Mango

Fair. I am sick of getting excited about prospects mainly because when you are a bad hockey team for a really long time the system is set up to so that you have a great prospect pool. Buffalo has been historically bad, their prospects are supposed to be great. Boston has been historically good, their prospects are supposed to be bad. The interesting stuff to look at are when a young team like NJ is on the rise with a good looking prospect pool or a bad team like Ottawa's suck. But the worst team and the best team over the last 10 years having the best/worst prospect pools is the way the system is designed.

It is weird to me that you separated these two things, but attributed "winning multiple cups" to the path of the Sabres and not the Bruins. Boston puts their young prospects in a position to succeed and win multiple cups. Buffalo promotes prospects for "experience", putting them in a position to fail, and have struggled to finish a season 16th ot better let alone win Stanley Cup.

There are more than two buckets. It isn't "final product" or "prospect".

Forget experience. Power and Dahlin signed MASSIVE extensions. How can you be a prospect when you sign an 8x8 second contract?

It should be noted that Quin and JJP were allowed to bake in Rochester where as guys like Cozens were forced into action immediately. Cozens has been much more inconsistent getting up to speed. I know others are sky high on Cozens, I am "eh" on him at this point and sky high on JJP/Quinn. Levi needs/needed to bake in Rochester. Benson is weird because he is way too talented for Juniors and this team so not talented enough for the NHL at the moment so he sort of accidentally makes the team.

Since January 1 this team is something like bottom 7 in the league in xGA, HD Shots Against, HD Chances Against, and Shots off the rebound against. I don't understand how anybody can watch these games and think the defense has been good. GA is a very high level stat that doesn't tell a complete story. There is a strong argument to be made that UPL has been a Vezina level goaltender from January 1 on. How is it even debatable that UPL single handedly bailed this team (and defense) out of a top 5 pick in the 2024 draft. If everybody on the bench and in the FO is brought back they should all give a portion of their paycheck to UPL. Without hyperbole, he has carried that much weight in keeping this team out of the dumpster this year.

It isn't just feeling. It happened. They had two "winning streaks" of 3 games. That is it. I said it early, I don't think teams lose by a point or a game. It is an 82 game season, the sample size is quite large. Teams miss the playoffs because of trends and tendencies. A 16-17 game season like the NFL can be largely impacted by luck, or a call, or a game. But (for the most part) teams don't have enough luck/unluckiness with such large sample sizes in the NHL, NBA, and MLB. The Sabres xGA and high danger chances have stunk, face offs/puck possession, are embarrassing, they lack a quite a bit of physicality, huge defensive gaffes, lack of effort, playing well in meaningful situations, and the PP has been embarrassing for about 18 months now. This is why this team isn't good enough. The problem is the Sabres "solved for a point" instead of "solving their tendencies".

Pegula considers himself a hockey man and not a football man so I believe that changes a few things. The rumor swirled around Danny Briere coming in as President of Hockey Ops but Pegula refused the clause. When it comes to the Bills McBeane have one major advantage and that is they more or less came as a package deal with a pre-existing 10 year working relationship. Pegula's weird flat, independent, and inconsistent reporting structure doesn't work because they came together and have been doing this together for a long time before Buffalo. It is impossible for Terry to get in the middle.

I think the first period numbers are the symptom and not the disease. They have two compounding issues: 1. Not enough try hard. I don't know if they aren't prepared, they think they are doing enough, or are just simply not trying. 2. Too many boneheaded decisions, defensive gaffes and high danger opportunities that leave their goaltender out to dry far too often. The high danger metrics and xGA metrics indicate that this team would be picking in the top 5 if not for UPL.

We traded a current top 6C for a potential top 4D. It is a maddening trade for me, not because of BB. But because based on everything this org preaches about committing to and developing our own talent, Mitts is a slam dunk extension and we traded him for “might be better later”. Just like we keep calling the 2C role Cozens even though Mitts has been much better for 1.5 years.

Byram went to the “Dylan Cozens School for Hickey Fights”. That was sad. Surprised the refs let it go so long. They almost never let one sided fights go that long.

The Flyers game sealed this loss. This team always seems to need to get embarrassed to adjust. Buffalo got away with one against Philly. Way outshot and way too many high danger chances. No business burying 4 on 20 shots or whatever it was. Anytime that happens it’s like this team thinks that level of play was good enough and then they get punched in the face.

This team doesn’t miss the playoffs by a point, or a game, or goal. It is an 82 game season, they’ll miss because of tendencies. It isn’t a league where a bad bounce here or there is an excuse. The sample size is too large. Every time there is an opportunity to get some positive traction they lose/fall on their face. Happened last year. Happening this year.

Biz looks like he has the same hair, makeup, and wardrobe person as Razor. Did he role in in last nights close like 6 minutes before he went on the air? #78

Where is the Benny Hill music when you need it?

It’s weird they both collapse AND leave a Flyer alone on the backside of UPL in the crease. One would think that having more guys standing around the same spot might mean one Sabre might take the man in front of a wide open net?

Maybe the most consistent poster on the board. Game 1 vs NYR all the way to game 77 vs the Flyers. Must win, baby!

I disagree. Adams and Donnie cannot afford to let another Ullmark walk. And frankly neither can the team. This team is in no place to walk away over a $0.5M -$1.5 AAV difference for a goalie who was close to the very best in the league since January 1.

I think Terry really did and maybe even does want to win a Stanley Cup with the Sabres, but I think he is coming to terms with his failures. I won't be mad if he sells, but I won't ever forgive him if he sells the team and it moves. There are some rumors that Golisano put some language around the teams permanency. I don't know if that is true, but I do know that Terry could certainly prevent it if he wanted to, and if he takes $850M from the people in this community to then moves the Sabres he will be dead to me.

The arena isn't the story per se. At the very least it is the tip of the iceberg. It is that the local billionaire owner who just received $850M in public subsidy has divested in almost all of his hockey ops, failed to keep up with general maintenance with the KBC, and now pulled out of the 15 year lease he signed just a few years ago. Now he is either trying to bend Rochester over a barrel after signing an agreement he said wouldn't change just a few months ago or he is prepping to sell his hockey teams.

I just don't understand how they can roll it back? The team vs fans is at an all time toxic level. They are quick to boo and the team is quick to chirp back through the media and on the ice. Rolling it back again is likely the most dangerous business decision Pegula and Co. have made since buying the team 13 years ago. More dangerous than the tank. Even a mediocre start is going to create a super tense atmosphere for everybody involved. So what happens then? Fans get worse, players start pushing back, each one-upping each other, driving this franchise further into the ground. I have to start wondering if there is some "Major League" to it all? No more spending, don't hire competent staff, refuse to replace the worst ones, stop taking care of the KBC, pull out of the lease in Rochester. I don't know if the team leaves Buffalo or changes ownership, but the only thing Terry is doing well is alienating hockey fans in this region. Under those circumstances selling makes a lot of sense as a next move.

I think the opposite. They only win games when there is almost nothing on the line for them. They aren’t making the playoffs. This team has won 3 games in a row only twice this year. Stringing together wins now is meaningless. In fact this group the last two years has basically only been able to string wins together at the most meaningless times. They don’t like playing with their backs against the wall. They loathe it. I don’t understand why he is still up with this team and not in Rochester. It is baffling.

He just signed a new lease out to 2033.

This is really odd. I have argued both that the Sabres will and won’t leave. Terry’s divestment from Rochester, the Sabres, and his lack of upkeep of the KBC keep nagging me that he’d like to sell his hockey teams. I think the team stays, maybe even under Pegulas ownership, but every-time he pulls back I can’t help but think… EDIT: Very strange the article is titled and opens with "Owner of..." I don't understand why it doesn't say "Terry Pegula". Also less than a year ago when they dissolved PSE they said "No no, don't worry Rochester nothing will change. We just won't be PSE anymore". Now this.

On the flip side, for all the "the defense is better" folks the Sabres are near the worst in the league in xGA and high danger chances against. UPL has saved this team from being bottom 5.