GASabresIUFAN

It's truly amazing for terrible this organization is.

Hard to know when he doesn't have enough even decent players to implement his system. He has no defensemen who can play defense. He has one proven playmaker in his forward group. How can he install a workable system when his two "top" D, Byram and Power, have zero defensive fundamentals? They literally don't know how to play defense. Do yourself a favor and watch Gretzky's commentary on Owen Power. Did you know our 6'6 225 lbs $8 million a year D has 9 hits for the season. 9. How is that even possible in 31 games, unless you are concentrating on not hitting anyone.

Lindy’s NJ team failed because of injuries on defense and a lack of goaltending. After Ruff was let go the NJ GM went out and got 2 goalies. Lindy was the scapegoat for GM’s failures. No one said the game had passed Lindy by 2 years ago when the Devils made the playoffs with over 110 points. The funny thing about the Devils 2 years ago was that the GM worked to fix the defense before that season by trading for Marino to help add a good defensive D to the roster. Blaming Lindy for the terrible roster Adams created is no different than blaming Lindy for the GMs failures in NJ.

It’s not like the other practices have helped.

It’s not the coach, it’s the roster. No coach could win with this defense group.

Like all questions, the answer is it depends. Depends on where we are drafting and what is offered in return. Is there a franchise center in this draft? Will that player be available when we draft? Are prospects and or draft picks offered in return or are there NHL players coming back the other way, such as a top 6 playmaker or top 4 defenseman. The other question is who is making the trade. If it’s still Adams, how can you trust him to make the right decision? The Sabres need to fix this mess, but trading a top 5 draft pick may not be the smartest first step.

Actually many of our failures are out of the NHL. Guys like Stillman, Bjork, Asplund, Pysyk, Hutton, etc.., are gone from the NHL. Guys like Jost soon will be done in the NHL as well.

I think I finally understand Terry’s plan. He wants a new building in Buffalo. He wants to use a lack of fan support to give him leverage with the NHL and various governments to either move the team to somewhere with palm trees or give him a new state of the art building. The meeting the team in Montreal is an announcement of either a new building or a potential move.

The sad part about accountability is that the players aren’t worried about being traded. From their perspective they have guaranteed contracts and when traded they likely feel like they’ve been paroled from prison.

During this streak the Sabres have.... Lead in 7 of the 10 games by scoring first. They have blown 2 or more goal leads in 3 of the 10 including tonight against the Leafs. Of the 3 games with blown 2 or more goal leads, the Sabres lost 2 in regulation. The Sabres have allowed 3 or more in 9 of the 10 losses including 6 games with 4 or more GA. The team is 3/24 on the PP (a horrific 12.5%), and the PK is 20/27 (awful 74%). Only against Van did they rally from more than a goal down to force OT. The Sabres were generally outshot (6/10), out hit (7/10), and blocked less shots than the opponents (8/10) during this streak. We also lost the faceoff battle in 6/10. Ruff talks about doing the little things right in order to win. Hard to win when the PP is inept, the PK is below average, the opposition controls the puck, physically dominates the Sabres and gets the majority of the scoring chances 5 on 5.

While I see your point about the players, I disagree. Some guys are simply a negative or just roster filler. Where I do agree is that change in management is essential and that team building is the primary issue with the team under Adams. I believe that had Adams acquired two stay at home D to partner with Byram and Dahlin the current Sabres would be a playoff team despite the inept PP, Cozens and the lack of playmakers. However, the purpose of this is asking if your were Adams replacement who on this team are you keeping and who are you replacing.

I think you mean dead franchise playing.

Rock meet bottom.

This post isn’t about the management that must go as I have said many times, but the players are not without fault. All these guys came up through the ranks and have played on good teams and know how to play hockey. They all know you have to go to the net to score. They all know to clear the front of the net. They all know fundamentally sound hockey. The question is which guys, despite the crap culture still play the right way. The answer is not many. These are the players that need to be identified and kept by new management. My question is who this board thinks those players are.

It’s hard to see right now, but I still believe despite my angry posts that there are pieces on this current roster that could be molded into a winner with the right GM and coaches. I’ve added poll questions to gauge how others feel. Here is my lists of players who could be part of the solution, players who are part of the problem, players who are just roster filler and players need more info to see wherevthey fall. 1) - Solution - Thompson, Benson, JJP, Zucker, Greenway, Dahlin, UPL. Tuch? TNT is the Sabres best forward and tries on the defensive end. Benson because he actually gives a crap, works hard every shift and should continue to get better. He is one of the few Sabres with playmaking skills. JJP has a high motor and excellent skills. He needs more time to develop on both ends. Zucker and Greenway are two of the few Sabres who give maximum effort on every shift. They are both UFAs and I’d like to see both comeback. Dahlin is our only good D on both ends of the ice. UPL has developed into an excellent goalie and Levi is still maturing. They could be a very effective tandem on a winning club with better D in front of them. Tuch is certainly one of the Sabres best forwards and given his cheap contract, he is part of the solution for now. 2) Part of the problem - Cozens, Samuelsson, Power, Jokiharju, and Bryson Samuelsson can’t stay healthy, provides no offense and has regressed defensively. Time to say goodbye, assuming we can dump his contract. Power - $8 mill a season for a 6’6 225 lbs D, who won’t hit anyone, is terrible in the D zone and is our 3rd best offensive D. He needs to go. Jokiharju and Byrson are equally inept at both ends of the ice. Thank g-d both are UFAs at season’s end. Cozens is supposed to be a goal scoring 2nd line center. He is a terrible center, terrible playmaker, is a turnover machine,doesn't get back on D and his goal scoring has fallen off a cliff. $7 mill a year for this level of play is unforgivable. 3) Roster filler - McLeod, Krebs, Kubel, Malenstyn, Lafferty, Clifton Only McLeod has shown anything approaching usefulness and that is sporadic at best. The rest are replacement or sub-replacement level players. So glad KA gave up a 2nd for Malenstyn and Savoie for McLeod. 4) Not sure who they are yet. Quinn, Byram, Kulich, Levi Quinn has shown too much skill already in his young career to be dismissed, but this year has been horrendous by all measures. Not sure why. Byram ‘s O skills are undeniable, but so are his lack of D skills. If we move on from Power, I’m ok with keeping Byram as long as he gets a D responsible partner. At least he does seem to play hard unlike Power. Kulich is a rookie who seems to be improving game by game. Levi was awful to start in the NHL, but has been excellent in the A. Not sure why the disconnect. Does he have more responsible D in the A or is he just better in the slower AHL game?

Can we swap the Sabres for the Amerks?

I posted this in the NHL thread a hour ago. Ooops!

I was thinking about how long it’s actually been since the Sabres were actually a good hockey team. I decided to think about it from a family perspective. The last time the Sabres were good my youngest daughter was still in middle school. Now they are college grads with advanced degrees, married, home owners and my oldest is expecting her first kid. Basically, the last time the Sabres were good was a lifetime ago.

The “media” has listed him as a player who is available. Here is one example. https://nhltradetalk.com/another-insider-links-kadri-maple-leafs-future-trade/

They aren't good. They make no pretense at even trying to play well defensively. They are the Jeff Skinner of defensemen; all offense and no clue that hockey is a 200 foot game. One of these two duds needs to be traded. I'd prefer Power. A 6'6" 220 lbs D who doesn't hit anyone, doesn't box out, and regularly gets beat on the rush needs to go regardless of his O skill. It would also save $8 mill a year on his terrible contract.

Seriously? Besides adding some offense what has he done that’s impressive? Is it the HDCA? Is it the terrible in zone coverage? Is it the failure to hit anyone or block shots? Is it the constant giveaways with few takeaways? Or is it just being marginally better than everyone else who is just as bad if not worse? He’s not as bad as Power, but that’s not exactly a compliment either. Byram is another fundamentally flawed former high draft pick that Adams likes to collect because he thinks draft position = NHL talent. If any team has proven that isn’t true it’s the Adams lead Buffalo Sabres.

G-d forbid we have a player that makes this kind of effort.

Everything you mentioned is spilt milk. Staying with this roster without significant change is the status quo and it’s earning the Sabres another useless top 5 draft pick.

LOL, How would adding Kadri "damage" this organization? How? How do you damage a car that's dead on the side of the road already? How does adding a good hard nosed veteran player hurt a directionless, soft, ineffective, poorly constructed, and mismanaged a team as the Sabres? Which current center on the Sabres, other than Thompson, is a better player right now than Kadri? Which current forward, other than Thompson, has more goals YTD than Kadri? Which current forward on the Sabres' forward plays better 2 way hockey than the current Kadri? You say you aren't arguing for the status quo. You say you want some phantom reasonable deal. Ok show us a player who is acknowledged as available, who can help us now and what this so called reasonable deal would look like. This reasonable deal strawman is exactly the BS Adams has been saying for 5 years. The truth is you are arguing for the status quo because you will argue against all deals the take any form of risk to improve the club.

Sorry John the goal here is to add veteran leadership who can still play, adds centers and improve the team now. Who cares whether he’ll be good 3 years from now. We need guys like Zucker and Kadri who bring it every night. Who play with accountability. Is current Kadri better than what we are getting from Cozens, Kulich, McLeod and Krebs? Of course. Why not take the chance? Also why are you worried about the cap 3 years from now when we can’t win a game now? Also how do you know that Kadri’s scoring won’t bounce back here like Zucker’s has given the top 6 opportunities here? PS his 9 goals would be second on the team. There is no downside to acquiring someone like Kadri if he is willing to come to Buffalo. This team is already at rock bottom and Kadri can reinvigorate the team. This idea isn’t spitting into the wind. The player is available and he has a skill set on and off the ice that this team needs. I’m sorry you don’t understand that. Whether or not we acquire Kadri or someone else, the status quo must change. The KA plan is dead and the franchise is literally dying in front of us. Things can’t continue as is.