kooshari

Use a decent VPN on your laptop or phone and it won’t matter. Costs a few bucks a month.

Soooo ... has Ralph been canned yet?

Apologies if this has already been discussed. Who were Okposo's linemates in NY over the past few seasons? Trying to find out if much of his production was due to playing with Tavares or not.

Craig Ramsay too I believe. Any others?

What's done is done. No point getting worked up about some quotes from an ex player. He stunk while he was here and now he's embarrassed about it and looking to justify it. And he's partially right - the org has sucked for years. Let's carry on.

Well, I don't know about anyone else here but I'd like to apologize for being so ignorant. I thought I was knowledgeable - thanks to you now I realize I should've dedicated more free time to reading everything I could possibly find on the history of Buffalo hockey. How lucky to have you here pointing out the ignorance of others. Thanks again.

Hawerchuk played one of the points on the PP, right? Props to the OP for opening up an interesting topic.

Actually, he gets a lot of POTENTIAL in return.

I'm wondering why some posters mention Hodgson as a kid with some leadership potential. Beyond wearing a C or A on past teams, why is that? My impression was that his work ethic and overall character had been questioned at least a time or two in Vancouver and maybe even in Buffalo. So is it just wishful thinking by some posters, or did he start to show some real leadership this season? I'm not being snarky. Truly just curious if people know something about him that I don't. Thanks.

I say Carolina. They seem to have moments of very good fortune.

The anemic power play, questionable heart and leadership, chemistry, etc. all might be factors, but IMO this team's main problem since about 2007 is the lack of top tier talent. I'd argue that Vanek and Miller would look elite playing with other elite talent. Besides those two, they have 2nd line talent (Pom, CH, Ehrhoff, etc.) playing on the top line, 3rd line talent (stafford, Ennis) on the 2nd line, etc. So ideally they'd get a #1 center, #1 winger, and #1 dman during the offseason. That ain't gonna happen of course, but you gotta start somewhere. So I'm hoping they finish near the bottom, get a high pick, and draft one of those needs. Of course, that doesn't look likely anymore, but oh well. It's too bad b/c, from the fans' perspective, it's a good (shortened) season to tank.

I'm right there with you. After the 6-1 debacle against the Habs, I vowed not to watch or listen to even a second of Sabres hockey until this team is doing more than just huffing and puffing for an 8th place finish. In retrospect I'm very happy with my decision. I'm in my late 30s, grew up in the Southtowns, and have LOVED the Sabres since I was 11 or 12. My biggest thrill was sitting in the blues with my uncle. Fans who are my age and older have stuck with this team through a lot of lows: countless 1st round losses in the 80s (when making the playoffs was nearly a given), the disappointment of the Pierre Turgeon era, more playoff futility with LaFont and Mogilny, losing free agents when they hit the market, and so on. We also enjoyed the highs of the Hasek/Peca and Drury/Briere years, while ultimately still feeling the sting of coming so close only to come up empty. In short, lots of disappointment with some good times sprinkled in just to keep us salivating. Since we fans have known underacheiving Sabres teams before, why does now feel so much worse? Expectations. The Sabres shed their underdog, small-market status when they landed an owner with deep pockets who loved the team like a diehard fan and talked the talk boldly and unequivocally. But then he inexplicably failed to walk the walk when it came to R&R, even after seeing them at work up close for a season-plus. Now I think many of us can't help but feel burned by Pegula. We've dealt with plenty of lows over the years and Pegula was supposed to be committed to turning things around. Instead, last time I saw his team play, they looked just pathetic. Worse than the Golisano teams that came before them. Now, for the first time ever, part of me actually enjoys seeing another Sabres loss when I check the boxscores the next day. I never, ever thought I'd say that. I can picture Pegula and co. squirming in their chairs, trying to preach on about excellence and boldness, yet wondering why all their lavish overspending hasn't done the trick. Eventually they'll wake up out of their stupor and start making some hard decisions. In the meantime, I think we longtime fans have earned the right to abandon this team until they show that they actually do have a pulse.