Kristian

Philly was an outrageous team back then, there's no deyning that. But the fact that Gilbert's team were in the finals means they were closer by definition.. No denying the Canes luck that year, but the fact remains that barring a colossal meltdown in game 1, and the Canes hurting Roloson, the Oilers take game 1. They were up 4-1 when Rollie was hurt. They weren't the pushovers everyone like to make them out to be, hence I am not in the "Sabres would've walked all over them" camp.

Has nothing to do with me being satisfied. The Sabres won nothing. The Kings did. Twice. The difference is astounding. Apparently not. The fact that I couldn't stand Darcy is no secret. He's gone, I no longer care, regardless what you may think. The 05-07 team benefitted immensely by the rules. You're claming Darcy, as the only GM in the league had a crystal ball to see those rules coming, when nobody else did. I don't believe that, hence I don't give him credit for it.

Certainly. He made some very good trades in his tenure here.

Mentionning a team capable of winning the Stanley Cup twice in three years in the same sentence as a team that made the ECF twice in a row? Really? I don't need to trash Darcy. The man is gone. I don't care. I just don't see the love for the post-lockout team. The rules were in their favor. The deeper the playoffs went on in 06, the more that team struggled, as the refs swallowed their whistles. Same thing in 07. It's not exactly rocket science. They were wildly entertaining, but the ´75 and ´99 teams came a damn sight closer to winning anything than the 06-07 teams. Fact.

After playing Alamo hockey against the Sens in 06, and being clobbered by them next season, I really don't see what's to be all excited about? Would that be the same Kings who have two cups now?

What was so succesful about that team? They didn't win anything. Didn't even make the finals. The '07 team even struggled to put away a most average Rangers team, and were 7 seconds away from playing an elimination game against them, at Madison Square Garden. Sure, they were fun as heck to watch compared to what've seen pretty much ever since, but I don't for one second buy that we would've just walked over the Oilers in the final, had we not lost our entire D to injury.

"Why did you always suck for the Sabres, yet play lights out for everyone else?"

That was my point - At the point of his hiring, a good X's and O's coach was exactly what the team needed. Unfortunately, at the time of his firing, the team had needed a great motivational coach for a looooong time. Every coach has his moments. Every good coach, at least.

Ruff is a pretty good X's and O's coach, and we all know that turned out in the end. I'd rather have the kids learn how to bust their butts, and learn the X's an O's afterwards, than have them learn all about systems and position, and then just float around out there. My point being, we've had a good X's and O's take over from Nolan before, and they turned out pretty well, until the value of hard work somehow got lost in the process. That said, I don't think the Latvian national team looked as though they weren't playing a system, it might just not have been the most advanced system. And again, we all know what advanced systems can do to certain players....

Can Grigo take faceoffs? I have to admit, that was probably the last part of his game I paid attention to while he was here.

Miley Cirus twerk "scandal", or Miley Cyrus in general.

Peca wanted Jere Lehtinen money, which was about 3.5 mill a year. Not off the charts in any way, as Lehtinen was a Selke winner also. Or am I remembering this wrong? One of the parties certainly brought the Jere Lehtinen contract into the picture, but it's been so long now, my memory escapes me. And to be honest, who knows what the 06-07 teams were full of? I don't think the two post-lockout seasons are a solid foundation for an assesment of how good that team was - The game was being called vastly different from the norm, which benefitted the Sabres immensely. Why did it benefit the Sabres immensely? Perhaps because we had our fair share of small, skill players who no longer could be man-handled off the puck, or interfered with? Who knows, really? The further we progressed into the post-lockout era, and the more the officials reverted back to calling the game pre-lockut style, the more the Sabres struggled. Yes, they lost the captains, but does anyone here really think the team would've made another Presidents Trophy push even with both Drury and Briere in the lineup in '08, as much as the game changed again? All I know is, Drury and Briere didn't get us to any playoff appearences, pre-lockout, and after Dumont, McKee and Grier left in '06, the team IMHO certainly didn't become any *less* one-dimensional. But I guess it's all subject to opinion. Personally, I look at the two ECF years as an anomoly, due to the way the game was called then. Fun as heck sure, but also very much out of the ordinary, NHL-wise.

No thanks, this team shouldn't be worrying about trading for 2nd liners, before drafting/signing/trading for some bonafide 1st liners.

Mike Peca for Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt, On paper, there are much worse trades than this one, but for me it marked the day Darcy told us all : "We no longer believe in grit and hard work, but are going to be a smallish finesse team, full of one-dimensional underachievers".

Who is this Leino you speak of?

Yeah, I get those medical issues most Sunday mornings too. I'm sorry for Timmy, but him slamming back drinks while recovering from numerous concussions, probably didn't help either. That said, chronic post-concussion symptoms these days are getting way too common.

Any chance they pickup Leino?` :w00t:

Don't you EVER post something like that again, without including the name of the organisation in the title!!! :censored: :flirt:

Who is this "Darcy" you speak of....?

Horrible news.

Vanek doesn't cry, he makes the face instead.

Never the same after his knee injury.... NEXT....!

Uuhm.... Didn't know that could happen until today, actually.... Beein saying exactly that for a while now, though LaFontaine was still in office when I first had that thought. Clearly, sending Regier packing has had a positive effect, on the Sabres reputation around the league.

Like I said in another thread, I really like Matt Moulson - Traded to a crappy team, if ever there was one, no nosense, all business, no complaining. Just went out there and was our best player easily, and added offense. Now, I realise Moulson isn't going to set the scoreboard alight like cracy, but I'll say this - Any decent contender in recent years, has a Matt Moulson on the roster somewhere.

Plus, I liked his attitude A LOT - Got dealt to a ###### team (granted, from an already ###### team), and just went about his business, adding offense as best he could. Class.