Sabre fan

I would think so...and his choice of coaches isn't much better. San Jose has been much better since dumping McLellan who I never liked. Of course when the Oilers win yet another draft lottery and get Dahlin they'll look like geniuses. Like him or hate him, exGMTM had absolutely lousy luck losing the draft lotteries and not getting McDavid, Mathews or even Laine. The Jets looked real smart getting Laine but we should have had him if the NHL would stop screwing us (like they'll do Friday). Imagine us with McDavid, Ekblad (who quietly had a monster year with 16 goals 22 assists for 38 points) and Laine?

only one that would make a difference is Evander Kane and we more or less had to move him and get something in return (even if it wasn;t much). The rest are fringe players or players you certainly would not build a team around. and this team needs rebuilding badly.

The old saying was and still is the team that gets the bets player wins the trade...EXGMTM got O'reilly who was and is by far the best player in that trade. he also got a amazing power forward that anybody would want in Evander Kane so he won those trades. I do agree he gave away far too many prospects in many of his trades and totally neglected Rochester. Of course you can only do one thing at a time and he seemed more focused on trying to do something to improve the big club. GMJBotto seems more intent on improving Rochester. The fact is, if we had won those stupid draft lotteries and EXGMTM had been able to get McDavid that in itself would have changed things significantly.. The previous draft (2013) the Sabres had drafted d-men in Risto and Zadorov so they took who was the top rated forward in Sam Reinhart in 2014. Virtually everybody who attempted to rate the players in that draft had Sam at either one or two. EXGMTM did what anybody would have done in drafting Sam. In the 2016 draft, we yet again got smoked in the draft lottery getting pushed down to 8th spot where we took again what most projected to be the best player in Nylander. How would things have been different if we'd actually won a draft lottery and got Mathews. or even Laine? Suddenly EXGMTM would have looked like a genius if we'd got McDavid and Mathews. Maybe EXGMTM brought some of his demise in himself with some questionable trades, but the fact is luck played a huge part in his apparent failures when we lost the shot at McDavid and Mathews or Laine.

true but Dallas is a mess and blamed Lindy now Hitch...how a team with so much talent keeps missing the playoffs. Another team with huge goalie issues and defense for that matter. Just goes to show that even with lots of talent there is no sure bet. so many variables go into a team excelling or failing

still cannot figure out how it is that on one hand we keep hearing hat this team had no talent or at least not nearly enough, yet we saw the same team beat some of the best teams in the NHL. And to prove it was no fluke, they beat the B's and the Bolts more then once. Also beat the leafs among other top teams. Leads me to wonder if the talent is there or not. Either way Kane is a beast and the exact kinda player this team needs.

Wasn't long ago there was real threat of this team being moved until terry came along. Now you have good solid ownership who has sunk a ton of his money into the team and you wish to blame him for the team losing? That seems rather strange to be honest. Maybe a new owner would immediately wish to move the team. Can't see how that proves anything. be thankful the team has a owner very much invested in trying to make the team a winner. He has hired supposedly very good hockey people to run the team and it was their failures, not Terry's that have cost this team year after year.

Exactly. I think everyone is desperate and looking for answers but trading ROR would prove dumb, just as the Kane trade was and clearly is a very bad move of the very good hockey player (and the EXACT kind of player this team needs) .

I know there is a endless amount of posters saying they want ROR moved this summer. After his post-season rant while cleaning out his locker after yet another disappointing year, ROR made it clear he was down in the dumps and frustrated with the whole situation here in Sabreland. Before we all jump the gun and run the guy out of town, it is also very important top realize just what he brings to the table every night. We have already said goodbye to Evander kane and ran him out of town, convinced he was the whole problem within the dressing room and a real "cancer". It does not appear the dressing room improved any after Kane's departure. I think we were led to believe and sold on a notion that moving Kane would fix all that was wrong within his team's locker room. Some are now saying the same about Ryan O'Reilly. ROR led the league in faceoffs and wins.That in itself is a great achievement and something (don't laugh) that is vital and essential come playoff time. I know you are all laughing but I have a hunch this team just may be ready to make the jump and maybe somehow make it to the big dance next season. ROR would be a absolute stud in playoff hockey. We ran Kane out of town and lets face it, he is a very good hockey player. He too is already proving a stud in playoff hockey (2 big goals last night in game one for SJ).. Now we are set to run another very good player out of town.ROR plays game in and game out against the other team's top line. He (and his linemates that usually include Okpsoso) get the honor of facing the other team's top forwards every night. While there are many reasons this team loses game after game, surprisingly the team constantly shuts down the other team's top players. That is directly due to ROR and linemates playing good, sound defensive hockey. The Leafs lost to the B's last night because they had no one to shut down the Bruins big guns, yet when the Sabres play theB's, we have good success against them because ROR shuts down the top players from the B's (or any other team for that matter). In the end, I wonder if we are not jumping too quick to judgement and running ROR out of town only because we are frustrated just like him, ironically enough. While the return would no doubt be substantial and very tempting, I also think we'd end up doing what we are doing about Evander Kane which of course is lamenting losing a very good hockey player. Is there really any answer in continually trading your best players? Maybe we are too quick to blame the wrong guys. jack does what he can while playing with average wingers and ROR (and linemates) are asked to play night after night against the top players in the NHL and do so with pride and skill, often with very good results. Losing ROR would leave a huge whole down the middle. Who then goes against the top forwards for the other teams? Jack? A young and unproved Middlestat? If we find jack sometimes frustrated now imagine how he'd be having to line up night after night against the other team's top players?ROR performs a thankless job and does it very well. we would be, I think, crazy to trade him and force jack to play against the other team's top forwards.

when did he change his name to Cane? with a "C"...anyways, it just may be it was not him that was the 'cancer" but rather the Sabres' dressing room is full of "cancer" cause they sure did not look any better after getting rid of the supposed cancer (Kane). glad for Evander though

thought I heard B's are without half the team due to injury...

funny my son and I were comparing last year\s roster with this years and you are correct in stating that this year's team clearly was much better on paper. We should have improved by even 10 or 15 points yet produced yet another big fail. Can the blame be put on Housley? good question. clearly something is amiss for sure...

Edmonton's 10=million man LD just hit 25 goals last night. a lot of money per goal

so I guess just about everybody thinks we should have Nylander in Rochester yet again and play a aging vet instead like pouliot? I think we start him on the big club and let him find his way just as the leafs did with his brother (who still has some ups and downs but he's learning as he goes)

I have to wonder how the pressure that is on Alex to perform when his dad was a great player and now his brother is supposedly playing very good too. Willie plays on TO's top line and #1 power play unit and just got his 20th goal. He does have 40 assists but then he plays with guys scoring like crazy such as Mathews Kadri Van Riemsdyk etc. It has to be hard on Alex to know everybody is expecting so much from him.I hope he proves all the negative vibes and excels next season. This team really could use him to have a good year (15 to 20 goals?).

it is truly sad and depressing.

Great day for Canada...between this tragedy and the death of a wonderful young man Jonathan Pitre, a splendid human being that suffered almost from the day he was born with a rare disease. You can read his full story at his link. This all kinda puts everyday nothingness that is thought to be so important in perspective... http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/jonathan-pitre-dead-butterfly-child-1.4607671

funny you'd think we got a really bad Nylander and the leafs got a really good one yet their Nylander playing with Mathews just got his 20th goal last night. All I hear is ranting and raving about how great their guy is and how bad our guy is doing but 20 goals really isn;t anything too exciting. I am hoping our Nylander can get 20 playing with Jack next season

very good point...Q is great when the team is great. You are absolutely correct by saying this team desperately needs someone like babs that gets a lot of mileage out of his players.babs got the same results in detroit as he is getting now...he gets every player to play to their potential. We by comparison have a bunch of guys playing way below their potential and/or are not being used properly. the strength of a good coach is using players to their strengths and not asking them to do something they are not capable of.

We'd never get good enough return for Risto...evn if by chance we get Dahlin we still need him. Totally agree that giving up a 23 year-old d-man who plays huge minutes would be crazy!

gotta think JBotto is searching for the cancer in the room and may see moving ROR as maybe helping by subtraction...clearly there is something amiss in the dressing room and he has to find the problem before this team can move forward. There is doubt the NHL will knock us down as far as they can (4th) and I cannot see JBotto rushing Tkachuk so I do hope we see some Rochester guys next season instead of aging vets

I had on a Cap game last weekend and they were saying then that Holtby is struggling and Grubauer has been the better goalie of late. We seriously need a stud goalie like the Leafs got with Anderson but I doubt Washington will give him up in a trade. We can dream though...

this is the typical mentality of far too many including NHL brass..oh it was his fault because of this and that. What a crock...just because a player is left open to be crushed from behind as he reacts to the play is no reason to do so nor is it a valid reason to blame the victim. I guess those stupid people that get shot and killed should not have been at school or at that outdoor concert too! the NHL continues to blame the victim and will do so til one of those victims is killed.

funny Sam is up to 23 goals in what has been a not-so-good year for him. It is become clear that Sam is far and away better then many give him credit for. I have no doubt we'll try to move ROR this summer and Sam will then become an even more important part of this team moving foirward

cannot figure how someone thinks this team "doesn't deserve" to win the lottery...like which team "deserves it more" in your estimation? you must be a Oiler fan! Like they deserve to get 1st pick over and over??either way it isi safe to say the NHL will see to it we go as far down as possible which I think is 4. we still should get someone pretty good but he sin;t going to help right away as Dahlin could and would.

does not matter if we end up last by ten points...we'll be knocked down as far as they can put us which I think is 4th. we'll still get a good player but won;t see him for 3 or 4 years