These dogs can't hunt

[Marvelo]

I'm sick of watching the same old guys do the same old things. Now that Stafford's back in the lineup and over his one big game a year, he's back to being Hecht Jr. Connolly is no leader at 4.5 mil. Why did they get Niedermayer at all? Why isn't Hecht benched? Or Gaustad -- what does he do that's special besides faceoffs and commercials? Grier? I liked him once but now it's obvious this dog can't hunt. McCormick? Montador? Hello Pomers? I don't see why we're stuck with guys who really are mediocre. They don't deserve to play game in and game out...they should be fill-ins if anything.

 

I keep hearing for Darcy to do this or that and fact is, that he hasn't done anything new since losing Briere and Drury. It's true. He's got a bunch of dead dogs under long-term contacts and noone wants to trade for them...they know our garbage well. Ruff is stuck in some kind of mindlock: he keeps going with the same guys and he keeps getting the same results: the definition of insanity.

 

The Sabres have got to go with lineups that have more energy and is less fragile in the confidence department. I'd sure love a long-term committment to youth like Ennis, Adam, Gerbe, Mancari, Kassian and others, I don't care who, just someone young and new!

 

I want the (nonexistent) "heart" of this team gutted and now.

[deluca67]

I'm sick of watching the same old guys do the same old things. Now that Stafford's back in the lineup and over his one big game a year, he's back to being Hecht Jr. Connolly is no leader at 4.5 mil. Why did they get Niedermayer at all? Why isn't Hecht benched? Or Gaustad -- what does he do that's special besides faceoffs and commercials? Grier? I liked him once but now it's obvious this dog can't hunt. McCormick? Montador? Hello Pomers? I don't see why we're stuck with guys who really are mediocre. They don't deserve to play game in and game out...they should be fill-ins if anything.

 

I keep hearing for Darcy to do this or that and fact is, that he hasn't done anything new since losing Briere and Drury. It's true. He's got a bunch of dead dogs under long-term contacts and noone wants to trade for them...they know our garbage well. Ruff is stuck in some kind of mindlock: he keeps going with the same guys and he keeps getting the same results: the definition of insanity.

 

The Sabres have got to go with lineups that have more energy and is less fragile in the confidence department. I'd sure love a long-term committment to youth like Ennis, Adam, Gerbe, Mancari, Kassian and others, I don't care who, just someone young and new!

 

I want the (nonexistent) "heart" of this team gutted and now.

The problem is that Status Quo continues to live under the delusion that this roster is good enough. They spent so much time hyping up the maturity of "the core" that that forget it was as just B.S. and at some point started to believe it.

 

A move hear or there isn't going to fix what is wrong with this team. Apathy is so strongly entrenched into the fabric of this organIzation that it is going to take one hell of a GM to come and gut this front office and roster turning this franchise around in a decent amount of time.

[BADMOFO518]

after the devestation that happened last night, a normal club i.e. philly, new york, etc would do SOMETHING! like bench a couple key guys, etc to shake things up. we will not even see that. and i think it was nfreeman that brought up a good point in the thread about that brad richards rumor about how we will see no trades until the sale of this club is finalized....i would have to see yes, because it would affect the value of the team and potentially muddy up the transaction. so we should just get used to this, it looks like a potentialy long season ladie and gentlemen...

[BADMOFO518]

hey, at least if we miss the playoffs and finish up close to last pegula will start off with some killer draft picks!!! :thumbsup:

[zippyfeet]

bench connolly, hecht, stafford, grier and miller. put in mancari, gerbe, adam and anybody else you can grab. make a ###### trade. do something. no playoffs for us.

[Stoner]

hey, at least if we miss the playoffs and finish up close to last pegula will start off with some killer draft picks!!! :thumbsup:

 

This franchise doesn't know how to tank and get a top pick. Better to be mediocre.

 

Tanking is most definitely the right play, especially if everyone knows the team is being sold and LR and DR are gone when their contracts expire. The best way to do it is to put Miller on LTIR. He's clearly not 100%.

[inkman]

Lest we not forget Thomas Vanish. Dude was invisible last night.

[BADMOFO518]

ah the constant musings of sabres fans as we watch the whole eastern conference pass us by as tommy g. sits in his mansion is florida and sips mai-tais and laughs his @$$ off as he reviews profit sheets...

[BADMOFO518]

the only hope we have is a killer spot in the draft and that the new ownership will be competent enough not to waste it away as has been the case in recent turns...

[R_Dudley]

Well here we are again talking about the same suspects and shaught that this team produces on a regular basis. This team needs the same total makeover approach that Montreal pulled a couple years back. That and only that could possibly and I say possibly make a couple of the current players raise their game. The few I see for that are Meyers, Vanek, Miller, and maybe Roy. Thats it, thats the most I would keep if even those players.

 

Now as to the Thomas Vanish 'ing' act. If what I hear from enemy broadcast teams, read and often see, most teams if not all are targeting him game in and game out for a punishing. If I knew it was coming every night on this collection of losers that don't have my back and likely will waste some of my best efforts in not regularly showing up, then I could see picking my spots/games to try and make a difference as well.

 

Not saying it's right just saying I could see how that could happen.

 

Last and most frustrating to me is Deluca is totally right on here and the status quo is exactly what we have been getting and will get with current ownership. It is apparant to me now with the recent sale news that this organization has been doing exactly that. Maintaining status quo and the investment of OSP. They are happy spending what they have but do not dare do anything radical or cost negative like waiving deadwood and eating salaries, rather let them fill out the roster space and be a waste of space on the ice then eat a salary. DR is perfect for their be real conservative philosphy because the player you know is safer the unknown unless he is from the bargain basement FA bin.

 

What scares me the most is the realization that maybe the hesitation in the rumored sale is a reluctance to kill the fatted goose. I have seen this here in the Pitt's with the Pirates ownership who has been quite happy for going on 18 years of fielding a poor team while still turning a few million a year profit and watching the overall investment value rise over time.

 

I am at the point were if this team is not sold this year that I will have to back away from the investment of time and energy I put into these losers from a far just from the frustration that is the insanity of seeing them doing the same things over and over expecting different results.

[PotentPowerPlay22]

The problem is that Status Quo continues to live under the delusion that this roster is good enough. They spent so much time hyping up the maturity of "the core" that that forget it was as just B.S. and at some point started to believe it.

 

A move hear or there isn't going to fix what is wrong with this team. Apathy is so strongly entrenched into the fabric of this organIzation that it is going to take one hell of a GM to come and gut this front office and roster turning this franchise around in a decent amount of time.

 

They are not good enough. Connolly, Hecht, Stafford, Pominville, Gaustad, etc. are not good enough. The Bruins acquired Nathan Horton for $4 million a year and got something. The Sabres pay Connolly $4.5 a year and get nothing but a medical bill and unrealized potential. The plain fact remains that there are too many freeloaders on the team.

 

Future prospects like Kassian, Foligno, McNabb and others could eventually change the team, but the biggest change will be the owner. Pegula seems like a guy who wants to win and will spend to do it whereas Golisano seems like a guy who would like to win if it fits into his tight budget and business plan.

 

Hopefully a new owner will bring new life to a failing team.

[Marvelo]

I was beginning to have hope in the lineup with Adam, Mancari and Gerbe but had the impending feeling of doom when those three injured showed up the same night and players who were playing well all of a sudden got benched in favor of the incumbents. It's like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown again and again. Well, the status quo has officially returned and Ruff is too afraid to bench anyone other than his whipping boy, Captain Rivet. He plays these losers game after game and there's no accountability for people who don't or can't put out anymore. How many times can you see Hecht go around the edge and forced off the puck. Or Grier miss the net on a 2-1 break or breakaway. How many times will we have to watch our guys get forced out to the edge of the offensive zone and have no penetration down the middle? And how many times will we have to watch our sleepwalking defensemen make unforced errors in the d- zone? It's the same old story folks. No leadership at the top and the trickle down theory.

[BuffaTB]

It's good to see Gerbe isn't the fan's scapegoat anymore. I hope he's back in real soon.

[inkman]

It's good to see Gerbe isn't the fan's scapegoat anymore. I hope he's back in real soon.

He certainly isnt the problem nor is he the answer. I'll take him over Hecht, Grier and Neidermeyer though.

[nfreeman]

I am at the point were if this team is not sold this year that I will have to back away from the investment of time and energy I put into these losers from a far just from the frustration that is the insanity of seeing them doing the same things over and over expecting different results.

I hate to say it, but I'm starting to feel this way myself. This Sabres season is starting to feel to me like Dick Jauron's last season with the Bills. It became apparent to me the previous offseason, when they brought him back after the Bills went 2-8 in their last 10 games and they finished at 7-9 for the 3rd straight year, that the Bills as an organization simply weren't trying. They were OK with punching the clock.

 

I think the Sabres essentially did the same thing last summer. They didn't try to improve their team -- even though it was obvious to everyone who watched the playoff series vs the Bruins that their top 6 simply wasn't good enough. In retrospect, it was probably because they lost money last year, TG was ready to sell, and he didn't want to take on substantial new financial commitments that might impede a sale.

 

If TG is still the owner next fall and there aren't major changes in the top 6, I think I'm going to pull back. Life is too GD short to spend this much time and emotion on a team that isn't trying to win.

[R_Dudley]

I hate to say it, but I'm starting to feel this way myself. This Sabres season is starting to feel to me like Dick Jauron's last season with the Bills. It became apparent to me the previous offseason, when they brought him back after the Bills went 2-8 in their last 10 games and they finished at 7-9 for the 3rd straight year, that the Bills as an organization simply weren't trying. They were OK with punching the clock.

 

I think the Sabres essentially did the same thing last summer. They didn't try to improve their team -- even though it was obvious to everyone who watched the playoff series vs the Bruins that their top 6 simply wasn't good enough. In retrospect, it was probably because they lost money last year, TG was ready to sell, and he didn't want to take on substantial new financial commitments that might impede a sale.

 

If TG is still the owner next fall and there aren't major changes in the top 6, I think I'm going to pull back. Life is too GD short to spend this much time and emotion on a team that isn't trying to win.

 

Sad state of affairs isn't it.

 

I then read these posts that crank on the negative posters on this board. Why can't you be behind the team, just look for the good, take them in bad times as well as the good, blah, blah, blah.

 

Problem for me as a fan for 30+ years is I do care too much and take the losing, apathy and general malaise too hard. Life is to short and I have a family and kids that I can invest in rather than watching something that has been become frustrating and maddening to watch.

 

FWIW, I stayed away from the game last night and gave up the HD TV and allowed the boys to use it to watch the Avatar last airbender moview with me instead of the game on.

 

Much better 2 hours of enjoyment and time spent with them than I how I have felt after watching a lot of the Sabres games and of course especially after seeing the final score later.

 

It has got to the point since I have the CI pkg that I have started watching a lot of other hockey games where good hockey is actually being played to get my hockey fix. I will go back and check on the sabres and see if I see them going through the motions or actually playing hockey. If not I just watch one of the other games where i see the most competitive hockey game being played. To be honest having had that option has really contrasted for me how pathetic this team is playing more often that not.

[Weave]

Sad state of affairs isn't it.

 

I then read these posts that crank on the negative posters on this board. Why can't you be behind the team, just look for the good, take them in bad times as well as the good, blah, blah, blah.

 

Problem for me as a fan for 30+ years is I do care too much and take the losing, apathy and general malaise too hard. Life is to short and I have a family and kids that I can invest in rather than watching something that has been become frustrating and maddening to watch.

 

FWIW, I stayed away from the game last night and gave up the HD TV and allowed the boys to use it to watch the Avatar last airbender moview with me instead of the game on.

 

Much better 2 hours of enjoyment and time spent with them than I how I have felt after watching a lot of the Sabres games and of course especially after seeing the final score later.

 

It has got to the point since I have the CI pkg that I have started watching a lot of other hockey games where good hockey is actually being played to get my hockey fix. I will go back and check on the sabres and see if I see them going through the motions or actually playing hockey. If not I just watch one of the other games where i see the most competitive hockey game being played. To be honest having had that option has really contrasted for me how pathetic this team is playing more often that not.

 

I got to the same point near the end of the Hasek years and for a couple seasons afterward. Stopped watching Sabres games altogether. The team was D-U-L-L. And we are rapidly approaching that point yet again. The style being played is dull. The players are putting so little emotion into the games that as individuals they are dull to watch, and management is lulling us to sleep with the lack of activity to change things.

 

Jack (and a couple others) keep asking us why we continue to post and watch when we are so pessimistic. If the folks who are tired of watching poor teams all stop watching it will get real dead around here real quick. The contingent of apathetic fans is growing larger by the game. This weekend I went to a bar instead of watchign Friday's debacle. Last night the game was on but after the first period it was background noise. When the team was entertaining to watch and winning games I planned my weekend around watching those games. It would be irrational to do that now.

[Calvin]

good observations all, the discontent is rising fast..

 

- this team is definitely not worth the emotional, financial and time investment right now.

 

- the sale HAS to happen. maybe it's time to buy that billboard space again?

 

- i'm actually utilizing my CI package to watch some really good hockey out there.. and it's like the proverbial scales falling from my eyes situation "wow, teams can actually play like that?"

 

- worst part of all of this is that it might take a few years to clean up this mess and make the team competitive, we're not just one year removed from a Cup run, alas..

 

- even the Bills are a much more attractive proposition right now, non-name players limited on skill but full of heart and effort, tonnes of upside if managed well with a few key additions - exact opposite of the Sabres.

 

- pray for hope this Christmas everyone, hope that a new ownership comes in and hope that they are the answer to a Cup win.

[nfreeman]

good observations all, the discontent is rising fast..

 

- this team is definitely not worth the emotional, financial and time investment right now.

 

- the sale HAS to happen. maybe it's time to buy that billboard space again?

 

- i'm actually utilizing my CI package to watch some really good hockey out there.. and it's like the proverbial scales falling from my eyes situation "wow, teams can actually play like that?"

 

- worst part of all of this is that it might take a few years to clean up this mess and make the team competitive, we're not just one year removed from a Cup run, alas..

 

- even the Bills are a much more attractive proposition right now, non-name players limited on skill but full of heart and effort, tonnes of upside if managed well with a few key additions - exact opposite of the Sabres.

 

- pray for hope this Christmas everyone, hope that a new ownership comes in and hope that they are the answer to a Cup win.

Perhaps I'm delusional, but I really think the Sabres are only a couple of good forwards with skill and guts away from being real contenders.

 

Next year:

 

New #1 Center - New #1 RW - Ennis

Roy-Vanek-Kassian

Adam-Kaleta-Hecht

Gaustad-McCormick-Grier/new vet depth player

 

Myers-Sekera

Leopold-Weber

Morrisson-Butler/new vet defenseman

 

Gone: Pommer, TC, Stafford, Rivet, Montador

[Stoner]

Perhaps I'm delusional, but I really think the Sabres are only a couple of good forwards with skill and guts away from being real contenders.

 

Next year:

 

New #1 Center - New #1 RW - Ennis

Roy-Vanek-Kassian

Adam-Kaleta-Hecht

Gaustad-McCormick-Grier/new vet depth player

 

Myers-Sekera

Leopold-Weber

Morrisson-Butler/new vet defenseman

 

Gone: Pommer, TC, Stafford, Rivet, Montador

 

Your predictions, or your wish list?

 

I don't see why Montador should be gone.

 

Where's Pommer going?

 

I'm sorry, but if that roster is a real contender, then just about every team in the league is just a number one center and number one wing away, too.

[spndnchz]

Overthrifty.

[Stoner]

Overthrifty.

 

Your new nickname for nfreeman?

 

It could be jazzed up. Big Nasty McThrifty? MC DollarGenz?

[nfreeman]

Your predictions, or your wish list?

 

I don't see why Montador should be gone.

 

Where's Pommer going?

 

I'm sorry, but if that roster is a real contender, then just about every team in the league is just a number one center and number one wing away, too.

Wish list.

 

Montador has been better this year, but it seems like he and Leopold are on the ice for too many GAs. If he can be re-signed for about the same $$, I'm more or less OK with it, but I kinda think the Sabres could do better.

 

Pommer leaving is a definite wish list item. You are correct that it's not realistic.

 

I can't argue too much with your last sentence. I do think that Miller and Myers are special players, that the Sabres have a number of good role players and a good coach, and better forwards at the top would make a huge difference -- not least by dropping Roy and Vanek down to the #2 line where they belong.

[spndnchz]

Excitatory.

[Stoner]

Excitatory.

 

You and Miley partying out today?