Kruppstahl

It is NOT going to be one of the "big 3" names currently available (Boudreau, Julien, Gallant). If it was going to be any one of those 3, they would have been announced as the HC today. They have had plenty of time to prepare for this and I would guess KA has been harping for Ralph's firing for a long time. For some reason, Pegula finally caved in. I expect it to be a college coach or someone like that out of left field, maybe Leaman, who I voted for in the poll. Dumping Ralph means nothing in isolation! They must replace him with a GOOD coach going forward or this is just more frustration waiting to happen. We are a long way from being out of the woods right now!

You need to have a re-think about the power structure at the Sabres and how it all works. If you play with it long enough, I think you'll see the problem is Pegula, not Adams or even Ralph. Ultimately, it's Pegula. He appointed a "yes" man to run what is fundamentally *Pegula's* team. He saw that Adams was reliable and loyal in other areas of the business, and so he got promoted to the top slot. Further, Pegula decided, a couple of years ago, that there would be no more buying out of bad Ks, after spending tens of millions of dollars on them in the first many years of his ownership. So the directive goes to Adams: don't fire Ralph, and Ralph is allowed to continue to destroy the team on the ice. As of right now, we should assume Ralph will be here for the remainder of this regular season, and possibly into next season as well, if he isn't fired at the end of this one. We now know Krueger is a worse experiment than Ron Rolston! Think about that. And yet here he is! It has *nothing* to do with Adams. It has everything to do with Pegula.

What possible reason, other than money, would be the cause of Ralph's retention at this point? Their top candidate isn't available yet? Ralph should still have been fired before now with any one of a number of suitable interim coaches put in place until the real candidate is available. It's money. It has to be money.

As of 2020, the Sabres were valued at $385 million. They were the 4th least valuable team in the NHL. The top 5 franchises are all valued at or above $1 billion: Rangers, Leafs, Canadiens, Blackhawks, Bruins.

Don't confuse Pegula's personal net worth with the financial health of one of the entities he owns. Those are 2 different things and they want the Sabres to be self-sustaining. Just the other day, Elliott Friedman suggested very clearly that Pegula likely will not eat the cost of Krueger's K while paying for another, new coach's K at the same time. As a policy, he is done doing that IMO and there is good evidence to support that assertion.

Bryson has been a complete breath of fresh air. Skinner is still working hard too and has strung good games together since being benched. I'm concerned Bryson will start to regress once this organization gets a hold of him.

Where was that physical response Ralph called for? I think I missed that. Hutton made several big stops in the 3rd to keep it at 1-0, and give us a chance to get back in it. Didn't happen. Onto the Caps, Devils, and a pair of Bruins games including one with "fans" in the building. We need to target that Devils game or else it will be 14 losses in a row heading into a Rangers game on March 22. 😂

I would take that in a heartbeat because it would at least be entertaining. No, don't think so.

I guess there is no update on Cozens as of this morning (3/13/2021). Day to day.

Dedicated fighters don't really exist in the league anymore. I said the exact same thing several years ago here about 1 or 2 tough guys not making the team tough. I believe I said that in the context of signing Steve Ott. Totally agree we need gritty, competitive players up and down the lineup. Traditional Bruins teams are like this. Someone takes a cheap shot at anyone on the ice and the other 4 descend on him instantly like a pack of wild dogs..despite being good, skilled players. That is the Boston response. We are a million miles from having that type of lineup. It just hasn't been in our selection criteria (obviously) for a very long time. I'm not really sure what is in our selection criteria. We seem to look for slow, soft players who are inherently uncompetitive by nature.

If Eichel's terrible performance this year has been due to a broken spirit (along with a minor injury) as I have said, and assuming we retain Ralph to the end of the year with predictable results... ...I think this coming off-season is when it all blows up with Eichel, if it is going to. I.E., public demands to be traded, etc. If we make it through this offseason and none of that occurs, it probably won't. Reinhart or Eichel (or both) leaving this team is coming. I think it will be Reinhart and it might be as soon as the trade deadline this year. If not, this offseason. Either way, yes, that will definitely be a lower point than right now. It can get a lot lower, actually! And yet this remains the all-time franchise low spot IMO, now.

The funny thing is he has a 5-1-0 record in 8 appearances against Pittsburgh, all time...with 2 shutouts and a .940 save percentage! He's due! For what, I don't know. Maybe to be pulled in the second period.

If the 8 week number is about right, he would be back pretty darned close to the May 8th season finale anyway. Just shut the season down already. They probably have, and just don't want to say it. Don't look for Jack to be playing any time soon.

I am in favor of replacing our goalies with Don Edwards and Bob Sauve. No, that's not a thought experiment. I don't mean go back in time and put young Edwards and Sauve on the current team. I mean using them right now at their current ages. It couldn't be worse and it would be fun to cheer for those guys again!

Presumably the same way he has survived through two seasons and a .447 win percentage: financially strapped, clueless ownership. LOL On a bright note, Hutton is 0 for his last 5 starts with a .874 save % and 17 goals against. He's DUE !!!

So now Bruins fans are snatching up the tickets Sabres fans don't want. This game a week from tomorrow is shaping up to be really interesting. It may force Pegula's hand. Keep an eye on this one.

This is hilariously ridiculous. Are you 13 years old? Your comments suggest that.

Agenda? Get a clue.

The kids these days put themselves in vulnerable positions all the time because they have grown up playing hockey without opponents trying to cut them in half. So they have not had to learn the skills to avoid being cut in half. It's a different game now with way less emphasis on physicality, and all the poorer for it, too. I didn't have that much of a problem with the hit on Cozens. Ruhwedel's knee/knee on Dahlin was pretty bad however.

What do you mean by that? Tell us more.

I agree Staal will be moved. He's the most likely player on the team to be shipped off at the deadline IMO. Friedman said he fetches a 2; Dreger says 3 or 4. I bet it's a 3, but I'd be happy to be wrong if we can get a 2nd for him.

Darren Dreger says he is hearing Carolina has interest in bringing back Staal; could be the trade partner. Says a second round pick seems high (I agree) and is thinking a 3rd or 4th is more likely.

Today Darren Dreger said that he talked with his Buffalo sources last night, and that as of that time, they did not have any "big concerns with Eichel's health" but they still supported the second opinion. As far as he knows, the specialist (in Colorado?) still has not gotten the results into the Sabres; they are still waiting on that. I find it interesting that the team wasn't overly concerned about Eichel's situation.