A history of futility

[bottlecap]

We're not the Chicago Cubs at least but this sure spells things out when you put it all together:

 

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/buffalo/sabres.html

[Kristian]

We're not the Chicago Cubs at least but this sure spells things out when you put it all together:

 

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/buffalo/sabres.html

 

Yeah, looks pretty bleak, doesn't it?

 

You know what's funny? I just went through all of this, and it dawned on me how we as fans bitch and moan everytime the Sabres decide to dump salary and let players go, but even when we have been big spenders, we won nothing.

 

Sure, we may have been closer but personally I feel the best overall team we ever had, which IMHO was the 06/07 team, was also the team that wanted the cup less than all the others, ironically. Perhaps blowing that team up wasn't such a bad idea? I guess we won't know until 4-5 years time.

 

Hate to say this, but maybe we should all just be happy we have a team, and maybe the Sabres themselves should just be happy if they can draw a crowd of 13.000 on any given night, and perhaps sell out 5-6 regular season games a year?

 

*hits head against desk*

 

It's ok, I feel better now :thumbsup:

 

*Edited for huge friggin' typo!!

[Bmwolf21]

Yeah, looks pretty bleak, doesn't it?

 

You know what's funny? I just went through all of this, and it dawned on me how we as fans bitch and moan everytime the Sabres decide to dump salary and let players go, but even when we have been big spenders, we won nothing.

Sure, we may have been closer but personally I feel the best overall team we ever had, which IMHO was the 07/08 team, was also the team that wanted the cup less than all the others, ironically. Perhaps blowing that team up wasn't such a bad idea? I guess we won't know until 4-5 years time.

Hate to say this, but maybe we should all just be happy we have a team, and maybe the Sabres themselves should just be happy if they can draw a crowd of 13.000 on any given night, and perhaps sell out 5-6 regular season games a year?

 

*hits head against desk*

 

It's ok, I feel better now :thumbsup:

Is that a typo or do you really think the 07-08 team was the best we ever had? I would have gone with the 05-06 team being the best in recent years and the 07-08 team wouldn't even be in the discussion...

[Kristian]

Is that a typo or do you really think the 07-08 team was the best we ever had? I would have gone with the 05-06 team being the best in recent years and the 07-08 team wouldn't even be in the discussion...

 

No, it's meant to say 06/07. DOH!

 

Don't get me wrong, I think the 05/06 team was a brilliant team, but IMHO our young guys, like Roy, Pominville, Miller and Vanek were one year further along in their development on the 06/07 team, and it showed.

 

Vanek was benched in 05/06 playoffs, for example.

 

IMHO 06/07 was a better overall team, but didn't always want to be better, as to where the 05/06 team may not have been quite on par talentwise, but left it all on the ice night after night.

 

Now, if only we could've had the best of both worlds, but sadly they stars just haven't aligned in our favor as it is.

 

And yes I agree, the 07/08 team doesn't belong in any discussion about the best Sabres team ever.

[Bmwolf21]

No, it's meant to say 06/07. DOH!

 

Don't get me wrong, I think the 05/06 team was a brilliant team, but IMHO our young guys, like Roy, Pominville, Miller and Vanek were one year further along in their development on the 06/07 team, and it showed.

 

Vanek was benched in 05/06 playoffs, for example.

 

IMHO 06/07 was a better overall team, but didn't always want to be better, as to where the 05/06 team may not have been quite on par talentwise, but left it all on the ice night after night.

 

Now, if only we could've had the best of both worlds, but sadly they stars just haven't aligned in our favor as it is.

 

And yes I agree, the 07/08 team doesn't belong in any discussion about the best Sabres team ever.

I figured it was a typo. I think it's debateable as to whether 05/06 was better than 06/07 or vice versa - I think the 06/07 team had more overall talent but the 05/06 was a better "team" with a better mix of talent and grit, scoring and enough defense to win the Cup (had someone not released a voodoo curse on our blueliners.)

[BetweenThePipes00]

Sorry but futility is a strong word. FRUSTRATING is the right word. The Sabres have the third hightest regular season points percentage in the history of the league, behind only Montreal and Philly. I understand they have never won the whole thing and it does suck, but it could be so much worse. Rare is the year when they suck so bad that we become indifferent or it's no fun at all.

I know I am getting old, but the mentality that "if you don't win the championship, you suck" is really annoying, and it seems to dominate these days.

[sabregoats]

Sorry but futility is a strong word. FRUSTRATING is the right word. The Sabres have the third hightest regular season points percentage in the history of the league, behind only Montreal and Philly. I understand they have never won the whole thing and it does suck, but it could be so much worse. Rare is the year when they suck so bad that we become indifferent or it's no fun at all.

I know I am getting old, but the mentality that "if you don't win the championship, you suck" is really annoying, and it seems to dominate these days.

THANK YOU. I absolutely hate that mentality and it is this mindset that makes the playoffs less fun for me than they should be. Only one team is going to win each year, and that doesn't mean that no one else had a good season. Many teams have good years, and many teams have good years that lose early in the playoffs. I guess I am not willing to view the first 82 games of the season as a qualifier for the playoffs. To me the regular season is as fun as the playoffs for different reasons.

[shrader]

Sorry but futility is a strong word. FRUSTRATING is the right word. The Sabres have the third hightest regular season points percentage in the history of the league, behind only Montreal and Philly. I understand they have never won the whole thing and it does suck, but it could be so much worse. Rare is the year when they suck so bad that we become indifferent or it's no fun at all.

I know I am getting old, but the mentality that "if you don't win the championship, you suck" is really annoying, and it seems to dominate these days.

 

And if that's the case, there sure is a whole hell of a lot of failure going on around the league. St Louis, LA, Vancouver, Washington... they've all been around for 30+ years and have arguably accomplished even less than us.

[Buffalo Wings]

I figured it was a typo. I think it's debateable as to whether 05/06 was better than 06/07 or vice versa - I think the 06/07 team had more overall talent but the 05/06 was a better "team" with a better mix of talent and grit, scoring and enough defense to win the Cup (had someone not released a voodoo curse on our blueliners.)

It clearly seemed like our best chance to win the cup...the Sabres were in the middle of sneaking up on everyone and seemed to have a jump on the rest of the league.

 

Having Rory Fitzpatrick and Doug Janik playing in Game 7 of that ECF tells you we're cursed. :wallbash:

[BetweenThePipes00]

And if that's the case, there sure is a whole hell of a lot of failure going on around the league. St Louis, LA, Vancouver, Washington... they've all been around for 30+ years and have arguably accomplished even less than us.

 

No doubt ... we all wish we could not say this, but the Sabres are likely the best and most accomplished NHL franshise without a Cup. Again, I am not celebrating this fact, but it has not been a futile 37 years ... just frsutrating as all hell.

[bottlecap]

No doubt ... we all wish we could not say this, but the Sabres are likely the best and most accomplished NHL franshise without a Cup. Again, I am not celebrating this fact, but it has not been a futile 37 years ... just frsutrating as all hell.

 

 

It's just that when we get to the championship round, we never play like champions. til now, something always

seems to go wrong. that's not necessarily the way it will always be but as of the 38th year of the existence it's

like charlie brown kicking the footbal over and over, despite the successful seasons.

[stenbaro]

No doubt ... we all wish we could not say this, but the Sabres are likely the best and most accomplished NHL franshise without a Cup. Again, I am not celebrating this fact, but it has not been a futile 37 years ... just frsutrating as all hell.

Its all entertainment when it comes right down to it but dont kid yourselves having been in the league for so long and no Cup is harder to do than win it.Its quite sad that they havent won one yet...Their average yrs of finishing in the top 8 of the conference every yr is a major reason for not being able to land a Lemiuex or Crosby..

[Kristian]

It clearly seemed like our best chance to win the cup...the Sabres were in the middle of sneaking up on everyone and seemed to have a jump on the rest of the league.

 

Having Rory Fitzpatrick and Doug Janik playing in Game 7 of that ECF tells you we're cursed. :wallbash:

 

Rory Fitzpatrick, Doug Janik AND Nathan Paetsch.

 

Fitz was actually a regular in the playoffs as soon as Kalinin went down.

[sabregoats]

Its all entertainment when it comes right down to it but dont kid yourselves having been in the league for so long and no Cup is harder to do than win it.Its quite sad that they havent won one yet...Their average yrs of finishing in the top 8 of the conference every yr is a major reason for not being able to land a Lemiuex or Crosby..

and there is the flaw in the north american sport system...

You have to play like absolute #%^$#! for many years before you can get a truly great player. The europeans have it right with sport academies that funnel into a pro team. that is truly building a team through a system. drafts are glorified crap shoots, except when a crosby or ovechkin comes around. Drafts probably ought to be a true lottery with maybe some minimal weighting to the lower teams, to reward teams for playing terribly the previous year makes little sense.

[BetweenThePipes00]

and there is the flaw in the north american sport system...

You have to play like absolute #%^$#! for many years before you can get a truly great player. The europeans have it right with sport academies that funnel into a pro team. that is truly building a team through a system. drafts are glorified crap shoots, except when a crosby or ovechkin comes around. Drafts probably ought to be a true lottery with maybe some minimal weighting to the lower teams, to reward teams for playing terribly the previous year makes little sense.

 

Well the draft thing stems in part from North American leagues ALWAYS looking to expand ... it's tough to sell your league in a new market if the Yankees/Canadiens/Celtics or whoever can horde the best prospects from the time they are teenagers. The Habs used to be able to do this in Quebec before the NHL started expanding ... if Bert had been born one year earlier, he would have automatically been playing for Montreal.

It would take years and years for a new franchise to build up a development system ... not to mention the more money you have, the better you can develop talent ... a salary cap can help at the top end but if the Leafs or Rangers are generating $10 million more in revenue every year, they are going to sign more young players and probably develop them better.

For better or worse, that horse is out of the barn. A weighted lottery of all teams is probably the biggest change that would ever work.

[Kristian]

Its all entertainment when it comes right down to it but dont kid yourselves having been in the league for so long and no Cup is harder to do than win it.Its quite sad that they havent won one yet...Their average yrs of finishing in the top 8 of the conference every yr is a major reason for not being able to land a Lemiuex or Crosby..

 

But that wouldn't do us any good anyway, cause you know at the first sniff of a raise for Crosby type up-and-coming star on our team, they'd have him walk for a 2nd rounder.