What would you do if you were in charge?

[TheChimp]

I don't think there's any chance you could "send a message" to Derek Roy and he'd respond to it. He is who he is. The only way he'd ever change is if he actually WAS traded and his whole life changed. If he's ever going to reach the next level, it won't be as a Buffalo Sabre.

 

As for Gaustad, I don't think any message is going to change him either. He saw Lucic run Miller (his best friend on the team, amazingly) and skated the other way. Then he had a half-hearted "not the face" type fight with Lucic in the next game. No "message" is going to give him backbone.

 

Stafford is still dead to me for his "we have other guys for that" comment on fighting. If that's his competitive spirit, we're screwed.

 

So, yeah, we have three alternate captains who are flat tires. We're not going to get through to them by trading lower profile players (or by doing anything else). Regier should have traded them when he had the chance, but he's in love with guys he drafted so now we're stuck with them.

Good post. Reminds me of almost everything I hate about this team the last few years. Oh yeah, their coach is the biggest reason they get away with their crappy attitudes, too, let's not forget that. When will the new owner start to get it, I wonder?

[deluca67]

You misread my post. The D spot would be taken by McNabb on the team...i.e. McNabb would be kept up. His actual spot on the roster would certainly be in the top 6.

McNabb has certainly earned a spot in the top six.

 

Regehr

Myers

Sekera

Ehrhoff

Weber

McNabb

 

Dump Leopold for what they can get and keep Gragnani as the 7th d-man.

 

Same with Kassian, he is the Sabres 4th best forward behind Vanek, Pominville and Adam. No other forward deserves a roster spot more than Kassian.

[nfreeman]

Does anyone want to change his/her vote?

 

I'm holding firm with "Trade Roy."

[Weave]

Does anyone want to change his/her vote?

 

I'm holding firm with "Trade Roy."

 

I'm holding firm with the multiple choice trade Roy and Stafford. Although, after seeing Ellis, Goose, and Kaleta on the ice with a couple minutes to play and down by 2................ I'm contemplating a modification.

[nfreeman]

I'm holding firm with the multiple choice trade Roy and Stafford. Although, after seeing Ellis, Goose, and Kaleta on the ice with a couple minutes to play and down by 2................ I'm contemplating a modification.

 

But if Lindy is just as disgusted with the "top 6" as we are -- isn't it OK for him to give out ice time accordingly?

 

I still want to dump Roy first and see if that shakes things up, including Stafford's game, before doing anything else.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

How much you want to bet Pegs is trying to get Darcy to trade for Lydman?

[deluca67]

How much you want to bet Pegs is trying to get Darcy to trade for Lydman?

Why would Pegula have to try? It should be done minutes after he says it.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Why would Pegula have to try? It should be done minutes after he says it.

 

That's sort of the scary thought here. If Darcy was willing to be a puppet for all those years in the name of a d-bag, why wouldn't he be willing to be a puppet for a guy throwing around cash?

 

You think Glen Sather or Brian Burke would say "yessir!" without putting up a stink? The owner is the owner, but you need to have nads to pound home what he doesn't want to hear.

[nfreeman]

How much you want to bet Pegs is trying to get Darcy to trade for Lydman?

Why would Pegula have to try? It should be done minutes after he says it.

That's sort of the scary thought here. If Darcy was willing to be a puppet for all those years in the name of a d-bag, why wouldn't he be willing to be a puppet for a guy throwing around cash?

 

You think Glen Sather or Brian Burke would say "yessir!" without putting up a stink? The owner is the owner, but you need to have nads to pound home what he doesn't want to hear.

 

Well, here's a conclusion about DR based on nothing more than thin air.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

 

Well, here's a conclusion about DR based on nothing more than thin air.

 

I'm not saying that's what is happening.

 

I'm saying if anyone wants me to believe Quinn was the decision maker all those years, then it's a lot easier letting yourself get steamrolled by Daddy Warbucks than it is the Grinch.

[kishoph]

I wonder how the results of this poll would look if it was redone, I think the majority of the votes were placed well before this recent skid of of losing 5 of the last 6, there have been 4 losses out of 5 games since this thread was started. I don't think " Do nothing yet..." would receive 13 votes.

[tulax]

Since I didnt see this thread until today I voted for "fire Reiger." Had I seen this in the first or second week of December I would have elected to fire Ruff as well. My personal feeling is that for a coaching change to show results in the current season, it must be done a few weeks before the Christmas holiday. I have nothing statistically to base that on, however, I feel that at that point you have a large enough sample to assess how the team will perform for the rest of the year.

 

At this point, I think you have to resign yourself to working the phones from now until the deadline to see what kind of market your players have. Frankly, I don't want a person who could possibly be on the outs this offseason to be making those calls. If anything, it will give a new GM the time to get acclimated, examine the roster, and assess whether he wants Ruff to be the coach going forward. At this point, I give Ruff the rest of the year to see if he can salvage the ship and at least give him the dignity of finishing what he started this season.

 

As for the trade market: perhaps a firing will send a message to the locker room. A ton of the guys in that room were selected, developed, and given the opportunity for an NHL career by Reiger. With that gone, suddenly they have to prove their worth to a new set of eyes. I don't think a pick up in play would be out of the question as you saw the results from the change in ownership. I certainly sympathize with the feeling that Stafford, Roy, Boyes, Leino, etc. should be carted out of Buffalo like the dead in "The Holy Grail":

. However, at this point, you would be getting less than pennies on the dollar in terms of talent coming back. At this point, with so many teams in the hunt, do you really see a team sacrificing a top 2 center for any of those peices? At this point, trade Boyes at any cost at the deadline and hope for improvement of some of your core pieces.

[RazielSabre]

At this point even I, a Lindy Ruff supporter, would quite happily see him sacked if it meant this team actually performed. As long as Regier went as well actually lol.

[Bmwolf21]

My vote was Fire DR, and at this point I think that is the main move that has to be made, but now I am convinced that the problem is deeper than just one move. I'd fire Darcy, then tell the new GM to pick the new head coach, and then make a move to shake up the top-6. There has to be a taker out there for Roy - someone who has some cap space or needs a no.2 center.

 

I would kill for a "Turgeon-for-LaFontaine"-type trade right now.

[darksabre]

My vote was to move two players, preferably Roy and Stafford. I stand by it.

[qwksndmonster]

My vote was Fire DR, and at this point I think that is the main move that has to be made, but now I am convinced that the problem is deeper than just one move. I'd fire Darcy, then tell the new GM to pick the new head coach, and then make a move to shake up the top-6. There has to be a taker out there for Roy - someone who wants some cap space or needs a no.2 center.

 

I would kill for a "Turgeon-for-LaFontaine"-type trade right now.

How are we going to take in more salary?

[Bmwolf21]

How are we going to take in more salary?

 

Ooops, typo. Meant someone who HAS some cap space. That's what I get for posting while watching the Bills implode.

 

EDIT: cap, not camp. I hate switching to the smaller keyboard on my netbook after using the bigger keyboard on my home laptop.

[Buffalo Wings]

Fire Lindy. See if players will play for new coach if not off load them.

There is no accountability in the org. That starts at the top.

I believe there is enough talent here if the goaltending improves

Effort and focus are the main problems here.

You can't trade all the players at fault and getting rid of one or two might make little difference to the ones remaining.

Ditching the coach effects everyone.

 

This...and coaching is what affects effort and focus. Things looked good in early October, but they've been mediocre since.

 

I've always liked Lindy, but it's time.

[RazielSabre]

This...and coaching is what affects effort and focus. Things looked good in early October, but they've been mediocre since.

 

I've always liked Lindy, but it's time.

I'm a big fan of Ruff but I can't disagree with this, time to get rid of DR and LR and move on. New, young coach and a new GM + assistant. Not so sure about the coaching assistants though, don't know how to judge their performance.

[Bmwolf21]

I'm a big fan of Ruff but I can't disagree with this, time to get rid of DR and LR and move on. New, young coach and a new GM + assistant. Not so sure about the coaching assistants though, don't know how to judge their performance.

 

Same here. To me it's sort of similar to the old axiom about players hanging on one year too long before retiring.

[shoveldog]

I chose fire Darcy. Had I actually been in charge, though, I would have formed a small advisory team of hockey minds back in the Spring (before the trade deadline) to evaluate Darcy and suggest a replacement if needed (knowing that they would suggest it is.) It would not have included any current GM's due to the conflict of interest, and they would not be able to recommend one of themselves as the replacement.

 

No knock on you Carp, but don't you think that our Billionaire owner did that already? The guy didn't get where he is by making decisions without thinking them through. I'm guessing his hockey experts determined that Darcy wasn't a bad GM and was doing what he could with what he had available to him. I don't profess to know the answers, but the sabres seem to have good young talent. That's a product of the GM and scouting department. Unfortunately, the talent is streaky and doesn't produce consistently. In my book, that's a result of coaching, not talent selection.

 

I chose do nothing and wait... But if I was Terry, I would make an appearance in the dressing before the next home game, apologize to Miller for my comments. Ask Pommers in front of the dressing room what he feels is lacking. He'll give me the company line, so I would reiterate the fact I want to win and I pay all of them to accomplish that goal, and warn them that If I see another half-hearted effort at home for the rest of the season they all should look over their shoulder because none of them are safe. I then pull Darcy and Lindy aside and tell them this is unacceptable and that I want a proposed trade on my desk by the next home game.

 

Brilliant!

[Guest Sloth]

 

No. Not an option, either in reality or in this poll. And these names "keep appearing" only in posts by yobs who don't understand reality.

 

The point of the question is "What would you do if you're in charge?" The options do not include bending reality to meet fantasy.

 

It wouldn't be unrealistic to go after Getzlaf right now. The Sabres could send Myers, when healthy, to the Ducks and get Getzlaf and a very good prospect in return. Getzlaf is struggling right now, but I am sure a change in scenery would change that. Buffalo is in desperate need of a legit center. The Sabres are deep in defense, so why not try and make advantage of it.

[TheChimp]

 

 

It wouldn't be unrealistic to go after Getzlaf right now. The Sabres could send Myers, when healthy, to the Ducks and get Getzlaf and a very good prospect in return. Getzlaf is struggling right now, but I am sure a change in scenery would change that. Buffalo is in desperate need of a legit center. The Sabres are deep in defense, so why not try and make advantage of it.

Myers is scheduled to be paid TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS next season. But hey, if the Ducks wanted to take the chance that he's not just a larger version of a small D-man, which he has sorta started showing us that he is, this trade would have some legs. I'd like it.

[dEnnis the Menace]

I said trade Roy, and I am sticking with it.

[nfreeman]

I think I read over the weekend that the Sabres were 10-5 going into the Lucic-Miller debacle game and are something like 4-15 since then. To me this is yet another indicator of this team's "fragile little children" nature. This team's "leadership group," especially at forward, is just not mentally tough enough to overcome adversity. They don't rise to the occasion -- each of them hides under the bed and hope someone else will step up. We've seen this many, many times since Black Sunday, including:

 

- in the first season after Black Sunday, when they were something like 3-20 against the top 6 teams in the EC;

 

- in the following season, when no one lifted a finger after Miller got cheap-shotted by Gomez and the team fell apart and missed the playoffs while he was out with the injury;

 

- 2 years ago in the playoffs, when the "top 6" other than Vanek was terrible and the entire team sagged when Vanek got hurt;

 

- last year in the playoffs, when the "top 6" scored zero goals during the 2nd and 3rd periods of a 7-game playoff series and the entire team other than Miller came out for game 7 already beaten and running for the bus;

 

- this year in the first game vs. Philly, when they got completely dominated in their chance for payback after losing in the playoffs last year;

 

- this year in the Lucic-Miller debacle; and

 

- this year in just about every game since the Lucic-Miller debacle.

 

I'll say it again: there is zero heart in the "top 6." When they get (literally or figuratively) punched in the mouth, they don't do anything about it except hope that someone else will stick up for them.

 

This team isn't going to go anywhere until this problem is fixed. My preference is to dump Roy immediately for a draft pick and go from there, but I'm fine with any kind of move as long as it involves at least one member of the top 6.