Pimlach

That Caps team had a .640 winning percentage, they won their division, Barry Trotz as coach. Looked at that Caps line up and it is completely opposite of the team we have. It was built more like the Bruins team, or the Blues SC Team. Their size, their experience, their willingness to play physical, plus they had skill. We are not even close to that level. Our 1000 game players are done. I doubt they hold up in the playoffs past one round, and they are the ones everyone here wants to get rid of. Our physical players like Greenway and Tuch could not match what Washington brought. Just Wilson and Oshie alone would handle these two, and they had much more. You are comparing a rough and tough veteran team that had been together a long time and eventually were Cup Champions, to a team that has not made the playoffs on 12 years, still does not hit anybody, and is playing .460 hockey.

I posed this question recently (in the "be patient" thread). Of Savoie, Kulich, Rosen, and Östlund who do you trade/keep? Also, at what point does their value go down, i.e., when is their enough games seen to determine what they can be? From AHL play you would think Kulich is the best, but Donnie gave him one game, very sheltered minutes, and then sent him back. Rosen lasted longer which surprised me. Both looked very tentative.

We don’t have anywhere near the physical players or the veteran leadership that Washington had. You don’t survive a playoff run without both.

He takes the C seriously. As long as he holds himself to the same standards he won’t have a problem.

“Powerfully” translates to, they will say controversial things because the Sabres do not pay their salaries. Last years power play started good and went to $hit, were it has remained to this day. Ellis deserves no credit, anyone with a brain knows that. The power play is the single biggest reason why the Sabres are not in the race. Listen to what Marty said today, he just broke down all the numbers. The disgrace about Appert coming up should be on the assistants, although the management is responsible for them being there, they can all share the disgrace Rivet and Peter’s are a clown show. Good for a chuckle, or when you want to vent.

I like Lindy. Look at the trail of coaches since Lindy. Pretty sad state of affairs. If you were a guy that bought a team and publicly stated you wanted to win Cups, when you fired Lindy wouldn’t you have asked your GM to bring Cup caliber coaches in for interviews ? I guess Blysma was that, he inherited a team.

I agree with this. A few players away still, but I don’t think we get there with the current coaching staff. As for being patient. It helps me get through the rest of the season by venting on occasion. I don’t think me being patient is warranted. I think Adams needs to convince Terry on a major coaching change. I think Adams has to seize the moment and make a few roster moves. His prospects are getting more eyes from other teams scouts, they could just as easily lose value rather than gain. Adam’s has to get to work.

Rivet acts like a clown and his comments are usually not very insightful. I don’t care about Rivet, I care about Power. I want to coach him up. I don’t know what to do to toughen him up. The old school tactics are frowned upon. Dahlin got tired of getting pushed around and decided to push back. I guess Power has to do the same, or decide on how his wants he career to unfold. Probably should not have made him rich for life at 20.

Need a coach. You can bring in 3 Selke winners and it wont help much given the way they play. Their style reminds me of a team put together for a tournament. Limited time to put in a system, you rely on talent. Whatever system we have is well known and even the worst teams can beat it.

Yes, because lethargic players that don't care are better to have on the roster because they always play clean and exhibit sportmanship. More Olofsson and Jokiharju types for you PA. They will never get into that situation. Good and smart upstanding guys. EJ was upset by the refs explanation - "you guys were complaining too much in the last period". I side with EJ on that. Had the ref said "clean hit, so you are getting an extra 2 for instigating" he would have still been pissed, he would have still complained, but not to that extent. EJ comes from real hockey teams so he naturally defended his rookie linemate. Buffalo hockey has not had that since the Briere/Drury teams. Heck, that team had a coach that sent his players out to "run 'em". Quite a few Sabres fans do not like when a player shows emotion, unless they are on the other team. Then they wish that player was on our team. Until they are, then they want them out because modern hockey has no place for that stuff.

No, he is old. The Avs would have kept him if he had more gas in the tank. Adams is the fraud. EJ will get traded at the deadline and then help a team that does not operate in chaos.

Power is the best player of the three. You are embarrassing yourself with your attacks on a kid that just turned 21 and is still learning how to be consistent in the NHL. This board did the same thing to Dahlin, who is now getting Norris votes. Defensemen take awhile, and for Power he will need help to bring a more physical game. Was Adams stupid to pay him big money after just 1 season? Yes, and Adams also failed to bring in an effective partner for him that can play top 4 minutes Cozens will continue to develop and will be a very good 2 way player. Krebs has no shot, very little offensive upside, and he doesn't scare anyone. He is is playing a role that is absent on the team, but he is not right for that role. He better continue to try hard because he is barely good enough to make bottom 5 team in this league.

First two comments in bold is the exact kind of thinking that is wrong with the Sabres. 1. Why not expect the Playoffs next year? Every good team the Sabres have ever had came up with a big year that surprised every one. That happens to most teams (Philly/Kings this year, Devils last year). Talent-wise they are close right now- get a coach, get a goalie, get a veteran top 4 D that is already in his prime. Then add few vet forwards that bring defense, muscle, and grit to round out the bottom 6 - this does not cost a lot or "block anybody". We have lots of assets to work with, including a prime draft pick coming, plus we have cap room. 2. Lets stop giving tryouts to players that everyone knows are not ready. Savoie needs a year in the AHL and he really has to get stronger. He literally looked not ready out there in his few NHL minutes. Novikov is not ready. Walhberg and Östlund will also be not ready. Rousek will never be ready to do much in the NHL, he is a call up spare forward at best. Kulich/Rosen should get another look next year but given nothing for free. We have guys like them right now. We should be adding the missing elements. You want to get better? Make some decisions on Savoie, Östlund, Kulich, Rosen. With the emergence of Benson/Peterka/Quinn do we need all 4? No, start adding a few players that are proven NHL players and in their prime right now. I would be shopping Skinner too.

Samuelsson earned his way down to 3rd pair. Would love to see a Joker packaged in a trade to upgrade the defense. A big, tough, veteran top 4 type in his prime years, that steady stay at home presence is missing.

Actually its from The Sopranos. Christopher Multisanti (many saints) dreamed that he was going to hell. Paulie assured him it was only purgatory. "What's a few thousand years in purgatory compared to eternity? I could do that time standing on my head"

Biggest reasons we are not better than last year. In order of severity. 1. GM - stood pat and did not improve the team when there were glaring needs at goaltending, RHD, and forward. Neglecting a replacement for Quinn was a massive failure. 2. Coaching - Every team knows how to play Buffalo and the Sabres coaches have no answers. A massive failure was to focus on scoring and to "install defense" later; when they tried to "install defense" they hurt the offense. It is clear DG has a minor league staff and we rely on player skills more than on a team approach to playing the game. We cannot employ even one system effectively while winning teams can play several. 3. Not ready - They wasted camp and pre-season farting around with long term prospects and 3 goalies while reading their press clippings from last year. They talked about winning but did not do the things needed to win. There was no work done and it showed. They started slow and passive and never got on track. A few minor injuries really exposed the lack of NHL depth at forward. The mentality of this team is still the same - they take most nights off, they can't figure out how to get ready for home games, they start slow and fall behind almost very game, and they play like they expect to lose. 4. Drop off in play - Thompson, Tuch, Cozens, Samuelsson and Power all with massive drops in production and overall play. Some of it is due to injuries but not all. Non of this requires more patience from me or anyone else. IT actually requires less patience and more urgency. - GM - The roster improvements can be made by trading assets from the prospect pool to fill the gaps on the roster. Not sure if Adams has it in himm but he need to made a few moves. Sitting around waiting for prospect will kill the current core, its already killed the fan base. - Coaching - this staff has shown they have taken this group as far as they can. Recommend a serious coaching search, bring in a proven NHL coach, let him pick his assistants and give him some say on the roster. - Players -some of the core players have seen their play drop off this season. Was it realistic to think Tage was going to have a third career year in a row? Was it realistic to think Cozens could get 30 again, or Tuch 35 again? Was it realistic to think that Clifton could be a 4 when he was a 6/7 at Boston? Was it realistic to think that Levi could be a #1 goalie in his first full NHL season? More balance is needed, it has been said many times by many people - there too many of the same types of players on this roster. I have little patience left. I am ready for a new coaching staff led by a veteran coach with a strong NHL resume. If Adams cannot get a coach AND fix the roster then I will be be ready to replace Adams too. If Pegula cannot demand more, and figure out who to hire to get more, then he should just sell the team. This has gone on for WAY TOO LONG! As a Buffalo Hockey Fan since pre 1970 I am not going to stop watching, but I have stopped liking this team this season. Changes are required. Start with the entire coaching staff.

What is 13 years compared to eternity? I could do that time standing on my head.

Sabres will have to break him of that habit. We shall see.

Eight years. Matt 'the Stain" Ellis.

True, coaching and the GM. They paid Risto to be a top 4 and were not going to be happy with him as a bottom pair. Mistakes by the GM and they lacked coaching, of course when you hire a soccer coach what could go wrong? But we have a nice locker room. Speaking of coaching Weber and Peca are doing ok.

Good reality check.

If Adams does not pick his brain for an assessment on everything then he is indeed not the man to run this team.

Come on Inky. That is spin. Matty Ellis runs the PP, imagine if he ran the bench. Appert was brought in to see if he can spark something AND because there is zero confidence in the current staff.

First paragraph is major double speak. The staff gets judged on their outcome, FULL STOP. No need to continue You watch the team, you see the stats. Yet you go on to say “no reason to believe any of our coaches are incapable or out of their league”. Have you watched the power play? I know I’ve seen enough. None of our coaches have ever had NHL success. The team is in disarray. The talent exceeds the results. What more do you need? No matter if Adams decided on the assistants or if Granato did, the results are terrible. It’s not working and it should be fixed. The only questions are, is their a qualified replacement willing to step in, and if so when is the best time.