Marvin

I think so too. On offence, the receivers drop balls, the backs fumble, the line does not hold up, and Allen makes some horrible decisions. The problems are everywhere: personnel, preparation, coaching, execution, and psychology.

Gads, what is not wrong with the offence?

I want to verify something I just read. Apparently, the Bills signed an All-Pro kick returner, but the haven't tried to use him in this anemic offence.

If the train whistle indicates a train wreck, then we could say it is useful, if nothing else.

If you want to see Gilbert at his best, do yourselves a favour and find Canada's first 4 games of the 1981 Canada Cup where Perreault was the defencive conscience of "The Dream Line" -- Perreault-Gretzky-LaFleur. Then ponder that it took Gretzky, Bossy, Trotter, LaFleur, and Kasatonov 2 or 3 extra games to tie or pass him in scoring. Addendum: in spite of only playing 4 games out of 7, Perreault got votes for the tournament MVP. He was that good.

It was Teppo Numminen's injury that he hid.

With Cozens still having problems, Tuch injured, and Quinn out long-term, we are seeing how much we do not have in developed depth. We may have drafted well the last few years, but most of those players are not ready for The Big Time. We really need Cozens to get back on track because a useful 3rd line above Girgensons-Jost-Okposo would make a huge difference in regular game play. Getting Tuch back on top of that would make that bottom 6 a LOT better. Until then, maybe the bottom 6 need to work on a more boring defencive system to keep things from going downward. Insert my usual lobbying for either Benson, Biro, or most anyone else to take Olofsson's place.

McDavid has a full NMC. That severely limits the return. Think about the Hasek trade to Detroit compared to his actual worth to both teams. Also, RNH and Draisaitl should be going before McDavid. Those returns would indicate is the Sabres can get away with a "futures" deal.

The Tuch injury exposes the need for either higher-end depth or a different kind of depth. Our higher-end depth players belong in Juniors this year. Therefore, we currently need more gritty depth that forechecks and backchecks assiduously. Cozens's injury and problems getting on track this year are part of the problem with the bottom 6. He is way better than JAG-level, but that is where he is playing right now. I would play him in more of a checking role for the moment and play him with Krebs and Jost for a few games. Couple these with the Quinn injury and we find the Sabres are relying on play from Olofsson that he is just not capable of. Girgensons and Okposo seem to cover up his flaws enough, but when they are out against the other teams' top lines, it results in the disaster we saw in Pittsburgh in the first period. Honestly, I would rather that Rosen, Rousek, Benson, et al. be in the line-up over Olofsson.

Obviously, losing one of your top line players and replacing him with a possession killer will harm a team, but wow is this team worse with Olofsson in for Tuch.

Only 90%?

If memory serves, the Bills draw corporations across upstate. I recall that Corning Glass, for instance, has a box for the Bills but not the Sabres. In the Buffalo-Niagara region, many of the corporations that I know of that have boxes are smaller companies or companies with ancillary offices in the area.

The first one has to be Dahlin The second one is Ryan Miller. I think the third is Mogilny and Hawerchuk.

To be fair, by national viewership, Buffalo is a big market. Often, the Sabres are the biggest national TV draw in the league. Maybe Buffalo would be acceptable to the broadcasters.

The place where the Sabres have a problem is corporate money for the luxury boxes -- they belong to smaller companies that can not pay the gigantic amounts that corporations in other cities can afford. For the rest of the arena, the money is out there in WNY. For instance, I know several people who make enough to get multiple full season tickets to the 200 level but won't do so since the pandemic because of how lacklustre the team has been. They would not be fooled by a Patrick Kane signing or a multitude of UFA signings until it tangibly helps the team make the playoffs. Some feel like they have been wasting their money starting with The Tank and were fooled be management over the years and are rather bitter about it. I can't blame them.

I will disagree strongly with you on Buffalo being an AHL town and even more vigorously disagree about the ECHL arena. The rest I agree with 100%. Winning begets winning because the things that you need to do to win becomes habit until you lose enough talent. My objection to The Tank was my belief that losing would become a habit -- and it has. IMHO, the last part of The Tank that still hurts the team was first the atmosphere, then the attendance, now the record at home. They get fixed in reverse order. They seem to have a block between the ears that harms them badly at home.

RNH for Taylor Hall?

Welcome back! I personally think that we can win now. I just do not know if the team has the mindset that they will win now.

Every team has guys like Kyle and Zemgus. Every team hopes their 4th liners can do all the dirty jobs the right way. They show the lesser players in the line-up and in the system what the good habits look like that will give you a long, if inglorious, career. Recall that Zemgus and Kyle were once scorers who completely reinvented their games to keep up. That was quite humbling. If your leaders do it, how can a less respected player not? They are defencively reliable for extended minutes against most other team's top lines -- even with tough zone starts. That gives HCDG the luxury of playing 3 lines in mostly offensive situations. Their play allows coaches to be more patient with younger players as they learn team defence. Make no mistake: they are here for different proportions of sentimentality, mindset, experience, respect, loyalty, and mental toughness. In a locker room where GMKA wants guys who want to be in Buffalo, don't underestimate the value of sentimentality in that mix.

The NMC affects the return on either McDavid or Draisaitl. There will be no need to include Power, Cozens, etc. If either is willing to come here, then the Sabres may have an advantage. The Sabres are an up-and-coming team, so either may be OK with coming here. Because the Oilers draft so poorly, the Sabres have what Edmonton desperately needs even before a trade: quality futures. Maybe you have to trade Savoie, Benson, and a couple of other pieces.

Not exactly. Players can get hurt with sub-optimal biomechanics. Players who to do things far outside their skillset (like a skill player fighting a pugilist) get hurt more often. Injuries also come from trying to do too much. That is a side from just the vagaries of luck. But doing things properly makes a player luckier where injuries are concerned.

For the record: the worst season by winning percentage in a professional North American hockey league was the 1974-5 Washington Crapitals, who went 8-67-5. I can dig out a complete list of all sub-.250 teams if you really want to view the wreckage.

There are discussions like this on HFBoards from Edmonton fans about the Sabres specifically. Some think the price for Draisaitl should be Power, Cozens, Levi, and then some. Add more for McDavid. No go from me. Do we want to go to Fantasy Island and speculate on this? Fun? Wow? I personally think that the Sabres should look for mostly futures if they are entertaining getting either one.

This was eminently predictable. It annoys me that it took this long for HCDG to figure it out.

You need to watch "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure."