Swedesessed Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 This has been a great year for the Buffalo Sabres....seems that the Sabres fans are rejuvinated again, and the city has a little buzz going for the Sabres...but if the Sabres do not make it out of the 1st round, does that make the season irrelevant? Do you think the Sabres have to win at least 1 round to consider the year a success? Discuss.
apuszczalowski Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 This year is already a success, they did something not many other teams tried, they proved you don't have to max out the cap to be a success and that as a team the can be successful. Have they already matched their last seasons win total half way through this year? Playoffs wil be nice, but one more win then last year will be a success in my books
BetweenThePipes00 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 Depends on the matchup and how they finish the season ... if they get hot and win the division and then lose in the first round, it will be impossible NOT to be disappointed ... But the East is still loaded and unless they get into one of the top 2 seeds they will be facing a good team ... I wouldn't be devastated because they are moving in the right direction.
PTS Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 As an organization, a season shouldn't be considered a success unless they win the Cup. As a fan, I will be disappointed if they don't make the Conference Finals at least.
shrader Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 As an organization, a season shouldn't be considered a success unless they win the Cup. I don't agree with this. The team is on pace to make a profit for the first time in god knows how long. That right there makes this season a success.
BetweenThePipes00 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 I don't agree with this. The team is on pace to make a profit for the first time in god knows how long. That right there makes this season a success. Well yeah but ... Boston and Chicago turn a profit every year and their owners are hated for not trying hard enough to win ... THIS season, I agree but I think you have to want to do both ... win it all but not lose money doing it.
Corp000085 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 Financially, this has already been a success... However, first in the conference or eighth, playoff exits are always a dissapointment. Stanley Cup or Bust!
Guest cgang Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 Depends on how you define success. Financially, for a team getting in the black after going bankrupt, absolutely. From an entertainment/fan generating interest perspective, absolutely. HSBC is a rocking place these days. But performance wise, anything less than a first round win can't be considered a success. They are not here to show "progress" for next year. It is hard to see how the team will be any closer together than right now or that somehow they will be an even closer knit team or come up with an even better scheme or big name player next year. They are a special team this year, have survived injury after injury, and have too much heart not to pass the first round at the very least (not saying they can't match their success next year, just saying that this year is pretty magical with them coming out of nowhere). If you asked them, I am sure they would say the same thing. It would be a huge let down to work so hard and have their playoff run cut short right when it begins. Barring a collapse, they really should not lose in the first round if they put forth the same effort as they have pretty much all season.
Taro T Posted February 10, 2006 Report Posted February 10, 2006 They've sold out something like 9 of the last 11 and missed sellouts in the other 2 by ~600 and ~1,200. They will probably continue to have this kind of attendance for the rest of the season. There is currently a genuine excitement about the team and I can't remember the last time the fans were this pumped this early in the season. The team WILL finish in the black this year and they reenter the playoffs after 4 LONG years. So this season, especially based on where they were coming from, will definitely be considered a success. Will it be a disappointment to go out in the 1st round? Absolutely. How big of a disappointment? Depends. If they drop to 6th or 7th and go out in the 1st round, it will be a huge disappointment and they will probably be looking at 12-13k fans per game in October again. As a lot of people will look at the great start as having been done primarily with smoke and mirrors. If they finish 1 or 2 and go out in the 1st round, it will be disappointing, but I think fans (even a lot of casual fans) will cut them some slack and look at this as a building year towards a bright future. October won't be sellouts, but 13-15k wouldn't be out of the question. If they stay middle of the pack and go out in the 1st, I'm not sure how fans will react toward early next season. I really think they need to get to the 2nd round to maintain the excitement of this season in October. Anything above that, and maybe we are looking at a mini-70's for excitement level, especially if the Bills don't get their house in order and they don't go too crazy with ticket price increases next year.
jzmack Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 i have no problem saying this season already a success. How much money did they lose over the lockout. How pissed were the fans. Yet, they put together a team the has marketed well and actually made a profit. On top of that, they have surpassed all expectations to be a young team that strikes fear throughout the league.
deluca67 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 I think 4 and out would be a huge let down. I don't see that happening. I'm now in the mind set that this is only the begining of something really good. This years playoffs are just a stepping stone. I think the Sabres are well on their way. The Sabres check list is : 1) Make the Franchise healthy and profitable. 2) Build teams from within including depth. 3) Develope a culture of winning. 4) Win a Championship. The Sabres are on a good path. As long they stay focused and stick to plan and not fall into the pitfalls created by early success they will do just fine long term.
Saber61 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 im pretty happy with this season... it could have been ALOT worse then this pleasant surprise were all getting right now... even if we don't make the cup finals... ill be happy... because were on the right path... and we have a winner to watch night in and night out when hockey season comes back
bob_sauve28 Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 Losing in the first round would be a big disppointment and would haunt the team all the following year. Winning begets winning, and winning in the playoffs is the ost important
JujuFish Posted February 11, 2006 Report Posted February 11, 2006 If the playoffs started right now and we lost in the first round, I'd be disappointed, because I think we should be able to beat Philly.
Guest Guest_toddkaz Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 to the guy that said one win more then last season....don't quit your day job. Any less then the Stanly cup will be a dissapointment. Success I guess is up to the owner and Management. I am sure as long as we make money it is success to upper management. I am sure most fans want to see the Sabres win before they are six feet under. It has been 30 years this is as good as time any. Would anyone be happy if the sabres don't win? It will always be a disappointment
DrunkenSabre Posted February 12, 2006 Report Posted February 12, 2006 i would consider it a success whatever happens. to be honest, with the amount of people in our team that have never been to the playoffs, my expectations are low. but we have a good team, so anything is possible
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