apuszczalowski

Not sure the level, atleast a select/travel team as they were representing a city/area

I actually was trying to say it wasnt a horrible move to sign Tavares (autocorrect), it limits their window and will cause them to lose some good youngsters, but he is still a very good player reaching his prime and will help the younger guys. The only bad thing about it is that it shortens their ideal window when they will have all the younger guys on cheap deals. I think it was worse to give Nylander his deal, they should have dealt him to upgrade the defence or backup goaltending. Their biggest downfall right now which I agree with you on is their defence and goaltending which is going to cost them. Anderson is a really good goalie, but he isnt capable of playing every single game in the season and then the playoffs. They need to rest him more if they want him to play in the playoffs.

Well atleast you can be excited and hold your head high along with the Pegulas accountants and financial advisors knowing that the team is in good position under the cap. The empty arena missing during the Sabres losses as they cant win games 1-0 anymore like they did in the Hasek era and cant score goals will be good, maybe they can hang a banner that says they have the best cap situation and didnt overpay anyone.....

I figured last week this game was a gift for the Leafs and Sabres fans would hold their head high cause atleast the blow out loss was entertaining and they arent as bad as last year. But after seeing the Leafs current slump, and getti g the Leafs with Sparks in net, theres a chance the Sabres could get 2 in a row. But like usual, they will probably play to their opponent and look even worse then the Leafs have and get blown out.....

Cant wait too, it's fun to watch them go nuts because they are out early again. But atleast they get to watch them in a playoff series instead of reading mock drafts..... Babcock has had some issues with the way he coaches and makes lines, but those have only been magnified by the recent losses which are more from bad defence and goaltending. Fans now seem to absolutely hate the Muzzin trade, and every year they have been complaining about how they completely wear out Anderson by the playoffs because they play him in like 90% of all their games. one thing fans have questioned about Babcock and his goalie decisions is how he does back to backs, the #1 always seems to play the first game, with the backup going in game 2. If you go back a few weeks, fans wondered why you would start Anderson against a non division, non playoff Oilers team, then give Sparks the start the next day against a playoff conference team in the Islanders. Almost all other coaches would put the #1 in against the better team and give the backup the lower ranked team Signing Tavares was a horrible move, but I think it really limited their window because instead of taking an extra year or 2 to get a few more of their young guys experienced, they are now going to get into cap issues quicker and have to make some tough decisions on their young forwards cause Matthew's and Tavares are taking up a big chunk of space. Although having a veteran like Tavares around with the young guys isnt a bad thing, you do need some experienved veterans to go with youth... It's possible, and it could also be why he ran to Toronto

I think that's the things now, the guy that makes a dirty hit, will then usually do things to try and get the other team to retaliate and draw a penalty, or they run away and refuse to fight anyone who comes after them.

2 weeks ago I was waiting around a local rink because a friend asked me to fill in for a couple games in the coed league he owns. One of the games was delayed because there was a tournament being hosted all day there. The tournament was for the midget level hockey, so early teens. I couldnt believe how physical these kids were playing and allowed to play.

Briere/Drury all over again (except with one guy this time...) Fans back them would try and undervalue them, talk themselves out of not wanting to overpay for them, they weren't as good as we make them out to be...... It's ok, the Sabres arent in a position where they need to overpay for someone who can score goals, they have plenty of those guys already on the roster....... Right now, Skinner and his agent hold all the cards, he might be in a slump right now (seems like it almost started around the time he took that hit that we all thought he was done for the season for during the game), but he is still a 30+ goal scorer on a team with few goal scorers. Management ( and ownership) are in a position where losing a player like this cause they want him cheap or at a reasonable deal is going to have an already angry fanbase looking for blood. This team needs to add more goal scorers to what they already have, not spend the offseason trying to replace one of the top ones they had.

You notice it too? Poke and run. Has he even watched any of their recent games? I realise it's been 20 years since the Sabres have been in the finals and over a decade since they could be considered anywhere near a true contender, but the Leafs entered the year as one of the favorites in the East and a cup contender. They made a huge splash in FA to get a top tier forward to go with their very talented young group of forwards. Now, right when things are really starting to count and teams start to get into playoff mode, they have been looking bad and losing games which will keep them from having any chance at home ice against a Bruins team that's looking really good right now. I like here in Buffalo where 'not being dead last or one of the worst teams in league history' is viewed as improvement you should be proud of!, a first round exit by the Leafs is not going to sit well with their fans because they expected more than 'just seeing occasionally entertaining games'

Apparently the skies the limit, or I guess in this case 'the bottom of the well is the limit....'

I think the occasional fight can keep the game under control. So many times today the refs immediately jump in to separate guys before they can fight. Then you see multiple times during the game something similar happens and things start getting out of control. Usually you let the 2 guys fight, get it out of their system, and things move on without issue later. I was watching an OHL game this week and this happened. Twice the same player from one team hit guys that had them hurt after and the refs immediately jumped in to try and break it up. The hits were blindside or from behind. The first time the player took a penalty for the hit from behind, the other team took one for their player dropping his gloves, which the other guy did too but that was ok apparently. In the 3rd, the same guy pushes another player in front of the net knocking him into the goalie, and the goalie is trying to fight because he thinks the player intentionally hit him. Refs again are quick to pull everyone apart and not allow a fight. Bu the end of the game it ends up with coaches pulling players back and trying to stop some from going on the ice to fight. Had they just let a fight or 2 go earlier, they get it out of their system and things usually stay under control the rest of the game.

But is the Nashville system entertaining? Asking for a friend.....

This is similar to an argument I saw yesterday regarding baseball changing the rules next year to require a pitcher stay in for a minimum of 3 batters or Tulsa the end of an inning. One of the arguments against it is that 'left specialists' might lose their jobs because teams wont hold a spot anymore for a specialty guy they can throw in for 1 batter. Teams arent keeping a roster spot open for the guys like Peter's or Scott who's only skills were basically go get into a fight to try and rile up the crowd or team. But is sex without passion or skill really bad?

I've said this before too. They always seem to dump talent and then look to replace someone the dumped instead of building on what they had. I think the front office could have convinced ROR to change his attitude of they told him that their focus from how on was to build from what they have now and would do whatever it takes to get back to the playoffs, instead of how they were going to continue evaluating and wait for prospects to develop in Rochester. I wouldnt say Jaseks career was over when he was dealt to Detroit, he still had bunch of good seasons and won the cup. Even when he went to Ottawa he was still pretty good, but just not as good as at his peak....

IIRC, I believe only 11 teams since 2000 have been shut out 3 games in a row, last years Sabres were one of them. The only team to be shut out 4 in a row was the first year for the California seals in the late 60s? And the longest streak being shut out ever was 8 games by the 1928-29 Blackhawks. So looking at this, we should be good for a goal on Saturday! Atleast this team is better then last years......

So you were in Highschool or college? I never said you had to be in elementary school....... And what mother didnt love Streisand? Seriously cant think of one

Sad to hear, he does have Karlsson to hopefully help him through this having gone through it last year....

Ahhhhhh, dont jinx them! Record for most games shut out in a row is 1928-29 Blackhawks with 8, I think in the modern era its 4, a few teams had 3 like last years Sabres......

Nice try, trying to pretend you dont know your Streisand movies....

But remember everyone, they are better then they were last year!

I love the "we are improved" crowd. The Sabres went from being one of the worst teams in modern history last season to slightly better this year because of a 10 game streak where they benefited from more lucky breaks then because they were good. Since December, they have been the worst team in the league and atleast as bad as last years team. The only improvement this team had was a brief 10 game stretch in November. People keep saying they lack talent, yet whenever they have talent, they let them walk and have to chase someone new to replace them instead of adding to what they have.

So it's now painfully obvious that Phil is trying to get the Sabres to fire him?

That just makes it sadder, they didnt intend to be bad, this was them trying to get better and improve..... As for rooting for them to lose out, it doesnt matter, they are probably going to lose out anyways so at least prepare for it, and if they win some you can be pleasantly surprised!

Tou are making alot of assumptions on who they would have taken with the picks had they kept them and hindsight to know those players would have been the correct choice. Botterill may have protected the prospect pool but how much down there should be untouchable? Prospects dont always have to be developed and kept on your team to be useful, they are bargaining chips too. Very few of their prospects are at a point where they look ready to step in and have a huge impact, and most of the ones not drafted #1 or #2 overall have barely looked like they belong in the NHL this year. Botterill also managed to ice a team that was borderline historically bad, and then followed it up with a team that was only slightly better if you remove a fluke 10 game win streak from their season (that even they admitted was flukey). Murray did what 90%+ of all GMs do, he collected picks and prospects, kept some and used others as bargaining chips. He didnt decimate the farm system, and not many of the ones he gave away have had huge impacts on their new team (or more of an impact then the guy they were traded for.) His problem was he overpaid just to get what he wanted and should have been able to get it for much less then he did.

That's what the 1%ers want us to think........