Scottysabres

This is coming most likely.

This is a tragedy.

Lindy has the Devils playing some good hockey right now. There is no way this Sabres team is beating them imo.

True, but I had no problem with Darcy being ousted. If, and yes, this if failed miserably, but if the person replacing Darcy had vision. For all of the griping about Tim Murray, one thing I will say, he had vision. He wanted a hard nosed, hard to play against, mix of vets and youth team that played fast and hard. Kane, Bogosian, O'Reilly, Scandella, when combined with Eichel, Reinhart, Risto, was, for better or worse, a vision. Mixing skill with hard nosed hockey players. Yes, I realize he sold the farm to put that together, yes, I realize it didn't expedite the teams conference and division standing as quickly as was anticipated, and yes, I am full aware these owners, the Pegula's, are not interested in the reasonings behind the lack of progress. It's a perfect storm for failure imo. And that all starts with the owners. They are very well intentioned, they want what we want, championships. But they have made devastatingly bad decisions at the management and coaching level, and the results are directly what we have witnessed over these past 8 years or so. To myself in any event, this all comes back to the Pegula's. I remember reading these boards and PA put up "The Trial of Terry Pegula" thread. Not for nothing, but PA was correct in his assertion that meddling by these owners has cost this team. They can't seem to get out of their own way to achieve success with this NHL franchise. But once again, they are well intentioned, they did it right with the Bills. They need to hire a President of Hockey Operations, a successful league commodity that has done it before, and step aside and let that individual do what must be done, again, imho.

I agree. I never liked the Ruff firing. Darcy? Sure, why not, new vision at the GM level, as long as it had experience with success. But Ruff was a decent coach, he wore his heart on his sleeve for this team, and it showed.

There is no hope, all is lost. The only path to take now is to trade everyone, the players, management, ownership, sabertooth, the anthem singer, the arena. Trade it all.

Give Olofsson the C. 😄

Just win. That's all that accounts.

Yep.

Thanks for this.

I put on 46 pounds since last March. went from 192 to 238. I know, I know, at 50, and a smoker (I'm working on it), this is not a good turn of events. Which leads me to why I'm responding to your post. I have a basement room that unfortunately has a mere 7 ft ceiling. I am going to shed this unwanted dickie-do, what do you recommend for machines in that low of space? Thanks.

The rebellion has been ongoing for years now. 10 years of new ownership, 10 years of suffering.

What's left to say you ask? Only one thing.....

I don't believe the individual talent level and the team talent level are inter-linked. Case in point, Jack Eichel. He is what he is, a 65 to 85 point a season player. That's talent. Reinhart, a 55 to 70 point a season player. While I grant you that is only 2 players, they are however both Buffalo selected, Buffalo developed, Buffalo groomed products at the professional level. There are others, Skinner, Hall, even Olofsson, who have shown they are talented players, even if those talents are singular and not much else. The team talent on the other hand, playing as a unit, cohesiveness, entrusting one another in the passing game, the puck carrier game, knowing when and where to cross and position on the ice on the rush offensively, the aggressiveness in puck battles and the unflinching devotion to one another to go in to the corner with your line mate to battle for pucks with the full confidence you will succeed as a unit in winning that battle, the subsequent hockey IQ to use speed and grit to jump to the front of the net without hesitation, once again, in full confidence your linemates will back your play, find your stick with the puck, the defensemen having the full confidence that the forwards will give it their all to get back and cover the points and slot with everything they have while you drive the opposing puck carrier to the outside, into the boards and through the glass. Yea, that ain't happening here in Buffalo I fully agree. And I also I agree, it's a problem. I keep eluding to it, hell, straight out saying it, the problem is Team Culture, and it is a very real, very big problem, imho.

You must be giving that 1 to Olofsson, the only player on the Sabres who appears to know who to score. We all moan about this team, I am no different, but it's beyond the ole "it's justified". I just don't get it. There is talent on this roster. It seems like every season they ***** the bed, scorings an issue, goaltending, defensive play, penalty killing is bad, power play disappears, and the list goes on and on. I just truly am at a complete loss for it. I keep pointing to culture. It's the only thing that bonds the entire situation together. Yep, that is where I am firmly planted at. I'm stating it straight out now, the Buffalo Sabres organization is where players careers go to die, and the entire league knows it. I know the Pegulas are good people, and they are well intentioned. But enough is enough. They need to step aside and let a President of Hockey Ops in, a very experienced one, to run the show. Just my 2 pennies is all. /rant and thanks for letting me vent. Now, back to your post, I can't even give Olofsson 1 since his line mates can't stay on side, Washington 7 - Sabres 0. I'll be shocked if they score again this season.

I'm feeling confused as to how to approach this game given the unrelenting numbness I feel about the team. Go Sabres? (asking in a whimpering whisper as I watch the game peaking from behind the door frame). or go sabres......(it's the start of the 3rd period honey, flick over to the oak island recording from last night, if I'm going to look like bones in a chair, watching bore drills dig holes on a North Atlantic island seems to be way more exciting). or Go sabr.............freak it, just hand me the bottle of Jack honey, I feel like comatose'ing myself as quickly as possible. or GO SABRES! Now you get off your ass's and get out there and take this game! (nah, I just don't have it in me). So many choices, which one will show up tonight.............

There is a post of mine in one of these threads from a ways back where I pointed to organizational culture, team culture. I still hold firm to that to this day. Some are pointing out leadership failures. I concur. The lack of true accountability is abundantly clear. I now relate my judgement of the Sabres, as a whole and individuals within the organization akin to Spencer Tracey as Judge Hayward in the film "Judgement at Nuremberg". In It, Tracey has a fantastic scene as he reads the decision of the Court. Well, Sabres faithful, hell, general hockey fans everywhere, are now reading the decision of the Court on the Sabres. The documentation of evidence is overwhelming, with more than 10 seasons of data. Who can forget, players neutered due to aggressive play style, a mockery made of management and coaching selections, the extermination of compete level, desire and "love of the game". That, in a nutshell, is organizational culture.

I remain in full shock and awe mode at just how bad this team is, how nothing has truly changed year in year out save a bad contract or 2, how there never appears to be any forward progress. I am tired of the excuses. 0 shots on goal in the 3rd, down 3 to 1, with Eichel, Reinhart, Hall, Skinner, and others on this team quite capable of at least putting pucks on net. It is more than apparent coaching is a major issue. It is also more than apparent a couple of these guys need to be moved asap. Starting with Staal, and Hall can go to. There are others, but those 2 are moveable as FA's. As for the Sabres regulars, honestly, everyone of them should be considered moveable. Just pathetic. I have never seen the team this bad for such a sustained period of time. It's been years, years of misery here.

Well, the Taylor Hall on my roster, where's my 1st over all pick curse is definitely worthy of it's own thread.........no?

Don't hold your breathe.

FIFY

Eichel is playing beyond poorly. How in the hell did he get the C on his jersey? He's not worthy.

Being a Sabres fan can ONLY be best described as Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

I accept. First order of business, take the team for some bonding. I fully expect them to bring their own cat of nine tails...............

That would be me 🙂