GDT: Sabres @ Bruins October, 11 2025 @ 7PM MSG-B, ESPN+, Fubo

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, K012010 said:

Obviously, this is all conjecture, and of the abstract variety, but has it crossed anyone else’s mind that the cup our dear GM won was flat out the best opportunity we ever had to win one and I’m including the 1999 series. I know that we could’ve taken it to game seven and very well may have, but the stars were just a better team. We had the best goalie of all time and a collection of average guys and a ton of grit, but I think the stars win that series 9 out of 10 times.

05-06 was THE year. It was ours and I posted the other day or maybe earlier today about how I am stuck mentally in that year I will never get over that year and that team everything aligned and came together and it was supposed to be ours. So many factors took it away from us so many little things, including Tim Connolly getting head hunted, then all the injuries leading up toward the end of the conference finals. 

Adams won the cup with the canes. The one that should’ve been ours. This bad juju needs to go and it needs to go now. We were never gonna do anything with a guy who was on the team that took our cup away because for some reason the will of the gods changed on a whim.

This guy needs to be gone for that reason alone, but adding the fact that he’s the worst general manager professional sports I think is also another big factor

With all due respect to the '74-'75 squad which couldn't win a game in Filly to save their lives but due to tiebreakers would have to win at minimum 1 game there heading into that series and as it turned out would've needed 2 wins there which was pretty much impossible back then, the 3 times the Sabres were closest to winning it all were '99, '01, and '06.

Yes, Dallas was the better team overall, but there was a reasonable chance that Modano and Hull (and maybe even Niewendyk) would not be able to go in game 7.  Take any of them out of the lineup and the Sabres have a great chance to win a game 7 if they can score 1 more goal in game 6 after they drop the puck at the Sabres blue line.

In '01 they should've beat the Pens.  If they did, they had Joisey's # that year, and beat the Avs in Colorado with Biron in net.  So, they had a great likelihood of getting past the Devils and then could've won a long series versus the Avs.

Yeah, in '06 they were 20 minutes away from facing a much weaker Euler team, but those injuries to the D and Connolly were killers.  Had they been able to stay healthy rather than lose a D-man after every victory in the Semis, yeah, they definitely win that and then hoist the Cup by the end of the next round.  

It's an interesting exercise to think of which one of those teams had the best chance to take it all.  The '93 squad needs mention too.  Yes, they lost in the 2nd round to the eventual Cup champs in 4 straight.  But all 4 of those were 4-3 games, 3 went to OT, and all 4 they had an injured Fuhr between the pipes rather than the best goalie that ever lived who, btw, was between the pipes when Brad May made Ray Bourque look like Phil Bourque.  Each of those 1 goal games also had at least 1 bad goal given up by Fuhr.  Get past Moe-ray-all and the Aisles were much weaker and then the LA series could've gone either way.

The '80 team had the misfortune of winning their 2nd round too quickly, or so the story goes.  They sat around for 9 days waiting for their next opponent and couldn't get back into the swing of things until they were behind the 8 ball facing a 3 game deficit.  Thing is, the Aisles sat around for a full week too waiting for Minny and Moe-ray-all to finish their series.  They had a chance to win it all, but they always had problems with the Aisles back then and the Phlyers too and even if they got past the Aisles, Filly would've been waiting there for them.  Personally felt they were further from winning it all than any of those other teams mentioned here, and were farther than '89 and '07 as well. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

The team reflects the owner and the GM who orchestrated the tank and EEE and lack of action. Simple as that. This is their manifestation on ice. 

[K012010]

7 minutes ago, Taro T said:

With all due respect to the '74-'75 squad which couldn't win a game in Filly to save their lives but due to tiebreakers would have to win at minimum 1 game there heading into that series and as it turned out would've needed 2 wins there which was pretty much impossible back then, the 3 times the Sabres were closest to winning it all were '99, '01, and '06.

Yes, Dallas was the better team overall, but there was a reasonable chance that Modano and Hull (and maybe even Niewendyk) would not be able to go in game 7.  Take any of them out of the lineup and the Sabres have a great chance to win a game 7 if they can score 1 more goal in game 6 after they drop the puck at the Sabres blue line.

In '01 they should've beat the Pens.  If they did, they had Joisey's # that year, and beat the Avs in Colorado with Biron in net.  So, they had a great likelihood of getting past the Devils and then could've won a long series versus the Avs.

Yeah, in '06 they were 20 minutes away from facing a much weaker Euler team, but those injuries to the D and Connolly were killers.  Had they been able to stay healthy rather than lose a D-man after every victory in the Semis, yeah, they definitely win that and then hoist the Cup by the end of the next round.  

It's an interesting exercise to think of which one of those teams had the best chance to take it all.  The '93 squad needs mention too.  Yes, they lost in the 2nd round to the eventual Cup champs in 4 straight.  But all 4 of those were 4-3 games, 3 went to OT, and all 4 they had an injured Fuhr between the pipes rather than the best goalie that ever lived who, btw, was between the pipes when Brad May made Ray Bourque look like Phil Bourque.  Each of those 1 goal games also had at least 1 bad goal given up by Fuhr.  Get past Moe-ray-all and the Aisles were much weaker and then the LA series could've gone either way.

The '80 team had the misfortune of winning their 2nd round too quickly, or so the story goes.  They sat around for 9 days waiting for their next opponent and couldn't get back into the swing of things until they were behind the 8 ball facing a 3 game deficit.  Thing is, the Aisles sat around for a full week too waiting for Minny and Moe-ray-all to finish their series.  They had a chance to win it all, but they always had problems with the Aisles back then and the Phlyers too and even if they got past the Aisles, Filly would've been waiting there for them.  Personally felt they were further from winning it all than any of those other teams mentioned here, and were farther than '89 and '07 as well. 

Amazing breakdown and a lot to think about. Tough to choose just one as the best chance to have won it all, you’re right.  

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

I have said that all along but according to Thorny, I'm on an island.

Better make sure you don't keep on saying that or you'll get banished to my island with me.

Oh that's okay. @Thorny already disagrees with almost everything I say anyway. 

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

“Terry over meddles” is a narrative from 3 years ago. He’s generally absentee - the issue isn’t that he’s micromanaging, it’s that he leaves Adams to his own devices without adequate support both financial and otherwise 

see.

[Andrew Amerk]

8 minutes ago, K012010 said:

Amazing breakdown and a lot to think about. Tough to choose just one as the best chance to have won it all, you’re right.  

I don’t think so. 
 

2006 was the year without the Timmy injury and the bloody sock. 

[Thorny]

12 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Oh that's okay. @Thorny already disagrees with almost everything I say anyway. 

see.

Absolutely. This post of yours is one of the few things I don’t 

Gotta say, I’m quite comfortable with that and frankly I think I’d begin to question my takes if otherwise given borne out track record 

Edited 2 hours ago by Thorny

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, JoeSchmoe said:

While results don't seem to matter to Terry, I feel like the $40mil owed to Norris might be what finally gets Adams fired. 

I don’t think he gets fired. Instead, they agree it’s time for him to be POHO so Darth Pegulas the Wise still has his yes man. Jarmo will get the opportunity to be a yes man GM with Appert as the coach and Ruff as an advisor. If he doesn’t want that, they’ll do an exhaustive search… for Ellis or Forton or whomever is breathing the word yes. 

But there is a possibility they clean house after the season. However, I don’t think Norris is the final straw. It’s Tuch. Tuch is their golden local goose. If he wants out, Dahlin and Tage ask out. Benson can go the JJP RFA no-thanks route. That would end it all. 

[Thorny]

10 minutes ago, Andrew Amerk said:

I don’t think so. 
 

2006 was the year without the Timmy injury and the bloody sock. 

This 

[The Big Lebowski]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

The '93 squad needs mention too.  Yes, they lost in the 2nd round to the eventual Cup champs in 4 straight.  But all 4 of those were 4-3 games, 3 went to OT, and all 4 they had an injured Fuhr between the pipes rather than the best goalie that ever lived who, btw, was between the pipes when Brad May made Ray Bourque look like Phil Bourque.  Each of those 1 goal games also had at least 1 bad goal given up by Fuhr.  Get past Moe-ray-all and the Aisles were much weaker and then the LA series could've gone either way.

I'm glad to hear someone feels the same way I do about that roster. I was fortunate enough to meet Dale Hawerchuk before his passing and he said "of all the teams he played on, that 1992-93 team had the best chance to win the Cup." I also think about how we traded away Dave Andreychuk for Grant Fuhr when we already had Hasek. Keeping him on the squad would've boosted us past Montreal and eventually to the franchise's first Championship.

[SabresBillsFan]

2 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

Tim Murray was doing an A++ job until he traded for Lehner. I wish we still had that team. 

He did bring in some really great players but he tried to speed the rebuild process up way too quickly.

Avs in town next, that’s another Buffalo loss!

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Absolutely. This post of yours is one of the few things I don’t 

Gotta say, I’m quite comfortable with that and frankly I think I’d begin to question my takes if otherwise given borne out track record 

lol

 

[bunomatic]

Who took Sabrespace blowing up after two games for 100 Alex?