LTS

Blood Sport is so bad So bad that every time it's on I leave it on and watch the rest of it. "Okay USA!"

I believe this. For what it's worth I don't think ROR is a bad player, he's a good player and will benefit a team. However, he's also demonstrated that he needs other names around him and the spotlight to be shared or he tends to wilt. Nashville has the names around him without a doubt.

It is your right to say what you want, we all have the right to say it unless the mods disagree. However, your point was shutting down any oppositional viewpoint by saying people are not listening or refusing to understand when you were doing the same thing. Nothing any of us do on this forum will help the Sabres win, why would you even bring that up? As for why I got involved? Because I am not a fanboy but I am positive. So in your statement you included me. I am tired of the negativity as well as I've mentioned in other places on the forum. Every day its the same statements in every thread. Hell the guy who got hired as COO is being blasted and he hasn't done anything yet. The GM has had this time period to build a team because the prior methods of getting this team to the playoffs failed spectacularly. The cupboard was drained of all talent. Again, there was plan... we all get to choose whether we like it or not. The GM chose to have the youngest team because that was the plan. What we won't know is that if this year's plan had paid off and IF the Sabres were in a playoff position would Adams have retained Mitts and then traded away some youth for shoring up the roster? We don't know that. Instead, at the deadline he had an offer to improve the team for next year and he took it. We don't know what other moves will come next so there's no point in assuming negative outcomes. I get people being frustrated, angry, etc. I think what irritates those people is when they see others who aren't suffering along with them. Post a positive around here and people want to tear you down. They want to drag into their level of hell so you can join them. It's actually a very natural action and not just when talking about the Buffalo Sabres. I don't like this year. I'm disappointed by the team... but that's it. I'm more upset at the inches of snow falling outside my window right now than I am with the Buffalo Sabres. Because whether they win or lose, it will still be a bitch to get my Friday night beers at the store.

Ryan O'Reilly always loves hockey when his team wins... when it doesn't he loses his love of the game and wanders off to another team. He pushed his was out of Colorado, he pushed his way out of Buffalo, he straight up abandoned Toronto... Don't give him too much credit... The Predators are a good team.. ROR is just a piece of it. They lucked into an exceptional coach after Florida and New Jersey both decided on other options. It's worked OK for Florida, not so much for NJ.

Now who's calling names? Is it an affront to you if someone chooses to look at the positives of the team and refuses to share your opinions? A lot of a viewpoint on this team really boils down to the time period over which you want to evaluate it. There's certainly a natural affinity to looking at the tenure of the current owner and calling it a failure. That said, the current team and its leadership are not responsible for all of the owner's failure. The team established a plan and they've stuck to it. They are a young team and yes, they got younger. This year, they said they were a playoff team, that was their goal. I am sure they believed the players would improve collectively and it obviously did not happen. As such,this season is a failure as measured against their stated goal. But the prior years under Adams they did not establish playoffs as their goal, and as such, we cannot say they failed in achieving their goal. Now, whether their achievements measured up to each person's subjective measurement is quite another story. But, that's subjectivity for you. As for the bolded statement, I think you are defining yourself just as much as you are attempting to define others. The opposing viewpoint is that anyone patently dismissing an argument for positivity is just a hater and there's no speaking to it. The haters mind is made up. The team has failed against their stated goal this season. Overall it's been 12 years of failure and not looking good for year 13. That said, there are still positives to take away on the future of the team. Next year will come either way and there's no harm in looking ahead even if some people are tired of doing so.

So he's bad enough to get pulled from a game but it's okay because he's psycho enough to hack an opposing player on his way off the ice? Does he share genetic code with Craig Binnington?

"They figured it out". Well, that's pretty obvious. However, it's not accurate to say Granato never will. In this thread there are others discussing the lack of a certain personality on the team or a lack of a certain skill within the player base. That matters as well. There's no one thing that is the problem here (other than the owner). It's often said that the best players actually make terrible coaches and I think that's been in evidence in many different sports. So, experience playing isn't an indicator of being a great coach any more than lack of experience. Bottom line no one "gets it" until they do. So everyone is failure until they succeed. Just because they have not yet does not mean they are incapable of doing so. And in some cases just because they never do doesn't mean they suck. Dan Marino isn't considered a bad QB. He never won the Superb Owl.

This game feels like the Sabres are hanging over a cliff while we watch the rope they are clinging to slowly fray until it snaps and they fall to their doom.

These are good points. They are the ups and downs that occur during a season and I'd like to think he's taking all of it into account. In my mind, the difference between an excuse and a reason on why something happened boils down to whether it was in one's control or not. The other aspect of this is that while these players understand that the club has not made the playoffs in 12 seasons (potentially 13), they are not responsible for the vast majority of those seasons. So, part of the pain is wanting to change that but knowing that the plan of the people who've been here slightly longer is to take an approach of youth first. Finally, youth is a reason. Experience provides the wisdom on how to handle the myriad situations that occur during a season. It's not enough to want do something and it's not enough to know simply how to do it. it takes experience doing it, to do it well. As fans it still does not change the frustration. My frustration is with ownership primarily for failing all of these years. The GM for getting out over his skis with this playoff talk garbage. Certainly there are other frustrations to go around but they are limited compared to the first two.... especially the owner.

It does. And Granato is a bit closer to the problem. But even he can't make people expect to win. That comes from confidence and each player has in themselves and their teammates to execute. I know people like to talk about Herb Brooks excellent speech and its absolutely iconic, but that speech alone doesn't translate across the full game. Certainly how Brooks coached that team to believe in themselves matters probably as much as the speech itself. But I don't want to dissect Granato here as his statements have to be different than a players. I think Tuch, by saying he doesn't want to offer excuses, is prefacing that while he has to acknowledge how young the team is, he doesn't want to. I see that as a statement outward that had the team had a little more experience they could be better. At the same time, he isn't throwing his young team under the bus. He's building them up and keeping their confidence higher. The team is absolutely playing with more confidence but as we saw during the Detroit game, it's easy for them to lose it. Perhaps I am off, but I read Tuch's statement as a way to not undermine his teammates while still throwing a little shade at how young the team is.. and how it only got younger. Being one of the older guys on the team I have no doubt he wants to be in the playoffs, not just for the Sabres and Buffalo but very much for himself. And of course.. it's all media speak.. so there's only so much I put into it all. I don't hate this at all. I'm not sure Tuch was responding specifically to the Detroit game as it sounds like he's just commenting on the overall state of things. I would 100% expect him to reflect on the Detroit game and simply say, "We weren't good enough." A a general reflection I go to what I said above. Great discourse on this. Love that we can have this kind of discussion. Thanks to both of you.

Last night, as the game started, I sat on my couch with the game on mute while talking to my wife who had just returned home. I saw the Eberle goal and told her that I guess I won't stay up tonight. I even mentioned that I might stop down to my PC and see how SS was doing. Then Thompson scored... and then another and another and then I knew I was going to stay up. Sadly I could not stop down last night but on night's like this the GDTs are the best to read. It did not disappoint. I'm not going to critique the game... they won, that's what matters to me. For at least one night... or at least early morning, I can be happy.

What do you want him to say instead? I'm not sure what you expect, but your first critique has to do with something he does not control. He doesn't choose who is on the team. I'm not necessarily defending Tuch here, but I'm not sure what people expect to hear from a player.

You clearly are missing the entire point. Your commentary is simply not how to treat others around here, subject and posters regardless. The fact of the matter is you are being completely disrespectful of another forum member and also taking a broad swipe at "hockey posters". It's not all good... it's all wrong.

There are a lot of wacked out NFL players... WR's seem to be chock full of interesting personalities. Perhaps Diggs likes stirring the pot as some sort of statement on the drama of social media and the general public's desire to engage in it. Then again.. perhaps he's just bored. Or... he's wacked out.

Would you consider yourself happy with the current Sabres? I could be misinterpreting the posts of all the people on here who consistently retread the lack of veterans, goaltending, Granato's skills as a coach, KA as a GM, Pegula as an owner, but it seems to me like those people are unhappy and come across as choosing misery with the franchise. If you'd like to classify it differently by all means contribute to the conversation. If you just want to take a shot at me, then great, I can take it. If I can keep the Sabres from making miserable there's not a chance in hell you'll succeed.

55 years.. seriously. We've been gifted with some quality, long term broadcasting in this area. Something that should never be overlooked.

I don't know that Levi fixes things, maybe he does. I do think the team is playing confident and has confidence in UPL to help bring even more confidence to their play. I missed the last game Comrie played but I'd like to see if the Sabres alter their style when he's in net.

I don't see enough of Seider play.. but Dahlin has 49 points Seider has 34 points Dahlin is -4 Seider is -9 I've never felt like something dynamic could happen when Seider has the puck. I'll take Dahlin. There's nothing wrong with Seider, but I'd take Dahlin.

Hey.. each of us can choose whether we want to look at what's happening now and choose misery by reminding ourselves of the misery earlier in the season and the off-season or choose to be happy that at least they are playing well. No right answer, but I know I don't let teams make me miserable, there's enough in life to do that. They win, I am happy. They lose, I am ambivalent. That said... I'll take a dark horse playoff run to aid in offsetting the miserable things in real life.

Admittedly it's now been awhile but I seem to recall he was a regular fixture in front of the opponent's net during the WJC. I liked that about him.. actually using his size for something. Be curious to see how it goes in Rochester.

I've heard that part of KA's performance bonus is tied to thread lengths at SabreSpace. 24 25 pages so far on a trade... KA's going to Sizzler.

Yeah.. but his return won't be much more than a 6th or 7th round pick. If they can get more than that I would be amazed and I am sure KA would take it.

But.. that was then. How often do coaches (any of them) engage in that behavior today? (not the changing of the lines.. they all do that). Yesteryear doesn't win today. last year everyone was all on about how great the Devils were and how they turned it around so fast... fast forward to now. Brunette is the notable difference.

No one really. but the trade won't be about the pick for Buffalo so much as moving EJ to a playoff team where his experience may help and to do right by a long time player by giving them a run in the playoffs.

Well, technically it's Ivan Ivan Ivan. So perhaps people thought it was just Ivan Ivan and everyone was like.. "Meh, there's another guy with 3 Ivan names."