JohnC

The new strength coach is named Anatoly. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI8QlwAzl86/

That's the freaking point! The solution is not to continue doing the same thing by the same people who got you stuck in the deep ditch. Go find someone who has the proverbial tow truck that can get you out of the hole.

I have a high regard for your loyalty and willingness to put your $$$ down for all the Buffalo teams. But it's not much of a challenge to discern why the Bills/Bandits are a success and the Sabres are a failed and mocked franchise. You are too smart of a fellow to fall in line with the company line about the misfortunes of the hockey franchise. As in any enterprise, incompetence has predictable results. Check the record. It's not difficult to understand the reasons why.

Never give up! Hang in there. I'm certainly not happy about his likely retention. However, that doesn't mean that he is fully empowered as a typical GM. My sense is that Ruff is going to have more influence involving trades for this stagnant franchise. Let's wait and see what this feeble hockey franchise does this offseason. If little, then jump from the ship, and don't forget the life preserver. You might find it useful in the shark infested waters. 😊

I'm shocked!

What's the stark difference between Bills/Bandits with the Amerks? He allowed those competent staffs to manage their own operations without his interference. It was Terry P. who hired someone with no qualifications for the Sabre GM position. It's bad enough that he hired someone who was so ill-equipped for the position, but even worse, he kept him on for more than five failed years, and still counting, What's apparent is that the Sabres are not a normally run NHL franchise and the owner is not a normally responding NHL owner. It's stupid and embarrassing.

I don't get to watch many Bandit games. But last year, I watched a playoff game with a full house of raucous fans. As you aptly described the scene, just watching it on TV I felt the electricity in the arena. If the owner can get his hockey house in order, I'm confident that the Sabres would also be able to replicate the same enthusiasm, if not more. Although our fanbase has become cynical about the franchise and has substantially shrunk due to a generation of failure, I'm confident that it can quickly come back and get behind this team. This is going to be a critical offseason for the Sabres as to whether the organization demonstrates a seriousness about restoring the lost faith in this faded franchise. I really hope so. Being negative is depleting.

Just a reminder: If you throw your hat onto the ice don't forget to take it off your head before doing so. 😃

We can have differing views on his talent level. Regardless which one of us is right in our assessment in him , from a cap standpoint it will be extremely challenging to fit his upgraded contract within the cap, especially when near future contracts will need to be addressed soon.

I like Bryan a lot . But from a cap distribution and roster construction standpoint I don’t see how the Sabres can pay him at a $7 plus per year on an extended contract. If dealt, what can we get for him or use his salary spot for another player? If it can result in getting Power a more suitable partner or another Zucker like player, then I would deal him.

No franchise/staff in any sport is going to make the right decision on every transaction. It's an impossibility. You can tell which franchises are better run than overs. You determine that by those franchises that have sustained success. By any measure, the Bills fall in that top shelf category. And I attribute it mostly to having good quality staff that usually make smart decisions. I'm not looking at any specific period of time as I'm looking at the body of work. By any measure, the McDermott/Beane regime has been superb. And on the opposite side of the spectrum is the KA tenure. It has been an unmitigated failure. That's not an unmoored opinion. It's what the record clearly indicates. You are making a mistake by looking at specific decisions. I'm not doing that. If you take an overview evaluation about the body of work, you should come to the same obvious conclusion about the Bills operation and the Sabres operation. One is positive and the other is stinks!

I understand what you are saying but strongly disagree agree with it. Successful franchises in all sports succeed because they have strong and stable organizations with high quality staffing. Both the Bills and KC ended up with future HOF qbs because their staffs did their research and identified the players that they wanted. It wasn't happenstance that resulted in these franchise altering players. Under McDermott and Beane, the Bills have been successful for an extended period of time. It wasn't due to taking big gambles on players. It was a result of due diligence by a quality staff. Compare the Bills stability to the Sabres instability? There should be no surprise where the Bills are and have been and where the Sabres are and have been. It's not due to luck and gambling; it's due to competency exhibited over a long period of time.

If KC didn't have Mahomes they wouldn't be multiple SB winners. The Bills are very fortunate to have Allen as their qb in this era. (As you indicated.) Both elite qbs have elevated their teams to the top tier of the league. And without a doubt as @That Aud Smell stated Allen will be a future HOFer.

If the scenario plays out with KA elevated to a ceremonial position with Karmonos elevated to the GM position, then I'll take that as a positive step. It's very likely that Ruff will remain as HC and have more say on the roster. After being the HC for a year, he should have a better grasp of the talent of his players and who they are as competitors/people. The bigger issue, regardless how the staffing shakes up, is what players are going to be added and what players are going to be subtracted from the roster? To state the obvious, the status quo on the roster is unacceptable. The signs do indicate that there will be some organizational changes. Maybe not as dramatic as many want, but at least a step in the right direction.

I get so angry and disgusted thinking what this fool owner has done to degrade the potential of this hockey market. He, more than anyone else, is responsible for the current state of affairs of this franchise. And he acting with some basic common sense can right the sunken ship by getting the right people to steer it back on course.

If the Sabres become a relevant team, I’m sure the house will be mostly filled and the place rocking and rolling. Thanks for the ticket offer. I’m in Maryland. I do appreciate your generosity.

Are all home games usually sold out? What are the ticket prices for Bandit games?

I was watching a good chunk of the Minny/Vegas game. It was a battle with a lot of hard hitting and tight defensive play. This was typical playoff intense play that you see in most playoff games. What's obvious to me (and most commentators here) is that the way our roster is constructed we will not be able to play the style of game required to be a serious team. Where it becomes really apparent is on the blueline where you see players battling near the goalie. We don't have enough more defensive oriented and rugged players on our blueline unit. I'm not saying anything that hasn't often been said. It's just so noticeable when you watch playoff games. The Sabres have plenty of skill players. They need Greenway to get healthy and another Zucker-like player (younger) added to the forward line to make this a tougher roster to play. It just seems to me that a few smart roster moves will make a big difference for this team.

Is the owner acting as a director of the hockey operations and usurping that role for himself? I can't say for sure. Probably so. As an owner, he can do whatever he wants. He can be frugal or be profligate with his team payroll. He can interfere with the hockey operations or not. He can do what he wants. The owner can structure the organization any way he wants. Again, as an owner that is his prerogative. And that's why he is a failure. As demonstrated by his tenure as an owner, his record is dismal and embarrassing. It's pointless to get enmeshed in what he does or doesn't do. It's pointless to argue about what the best structure for the organization should be. What most people can agree with is that the owner has hired inept upper staff, most notably KA as his GM, to lead this floundering franchise. Anyone who has been in the work world knows recognizes that placing inept upper staff is a recipe for failure. I have, and so have many others stated, that success/failure starts at the top. Terry Pegula is a buffoon in the manner he has operated an NHL franchise. Until he dramatically alters how he runs this woebegotten franchise, little will change. I don't want to be totally pessimistic. There are encouraging signs that he will soon make some changes within the organization that will hopefully alter the course of this lost franchise. How will he do that? Hiring a qualified GM and empowering his hockey staff to do their jobs without interference by this know-nothing owner. Will he do that? TBD.

I don't know much about Forton. Does he currently much sway in personnel decisions?

Isn't Karmanos still living in Pittsburgh? If so, if elevated to the GM position I would think that he would have to relocate to the Buffalo area? As a GM I don't see him working remotely a lot from out of town.

I don’t believe the big challenge is to identify what our critical needs are. Most people recognize what they are. Regardless who wields the influence, the challenge is to get deals done this offseason to address those needs. It will be interesting to see if a partner can be brought in for Power, another first or second line forward added to the mix (In addition to Norris) and another goaltender added just in case UPlL doesn’t work out. With a little creativity and moderate boldness, these additions should be doable.

I don’t want to belabor my point but I don’t believe he is the defacto director of hockey operations, (My opinion.) His failings are related to his bad judgment in hiring critical staff. As an owner he is inept. His record as an owner demonstrates that.

If the owner wants to be in the room then he is going to be in the room. As an owner that is his prerogative. You and I might not be enamored with his omni-presence but that's his choice. As I stated in a prior post, I'm not sure that he is as involved with player discussions and decisions as many think. My main criticism of him is less about that than about his judgment in hiring critical staff. On that issue, his record is less than impressive and bordering on self-defeating.

The problem isn’t he being in the meetings. It’s he having input when decisions are made. We really don’t know about the inner workings of the operation but in my (opinion) his sabotaging failure is in selecting the staff. That’s where he has miserably failed.