Kruppstahl

I just heard that Skinner is being benched AGAIN and I honestly can't believe that. That's just straight wrong if viewed objectively. If Krueger wanted to make some type of statement or prove a point, he did that last night. Keeping him out again tonight is actually offensive. If Krueger is going to sit the $72 million man, instead of playing him and getting the best out of him, Krueger needs to be fired. Like tomorrow morning.

Being a bit down and going through a tough time period does not equate to clinical depression. The two are nothing alike whatsoever. If Jack was clinically depressed right now, he would probably not be able to play. I think he is physically injured in some nagging way, Ralph knows that, but chose to answer Paul Hamilton's question last night as he did. Why he did that is the confusing part. It functions to throw Eichel under a bus, not shield him.

He was one of the worst Sabres in the game last night. I feel like I saw very specific things that suggest he is injured. He normally skates around with players hanging on his back and it's not problem for him. He hasn't done anything like that lately. He has been getting steered around by defenders which almost never happens. I think there's a lot to suggest he is injured in some way... But then we have Ralph's odd comments after the game saying emphatically that he is not injured and has a confidence problem. It's a weird situation.

Has anyone heard any official statement from the Sabres regarding this? AFAIK they have said absolutely nothing since the NYS govt. announced the new policy. You would think the Sabres and the Governor's office would have been on the same page prior to the announcement, but maybe not! I.E., perhaps the Sabres do not want to let fans in! It certainly seems like that is the case.

"After further evaluation..." So he had a broken arm that required surgery and they missed that the first time around?

Anyone at this forum who is too young to know John Gurtler, consider yourself fortunate. One of the worst play by play guys at the NHL level, probably in history.

I certainly hope the team is prepared to bring in a new coach before trading Eichel! You definitely try a new HC before you trade the franchise. The only reason Ralph is here in the first place is to appease Eichel, bring out the best in him, get him psychologically going in the right direction... If that is not working, it's time to hire Boudreau or Gallant and see how that goes for a while.

I was afraid it was going to be really serious based on McCabe's shouting and reaction on the ice. Not that he was in a lot of pain per se, but that he realized he was seriously hurt and was really frustrated by that. So no surprise to see he's going to be out all this time.

The fact that Ralph said Eichel is not playing hurt does not mean Eichel is actually not playing hurt. Hopefully we all agree to that. If he just "quit on the team" why did he choose to do it now? What's new or different now? I think he's hurt to some degree.

It succinctly shows what we have all felt for a very long time now. The team isn't just bad, they are completely irrelevant. When was the last meaningful game the Sabres played, in which we were trying to WIN (and not lose for draft position)? It would probably have to be some time towards the end of Lindy Ruff's career as HC. That was a while ago!

I agree the Pegulas never learn from their mistakes, but how could anyone else in the organization learn from these mitsakes? No one has kept their job long enough to learn from a bad decision and modify how they do things going forward. With each new regime we start over and get a new blank slate and new learning curve. It's just one more reason why organizational continuity is a so important and why turning over regimes every few years is a recipe for failure. And yet which one of the failed Sabres regimes should have been allowed to remain? None of them! So the spotlight again shines first and foremost on ownership; it's their job to put the right people in the right places to begin with--and then leave them there.

I recall one of his daughters being the big Sabres fan. As you'll recall, early into Pegula's ownership, she developed a habit of leaking inside information out of the organization via social media and they quickly shut her up. Haven't really heard much about her since.

Ralph talks so much BS--he should buy into some of it himself. He's there to bring out the best of the crew he has to work with, not impose his will or style of play on the team. He's done a very satisfactory job of taking a natural 40 goal man and utterly destroying his game. Good job Ralph!

It'll be that way to the end of the season. So now I'm hearing Ralph wants to bench Skinner tonight? Ralph really doesn't like that guy.

PS: For quite a while now, I have chosen to listen to the "other" team's broadcast of the game as RJ and Ray are about as bad as exists in the NHL now. Yesterday I was reminded that they aren't any worse than the pair of Steve Cangialosi and Ken Daneyko in NJ! That pair is just terrible as well. Loved Daneyko as a player but he is about as good as Rayzor as a color guy. The game before, in Washington, it was a treat to listen to Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlan, who are among my favorites. They are so much more technically proficient than RJ and Ray it is ridiculous (at this point in their careers).

I thought the same thing; he should be on the list. There are so many names here that trigger a "yes" it's hard to limit it to 1. But I went with Brian Duff. He actually understands hockey and I give him credit for that, but he is creepy, highly annoying, and *never* says what he is thinking. He just regurgitates politically correct nonsense nonstop. I realize that is sort of part of his job, but... Listen to him as a "guest" on WGR-550 segments; away from the TV air time he sounds like a completely different person, much more realistic, objective, and negative!

Something like this? This is a cool acquisition, though I'm not sure what I would do with such a machine. The refurbishing you speak of would be part of the fun of the purchase for me--but I realize there are limits to what you can probably do on your own. I have no idea who would help you in the WNY area, but I would talk to some of the automotive refurbishment guys. If they are experienced at taking things apart and sandblasting a car or bike or something like that, they can probably do the same with the Bobcat, for example.

The funny thing is that on one hand, yes, this team refuses to consistently go to the front of the net. AND YET there is penalty of any kind, most of the time, for doing so! This is the 2021 version of the NHL! There are not mean and nasty huge D-men trying to break your back with cross checks if you go near the crease, and who will quickly drop their gloves and beat the snot out of you if you press back! Why these players refuse to go to the net is genuine mystery. Reinhart's goal last night (admittedly on the PP) came directly b/c he moved behind the 2 D men and stood right in front of the goalie. Eichel saw him and made a quick pass for a quick deflection and the goal was effectively scored on a "break away" of sorts. Why these guys don't try that constantly is beyond me. I think they just don't like the HC's system. In theory, Jack Eichel loves the HC, but that may now be old information. The team consistently plays like they are trying to get the coach fired, so it's tough not to assume that is the case as a fan watching from the outside. We won the game yesterday b/c we actually came out and played like we wanted to win for the first 2 periods...which almost never happens.

Anyone who would pay money to see them under these circumstances is insane. It's too early right now. Of course, that assumes they are going to let fans attend in the wake of the governor's announcement. As far as I know, the Sabres have said nothing about letting fans in since then!

I don't necessarily disagree with you, and yet they threw darts at a board with the bills and hit a bullseye. If they can do that with McDermott (and moreso Beane IMO, though he was brought in by McDermott) they can do it with the Sabres. At least that is the argument. I remain hopeful that the Pegulas will sell the Sabres and focus their efforts on the Bills, which is an entirely different sort of business model and one that actually works. It also has all the prestige. I think it could make sense for them, but either they are going to do it or they aren't. I don't really know how they would feel about it.

I noticed this the moment the goal was scored as well. It looked very normal to me, but as the type of goal that is scored making it 6-1 with 1:32 left on the clock. You know, the goal that means nothing to the big picture and the players scoring it already know they have lost the game. But as you point out, there was still some decent time left and the gap was 2. My interpretation of it, as it happened, was that we were pretty solidly out-played 5 on 5 the whole night and it was simply the response of players knowing they were going to lose to a better team. The first 5-7 minutes of the 1st period looked pretty good for us, but for the posts we kept hitting. In reality, Washington came out very flat and needed some time to get their legs moving. Once they did, they took over the game and pretty much controlled it thereafter. We definitely would have benefitted from some better puck luck, but what's new? I just made a comment in the other thread about "culture" being an issue in Buffalo. My comments over there relate to your comments here with that half-hearted goal celebration. The entire situation is now bad enough that I don't know how to fix it, or what approach makes the most sense.

The lack of urgency is a huge problem for the entire team. Paul Hamilton has been tuning into this lately and questioning Ralph about it in the post-game PCs. Floating, "fly bys", literally coasting on your skates instead of taking strides, etc... Staal was brought in as some sort of veteran voice in the locker room showing people how to be a pro. Or at least I thought that was the plan. Staal is as big a floater as any of them! This discussion segues into a much broader commentary about what the over-arching problem is. I am not one to believe in "momentum" or "chemistry" or "culture" in sports. Bad players do not perform as well as good players and when the players get better, we will win more. That is sort of how I view it traditionally. But who can argue that there is *no* culture problem in Buffalo? It's like the unspoken word, once you get to Buffalo, is it's OK to give 7/10 and collect a pay check. Guaranteed contracts have created this mess for the league. But there it is. I think we have seen that the new age coddling type of HC isn't the answer any more than the old school disciplinarian. Of the two types, and if neither is going to work, I vote for the latter! At least make these kids work hard for their millions. I do agree that is the plan. It has been the plan since around the time we drafted Reinhart! And the players are good at it! They've gone through quite a few of them now.

First of all, the thread title made me laugh out loud, so thanks for that. Dahlin's development, or lack thereof, is becoming alarming. I think it is safe to say that already, he will *never* be in the discussion for Norris Trophy candidate. He's just not that caliber of player. Is there time for things to change? Yes, he's still young...but I don't see it happening. He's starting to remind me of Tyler Myers--we were all waiting for him to settle down and get back to the business of becoming elite. At a certain point, you realized it was never going to happen.

We are now with the Sabres where we were for nearly 20 years with the Bills: waiting for a change in ownership, and knowing nothing is going to improve significantly until that happens. The financial picture for this team is not good and Pegula has the Bills to focus on. I keep hoping that if things stay bad, he'll just sell the team. That is the path forward for Sabres fans IMO.