SabresVet
-
Posts
391 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by SabresVet
-
-
2 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:
It’s disturbing how far we’ve fallen from last year… and that’s not saying much. This looks like a tank team. Where are we going? What’s the plan?
The plan is to keep Granato, keep getting inconsistent effort from the Gen Z kid...and then tell everyone things are getting better as they slide down the standings.
What did you think it was? 😉
-
1
-
-
2 goals in 5 periods and an OT.
Even Coach Norman Dale from Hoosiers would tell these guys to shoot more.
-
1
-
-
Usually teams are forced to move young productive players up for a contract extension when they are already A) Playoff-bound and B) spending near the cap.
Buffalo is neither and won't be any time soon.
-
6 minutes ago, jsb said:
Last 2 C’s they traded won a Cup. Good luck Casey
The centers this team has shipped out the past 6 years. O'Reilly, Reinhart, Eichel, and Mittelstadt.
Sabres have a tendency to ship players to Cup Winners/contenders. LOL.
-
The low level of trust in the GM is coming out full bore in this thread. And it's all completely reasonable.
Might be a good move in the long run...but being a seller at the deadline essentially with an asset he had no real intention of keeping will be suspect until it's not.
And it comes 3+ seasons into a rebuild. As @That Aud Smell noted, this was kind of set when TT and Cozens got extended.
-
2
-
-
3 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:
I know we agree for the most part and the bold is a valid concern but not that much. What is the delta in roster and buried cap Buffalo compared to Detroit? Less than $2M. What about comparison of Salary Cap - Just over $5M. This according to Cap Friendly. And while $5M is nothing to sneeze at, KA must own the poor decisions that allowed him to reach his "Cap restriction" (if this truly exists) at $75.5M.
Examples
- Decision to give Cozens a long term deal - could have been given a bridge deal and saved them $3-4M this year and next.
- Ibid - Mule/Samuelsson - Could have saved $2M AAV toward other free agents by bridging.
- $8.6M to Vets like Kyle, Robinson, Zemgus, and Jost. Look at 4th line guys on other teams - ie Vancouver.
- Petry vs Erik Johnson - From a cap perspective Jeff is over $600k cheaper and it cost Detroit a 4th and a prospect.
- Olofsson making $4.75M and playing what half of this seasons games?
- Eric Comrie - $1.8M AAV and part of the three headed monster.
If we agree that without these signings, a Sabres GM could use $15M on other players, including a true middle six winger (Compher/Perron) to take the place of Benson, a true 1B or #2 back up goalie to share the net with UPL (instead of Levi or Comrie, and allow Levi to start the year in Rochester). Leaving you another $6-8M on another bottom six forwards or #5/6 Defensemen (could have been via UFA or trade). All staying within the same "cap number" as they have today. Adams owns the results of what those bullet points/decisions brought.
Yeah, Detroit's spending isn't that much in front of Buffalo's these last 3 seasons. Spotrac had Buffalo minus 18M total over the last 3 seasons. Comes down to being efficient with cap dollars and making strategic decisions with players. I think Adams got nervous with young talent seeing Reinhart leave without a long-term plan in plate. And he wanted to send a message to keep home-grown guys here. Good initiative, not as good judgment on those Cozens/Samuelsson long-term deals.
GM's have to fail forward and, in the NFL with non-guaranteed contracts that's easier to do. Agree on all points...and when a NHL GM makes a mistake, they own it for the life of that contract.
-
1
-
19 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:
A quote from Stevie Y early this season from a story the Athletic did on the Red Wings rebuild.
”You dress 20 players every night, and my feeling is I would rather go to the free agent market instead of hoping or forcing any of our young guys in,” Yzerman said in September. “Really, filling our roster, completing our roster not only this year but over the last couple years, with some of the free agents, is to be patient and allow these younger players to develop and play at a reasonable pace, instead of just throwing them into the NHL and hoping they’re OK and hoping we’re going to win games that way. When we’re 100 percent certain that they’re ready to play, or that they should be in the NHL and help us win games, they’ll be in the NHL. But until then, one, they have to earn it, and two, they have to be ready, in our judgment — be ready to play.”
KA must have been absent that day in GM school. As he rushed Benson and others.
To your other point, about veterans, SY got a group of UFA’s right about the same age - 26-30. His free agent pick ups were not like EJ who is 36 in a few days. The Red wings did trade for an elder statesman (Jeff Petry) who’s father played for Tigers and was born and grew up in the area. But SY got Montreal to retain 50% so Jeff’s AAV is not equal to Johnson. Petry seems to be handling the day to day load better as well with far more ATOI, games played, points and is an overall plus player for the year.
There's different ways to rebuild a team, but doing so on the cheap is exceptionally hard. And that's what I think Adams had to contend with where Yzerman really didn't. Looking at Detroit's spending, they haven't been much beneath 70M as a low point since 2020-21. Adams was apparently only allowed to remain around the floor those first couple seasons. Not surprising he went with the youth movement for that reason.
And then, some bad decisions hurt their ability to improve, as you note, by prioritizing guys like EJ who, yeah, are leader veteran types for that locker room, but can't play the hockey they need. Adams was overcompensating for the youth in that room with late-stage veterans because he had such a vacuum in leadership.
Bad decisions beget bad decisions.
-
5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
Funny to read the Dahlin critiques. I'm accused of being the negative one around here but these critiques are way off the mark imo. I was actually thinking during this game that Dahlin, who I have criticized in the past, has really worked on his strength and finally come into his own as a solid NHL defenseman. As to this whole "supposed to be elite" issue, it's not Dahlin imo, it's the team defensive system as a whole. The players on this team still do not cover for each other properly and as such, the last line of defense often looks like it's at fault.
Third period imo UPL looked burnt out and I think we are clearly over using him. No way should we have had to go back to back with him over this weekend. Very few teams and goalie situations would have even tried that. As a result third period we were behind it.
The time these guys are on ice indicates Granato knows they're under some pressure to win now, albeit 50+ games into the season. If they'd have played better in November and December they wouldn't be running Dahlin out there 28+ minutes per or playing a now-dependable UPL on back to back nights.
This also hits at something I've had an issue with Adams about how he's rebuilt this roster. They lack depth and 1 injury hurts them more than it should.
Sure, Samuelsson is out, but it hurts more because recent signings like Clifton and E. Johnson (prior to his injury/sitting) weren't as reliable. The guys who perform, like in job environments, get more work.
Same goes for the goaltending. Not entirely bad to have a guy (UPL) separate from the group, but the position has a lack of depth if they can't play the backup more.
Not a long-term solution and points to them still needing better depth.
-
1
-
-
12 hours ago, Believer said:
Acts like a Den Mother of Cub Scouts… This team doesn’t need empathy… It needs a punch in the nose…
The HC sounds like a therapist with 20+ patients he's working with. That's my take on the interview.
When I listen to DG, his leadership comes off as weak. A yeller and screamer isn't required, but the word salad drives me nuts. I'd like a HC who is succinct, terse at times, and doesn't have to think for 5 seconds about how to avoid hurting someone's feelings. And that last part doesn't mean ripping a player in public.
Maybe DG spent too much time around Krueger and has picked up on that persona. Or, it's that he's been here too long (5 seasons now) and by default acquiesces to the players out of familiarity. All the more reason to make a change.
-
1
-
-
4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
Boo-hoo.
That arena turns to cheers quickly when they play well. Trouble is they play bad too often, simple as that.
I have no doubt it's seen as the most toxic in the league but we can't reverse cause and effect can we? That's what they are trying to do.
I am still amazed that the fan reaction calling for DG's firing did not motivate them to play harder for their coach. If I recall, this happened during the brutal loss to CBJ on 12/20...and they're 11-10-1 since then.
Instead they chose to focus their ire onto fans evidently. Simply amazing that professional athletes think results shouldn't really matter to fans.
-
2
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, Mango said:
You can zoom in and out as much as you want to find a lot of frustration with this franchise. Pegula is terrible in his tenure. Adams and Granato are the worst among his peers in his tenure. This roster as it it exists in this season is on pace for another historically bad record.
Pegula: 13 years....Nearly double the longest playoff streak in league history. Ruined this franchise. And that isn't hyperbole.
Adams: Longest tenured GM without a playoff appearance
Granato: Longest tenured HC without a playoff appearance.
2023-24 Roster: The first Sabres team to not win 3 games in a row in a single season (sans shortened covid year). This might be an NHL first. I am about 1/3 of the way through the league and so far it is.I looked at league standings after the Anaheim game and out of the bottom 16 teams about 2/3rds of the way through the season:
-5 have fired either their HC (STL, NYI, MIN, OTT) or GM (CBJ) this season
-4 fired their HC after last season and have a 1st year guy (NSH, CGY, WAS, ANA)
-3 have a HC in their 2nd full season (SJ, CHI) (MON) or one hired at the end of 2021-22
-1 is an expansion franchise (SEA) whose HC won a playoff series and is in his 3rd season
-1 is a long-time HC (PIT) with a track record of success
-2 have a HC in their 3rd season without a playoff appearance and likely will not make it this season (AZ, BUF)
Stellar company there with the Coyotes and the turmoil surrounding that franchise. Throw in that LA fired their HC despite being in the race for a playoff spot. And, that Detroit is now middle-tier in the standings after being bottom-quartile last year.
-
1
-
-
11 hours ago, Thorny said:
Or, just pay everyone professional, long term cash to play a professional game, all in the name of providing an entertainment product, and let them…..learn *how* to be professionals *AFTER* the fact, haha.
The Sabres have lost the plot, and some fans are reading an entirely different book along with them. Taking 5 years to *learn to play* isn’t absurd, it’s nearly insane lol. It’s a ridiculous, Sabres-invented concept.
The “5 year plan” was about taking a slow approach SPECIFICALLY so that we’d be perennial cup contenders by year 5.
*the entire point of that strategy is to purposely take a longer path, because “just making the playoffs” isn’t enough*
the strategy was NEVER to take 5 years just to do something almost all teams, historically, do much quicker, year over year. It was never about taking 5 years to make the playoffs. that sort of plan is DOA
”trust the process, patience, young team…and if you do so, you’ll be rewarded with playoffs in 2024 or 2025” is *already* a failed strategy.
That’s what some miss: the expectation of playoffs, bare minimum, was *inclusive, already* of us having all these caveats people point to. Youth, process, etc.
The plan failed. It failed both relative to other teams, and even more importantly: intrinsically. Its literal strengths collapsed upon themselves.
It now needs to be re-written.Making the playoffs would have/should have been a part of the development of these younger players. Even if only to go up against a 1 or 2 seed in the first round and exit after a 5 or 6 game series.
Agree completely that they're hiding behind the "Development" narrative. It's so ambiguous enough to say because you can't quantify "Development" progress and the only real way is where they are in the standings. A 78-point pace season is not development after a 91 point campaign the previous year...particularly when (as someone upthread noted) that Peterka and UPL are the only ones who've taken a step forward this year. And Quinn probably would have minus the injuries.
It ain't development when just about all the other players have taken a step back.
-
1
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, FrenchConnection44 said:
I don’t expect a coach to yell and scream. But you get a chance with some clout and they will respect him or get a bad rep around the league. And he can also sit their butts on the bench. And ride them so hard they won’t like it. Bill Belichick was a total ***-**** but got players to respond. Don’t have to be that severe.
But players need 1) a hard kick in the pants. If not a belt whipping. They are soft. 2) A confidence boost that they have talent but need to up their game starting in the offseason. 3) A winning system.
That’s why I’d fire Granato and bring in a new coach ASAP. Before the offseason begins to set expectations; and before free agency so we can have some appeal.
This is a generational issue and what worked 20-50 years ago with Gen X and Boomer generation athletes doesn't now. It's why other pro leagues have been hiring managers and head coaches who are younger...to connect with these young guys. Seems like the NBA, MLB and even the NFL now are plucking guys pretty soon after they retire from a pro career or after only a couple jobs for that top job.
I still think Granato has done all he can and it's time to exit stage left. They need someone up to the task of the NHL and all it's complexity.
-
9 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:
Here's what I do,
1. You fire Granato and the entire coaching staff the day after the season ends
2. You make the players watch the playoffs as a group, KA can organize it.
3. You make a push to get RBA and if that doesn't work hire Gallant, Beudreau, or Berube
4. Have the coach come in and have a team meeting; tell them they need to hop on the bus to win or exit stage left. (We know these guys like it here, now we just need to weed out the ones who don't care enough about winning)
5. Give them their marching orders(suggestions) for the summer and take care of the disinterested
6. Make some moves and then go to Prague with a rabid hyena in your pants and win.
This is all well and nice, but why do pro athletes need to be motivated, especially some who've been rewarded with long-term extensions?
Yelling and screaming does nothing for a guy who's got guaranteed money coming for 4 or more seasons.
GM has really tied the hands of a future HC, if they did dump Granato with 2 year left on his deal.
-
1
-
-
5 minutes ago, JohninMinn. said:
Donny's a top 3rd period coach.
He's bottom quality in the first...or the second.
Down 1-0 or 2-0 and I can hear it now: "We got 'em right where we want 'em!"
-
22 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:
It frustrates me that the point here is getting lost.
I don’t think anyone here gives a sh1t whether the team salutes or doesn’t.
What’s causing concern is that an unnamed Sabre veteran - read: Okposo - confirmed that, after a handful of leather lungs bellowed “fire Donny” amidst a 9 goal shellacking, the team decided to stop making a customary gesture of fan appreciation.
It doesn’t matter what the gesture was. It doesn’t matter if it was good or bad. It doesn’t matter if you value it or don’t.
What matters is what the team and its leadership elected to do in response to frustration being voiced by some fans in the arena. And what they elected to do was effectively say “ well then fu*k them - Donny’s our guy.”
Awful.
I'm guessing most people in this thread are Gen X or...those of you shall we say are "more experienced in life." Cool. For me, growing up in the 80s and 90s I saw guys born in the 50s, 60s, 70s playing NHL hockey including many from Europe. Compare that with Millennial and Zoomer athletes today where feelings and not offending people are important but results in a bad culture are less so.
And even if this story is true, they were upset the fans demanded a HC be fired? Used to happen all the time a generation ago and players handled it much differently
-
1
-
-
41 minutes ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:
Another loss this Buffalo Sabres team needs a blockbuster trade to its core 6 forwards in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo
Amazing that since tearing it down to start 2021-22 (or year 3 of his rebuild) Adams is a seller at the deadline still.
A trade does nothing for this season anyway. Hard to see how it does for next year with the way Adams has constructed this roster of finesse types who aren't going to sneak up on opponents anymore.
-
2
-
-
8 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:
We laid a few engineers off earlier this week following layoffs at the end of last year. It's not fun at all. Seems a lot of companies overextended during the period of low interest rates and the expected returns never materialized. This is a consequence of that.
I don't think people realize how much corporate debt is out there and at non-fixed interest rates. My company out-sourced a lot of IT overseas and let's just say those contractors are not high quality.
-
3
-
-
8 minutes ago, TageMVP said:
Adams is banking on the other contracts he gave out. Can't pay everybody
I like it. Trade him
The GM chose birthday boy Kylan Dozens over Mittelstadt when the former signed his deal.
Something's gotta give eventually with this team stagnant now beyond the half-way point of the season.
-
3 hours ago, LTS said:
Fubo has raised its rates another $6 total beginning Feb 1. The Sabres have done nothing to make me want to spend that much.
Thank you to the Sabres for saving me money.
Not gonna watch tonight because tomorrow... must work.
I cut my Fubo a couple weeks ago and have no regerts, er regrets.
Knowing this team, they'll realize last night was bad, and up the effort tonight but still lose. I'm thinking it'll be a 4-3 loss.
-
8 hours ago, jad1 said:
Should fire Adams and hire an experienced GM first, and then let the GM hire the coach.
Pegula won't do this though, because he has an aversion to hiring experienced GMs. And he picks the coach himself to ensure the coach reports to him.
Pegula got burned when he relied on the NHL to provide him recommended GM candidates to interview because he's never done the work to establish relationships with executives. So, he hires JBot off the list, and then gives him resources only to see it all fail which traumatized him into only hiring someone he trusted. Someone who had zero personnel experience besides playing in the NHL. Man, this reminds me of the last near-decade of the Ralph owned Bills.
But this is where we are 3 years into this current rebuild: An owner who doesn't know anyone 12 years into owning the team who hires GM's who didn't grow up in personnel who hire coaches not NHL caliber.
At this point, either Adams isn't allowed to fire the HC or he's unwilling because he believes his plan needs more time. I believe 5 HC's have been fired this season alone not counting CBJ and crickets in Buffalo.
-
2
-
-
How did the schedule work out that they'd play the 2 worst teams in the league back to back? From the Western Conference no less?
-
2 hours ago, GoPuckYourself said:
Adams keeps saying on WGR that he believes this will all work itself out, the man is completely clueless imo. Something is clearly not right when your entire roster aside from 2 players has regressed. He won't do a thing but if he was smart (hockey smart) which he doesn't appear to be then he'd trade Mittlestadt for a top 4 defensemen because there is no way in hell I'm giving that guy another 7+M contract for what he brings, he's a solid complimentary player but his value is never going to be higher than right now and if we truly want a top 4 Dman I think he's the player who can help get us 1, if it takes a Savoie or our 1st to help bring said player here then you throw that in as well depending on the player but Adams refusues to give up picks and prospects or mess with this core of players in general so it will be more of the same until this staff is let go unfortunately.
Adams should be a seller at the deadline with how his roster has performed mid-way through this season. If he makes a minor move or two to pick up picks/depth it's an indication he thinks the roster is fine to prove what he's said on GR is how he believes.
If they make a bold move to acquire a player, then OK. Then it's on them to go push for the playoffs and shows he believes they needed a spark.
And if they sit tight on all players, pending UFAs and all prospects, it's because he's under no pressure to win. That may be the most tell-tale sign ownership is apathetic. Keeping Granato around just affirms that.
I'm not calling for anything short-sighted, but it's apparent a malaise has settled over this franchise (apologies to Jimmy Carter) and those in charge have chosen to do as little as possible.
-
1
-
-
34 minutes ago, pi2000 said:
Finally! The shake-up they most desperately needed!
PREPARE THE BANNER
And it only took losing to the Kraken at home to do it. Now, if they lose to Ottawa tonight does Cale Klague get moved for future considerations?
GDT: Buffalo Sabres @ Nashville Predators 3-7-2024 8pm MSG Radio 55
in The Aud Club
Posted
Pegula is involved when he shouldn't be and isn't when he should be. He is a major issue, but at this point, given the 7 HC and 1 GM fired this season, I don't think Adams can fire Granato. Either by rule from above or because he's attached to this mess that close.
4 of the bottom 8 teams in the Eastern Conference have either fired a HC or GM (CBJ, OTT, NJ, NYI). Montreal's HC is in his second full season, the Caps are replaced their HC last season leaving only Pittsburgh. Something is amiss in Buffalo's front office.