Pimlach

Whatever his reasons, the hiring of LaFontaine as POHO was a huge mistake. He had very little FO experience and he had major issues getting along during his extremely short stint with the NYI. Red flags everywhere. The ever crusty Tim Murray was another terrible hire and a remnant of Patty LaFontaine. An unchecked Murray was disastrous, and then putting Kim in charge of the Sabres to work with him - another very bad idea. Murray used too many bad words when he talked. Anyone surprised that Murray’s NHL career ended with his firing? Defending Terry Pegula and his hockey record is a fools game.

Action is most important but so is communication. Good leaders must communicate to their customers, fans, troops, employees, shareholders, stakeholders, constituents, etc. You do this to build trust, manage conflict, clarify, and ensure them that you are present and engaged. This is especially important when things are going wrong or there is a major change happening. This owner has not talked to us in several years. Last time that I can recall was the "efficient, economic, and effective" speech. Since that time there have been a few coaching and FO changes, and since that time the performance of this team in the standings has not improved at all. I don't want to hear from Terry right now either. I prefer he lets the season play out, his comments are only going to make things worse right now. He already stated to his team that the solution is in the room. So far it does not appear to be the case. I can let that play out. But afterwards he should conduct a post season state of the union and tell us what is next. Are we staying the course? Are changes going to be made in an effort to improve the performance of the organization and the product on the ice? He owes his fanbase that and he has several months to work it out. Fans can decide whether they want to continue buying tickets and going to games. I decided against going, not because they are a poor team, but I hated hearing all the booing and the swearing and the complaining. It is very toxic at the KBC. Until a see a serious effort to try to win hockey games I will not go again.

He was a kid then too. He is not a 40 goal scorer because he is a center. He is a 40 goal scorer because he has a great shot.

This already happened. Not a revolt but huge fan apathy. Booing is their emotional release. Most of the Sabres fans that I know do not go to games anymore and only watch them on TV as a curiosity. Most of them did not like the Lindy hiring. Not because of Lindy, but because the coach search was a farce. Not only are the fans pissed but so are the alumni (former players). The number of hardcore fans has dwindled way down. I will be in town in Feb and again March and have no plans to attend in person right now. Normally I would have tickets and plans in advance. If someone gives me a ticket I might go.

There is a lot to dissect here, most of it covered in many other threads Spooner. Playoffs - they sit 7 points behind Columbus for a playoff spot - that doesn't sound so bad until you see there are 7 teams between them and Columbus. Any of those teams can get hot, or all 9 of these teams (includes CBJ and Buff) can continue to beat each other up and things will kind of stay the same. So while the 7 points might not sound like it is not much, it really is. To reach the 95 point mark they needed to play greater that .700 hockey. Can they win 28 to 30 games out of their remaining 41? I don't see it with the roster they have. They can cobble together one scoring line and one defensive line but not much else. Defensively they are very poor defending the area around their net. They are sloppy on breakouts, they give up the puck way too much, and they lose puck battles constantly. The PK has fallen way below average without Greenway. The PP is below average. They have one reliable goalie and he is getting bombed every 3-4 starts. Physically they are not small, but they lack players that will play a physical game, they only have a few that will. Mentally they are fragile. They expect to lose. The second Colorado melt down showed us who they are. Playoffs with this team as constructed today is just not a realistic thought. If they can go out and win the 13 games in row that they lost in December then we can have a new conversation. Even then, they have to win 2 of every 3 games after that. Culture - we certainly have more that enough evidence to say the organization accepts losing. Starting at the top, winning is not the near term goal, and I don't know what is. Adams has hidden behind the notion that he is building a "sustainable winner" and that will take longer. Our current young core have grown up with the mindset of "someday we will be good". The first wave of Sabres rebuild players are all gone, and are in their prime and thriving on other teams. Unless Pegula makes the right changes, and makes winning now as the priority, it is more likely that this becomes a pattern and we will lose our current core too. Pegula - he listened to the NFL guidance and he got lucky with McDermott on his second time around (first time he listened to Russ Brandon and hired Rex Ryan). McDermott brought in Beane. How often does an NHL coach bring in his GM? Pegula got lucky, but at least he could spot something good in McDermott. Credit him for finding McDermott. McDermott fixed the Bills culture, and so did Beane. They attract good players who want to win. Pegula does not influence football operations. That should be his model but for the Sabres it is not. Winning has to be the goal. Is there even a simple hand written sign in the Sabres locker room that represents a commitment to play their best and accept nothing less. McDermott put that sign up on day 1 - "Playoff Caliber". That one and of course "trust the process". Sounds corny doesn't it? The vets that McBeane kept were the ones who bought in and fit the program, and they were not necessarily the better players. More importantly the vet players that they bring in and the rookies they draft are ones that fit the culture. It has to start at the top. Adams listens to his boss and does what the boss wants. That is not working and will probably never work. If I were the owner I would make changes in the FO. Find a new POHO, give him room, let him decide what the organization should look like and what to do with the current FO and coaches. Get rid of the financial constraints.

She must be reading the forum. She nails it. Both the players and ownership/management have to elevate their game.

^ Now this is an example of witty and sarcastic!

I think Benson has a top 6 ceiling. We keep forgetting he is 19. He will get stronger, faster, and his shot will get better.

I was wondering if anyone else would notice that? And there you are! He fouled, then he quit. 😂 That 70's wallpaper is classic.

Well, if you trade Thompson you better get a 1C in return because we are hurting up the middle. I don't see Tage getting traded. No mention of Peterka or Byram, their contracts are up? Then there is Cozens and Samuelsson, both getting paid and under producing. Zucker and Greenway contracts are up and they could be traded away at the deadline. Clifton has one year left and then he will most likely try to get on a better team. I know I would. Why is Krebs a keeper?

For a team that boasts about their prosect pool this was a sad indictment on the boys down in Rochester. Benson was the best they had last preseason. He beat out Rousek, Murray, Savoie, Rosen, and Kulich - all of which should have been ahead of him on the depth chart. As you mentioned there was no better option. Adams failure to replace Quinn with an NHL player was a crime and shows how inadequate he is. But he did not want a "blocker" I am sure of that, and he had an internal cap as well. Benson at 18 should have went back to juniors. He earned his spot with the Sabres but that is more of an indictment on the GM. Benson at 19 is good young player because he works hard, is fearless and scrappy, but his shot is not NHL ready yet, especially for a top 6 role on a playoff team.

I was at the Sabres home opener versus the Kings (after the Prague trip) and the Sabres blew a lead, looked unorganized, and lost. The threeguys behind me were filled with hate for the team. They booed loudly for the slightest mistakes and made loud comments laced with profanity. It was starting to piss me off and I told one of them to settle down, and he did for awhile. Walking out of the morgue, some fans were already loudly spewing venom about the team. Bad place to bring younger kids and a toxic environment for so early in the season. The next game I went to was even worse. I am done going into that place until something changes. I would rather go to the Harbor Center to watch college hockey or Junior Sabres.

Adam’s offering two year deals? What a novel idea. Has he done that yet for one of his drafted prospects? Byram might take 6, or he might prefer to win. Are they replacing Zucker and Greenway with more rookies?

Most of us here have been begging adam’s to get a RHD partner for Power. Adam’s tried to get Pesce, but couldn’t do it.

So how much do you pay Byram to keep him? You also have Quinn and Peterka that need contracts.

Good morning Teammates. I missed a W, and an OT, and a shootout. I occasionally tracked the score on my iPhone and was surprised to see them hold the lead, but not surprised by them losing the lead in the 3rd period. I'll take the win. I read the entire thread, it doesn’t have the feel of a win or a well played game. Happy the home fans saw a win.

I’m a fool to do your dirty work, oh yeah.

And the promoted their GM to POHO, and let him restructure the program. No mass firings, no new budget constraints, ,no trading all of their storied veterans, no pre planned suffering based on a hope and a dream.

But why do you want this? Do you think booing fans and National TV ridicule will make a difference? The most we see is another knee jerk firing and a rapid hiring from within, and we are back to the same.

I like many of the foods listed here. I will not eat liver, and will not ask for lima beans or anchovies/sardines. I love eggplant, brussels sprouts, most vegetables - you just have to know how to prepare them. The food I dislike the most is FAST FOOD, including chain restaurant food. Fast food and chain restaurant food is double jeopardy, bad for you and comes in gross portion sizes. That stuff is a ticket to obesity and bad health. They suck people in by offering huge portions but it is really unhealthy. When I spend money to go out and eat I try to stick with nice places. Since I won't waste money on junk food I am willing to pay more at good restaurants and never spend a dime at McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Applebee's, Denny's, Red Lobster, etc. All of it is garbage.

Home game and on NHL Network => loss with significant embarrassment. I do not get NHL Network so I will miss this one.

And McLeod is doing it mostly on the bottom 6 while Cozen on the top 6. When McLeod played with combinations of Greenway/Zucker and Benson he was scoring. With the 4th line he isn't. I still like Cozens ceiling, I keep dreaming of a rugged and hard working 6'3" 210lb, 30 goal and 60 point forward. We had a flash of it.

Agree that the drafts have been ok. Not complaining about who they drafted, and were they slotted, I do not study the draft. I think that given the circumstances using all 3 first rounders was a bit much and if anything it clogged up the pipeline with forwards. A trade, such as bundling a #1 pick for an NHL player that could have helped was a possibility. My concern is similar to yours and most here - Given we are developing Cozens, Quinn, Peterka, and Benson in the NHL, how and when do we eventually use Rosen, Savoie, Kulich, Östlund, Hellenius, Walhberg, the Russians, etc. ? Adams traded Eichel, Reinhart, Risto, etc., and stockpiled picks while only acquiring one solid NHL player (Tuch), and two more prospects (Krebs and Levi) . So we have this pipeline that goes on and on, but the NHL roster remains very young and ineffective. Savoie was moved and people here are worried that he will be good some day. He probably will be good and possibly "better" than McLeod. Not much you can do about that. We traded Eichel, Reinhart and Mitts as they were hitting prime. Trading Cozens/Quinn/Peterka (you could add Power) in the same manner after investing all this time into their development seems like another mistake in the making. Maybe another big mistake. I just cannot reconcile drafting all those forwards with prime picks given we had already Cozens/Quinn/Peterka in development. But if they were the BPA I get why they were picked. The bottom line is there has to be a way to get better NHL players on this roster. We will likely get a top 5 pick this year. Keeping that pick might make sense if we can move some of the Rochester kids and get good NHL players to help us now.

I like the part about the Sabres “home ice advantage and recent form”.