PerreaultForever

That's true I don't. I think Tuch is more invested than Dahlin. I don't think Dahlin should be captain next year. Doesn't mean I want him gone though.

Alex Faust is the likely replacement. Edwards will probably be around for the rest of this 100th anniversary season though and then they move on.

What's my Dahlin bias? I wanted to draft him. Didn't you want some flashy forward instead? I just don't think the world revolves around him. I have no desire to trade him, but for the right (high) price I'd consider it. (very high)

I'm happy for you that you can still do that. I've felt that way in the past. It's pretty hard to do now though. Probably because I'm old enough that the memories of long ago haunt me. When you remember how hard one of those guys worked and then you watch a game like that Columbus game, well, you just can't care any more. So, while I want the team to do well again, each crop of "new core" or whatever you call them sours for me quickly.

Granato claimed offense was harder, this was the easier part that came after. Granato was wrong. Granato needs to go. Vancouver was not unlike us in many ways. Tochet has taught them to play team defense. Now they are already decent and tougher to play against. Philly's plan was become "hard to play against" first and then add the offense/talent. That too seems to be working. The "plan" is age old tried and true and should not be that difficult to bring to Buffalo........oh wait, I forgot, Pegula don't like that style. Never mind.

In fairness, the players being put on the ice against top opponents are to some extent these guys with the worst stats. As the team is often under attack in those situations those guys are thrown to the wolves so to speak. Dahlin gets put out with the top line and if they generate offense his stats go up. If Johnson Clifton roll out with the third line their stats can go down. There's part of your differential right there. Who you play against matters and what the forwards do matters even more. Trade to Philly no doubt in a year he'd become a top defender for them. Risto's moved up to -0.6 maybe, just maybe, stop looking at the players and start looking at the coaches and the lack of a proper team defensive system.

I don't think anybody "wants" to move him but the topic was would you care if they were moved. Big difference. I personally find it hard to be emotionally attached to anybody on this team any more. Why would you be?

I don't think a single player in that locker room cares about being a Buffalo Sabre. The jersey has no meaning any more. The problem is they've been losing for so long it's next to impossible to even bring in an old Sabre guy who can show them what it meant, hold their respect and do the things needed to bring it back. As I said before, they shouldn't have let Peca go. He might have been a guy who could help. Housley certainly couldn't. The guys that really know, like Rick Dudley for example, are getting a little old for the job. He should have been named director of hockey operations right from the start imo. Too late now. It's so deeply broken I'm not sure there is a way out. Nice poem though. Put some music on it and send it to Terry. A Merry Christmas for him.

I'm not trading Benson. You can see the compete on his face. He's one of the only guys with it and he can be a future leader. I'm not trading Levi. I think he can be a very good NHL goalie. But I am having him play at least one full season in Rochester. I'm not trading Peterka because I think he can still be saved. I am reluctant to trade Tuch and maybe even Cozens because although they have struggled at times I still see flashes. There was an effort response from them after bad losses a few times and I think with the right team around them they can still rise up. Especially Tuch. I really think he tries at times but then gives up as nobody else joins in. If I can have them signed for reasonably cheap contracts I likely wouldn't trade Mitts or Krebs because in their proper roles and surrounded by the right guys I think they would be okay. Everyone else is on the block for the right price and some of them I'd let go for cheap just to get rid of them. No, I'm not giving Dahlin away. I'm not giving Thompson away. The price would be high, but I'd consider it for the purpose of the cap and changing the make up of the roster entirely. So pretty much anybody could be dealt imo. There's no good reason not to. Management and leadership is more important than individual trades though and of course, ideally, I'd rather Terry sold it to someone who would hire a hockey guy to run the thing properly.

haha, I didn't really think it was you. That was a little poke/joke because you almost always disagree with me (sometimes just for the sake of I think) . I really can't remember who it was. Sorry to hear you are homeless though. Hope that turns around for you. In the meantime you are welcome to stay in my head for a while free. I'm not using the space and it's a mess in there. Maybe tidy up a little while you're there. That'd be good. Thanks in advance.

But is it? I mean if I evaluated him at the beginning as useless and not to worry no one will pick him up and now no one picked him up even when teams have injuries and some might need a D man more than they did coming out of preseason I think I still get to do a little "I told you so". I mean come on, I get no joy from watching the Sabres so I have to take what I can here 🙂

Oh I can answer this really easily. Because Terry Pegula is the BOSS. This started with Pat LaFontaine's resignation. Terry (and Kim before) have hired a series of Yes people who will not stand up to them or question them. No experienced hockey people. No hockey man at the top. Just a series of greenhorns who are excited by their new big pay cheques and titles and are willing to bow and be loyal within the hierarchy. Ain't nobody going to go to Terry and tell the emperor he got no clothes. Meanwhile Terry is on the record saying he likes fast hockey and goal scoring and doesn't like fighting and so that's the kind of team we build (if you can call it a build). maybe he even meddles in trades and drafts idk about that but it's possible. In any event, this could have all been different if he'd just handed it all over to an experienced hard nosed hockey guy at the top who hired other experienced hockey guys and created a culture based around the legacy of what used to be in Buffalo as well as other teams where those guys might have come from. It's just that simple and yes, it's ALL Terry's fault.

Now who was it that told me at the end of training camp that they should trade him because he would definitely be picked up on waivers? Come on fess up, I forget which one of you it was but I know you're out there...........................Was it you el tigre? Wish I could remember.

idk what is going on in E Johnson's head but I look at a guy like Clifton and have to wonder. Sure he came to Buffalo because they promised him a starting job (he was 7th D in Boston) and they paid him 3-4 times what he was making there so of course he came but he isn't anything like what I saw in Boston. There he was a fearless hit leader and he worked his butt off all the time. Here he floats like the rest of them and only throws a hit occasionally. Gets caught out of position (in fairness that happened in Boston too but forwards covered for him) and is basically an ineffective bottom level D man. It's like something happens to you when you get to Buffalo and you realize you no longer have to be accountable. Some sort of laziness or lack of interest creeps in and you just laugh all the way to the bank. Lack of accountability from management/coaching Lack of accountability to the leadership core (if we even have one) Lack of accountability to the team and the jersey Lack of accountability/concern with what fans think of them It's just rotten through and through.

It's an interesting question and I have said there's no accountability here at all and there hasn't been since Pegula got here if not before. Maybe Bylsma held some players accountable I don't really remember, and Kreuger tried but lost the team quickly for a variety of reasons but certainly not now. Besides Olofsson, the constant whipping boy, who ever sits after a performance that sucks? Anybody? Not really. I watched 3 games tonight (ya, I'm hockey crazy). Bruins game was outstanding. Both teams gave it, both teams rallied at different times, there was no quit anywhere. Lots of intensity on both sides. Then there was the Sabres game where their D just spotted us an early one with a walk through and then they took over and coasted to a route. No effort from the Sabres and hard to judge on their side as it came pretty easy. Then I watched Philly New Jersey. Philly wins again in a tight even game of contrasting styles. Farabee had an outstanding night after apparently being benched the night before by Torts for lack of effort. That is accountability. Risto works his ass off and actually stays in his lane like wtf? Philly the hottest team in the league in December and their goalie Hart is out sick for most of it. Sabres just seem to have absolutely everything wrong and they are ruining young talent one after another in their fancy country club locker room. Players like Dahlin say they love it in Buffalo and why wouldn't they? They get to relax in a 5 star resort and nobody makes them work for their pay. Life of Reilly (not Ryan O). The franchise is a joke. Maybe the truth is some hockey player bullied Pegula when he was young and so his secret mission is to destroy the team forever. Job well done so far.

This is true, and I've talked about team defense for years (it was the "easier" part according to Meatballs) but I don't put the blame on Power. I put it on a team that expects a kid his age to come in and be a team's number 2 D man right away. It's an absurd concept to say the least.

Well part of the problem (only part) might be the "captain" was back on the bench smiling about scoring a goal when the game was 7-2. As others have said though it does reflect an incredibly low bar (and it's somewhat delusional).

Maybe they need to build a second crappy room, like an outhouse, and then just show them pictures of this one and say you get the treat when you earn it.

The cleaning out you have to do before the colonoscopy.

You know the Sabres are like a flaming bag of poop left on my doorstep. I foolishly stepped on it, the fire's out, but I can't get the stink off my shoe.

Welcome to Pegula hockey. Lots of goals and next to nothing physical. Only problem is most of the goals get scored by the other team. This was beyond garbage. I watched the Bruins/Wild game first and that was a really good hockey game. Fights, hits, saves, scrambles. goals, right into OT. The difference between the two games was like night and day. This was SO BORING AND UNINSPIRED IT WAS RIDICULOUS. No pride, no effort, nothing. They should have loaned Benson to the World Junior team to let him go try and win something rather than hanging around this garbage learning to accept losing. It would have been good for his development to remember it does not have to be like this.

Oh well I was just talking about goalies in general but fair enough. Thing is, Comrie isn't anything anyone would want so it's a non issue.

I honestly can't believe this. If he was really looking for a goalie there were many opportunities over his tenure and he didn't make any big moves in that direction. To think he'd switch gears now and make a goalie move just doesn't seem likely to me. Common sense said they should have added a better veteran goalie than Comrie and most people here think he has done a poor job on goaltending but I think he will remain steadfast on his letting the kids grow together thing and that includes Levi and UPL as his goalies.

So the Sabres press announcement would be that they are very excited that this young group is only 2 games off last year's pace and has a vastly improved penalty kill. Trust the process.

Considering all the goalies who have moved around and switched teams through trades and various other deals over the last 3 years I'd say it was like rolling a pair of dice knowing they had to come up double sixes or you lose. I suppose we should be happy Murray didn't waive his no trade clause or Adam's goaltending botchery would have been even worse. As is, it's pretty bad though all the same.