deluca67

The Sabres organization has gangrene up to the knee and today they cutoff the big toe. There is a lot more that needs to be chopped off. I would not be surprised if Lindy Ruff made the playoffs with another team before the Sabres make the playoffs again. Unless Ron Rolston turns out to be some type of miracle worker this roster is going nowhere as currently constituted. This move is simply to appease the masses. The core problems remain. Until there is a drastic change in the ideology behind the type of players this team looks to obtain we will continue to be subjected to the same product.

Hecht is a perfect example of what a Buffalo Sabre is, which is why so many fans want the definition of a Buffalo Sabres to change, desperately.

Winnipeg Jets and "onslaught" are not two thoughts I would ever put together.

Are they really? Can this Sabres team really say they are better than anyone at this point.

That's a whole lot of wishful thinking right there.

Pure wishful thinking right here.

Why is there no FM sports station? A lot of people can't get AM stations where they work.

This is the exact type of game where we all end up scratching our heads wondering how the Sabres lost. The Sabres need to jump on the Jets early and give them no reason to believe they can win this game. The alternative? The Jets can leapfrog the Sabres into 12th place which is unfracking believable.

It's about a change of philosophy for the franchise more than it has to do with Kassian becoming the next (place name here). Even if Regier "wins" this trade, you add it together with all the other trades Regier "won" and the sum total is that his time as Sabres GM has been a failure. This team still has the same problems it has had for years. You either are ignoring the point or just don't understand it.

No! and No! This franchise needs a heart transplant. For years this roster has been littered with tin men with talent. This team needs to be adding players like Kassian not trading them away. Bring in tough young hockey players and find a coach that can develop them and give this franchise the identity it has been missing for a long long time. As I said before, I've seen Cody Hodgson types come and go over the years, in the end they never really made a difference. Jason Dawe, Brian Holzinger, Donald Audette, Derek Plante and the list goes on and on. I'd rather have Kassian and Foligno.

I think it was Leon Stickle.

Forget the 19-9-2. what are the Sabres going to do this week? They need points this week. 3 points or less and this week is a complete failure.

It lives through Foligno.

One thing that continues to get lost in this discussion is that Hodgson represents more of the same while Kassian represented a departure from the soft skilled forwards Regier is known for.

This is the mentality that makes my head explode. First place teams have injury problems and holes to fill just like every other team. The Devils were in first place and picked up Ponikarovsky. You know teams like the Pens and Blackhawks are going to make some type of move. Maybe he is trying to score some Sabre Tooth blood? :flirt:

Nothing in that clip seemed game changing. This team needs more than an F-bomb during an interview or Steve Ott starting a scrum with the game over. How about being ready for the start of the game and not giving a team like the Pens a 2-0 lead in the first minute and a half. We are beyond the point where playing partial games or merely keeping games close should be good enough. This team just lost it's 10th game in game #16. They have 13 out of a possible 32 points. it was an entertaining game for the 3 hours, this 3 hours in February is going to be meaningless come April.

That's good new for the Sabres, At least their off-season moves are paying off in that aspect. Now they just have to get to the point where being ranked so highly in those categories doesn't surprise anyone. Kassian is going to have his issues with consistency at this point.

It's how the league works. last season the Bruins were 49-33 and lost all four games against the Hurricanes who were 33-49. There are somethings that just defy explanation. That hit reminded me of when Tallinder would get hurt. A seemingly harmless play that happens a dozen times a game and suddenly Sekera is being helped off the ice.

Just for arguments sake let's say the Sabres fire Lindy Ruff today and bring in one of the veteran coaches. Are the Sabres suddenly a playoff team? Will the Sabres suddenly have secondary scoring? Will the defense suddenly get better? Will Miller find the consistency to be elite? I can honestly say I don't know. I am looking a roster that has many faults and deficiencies. This franchise is far beyond one single move curing all it's ills. I still believe changes need to be made. I want more than just a new coach, a new GM or a trade for a Ryan O'Reilly. There needs to be wide sweeping changes to the front office and roster.

If anyone has had a chance to watch Kovalchuk this season I doubt they would recognize him. He had one PK shift last week where he kept the puck in the offensive zone himself and killed off about 40 seconds and on his way to the bench he flattened a guy. You are right, the Devils have done a great job of getting him focused, he not only is better defensively, he is no longer trying to beat all five defenders himself. His passing is very Thomas Vanek like and is a very underrated part of his game. Props to the coaches, I wonder if Patrik Elias has had an influence on him as well.

I agree with this 100%. It's a balance between letting Grigorenko get acclimated to the NHL game and overwhelming the kid. I think back to all the stories and opinions on Tim Connolly and the complaints how the islanders ruined him by throwing him into the lineup too soon. I think is why the Sabres are willing to take it slow with Grigorenko and allow the kid to grow at his own pace.

Let's look at this under one premise, the Buffalo Sabres desperately want to make the playoffs this season. Under that premise a move for a player like Iginla makes a lot of sense. Veteran player that has been through the wars that could give the lineup a injection of talent and give Lindy some real versatility with the lineup. What has to be weighed is the cost for Iginla compared to the reward of the playoffs. IMO, Iginla would do more for the Sabres playoff chances than say Ryan O'Reilly. Considering Iginla is a rental, I wouldn't be willing to give similar compensation.

I have to say, the New Jersey Devils really seem to be regretting that Ilya Kovalchuk contract. Here are the Devils mired in 1st place in the East coming off a trip to the Finals with Kovalchuk only facing his 800th career point (in 793 career games) and leading all NHL forwards in ice time at 26:03 (second is John Tavares with 22:13) including significant time on the PK and at the end of games. Sure glad the Sabres didn't make that mistake. ;)

You are missing the point. All players are "talented before" they make it the NHL, that's how they get to the NHL. It's the conversion of the players talent into a NHL level talent that is the tricky part and is where a lot of players fall short. For every Tyler Seguin that has a fairly smooth transition to the NHL game there are several who crash and burn. Seguin is turning into a great offensive talent that is defensively responsible. IMO, that is a perfect career trajectory that I would love to see Grigorenko follow. Any comparison to Seguin in any way should be considered a complement. If the Sabres are using Seguin as a model for Grigorenko's development I don't see how that could be considered a bad thing or an insult to Grigorenko.

This is not meant to slight Tyler Ennis or his abilities, I have to wonder if the Avalanche would even consider Ennis. The Avalanche brought in Steve Downie because they recognized their roster needed more size and grit. If they are put in a situation where they have to move Ryan O'Reilly, I feel their focus will be along those same lines. Taking into consideration that there will be several teams looking to acquire O'Reilly (according to reports) a team like Buffalo may have to give up more they would like. Putting myself in the position of Avalanche GM, any conversation with the Buffalo Sabres begins and ends with Marcus Foligno. Foligno represents the qualities the AV's desperately need to add to their forward ranks. Size, physicality and some offensive ability. Because Foligno's NHL experience is limited to 29 games and O'Reilly is only 6 months older yet has played 200 more games the Sabres will need to pair Foligno with a prospect. Being AV's GM I am looking at Braydon McNabb to add more size the lineup or possibly a Mark Pysyk. Considering the situation in goal, looking at a return of Foligno and Enroth may not be so far fetched. Overall, it will depend on the what other teams are involved and what is being offered.