Kruppstahl

The day we acquired him I declared him a "nothing" hockey player and said it was a nothing move. Nothing has changed since then. Buh-bye! He'll bounce from team to team for quite a long time and retire with many millions in his bank account. Such is the current NHL.

You didn't watch the game? One of our better performances of the year, and Ullmark had his best game in net in quite a long time. We also kind of sort of have the Devils number, at least more than the other teams around us; they aren't a very good hockey team. Currently sitting 1 spot ahead of the Sabres at #28 in the rankings. LOL It helps that we play them again tomorrow.

It's funny as Paul Hamilton has been harping on this lately, asking "Has anyone ever seen a team hit more posts than the Buffalo Sabres?" And then we hit 2 of them on the same PP last night. LOL.

Better idea: kick Ralph to the curb and get Claude in here on whatever terms he demands. Let him be GM too if he's into that sort of thing. (Not sure that he is, but why not offer it?) It won't happen. You are comparing chalk and cheese.

I just heard that Skinner is being benched AGAIN and I honestly can't believe that. That's just straight wrong if viewed objectively. If Krueger wanted to make some type of statement or prove a point, he did that last night. Keeping him out again tonight is actually offensive. If Krueger is going to sit the $72 million man, instead of playing him and getting the best out of him, Krueger needs to be fired. Like tomorrow morning.

Being a bit down and going through a tough time period does not equate to clinical depression. The two are nothing alike whatsoever. If Jack was clinically depressed right now, he would probably not be able to play. I think he is physically injured in some nagging way, Ralph knows that, but chose to answer Paul Hamilton's question last night as he did. Why he did that is the confusing part. It functions to throw Eichel under a bus, not shield him.

He was one of the worst Sabres in the game last night. I feel like I saw very specific things that suggest he is injured. He normally skates around with players hanging on his back and it's not problem for him. He hasn't done anything like that lately. He has been getting steered around by defenders which almost never happens. I think there's a lot to suggest he is injured in some way... But then we have Ralph's odd comments after the game saying emphatically that he is not injured and has a confidence problem. It's a weird situation.

Has anyone heard any official statement from the Sabres regarding this? AFAIK they have said absolutely nothing since the NYS govt. announced the new policy. You would think the Sabres and the Governor's office would have been on the same page prior to the announcement, but maybe not! I.E., perhaps the Sabres do not want to let fans in! It certainly seems like that is the case.

"After further evaluation..." So he had a broken arm that required surgery and they missed that the first time around?

Anyone at this forum who is too young to know John Gurtler, consider yourself fortunate. One of the worst play by play guys at the NHL level, probably in history.

I certainly hope the team is prepared to bring in a new coach before trading Eichel! You definitely try a new HC before you trade the franchise. The only reason Ralph is here in the first place is to appease Eichel, bring out the best in him, get him psychologically going in the right direction... If that is not working, it's time to hire Boudreau or Gallant and see how that goes for a while.

I was afraid it was going to be really serious based on McCabe's shouting and reaction on the ice. Not that he was in a lot of pain per se, but that he realized he was seriously hurt and was really frustrated by that. So no surprise to see he's going to be out all this time.

The fact that Ralph said Eichel is not playing hurt does not mean Eichel is actually not playing hurt. Hopefully we all agree to that. If he just "quit on the team" why did he choose to do it now? What's new or different now? I think he's hurt to some degree.

It succinctly shows what we have all felt for a very long time now. The team isn't just bad, they are completely irrelevant. When was the last meaningful game the Sabres played, in which we were trying to WIN (and not lose for draft position)? It would probably have to be some time towards the end of Lindy Ruff's career as HC. That was a while ago!

I agree the Pegulas never learn from their mistakes, but how could anyone else in the organization learn from these mitsakes? No one has kept their job long enough to learn from a bad decision and modify how they do things going forward. With each new regime we start over and get a new blank slate and new learning curve. It's just one more reason why organizational continuity is a so important and why turning over regimes every few years is a recipe for failure. And yet which one of the failed Sabres regimes should have been allowed to remain? None of them! So the spotlight again shines first and foremost on ownership; it's their job to put the right people in the right places to begin with--and then leave them there.

I recall one of his daughters being the big Sabres fan. As you'll recall, early into Pegula's ownership, she developed a habit of leaking inside information out of the organization via social media and they quickly shut her up. Haven't really heard much about her since.

Ralph talks so much BS--he should buy into some of it himself. He's there to bring out the best of the crew he has to work with, not impose his will or style of play on the team. He's done a very satisfactory job of taking a natural 40 goal man and utterly destroying his game. Good job Ralph!

It'll be that way to the end of the season. So now I'm hearing Ralph wants to bench Skinner tonight? Ralph really doesn't like that guy.

PS: For quite a while now, I have chosen to listen to the "other" team's broadcast of the game as RJ and Ray are about as bad as exists in the NHL now. Yesterday I was reminded that they aren't any worse than the pair of Steve Cangialosi and Ken Daneyko in NJ! That pair is just terrible as well. Loved Daneyko as a player but he is about as good as Rayzor as a color guy. The game before, in Washington, it was a treat to listen to Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlan, who are among my favorites. They are so much more technically proficient than RJ and Ray it is ridiculous (at this point in their careers).

I thought the same thing; he should be on the list. There are so many names here that trigger a "yes" it's hard to limit it to 1. But I went with Brian Duff. He actually understands hockey and I give him credit for that, but he is creepy, highly annoying, and *never* says what he is thinking. He just regurgitates politically correct nonsense nonstop. I realize that is sort of part of his job, but... Listen to him as a "guest" on WGR-550 segments; away from the TV air time he sounds like a completely different person, much more realistic, objective, and negative!

Something like this? This is a cool acquisition, though I'm not sure what I would do with such a machine. The refurbishing you speak of would be part of the fun of the purchase for me--but I realize there are limits to what you can probably do on your own. I have no idea who would help you in the WNY area, but I would talk to some of the automotive refurbishment guys. If they are experienced at taking things apart and sandblasting a car or bike or something like that, they can probably do the same with the Bobcat, for example.

The funny thing is that on one hand, yes, this team refuses to consistently go to the front of the net. AND YET there is penalty of any kind, most of the time, for doing so! This is the 2021 version of the NHL! There are not mean and nasty huge D-men trying to break your back with cross checks if you go near the crease, and who will quickly drop their gloves and beat the snot out of you if you press back! Why these players refuse to go to the net is genuine mystery. Reinhart's goal last night (admittedly on the PP) came directly b/c he moved behind the 2 D men and stood right in front of the goalie. Eichel saw him and made a quick pass for a quick deflection and the goal was effectively scored on a "break away" of sorts. Why these guys don't try that constantly is beyond me. I think they just don't like the HC's system. In theory, Jack Eichel loves the HC, but that may now be old information. The team consistently plays like they are trying to get the coach fired, so it's tough not to assume that is the case as a fan watching from the outside. We won the game yesterday b/c we actually came out and played like we wanted to win for the first 2 periods...which almost never happens.

Anyone who would pay money to see them under these circumstances is insane. It's too early right now. Of course, that assumes they are going to let fans attend in the wake of the governor's announcement. As far as I know, the Sabres have said nothing about letting fans in since then!

I don't necessarily disagree with you, and yet they threw darts at a board with the bills and hit a bullseye. If they can do that with McDermott (and moreso Beane IMO, though he was brought in by McDermott) they can do it with the Sabres. At least that is the argument. I remain hopeful that the Pegulas will sell the Sabres and focus their efforts on the Bills, which is an entirely different sort of business model and one that actually works. It also has all the prestige. I think it could make sense for them, but either they are going to do it or they aren't. I don't really know how they would feel about it.