Thorner

You specifically asked if it was “reasonable to expect different”. Not, “should we expect different?” (We all did pre-season, dudacek was chastising fans for not setting their expectations HIGH enough, that’s why I opened the thread with that response), and not even “is expecting different viable. “Is it reasonable” was the quote I was referring to. Ie: you are proposing it might be unreasonable to expect more. Not that you don’t, but get it: you asked if a position expecting playoffs was “unreasonable”. No, is the answer. To answer your question: no, fans expecting playoffs are not unreasonable. Hope that helps

We still can finish 2nd in the “Can’t Really Expect More From These Teams” Cup Buffalo-Detroit-Ottawa will come down to the wire

Yes, it’s reasonable With all due respect your take is frankly absurd. Your question isn’t even “what was the expectation?” it’s “was it reasonable to expect more.” Was it reasonable in year 4. Can you imagine if you had posed this question pre-season? “Is it reasonable to expect playoffs this year?” You would have been met with a chorus of boos and the exclamation it’s not just reasonable it’s expected. You can turn tail and run from what we all know to be what the actual expectations are or we can avoid that sort of sad, hypocritical thinking This Dude had to gall to post he’s “never wrong” on a platform it took me a literal 15 seconds to find a post of his where he’s glaringly off base. The thread and this summation of it is even more drenched in gaslighting then those that came before, a new low. Saying “it’s ok to be frustrated but it’s not fair to expect better” is sickening stuff. The question posed wasn’t “what was your expectation” it’s claiming that not only is it ok to be ok with the process it’s unreasonable to think they should have amounted to more that‘s offensively narrow minded Absurd It has changed

It was a funny joke

I mean it should be noted many of those more bullish about this season coming in, like the post I quoted at the beginning of the thread, were talking playoffs this year as a bare minimum. Winning a round or two this year was more our speed. Missing entirely this year shouldn’t just be framed as a miss it’s a significant failing. Doing so yet again next season and having nothing to show for 5 years when measured against the goals the rest of the NHL actually strives for would be glaring There’s no rule that a new GM has to go through a grace period where he brings in “his guys”. You hire the guy who says “with a summer of a few tweaks I can get this team in the playoffs.” believe it or not, THAT’s actually how most of the rest of the league operates. Penciling in the new guy to necessarily be “job security dude 6.0” is a very Buffalo thing.

Good post. Agree almost totally. One thing - It’s professional sports: for me, this is Adams’ 4th year as GM because, well, it’s his 4th year as GM. Framing only a portion of it as “his plan” doesn’t supersede the fact he failed to institute said “plan” a season earlier. What this really was was the second plan he’s generally managed, his plan or another’s. Now, I can factor that (proportionally) into my evaluation of him as a GM while still measuring the success of each individual year of this plan against what’s it’s expected to achieve internally and intrinsically. It really is a situation deserving of nuance and it’s both: his performance year 1 is both relevant to a fair analysis of his entire body of work as GM and also, can be separate from the analysis of how the current plan is going. How can we give him a ton of credit for the team improving in 21-22 but ignore and leave out the fact it was improving FROM the low water mark *he himself* set the year previous? That wouldn’t be fair . Don’t count it in an analysis of the current plan but don’t just scrap it from the record. 4 years as GM, no playoffs, and a plan that by reasonable reckoning and the reckoning of the team’s internal expectations this season failed this year: a first, for the plan. I’m with you: you should NOT scrap it right now. But in a league where it’s uncommon to miss 4 straight years, if Adams is GM for 5 and we miss all 5, 2 of which represent HIS plan failing on expectation twice in a row? That’d be my line. He has a shot to right his wrongs from last summer, this one coming up

Absolutely agree, and it’s really that simple. But I’d give Adams another year. He’s got a shot at “better late than never.”

Some said they were I unwilling to go LT with Sam at the time due to their implemented Covid budget restraints

Cozens can always move to Wing

Nope, it’s never happened

No, Sam said he was open to a LT deal during the time frame Adams bridged him Agree you can’t blame them though

One year deal with money corresponding to talent. Goalie can parlay a good year into another contract

A single regulation loss does us in, so..I just can’t see it

Honestly there IS no pressure because we’re basically just playing out the stretch

This is her now:

- - - And yes of course Quinn is playing if he can. That’s what I said before: he’s a paid professional. You don’t sit “just because” IF you are fully healthy

lol! We would all literally beg to be Pittsburgh fans. We should be so lucky. As if what they are going through now isn’t a million times justified by the success they’ve had. Sabres fans can be so funny haha “I sure wouldn’t want to be THEM!” Again, we should be so lucky. What we are seeing is merely the cost There’s a draft every year and 7 free picks. They’ll be retooled within a couple years - long endless rebuild plans are buffalo thing

Well I guess you didn’t entirely miss it Fool me once..

You’ve entirely missed my point. I mean it doesn’t mean anything relative to guaranteeing or ensuring future success: it’s not an indicator. *Of course* it’s harder to be good when you are young: that’s my entire point. They are willingly the youngest team in the league in a year where we might miss the playoffs for 13 years straight and the 4th consecutive year of this regime All under the false sales premise that “if we are young now, we are building sometime better later.” No, we are just young now.

Agree. Also I shouldn’t say it’s absurd to bet on it just very risky

Honestly? That goal gets us right back in the playoff hunt

Fine and 1 dollar, Bob

The “we won the trade” stuff was ridiculously premature