jad1

Let's go Scoreboard!!!

While listening to music that can be classified as Chuck-E-Cheese Rave.

Donnie is the reason that this team is a disjointed mess with no clue how to play fundamentally sound hockey. Ruff is a high-floor/low-ceiling coach, but is good at installing a system with solid fundamentals. The young guys on the Devils used the fundamentals they learned under Ruff to destroy the Sabres this weekend.

Opposing teams figured out how to neutralize the Thompson one-timer. It's taken the coaching staff a season and a half to come up with a plan B.

This core is a trash bag full of broken toys. It's what happens when you turn your organization over ti an incompetent pencil pusher/kiss-ass like Kevyn Adams.

Nice to see them sneak that 11th shot in before the buzzer. Will give them something to build on in the 3rd.

Up until the middle of last season, the Devils were coached by a dinosaur. They decided that the dinosaur couldn't take them to the next level, but he (and his staff) left them with good habits and solid fundamentals. The Sabres, at the same time, were led by a wanna-be life coach and a den mom.

He's replacing the guy who was targeted.

In 2024, NHL remains a garage league.

Dahlin is on pace to be -82 this season. 😉

Not yet. Ruff hasn't had the time to beat the participation-trophy and orange-slice mentality out of this team. He might not be able to do it. He wasn't able to do it with the post-Drury/Briere teams. Accountability isn't going to come from the bottom six guys playing 9 minutes a night. Kev sitting on all that cap space and prospects instead of putting better (mentally tougher) players in the top six and four is going to damn this season.

Watching this team today reminds me just how much the Sabres sucked last season. Terrible net front presence in both zones, lousy structure in their own zone, terrible zone entries, too many 1 and dones in the offensive zone, overall lack of urgency, etc. I don't know if Ruff can fix this, but he's going to have to work harder than any man in his 60s should have to to make this work. Meanwhile that 7 mil or so of cap space that Kev is sitting on is looking pretty good right now.

If they realize they can beat the Sabres with one of their fowards playing goal, sure, why not?

And Kev will strut right up to podium with a stupid grin on his face and pick that little 18 year old dude.

They are relaxing and playing their game. That's the problem.

These players have no f'n clue what accountability is. They've been coached by the NHL's version of a den mom their entire careers.

Ruff is seeing it for himself, but he is coaching a fundamentally terrible hockey team. His first move should be to use his influence to get Adams fired.

Not going to change until the benchings begin.

The Sabres have a bunch of young guys who have spent bunch of years playing the wrong way. It's going to take Ruff months, not weeks to turn this thing around. Accountability is going to be a difficult lesson for this team to learn.

Yep. Ruff definitely has a heavy lift this season, and we haven't even really discussed the defense yet. Adams definitely can and should do more. Especially since we're only focusing on finishing 8th in the conference. As a fanbase, we've totally shelved the idea, five years under Adams,that the Sabres should be challenging for a championship.

Playing for Florida and Vegas.

Bryam has a lot of potential. Problem is that he has the same skillset as Dahlin and Power. To be successful on the Sabres he has to alter his play style to be complimentary to those guys. From a roster-building perspective, Dahlin, Power, and Byram should be paired with a right-handed, stay-at-home defenseman. Dahlin's play took a jump when he was paired with Samuelsson, not so much because Samuelsson was highly skilled, he just played his role well. We'll see what Ruff can do to coach these three to play a complimentary style, but Byram isn't a great fit on the Sabres roster. He's still maturing, but his ceiling is a #1 defenseman. He won't hit that ceiling on the same roster as Dahlin and Power.

So he would have demanded more to play 3c for Buffalo than what he actually accepted to play 2c for Colorado? Doesn't seem right, especially since Mittlestadt was one of the original 'wants to be here' guys. We'll never know, though, because Casey claims that Adams never approached him about contract terms. Anyway, can't wait to see what they are going to pay to re-sign Bryam, our left shot, puck-moving, PP1 defensemen when his deal is due. Probably the same as the other two left shot, puck-moving, PP1 defenseman they already have on the roster.

How about Byram, Benson, Östlund and next year's protected 1st.