Dr. Who

There isn't much else to discuss, no. You point to posters like Taro, LGR, and Tom Webster. I appreciate their posts, as well. Taro and I agree on a lot. I post on a different board for some of that, because we are the minority here on those subjects. I don't annoy folks by picking fights on those matters. It would do no good. Further, I don't have the critical insight and acumen to add to their level of hockey insight. When there is something to discuss, like a draft pick, or a trade, or a significant move, folks will chime in. When there is no reasonable response to continued failure, folks discuss that. The new impetus has to come from ownership, because the discussion is reactive to what they do or do not do.

You don't like the vibe of the board, and blame the folks who have been following the team for sometimes over fifty years for lamenting the disaster that is the Pegula owned Sabres? Too bad. Make a counterargument with specifics as to why TP and KA should not be excoriated for their actions. See if it stands up to scrutiny.

You must be one of the ten who is ruining it for everyone. If only you would be silent, there could be tremendous discussion of all the wonderful things KA and TP have done for the Sabres.

14 years, the entire tenure of ownership, record breaking ineptitude, none of that is made up. Other hockey organizations do not consistently hire individuals with little or no experience to run them. There's never been a rational course correction, and now there is stubborn insistence on keeping a fella who is manifestly in over his head. Yet when folks are angry about it, you act baffled. A lot of conjecture occurs because there is a lack of transparency, lack of any kind of reasonable response to failure, so folks are left to try and discern a semblance of plan in the tiny moves and increasingly meaningless rhetoric that is slow-walked out to the dwindling number of fans who can only speculate whether there is anything coherent beyond manifest contempt for those who remain to care about the team -- mostly an older crowd that remember when the crest was an honorable reflection of the city.

When average competency seems like Mt. Everest for your team . . .

I dunno. Are you requesting a detailed trade X for Y, draft Z kind of breakdown? I think plan equals what decisive change could be made to palpably improve the direction of the franchise. Maybe you've got a different criteria. In any event, what's the point of indulging the yen for playing fantasy GM? It's tiresome at this point to reiterate the kind of needed change that everyone talks about ad nauseam. Find a way to bring in a top 4 RD that plays sound defense to pair with Power, etc. The Sabres have become a perduring league wide embarrassment because of Pegula's earned reputation on the basis of his decisions for the entire tenure of his ownership. Whether he is also the victim of some bad luck or forgivable ignorance, at least at the beginning, is immaterial to where he has now brought the organization. It's evident that no one respects Adams, so continuing to keep him only prolongs and exacerbates the poor negotiating position the Sabres find themselves when it comes to making trades and drawing free agents. The simplest and most efficient way to change that would be to bring in someone with a proven track record and clearly move away from the neuralgic proclivities that are the manifestation of Pegula's fearful or arrogant wounded pride.

How about just fire KA, hire a competent GM, and let the GM make intelligent trades and coaching hires? Here's an idea. Hire Rob Blake. One obvious move would encourage the fans and the players that there is intelligent leadership, rather than madly pursuing the persistent desire of ownership to insulate itself from the consequences of historic ineptitude.

I don't know what your theory has to do with age. I'm sixty, and agree with every bit of this.

Correct. That's why they showed it live on TV, just like the moon landing. Folks won't suspect.

He was very busy with his coloring book.

Well, Boston and Philly isn't terrible.

Yeah, the worst possible. It fits.

Of course.

I generally agree with you, and I suppose if there was a way to keep Byram and still add a top 4 RD defensive stalwart to balance out the puck movers, that would be fine. Seems to me it's going to be tough to keep both Byram and Power, and make that happen.

If they trade up, Minnesota at #24 has been talked about as a likely partner. They need picks.

Imo, he is an autistic personality. I enjoyed his eccentricity in a vacuum, but you can't make complex prudential judgments without awareness of the human element.

No one has been good, but I like Botterill because he stood up to Terry. Of course, that's why he was let go.

Just an immense lack of wisdom in the positions of authority. It starts with the owner.

Did it involve licking toads in a dark cave?

Good luck with that.

I would use one as a trade chip. I don't see them trading both. I guess I would keep Power, even though he annoys the hell out of me.

I'm not sure this is allowed, but I commend the effort. There is talent on the team, and just fixating on the doom spiral isn't any better than KA hoping against hope that the young core will magically mature into a well-constructed roster. I'm not spending hours contemplating what I have no control over, but my rough sense is they thought they were going to drive play with puck moving defense, with Dahlin, Power, and Byram being the strength of the team. This now appears a risible hope, and if there was another GM in place, I'd expect at least one of Power or Byram to be part of a package to bring in a strong, defense first top 4 D. Do that, and bring in a steady, competent goalie, and you might at least plausibly entertain a better future.

Those Winnipeg fellas are touchy, because they live in a big city, but it's in Canada and no one cares.

I never realized till lately how passive aggressive Pollyanna was. Or perhaps this is dystopian irony and Orwellian satire. Either way, it's the perfect mood music for the late Sabres charge to .500.