Pimlach

Hockey gets harder after New Years. Hockey gets even harder in March. The Sabres should be able to improve and move up the standings but any thought of this roster playing .700 hockey and making the playoffs is not realistic. If they can just play .600 from here on out that would show some of the improvement we were looking for. I am trying to be realistic.

Starting with the Lucic hit on Miller, you just rolled the work of 4 GMs into one. It did not, and it does not have to be like this. Many of the players you named were still good when they got to Buffalo, and they did fine after they left. We are always Sellers at the deadline, so we move out the veterans with value, which makes us the perennial youngest team in the league. Having a smart cohesive plan lead by an experienced and competent front office GM/POHO and Coach is what this constantly rebuilding organization has not had. LaFontaine and Murray were incompetent. Boterill was over his head and got too much help from above. Adams is even more constrained by Terry. Until they hire a respected POHO/GM, and all signs of Terrys help are gone, the problems attracting good FAs and making trades for players in their prime will continue. As pointed out in other threads, there are several successful first time GMs in the league and all of them have NHL former hockey Execs on staff to support them, even if on a part time basis. One example is Rick Dudley, who still lives in Lewiston, NY (no palm trees and high taxes). He was one of three former GM/Execs that supported first time GM Bill Zito in Florida. The problems at the top of the organization have to be fixed first and the culture change has to come from top down.

Agree. This 2 to 3 year scoring slump is something I’ve seen for the last 50+ years. I don’t know why it happens but it does happen to some players (not all). They set high expectations early and then take a few years to get back - meanwhile they are learning how to be a pro. Cozens having to play with young line mates, younger than him, and play high minutes, could be part of it. I think it was a big stretch to make him 2C so quickly, especially with the added caveat of making the playoffs after a 13 year drought. When people talk about trading Cozens and Byram for Petterson I cringe. The Canucks will benefit from that for a long time. I think both Cozens and Byram will be better than Petterson in the next few years.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Very cool. Looks like 6 strings. Are the bottom two B and high E like a 6 string guitar?

Looks like a Fender Stratocaster body and a mahogany neck? Could be ebony, or rosewood if it’s an older guitar. My electric guitar is a 1970 Fender Telcaster thinline. Natural finish, maple neck. Just had a luthier re-fret it a few years ago. I bought it used for $150 bucks in 1978. Turns out to be highly collectible today. Where does the time go? I prefer playing acoustic guitar and have been playing a new Taylor 414ce that I bought last Christmas. I practice and play just about every day (retired). I’m mostly a finger picking guy these days. Not in a band or anything but looking for people to play with. The market for 66 year olds with limited band experience is low, so it’s YouTube lessons and jam tracks for me. 😂

Adam’s represented a major Pegula Covid related cost cutting and another rebuild that allowed the old Core to get out. No qualified POHO/GM would work with those constraints, not even Boterill. Adams hiring as GM was both jaw dropping and eye rolling. Winning will make hockey players want to be here. Nothing else. Just like with the Bills. If football players from California, Florida, and Texas like to play here then hockey players from anywhere else will too. Just make winning the priority, set the culture to demand and promote excellence. Stop running the place on a shoe string budget. What you missed is roster building. Adam’s cost this team one playoff birth already by not bringing in a goalie when he blew the Ulmark signing. Tokarski, Dell, Anderson, Comrie … what was that all about? Waiting for Levi Roster building - he handed NHL jobs to young players with 0 and 1 year in the AHL like candy at Halloween He purposely prevented competition with his “no blockers” stance. Some of the vets he brought in just wanted money and then wanted to leave immediately (Hall, Stahl) and some had no tread left to make any real impact (Anderson, E Johnson). The roster still lacks experience and players to support all the hockey roles that are required of winning teams. He publicly complains about how hard it is to make trades but it’s his job to do so. Salary Cap - a puzzling use of the cap. More like a fear of the cap. Still operating under the cap in seasons that he publicly declared “all in”. He is obviously resource constrained by his boss. He is under the thumb of his boss, even for on ice hockey related moves. ( “Everything they need is in the room”. - right?) Skills and experience - what other team had Adams on their radar for GM? We can review his resume again but why bother. Bottom line right now is that he has a bevy of very good prospects (credit him for that) but I would not trust him to know what to with them. They all won’t make the team, some should be moved to build a playoff team right now (actually next off season would be better). The losing has to stop now before the current core players burn out and go the way of the last core. Sitting in last place on Christmas, the odds are stacked that this year will be another with no playoffs It’s time for better. Adams did his job I guess, the team made it through Covid. That seemed to be what all the panic in Pegulaville was about. Maintaining their family standards and all that talk. When can we get back to winning?

Did you shoot 600?

Well boys, I’m gonna watch Christmas shows with the wife and daughter. They gave me too many Christmas cookies. My sons will be here tomorrow and Wednesday. Let the festivities begin.

Mix it up ok. In a fight with Lee he gets destroyed. Overall, he is doing what his coach asks.

Love to see and hear the opposition fans not happy. Best game in quite awhile.

Krebs do not fight Lee. Clifton fought him last year and he did fine. You will get pummeled.

Kulich scores and that’s great. Lafferty might get an assist, but he got pulled right after that pass. Lafferty had a woeful and terrible shift. My god he was terrible.

Good work by Cozens. Take Ciszikus off. However you spell that name.

Today is December 23. It’s Festivus.

We only have 2 SOGs in 10 minutes. Pick it up Sabres.

Roy does that stuff

Awesome. F@ch Patrick Roy.

Yes. Some of these kids get the yips. Power is one of them. If Adams would get a steady veteran “stay at home defensive defenseman” he would help the team, and he would help Power.

Another stupid rule. Go back to the old game. Make icing part of the game. Guys who beat out an icing call add excitement. A goalie that can use his stick and counter him, adds excitement.

Zero

Nice PK

Wow. It was like the ref was looking for something to call in a 5-1 game. bum

No Alamo BS Lindy. Play hockey. Go after them. Play in their zone.