JohnC

The Sabres have been bad for a generation. That's an ignominious accomplishment that few organizations are capable of achieving.

There is no question that Josh Allen is a great qb and is the main driving force for the team's success. But it should also be acknowledged that he was drafted by the Bills' front office while other teams bypassed him. No one can deny that the Bills are and for a number of years a well-run franchise. The Bills organization is a respected organization because it is competently managed. That can't be said about the hollow Sabre organization that has failed for a generation. There is a good reason why this hockey franchise is not only an irrelevant but also a laughed at franchise where many players don't want to come to and where many of its best players demanded to get out.

I don't need the owner speak. However, I do expect someone in the organization to regularly explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. The Sabres are in the sports and entertainment business. Communicating with the public/customers is a basic part of any business. Consistently losing your fan/customer base (in any business) without communicating with it is a recipe for a failed business. And that seems to be the self-sabotaging business model that the owner is following. The empty seats on game day are a testament to that reality.

The dissolution of this once proud franchise starts and ends with the non-talking owner. This situation with the Sabres is both weird and incomprehensible. This silent owner also owns the Bills and Bandits. Both are resounding successes on the field and at the box office. In both cases, he allows the quality staff in each franchise to manage the operation. With the Sabres, he has done the opposite. He installed a patently unqualified person to be the head of the hockey operation. The outcome was predictable. Apparently, the owner prefers having a sycophant at the helm so that it would give him more room to play around with his toy. Terry Pegula has become the Buffalo version of Danny Snyder, former owner of the Washington Commanders. What both have in common is a talent to destroy a franchise and dramatically erode a once robust fanbase. The worst part of what has happened to the Sabres is not that they are perennially bad, which they are. What's even more demoralizing about this ridiculous situation is that this franchise has become an irrelevant franchise to the extent that the hockey world ignores it.

Our organization is such a state of chaos and dysfunction that there will be no quick fix to this mess. At least with Karmonos, he had the requisite experience a normal GM candidate would have when considering for the most critical position in an NHL franchise. The hiring of Adams without bothering to search for legitimate candidates was reckless and insane. The appeal that he had to our sphynx owner was that he was going to start over with not only less expenditures for players but also within the organization. The analogue to that non-existent GM hiring process was the charade hiring process for the HC position which ended with Ruff being selected. Everyone knows that the coaching search was a charade with him being preselected for nostalgic reasons. Both the GM and HC hiring process were outlandishly foolish representing the dysfunction within the franchise led by the inept owner. Karmonos came from the Pittsburgh system. It knew how to build around McDavid, a generational talent, winning Cups. What did our stupid organization do? It drove out our generational player, Eichel, and others such as Reinhart. (I recognize that Eichel is not at the McDavid level but he is still in an elite talent level. He's a player you build around, not trade away for pieces.) In this forum we talk a lot about players, trades, analytics etc. Until order is brought to this chaotic and hollow organization, little will change. That is not to say that there won't be some glitters of success but it won't take long for the hollowness and fragility of this franchise to bring us back to the ugly reality of how hollow our franchise is.

I appreciate your comments on her original appearance and Cyrus's tribute song. What you point out is that in hindsight, after many years have passed and more is learned, there is a better understanding what Sinead's perspective was regarding the pope and the church. History gives us a fuller and better understanding of a situation than our immediate reactions to what at the time was considered a provocative act. The knowledge we have now regarding the ingrained evils of the abuses well known within the institution of the church, and not so well known outside of it. Very often victims are not heard when they cry out. But after time has passed and more is learned the victims are finally listened to and heard.

I'm not advocating the trading of either one of these players. But if one of them needs to be dealt I would prefer that it would be Byram. I simply don't understand your disdain for Power. If he were to be shopped every team in the league would be interested in dealing for him.

If Byram is better than Power on PP2, then play him there. You don't need to trade either one of these players even if one of them is supplanted on the PP unit. As almost everyone agrees, it makes a lot of sense to bring in a more rugged to the unit. That doesn't mean any of the two mentioned players have to be moved. It's time this hollow organization realize that it needs to add talent, not subtract it.

Byram and Dahlin play well together. Each player is a good fit for one another. Bryam's style of play meshes well with Dahlin's, and not so well with the other defenders. These players combined are two of our most effective players. What you see as a problem is not what I consider to be a problem.

If Bryam plays like a first pairing defender, he will get first pairing money. It won't be cheap because first pairing players usually have sizeable contracts. The cap is going up. Paying the market rate is the cost of doing business. Why create another hole on the blueline when you have a player that already fits a need?

Byram plays well with Dahlin on the first pairing. That's something to be positive about. However, that doesn't mean that the front office shouldn't add a more rugged veteran defensive blueliner to the unit. He's a plus player who not only works well with Dahlin but also can play on one of the PP units. Getting another first pairing caliber player is tough to come by. When you already have that type of player on the team to play with your best player, then it is better to keep him in the fold and address another roster deficiency. This flailing franchise has a history of creating holes and then having to go back and fill it. That's why this franchise has been stuck in mediocrity for so long. That self-defeating behavior has to stop. It's time to add more talent, not subtract it.

A respite is a good thing. Watching a Sabres game is a recipe for agitation. Avoidance can have a medicinal effect. 🙃

If you want to have your nieces to hit the sack sooner, then just have them watch a Sabre's game. The urge to snooze will come a lot quicker. 😀

The economics of all pro sports won't go back to shorter seasons. And now the NFL is pushing to add another game to the 17 game season. As much as many players complain about the too long seasons, they won't take proportional cuts in their salaries for shorter seasons. If you think the effort level in the regular season for hockey is bad, you should consider the state of affairs in the NBA. Star players sit out games for "maintenance" reasons. There are plenty of games where both teams are simply going through the motions until the end of the game where they then elevate their efforts. In fairness, the fans should be reimbursed for wasting their time and $$$$ attending such fraudulent games.

This was an offseason where if the earnest but lacking GM would have made a few more Zucker type moves, this team would be vying for a playoff position. (We should be around 10 pts better than where we currently stand.) I'm not suggesting this team/roster was close to being a serious Cup contender because it is not. But with a few more mid-level veteran upgrades this team would be in a meaningful playoff race. And does anyone not believe that adding a rugged veteran defenseman would have been beneficial for the blueline unit? None of these suggested additions would fall in the tough to acquire upper echelon players. This was doable. A competent GM makes these types of additions in the offseason after assessing his players play as part of his normal duties. What makes the Sabre situation even tougher to tolerate is that after nearly a generation of not making the playoffs you would expect a sense of urgency to end such an embarrassing streak of failure. Instead of exhibiting a determination to end this ignominious record, there is a baffling blase attitude of continue doing what we have been doing. I blame the owner for this unnecessary and stupid situation. The silent owner through his incompetence has damaged this franchise. He should be ashamed of himself.

Your last sentence is a concise and indictable description of KA's tenure as a GM. There are different stages in a rebuild, especially a nearly complete tear down. He didn't understand where he was on that spectrum or simply misjudged (over-rated) and miscast the roster he had on hand. He was in the fifth year of the gruesome rebuild course that he established when he was given the reigns by the owner. The rebuild blueprint was set and was being executed. Last offseason, he had the assets and cap room to make some enhancing deals that would have accelerated the roster reconstruction. He simply didn't have the imagination and fortitude to make enough roster moves to solidify the roster that he had on hand. I strongly believe that if he would have parlayed some of the bountiful assets that he had on hand within the system (players, draft picks, prospects and cap space) this last offseason, the discussion about this team would be so different. The sabotaging trait for this GM was that he was too passive when there were opportunities to seize. (As you point out.) So this "could have and should have" scenario played out that he "didn't".

This fellow has been on the job for five years. There is more than enough work product to evaluate. He's simply in over his head. He is a checkers player in a chess game. Until there is a change at the GM position with someone who is equipped to handle the multi-faceted job, this franchise will continue to be stuck. How do you expect this executive to evaluate talent in the league when he can't accurately assess the talent he has on his own roster? This isn't a GM problem so much as an ownership problem. He made the peculiar hire more for financial reasons than for hockey reasons. I'm not a despondent fan who believes that this is a lost cause franchise where everything has to be blown up. I strongly believe that with the right person at the helm who is capable of making some smart transactions this team would be in a much better position.

The problem isn't that our GM wasn't wise in thinking ahead about the increasing cap landscape when securing his young core with extended contracts, such as Tage, Power, Cozens etc. It's that he didn't add enough supporting talent when he had the opportunity to do so to get a better production from them and collectively for the team. Last offseason, the GM added players such as Zucker, McCleud and some other players for the lower lines. These in general were good pickups. However, adding another Zucker caliber player and another veteran defenseman could have better balanced and rounded out this roster. In my view it was doable. That was a mistake.

Take some muscle relaxers and see if the problematic back settles down. If it is over the counter pills try doubling up the dosage for a few days.

You identified the conundrum and futility: Those who drove this franchise into the ditch are allowed to keep the keys to the car to drive us out of the ditch that they drove into. It's like the police stopping a drunken driver and telling him to drive on. It makes no sense. For me, the onus is on the clueless owner who has made one bad hire after another.

The Sabres have become a laughable organization where assets are frequently diminished. There's another reason why I don't want Cozens or anyone else dealt by this befuddled GM. Due to his failure as a GM he might feel the pressure to do something for the sake of giving the impression that he is acting. It's well known around the league that he is in a weak position and might be inclined to make a bad deal. I would hope that after the season there will be a new GM who is better equipped to make roster decisions. I want to make it clear that I'm not against making deals. But I sure don't want our Howdy Doody GM to be the one doing it. He's already demonstrated what he is capable of. And that is my fear. s

I'll finish responding on the Cozens discussion. There is no question that his stats are insufficient. I'm not saying otherwise. But let's not forget that in the 2022-23 season he has 31 goals, 37 assists for 68 pts. He finished with a -3. In the 2023-24 season he scored 18 goals, 29 assists for 47 points with a -4. In the international tournaments playing with and against top tier players he played very well, especially as a winger. (I believe that wing is his more suitable position.) My general point regarding him and other young players is that he is playing with a team and organization that is not very smartly run. And I believe that he and others have become inhibited in their play and development because of it. I'm confident that if he was with a better managed franchise his play would improve. My main disagreement with your usage of stats in describing his play is that it doesn't factor in the dysfunctional organization that he is playing in and stuck with. You don't have to respond because the both of us are going in circles on this topic. Although I understand what you are saying, I disagree with your general point about him as a player.

Let's look at Cozens in isolation and also representative of how this organization has handled young players. Foremost, is that many of them have been rushed to the NHL. And secondly, because there has been a dearth of experience on this roster they are playing in higher roles than they are ready to assume. With Cozens, you can see him playing with a lot of pressure that he is putting on himself. A point is that there is in general a mishandling of young players that stunts their development. Our ill-equipped GM has publicly stated that his approach was not to block the young players with veteran players. Did that approach enhance their development or did it stunt it? The expectation is that it would accelerate their development. Did it? There is no question that Levi was rushed. Would it have been better for them in general to have gotten more playing time with increased roles in the AHL? That is the normal approach for most franchises. There certainly are teams that play their highly draft players right away in the big league. But they don't do it to the extent that our flailing franchise does it. And for the most part they have more players who provide a support system for these fledging players. I'm comfortable in saying that if Cozens is traded to a competently run organization, he would be a better player for his new team compared to where he is now. The Sabres are a poorly run organization. That's not debatable. And because of that our young players get dragged down from that morass of incompetency.

You can't look at the Cozens situation in isolation. The embarrassing reality is that if he were dealt to a competently run organization he would be placed in a situation where he would be a better player. Multiply that many times over regarding most of our young players. Jack Eichel recognized it, so did Reinhard, ROR and Ullmark etc. They wanted out and got out. The substantive issue is the owner and the organization that he has created/structured. The organization is structured and staffed the way he wanted it to be. There isn't a franchise in the NHL that not only wouldn't have hired KA to be their GM, let alone allow him to be interviewed. So five years after the peculiar GM hire what is the outcome? Check the standings. To save time start at the bottom. Without wasting time arguing whether Lindy was a good hire or not what is indisputable is that the process was a sham. Without a credible coaching search Ruff was selected to be behind the bench. Again, ask yourself, what other franchise would have gone through such a fake search for such a critical job that is a big factor in a team's success? We have an incompetent owner who has destroyed the franchise and has demolished the already withering fanbase. Terry Pegula has become the NHL's version of Dan Snyder as a pro franchise owner (without the sleaze baggage). It's astounding to think how bad this franchise has been run for a generation, the length of Pegula's ownership. Stating the obvious: Incompetent owners who create a shambolic organization don't succeed.

Just to irritate you I am declaring this game a “should win” game. However, don’t hold me to it. 😊