JohnC

Our owner has chosen to be intimately/actively involved in the franchise. That's his prerogative as an owner. The problem is that he either lacks the self-awareness about his competency about his hockey judgment or he simply doesn't care. He wants to tinker and play with his toy. The outcome is the long-term lackluster record. It can't be ignored.

It's not weird because with respect to that specific incident I don't believe that it is a factor on our franchise's demise. I mostly attribute the franchise's failures and irrelevancy to the period of Pegula's ownership and how he has conducted himself during this sad interlude. If you are searching for a cause/effect look to Terry P. and his foolishness.

The Lucic hit om Miller occurred in 2011. That was 14 freaking years ago! Extrapolating our descent from that hit is not only odd, but weirdly nonsensical. The Sabres have been a mediocre and irrelevant franchise for nearly a generation, not because of a particular hit, but because of an incompetent owner who has hired a less than mediocre staff to run the hockey operations. The Sabres won a game against a superior opponent yesterday. I'm happy about the victory while many are dissatisfied with it. Now we have arrived at a point where after a victory there has been a perplexing freak out. This makes no sense to me. The frustration over this franchise has spilled over to affect many people's logical thinking.

https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/sports/sabres/a-dirty-late-hit-on-thompson-goes-unchallenged Zucker's response is in Paul Hamilton's column.

Utter nonsense. What broadcasts do you watch? He criticizes the Sabres for defensive coverage lapses all the time. And he also frequently points out the need to address "issues" when liberties are taken. He's never been reluctant to criticize the players and its play.

How so? Taking a Sabre off the ice because of a penalty would not have put the team in a better position to win. You have forgotten but the Sabres did get the win.

Some people find it outrageous that they won and didn't conform to their line of thinking. There are many who would have preferred for the players to react in such a manner that jeopardized a win. I'm not in that camp.

The one person who has never been reluctant to advocate responding back when required is Rob Ray. He stated a position and gave a reason for it. He made the point that given where the game was at it wasn't the right time to retaliate. His position at that time had absolutely nothing to do with a fear of it affecting his job.

Good for you. Keep commenting on games that you didn't see.

If you didn't watch the game and don't care about the team then why are you commenting on it?

I'm taking the position that Rob Ray took. If you have a different position then so be it. We won the game. You may be disappointed about the outcome but I'm not.

I care and am happy that they won. If you are not then wallow in your sadness. I'm looking forward to the Columbus game and hoping this team makes it four games in a row. The whining and lamenting over a win is startling to me.

I'm also not a gambler. However, I'm expecting the Sabres to beat Columbus Tuesday and break the three game barrier.

Ray stated his opinion that the priority was to not disadvantage your team after the hit. How do you know he feels the exact opposite of what he said? Ray is not a wall flower. He typically expresses his opinion of the need to "address" (as he often describes it) issues when they arise. In this case, the tide was starting to turn against the Sabres in a game that was close. We got the freaking win, and now the chorus is all about not retaliating even when a response at that time may have hurt our chances of winning. As @PromoTheRobot pointed out the referee quickly intervened and called the major. A subsequent retaliation would have not helped us to win. The Sabres did not play a soft game. There were some noticeable lulls but much of it can be attributed to a talented offensive team that is very good offensively. Some quick thoughts on this game: The first star should go to UPL. He had a number of big time stops. My second star would go to Tage who made a couple of nifty passes in close range to Zucker and Peterka for scores. Dahlin is our best player and drives the play as much as anyone does. I thought Tuck played well. We need to re-sign Zucker. I have been critical of the GM but this was a terrific pickup. The McLeod acquisition was a solid pickup. There are many people who are harshly critical of Power. What they are seeing is not what I am seeing. I thought he had a very good game. Three wins in a row is a step in the right direction. It's still unlikely that we will qualify for the playoffs but I hope that at the minimum we can get back into the playoff picture even if it ends up being another futile attempt.

On the tv replay it was definitely over the line.

Playing too loose. Need to tighten up

It was the right call.

If the information you received is true, then that is a good sign. (My opinion.) Both of these players add an element of ruggedness that this roster definitely needs. If the GM can re-sign Zucker and Greenway, then there are fewer issues to address in the offseason. Wouldn't it be terrific to acquire another Zucker like player and add a veteran defenseman to the blueline unit?

We may be disagreeing around the margins and nibbling around the edges. The point that I and others are making is that his passing skills were not as recognized as his skating and shooting skills here because collectively the players he played with weren't good enough to convert them. In Vegas, he is surrounded by better players. And that has made a difference with respect to his passing ability which are converted into assists with greater frequency. I don't want to over state something where in general we are more in agreement.

In addition, Reinhart was exceptional at tipping in shots around the net. The Sabres are starting to add shooters such as Tage, Quinn, Tuch, Kulich, Peterka etc. Right now, Zucker and to a lesser extent, Benson, are our best net presence when shots are directed toward the net. If we still would have had Reinhart, the conversion rate on rebounds and tips would be much higher. This confused organization squandered elite talent that was already on our roster. Utterly stupid and sinful that has squashed this franchise.

I understand why you wouldn't consider Eichel a world-class playmaker here but I disagree with that assessment. He simply didn't have the players to convert his passes that he does in Vegas. (I believe @Thorner made that point.) Eichel had elite attributes when it came to skating, shooting and passing. In Buffalo, what always stood out to me were his passes to players who couldn't convert them. He was a special talent that was way beyond the players he played with in Buffalo. And that frustrated him and was one of the factors why he wanted out of the dismal situation that he felt he was stuck in.

I suspect that eventually Kulich and Cozens will both end up on wing. As far as Kulich, as you stated, this young fellow can certainly shoot!

On TV, the camera showed Terry and Kim in their club box. I wish Kim the best. She is facing a major health challenge. It was nice to see her at the Razor event.

Sometimes it's difficult to measure but the eye test tells you that a player is playing with confidence or tentatively, without confidence. It appears to me that he is less tentative and willing to hold the pluck more and move to open space to get his sniper shot off. The one player that the confidence issue has been evident is Quinn. For much of the season, he was a shell of what he has previously played. It seems now that after going through a lull period that he is steadily playing up to his old form. He's still not there yet but he is moving in the right direction with respect to playing with confidence. You can also see the confidence level growing for Power who is much more inclined to get involved offensively.

There was not a scintilla of chance that the Sabres were a destination that Stamkos was interesting in coming to. Were there people here who were clamoring to get him? Sure there were. But they weren't the sober ones who already knew that a snowball had a better chance surviving in hell than he choosing to come here. Let's get real!