ska-T Palmtown

did not watch a single second of that game, but I did see the score go "2-1" oops, nope "2-0" and "5-4" oops, nope "5-3". Gotta say, my mental state is higher for it.

Right? it was a decent hire. Just say "When NJ let him go, I was at halfmast and told meatballs to be prepared to clear out his desk the day after the season ended."

Guys - no. Adams is playing hard ball (puck). If the offer is not the other team's best forward plus 2 first rounders for Cozens, why should he even acknowledge the "offer"???? /s

Honestly, the 2021 was sorta good ... although it was just to make up for the fact that dude was ever our coach 😞

So afraid of having to pay Cozens $8M/yr in ... 3 years, that he panicked and signed him for $7M/7. If Cozens had continued to put up ~65 points all the way up to a year into UFA on bridge deals (probably around $4M) ... I doubt the cap-inflation adjusted number would have been that much more than $7M for that UFA contract. Meanwhile, they could have been stacking the lineup with GOOD-to-REALLY-GOOD vets to handle all the big minutes, allowing Cozens to continue to enjoy beneficial minutes, etc etc etc , ad nauseum ... Dahlin and Tage are the only two big contracts handed out that make sense. If they had done it the "normal" way with vets leading the way, they probably make the playoffs a few times and then guess what ... UFA want to stay. If most of your team is on fair to slightly less than fair (for the team) deals, then figuring out how to pay a newly minted star is the best effing problem in the world to have! Trade a couple vets for picks or prospects, Restock the ROC! Or, you big-time newly minted star wants out ... great - get a king's ransom in return and carry on. Something tells me Byram, JJP, and Quinn are not super excited about staying right now ...

"My experience in the league, when I worked for Nashville and Florida, was completely different than what I've seen unfold in Buffalo." Yup, that sums it up. Organizational ineptitude is the form of cancer we have. [Sure-fire Hall-of-Fame] "Defenceman Shea Weber, for example, didn’t arrive full-time in the NHL until four seasons after he was selected."

Isn't that the whole point?? We tanked and we have literally nothing to show for it other than a few magic beans. The team, still with the same owner as that year, effed up the tank. Hard. This year's team is still paying for the collective mistakes of the franchise due to their putrid management of assets over the last decade. Eichel tipped his hand the year he was nearly a point-per-game player - he was the real deal. The last year here, Reinhart clearly established himself as a go-to player. There were a few efforts to rebuild after the tank. They failed. In the early days, the Sabres brought in all sorts of outside talent and paid the going rate. I think it culminated in the Hall/Staal year - both were such colossal failures, Terry said "no more." and we got E. Johnson and other such castoffs. Sigh. We got 'lucky' with Zucker, I guess.

It pisses off the Cheatriots' fan base you say? Carry on!

ha. specific point in time? no. the bottom could certainly fall out further. Like, in the grand scheme of things ... perhaps.

What the actual eff is this 1980's NE Patriots crap???? hate hate hate

lol - you could just ask around here - the Sabres have made a habit of letting other teams get out of their slumps.

You know what a sucker I am??? I felt a faint glimmer of hope when Cozens ripped that goal. It was such a good hockey play from start to finish ... how the hell did that happen?

The other thread that has all the media clips saying how pathetic the Sabres are should also serve this purpose.

GM is the greatest job in the world. You know going in (unless you are an idiot) that you have an expiration date - but if you are fired early you keep drawing your salary!! You hire a good coach, get some good players, keep half an eye on the salary cap. Presto - average GM'ing. This applies to pretty much any sport. If you are smart about it, ONE STINT as a GM sets you up for life. I know nothing about any workings in the NHL, but I feel like you call up the other GMs and say "Listen, we all know I got a real crap show on my hands here and it is better for the league overall if we don't ALWAYS suck. What kind of problems do you guys have and who on my team could help?" You throw in a few "you're really breakin' my balls here" comments when they ask for Dahlin. You convince them they REALLY want a player from another team, but you'd be happy to take that middle six W/C off their hands cuz you have the cap space, and you toss a 4th rounder their way as a sign of good faith. Presto. See?

I thought it was established in another thread that all of The Thornster's thoughts are facts 🙂

This is the part I have the hardest time comprehending. Full disclosure, I am not rich ... but ... Billionaires crave status. TP is already part of the most exclusive club in the world, NFL and NHL ownership. Check. If I was TP-level rich and craved status, the next step is then to have them C'hips, baby! My understanding is that rich people like to throw money at problems, so why he has not hired "the finest" people to guide this organization to multiple cups is so far beyond my comprehension.

Seriously, I am mildly surprised after every intermission when Ruff comes back out with these sad sacks ...

We just need our 'Major League' moment where Ruff convinces them to win in spite of management.

This. Take Montreal - 3, 4, 5 passes as they enter the zone (barely contested) - and they rushed as a group. The Sabres are looking for the stretch passes, but other teams are onto it ... Quinn or JJ catches it, but there are two defenders and NO support. The other teams know if the Sabres don't have numbers, they pull up just inside the blueline and wait. The opposing D jumps that move most of the time ... turnover. Get. Pucks. Deep! Go get them! Build a numbers advantage. Ugh. All this stretch pass - turnover nonsense is getting super old. Most nights it looks like the first time they have played together ... maybe they should practice things? Today: two hours of practicing "I swear to god, if you leave effing Laine open for a far-side one-time one more time, Cliffy - you are on waivers." Two hours of "JJ, i swear to fvck, you lose the puck two feet inside the blueline one more time ... YEET! waivers." Two hours of "The next time the puck carrier looks up and NO ONE is trying to screen the goalie - I am placing the entire team on waivers!"

His hockey talent is undeniable. I am constantly amazed by even 'crappy' teams like Montreal in how they nearly always have players in better positions for breakouts than the Sabres do. The Sabres D finally get the puck, they look up and Quinn is at the far blueline already, JJ is standing on the wall right next to an opposing player (not open) and the center? Do they even know they are playing center? Rarely does a forward cycle back towards the D to help them. I think a fair amount of the "turnovers" from the D-men are due to such horrible breakout options.

lol - he was not playing against NHL-level talent? It is the same with lots of "top" players from the NCAA or any of the junior leagues. They get by on their temporarily superior physical skills. Those guys did not know how to get around his stick check. NHL players have far better dangles and will dump and chase if they don't think they can get by him. What he really lacks is that Dahlin hip-check.

Literally, and yes I actually mean literally, NOTHING this team can do would shock me at this point. I am dead inside.

why. are. they. so. effing. bad.

I gotta say - I am loving the Marty Biron Experiment. He knows hockey.