mjd1001

comparing eras and circumstances matter I agree. One reason WHY this feels like one of the worst teams ever is not just the pace they are on...not just how many points they have/don't have.....but it matters (to the fanbase) that this franchise is not only one of the worst teams in modern history as far as performance, but this is in the middle of one of the longest playoff droughts the sport has seen also. If I'm not wrong, this year they tie the record for the longest postseason drought in NHL history, with a good chance they break it next year...and this on top of being on pace for one of the lowest point totals in modern history..and chasing the longest winless streak.

The other 'bottom dwellers' who would be competing for the bottom of the league also had a 10 month layoff. Including New Jersey, who the Sabres have playd 16% of their games against. Everyone has dealt with Covid....including some teams in the Sabres division...impacting players on their team and the schedule. Injuries. This team has had a lot, but that is part of the game...and an injured team is the one we are judging, aren't we? I know that is part of it for me. I'm not watching the team play at full strength, so that is not the team I am judgeing No real training camp or preseason. Again, EVERYONE is in the same situation. If anything, the Sabres should be at a slight advantage in that they got a few more days in camp than most teams. Poor puck luck? not being able to put the puck in the net, hitting posts..missing chances...that is one of the very things that make a team bad. 8 team super league? The top team in points last year was Boston..you have only played them 1 time. NJ was one of the worst teams last year, you played them 6 times. The rangers and islanders were 'middle 10' teams last year, and you have played them 10 times. Maybe you are in a 'super division' but the Sabres have played more of the bottom of that division than the top. So what we have seen, so far this year...is a team whos record is where it is having NOT played the worst part of its schedule yet.

Right now the Sabres are on pace for 41 points over an 82 game season. -in 2016-2017, Colorado had 48 -in 2014-2015, Buffalo had 54 -in 2013-2104, Buffalo had 52 -in 2006-2007, Philly had 56 -in 2001-2002 Atlanta had 54 -in 2000-2001 Islanders had 52 -last year in 71 games, Detroit was on pace for 45 points per 82 I only went back 2 decades, to the turn of the century...and those were the worst teams I remember/found. So, if the current pace continues, yes, they will be the worst team/have the worst season of anyone dis century. 20 years. 480 seasons played by all the franchises of the NHL, dis could be the worst of dat. Oh, and as far as scoring, goals per game...they aren't there yet, but they are very close to having one of the worst scoring per game of any team in the past 2 decades. Another shutout or two and they will be there. There they are actually ahead of the 2 buffalo tank teams and Detroit from last year...at least for now. Worst team of all time? probably not. (Talk to me again if they lose their next 5 or 6 in a row with getting shut out 2 more times) Worst team of the last 2 decades? At the current rate...maybe, probably. A return of a healthy Eichel or healthy Ulmark may change dat. The most disappointing team of all time, the team dat is the most below where they should be/expectations? dat dis team just may be.

Honestly if dis is something dat was put in the board, I wish it would go away. For me, it makes many of the threads/posts harder to read. I don't talk in slang/accents, and I don't read dat way either. For those of us dat legit have a problem with it, can it be turned off??

According to the article, the Sabres are on a 14 game losing streak and the record is only 18? Only 4 more to go, certainly within reach!

I think Cam Atkinson was a 6th rounder also, right? Normally, 6ths aren't worth much. Heck, once you get out of the first, you are lucky to get a good player. But, with some exceptions, it is a lottery ticket. The odds of you getting a quality starter might be 100-1, an all star 1000-1....but those thing DO happen and the more lotter tickets you have, the better. Heck, I'd take a few extra 6th or 7th rounders each year and throw them at the best college or european goalie that my scout say is left on the board.....if only the Sabres had any real scouts left...

Well, they have now gotten to the point that by most of the measurable, they are 'officially' the worst. Last in points Last in points per game Last in goal differential per game. Last in goals scored Last in goals scored per game Only 2nd worst in goals allowed per game though.

If a large portion of team does end up going into quarantine again, does that make it a lot harder to make trades before the deadline?

I would not put Eichel on my like list either. No dislike, but not on my like list. Why? -He hasn't lived up to expectations. To me he always seemed to be billed as a 1a to McDavid. Not quite as good, but generational regardless. Top 5 guy in the NHL when he hits his peak. Year after year being discussed as a candidate for MVP. Has at least a couple of years where he would challenge for the scoring lead. He hasn't turned into that. -the teams overall performance. Is it all his fault, of course not, but when you are being billed at the best player on a team, as the team captain, and entering the peak of your career your team is literally being laughed at by the rest of the hockey world...it doesn't sit well. -Hes just not as exciting to watch as I wanted. When we heard about his speed (and YES, he is fast), I was looking forward to exactly my favorite type of player. Peter Bondra when I was a little kid, Pavel Bure, McDavid now. A guy who just gets you out of your seat when he flys up and down the ice. I have said it before, but Jack plays like the slowest fast guy I have ever seen. His end-to-end rushes are very few and far between, and sometimes he comes through the center ice zone with SOME speed, but almost every time he chooses to slow down once entering the zone and starts playing sideways. Maybe that is his style of play and what he is best at, but I was expecting north to south speed, and what I see (MOST of the time) is somone who looks like they are skating through mud as soon as the enter the Offensive zone. Does any of that make him bad? No, hes just a lot less fun to watch than what I was hoping for after reading his pre-draft hype years ago.

I'm OK with that. I argue with many people on this board, but I think much of the core (jack and Sam included) are overrated by the fanbase. That doesn't mean they aren't good players, just not as good as many here think. Oddly enough, I'll add Girgensons to the player list of not only who I think will be back but actually WANT back. The guy chips in more than an occasional even strength goal, and he is one player you can't say doesn't play hard almost all the time. Girgs wouldn't turn this team around, but his style of play, and quite honestly, his production (he was in the top 5 in even strength goals for the Sabres, over the last few years he is one of the better players on this team in even strength goals per 60 minutes) is something they need/miss.

Existing GM isn't a bad idea. In my mind, no worse than a Director of Hockey Operations. What you really need is just someone in the room that Adams feels comfortable working with, but will also have different opinions than Adams. What any good GM (or leader of any kind for that matter) needs is someone to bounce ideas off, and someone who will give you a different point of view to open your mind to other options.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I think it is a matter of perspective. When things are going bad and the coach doesn't change lines....a certain group of people come out and say stuff like "Why are the lines always the same" or "Move things around Try anything!" If the coach does shuffle lines, then other say "they can't get any chemistry that way" or "leave a group of guys together for a while". For the most part, I think people are either in the camp of "keep lines together to develop chemistry" or "change things up as soon as they are going bad" ......and when things go bad, you hear from the group that isn't getting what they want out of the lines.

I don't think any GM has much of a right to make major decisions without running it by the owners, and if an owner doesn't like a decision I don't think the GM can just go and do it anyway. if it happens at all, it is very, very rare. In most cases, the GM can do the research, come up with the candidates, and tell the owners who the GM wants..and just hope the owners agree. Some owners might be a little more hands off (do the work and just let me know before you decide), others may be more hands on (owners sit in on the meetings and give their opinion to the GM)...I just fear that Terry is more of the 2nd kind...and he isn't great at doing it.

Its going to be close. I think the Sabres end up with 14-16 wins. Unless the Bills go deep in the playoffs this year, that will be tough to beat. It'll be close, but I'm going with the Sabres here.

I'd be OK with Ellis... They went with an older guy in Krueger, an older former player (with asst experience) in Housley, a somewhat younger cup winner in Bylsma.....none of them really worked with this roster/core. If you want to try Ellis, I'm fine.

I think there would be an initial bump in the quality of their play, but after a couple weeks they would start to play with the bad habits and bad effort that this team (and this core) has shown through the last few years and 3 coaches. It strongly appears that this coach and this team aren't meshing and RK is not a good coach for this lineup/roster, but I just think this Roster isn't that good. Whether it be a lack of effort, or overrated talent, with the best coach in the world they would at most be a middling team.

Looking more into this...If you look at how former players are doing with their current teams this year...versus what they did under RK's system here last year...most are playing the same or even worse with their current teams than they did with Sabres last year. I'm not saying RK is great, but THIS is not the argument to make that he is bad, if anything it shows it is more the problem of the players than the coach...because they do just as bad, if not worse, when they leave Buffalo. Marcus Johansson is producing worse this year than with the Sabres last year Vesey and Sheary are putting up less points, and not many more goals, than last year with the Sabres. Larsson has 3 goals and 1 assist in 22 games this year, less production than with the Sabres last year. Again, Krueger isn't good for this team, we know that...but if anything this supports the players are just as much at fault because they simply aren't that good. they are not doing much better once they leave his system.

Bringing up those 2 players really isn't a point to make...its better to just say the players on the Sabres are playing great. Vesey and Sheary aren't really playing all that well. Both of them have 5 goals, but it is in 26 and 21 games for both of them...both have only 2 assists, and both aren't looked at as being key pieces to their team. Vesey is scoring 1 goal every 5 games (he did 1 goal in every 6.5 games or so with the Sabres) and is actually putting up less assists than he did here. Sheary is putting up 1 goal every 4-5 games...and in Buffalo he put up 1 goal per 5.75 games..and he too is putting up a lot less assist when he did here. They really aren't doing much, if any better than they did here...and a case can be made with such low assist totals and only a slightly higher goal rate, they are overall doing the same if not a tad worse.

I'm not sure if this has been brought up before... It looks like there is a chance the Leafs might be playing some of their playoff games in Buffalo, espeically if they get to the final 4. If Canada still has their 14 day quarantine and exceptions are not made (doesn't look right now like they will), there has been talk in the final 4, 3 of the teams would be from the USA so it would serve Toronto best to play in an American City, Buffalo being the most convenient. So, if that were to happen, how many people would want to go/pay in person to see the Leafs play in a conference finals series at the Key Bank center as their home?

Where does this come from? Why do people keep repeating it, and can everyone stop saying it because it is untrue. -Ralph played hundreds of hockey games in Europe when he was younger, and well as many in international competition. -He was a HOCKEY coach in Europe for most of the 1990s (at least 5 seasons). -From 1998 to about 2010, he was the head coach of the Swiss national team(hockey), many international competitions including the olympics. -He was a scout in the NHL, he was an assistant coach in the NHL, he was a head coach for the Oilers in the NHL. -He was an advisor/consultant for Canadian Hockey helping them with their 2014 Olympic hockey team. -He coached Team Europe in the NHL/Hockey world cup. -He was an executive for a couple years, not a coach, but an EXECUTIVE for a soccer club. So, how is he even close to a soccer coach? He played hundred of hockey games as a player, he has been an NHL scout, and NHL assistant coach, and an NHL head coach (combined for many years and hundreds of games). He coached hundreds of games in the European hockey league, and has been a coach of hockey for years and years in international competition. You may not like him as the Sabres coach, but he has spent decades and hundreds (if not well over a thousand) games playing, scouting, and coaching hockey at a high level..and to my knowledge ZERO as a coach in soccer.

Florida has finished 10, 10 and 34 points better than the Sabres in the last 3 years. They have had a much better base of talent to work with. Also, they usually have a couple million dollars more roster flexibility to work with. Those 2 things make it a lot easier for a team like FL than Buf.

The thing is..if Sam wants to go, you may not get what you want for him. I said in an earlier thread, he is a restricted FA, but if the guy wants to go out west and really thinks his career is wasting away here...there is a very good chance he has privately told Adams he wants out...and in the offseason resigning him here is going to be a tough sell. If that is the case (and, my opinioin, it seems very logical) you might just be looking for a 'good enough' trade because you don't have many other options.

If its true, it doesn't surprise me about Reinhart... -He is a restricted FA again. Maybe part of the reason he didn't sign a longer term deal is HE didn't want to commit here for long term. Remember, hes been with this organization for longer than Jack...hes now in the prime is his career and hasn't even sniffed a single playoff game. -We have always heard rumblings that he would prefer to play someplace out west, closer to 'home'. Doesn't he still live in Western Canada in the offseason? I can picture this as a situation where recently, he had one of those 'conversations' with Adams saying he'd be OK with being dealt...maybe even subtly ask for it. Not a trade demand, nothing public, but something where he put it out there to Sabres management that hes ready to move on. Anyway, I'm fine with this. I think this roster is vastly overrated in terms of talent. Too many people have taken a players 'best' season and projected it to what they should be every year....or are holding too much stock in their draft status. The talent on this team is what it is....many of these players have been through a few coaches on this team, a few systems...and after years we see the core of this team just isn't that great. The roster needs an overhaul if you want to be a top 10 team. This roster won't cut it.

I'm not saying anything new (for me) that I haven't said before, but as far as Jack goes: -I think he is playing hurt and it is impacting his game. Super talented players are so good because they are just 1 step faster than everyone else, 1 inch more accurate with their shots and passes..that is what separates them from the masses. An 'annoying' injury can be just enough to take away that edge. -I also think that Jack is a great player, but maybe 1 step behind what we all want him to be, even at his best. Last year was his best year ever, it was nothing like we have seen out of a Sabre in long, long time...At times he was able to carry this team to a win. But guess what? That doesn't make him a top 3-5 player in the NHL, there are about 20 guys that can do that for stretches. He was 10th in points last year, in his best year ever...and since he has been drafted there are 23 other players that have more points than him. Again, he is very good, maybe great, but he is not the mega-superstar-MVP guy that many think he should be year after year...not when your production in your BEST year and in every other year of your career is in line with about 10-15 other guys. You want Jack to be able to carry this team for stretches of 3-6 games at a time? You want him to take over and win a game for you once or twice a month? He can and should do that when he is healthy. But we have to stop thinking of him as a top 5 player in this league and expect results (stats and wins) in line with that. Now into his 6th season, he HAS proven he is an All-star player, but he also has proven over that time he isn't more than that.

Just what do we all know Hall can do? He is not a difference maker in the league anymore. He is now in his 12th year in his career, in 11 of those he hasn't even hit 30 goals. Since his mvp year, 3 years has gone by and one major knee surgery. He is at an age where production for forwards starts to go down. Since that MVP season, most of it has not been with the Sabres and he is doing 19.9 goals and 50.3 assist per 82 games....and as his age goes up, his production per game has gone down every season as he gets older. That to me is no longer a 'difference maker' and someone I don't want to pay 7.5 per year to...certainly not over 5 years.