Curt

Scandella was awful last season by the eye test and fancy stats and any other measure. Scandella this season was good by both the eye test and fancy stats. Funny how that works.

I do (of course) think that McDavid coming to the Sabres would have a major impact, but not as much of an impact as LeBron going to a basketball team. There are a couple reasons for this. One, even the best NHL players play less than half the game, while NBA players regularly play 75%+ of a game. Two, in basketball you can give the ball to your best player on every play and run everything through them almost 100%. In hockey that’s not possible to the same extent. Three, in basketball there is no goalie to stop you when you beat the D. Four, in basketball the best team wins more often than in hockey. It’s less influenced by luck so there is more chance that having that best player will actually lead to W’s.

For these NHL players they are. What’s the difference? NHL players still want to go work at places that they consider good.

I’m certainly not vouching for the culture of the Sabres. I’ve seen things that support the idea that it is not the best. What I’m saying is that there also has been insufficient talent. They have not had the talent that you would consider normal for a playoff team. As far as being below expectations, I guess it depends what you mean by that. This season so far, they have performed about to my preseason expectations, considering the players on the roster. The previous two seasons they did not meet my expectations because in 2018-19 it seemed like they kind of gave up towards the end and in 2017-18 they were inexplicably horrible.

I would say: Because they were not that good before we acquired them. Sheary, Vesey, Sobotka, and anyone else except Skinner (and Okposo before his brain injuries) was not a top-6 forward before or after they were acquired. They were and are all 3rd line quality players at best.

Yeah, at the deadline, teams that are looking to buy are probably not trading a F for a D. They are usually going to be trading away futures to add something for the playoffs. The hockey trades are usually offseason deals.

Sure, it’s not IMPOSSIBLE for any team to make the playoffs. Buffalo could have been a playoff team this season, but knowing their talent level, was it expected? Does Buffalo have the talent of a normal playoff team? My answer to both questions is, no. Columbus is exceeding expectations. Their performance is surprising, unexpected. They are the exception.

Yes, they are certainly exceedingly expectations. I would say their management/coaching is definitely better. I think their overall talent is on par with Buffalo, but is better utilized.

I don’t think he has really had that opportunity this season. Johansson is middle-6, and Skinner has played with him a lot, but that’s it. Skinner has been playing mostly with one middle 6 guy and one bottom 6 guy. When Johansson was out injured, it was Skinner and two bottom 6 guys.

I don’t think it’s a problem. I think it’s mostly just human nature. An excellent basketball player has a much larger impact on their team than an excellent hockey player can, and it’s not even close. So one or two excellent basketball players can go to a bad team and make it good. A couple excellent hockey players can not have quite the same impact.

I saw it on the internet, it must be true! What did Plato ever do to you?

I was just thinking if it had been a big open ice hit or even a boarding and the guy was laying on the ice unconscious and had to be stretchered off, I feel like they would have finished the game. Perhaps the uncertainty and confusion about what was happening, and what was wrong with him added to unwillingness to continue the game.

Before the draft lottery? I would not.

If they can get to 85 points, then that would exceed my preseason expectations. It would also likely mean that they fought through this season until the end. That’s what I want to see.

No thank you! You don’t have to commit long term to 4th line players! This is an amazing line.

Disagree. It’s not a good mindset. ”We aren’t a playoff team, so who cares if we win, let’s beat people up.” A victory does mean something. They need to practice closing out games. I’m tired of watching a 75 point team who collapses in the 2nd half of the season.

How does the dolphin inhale using that thing? Doesn’t seem very ergonomically friendly for the dolphin respiratory setup.

3 piece vest? Seems like a lot of pieces. I usually just get them all in one piece. Who has time to be assembling vests?

Thats dark.

They do get special treatment in the sense that their players are barred from playing in the AHL until age 20. Something that limits the options of playing options for their players and helping them retain some of their best players for longer, which is a financial benefit for the CHL. This restriction isn’t placed on players from the NCAA or Euro leagues.

Listen, I’m not saying that we need to yield to management and blindly follow whatever management does because “they know best” or “they are the pros”. But this is a little presumptuous of you. You “know” Botterill got played because he is inexperienced. You “know” Botterill isn’t smart. Truth is, we don’t know any of this. We can speculate, and in some instances we have evidence of one thing or another, but we rarely know most of the information that goes into making a decision within the Buffalo Sabres organization.

So, my take on this. First. Culture is a thing. Every workplace or family or any other group of people has a culture. It’s just the general set of practices/ how things are generally done/ how situations are generally handled. Some cultures are more conducive to success than others. Second. It’s really hard to establish a culture where everyone pushes each other to be successful when the group lacks the needed tools for success and knows it. Be that a workplace that’s chronically understaffed, lacks the tools needed to do the job, or a hockey team that is consistently lacking in talent and losing a lot of games as a result. It’s hard to stay fully invested when you are consistently let down by a part of your team. For example: depth scoring or goaltending. In the past couple years, I’ve seen the Sabres “quit” to an extent in the 2nd half. Just putting forth a lot of really poor, uninspired performances. I think that is probably a sign of a poor culture. I don’t believe that Botterill has upgraded the roster talent to the extent that it should be expected to be a playoff team. I think that makes it harder to improve the culture, which is a stated goal of the organization. As this season winds down, I’ll be watching for signs that the team culture is improving. Will they have multiple long losing streaks punctuated by dispassionate performances and finish with 70-75 points? Will they keep putting out solid efforts, winning a couple/losing a couple and finish with 85 points? That’s what I’m looking for.

Good players don’t want to come play on terrible teams. If Buffalo was good, plenty of players would like to join the team.

Hmm, interesting. So think NHL teams may start sticking prospects in the AHL for half a season even though they feel that they are NHL ready, in order to preserve an extra year of RFA status. That’s possible.

Hold up. What’s this? Play doh? or Plato the classical age Athenian philosopher? ”Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”