pi2000

I don't believe leadership can be taught, you're either a natural born leader... or you're not. You can get better at it, but learned leadership is not the type of leadership this team needs. The expectation is that if you don't contribute, we'll give somebody else an opportunity. Nothing is given. "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent vice of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." - Winston Churchhill

DIsagree. Beaulieu and Antipin are who most of us thought they were. Scandella was supposed to provide some offensive punch, he's done nothing, and his play in the d-zone leaves a lot to be desired as well IMO. I like his effort level, I just don't think he's anywhere near being a top pairing guy. Risto and Scandella would make a nice 2nd pairing. Everybody else is at best candidates for a 3rd pairing. McCabe has largely been a disappointment IMO, his d-zone play away from the puck is atrocious.

O'Reilly is a massive disappointment this season. He looks completely out of shape, he's slow, lagging behind the play most nights. His first couple seasons here he was a determined puck hound, creating chance after chance off the forecheck.. now he looks gassed after 15 seconds, shoulder slumped over, head down trying to catch up to the play from behind like he has sandbags strapped to his legs.

I'm having a bad day. Disagree. This team is broken because of a leadership void and a soft coach. I'd start by waiving Larsson, Nolan and Wilson. They're useless. Leave those 3 spots open to rotate guys in from Roch. A line of Smith, Fasching, Rodrigues might be fun.. and they probably get 3rd line minutes... rotate Nylander, Bailey, Baptiste, Crisco, Gill, Porter, etc. Keep doing that until somebody shows they want to stick around. As for Reinhart, keep him on the 4th line until he does something... or play him with they young kids, maybe they'll find some chemistry with some unexpected combination. The wrong thing to do is to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. Whatever they'd tried to his point has failed. Right, but at some point you need to reward the guys playing well down there. Do you leave CJ Smith there forever? He's a millenial, he's gonna start to get grumpy soon because... entitlements.

The guy is playing like ######, so lets reward him with top line minutes. It's sends a message throughout the organization... if you're underperforming, you'll be rewarded. Solid strategy. Meanwhile CJ Smith is lighting the AHL on fire and can't even get a look on the lowest scoring team in the NHL. And everybody wonders why this team is broken.

Classic example of a leadership void. The Sabres are a rudderless ship.

I disagree that they drafted "bad" players. They just didn't develop them in the right environment. Buffalo is seen as a place where you have a good chance to get regular minutes in the NHL... there are no expectations beyond that. Boston has guys like Bergeron and Chara leading the charge... Buffalo has... well, they don't even have anybody worthy of being Captain. That says a lot. IMO if they fix the leadership void, then things will get better, young players will feel peer pressure to stay on an upward trajectory. The good news is that can happen quickly. The bad news is that they're going to have to give up some picks/prospects to bring in that type of player. IMO, that's JBOTs dilemma.... does a true leader rise from the ashes and rally the troops? Or will he be forced to make an acquisition by unloading some assets? He's giving this group a chance but so far nobody has stepped up... and that's disappointing.

Smith needs to get a look on big club here soon... he's certainly earned it.

It was official exactly one year ago ;) https://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/24564-should-samson-be-sent-to-minors/?p=896162

most likely scenario most Billsy scenario

Yeah same happened to me. I saw a bunch of guys take pucks and sticks to the face and had a few close calls myself. A few us went back to the full cage, first game take two vicious high sticks right to the mouth area. Would've been a mess without the cage, so left it on ever since. Out of college (and during summer hockey) I went with nothing at all because vision. One thing is for certain, non contact beer league is a hundred times more hazardous than the pro level.

Had a dream last night. I was in a restaurant, sitting at a table next to an older couple. The lady gets up and runs to the bathroom, the chair almost falling over in the process. I reach over to grab the chair to keep it from falling, only it's covered in diarrhea. I spend the next several hours trying to find a bathroom to wash it off my hand. What does it mean?

Yeah, agreed. Defense awareness is lacking up and down the lineup. It's why I said last summer they need some bottom 6 guys who can defend... to take some pressure off the defense, and spell ROR late in games and on the PK. Was hoping they would've targeted a guy like Brian Boyle. Instead they're stuck with guys like Larsson, Josefson, Wilson (Simpson), and Nolan.

Some guys are playing better, others obviously can't do what's being asked of them.... Larsson, Bogo. On the first CAR goal, both Risto and Scandella are in front of the net with O'Reilly chasing behind. The puck goes to the point and O'Reilly cruises up high to the point... so 3 Sabres up high, and then Johnson leaves the a juicy rebound on a silver platter. Pi minus to O'Reilly and Johnson, and a secondary Pi minus to Girgensons for not getting in the shot lane after Pominville chased the puck to the boards... which could explain why O'Reilly came up high expecting Girgensons to slide over. CAR second goal is on Larsson, not tying up Staal, he tried, just too weak and small.. also Simpson way out of position, not in the shot lane too low in the zone. Pi minus to Larsson and Simpson. CAR 3rd goal Bogo coughs it up on the dump in. Kane goes to the bench for new lumber instead of staying in his shot lane. Pi minus to Bogo and Kane. CAR 4th goal, McCabe makes a bad pass, Antipin goes for a change without making sure the puck got deep. McCabe hustles back into position, Bogo makes an absolutely brutal play on the mini 2-on-1, he drops down to his knees without taking away the pass for the easy tap in. As a dman you must take away that pass. Johnson is out at the top of the crease taking away the angle on the shooter, expecting Bogo to take away the pass. He doesn't and they have an easy goal. Pi minus to Bogo and Antipin.

Wore a cage in high-school then a bubble in college, then nothing at all for a while, then a half-shield, now back to a full-cage... finally smartened up! :). The issue with the cage is vision, you eventually get used to looking through the bars, but the problem is with pucks in tight near your feet. When you glance down with a cage you don't see the ice very well because of the angle... your're looking through more bars and the chin cup gets in the way too. So you learn to be very deliberate with tilting your head down to find loose pucks in tight... which is OK for beer league, but if you're getting paid millions to perform, playing full check, and have full medical staff on-hand, it makes more sense to go with nothing at all, or at least a half-shield to protect your eyes, but even those aren't going to protect your eyes in all situations. A close friend of mine who I played with in college lost his eye playing beer league, a shot deflected and went straight up into his face destroying his eye. He had a young family at the time and he reached out to all his former teammates to make sure they were going full cage/bubble if still playing beer league because he'll never see the same again.

In his second year of pro hockey he needs to be showing flashes of why he was drafted 8th overall.... especially in the AHL. Let me put it this way...Nylander has 4 points in 12 AHL games. Matt Moulson had 4 points in 1 AHL game. The AHL is significantly slower and less skilled than the NHL. He should be tearing up, instead he's been invisible.

Players should hold themselves accountable, but should not have to hold each other accountable. Accountability starts with yourself, but when the coach doesn't hold the team accountable, then the accountability must come from teammates holding each other accountable. If you're accountable for yourself, and the coach is holding the team accountable, then you'll have success. And who's holding Housley accountable? What is he accountable for? When does he becoming accountable for this lack of accountability?

Hockey is a simple game. There's a simple reason this team is underperforming... but go ahead and make complicated excuses for everybody if that makes you feel better.

And who's fault is that? Trading away underperforming players would be a huge mistake IMO, and set this team back for many years. I hope Botterill is smart enough to realize that if every single player is underperforming then coaching is the issue. That said, I think he gives Housley until mid-Jan to show some kind of progress. My guess is he's using the looming threat of trades to try and motivate these guys. I'd be shocked if he actually pulls the trigger on any of the core guys.

Wrong. The expectations were that this team was going to battle for a playoff spot. Going in with the attitude of "evaluation and deleopment" is a loser mentality. This is ice hockey were talking about. Other than Moulson getting waived (which should've happened years ago), and the Wilson trade, what else has happened during the season? Nothing. The Sabre's improved by 30 points in Bylsma's first year. They took a step back his second year, but that was because of Eichel's injury. In fact the 2016-17 team without Eichel is outpacing this current team with Eichel and an improved roster. Sad. Creating a competitive atmposphere is not something the GM should be responsible for. The Head Coach needs to make it a competitive environment by challenging guys and handing out ice time to those who've earned it. That's not happening on this team, and that's Housley's fault. Just because he's new, doesn't me he can't hold guys accountable. How many times has Eichel been benched? Reinhart? ROR? none. You hear it in player interviews as well, guys talk a lot about holding each other accountable... why? Because it's not coming from the head coach, so they need to police themselves. That's a losing environment, it creates a divide in the locker room... I've been there and had coaches like Housley, it's no beuno. The best coach is a guy all the players fear, and respect, he's not their friend, he's their leader. You want a friend? Look to the guy sitting next to you on the bench. That atmosphere brings guys together, and it's lacking on this team.

You know who else is 19? Laine, Tkachuk, Sergachev, DeBrincat, Keller, etc... Nylander can't even contribute to an AHL club, I'm sorry, that's disappointing.

So basically throw away an entire season just to get to know everybody better? I disagree strongly with this. Look what Gallant has done in Vegas. He's hard on the guys, expects a lot and they play like their hair's on fire because of his leadership. Housley wouldn't have that team anywhere near a playoff spot, but hey... he'd be "getting to know everybody really well"... right? Not necessarily Torts, but somebody who isn't there to just to make friends.

flight and accommodations included?

I think Housley is a fine coach.. for a veteran team that's already learned how to work hard every shift. He's not the right fit for this group at this time... they're still figuring how to bring a consistent effort shift by shift.. .and that requires a disciplinarian, not a tactician. I just don't think he's demanding enough and it shows on the ice. Bylsma was a better disciplinarian than Housley, he was more demanding and they had better results (with a worse roster). Sure, young players may not have liked that style, but it's what's best for their development.... now they've taken a step back in the wrong direction, lazy play, developing bad habits, it's a mess... and that falls on the head coach.

Has Nylander done anything at all in Rochester? What a disappointment he's been. He's getting outscored by guys like Sahir Gill and Steve Moses.