Sabre fan

Toronto's defense is a disaster (Reilly isn't even that good and he's by far their best) and up front they are getting a pile of milage from players playing way over their heads (see Kadri)...clearly it takes a good coach to, if nothing else, find the players individual strengths and use them to that strength. we have Blysma trying to get everyone to play one system and that is sit back and hang on for dear life...oh by the way, it ain't working just as it isn't with Lindy in dallas who try the exact same thing

I read somewhere were such a small percentage of players drafted ever pan out...there have been so many first round busts and while the Sabres have had their share, so has every other team so he fact is that while drafting players high is all good, it means nothing overall...the truth is no one knows for sure but GMTM's drafting thus far has been pretty darn good. Funny how some teams (see Anaheim) seem to be able to find good young players while always drafting higher up in the standings (detroit were able to find good draft picks year after year while drafting way up every year). I do think Lerner is actually very good and once we get a new coach that allows a system that goes by the new NHL's model that a good defense is a good offense and lerner starts to see far less action and shots as we control the puck more he will excel even more

Blysma" "system" is killing Tyler too...

totally agree...after Lindy and now Blysma's wonderful system of trying to get a early lead then hang on for dear life, a coach that allows their team to actually attack and play a skating and passing style system would be so darn refreshing and exciting. The Sabres actually have the players to play that style and the forwards especially would benefit greatly from any upgrade to the coaching system

Ennis was signed when we had nobody signed and GMTM had cleaned house and we needed contracts to reach the minimum cap level way back when...then we suddenly started signing other guys and drafting good players and now that deal seems rather silly. In GMTM's defense, at the time Ennis looked like a very good player, but under Blysma (like many others) he is being held back and (like so many others) looks so unsure and lost at many points throughout any given game

I love the idea of signing Shattenkirk except for one small problem...with Bogo, Moulson and Ennis still on the payroll, there isn;t room to sign him. That would take at least 7 mil over 7 years and we would need to lose some serious payroll before being able to do this signing. Obviously teams are already licking their chops at th echance of signing a premier Number 1 stud defenseman, and the list of teams will be long and there will be very heavy bidding..not sure why he'd want to come here when he can go to a cup contender like Pittsburg who could use him. As well, getting any other d-man from anybody will take a huge package of picks and young players who we do wish to lose, and again there will be many other teams after these d-men such as anybody from Anaheim. There is little doubt our forwards are very good and there is no need to tinker there. Goaltending??????

this'll get ugly...enough said

I know we all only see the bad and life in Sabreland is pretty-much always doom and gloom, but to be truthful at least we have a great young core and a very good stud defenseman in Risto and hope is on the horizon with young guys like Guhle, Fashing, Bailey, Nylander etc...meanwhile, teams like Philly, New Jersey, Vancouver, Winnipeg are not in any sort of rebuild apparently yet still suck. They do not seem to have much of a future and Vancouver especially are a complete train-wreck, along with Dallas who are all over the map. not sure what the heck is their story...at least we can say we are in the middle of a major rebuild whereby we cleaned total house, and the pieces are slowing falling in to establish a solid future. GMTM has made some great moves, stealing OReilly, adding Carrier, Fasching in trades and seemingly on the fast track to a nice solid core of good young players. It is not easy to build a winner as we have seen al over the league and there are a lot of teams vying for the same thing: to leave the .500 club and move up in the standings. How Toronto is doing it is beyond me...they have no defense and play a wide open style like Columbus...I guess the best D really is a good offense...years ago when we had that great offensive team we played that way too, with total puck-control for long stretches of time. I can;t help but wonder if that is Blymsa's biggest flaw with his system...it allows the other team far too much puck control. sitting back and hanging on for dear life is a tired and worn-out system...that ship left harbour many years ago (nee: Lindy) . We need to get back to a attack-style offense before we will ever be effective in the new NHL that calls for fast skating and quick puck movement. Just a thought...

I happen think all is not doom and gloom...we clearly have a great "core" and just about every team wishes for a top-2 or even top-4 D-man so we are not unique there...as well, teams like Philly continue to struggle and show it isn;t as easy as some think to climb in the standings. they are kinda stagnant and they do not have too many young guys to save the day. we clearly have some good young talent coming and for that alone GMTM deserves credit. he stole OReilly and moved a underacheving Myers for Kane who is just as advertised...all-in-all not bad it's just that the NHL has/is getting better overall and parity is evident when Arizona beats top teams and even Colorado has some very good talent and cannot be taken lightly.Many teams have been close but unable to make that next big leap. such as Sam Jose and it proves it just isn;t that easy. Prospects are great to have but the truth is for the one that works out, there'll be a bunch that don't.

the best coaches (re: Babs etc...) allow players to play to their strengths, and does not try to change them nor make them play a complicated or boring system that actually hurts that player. It isi obvious that Blysma wants this team to play a system that is a boat that long has since sailed and with today's NHL and how fast it is and how (thank God) they finally got rid of the goons who couldn;t skate but played (in some cases more the jack does some nights under Blysma). Now you have to move the puck quickly and attack as a unit which just ain't clearly Blysma's style nor system. The truth is he is hurting many of the Sabres offensive players and any other team would be loving players like Jack, Sam, Ennis, kane and the good off-season signing Okoposo, I do think our D would be better served if they were allowed to play more offensively too, and I thought nelson looked like a pretty good offensive d-man but he has been buried in Rochester for whatever reasons. The leafs play just about anybody on D and allow them to do whatever it is that best suits them. They are getting a hell of a lot of milage out of some pretty average players (see Kadri) while he sabre players always seem to underperform...

A rebuild takes time, patience and luck...as in Chicago getting Kane and Toews and Pitssburg Crosby, Malkin and Fleury. I do think we are better then we are giving this team credit and that the simple fact is that the rest of the NHL is all actually quite good now. I guess Colorado is pretty bad but they certainly have mor etalent then they have shown and Arizona can beat just about anybody on any given night. The Sabres, like a ton of other teams, are trying to rebuild but obviously it will take time. We keep saying GMTM should go out an get a stud d-man but the truth is EVERYBODY just about is chasing the few available one's so it just isn;t as easy as is sounds. But it is true that almost all nights we play with anybody, and certainly do not embarass ourselves like we use to do. we do need to show a little patience although I am not a doctor and do not have patience...

gotta say at first glance I thought this thread silly and of no sense whatsoever...until I saw last night's pathetic disaster in San Jose with jack getting like 3 minutes in the 3rd and seeing him slamming the door shut showing obvious anger and frustration with...(fill in the blank but I think we all know it's that guy behind the bench). Blysma is obviously pulling a power-trip to show "who's boss" and unfortunately Pegula is allowing it. yes the coach is the boss, but when ego takes over as it has here there can only be one winner...either jack or Blysma. take your pick of who you want. Maybe it isn't so silly to think Jack may leave at first chance, as long as Blysma is still here (which I would not doubt at this point)...

o course the problem is every once in a while this team goes against all of their underachieving and blowing leads and...beat a good team like Columbus in a great game. these things are only helping keep Blysma here...

Yeah Howie would be neat...

The thing I feel with jack is that he will continue to get better and better and a complete hockey player...with Mathews and even McDavid, what you see is what you get. They are great no doubt but they pretty-much are at their elite level already and certainly with Toronto or Edmonton there ain't no hope in hell they will ever improve defensively. I feel if jack was left alone to freewheel and not worry about defensive-zone coverage he would put up even better numbers...

Drew Stafford...can't help but laugh...there are a pile of ex-Sabres around the league andf how many do we miss or how many would we want back? I cannot think of one right now...

Not sure if we are offically eliminated but whatever...the truth is losing to Columbus Friday was no big deal as they have a great record. but for the record, it is interesting to see Columbus, like the Leafs, play such a wide open, no defense style of hockey. I know we love to complain about our Defense, but really our's is certainly better then either of these teams. they simply try to 0outscore the other team, and rely on their goalies to keep them in games. Like when was the last time one of our goalies won us a game? Miller never did when we needed him to , and that hasn;t changed now. The style we play is ironically best suited for playoffs, which we won;t see. It is interesting also to note we are better when behind, as we keep attacking til the end of the game, as opposed to when we have a lead early then try to hang on for dear life (just as Lindy's system dictated). maybe we should get behind every game...

Okay, I think most goalies are over paid anyways, but I think Robin Lehner is a RFA this summer, which leads us to a very critical situation. We obviously have to re0sign him (gave up far too much not to) so what the heck is this guy worth? Verdict is still out on whether he is truly a #1 and we will probably lose Ulmark to Las Vegas so what of our goaltending situation? Not sure what the answer is here to be honest...

hell yeah...we'd take a season or two of success right about now...even knowing it wouldn't last

I think we have far more serious issues to worry about then Jack leaving (he's here for a while trust me)...like will blysma still be here next season?

That is Ottawa's farm team...any person running that team does not have a say in who they get, they are sent down from the parent team, just like in Rochester where they get whoever the Sabres send down to them. I think GMTM has been fine...OReilly was steal and obviously Myers needed change of scenery and getting Kane isn't so bad as some like to lead us to believe...Kulikov has huge potential but injuries have obviously held him back and that is/was not TM's fault. Bogo is far better then he has shown, and again that is not GMTM's fault. If Kulkov & Bogo played all games and played anywhere near their potential we'd be singing TM's praise and all happy. Injuries have been by far the number one killer this season , starting with jack and the D-men. Blysma's outdated "system" is number 2 on my list

the point is that while I totally agree with signing good young d-men, they represent the future, not now. Clearly the thinking within he braintrust that run our beloved Sabres is one of needing experienced d0men, not rookies, or we'd see Nelson here (should be here) and of course Guhle but the truth is Kulikov and Bogo are better then they have shown or we are led to believe. Clearly Blysma's "system" is not suited to today's NHL and is outdated just as Lindy's is (Dallas are a complete trainwreck these days). I kinda get the feeling we need to change the coach, and not the whole team...

agreed 100%...Dallas is a complete mess. I actually think GMTM is fine...he has made some bold but cool trades (Oreilly was a steal) and he at least tries to do something unlike Darcy. I do think the owners were (are) in love with Blysma and were pissed when Babs shuffled off to Toronto after giving his word and now they do not wish to fire Blysma when this was their idea in the first place. Is Hitchcock a good alternative???

hate to say it but our D is actually as good or better then many other teams...it is just that their coaches let the players play to their strengths, not all made to play a boring, hang-on-for-dear-life system that both Lindy and Blysma love. It didn;t work when Lindy was here, and it ain't working now either here nor in Dallas...I wish we'd grab Hitchcock before dallas does for next season

Time to Thomas the tank....season isi over so at least lets try and get a good draft position...maybe then trade it for a D-man