GASabresIUFAN

Which is why this organizations failure is so discouraging.

I agree and almost included that in my previous post but believe Lindy is smart enough to figure that out on his own. By the way everything I wrote above isn’t groundbreaking or new. In fact everyone knows what must be done they just don’t have the will to do it or Terry just doesn’t care to do it. Either way the team is dead for the foreseeable future.

“Nobody has the answer”. I don’t think that’s true. There are plenty of answers, but we have a meddling owner, an incompetent GM, and the wrong players to implement the necessary change. Answer 1: Terry Pegula needs to take a step back if he doesn’t sell the team. Answer 2: The step back needs to occur after Adams is relieved of his duties. He needs to be replaced by an experienced President of hockey ops and a new GM. The new GM will decide on coaches. I’d fire everyone but Lindy and let Lindy and GM work together on a new staff. I’m not saying Lindy’s been great or even good, but he does know his to win and what it takes to win. I’m not sure another head coaching change helps at this point and we need to see what Lindy can do with his coaches. Answer 3: Start the process of revamping the roster under the new GM. Cozens, Power and Samuelson should be at the top of the transition list. Also all UFAs except Zucker and Greenaay should be allowed to walk. Answer 4: Fix the roster with veteran players with the skill sets needed such as defensemen who can play defense and centers who can create offense. I fully acknowledge that none of this is easy, but there is a way forward but not if Adams remains as GM and Terry is involved in the day to day manage of the club. Go drill a well Terry.

I was just thinking about this topic and realized that the Sabres will win a game and probably pretty soon. I wonder how the team they beat fans and media will react to losing to this team.

Secret video from Pegula’s talk with the team

Apparently Pegula's pep talk didn't work. Wow! I'm almost sorry I missed it. What a giant ........

This was Terry holding the players and coaches accountable for their terrible results by saying it’s on you and the coaches to fix the mess. TP is essentially saying he has given them everything they need to succeed. It’s an endorsement of his yes man GM Howdy Doody disguised as a pep talk.

Terry just swung by to let them know that he doesn't really care about helping the team as long as the Bills are good.

The problem with this is that there are obvious roster flaws that must be addressed for this roster to compete. We must get proper partners for Dahlin and Byram, players who are good defensively who will allow Dahlin and Byram to use their O skills to greatest advantage. Think Tallinder and Lydman. NJ made similar moves when they acquired Ryan Graves and then John Marino the follow year. This team also needs playmakers. We have a ton of guys who can score, such as TnT, Quinn, JJP, even Cozens, but only one player, Tuch, who is a capable playmaker. Benson will get there in time, but isn't there yet. All I'm really asking for is for 3 moves; 2 stay at home D and one playmaker to repair this roster.

It's truly amazing for terrible this organization is.

Hard to know when he doesn't have enough even decent players to implement his system. He has no defensemen who can play defense. He has one proven playmaker in his forward group. How can he install a workable system when his two "top" D, Byram and Power, have zero defensive fundamentals? They literally don't know how to play defense. Do yourself a favor and watch Gretzky's commentary on Owen Power. Did you know our 6'6 225 lbs $8 million a year D has 9 hits for the season. 9. How is that even possible in 31 games, unless you are concentrating on not hitting anyone.

Lindy’s NJ team failed because of injuries on defense and a lack of goaltending. After Ruff was let go the NJ GM went out and got 2 goalies. Lindy was the scapegoat for GM’s failures. No one said the game had passed Lindy by 2 years ago when the Devils made the playoffs with over 110 points. The funny thing about the Devils 2 years ago was that the GM worked to fix the defense before that season by trading for Marino to help add a good defensive D to the roster. Blaming Lindy for the terrible roster Adams created is no different than blaming Lindy for the GMs failures in NJ.

It’s not like the other practices have helped.

It’s not the coach, it’s the roster. No coach could win with this defense group.

Like all questions, the answer is it depends. Depends on where we are drafting and what is offered in return. Is there a franchise center in this draft? Will that player be available when we draft? Are prospects and or draft picks offered in return or are there NHL players coming back the other way, such as a top 6 playmaker or top 4 defenseman. The other question is who is making the trade. If it’s still Adams, how can you trust him to make the right decision? The Sabres need to fix this mess, but trading a top 5 draft pick may not be the smartest first step.

Actually many of our failures are out of the NHL. Guys like Stillman, Bjork, Asplund, Pysyk, Hutton, etc.., are gone from the NHL. Guys like Jost soon will be done in the NHL as well.

I think I finally understand Terry’s plan. He wants a new building in Buffalo. He wants to use a lack of fan support to give him leverage with the NHL and various governments to either move the team to somewhere with palm trees or give him a new state of the art building. The meeting the team in Montreal is an announcement of either a new building or a potential move.

The sad part about accountability is that the players aren’t worried about being traded. From their perspective they have guaranteed contracts and when traded they likely feel like they’ve been paroled from prison.

During this streak the Sabres have.... Lead in 7 of the 10 games by scoring first. They have blown 2 or more goal leads in 3 of the 10 including tonight against the Leafs. Of the 3 games with blown 2 or more goal leads, the Sabres lost 2 in regulation. The Sabres have allowed 3 or more in 9 of the 10 losses including 6 games with 4 or more GA. The team is 3/24 on the PP (a horrific 12.5%), and the PK is 20/27 (awful 74%). Only against Van did they rally from more than a goal down to force OT. The Sabres were generally outshot (6/10), out hit (7/10), and blocked less shots than the opponents (8/10) during this streak. We also lost the faceoff battle in 6/10. Ruff talks about doing the little things right in order to win. Hard to win when the PP is inept, the PK is below average, the opposition controls the puck, physically dominates the Sabres and gets the majority of the scoring chances 5 on 5.

While I see your point about the players, I disagree. Some guys are simply a negative or just roster filler. Where I do agree is that change in management is essential and that team building is the primary issue with the team under Adams. I believe that had Adams acquired two stay at home D to partner with Byram and Dahlin the current Sabres would be a playoff team despite the inept PP, Cozens and the lack of playmakers. However, the purpose of this is asking if your were Adams replacement who on this team are you keeping and who are you replacing.

I think you mean dead franchise playing.

Rock meet bottom.

This post isn’t about the management that must go as I have said many times, but the players are not without fault. All these guys came up through the ranks and have played on good teams and know how to play hockey. They all know you have to go to the net to score. They all know to clear the front of the net. They all know fundamentally sound hockey. The question is which guys, despite the crap culture still play the right way. The answer is not many. These are the players that need to be identified and kept by new management. My question is who this board thinks those players are.

It’s hard to see right now, but I still believe despite my angry posts that there are pieces on this current roster that could be molded into a winner with the right GM and coaches. I’ve added poll questions to gauge how others feel. Here is my lists of players who could be part of the solution, players who are part of the problem, players who are just roster filler and players need more info to see wherevthey fall. 1) - Solution - Thompson, Benson, JJP, Zucker, Greenway, Dahlin, UPL. Tuch? TNT is the Sabres best forward and tries on the defensive end. Benson because he actually gives a crap, works hard every shift and should continue to get better. He is one of the few Sabres with playmaking skills. JJP has a high motor and excellent skills. He needs more time to develop on both ends. Zucker and Greenway are two of the few Sabres who give maximum effort on every shift. They are both UFAs and I’d like to see both comeback. Dahlin is our only good D on both ends of the ice. UPL has developed into an excellent goalie and Levi is still maturing. They could be a very effective tandem on a winning club with better D in front of them. Tuch is certainly one of the Sabres best forwards and given his cheap contract, he is part of the solution for now. 2) Part of the problem - Cozens, Samuelsson, Power, Jokiharju, and Bryson Samuelsson can’t stay healthy, provides no offense and has regressed defensively. Time to say goodbye, assuming we can dump his contract. Power - $8 mill a season for a 6’6 225 lbs D, who won’t hit anyone, is terrible in the D zone and is our 3rd best offensive D. He needs to go. Jokiharju and Byrson are equally inept at both ends of the ice. Thank g-d both are UFAs at season’s end. Cozens is supposed to be a goal scoring 2nd line center. He is a terrible center, terrible playmaker, is a turnover machine,doesn't get back on D and his goal scoring has fallen off a cliff. $7 mill a year for this level of play is unforgivable. 3) Roster filler - McLeod, Krebs, Kubel, Malenstyn, Lafferty, Clifton Only McLeod has shown anything approaching usefulness and that is sporadic at best. The rest are replacement or sub-replacement level players. So glad KA gave up a 2nd for Malenstyn and Savoie for McLeod. 4) Not sure who they are yet. Quinn, Byram, Kulich, Levi Quinn has shown too much skill already in his young career to be dismissed, but this year has been horrendous by all measures. Not sure why. Byram ‘s O skills are undeniable, but so are his lack of D skills. If we move on from Power, I’m ok with keeping Byram as long as he gets a D responsible partner. At least he does seem to play hard unlike Power. Kulich is a rookie who seems to be improving game by game. Levi was awful to start in the NHL, but has been excellent in the A. Not sure why the disconnect. Does he have more responsible D in the A or is he just better in the slower AHL game?

Can we swap the Sabres for the Amerks?