PerreaultForever

It bugs me that Ruff's post game comment was "we deserved better". NO, no you didn't. You deserved exactly what you got. That comment tells me he is no longer a solution, he's become infected and needs to be added to the cull.

Not really. The point was we break players and they get better in new settings. Risto's not an all star, he's not the top pairing guy we insisted he was when we played him in that role but he's been solid this year. He's been playing exactly like the rugged stay at home guy people say we need to pair with Power. That isn't suggesting we should have kept him, we broke him, but it does suggest that it's not the players, it's our poor player development that is a big part of the problem here.

Kind of, but not really. Jets draft poorly and flounder (and are a joke) like the Sabres but they continually try to bring in quick fixes like signing Rodgers and others and players do go there so it's a bit of a different form of incompetency. The math above seems about right and it's not all that difficult to compare the reasons. All you have to do is look at the roster composition of this team, any current version, and compare it to the ingredients of the successful rosters from the past. The differences are glaringly obvious (even if you factor in the different styles of their eras).

Not true. The fact that they still have ANY fans is a testament to how strong of a hockey town it really is. I remember the glory days. I remember how long the lines at the border were on Sabres game nights (great nights for sneaking duty free across the border, just wear a Sabres jersey and line up). There is no American city where hockey is bigger than football. NFL rules in the sports world. Even in a sports city like Boston with an original six team the Bruins are behind the Pats, Celtics and Red Sox. Only in Canada does hockey reign supreme. Now having said that, to the question, no, in the current situation accountability is next to impossible. Without people in that locker room demanding it from their team mates it's impossible. There is nothing a coach can do as there is no one to bring in if you sit someone. I mean what has Quinn done to be back in the line up? Nothing. But who you going to replace him with? Call up Rosen? There's no answer with this roster. This is why I say we need a bunch of guys who hate to lose that will thump their own team mates if necessary. I think the Dahlin Krebs incident was actually a good thing, and around that time we were showing signs of becoming a hockey team, but it wasn't enough and there weren't enough guys to keep that going and so now we are in the spiral again and everybody's quitting.

Yup. Lots of mistakes over the years in Ottawa but they were never content to stand pat and wait. They have a better balanced roster and better leadership than the Sabres, not more talent. Ullmark's actually a leader as well and he's getting quite popular there. Ullmark in the list of Adams' mistakes.

Agreed, and with that they suck in front of the nets and they lose puck battles for loose pucks, if they even try to get them. They turn over the puck constantly and then sometimes that attacking D gets caught up ice as well. They only do well in open ice and if teams play loose and open they can do well, like in that Toronto game last year when they filled the net. That's what I call Pegula hockey, that's what he likes. Problem is, that's not how most of the league plays.

No, we break them, then somebody else fixes them. If you remember when Reinhart first went to Florida some people were questioning it and he got off to a slow start. We were used to those slow starts but Florida fans weren't. He got it figured out pretty quick and he's a different player now. Similar, but just that little extra he was missing here. When Eichel went to Vegas there were the back issues but also the issue of two way Cassidy hockey. Something he never did here. Remember how delighted everyone was here when it first looked like it would be a bust? People here mocked him. Then he won a cup. Risto? We really broke him and it's taken a couple years to get him back on track on a bad team but now even he looks like a top 4 D man and a guy who would pair nicely with Power but we couldn't get that out of him. Florida even figured out how to utilize E-Rod's speed. They all get fixed when they leave.

I think we've broken Cozens by forcing him to consistently carry rookie or green young talent on his wings for pretty much his entire Buffalo career, which we also rushed and never gave him any real development of his own. We rush and poorly develop almost all of them and we break a lot of them as a result along the way.

Not just "scared of making mistakes" but sometimes some of them are just scared, period. They hear footsteps and panic or try to avoid contact and rush a decision. Overall they seem incapable of playing at the high speed they insist on playing with because their decision making doesn't keep up with that speed.

It definitely looks that way doesn't it? I watched the Ottawa Vancouver game after and Senators were scrapping, blocking shots, diving for loose pucks, puck battles on both sides, net front on both sides, enthusiasm and energy all around. Ottawa being everything we hoped we would be this year.

is it just me or does this come off like an official questionnaire from the head office of Terry Pegula? I mean dude, if you are real, just read the board and all the threads. The answers are all there over and over and over again.

Byram will make a steep ask in order to force a trade out of here. I mean wouldn't you? Saw this coming a mile away. Pettersson is not the answer and not what we need so no doubt he's here in a few weeks.

They could have won that game. Bruins were bad, as I thought they might be in this obvious trap scenario, so with a little effort and spunk it was there for the taking, but they were anemic as usual. Bruins didn't have to do much to win it. Really bad hockey game all around.

Korpisalo in net.

Yup, all of this might have gone differently if we'd kept Marcus and added Nick plus one or two more. Bruins game tonight watch the guy they got from Ottawa in the Ullmark deal, Kastelic. That's what we need. A few guys like that.

In essence you bring back the lunch bucket days, you have fun with it and enjoy it and you build from there. We have been talent first then culture, we need culture first and then talent and if we have to give up some talent to change that I say fine.

By contrast, this is our current leadership. Rasmus Dahlin postgame: "I think we were doing some good stuff and then bad stuff and we got scored on. I think it was bad puck decisions that cost us a couple goals." Seriously wtf is that.

The problem I have with Pettersson is the narrative coming out of Vancouver. The perception is that him and Miller just do not get along and Miller is a leader and full accountability guy. Very vocal and calls people out, but also steps up himself so no hypocrisy. So if Vancouver, under Tocchet, is looking to move a talented guy like Pettersson it makes me question character and work ethic and thus, although he might be a Sabres fit in some ways, winning might not come along with that and things might actually get worse.

No idea. Know nothing about her. Would she be competent, would she care? or is she just a little rich girl who will ask daddy for advice? If she hires hockey people and just kicks back and enjoys the good food in the owner's box sure, can't be much worse. Ryan Reynolds sure. Everybody wants him to buy them. Vancouver White Caps courting him right now. Ottawa didn't happen so I doubt that he's an option. There's always Snoop Dog.

Of course. Another 5 year cycle and if the same people run it the same results. This roster is poorly constructed. I don't think many people would disagree with that. The team is too young and lacks veteran leadership. I think most people agree with that too. So the talk is nobody wants to come and we are on everybody's no trade lists. That's Adams claim overall. He'd like to add and tried to trade but he just can't. Maybe that's true. 13 years who wouldn't put Buffalo on their lists? The problem that this has created, that Pegula has created, is that in this reality their solution is to let the young players grow and age and become the leaders, but this takes way too long, they don't know how to be leaders at this level, and they lose their love for hockey, stay fragile and end up losing every time and sometimes accepting it. And thus 5 year cycle we get rid of the next bunch. No way to end that without a complete do over under new and better management. True. That's the problem. Hence, as I posted in one of the threads, full Shorsey, radical scorched earth is the only option now to change the culture. Three or four veteran sons of ***** who are mean and nasty and hate to lose. Make them the captain and assistants. Whip the rest of them into shape or ship them out of town. Maybe we are a thug show for a few years but in time, the culture will finally change, and a day might come where opposition teams say "Buffalo tomorrow night? Oh man I hate going into that building."

True. The Zegras rumors are real and there might be substance to the Cozens and Byram for Petterson rumor. That's not what we need though. We need leadership, we don't need to be team Sweden and Cozens for Zegras would be even less leadership not more. I think it's too late to trade youth for veterans though. That ship sailed in the summer. You do that now you just get guys who play out the string. The season is already over so you either do nothing (likely their plan) and dump your UFAs or you tear it all down and try again. In all likelihood the speed of any positive changes will be far too slow to make a difference any time soon.

That's fair, it was a nice play against a weak Leafs D. I've seen goals called off for less with that rule though. Agree it's stupid. I'm sure you remember Jim Lorentz. Imagine how he'd struggle under today's rules. He was no Dornhoeffer, but boy did he like to sit in tight on goalies. I imagine big Dave would lose a lot of his goal totals as well. I'm old, I liked old hockey better.

What I am sure of is that the return on pretty much everyone will be picks and prospects. Possibly decent hauls, but down the road stuff. So it would be hard to reshape the current roster but if you wanted to sell the entire store and start over, that would be one option. I wouldn't want him and Pegula to be the guys doing that though.

If they make Greenway's medical reports available and he's going to be playoff ready he could be dealt. Bruins last year took Maroon when he was on IR and hadn't played in months.

I'm on the record saying I was in favor of the Torts plan and I've been keeping an eye on Philly to compare rebuilds. At the point of the Risto trade Philly was a dire mess and then they tore down and started over under Torts Briere and Jones. Fans are getting impatient there but at the moment (although they are not good either) they look closer to me. Right now Ottawa seems to be the team ready to grab the moment. Ullmark is playing lights out for them and their confidence is growing. Sabres could and should have been them.