LTS

My Norwegian House Bitters finished its infusion today and I bottled it up. Thankfully it's just bitters so I will have a lot left after tonight.. but mixing it with some dry gin, mezcal, and vermouth? Yes. Earlier I came across the picture of RJ that @josie did and then printed out on cards and handed out for RJ's last night. Hope it's a sign that the Sabres will find a way to get it done. Cheers!

Meh. Until I see this defense shut down another team I'm not going to get too hyped up. Injuries or not they all need to play better than they are. The offense does not worry me. The defense scares the hell out of me. They are terrible.

Freely admit I did not read the whole thread... If we are concerned about players on this team getting a large contract and then tuning out the game of hockey, Pettersson is not your answer. I wouldn't worry about his NMC. After a few years here he's accept a trade to the Siberian team of the KHL. Also, I don't think he's a good fit for this team at this time. This team needs a veteran player even if their contract will be expensive in 3-5 years. They need leaders to come in and change the mindset of this team.

First and foremost, I would not give him much credit for the Bills success and that while the Bills have been a playoff team they still have not won a Super Bowl. So if our definition of success for the Bills' management is just making the playoffs, then okay. Of course it helps that two of the teams in their division are absolute garbage. I will pass judgment on Terry Pegula as an NFL owner once the Bills face adversity and have to build a team to be successful more than once. Right now it's easy enough to say they "got lucky". Let's say the BIlls had years and years of failure after Pegula took over and that they finally got to where they are today. Then I would give them more credit. As for the NHL part of his ownership. It's been an abject failure that's never been equaled in the history of the NHL. As such I don't know who else you look to for the ultimate responsibility on that other than the one constant, the owner. It's not just that the teams are bad year after year, it's also how they've managed to irritate players and build a culture where NHL players do not want to play for this franchise. It's how they've managed to create such a horrible game day experience. It's really every aspect of how this team has been run. There are maybe 2-3 things this organization has done right since Pegula took over and sadly 2 of those moments pertain to Rick Jeanneret and how they honored his career and impact on the game of hockey and certainly Buffalo Sabres fans. That's just not a good record at creating a successful NHL franchise by any means. It's failure after failure after failure with no apparent end in sight.

Broadcast teams and media in general are very different today than they were 20-30 years ago. I wouldn't expect the local media to be overly questioning (however, they are questioning) these days. Most newspaper journalists don't even know if they'll have a job year to year. They have to branch out and attempt to build their own brand via social media but they also need to make sure they are able to access the team. There's a fine line there. The broadcast team is 100% at the mercy of the team itself. No way are they going to slam their employers. As for the city itself? I would never question the integrity of the fan base. The attendance is a testament to the product the team has put on the ice. I'd love to say that we've all been in the arena when the team is doing well and we know what the atmosphere is like but I don't know that we can say that now given how long it's been. But as we've seen, plenty of people on here know what a good team will do for attendance and atmosphere. Of course the in arena game production leaves a LOT to be desired, so even if the Sabres were a winning team I don't think it would compare to other places. That's also on the team itself to rectify. As for putting up with Terry, I'm not sure I would agree. There's a level of "putting up" that we all have to do because he's the owner. But again, I think far less people give a damn about the Sabres right now because they are losing. That's not putting up with Terry, that's not supporting his product. There is definitely an aspect of the Bills' success that overshadows that Sabres woes and that would happen in most cities. I don't agree with this. I think it's easy to equate a contract to not trying. It's easy to equate the lack of success to lack of effort. I think it's more a situation where you have just far too many young players trying to all work through the same things. They lack veteran support to provide the experienced view on how to handle everything that happens on the ice and off the ice. They are fragile, but young teams are expected to be fragile. I think they respond to benching. I think they do try for the most part. The problem is that they don't all try at the same time, try the same way that allows them to play as a team. As a quick example, I used to coach a kid who had all the motor in the world. All I ever heard about was how hard he played. His effort couldn't be questioned. It was a sentiment that I agreed with after watching him play. The problem was he was always reading the play wrong. So he'd try really hard and end up in the wrong position which would either leave a defensive or offensive gap that the team had to cover. Effort does not equal success. It's required to have success. So I think they try. They have their moments. But they fail to achieve success, in game, and then their youth and inexperience sets in and they get down on themselves. Right now I am sure its the weight of the world on their shoulders. You don't get to this level of an athletic career and have a mindset where losing 13 games in a row is acceptable. But much like life, when you get bad news on top of bad news, eventually it wears you down. This is in no way meant to say that I give them a pass on this. This is the hand they are dealt and they need to overcome it. It's not an excuse for them to have lost 13 in a row and it's sure as hell not any level of justification of the actions of the front office. This team remains a tire fire and we are all experiencing 13+ years of inertia regarding this teams futility to be a quality NHL franchise.

Dumbass has played what? 22 NHL games and now he's been suspended for 12 in his career? That's not the ratio you are looking for from a player. Last season he managed 1G, 1A, 71 PIMS is 17 regular season games. A nice 4.17 PIM/G. He was fighting every game it seemed. Then he gets his shot this season and there you go. Kid clearly needs time away from the rink. He had just enough talent to get this far but clearly his size and "tenacity" is what managers see in him. It does no good if the only thing he's crushing is nachos up in the team suite. Glad he got 8.. but it was worth so much more.

From a fake Elliott Friedman account. Being injured does not prevent a trade from occurring. However because most of the time the team wants the player they are acquiring to play immediately a trade for an injured player does not happen. Jack Eichel is a great example of being traded while injured.

Are you the founder or just a member? Also, exclamation points don't add validity to your statements.

I'm totally on the same page. If I needed it I would have it already. If I wanted it enough I would have it already. If it was a pipe dream then there's no way someone else should buy it for me. I don't know a lot of people with significant extra money lying around so I don't want people who work to make a living to buy me things. I don't have it so the idea of buying something just because it's Christmas is strange. Now, if someone makes something and gives it to me, that's another story. I'm making some hot sauces and some bitters to give away as gifts to a few people.

Yes, actually. Multiple times I have seen officials congregate after a whistle to determine a high-stick infraction occurred. It's not only in Buffalo. It was the right call. It sucks that it happened, but it was the right call.

Once the WJC is over the Sabres will save me more than I would get by switching my auto insurance. Literally no reason to pay for Fubo anymore.

Those two moments were the perfect "better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" moments. I'm glad they are getting blasted, they should be. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity and as a fan, I agree. Just hope it sparks some kind of change. Because they are about to go from: "No Palm Trees and Taxes" to "Inspiring Speech" from the Owner to "Apparently Buffalo is a destination city... for Leafs fans." on national TV. This should be good.

I applaud the energy that is going into this thread.

You might as it's nationally televised ESPN game I believe. This concept that Hulu has hockey is generally nothing more than Disney's cross-promotion of the content. On most days you might see Hulu listing hockey games but you'll need an ESPN+ subscription in your Disney+ bundle to be able to watch it. They are integrating the content so users can simplify the apps they need to use to watch the content. For example, I have a full Disney+ sub and I can now use the Disney+ app to watch all Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ content. As far as the game goes.. I'm drinking every time the opposition scores. So this may be my last day on this planet...

I think we're aligned, but stating is slightly differently. But yes, if the situation changed to the point that Adams was handcuffed from operating as a GM would normally operate then he would have a decision to make. It's conceivable he had authority until the season started and the team floundered. I would resign before being neutered and you would as well. Adams should if that's the case. It's certainly fishy as hell if it's not the case. As for breaking the rules, I specifically targeted players because I would not be surprised if Adams didn't have some form of NDA preventing him from speaking about these things. I've been subjected to NDAs dealing with corporate decision making and I don't think it's a stretch that Pegula would have one in place to keep his subordinates from speaking freely about how he operates the team. If he has an NDA it's more than losing his job, it's a lawsuit he won't win unless Pegula is doing something illegal.

Well, that's one possibility. However, what if there was tampering? Evidence does come to light at different times, sometimes much later. It's not like politicians serving both Democrat and Republican needs don't lie straight to our faces and get involved in illegal activities in order to further their agendas. DISCLAIMER: I am not a fan of Donald Trump.

He's not a failure because Pegula will not allow him to trade. He's a failure for what he's done until now. I'm thinking the situation is simply Terry telling Kevyn that he can listen to a trade and bring it to the "group". He's not to take any action on his own and if he does he'll be released before the trade can be made, effectively losing his job. I would imagine Adams would comply with that. Could be.. I'm not defending anyone in this organization who has any responsibility for the product on the ice. Not a chance. They all share some portion of the blame for what is happening. If I were a player in this organization this would be the point I would speak out to the media and simply call out the truth. I mean, can other teams blame you for taking it outside the organization at this point? If I were a GM of another team and I heard a player start calling out GMs, owners, other players I would want that player. Normally I would not, but this organization is such an exception at this point that everyone should be speaking out.

With the reports coming out that the Rangers players want Drury gone; do you really want him here? No thanks. He's the guy who just handed $11.5M to a goaltender. No thanks.. not interested at all. As for Ruff - he won't quit. He will get moved around as part of the Adams release. Appert will be interim HC and they'll go get a GM or POHO.. or both preferably. This allows Ruff to save some face for agreeing to take on this roster.

No doubt. This has been my question all season. They don't look like they understand what they should be doing. These are hockey players who have played in good systems before with good coaches. it stinks of a poorly coached team with mixed messages or they are executing what they are being told to execute and that strategy sucks. I saw this comment as well and I think it's a bit strange. I don't have faith in Adams but at some point, if the owner stops in the locker room and says no changes are coming you have to wonder if Adams is ALLOWED to counter. The guy has made trades he's not THAT incompetent. There's just too many strange things going to think that Pegula isn't the infection causing this team to rot.

Can you add context to that? A link to whatever you read or saw that sparked your comment on here would assist others in confirming what you are referring to. Thanks.

Oh yeah.. definitely agree. I'm just laughing at people who said they are LEOS which should never be confused for a drone.

At some point we need @darksabre in here saying "I just hope the Sabres have fun today." 🙂

So with this thread... Do people still feel that strongly about the Sabres to battle this hard over their points OR Is this just a typical Internet debate?

Ahhh the kid has a school concert tonight.. I won't be able to see the game.