JohnC

That’s utter nonsense. He took the money out of the cash register.

What are you talking about? He's not paying me back with his own funds. Where do you come up with this foolishness? He's going into the cash register and reimbursing me for the service I didn't receive. And the establishment can be compensated for the miniscule loss of revenue from the company that they receive $$$$$$ from for allowing them to place their failed machine on their premises.

We can go around in circles on this issue but to say that this dismissive fellow has no control over the situation doesn't resonate with me. He can reimburse me and seek his own reimbursement from the company that he has a business relationship on his premises. The money is not a consideration for me. I'm not going to be cheated without responding. You feel differently---that's fine.

They have a business relationship with the company. If the machine is broke, the gas station has a responsibility to put up an out of order sign and notify it. What normal are you referring to? Screwing customers who patronize their establishment!

He gets the best contract offer from Buffalo.

I did pay for air that I didn't receive. It wasn't an attempt to pay because I actually did pay. I paid for a service that I didn't get. In most gas stations you pay upfront before receiving gas. What if I paid upfront $20 for gas and the gas pump didn't work? Wouldn't I get all my money back? If the guy working the counter said that we don't own the defective pumps so you have to notify the gas pump company to get reimbursed would that make sense? Absolutely not. So how is this different? Just because the gas station doesn't own the dispenser doesn't mean that they don't collect a fee or a percentage for allowing the device to be on their establishment. The gas station and car wash establishment does have a business relationship with the "air" company. If the machine is broken they have the ability to put a notice on the device and also contact the company. It's not my responsibility to contact the company, it's the responsibility of the gas station to notify the air company.

I made the point to this fellow that he should have had an out of order sign placed on air machine. As far as seeking reimbursement from that air compressor company, this fellow and his establishment could have sought reimbursement, instead of me. It should also be pointed out that I frequently "filled up" at this establishment, and this employee knew that I was a regular customer. I no longer patronize that establishment.

Your response is reasonable. I'm confident that buttering him up was not going to get me reimbursed. I went up to him and politely explained what happened. His attitude was dismissive. My responding attitude was his response was inadequate. The money was never the issue for me.

What makes me upset is that you have to put coins in a machine to get air for your tires. Having to pay for air is an outrage! Recently, I had to put air in my tires. I put 6 quarters in the machine that had a short time limit. So unsurprisingly, the machine didn't work. No air. I went into the gas station establishment to get a refund. The person working in the enclosed glass area told me that the machine was not owned by the establishment so he couldn't reimburse me. As everyone here knows very well, I'm usually a mellow fellow. I went berserk! I started screaming at him like a maniac. He told me he would be willing to give me 75 cents back. I went even crazier on him to the extent that he backed up with fear in his eyes. He then opened up the cash register and gave me $1.50, a full refund. The question I pose to the members here is: Did I act in an unreasonable manner?

We don't need to trade any of the young players who are already on the roster to bolster our mismatched roster. We have a number of good prospects and drafts picks to parlay in deals. Tucker was a terrific pickup. What did we give up for him? Nothing. Will we keep him? I hope so. Greenway is a player whose value goes beyond his production stats? He adds veteran presence, ruggedness and intelligent positional play to a roster full of players who too often scramble and lose sight of their defensive responsibilities. What did we give up for him? We gave up a second round pick when we had two of them. I have said this on more than a few occasions, so excuse me for the annoying repetition: We don't need blockbuster deals that strip this team further. We need a few astute deals that bolster a disjointed roster. The model to follow is the Washington Caps. Over the past couple of years they have refashioned their roster by acquiring medium range talents, some who underachieved at their former location. The result was that they ended up thickening and better balancing their roster. The Capitals record after 47 games is 32-10-5 for 69 pts. The record for Buffalo after 47 games is 18-24-5 for 41 pts. It wasn't that long ago that both teams were in the same strata. What happened to these two teams going in opposite directions? One organization acted smartly while the other organization demonstrated its mediocrity over the same period. My expressions of exasperation with this woebegone franchise is not that we were automatically doomed to failure because that was not the case. It was that the organization didn't seize opportunities to upgrade the roster when there were there opportunities to do so. Wretched mediocrity in the system created mediocrity on the ice. I blame the obtuse owner and sycophantic GM!

If the Sabres trade Power they will watch another young player thrive with another team. My preference would be to keep both of these two defenders and upgrade the lower pairings with more stay at home and rugged defenders. Why not add a bigger Clifton type defender to the blueline unit?

I have a different view on Cozens than most others have here. It's indisputable that Cozens has dramatically regressed this year. But let's not forget that prior to this regressive year (for a lot of players) that he has shown promise as a player. In the 23-24 season he scored 31 goals and had 37 assists with a +/- -3. In the 23-24 season he had 18 goals and 29 assists with a +/- -4. Instead of giving up on a young player who would likely perform better in a better functioning franchise, why not try putting him in a better position to succeed? I have felt for a long time that he is better suited to play wing. In the international tournaments, whenever he played wing with upper tier talent, he has thrived. I'm not against making a deal that improves this team. But right now his value is low, and the likely return won't be substantial. I still believe that he can be a capable second-line winger. I'm not throwing in the towel just yet on him. I recommend more patience and see how things development with him. I'm confident that my position is a minority position but am still comfortable with my position on this player.

Comparatively, on this roster he is an experienced player who also has playoff experience. The key issue is how you play more than how long you have played.

Having McCleod as a third or fourth line center is fine with me. I don't know why you are so negative toward having McLeod being a third or fourth line center for us? He's gives you a veteran presence, provides speed and is a good character guy to have mingling with the youngsters. And there is a good possibility that if you provide McCleod with more productive wingers his production will also go up.

How about having Cozens playing on a wing with Kulich centering for him? I would still like a second line winger added to the mix. That is doable.

When we do get a full house it is usually due to the fact that the opponent's fan base has taken over the arena. The sphynx owner should be asked about the embarrassing oddity of having more fans rooting for the opposition than the home team. It would be pointless to ask that question because he doesn't speak. He's too busy tinkering with his broken toy. What a freaking pathetic situation!

What's happened is that this is a stagnant franchise that has been crippled by its owner's incompetence, stubbornness and hubris. The criticisms that have been made about players and staff are the same criticisms that have been repeated for years. What more can be said that hasn't been said over and over? In that toxic environment the negativity inevitably gets directed toward one another. Compare that to the discussion about the Bills? There are multifaceted discussions about the games, players, coaching decisions, opposition, standings etc. That has faded away with this failed hockey franchise. So what happens is that there is a greater tendency to direct one's ire toward one another rather than discuss the topics that are normally involved with any particular sports franchises. The Sabres are not a serious franchise---it's a laughed at franchise. The Sabres are not a model to follow but a model what not to do. It's so sad what has happened to this proud franchise and fanbase. The owner should be ashamed of himself.

Another ace qb in the AFC is Burrows. I consider Mahomes to be the best of that exceptional group. The Bills were fortunate to select Allen from that draft class. Not only is he a great player but perfectly suited to represent the team and place.

As someone who is not part of this duel I can honestly say that his takes don't have an overtone of negativity. Are many of his takes critical of the hockey operation? Yes, just as it is mostly for everyone who follows this franchise. Let's not forget that this organization has been a resounding failure for a generation. What do you expect, a cascade of hosannas? I don't always agree with his takes and vice versa. But, I'm comfortable in saying that his takes are usually thoughtful and without any personal malice.

He goes to Montreal to give the Sabre players a pep talk. The result is that the Sabres responded by being overwhelmed by the inspired Canadians. It must have been a great pep talk where it deflated the team he stood in front of and inspired the opposition. Thereafter, Montreal went on a successful run. Doesn't this nonspeaking owner have any freaking pride? His own players (employees) are ignoring/mocking him. This owner has no shame. He would rather tinker with his broken toy than allow someone else to fix it. It's stupid and outrageous!

You don't have to go into detail with what's wrong with this laughable franchise because it is obvious what the source of the problem is. Let's look at a comparable situation where an owner has shackled a franchise and killed its own fanbase. It was sleazy Dan Snyder who owned the Washington Commanders and used it as his play toy. The league got tired of his boorish antics and his financial manipulations that screwed the other owners over visiting revenues. In the same year that he was dispatched after being forced to sell the franchise, in which he made an exorbitant profit, there was an immediate turnaround for this formerly moribund franchise. The Sabres are in the same straitjacket situation of hopelessness because we have an owner who prefers having his toy franchise to play with rather than having a serious franchise run by serious people without his interference. There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed before this fading franchise becomes relevant again. It starts at the top! Sally Jenkins poignantly described the Washington Commanders situation under sleazy Daniel Snyders as "rich man's conceit". That same description aptly applies to the sphynx Sabre owner. It appears that our owner is too shameless to be ashamed to what he has done to this once proud franchise and fanbase. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/01/14/commanders-playoffs-dan-snyder-josh-harris/

The Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres were in the same talent strata. Washington squeaked into the playoffs last year. In comparison, over the past couple of years Washington has made a number of medium type deals that refreshed the roster by adding more talent to create a thicker roster. As others have stated, KA did make some reasonable deals to improve the roster. But he didn't do enough, especially when considering that he had more assets to work with than Washington had. Even if one makes the argument that KA did improve the roster, it still is inadequate when you are competing with other teams that are improving their roster at a greater clip. Annual futility has become the norm for this flailing franchise.

When checking to see where the Sabres are in the standings, start at the bottom. Our earnest GM may be mediocre at his job but at least his performance has been reliably consistent.

The issue with McCleod is more about what his contract will be than about him as a player. I wouldn't want to sign him for 5-6 year term, at whatever price, but would be interested in him with a 3-4 year term. It seems to me that @LGR4GM is on the right track with a 3-4 yr term at $4.5 M. I see him as a 3C. If you want to get more production out of him then bring in another player or two who will upgrade the lower line he would be on.

His appearances on the Tonight Show were a riot.