Thorny

Goes from an all-time logo to a new-age all-time logo

I mean, I’d much rather Levi be up and playing games than Reimer. Though, do you know if it was option to keep Levi in Roch but still call him up when we wanted him for a stretch, while keeping Reimer stashed on the roster? Unsure of the viability of that option but something like that may have been the best option

I won’t torpedo Adams on this until we actually see poor performance from the position. Presumably he could claim one of these Reimer type guys from another team should an injury arise to UPL or Levi

SandStorm, you are up

Have you ever heard that thing about how human beings generally pick the answer they want in advance, and then find the reasons to support it, after the fact? I wouldn’t be surprised at all of Adams and co pieced together a plan exactly like the one you laid out: and it’s the reason we keep failing. When you skewer and cherry pick the numbers so throughly, time and time again (a 20 game sample size here, a 25 game sample size there, a 13 game sample size over here, let’s focus on goals and not assists, let’s focus on our overall team record over a stretch of season demonstrably unreflective time and time again because wins when you are essentially out of it aren’t the same, ignoring of Skinner’s actually very good production to lion’s share of his time here in favour of a short stretch where he was benched…etc etc) what you end up with is a bunch of “well, maybes” that when compounded on eachother functionally make the result you want a shot in the dark Which doesn’t even break the surface of the most important ignored variable: the amount the presence of Mittelstadt, who often performed as our best F, buoyed the totals of the other forwards you keep mentioning. Not only through actual aid to production, but in terms of players being properly slotted in roles. It’s ridiculously hard for Cozens and Tage to *make up* what we lost in Casey because you are counting on improvement upon something they did WITH Casey! We’d be asking a lot of them to return to 22-23 form WITH the complementary roster they had, to ask them to return to form, WITHOUT the guy who was as good or better than they were when they were doing it, and THEN also find a way to *replace* the outright production of that facilitator without the facilitator is not really a hope, it’s a last resort. An unlikely shot in the dark. You *need* to adequately supplement the forward ranks, which brings us back to “waiting on the kids” if the best they can and will do is Jason Zucker and Beck freaking Malenstyn, a player we had literally never heard of before we acquired him. - - - If we cut to the chase, realistically the answer to almost every “when, how can we be good” question, as long as we are operating the way we are, is simply, and only “if the kids excel we’ll be good.” Maybe we’ve just said it so many times we forget the fact it’s really the only prevalent factor, here: the dna of this team is measured in “future” currency. If the youth ever surprises, we’ll be good. I don’t see much strategy beyond assemble young talent and hope for the best

They didn’t want to pay him. Either because we don’t want to spend money, or because of an overconfidence in the players we did give long contracts to, or a prioritization of a timeline further down the road when we presumably see our RFAs replacing his production. Choose your own adventure

Exactly. You can’t draft your way out of it in any reasonable, earthly timeline. It’s hard to make up ground there at all when other teams are also getting free draft picks every year. It’s a crapshoot draft. We can make up a little with great drafting aptitude that’ll bear fruit in half a decade but it is not *close* to the size of the gap between all the rest of the talent, organization wide considered. You can’t draft your way out of it. You can’t spend your way out of it. You have to do both. That “balance” is some sort of revelation to some, including those in charge, is absurd. They figured out how to draft well, and for one reason or any other, none of which there are excuses for, they essentially abandoned the other aspects of team building. Right when you finally had the drafting acumen to achieve balance. Insulting to the fanbase? A function of pure stupidity? Take your pick

Revamped “4th line”, didn’t you hear??

The Buffalo Sabres logo is a buffalo between two sabres. This should answer your question

Will they leave, come back, and win a playoff series before we do? They’ve made it *7 times* since they’ve been back and I’ve had to deal with the locals on that while my team hasn’t made it once. I just keep going back to it because it’s so hilarious. I never thought when I started a playful rivalry with Jets fans that id be sitting here 13 years later without a single thing to show for it

It’s an interesting hypothetical. That King is my neighbor, btw But I’m not flipping; I don’t need to risk losing the team for a chance at a cup, when a few deep playoff runs would do the trick. And by trick, I mean allowing me to fall in love with the Sabres again. The Sabres just need to not be incredibly stupid and find a way to field a playoff team occasionally. This should be basically a “free space” achievement- that is hasn’t been speaks to the overwhelming ineptitude of the owner. But it’s hopeful in the sense you have to be astronomically bad as an owner for this to be the case: I’m confident the next guy couldn’t be this bad i’ll sooner step away after this season upon the retention of Adams, and wait, than I would flip the coin

That would admittedly be my only opposition to a change of owner. Rightly or wrongly I just don’t ever see the team leaving, though, so it doesn’t play as much of a factor for me. Nah, I don’t. Don’t know why multiple things being true at once is always such a bridge too far for people. Fatal flaws are able to be so, precisely because contextually there are other variables at play facilitating the emergence of tipping point decisions. Just because many players are soured on Buffalo doesn’t mean an absolute exists: to a skilled recruiter, perhaps the flaw wouldn’t be so fatal. But Adams is the antithesis of that. There are other markets far, far closer to us in undesirability (some even equal to us, if you believe player polls) than they are to our output in dealing with such. Players don’t want to play here in Winnipeg and they’ve made it 7 times since the Sabres have last. Pegula’s bad decisions compound on eachother. The disappointment is infuriating particularly *because* there have been (and continue to be) opportunities to u-turn along the way: a sense of hubris pervades almost the entire operation

Failure to maximize available cap space, year after year..

1) You bi-passed my point about “McEichel”, and Eichel has proven to be good enough to be the 1C on a cup championship team. There’s no leg to stand on anymore: we could have built a great team with him here. A playoff team, should have been a given. 2) Players care 3) Are you willing to put an ETA for an expectation on that, or is it sort of a, “How much is this old toaster you have for sale?” ”How much do you have?” ”50 bucks.” “Oh lucky for you it’s 50 dollars” ..situation? Like is there any time frame you are willing to say it’s reasonable to expect results by or is it just a matter of when they eventually get it done, is the time you wanted it by? Actually asking.

1) tanking “for McDavid” (20%) was always dumb and was folly from the beginning if that was the plan, based purely on odds. That’s why we always said it was about “McEichel.” The only way the strategy ever theoretically made sense (I think it was the wrong decision) if he you thought you could competently build a team around either, because finishing last guaranteed one. 2) As bad as failing to build around a guy demonstrably capable of leading a cup championship team (and league) in scoring was, the result was nonetheless salvageable until the cardinal sin I mentioned. Our reputation is soured because of Pegula’s handling of the situation. What is the perception around the league? That’s what matters.

Guess you weren’t ready for the cold ring of truth Teams change GMs all the time. It doesn’t lead to 14 year playoff droughts We replaced Murray 7 and a half years ago the “carnage” began when we tanked. All of the failings systematic of the ineptitude of the owner. The ineptitude that lead to the fatal flaw I mentioned “no one wants to come to Buffalo”. You know, maybe that’s because no one cares about eloquent Sabrespace breakdowns of why we “actually” needed to wage a public war against the player we already prioritized above the rest of the roster several times over. it didn’t work, Pegula being absolutely butthurt screwed us over, and one day everyone will admit it. When you are ready. It was never about right and wrong. Perception is reality. If this, above all else, hasn’t been driven home to you in 2024…with the way the world is today..im not sure what to say

Not sure if people are finally ready for this. Terry Pegula and the Sabres’ fatal error was placing so much emphasis on the “return” for Jack Eichel. It doesn’t really matter if the Sabres were “in the right” or in the wrong, that was the part everyone missed, not if the perception around the league was going to be that they did poorly by their franchise player Inexcusable Terry missed this b/c *that was our burden to bear* because we TANKED for Eichel. Placing 1 player above all else was *what they signed up for*. They made their bed in 2015 and thought they could avoid paying the piper. Are Tuch and Krebs worth the reputation hit? You let him get the surgery because you have to. The fallout of denying that to the player you sold the very soul of your franchise to get, is well beyond any trade return that was ever possible

It’s tough. I just try to give every season a chance. I’ve spoken before my rope with this regime ends here, so I’m certainly not bailing before game 82

Really? I feel like Byram has been good A legitimate bright spot Not saying anything to roster construction but he’s been good so far this season

Quinn has been quiet

Dahlin is fine. He needs to be better though for sure. But I highly doubt any lacking performance is the result of wearing the C. If he’s wearing the weight of it, mentally, that’ll have been a prerequisite to him getting that crown in the first place: it’s in his nature and that he feels responsible for the results is going to be present regardless hard truth of today’s NHL: it‘s exceptionally tough for a D-man to be your best player. this is now a league of goals Of offence

Remember when we used to always beat SJ in SJ? I miss Matt D’agostini