Do you care about the Sabres anymore?

[Sabres Super Fan]

10 hours ago, Radar said:

Second thought on this. Could this decline be what leads Pegula to sell the franchise? And if so are we looking at no local hockey team down the road anyway. I could see Pegula doing this and focusing totally on the Bills franchise.

The Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bandits will stay for two reasons one having Key Bank Center with events is huge for downtown Buffalo. Two cities don’t have the demand for NHL franchises like NFL franchises. I think eventually the Buffalo Sabres will be sold to local area business people. Again Key Bank Center will be renovated and a real local owner will run the Key Bank Center better like the first five years Marine Midland Arena was opened. There is zero reason that this city of Buffalo doesn’t have a Arena Football League team or a MASL indoor soccer team the Buffalo Blizzard back. The AFL franchise fee to enter was $2 million dollars a franchise. Terry Pegula is a joke of a Buffalo sports team owner that just wants to do very little and charging high ticket prices with low seating supply. Terry Pegula has no college basketball, no arena football and no indoor soccer at Key Bank Center forcing the fan towards high end sports tickets like the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres by taking out sports choice and decreasing the supply by making his stadiums smaller what could go wrong? The problem is many Buffalo fans don’t have the luxury to just toss there money out to Terry Pegula for a terrible Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills product for season tickets. I had season tickets for the Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Blizzard Buffalo Destroyers and Buffalo Wings RHI roller hockey plus Buffalo Big 4 college basketball season tickets when the Marine Midland Arena first opened.

Terry Pegula doesn’t see wait let’s offer more cheaper affordable Buffalo sports teams that I (Terry Pegula) win with that too because your reaching different Buffalo sports economic audiences going to the Buffalo Bandits, Destroyers and Buffalo Blizzard either way Buffalo fans are going to Key Bank Center producing revenue for Key Bank Center. Terry Pegula never understood that he wants to take the easy way out and be a absentee sports owner. What he wasted on overpaying a fourth line Sabres player covers his whole payroll for the Buffalo Blizzard or Buffalo Destroyers.

Again these smaller sports leagues aren’t $2 billion dollars to buy and run. The salaries are low $500 to $1,000 a game for the players. Someone who is smarter and actually cares about downtown Buffalo and Key Bank Center filling dates will buy the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits along with control of the renovated Key Bank Center. I am not even worried about it at all. Either way downtown Buffalo gets rid of Terry Pegula if he takes his Buffalo Sabres ball and goes home which hopefully he doesn’t but if he does good riddance if he chooses that route. At worst Buffalo will get a Buffalo AHL hockey franchise plus all the fun stuff I mentioned like the Buffalo Destroyers, Buffalo Blizzard etc back at Key Bank Center with a real local owner not a absentee owner from Florida in my opinion. Go Sabres! Go Bandits! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[eman]

I think any of us that bother to post, or read the posts of others on this site care about the Buffalo Sabres. However, as you continue to see the same results for the past 13 seasons under different coaches, GM's etc. and to see a team, that in my opinion, has some solid talent and promising youth in the organization, you start to tune out and find other things to do with your life. Until serious changes are made bringing in some veteran knowledgable hockey people (the current process of giving unproven individuals the head coaching jobs and GM positions just isn't working) expect more of the same as we squander a decent full cupboard of talent.

Again, just my opinion, but Donnie G (and I do like the guy) isn't working out and neither is Kevyn. I would be more interested in investing my time in this club if they were replaced. Playoffs weren't happening and I still stand by the Sportscentre US Thanksgiving stat. If you aren't in a playoff spot by then, the odds are heavily against you. Quinn's return won't be enough to right this ship this season. The playbook on playing the Sabres is out: Bring a heavy game and you will defeat them.

[eman]

3 hours ago, Weave said:

Welcome to my world.

Anyone who is active on this site still cares. I’m still a fan.  What I am not is, I am not someone who prioritizes watching the games.  I see them when they are convenient to do so, and I stop watching at the first indication that I won’t be entertained.

I said it somewhere else, maybe last week.  During Thanksgiving the talk turned to the Sabres and at one point my son observed, “you are more interested in the off ice stuff than the on ice stuff”.  And he’s 100% correct.  I’m still very much a fan.  I still very much pay attention to what is happening.  But I stopped being interested in the games themselves shortly after Pegula made the decision that entertaining me was not a priority.

And it’s not that the team is bad.  It is that the team is not entertaining.  Why did we all love the Nolan era? The teams mostly sucked.  But they entertained as best they could and we all thought they were the most lovable . And we watched.

***** you Terry Pegula, and ***** you to the tank supporters.

and the Nolan teams were accountable to each other and busted their ass, game in and game out. I went to many of those and those games were entertaining. 

[PromoTheRobot]

14 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

There's no right answer and this isn't a trick. 

After the 3rd goal last night, I went to sleep. Saw the Benson goal in Twitter after I brushed my teeth. Got into bed and didn't think anymore about this team. I suppose I just care on some level because I'm here but also... I think I'm just bored. 

Honestly, I don't think I care anymore after 13 seasons of missing the playoffs. 

You're posting here aren't you?

[Quint]

I was one of the very few people here who didn't think the Sabres were going to reach the playoffs this year so I'm not that disappointed with this year's regression. I didn't think the goaltending was addressed and I didn't think the upgrades went far enough. I didn't envision this level of injuries but bottom line, this is a fragile team.

So far. I've voiced my disapproval for Pegula and the way he does business with the Sabres. His failure to be there at RJ Night said it all for me. He phoned it in because of "logistics." Were we supposed to clap for what he said on that giant TV screen?  I've resigned myself to the sad realization that this organization is going nowhere under Pegula. We have to wait and see when he sells it.

Until then, I think we're going to have to deal with the young players with no experience, the coaching with no experience and the GMing with no experience. All presented to us with the mirage that our wonderful organic, homegrown product is being produced for us right under our very eyes and will explode when the time and development is right.

What's missing though is that there needs to be whole lot more losing that has to take place in order for that to happen. Excessive losing is a soul crushing thing for players, ruining their budding confidence and ultimately results in more losing and that nobody outside the organization wants to come here. So the Pegula Sabres merry-go-round keeps turning and us embittered fans somehow keep caring. But after twelve years, the expectations and enthusiasm are very tempered and if they win fine. But don't expect them to win the next game.

 

[Flashsabre]

I think the organization needs a fresh start. 13 years of no playoffs on Pegula’s watch is simple incompetence from the top down. There is no way tickets sales for next season will be anything but ugly. The arena needs repair.
 

 

[inkman]

I find it odd that a midseason loss to the best team in hockey, with a depleted lineup, is causing so much despair.  

[SABRES 0311]

It would be nice if we could just blame management but when you see players being lazy it really stings. When I saw Krebs coast into the D Zone on Colorado’s first goal last night it was embarrassing. 

I care enough about the team to be willing to part ways with a few players. I want a hockey ops guy to hire an experienced GM. 

[lowsabre]

44 minutes ago, inkman said:

I find it odd that a midseason loss to the best team in hockey, with a depleted lineup, is causing so much despair.  

It's just morale. If the season was otherwise going great, one would chalk it down to that. 

[PASabreFan]

 

[Alaska John]

I don't follow junior hockey, so who are the Sabres tanking for NOW?

[Alaska John]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

 

Nice to watch a professional team for change.  Everyone on the same page (literally), everyone working together.  And no goals allowed.

[sabremike]

2 hours ago, inkman said:

I find it odd that a midseason loss to the best team in hockey, with a depleted lineup, is causing so much despair.  

Have you checked the standings lately (Spoiler alert: We are second worst in the east and sixth worse overall))?

[sabremike]

2 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

I think the organization needs a fresh start. 13 years of no playoffs on Pegula’s watch is simple incompetence from the top down. There is no way tickets sales for next season will be anything but ugly. The arena needs repair.
 

 

Welp too bad because all the money is going to the throwball stadium so us hockey fans are ***** out of luck. And good luck getting the money to fix the crumbling garbage dump known as KeyBank Center after Pegula bent the state and county over so bad even Mike Brown would've felt it was too far.

[Radar]

8 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

I think the organization needs a fresh start. 13 years of no playoffs on Pegula’s watch is simple incompetence from the top down. There is no way tickets sales for next season will be anything but ugly. The arena needs repair.
 

 

Well, not all under Pegulas watch but get your point.

[PASabreFan]

2 minutes ago, Radar said:

Well, not all under Pegulas watch but get your point.

The drought has entirely been under Pegula's watch. They've missed the playoffs for 12 straight seasons.

[inkman]

6 hours ago, sabremike said:

Have you checked the standings lately (Spoiler alert: We are second worst in the east and sixth worse overall))?

Yeah it wasn’t much different before the Avs game.  

5 hours ago, sabremike said:

Welp too bad because all the money is going to the throwball stadium so us hockey fans are ***** out of luck. And good luck getting the money to fix the crumbling garbage dump known as KeyBank Center after Pegula bent the state and county over so bad even Mike Brown would've felt it was too far.

I do like how the KBC has turned into the Roman Colosseum.  

[Spoonman]

I Care. but.....

 

[sabremike]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

Yeah it wasn’t much different before the Avs game.  

I do like how the KBC has turned into the Roman Colosseum.  

Go to any other arena in the league in the US and you will be struck by just what a toilet KBC is. There are numerous AHL arenas that are nicer.

[7+6=13]

8 hours ago, Alaska John said:

I don't follow junior hockey, so who are the Sabres tanking for NOW?

You think this is tanking?

[Flashsabre]

I believe the word is Apathy at this point

[MISabresFan]

I care about the Sabres and Bills.  It makes me a better person.

[Radar]

3 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

The drought has entirely been under Pegula's watch. They've missed the playoffs for 12 straight seasons.

Sorry! How time flies when you're having fun😂

[PASabreFan]

3 minutes ago, Radar said:

Sorry! How time flies when you're having fun😂

I'm sure the owner takes credit for 2012 though.

[hockey]

14 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

I am watching because working a lot of nights anyways in a slow economy.   But even when working evenings I would give it a shot.   

 

I'm glad that we still have you and SteveOath from Scotland as foreign fans (Canadians don't count, they breathe hockey to exist) - I still remember that flapjack cooking dork who lost his mind when Ullmark ditched the team.  Screw that guy.