mjd1001

I like to re-read this article on occasion....its centered on the Bills but I think it really applies to the Sabres, they picked the wrong team. It seems to me that a large part of the issue with the team is just being cheap. Not signing veterans. Not wanting to pay veterans long term deals. Forcing your brand new coach to keep the old assistants....etc. Its a few years old..and coming out of Covid, but it would explain a lot about the Sabres... https://sports.yahoo.com/bills-ownership-kim-pegula-toxic-culture-125825880.html In a lengthy story on Monday, Tim Graham of The Athletic Buffalo detailed an increasingly “toxic culture” at Pegula Sports and Entertainment (PSE), Terry and Kim Pegula’s organization that includes the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, with current and former employees describing the atmosphere within the company. Pegula, from her home in Boca Raton, Florida, met with employees from multiple PSE departments via video conference. She told them to prepare for not just increased scrutiny on budgets, but for tough times and sacrifices. As she spoke, Pegula had a video presentation, which included the slide, “Pegula Family Goals.” There were three headers listed: “Win Championships,” “Sustainability” and “Return on Investment.” As she discussed return on investment, Pegula said it also meant maintaining the family’s lifestyle, current and former employees recounted to Graham. Vice presidents who circulated the printed slide presentation to different departments reiterated that maintaining the Pegula family lifestyle is a primary organizational goal.

its cheaper for Terry that way.

Please, if you make a change bring in someone from outside the organization, and let them clean out the current hockey department and start over. Adams is head of the current 'room', but they all have input into decisions. If you are going to start over, START OVER and stop forcing the 'new guy' to keep most of what is around and below him. I think the worst case scenario is they move Adams out of the GM role but keep all of the other same guys in the hockey department and not much changes.

Peterka fans on a shot earlier, missed a few feet wide, and now shots it way over and outside from only about 15 feet out. What has happened to his accuracy?

If the Sabres were even a decent team, Zucker's production as of late would probably be a nice story worthy of discussing around the league. A 30+ year old Journeyman who has only scored 80 or so goals in the past 8 years of his career, is not 2nd on his team in scoring and on pace for a 30 goal season. But with this team, whatever!

I'm of the opinion still that they don't need to reset everything. A few strategic changes in the roster, maybe the front office, a change or two to the coaching staff. The issue is, they REFUSE to do even that. This team needs SOMETHING, and the owner makes a special trip to tell the team "no changes". You can't fix things, you can't change things, if you do NOTHING.

You know how they have a list that comes out online every once in a while, or in magazines....the 'worst jobs'? Jobs you don't want to have? Sabres PR department. Sabres ticket sales. Got to be toward the top of the list.

What if your team can't do either? Is there another choice?

I think Cozens had gotten a LITTLE better at that stuff the past month, but he's still bad. He makes plays like that almost every game still. Which is why, if he doesn't change, the team might be better off without him. In many games he hurts the team more than he helps.

2 years ago, last year, I would not have wanted Eichel to score against the Sabres for sure. Cringed at the thought. Now, I really don't care.

Its when Terry started to get cheap. The surgery was successful, and odds were that it would be. But from what I heard, the sabres had some kind of insurance on the contract, and the insurance didn't cover that surgery. So Pegula didn't want Eichel around to get his surgery of choice....because if things went bad he didn't want to be on the hook for any of the contract. (or something like that, I heard an interview with Friedman discussing it a few years ago)

Quinn with a shot on net! Of course, it was right into the center of the goalie's chest. He took so long to take it that the goalie had time to move out to him and get set, and saw the shot clearly. Basically it was a wasted shot. But the first one in almost 4 full games for him. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing he actually got that SOG that way.

I haven't said this all year until tonight about this team... This game is boring

Well, the Owner made a special flight and speech in front of the team, and I'm sure the coaching staff and GM, and he told them "no changes, its on you".

This is now well into the 4th game in a row since Quinn recorded a single shot on net.

22 - 7 shots for the game, wow, thats bad especially since you had a PP and you haven't been on the PK all game yet.

I like Dahlin and I have said, like others, over and over he is the best player on this team. But his first period might have been the worst I have seen from him that I can remember in 2-3 seasons.

I cannot think the coaches are telling them to play that way. Maybe they already have tuned out this staff, but the play by the defense in the first period wasn't just the worst I have seen all year, it is beyond logic. I like UPL a lot too, I think he can be a top 10 goalie in this league. But he is having a bad start to the year. I think this team would be in a playoff spot now if nothing changed but 2 things: This team had a better 2nd line, and UPL played even half way to how he was playing last year.

I haven't noticed him this game, but I thought the last 2 games he played a bit better than he did earlier in the year. I may have missed him making some bad plays in the first today though, I spent way too much time watching the replays of how bad the goals allowed where.

I see what you are saying, Peterka's guy was the one who scored and he looked to not be putting effort in to cover him. But look at Dahlin, he just lets his guy go right by him, totally uncovered to the front of the net. And even if that guy didn't score, if Dahlin would have stayed with him, he would have been in the same area as the goal scorer and maybe prevented the puck from going there. Look at the guy Dahlin is skating with over the blue line, and he just releases him to go toward the net totally uncovered. 1.5 seconds later the guy he was skating with is all alone. Byram is kinda with his guy. JJ is at least NEAR his guy (although trailing him). Dahlin just releases totaly? That play cannot happen at any level of hockey.

On the 2nd goal I watched the replay from both angles. Dahlin and Byram look like they are playing keystone kops out there. They have no sense of where each other are. Its like they are playing with each other for the very first time without a practice. Not quite as bad as the first goal, but not far behind. I cannot explain their positioning or play at all on either goal. On both goals, probably the most confused I have seen 2 Sabres D-men play all year, same two guys.

On that first goal, I have never seen Dahlin do anything like it. He's one of the 2 d-men going back, he appears to be aware of the situation. He leaves his side of the ice, seemingly KNOWINGLY leaves his man free to skate right in front of the net, leaving him wide open while having zero chance of getting to the puck near the blue line. Again, never seen him do anything like that and it was a total 100% lack of awareness on the ice. Its worse than that, its not a lack of awareness, he was trailing the play and saw his guy, and he also saw there was no one else back in his end. Maybe MAYBE him and Byram were trying to switch sides, but you don't switch sides while leaving someone uncovered. It might be the most puzzling goal allowed I have seen this year.

I agree with you on being good or better NOW rather than later. Byram I would love to keep here, but does he want to stay for a reasonable contract? If they can keep him here I'd much rather have him rather than trading him. Cozens I'm just about done with. He is on the verge of being 'addition by subtraction'. Not quite, but, as flawed as this team is, I think of Cozens, Tuch, Zucker...and I can say "at times they are the reason the team wins games'. My bottom 6 I don't need that from as much. Cozens has to be a top 6 guy on this team...but I don't ever see him as a reason they win games. He is not much more than a 3rd line level scorer. He doesn't set up or make is linemates better in my eyes. He is a liability defensively with his decision making. Even when he does score, he might be the 'least clutch' guy on the team (How many game winners do you remember him scoring or setting up?) And he is awful on the PP (he's out there for ever Powerplay but has a total of 11 pp goals over his 5 year career). I guess I'm 100% ready to move on from him, I do not see him helping the team hardly ever, and I do see him make critical mistakes that help them lose on occasion.

Agree. 4th line as a role, but to me its basically 2 things: Don't be scored on too much wen you are out there...and chip in an occasional goal. If you look around the league, most teams, including good teams, have their 4th line chip in at most mid 20's for goals, but some good teams have their 4th line score as little as 12-15 for the entire year for the whole line. The Sabres line is on pace for the mid-teens in goals, and they are are just slightly negative players. They certainly aren't driving play, but they are a typical, middle-of-the-road 4th line. And as far as McLeod goes, I don't think hes a 2nd line Center (at times I wish he was given that role/ice time) but he to me is clearly the 3rd line center. When I look around the league at most teams, the average/typical 3rd liner probably has 6 goals (most are between 4-8), so his goal scoring is what you expect from a 3rd liner. I know we WANT more, but that is what you expect. This front office's biggest issue was not addressing a 2nd line. (and some below-average goaltending that very few of us expected coming into the year)

It does vary from region to region, but I think, on average, the 'coldest' week of the year in the northeast is the 2nd or 3rd week of January. In Buffalo its January 19 Chicago January 23 Boston, January 25 Nashville, January 17 Then you have some cities that are a lot different: Seattle its December 23. By early Feb temps are 3-4 degrees warmer there on average St. Louis January 7 Denver December 30 Salt Lake City December 31 Calgary Jan 3 So if its in the Northest or Great lakes area, Late January, Early Feb might be the best. But if the game is out west, Feb is WAY too late,is been getting warmer there for weeks. Right around New years is the coolest time of the year.