JohnC

It doesn't matter where he watches the game. If he hasn't figured out by now that he is the primary person most responsible for the demise of the franchise, then as an owner he's obtuse beyond repair. The owner doesn't need Sherlock Holmes to figure this out. He needs a mirror to find the source of the problem that has plagued this now mocked and irrelevant franchise.

Let me condense this for you a bit more: Since Pegula became the owner, a generation ago, this team has not qualified for the playoffs. That's an ignominious accomplishment that few franchises can't match. There's a much bigger issue than a flukish stupid play. It's like worrying about the dirty dishes in the sink when the house is on fire.

What's both sad and laughable at the same time is that expansion teams become competitive and meaningful before the Sabres are able to do so. While the Sabres remain stuck in the muck of mediocrity and irrelevance for a generation, new teams quickly become relevant. Vegas is a good example of that. That's pathetic and stupid! It's more likely to be the case if they don't hire anyone from the Sabre organization. They should use Bufalo as the model organization as to what not to do.

If the owner doesn’t understand the clusters…k that he created years ago, he ought to get back on his gargantuan yacht and sail away. I’d so freaking tired of this arsonist!

The GM who is the architect of the post Jack rebuild is sitting next to the owner in a suite in Utah. If the owner isn't asking himself and his self-selected GM why are we inhabiting the bottom of the league after half a decade of rebuilding based on your lower cost blueprint that you proposed to me? Whether the Sabres would have won last night or not is irrelevant. When you compare this team to the upper echelon teams, we are out of their class. When you compare this team to the low-end teams in the league, we are barely struggling to keep up. The person who needs to face the ugly reality is the owner, himself, who has destroyed a franchise through his own malfeasance, and what's even worse is that he has withered the fanbase to a fraction of what it was when he took over. The stubborn owner needs to sell, or if he won't, he needs to get serious about hiring qualified people to run the hockey franchise. The reticent owner is an arsonist who burned down a hockey franchise because he lacks the self-awareness to recognize how incompetent he is as an owner. He ought to be ashamed of himself. I'm so tired of him.

Southern Ontario is part of our fan base, always was and is. So your comparison to Hartford doesn't resonate with me. What has eroded our fan base is a generation of failure under the stewardship of Terry Pegula.

What you refuse to acknowledge with your unending excuse making for this inept non-talking owner is that this is a failed franchise because of the accumulated bad decisions he has made. Whether the area is rich or poor is irrelevant. He has destroyed the franchise with his long list of self destructive decisions, many of which are associated with his selection of staff. Isn’t a generation of excuses enough for you? I’m tired of this stubborn owner and his mismanagement. I wish he would sell.

You are distorting what actually happened with the Phoenix franchise. Phoenix literally didn't have a place to play in the area. Proposals to build a new arena fell through because the local jurisdictions and state were not willing to contribute for a new facility. So that's how the franchise ended up in another city. That's not the case with Buffalo. An arena exists. And your description of Buffalo as an "economic basket case" is an absurdity. If that is the case, then why do the Bills and Bandits sell out all the time? Do you think the non-talking owner would have contributed a large proportion of the stadium funds if he believed that this was a failed market? And your point about needing to rely on Canadians makes no sense because it's part of the Sabre hockey market, and always has been. If the Sabres were a serious franchise we would have evenmore fans coming from Toronto because seats would be available and ticket prices more reasonable than in Toronto. The Sabre hockey market not only includes southern Canada, but also parts of PA (Erie) and east of Buffalo that goes beyond Rochester. If you want to categorize the Sabre market as a failed market (that's not how I see it), then go to the obvious source of the problem i.e. the silent and obtuse owner who strangled it. He's the person most responsible for destroying the franchise and demoralized a fading fanbase. My recommendation for him is to sell, make a tidy profit and sail away on your new and bigger yacht. I'm tired of this fool owner. He ought to be ashamed of himself.

Sending Benson done would not serve the player and more importantly the team. This tenacious youngster’s play is a model to follow and not to be concerned with.

Just spit balling here. How about trading JJP for K'Andre Miller and Trocheck. Not inclined to give up first round pick but would be willing to add a second-round pick. Would a first-round pick added to the deal be too much?

It felt staged because it was staged. WWE has more authenticity.😀

He’s already demonstrated that he can now play in the NHL. If he were playing limited minutes, I would agree with your approach. However, that is not the case.

I didn't find the fights entertaining. I thought it was idiotic and moronic. However, I did find the play between these teams compelling. That was great hockey!

The difference between the situation that Tage and Mitts encountered is that neither one of them was physically ready to handle the rigors of the big league. Although Benson has a lot more room to physically grow, he has demonstrated in spades that he can handled the physicality of league play. His production stats might not be overly impressive but the eye test indicates to me that the league right now is not too big for this persistent bugger. In addition, if some of the other younger players emulated his tenacity and feel for the game, they would be better players.

No to him going back down. He's demonstrated to me that he can play in the big boy league now, and I'm confident that as he physically matures he is going to get better. He's earned the right to stay in the NHL.

I would rather add another rugged player or two than a designated fighter as a responder who isn't much of a contributor. And it should be noted that many fights, if not most, are pre-arranged between the combatants before they square off. Every time I state my position on this assaultive behavior on ice I get overwhelmed with thumbs down, which makes my positioned hardened even more. I find it so freaking stupid and repugnant.

I believe that fighting should be banned from the game. (I'm aware that it is a very minority here.) However, as you point out, the last two games from a style of play perspective is noticeably different. You can't play this tougher brand of game unless you have the players who are suited to play this more rugged game. Zucker, Tuch, Greenway, Dahlin, Benson etc. provide a better roster mix compared to when the roster is too loaded with young players who lack the physical maturity to play a harder toe to toe game. I have been a consistent critic of the current GM's ability to construct a roster with the right mix of players. Hopefully, he is belatedly recognizing that deficiency with his recent contract extensions. There is still more to do on that roster balance issue but it should be achievable if there is a desire to do so.

The Byrum trade for Mitts is looking good. I hope that we will be able to eventually get a contract worked out.

The description that @dudacek gave to the Samuelsson handling is incisively accurate. There was an over expectation that resulted in a contract that he couldn't match with production. That's an organizational failure that impacted the player's performance. (As he pointed out.) However, if he becomes a good third pairing defenseman, who could move up to fill in when injuries occur, then I'm fine with it. What this fumbling staff have too often done, especially for the young players, is force them to be slotted too high before they are not ready. Cozens is another example of mishandling the talent on hand. As you and others have repeatedly stated, make young players earn their roles instead of bestowing roles that can't be handled at the time. There are so many examples of mishandling players and instead of enhancing careers end up derailing careers.

My takeaway from the game is that even with the shooters out of the lineup, collectively this team played hard and with effort throughout. There were no lulls---the players kept pushing. When watching this game it was apparent why there was a need for keeping veteran rugged players, such as Greenway, Zucker, in the fold. What our young players, such as Quinn, JJP and Kulich, can't bring at this stage of their career is the physicality to go along with their offensive skills. In general, I thought Zucker, Tuch and Byrum played well. Just maybe, Byrum playing without Dahlin allows him to control the puck and freelance more??? Still an open issue for me. This was a good win in another end of season meaningless game. However, if the remaining games are used to instill playing the right way (tougher two-way hockey), then it can be a good lesson for next season. I'm aware that I have repeated myself but I strongly believe that if the organization can make a few smart moves to get a better mix and balance to the roster, this team would be much better.

Zucker and Tuch.

There comes a time when instead of looking back for solutions one should look forward. What our nostalgic thinking owner should start doing is evolve from his old mode of thinking of yesteryear and look forward to today's version of the NHL. If he hasn't learned from his mounting bad decisions over the past generation, then he's too stuck in the past to ever learn. This tiresome silent owner is too insular to consult with a variety of outside sources to get a more objective evaluation of his franchise and organization. This owner can hide behind his silence but what he can't hide is his team's record. It's embarrassing. A generation of failure in a cap system designed for the down teams to have advantages over the up teams is an absurdity. It's a level of ridiculousness beyond anyone's imagination.

Compare how the Washington Capitals have handled the last couple of years to how our minimalist GM has handled the past couple of years. The Capitals handled it smartly, and it catapulted the team. The Sabres handled it with timidity resulting the team sliding back. As you point out, the opportunities were there for us to advance, however the GM was frozen with fear. His record speaks for itself.

I'm with you. I'm really tired of his interminable incompetent stewardship that has lasted for a generation. He could make a tidy profit by selling the team thus enabling him to buy another aircraft carrier sized yacht. He has turned this franchise into being not only irrelevant but made it a joke franchise. He's a classic demonstration what an owner shouldn't do. He needs to find another toy to tinker with. Enough is enough of his odd ownership.