Weave

I suspect every player on the roster would be just fine on a good team, even our filler players. They would be in appropriate roles, and would have appropriate support. KA never built a support structure for his players and consequently the only players that seem to be doing well are the ones that are past needing support, like Zucker and Tuch. And most of the rest of the roster is still being asked to play one role higher than they are prepared to play, and aren’t getting anywhere near the support they need to grow into it. I stand by my comment, every player on this roster could be a keeper if the team building was NHL standard.

Enjoy the unicorn while we have him. pure joy to watch.

Every frickin one of them fits both categories. Its a team building problem, and an organizational commitment to winning problem. Each and every one of them would be successful on the right roster, and in the right organization. But this organization and this roster is neither.

Jesus, if he ever reflects on that he might just quit.

I think I saw 4 different spellings for Cozens on page 5 alone. How ‘bout that Koozins?

I saw a thread title on reddit that claimed the Sabres have had a losing streak of 6 games or more every season since 2013. Hey, we are reliable. Isn’t that something to feel good about?

No, but when the team has no reasonable Option becuase their is no depth, replacing him with a kid not ready doesn’t do anyone any good.

I would say the point of demarcation happened much much earlier, the first time the owner chose not to prioritize winning. Future instances of not prioritizing winning built upon the first instance. But yeah, hiring inexperienced managers and coaches over and over have ruined this organization.

I wasted all that energy for this? 🤪

Are you agreeing with me or disagreeing? I honestly can’t tell. The idea that the Sabres are much more dependent on cash flow didn’t go away when the covid restrictions went away. Sabres tix prices are among the lowest in the league and attendance is also among the lowest in the league. Regardless of covid, the Sabres are certainly among the lowest in terms of revenue in a league that needs fans in the seats to be profitable. I could see where Terry would want to be more engaged given he is more at risk with the Sabres relative to the Bills. The Bills would be profitable with an empty stadium. That Terry has contributed heavily to being in the current situation goes without saying. It’s self evident and therefore uninteresting for me to discuss. It’s like discussing the sun rising in the east.

And this is why keeping Kozak up and sitting Cozens makes no sense.

The theory posted earlier that the owner is more involved because it is a tighter cash flow operation is a plausible reason why he is not willing to step back. It’s close to the only thing that makes sense.

Downgrading players to send a message is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I can’t believe anyone wants to put an even less experienced player on the ice while we are trying to catch the pack. Kozak looked decent because the expectations are low, not because he is ready to supplant someone on this roster.

Tell me what the teams in front of them do.

Watching Dylan Cozens interviews on youtube it strikes me just how shellshocked he looks. He is so not ready for the stress of playoff expectations. No doubt in my mind he is gripping his stick way too tight. He reminds me of folks in my work career who were thrown into situations they weren’t ready for. This team needs a serious influx of players that have been there and know how to get it done.

Allen has 190 passing touchdowns. Is that correct? Wow!

We need to play 6-8 games over Deluca .500 AND the 6 teams ahead of us all need to keep their pace. Playing 6-8 wins better than we are currently is probably not enough.

They were bad enough here that we wanted them off the roster. On extremely good teams they were good enough to be on the every game roster. No, they weren’t stars elsewhere, but they were effective enough to play regularly on teams with Stanley Cup ambitions. Hmmmm.

Yup. This is the fallacy of just looking at points or points percentage. You have to consider the likelihood of all of the teams you need to leapfrog succumbing to the scenario you need to get in a playoff position. We are approaching inevitability.

Yet good enough for Stanley Cup contender rosters. They played to not get injured here (or just went on IR vacation).

Oof. The Zach Bogosian, Taylor Hall approach.

I wonder if Colorado would trade Mitts for him?

I am surprised noone brought up this beauty from a post practice Lindy interview. Reported by Matthew Fairburn; ”Sabres coach Lindy Ruff clearly wants more from his top six. "Our centerman inside this system has a lot of work to do ... I've asked those guys personally, if this is too hard, I'll put you on the wing. You'll play the wing. That's for Dylan (Cozens), that's for Tage."”

I’m still entertained.