Thorner

Personally, I thought we might be done with point pace sample sizes smaller than 82 games after the transition from last season, to this. Who cares.

Even if we attack any perceived miss from Adams by demanding that posters prove a negative “can you PROVE Ullmark didn’t call KA and tell him to eff off? Can you? Ehhh?!” which IMO is ludicrous considering we heard Linus was open to an extension, this argument still falls apart on the basis of it being a reasonable decline from Ullmark based on the chosen strategy of Adams. Sorry, only the “win now, add talent” strategy can have consequences? Heck no, that would be super disingenuous. Part of the fallout from choosing a strategy where you don’t intend on winning is that...it’s harder to convince players to “want to be here”. You have to take your medicine - expecting players to decline needs to be accounted for in the strategy, when those sort of things would be entirely predictable. Sorry, what was the back up plan Adams had for after missing on Ullmark? That’s what I thought. Sorry, you don’t think Ullmark not being interested in the plan was his deciding factor in leaving? Have fun proving that negative. If money couldn’t have kept him, if term couldn’t have kept him, if a different strategy couldn’t have kept him, we are left with “Ullmark wanted out of Buffalo, full stop, he hated the city.” Then why did he show up to the negotiating table for months? Just to humour the GM? This is staring us right in the face and people don’t want to acknowledge it.

Can’t say I really understand what you mean here, as in, why an “average goalie” equates to “average backup”. Linus, from 2018-2021, ranked 17th (mid pack for starters) out of all goalies with a .911 sv%. So he was a starter, of average quality. I’d imagine your average backup is significantly worse. And, as you said, Linus was putting up reasonable starter numbers on a *bad team*. We saw a good goalie that could be great (see, Boston) not an average backup that could be an average starter.

Yep. There’s nothing we could have done.

At least in the immediate term re: tangible results

Well said. Going Sith mode is needless. It's about balance. Always has been.

If I was a Bills fan I would just enjoy the win, considering how few and far between they've been in general. The NFL is also full of flawed teams - there's no reason with their talent the Bills can't go to the SB once they get in the playoffs. Teams look great one week and awful the next (see Eagles), there just aren't any dominant teams. After Mahomes, I'm looking at the Bills as the favourites. In the NFC it's easiest just to take Brady cause of how bad that division is.

Crazy ending in NE

Here are a couple of my posts on the matter from around a year ago (there are numerous) You also "liked" both of these Taro. I'm sorry, but I even used the term self-fulfilling prophecy which I've taken to using a lot over the last few days. @Doohickiethis is the sort of "victory lap" I was referring to

Aren't you asking two separate questions, framed as one? The record isn't 10, is it?

Well when talking value, the data points you lay out are *always* key factors, with any player. That's exactly what I mean by value and impact. McDavid doesn't do it "on his own" he also elevates everyone substantially. If inserting Samuelsson into the lineup changes a bad team to a good team, that's his impact and his impact alone Man dunno why you are getting mad at me. I can't argue on behalf of what "most everyone" was saying. I argued that Ullmark was good. Why should I have to back down from that stance, now, when I was right? I'm not using hindsight, I made a good faith argument for years and it looks like, hey, Ullmark IS good. It's not my fault Adams didn't want to pay what was required to keep him. He had a level he would go to, and wouldn't go beyond it. I said it at the time: he liked Ullmark, he wanted him back, but the *priority* was the future and that wouldn't be sacrificed in the name of the now: he wouldn't budge on his evaluation.

While I don't think Samuelsson has the ability to truly elevate this team substantially on his own, I do think there's merit to the "boost" you speak of upon his return. It should have an alchemic affect on the team for a few games

Disagree on Ullmark. @dudacekalways did a wonderful breakdown of why we were under-appreciating Linus and I won't even try to replicate it as well as he did. But it was clear Ullmark was quite good, not a backup.

Because the old fans stay on loyally, and more fans that have probably been conceived, born, grew up, followed the team for a few years, changed to a new team, came back, followed for a few more years, got upset with all the losing, and finally broke and decided to come online and bitch all in the span of time this team has been bad. lol seriously though, how is that surprising? What don't people understand about "historically" bad. This is like the "f*ck around and find out" of NHL operations. Be bad for a longer stretch than anyone, ever? Let's see how much complaining we get. Your last sentence serves as a good argument for not watching sports in general .

Just proves that a spending to the cap strategy, as well as a refuse to spend to the cap strategy, can both lead to poor results. There are time-tested strategies teams use to turn things around, teams will do quicker retools and be successful, and longer builds and be successful. Though, in today's parity driven league, the retool is much more common. That the Sabres specifically failed at the spend-more strategy doesn't do anything to rule it out as a viable strategy: the Sabres have failed at everything they have tried in 12 years. It just comes down to the aptitude of those orchestrating the strategy. Adams strategy isn't going to work because it's the anointed "correct" strategy, it will only work if he is successful at implementing it.

His counting stats are bad, his advanced metrics are *terrible*. he doesn't win. Yes, he's had a few bad bounces. Considering I was worried, and talked endlessly, too much, probably annoyingly so, about Comrie in the offseason, you know those sentences that just seem to keep going on and on for no reason seemingly rambling on incessantly forever because I am trying to remember what if anything I am trying to say, you know the ones that just keep going on and on and on, about his sample size being WAY too small to bet on? Early results wouldn't dissuade me from that when the early results have not been good. It's tough to bet on bounces when the overall numbers are telling us what seemed to be predictable. "Dude that hasn't been able to become a starter by age 27 still fails to become starter" isn't much of a headline

(emoji was for pennsyltucky) Comrie hasn't shown anything above average backup statistically, so I personally won't count on any improvement based on what he can provide. That move can only so far be classified as a miss from Adams, considering, to a man, we said we were looking for him to take on a starters load

We traded Eichel before Thompson broke out - Adams probably expected the build to be coming along even slower

When the slow build continues after this season, giving Adams the 4th year Botts and Murray both didn't get, one difference will be made solid.

Unless Samuelsson is the MVP of the league, with greater impacts than McDavid, I don't think he takes this team from bottom of the barrel to top half of the league, I found this last sentence rather striking. Seems incredibly wishful. Hope so, though. Just wanted to touch on that before addressing the bold: It's funny and kinda sad what the team does to the fans in this way, I am in the same boat: we defend and tout the team when they get off to these fast starts to those "outside the world of Sabrespace", and then when the team inevitably lets us down, we fans are forced to pick up the burden and explain things away for them haha They do ask a lot of heaving lifting of the fans, and have asked us loyal ones to carry the burden for altogether too long

Already told you. The friends we’ve made along the way is the win just like how in Simpsons the true “cabin” is created through their camaraderie and teamwork. actually, no, they said there’d be sandwiches..

If I had a guess, I’d say what might be different this time is a willingness to continue to do nothing. Might sound bad, personally I don’t like it. But wasn’t the writing on the wall when we heard about the Pegulas saying Botts could keep his job if he just fired everyone? That’s the key point, and the true illumination of the priorities here in Buffalo. Botterill’s results had been bad. That he was offered to stay was the red flag of all red flags. *performance wasn’t the issue* What mattered was the $. Adams rode in on his budget horse and his “I can do it, I’ll fire those people!” was music to Terry’s ears. These guys are inept. “How can you spin this positively, though, Thorny?” Said it a million times, Adams had such vIbEs because he was completing the “easy” part. With the amount of data out there, if you understand it..Liger could draft reasonably well for an NHL team. Not saying anyone could do it, very smart dude - but the acumen to understand a draft isn’t wholly rare among mathematical minds. If Adams continues to just do nothing, we don’t make deals and we just draft and develop, we won’t become a good team anytime soon. (And, to my preferred theory, that weave mentioned: we may never, if we continue this way: I think we have to actively place the priority on winning) But, law of averages: I think the math would suggest we eventually improve. (Which I hate counting on, as the sabres have shown a particular, historical ability to buck the earthly trend of mathematics) Perhaps the organization just looked in the mirror and realized how stupid it was and is removing any and all avenues where aptitude, positive or negative, can show itself. Murray fired after 3. Botterill wanted to spend the money all nhl teams have access to in general. They’ll do nothing this time. That’s what’s different.

Well this time we score more goals and everyone has been extended in advance

No. I am asking you. And I’d have you tell me. TELL ME!!!!