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Thank you Sabres

dudacek

By dudacek
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dudacek

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Christmas hasn’t been a happy time for Sabres fans, at least not for the past decade or so.

Instead of unwrapping shiny new toys over the holidays, we’re usually putting them back into the closet hoping Santa will somehow patch up their cracks and wipe away the tarnish in time for next year.

That is why I am grateful for this year. Instead of numbly accepting another lump of coal wrapped with a ribbon stamped “maybe some other time”, I have reason to say “thank you, Sabres.”

 

Thank you for the franchise defenceman

I remember April 28, 2018 well. It was the first time in months where I had jumped to my feet, pumped my fist in the air, and yelled out loud in celebration over something Sabre-related. I weathered the painful Housley-fed teenage bullyings, the cringey Krueger-fuelled paralysis and the open rebellion among my brothers and sisters in fandom because I believed in the talent. And, at long last, we have been rewarded.

Rasmus Dahlin is, without a doubt, the best defenceman in Buffalo Sabres history. Strong enough to win and protect pucks, smooth enough to move them where they need to go, smart enough to see plays no one else does and skilled enough to execute them. And a bit of a *****-disturber to boot. He is what we’d always hoped he would be when we won the lottery: a legitimate Norris Trophy contender.

 

Thank you for the first line

Lafontaine/Mogilny/Andreychuk and Perreault/Robert/Martin were special: explosive, game-changing and often unstoppable. It’s early, but Thompson/Tuch/Skinner has that feel, that magic. Those deadly shots, those sneaky puck strips, the sustained possessions, the dangerous rushes: the sense at times that they are men playing against boys.

It’s impossible to fully compare eras, but at the moment they are 3rd, 9th and 5th in the league in points per game at their respective positions. At its best, the French Connection was 3rd, 5th and 3rd. TST is legitimately one of the best lines in the NHL.

 

Thank you for the star centre

Somewhere on here you will find a Tweet with most of Tage Thompson’s goals from this year. It’s jaw-dropping. This is a franchise that has featured Lafontaine and Perreault, but has there ever been a player who has scored so many highlight reel goals in so short a space of time?

The toughest thing about the failure of the Eichel era was that little voice whispering “but if you trade him, how are you ever going to get a #1 centre? You know you can’t contend without one.” This isn’t a heater. It isn’t a blip. Thompson is for real.  He can impose his will on a game. He and Dahlin are the types of talent that can be the best players on a cup-winner.

That he was under our noses the whole time feels nothing short of miraculous.

 

Thank you for the entertainment.

The best offence in the league? Who saw that coming? A power play clicking at nearly 30%? Highlight reel dekes and passes? A sense that the game is never really ever decided until the final minute? After years of knowing that a 2-0 deficit was insurmountable, and that a 1-0 lead was going to inevitably turn into a 3-1 loss, this year’s team is like water in the desert.

The fact that this group also plays hockey with an obvious joy and passion for the game, and seems to be full of the types of people you genuinely want to root for only adds to the fun.

 

And thank you for the hope.

Not one of them has played anywhere near that magical 200 game mark necessary before a player’s ceiling starts to become apparent. But it is clear Cozens, Samuelsson, Power, Quinn and Peterka will be at least good NHLers. It will be surprising if some don’t become considerably more. That they will be augmenting an existing core of Tuch Thompson Skinner and Dahlin, rather than having the entire weight of the franchise on their shoulders is reason to hope.

That there is a fully stocked cupboard of talented prospects coming hard at their heels is another reason to hope. And that the team has managed to get to this point while still hanging on to all of their draft and salary cap capital in order to retain and augment this roster is yet another reason to hope.

Finally, that all of this is in the hands of Granato and Adams - two good, smart men and underrated hockey lifers who walk their talk - is reason to hope.

We aren’t out of the desert of irrelevance yet, but you can smell the oasis on the other side of the dunes. There are reasons to feel good about being a Sabres fan again.


Merry Christmas, enjoy the ride.

Edited by dudacek
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Eleven Hall of Famer

Eleven

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36 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Felices Satvrnalia.

There are at least two unconfirmable theories connecting Christmas with Saturnalia (which is improperly named because it was the festival of the Mediterranean sun god and not Saturn)--either or neither may be correct.  But when was the first recorded Christmas celebration?

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nfreeman Hall of Famer

nfreeman

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Merry Christmas all!  It’s presents in the AM tomorrow followed by a midday feast of shrimp cocktail and cheese and crackers to start, then bone-in rib roast, mashed potatoes and green beans with the in-laws tomorrow, plus champagne, red wine, my MIL’s surprisingly good cheesecake (she’s a lousy cook) and the world’s best chocolate cake for dessert.

IMHO it’s the Skinner-TT-Tuch of family meals.

Wishing everyone here a great holiday.  

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Taro T Hall of Famer

Taro T

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50 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Merry Christmas all!  It’s presents in the AM tomorrow followed by a midday feast of shrimp cocktail and cheese and crackers to start, then bone-in rib roast, mashed potatoes and green beans with the in-laws tomorrow, plus champagne, red wine, my MIL’s surprisingly good cheesecake (she’s a lousy cook) and the world’s best chocolate cake for dessert.

IMHO it’s the Skinner-TT-Tuch of family meals.

Wishing everyone here a great holiday.  

We couldn't do our normal trip in to hang w/ family tonight, but the kids are home & we did a turkey dinner tonight & the tradional steak dinner is set for dinner on the day of days.

Not sure what is on the itinerary except watching the Fish try to miss the playoffs.  Hard to believe the whole division was above 0.500 about 4 weeks ago.

Loo,ing forward to the Sabres getting back to it.

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mjd1001 Second Liner

mjd1001

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3 things I want primarily from any sports team I follow:

1.)  Offense.  I was never one for the classic 'pitchers duel' in baseball or any kind of hard fought defensive battle. I want goals, points, runs, the more the better.  I am getting this so far from the Sabres so that is good.

2.)  Exceeding expecations.  For the most part getting this.  Positive team goal differential (top 10 in the league). More points than games played.  Still in the conversation for the Wildcard.  I'll take it.

3.) Win the championship. Well, they probably aren't going to do this, but very few teams I follow make it here so....

2 out of 3 realistically make it a good season for the Sabres and so far I'm just about there.

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Taro T Hall of Famer

Taro T

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Still am amazed at how similar the path of the Sabres has been since their last place finish & the early '00's Canes since their last place finish has seemed.

There is definitely only a guess at what those '04-'05 Canes would've been due to the lockout, but based on what they were the next year & the 2 prior years expect they'd've been borderline for making the playoffs.  Similar to this year's Sabres.

Really expect this team to finish in the 90's but probably too low to make the playoffs (which stinks because it's 24 years after 99 😉).  But that's still far and away their best full season under the current owners & looking like next year could be really special w/ only 2-4 upgrades & none of those (except possibly a goalie) being overly hard nor pricy to obtain.  This year is fun.  Next year could be special.

Yeah, would also like to see a true 2nd pairing partner for Power this season, just don't see it happening this year.

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Huckleberry All Star

Huckleberry

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20 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Still am amazed at how similar the path of the Sabres has been since their last place finish & the early '00's Canes since their last place finish has seemed.

There is definitely only a guess at what those '04-'05 Canes would've been due to the lockout, but based on what they were the next year & the 2 prior years expect they'd've been borderline for making the playoffs.  Similar to this year's Sabres.

Really expect this team to finish in the 90's but probably too low to make the playoffs (which stinks because it's 24 years after 99 😉).  But that's still far and away their best full season under the current owners & looking like next year could be really special w/ only 2-4 upgrades & none of those (except possibly a goalie) being overly hard nor pricy to obtain.  This year is fun.  Next year could be special.

Yeah, would also like to see a true 2nd pairing partner for Power this season, just don't see it happening this year.

I been thinking same, Though KO and Zemgus been good, its stil usually the place where pucks go to die.   But I figure we need one more year out of them.

Kulich, Rousek, Östlund, Savoie will boost that bottom 6 like hell in 2 years.

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dudacek Hall of Famer

dudacek

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7 minutes ago, TageMVP said:

This is not aging well, unfortunately 

 

Lot of words in that opening post.

At first blush I don’t regret any. Never thought we were going to get through the year without a slump or a few stinkers.

Still looks very much like a team on its way up to me.

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