Tage on The Cam and Stuck Podcast - Talks Buffalo and the hit that nobody responded to

[Jorcus]

12 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

One can only imagine what Tkachuk would have done if that happened to a teammate. 

Which one? The same week that happened Brady was on the Ice with Stutzule when he got hammered to the ice by Ryan Hartman on the face off dot. Brady was on the ice and did nothing like the rest of the team. 

https://www.nhl.com/video/hartman-suspended-10-games-6368227578112

That looks just as bad to me. 

[Rasmus_]

17 minutes ago, inkman said:

Yeah a decade or so too late.  They need the adult versions of these guys in the roster now. 

It does still integrate young players going forward to insulate older players who lose a step.  Now we need to jettison the soft roster configuration and start pushing back on the narrative. 

[spndnchz]

2 hours ago, JP51 said:

That is not something to me you can ever apologize for and have it mean anything other than you know you that you are a coward and wish you were not... to me its instinct... you cant train instinct... you can have people in the future go grab someone... thats nice... but if you are on the other team... knowing that there is serious intention and instinct not just preliminary obligation when something like that happens makes a difference...   I can see it playing Mites or Bantams learning this but by the time you are in the NHL you should not need to be shamed into standing up for your family...

it moves to the type of player and character that the incompetents that run this team target...  Watching Brad Marchand go after whoever was infront of him no matter how big speaks volumes and shows deep contrast of who and how this team is made up... It is the antithesis of what I want in a team... and as far as Buffalo and its community the antithesis of who we are... or at least how I see us as a community... family, friends first, we are in this together.. times get rough but we help out... things get gritty but we stand up...  we are not privileged as a community, we don't possess as a community the type of wealth that allows for routine luxury.... its one of the reasons I believe that the community has such a disdain for this team... (outside of the perennial losing and abject incompetence) but look the Ted Nolan teams lost too... but they stood up... I would say we liked those teams much better than this... at least i did... (No dont bring back TN LOL) anyways.... Lucic didnt break the Sabres... the vision of the GMs and the type of players we need broke the Sabres...  start drafting some a**holes that are tough and can play... what Lucic did means nothing...  continue trading or releasing away toughness (Foligno, Kassian, Kane, Zadorov, O'Reilly, Risto, Montour, Carrier, DesLauriers, Kulikov, Stewart etc...)  and rewarding weak sloth and laziness.. you get what you always got...   and no I am not looking to debate the merit of these trades, if they are needed etc.. just looking to point out what happens to players that have a bit of an edge on this team....  

holy return Batman

[JohnC]

7 minutes ago, spndnchz said:

holy return Batman

Losing is a contaminant. 

[Ogelthorpe]

Kind of slammed buffalo(area wise) every chance he got. Not sure how to feel about interview. If they start bad I could see him asking out 20 games in. 

[oddoublee]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Sorry man.

I was just trying to share how I feel about it.

I really don't know why I reply to messages at 3am....especially when my reply states "I'm not losing sleep over it". Pretty rich huh? Lol

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

One can only imagine what Tkachuk would have done if that happened to a teammate. 

He would have told Gadjovich to go kill him 🙂

Not only would Florida have gone after him then and there they'd have gone after the whole team next game. I remember when McAvoy hit one of their D, I think it was Oliver Ekman Larson and KO'd him. The next time Bruins played Florida they were pounding McAvoy all over the ice. Fought him as well and banged him up good. They are the embodiment of a solid team. 

 

[Believer]

Just listened to the interview.

Thompson has a pro attitude. Appreciates the game. The son of an NHL player and coach, he understands the business side of it.

Heard the disappointment in his voice at not experiencing an NHL playoff game yet.

My guess is unless the Sabres make major changes this off season, he will ask for a trade. Maybe already has.

Savvy GM, new winning Coach, a difference maker or two, and perhaps he sticks around to help Buffalo.

Buffalo sure hasn’t done much to help him.

[sabremike]

In any other place a franchise star giving an interview like that would lead to a media and online frenzy, in Terry's Nuthouse it's just another day and nobody cares.

Edited 22 hours ago by sabremike

[gilbert11]

On 6/17/2025 at 3:21 PM, Big Guava said:

 

Maybe instead of looking for anyone else to blame and trying to leave these players should take a good hard look in the mirror and realize that they are the problem collectively and that they have the ability to provide the answers as well.

Yeah, any player saying he wants out so he can play in the playoffs is unacceptable to me.  Figure out how to get your current team there.

[Archie Lee]

1 hour ago, gilbert11 said:

Yeah, any player saying he wants out so he can play in the playoffs is unacceptable to me.  Figure out how to get your current team there.

Yep. Pretty much everywhere you look there are signs and signals of what needs to happen. 

Adams traded Eichel and Reinhart and others because of the need for a culture reset and then built his team around those who “want to be here”. Year after year we watch the discarded hoist the cup and finish near the top of voting for end of year awards. And five  years later with no on-ice success to show for the changes he made, Adams is having to entertain offers for at least one player (Peterka) who doesn’t want to be here and maybe another (Byram). And there are whispers of simmering discontent (Dahlin’s meeting, Tuch’s non-committal, Thompson’s interview). 

What exactly are we doing here?  

Edited 10 hours ago by Archie Lee

[JohnC]

14 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Yep. Pretty much everywhere you look there are signs and signals of what needs to happen. 

Adams traded Eichel and Reinhart and others because of the need for a culture reset and then built his team around those who “want to be here”. Year after year we watch the discarded hoist the cup and finish near the top of voting for end of year awards. And five  years later with no on-ice success to show for the changes he made, Adams is having to entertain offers for at least one player (Peterka) who doesn’t want to be here and maybe another (Byram). And there are whispers of simmering discontent (Dahlin’s meeting, Tuch’s non-committal, Thompson’s interview). 

What exactly are we doing here?  

The attention that is placed on players who don't want or do want to be here is misplaced. I don't care what line of business you are in, no one wants to be part of a failing enterprise. Let's put aside the internal discussion about our players and what their preferences are. What team is most cited to be on players NTM clauses? Our dysfunction is not a secret. You can't hide your record. It's bad enough that outsiders don't want to come here but it's gotten to the point that it has become a concerning issue that key players here will opt when they are in a position to do so. This is not a novel situation; this disorder has been going on for a long time. Eichel received a lot of criticism when he vociferously expressed his desire to get out of this manure pit because he didn't see an avenue for success. As time has passed, no one can say that he was wrong in his assessment about this turbulent organization. 

How do you get out of this treadmill run to nowhere? There's no quick solution. There is a segment here who believe that you have to become composed of fighters. That's fanciful nonsense. The solution is to have competent staff making a series of smart decisions that accumulate and build up to a critical mass of good decisions that reshape this roster. 

My position is well known about my feelings toward KA, our embarrassing GM. He's simply a dolt. On the other hand, I'm encouraged about the addition of Karma to the staff. I don't know how much influence he will have in decision-making but I'm sure it will be beneficial if listened to. I don't foresee any blockbuster deals being made. However, I do see the Sabres soon making a series of medium range deals that will somewhat reshape the roster and make it more coherent. And it is my strong opinion that upgrading and stabilizing the goalie position will be the most impactful decision that this flailing organization can make. 

[Drag0nDan]

On 6/17/2025 at 9:59 PM, Mr Peabody said:

Not necessarily sticking up for Mule,  but if he jumps in and gets his a$$ kicked does that make TT feel any better?   Fire up the team?  The problem is roster makeup. Size doesn’t equal toughness or grit on this team.  I actually feel for Tuch when he feels obligated to jump in and do something he’s not very good at. 

It's about brotherhood - and when that happens it really makes everyone your commitment to your team.  The franchise, the leadership, the coaching - there are problems with every aspect of that.  But you're on the ice, with your boys, and one got absolutely wrecked with a cheap shot and you just looked around confused?  What does that have to do with TP, KA, Lindy?  You should WANT to fight for your guy, and you shouldn't need a billionaire or his puppet to tell you to do that.  

[inkman]

3 minutes ago, Drag0nDan said:

It's about brotherhood - and when that happens it really makes everyone your commitment to your team.  The franchise, the leadership, the coaching - there are problems with every aspect of that.  But you're on the ice, with your boys, and one got absolutely wrecked with a cheap shot and you just looked around confused?  What does that have to do with TP, KA, Lindy?  You should WANT to fight for your guy, and you shouldn't need a billionaire or his puppet to tell you to do that.  

Which lends itself to this question: Are most of the Sabres players afraid to fight?  I mean none of them are very good at it, meaning there is a good chance they’d get Dylan Cozened. Only Tage, Tuch, Greenway and Muel have the size to overcome their lack of pugilistic abilities. I’d suspect it’s true.  No one wants to come out and say it as it’s about as damning of a comment you can make about a hockey player.  These guys are concerned they are going to get KO’d, lose chicklets, or just get plain embarrassed.  
 

It’s the only explanation. It’s not like these dudes haven’t been playing hockey their whole lives where dropping the gloves for a fallen teammate isn’t exactly what happens every time on every team other than the Sabres.  They know what to do, they just don’t want to do it because it’s frightening. I get it, not everyone is Rob Ray.  
 

You just can’t make up an entire roster of players that cannot and will not do what is necessary in those situations. *****, go hug someone and hold on for dear life. You’ll get 1000x the respect rather than staring blankly at the ice wondering what you are supposed to do. 

[dudacek]

Fighting ain’t what it was and it’s not embedded in player DNA like it used to be.

Pretty much doesn’t happen prior to pro for any of these guys other than the CHL prospects.

Ill look it up, but I would not be surprised to find the over/under on career fights for NHlers is pretty small.

Not an excuse for the Sabres - I agree with your basic point - just an observation that they aren’t the anomaly your post suggests.

Edited 3 hours ago by dudacek

[Weave]

13 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Fighting ain’t what it was and it’s not embedded in player DNA like it used to be.

Pretty much doesn’t happen prior to pro for any of these guys other than the CHL prospects.

Ill look it up, but I would not be supposed to find the over/under on career fights for NHlers is pretty small.

Not an excuse for the Sabres - I agree with your basic point - just an observation that they aren’t the anomaly your post suggests.

The team having noone to make up for it might be the anomaly though. I don’t know the rosters around the league well, but it sure feels like everyone has someone thats better than Gilbert at it, and we don’t even have him anymore.

[darksabre]

46 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Fighting ain’t what it was and it’s not embedded in player DNA like it used to be.

Pretty much doesn’t happen prior to pro for any of these guys other than the CHL prospects.

Ill look it up, but I would not be supposed to find the over/under on career fights for NHlers is pretty small.

Not an excuse for the Sabres - I agree with your basic point - just an observation that they aren’t the anomaly your post suggests.

I think if anything this is even more damning of the Sabres. Fighting around the entire sport is way down, so really there's nothing these guys should be that afraid of if they do step in to do a little grappling. Your opponent will probably be just as mediocre as you are in most cases. No one is getting asked to throw against Tony Twist anymore. Not even Ray Emery. 

[dudacek]

According to this site, the Sabres were tied for 6th in the NHL this year for fighting majors.

https://www.thesportsgeek.com/blog/nhl-teams-best-fighters/

Mildly surprising, but as I implied above, not really. Only 1 player out of about of 700-800 fought 10 times last year

They are saying the opposite, but maybe what people are worried about more is the result of those fights?

Edited 3 hours ago by dudacek

[dudacek]

Didn't double-check my math, but I think this shows 12 Sabres dropped the gloves this year.

https://www.hockeyfights.com/teams/4/fightcard/reg2025

[JohnC]

Instead of getting fixated on the issue of fighting the bigger concern is the relatively softness in play. That becomes glaringly evident on defense from the forward and blue line players. There has to be a better balance between finesse and more physical play. 
 

Last year’s additions of McCleod and Zucker were positive additions because they provided an element of physicality that was  lacking. To state the obvious, we need to be better in that aspect of the game. And to do that we need to add some players where the more rugged style of play is how they usually play. When one watches playoff games the contrast in style of play becomes starkly evident.

[Demoted]

23 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Instead of getting fixated on the issue of fighting the bigger concern is the relatively softness in play.

They are directly related though. 

[JohnC]

8 minutes ago, Demoted said:

They are directly related though. 

Strenuously disagree!

[Mr. Allen]

24 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Strenuously disagree!

I agree.  Let’s say Bennett never fights.  Would you say he is soft? 

Edited 2 hours ago by Mr. Allen

[Weave]

30 minutes ago, Demoted said:

They are directly related though. 

Clearly, if we are 7th in fighting majors they aren’t related in the way most folks would relate them.

To me, it seems like our fighting majors are a reaction to teams taking advantage of our soft play.  Its a poorly developed line if thought on my part, but I suspect we’d have fewer fighting majors if we were harder to play against.  We play soft, some opponent takes advantage of it, then someone ill-equipped for fighting drops the gloves as a reaction.  Ultimately, it is our soft play that drives it, I think.

Or maybe its just the jade colored glasses I see this team through.

[darksabre]

23 minutes ago, Weave said:

Clearly, if we are 7th in fighting majors they aren’t related in the way most folks would relate them.

To me, it seems like our fighting majors are a reaction to teams taking advantage of our soft play.  Its a poorly developed line if thought on my part, but I suspect we’d have fewer fighting majors if we were harder to play against.  We play soft, some opponent takes advantage of it, then someone ill-equipped for fighting drops the gloves as a reaction.  Ultimately, it is our soft play that drives it, I think.

Or maybe its just the jade colored glasses I see this team through.

I agree with this. I feel like so many of the Sabres fights, when they do happen, are kinda comical or irrelevant.