who is President of Hockey Operations but reports to the owner directly. And there is where I think the power struggle took place.

It's been a long time since I've been here. Looks like I only post once a year, so let's make it a good one. From the outside, this seems to reflect more poorly on PLF than anyone else. Given his history in forcing a trade from Long Island, forcing a trade out of Buffalo, resigning from the Islanders after 40 days, and now abruptly resigning from the Sabres. It appears that while PLF is a very classy individual externally, his pattern of behavior indicates he's pretty temperamental and looks to dramatically leave a situation when things don't go his way. Additionally, there were some rumors going around when Tim Murray was hired that apparently were planted by Jim Benning. So, it is not necessarily clear he is all that clean as an individual if planted rumors by competing GM candidates are to be believed. Either way, while I am saddened by the trade of Miller and Ott, it was a huge haul for the Sabres and the right thing to do. Keeping Ted Nolan is also the right thing to do. I think Tim Murray is the right guy to lead the Sabres through this rebuild, and has remarkable candor that basically cuts through any and all BS is a welcome change from the previous regime that spoke primarily in ambiguity, excuses, and spin. I don't get much of that from Murray, which is nice. Still would like to know why this all went down, but I imagine that this will largely remain a mystery for a while.

This was the right decision and probably should have been done last year. Having said that, I am totally sad by all of this. I genuinely liked Lindy Ruff and so badly wanted to see him win the Stanley Cup for Buffalo because he is the Buffalo Sabres in some respects given that he's been with the team for over 54% of their existence in some capacity. Today is not a good day even though it was the right thing to do. Thank you, Lindy, for all that you have done as a player, as a coach, and as a person for this organization and city. I hope one day that there is some sort of ceremony honoring Lindy Ruff at First Niagara Center. Today is going to go down as one of those days in history when people ask, "Where were you when Lindy Ruff got fired?" I was traveling to Calgary on business.

Personally, I don't believe Nash is worth that much either, but there is no way Howson accepts less than this. Frankly, Howson's got all the chips and really doesn't have to make the trade unless it's perfect. Hence, San Jose has to somewhere acquire a first to make this thing happen, and hence I believe they will trade Marleau to get that first rounder to ship to Columbus. Just my opinion. Who knows what will actually happen?

Sabres trade Roy, Sekera, and 2013 first for Patrick Marleau. Sabres trade Weber for 2013 4th round pick. Sabres sign Milan Jurcina to a 3 year $10 million. Grigorenko goes back to Q for one more season before making the NHL or Ennis traded for a first and Grigorenko makes the team. Separately, Sharks trade Clowe, Pavelski, Vlasic, and Sabres first round pick for Rick Nash.

My sense is that the lines will not fundamentally alter much for the rest of the season. I think Brad Boyes benefits most from this trade. My sense is that the lines will be: Vanek-Roy-Pominville Leino-Ennis-Stafford Gerbe-Hodgson-Boyes McCormick/Adam-Ellis-Kaleta I think the fourth line turns into the "shutdown" line with now 3 scoring lines. But, if Hodgson is putting up points with fairly limited talent as linemates, I could see him simply moving into Gaustad's spot with Gerbe and Kaleta. Either way, I think this is a good addition to get some center depth with a true center and not some makeshift guy. We may lose more faceoffs without Gaustad, but I think this is a major upgrade in talent at the center position which has been desperately needed.

I've heard a little bit about Hodgson prior to this deal. While he has been hidden in Vancouver, he's been very productive, and it's only his rookie year. His numbers from Juniors show he's an elite centerman For me, getting a first rounder for Goose is just outrageous. Can't believe Nashville would turn a 7th round draft choice with limited skating ability, little offense, a little bit of toughness, and faceoff prowess for a 1st round pick. Great job by Darcy to get that one. But, follow that up with this trade, in my mind is really good. Talked to some Vancouver friends and Hodgson is the real deal according to them. I fell for the Kassian hype as well, but his game hasn't really translated yet to the pros. Hodgson, joins the Sabres as the third leading goal scorer immediately. I understand he was going through what I call the Derek Roy effect when he was in Vancouver playing behind the Sedins and Kesler and getting some points like Roy did when he played behind Briere and Drury. But, it does seem like he's got some good talent and being productive with limited ice time. He's not a #1 Center today, but I think he could become one in 2 years and it does give the Sabres more scoring depth at Center now that we have learned Ennis is a revelation at Center. I'm excited seeing Hodgson play with say Gerbe and I expect Boyes (maybe Kaleta) and see how productive that line could become. Either way, I was never enamored with Gragnani and getting Hodgson for Kassian appears on paper like a good trade, but only time will tell.

After all of the giveaways that turned into goals last night, why not play Weber? At least he'll pick on guys who regularly win the scoring title.

The gutless POSes are the guys wearing the Blue and Gold that did not even respond to Lucic. That was pathetic. If it was me, I don't care if he's bigger than me, his face is not bigger than my stick. And, I would have torn into him with the stick. I would have slashed his legs to make sure he couldn't stand let alone walk. So what if you're too small in a fight and you'll lose the battle. It's a suspension and fine that is well worth it to defend your goalie. The biggest cowards in all of this are the guys like Gaustad and Myers who were actually on the ice and could have taken Lucic. McCormick has a few shifts against Lucic's line throughout the game, and he did nothing. That's pathetic. More than the game and the score of the game, the cowardly lack of response by the Sabres is what bothers me. The same lack of response against Scott Gomez a few years back and now nothing against Lucic. Pathetic. This team still lacks the fortitude to defend their teammates, and if you don't have that, then you're really not a team.

I really like the videos that Shanny is conducting. He's been doing a great job of reviewing the plays and clearly explaining in a transparent manner the justification behind the punishment. He's doing a fantastic job, and I'm very supportive of what Shanahan's doing. I do believe Armstrong should have received some supplemental discipline on the hit on Gaustad as that is a clear boarding/hit from behind. However, if you watch the Staubitz video, Shanahan clearly indicates that the facial injury weighed heavily in his decision as to the severity of the suspension, plus the fact Staubitz has been suspended in the past. Since Gaustad did not suffer an injury, I expect that is why there was no suspension for that play. I believe there was a similar hit in that game, perhaps by Kaleta that was boarding in which no penalty was even called and it was by a Sabre player I want to say in the first period. My guess is you can't get everything, but I would have liked to have seen something on Armstrong. Overall, I'm very pleased with what Shanahan is doing so far, and I think he's been doing a really good job. Also, for those wondering the impact of preseason suspensions, it appears as though players do get paid for the preseason, so if they are suspended for preseason games, they are forfeiting game checks. The same ones they would get for the regular season as well, so these suspensions are putting a dent in their wallet. Apparently, Wisniewski is losing about a half million dollars for his suspension. Pretty steep.

I'm not convinced anyone in the AFC is all that great this year. All of the teams are flawed in my opinion. The Colts without Manning are not really the Colts and the rest of the AFC South is not very good at all with Houston perhaps the best, maybe? Pittsburgh does not look like the team they were last year. The Jets have their flaws. The Ravens have theirs. The Chargers are not great. I think the AFC is overall a very weak conference this year. The best team might be the Ravens at this point, but even that is questionable. Given that, and some good play by the Bills, why couldn't they make the playoffs? If they can sweep Miami, and get 1 out of 2 from the Jets and they've guaranteed at least 1 out of 2 against the Patriots, they could go above .500 in the AFC East and another 6 wins (2 which they already have against Oakland and K.C.), and they could make the playoffs this year in a very weak AFC. It's not out of the question, and passing this first test today shows that it's now a realistic possibility.

I guess you have to eat the words regarding the Bills getting raped earlier this week. I am shocked. The Bills are for real. Really exciting game today. I expected the worst, and got the best. I am ready to fully invest emotionally in this team. Was holding off, but beating the Pats to me is enough to get back on the bandwagon. I'm not a fairweather fan and will always root for the Bills in good times and in bad times, but given the last 10 years, they have trained me to have low expectations and draft busts. I'm excited again.

Wow. Amazingly tragic. Some star players on that team like Demitra. Unbelievable. What a sad day for hockey.

Yup, that's it. Thanks. Wow, not a very good song, but it sounds good over the TV when the game is in hand in the third period with under a minute left.

This is totally random and probably does not even belong in this thread, but I'll give it a shot anyway. What's the song that they've been playing at HSBC with under a minute left and the game is pretty much in hand? It's a song that everyone in the stands seems to sing as well and it gets really loud. It sounds like some big band Frank Sinatra type song or Christmas jingle. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm curious to know.

I'm a bit late per usual, but I enjoyed last night's game. Seems like the most complete win by the team this year and that, too, against a very good team in the Western Conference. I know this was the 17th backup goalie the Sabres have played against, but I still believe they legitimately beat a really good team and even if Quick was in goal, I'm not sure he would have stopped some of those goals. It was great to finally see the PP working last night and against the best PK in the NHL. Notice that three out of the four goals were caused by getting shots on net and creating traffic in front. Wow, what a shock! A strategy that is known throughout the NHL finally working. I really like Lindy's move of putting Roy on the point on the PP. It's really working and has been working for the last few games since he's been there. He's really aggressive about getting shots on net, and that's the key on the PP. You have to get shots on the net and let guys like Vanek and the other guys around crash the net and go after the loose garbage. It worked extremely well tonight, and will always work, it just takes getting shots on net instead of passing all the time. This move also puts Connolly in his more natural position on the half wall and puts Pominville up front where I think he's been more effective throughout his career on the PP than on the point. Great to see Pominville get two assists tonight. Vanek has been playing extremely well since moving to the Right Side, and I found he was very successful last season when he made the switch towards the end of the year too. In fact he scored 6 goals in 2 games while playing on the right side. Also good to see Hecht get a nice one-timer goal on a nice pass by Pominville. And Tim Connolly finally decided to show up (maybe he's trying to impress Lombardi so that Regier could get something out of him). Gaustad came in with a really inspired effort tonight, so great to see that. And Miller kept the guys in it until the offense took over. Good team win tonight. By the way, I have refrained from posting in the Rivet thread, but boy he looked awful last night. He was scared of getting hit on Simmonds goal rather than focused on blocking the shot. Granted, if it were me, I would have done the same thing, but again, I'm not paid $3.25 million a year to do that either. The hook on his first shift was an old player who's slowed down and can't catch up to the forward's speed. It's getting ugly for Rivet. It's too bad because I think he genuinely is trying and is putting in the effort, but boy the performance is not there.

Do we officially have a streak in place? Great to get a win. However, with the new tiebreaker rules, the fact that the last two wins have been shootouts don't really help the Sabres if they are tied for 8th place because apparently Shootout Wins are negated from the win column when calculating tiebreakers. If that is the case, why not just have a separate column in the standings for Shootout wins so that you can count them separately and eliminate them from the tiebreaker altogether? Anyway, enough on that rant. Sabres won! Yay! Two in a row! Even more Yay! Enroth has won two games in a row as well! Triple Yay! The Sabres have finally found a backup goaltender to Miller who can win games in spot duty! Quadruple Yay! Good win and good to see Pominville finally get on the board.

This was horribly frustrating. It reminded of a 2006-2007 Sabres game where the Sabres were completely outplayed and dominated for most of the game and somehow found a way to win. Tonight it was the Sabres who completely outplayed the Blackhawks and somehow found a way to lose. Ridiculous. How can the Sabres not take it to Hjalmarsson or to Kopecky. This is just an incredibly soft team. Where's Kaleta? Where's Gaustad? Where's Rivet? Where's anyone? These guys are a bunch of pansies, and I'm sick of it. The Sabres again gave up two goals because of long cross ice passes in which the forward got behind the defense. Hossa did this twice last game, again tonight and so did Bolland, and he almost scored the first time he did it. Do these guys have any awareness of where the forwards are on the ice? Seriously, you've been burned twice before and a third time earlier in the game, how do you miss this? Bolland's goal was totally Rivet's fault and I can't believe he missed him. Rivet is also ridiculously slow as a skater. It's time to retire. This team is completely off right now. I'm really not even sure what the root cause of the problem is. It seems like everyone up and down the lineup including the coaches are just in a complete funk. There's not just one person you can pinpoint blame on because no one has really been overly better than anyone else on this team. This is the true sign of adversity, and during the next three days when they sit on this 4 game losing streak and think about what's going on will we see how this team reacts. I hope they don't just fold up and let the losing continue, but nothing indicates to me that they will turn this around. This is frustrating.

Well, I usually don't post in this thread, but I'm really pissed off today, despite the great news of Jason Pominville signing a long term extension. Sitting behind my computer screen, you have no idea what I look like, but I am in fact a very proud guy of South Asian (Indian) descent. I wanted to start a new student organization at my MBA school. The reason is because South Asians (read people from India) represent about 20% of our student population and there is no student organization dedicated to this minority group. I developed a business case for our student government that approves new student organizations. Well, they rejected my idea. Here is the irony, one of the core values at my MBA school is diversity. They believe that creating a new organization geared towards South Asians will hinder diversity because it creates exclusion because we already have an International Business Association. Apparently, starting a club for South Asians will take students away from the International Business Association and creates more exclusion instead of inclusion. Well, here's my question, why is it okay to have student organizations for Black MBAs and Hispanic MBAs, but not for South Asians when they represent 20% of the student body? Why is it okay to be diverse if you're black or Hispanic, but if your South Asian you're just lumped with everyone else and you don't matter? Why are certain racial groups deemed important and the rest are just marginalized? If you are concerned about exclusion, then there shouldn't be student organizations for Black and Hispanic MBAs either. Why is it acceptable for certain minority groups to have clubs and others are just lumped with everyone else? By blatantly discriminating against one minority group you are destroying the diversity that you are trying to further along through the program, and I'm totally pissed off by this. My choices are to go public and totally bring down the entire school, which will make me look bad in the long run, or just accept the racism. Considering it's MBA school, I'm really trying to get a good, high paying job after the program, so letting this go is in my best financial interest, but I have principles and this just seems wrong. Not sure what to do, but it bugs the hell out of me, that's for sure.