Pimlach

They have plenty of good players and they can trade for the right mix, like every other team does - no winning teams are all home grown players. That ended with free agency and salary cap. I think he knows Adams and Pegula and he was around long enough to understand their plan.

Yes.

I am phlegmatic about this hockey team, so I decided to take my wife out for Valentines Day instead of staying home to watch them.

Totally different people. Maybe Berube will end up like Byslma, one more shot and done, but he could be worth that shot. He will certainly change the way they play. Berube's GM purged Pietrangelo, ROR, Steen, Schwartz, Perron, Maroon, Fabbri, Barbashev, Dunn and others. A couple of these guys have won Cups with other teams, and all had enough gas in the tank to help their new teams after leaving the Blues. I cant see Berube and Adams seeing eye to eye on things though. I cant see Gallant and Adams together either.

No. Let that happen on the road. How about winning at home and scoring more than one goal tonight.

onomasticon, lexicon, glossary, Toys'Rus,

True only if Dahlin was just an above average normal prospect on a good team. Dahlin was good enough to play in the NHL at 19/20 but a good team would bring him in slower, sheltered his minutes at first, and use him in situations were he could shine. Makar was 21 as a rookie. When Dahlin was 20 he was in his 3rd year and he was struggling mightily, playing huge minutes on a terrible team under a terrible coach who had no business being in the NHL. Buffalo rushed Dahlin because the team was so devoid of talent, lacking in veteran leadership, mired in an cultural funk, and a for a long time did not have a legitimate pipeline extending into the AHL. That is all a residual of the failed major tank tear down in a failed attempt to get McDavid. They play young players sooner than good teams would, and they do it to a flaw (see Benson this season). Dahlin was always good enough to play at a young age - but he should not have been carrying that big of a load and be forced to drop gloves because no one on the team police’s things. Power was a rookie at 20. Power to me is not as talented as Dahlin. He is talented enough to be a great defender, maybe a Norris contender, but today at 21 he is still very young to be playing 22-25 minutes. Sometimes he looks very good, sometimes he makes mistakes. Not a surprise. Why was Power “better” last season than this one? I’m not sure he really was. Expectation are way higher this season and Power is one of many players that is not living up to them. My opinion is that Adams grossly miscalculated the ability of his players and his coaches. If Power can harness the power and strength that his physical statue can support he will really be something. Is he willing to train, get stronger and faster? Is he willing to get meaner and dictate the tone on the ice ? Those are the big questions. I think he will become a very solid fixture on the blue line, but it will take a few more years. He needs to play with a better partner as well. I don’t support all the “Power sucks” comments here, just as I didn’t support the “Dahlin sucks” comments. The losing has caused unrealistic expectations on our draft choices. Fans are looking for a savior. This is not the NFL, most all 18 year old draft picks are years away. In the GDT’s many fans jump on whatever defenseman they see on the TV screen whenever we give up a goal. The reality of what happens out there is more complicated than that. They play terrible team defense despite an effort to focus on defense. They have substandard coaching in all facets of game. Whatever this system is has choked out the scoring and open play that made last season exciting and promising. The root cause of these problems with this team is the owner. His Economic/Efficient/Effective business model has maxed out and the team is regressing again. All he has to hire is hire the right hockey person and step away. But he won’t.

The cheap bastiges

Good post. I’m not convinced that DG’s system is solid, but you certainly nailed it. Watch the games, most nights they are boys versus men.

There is no such thing. Ticket prices reflect the local economy and what they can charge. Tickets in NYC and Toronto cost more than in Buffalo or Pittsburgh or Columbus.

Hw has ALWAYs been good IMO. He is an excellent defenseman. I don't know were the rumors come from, probably because he was -19 last year on a struggling team. The guy is solid. We need someone like him.

Just when I thought you couldn't get worse ... Yeah, that is what Adams needs to do. Straighten out the Sabres fans. How dare they like any players on this team, especially Tuch and Cozens.

Pegula is more detached than meddlesome these days. I assume he is focused on wife, family, businesses, stadium, Bills - in that order. At least now with the NFL over. I bet he “ gets involved “ in the draft, which means he gets the seat next to Beane in the war room. He gave Adams his orders, the EEE Doctrine, they agreed, and this is now on Adams, the good soldier, to do it. It’s a slow, low cost, unproven way to build a team. Look at the contracts given out to unproven players that could have been bridged. They are betting the farm on Power and Cozens so far. It appears there is no plan to spend big dollars on players home grown. This might be a big factor in the lack of significant trades. Not saying they can’t adjust the plan, they can. If Terry ever wants to hire proven winners, he has to listen to them. Which is why I dont see a Gallant/ Berube type ever agreeing to come here. They like a veteran roster. No top coach wants 24 year old on average team. Most teams average 28-29. Big difference.

It’s on DG for sure, but it’s also on the players. They have a leadership void on the team, they are friends and a “good group” but no one to effectively lead the team all call out the bad play. Could be that their players are still too young? Kyle tries, but he is not doing it enough. Z is a quiet guy. next captain: Tuch is a good guy, but a person close to the team told me right away, his first year here, he is not a captain type. Dahlin is harder on himself than anyone else. Cozens maybe down the road, if they don’t ruin him. As for DG, the team reflects his personality to some extent. Teams tend to do that. Bottom line is the best captains have to be both pricks and mentors to everyone equally. That takes carrying a status that comes with experience and performance and being fearless. Most younger players can’t pull it off.

Mike Weber and Mike Peca leave for NHL asst coaching jobs on other teams and no one blinks. They stick with DG’s and his crew. The team falters and now the report is they scapegoat the assistant coaches and not the coach or GM. If this is true then Pegula/Adams are even worse than I thought.

Coach and players. The coach can only do so much, that’s when the team leaders need to step in.

I get what you’re saying. I want to win now. Right now. That why trades needs to be made. The current roster won’t cut it. Reminder, Cozens is locked up at $7M until 2029-30. He has a 31 goal, 68 point season already. This year Mitts is playing better. We already rehashed Cozens problems. He better pass Mitts in the next year or two, or Adams and Co will have to be called in question.

Benson and Hedges are a cigarettes brand Hedge - (Verb) Limit or confine oneself. Protect by compensation. The verb "hedges" can also describe the way the team plays.

Good data to see. Fancy stats are interesting as to how they get tabulated, who and how they decide to record the data, and what they actually mean. Is this goals for or against? I am am sure who they play with is a big factor too. I watch the games and see Clifton is a big improvement over last years 3rd pairing, helpful on the PK, and physically more active than the rest. therefore, he was an improvement from last year.

Sounds like you want to keep the same team and wait for it all to gel. I don't think that will work. You are worried about trading Mitts and then you talk about anybody can be traded, even McDavid. I don't follow your point, because you are on both sides. You make a trade to improve your team. To do that you usually have to give up something of value. You don't have to "win the trade", that term drives me bonkers. Winning the trade is for the fans, and is often a function of the time you evaluate the trade. On UPL - I never wanted him to play at a lower level so we can sign him cheaper. I want him to develop into a solid #1 so we can win more games. Not following why you bring this into the discussion but if UPL becomes a solid #1 and we can't keep him because we have 3 centers making $7M, plus Skinner, plus Dahlin, plus Power, then what? Look for another goalie? As for Cozens, he had several injuries this season, including the broken face. He has some maturing to do and he has to handle pressure better. Still, he brings a quality that I like and that few on this team ever display - he cares and he shows it. He had a bad year, but his more recent games have been much better, especially with Quinn back. I think you would prefer to keep Casey over Cozens because this year Casey is our best center. Their stats are close. Age Seasons Games G Pts PPG Cozens 23 4 249 58 148 0.594 Mitts 25 6 328 60 181 0.551 Mitts has 2 more season under his belt and is now a vet just entering his prime. If Cozens has the same growth in his play as Mitts had in ages 24 and 25 what would you think?

Watching the MITE league world championships. 2038 projects to be a strong draft. thanks!

I sure hope I am not overcomplicating anything. 1C, 2C, 3C naming convention does not matter - ice time does. I certainly get that. DG is trying to make 3 balanced lines - which is why he moved Tuch of off the Tage line. In yesterday's Blues game Tage and Cozens had 20 mins TOI, Casey had 19 mins. No real difference. Tage and Cozens are having down years and have both have had some nagging injuries and issues, Casey has been healthy this season. Can that help explain why Casey has the better scoring stats and more TOI? I still think Tage can be a steady 35-40 goal scorer. I still think that Cozens is going to be the best all around player of the three. I still think that Casey is a very good player, and if they can fit him into their salary plan then maybe they should. If they can't, they better at least get a veteran in their prime for him, not more prospects and picks. Adams does not need to do whatever it takes to extend Mitts. I think the "wants to be here" mantra should go away. He got rid of Eichel, Risto, Reinhart and Montour, because he had too. He should be done with that malarkey and he should stop talking about it like being on this team is not already a privilege. Now he is in danger of creating a country club of good buddies that do not hold each other accountable - but they all get along. This puts all the leadership on the coach, and any coach will eventually lose their team when the players are not the leaders. This just happened in St Louis so they fired a Cup winner. Adams needs to do whatever it takes to IMPROVE THE TEAM, not whatever it takes to keep a player that gets along and wants to be here. Bring in players that are leaders and that wont stand for the inconsistent and lethargic play that this group is known for. Darcy acquired Drury, Briere, Grier, Teppo, (and others) to add to his talented but young home grown base. That is what we need to do again and if trading a good player and a few pet prospects is required then Adams better be up to the task.

If I was buying an NHL hockey team I would want an new expansion team and to operate under the same rules that Vegas and Seattle got. I suppose I could buy the Sabres and move them to the next new hockey nirvana (Houston/ Salt Lake/ Atlanta/ Boise/ Austin/ or where ever) if that was my only option. I just don't think the league wants that. We can agree/disagree. What I really want is Terry to sell to a local interest, and local means more than Buffalo proper, and I want them to be honest with the fan base and fix things.

To the last sentence. My main point is that it is not a simple supple/demand problem, it is more complex. I think I supported that argument adequately. It is not as simple as go to the largest cities and the population will take care of it. Which is exactly why the NHL changed the expansion rules to allow teams like Vegas and Seattle to be competitive right out of the gate. No more morbid Oakland Seals, Colorado Rockies, KC Scouts, Cleveland Barons, and Atlanta Flame/Thrashers. Look at how many cup winning vets are on Seattle, it is quite a few. Now put the exact Sabres roster, FO/GM, coaches all in Vegas for their start - most likely by the 5th year of dysfunction and losing no one cares and no one goes because Vegas has lots of ways to spend entertainment dollars. As for the first bold - I honestly do not know what "NHL stewardship years" even means? I will say that Golisano saved the franchise and the NHL wanted a savior and did not want to see Buffalo out of their market. I think the NHL still feels this way. I think the Buffalo market could and should be a hockey hotbed once again, if they can ever be a serious competitor for the Cup.

True, and central counties in NY. My point is a big population alone is not a sure way to get high demand for a product. It helps, but there is more to it. The LA football market for the NFL really lags. Florida's baseball team (Miami) has terrible attendance. which is amazing considering their population and demographics. There are other factors in play. To think that Buffalo cannot support an NHL team is wrong. To say that Pegula is killing the fan base, which I think is @Scottysabresreal point, is not wrong. But that does not mean that Buffalo can not support NHL, they have and they still can. Look at the TV stats during the Stanley Cup payoffs, Buffalo's market is always one of the top. So, any Joe blow Billionaire from anywhere in North America can buy the Sabres and leave them in Buffalo. All he has to do is hire good people to run it and get out of the way. It would be easy to do a better job than Terry and Kim, given their history and track in the NHL. Thankfully Terry has done an excellent job with the Bills. The Bills are the franchise with small margins for error and we could lose the NFL much easier than the Sabres.