PerreaultForever

There's absolutely no reason (physiologically) that Tage Thompson should not be able to play like that and assert his will. Can Ruff change the reason (psychological) that he doesn't? Stay tuned to next season to find out.

If Johnson is in your starting 6 who is out? Dahlin, Power, Byram, Clifton, Jokiharju, Samuelsson (we safely assume Bryson is out) so which of those 6 gets the boot for Johnson?

This did not age well. 🙂 I think everyone here would agree that we all hope Ruff can make the Sabres into a team that doesn't quit when they are back up against it the way the Bruins showed it tonight. I think they will still lose the series, but if they get lucky in game 6, game 7s are always a who knows what will happen thing.

Ya ya ya, but that's not what I said. I didn't say he'd have CHANGED things, but a good captain takes responsibility publicly. If he doesn't, nobody else does either.

This was my problem with him as captain, and our lack of leadership in general. Nowhere in there is there a sense of taking responsibility for that failure. There's questions, side blame, and lots of I don't knows, but nowhere does he say he failed as captain.

Really? I was always under the impression that these contracts had clauses in them with releases if you took another coaching job. That's why a lot of them flirt with broadcasting for a year or two after firings. That's a double pay but if they coach they get a release. I could be wrong. Each contract is likely different but I don't know why a team wouldn't have that clause in.

13 years of abuse. You know I think the one that hurt the most (more than tanking) was how they folded up after that season starting, what was it 10? more? game win streak and it momentarily looked like we were on to something. Most other years we've just flirted with winning but that one felt real and I fell off that bandwagon hard.

Fair, except for one thing. It's really not their own game and hasn't been for years. Most long time Bruins fans have been complaining about how much they aren't that every season since. That was a heavy hard team (2011) . Most of their roster now isn't anything like that.

Nichuskin that big of a deal for Colorado? Man they stunk.

I believe this as well but I'm not going any further than cautiously optimistic. I would be more optimistic if Lindy had brought in 1 or 2 of his own people as assistants, whoever his own people might be. I can totally get why Lindy would want his last coaching job to be back in Buffalo, and he'd obviously want to end on a high note (whenever that end is) and retire a happy Buffalo Sabre. I just hope he still gets to assert himself and they listen to him and get him players he needs, rather than them expecting him to be the listener. If Tuch is named captain my optimism will increase. If it's Dahlin not so much.

I don't think so. The original 6 has impact compared to newer teams but I don't see many Detroit, Chicago or Rags jerseys either. Philly has some fans around here for god knows what reason and the Canadian vs. USA thing is real so there's some Calgary and Edmonton as well as the sea of Canucks. A few years back I was talking to a guy who owns a sports collectibles store here and he said Bruins stuff always sells. Hated by many no doubt that's true but as was said earlier or in another thread, success leads to hate from other fan bases. All I know is October to April I'm a Sabres fan but every year all I have left in May (and occasionally June) is the Bruins. That's the Sabres fault not the Bruins. Too late.

Rempe.

Sorry but if you watch any of their road games you will see they have the largest fan contingent at games of any NHL team (aside from when Leaf or Hab fans attend Sabres games. I even run into Bruins fans out here in BC all the time and they are public enemy number one after the 2011 cup. I have yet to see a Sabres jersey anywhere in the lower mainland. . maybe they are hiding.

I personally like Yakemchuk over Dickinson for D.

Soucy's been an understated key signing Vancouver made. You can see how Seattle goofed on that one and he just quietly gets the job done (and now not so quietly :))

Well, I hope you're right, but I will believe it when I see it. The history, and the patterns you can see repeating say otherwise. Faith or belief is something I do not have in this group at all.

Yes, this all does suggest they believe firmly that they know better and they believe in themselves and their view (and that's Pegula on down). No outsiders with differing views allowed and definitely no outside experienced people who might actually vehemently disagree with them. The more I think about this the more I dislike it so I'm going to stop thinking about it. So did Rochester have a good PP that made sense?

Well the optimism I had gained with the Ruff hiring just took a dip down (and mostly over the Appert in 2 years idea which ya, might happen). It's not that he's going to be a horrible assistant or anything, it's just that too much of it looks the same. I was hoping for a little change in direction with a McKee hiring or Peca back or something else new that signaled real change. Now they just have to do next to nothing in free agency, draft a speedy Euro forward with that first pick and then name Dahlin captain and then I can cancel my sportsnet subscription for real.

Third string little Latvian goalie getting it done. Who saw that coming?

Lone ranger? He's not even Tonto.

Of course. Totally understandable on a Sabres site. Doesn't change the facts though.

Bruins were screwed by the refs but that's hockey. Florida is a dirty team but they are a smart dirty team. Maurice coaches them that way (think back, Winnipeg was dirty under him too), If you guys saw the Canadian broadcast they showed Bennet sucker punching Nies last year exactly the same way he took out Marchand. It's dirty as hell and if it was the Sabres you'd all be in uproar but because it's Marchand it's fine. Two years in a row you'd think the league with all their concussion nonsense would suspend for sucker punches to the head but no, Bennet can do what he wants. Okay, whatever. If the Bruins had more scoring talent and made it 3-0 early this might have gone differently anyway but they don't. Florida is the more talented team and would win regardless over 7. Now, with the refs help it'll be 5. Unless the Bruins perform free agency miracles, next season is the moment Sabres can take their place (and then get beaten up by Bennet lol)

It's not that they would be totally unwanted, but you through Kadri in there and he's way above that. You want Kadri you're going to have to throw 2 1sts and more in the package.

In general coaches get 2-3 years and GMs get 4-5 but it depends on the expectation level of the franchise and the level of success these people achieve of course. Prior to Adams, Pegula has given our GMs less time than this which would seem to indicate a level of impatience and expectation, but his decision to never turn the franchise management over to an experienced GM indicates his desire to control them. I personally think experienced candidates have said no thanks to that owner meddling situation. I could be wrong. I am hoping that both Adams and Pegula respect Ruff enough to allow him to be the loudest voice in the room on major decisions going forward. In that way (to some extent) we will finally have an experienced veteran "in charge". One can hope.

See, it's not easy is it? The hypothetical "Sabres should" argument is easy. A concrete actual possibility is much harder. Is Laughton really worth a low first or a second, quite possibly, but a higher first might actually get him on your team. No offense, but that's just ridiculous. Fans are always coming up with these ideas where we toss away what we don't want and get quality players back. It's just not happening. Adams is not going to "win" these trades if he actually wants to make this team better now, but losing these trades and making this team win is a net win. It's time for action. (Getting rid of Skinner would be a good start)