PerreaultForever

Ya, you have to break the cycle with something radical. We keep having this same plan and it cycles through every 5 years or so and the tainted ones are moved out but only the big pieces and then the patient rebuild means the next bunch gets tainted and so it goes. Losing becomes "normal" and acceptable and they all just put in their time until they are traded or become UFAs and leave. You think most of these guys aren't thinking about being somewhere else already? You know what's going to happen? Guys like Peterka and Byram and maybe even Quinn are going to make outrageous contract demands they haven't earned knowing full well the team will either grossly over pay them or they will get to go elsewhere. RFA bondage only lasts so long. There's no way it's sustainable or viable at this point in any way.

Ya, I wouldn't argue that, but Borgen's a bottom pairing D man not really any better than Gilbert. Maybe slightly, but not much. A 3rd is not much and a 6th is basically nothing. Seattle desperately lacks scoring and a middle six guy for that price is just fine for them.

I don't think Kakko would solve any of our problems but that's a pretty low price tag. Borgen's a pending UFA too.

I think the change would be immediate but if you have to clear out some lazy talent who just won't buy in you might have to be patient with it but it would change. No it wasn't.

Actually the better plan would be to trade every single player on the team away. Every single one of them. You can't retain anybody, even if they are okay or good. Like chemo, you have to kill it all. Anything and everything tainted by the culture of losing has to go. Whatever you get out of that is whatever you get, like an expansion team, and then you start the build and do it properly with a "just win" culture.

Of course, but as you said, they are not coming so that dream is just a dream and it will never happen. Drafting them will take forever. Changing the narrative is the only option as a new starting point. It might still take years after that change, but it could work in time.

Wrong Stanley Cup. We got burned. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/stanley-recall-1.7409564

No. See my post in the Nobody Has An Answer thread.

Okay I'm going to post what all the softies won't like and what a lot of people won't like I think and many will think I'm kidding, but this might just be my last serious post and I am dead serious. As named in the other thread it's toxic. Brutally toxic. They've quit (again). They are lost (again). They are leaderless (again). They've tuned the coach out (again). They have no idea what to do and I suspect many of them are just hoping they will get moved to another team to try to restart their NHL careers or play out their days for the older guys. Management has no fix, nobody wants to come here (why would they?), the franchise is broken and no coach can fix this on his own. It is so well and truly f'd that there is only one possible solution and (although they will never do it) it's full on Shorsey and I'm really not kidding. You need to find 3 or 4 veteran thugs who absolutely hate to lose, bring them in and make them the team leaders. That's your new "core". You build from that, not from the lazy talent. If you're lucky the guy has a little skill like a Marcus Foligno, but even if he doesn't you still bring him in. You slack in practice? Bam, your own guy runs you through the boards and yells at you "wake the f up". Zero tolerance for lack of effort and feel the wrath of slacking on every level. In that scenario coach can bag skate anybody who chooses to not buy in and compete at every moment. Forget the pretty and fancy it's time to restart in the trenches. It's time to go to war or this damn thing is over forever. They of course, will never even consider it. But no, I'm not kidding. It's the only way now.

So not even taking calls, that's beyond ridiculous. This perception isn't a new thing though. I've got friends in other fan bases and seen some other stuff over the years and no matter how bad things go for those teams (like Ottawa, Philly, Seattle etc.) there's always somebody who posts an "at least we're not Buffalo" type post at some point.

Probably, but you can't be sure of that. Rich guys often grow big egos and there is the possibility he would take the lack of effort after his speech personally.

Well the point is he likely said something like "I believe in you or I have faith in you guys" but if I'm a competitive guy (and I'm not sure the Sabres have any of them but for the sake of argument let's say there's some in the room) I can sit there and think to myself "faith in us? why? we suck. We need help at wing and on the blueline. There's no hope without it. Screw this."

Well we shall see. It's basically impossible to take this team seriously any more.

Bottom of the east is bad enough. A few weeks ago it was all about how close everything was and we were just a point or two behind Boston. Now we're 11 points behind them just like that.

Sure, don't go with what was reported about being said, just make up whatever you believe might have been said and go with that. Why not.

I don't think Pegula is a stupid man. You generally don't build a business empire by being a moron, but how did he really think players would take it when he says to them we are not going to spend any more money and there is no help coming and you are on your own. Which is a different way of spinning his comments.

Well you know Terry picked a game he felt they could win to give his little speech but since they lost, and lost with a dud of an effort, it might just make him mad enough to make a move. maybe firing Ruff was part of the plan all along. Maybe it's just coming sooner than they expected.

This is all summed up in the one word we've heard for years. Soft.

Well ladies and gentlemen that right there is what we call The Pegula Effect. Passenger of the night award was highly contested but I'm giving it to Owen Power. Goal 6 for Montreal was just a joke.

Must win. lol

I am being really sarcastic and am likely to get even more sarcastic and facetious. Maybe point out irony, tell jokes, possibly even post memes (although that's pretty much spoken for territory for some others) and who knows what as this ship sinks again. I mean how can you take it seriously any more??? @thewookie1 gave me a red X on a joke earlier so I know it's off to a good start 🙂

Oh don't get me wrong, I wasn't suggesting getting rid of Skinner was a mistake, quite the opposite (we should have gotten rid of him when Kreuger (for all his flaws) told us he was garbage). I'm just saying not ALL Sabres who leave go on to greatness.

Meanwhile Jeff Skinner has only 12 pts. in 31 games and is a team worst -8. Just saying.

Yup, it takes a lot to stay this inept this long for sure. We have a ridiculous number of former first round picks on this roster. Far more than any team I can think of and yet still, the same results.

I'm 100% sure that's what Adams was thinking at the time. Most likely they looked at JBot not doing it with Reinhart as a mistake they didn't want to repeat. Fundamentally it's based on complete confidence in their own drafting though and their projected ceilings rather than on ice performance to date.