That Aud Smell

fwiw Lindy Ruff’s Tie @LindyRuffsTie 36m Replying to @LindyRuffsTie Let’s just say that Jack Eichel does an interesting impression of his teammates. and Playoffs!!! In 2025 @Husaria 30m So, how about that Ryan O'Reily impression from Jack Eichel, FOKLS

Enough of that. For present purposes, anyway. I know he did a lot of poor drafting. But he also hit on a guy like Pominville in round 2 or 3, which is exactly what a team needs to push over the top. And don't forget the Miller lottery ticket.

As someone who thinks he's seeing ROR as behind the play a lot (or at least not driving the play), I am interested to hear a take to the effect that all is well with the gritty toothless wonder.

It occurs to me what the issue is with #23: He's missing ... THE D.

This was a really good post - especially the items above. I got nervous when I kept reading the Tweets and articles about how errrwun (outside of Buffalo) was reportedly cutting weight before camp in an effort to be quicker and faster. We're still trying to emerge from the heavy (footed) model, I think.

Be careful. You will summon him.

The heart of the problem is that the franchise has not had a talented FO team leading its hockey operations for an extended period of time (say, like, 5 years minimum). That's it. I know that's not as metaphysical as some would like, but that's really it. Unless and until that comes to pass, the team is apt to stink (even while stumbling into a playoff spot here or there). It's incumbent on the Pegulas to put that team in place (and maybe they only need to make 1 key hire to make it happen (and maybe Botterill is that 1 key hire)) and then largely* get the eff out of the way. * Yes, some level of meddling is to be expected. But I really do think the Bills absord most of that energy nowadays.

That was the beginning of the end for me with Reinhart, I think. It wasn't the end of the end, mind you. But his response to that situation was poor an unprofessional. Insolent. I brushed it off a bit, though, because Dreary Dan, etc. In hindsight, I think it was just as problematic as it seemed. Yep. And maybe don't stop there either. Move another slow-footed core piece and all the local Tim Hortons franchisees can breathe easier. Maybe. Dude. If that's the case, then the team really is hosed.

Wait - srsly?

I have precisely the same sense with Kane. It's difficult to express, and even difficult to prove with numbers or data, but it feels like there is something amiss. He scores goals. He's said to be a full-effort sort of player. He'll stand up for teammates if there's trouble on the ice. And yet, I have come to conclude that there is something rotten about the current core of this team. And Kane appears to be at the center of that core. He is not the only player I would like to see moved out for other players or prospects, but he's chief among them. I'm also open to the idea that Reinhart and/or ROR have to go as well. For other NHL-caliber players, I should think. I just think the whole garden really needs to be turned over in a comprehensive way because the current roster seems deeply flawed -- not just in terms of talent but also attitude, heart, and/or professionalism.

I'm to a point where IDGAF (is that still a thing?) about whether anyone currently on the roster -- probably other than Eichel -- is still on this team next season.

While I don't agree with the Foligno take, I think the stuff about Eichel is pretty interesting and insightful. I had not really considered the extent to which he's being asked to become more of a 2-way player. While I'm at it: How many power play points did Eichel have at this point last season? And how many now? The players deserve boo-dos (opposite of kudos, I think) for a lot -- but the coaching staff done effed up a fantastic power play.

Agreed. And the rot won’t end there.

It's weird because why would you choose to convey that message in the context of statements you're giving to the media -- by being sorta shouty and trying to pitch your voice over toward Reinhart and whomever else isn't pulling his weight? I dunno. Maybe Scandella's tried doing it one-on-one or in team meetings, and nothing's changing. So he went that route instead. In all cases, it would bespeak dysfunction.

^ Someone Tweeted that Scandella appeared to be talking loudly when he said that, as if he were trying to be heard by other players. Which is kinda weird.

Good call.

Saw that. The guy's as good as gone, yeah? I think this thread was started at a time when Kane was our leading goal-scorer and the Sabres were maybe going to make a season of it. One of those facts is probably still true (I'm too lazy to check), and the other is decidedly not the case. The Sabres are sellers. They should be moving Kane for a player/prospect (and maybe a pick? pick swap) that fits the vision of what they want to build. The rationale of "how can you support trading a guy who's our best player when we already stink?" is flawed to me. I think that the proposition answers the question it seeks to pose. That is to say: If you're the leading goal scorer on a sh1tty team, you might just be (part of) the problem.

I appreciate that feedback -- it helps focus and better express my own thoughts. Especially the bolded. With the story that came up this week on Twitter -- it was something from a book where Briere was confirming what everyone believed about the delinquent 5x5 offer and July 1, 2007, and then also Sabres Goal a Day on Twitter posting the Hecht goal from game 7 of the 2006 ECF -- a situation arose where my youngest was asking me about what it was like to have the Sabres be good, but how disappointing it must have been to have them not reach the SCF and win. And you know ... his questions got me thinking. I readily thought back to a half-dozen memories from those Cup runs, especially 2006. I don't think there's anything, really, that I would do to change or improve on the experiences I had. They are such fond memories. That's all sport is really about, anyway: Being and feeling connected to your team, city, town, community, etc. (/Whispers: It isn't *really* about what happens on the ice, field, court, although that's a key element to what it is actually all about.) Would my memories of 2006 be better had the Sabres won the Cup? Yeah, I suppose so. But I don't feel like the memories I have of that time are deficient because they didn't. Onward!

I can't get to the site from where I am (natural stat trick, I think), but I saw a #fancystats graph on where the Sabres' shots came from. It's maybe misleading to say the Sabres had a lot of SOG, given where they came from. I watched a tiny bit of the game last night. I can't get off my obsession with ROR being too slow and too often behind the play, and what I saw last night did nothing to help that. I saw that he led the team in TOI. I know, of course, that he is a diligent and responsible player, but it's frickin' weird how inconsequential he's been this year. That leads me to my sense that he's out of step with how the game's being played.

On second thought: He’ll rejoin Coughlin, right?

But hey: How about an epic swan song as starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills?

I apologize if this has been stated upthread, but I'm done wanting or expecting anything out of this team until further notice (from me, to me, I guess). On a more metaphysical level (I think), I'm working to reject the ever popular (and, frankly, quite tired) narrative of the long-suffering sports fan. Sports are fun. They're supposed to be fun. Sometimes, there will be disappointment when a desirable achievement is within sight but not secured. But we're a long way from that sort of thing.

The rationale for benching Eli is maybe a bit weird at this point. Like they actually want to see what they have in Geno?