darksabre

It's a distinct possibility that the Pegulas will never be able to inject the level of class into the Sabres that the team requires.

I don't know if "ingrained losing culture" is the right way to describe what is wrong with the organization. I think a better way of looking at it might be "ingrained wishful thinking culture". Almost all of the decisions the Pegulas have made since taking over the Sabres have been risky, but in a naive way rather than a bold way. Declaring you're going to win a Stanley Cup and then nuking the whole thing to tank for one player. Hiring first time head coaches, first time GMs, guys reported to be "savants" and "geniuses" of various cuts. And they haven't changed course with Adams in that respect. It all ends up looking really...amateurish. Definitely not the work of anyone who actually knows what they're doing. So that's what the Sabres are up against. How do you take this organization and turn it into one that is professional and respectable? How do you get back to the certain "essence" that inhabited the place when the Knoxes were running the show?

It's all about building credibility. Letting the interim coaches take this season to the end is not a good look for the franchise. Getting an experienced coach in here ASAP to get to work seems crucial, especially if you're worried about player evaluation. You want a guy like Boudreau giving you feedback before you ever reach the off-season.

I think that, if they've learned anything over the years, the directive should be simple: pick a guy with experience. They must realize by now that, although Bylsma wasn't THE guy, he was the right type of guy. That should be their involvement. Say, "hire a guy with a lot of head coach experience to lend credibility to our organization" and then rubber stamp whoever comes their way that fits the bill.

There are so many other things that need to happen.

Like, the Pegula's dog could hire the new coach and not screw it up. Just put a bunch of faces on the bottom of some food bowls and see which one it picks.

If they screw this up we might as well fold the franchise. It would be impossible to not hire a better coach right now given what is already available.

I feel like it's fitting that I didn't actually watch Ralph's last game. Step one is complete. Step two is hire any of the proven coaches currently on the market. Just pick one. It's the only way to rebuild this organizations credibility.

So, who are the Sabres? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

I wonder if he's starting to figure out there's not too many players better than him on the team..

What is wrong with you guys!

For the nonsense?

Of course not. Be real.

We shouldn't be.

The Devils should be worse than the Sabres

I'll take "Sabrespace Posts from 2012" for $200, Alex.

Taylor Hall suddenly finding out he's still playing hockey

I don't think it's a question of what this means as far as the fans coming back. The fans will come back. But if the team itself doesn't start taking things more seriously there's no way they'll ever get players that want to be here, they'll get players other teams were willing to let go. They'll be stuck over paying for bad players forever. The team will go on and on being a black hole of sadness. The fans will come back. But only if the team, from top to bottom, figures out what it stands for and starts acting accordingly. Until then, it will just be hockey purgatory, where careers go to die.

Yup. It's about the identity, the character of the franchise. A sports team exists entirely due to human experience. It's an inherently personal thing. We develop intense feelings towards individuals and subsequently the team as a whole, and the business side gets to turn that in to profits. It starts with the personality, the principles, the ethos that binds the players together, and then binds the players to the fans. But this team, as it sits right now, has no character. It has no identity. It is entirely without meaning. The Sabres aren't the team that always plays tough, or always plays fast, or always has too many good goalies. They are nothing. An ancient pyramid emptied of its treasures and filled with nothing but sand and the subtle hints of what was. And you can only sit in this state for so long before it becomes permanent. Many would probably argue that it already is, that the Sabres will never recover from this. I don't agree, but I think if they're going to they need to start right now. What are the Buffalo Sabres if they are not to be a sucking void into which everything goes and nothing, not even the light, returns?

That's the thing: it does matter, right now. In fact, I would say the situation is as dire as it gets. It's about honor. It's about pride. It's about taking the soul of the franchise seriously. If they let this team look like this all the way to the end of the season, the message being sent is: we don't care. What good player would want to be part of a team that, in this moment, isn't doing everything it can to save its soul?

The more times Wawrow says it isn't happening, the closer we get to it happening.

Please god give us a credible coach.