Pimlach

Agree. I would prefer that someone else jumped in first but we don't seem to have that kind of team. This all gets back to roster construction and having a team that averages 24-25 years old every year. There are players on the roster hurting our playoff chances and the majority of them are young and homegrown players. Too many with the same skill sets and no room for them to struggle while learning. There is no margin for error and the depth is being tested.

Clifton has fought Gudas before and he holds his own against him. Clifton took on Anders Lee last year and held his own, and that was a very big size mismatch. Clifton is smaller and yet he can handle most middle weights. We don't have a heavyweight guy, people say we don't need one. Greenway is big and strong but he does not really like to fight. Last year Tuch took on Brady Tkachuk and he survived it.

The context is a bit different. I consider this a late hit, after the whistle, and not a clean body check. The play ended, Quinn's momentum caried him to the goalie crease after the Minnesota goalie made the save. Foligno came in a little bit late and knocked Quinn down hard after the whistle. Quinn fell like a ton of bricks. No Sabre player did a thing. Quinn slowly got up and skated away while Foligno looked menacing, waiting for someone, anyone, to respond. No one did. A ref stood right there and called nothing. I have seen Benson get called for less offensive hits at the whistle. To me someone on the Sabres could have responded while Quinn was down, but they did nothing. Just a push back and a sign of life would have been something.

This is precisely what needs to be done. They also have to overcome the no trade clause issues to make fair trades because some of the vets we need to add are likely to have them. I posted a quote from the Athletic about this, the NMC issue is real and Buffalo is an NHL destination that is undesirable right now. McDermott fixed that problem for the Bills, can the Sabres change? What is sad is they made Cozens and Samuelsson alternate Captains. Why they needed 4 guys with A's is hard to understand. Cozens especially does not need to carry any more weight, he needs to play freely.

I would not call him a coward for not wanting to fight Marcus Foligno. He has no chance in that fight, Foligno is a monster. All he is going to do is get injured for no reason. Why no one else came in to answer, that is another story all together. Quinn needs to get physically stronger, he doesn't stay on his feet in scrums, and it does not look like he added any strength in the off season. He just turned 23, he should be packing on some more weight and at 6'1" and 185 he has the framework to add muscle. Physically, he very similar to Sam Reinhart. Same height, and Quinn can add 10 to 12 pounds just like Reinhart did. People said the same things about Reinhart and look at him today at 29 years old and in his prime. I am not saying Quinn can be as good as Reinhart, I am saying we threw these kids out there at 20 (Cozens, Quinn, Peterka) and they are still growing and learning at 22-23. They will all get stronger and better. They will be better players at 25, probably for another team with the way things are going for this franchise. You can develop one or two good young players on a veteran team, but the Adams plan of no blockers called for a large group of kids to all come together at once, assumes no set backs in their game (straight line improvement), and with very little veteran help. I cant think of a team that successfully did this without having to retool the group at some point.

I agree that the roster make up is not on Pegula. It just isn't. But as far as hiring a Beane type of GM - TP did not ever put restrictions on Beane's internal staff or his cap management. From day one Adams had to sharply reduce scouting and front office hockey staff, eventually he was allowed to slowly re-structure it (bringing in analytics emphasis) and bring in some help. Worse, Pegula imposed an internal cap. They operated at the cap floor for two seasons, and they are still below cap in this second "playoffs or bust" season. Given the constraints on Adams, what Brandon Beane Quality GM was going to sign up for that?

Because this entire conversation started with the question "why is Pegula so successful in football and so unsuccessful with hockey".

Could be but he didn't show any obvious injury affects last season, he came back and played pretty good hockey. It looked to me at the start of the season that Quinn was playing reluctant hockey, maybe thinking too much, not shooting when he had opportunities, and now he is probably pressing and frustrated. He is not fulfilling the role of a scoring top 6 winger. Unfortunately, unlike Benson, he is not a scrappy and physical two-way 3rd line player at this point either. If he could get himself stronger, play in the 195 lb range, he could be a really good 3rd liner with scoring ability to help the second line as well. Physically he looks the same as last year to me, no stronger and no faster. Mentally he is much worse - less hockey sense and less confidence. He hit a wall that he could very well snap out of, the problem is what to do with him until he does? He has to play to get better and he won't clear waivers to go back to Rochester. We could trade him and watch him grow and flourish on another team which would be a very Sabre-like thing to have happen. We could be seeing that Adams' decision to keep all these high draft picks, not bring in solid vet "blockers", and then quickly sending a bunch of promising 20 year olds up the NHL so quickly was maybe not a good move? Right now there are several young Sabres that are struggling and holding the team back, but they cannot play down in the AHL. We just have to coach them up and get them to the next level while still trying to win games. The Sabres are still developing players in the wrong league, BUT maybe by mid-season Quinn and few others will come back to life?

I am not letting Pegula off the hook for the state of the Sabres, past or current. By any measure, the NHL is a poorly run league in comparison to the NFL. The NHL is filled with dog teams that have little chance to win, even when 50% of the teams make the playoffs (used to be 60% and even 75%). They keep adding teams and there are not enough superstar players to make all the teams competitive - they are following the NBA in that regard. The draft and development path to building in the NHL is contingent on a lot of luck. The NHL does little to promote parity, the no trade clauses are a testament to that. According to the Athletic .... "you’ve got a quarter of the league (245 of 965 players) entering Friday’s trade deadline with more say than ever about where they can and can’t be moved. That’s nearly eight players per team. And it would be more, but players must be 27 years old or have seven seasons of NHL service to be eligible for such clauses". What does the NHL do to promote FO and coach movement in the league? The Sabres are a few steps from being a competitive playoff team. They are also a few moves away from going backwards too. That is this league.

I am not letting Pegula off the hook for the state of the Sabres, past or current. By most any measure, the NHL is a poorly run league in comparison to the NFL. The NHL is filled with dog teams that have little chance to win, even when 50% of the teams make the playoffs (used to be 60% and even 75%). They keep adding teams and there are not enough superstar players to make all the teams competitive - they are following the NBA in that regard. The draft and development path to building in the NHL is contingent on a lot of luck. The NHL does little to promote parity, and the no trade clauses are a testament to that. According to the Athletic (march 2024) .... "you’ve got a quarter of the league (245 of 965 players) entering Friday’s trade deadline with more say than ever about where they can and can’t be moved. That’s nearly eight players per team. And it would be more, but players must be 27 years old or have seven seasons of NHL service to be eligible for such clauses". So if Buffalo, Detroit, and Tampa are all in the playoff race and looking to add at the deadline (which is realistic right now), guess which of the 3 will get the least consideration from veteran players. What does the NHL do to promote GM and coach movement within the league? The NFL takes steps to make the best and brightest assistant coaches and FO people available to teams that are looking. The Sabres may be a few steps from being a competitive playoff team, but they are also a few moves away from going backwards.

True, but Ralph was in his late 90's when this happened. Terry has all his faculties, he just doesn't know were to turn.

I truly believe a big part of this situation is the differences in the leagues. The NFL does not want any dog franchises. They do everything they can to allow top execs, top GMs, and top coaches to be known, free to move, and free to get opportunities. This has been the NFL way for a long time. Kim was embraced as an owner in the NFL. Not sure how well she did with the NHL but I don't think it went well. McDermott was on the NFL's list of top coaching candidates and he impressed the Bills (including Pegula) and got a second interview which he won fter Rex Ryan was canned. McDermott brought in Beane after he conducted the first draft with Whaley (who was a sitting Duck right up to that draft). Beane's contract with the Panthers ended after that draft. The NHL? I don't know what they do. They certainly make it easier for expansion teams to get a good start. It sure seems that the NHL is much more of a good old boys club that Terry (and Kim) cannot get in. In the early days Pegula took inputs from his Penn State friends, and his Pittsburgh friends, although many were no longer tied into the NHL. The LaFontaine hire was a poor one, Pat was not a reliable and proven NHL Team Exec. He never will be either. He got Boterill, by all accounts a bright young guy, from a recommendation from his Pittsburgh connections. He hired Adams (who had no Hockey Operations FO experience) from his own experiences with the Sabres. Does the NHL even offer the services the NFL does? Terry has a lot on his plate, including a sick wife. He needs to find a Hockey version of Brandon Beane and let him run it all. He is giving Adams every opportunity to be that guy. Some people here think that this year is a do or die year for Adams, but I don't think it is. I think Terry will give him the 2 years that cover Ruff's contract.

Totally fake. The responses had no emotion. The robot had one basic output message for all inputs.

I still love the Sabres and that won't change. If I can withstand the Pegula era I must be hopeless, or crazy, or both. Yes, for me it is an ingrained habit to follow this team no matter how crappy they are. The bolded seems to be in opposition to the rest of your statement? I can't follow it. I would go in a heartbeat. Most of the games that I attend are losses though, but I think we can all say that. I miss the AHL Bisons too. I might even miss them more to be honest.

The Bills were well prepared for anything last night. They are just taking care of business. The team is getting better each week. They seem to have a lot of hungry and well prepared back ups because anytime they put one in a game that guy performs. McD said he was told when he took the job that no one wanted to come here. 17 year playoff drought. He sure changed that, and quickly. The Sabres model for what to do and how to do it has been right in front of them for quite awhile. Own the drought and make it their biggest goal to end it.

Is he really 5'10" and 170 lbs per Hockey dB? He looks 180 lbs this year and he could carry 190 once he becomes a man. He will be strong someday and he will play smart too. He gets the game. The score sheet is another story, he does not have a big shot and he is still 19. He gets his few goals driving to the net and hanging out in the slot area, something we need more of. He creates more plays than what is getting converted to goals so far this year. Some day I think he will get his share of goals/points, he has long way to go yet. I hope they don't screw this kid up. He made the team at 18 because Adams took that summer off and did not bring in any help. He has had two coaches in two years, and has not been part of a steady line either, but he soldiers on and gives a lot of effort.

We are missing him for sure. With Greenway we have a big forward that plays a strong defensives game, a strong PK, can chip in offensively, and has a physical presence.

We need him back for better balance.

They are better than last year. They have warts just like all of the other teams competing for a wild card.

Kim also reaffirmed the great job Boterill was doing, citing that fans don’t know the inner details of running a team. Take her with a grain of salt. Actually 1 thru 4 are all related. It’s all about a lack of trust and the need for control. 3 is about not having a network of proven NHL people to help him, even after many years in the league. So hire the wife, save money, and keep all of the control within the family. Was Kim really running the business side, or was Adams? Who got promoted from Business operations to hockey operations? Is that a normal path for NHL GMs?

Hiring Adams was about these things, and none of them have anything to do with Hockey Operations 1. Trust - Terry likes Adams and trusts him to do what says 2. Control - Terry feels he had to have a lot of it 3. Lack of a network in the NHL. Terry lacks this. He put his wife in charge of the team. 4. Money - Terry was very concerned about the family fortune in 2020 with Covid uncertainty and so many pieces of his business hurting. As I mentioned, Zito was out there.

Yes. There is a log jam of middling teams and the Sabres are in the mix. They have the goaltending finally - but pucks are not going in. Lindy is suddenly giving lots of minutes to the kids and sitting the vets and the result is bad. For a short while Thompson and Dahlin were carrying the load and leading. That has stopped.

And Florida’s GM Bill Zito could have been hired by Buffalo too. But Terry would have to known him and trust him, which limits the pool of candidates to Howdy Doody and anyone his friends from Pittsburgh talk to him about.

He is not even mediocre. His record is one of failure.

Metsa does not project to the NHL. Not even on the worst franchise in NHL history.