Thorny

Very, very relieved. Ya from all accounts Bo wasn’t even going to entertain signing unless Vladdy was going to be there as well, apparently roster construction/winning is a huge priority for him of course, they haven’t done much of that yet. But locking up your franchise player in Vlad for the rest of his career is going to go a long way. Only just entering his prime years. now we just need him to hit his first dinger of the year

No, it didn’t. That just happened to be the team he went to after being here - that’s the point. It was never a “curse”

Sabres go to work on the goal differential to end the year 5-1 good guys

I guess Skinner isn’t an anti-playoffs talisman after all

I don’t see it that way at all. The whole way you look at stats is imo just frivolous and bad. Unpredictive, unlearning, and a slave to the moment. It’s an incredibly macro thing. The sabres were 23rd in goals last season, my guy. The core of the roster is the same. These things fluctuate incredibly one season over another simply because hockey is a *fluid* game. Roster construction issues manifest in a multitude of ways. Ruff’s system is FACILITATING OFFENCE at the expense of D. Perhaps a better F unit would allow the goals to come without the manipulations? NM the fact you can’t just isolate the stats and attribute it to a portion of the roster - it doesn’t work like that. The most effective way by far is to look at differential, in a fluid game, as a mark of the whole team @PromoTheRobotis right when he says it’s difficult to evaluate UPL. It’s tough to evaluate much of anything when there are so many key variables. The way you believe you can Willy nilly isolate areas of need when looking at stats borne out of a fluid game at all times is frankly absurd Build your team like Kevyn Adams…or the way you do, because of, Kevyn Adams… whichever. I honestly can’t keep track of it anymore. I have half a mind to suggest you can’t, either. And frankly, m’dear, I don’t give a damn

It’s just.. I see him as open to adding good forwards now (McLeod) but I haven’t seen him do anything in net since we went on the Levi timeline. We signed UPL I guess, imagine he’s the guy for now

I read it. I just disagree, still. See bold is running back the F the “bare minimum” (ie not enough) or is there no shame in it? Can’t be both, conflicting messaging here Edit - at least, it can’t be both, the way I personally see it: which is the point I’m trying to make. For this franchise to elect for the bare minimum is what’s so unacceptable. Maybe one’s mileage may vary

Adams hasn’t achieved good goaltending in 5 years are you asking him to bring in good goaltending or bring back Reimer? The latter is possible

The team isn’t failing from finishing 16th by way of the forwards right now *RELATIVE TO THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE TEAM*. Ie they aren’t the biggest culprit when it comes to achieving 16th. But then to jump to “so don’t address the forwards” is neither here nor there there is zero reason the max output of our roster if things go right should be 16th. It leaves no room for error! A mid pack forwards group by differential CANT be the high water mark of a team. So you can address the D and g but you can also, ya know, bump up the high point. 13th is a ridiculously low high point. If we add a D man and he prevents a goal, it doesn’t do more for us than Marner scoring an extra one. We are *13th*, not legendary. And the difference between us and others in this area statistical variance than can EASILY shift going into next season. Bet on that being good enough? To tune of missing 15 years, maybe? Why on earth?

Breaking news! Extra, extra! The sabres are *13th* at 5v5 gf%, on the strength of a meaningless late season run! Fractionally ahead of the team in 17th. So theoretically on the precipice of non-playoff quality after a bad week. but…13th! All these years of suffering were worth it! Don’t you DARE touch the “forward group”

Analytically break even, anyways. I always forget breaking even is the goal around here, cannot aim for higher Ya man. Just “fix” the pp. just by choice. Just snap your fingers just “fix” the GT. Even though we know that can’t happen. maybe try advancing your thoughts beyond the regurgitation of the surface level, tailgate focused fan groupthink of “the forwards are fine.” there’s no shame in admitting you don’t really care about winning. You aren’t going from 26th to playoffs by adding a depth D man and calling it a day No one is falling for it, Kevyn

I’d love to make the playoffs. Just for shits and giggles

We have an incredible fanbase. 14 years no playoffs, a mid pack forward group by goal differential, currently sit in 26th, *11 points back* of the playoffs in Adams’ 5th year… …and upgrading the F group that accounts for 67% of the skater component of our roster would just be for “shits and giggles” Add a #4 dman and a backup goalie and plan for playoffs Superstars can’t elevate a team, but we are confident the output of a #4 dman elevates the team from bottom of league to the playoffs

Ultimately it’s easier to convince someone to trade for your mystery box than it is to open up all your mystery boxes and actually reach satisfaction at your haul

Love this so much because adams’ errors are strategic. The plan of building through youth, exclusively, ESPECIALLLY in Buffalo when the plan was enacted after 9 years of losing, was always a disaster waiting to happen it’s not surprising that Adams does better when moving out of his “comfort zone”, because his comfort zone definitively sucks. Like, this has been borne out - his initial strategy was rank. The further he moves away from it (FINALLY trading Savoie for McLeod) he does better. Because even if it’s not his comfort zone, it’s so demonstrably proven to be the better way to build that it can’t help but find more success It comes back to what I say all the time and, frankly, it’s quite satisfying to see it borne out so accurately - it’s not hard to win in the nhl. Base level competence. The Buffalo Sabres trying to be innovative and trying their own way to do things is a farce. Total farce. Take your medicine. Field a playoff team. Just stop with this nonsense. The league is literally designed to promote parity. If they stop thinking they are smarter than the league, the league itself will carry them to “success” (playoffs), just by its own inherent mechanisms. How many times have I said it? Base level competence. All they do is get in their own way.

I’ve said this for a long time but until proven otherwise… they won’t make the playoffs until they stop treating it as the natural side-affect of the process of building a cup team It’s never THE goal. They expect it to arrive as a symptom It’s hubris

The essence of “run back” need not be so literal. Most teams change at least like 6 guys every year just due to 4th liners and bottom pair players that almost always have high turnover rates. Backup goalie that was exactly the messaging they tried to sneak through last summer; and hindsight need not apply, called it out at the time: they indeed tried to sell a “revamped 4th line” as if it was an avenue to success. It’s not. if our top 9 is: Thompson, Tuch, Peterka, Norris, Benson, Zucker, McLeod, Kulich, Quinn: it’s a run back

Likely

My gosh. He had it down to needing to replace a LHD for 4.2 million. If that’s the obstacle to signing Marner, it’s not an obstacle at all We’ve lost the plot lol online GM simulator “It just can’t be done!” this team needs to win, desperately For the sake of the psyche

If the Sabres win out Adams will finish his 5 year average at 79 points per season

Always liked how Eichel distributed on the half wall

🧹🧹🧹🧹

People talk a lot about fixing the PP but the easiest fix could be an actual creative playmaker who will find Tage in all the right spots

Besides that, Marner is good defensively, we need way better D from our forwards, and he’s one of the best point producers in the league. I keep making this argument cause it’s true: we aren’t nearing a cap on goals scored lol. If we are losing 4-3, “damn, our D!” but we add Marner and win 5-4, we still win based the added value of his goals. Yes we can address D and should and Marner helps but a goal for is still worth the same We aren’t near a “goals for” cap. We have room for Mitch Marner lol This whole thing is literally “we have no room for Kovalchuck”. We are living the meme in real time. Ya, a team 11 points out of the playoffs wouldn’t benefit from adding one of the best players in the world. What are we doing? You add him and worry about if you can “realistically” fix the D later IF he can be had. Not saying he can. But re: Marner this is about principle

I’d kill to be wondering why we haven’t won a cup. I just want to make the playoffs I just want the regular season to actually matter again. We aren’t even a part of the league: I honestly don’t care about a cup we aren’t the leafs, we need to add everywhere right now, still. We are a team 11 points out of the playoffs and the cutoff line is abnormally low