Second Line Center

Even elite teams have room for the fighters - Deslauries career has been to hit people and fight. The days of goons are long gone - but the league needs more of this. Rempe is massive. He got the game winner tonight to. May have been the reason they won. He’s 21 years old. Why aren’t we drafting kids like this????

I know. I consider this to be an infliction point moment for this organization. The head coach just publicly defended his players being negatively impacted by boos. BOOS! Just let that sink in. And Adams needs to figure out who on the team is letting that mindset take over and get them out. Don’t care who it is. Dahlin, Thompson, Cozens - no one should be off limits. But in thinking about this the last few days I can’t help but wonder if Donnie is being defensive - feels the heat. And maybe he was just taking the attention off him. Which of course is terrible imo. He should be fired.

Then this group is never winning anything Their position in the standings is reflecting that.

I’m stretching it a tad - what else is implied when they say (implied by DG) “we took extensions early to be here?” I’m sensitive to its reputation. This is why I’m of the belief the Bills must move heaven and earth to find pieces to win with Allen. The Sabres - same thing. Because the city is nowhere near the top of anyone’s destination list unless it’s a guarantee you’re a serious contender or you’re getting overpaid. I know what it’s like to live there. None of these teens or 20 something’s who’ve traveled all over the place have any clue about Buffalo except it snows 6 months a year. Even with McDavid I think this is a massive problem for a place like Edmonton to. Getting guys to waive NMCs to go there may not be the slam dunk you’d think it is. Whatever. It’s all beside the point. Someone or several players vocally expressed disappointment “because we took extensions rather then go to market.” I just read and hear that as “you should be thanking us for even wanting to be here.” Adams and Pegula have an absolute mess on their hands. It’s astonishing bc 1 year ago I said this team would compete for the whole dam thing this year. I actually said that after 2022!

They absolutely did. Maybe I’m thinking of Gratton or Gilmour. But those were trades and pre NMC. Almost all top players have those now. We weren’t attracting UFAs. Warrener, Dumont, Briere, Drury - all trades

The most jarring thing for me to hear was this…. Donnie was discussing the boos and that the players don’t like being booed and it hurts. For me that’s a problem but whatever. In explaining it further he said this (essentially): “Several of these guys decided on extensions before going to market because they want to be here…so it hurts.” Ok. I take that 100% to mean that came up in discussing this. Someone legit said “we made a choice to stay in this dump of a city* and this is the thanks we get?” *Make no mistake - it isn’t the organization that gives this team a recruiting problem it’s the area. We had problems during the Hasek days trying to convince guys to come here. I think Geoff Sanderson comes to mind as a guy that wasn’t sure. Buffalo will always be my home despite having moved and I’ll defend it no matter what. However the perception of the city is not good compared to other options in the league. Maybe you’ll disagree but anyway… Thoughts on this? I’m completely blown away Donnie actually relayed that and that it was even said (presumably per DG).

The team and players were actually always going to be good - the players had the talent it was here. We’ve been fooled thinking Granato was some kind of development whisperer. His stamp is all over this team now. Full reflection of him and the coddling. The coddling is also a reflection of Adams btw. He’s in love with all the prospects and development but has no clue about what’s gone wrong on the ice. And Granato for what it’s worth is a terrible coach in game. GM gets one coach fire then need to look at him. Pegula’s job is simple. Adams must fire Granato and the ultimatum has to be “we preach winning and winning only here…. …..and find a coach that gets them to develop skin thick enough to handle booos.”

They play today (Monday). He probably starts.

I’ve been thinking this a lot to. He kind of came out of nowhere. Then I noticed the last 20 games of last season how much attention he was getting. And I can’t think of any games where he dominated or took over a game vs elite teams. Vs elite teams in 2023-24 where he had more then ONE point: Dec 21 vs Toronto. 3 points Nov 1 @ Phi 3 points. That’s the list. That’s 6 points in 2 games. Leaving him with 23 in the other 41 games. That is not a number 1 center.

I HATE the post game salute. That said, this is embarrassing.

Casey has 4 goals since December 15. I knew it wasn’t much since Jan 1. I have no idea anymore with this team.

Make it happen.

Any Brind’Amour talk needs to stop. He’s not leaving Carolina. My PFP. The only choice for me. Peca. He’ll bring in McKee. All these guys have done is win. Everywhere they go and everywhere they’ve coached. “Safe” coaching picks and talk about patience and growth are fantastic justifications for job security. Need guys that want to argue and get heated when they disagree as they push each other to be better. Every second of every season the mantra should be “URGENCY.”

We don’t have enough “hate losing more than love winning” guys. Because most have done nothing but lose in the NHL - but they’re some of our key guys: Dahlin, Skinner, Cozens, Tage, Joki, Zemgus, Okposo (he’s forgotten what winning is). Thats 7 guys that have known nothing but losing - yet got paid. And that’s fine. But this is dangerous territory here. Power, Benson, JJ, Quinn - they can’t be around this for anymore. The pressure they’ll put on themselves in October….I mean they can’t handle playing at home. They can’t handle being down 1-0. Coach has to go. That or core pieces need to get moved.

This organization couldn’t make Eichel, Reinhart, and ROR work. 3 Stanley Cup appearances and 2 Cup wins among them since they left. I know this isn’t breaking news…. But something is really really really wrong here. The culture is losing. That’s the culture we established since the tank. That’s the culture we’re continuing to foster. Adam’s plan is making it worse. The objective in the NHL is to win. The mantra around this group and thus built in excuse to justify jobs for Granato and Adams is “we’re developing.”

Until Owen Power becomes what he’s supposed to this team is in trouble. A lot to ask but it’s a fact. I’m not down on him….D men take a little time and early in their careers there are ups and downs. But until Dahlin and Power become what we expect them to we are going to underachieve. A new head coach can fix a lot of this.

Trading him. Done with this. Best ability is reliability.

Victor Olofsson.

Is it the same leg as the Achilles?

Sounds like a tightrope procedure imo. Ankle maybe.

Absolutely looked like an ankle or maybe knee. Hope it’s just a sprain and he’ll be back sooner than later. I can’t take anymore doom and gloom with this team especially with Quinn. Who’s probably my favorite player on this team rn.

Have to go roughly 24-9 the last 33 games to have a shot. Not impossible.

Benson has 1 point since December 21. That’s 12 games. Total rookie wall.

I’m going to argue the OP is on to something but it’s just not because of the Sabres. They're a big part of it sure. But really, the league is just full of the same player playing the same game doing the same things. I couldn’t tell you the “identity” of 75 percent of the league. I’m not sure what that even means anymore. And to me, that’s what’s stale.

If your best players aren’t your hardest workers your team will not reach its full potential. Dahlin can get like this to. Another minus 3 tonight and minus 13 on the season.