mjd1001

Because doing so up until this point hasn't been part of the plan. If the GM/Hockey operations wanted to get through this year, evaluate and add this offseason, then there would be no reason to spend more money until this offseason. The thing to watch is to see how much they spend adding players to this team in the next year or two and how much/how quickly Dahlin gets in his next deal.

I agree with most of what you said. I have posted a lot of the same thoughts in many threads this morning, but they apply to the conversations in many threads. This team is NOT that far away. Look at New Jersey the last 3-4 years. They let their young guys play through things and got humliated some games. When they thought the time was right (when THEY thought it was, not on the fans timeline), they made some moves and then took a big jump. The Sabres may be in the same spot this coming offseason/season. BUT, this is where management needs to make the moves. inexperience is an issue, especially with the forwards. I'm going to say this over and over but as good as some of the young guys are right now (Quinn, Cozens), they are bad without the puck in the back 2 zones. Quinn has quietly taken the most steps forward this year in that regard, but Peterka, Krebs, even Cozens WILL hopefully get better with expereince but the can be dreadful without the puck in their own zone (Cozens is a good forechecker, maybe 2nd best to Tuch on the team but he can positially be a disaster in the middle and back zones). With 1-2 more guys on the backend, and with good goaltending, you can cover up a lot of your deficiencies by the forward group WHILE they gain expereince and get better. I don't know what the answer is at goaltender....but this team getting even average goaltending next year AND more depth on the back end probably leads to them being in the playoffs next year. You don't need to re-tool the entire roster. 2-3, maybe 4 strategic moves/additions are all you need. Management is on the clock to do that this offseason.

When I watch this team and see the breakdowns which are primarily responsible for the fall in the standings, I see 3 primary things the team is lacking, and in this order, what they do not have now: 1. Good goaltending. 2. Forward play that is good without the puck in the neutral zone and in their own end. 3. Depth and experience (and health) at the bottom of your D-corp. Coaching doesn't fix the first one you need better and healthier goaltenders. Coaching will help the 2nd one FOR SURE, but it isn't going to happen right away. Guys who are awful without the puck and in their own zone (Peterka, Cozens, Krebs) that are still young WILL get better with coaching, but as I posted in another thread, they will take small steps on a season-to-season basis, they will not take big steps on a week-to-week or even month-to-month basis. Would a different coach help this issue? I'm not sure, but even if it did, the change would not be immediate. The Defensive depth...the ONLY thing I wish Granato did differently is not give his top guys SO much ice time. Would Dahlin be playing better and possibly not as injured with a bit less ice time? probably. Would Samuelsson not be injured with less ice time? He gets injured a lot but maybe the situation would be better with less ice time. You need to bring in better 2nd and 3rd pair guys so you can give your top guys a bit less ice time. I can listen to and possibly beleive the argument than this team is not a 90 point team, they are closer to an 80 point team but it was coaching that 'overused' the top D-men that kept this team on a 90 point pace until the D-group just broke down. Bottom line, I'm not changing the coach until the goaltending is better and there is patience with the players themselves getting more experience and, espeically the forwards, playing better without the puck. Other than Zemgus, there really is no player on this team that is both a full-effort guy AND a guy that knows where to be without the puck in ALL zones.

Better goaltending is the key to this team taking a step forward next year. I think that is obvious to many. BUT, when you watch many of the goals allowed, break down the goals, look at the replays of the goals allowed frame-by-frame, you will see the backend might be a little less responsible for those goals being allowed and the forwards helping out/being in position is more responsible than this board overall wants to place blame for. That is not saying the backend can't get better. Power hopefully will be better. Samuelsson needs to be healthy, and they need at least one other guy who is a legit '2nd pair' quality guy back there to play either on the 2nd or 3rd pair. That will help for sure. But besides goaltending, the BEST way to keep the puck out of the Sabres net is for the forwards, as a group, to be better. Quinn has improved a lot since earlier in the year but he still loses a lot of battles. Peterka needs to improve in this area. Cozens is a very good player overall, but anyone who thinks he is a good 2-way player needs to really watch an isolation of his game as he is awful without the puck in the back two zones. I'm glad Krebs has gotten better, because in the first month of the season he may have been the single worst player in the league without the puck (he got better but still has a lot of work to do). But you know what? That is what you get with most young guys. When you have talent that was taken in the first round, it usually is for offensive ability, and the play without the puck must be learned though experience, and with some guys that is a gradual, year-to-year process, not something that happens over the course of a few games. Now, the young guys on this team will hopefully get better by next year, but again, 'better' doesn't mean good. And if you are hoping to add some other new guys to this team (Kulich, Savoie, or any of the other young guys), you are going to be dealing with even more bad play in your own end. Coaching is what is going to make those guys progress eventually, but no coach is going to turn them into D-zone stars overnight. If you add 2 or 3 of your young guys to this roster, D-zone coverage is likely to be worse next year by the forwards than it is now. Therefore, goaltending becomes critical. You give this team average-to-above average goaltending next year that is consistentent, they are likely making the playoff.

I don't think you fire him now. Give him a few more tools to work with. When the Sabres get better goaltending, then figure that into the results. See how this team responds next year to the finish this year. If the wheels are still falling off next year at this time, then you think about it.

I only have one fanatics product...replica Coyotes jersey. Its fine, no problems. Wear it often, it gets thrown in the wash and dryer with a variet of other stuff...dozens and dozens of times now. Looks brand new and its pretty comfortable.

I became a Sabres fan as a really young kid (probably before even a Bills fan) in the 1980's and I just assumed they were always good enough to be in the playoffs. I never even considered the team missing the playoffs. (even though it happend 2 times, that was 2 playoff misses and 19 playoff appearances over 21 seasons) As a one time expansivion franchise, 'small market' franchise, going through bankruptcy, the Sabres played 40 seasons under those conditions: -29 out of 40 seasons making the playoffs. -33 of those 40 seasons having 50% or more of all available points in a season. -11 of those 40 seasons having at least 60% of available points (over a 100 point pace in todays 82 game schedule) and that was before the 'loser point' was available in over time. -Longest streak without playoffs was 3 in a row. -Yes, it was easier to make the playoffs back then, but had a streak of 11 seaons in a row and one of 8 seasons in a row of playoff appearances, Since the 2011-2012 season (Pegula's first full season as ownership), where the sole existence for the franchise was to win a cup, where money would not longer be an issue to acheiving that goal: -If they don't make it this year, it will be 0 out of 12 seasons of missing the playoffs. -This season might be the 2nd one with over 50% of the points, if they hold on to that this year. -0 seaons with over 60% of avialable points. Not even close one time to this. -12 years in a row, perfect record of not making the playoffs. -7 different coaches in those 12 seasons. Each one with a losing record in the last 12 years. 4 different GM's 2 first overall picks, 2 2nd overall picks. They made 10 selections in the top 10 in the draft. We have gone over and over whether it is Terry's fault for the Sabres problems. Most say yes, some say no, some say as an owner he needed a learning curve, etc, etc. What stands out is they actually were one of the top franchises in winning percentages and playoff appearances while operating under that 'low budget'.....and the moment that we all rejoiced that a 'rich owner' was taking over the team and saying money would be spent to acheive the goals, we have probably seen the worse stretch by any team in the history of professional American sports that reached this length. (modern times, for myself speaking in the last 40 or so years.)

I think that pretty much is it. Some more detail" -Hope for a heathy (healthier) back end (Dahlin must be playing hurt, he is a different player the last few weeks.) Healthy Samuelsson, add one, maybe 2 quality mid pair guys back there. -Continued offensive end growth by Peterka and Quinn. -Better D-zone and neutral-zone-without-the-puck play by the young forwards. Peterka, Krebs, Cozens, VO (if he is playing)...all must have a full season of much better play without the puck. I think the shortcomings of this team are obvious and not too difficult to address. I'm not overly worried. This team could have been better right now had more been done this past offseason, but I don't think that was 'part of the plan'. The plan was to put this young team together on the ice and see what they can (and can't) do. I also think the plan always was THIS offseason coming up was when you start addressing needs in a bigger way. Hopefull that is what we'll see.

I didn't say the Sabres PK was decent, I said it was decent WHEN Girgensons, Jost and Samuelsson our out there. Not overal, but when they get the bulk of the PK time. I personally think Girgeonsons is the best PK on this team, but Jost is decent also, hence why I wondered why he was taken out of the lineup unless he is hurt.

Colorado all of a sudden on a 5 game win streak. 2 games in hand on everyone above them in the standings. If, IF they win those 2 games (more likely that when we say that about the Sabres doing it), they would be leading their division, 2nd place in the conference, and only 2 points behind the conference lead. Maybe they were just having that post Stanely Cup hangover early in the year, and now they are coming on as being just as good as the Easter Conference teams....with liklely a much easier path (and one that might wear them down less) to the cup than anyone coming out of the east. Of their next 5 upcoming games they have Chicago, Arizona twice and Anaheim.

I agree with most of what you said, with the exception of Cozens. Cozens D-zone coverage is awful. He leaves his man often, chases pucks and leaves the slot open where he should have coverage, etc. Its easy to think he SHOULD be a good 2-way forward because he forechecks aggressively and hits, but he is really, really bad in terms of D-zone coverage. The part I agree with you on is that it isn't just him, the whole group of forwards is really bad. And as for the PK, I'm not sure Jost isn't hurt or something, because the PK is decent when you have Jost, Girgensons, and Samuelsson out there. They are the 3 best PK'ers on the team. I'm not sure why Jost is out of the lineup and his 4th line/PK role.

10 games ago, the Sabres were well within the wildcard race, with some fans feeling confident they would make it in. 10 games later, the Sabres have 6 points in their last 10 games. Only 3 other teams in the league have less points over their last 10 than the Sabres. Its been a tough schedule, but this is the opposite of 'stepping up' when under pressure to make the playoffs.

A lot of us were burying Tampa, saying they were done, the Sabres had a chance to catch them, if the played the Leafs they were going to get swept, etc, etc. The Sabres aren't catching them, they may still lose to the leafs, but they now won 3 in a row, including back to back over New Jersey, and are within 3 points of Toront in the standings again.

I agree with most of that, if not all of it, and I'm ok with it. you NEED some extra help on the backend, but most of your expected growth should come from within/additonal development of the young guys.

Well, we have had a few games now. I'm not seeing much yet. Players who seem to be much better on the Sabres? -Jost. Cost you nothing. Decent PK. Has hands and skating ability, chips in a goal here and there. -Girgeonsons. Best PK on the team. Motor guy. Part of a 4th line that at times pins the puck in deap and does a great job as a 4th line. -Hinestroza. Guy is fast and it shows when he plays. He may not be noticeable for games, but then he chips in some offense and actually scores meaningful goals. -VO. As much as people don't like him, the number of goals he scores, no matter the rest of his game, blows away anything Greenway is giving you. Maybe he has taken a step back and the reason the Sabres traded for him is to get him in a position to get back to where he was. Maybe this year the step back he as taken is SO great because he is banged up. Who knows. I'm not impressed by anything at all, nothing really stands out, but get him a month or two off after the season, get him into Buffalo for camp, and lets see what he shows in camp.

I'd much rather see him in Rochester, but as others have said, he had a little leverage here. He can be 'with the team', not playing much but collecting an NHL contract, not riding a bus in the minors but staying in first class hotels in the NHL, and even if they told him he won't play much he can 'enjoy' those things while he probably gets some time off from the grind and workload in college, time off he may need (mentally if not physically). Bring him to camp next year of course, and if he blows everyone away as the best goalie he makes the team. If he doesn't....even if he is at the same level as everyone else...then he goes to Rochester. Honestly, I'm fine with it either way, i'm fine with them pushing him/rushing him A BIT, but if he is clearly not ready then do not rush him that much where he is put in a bad situation.

I was looking at the stat sheet earlier in the year and thinking the same thing. Sure other guys were/are also getting a ton of minutes. But 25-26 minutes per game as the norm? Just too much. He averages almost 1.5 minutes of ice time per game on the PK. FIND SOMEONE ELSE to take all those minutes. Yes, Dahlin, once he gets the puck may be really good at getting it out of the zone (if he is? I assume he is but not sure actually), but on your PK, get me a big, tall guy with a long reach who just plays his spot and when there is a loose puck can fire it down the ice. I don't need Dahlin for that. I'd MUCH rather have with zero PK time and sit him on the bench for PK and rest and expend zero energy. Getting a better 3rd pair will probably help. You have Power, and if you think he is going to be great then you don't need that "one" guy on the back end to get 24 minutes of ice time. You have "two" guys that now you can give 22-23 minutes. Next year, start doing that.

I have said over and over on this board that the Sabres are not out of the race. If you can 'get back in it' then you are never out of it. This team has had winning streaks all year and I always said to myself..if they run of 3 in a row or get 7 out of 8 points are they 'back in it'? If the answer was yes (and it has always been yes) then to me they aren't out of it. After yesterday, while they are technically still in it....yesterday's game for me is the game where I now consider them out of it. If they win 4 in a row will I be wrong? yes, but in my mind, I'm not thinking playoffs anymore and the philly game did it for me. With that said, I'm not all that upset. This team seems to have hit some kind of wall. But I think you have one of the top 10 first lines in the league. I think Dahlin has been playing bumped up (all those games were he got 25+ minutes early in the year WITH a couple minor injuries are starting to show), but when rested and healthy I think Dahlin may be the best 2 way D-man in the league. I'm anxious to see Power get better. Cozens is taking a big step forward, Mitts is 'kinda' settling into some kind of roll, and Peterka and Quinn are having respectable years. The important players on this team are under 30, many/most under 25 so that bodes well for next season. Seeing this team add Levi and (hopefully) Johnson, seeing what will happen with adding a couple guys for the Back end....that will make the offseason exciting for me. As I'm writing this it is coming across to me that the Sabres seaons just ended and there are no games left. Again, I don't think they will anymore but they still can run off a streak and get into the playoffs, but for having accepted this team doesn't deserve the playoffs yet, overall I'm OK with the direction. I keep looking at New Jersey, they got their young guys. They played them a lot of ice time. Those young guys made a lot of mistakes and sometimes looked not that good. The team floundered for a few years. They finished behind the Sabres last year and if you look at their roster and moves, you could be saying the same things the Sabres fans are (why aren't they making any moves, the young guys aren't taking as big of a step forward as we want, etc). But then when management was happy with the team, despite the lack of patience of the fans, they made those one or two moves AND the young guys took that final step forward and they went from a team that finished below the Sabres last year and has less total points than the Sabres in the last 4 years to one of the better teams in the league.

I agree on all of that. I looked at Philly, the entire D-unit (especially Risto), how they play, and figure if the Sabres played them in a 7 game series, Buffalo should sweep that team. Then in January, Philly beat a pretty healthy (at the time) Buffalo 4-0, putting almost 40 shots on Anderson I think. I blocked out most of that game form my memory, but what I do recall is Jost was probably the best player on the ice for the team.

a 91 to 92 point pace has been what the projections for the Wildcard in the east have been for quite some time. I posted a few times, but in December it was 91 points. A day in January I looked it it and it was 91 points. A few weeks ago it looked to be between 91-92 points. And as of this morning? 91-92 points. So whether the Sabres are 'out of it or not', the easiest way to look at it is..how likely is it they can finish the season with 91 or 92 points?

Jost on a pace for 12 goals and 20 assists over 82 games with the Sabres. I'd sign up for a 4th line with him, Zemgus if you resign them. You get a respectable 4th line and I really want Zemgus back for the PK. He is the best Sabres forward by far there on a team that is lacking on the PK.

Can I stop getting blasted over and over seeing and hearing commercials for gambling sites, and phone numbers to call to see what free medicade/medicare/government programs benefits I may be eligible for? Enough already.

For what was traded for him it's hard to expect him to be more than a 3rd or 4th liner. The question is, can he turn into a very good 3rd or 4th liner? If so, great. If not, then he's just another guy.

Don't know if Miller will be starting game one....or if so will he be at 100%. White wasn't that good when he came back...hopefully an off-season of healing gets him back to his old form. A healthy Poyer and Hyde are good....but part of me was/is ready to move on and take that small step back to get youger/faster/more athletic back there.

-So Minnesota.....Have only lost 1 of their last 16 game in regulation (and that was a one goal loss to Colorado). -The Kings have the 5th best record in the NHL since the first of the year, and are the best in the West since then. -Look at the last 10 games that every team has played and the most points in their last 10 games are all Western Conference teams up top (Min, L.A. Dallas, Nashville, Vegas) I know the West is a lot weaker than the East this year, but I'm looking forward to the playoff series in the west, just becasue I have NO IDEA at how how it is all going to shake out.