FrenchConnection44

Said the same thing above before reading this. I've been saying this for 2-3 years now. Thought Power would be that but he's soft as well. If he had the fire in his belly he could have been a guy who was on his way to being a Victor Hedman type which is what you want in a 6'6 defender. He's 221. He should be 225-230 range by now and getting big hits. Both of them should. Maybe Novikov will become that guy but it's gonna be a bit. He has that ruggedness in him but he still needs to get stronger and a bit bigger (215 range). And he's a year away. But It would be great to get a veteran who is already an intimidator. And then if Novikov can come up next year, we could have two defenders who are more physical than anyone on the defense (though yeah, Clifton is nice to have but he's not going to make anyone think twice about roughing up our more talented players).

Not only is he constantly injured, which is a problem of reliability - the most games he's played in a season the last 4 years is 55 - but Samuelsson is 6'4, 225 and has 72 penalty minutes in 185 games played. That's one 2 minute penalty every 5 games. He's a friggin Lady Byng candidate! Not what you want from a player that size with minimal offensive skills. He should be an intimidating presence on the ice, and I don't mean fighting per se (but he shouldn't be afraid of that), but as a hitter and physically roughing up any forward who comes into the zone. And he's about to turn 25. He should be so dominating that people are challenging him and he's getting co-roughing penalties if not multiple majors. Between him and Power we have to have the softest and most spineless two defensemen combined who are over 6'4 and 220+. Those two should have been crushing it in the weight room and taking some MMA training the past three offseason just to be ready for some phyical scrapping. I'd rather see them get suspended for PEDs and be tough than what they are. SMH. I'm fine with trading him. And Power. Trade him and Power - even in a swap with multiple teams to try to get one defenseman the size of Samuelsson who has some gumption and toughness.

There is no one man enough to retaliate on this team. Krebs is the only one with the fire to do so but he doesn’t have the size and strength. And the players with size (Muel, Power) are, frankly, female genitals on ice. But 1-2 self appointed experts (fans who aren’t in the ring) keep arguing “nah, we don’t need bigger, physical, bad ass players.” That Tage incident is Exactly why we need 1-2 of those, a poor man Tom Wilson types. I don’t see anyone in the Amerks ready for that. Tyson Kozak would be as he’s about the only other one I see with any real gumption on the ice, but he has the same problem Krebs has as he goes only 5’11 173. Maybe if Komarov puts on 30 lbs of muscle he could. But that isn’t happening. If we are going to finish last or near last in the East and bottom 5 overall, we might as well be a team everyone fears playing. And make other players think twice about attempting some BS hit to the head of our star players. I’ll say it again, trade Power and some future small talent for a 6’4, 220+ guy who plays defense (F or D) and has some physical intimidation if not brutality to his game. And get these weaklings in the **** weight room. Stop adding 3 lbs of muscle to your 180 lb frames and on 10 lbs of muscle and start hammering some people. It’s a talented but soft team. That doesn’t play much D. That’s a bad reason.

I don’t understand why they don’t put McLeod on line two with Tuch and Zucker. Put Cozens with Benson and Quinn.

Really like what Kulich is bringing. His hard work is showing. He needs to keep working physically, get closer to the 200 pound range (190-195 would be great) for greater strength and he can be a force for us. I'd be happy with a Tage-Kulich-Tuch line next year. Or move Tuch to line 2 and put JJP up there.

There isn't a great deal of physicality in college hockey, anyway. Not like the NHL (or the AHL). But the FO, if they had any presence of mind, had to think if he understood what was needed for the NHL he'd become a bigger, stronger, faster player who could use his size and 'power' to good effect. Someone needs to light a fire under that kid or he's another wasted top pick. And we are likely on our way to another high draft pick, top 3-4, who might come into the league when he turns 21 or 22 and everyone will say, "Well, he's still young."

Funny how we are talking face offs. That certainly was a key to the win for this game. I forget who it was trying to argue that face offs wins do not matter. Well yes they do. They can be crucial if they are won at the right time. Not all face offs are created equal. Kulich had been over 50% earlier in the season. Even though he was at 45% in the game, the nine he won were instrumental. Several of our best opportunities came on his face off wins in their zone. And with Tage on the wing, that makes his wins a huge danger. I think there is some promise there and like the idea of Kulich centering Tage or other scorers. He does have to improve his D - but then so does the entire team. But I do like his clutch ability to win. He will get better as he continues to get stronger and more experienced.

This team desperately needs more physical players. Power is such a disappointment. He should be dominating with physicality and speed and he’s just not near the force he could have been by now. It’s a soft team. About the only thing we are really good at is Kulich winning face-offs especially in the offensive zone. I don’t dislike our forward lines. If we kept them as is but added one more rugged player who can play and be tough I’d be happy. Doesn’t look possible. Especially with defensive needs. Such a soft group of players. It’s just incredible that none of these know how to play defense with any dominance. Not a one. Physicality is a major part of this game. Not just getting in a scuffle but physically over powering the attacker. We just don’t have it. I would be happy to trade Power and a prospect in Rochester for a more defensive defenseman with some size and toughness. Or to sign one.

😂. True. And the 4 WS Titles Maybe because they moved? 🤷🏼‍♂️ I used to be a huge Buffalo Braves fan. But I sure ain’t a Clippers fan!

The real issue with ‘being a Sabres fan’:

Although much to complain about with the trades, signings … We could also throw in The Casey for Byram trade which really was for this year moving forward. Middlestadt has 8 & 18, 26 total in 40 games with a -13 +/- by far the worst on his team. Byram is at 5 & 17, 22 total in 42 games and a +5 +/- —on a losing, inconsistent team. I’ll take that. Savoie for McLeod remains to be seen. Will Savoie make the jump? And when he does how good will he actually be? As Nate Bargatze would put it, “Nobody knows.” But in another sense we let Skinner go and he’s now on the Oilers. Comparing those two is interesting. McLeod is at 7 & 14, 21 total but a +5 +/- . Skinner has 7 & 8, 15 total and, like Casey, a team worst -10 +/- I’m down with those. Yet this team continues to underperform.

This team is toast. Last place in the Eastern Conference. Only 3 teams with a worse record. Absolute Joke. And Pegula acts like he’s all in on the Sabres or has a good team. 😂 🤦‍♂️

Tired of losing leads, especially leads in the last half of the 3rd period. Inexcusable. A two goal lead with under 3:00 to go in the game? Regardless of the blame, that is completely and utterly inexcusable.

Agreed. Feels like an NHL problem. The NHL will struggle in allowing bad teams to improve with that kind of restriction. They might need to limit those in their CBA (maybe let a player pick 3-5 places he won’t go to).

It was sarcasm. 😂🙄

So, how many goals do we expect the Islanders to score in the third? 1. 4 to tie and win it in OT? or 2. 5 and they will win it outright in regulation?

Of course we sick in a year there is not a superstar in the draft. Next year we will show promise and almost make the playoffs while someone else tanks and gets a star building block. It is the way. The Sabres way.

It’s so bad. I would not want to coach this team. They look like they have packed it in. They are not professionals and have no leadership on the team. I could see him walking away.

Trading Sabres players now is like liquidating stocks after the market collapses. No idea what the deal is with Quinn. But i think several players have no motivation. Somehow they need to learn to play at the NHL level. How many first round talents are bombing in the Sabres right now?

I am 63 and it’s the lowest point for me.

Fair enough. 👍

We have drafted poorly and also been down at the wrong times. Missing out on McDavid - even though Eichel is a really good player, he’s not all time great - hurt. Then when we do get the top pick the best player on the board is Power. Who is clearly not a generational player. But several of our draft choices have not turned out. Dahlin is a very good player but he’s no Austin Matthews. But that 2021 draft with two 1st rounders and two 2nd rounders is not looking great. Really, just not a good draft. The Maple Leafs didn’t pick until 57th in that draft and they have gotten more productivity out of Knies than we have with 3 others ahead of him and there’s a question whether Power is better. We draft Rosen 14th - so far he’s played 8 NHL games. Wyatt Johnson has more goals and assists at the NHL level than Rosen has had in the AHL. It’s like Adams doesn’t scout - he just follows the media boards. All our GMs and Adams particularly have been gifted a ton of great spots in the draft and have either come up short or been mediocre. Imagine Wyatt Johnson on the team? Bad fortune on the years we were the worst team, poor drafting so far, and an unappealing team or location to many other players for whom we might have traded or signed.

Agreed. I said this near the end of last year. Buffalo is not an attractive team. If they had an identity, blue collar, we’re competitive (like, say, Carolina) then we might have something. But so many hockey players don’t want to come here when it’s a bad franchise and sink into oblivion when there are attractive cities and teams in the south.

The good news is we are only 2 points out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. Albeit to the Rangers who also have 2 games in hand and are clearly a better team and franchise. The bad news is we are only 2 points out of last place in the East and only 2-3 teams clearly worse. But really, this team is a disaster. They don’t know how to win. And it’s a bad culture that is unlikely to change. Apparently as long as the Bills win people will give Pegula a pass. But what happens if Josh Allen goes down? He’s the franchise. He needs to sell the Sabres but isn’t likely to do so. And the buy might move them. My one hope is that he actually puts money, energy, and effort into the team after the new stadium is finished. Won’t be holding my breath, tho.

I don’t disagree about Pegula. He’s putting all his resources into the Bills and the stadium and doesn’t show good ownership leadership for the Sabres. He also, frankly, got fortunate with Josh Allen. A lot of high rated QBs have been drafted higher and panned out worse. Without Allen, the Bills are a .500 team. He is a stumbling block for the franchise But we can’t discount the problems with Adams. He’s had 5 drafts and 4 1/2 years. His best draft was the first one (Quinn/Peterka). Has to be scrutinized heavily at the end of this season.