LTS

Ahh, attack me and label me. The perfect response from a person who cannot think deeper. Thank you for proving my point. Then you follow it up with "I don't care about next year" You won't care about next year now.. no. You will next year, when the team has put itself in a position to continue sucking even longer because they made really bad trades in an attempt to win now. So, you'll be moderately happy this year and then when the team has no depth you'll be off whining about how the GM sucks. Oh yeah, and when you have no depth the injuries that are part of the game hurt the team even more because the drop off from talented player A to replacement player B is greater. But.. yes.. trade all the depth for a few good players and then wonder why things suck when they get injured. Johanssen isn't Crosby.. Rodrigues isn't Johanssen. Go check out the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons for the Penguins.. they didn't have Crosby but still made the playoffs. Why? They had depth. The expansion draft is relevant if you were lobbying for Botterill to trade prospect and picks to get roster players that then would have to be exposed and potentially put the team back into the dark ages. That was my point. Certainly the team has nothing to fear right now... He clearly hasn't done enough to fix the roster. That is answered by the state of the roster. The question, is whether there was the ability to make those changes or not. Is Botterill incompetent or is the league situation such that he is unable to make the changes without taking significant risks? I'm not sure we know the answer to that one.

Think deeper. The problems of the Sabres STILL date back to before Botterill. You can assume that there were moves out there that could have been made that would have helped this team. You may be right. The Sabres might have been slightly better this year. Then the expansion draft of 2021 would hit and the Sabres would not be able to protect enough players. Their prospect pool would be crap because they likely had to give up picks and players to get those better players and in 2022 the Sabres might be back to complete suckitude. That said, the injury to MoJo is big... he improves the lineup. The depth isn't there for the Sabres.. we knew that. Injuries will kill the team. They have plenty of them.

Well, if the coach doesn't have someone, then it's not really the coach's fault right? Just curious, because you were questioning the coach's ability. I'd like to see more from Ralph to shake things up, but I think he's also handcuffed and most of the problems on this team fall on the players. They are the ones who are not completing passes, not skating hard enough, not covering the back door passes, etc. Yeah, I agree. I'll be curious if more changes occur.

I hope Botterill trades Reinhart for a 3rd round pick.. and when he's asked why, he points to the camera and says "There you go SabreSpace. I did something." ?

Can any coach correct Ristolainen's terrible passing? Just curious.. ?

Look at the lineup and injuries. Olofsson has been ineffective on the top line as well. Who else do you put there? I know people want Skinner, but you're effectively neutralizing every other line by putting the best players on a single line. That said, it might still happen during the game. I could see separating Jack and Sam and seeing what happens. It might get there. At the same time, the perception might be that separated, and with this lineup, it might not generate anything. Anyway... the Bruins are damn good. I expect Buffalo to get lit up tonight. Plenty of backdoor goals being scored because the Bruins can move the puck effectively and Buffalo will be leave the backside open. It'll be ugly. Good luck!

When I use the term narrative, I mean the long standing comments on subjects that have been overly digested, crapped out, regurgitated, reconsumed, and crapped out again. Things like: Discussing the ROR trade, the tank, signing of Drury/Briere (lack thereof), etc. They get injected into conversations after you've hoped they died off. Those narratives. It's not even what I agree or disagree with, it's that at some point there's nothing more to add to the conversation.

Sadly it's not just sports. People can now go out and find scraps of information that litter the Internet like turds in a cow pasture. People who post those turds have shined 'em up real nice too. There's no shortage of things to reinforce any particular viewpoint you wish to express. The problem is that people tend to do it with a high level of emotion and a low level of thinking. It's easier to let the heart win over the brain, even if its not intentional. Some people can live with warts and others need cosmetic surgery to remove them. I suppose the teams warts are no different. AS for the comments by the GM? The team has too many D and other GMs know it. So he has to say those things. The team is also losing and has suffered injuries. If I were an opposing GM I would not be looking to give Botterill a fair deal right now. The only way a trade happens is if another team suffers a problem they need to fix worse than Buffalo.

Getting my MBA was the best thing I could have done. While I don't think anyone has ever said, "Gee, you have an MBA." I have heard comments on the fact that 11 years after undergrad, I put myself back through school, in a rigorous program, with a family, and was able to succeed. Now, if you want to go down that path. You also have to ask yourself, what's your focus. What's the school known for? In Rochester, for example, Simon School (Univ. of Rochester) has long been known as a financial school whereas RIT has a vastly different MBA program. Both are exceptional, but have vastly different fits. The networking aspect is important, and if you do the executive path it's a great way to go. I would put stock in the comments that have recommended moving down a level and into a bigger company. There's a world of difference there. The bigger company may also then help you pay for your MBA. One thing is for certain, the MBA didn't really teach my anything I didn't already know overall. It did, however, teach me how to better analyze, frame, and deliver the messages I needed to deliver. It gave me insight into many things that have happened in the business world that I might not have otherwise known about and as such can pull as references on a moment's notice.

Oh, I'm sure. He's gotta find a way to get the team to relax a bit and have fun playing hockey. Right now they're all like "Oh no, not again." You know, like when some posters on this forum start back up the narrative they love to push every now and then. ? They've got a ways to go... and trying too hard (which is not the same as playing hard and fast) is certainly not going to get them there.

Wow... I'm glad I've learned to stop reading most of the posts anymore. I'm not sure how you survive. Looking forward to tonight's game.. unless they look like they did the other night. Then I'm looking forward to Disney+, a good book, or something else to spend time on. Good luck everyone. I hope you make it through.

It's not necessarily that Eichel wasn't playing D. It's also the message it sends to the rest of the team. I'm not saying it was that case against Chicago, frankly the whole team looked lost in that game. Overall though, if your $10M leader isn't leading there are players who won't want to follow. The first goal is almost forgivable. It happens. In fact, if Eichel doesn't hit the puck that's probably not a goal. The second goal has been a problem for the Sabres this year. They are far too focused on the puck and not enough on the space where the puck is going to go. He's guilty of puck watching, perhaps looking for a turnover so he can jump on it and head back up the ice. He's not the only Sabre who has missed backdoor passes this season. The team is lost on their D zone coverage far too often.

No, you clearly trade him because other GMs are going to give up McDavid for Reinhart. That's how it works.. right? ?

Yes, that is the GM's job. If you look at the list of players that have been moved, not a single one of them would have helped the Sabres. That's my point. There's NOTHING going on in the NHL, so you can't just DO SOMETHING. Well, you CAN, but it would mean making a trade that is horrific for your team, so it's not really the DO SOMETHING that people want. People apparently want the GM to execute the perfect trade, without considering that other GMs are involved.

Time for another.. no time to think, just do. Who plays forward with Okposo out?

Yeah, because most people don't want to place the blame on the kid. It's like accepting the #1 pick might not be perfect is hard for people to do. Dahlin will be an incredible player, he's struggling right now. Last year he had a pass on some things because it was his first year. He's a rookie, a D, and 18.. he gets a pass at mistakes. This year he's expected to be better and he's struggling. No more passes. Frankly, that play, I think he believed it was icing. It still made no sense however for him to do what he did. I know I was cursing his name a few times in the first period. There were a few bad passes, curlbacks, and such that just drove me nuts. He needs to sit and I think that happens tonight. ------------------ As for the game, Eichel had a great game. He didn't try to do too much. His actions with Dahlin on the bench are what we need to see. The entire game had a sloppy feel to it and that's to be expected when you are playing a team like Ottawa. Their lack of skill actually causes a disruption in what people would consider normal hockey. The puck just doesn't move the same or as anticipated. The Sabres are guilty of that too, although I think they are slightly better overall. It was a much needed win. It's unfortunate that Eichel had to score all the goals, but if the team can walk away feeling good about itself then mission accomplished. Now to put two W's together.

F Cancer... The rest of tonight is just a game.

With the flurry of trades and trade rumors going around I can see why there's a massive expectation that moves are made..... oh wait. There's basically nothing other than a few things about a few teams shopping D.. because anyone with half a brain knows that the Sabres are shopping D and that the Kings are shopping Toffoli, because he's been healthy scratched out of the lineup. After that, not much else going on out there. It's every bit as difficult as I make it sound because it takes more than a single team to trade and someone has to be willing to give up something that will improve the Sabres while the Sabres are willing to give up out of the assets they have. I am sure Botterill can make a trade, I am also certain that in order to do so it would be a trade that no one on here would support, but at least he would have "done something." Right now, it seems like there isn't much of a market, and, generally, that's how it works in the NHL. I would be more on Botterill for not bringing up players out of Rochester before I am on him about not making a trade. You need to shake up the roster, pull some guys out who aren't doing enough. That's the biggest lever they have right now.

I have. Also, I see a lot of players who lack the speed to even attempt the wraparounds that ERod attempted.

Here we go. "Do Something". Why do these posts continue to exist? You speak as though there's a move to be made that helps this team and the GM is intentionally not making that move. What if the only players available on the trade market right now are the equivalent of Lazar and Asplund? What if it's only draft picks? You aren't alone in these posts, too many people keep calling out for "Do Something". Everyone take a moment and go look at this page: https://www.nhl.com/news/2019-20-nhl-trades/c-289968698 Look over that list and figure out what move there would help the team? For every bit of interest in a potential player (Toffoli) there are plenty of counter-arguments to making the move. There are not slam dunk "Do Somethings"

Anecdotally, sure. However, there are a lot of players who fall into the same story line that we never hear about because they are a mess. Sometimes you take the shot and others you play the percentages. Every team/GM does it.

There are some doctors on this forum who can provide a second opinion on your meds and perhaps alter your prescription. ?

One would hope... One would hope...

You judge them the way you judge them. 3 on 3 is different than 5 on 5, there's no doubt. However, there are some basic tenets that still hold true. Now, a player who is acceptable in a 5 on 5 situation might not be as acceptable in 3 on 3 because of the extra space on the ice. So, those lacking quickness might have a harder time playing the game with that extra space. That said, in this case. The method of covering the ice is not really all that different. Dahlin should not be up in the play creating a single layer of D for the Canes to have to permeate. Dahlin should have been back, and ERod was right to motion that Dahlin take that man as ERod would take the trailing player.

In an unusual move... I did not read the entirety of this thread. I need to go back and rewatch the OT goal, but my initial take is that Dahlin is the reason it happened. He remains lost out there and it's time he sits to take a deep breath and observe a few games from a suite and not the bench. Other than that.. the Sabres, overall, played well. Carolina doesn't suck and scored some good goals, as did Buffalo. They fought back and got it to OT. Dahlin screwed up coverage, twice and puck into the net. Good night.