LTS

BS. This is Sabrespace where anything can be complained about.

Well done.

That's not so bad on the goal scoring. Sure he could be a transition piece, but then again, this team has been in transition for 13 years. They don't need to replace Kulich specifically as they can adjust run McLeod, Krebs, Cozens, and then move Thompson to C when he's ready. They have flexibility there... and hell we're still not sure Cozens is a center.... well some people aren't. 🙂

Yes, the ultimate source of the problem is Terry. I said that. Thanks for the confirmation.

Sprong has never quite made it on any team he's been on. I don't know that I know enough about him... but the Sabres have an opening on the roster with Kulich out and could bring him in. (can they release him again in a few weeks? I think so). It might be worth a shot.

He had surgery on something. He's out for awhile. It's weeks to weeks. 😉

Friends of ours posted a picture from their place in Altadena... the sky is orange right behind them. I'm waiting for their next update where they are out of that house. I truly it's not what happens for many reasons. But that house has been in the family for awhile and it's kind of unique which adds to the pain.

It's not surprising. He's right in stating how many points they are out by, but he's certainly mischaracterizing the chances of the team. And it certainly is accomplishing what he set out to do.. which is have people discuss just how bad his take his. My issue is that the general populace loves to prop up these idiots and thus reinforce the behavior. Not surprising, again...

Where do you see Donato different from the other 6' forwards on this team? I read what you quoted but is that the whole story? Do you look at him as a Krebs upgrade? I don't know enough about him. I can see his stats.. he's roughly the same size and scoring better than Krebs.

Yeah.. see what @Flashsabre posted goes a long to context. I am not a fan of Pegula at all. He's ruined this franchise with his leadership but I'm not prescribing any more to a statement than the statement itself when its made. For what it's worth, I would expect an owner to be involved in those decisions. That said, being involved and mandating a certain outcome are separate things. Ultimately it doesn't matter if he is involved, listens, and agrees with his GM and scouts or if his GM and scouts do his bidding. He put all of them in their positions and the organization is not successful. He's not getting it done. However, the reasons can be different.

Interesting.. went over to the site for some relative information. Power is third on the team in takeaways behind Tuch (23) and Clifton (18). Dahlin is 5th and Byram is 6th. Clifton leads in giveaways at 42, Dahlin is 2nd, Byram 3rd. Power is 6th with Zucker and Cozens ahead of him. I checked out a few other teams to get a sense if its normalish. Vegas: Shea Theodore: 22T - 59G Noah Hanifin: 17T - 57G Jack Eichel: 16T - 39G Alex Pietrangelo - 14T - 58G Winnipeg: Mark Schiefele: 14T - 54G Neal Pionk: 19T - 48G Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon: 13T - 70G Josh Manson: 13T - 54G Cale Makar: 34T - 53G (this is quite impressive given the overalls I've been checking) NJ Devils: Dougie Hamilton: 16T - 67G Jack Hughes: 16T - 53G Brett Pesce: 13T - 28G Overall it seems that the Sabres players aren't completely out of line against other teams. It's interesting to look at.

I think it's Kozak for roster flexibility. Either that or they bring up Rosen, but my guess is they would rather swap bodies on the 4th line. It's easier to move Quinn with Krebs and Benson and then they have all kinds of 4th line flexibility with Lafferty, NAK, Malenstyn and then Kozak. Rosen wouldn't be brought up for the 4th line. Better to leave him in Rochester.

Without more context I can't say that I have a problem with this. I get asked questions by my leadership all the time. In many cases they are told something or hear something and they want my position on it because they believe I am the source of truth. At times it certainly can feel like I am being tested to see if I can respond competently. Now, if I thought the only thing my bosses wanted to hear was affirmation of their position, then it would not work. I question my employees all the time. There are a lot of things that don't happen "without my approval". In many cases I challenge them to make sure they've considered all aspects. It's not always about blind trust in the employee either. Of course, if Pegula is doing it and then expects his employees to then target those players and ultimately invokes executive privilege that's another story.

It might always be this bad and the broadcast doesn't let it come through but last night I felt like they were trying to do the equivalent of the wave with it. Holy lord. I'd rather have a palm tree blocking my view than listen to it. Last night when they announced 1 minute remaining in the third period I accidentally said "Thank God" instead of "Thank you". I apparently said it loud enough to get a few chuckles from the people around me. It wasn't even something I consciously thought about, but after watching yet another collapse.. ugh.

Anything to get eyeballs and readers... Telling the truth is no longer in fashion and hasn't been for a long time.

It was more like a library, but morgue is an acceptable answer. The crowd most assuredly knew, especially when the puck was in the Sabres end for such a long period of time and each time the Sabres had a chance to do ANYTHING with it they managed to flub a pass, mishandle the puck, or simply play it straight to a Caps player. The one thing you definitely see while being at the game is what is happening outside of the camera view and it was even uglier than what you see in the camera view. They are not a strong team, mentally or physically. Absolutely not surprise to anyone here. After the Sabres first goal the scoreboard read 999 - 0 for the Sabres. It took them awhile to figure out how to hit the +1 button instead of the -1 button. I have a picture of when it said 995-0. I figured they couldn't possibly blow that lead right? The KBC ice still leaves a lot to be desired. It's incredible how the puck bounces there. It's not just the Sabres who have all the problems. There stretches of time near the end of periods where both teams had issues with the puck. But they are 1-0 when I visit. They tend to win more than they lose when I attend a game. I'd offer to take free tickets but I don't think I can handle the woobirds in person. We had two of the incredibly annoying ones behind us last night. I wanted to smack the everloving crap out of them. The worst is when others feel the need to chime in. Oy...it's like one big competition on who can be the most annoying person in the world.

I decided that since I needed a Pizza Plant fix I was going to drive to Buffalo and get one. Then I decided that since I will be there I might as well walk a block and attend the game. That's not really what happened but I tell myself that because it makes me feel better. I'll be there with my kid tonight.... who knows what will happen.

+/- isn't all that.. but being better at it than worse at it still matters. That's a really good stat.

Just a reminder... the Oilers are the team that decided Jeff Skinner was going to help them get over the top and then allowed two players to walk in RFA that would have helped them as well. I believe their decision making is highly flawed. Kulich is playing with better scoring teammates than McLeod as well. The whole idea of Malenstyn, NAK, Lafferty being the "improvement" to the 4th line is really not appropriate. They were the replacement of the 4th line. I'm not sure it was ever stated they were improving the 4th line, they just wanted speed. At least in that regard, they have it. But comparison's to last years 4th line should not be done with the idea that the Sabres could have retained last year's 4th line. Okposo was retiring. Girgensons was a UFA and walked. Robinson was also free to walk I believe. So... none of them were necessarily going to be here (and why would we expect them to be if they had a choice?) But.. it doesn't change the fact they don't produce points. Then again, this team doesn't produce points either.

A shame I missed this one. Well, that's not entirely true. I was watching USA v CZE, then flipped over. I watched until the first Vagas goal and went to bed. I also had forgotten that listening to a game against Vagas would subject me to Rob Ray's pronunciations of the word Vegas. So I feel like a triple winner this morning. I got lots of sleep, I did not subject myself to Rob Ray, and I can't comment one bit on the game itself because I really didn't watch it. It's a great Sunday so far.

Someone had to do it... If you want to see some competitive hockey before hand: SWE vs. FIN - 2:30ET USA vs. CZE - 7:30ET SWE and FIN get rough when playing each other, serious national pride will be shown. Then you can watch the Sabres and Knights. Have a great Saturday!

Good stuff. I think McLeod is a bit higher grade at C or C+. They'll re-sign him and they should. As they hopefully filter some of the top 9 and compress it I think McLeod will slot back up. He's also versatile enough to move up and down the lines with this speed and that helps cover any injuries to the C's above him. Aube-Kubel is basically the back-up for Malenstyn at this point. Zucker is probably one of the best, if not THE best UFA signings this team has ever had. If his energy and attitude are not rubbing off on this team at all then there's literally no hope. I think it is but the inertia it has to overcome cannot be understated. While I like to be a realist there is a big part of me that hopes like hell he says "F it" and tells Adams he's on for another year, don't trade me. A decision such as that could spark the beginning of some players considering signing with this team in the future.

Holy cow what a reaction here. First and foremost let's acknowledge the most obvious thing, nothing is working for the Sabres. Now, if the organization burns Zucker by not trading him then there will be zero hope of any meaningul vet wanting to be here as well as all existing players not wanting to be here. So you tell me how retaining Zucker against his desires helps this team? You didn't address that, you just went for the attack. So I will wait. As I said, piss off Zucker and not only will he corrupt your locker room but it'll piss off every other player in there and every player around the league. So you tell me how that's a better outcome than trading him. Now, as to your second paragraph. Teams do go to players and ask them if they have a preference on where they want to go. They aren't going to present the details of the trade but if there were two trade options that the Sabres were willing to make and the weighted them the same there is zero harm in accommodating the players preferred location. It builds good will with the club. You mentioned elsewhere that you could run the team better but if you engaged in the actions you are proposing I doubt you'd have anyone who wanted to work with you, management or players. Good luck.

Well.. yep. I'm just going to blame that on the fact that today is my 4th day at the new job after not working for 7 weeks and it was the first day where I was loaded with meetings.. so my brain is toast. Appreciate the callout... 🙂

My understanding is that the play should not be blown dead until Colorado has the puck or if the Sabres were not in the offensive zone. They would blow the play dead if the injury was one that needed immediate attention (ie. puck in the face) or presented a safety concern (loose strap/mask). It's not much different than a player who blocks a shot and is down on the ice and players just skate around him.