Big Guava

With the amount of parity and the fact half the conference makes the playoffs every year it is nearly impossible to have a missed playoff streak of this length...even thru sheer dumb luck and a few loser points or a hot streak they should have been able to make it by now. The fact the Bills are tied for having the 2nd longest playoff drought in NFL history and the Sabres keep reaching new highs with this playoff drought, now at 14 seasons, 4 longer than the Panthers in 2nd place in NHL history, and it's almost inconceivable that these overlapped for several years, let alone happened to two teams from the same city.

It's not on any individual player, it's on the collective mentality they are indoctrinated into when they join the team. Losing begets a losing mentality from the veteran players there who then teach the younger players the same losing mentality,and the cycle continues until it gets broken. Ryan O'Reilly won a cup and came here and had the life and energy sucked out of him from the losing. Eichel was supposed to be the savior and then turned into a whipping boy and leaves and wins a cup. Reinhart was a good player...leaves and becomes a 50 goal scorer and wins the cup. Montadour couldn't do much of anything here...leaves and plays a key role on a cup team. It's the same stuff over and over and over. Good players come here and do nothing but lose. Then leave and go to other teams and have a lot of success. At this point it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy after it's been going on this long. Almost have a feeling of "here we go again" and "nothing ever changes".

Yes...one that we consistently find ourselves on the wrong side of far too often over the last 14 years

Good depth to have, but better as a 7th D-man that can fill in spot duty.

Nice win...but another game with a sub .900 save percentage by UPL. In his last 12 games, he only has 3 games where he registered a .900+ save percentage. Pathetic.

UPL now leads the NHL in Goals Allowed

"I'll take things that never happened for $1000, Alex."

Well...good win.

You mean except the coach that got fired mid season?

Bylsma won a Stanley Cup

The ability to lose no matter who the coach is or how many times they rebuild with new players. Almost impossible to be this bad for this long but they have figured out a way to do it

UPL sucks ass

Dahlin said he never even said anything like this and is pissed about it

1...2...3...we want 4!

He has but clearly it is a low point for him and not his average of what could be expected. I would think that a 23 year old player who still has time to improve, is very durable and has shown he has skill is worth more than a guy who has missed 100 games the last 2 years and can't stay on the ice and is more expensive and 2 years older. Let alone then throwing in a 2nd round pick to boot. Especially when it's an open secret that the Sens have been shopping Norris for a loooong time and found no buyers...why the hell are you paying a premium to take a guy they are desperate to get rid of?? It would be like someone that is putting stuff at the curb with a free sign on it and you go up to the house and hand them $100 for it...like what are you doing??

I don't care until next season starts. That's the next time they have any shot at a playoff berth

Well they definitely got the better defensive player without question. Cozens was a liability on D Norris isn't going to get any Selke votes but he is very capable and at least league average there.

It's not...this team clearly has a lot of talented players but when do they start playing like a real hockey team that can play all facets of the game properly? It's like they are still in junior hockey where all too often they have to focus really hard on one thing to clean up in their game at the expense of everything else. This shouldn't happen at the NHL level...these players should be able to play better defense while not completely disintegrating their ability to play offense and vice versa. It's just so maddening because you can tell they have the ability to play very well but they can't put it together for an entire game far too often and they can't play a normal game properly where the strategy shifts during the game and you have to be able to adapt based on what's going on in the game. It's like they only have one way to play and if they are forced out of that they get completely discombobulated and it shouldn't be like that at the NHL level.

I'm not sick other than sick of this team so I won't be watching again... So much easier to just watch the highlights and not feel like you want to throw your remote thru the TV

I guess after thinking about this more I am a little irritated Adams couldn't do better than this for Cozens. 23, reasonable contract, very durable, had a very good year 2 years ago but is having a much worse year this year than his talent would suggest. Norris is kinda the same but is 2 years older, very injury prone and has a 900K higher cap hit. IMO, Cousins should be much more valuable than Norris is for just those reasons alone. Maybe a minor upgrade with Docker over Gilbert but not expecting much from him, and then we give them a 2nd round pick? Man...we need Regier back as GM. He would never be the one getting fleeced in trades...

Pray for us...live Jesus in our hearts...

No, I just don't equate an average at best goalie with the best who ever played the game and think they would get the same results. Would be like saying Trent Edwards would have the same impact as Josh Allen if the players around him weren't as good. Makes zero sense.

The second you said Hasek would have the same numbers your argument was DOA to me.

Oh damn...I had no idea Gilbert was a Buffalo product and actually went to my high school!

Please...we keep making excuses for why the goalie lets in God Awful goals that have no business going in far too often. Trying to say Hasek would have the same numbers is the height of nonsense. And at least 3 of them were terrible goals