LTS

Beauty. It never hurts to check. Not just you, but so many on here are letting this team get to them, even me. I almost started a thread asking why people continue to stick around. There are people on here who seemingly have problems with every facet of the franchise and yet continue to show up here every day. It can't be good for them... and I am concerned. At some point you need to ween negativity from your life.. in the end, at least with the Sabres, its just sports. Even if you grew up in Buffalo and are an avid sports fan, it's just sports. I am one of those people, I let the Bills back into my world and their situation has weighed on me. I'm even more a hockey fan and thus a Sabres fan and the current stretch weighs on me. I know I need to step away. It's for my own best interest. No, it's really not. The coach has limits that he can go to. It's that simple. He can coach all day long but sometimes the players have to figure stuff out themselves. It's like a therapist working with a drug addiction. They can do whatever they'd like, but until the person wants to get better, not much is going to happen. The key is not giving up on them. I think Granato is an excellent coach. The team has to find a way out of its malaise. Also, people want Tortorella as the symbol of what a no non-sense coach would be. Yet the Flyers are also a joke with a more seasoned roster. If a team if a reflection of the coach then Torts is a joke.. right? Grinders are JAGs.. for the most part. I think he brings them in when he feels the talent is at the point to succeed. 7 of the top skilled players on this team are 22 and younger. It's not going to be pretty. Not that it excuses the lack of playing with heart and pride. Granato has largely kept the lines together, but Quinn was out and is back. Okposo is out now, Girgensons is out now. The D has been a revolving door. Not sure how the coach can keep lines together if the players keep getting injured. He's putting the best he has on the ice right now. The options for scratched forward are Sheahan and Bjork... yikes. This is where I am. At the same time, my sanity dictates I tune the team out because I can't watch players play with no pride and determination. I know they are having a tough time. Where is the team that wanted to fight after the end of the game with Florida, despite losing? I'm not saying fighting is the key, but it's that level of pride. The swagger.. the confidence in oneself that I am looking for. Right now I see deference and desperation. That;s not a good thing. This is on each player to sit down and take a deep breath and realize they can, should, and NEED to play harder. Right now I think the mind says, "Why sacrifice the body, we're not going to the playoffs." And the answer the heart needs to give is "Because no matter what you have to do it. This is how you succeed. Times are tough, you get tougher." What punishment did you have in mind? No one has to wait. If you or anyone else chooses to do so its because you choose to do so. This is not judgment, but "having" implies that you have no choice. You do.. even if you think you don't.. you do.

Well, I'll actually stop in and post unlike most nights when I just stop watching this team. I'm done. I'm not going to give a damn about this team until they give a damn about themselves. This team doesn't need a new coach, or more D, etc. They need to actually play with an edge. Right now they are a bunch of young players who are playing with zero confidence trying to do anything to make something happen and only succeeding in making something happen for the other team. I know people are fed up with losing who wouldn't be. But the options for the fan are to continue dealing with this or check out. If you are letting this team impact your mental well being then you should check out as much as you don't want to. The team wasn't going to be all that great this season. I expected more heart however. That's not something a coach can change, that's on each player on the ice to step up and play like they give a damn. Oh well.. for all those who can continue watching. Best of luck. I'll be at the Blues game because that was locked in before now... but no more visits to here or watching this team until they start playing like they care.

Wouldn't it be nice if that Quinn-Cozens-Peterka line could click and shine? But... I assume by 8:30 tonight I will be doing something else. Can't even believe I am going to tune in. It's getting to the point where I won't bother to pay attention until they win a few in a row.

Pretty sure that season has passed and you need to use a snow analogy. But yes, it does seem to be "pouring" snow in Buffalo right now. Wonder if UPL can actually get INTO Buffalo. 🙂

We are too young. I think at some point the youth gets filtered out via trade to diversify the roster. But, right now I think the youth remains so they can make determinations on which youth need to go.. just gotta hope those changes are made at the right time. But if you look at the youngest 7 players on the team, that's a helluva group with Krebs perhaps being the least highly thought of on this board.

Sorry.. I typed without editing myself. I meant the comment was more about the prior regime and its unwillingness to spend money. Now I am tracking with you and appreciate your clarity. I would agree with you on the marketing. The attendance will always be less or equal but almost always likely to be less as in any given sample set of 16,000 (just using that number) there are going to be people who don't show up. Not being able to give away a ticket isn't always as bad as you think. Some people don't bother with online marketplaces and simply talk to a few friends.. and if they are busy then the ticket goes unused. In addition, in today's economy, the number of people who want to pony up any amount of money for a game has to be down. Look at the amount of layoffs occurring, inflation, etc. Even slightly irresponsible people know that buying a ticket to a sporting event isn't the best choice.

He couldn't even drive his own bicycle.

The drill another well was a comment from the last regime. No matter how many wells Pegula drills he can't spend over the cap. As far as running the team up to the cap, that would be done either by signing your skilled drafted players to the contracts they deserve or also largely overspending on free agents which often does not work out well for a long term plan. I think clearly there is not a line in the sand, but I am sure there is a directive to BUILD a team versus BUY a team. You know the games are scheduled without any knowledge of what the weather will be like that day right? I'm not sure how marketing plays into it. Are you saying they should not schedule midday games on Saturdays in the Fall? The season ticket base is estimated at 8,000 this season. Not known yet, but this article said the Sabres claimed a 20% growth over last season when it was 6,500 (https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/with-multiple-season-ticket-plans-sabres-feel-they-can-make-a-solid-jump-at-the/article_72732632-29ea-11ed-8ce3-0bd553425e2e.html) Attendance is tickets sold, not arses that walked through the metal detectors. If the STH count is 8k then the count starts at 8k every night... naturally actual attendance will be less as there will be a contingent of people who would rather enjoy the nice weather versus go to a hockey game (and could not sell/give the ticket to someone who could).

A piece of plastic designed to protect the head against a puck moving 90+ mph. It's more than strong enough to break a hand if you can hit it hard enough to break your hand. Physical play and especially fighting are going to be way down. It's trained out of the game early on as a byproduct of reducing head trauma. Hockey, unlike football, realized this pretty early on and I am sure its one reason the sport is growing unlike football. The lower physical play also leads to less "rage" and so I think that also leads to lower incidents of really hard hits and certainly fighting. Having a fight, just to fight, is completely stupid in the NHL. If you want to see people punch each other there are other sports.

Anaheim needs to get Bedard so we can just watch players score lacrosse goals all season.... and still not win.

You might be right... https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/nhl-teams-empty-net-goals-this-season Says 7 goals.. and a quick eyeball of the chart at the top I would say the league average is about 3.

Over/under on the number of goals scored against the Sabres because of one of the following reasons: - They can't clear the crease. - They turn their back on players in the O-Zone allowing point blank shots to be taken uncontested. Good lord this team sucks in its own end and it ain't just the D.. although I can certainly point to #20 as the leader.. assuming he had a clue on how to lead given how clueless he is on the ice. This team is soft, it's okay to run into a body and finish a check. It doesn't have to be a soul-crusher, but you do at least need to initiate body contact. Thankfully some of my time is taken up by an another obligation tonight.

Given. As always with these things, can anyone confirm it never progressed to that level and the discussion was not a positive one. I don't know the answer. I think a lot of times these things get thrown out as real misses without knowing for certain that they were a miss or it was a possibility.

If I'm reading the trade correctly it was for UFA rights. So the Sabres might have been able to beat the deal.. and then have Vanacek not sign with them. Right?

I think I might use that as my EA Sports CHEL player name. It's perfect.

Even the injury list is unable to go today. We're gonna need a replacement.

I was going to go to the game.. but paying 100 level prices for crappy 300 level seats after the eggs this team has laid recently seemed like a poor investment. Especially since I refuse to leave a game early... but I have no problem turning off the TV early.

Help me understand.. didn't you advocate for KA to get Reilly? But you accept that no team is paying his price tag? Does that contradict or am I reading it wrong? It's not that the Sabres have lost D to injury that's the biggest problem. Injuries happen. It's that the depth of the D core is so poor that the Sabres are replacements are their 7/8/9 depth defense but those D would be a lot of other team 11/12/13 depth defense. Pilut, Fitzgerald are complete trash. Clague has been serviceable. So the loss of Samuelsson is big because he's a legit top 4 D (despite how many games he's played) and his replacement is likely the 10th or 11th best defenseman on most teams in the NHL. Also, the forwards are trash at D zone coverage. It's not just the D that are the problem. The Sabres need depth at defense but KA's plan is not to go all out to win this year so this is what we as fans have to deal with, whether each of us chooses to accept it or not.

I just hope I can get to the end of this game without having to turn the TV off and do something else. The Sabres have definitely given me some more free time the past few games. Also, why is Fitzgerald still here... ugh.

That episode is one of the best hour of "TV" I have seen in a long time. The entire series has been exceptional, but that episode is something else. When it was over we just sat there last night and absorbed it. Probably catching our breath that we didn't realize we were holding. (metaphorically)

We have a unified team in our district. it gets a lot of attention for all the right reasons. I am so glad you have one. Our HS hockey team for years has been involved with a local skating club that works with kids with special needs. The kids work hard and put on a skating show at the end of each year and it's incredibly rewarding for all involved. I've also been involved with Little League Challenger programs and even visited fields made especially for that purpose. It is some of the most uplifting work that can be done. The personalities these kids have despite dealing with so much is amazing and really broadens ones mind to how to approach life on a day to day basis. As far as the game.. I'll be watching and hopefully I watch to the end.. unlike against the Coyotes where my sanity safety valve reached its limit and forced me to do something else.. anything else, but watch the game.

I am one of those people. But then what I thought was fashionable back then and what I like now has changed so I think it's okay to be more accepting of them now. The fact that this is an alternate only definitely plays into the opinion. No way in hell should the original ever go away. Looking at the site and the images it appeared there were some differences in the crest. But I can't say for certain. I know the Fanatics are sized S-XXL whereas the authentics are numeric sizing (50,52,54). I imagine they are cut a bit different.

My understanding is the only way to get a customized authentic is by going/calling the Sabres arena store. The ones on shop.nhl.com are either the Fanatics branded, which are slightly different or you can get an authentic but no customization. The customized authentics from the store are $275. The authentic from shop.nhl.com is $175 (no customization). The Skinner/Dahlin Fanatics branded is $175 from shop.nhl.com.

it might be late.. I might have hit my head... but I wouldn't take either of them for $8M

It is.. but the Canes PK is exceptional too. The real problem was the -3 of Pilut/Fitzgerald. They give up goals when they are on the ice. It's downright scary when they are on the ice. Other than that the game was okay. The Sabres looked slow compared to Carolina and certainly didn't win puck battles as often as Carolina did. I think they began to press and then started turning the puck over more. All in all they didn't get blown out and with an improved D core they might have faired better. We'll also call BS on a few penalties that gave Carolina some PP goals.