mjd1001

I know its an older discussion, but a lot of Thompson's maturing as a scorer coincided with him moving to center and getting more ice time/opportunities. Thompson seems to thrive when he isn't working on the boards, whether its where he takes shots from, or having both is left and right having free ice, that helps him a lot. If Eichel was still here, would he have had an opportunity at Center? and would he have been giving the ice time/opportunity to take things over and have the offense run though him? Possibly, but I would guess no.

No problem

Not meant to be a rough analogy. I said "Vibes" meaning their style of play and their production. No one knows why Cozens and Quinn aren't scoring. not sure why you went there, I wasn't thinking that at all. Again, 'vibes' mean how their level of play is progressing, nothing more.

As per my above post, it is early. Quinn is lost I don't know what to think about him, but I THINK Cozen is going to 'kinda' snap out of his shooting slump soon (I'm almost convinced he will not be a regular 30 goal scorer, but I still DO think you are going to get some years of 25 goals out of him, and some years of 15 out of him) But as far as Benson. If you think Benson is going to be a legit top 6 player on this team going forward and has the potential to put up decent goal numbers, at some point do you want to get him away from Cozens and Quinn? There is the school of thought they have worked well together or their games may mesh, but a young guy, is there anything to him losing confidence in his offense production if he is dragged down by being part of a line like that? Might he be better suited on a line with McLeod? I'd Consider Benson with McLeod and Greenway. Move Zucker with Quinn and Cozens.

Quinn and Cozens...I'm not going 100% here yet because it still is a bit early...but I'm starting to have some Cody Hodgson/Matt Moulson vibes with them. 2 guys with promise what, all of a sudden, just lost it. Maybe injury related, maybe something mentally. Again, I'm not there yet but yesterday for the first time the thought of those 2 other guys popped in my head when watching Quinn and Cozens. As for the rest of the game, the offense gave you a very good game, they have done that a couple times this year. The difference was you had your goalie who FINALLY played an excellent game behind them.

I believe Boston University

Time on ice through 2.... Zucker, He's already up to 10:29 (4th among forwards) Benson with only 6:06, and only 11 shifts (both last on the team) Byram, Power, and Dahlin all close in minutes at the top of D...15 and a half to just over 16 minutes. Greenway credited with 4 hits, Malenstyn with 5.

I've gotten to the point of...if the team wins on a particular night I feel good. If they lose I 90% move on to other things and forget about the game. Sometime if they are down by 2 goals or even one, I'll keep the small TV on in my office, walk out to the living room and watch a show with my wife. I'll 'take a peak' at the game and see if they made a comeback or not. If they are down by 2 late, or 3 early, the TV goes off. If they tighten things back to 1 goal or take the lead, I'm back in. I try to mostly be positive, because for me its not about winning the cup or even making the playoffs. I don't really 'invest' that way in the teams I like (at least not anymore). Its more about entertainment night-to-night. If they win and/or play exciting on a given night, I'm happy! If they don't, oh well, maybe next time. That is why I don't get all up in arms about who needs to be benched, who needs to be fired, who I want to call various negative names, etc. Sure I have my "Cozens" moments where I have to vent about him and wonder why he is still getting ice time, but I think I'm getting better. Its just about as fun for me to look at a game, try to figure out what they did correctly, what they did wrong, find stats or video to support that, and discuss with others, RATIONALLY, what are possibilities to fix it. The name calling, the swearing, the demanding people get fired....I guess it works for some but it doesn't work for me as a fan anymore. If the Powerplay is bad, I really am fatigued by the threads of "whoever is in charge of the powerplay needs to be fired". For me I'd rather watch the PP, look at videos of it, look at what other teams are doing to score PP goals and discuss what the sabres should actually be doing to make it better. Some people want an outlet for their frustration.....but me, I like to hear other posters ideas of what can be different 'on the ice'. That just what I'm doing now. The Caps made the playoffs last year with 40 wins. The Sabres had 39. The difference for most? Obviously making the playoffs or not and that was huge. The difference for me? Nothing more than 1 extra win. I had one less win to enjoy over 6-7 months than if they made the playoffs like Washington did. That doesn't mean I DON'T want them to make the playoffs, of course I do, but again, for me its entertainment for the night. Maybe I have gotten that way BECAUSE that is the only way to enjoy the team without losing my mind. OR---maybe its because that is how I enjoyed the games when i was a kid...and that was the time I had the MOST fun watching sports. There was very little 'stress' then, very little negativity. It was just fun to watch the game and cheer if they won, and if they lost, well on to the next thing. I have gotten a bit more like that recently and I am not 'hating' the team as much, and am having more nights of just 'enjoying' the game. I have fallen 'out of love' with the NFL recently, and I figured out why. I LOVED the NFL when I watched the games on Sunday and that is it. The more exposure I got to it though, the more ESPN shows I watched where it was non-stop discussion of "who is the greatest ever" or "who needs to be fired" or just any over-analyzing by the talking heads...that takes away from the game for me. When its about just watching a single game, I love the sport. When its overhyped, not really. This is longer than I thought, but the best way I can say it is...when you watch a movie or a show..and each show is just one small part of a long story...I don't like it as much. But when you find a movie that has an ending that doesn't just 'set up the next movie...or a show where each episode is pretty much independent of the previous episode and the next one, I like that better. I can ENJOY the show without having to worry about 'investing' in it much deeper. That is where I have gotten with pro sports, with the Sabres, and overall I am happier for it.

Yep....not saying it was the reason to not give it to Tuch....but I agree that Pegula hides from bad press. Dahlin, signed long term, was the 'easier' choice.

I think he had a hand in those things yes. I don't think Cozens gets a 7 year deal at that number unless Pegula wants it (I think its possible he even pushed for it.) Remember the outdoor Toronto game where Cozens got thrown out but stayed to watch the rest of the game? Who was the one who stood there and talked to him? Terry Pegula. I can't find the exact quote, but right after that season ended (before his contract), Pegula spoke GLOWINGLY about Cozens. Fire? no, but for sure some smoke there. Cozens is "his boy". As far as the 'young inexperienced players', yeah, that was part Pegula also. Remember the whole thing about the "pegula family lifestyle"? That wasn't too far away from the point where the Sabres stopped spending money on higher priced guys and really went down in cap. You do that by 'going young'. Reinhart I think wanted out, nothing was really going to keep him here. As far as Eichel, Elliotte Freidman was on 590 out of Toronto when the whole thing was going down and he said/reported that he had sources that say that yes, Pegula had 'soured' on how Eichel handled the whole thing. John Vogl also had a story that pegula specifically wanted Eichel in the western conference, so of course he had knowledge, and even input into that trade. Greg Wyshynski had a piece that he said Adams has the full support of how he is handling the Eichel situation...to me that translates to "Pegula wants him gone too but is hiding behind his GM in case of any backlash" How about this one...why was Botts really let go? He wasn't willing to do Pegula's bidding for him with regard to running the team. Here you go: https://www.wivb.com/sports/in-three-weeks-pegulas-find-too-many-differences-in-opinion-with-jason-botterill-that-led-to-his-firing/ “At that time we had just found out that the regular season had ended and then in the next three weeks especially with the announcement of the draft being really pushed back to sometime this fall it gave us a little bit more time to start digging in and say what does the future look like? Let’s start looking and planning for the future and I think that’s what changed in those three weeks,” Kim Pegula said on a zoom call with reporters. Three weeks ago Kim Pegula told the AP Jason Botterill would stay as #Sabres GM and now they've fired him and hired Kevyn Adams. So what changed? With the draft being pushed back it gave them more time to think and there were too many "differences in opinion." @news4buffalo pic.twitter.com/rFm0NlvltE — Heather Prusak (@haprusak) June 16, 2020 So, not 'on the same page' as Botts, that statement comes directly from Kim Pegula. Difference in opinion between the "hockey guy" and "the Pegulas" The Pegulas wanted the ON ICE franchise to go in a different direction than the Hockey guy they hired...so, fire him and replace him with someone who will 'do their bidding' instead. By doing that “digging in” and “looking at the future”, they found they weren’t as much on the same page with Botterill as they originally thought. -Not enough, here is another one, where the hockey department apparently wasn't doing exactly the owners wanted, so it was replaced because the Pegulas felt like "they weren't being heard".... https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/five-alarm-fire-in-buffalo-sabres-axe-gm-jason-botterill-and-his-assistants-for-starters/article_74de5e12-9a3b-535b-b451-725f62c72c2a.html Botterill’s dismissal represents a major reversal after a vote of confidence in May. “We felt like we weren’t being heard,” co-owner Terry Pegula said. BUFFALO, N.Y.—Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula reversed course by firing general manager Jason Botterill on Tuesday as part of a drastic cost-cutting purge of front-office staff and scouts There is SO much smoke (and in some cases you can even see the fire) that Pegula is telling Adams (or any other GM) things he wants and then expecting them to happen. Everything you hear (if you are listening), almost everything you read (if you take the time to look for it) Points to Pegula having his hand in hockey decisions, wanting that, and getting rid of people/firing people who push back on that. He replaced Botts with Adams not because Adams was better as a GM, not because Adams could be worse (of course), but simply because Adams would DO what Pegula wanted, even with the on-ice product. I just gave you a few examples above, if you look, there are a LOT more out there of this over the last decade+. Adams isn't terrible. He's trying to keep his job as one of 32 NHL GMs, and in Buffalo with the Sabres under Pegula, you keep your job by letting the boss make decisions and carrying them out. He got his opportunity by seeing firsthand what happened to the guy before him when that guy had a 'difference of opinion' with Pegs.

I actually agree with you that age should not be an issue anymore, just pointing out Washington is doing it being 'older' than normal. Only issue I have is there seems to be a growing narrative that this on all on Adams. Everytime I hear that I am going to push back, I think this is as much Pegula meddling as it is Adams, probably more.

That is by your definition. To me, 'replacement level' might me someone who gives me no more, nor any less, than average/typical, etc. I don't think its worded incorrectly at all. And even if it was, the meaning can be understood out of context.

So, it was a nice idea to have one thread designated to not have people be overly negative, I mean, there are hundreds of other threads for that, but alas we now the rest of the message board isn't enough, we have people needing to come in here and B***H it up here too. To the above poster who thinks its a 'troll' thread....there are SOME of us who view the team as entertainment first, and WANT the team to win but it is not the end-all-and-be all of our fandom.

Ok I'll try.... A lot does NOT have to change for this team to be in a playoff spot, or to be playing like a playoff team. 3 things. Cozens, Quinn, and the goalie. They don't have to be all Stars, they don't even have to be better than they have been in the past. Just score and be as dangerous as you have been in the past for Cozens and Quinn, and the goalies have been letting in some weak goals, just make ONE more save that you should make every 100 shots. Tage, Tuch, and Peterka can keep playing the way they have been. Your 3rd and 4th lines can keep doing what they are doing. Your entire D-group, while not perfect, can just keep doing what they are doing. You get a couple more goals out of Cozens and Quinn (Power play or even strength, I'll take them anywhere), and have your two goalies just not allow as many bad goals, and you are just about there. Nothing else. 16 of the 19 players each night you dress can play at the level they have been.

Yet another "Adams needs to go" post or thread, so I'm going to respond again with my same response. No. It will not make a difference. Its Pegula. Its likely we haven't seen what Adams can do/wants to do as GM because most things go through Pegula. Pegula needs to take a step back. Take a step back from sitting with Adams at games, Sitting next to him and giving input during practices. From being in pre-draft meetings and on camera for everyone to see giving input into the process. He has the RIGHT to do that, but he's bad at it. If you fire Adams and Pegula doesn't change you get the exact same thing. Adams may be bad at his job...or... he may be good, but it doesn't make sense to just fire him when the true problem is above him. You can say 'you can't fire the owner', and yeah, thats true, but it doesn't mean firing the GM then will fix things. It won't. I want things to change. i want the team to be better. I want a lot to be 'different' with this team but I'm mostly convinced its not Adams.

On the other hand, they need to jump over 6 teams to get into that last wild card spot. Not as easy as it sounds as they aren't all going to lose because they play each other and SOMEONE gets points in those games. Plus 4 of those 6 teams have a game in hand too. The best way to look at it might be the 8th playoff spot currently has .542 of available points. Buffalo has .375. To get to (or above) .542, they would have to win their next 5 games in a row...and that would get them (points percentage), fractionally into the last playoff spot.

2019-2020 they were great at home compared to the road. 44 points at home (63% point percentage), while on the road 24 points (35%). But yeah I get your overall point. It should be close to that EVERY year, not just once in the last 6 years.

I think we can say Cozens is overrated at this point. I'm happy with Tage overall. Dahlin if he plays like he did the last 2 years is fine, but his play this whole season makes him overrated. Quinn of course is overrated based on his play now. As far as the PP, just in the past week I have been watching other teams Powerplays. Paying very close attention when watching on TV and watching replays of PP goals on the highlights. And I'm viewing Powerplay success in a slightly different way: -Teams Penalty killing has gotten really good. Maybe not the execution, but scheme for penalty killing. Basically, if you keep the form of the PK box, don't get out of position and don't chase, you are going to have the powerplay team control the puck on the perimeter most of the time without getting any good shots. When they force something, that is your chance to clear it. There is no secret to Penalty killing anymore, every team tries to do it the same way, the Best PK teams are 70% not getting out of position/making mistakes and 30% how good your goalie is. So what makes for an effective powerplay? I think its 50% luck (the opposing team making a Cozens-like mistake of getting out of position or getting a good bounce) and 25% zone entries (just get set up) and 25% skill. If you ever get really, REALLY bored go to NHL.com on a night when there are 7 or 8 or more games, go through the goal summaries and every time you see a PP goal watch the replay. I've done it a few times now and what I see is about 1/2 of the PP goals scored are tips, scrums in front of the net, bad bounces, stuff like that. Basically "puck luck". On a typical night only 1/4 of the goals I saw were a result of an unreal shot or move by a player with skill. Now, you still HAVE to gain the zone, and you still have to get those guys in front of the net to get the 'accidental' tips and the scrum goals. But I don't now how much the coaches can do more than they are doing..its up to the players to actually execute that. Do those simple things, and then you will be in position to get the 'puck luck' goals on the PP. I still think the thing the Sabres don't do enough is get the scrum in front of the net goals or the tip ins because they don't just put a guy in front of the net and say...do whatever you have to do to not move from that spot. They seem to want to have 5 guys always in motion instead of 4 guys in motion and one anchor in front of the net. Greenway and Cozens. I'd have them out there but tell them, you are NOT part of the puck cycle, your job is to screen the goalie, force D-mean to collapse into your to give the guys on the perimeter more space, and when a shot is taken and a rebound is there, just bang away at it.

I could see him having a big-time influence in that for sure. He seems to run the team as an owner like people run their fantasy teams, or their franchise in the NHL video game. I could certainly see 'hockey' people looking at Cozens one good year and thinking "lets not rush into this" while Pegula looks at one good year and says "I like him! Lock him up now, Lock him up now!" Again, no proof he did that, but all the other moves this team has made over the years, he seems like an emotional owner, one who is like a fan but wants to exercise his power as owner....one who won't defer much to his hockey department if he really wants something. So maybe he didn't draft the $7m deal himself, but I can see Pegula as one who pushed for it....'I've seen enough, lets lock that kid up long term'.

Not at all. As I have been posting other places, whoever replaces him is going to give you the same thing as long as Pegula is sitting next to him and talking to him at practices, during games. As long as Pegula is in pre-draft meetings not to observe, but to give input. As long as Pegula refuses to talk to the press at all, EVER when things are going poorly and leaves that to the GM....If all those things continue then nothing changes with a new GM. And if those things do NOT continue, if Pegula were to decide he needs to step back from all of that and just be a fan and let the GM run the team.....in that case that would be the FIRST time Adams is allowed to actaully BE a gm and I'd like to see what he can do without the 'helicopter owner'.

That is my point exactly.....firing Adams may make some people feel better. After watching the start of this season...its very frustrating. But who is Pegula going to PICK to come here, that will be WILLING to come here, that is going to make a difference? If Adams stays as GM under the current situation, nothing changes. If a new GM comes in that Pegula picks nothing changes. The only thing that changes things if its A new gm, OR ADAMS staying, and Pegula stops being Pegula. Adams leaving does nothing by itself. Zero.

Just took a look at the updated standings....tied for last in the entire conference. Tied for 28th - 30th in the league. Woo Hoo!!

Or, the team is like a car that once you fix one part, something else fails. I think a top like of Tuch with his all around play and on pace for 28, and Tage scoring at more than a 40 goal pace is good enough. Even McDavid and Matthews don't score EVERY game. I don't blame the top line...they are doing their part as a top line. Its the goaltending that has a save percentage for the season starting with a .8 instead of a .9, and your 'second best' forward (Cozens) leading your team in shots but shooting about 2.5%.....THOSE are the things that stanley cup teams don't have.

I think you can. He is the constant. Everything flows from him down. Who wants to take the job at gm and coach? What standard is set from above? most importantly how many of the guys who are here (or NOT here) are just as much a decision that had to be run by Pegula, or vetoed by him, that if he had taken a step back things would be different. Too many GM's, Too many coaches, too many players that have done well in other places but not as well here, it is something beyond the players....and every other part has been changed out except the top. On a game to game basis, of course its the players and the coaches...but when we start talking months, seasons, decades....the standard is set from the top. The rules are made from the top and the mess below is a result of what comes down from the top.

Sarcasm, right? Tuch who scored the only goal today and is on a 27 goal pace, and Thompson who just had a pretty long point streak and is still on a 47 goal pace?