JohnC

We have enough floaters on the team who get lost. No thank you. 😄

I like Greenway a lot and would hope that he would be willing to stay with the right offer. But what happens if he tells the front office that he would prefer to be moved to a better functioning organization that will give him a chance to compete in the playoffs? The owner has created an organization that is unappealing to many players. The obstacles that this franchise has to overcome are the same obstacles that itself created. The never-ending loop of incompetency that has handcuffed this franchise since Terry Pegula bought this franchise.

What are the odds that our inept GM makes a major deal that benefits this team? He has already demonstrated his work product over the past five years. What makes you believe that he would be up to the task? This congenial sycophant has not shown that he is even adept at assessing his own roster, let alone counting on him to assess players on other teams. Allowing him to make a major deal is like allowing a surgeon whose nickname is "hands of stone" to do a delicate brain procedure on you. No thank you.

Do you want an incompetent GM to make a consequential deal while he is under duress for his failings? The most consequential deal that our silent and perplexing owner can do is hire a qualified GM to assess the roster and then make rational deals.

I believe that wing is the best spot for him. He lacks the instinctiveness (my opinion) to play to his best level as a second-line center. He has thrived in the international tournaments playing wing with quality centers. As you point, it is evident that his play and development have been crimped by the stress he is placing on himself. My fear is if dealt he will thrive with a team/organization that has a clue as to how to put players in position to grow and succeed. The situation in Buffalo is too dysfunctional for talented players to develop as well as they should. The owner by his irrational hires and tinkering has destroyed this once proud franchise and has severely eroded this once flourishing fanbase to the point of submission. Terry Pegula is the Danny Snyder of hockey without the sleazy personal behavior. This silent and clueless billionaire lacks the self-awareness to recognize what he has done.

The primary reason that KA needs to be dispatched has little to do with convincing the stubborn owner to spend money. He's a failure because as a GM he failed in understanding how to construct a roster and judge pro talent. As far as persuading our nontalking and conceited owner that he needed to spend more, the onus is primarily on the owner, not the GM. Terry P knew exactly who he was hiring when he made the weird GM hire. He got a sycophant who was willing to always bend a knee to the clueless owner. The target of criticisms should be squarely directed toward the penny-pinching owner who hired an incapable person to oversee the hockey operation. He was selected because he was a "yes man" in comparison to his predecessor who said no to the owner, and then was fired for standing up to the owner on an issue that the former GM knew would hurt the hockey franchise if implemented. This is a failed franchise because we have know nothing owner who lacks the self-awareness to recognize that he knows nothing about how to be a successful owner. When you mesh incompetence with hubris you predictably end up with a failed business. I'm tired of this billionaire fool.

All these competitive fellows are happy that they got away from this shambolic organization that gave them little chance to experience success. I remember the torrent of criticisms Eichel received when he expressed a desire to go to a more competently run franchise. They were all right in their desire and determination to get out of dodge.

The irony is that if the clueless owner put together a quality hockey staff, starting with the GM, he would be able to assemble a competitive team that would be a more compelling and desirous product. If that scenario happened, the hometown arena would be mostly filled, as it is with the Bandit team, the professional lacrosse team. On top of that, the Sabres would be a playoff team that would result in garnering even more post season revenue. This billionaire has saved pennies at the expense of losing dollars. His miserly financial behavior has hurt his own pocket book while also eroding the fanbase, i.e. paying customers. How freaking stupid is that!!!!

I previously felt that the position you expressed here was wrong and risky. Not anymore. I'm fed up with this stubborn and clueless owner who has led this franchise into the abyss for nearly a generation. I don't know if he has become apathetic or is tinkering with his toy to the extent that he has diminished it to the point that it has become a scorned and ridiculed franchise. Doesn't this billionaire have any pride? The hiring of KA to be a GM was outrageous. This was a congenial and ill-equipped fellow who no other organization (good or bad) would have even considered. And without getting into the issue of whether Ruff was a good hire doesn't alter the fact that the hiring process was a charade. The owner has created an organization that suits him and allows him to interfere with the hockey operation. That's his prerogative as owner. The problem is that when you have a stubborn and conceited owner who doesn't recognize his own incompetence, then you become stuck with the malignant system that he has created. Look what happened when the Washington Commanders were able to finally shed its sleazy owner, Danny Snyder. Once his toxic presence was replaced with a knowledgeable owner who knew how to properly structure and staff his newly acquired franchise, the franchised became liberated and the results have been dramatically different. The sphinx owner of the Sabres deliberately created a shambolic organization because that is exactly what he wanted to do. I wish he would sell and pocket his abundant profits. He has no business owning a hockey franchise. An NHL franchise is a prized possession. He squandered it leaving the rapidly diminishing fanbase abused.

I think money is a big factor for players who are veterans and are on the downside of their careers. And I also believe that there are players who have not performed up to their talent level and would be willing to sign here for the short term in order to refurbish their career and make themselves more appealing to other teams. The veteran players recognize that it's a business as much for players as it is for the organizations.

The $$$$ does not come from clerk who is also the manager of the gas station/car wash and store. Stop with your over exaggerating the situation. It’s basic business of returning $$$ for nonservice.

That’s utter nonsense. He took the money out of the cash register.

What are you talking about? He's not paying me back with his own funds. Where do you come up with this foolishness? He's going into the cash register and reimbursing me for the service I didn't receive. And the establishment can be compensated for the miniscule loss of revenue from the company that they receive $$$$$$ from for allowing them to place their failed machine on their premises.

We can go around in circles on this issue but to say that this dismissive fellow has no control over the situation doesn't resonate with me. He can reimburse me and seek his own reimbursement from the company that he has a business relationship on his premises. The money is not a consideration for me. I'm not going to be cheated without responding. You feel differently---that's fine.

They have a business relationship with the company. If the machine is broke, the gas station has a responsibility to put up an out of order sign and notify it. What normal are you referring to? Screwing customers who patronize their establishment!

He gets the best contract offer from Buffalo.

I did pay for air that I didn't receive. It wasn't an attempt to pay because I actually did pay. I paid for a service that I didn't get. In most gas stations you pay upfront before receiving gas. What if I paid upfront $20 for gas and the gas pump didn't work? Wouldn't I get all my money back? If the guy working the counter said that we don't own the defective pumps so you have to notify the gas pump company to get reimbursed would that make sense? Absolutely not. So how is this different? Just because the gas station doesn't own the dispenser doesn't mean that they don't collect a fee or a percentage for allowing the device to be on their establishment. The gas station and car wash establishment does have a business relationship with the "air" company. If the machine is broken they have the ability to put a notice on the device and also contact the company. It's not my responsibility to contact the company, it's the responsibility of the gas station to notify the air company.

I made the point to this fellow that he should have had an out of order sign placed on air machine. As far as seeking reimbursement from that air compressor company, this fellow and his establishment could have sought reimbursement, instead of me. It should also be pointed out that I frequently "filled up" at this establishment, and this employee knew that I was a regular customer. I no longer patronize that establishment.

Your response is reasonable. I'm confident that buttering him up was not going to get me reimbursed. I went up to him and politely explained what happened. His attitude was dismissive. My responding attitude was his response was inadequate. The money was never the issue for me.

What makes me upset is that you have to put coins in a machine to get air for your tires. Having to pay for air is an outrage! Recently, I had to put air in my tires. I put 6 quarters in the machine that had a short time limit. So unsurprisingly, the machine didn't work. No air. I went into the gas station establishment to get a refund. The person working in the enclosed glass area told me that the machine was not owned by the establishment so he couldn't reimburse me. As everyone here knows very well, I'm usually a mellow fellow. I went berserk! I started screaming at him like a maniac. He told me he would be willing to give me 75 cents back. I went even crazier on him to the extent that he backed up with fear in his eyes. He then opened up the cash register and gave me $1.50, a full refund. The question I pose to the members here is: Did I act in an unreasonable manner?

We don't need to trade any of the young players who are already on the roster to bolster our mismatched roster. We have a number of good prospects and drafts picks to parlay in deals. Tucker was a terrific pickup. What did we give up for him? Nothing. Will we keep him? I hope so. Greenway is a player whose value goes beyond his production stats? He adds veteran presence, ruggedness and intelligent positional play to a roster full of players who too often scramble and lose sight of their defensive responsibilities. What did we give up for him? We gave up a second round pick when we had two of them. I have said this on more than a few occasions, so excuse me for the annoying repetition: We don't need blockbuster deals that strip this team further. We need a few astute deals that bolster a disjointed roster. The model to follow is the Washington Caps. Over the past couple of years they have refashioned their roster by acquiring medium range talents, some who underachieved at their former location. The result was that they ended up thickening and better balancing their roster. The Capitals record after 47 games is 32-10-5 for 69 pts. The record for Buffalo after 47 games is 18-24-5 for 41 pts. It wasn't that long ago that both teams were in the same strata. What happened to these two teams going in opposite directions? One organization acted smartly while the other organization demonstrated its mediocrity over the same period. My expressions of exasperation with this woebegone franchise is not that we were automatically doomed to failure because that was not the case. It was that the organization didn't seize opportunities to upgrade the roster when there were there opportunities to do so. Wretched mediocrity in the system created mediocrity on the ice. I blame the obtuse owner and sycophantic GM!

If the Sabres trade Power they will watch another young player thrive with another team. My preference would be to keep both of these two defenders and upgrade the lower pairings with more stay at home and rugged defenders. Why not add a bigger Clifton type defender to the blueline unit?

I have a different view on Cozens than most others have here. It's indisputable that Cozens has dramatically regressed this year. But let's not forget that prior to this regressive year (for a lot of players) that he has shown promise as a player. In the 23-24 season he scored 31 goals and had 37 assists with a +/- -3. In the 23-24 season he had 18 goals and 29 assists with a +/- -4. Instead of giving up on a young player who would likely perform better in a better functioning franchise, why not try putting him in a better position to succeed? I have felt for a long time that he is better suited to play wing. In the international tournaments, whenever he played wing with upper tier talent, he has thrived. I'm not against making a deal that improves this team. But right now his value is low, and the likely return won't be substantial. I still believe that he can be a capable second-line winger. I'm not throwing in the towel just yet on him. I recommend more patience and see how things development with him. I'm confident that my position is a minority position but am still comfortable with my position on this player.

Comparatively, on this roster he is an experienced player who also has playoff experience. The key issue is how you play more than how long you have played.

Having McCleod as a third or fourth line center is fine with me. I don't know why you are so negative toward having McLeod being a third or fourth line center for us? He's gives you a veteran presence, provides speed and is a good character guy to have mingling with the youngsters. And there is a good possibility that if you provide McCleod with more productive wingers his production will also go up.