PotentPowerPlay22

Ted Nolan's not a bad guy, but he's not a great coach either. Pat Lafontaine hired an old pal who was not wanted by anyone this side of Latvia. The Sabres are trying to bring in top talent as players so it shouldn't be seen as unusual that they would want to bring in top talent as coaches. It's a business. Nolan will get paid for his 3 year contract and he'll be fine. The Sabres will hopefully find a coaching staff that can develop guys like Grigorenko and Zadorov and turn this team into a contender. At least 6 new players will come in next year and the whole organization can get a fresh start together. Today, the final piece of the horrible season ended. I would like to think the negative is in the past and that the news going forward will be positive. p.s. Murray said the new coach will decide who will be the goalie coach. Arturs Irbe might not be here for very long.

I think you have the majority correct. Keepers: Kane, Moulson,Foligno,Girgensons,Ennis,Gionta Probables: Deslauriers, Larsson, McCormick Questionables: Reinhart, McEichel, Grigorenko Who knows: Hodgson, Kaleta, D'Amigo,Dalpe I expect more deals from Murray, but I hope he breaks the habit of overpaying. He paid too much in trades with LA and Winnipeg IMO.

Hell no to the teams that don't even deserve to be in the lottery! LA, BOS, etc. There should be no lottery at all, but it should be limited to the bottom 3 IMO! It should be Buffalo if life was fair. I've been to Arizona for games and they care mostly about the nachos and the drinks during the game. What a waste if they got McDavid. I hate to see him go anywhere but Buffalo. Maybe this is our time?

No problem. An 18 year old in the NHL is tough for anyone. In addition, the Sabres will not be contenders next year anyway. Also, Sam Reinhart will need to get his feet wet in the NHL. The addition of two rookie centers is a lot to ask for any team. I'm not worried too much because the added maturity can't hurt in the long run. However, there is still that 20% chance in the lottery!

Hallelujah!!! Yes!!! What a frickin nightmare! The sun will rise tomorrow!

Absolutely! Forget Arizona winning another game. The Sabres future, to a large extent, will be decided in Columbus. If the Sabres get points in Columbus, I am certain they will beat the struggling Penguins. Stop the agony. I can't take it anymore.

Based on Buffalo sports history, I expect the Sabres to finish 29th after getting at least 3 points in the next two games. After the disaster, GM Tim Murray has a meeting with Ted Nolan in his office. Maybe it goes something like this: TM: "Come on in Ted, but don't take a seat because this is going to be brief. Ted, do you understand what we are trying to do this season? Ted Nolan: " What do you mean Tim?" TM: Did you notice all the trades and moves I made were designed for us to finish last? Ted Nolan: "No Tim, I had no idea what you were doing." TM: "Well Ted get your dumb ass out of this office because you are fired you freaking idiot!!!" Ted: "But I thought winning those last three games would help us evaluate our talent. It is about taking pride in finishing 29th. What don't you understand Tim? Nolan leaves, door slams. Sabres history is made.

Let the torture continue! It's all on Columbus now. Forget AZ.

Penguins are collapsing. It's all up to Columbus on Friday. No help coming from AZ.

One of the biggest games in Sabres history could be Friday at Columbus. I believe if Buffalo wins Friday, they will beat the free falling Penguins on Saturday. The Coyotes will lose their last three easily. Go Blue Jackets!

Maximum pain in progress. Calgary crushes Arizona tonight. This story has a tragic ending for the Sabres I think. Epic fail for Buffalo sports history books.

One more reverse jinx and it's done!

Ditto. They will not get another point this year.

Here is what I have feared for a long time that would impose the most pain and suffering to Buffalo fans: (1) Sabres win some games at the end thanks to a spurt of goals from Cody Hodgson and Arizona finishes last (2) Toronto wins the draft lottery and drafts McDavid (3) Arizona drafts Eichel or in a panic move GM Murray trades up with AZ to get Eichel in exchange for Girgensons, Zadorov and three 1st round picks. BTW, I hope all Sabres fans who rooted against the tank all go to Cleveland and are never heard from again! What I expect is maximum pain. Ted Nolan knows he's going to get fired so this is his goodbye salute to the Sabres organization with a big FU! P.S. How can fans say they trust Tim Murray yet argue against the tank? Murray is the author of the tank. If you are supporting Murray, then logically you have to be for the tank.

I disagree.

I think both are gone. Hodgson will be dealt for a bag of pucks or a straight buy out. Nolan is not the right coach to lead this team on its climb up the standings in the next two to three years. Neither has a future with the Sabres.

DOUBLE ZERO!!!!

I don't give a darn what Weber thinks. He is a part of the problem, he's not part of the solution. The only reason he's in the NHL is because he's on a lousy team. None of the paying customers in the crowd are preventing him from doing his job! The Sabres will improve and be good again and there won't be any sign of Weber. Maybe he is not smart enough to see reality. After the season ends, he can take his talents elsewhere. The future matters. The present failure is a ticket to the future. Weber can be proud that he was on the worst team in Sabres history and he might realize it wasn't the fault of the fans either!!!

They are playing better clearly. They are getting better results not only because their team is better, but the coaching is much better. Ted Nolan has some qualities I admire, but his coaching ability is not top quality IMO. I don't see Nolan getting another NHL job after the Sabres let him go at the end of the season. Frankly, I think they kept Nolan as part of the tank. The team needs new direction behind the bench for sure. Back to Winnipeg - I believe Murray lost that trade with the Jets by a large margin, but when you let your trading partner know that you covet a player (Kane) you lose bargaining leverage. I could understand Myers and Stafford, but to give up two of your top 5 prospects and a number #1 pick was way too much.

Will Eichel be an immediate contributor? It will depend on with whom he plays. Since we don't know the team yet, it is a moot question.

I think the Sabres should be concerned with keeping Arturs Irbe as goalkeeper coach! The production he has gotten from various keepers is impressive. BTW, I don't understand why Ted Nolan has not embraced the tank. It's just not the smart thing to do at this point. What good will it do to win a few games down the stretch? It certainly won't save his job. It only hurts the team in the future by screwing up a top 2 draft choice this year. I don't get the logic here. It makes no sense to win any more games. Why is GM Murray doing everything to focus on the future and then let his coach follow a different path?

This was one of the worst trades ever by the Capitals! What the heck were they thinking? Erat for Forsberg. Ugh! Caps GM should have been fired for this trade.

I wonder what the ratings will be when Buffalo has a Stanley Cup contender?

I agree Yandle and Stewart aren't comparable because Yandle is a defenseman. I didn't refer to the other players so don't create a straw man argument. Vermette and Stewart is a better comparison. Since the 2011-2012 season Vermette has scored 61 goals and Stewart has scored 56 goals. Vermette is 32 yrs. old to Stewart being only 27. Stewart is much younger, tougher and physically stronger (think playoff hockey). The biggest comparison is that Vermette yielded a 1st round pick and a prospect. Stewart only got a 2nd round pick 2 years out. I think the Coyotes did a better job than the Sabres. Murray was unable to trade Andrej Meszaros ,Andre Benoit, Tyson Strachan, Matt Ellis or Pat Kaleta for which he will receive nothing at the end of the season. I have been underwhelmed by Murray since he was hired and today only reinforced that idea. (p.s. Boston gave up two 2nd round picks for Connolly from Tampa and he has only scored 18 goals since 2011-2012)

Unfortunately, the music stopped and there were no more chairs! I think Murray waited too long and was left holding rapidly diminishing assets at the deadline. Teams like NYR, Chicago, Boston all made deals to fill their needs without looking to the Sabres. The Arizona Coyotes are the big winners imo. Look what the Coyotes did. They took the tank to a new level. Not only did they tank, but they got a very nice return. They dumped Vermette and Yandle and received a 1st rounder in 2015, 2nd rounder in 2015, conditional 1st rounder in 2016 and a top prospect in Anthony Duclair. Compare that to the return Murray got for the Sabres. His best return was a 2nd rounder in 2017. They have lost 9 straight games and look likely to lose 10 of the next 11 until they face the Sabres on March 26. I think it is clear that the heavy favorites to finish 30th are the Coyotes.