Lowest point in your Sabre life?

[Trettioåtta]

Black Sunday

[BetweenThePipes00]

My low point was defnitely 86-87 when Bert retired ... we had just moved away from Buffalo, so that added to it ... we're talking almost 30 years ago, so as a teenager the feeling was very different than today with the Internet and cell phones (free long distance was a dream) ... we may as well have moved to the moon, not 3 hours south into the sticks of Pennsylvania. The only way to follow the team was box scores in USA Today IF you got the later edition that had the scores from the night before ... it was miserable. No matter how bad the team is now, it's still better than that.

[wjag]

Right here, right now knowing that the climb out is steep; Hiring Ron Rolston as coach

[Marvelo]

Low points:

 

This year and 86-87

Losing to Carolina in the Conference Finals when Edmonton was up next.

The Brad Park goal

The two Stanley Cup elimination games

Drafting Artem Kriukov, the Russian Concussion

The slow mistakes of the Regier years

Gerbe's buyout

Perreault's retirement when he still had something left in the tank...I think he retired out of frustration

The parade of bad owners, including the Rigas jail sentence

The Martin and Malarchuk injuries

The deaths of Horton and Martin

Black Sunday

 

Comes a point where you just look at all the misfortunes and mistakes and say the Buffalo Sabres should've just stayed the Bisons.

Edited May 15, 2014 by 716

[KD in CT]

The 3d period of the ECF in Raleigh.

 

 

 

p.s. and ###### you, Brad Park.

[WildCard]

Losing to Ottawa in the ECF's in 2007 has to be mine. I hated Ottawa more than any team I've ever watched because of last year, and going into the series I just had a feeling Ottawa would have their revenge. We stole their shot the year before when they were the #1 seed and it only seemed fitting that they would return the favor. I just remember watching the final minutes tick off the clock to let Ottawa go up 3-1 and being the most upset I've ever been at sports. Not even angry, just so god-damn sad

[PASabreFan]

Come on you nattering nabobs. I'm not losing to that schmuck.

[Brawndo]

Losing all the defense to injuries against Carolina.

 

And the delay of game penalty leading to the GWG in the same series.

[Weave]

My low point was defnitely 86-87 when Bert retired ... we had just moved away from Buffalo, so that added to it ... we're talking almost 30 years ago, so as a teenager the feeling was very different than today with the Internet and cell phones (free long distance was a dream) ... we may as well have moved to the moon, not 3 hours south into the sticks of Pennsylvania. The only way to follow the team was box scores in USA Today IF you got the later edition that had the scores from the night before ... it was miserable. No matter how bad the team is now, it's still better than that.

 

But that season got us the #1 overall pick. It was what was needed to rebuild the team. :cry:

[WildCard]

Come on you nattering nabobs. I'm not losing to that schmuck.

Am...am I the schmuck? :huh:

[PASabreFan]

Am...am I the schmuck? :huh:

 

Oh dear, no.

[inkman]

No goal. You knew that team wasn't going to get another shot.

[WildCard]

Oh dear, no.

I think I'm showing my youth here. :blush:

 

Only reference I can think of is Men in Tights. Saw it the other week for the first time. I liked it, but definitely not my favorite Mel Brooks movie.

[Neo]

December 2, 1981. I was 20 and a junior at UB. I had a job delivering packaged goods with a retail store near the Main Street campus. I heard a radio story explaining that Gare, Schoenfeld and Smith were traded to Detroit. It was emotional for all fans. For me, it separated my time as a boy, cheering my heros, from my time as an adult, following my team. The passion is unchanged, but the magic of youth disappeared. I grew up with Schoney and Gare. The finals, 50 goal seasons, and fights in the Zamboni corridor went away. Hockey became a sport and a business to me. Important, yes, but painted with the realism brush that touches one thing after another as boys become men. I still love Christmas, but smile when I remember leaving coco and carrots for a jolly old man and reindeer.

Edited July 2, 2014 by Neo

[deluca67]

December 2, 1981. I was 19 and a junior at UB. I had a job delivering packaged goods with a retail store near the Main Street campus. I heard a radio story explaining that Gare, Schoenfeld and Smith were traded to Detroit. It was emotional for all fans. For me, it separated my time as a boy, cheering my heros, from my time as an adult, following my team. The passion is unchanged, but the magic of youth disappeared. I grew up with Schoney and Gare. The finals, 50 goal seasons, and fights in the Zamboni corridor went away. Hockey became a sport and a business to me. Important, yes, but painted with the realism brush that touches one thing after another as boys become men. I still love Christmas, but smile when I remember leaving coco and carrots for a jolly old man and reindeer.

This.

 

Gare and Schoenfeld being traded was the first real taste of sports related heart break.

[X. Benedict]

December 2, 1981. I was 19 and a junior at UB. I had a job delivering packaged goods with a retail store near the Main Street campus. I heard a radio story explaining that Gare, Schoenfeld and Smith were traded to Detroit. It was emotional for all fans. For me, it separated my time as a boy, cheering my heros, from my time as an adult, following my team. The passion is unchanged, but the magic of youth disappeared. I grew up with Schoney and Gare. The finals, 50 goal seasons, and fights in the Zamboni corridor went away. Hockey became a sport and a business to me. Important, yes, but painted with the realism brush that touches one thing after another as boys become men. I still love Christmas, but smile when I remember leaving coco and carrots for a jolly old man and reindeer.

 

This was a much worse day for me than Briere and Drury leaving.

Schoney and Danny didn't want to leave.

[nfreeman]

 

This.

 

Gare and Schoenfeld being traded was the first real taste of sports related heart break.

 

And Rico.

[.55.]

No goal is alone at the bottom, but Kasparaitis from the blue line and the Canes series are keeping it company.

[BagBoy]

The 75 finals certainly comes to mind. Almost 40 years later and I still hate the Flyers more than any other team.

No Goal is still something I haven’t really been able to accept, even now.

But the 2006 Hurricanes series is the low point for me. We –bleeping- had them, and Carolina was barely able to handle #8 Edmonton (with a 3^rd string goalie) in the finals. We had 4 AHL defensemen for game 7. That Hurricanes team was very possibly the most undeserving “champ” in NHL history.

Let’s face it, the way things played out after July 1, 2007, it wasn’t a bad thing for the Sabres losing Briere and Drury, because those two were offered way more $ than they were worth, and they both went downhill quickly afterwards. Hindsight is 20/20 but, my only regret about the 2007 off-season was not letting Vanek go to Edmonton for all that compensation (of course I didn’t feel that way back then!).

I like where the Sabres are right now. I don’t mind sucking for a while in order to have a legit chance of getting where we all want the Sabres to be. Sacrificing mediocrity is a small price to pay for that chance.