Pimlach

Interesting info. It is still too early to count the Sabres out just yet. They can at least move to "bubble" position with a few wins in a row. Tonight against Ottawa is huge.

Improve your lie? Winter rules.

The Bills locker room is great. McDermott nailed it. One game ball only, and for the guy who came up big in the same game where he was shaken. Add that he has other kickers in his house trying out.and everyone in the room knows it. No doubt McDermott talked to Bass before he brought the kickers in, and continued to work with him during that time. McDermott trusted Bass and he came through. Great stuff.

Your concern is valid. The Tage and Dahlin contracts do not bother me. They are going to be worth it and have good careers Adam’s moved fast on the others. For example after something like 57 NHL games, Muel was given 7 years at $4.3M. Great deal if he is good, but so far he has not been. Power and Cozens are still kids and they have expensive long term deals. They both have to get a lot better to be worth it.

We have played 12 games, we will be at 24 by the end of the month. I still think there may be hope and I will evaluate this again at the end of November. We need the best players (i.e. the higher paid Core guys) to play like they are actually the best players, and we need good goaltending to change the direction of the season.

One GM protects Ullmark, and the next GM fails to sign him. Inconsistency within the upper echelons of the organization has caused the phenomena we see with all these former Sabres players doing well for other teams. Deslauries may not be very good but he was useful in a limited role. Foligno - Mike Foligno was an excellent player and a great Sabre. Marcus is a good 4th line player but he is massively overrated here on Sabrespace by a fan base that craves big players that can and will fight. I like him ok, but replacing him and improving the 4th line is only a hard thing to do in Buffalo.

Maybe he should at the record of his hockey team?

I think this would be a good way to break Dahlin's spirit. You are suggesting to take away the C after only 12 games? Lindy would lose credibility. Adams too. And there will be even more heads shaking around the league. Just curious, where you around in 1977-78 when they took the C away from Schoney and gave it to Gare? It was shocking for the fans and controversial for sure. They finished with 105 points and were in the upper echelon of the league, but they lost to Philly in round two by 4-1. Which became a habit. Whoever was wearing the C did not change the result. You need high effort and commitment from more than the guys with the letters on their sweater. My vote is that making an example of Dahlin is targeting the wrong guy and an empty gesture. This is a time they need to pull together, play with more purpose, and figure it out.

I deleted my post in its entirety. Your response is all that is left of it. I don't want to engage with some of the people here anymore. I get that certain people are positive, negative, cheerful or grumpy, that is just personalities. There are a few here that do not contribute anything but eyerolls and pukes, they never add any hockey content, they never bring any facts or information, they just try to police the site by defending this morbid franchise and it leaders, and they do it by insulting other posters. I am getting very close to dropping out of here. Many of the good posters are already gone. I can still read the posts from the few knowledgeable posters that are left.

Find him and leave him alone to run the hockey operations.

Dempsey played briefly for the Bills, at the beginning of the Chuck Knox era. I was at what I think was the last home loss to the Dolphins in the 70’s. Dempsey missed a 37’ish yard FG in the final seconds, it would have ended the streak. It was a rainy but warm game, I came home soaked and dejected. Thanks a lot Dempsey. The Bills ended that streak in 1980, and the goslposts at Rich Stadium came down. Bills fans were always rabid and crazy.

Another Bills win. Tough game, Miami had their season on the line and they needed it. Tua had no rust. I knew this game was going to be close. The Bills answered the bell like good teams do. The Bill are better, they are the more composed and better coached team of the two. I ALWAYS love beating Miami, I survived the Bills going “Oh for the ‘70’s” to that team. I am enjoying the win. Listening to McDermott’s post game interview, they mentioned his reluctance to play rookies very much. He made it clear that you earn your way on the roster and in the games. You have to beat out a vet, and McD has to be able to look that vet in the eye if the rookie takes his spot. He said numerous times “you earn your time on the field” and he makes that clear to everyone. He also has a knack for having his backups ready to go when injuries occur. He gets a lot of second guessing, so I’m pointing out a clear strength that he has. Contrast that to what Sabres coaches have to deal with no significant veteran base on the roster and young players given ice time by design, or because that’s all we have. I hope Adams heard what McD said. Adam’s roster building style really makes it hard on coaches, and for young players to develop properly. No wonder so many leave and thrive.

OK Bills. Be ready to play a desperate and possibly fired up opponent. Go Bills!!

I wish they would have showed up against the Isles, the fans are not going to come out for much longer. Home games have not been an advantage for about 15 years or more.

Shhhh. The Cap Space is reserved for signing his next prospects and for select players that want to be here.

Ruff is no GM. He might be a good FO advisor, like Dudley has been doing for a long time (but Terry has no interest in paying for that). Karmanos would be a candidate, and he is more qualified than Adams was when Adams was handed the job. How would he feel about being the guy that deals with Terry? Is this really a change? Does Karmanos have a better relationship around the league to help facilitate trades more effectively?

Yes indeed. I am seeing that our talent is not as good as thought, or probably just poorly developed. We rushed our kids and now we are upset that they leveled out and their growth is slowing or stunted or even regressed at this point in time. Cozens and Quinn are suffering from it right now. They will just have to play through it and get support from the rest of the lineup, but they were expected to be the 2nd line and help pull a losing team into playoffs. It appears that Adams thinks a 19 year old Benson would finish the second line? No pressure guys, go do it! Then there is Dahlin. 12 games. 1g, 7 pts, +2. That is 31st in the league for defensemen in scoring. It’s early, but we need his play to carry us. He slumps, we can’t score, and we sit with the bottom dwellers.

Fire him now for who? Do you think Terry has a new leader ready to sign up? That is laughable. He doesn’t know NHL people. He doesn’t fit.

Look at them at the end of this month. That will tell us a lot about playoffs. Right now they need to string 4-5 wins to get back into the race.

The Core will get better once they get traded and meld into better hockey organizations. See Zadorov, Compher, McNabb, ROR, Eichel, Reinhart, Ullmark, Montour, Rodrigues …

How did you bowl?

I’m starting to think the talent of Adams Core is overrated or maybe incorrectly developed. The PP (top 6 players) and PK (bottom 6) would be better if the talent was better. The are both terrible Examples of forwards lack of talent, leading to incorrect slotting: 1. Cozens is a 3rd line winger, not a 2C at this time in his career. 2. Tuch is an excellent 3rd line player on a cup challenger, a very good 2nd line player on most teams, an inconsistent 1st line forward 3. Quinn - 3rd line scoring contributions without the needed defensive play to stick in the lineup. Should be on the bench, he brings nothing. 4. Benson - 19 years old and rushed onto a bad team and into the top 6 but scores and fits more like a middle 6. 5. Zucker - at the end of his career as a solid middle 6 and he looks like the best winger on this team right now. Think about that. 6. Greenway - a 3rd or 4th line guy on a good team, on Buffalo he gets asked to move to 2nd line, even 1st line at times. 7. McLeod - good 3rd line center on a strong team, now asked to take on 2C role on a poor team. 8. Krebs - all of a sudden he is a 3C because of failures in top 6. He is spare forward at best on a good team. I still question Tage as a true 1C. He is a first liner, but the PP needs a puck carrying setup guy. Tage is a guy you feed. Dahlin is not on the scoresheet anymore. I think we have to re-think the talent, especially the top 6 and the top defensive pairings. Defense Dahlin, Power, Byram. - what are they bringing to the PP or the PK? How much diversity in skill do these guys bring? Why did we trade for Byram and then re-sign Joker? That is 4 similar skill sets. Muel - was his signing and the commitment to him a good move? Is the A on the jersey making him a consistent player and a team leader? I think he could be solid and strong back there but he does not step up.

Cozens is a 3rd line winger right now with a second line ceiling. Adam’s thoughts that he is 2C over Mitts was one of many blunders. The Mitts for Byram trade did not improve the team at all. They needed, and still need, a defensive player that is big and strong in front of our net.