PerreaultForever

I doubt that matters. He was best friends with Tkachuk in Ottawa. They don't trade people because of friendships on other teams. The Hughes situation is exactly the same as the Dahlin situation. No more no less. Oh you don't think we have a "Dahlin situation"? Well wait until we lose next year to see. Point being Hughes doesn't want to be part of any rebuild. He wants a commitment to winning now. Just like Dahlin. Hughes traded here? He'd leave after he becomes a free agent and sign in New Jersey.

So can we stop all the talk about how they've figured it out and just wait until next year stuff? That was the same lousy hockey we saw earlier in the year. Still completely useless in front of their own net and they cave under any pressure at all. Zero progress this season. Zero.

Unless Adams is fired (which seems unlikely) I fully expect him to do just that and run a 3 headed monster with UPL Levi and Reimer to start the year. If Levi plays well Reimer might get waived again but that's what Adams will do. It's stupid, but that's Adams.

Maybe Hasek wants to come out of retirement so he can face Ovi in a shoot out?

I'm not going to list specific names cause I don't see the point. None of it's going to happen. But I WANT: 1. all the assistant coaches fired and replaced by Ruff's own choices. 2. I want a real goalie. Don't say it can't be done. Colorado switched both of theirs in mid season. 3. I want defensive D added. Minimum one top 4 guy. Other people do why can't we? 4. I'd like to upgrade Lafferty with more of a feisty gritty and maybe even fighting type guy. That's it. I think that's all it takes but it does take all of that. I see Norris as a huge potential trade chip along with numerous picks and prospects. More than enough assets to do anything you want to do if you have the will to do it. In my dream world I want Adams fired but I can see it's not happening and Pegula would just hire the next loser so it's nightmares instead.

I'm thinking more hairless cat

I've never thought of Tuch as a "defensive forward". Who is calling him a defensive forward and why?

I've said this from the beginning. He could potentially be that guy. Maybe not that far but it's possible and I certainly wouldn't try to take it out of him. We need more guys who play nasty and on the edge.

Oh for crying out loud, if your plan for success next season hinges on whether or not you're going to sign an old waiver goalie you are well and truly f'd before you even start.

So ultimately, Adams not signing Ullmark leads to all of this. That's the biggest mistake. So why on earth does he still have a job???

I hear ya but when we missed by one point and Florida got in I said in the off season we need a top 4 D man, a solid goalie and maybe a tough 4th line guy and I think we can make the playoffs. I'm still saying the same thing. I don't understand why Adams still has a job. It's not that difficult to see what they need.

So really, the start of the year everyone everywhere was like Detroit, Ottawa, Buffalo, at least one of these three is set to step up and which one will it be? Some gave Columbus an outside shot and the Rags were expected to be in it but that final spot was there for one of Detroit, Ottawa, Buffalo. Ottawa got it. Montreal is the shocker and likewise the fall of the Rags (Bruins fall was overdue and expected. Just a question of how far and how fast). So what's the difference? It's Ullmark. Ottawa isn't "better". We are just as good and beat them consistently but Ullmark stole games for them this year. He had several hot streaks and they won many games close that they had no business winning. Put Ullmark on Detroit and they are definitely in. Their goaltending was worse than ours. But Ottawa two years running now saw their biggest flaw and tried to fix it. First they tried with the guy available Korpisalo. That failed so they traded for Ullmark. They made the necessary moves. Adams? He failed to keep Ullmark. He ran with rookies and old cast offs. Our failure is totally on ADAMS. There is no organization in hockey that would let him keep his job for botching that except the Sabres, and that's your central problem.

Pittsburgh winning it and getting McKenna for a perfect 3 in a row would seem suspicious to say the least but just as long as the Rags don't win another lottery I'm probably okay with it all.

They don't bother hitting us. I've seen them play this year where they do forecheck though. I have to wonder a little if Brind'Amour isn't pacing them feeling they burn out in the playoffs with the pace they use at that time. We will see when the playoffs start if they still have it or not. I see Florida doing a whole lot of that too. They float a lot this year and it's either that they don't care cause they were cup winners last year or they know they will have a long haul and have to pace the season. Again, we will see when the playoffs start.

Maybe but do you really think Chicago is positioned to make a move up next year? Or San Jose? I like some of the San Jose moves but they are still far away. Either of those teams could easily get a top pick yet again.

Technically 11 until we win the game in hand which we might not 🙂

You have to realize that despite all these wins we are still 11 points out of the playoffs which is basically where we were a month ago or so. This has been over for ages.

Because he's a trade chip currently not playing so if you like your current roster he's a valuable commodity to move for what you need. If you think we NEED an injury prone offensive center more than a goalie and/or a top 4 defensive D man you don't trade him but if you think we do need those things, there's your asset in the deal to make it happen. These games are so meaningless but they are having fun I guess. Been a long time since I've seen Carolina play that passive.

I'm not sure Carolina is overly motivated at this point so maybe Sabres can beat them with any sort of decent effort. I saw Boston beat them a few games back and they were just going through the motions all game. This is part of the late season illusion with the home record. Teams locked into the playoffs only playing hard in front of their own fans. Coasting on the road.

This is it and I've said that for ages. Don't be fooled. The stats show the same thing every year and they fail to account for the opposition taking them lightly, back up goalies, tired opposition teams coasting their way into their already won playoff spots, gutted teams tanking and playing out the string while the Sabres play loose and free of pressure as it's already over. It's the SAME every single season and if you run back the same roster (roughly speaking) it'll be the same again.

I disagree. Sabres were already bad before they tanked in 2015. Same goes for Chicago and San Jose and others. It's a much harder switch to go from a playoff team to the bottom in less than half a season. That's some serious tear down skill.

The Expanse was based on the novels of James Corey (which is a pen name). The first one is Leviathan Wakes. The Three Body Problem is pretty good though. Starts slow but really picks up.

Nobody tanks better than the Bruins.

grower or shower?

Oh please. Don't go down that road of measuring fandom. All I'm saying is I've seen this before and it means nothing for the future. You've seen it before. It's not a measure of what we will see next year. Not in any way.