mjd1001

Some things I agree with, others I disagree. Firing Ruff. He has shown he has been a good coach for years after he was fired. If you were going to 'tank' or 'rebuild' just had to make sure he was on board, and he would have been better to do that than a lot of others that were here. The tank, its an old discussion but i'm still on the side of good idea, poorly executed. The year after Eichel most fans and media were thinking the Sabres would take a D-man. They took Nylander with McAvoy, Sergachev, and Chychrun still on the board and taken right after. Players were brough in that didn't fit with 'the room' and/or the young guys weren't developed that well. You basically had a GM that old you they were rebuilding and there would be 'pain' and it will take time, and then you replace him and the guy you give the keys too tries to rush things along. So many mistakes made from the top down.

Yes and No. But I still feel 'kinda' good about Granato. My issue is the Young(er) guys up front, they aren't playing well across the whole ice. Will a new coach get Krebs, Cozens, Peterka, and any other young guys you bring up and play (Kulich or Rosen) play a better all around game? Get those guys to be better in your own end? If Granato and his staff are the reason for the young guys lacking in that regard, then I would listen to the idea of a change. BUT, as you mentioned, who is going to step in here and do better? If someone will please consider it, but instead of just saying "fire Grananto, bring in someone with experience", who is that? and specifically what is their 'experience' going to do to make this team better?

I agree. Yes they lost their quarterback, and yes there is a likely chance that the replacement quarterback is not as good. But... They have done everything on the field that they needed to. No way a one loss team should be in over an undefeated major conference conference championship team. I understand the other side of things, there can be an opinion that Alabama might be a better team. But then again they might not be. And the tiebreaker would be they have that loss... And by the way a lot of wins that are not of high quality.

I can see that. But the question is is it really gone or different? They're scoring is down. Their quality chances are down also, but remember this is a team that was getting outshot and out chanced in many games last year also. The difference this year? Thompson. He had 13 goals in December last year and I think he was in the teens going into December. So by the end of December he was closing in on 30 goals. He's hurt right now sure but he has six. That's a big difference. Cousin's also. Over 30 goals last year and many were expecting him to repeat it or maybe improve on it but he's at what? 4? Skinner and Tuch are producing like they were last year. VO and Peterka have basically exchanged production levels but they're about the same also only slightly behind. So really, it's not the whole team to me, most of the drop in production, and the drop in quality chances, is due to Thompson's slow start and now injury, and Cozens... Whatever is wrong with him. To me, that's not a change in coaching or coaching's problem. That is mostly Thompson and Cozens.

I'm going to have to disagree on that. He had a good game last night, but didn't score but the rest of the season he's just not good. His production obviously is way down. As others and myself have referenced with examples, he is very often out of position and goals against are scored from areas where he should have been. He chases the puck and leaves wide open zones. And there have even been a couple of cases where he hasn't hustled back where goals have been scored against, hanging the defense out to dry.. Reduced offensive production, replays that show he's coasting when goals are scored against, and terrible positional play. One good game last night doesn't erase that. He has been not average, but a bad hockey player for this team this year.

Cozens is a bad hockey player right now.

If i'm one of the 6 D-men, I'm laughing for sure. He hangs them out to dry and makes the D look bad and I'm going to listen to that guy?

I don't want to keep repeating the same posts over and over, as some are probably sick of hearing it from me...but I agree with you. Its not just offensive production, Cozens is playing an awful game all around. He has been a bad hockey player this year. People like that he spoke up last night after the loss, but took in the mirror, you are one of the issues on this team now, you need to pick it up big time.

Agree with a lot here. As for the where the Scoring went...the Sabres are almost 1/3 of the way through the season now -Thompson had 47 last year. This year he is on 'pace' (due to injuries and missed games) for about 20. -Cozens last year had 31. This year he is on the pace for about 15 Skinner and Tuch are giving you the same production they did last year. Peterka is pretty much swapping production with VO. Quite simply, Thompson being hurt and Cozens not producing is where most of last year's offense has gone. Thompson needs to get back and be healthy. Cozens is not a good player in any aspect of the game right now, he needs to be better all over. That will solve 'most' of where the offense went.

If that's what they're going to do then I'm fine with it I just see a lot of people on this board calling for more team toughness. People who will skate harder and finish every check. I think that's actually going in the wrong direction. You need players like Cozens to pull the reins back occasionally, And know where to be not to be full speed all the time. Play SMARTER. You need players who understand where the pass is going, not just to be fixated on the puck now. The last thing this team needs is an old fashioned coach who is going to yell at the players to finish every check and to drop the gloves more. They need to learn where to be and they need to learn the mental part of the game in terms of preventing goals and covering your guys. In the NFL, if you are allowing 50 touchdown passes against you every year, you don't get a coach that's going to tell you to play more physical and to beat up the other team. You get one Who knows how to have their linebackers and defensive backs play better and play Positionally. And it's not about acquiring more talented players. It's about acquiring players who know mentally how to play the game until your young guys figure it out themselves. Right now the young guys aren't figuring that out.

I know it's not actually going to happen, just like a lot of the trade proposals that people have on here aren't going to happen. My point was that is the thing this team needs the most. Not more team toughness. Not another big time scorer, they need to learn how to actually play the modern game of hockey in terms of effort, position, and just the game inside their head between the ears.

Right now what I would do... Clear out cap space. Call Patrice Bergon. Make him the highest paid player in the league for the rest of the year (seriously, no joke if that is what it takes). Have him show, be the example, for how forwards need to play. The guy isn't physically tough, but may be one of the 'least fun' (hardest) guys to play against. He knows when to finish a check, when not to. knows how to forecheck. Knows when to chase a loose puck and when to hold his ground. This team, these young forwards, need that more than anything else you can give them. It's not going to happen, if he wanted to play. He'd be back in Boston but that's what this team needs more than anything else.

I think I found a new hill to die on. If Cozens thinks that, he is a bigger problem that I even thought. Do most of us want this team to be tougher, of course. But the problem is just being awful in their own zone. This team leave guys to wide open. The forwards don't cover their man. They have often times little hustle getting back to help the D out. Toughness, being hard to play against, the 'eff you' is not the biggest problem. Cozens is probably the best example of someone who is just clueless in terms of where he should be and who he should cover in the D-zone. If he thinks the solution is not to fix that but to be 'tougher', he is then one of the bigger problems on this team now. Is it just so ingrained in hockey players heads...and in our heads as fans, the the solution is more toughness? more hitting? When I watch the goals scored against, I see players who don't know where to be. I see opponents taking wide open shots from prime scoring areas more often that not. Hitting more doesn't fix that. You know what team is hard to play against? Not the team that throws one or two more hits..or the team that pushes and shoves more after the whistle. The team no one wants to play against is one that frustrates the crap out of you by giving you nothing, giving you no open ice, being in every single passing lane because they are sound positionally. THAT is the team that is the one you hate playing against. The guys on this team like Cozens don't get that. And many of us as fans who think more toughness fixes the issue don't get it either.

Right now I'm starting to lean on the train about trading for some mid-level forwards who are vets. Thompson, Tuch, and Skinner (when Thompson gets healthy) get ready, that line is good and you are going to get 20+ minutes per game. Those guys are going to carry this team like never before. Krebs, Cozens, Benson, Rosen, Kulich...The ones how are eligible for Rochester go there and between games you make them watch video of how the Bruins or Kings or even the Red Wings forwards play without the puck. Learn when you need to hustle, when NOT to chase the puck, and how they react in their own zone. The guys who can't go to Roch, you do the same. Lock them in a room and make them watch what THEY do vs what the vets on those teams do....and if they aren't learning they stay in Rochester or if they are in Buffalo you keep dropping and dropping their ice time till they DO learn. Play the middling vets you can trade for in their place if you must. Girgensons, Mitts, you aren't great but you are "OK" You can stay but don't get too comfortable. Who else can I do without? Okposo, thanks for the goals last week but he is too slow and hurting this team. Greenway? Good penalty killer but you aren't bringing anything else. Jost? Last year you hustled and played well positionally, what the heck happened this year where that is gone? Okposo, Greenway, and Jost can go and get replaced by someone else. Krebs, Cozens, and Benson, I'd consider sitting them and have a newly acquired vet take their minutes.

GOALS ALLOWED. Where are they coming from and why? The forwards on this team are historically bad at helping out the defense and any kind of positional play in their own zone. The Defense isn't THAT bad. A lot of times they 'look bad' covering up for the forward being non-existent in their help. Power has taken a step back and Clifton hasn't been playing GREAT, but they aren't as bad as they look at first glance. The effort and the positioning of the forward, however, needs to be shot into the sun. The first goal allowed...The D were caught back by themselves, where the heck are the forwards? It was off of an offensive zone faceoff, The d-men had to cover the whole zone and make decisions because NONE of the forwards hustled back. That is not on the D, that is not on coaching (directly). These Forwards are awful. When the shot was taken, Cozens was just finally showing up in the zone and Benson? He was still at center ice and coasting. AFTER AN OFFENSIVE ZONE FACEOFF. Be carful with how much credit we are giving both Cozens AND Benson for an all around game. 2nd goal, Carolina takse the puck out of their zone, skate through the forecheck like it isn't even there. Who's the right wing? Biro? No where near his side and that is where the goal comes from. 3rd goal allowed. scored from right in front of the net. Who is the center and where was he? Oh, Cozens AGAIN just deciding to skate away and chase the puck into the corner, by the time he gets there the puck is gone, and it makes it back to the slot where an opposing player is right there to score again (the spot that Cozens vacated). Cozens does this AGAIN and AGAIN and NEVER changes or learns. 5th goal. Cozens AGAIN. Now I understand at this point you might want to take a chance. BUT, when this team gives up PP goals MOST Of them, when you watch the replays, are when they get out of position. Cozens chases the puck AGAIN, goes all the way to the Blue line, but he had no chance of getting it. The Carolina defenseman got there well before Cozens and Cozens was still 10 feet away. The puck easily makes it down low to the goal scorer, while Cozens is totally out of the play. These forward....unreal how bad they are defensively, and Cozens has to be one of the worst in the league in D-zone positioning. He is awful, dreadful. He just does whatever he wants and his decisions in his own end are almost always wrong. And everyone who says you need a coaching change? IF a new coach is going to get these forward to get their heads out of their butt with how they play in their own zone AND skate harder on the backcheck, that is the only way this team gets better now. This D is not good but they aren't THE problem. The forwards absolutely are hideous and playing positionally and backchecking. I don't think I've ever seen a team worse. Tell me how to get these forwards to hustle back harder after EVERY TIME they lose an offensive zone faceoff? Tell me how to get them to stop chasing pucks they have no chance of getting in their own zone and keeping their position? Tell me how Okposo can gain back 5% more speed? Benson hasn't put full effort in. You know the guys who DO this well? Thompson, Oloffsson (Yes, Victor is THIS year) Tuch, and Girgensons. Those are the only 4 guys I see on a regular basis holding position in their own end.

I watched the replay of the 3rd goal. scored from right in front of the net? Who is the center and where was he? Oh, Cozens AGAIN just deciding to skate away and chase the puck into the corner, by the time he gets there the puck is gone, and it makes it back to the slot where an opposing player is right there to score again. These forward....unreal how bad they are defensively, and Cozens has to be one of the worst in the league in D-zone positioning. He just does whatever he wants and his decisions in his own end are almost always wrong.

Ok, I just watched the first goal again, and I feel the same way I have on a lot of my recent comments. that isn't coaching. That isn't the D. The D were caught back by themselves, where the heck are the forwards? It was off of an offensive zone faceoff, The d-men had to cover the whole zone and make decisions because NONE of the forwards hustled back. That is not on the D, that is not on coaching (directly). These Forwards are awful. When the shot was taken, Cozens was just trailing into the zone and Benson? He was still at center ice and coasting. AFTER AN OFFENSIVE ZONE FACEOFF. 2nd goal, they take the puck out of their zone, skate through the forecheck like it isn't even there. Who's the right wing? Biro? No where near his side and that is where the goal comes from. This D is not the problem. The forwards absolutely are hideous and playing positionallly and backchecking. I don't think I've ever seen a team worse.

Its not that they played pure offense. They leaned heavily toward offense, but they weren't giving up 2 on 0s and 3 on ones they way the Oilers were in the 80's. You will allow goals that way, but the issue isn't allowing the occasional goal on the break. This team is always challenged playing positionally in their own end. I'd say press the offense a bit more, but tighten up the 'half court' game in the D-zone.

It's frustrating that they're not doing well right now, but I agree with you. If you can get a superstar that you could fit under the cap on this team and it won't impact signing your own guys long-term than by all means go for it. But what I don't want is making a trade for the sake of making a trade.... Getting someone who may or may not help this team for a year, and then one year later if the team would have been patient they would have been better off... And yes, I know patience is a word on this forum that is dreaded. As I've said in other posts, if you trade for a top 6 forward to impact this team, whose minutes are they taking? If it's not a top six guy, they're not going to impact the team that much. Same thing with the defense. You want an impact player? They have to play a lot, who are you taking minutes from? I hear and read a lot of people saying make a move... There has to be a move out there. But honestly, what's the realistic move... We can't predict what's out there, but give me an example and tell me whose minutes they're going to take and who you're going to push down the lineup and how that's going to turn this team around? Cozens needs to pick up the pace. You need Thompson back. We need a little more progress and less bad games from Power. That will get this team on track, not bringing in a veteran that may not even exist.

I love the Bandits games but havne't been to one in a couple of years. What has attendence been like at the Bandits games in the last couple years?

I'm still going to think about what kind of trade really helps this team that much? You want to be good you need Thompson back and producing. HOPEFULLY that will happen soon. With that, your top 6 guys up front are Thompson, Tuch, Skinner, Peterka, Mitts, and Cozens. So...2 things: -Who do you bring in that moves one of those guys out of the top 6 and takes their minutes that will be THAT much better? -If you bring in someone to be a 3rd line player with less minutes, are they going to be good enough and make an impact on 3rd line minutes that will impact the team enough? I'm not saying you can't bring in someone that will be good, but the way the front end is structured, I can't see a huge impact unless you are bringing in a STAR and you move out one of those top 6 guys in a package to get them. But we are talking major MAJOR move there. Same thing on D. Dahlin, Power, and Samuelson get the bulk of the minutes. You aren't getting anyone better than Dahlin...and with Samuelson and Power being so young and being here long term, you are going to give them their minutes anyway. Power IS going to likely be very good but he needs to work though good and bad games to get there. They are going to get top minutes. SO, any D-man you bring in is going to probably get Jokiharju type minutes. Who do you bring in for the D that will likely get the 4th most minutes and will make an impact big enough to turn this team around? I think most people don't want those 'big 3' to play less, and most people think Ryan Johnson is earning more ice time...and Jokiharju has actually played pretty well this season. Again, not saying you don't make a move, but any move you make, with the way this roster is constructed and where minutes are available...I think will be less for making this team considerably better and more for 'making a move for the sake of making a move' because I just don't see minutes available that will be that impactful. You need Thompson back and producing CLOSE to how he did the last 2 seasons. You need Cozens to start producing CLOSE to how he did last year and stop making mistakes. You are going to give power 20-24 mins of ice time per game so you need him to step up. And while you are at it just have Skinner and Tuch keep on producing like they are...which is exactly what you expect from them. You get those 3 things and you are back on track. I know a lot of us would like to see a move being made, but that isn't going to fix this team. I think the things above are what you need.

I felt good about their chances against the Blues. They lost. I do not feel good about their chances tonight....hopefully that means I'm just wrong again and it will lead to a win.

I could add another one related to yours. I lived in Boston for many years after college, and I was there in the late 1990's and 2000s. It wasn't a Red sox game for me, as I wasn't a Red Sox fan, but the day before the All star game my boss at my new job offered me a ticket to go with him to the home run hitting contest. Sosa and McGwire were there. I honestly do not even remember who won, just the whole day was a great time. Sometime when you are too invested in a team, it becomes more 'stressful' and 'less fun'. When you can just take in an event without too much being invested in any player or a team, those are great days to be a fan of sports.

I was at the comeback game against the Oilers years ago. Yes I am one of the 100,000's of people that claim to be at the game but was actually there. The thing is, we would have left early at halftime. Me and the friend I had discussed it, but we drove with someone else who sits in a different part of the stadium, and thought "If we leave and go to the car and the don't, we'll just be standing out there" so we stuck it out. Good thing there were no cell phones back then, if there were we would have called or texted them, probably all agreed to leave and not been there for the end. I told myself I would never forget that game. And I remember the 'feeling' of being there, but I honestly can't remember any of the details anymore. I was in my late teens for that game and am in my late 40s now. But whenever I see highlights of it, I remember being 'there' for it, but when I see the highlights most of the plays aren't something specific I remember. But if I am honest with myself, the 'best' games to me, the 'most fun' games to me aren't the Bills games I was at in the past...they aren't the Sabres games where they have a big win. They are Bandits games...just because I love the atmosphere and I just have a better time there than I do with the Bills and Sabres games in person.

Hoping he gets a stint in Rochester, at least get him 'somewhat' up to speed for a couple weeks. There will be a lot saying 'if he is good enough to skate/play than we need him in Buffalo', but I think some time in Rochester would make sense.