jad1

My eyes tell me that Sobotka shouldn't be on the 2nd line, much less an NHL roster, regardless of his 3 points in 16 games and whatever magic dust his coach believes that he sprinkled on his linemates to make them "effective." And the same goes for ERod. Maybe the GM should take a break from stuffing the press box with high price defensemen and bring in some actual 2nd line talent so we can prevent a fan debate about who's better, ERod or Sobotka, which is an abyss of idiocy deeper than the Flutie/Johnson debate.

Maybe because the coach is a used-car salesman and we all have eyes?

I don't know, I get that the trade market is always tough, but then I think if how an average GM like Darcy Regier manufactured trades for Briere, Drury, Dumont, and Barnes, giving away little to build some the the franchises greatest successes. The Skinner deal was one of those types of deals, and there have been deals to make during Botterill's tenure. J. T. Miller, Duclair, and Namestnikov have all been on the market during the last year, and could have been had with money or lower-rated prospects going the other way. Heck, even a guy like Patrick Marleau could have added experience and short-term help to the roster. The preferred way to build is always from within the system, and Botterill has definitely embraced that. However, in the NHL it is also the riskiest way to build. Botterill's over-reliance for his rebuild on guys like Mittelstadt and Thompson is evidence of that. Waiting around for Cozens to hit the roster, despite how good he projects, would be another catastrophic blunder. This franchise, with an aging core of talented players, cannot afford to waste more seasons. Botterill to save this (and next) season will have to play against his nature and do what every averagly-skilled GM does, and make some trades to add some skill and experience to the lineup. He also has to balance the cap spend between offense and defense, a problem he created.

So far the Sabres are offering nothing, barely going through the motions.

Hey, give Botterill a break, players like O'Regan, Sobotka, and Berglund aren't available every day! And besides, do you know how hard it is to figure out what 30 goal scorer is destroying your locker room?

Who knows. Terry does have an itchy trigger finger though....

No problem. It's a gordian knot of suckitude. ?

So, Eichel for the Hart and Botterill for the unemployment line?

Sorry, I don't agree. More than half this team is on scoring slumps and that's mostly due to an overall lack of effort. Ralph isn't a guy the team rallies around, he's the guy who covers for them by claiming 'moral' victories.

Two games in a row where the team comes out listless. Both games against supposed rivals. You have to question whether this team plays hard for Krueger.

So this is what the team Botterill built looks like without Eichel in the lineup. The dude should be arrested for stealing money the last 3 years.

Hutton looks like he's seeing ghosts.

Eichel has 31 points the last 17 games. That's the only reason the team is hanging in. When he cools off, this team will sink to the bottom of the standings.

This team is going nowhere without a functional 2nd line. Botterill is burning a stellar year by Eichel.

Johansson has completely fallen off the table.

They're probably paying Vesey at the same rate.

BAG OF PUCKS!!!!!!!

Nice back check by 'Bag of Pucks' Okposo

Players are a more valuable commodity than coaches or GMs. If Botterill and Krueger can't build around proven goal scorers, you fire them before trading the players.

Moving Skinner would add to Boterill's record of trading away 30 goal scorers ?

This game is a good reminder that there is still a lot of suck built into this roster.

Nice to see the Sabres play inspiring a lot of Bills discussion.

Sheary just pulled up on a 2 on 1.

Watching this game makes me feel bloated. I'm gonna try some liverite.

He has a 3rd line left winger as his center. Not getting much help out there.