Dr. Who

I would use one as a trade chip. I don't see them trading both. I guess I would keep Power, even though he annoys the hell out of me.

I'm not sure this is allowed, but I commend the effort. There is talent on the team, and just fixating on the doom spiral isn't any better than KA hoping against hope that the young core will magically mature into a well-constructed roster. I'm not spending hours contemplating what I have no control over, but my rough sense is they thought they were going to drive play with puck moving defense, with Dahlin, Power, and Byram being the strength of the team. This now appears a risible hope, and if there was another GM in place, I'd expect at least one of Power or Byram to be part of a package to bring in a strong, defense first top 4 D. Do that, and bring in a steady, competent goalie, and you might at least plausibly entertain a better future.

Those Winnipeg fellas are touchy, because they live in a big city, but it's in Canada and no one cares.

I never realized till lately how passive aggressive Pollyanna was. Or perhaps this is dystopian irony and Orwellian satire. Either way, it's the perfect mood music for the late Sabres charge to .500.

That's really a brutal and rather appalling piece of rhetoric. Everyone is very sorry about what happened to Kim. I doubt anyone here lacks compassion for Terry Pegula the human being. That doesn't absolve him of responsibility for the state of the Sabres, and fourteen years of abject failure. If it was too much for him to bear, he could sell or let capable hockey folk make decisions.

Stubborn and dumb is the formula for perpetual failure.

If the Sabres were good, plenty would come to the games. It's easy to make a political gesture when it costs you nothing.

I'd prefer to think for the next Sabres' GM.

Nice gesture. Really? Everyone knows he's a powerpuff.

One of the many depressing realities is that when you are a perpetual loser franchise, the bad refs feel they can give you the shaft with impunity, and they can. Not to mention, NHL refs make the NFL look good.

Well, I'll hope for it if it comes to that. This team mostly serves up disappointment, anger, embarrassment, and frustration. You'd think out of mere chance, you'd stumble on some dumb luck.

Which means we need a different GM, doesn't it?

You know what really hurts the gate? Not making the playoffs for 14 years in a row.

I was actually trying to be nice, but since you have been so kind in your response, it's very little sample size to ascribe team toughness to what has been one of the most passive, soft, disappointing teams for years. Folks are pleased, yet also caustic, because it is so rare and unexpected an event. Byram looks good when paired with Dahlin, but you sound like his agent in your assessment of his play. He's certainly not part of the toughness factor, unless compared to Power. If the Sabres were even reasonably consistent in competitiveness, a lot could be forgiven. They are not.

This is either touching naivete or I suppose genuine feeling and optimism. (I briefly considered parody, but I don't really discern that intent.) Only 19 posts, so out of mild altruism, I should warn you that the contagion of doom and disappointment shall manifest as wrath and dismay at such innocent happiness. I admit, I am actually so cynical as to suspect this is a product of ChatGPT, because I'm not sure a human could suspend disbelief after fourteen years of abject failure. But good for you. I hope they do turn a corner, but the roster construction is still bad, and needs a competent GM to fix it.

You could give him twenty and he won't get there. He's not competent. He's also a perfect representative of ownership.

Yes, I'm certainly in agreement that KA needs to go. It won't help much if Terry trots out another safe pick like Fortin who is selected on the basis of essentially continuing the same doomed manner of running the team. But maybe out-of-sheer luck the hapless owner will unintentionally end up with competency, though that would presumably involve telling the owner when he's an idiot and a cheapskate that is harming the capacity of the team to compete.

None of it really matters unless TP gets a "give a damn" transplant.

The yacht looks fine.

I actually think it is interesting, but all the same FIFY.

Green checkmark and angry face. It's so discouraging to have Terry Pegula as the owner, though I'm grateful the Sabres are in Buffalo. Less so if they are going to be perpetually a source of disappointment and league-wide embarrassment. It's painful to remember when the crest inspired respect and enthusiasm. One of the best in all of sports, imo, and now it's associated with historic ineptitude and teams that are soft and unloveable. The only hope I can fathom is KA goes away and Pegula is serious enough to bring in real, competent hockey minds. That would require giving a damn, and not being cheap. Alas, that seems so out of character, one can hardly imagine it.

He now qualifies as an in-house hire, so it's possible. OTOH, he's actually winning and appears competent, which may count against him. Don't want to pressure the young core with unrealistic expectations.

You know, I think maybe I'll go read some of Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago. Less depressing.

Once again, I request the hybrid sangry emoji.

He got lucky that McDermott and Beane are competent, competitive men, and TP doesn't meddle. But ultimately, the Bills are blessed to have Josh Allen who is a cheat code. There's a lot to be angry about on the Sabres side. At the very least, if the owner gives a damn, he needs to get rid of the internal cap. If TP wants more revenue from the Sabres, field a winning team after 13 plus years of inept fiasco. There isn't a better city in North America for hockey, and it's a damn shame what he has done to the fan base by his poor decisions over the years of his ownership.