nfreeman

What rights in particular are you advocating for? They have a bundle of rights that they've negotiated and agreed to in the CBA.

How much better than 13th in the Eastern Conference do you think the Sabres are? If they don't fire JB, where do you expect them to finish next year? I think most people here are pleased with the improvements on D -- they just think it's not enough of an accomplishment to outweigh the team's overall failure to improve in the standings during JB's tenure here. Same question for you: If they don't fire JB, where do you expect them to finish next year?

What does this mean? Do you think the team is good? Is this a serious question? It's not clear whether you're trolling or just from outer space.

@dudacek’s response is far superior, but I’ll note that Gillis took over a team that had missed the playoffs 2 out of the prior 3 years (not just the year before as I had posted previously) and immediately got them to the playoffs 5 years in a row.

Mike Gillis was GM in Vancouver for 6 seasons. After missing the playoffs the season before hiring him, they made the playoffs in his 1st 5 seasons, including winning the first round in his 1st 2 seasons, winning the President's Trophy and making the SCF in his 3rd season, and then getting bounced in the 1st round in his 4th and 5th seasons. He got canned after missing the playoffs in his 6th season. Holy mackerel does that sound like a massive improvement for the Sabres. Yes please.

The existence of the salary cap helps, not hinders, the Sabres.

I agree with all of this, but I think JB also inherited Moulson’s bad contract in addition to the 3 you mentioned. Minor clarification.

Well, I think this was the idea with GMTM and JB (although a few of us at the time noted that Ottawa was generally pretty lousy while GMTM was there).

I agree with the bolded about a million percent. The thing is, if the Sabres end up with the #7 pick, and JB traded it plus Risto for a good center, and then signed a good goalie, and then Cozens and TT both had good camps -- we'd all be very psyched for the start of next season. And it's reasonably likely that JB can pull off those 2 moves (and that Cozens and TT look good in camp) -- but I just feel like it's more likely that he won't pull off both of those moves. I also think both of those are critical, and long overdue.

OK, so we know that TP wants stability and a professionally run organization, and doesn't like the reputation that the Sabres have for hiring and firing people too often. We also know that he doesn't like being embarrassed -- and that there have been a few incidents this year (a number of trade demands from players, Duane's call going national, the Scandella trade debacle) that have been embarrassing in addition to the chronic suckitude. We also know that TP has poured a huge amount of cash into the franchise, has almost certainly lost millions of dollars each year and has nothing to show for it other than a perennially crappy team, a ton of empty seats and a fan base that is both increasingly fed up and apathetic. We also know that there are rumblings from respectable sources that TP is considering getting rid of JB. And we know that they have 66 pts with 17 games left. What is TP gonna do? I voted that he is going to wait and see how the season ends up, that the minimum points to save JB is 86 and that I would advise him to wait and see before deciding.

Do you not think this season's final point total will factor into TP's decision?

They have 66 pts with 17 games left, 8 of which are at home and 9 on the road. If they go 8-9 in their last 17, they’ll finish with 82 pts — ie 4 pts better than the final year of TM and DDB. That probably gets JB canned. If they go 7-10 in their last 17, they’ll finish with 80 points, and I’d say JB getting canned is a certainty at that point. An extra OTL pt here or there might make all the difference in the world.

I’ll say it: with Eichel seemingly hindered by injury, Reino has not stepped up in the past couple of games, which were critical games. He did zero last night vs Vegas.

Every team has injuries, and hiccups, and puck bounces. The Sabres have played some good hockey and plenty of terrible hockey, including the stretch right after the ASG, when they had a golden opportunity to jump into the playoff race with home games against lousy teams and instead crapped the bed. JB is accountable for the ultimate results. Those results include the last quarter of this season. If his 3-year results represent a net 2-point improvement over the last guy -- that's not good enough.

Well, I think we need to see how the season ends up. Last year they finished with 76 pts, 2 years after JB took over a team that finished with 78 pts. They currently have 29 wins and 66 pts with 19 games left. If they go, say, 12-7 and finish with 41 wins and 90 pts, I think most here (but definitely not all) would be inclined to bring JB back. But if they go, say, 7-12 and finish with 36 wins and 80 pts -- so the net gain is 2 pts in 3 years of JB's tenure -- I and I think most here will be inclined to cut him loose. Either outcome is quite possible.

You are an excellent poster and I regret having to say this, but the bolded is #hammymath.

I'm sure the Islanders' fans would prefer that they score more goals. Do you think they would trade their team for the Sabres? It doesn't matter why the Islanders have outperformed the Sabres during the JB era. It only matters that they have done so -- just like pretty much every other team in the NHL. Again: JB is accountable for the results. He took over a team that was in pretty much the same place that the Isles were in when LL took over and has to date improved their results not one iota -- while LL was improving the Isles by leaps and bounds in much less time than JB has had. JB doesn't have to match the best results that anyone has achieved, but it would be nice if his results weren't at the bottom of the freaking barrel.

The Islanders hired Lamoriello in the summer of 2018, after JB had been with the Sabres for 1 year (the Sabres finished DFL that year, btw). The Islanders had missed the playoffs in the previous 2 years, including an 80-pt season in 2017-18, and had ONE playoff series win in the previous 15 years. Then, a couple of months after LL joined, the Islanders lost Tavares -- a better player than ROR -- and got nothing back in trade, since JT left as a UFA. Did the Islanders continue to muddle along in suckitude? No. They hired Trotz, brought in a goalie named Robin Lehner, made a bunch of small moves and improved by 23 pts to finish with 103 pts and knocked off Pittsburgh in the 1st round of the playoffs. They are a near-lock to make the playoffs again this year -- in LL's and Trotz's 2nd year. It doesn't need to take one hundred years of solitude. JB is accountable.

1st bolded -- whoa. So TT can't be sent down next year w/o clearing waivers? If so, that's an important roster fact that I hadn't realized, since it means that TT is 99% likely to be one of the 13 forwards in Buffalo next year. 2nd bolded -- it seems like most posters here think JB will have the option of bringing Zemgus and Larsson back. I am skeptical that this will happen, and expect at least one of them to sign elsewhere to escape the chronic losing. If I had to guess, I think both will be gone -- and I think JB's plan is to replace them with Lazar and Asplund. 3rd bolded -- abso-freakin'-lutely, and while I generally like RK, I think he has butchered the Skinner situation and the Sabres' special teams, both of which have been critical coaching failures that have materially hurt the Sabres' results this year.

Yes -- and guys with NTCs.

There may or may not be a carryover, but I think the Sabres' results in the last 20 games will affect TP's decision on whether to bring back JB.

The end of the Nashville-Calgary game was crazy — Granlund tied it literally at the final buzzer and then won it in OT. The Nashville crowd was incredible. I’m envious.

This isn't that complicated. Discussion of non-sports events does not give anyone a free pass to vent about politicians, unless it's done in the politics club. If you can't discuss a non-sports event here without taking shots at politicians you don't like -- then don't discuss non-sports events here. And don't pretend you're not doing something by hiding behind BS like "everything is political."

Pls keep all political BS in the politics club. Thanks.

JFC. Can you pls calm down and knock it off with the pi**y comments.