mjd1001

I liked Krebs game (for it being Krebs, certainly not a star player) and his stats back it up: 2 assists, +2, credited with 3 hits, and 16:14 minutes of ice time in regulation..which is 3 seconds away from being the most he has gotten in a game this year.

I know the league had less teams in the past and it was easier to make the playoff (14 out of 21 making it at one point was kinda a joke) but before Pegula, it wasn't always that easy...they expanded and it became harder before he took over. With that in mind... The Sabres Franchise: Started 40 years under owners other than Terry Pegula, made the playoffs 29 times, they missed the playoffs 11 times in those 40 years. Since the first full season Pegula took over: Its looking like 14 out of 14 years with no playoffs. They already exceed the the total time, in the history of the franchise they missed the playoffs, since the first season pegula was owner. 11 out of 14 years (including this) they got 50% of points of less, and that means a losing record as you now get points for ot losses. Only 1 other time in the history of this franchise did they miss the playoffs for more than 2 years in a row....that was the time they missed it 3 years in a row when the Owners of the team were arrested and the league took over running the team. The Gm was practically not even Allowed to make moves for part of that time. Basically, they practically had NO owner the only time in their history they missed 3 times in a row. Now they are heading for 14 in a row. There is no doubt in my mind...the Terry Pegula ownership of the Sabres is the worst period of ownership of any major north american sport in modern history. And at this point I don't think its even close. MAYBE the Saints from the 1960's to the 1980's? But in the NFL, it was harder to make the playoffs than even now in the NHL.

Not until Pegula fires everyone in the hockey department and has a press conference saying the next guy gets control and only has to answer to Pegula for contracts, not any other hockey moves. A lot of those guys in leadership have their opinions heard and input into the decisions on the current roster. I'd rather Adams stay on and things get worse and worse until Pegula totally cleans house. Firing adams and bringing in someone else with the rest of the hockey Department staying the same and Pegula sitting next to the new GM at practices.....that does nothing but prevents the structural moves that are need and just gives Terry more time to be Terry. Everytime I see a "fire adams" post, I am not totally against it, but I AM against it without the other changes. If Adams were fired tomorrow, but even half of the remaining front office remain, it does little than perpetuate and extend the futility. Without sweeping change, firing Adams is a bad move because it changes little.

A lot of comments recently about people paying nothing and how much of a waste it is to watch it from home for free.

How many guys get interviewed after the game and just put their head down...say something like "we need to get better" or "they wanted it more" or "we made too many mistakes"....all with a minimum of emotion?

And the feeling i get from some fans, its not even cheering for losses to get a high draft pick. Its just....lets be the best at SOMETHING! Maybe they can get the longest winless/losing streak!

They certainly are the worst team at the moment...MAYBE Nashville can make an argument, but Buffalo is toward the bottom.

Longest losing streak in the NHL this year is 9 by the Sharks and its over so its not getting any longer. Chance the Sabres tie it or beat it? The thing with the Sharks is, 6 of those losses were on the road, including losses at Vegas, at Winnipeg, and at Dallas. I think Buffalo's current streak is worse overall than San Jose's.

Informal poll if anyone wants to answer... Other than those spending money and going to the game....how many people really really want them to win next game? vs how many actually at this point are indifferent or worse?

I have noticed as the shootout has progressed over the years..it seems like guys want to slow down and 'deke' rather than just pick a corner and shoot. Picking a corner and shooting seems to be more effective.

Here is the problem with no Dahlin. You have 2 other potentially great D-men. Byram and Power. Bryam gets skated into the ground because there seems to be a 60% chance he has a good game and a 40% chance he doesn't. If you play Power too much, its 50%-50% you are getting "good" Power, and if you don't get "good" power, the bad version makes some really really bad plays.

So a shootout....if you lose it, its 7 losses in row...including 6 in a row at home. They better win this.

And Bryam losing the puck behind the net... That is what happens when he has almost 27 minutes of ice time and is gassed by playing the majority of the OT already.

Even 3 on 3, they can't get anything set up so far. There is a difference between having speed, and using speed. McKinnon uses his speed. The Sabres have some fast skaters, but they rarely use it in play.

Lindy really likes him some Bowen Byram. No Dahlin? Lets give Bryam almost 25.5 minutes in regulation already..with a full OT he might be close to 27 or 28. And as far as accountability for Cozens and Thompson? Maybe its because there are no options, but other than Tuch, they are right there at 2nd and 3rd in ice time for forwards so far.

If they end up blowing a 2 goal lead against Detroit and do not come away with 2 points tonight, and lose their 7th in a row...they fall to 15th out of 16th in the conference. Tomorrow morning, for my own sanity as a fan, I might make my transition to thinking this is an actual "Season" and turning mentally to....they are done. Lets look forward to roster moves for next year and just view each game as a single night event. I'm not sure I'll be 100% there, but if they lose tonight, the 'season' may be written off for me. Which will make it earlier than I have done that in years.`

Ok, I am not one that complains about the refs much at all. My normal response to people complaining about the Refs is....stop your complaining, everyone deals with it. With that said, Seider probably should be serving a major, or not out of the game for that hit. And a few other penalties were legit penalties against detroit that weren't called in the last few minutes.

I bought the old 'slug logo' jersey years ago when it was discontinued for something absurd like $9 (no name on it). I wear it every once in a while and I kinda feel like its the most appropriate jersey to represent them right now.

Trading Cozen is not a reset. Trading cozens might make the team better. You can trade him, make the current team better and go on. Why you are saying trading one guy, who has underperformed for 1.5 years, and has been a net negative to your team this year....how does that mean its a reset? To me its almost the opposite. You would be purging someone to create a spot for hopefully someone better to step into. I'm not quite sure what Cozens as a player alone would be worth, but unless he really catches fire (and then you would likely not trade him, but that hasn't happened) I question how much of a return Adams or ANY GM would get for him with that long term, $7m contract. I think it might be a lot less than many think it would be.

He's doing slightly better this year than Tarasenko has been for them I think. This season so far: Kane 22 games, 3 goals, -6 Tarasenko 26 games, 4 goals, -2 Actually about the same I guess.

If you wanted to give Lindy some credit...maybe when he gets call-ups for the first time his initial conversation with the young guy and setting of expectations is impactful?

He did a good job in Tampa, I won't say he didn't, but it was set up pretty well for him when he got there. He already had 2 #1 overall picks on the roster in Stamkos and Hedman. He had 5 first round picks in the next 4 years coming, including 2 top 10 overall. He had Veteran stars on the roster to bring the young guys along (St. Louis, Lacavalier). And most importantly, he had 2 BIG things that Detroit doesn't......Low taxes and Palm trees.

So, near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. The negative goal differential. The rebuild obviously not working. No wins in December. That disappointing 1 goal loss to Colorado last week. Only points in the last 2 weeks being OT loss points. The Red Wings sure are bad.

He was/is a minus 6 since returning in just about 2 weeks of play. So despite a couple of goals, he's been on the ice for a lot of goals against. That just doesn't apply to tage though over the losing streak, it applies to most of the team.

I will say that some people disagree with what I am going to say...but many of us disagree with the above bolded. Nobody accuses Terry of meddling with the Bills because the Bills are a lot more complicated orgnization. Football is a more complicated game. There are many more players, coaches, layers of coaches and management. It takes a scouting department many TIMES the size in the NFL as it does in the NHL to scout and evaluate every draft pick. Terry has said in interviews over the years that he is amazed by how complicated the game is in the NFL, how much the coaches know, how much detail goes into a one week game plan (he did an interview on WGR about a decade ago saying that). However in hockey, he thinks he knows more. He clearly, on sabres posted videos, gives his inputs on draft prospects. It is clear that HE was the one who pushed for Erhoff and Leino to be signed, not anyone in the hockey department. Its easy to say Adams should set boundries in the NHL because Beane does it to Pegula in the NFL, but that is not the reality of how Pegula operates. We have years of seeing it....quotes from Terry himself...articles from beat guys that have been posted and referenced in other threads on the topic (The trial of Terry Pegula thread on here from a few years ago brings a lot of the 'proof')...He just pushes for more input himself on the hockey side of things than he does on the football side of things.