mjd1001

Benson seems to have games where he gets 2nd line minutes (16+ minutes per game), and other games where he is 12 or under...or under 10 like he did in Colorado. I wonder why. Yeah, he is young, and Ruff has spoken highly about him, but I wonder if there are just times where he is making bad plays, not being in proper position to allow for him having frequent games with lower ice time. Its a small sample size, but he is 3rd on the entire team in even strength goals per 60. Tage is WAY out in front of everyone, but after him, Benson is right there with anyone else on the team in terms of scoring per minutes of ice time.

The other thing is....I think Friedman speculated about this deal, to my knowledge not much has come out of vancouver as a legit rumor they want to deal him. Maybe they do, but maybe they are comitted to keeping him there and there is no deal to be made anyway.

I don't have as much of a problem with the moves made vs the ones NOT made. Not getting an older, top 4 D-man. Not moving heaven and earth to get a 2C. Those are the issues. As far as the 2nd line, its not just Cozens, its the ENTIRE 2nd line. Cozens should be a wing or a 3rd liner. Quinn and Peterka should have the option of moving between a 2nd and 3rd line depedning on their production. Putting in INK Cozens as a 2c and Peterka and Quinn as 2nd liners, mabye 1st liners, that is the issue to me. Mcleod is fine for a 3rd line center for the most part. Would I LIKE 2-3 more goals out of him, sure but not a big deal. 4th liners, they are ok as 4th liners. I can't even say I have a problem with Ruff. He doesn't have an NHL level 2nd line, he has no good vets on defense, and he is getting below avearage goaltending. Oh, and he didn't get to pick his assisants either. Not addressing the 2nd line is the single biggest issue with this offseason for me.

Here is an interesting stat. It involved Plus/minus. I know +/- is not a perfect stat, but I do think it does mean something especially when comparing players on your own team to others on your own team: Sabres Forwards: Quinn, Cozens, and Peterka combined: -30. The other 13 forwards who have played combined: +5 Sabres D-men: Samuelsson and Power combined: -16. The other 7 D-men combined: +13

After scoring 4 goals in 5 games to appear to 'come out' of whatever slump he was in (and took 13 shots on goal in those 5 games), Quinn now hasn't even had a single shot on net in his last 3 games despite 15+ minutes of ice time in each of them and time on the first power play unit. I really am struggling to figure him out.

The more I look at the numbers and the more I say during games "he needs to make that save", the more I agree with you. I like UPL, I think he can be a good goaltender so that is where I disagree. But this year he has been below average and WELL below the level he played at for the last 3-4 months last year. If you were getting games/saves out of UPL like he gave you the 2nd half of last year, a lot of the other problems on this team look a lot better.

I don't think they HAVE to trade one of them. I won't be surprised if they do though. I like both of them long term. I think Power will be a very good D-man but its going to take a couple years. I think Byram is a better D-man right now than Power. I just wonder if he wants to re-sign here long term, or what it will take to get him to sign.

Quinn is the biggest mystery to me on this team. I am baffled. I cannot even come up with a concept as to what has happened to him. An offseason injury we didn't know about that he is playing through MIGHT explain things, but the team has stated a few times there is nothing to that at all. One thing is for sure. He IS avoiding the front of the net unlike anyone else on this team, unlike anyone else in the league probabably, and unlike he has in his first couple of years. I know I just posted this a few days ago in this very thread but... -compared to other Sabres wingers on how much they are going to the front of the net and getting shots off from there this year: Benson has 23 high danger shots(46.9% of his shots). Peterka has 18 (24.7%). Tuch has 22 (26.8%), Zucker has 30 (44.8%). Quinn? Quinn has 1 (1.8%) -There is probably not a more 'perimeter' top 6/top9 forward in the league now than Quinn. Even Olofsson has 15% of his shots from those areas in front of the net for Vegas this year, and 18% last year for the Sabres. I just have zero clue, zero way to even explain the above. It has to be related to his lack of production, but why is he almost refusing to go to the front of the net anymore and all of a sudden?

I go back and forth on that. Some days I feel that way. Other days I think "One 27-29 year old GOOD vet defensemen.....Swapping out Cozens for a good/responsible 2nd line center that is a playmaker who doesn't make dumb plays away from the puck....and UPL playing at last year's level or a different goalie playing at UPL's last years level" ....and I think they are in a playoff spot right now. Depends on what day you catch me on.

I know you are being sarcastic (I hope, and am pretty sure), but here is the reality of the situation for anyone else who is simply looking at the point totals: 8th place in the Conference is Ottawa at .541 percent of the points (usually by the end of the year the number is even higher but lets go with the low number for now). To take over that 8th spot and get more than .541, the Sabres need to win 11 in a row. No losses, no OT losses/ties. 11 games in a row. Beat Vegas, then Washington, then Ottawa, then Seattle, then Carolina, then Pittsburgh, then Seattle again, then Vancouver, then Calgary, then Edmonton, and then finally beat Boston to win your 11th in a row...they MIGHT move into 8th position for the last wildcard spot.

I'd not. Other than "they aren't doing well under Ruff", I don't see anything he is doing wrong, nothing that I notice that says to me he is 'too old' or 'the game has passed him by'. Over the Pegula ownership, They had a younger Ruff, they had a former COTY retread. A younger/former cup winner. A total outside. To internal promotions. NONE of the worked. The problems with this team are outside of coaching. If ANYTHING I'd like to see what Ruff would do as coach if he is allowed to actually bring in his own assistant coaches. They guys he works with side by side...the guys who work directly with the players...remember, not his. Pegula/Adams told him "These your your coaches/co-workers, make it work"

Another way to look at it that I don't think has been brought up. 256 playoff series have been played since the Sabres last won a series. 256 times a team has left the ice shaking the hands of another team and moving on to the next round since the Sabres did that. 256 times the national media, sports media, fans have thought about a playoff matchup since the last time the Sabres won a series.

I would probably pine for the days/thoughts of what this team could be WITH Dahlin and Thompson and some other strategic moves/signings that they refuse to make.

I don't get trading Tage at all. For how many goals he scores, you are getting a bargain at what you are paying him. Even this year, he is 12th in the league in goals per game played. Over the past 3 years he is 12. Over the plas 4 years he is 12th. And although he gets picked on for his defensive play, I personally don't think he is bad (he makes less costly mistakes than Cozens, for example) and hes actually a good penalty killer.

I'll throw something out there.... If the team doesn't value the 1st overall pick that much, that doesn't mean it still doesn't have value. What you can get NOW for a first round pick might be a fraction of what you can get in the offseason if you WIN the first overall pick (or 2nd or 3rd) and elect to trade it in the offseason.

As usual, it all depends on the return. Keep: Dahlin, Thompson, Tuch, Kulich, Benson (I wasn't a huge fan of Benson, but I'm starting to see what others have seen for a long time). Samuelsson and Clifton I'm close to putting on this list. Samuelsson has been playing a lot better, and if that is who he is, he is a screaming bargain at his deal. Clifton isn't great, but he's good enough for the 3rd pair and one of the only guys who plays physical. Trade/Move: Cozens, Quinn. Not to GIVE them away, but if you get a 'good' veteran back, pull the trigger. I think Cozens play away from the puck has gone from 'negative' to 'neutral', and he is now scoring like a 20 goal guy. But as long as he is here it appears he is a fixture on the 2nd line and on the PP, and that is a negative. The rest of the guys I don't really care too much either way (again, of course depending on the return. I think Power will be good eventually, but its going to take a couple years. Byram Ilke a lot, but what will it take to re-sign him vs what can you get for him? Zucker, looks good now, but if someone offers a LOT at trade deadline (first and prospect OR an already-in-the-NHL younger guy), I think about it.

Another thought regarding the first line and Peterka... Zucker has played well all year, but when you put him with Tage and Tuch, he turns into a scoring machine. Peterka has been up and down, but take him off the line with Tage and Tuch and he kinda disappears. Have we somewhat over-rated Peterka? His production might be a bit less a result of him being a 30-40 goal talent/scorer, and a little more the opportunities he would get with Tage and Tuch?

I agree with most of what you say. I just want to throw out there that this team looks a lot better if your #1 goalie didn't have a save percentage that starts with .8xx...and he wasn't one of the worst in the league this year in high danger save percentage. Yeah, the team has problems, but they shot quality he is facing isn't that much worse (if any worse) than what he faced last year. He is just making a LOT less saves and letting in a LOT more soft goals than he did last year. Maybe the Sabres coaching staff, top to bottom, isn't the best in the league. But a coaching staff can look REALLY good or REALLY bad simply based on goalie play. And right now the Sabres are not getting good goalie play.

So the Sabres had a 3-0 lead....and lost. They took a 4-2 lead 1 1/2 minutes into the 3rd period, knocking out the other teams starting goalie...and lost (only 3 shots the rest of the 3rd on that backup) They took a 5-3 lead with less than 4 minutes in the game...and lost. They had a guy score a hat trick to give them that late 2 goal lead....and lost. They held that 2 goal lead with just 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation...and allowed 3 goals in just over 3 minutes...and lost. Funny thing is, This is NOT EVEN the worst collapse they had against THIS team within 1 month.

It seems like whenever any team changes goalies against the Sabres, they immediately play 3 times better than Buffalo. Its like the strategy against this team should be to start one goalie, and then just make a change at the first stop. You are almost guaranteed to win against Buffalo.

Clifton is the only guy I trust to be physical back. Too bad he's not 3 inches taller and about 20 lbs heavier though.

Why does it seem like when the Sabres are down, they cannot instigate another team to taking bad penalties or just playing dumb. But when the Sabres are up, they are so easily rattled by other teams doing that to them?

UPL needs to get them through the next minute or two.

watching the replay, what was a weak hooking call.

Its very close, but the first angle looks offside.