mjd1001

He's not decent. He's bad. He was bad last year, the year before, and up until the last 2 weeks his numbers were very bad this year. He had 2 good weeks of winning faceoffs, that doesn't elevate him to 'decent'. He's still bad, just he has had a 2 week stretch that make THIS YEARS number only below average (and yes, 50% is still below average for a center. Centers should win slightly more than 50% because they are often takign draws against less experienced wingers when the opposing center gets thrown out. He has been decent for the past few weeks, but for the rest of his career, including this years numbers... he is...bad.

Faceoffs? Cozens? What? He's under 50% for his career. He's under 50% this year. Was last year. And the year before. And the year before. And I don't have memory of him winning many crucial faceoffs at the end of the games that allowed the Sabres to score a critical goal, nor him winning many that allow the Sabres to get the puck out of the zone. Both McLeod and Krebs are better than him this year, and Krebs (in limited time) was ahead of him last year. Faceoff specialist he is not.

Do the rest of the team though... I think Dahlin is a top 20 D-man in the league overall. Tage I rate higher than many on this board do, I think he is one of the top forwards in the league. The issue is, Dahlin tries to do too much sometimes, and Tage can't stay healthy. The BIGGER issue is, what is the rest of the roster like? Besides these 2 guys, is there anyone on the roster that other teams fear at all in any way?

On one hand, I say if you can 'still get back into it' then you are never out of it. Realistically, they are done for the year. IF they run off a huge streak and get a lot closer, then I'll say "I was wrong" and change my thinking. Here is the updated reality of things: -Ottawa is in the 8th spot right now with 52.6% of the points. They have to win 9 more in a row just to get to that level. (and then continue to play well to maintain that 8th spot) -Over the last 5 seasons, you would have needed an average of 58.6% (averaged out, some years less, some more) to get the last playoff spot. (96 points) They would need to win the next 16 in a row to get there. And after that of course, continue to play well to maintain that spot. -or- as others have said, they have to play the 2nd half of the year at a 122 point pace just to get to 96 points.

Did they give the his stats vs Buffalo? I think Wilson vs the Sabres is something like 13 goals in 26 games (41 goal pace per 82). Vs the rest of the league he has 149 goals in 768 games (15.9 goal pace per 82)

He might have not seen it leave the stick, but it wasn't a total screen and he was set for the shot. I have mentioned this a few times in the past few days...UPL is having a LOT of shots that are 'should have been saved' or 'I need my goalie to have that one'. UPL playing like he did last year and not letting a couple soft ones in per week...and this team is in a better spot in the standings.

Would you put the Eichel trade/lead up to the trade in that list also? Eichel gets hurt. Every indication I have read about said it was Pegula who soured on Eichel, Pegula who didn't want him to get his surgery due to an insurance issue that the Sabres could be on the hook for money, Pegula who pushed for the move. With that said... Eichel gets traded (I wasn't against him being traded myself actually). 1.) Once he gets 1+ years out from his surgery and gets into his mid-late 20's, hes turned into a better player than he ever was with the Sabres. 2.) You can make a case that Reinhart would have stayed here if Eichel was still here, or at least its a strong possibility. 3.) The way the situation was handled, I think it at least partially contributed to players now wanting to come here, sign her, waive no trades to come here (I think winning vs losing is 80+% of that, but handling Eichel the way they did certainly doesn't help, and on some level makes it worse) Yeah, I mean, I think that is why Adams was hired though. I know others disagree with me, but Pegula wanted a guy who would agree with him. Who would take orders, execute them. Go in front of the microphone when things are bad and make himself look bad so Terry can hide away in Florida when that is happening.

I think he is bothered by it....but his ego is bigger than the embarassment. He wants it fixed, but he wants to fix things HIS way without admitting fault. Has Pegula ever (or at least recently, in the last 4-6 years) made any statements about the Sabres where he admitted he was wrong? Or even admitted 'we made a bad decision and we are going to fix that now?' Its apparent to me he has an ego...the more outsiders call for him to do something different, the more it seems he digs in even deeper, so when (IF) things change, he'll say it was 'his' way. That is my impression at least.

Let me add my favorite thing to the comparison....play away from the puck DRASTICALLY favores McLeod. I don't see McLeod make huge mistakes away from the puck. Cozens? I have stopped posting because its just so repetitive, but in the past year I have posted (in GDTs and other places) screenshot after screenshot and some videos of Cozen having WFT moments away from the puck. Chasing a puck into the corner he has no chance of getting and leaving his spot wide open. Finishing checks that only accomplish taking himself out of a play. Trying to make an ill-advised hit away from the puck and on the way to doing that, taking out himself and one of his own teammates. Taking shots on the PP where he blasts the puck into the shin pads of a defencder when a teamate is in his line of sight and wide open-uncovered (OK, that is one WITH the puck). Cozens NEEDS to score 30+ on this team to be of value to just make up for/even out all the negative things he does wihout the puck. If he doesn't improve his full game (scoring and away from the puck game), he needs to be gone, especially when considering his cap hit.

Please no. In some of the 'behind the scenes' draft and trade day videos, he has quite a lot of input into the team already. If a change is going to be made, I do not want anyone from 'inside the room' being elevated.

I think Clifton is pretty decent as long as you don't pencil him in higher than the 3rd pair. Erik Johnson was bad. The IDEA of a good veteran D-man was correct, but with Johnson, the 'good' part of it wasn't there at all.

This may be my personal bias against Cozens speaking here, but I think Cozens is more of a concern than Power. I see Power making 'bad' plays without the puck, vs Cozens making 'brutal' plays with it. Also, I'm willing (a bit) to give Power a tad bit more leash and time to improve. Cozens has been around longer so his leash is a lot shorter.

I like to re-read this article on occasion....its centered on the Bills but I think it really applies to the Sabres, they picked the wrong team. It seems to me that a large part of the issue with the team is just being cheap. Not signing veterans. Not wanting to pay veterans long term deals. Forcing your brand new coach to keep the old assistants....etc. Its a few years old..and coming out of Covid, but it would explain a lot about the Sabres... https://sports.yahoo.com/bills-ownership-kim-pegula-toxic-culture-125825880.html In a lengthy story on Monday, Tim Graham of The Athletic Buffalo detailed an increasingly “toxic culture” at Pegula Sports and Entertainment (PSE), Terry and Kim Pegula’s organization that includes the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, with current and former employees describing the atmosphere within the company. Pegula, from her home in Boca Raton, Florida, met with employees from multiple PSE departments via video conference. She told them to prepare for not just increased scrutiny on budgets, but for tough times and sacrifices. As she spoke, Pegula had a video presentation, which included the slide, “Pegula Family Goals.” There were three headers listed: “Win Championships,” “Sustainability” and “Return on Investment.” As she discussed return on investment, Pegula said it also meant maintaining the family’s lifestyle, current and former employees recounted to Graham. Vice presidents who circulated the printed slide presentation to different departments reiterated that maintaining the Pegula family lifestyle is a primary organizational goal.

its cheaper for Terry that way.

Please, if you make a change bring in someone from outside the organization, and let them clean out the current hockey department and start over. Adams is head of the current 'room', but they all have input into decisions. If you are going to start over, START OVER and stop forcing the 'new guy' to keep most of what is around and below him. I think the worst case scenario is they move Adams out of the GM role but keep all of the other same guys in the hockey department and not much changes.

Peterka fans on a shot earlier, missed a few feet wide, and now shots it way over and outside from only about 15 feet out. What has happened to his accuracy?

If the Sabres were even a decent team, Zucker's production as of late would probably be a nice story worthy of discussing around the league. A 30+ year old Journeyman who has only scored 80 or so goals in the past 8 years of his career, is not 2nd on his team in scoring and on pace for a 30 goal season. But with this team, whatever!

I'm of the opinion still that they don't need to reset everything. A few strategic changes in the roster, maybe the front office, a change or two to the coaching staff. The issue is, they REFUSE to do even that. This team needs SOMETHING, and the owner makes a special trip to tell the team "no changes". You can't fix things, you can't change things, if you do NOTHING.

You know how they have a list that comes out online every once in a while, or in magazines....the 'worst jobs'? Jobs you don't want to have? Sabres PR department. Sabres ticket sales. Got to be toward the top of the list.

What if your team can't do either? Is there another choice?

I think Cozens had gotten a LITTLE better at that stuff the past month, but he's still bad. He makes plays like that almost every game still. Which is why, if he doesn't change, the team might be better off without him. In many games he hurts the team more than he helps.

2 years ago, last year, I would not have wanted Eichel to score against the Sabres for sure. Cringed at the thought. Now, I really don't care.

Its when Terry started to get cheap. The surgery was successful, and odds were that it would be. But from what I heard, the sabres had some kind of insurance on the contract, and the insurance didn't cover that surgery. So Pegula didn't want Eichel around to get his surgery of choice....because if things went bad he didn't want to be on the hook for any of the contract. (or something like that, I heard an interview with Friedman discussing it a few years ago)

Quinn with a shot on net! Of course, it was right into the center of the goalie's chest. He took so long to take it that the goalie had time to move out to him and get set, and saw the shot clearly. Basically it was a wasted shot. But the first one in almost 4 full games for him. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing he actually got that SOG that way.

I haven't said this all year until tonight about this team... This game is boring