PerreaultForever

PP and the big guns came through so we squeak a win thanks to Ullmark. Good to see Staal finally show up. Hope that's a sign of things to come and not just a one off. Net presence still a huge problem (both ends) as always. Why was Cozens out and Mitts in? Seems weird that a guy scores his first NHL goal and you reward him with being taken out of the line up. I don't get that unless he had an issue I missed.

What I am saying is the Sabres, as a team, tend not to work too hard. We haven't been a nose to the grindstone hard working team since Nolan's red and black and blue teams. As for the tear down rebuild why not? If you did it wrong isn't it better to redo it properly rather than tweaking and failing to various degrees for another decade?

Fixing the Sabres. Basically follow the |Ottawa model. 1. Get a tough hard work team play oriented coach like Tortorella. 2. Trade Eichel for a boatload of young assets. Yes, he's a talented player but he's a crap captain and there's too much losing culture baggage to build around him at this point. 3. Trade Hall at the deadline for young assets along with any other pending FAs and/or big contracts like Reinhart, Risto, Montour, Ullmark (maybe), Staal (if you can get anything). Basically everybody but Cozens and Olofsson . 4. Find a way to get rid of Skinner. This is essential or nothing else works either. 5. I'm undecided on Dahlin but if the offer is there move him out too. 6. Rebuild around a model that moves from the goalie out rather than from the top down. get away from the overpaid superstar model and favour a work hard solid never quit middle type player similar to what Columbus has done in recent years. Build the culture first. Once that is in place you have a foundation to build on properly long term, and that was the ask, how to do it long term. I know people will say that's crazy and we are close and to them I say you're wrong, we are not close and we are locked in a losing spiral and flawed structure that will never get us there without extreme luck which is unlikely. The current situation is untenable simply because too much money is locked into star players that haven't and cannot deliver us the results we all want. If they could, they already would have.

or he's just finally learning how to be a Sabre. You know, have a good time off the ice, don't work too hard, play inconsistently and don't correct your mistakes cause you know there's no way they can afford to bench you anyway. Sabres hockey. Lots of mentors here to help him lose that work ethic he came in with before they get to Cozens.

I didn't realize Roslovic was a hometown guy for Columbus. With that as icing on the cake I think they won the deal.

Just like the team.

idk. He did ok with Panarin.

It is funny to me to see people tossing Mitts name around as if he has value. Come on guys, don't dream. and no way are we getting Dubois. We have no viable trade to offer.

None of the big line could. We got some secondary scoring but the big line (and PP) has to score if we want to win. They don't we don't.

Well if we can't take advantage of them missing top players we can pack it in for the year. Time for Staal to start playing or get benched.

Regarding Hall, didn't Hall's agent approach the Sabres after no top contender had the money to sign him? The thinking being for Hall to have a Skinner year playing beside Eichel and then command top dollar for next year? Regarding the 2C, Dubois should have been targeted. He still should be, although now the price tag is iffy and he might not want to come here. Yes, we should have gone after a goalie. Or I guess, we shouldn't have given up on Lehner. Did we try to get a goalie and fail? No idea.

Condolences but it is nice he got to say goodbye. He will value that years from now. When my dad died unexpectedly in a hospital I didn't get that. We had a really dumb conversation the night before and it haunted me for a long time (maybe even now) how we didn't get a proper goodbye. It's important and I'm glad for him that he at least got that.

I feel like I'm missing something. Does anyone actually know anything about what's actually going on with him?

Pity we didn't open against Boston. Without Pasternak they have no offense at all. If I'm not mistaken they have not scored an even strength goal in all 3 games.

and I hope that is correct.

Pretty sure Vegas held on to Fleury with the idea of waiting for a team to come calling desperate for a goalie so that the price would be high. Not going to feel good if we give up Peterka or Johnson and if we give them Cozens I'm out.

Well, aside from Lazar, who is playing well, what kind of scoring has the bottom given us? Olofsson's goals are on the PP I think so that leaves one goal by Rieder unless I forgot one. You'll argue that Skinner is playing well perhaps, but he hasn't scored, and that's his job. Cozens is growing/developing, but he's still going to take time. Staal is a dud. The rest does not measure up. It's different names, but the same as last year.

So we think all we need is a goalie and it'll be worth sending off a bunch of picks and prospects to get him? Well.........I suppose it would depend on the picks and the prospects Our cupboard isn't exactly overflowing so the idea scares me in terms of the future.

Idk. I don't want to give up on this season, I really don't, but it's a mess anyway with covid (Carolina games already postponed) and we're off to a less than stellar start and the bottom of the roster is seriously weak so do we really want to trade the future for an interim goalie that'll give us a long shot at best for a playoff that'll probably end badly if we even make it at all? If Ullmark stays away for any length and Hutton can't come back quickly (or plays poorly in return with recurring issues if it is a concussion) we're sunk anyway. Feels a lot like the tank year and maybe it'll become that. At least Hall should get us some decent assets at the deadline (sigh). I just don't know, but I see a no win scenario.

You said the better team doesn't always win and since we lost that's pretty much the same thing, but at least we agree that they were not as fast tonight and that makes a big difference for the way we play. We're not a check and grind Boston or Barry Trotts type of team so we will have a chance to win when we outskate the opposition but not likely when we allow them to bottle us up. They forced us to the outside too. We still; need more players going to the net and the dirty areas. We need to be the team "accidentally" running into their goalie for a change. which is last place.

No. In a word no. We were not as fast as the game before. We were kept mostly to the outside and our scoring chances were limited to fairly easy shots and few rebounds. We did not play horrible, and they did not dominate, but I have no idea how you can think we were the better team.

But ism't that because the 4th line plays against the 4th line? We are a one line team again and then the next 9 guys are mostly all 4th liners (except for Olofsson and Cozens who is a work in progress). I don't think it has anything to do with the system. We will not win unless Skinner and Eichel start scoring goals. We have to skate hard EVERY night and can only win with speed. Philly played a tighter D game in this one similar to what Washington threw at us and we were shut down for the most part. We play good wide open, but we have not been good in close checking games for years. This is why we always faltered more second half of the season too when checking gets tighter. With the short season and back to backs teams will employ that style more earlier. And of course nobody stepped up to send a message for Kubel's hit. We were not horrible, but it was very disappointing and we're obviously f**ked in goal .

Philly should come out faster and harder so it's a good test to see if we actually have something or not. Goaltending is the big question obviously. otherwise I think we keep the lines the same, but the Lazar line gets more ice time so they really are line 2, and Staal's line is line 4. Risto really did look like the solid complete D man we always hoped he'd become last game. Maybe its' the beard?

Does he belong on Staal's wing though? Cause right now Lazar is playing better than Staal.

Wow. They actually played a dominant hockey game. beat the Flyers in every aspect of the game. What a joy to watch. Pretty obvious the recipe for this team to have success is to skate like this. Hope this is not a one off but rather a sign of things to come. There is hope after all.