Columbus Game Aftermath: Did the Sabres Fans save Granato and maybe the Season?

[triumph_communes]

Whatever it takes for them to figure it out. It’s an issue if the coach can’t garner this on his own and needs the fans to mutiny to wake them up

[Pimlach]

5 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

Whatever it takes for them to figure it out. It’s an issue if the coach can’t garner this on his own and needs the fans to mutiny to wake them up

I was hoping someone would say this.  

 

[North Buffalo]

22 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

Whatever it takes for them to figure it out. It’s an issue if the coach can’t garner this on his own and needs the fans to mutiny to wake them up

Dont think Donnie is a raw raw guy... more a techo guy... and encourager... he needs a ball buster on his staff... dont know enough of the inner workings of his staff but im guessing he doesnt have a true crack the whip type he can pull out.

[triumph_communes]

9 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Dont think Donnie is a raw raw guy... more a techo guy... and encourager... he needs a ball buster on his staff... dont know enough of the inner workings of his staff but im guessing he doesnt have a true crack the whip type he can pull out.

Needs a bad cop 

 

our special teams is atrocious we should have a position available if accountability were a thing. It’s not like we lack the talent to be the #1 PP

[North Buffalo]

3 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

Needs a bad cop 

 

our special teams is atrocious we should have a position available if accountability were a thing. It’s not like we lack the talent to be the #1 PP

 

[Big Guava]

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Did anyone notice the tone of the Leaves Game post game interviews?  

Start with Granato.  You could see and feel the distance between he and the media.  He looked hurt, pensive to say too much, and maybe he even showed a little chip on his shoulder.  

All the interviewed players mentioned the Columbus game and the "fire Donny" chant.  Dahlin had the most pointed comments.  It is almost as if he, and these younger guys, do not realize that they are a reflection of the coaches.  When they are continually bad it is the coaches that most often pay the price.  

Two things strike me about this:

1.  These young guys are still extremely naïve.  How can this be a surprise to them?  There have already been 4 coaches fired this season, including a recent Cup winner.  

2.  The lack of veteran leadership in Buffalo is, and has been, a really big problem.  Bringing in new vets is not a guaranteed  fix to leadership because they are not invested (Stahl and Hall is a classic example).  

It is now incumbent on the Core to grow up right now and to start providing that leadership.  That means Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch.  Having elder vets like KO and Zemgus around is not enough.  This team belongs to Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch.  They need to get on the players that are not working and push them, and they need to set the example for hard work all the time.  The players need to raise their standards themselves.   This coaching staff is not going to do it.  Adams is not going to do it.  The team belongs to the Core that is just entering its prime.  Do they want to be great?  

The Fire Donny chant may be what the team needed.  Interesting is that it took the fans to do it.  I was at the famous "Thank You Sabres" game - which was the opposite message and the start of a really good run for the franchise.  It was like our expansion team of misfits had just turned into a legit NHL club and the fans let them know it. 

It appears we may have come full circle, hopefully heading to the good.  I can only hope. 

It will be interesting to see if the team wakes up and for how long.  What are your thoughts Sabre Spacers? 

 

They seem to have come up with a game plan to go back to more of their high flying ways from last year and let the chips fall as they may while working on the defensive game as needed.

 

Sign me up for that. I can at least watch that team and they can outscore a lot of the opposition.

[Big Guava]

4 hours ago, Scottysabres said:

I agree with much of what you say here. And I sure hope the players have fully digested what the fans chants at that Columbus game means. Because I believe Okposo fully got it. He seemed to understand it wasn't just about the here and now, it's been 12 yrs, he even said it. 

Something had to have been said between Columbus and Toronto. We all know it was. Because the fans are chanting in near unison for someone ro he held accountable, after all, it is the fans who spend their hard earned money, many near the lower income/poverty lvl, to support the team. These players should be ashamed of themselves. Buffalo fan base are get'er done people, even if it means barely surviving in the modern economy, they expect their team to mirror that mindset.

Do the kids understand it? Most from outside the region. I think Tuch, Okposo, ya, I think a conversation was had, a message was sent. I don't believe it was entirely about Granato, I believe they are defensive because fans are now verbally holding them all accountable. Donny's job may be on the line, if the fans continue to shout and chant their displeasure.

So let's see how desperate these young players are to keep Donny around. As of now, I applaud the fans, they are making a huge difference imho.

We need a version of Chris Drury here.

Could you imagine what would have happened in that locker room the next day after a game like they had against Columbus?

The entire team would have been afraid to even come to the rink to practice the next day. Probably wouldn't have been able to sleep because they would have been scared to death.

He would have chewed up and spit out the entire team and they would all looked around and have been like "guess we better get our sh!t together"

Until we have a captain where the kids are too afraid to come to work unprepared and trade in their gatherings at each other's houses playing Call of Duty for watching game film to prepare, it won't be consistent enough.

Edited December 22, 2023 by Big Guava

[sabremike]

They are really playing with fire having a go at the fans because if they get curbstomped by the rags and then again by the broooonz at home boy are they going to hear it.

[bunomatic]

13 minutes ago, sabremike said:

They are really playing with fire having a go at the fans because if they get curbstomped by the rags and then again by the broooonz at home boy are they going to hear it.

Yeah baby yeah

[Doohickie]

7 hours ago, Pimlach said:

This team belongs to Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch.  They need to get on the players that are not working and push them, and they need to set the example for hard work all the time.  The players need to raise their standards themselves.

This touches on something I posted in the Columbus GDT:

On 12/20/2023 at 7:19 AM, Doohickie said:

Well if the GM and coach aren't going to be fired, it's probably time to have a players only meeting.  Let the players figure it out, and if it means moving the C to someone else's jersey, let the players decide (the A's as well).  And if there's a closed, players only meeting, I think it will become organically obvious who should get the letters.  They may not be the players the team management and fan base would expect.

But if they did something like this it would possibly provide a demarcation point to the season in the absence of a coaching change or major trade.

And it would also (likely) be a hand-off of team leadership to the young core.

The mechanism is different; I mentioned a players only meeting; you said the young core needs to step up.  But the idea is the same.

I think the other player that should be mentioned in terms of leadership is Casey Mittelstadt.  I think Mitts is already hugely influential with the players.  But yeah, they need to take control.

 

[Doohickie]

6 hours ago, Goldseatsaud said:

I think they get up for the leafs at home. 

The Sabres' Little Blue Pill:

[That Aud Smell]

6 hours ago, Weave said:

If someone like Owen Power, who would have been a fan of someone like EJ, isn’t looking up to, and paying respect to EJs advice…… I think thats a problem.

One we've seen before.

Fair point. There probably is respect there. It’d help if EJ didn’t stink.

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

The Sabres' Little Blue Pill:

It's a Jagged Little Pill too.

[K-9]

9 hours ago, Weave said:

I was really hoping EJ and to a lesser extent Clifton would be the big boy voices that would coerce this team into playing like they need to.  EJ spoke up once, and we haven’t heard it since.  I wonder if it was not well received.

Given his performance since he spoke up previously, he seems to lack the necessary credibility. It’s difficult to demand more of your teammates when you're the one who sucks most.

[Night Train]

Granato was hurt with the chants for his firing from the crowd.

Players suddenly care. That's rich. Signing rich contracts and laying down didn't work. Who knew ? 

[Broken Ankles]

10 hours ago, Doohickie said:

It's a Jagged Little Pill too.

Sung to the tune of All I Really Want, by Alanis Morissette.

Verse 1]
Do I stress you out?
My sweater has a Goathead and it’s Black and Red
And you say, "How in-appropriate!"
I do wanna dissect everything today
I do mean to pick you apart, you see
Because I can't take it

[Pre-Chorus]
And there Im down three to nil before the first horn has gone off
Slap me with an untaped stick
And it would knock me to the floor if I wasn't there already
If only I could fire Matt Ellis. 

Chorus]

And all I really want is some Defense

A way to calm the angry voice
And all I really want is the playoffs
Ah, aao, aao, aao, aa, aah

[Verse 2]
Do I wear you out?
You must wonder why I'm winless  and all played out
I'm consumed by the thought of Next Season
I'm like Perrault Forever
I like to watch it late and the write it out.

I'm frustrated by Donny Meatballs.

[Pre-Chorus]
And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of his Coach staff 
If only I could meet PE-gula
And I am fascinated by the Buff-a-lo Sabres fan
I question his enduring loyalty yeah

[Chorus]
And what I wouldn't give to find a Goalie
Someone else to save this puck
And what I wouldn't give to meet Zack Benson
Ah, aao, aao, aao, aa, aah

[Bridge]
Enough about me, let's talk about you for a minute
Enough about you, let's talk about the power play a while
The structure, the personnel, and the telegraphic passing to Tage
All around, all around

[Verse 3]
Why are you so petrified of attendance
Here, can you handle this?
Did you think about your schemes, your pinching, your back-checks. 
Or when you think you're gonna lose
Or do you long for golf this offseason 

[Pre-Chorus]
And all I need now is intellectual intercourse
Something Rob Ray cannot provide me
And I have no concept of June other than I’m not playing 
If only I could kill Dan Leavy. 

[Chorus]
And all I really want is some effort

A place to find a common ground

And all I really want is a win streak
Ah, aao, aao, aao, aa, aah
And all I really want is a Cup now
A way to raise it over my head
And all I really want is some justice
Ah, aao, aao, aao, aa, aah

[GASabresIUFAN]

If they go on a run and win 9 of 10, then we can look back and say the CBJ/TOR games were the turning point of the season.  Don’t hold your breath.

[RochesterExpat]

23 hours ago, Pimlach said:

It is now incumbent on the Core to grow up right now and to start providing that leadership

Not to beat the dead horse, but one big difference between the post-lockout Sabres team and the current roster is the leadership aspect. Just look at how many players from that era are hockey executives in some capacity.

Besides the obvious ones like Briere, Grier, and Drury as current NHL GMs, former players like Hecht (DEL assistant coach) and Kotalik (Extraliga Assistant GM) are in leadership roles as well. Not to mention Ryan Miller who is now a consultant I believe. Hell, even Vanek is a scout. And those are just the ones off the top of my head.

Which three from the current roster do you think will be an NHL GM in 15 years? Can you even think of one?

[Weave]

1 hour ago, RochesterExpat said:

Not to beat the dead horse, but one big difference between the post-lockout Sabres team and the current roster is the leadership aspect. Just look at how many players from that era are hockey executives in some capacity.

Besides the obvious ones like Briere, Grier, and Drury as current NHL GMs, former players like Hecht (DEL assistant coach) and Kotalik (Extraliga Assistant GM) are in leadership roles as well. Not to mention Ryan Miller who is now a consultant I believe. Hell, even Vanek is a scout. And those are just the ones off the top of my head.

Which three from the current roster do you think will be an NHL GM in 15 years? Can you even think of one?

Okposo if he wants it.

[PerreaultForever]

58 minutes ago, Weave said:

Okposo if he wants it.

I see him taking a job in the player's association but I could be wrong. 

2 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

Which three from the current roster do you think will be an NHL GM in 15 years? Can you even think of one?

Johnson?

There aren't many veterans on the team so there's no obvious answers. No way to tell how the long term careers of these guys go. I'd say nobody right now but you never know. Leaders can still emerge and fringe players can have surprising careers as coaches and then GMs. There's definitely no Lindy Ruffs on the roster though that's for sure. 

[Marvin]

2 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

Not to beat the dead horse, but one big difference between the post-lockout Sabres team and the current roster is the leadership aspect. Just look at how many players from that era are hockey executives in some capacity.

Besides the obvious ones like Briere, Grier, and Drury as current NHL GMs, former players like Hecht (DEL assistant coach) and Kotalik (Extraliga Assistant GM) are in leadership roles as well. Not to mention Ryan Miller who is now a consultant I believe. Hell, even Vanek is a scout. And those are just the ones off the top of my head.

Which three from the current roster do you think will be an NHL GM in 15 years? Can you even think of one?

There are very few players in this locker room who are old enough to have earned that kind of respect, let alone playing well enough.

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

Not to beat the dead horse, but one big difference between the post-lockout Sabres team and the current roster is the leadership aspect. Just look at how many players from that era are hockey executives in some capacity.

Besides the obvious ones like Briere, Grier, and Drury as current NHL GMs, former players like Hecht (DEL assistant coach) and Kotalik (Extraliga Assistant GM) are in leadership roles as well. Not to mention Ryan Miller who is now a consultant I believe. Hell, even Vanek is a scout. And those are just the ones off the top of my head.

Which three from the current roster do you think will be an NHL GM in 15 years? Can you even think of one?

Way to early to say but why not Cozens, Power, and R Johnson (already has a degree completed from U of Minnesota)?  They all strike me as possibilities off the top of my head.  

Eric Johnson and Kyle Okposo are respected guys around the league. Scouting or coaching at some level are possibilities.  Also depends on how close they want to  be to family.  

To get the GM they have to want it to get there, and they have to be willing to work their way up what could be another long road.  

[GoPuckYourself]

On 12/22/2023 at 12:52 PM, Pimlach said:

Did anyone notice the tone of the Leaves Game post game interviews?  

Start with Granato.  You could see and feel the distance between he and the media.  He looked hurt, pensive to say too much, and maybe he even showed a little chip on his shoulder.  

All the interviewed players mentioned the Columbus game and the "fire Donny" chant.  Dahlin had the most pointed comments.  It is almost as if he, and these younger guys, do not realize that they are a reflection of the coaches.  When they are continually bad it is the coaches that most often pay the price.  

Two things strike me about this:

1.  These young guys are still extremely naïve.  How can this be a surprise to them?  There have already been 4 coaches fired this season, including a recent Cup winner.  

2.  The lack of veteran leadership in Buffalo is, and has been, a really big problem.  Bringing in new vets is not a guaranteed  fix to leadership because they are not invested (Stahl and Hall is a classic example).  

It is now incumbent on the Core to grow up right now and to start providing that leadership.  That means Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch.  Having elder vets like KO and Zemgus around is not enough.  This team belongs to Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch.  They need to get on the players that are not working and push them, and they need to set the example for hard work all the time.  The players need to raise their standards themselves.   This coaching staff is not going to do it.  Adams is not going to do it.  The team belongs to the Core that is just entering its prime.  Do they want to be great?  

The Fire Donny chant may be what the team needed.  Interesting is that it took the fans to do it.  I was at the famous "Thank You Sabres" game - which was the opposite message and the start of a really good run for the franchise.  It was like our expansion team of misfits had just turned into a legit NHL club and the fans let them know it. 

It appears we may have come full circle, hopefully heading to the good.  I can only hope. 

It will be interesting to see if the team wakes up and for how long.  What are your thoughts Sabre Spacers? 

 

I wished they wouldn't have, I just don't think he's a Stanley Cup winning coach, he can't even get us to the playoffs!

[GASabresIUFAN]

I think we can now agree that the CBJ/TOR games were not the turning point in the season.  The Sabres simply don't have it in them to give a consistent effort night in and night out.  There is no accountability in Sabreland.

[Pimlach]

17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I think we can now agree that the CBJ/TOR games were not the turning point in the season.  The Sabres simply don't have it in them to give a consistent effort night in and night out.  There is no accountability in Sabreland.

After just 1 game you are saying what many are thinking.  Lets see what unfolds in the next few games.  They played a decent game versus the NYR.