mjd1001

I was probably wrong on the need for more veterans mixed in with the youngsters on the Sabres roster. Actually the Sabres probably brough in enough veterans, maybe one or two more would work, but the issue was the quality of the veterans. I was wrong in the past thinking they had enough. But the issue was the quality: -Okposo was used in a roll where he would slide up to higher lines and on the PP, but you needed somoene better than him. -Other vets were Hinestroza, Tyson Jost, Collin Miller, Erik Johnson, Cody Eakin, Mark Psysk, and Riley Sheahan. THAT is the issue, they brought in some vets, but they needed to pay more to get guys who were difference makers, not guys that would be in the press box every couple games, and when they did play, were on the ice for 12-14 minutes per game at most.

Its comical you would respond to that, when its obvious based on context the original post that I replied to was the the owner is not at fault because he simply does not play. Any other interpretation beyond that is nonsensical based on context of the discussion. Nice try though...

The daylight hours being so short. I don't mind that the days get a bit shorter this time of the year, but not this much. June and July it seems its still a bit light out at times until almost 10pm. Maybe if this time of the year it was like that until 6pm or 6:30. But these days where dark right around 5pm..just too much.

I'd want Pegula out as owner as much as anyone, but Only if he sold to someone local who really really wanted to keep the team in western NY. If that isn't a guarantee, I'll put up with his bad ownership. Better to have a team here, to hope to eventually get lucky and good, to have 40+ times a year NHL hockey played that we can attend in person (even if that is the 'other team'), than risk them moving.

More follow up from Rhett and crew out of town, the piling on has continued....

Well, he is a clutch scorer isn't here? The goals he scores are in critical moments? Let see, lets go back 3 years so we can include his 31 goal year to make the numbers look as good as possible. Over the last 3 seasons: Tuch: 17 game winning goals Thompson: 11 game winning goals Peterka: 7 game winning goals Cozens: 3 game winning goals. oops....

Well, as long as its not from Pittsburgh or Penn State either. We did have non-Sabres tie in guys at coach with Bylsma and Krueger and Granato (kinda) as coach. Botts and Murray were the up and coming Beane type....as GM.

I really don't have an opinion on Peca or Drury in terms of who does their job better. I like Peca. I do not like Drury. I'll take Peca in any role if given a choice of the two.

I get it. When I look at things though, the personal way I look at things is to start at the very top with the owner, or the very bottom with the players, and go from there. Maybe Adams is terrible, hes making bad moves, no moves..etc. Just like I read a sentence from right to left, I start my evaluation of a franchise from the very top to the very bottom, and I have so much trouble getting beyond how bad Pegula is to this team.

I have argued that for a while. If a Pegula says no changes, and Adams wants to make a deal, someone who is sensative to criticism and doesn't show up to answer to the fans when things get tough like Pegula, he would not take that too well. Put it on Adams if you want. This may be on him, but the owner certainly makes things even worse than they need to be. The chances of the Sabres getting ANY different GM with experience who knows what they are doing probably slipped a little more after Pegula came in and said that.

If one wants to defend Lindy, and I'm open to that, you could say it looks like they really liked a system the played 2 years ago, where they could fly up and down the ice, not worry about playing the 'hard' part of the game, and just run and gun. Now it looks like its the 2nd year, and 2nd coach that wants to reign that in, and they are throwing a tantrum and some players are refusing to do it...just because they don't want to.

If either of those 2 things have any truth to them, they are the biggest indictments of the owner and the gm I have come across this year. Things are bad. I have alwyas said if the team doesn't make the playoffs, oh well, they are nightly entertainment for me and I can move on..but...No, things are getting BAD.

I've had some bad opinions over the years on here. I am usually anti-change. I didn't want Ruff and Regeir fired over a decade ago. I thought Bylsma, Housley, and Granato could have used more time. I didn't want Botts gone as GM, I haven't been pushing Adams out the door. I am usually VERY patient with young players. Give them YEARS before you call them busts (Cozens and Krebs are the recent exceptions, but I have kinda come around on Krebs as a bottom-of-the-Roster guy). With all that said, DO SOMETHING! Its obvious the current mix isn't working. Its obvious that the Roster, the front office, the development staff, or any combination of multiple things NEEDS to change. You may make a trade and lose that trade on paper, lose it in the eyes of some fans, lose it in the eyes of media pundits. But even if that happens, you may win the trade in terms of needing to do something. Please do something meaningful.

Sports illustrated online getting in on the action. https://www.si.com/nhl/sabres-social-media-post-sad-11-straight-losses

I'm not sure and I'm not going to try, I don't need to. Its my opinion, the opinion of a lot of people on this forum.....and I think missing the playoffs for 13 straight years in a league where 1/2 of the teams makes it, that support stands on itself. If someone can find me an orgainiation in major north American sports that has missed the playoffs that many years in a row where about half the teams make it, that has gone through so many coaches, GM's, presidents in that period of time, I'll listen.

The part about this that is the most notable, is that pretty much everything he promised turned into the exact opposite. Previous owners here, owners in other cities that are closer to 'absentee' owners opering their sports teams on a budget 'luck' into more success. Pegula promised the very best, 'hockey heaven' and it turned into possibly the single worst period of sports ownership its length in the modern history of American sports.

He agreed to be Head coach, but I'm not all that sure he wanted the previous staff. Technically, if keeping the previous staff was a condition of employment I GUESS he agreed to it. But there is a difference between "wanting" or "being fine" with the previos staff...or having "no choice" if he wanted the job. Its the 'one hand on the wheel' thing.

I don't like the choices. I would vote no, but I would'nt call them Bums. I just don't care about that. If they do fine, I don't care. If they don't fine, I don't care.

The Bills success might be a negative this time. Pegula can just ignore the mocking of the Sabres whenever he wants. Everytime he feels any pressure or mocking based on his ownership of the Sabres, he just closes his eyes and plugs his ears until he can open up the "NFL" news page and look for the first article about the Bills, and then he is happy again.

Sorry, just saw this was posted in another thread, merge or delete as you must. The title of the thread being about Rhett Warrener threw me a bit.

Ok I'm going to take a stab at this....what reasonably has a chance of happening merged with what might help things: -Adams gets a 'promotion' to a higher level/more business side of things. -Lindy is either moved to GM or more likely head of hockey operation/president role. -Lindy stays on as coach temporarily, or Appert takes over while Lindy takes his new role and leads the 'search for a new GM'. -New GM his hired. Lindy and the new GM are hopefully on the same page (it being in large party Lindy's hire), and only after that hire is made a new permanent coach (Appert or someone outside the organizations is picked) and the new GM picks his hockey people (Karmanos, Forton, Jakubowski, etc have to interview and are not guaranteed jobs) -Roster evaluation happens immediately after that hire. With Lindy in a role of 'president of hockey operations', and the GM he picks is someone who he agrees with, he can have input into a lot of the players seeing how he actually coached them. I would not do all of the above, but some I could live with.

Its a long video, but they touch on things from the Eichel deal all the way through today in detail....much of it is what we all talk about, but I thought it was interesting to hear from some guys outside of Buffalo.... I found the part from 5:30 on the most interesting. Touches on how the league still thinks some guys are worth more around the league than they probably are actually worth, and now would be the time to trade them. Also all of the guys seem to think Lindy was a Terry Pegula hire, not an Adams hire. "Lindy and Terry" are buddies was said over and over and they think Lindy was hired all along to take over as GM for Adams. Speculate that Lindy was hired to 'right the ship' but the reason he was only brought on for 2 years as a coach was his intention all along was to be moved upstairs.

That is one of the most laughable explanations I have heard. An inept dictator of a nation may not be the one pulling the trigger on the guns, but his lack of leadership or knowledge can be the reason for losing a battle or war. An terrible CEO may not be putting the rivets in to connect the bed to the frame of the truck, but he/she may be many times more responsible for the demise of a great automobile company. Stu inman didn't take a shot or make a pass on the floor for the Trailblazers anytime in the 1980's, but he did draft Sam Bowie when Michael Jordan was sitting on the draft board (and Bowie was NOT the consensus pick by others due to his injuries.) An excuse for an owner or other member of leadership (GM, team president) like the one you listed above is one of the laziest, shallowest, and mis-guided in all of sports.

I don't totally agree. When things are bad everyone looks bad, but if one (or maybe 2) parties are bad, then its going to reflect bad on everyone. Ruff may still be a good coach. Dahlin may be an elite player. There may be an assistant coach or two that are great. But their influence could totally be drowned out by the level of ineptitude around them. It likely isn't every phase. Its likely more phases than it should be, but there are probably some very good to great people in this organization that are no where close to being enough to make a difference.

If there is any truth to the rumors that there is interest in Cozens by other team and the Sabres are being called on him, there is no way at all I think of trading Thompson before Cozens.