darksabre

I thought Johansson looked more competent this year than he ever has in prior NHL work. I was terrified when Ullmark went down. His shootout work isn't great, but he looked a lot better than Hutton at 5v5. Credit to Bales if anything they worked on somehow improved Johansson's trade value from nothing up to next-to-nothing.

Because yesterday they were told it was safe by the league. And yet again it has turned out to not be the case.

You can all thank me later

But why

Sabres medical team is undefeated

I think Dahlin has looked more like himself tonight.

There's not a single player on this team right now who's jersey I would buy. Win some games first and then we'll revisit things. I'm not going to waste my time having positive feelings about any player on the most unlikable team of all time.

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