GASabresIUFAN

No, not really. This season is almost of the opposite of last year. Last year the forward play was good, but the D play was terrible as was the goaltending most of the year. The PP was good for the 1st 3rd of last year, but the PK sucked all year. They also played with much more urgency last season after the long losing streak early in the year. This is why I'm in the fire DG and his staff camp. They literally coached the heart out of this team and in the process made the team slow out of the gate, stifled the offense and completely un-entertaining.

What is keeping us out of the playoffs is a lack of urgency from the start of the season and at the start of games coupled with lousy goaltending in the 1st third of the season, our terrible PP and poor forward play for most of the season.

IF they were great at making adjustments, the win total would be significantly higher.

Sabres goals allowed in the 1st period - 91 (worst in the NHL) Sabres goals for in the 1st period - 59 (7th worst in the NHL) Sabres 1st period differential - -32 (2nd worst in the NHL) (Chicago is -33, Ana - 19, Stl -13) Sabres differential for the season 0. That means we are +32 the rest of the game. Sabres wins when leading after the 1st period 15 (6th worst in the NHL). Win % when leading after 1 = .833 (8th best in the NHL) Wins when leading after the 2nd period - 23 (22nd in the NHL). Sabres win % when leading after 2 periods = .920 (3rd best in the NHL). The stats illustrate that the Sabres slow starts killed this season. When the Sabres did come out strong, they nearly always won. The coaching was unsuccessful in solving the problem of the slow starts. Since KA isn't getting rid of the players, he needs to move on from the coaches that couldn't find a solution to the slow starts.

Who knows and who cares. He isn't making us better now and likely won't next year. We need players who make us better now if we are ever to make the playoffs. He spent this most of this season getting knocked on his butt and taking stupid penalties. He should have been sent down and Adams should have not wasted this season of his ELC. The bad news is they'll waste next year as well since he won't be eligible to play in the AHL next season. The even worse news is that in year 3 when he finally blossom's, instead of having two years left on his deal, we'll have to pony up a big contract. This is another example of the terrible and incompetent asset management by KA and his crew of idiots. I'd trade Benson since we have Savoie and see if I can get a good young center or a top 4 D in return.

The question is who can we get to make this team better and what will it cost to acquire that talent? IMHO everyone is on the table depending on the offer. Who exactly has done enough to be indispensable? Quinn? JJP? Who? The Sabres needs are vast. They need a top 9 center (I want a top 6 center, but I'm trying to be realistic), preferably someone who can distribute the puck. They need more physical forwards and they need one or more defensive first D. We also need some play hard and win type plays who don't accept losing graciously. The run it back team looks like this: Skinner TNT Tuch JJP Cozens Quinn Benson (Krebs) Greenway Girgensons (UFA) ?????? Robinson (UFA) Dahlin Byram Power Jokiharju Samuelsson Clifton R Johnson UPL/Levi I don't think the "run it back" strategy is a good one. This team needs for accountability. I'm willing to trade Power, Benson, Tuch, Skinner, TNT, R Johnson, Samuelsson and even Levi or UPL depending on the return. I'm also willing to part with any of Savoie, Kulich, or Rosen in the right deal. I'm not saying blow the thing up, but you need to give to get. Time to stop coddling failure.

Send them packing.

5-0 deficit in the 1st period to Ottawa. I say we should expect more. Both KA and DG need to go. This team has regressed this season despite vast improvements from UPL, Joki and JJP, and the addition of Clifton. This team was unprepared for the start of the season and comes out slow most nights. The PP has remained awful for the entire campaign. The slow starts and PP are on the coaching staff and they need to go. The lack of goaltending since Ullmark left and the failed 3 headed goalie monster that was terrible (all 3 goalies) to start the season is on the GM, and he should lose his job because of it. For all the "great" drafting, we still don't have what we really need and that is toughness, playmaking and good in zone defensemen. The sad part is who wants to work for Pegula?

Is UPL a little worn out at this point?

Thank G-d my fantasy baseball draft was tonight and I didn't have to watch.

"Sabres unable to overcome 5-0 deficit." https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-ottawa-senators-at-the-horn-recap-march-27-2024 LMAO - really, they couldn't overcome a 5-0 deficit? I'm shocked. They keep playing like this, they may not even reach 81 pts.

Accountability - Sabres. LOL

Jeff has a NMC and isn't going anywhere unless he wants to go. The opportunity to move on is next trade deadline if the Sabres aren't in a playoff position. However, no way TP pays $14 Million to Jeff not to play for the Sabres (nearly $20 mill in cap over the 6 years).

Kevyn and Don, should we really expect more after four years? Yes. It's not like they had nothing to work with when they got here. Cozens, Montour, Reinhart, Eichel, Dahlin, Ullmark, Samuelsson, Ryan Johnson, Casey Mittelstadt, Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, UPL, and Bryson were all in the system or already on the Sabres when he arrived. That's the makings of a pretty fine hockey club had he and the Sabres stuck with it. They (He and TP) decided to jettison the "old" core of Reinhart, Montour, Risto and Eichel after the RK debacle which is fine, but they have to live with the consequences. Besides that, the Sabres should have been a playoff team for the last two seasons. Had Adams simply invested in some decent goalies while the prospects developed this team would have made the playoffs in 22/23 and likely would have built of that success this season and be where Detroit is right now. So yes, we should have expected more and they should have delivered more.

What? How is it anything but good news that an injured player is back? It’s good for the player to be back and playing. It’s good for the team to get a talented player back in the lineup. Would I have liked him back when the games were still meaningful? Sure, but that doesn't change the fact that it is good news that he’s back.

To gain experience. To try to build some chemistry with other important players. To prove to himself he is healthy enough to play.

@Ogelthorpe you don’t believe that it’s good news that Quinn is back with the team? You’d prefer he remain injured?

There is certainly some correlation between experience and success in the NHL. It doesn’t mean a young team can’t make the playoffs, but it’s hard. The funny thing is the Sabres could be even younger next year as they have traded away EJ and KO, and Z, VO, Bryson, Robinson and Comrie are FAs. Add together the 20 players under contract and control who are scheduled to return next season and the average age is currently 24, 25 for next season. Add more kids from the minors and the age drops further. That said, this team has a fair amount of experience for a young team and should be better next season. Of the 8 skaters 23 and under only Benson (rookie) and Quinn (IR) have under 150 games of NHL experience. The other 6 guys average 227 games. The other good news is that there is a log jam of mediocre teams in the East. TB, Wash, and Pit are headed down. Ott and the NYI are in no man’s land. Det and Philly look to be improving but aren’t impressive. A good offseason by Adams such as better forward depth including another Greenway type player, plus a 3rd and 4th line centers should have this team solidly in the playoff mix.

I voted for Other. There is no one on the team I dislike. There are players like Bryson, Z and Jost that I think we no longer need, but I don’t dislike them or the effort they give. Thompson is my biggest disappointment. I am a fan of JJP and have been one since I saw him play at the World Jrs. I disliked ROR and his brother, because I didn’t think they were good people. I dislike Marchand because I think he is a punk who gets too much leeway from the officials. There is no one currently on the Sabres that I feel like I do about ROR or Marchand. It’s kind of hard to dislike a bunch of kids.

That’s good news.

Solid game. I've been switching between the hockey and the basketball.

Are you saying that the Mitts trade was born out of desperation? If so, there is some truth to that. In fact, KA seems to do his best work (and so does his team) when they become desperate.

My preference is to leave Levi in Rochester, but budget may prevent the addition of an outside goalie.

I don't disagree, but since that's not happening, we have to hope that Adams gets a clue and instead of bringing the failed team back in it's entirety, he actually becomes more aggressive and fixes the roster issues. Here are the assets that KA should consider moving to fix the roster issues. Forwards - Benson, Skinner, and Krebs Defense - Power, Samuelsson, Johnson Prospects - 2 of Kulich, Savoie, Rosen & Östlund Draft picks - 1st rd pick in 2024 The Sabres should be win now mode and prospect development needs to start taking a back seat. The Sabres need toughness upfront and on defense. The Sabres need playmakers. The Sabres also need to be better defensively. We need 3rd and 4th line centers. Also time to move on from Girgensons. So why are Benson, Power and Johnson on my list? Well you need to give to get. IMHO Byram might make Power and his huge contract expendable. We'd garner a significant return. If Ott offers Brady Tkachuk to us for Power would you say no? I wouldn't. Benson is also expendable for a team in win now mode. He'll need another 2-3 before he is starts reaching his peek. Can we afford to wait? if the answer is yes, then package Savoie in a deal to legit center help. Maybe someone like Boone Jenner. Johnson vs Mule. Right now, one of these 2 are our 7th D (assuming Power isn't traded). Both should have good trade value. Skinner and Krebs. Krebs is not a center in the NHL, certainly not one for a playoff team. Could he someday grow into a useful NHL player? Maybe, but that day isn't today. To bad really, he was supposed to be a gifted playmaker. Skinner just eats a ton of cap, and we need the roster spot and the cap.