Randall Flagg

I remember noticing that this was coming when they were still an 80 point team. That was probably my posting peak, it was all downhill from there

I'm loling at the state of sabre goaltending

And allowed fewer goals in the loss than the other guys did in 21 different sabre victories this year In fact, Sabre goalies allowed fewer goals than Levi did 2 days ago just 5 times in 76 games Just lol

That is the offseason of my wildest fever dreams

I an ready to relearn how to watch games like this

This is the only sort of thing you seem to be capable of talking about

Dude

Tonight will tell us a lot about granato. A bad opponent which nevertheless has had the sabres' number twice. Can he figure it out and adapt his team to beat them? That is the exact coaching challenge he would need to execute to win a playoff series

Looks like that was a fun night. Feels like it could really be something huh?

Saw the last few minutes. When we land the game will be over. Go sabres

Lou is the gm of a team that is incapable of doing anything of note in the playoffs this year. Of course that's better than buffalo has, but he's not worth singling out over 12 others (or more) He has a team that tends to play poorly in front of the best goaltending in the league. Wao

Wow, Sammy has only played 48 games. Something to monitor

A notable hockey blue check on Twitter had some videos of Ottawa doing the same thing, highlighting why they are struggling. It's definitely a function of youth and style and needs to be reigned in. It wouldn't even be so disastrous if the guy with the puck wasn't always hesitating and turning it over while trying to precisely make a high-difficulty pass. Our best skaters will look like buffoons turning the puck over because of this. Yeah, the forwards bailing makes it hard on you. But while you still have time and space, just chuck it out to nobody until the forwards learn to come back and learn when and how to cheat. It's not like cheating the zone should always be forbidden. McDavid, Pastrnak, Malkin, Ovi, these guys do it as often as Skinner but they have learned to optimize it without creating endless turnover-to-scoring-chance-against

I'd like to dive in and find out, but we are going on a trip tomorrow so I don't think I'll have time. I think a more interesting question would be to check those teams, in the years they were finding their way, and look for things like a.) our home record with blue and gold b.) our home record overall, relative to the abilities of our team when they are playing well c.) the way we fell apart when March hit and couldn't seem to get out of it except for 3 nights towards the end of it d.) the way we play against bad teams during this span (PHI, MTL, CBJ) I'm sure some of those teams had issues of their own, but I'd be surprised if we saw this degree of struggle at this particular stage of development/level of ability in general. It was alarming for all of us to watch. I'm not sure if those teams had similar alarming situations. I know the Caps were BAD for 2 years with Ovi, before making the playoffs in the 3rd. I know the Pens were bad with Crosby for one year, before making the playoffs. The Hawks had a 4 year stretch in the doldrums before drafting Kane, jumping to 88 points immediately, then making the conference finals. Tampa was strange - they got Hedman and Stamkos, then hit 80 points, made an ECF, but then had a 2 year reset missing the playoffs before starting this run. Colorado was similar as well, they had MacKinnon and Rantanen and Landeskog, made the playoffs right away, but at one point became the worst team in the league (with one of the worst seasons in history) which got them Makar. That would have been something to go through. But, they made the playoffs the next year after that. Right away. Bad teams are bad teams. we have a good team that crapped its pants in a horrifying way and can't play in certain uniforms, and can't seem to shake either of those things. I'm not sure that you can find something quite like this in those teams' histories, especially considering the 12 year baggage we have, the first time GM/entire coaching staff, and so few playoff runs for the vets to tell us about. Which is why I said that something is missing (I won't even go as far as saying I know what that thing is)

The Sabres have the shooting talent at a level which makes it plausible that they can continue to outscore their scoring chances - a shot from Tage, Tuch, Skinner, Cozens, Quinn from any particular location is more likely to go in than a shot from the league average shooter. The discrepancy there doesn't worry me too much - these players have been humming at a high shooting % for like 2 years straight now. You see the elite guys do that their whole careers. That doesn't mean lulls aren't possible (which is why historic seasons are important to capitalize on!) but I'm not worried about the offense falling off to a level that makes it hard to win. The discrepancy that's most interesting to me is that they can't convert the most zone time in the league into scoring chances. This is what we see when we see the Sabres getting pushed around by the BJs, Islanders etc., pinned to the boards, unable to bring the puck anywhere important. That's what they have to work on offensively

I'll be on a plane

I will repeat, there is something missing that they don't have right now i.e. it is not being delivered by the veteran presence on the roster

It is clear that our young guns have made tremendous strides, but still need some help from something they don't have in the room right now

I'm talking about the content! It was fine to read, it let me focus on each line one at a time lol

That was a whelming read

I have been mad at Sabres fans for this. You might have pushed me over the edge, and I might be sending a text to my buddy tonight.

I put a lot of weight on a GM's words and the current season, whichever it may be, has always had more importance to me than many fans. I was on this board in 2018 and 2019 trying to convince doubters that McBeane was building a super bowl contender, because I spent three years listening them tell me exactly what was going to happen each season, exactly why, and then watching it play out as described. 2018-20 in particular was unbelievable. 2017 - "we are building this team with the culture necessary to turn the franchise around, we will get rid of guys that don't fit the picture or don't want to be a part of this, and we will be competitive the whole time. players here will be a family with one common goal, and will play for each other and understand what it means to play for this city." Result: a bad team that worked like crazy and somehow broke the drought. Visual evidence if this culture, week in and week out - I still remember a third down conversion by number 15, who I have no chance of being able to name, against the Raiders in week 7. The team erupted around him on the sidelines, celebrating the amazing play their fringe-roster teammate made like he was their little brother. The baffled announcers thought a fight was breaking out between the Raider defender and our sideline. But it was really a group of guys turning into a family. Cringeeeeeeeeeeeee I know, but I saw in vivid detail what they told me they'd make. 2018: "We are eating a lot of dead money this year for a cap reset, and it's going to show on the roster, but we are never going to stop competing, and we can immediately commence building when it has finished. Oh, and it is very important to us that we acquire a franchise quarterback, and now is the best time to do so, so that something productive happens in the meantime." They draft Josh Allen, eat 90+ million dollars in dead cap, battened down the hatches after the first two weeks threatened to sink everything, and wound up with more wins than a roster of that caliber had any business collecting, finishing that year with promising signs of what was to come ( a five tuddy performance by Josh Allen against Miami) 2019: "well, we got that over with, and we are instilling a "playoff caliber" mindset. we also need to stabilize things around Josh, and get him some real players to throw to, and fix up the offensive line. Also, pretty much everyone on the defense at this point is now a bona-fide McDermott guy." The team signs Beasley, Brown and Morse, adds a bunch of guard depth, turning the worst weapons in the league to merely "bottom-third", and the worst line in the league (by far) to something approximating league average. Allen takes a step, and we see our first instance of a true McDermott defense, I mean that charitably. A team coming together, learning to win big games and primetime games for the first time I had ever seen in my 15 years as a fan. The Cowboys and Steelers games were things I had never seen from my Bills before, they are burned into my memory forever. The team was right where the guys in charge said they'd be, down to miniscule details. 2020: "We didn't score enough points." Brandon said that about ten times in his end-of-season PC after the Houston game. He also stressed that it was an important summer for Josh to either take a next step or fade - and emphasized how confident he was in the former. He said out loud what we all knew - year 3 is the big one, and that it was his job to make sure Josh had the tools. Enter Diggs. "We know that we are right there. So close. We will make the step." The bills are now an elite NFL franchise looked up to and envied by the fans of 28-30 others. This was a 3 year span starting with the worst cap situation in the league and a franchise that probably couldn't have been lower. I told my skeptical family at the dinner table each night, over and over. I explained to them why they added Ty Nsekhe, his backstory, why they did this, why they did that, because they told me exactly what was going on, how long it would take, and gave me no reason to doubt them. I have standards because of this, and I'm holding Kevyn to them ESPECIALLY because I think he is capable of doing this with the Sabres, he has the raw materials he needs. What Beane in particular told me every single summer was important to me as a fan, and he always went out of his way to say and imply that they were doing everything within their power to maximize "now" while they were at it. Kevyn says some obvious things, some good things, and a lot of the same things he said when Ruotsalainen was streaking in late April of 2021. I get that we can infer that he is aiming to improve the Sabres of TODAY based on what tom knows about Chychrun etc. but teams can rebuild fast, the Sabres are on track to be a fast rebuild, and they have a lot of runway to use - so much that it would be incredibly hard to screw "the future" up. Think of how much runway the Bills had for years, to only just now lose their first important piece 6 years into their tenure. They aggressively added to their team that whole entire time, whenever they could. Kevyn, if you add a player that could cause a sort of cap issue in the future, but you added a good player, it's either a good problem to have or you can move that player at a later date. Trust your staff, trust your skills! And there is value to what that player does while you still have space! There is value in ending this drought, filling the barn back up with excited fans, there was value in the possibility of sharing rather than owning outright the playoff drought record. Talk to me, Kevyn. Tell me about the fall of 2023, tell me how similar we are to last spring's New Jersey Devils. Tell me what I know - that we are better now than they were then. That team is set to finish with a record only 1 or 2 Sabres teams have ever topped, 11 months later. That team mortgaged nothing. They have as good a future as you can construct. They are a 50 win team. Tell me you want to be a 50 win team next year and get me there. I know what we need, you know I know, but tell me because then I will trust you like I trust McBeane when you get it done. That trust doesn't go away easy, considering I'm fully in their corner despite what appear to be more dire times, and a 2023 press conference which has left me perturbed.

I feel like the Sabres are conducting an elaborate marketing ploy to push me over the edge and buy. We could make a Sabrespace section. Then again, imagine sitting there, watching an intense overtime against the Leafs. Tuch loops back into his own zone to keep possession while his teammate changes, and the loudest "JFC" you've ever heard batters your eardrum - you turn and see Brawndo storming towards the tunnel. You look back to the ice, confused, and see Tuch accelerating up the boards. But then he flubs a dropback pass that is picked off by Matthews and, after a few cycles in the zone, buried behind UPL.

Sorry. I'm heartened by this and want his public words to address how crucial next year is for players like Tage Rasmus Dylan. I am sure he believes that, but saying it is important. I believe little things your organization does matter

Watching some highlights, he seems to play very low. I wonder if he'll have to adjust that at the next level