GASabresIUFAN

I think you're missing the broader point. That Caps team couldn't become a Cup contender without a change in how they played the game. We can't become even a playoff team without a similar change in philosophy.

I’m going it have to disagree. We currently have 3 players at or near 1000 games. We have physical players as well. Greenway, Dahlin, Clifton, Tuch Eric Johnson and Girgensons are all physical players. We even have a pest is Skinner. What we don’t have is proper coaching and goaltending. We also don’t have defensive buy in from the forwards.

This organization has a choice to make similar to the one Wash made a few years ago. The choice is do we stay a free wheeling team and try to win 5-3 each night or do we fire the coach and bring in a new coach with a defensive first system? Wash chose the latter and won a Cup because their O talent was enough to counter punch off the defensive transition. I’d like to see a similar change in Buffalo, but we need buy in like Wash received from Ovie.

…. and Mitts is on pace for his first 20+ goal season.

I think people said the same thing about Skinner while he played for RK. I'm sorry but no way Cozens and Dahlin were simply playing for a contract last season. This season Cozens has been playing through his injury, Dahlin through the lack of an adequate partner, both guys have also suffered from gripping their sticks too tightly and the entire team is suffering from conflicting and confusing messaging from the coaching staff. I think both are also suffering from trying to play to the expectations that went with the new contracts. This is not to say that both players don't have themselves to blame for some of their issues and that both can't be and should be better, but their issues are not from coasting because they got the big contracts.

It's all moot anyway. The Sabres aren't going anywhere. They are going to expand to Houston and Atlanta if they expand and only after they get AZ fixed.

So would Winnipeg. Oops, they got a second team. Populations: Buffalo metro - 1.2 million, Winnipeg Metro 845K, Quebec City Metro 840K.

I’m in total agreement with this post. I know my prior post was a bit angry, but the anger comes from looking at the talent on the roster and wondering why management and the coaching can't figure out how to get the best out of the talent. On the positive I firmly believe in Levi in net long-term. I really like many of our forwards including Benson, JJP, Quinn, Mitts, Cozens, and Thompson. This group could comprise most of a great top 9 with the right additions. I also really like Dahlin’s all around game, but he needs help. Admittedly I’m not a huge Power fan, but you don’t get drafted no.1 without real talent. @LGR4GM is correct that both guys need better partners. Is it really to much to ask our GM to get the right pieces in to enhance our talented core?

KO is resting until the trade deadline.

How long in a "patience?" 4 years, 13 years or how about 50+ years? When does the ship turn around? At what point does patience end and acknowledging incompetence begin? What exactly has KA done to earn our patience? Has he improved the defense or goaltending in the last 4 years? Has he brought in a series of successful free agents? Has he made the team tougher to play against? Should we not take KA, DG, and the players' word that this season was about winning? It's also not like the "young Sabres" aren't experienced. KO, EJ, and Skinner are all near or above 1000 games. Girgensons is near 650 games. Our core players all have 3 seasons or more of NHL experience. Dahlin 23 (392 games), Thompson 26 (329 games), Tuch 27 (410 games), Cozens 22 (237 games), Mittelstadt 25 (315), Jokiharju 24 (305 games), Greenway 26 (360 games), Clifton 28 (267 games) and even Olofsson (293 games). Hell, even Robinson, 28, has 274 games of NHL experience. Except rookies Johnson and Benson, our "kids" have a fair amount of experience; Krebs 22 (171 games), Quinn 22 (83 games), JJP 21 (117 games), Samuelsson 23 (143 games), and Power 21 (125 games). These guys should know what to do at this point. This is no longer a team of raw players. Sadly only kids JJP, Quinn and Benson, plus Mitts are giving a concerted effort night in and night out. What is the rest of the players' excuse? The only really raw part of the team was the goaltending. Entering the season Levi and UPL had a combined 53 games of NHL experience (Levi 7 and UPL 46). So how patient should we be when the GM knowingly fields a team with no proven goaltending and retains on his initial roster a series of players that even the fans know shouldn't be on the team in Olofsson, Girgensons, Comrie, Jost, Stillman, and Bryson wasting $14+mill in cap space in the process.

1. the Sabres aren't leaving 2. Even if the Sabres left, they'd put another franchise in Buffalo. The market isn't nearly the smallest in the NHL and it has one of the highest TV ratings. In addition, the Buffalo/Toronto rivalry is great for hockey. 3. I was just commenting on a way to move on from TP and get a new and better product for Buffalo.

By the way, the cap cost for the status quo roster in the original post on this thread is approx 72,834,404. That includes $6,000,000 for Mitts, 1.5 for Krebs and UPL. It is also for only 20 players and includes Rousek, Rosen, and Novikov making the team full-time. I don't have RFA Jokiharju returning. If the cap goes to 87+, there is a whole lot of cap space available to KA to improve this team. IMHO I'd move on from RFAs Krebs and UPL in addition to Jokiharju.

Yep. All players that you, me and nearly everyone here said should be gone this off-season. If we know they aren’t good enough, how come Adams didn’t know? I want stability in the Sabres front office, but Adams continues to prove he has no idea what he is doing. He needs to be replaced.

It’s time to move the Sabres franchise to Salt Lake, and for the NHL to give a new owner an expansion team in Buffalo under the rules utilized by LV and Seattle. There I said it.

This theory that no one wants to play here needs to end. Clifton and EJ signed here, guys who get traded to the Sabres like Buffalo and many Ontario players like being close to home. Do some (Most?) big-time UFAs not want to come? Sure, but it's not Buffalo but the fact that the franchise isn't winning. However, Johnny Hockey signed in Columbus. KA (or his replacement) can fix that roster through trade. I think most people would agree that we have 4 top-notch forward prospects. We also are going to have another top 8 draft picks. There are valuable assets that can be traded for immediate help. We also will have a ton of cap space heading into next season even after re-signing Mitts. Will certain trade targets have us on their no-trade list? Probably, but there are 600+ players in the NHL, and while 200 or so players have some kind of NMC/NTC most are limited, and many with the clauses will wave them to come to a team with the right opportunity for them.

At least 2023 ended on a high note. I won both of my Fantasy Football leagues.

I am perfectly ok with that. This season is done anyway. Might as well let Samsonov (if claimed) and UPL share the net, play out the season, and see if one emerges as one of the goaltenders for next season. At least we know that Samsonov has good NHL play in his pedigree and can hold down the net for 50% of a season.

The Bills play the Fish on Sunday night. Does anyone know the scenarios for the playoffs if G-d forbid we lose to the Fish? Being the final game of the regular season, the Bills will know what they have to do before the game starts, but I'd like to know who to root against on Saturday and Sunday.

I’m smelling a top 5 draft pick.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, they want 6.

So close to a 2 game winning streak. Ok, not really. Have we seen enough?

Didn’t think so.

R the Sabres playing tonight?

Waive, trade, release, punt, toss on the curb, or any other option you can think of for UPL. Time to move on.