TXSabresFan

Ha it’s no worry. Just my perspective. I’m sure it very well could be different if I was a lifelong Sabres fan.

I’m a pretty new hockey fan and am still learning the ins and outs of it. The situation the Sabres are in right now is eerily familiar to another team I’m a fan of. I’ve lived in Houston my entire life and have been a lifelong Astros fan. It’s well known by now that the Astros purposely stripped down the team, built through the draft and shrewd acquisitions and endured several years of bad baseball. They had a painful history very similar to that of the Sabres and fans were rightfully upset with the fact that the new GM and new ownership were purposefully stripping the team down and rebuilding. There were great draft picks that have become the foundation of the Astros 2017 Championship team and their future. For the Sabres that can very well be Eichel, Reinhart if he puts it all together, Dahlin, Mittelstadt and whoever they get with their 1st round picks next year. There were plenty of times where the Astros traded some of the most promising and talented players on an otherwise awful team. They knew that they needed to rebuild from the ground up and that those players weren’t going to be around by the time the team was actually ready to compete. Fans weren’t always happy with the returns of those trades. Heck, several of those trades didn’t necessarily materialize the way that management would have liked. I guess what I’m trying to get at is that there was all the reason in the world to disagree with some of the moves they made, but in the end, their decision to strip it down and build a great locker room culture paid off in a big way. They wouldn’t have won the World Series if it weren’t for the decision to be a cheap team for several seasons. I don’t see any reason why that can’t work for the Sabres. Eichel, Reinhart, Dahlin, Mittelstadt, Guhle and Co. can very well be the future Altuve’s, Correa’s, Springer’s and Bregman’s so to speak. Not all rebuilds go according to plan. From what I can tell there’s been multiple failed “rebuild” attempts in Buffalo over the past decade. But maybe this will finally be the one that changes the history of the franchise.

I've lived in Houston my entire life and I really do believe the city would prove to be a viable home to a NHL team. There's a large amount of Houstonians who are Northern transplants and would gladly attend NHL games in Houston. Yes, Dallas and Houston are very different. But when it comes to being a "sports town", Houston is much more of one than Dallas. As long as a team (let's say the Coyotes) that relocated to Houston had a semi-decent level of success during the first 5 or so years in Houston, they would have no problem sustaining and growing a viable fan base.

Alright, so I live in the Houston area and have been more involved with watching this Astros this summer than I have been with paying attention to the Sabres. I've seen the additions we've made (Scandella, Pominville, Beaulieu and Antipin) and the (hopefully steal of the draft) Casey Mittlestadt. Obviously Mittlestadt won't be in Buffalo this season, but what is the projected lineup looking like right now? Basically I know about the additions the team has made but I don't know how that affects the lineup.

At this point I don't think it's realistic to expect this team to earn a playoff spot or even come within a few points of a playoff spot. That said, I don't think it hurts at all to sell off some guys that can provide value to other teams. Get some possible returns for a few guys and set yourself up for the future by trading off some bad contracts and guys that realistically won't be a part of the future.

I appreciate the tips! This forum definitely has helped my overall knowledge of the team. Here's to hoping for some good years of hockey ahead!

I actually went on a mission trip to UB and Buff State with a group from a college ministry I'm a part of this past Spring. While we were there we were able to go to the Sabres vs. Carolina game where Eichel scored in OT right as OT was about to win. I had been to some Stars games but none of them compared to the fans in Buffalo and the excitement of that game. So since then I've been paying more and more attention to the team. This year a few buddies and I are doing a fantasy hockey league so that's helped me learn about more players and kinda make me want to learn more about the Sabres especially. It's definitely been a lot of fun getting into hockey and watching the Sabres!

Shoot. Yeah I forgot to factor Vegas into it. We'll definitely have to see how the luck plays out. I definitely wouldn't mind a shot at getting Hischier with a top 2-3 pick

nhllotterysimulator.com allows you to simulate the draft lottery outcome as many times as you would like. Took a little time and simulated it 100 times. As of right now, the Sabres would have the 4th highest lottery odds behind the Avalanche, Coyotes and the Jets. Out of 100 simulations, the Sabres won the 1st pick 14 times (2nd to Avalanche's 26 times). They won the 2nd pick 8 times (tied for 5th most with the Islanders). And they won the 3rd pick 9 times (tied with the Stars, Red Wings and Coyotes for 4th most). Overall, it played out like the odds would suggest. The Sabres won a top 3 pick the 4th most of any team with 31/100. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out and if we get some lottery luck when/if that time comes.

I know that a poor end to the rest of the season would be tough to watch. BUT... I do think the potential of acquiring a top 2 pick would be a real positive. The idea of possibly adding Hischier gives so much more to look forward to for the future. My philosophy is, if you're gonna miss the playoffs and have a crappy year you might as well make it count. Missing the playoffs at the end of this season would be made worse if they wound up with a pick around 8-10. Picking in the top 3 at least gives some more hope. Just my thoughts on it

That makes a lot of sense. Appreciate the explanation. Who are some guys out there that you all would like to see the Sabres go after if they are to fire Byslma?

I'm a very new Sabres fan but have loved watching the team and learning more about them. Growing up in the South I never was exposed to hockey so I'm very much still learning the ins and outs of the game and what to be looking for while watching a live game. That being said, watching the Sabres offensively seems to be so boring and painful at times. There doesn't seem to be much flow to the offense and they don't seem to consistently transition through the neutral zone and create opportunities on the offensive end like some other teams do. But, as a new hockey fan, I'm just now able to understand this. So, what really is it about Byslma that makes him a bad coach? By putting it in very basic terms for a new hockey fan that doesn't yet understand a ton, what is his offensive style and what kind of style would you prefer instead?

I'm a pretty new Sabres fan. I've lived in Texas my whole life but for the past few months I've really been getting into Sabres hockey. From everything I've read and researched, the guys I would want are Hischier, Tippett or Makar. Seems that this team really needs some help on defense. I've got a few questions though as a new hockey fan. 1. What's the average success rate on top 10 picks? Is it closer to the MLB draft where the top 10 can be a complete crap-shoot or to the NFL where a decent amount of top 10 picks wind up making some kind of relatively useful production during their career? 2. How does this draft class (specifically the top 10) compare to the past couple years? Are any of these guys Eichel, Reinhart, Matthews or Marner caliber? 3. How common is it for a guy to be drafted top 10 and play significant time in the NHL the very next season? 4. What leagues (OHL, WHL, etc.) are the most respected and best for producing great future players?