Sabre fan

it is important to note that while they have two shutouts, it's not like they play some boring defensive system like Blysma likes where they score then hang on. The Oilers do keep attacking and don't sit back like the Devils use to do (and Danny wants the Sabres to do now)

maybe Kulikov was okay with the trade originally but now...

great find but somehow I doubt with our lousy system he'd wanna comehere where he isn;t free to rush and do creative type things. Remember, Danny likes everyone playing the same boring defensive score-a-goal-then-hang-on-for-dear-life system that hasn;t worked in the NHL for like 6 or 7 years since they stopped allowing all the clutching and grabbing and interference inside the blueline to hold up forecheckers. you could trap and bore the other team to death like New Jersey perfected way back when but now even a 3 or 4 goal lead isn;t safe...gotta keep the pedal to the metal these days which is completely opposite from Blysma's outdated system

I think I like the idea of trading of our 1st pick (unless of course we by some fluke win the lottery and draft first which of course the NHL will never allow to happen) for a d-man from Anaheim. Kane is a proven commodity and is a natural scorer something this team (and every team for that matter) needs...a pick will give us yet another prospect for down the road but we need a good defenseman NOW...

clearly between Zaitzev and Radulov (think that is how you spell them) it is obvious that players coming from the KHL can indeed play in he NHL at a high level...which tells me that Antipin will take one look at the Sabres' "system" and know he won;t fit in because they do not preach or allow d men to attack and that is his game apparently so he'll be off to any other team where rushing d-men are something cherished and they are free to do their thing whereas our D are told obviously to play it tight and not take any chances

Mark this date on your calendar, Saturday April 29,2017. It is then the NHL will do their big hooplah and pick who will draft first overall. At this point we sit with pick number 6 position and any number of good looking prospects will be there on the board.Do we sit and wait til this day, see what we get, then shop the pick if we do not move up? At 6 we will get someone who no doubt has talent but is years away from helping this team. At the same time if we can trade the pick for immediate help on the blueline that seems to make much more sense. So, do we keep it or trade it? I say to heck with it trade it and get us immediate help on the blueline which would go a long way towards making thi steam a playoff contender next year. Otherwise, we will add another good young prospect to our large pool but the defense will remain a problem moving forward

I live 100 miles north of Toronto in a small town called Coboconk and it's beautiful up here! we have 85 acres with nice trails and have all kinds of wild life like deer, turkeys and foxes coming up beside the house to eat. It amazes me to see Toronto Maple Leafs doing so well but really that all goes to babcock and his ability to get the most of of his players (something Blysma has no clue about). It is kinda funny how now everyone is going on about how wonderful Kadri, JVR, Bozak, reilly, gardiner, etc arfe when a few years back trust me all I heard up here was leaf fans going on like we do on this board about the Sabres asking to run these guys out of town. trust me, Leaf fans hated these guys and it is not a coincidence that since babs took over, every Leaf looks different and so much more confident and he has each one playing in a role that best suits their respective strengths while minimizing their exposure through their weaknesses...over all we are fine and comparing the two teams is tough cause they have a coach who breeds confidence, swagger, a belief in themselves and their teammates and a system that allows each player to excel at whatever they are best at doing, it isn;t the players here it is the way they are used and coached

no way either go anywhere...yet. Clearly GMTM sees and understands that Danny's system is way past th ebest before date and has gone stale and is completely outdated by today's standards. 5 years ago when the NHL allowed all that stupid clutch and grab and interference when players entered the other team's offensive zone, a team could trap and do exactly what Blysma is trying to get this team to do now...score one goal and hang on for the rest of the game, of course things have changed (the NHL, not BLysma) and now you can't do that crap and no lead is safe anymore...heck we have seen teams come back from 3 and 4 goals because now teams can keep attacking and not be afraid to be held or interfered with. it allows the offensive players to do their thing and if you look at the teams now having success they are not sitting back and hanging on to one goal leads like Danny envisions this team doing. I think GMTM thinks, or at least is willing to try to get Blysma to change and adopt to today's NHL before firing him. Maybe by next Christmas if nothing has changed then...

what I got from the press conference was that Danny ain't going nowhere but that GMTM is going to try and change his approach and to make him change his system and allow each player to do whatever it is they do best ala Mike Babcock. GMTM isn't stupid and I think even he can see that Blysma's system is completely outdated and with the new NHL a defensive-style system where every player plays the same is just way outdated. mayve 5 years ago but not now...I think we will see Blysma back for th4e start but hopefully will see big changes on his approach, otherwise he may be gone before next Christmas...

is it safe to say Chicago is in BIG trouble? Rinne not only has two shutouts but he also had 2 assist...he is right up there in scoring! sure wish it had been us not Toronto that got Babs...I have no doubt it would be us ion the playoffs...he just gets so much out of his players and knows how to use each player to their own strengths...unlike Blysma who tries to get everybody o play the same boring defensive-style system of scoring a goal and hanging on for dear life. that may have worked years ago in he NHL when you could clutch and grab and interfere with players as they entered the offensive zone to slow them down but in the "new" NHL it is much faster and refs do not allow that crap now so even a 3 or 4 goal lead isn't safe unless you keep going and keep the pedal to the floor. Letting up and hanging on like Danny tries to have his team do just doesn;t work anymore, and puts far too much pressure on players to do things they simply cannot do

funny thing is none of these guys could make our team right now! we were all running these guys out of town not so long ago. Stafford is a floater while Clarke never seemed to find his grove and Schaller wasted away in Rocehster. Gotta say I do think we have more talent hen either Ottawa or Boston but they sure get a lot of milage of out their players while most of ours seem to underachieve if anything

gotta throw in that Brady Austin, a kid who grew up not far from where I live and went to the same school in a small town as my sons and played his junior hockey in Bobcaygeon where my son played is looking very good as well as Guhle...if the Sabres were to add even one other D say Antipin then the D will look good for many years to come...Borden should be real good too

Who would have thought...2 short-handed goals? Not sure if anybody saw he highlights but Kassian was running around and delivered a nice hit to the head then charged half way around the rink to hit another Shark...guess he gets away with all this crap at home. Either way, clearly even the Oilers coach who I never liked from San Jose has found how to best use kassian...that is a skill of a coach and unfortunately Blysma just doesn;t seem to be able to do that...instead he tries to get everyone to play the same way and the same system...

the best system is one that only asks that players do what is within their abilities and talent level...obviously ever player is different and needs to be treated and coached as such...Danny\s system is looking for all players to play the same defensive style game and it obviously did not work in Pittsburg and did not and will not work here

truth is I live north of Toronto and trust me Leaf fans were ready to run Kardi, JVR, Gardiner (especially) and any other Leaf right out of town and they constantly complained about the team and the players to no end...the big thing now is they have a coach who is getting the most out of each player and letting them do whatever it is they do well. asking players to do things they just ain't capable of is just poor coaching and shoving a defensive type system down their throat is the sure way to failure and exposing players weaknesses by asking them to do things they can't do. I still think the talent is here...just need to put it to better use and in the right circumstances...

do we not lose some cap next year? of course we gotta pay Jack and that alone will be what, 8 mill?

Danny ain't going nowhere soon. While GMTM never really used injuries as a excuse, the fact is if Kulikov had not got that freak running-into-a-open-door injury before the season even started, and jack played the whole 82 games, and Kane didn;t miss significant time along with OReilly and at the end Okoposo, I do think we would have been right there...the fact is this team has the potential, it has very good young talent throughout the system, and really time could very well be the biggest factor (along with one big trade for a stud d-man). other then that, as GMTM stated get Blysma to worry less about his "system" and more about getting to know each player and their individual strengths and begin to use them to those strengths. To say that Ottawa or Boston has more talent then our lineup is debatable, along with a bunch of other teams such as the Islanders.

I guess one only needs to look at the Larsson/Hall trade...wouldn't Sam for Hanifin be basically the same thing? You gotta give something real good to get something real good. we got real lucky stealing OReilly but that was once in a lifetime deal. For that real good top 2 d-man we are gonna have to give something good like Sam. If we deal Sam then we can sign kane maybe for 3-4 years?

for GMTM to teach coach Blysma how to coach and how to get the players on his side and to learn we will see as GMTM put it more working with players to get at their strengths and less Danny's "system" which is awful cause I have no doubt Blysma will be back and we need him to be the biggest change by far next season to have any success

I guess it comes down to Kane or Sam...I have no doubt teams will be interested in both (especially Anaheim who would love kane) and of course Sam is very attractive cause he's young. we will have to sign one or both and it stands to reason we can't keep both and pay both big money. Is Sam worth big bucks? Think that is more the question...he seems like a good, steady 20+ scorer but nothing to crazy. hard to get aread on his worth around the league or what he is worth come contract time...

Pardon my ignorance, but I have no clue how it is that Montreal is playing the Rangers while Boston and Ottawa are playing and Pittsburg and Columbus...being a Sabre fan I have not really worried about the playoff setup but something seems amiss with how they decide who plays who. Did they change this at some point cause I always remember the top team against the bottom, and so on. Also does anyone know how this whole Kyle Okoposo thing may play out if he never plays again? are we stuck with his cap hit for the next whatever years? that would be a major blow to our cap obviously. we really need this guy in the lineup and this would be a major lose. and thirdly does anyone know if this defenceman from the KHL Antipin is any good? like good enough to make the team better? and lastly does anyone really think or believe that Ottawa or Boston or whoever really has more talent then the Sabres? Really? I think it is more a question of them getting so much out of their players...

yes sports fans it's the dreaded and long-running Buffalo sabre curse striking yet again. If this is true and Kyle is done and we are stuck with a big cap-hit and we lose clearly a great person and player it will be a major blow yet again. Seems just when we think "nothing else can go wrong or our luck can't get any worse"...it does. Lets face it, luck plays a major part of any situation and while teams like the Oilers the Leafs and Winnipeg moving uo and getting Laine have been extremely lucky, we have had the opposite. we lost the lottery draws and the truth is whether we like to admit it or not, freak injuries have hurt his team immeasurably especially this pass season. I have no doubt that if jack never gets hurt, if Kulkov had not skated into a open door, if OReilly and okoposo hadn't missed stretches and of course if Kane hadn't missed a ton of games and wound up with 35 to 40 goals thi steam may very well have been a playoff team. either way I do not think it is all the doom and gloom we sometimes feel it is...there is lots of potential here and the biggest problem moving forward is Blysma getting that potential out of the players. I am sorry but I don;t buy that Ottawa or Boston or whoever has that much more talent then our lineup. they just get so much out of players and seem to always get players to play over their heads, unlike many of ours who sees to under-perform if anything

I do hope hey can sign Antipin..and you're probably right about Kulikov although I do think he is far better then we saw and at the end there he was really starting to play good although it was too late by then...wonder how much he will command after a injury-filled year?

Of course not everybody are leaders and that doesn't change my thoughts on Kane...if we can I'd re-sign him cause he does something probably as valuable as lead...he scores!

sadly the Okoposo thing is really concerning...he is a major talent, a great signing (who GMTM did not get enough credit for landing) and obviously a great guy and when no one will say anything it can only be one thing...NOT GOOD. I swear this friggin' team is so jinxed that even great moves blow up in our faces. same goes for Kulikov who suffers a freak injury before the stupid season even starts. and of course Jack's injury. no wonder we have a complex!