Pimlach

The Sabres are playing pretty good so far. I just want 60 minutes of hard effort, that’s a start. This team needs to realize they have to earn the right to win. (Ok, I stole that from McDermott). Says a lot about the top 6 right now.

We had one and somehow it still wasn’t that nice. Eichel is a beast right now and that neck surgery was the right move for him.

damm McKinnon is fast and strong.

The Sabres are not a thing when the Bills are playing.

I do. Taro, ROR smashed into a Tim Horton's in July 2015, before he ever wore the Sabres jersey in a game. He played for the Sabres for three season and was traded in 2018 after his "lost his love for the game" speech at locker cleanout. The episode with smashing the truck was long over, he was very luckily acquitted of the charges in July 2016 when the only witness was unable to identify him. He publicly apologized and thanked the Sabres for supporting him. It should have ended there and if ROR had more problem the team should have been helping him. Maybe Terry was still have been upset about the drunk driving, but he was also upset about what ROR said and insiders say he did not want to pay the bonus that was due. I expect that Terry knows that hockey players and football players are not choir boys, drug and alcohol abuse is a problem for many athletes and for many reasons. He has to be aware of this.

They actually played hard for Donny for about two years and showed some improvement. Adams failed to address obvious goaltending issues, the need for veteran leadership and toughness, and the overall roster depth. That would have taken a few smart trades, parting with prospects, and spending closer to cap. It all fell apart on itself. Probably why no other teams employ the develop solely from within and "no blockers" strategy??? We are now seeing the longer term effect. The youth is regressing, and starting to want out. Lindy can complain about the level of compete but other than a handful of players he is not being heard. Game 3 - maybe they will surprise us and start playing to their potential. Maybe something eventually clicks? I doubt it but maybe.

First - Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all of our Sabres fans in Canada. This afternoons matinee is to get more kids in the crowd but since many schools do not observe Columbus Day/Indigenous People Day that may not be the best planning. The good thing is that the Sabres wont interfere with me watching the Bills on MNF tonight. As for this team - they need to play 60 minutes if hockey and support the rookie in net. The western conference teams travel a lot of miles and they strive to get a win on their first stop of a road trip. Buffalo better be ready to play. I don't care about injuries, a win today is mandatory.

I like Tuch, so I say this in all honesty - it would be best for his career to move on next season. I understand that he loves the concept of being a Sabre.

I saw the video - Chara has 5 inches on Geertson and he used every inch to keep away and land whatever he could from a safe distance away. Chara was smart. Zaradov ran Power off the ice and into the bench from way behind the play, the camera didn't pick it up but the announcers did, and the refs let it go. He also had a late hit on Tage. So Geertson answering is what we needed, whether he wins or loses is not as important. What else can he do in his 4 minutes of ice? Taking Zadarov off for 5 minutes would have been a positive for the Sabres but Zadarov preferred to chirp away from behind the linesman.

Excellent post. After Adams threw Granato under the bus, and got some players to do the same, he said he would do an exhaustive head coach search for a coach with NHL experience. Less than two weeks later they hired Lindy. Adams danced around the timeline and said that he might not have interviewed many, but he "talked" to many. The reality is that Pegula was behind this and there was no coach search. We know for a fact he never talked to Cup winning Craig Berube and a bunch of others. So here we are.

Why single out Tage? They all did and Okposo let it go.

I really don't know this version of the Sabres yet but I think they will absorbed by the past culture of losing. I thought Norris was a good player whenever we played Ottawa. I think I could like Kesserlring, Doan, and Danforth. I think Lyon gives his all. But any realistic person looks at who came in and knew that their impact would not be enough. The power play is still bad, the top 6 is impotent, and Adams focuses on the 4th line and the 6/7/8 defensemen. The coaches are being ignored. Lindy can complain afterwards about it, but what is he doing? The Avs are starting their road trip in Buffalo tomorrow and they will be expecting two points.

They probably hooked him up to IV antibiotics and have been doing cultures to verify the infection is gone, must have been bad and they needed to nip this thing quickly. I don't think this looks good on the training staff and wound care - but we have enough to bitch about

The scary thing is that the plan was thought to possibly be: promote Adams/Lindy once their contract ends, bring in Jarmo and Appert, etc , ... Its only two games but it sure seems like the players might be trying to influence another outcome.

I don't know about the off ice stuff, and you make good points to mention it because it is important. What did he learn from Okposo? That is most likely his blueprint for what an NHL captain looks like. Which gets into how few truly effective veterans our kids have played with. The Sabres blew the whole captain thing when they picked Eichel over ROR in my opinion. As for Dahlin, I can only go by his on-ice effort and his willingness to play hard.

Took a puck in the face in practice, the cut became infected. Someone posted he could be ready for Ottawa on Wednesday.

Good points. And if Tuch was still in Vegas, or in Florida or Colorado, he would be a solid contributor, but not a leader or a franchise anchor. Paying him as such in Buffalo would be another error. I would like to keep him at the right price as the team is lacking skilled veterans. I keep saying that Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch all have to do the things needed to pull this team out of the funk. Dahlin is the only one that consistently shows that leadership attitude.

What blows my mind about Culture is that McDermott and Beane changed it quickly for the Bills. No matter how much Adams hangs out with Beane he still doesn’t have it. Sure, the Bills hit a grand slam when they drafted Allen, but let’s not forget that they made the playoffs with Tyrod Taylor at QB to end the drought, and they did it while starting a tear down and rebuild. They owned the drought from day 1. McBeane shipped out some “good” veteran players that were not leaders. They retained a few vets that were leaders. They brought in leaders and did not rely solely on draft picks. They set real goals for players, not just slogans. Sabres Culture had been a problem for way too long. When you are always one of the youngest and least experienced teams you won’t win in the NHL.

That would be my kind of coaching. Lindy used to have that edge.

That’s why I say something is wrong. He was better before. Is it the injuries? Does he not connect with new linemates? There is no confidence and no swagger.

I can see Helenius coming up at some point but unless there are more injuries I expect they give him more AHL games first. Remember when Quinn-Cozens-Peterka became our 2nd line? They were all like 20-21 years old. They worked well together, could score, but had no two-way game. IMO Cozens suffered from too much too soon and lost confidence. Peterka was smart to leave at the first chance. Quinn is a shadow of the Prospect he once was. So far in two games he is invisible, he never has the puck and stays on the perimeter. Something is wrong.

I think you are hitting on the right points. Puck battles are a problem. Slow to get to a loose puck, not working hard enough. The Power Play is bad and has been for a long time. I wanted Geertsen to pummel Zadorov, that would have been a worthy contribution because he can’t play a normal 4th line shift.

This was a huge red flag.

The hired Jarmo too. Jarmo is a former GM.

The words you used are “management group”, not “managers”. You said the didn’t add to the management group The receipts are there While Stahl is an entry level guy, Jarmo is not. He is clearly part of the executive level, he attends the executive level meetings you see on imbedded. So the Sabres added to the “management group” and you are wrong. You do not have to have a manager title to work in the “management group” or to be an executive. You know better, you just won’t admit it