That Aud Smell

I have precisely the same sense with Kane. It's difficult to express, and even difficult to prove with numbers or data, but it feels like there is something amiss. He scores goals. He's said to be a full-effort sort of player. He'll stand up for teammates if there's trouble on the ice. And yet, I have come to conclude that there is something rotten about the current core of this team. And Kane appears to be at the center of that core. He is not the only player I would like to see moved out for other players or prospects, but he's chief among them. I'm also open to the idea that Reinhart and/or ROR have to go as well. For other NHL-caliber players, I should think. I just think the whole garden really needs to be turned over in a comprehensive way because the current roster seems deeply flawed -- not just in terms of talent but also attitude, heart, and/or professionalism.

I'm to a point where IDGAF (is that still a thing?) about whether anyone currently on the roster -- probably other than Eichel -- is still on this team next season.

While I don't agree with the Foligno take, I think the stuff about Eichel is pretty interesting and insightful. I had not really considered the extent to which he's being asked to become more of a 2-way player. While I'm at it: How many power play points did Eichel have at this point last season? And how many now? The players deserve boo-dos (opposite of kudos, I think) for a lot -- but the coaching staff done effed up a fantastic power play.

Agreed. And the rot won’t end there.

It's weird because why would you choose to convey that message in the context of statements you're giving to the media -- by being sorta shouty and trying to pitch your voice over toward Reinhart and whomever else isn't pulling his weight? I dunno. Maybe Scandella's tried doing it one-on-one or in team meetings, and nothing's changing. So he went that route instead. In all cases, it would bespeak dysfunction.

^ Someone Tweeted that Scandella appeared to be talking loudly when he said that, as if he were trying to be heard by other players. Which is kinda weird.

Good call.

Saw that. The guy's as good as gone, yeah? I think this thread was started at a time when Kane was our leading goal-scorer and the Sabres were maybe going to make a season of it. One of those facts is probably still true (I'm too lazy to check), and the other is decidedly not the case. The Sabres are sellers. They should be moving Kane for a player/prospect (and maybe a pick? pick swap) that fits the vision of what they want to build. The rationale of "how can you support trading a guy who's our best player when we already stink?" is flawed to me. I think that the proposition answers the question it seeks to pose. That is to say: If you're the leading goal scorer on a sh1tty team, you might just be (part of) the problem.

I appreciate that feedback -- it helps focus and better express my own thoughts. Especially the bolded. With the story that came up this week on Twitter -- it was something from a book where Briere was confirming what everyone believed about the delinquent 5x5 offer and July 1, 2007, and then also Sabres Goal a Day on Twitter posting the Hecht goal from game 7 of the 2006 ECF -- a situation arose where my youngest was asking me about what it was like to have the Sabres be good, but how disappointing it must have been to have them not reach the SCF and win. And you know ... his questions got me thinking. I readily thought back to a half-dozen memories from those Cup runs, especially 2006. I don't think there's anything, really, that I would do to change or improve on the experiences I had. They are such fond memories. That's all sport is really about, anyway: Being and feeling connected to your team, city, town, community, etc. (/Whispers: It isn't *really* about what happens on the ice, field, court, although that's a key element to what it is actually all about.) Would my memories of 2006 be better had the Sabres won the Cup? Yeah, I suppose so. But I don't feel like the memories I have of that time are deficient because they didn't. Onward!

I can't get to the site from where I am (natural stat trick, I think), but I saw a #fancystats graph on where the Sabres' shots came from. It's maybe misleading to say the Sabres had a lot of SOG, given where they came from. I watched a tiny bit of the game last night. I can't get off my obsession with ROR being too slow and too often behind the play, and what I saw last night did nothing to help that. I saw that he led the team in TOI. I know, of course, that he is a diligent and responsible player, but it's frickin' weird how inconsequential he's been this year. That leads me to my sense that he's out of step with how the game's being played.

On second thought: He’ll rejoin Coughlin, right?

But hey: How about an epic swan song as starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills?

I apologize if this has been stated upthread, but I'm done wanting or expecting anything out of this team until further notice (from me, to me, I guess). On a more metaphysical level (I think), I'm working to reject the ever popular (and, frankly, quite tired) narrative of the long-suffering sports fan. Sports are fun. They're supposed to be fun. Sometimes, there will be disappointment when a desirable achievement is within sight but not secured. But we're a long way from that sort of thing.

The rationale for benching Eli is maybe a bit weird at this point. Like they actually want to see what they have in Geno?

I'm hoping to see some entertaining hockey. Further signs of life from the good guys would be a plus. 2 points? That seems like crazy talk. But, I'll talk crazy.

Dear God. That was Dr. Dirty? He’s top notch, for that varietal. Which is corny as hell.

If this team didn't have bad luck ....

I'd have thought it would creep into double digits.

I hear you. But given the nature and quality of the kinds of people who generally write and arrange these kinds of songs (jingles), I would not be surprised if a similar undertaking from 1996, 2006, or 2016 sounded quite similar.

Jesus Christ on a popsicle stick.

Ah, sorry. My phrasing confused the matter. I was reading that what Eichel did might have looked like drifting back into the play, but it was actually getting back into the play.

Wait - so was Eichel drifting back onto that play tantamount to Colon hitting a home run?

Only if I get to be ... um, That Aud Smell.

^ I was more looking at the digital media department's "another juggle to our lines" take. Just ... bad. Not good. Not clever. Tends maybe to throw shade at the hockey ops.