Pimlach

He also led the NHL in blocked shots by a forward, and is one of the very few that sticks up for teammates. He is one of 22 forwards selected to try out for US Olympic team, so he is a respected player in the league. Letting him go would be very deflating to an already fragile team.

Zito wants to get the 3 peat. He is also going to help Team USA pick their Olympic roster so he is going to be a busy man. Agree he could take the job simply for the huge challenge. He was born in Pittsburgh, grew up in Wisconsin, went to college at Yale and played varsity hockey there. He became a lawyer to pay for that Yale education. He was a sports agent, and then a hockey front office guy, then the Florida GM. He is not a fancy guy, he is a gritty worker that relates to people. Pegula allegedly had him in his final two and he took Boterill. Seattle had him in their final two and they took Francis. If Zito ever leaves Florida it will be for huge money and complete control. Terry can do both but will he ever? Making Buffalo a Cup winner would be the biggest challenge he could tackle.

The Sabres are not the fans, the fans are not the Sabres. This is too abstract for me. The fans are much better than what has become of the Buffalo Sabres hockey organization. The fans do not deserve this, they certainly don't contribute to the losing, and most of the fans do not like the way the team has been run since Pegula took over and made his big promises. The fans have now become quick to boo, but all they have left is nostalgia - Ryan Miller Day, Rob Ray Day, RJ Day. These special nights are the season highlights under Pegula and we are running out of hero's. I can agree that the fan base has eroded significantly, and that is because the Sabres Hockey Organization has been inept for a historical 15 years and counting. The look of the Sabres FO is that they do not even seem to be trying. I am with the bold. The lowest point keeps getting lower with each losing season. I stopped buying tickets to home games, that has never happened to me in any other season no matter the circumstances.

Would I overpay for Zito? Yes. Zito is going for a 3-peat, that makes him elite in today's world, plus he is relevant right now. No second thoughts on this question.

... and Dudley as 9 or 17?

Granato's offensive approach required a goalie like Dominik Hasek to back up the lack of any semblance of team defense. Not practical. NHL teams are not clamoring to sign Granato either.

Would sure like to see Tuch signed. Then go out and sign a few more like him.

I missed commenting in this thread somehow. I must say I agree with several opinions here on what is wrong and some of the proposed changes seem logical. Bottom line is the power play production does not match the talent and that is a problem. No one says "only I can fix it". The mantra is more like "when will Terry hire a qualified NHL hockey guy to fix this". I will add that I think I could do no worse than Adams. If you thought the songs sucked you would not be a fan of the band, so no, I cannot imagine that. That generation is pretty much gone, and the one that followed it has run out of patience too.

My mom said that about me too. I hear that she told my four brothers the same thing.

She won. Pegula is 31 and I am hoping it is her time to win a Grand Slam major.

Maybe even February.

Thanks for the offer. I am having a Sabres home game ticket boycott right now. My being in Buffalo in October/November is looking highly doubtful so I will pass. If I happen to be in Buffalo when you have this I would possibly show up to dinner, then either watch the game on TV or end the boycott and get my own ticket.

The drop in crossings is real, but your projection that the agents are doing egregious things and making people not want to cross is not a real factor. Asking questions is their job. Even the blog/article that you posted and the many comments to that article say that. Certainly they might ask more questions today than they did in 1975 or even 2005, the world is a different place. Crossing are down because of these tangible reasons: 1. Trump's rhetoric on annexing the 51 state - this understandable by most normal people. Canadian pride is strong. 2. Tariffs - the tariffs on Canada will hurt jobs and an already bad economy. This would be reason #1 if not for Trumps foolish comments, which piss off Canadians more than the tariff itself. 3. The exchange rate - Why would someone cross a boarder to buy goods and services with today's exchange rate? T The rate is $0.73 cents as I type. Canadian snowbirds are leaving Florida in droves, they were before the tariffs, and they still are now. Vacationing and paying a 27% premium on everything is not for everyone. This is math. I cross that boarder several times a year and I do not have NY or Ontario plates. I had a passport that looked like a stamp collection. I get asked questions on both sides of the boarder - this is just not a problem for a normal and well adjusted individual.

Apparently Terry became a Sabres fan after Dudley went to the WHA.

Thanks for the correction, it was Christmas.

Correct. I saw that first hand in Lewiston at Art Park in July. The show was poorly attended and the couple sitting behind us, who are Canadian, told me that Canadians were not coming over very much. On the topic of extra questions. I had Saudi stamps on an old passport. My old company did a lot of business with them. Those stamps caused me "extra questions" some of the time when entering the US. Since the work was DoD and I could not say much, that brought on more extra questions. I was happy when that passport expired.

Thought police? Read the article and the comments. From what I can tell there is nothing unusual happening. But the media can make it sound like it is. Extra questions? I had no problems and they asked "extra questions", so what, they were harmless and for clarity. None of my friends and family have had problems, the Canadian people who actually crossed and commented in the article had no problems. Answer the questions, don't lie, if you have nothing to hide then you will not have a problem. Questions about past trips are normal when people travel to certain locations - Middle East, China, Russia, Israel, Iran, and others - those stamps in your passport will drive more questions, especially entering into the US and not just from Canada, but from any entry point. That has been happening for decades.

I crossed the boarder in Niagara falls twice this summer. Had no problems either way. I was questioned more coming back into the US but nothing unusual. No doubt that Canadians coming over has reduced. I would expect that for Bills and Sabres games that the Boarder Agents will expedite the process and not drill into "past trips". That seems silly unless the person crossing sets a flag. If the team is actually good (not likely) and a legitimate contender for post season then some of them will come. If they are the same as last year then they probably won't. The product on the ice will still be a determining factor.

At what point did the slow start and the travel to Europe become an excuse? They recovered and moved into a playoff position for a short time, and then they completely fell apart, lost 13 in a row (or something like that), and made no moves to stop the bleeding. They were dead by US Thanksgiving Christmas once again. They had a strong finish when the backup goalie got hot and they were playing with no pressure on them. They have the exact same coaches so they are probably not any better coached. - They might better understand what the coaches want. - They might see more young players mature and get better. - They might have a few players step up and lead better. edit: fixed error

Well the Big Boat Guy did have enough insight to interview Zito, and he made the final two. Terry was swayed by Boterill's pedigree (NCAA champ, former Sabres, etc.) and the Pittsburgh connection. Would Terry have let Zito be who he is? Zito hired Dudley when he first got to Florida, would Terry have let that happen? Boterill had no senior advisors on his staff. Terry plays that role. Prior to Boterill, Terry had a bloated top end in his organization (Terry, LaFontaine, Murray, Black, Patrick, Batista, ...). My point is that Duds was right there in WNY and might have been a helpful asset in the FO. Moving forward, we have Lindy and Adams both in the last year of their contracts.

Almost had Zito. Terry hired Boterill instead, he listened to the Pittsburgers. Dudley has been our backyard the whole time. https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/after-winning-second-stanley-cup-with-panthers-sabres-legend-rick-dudley-has-no-plans-to-retire/

I’m here. I don’t blame any of the players. They have been an incompetent organization for a long time. Agree. Losing Tuch will kill a significant portion of the fan base. Terry Pegula is a really lousy hockey owner. I hope I can outlast him.

Would he be better off playing at 18 and 19 in Juniors or in the NHL is the question at hand. It is an argument that either side cant really prove. Depends on the player and the team he is playing for. McDavid and Eichel could make the jump at 18. Reinhart didn't, Tage didn't, very few 18 year old players make that jump. Benson did it but did he get enough ice time and play in enough situations that maximized his development at 18? My opinion is that Adams blew it by not bringing in more veterans that would keep Benson in Juniors for at least another year. Benson making the team at 18 was more about how terrible the Sabres roster depth was. Benson does not have the skills of McDavid/Eichel. I say this and yet I still like Benson a lot. I don't think Benson will get hurt by being rushed because his mindset won't allow it. I can't say that about most 18 year olds.