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Are the Sabres in Crisis?


Ghost of Dwight Drane

  

121 members have voted

  1. 1. Is the team in Crisis right now?

    • Yes
      99
    • No
      14
  2. 2. Would you like to hear from Terry Pegula, live or on camera?

    • Yes
      70
    • No/Not Needed
      43


Recommended Posts

Posted

Fair, just pointing it out. lol.

 

The three year plan is a nice goal to have, just not sure I see it happening with some guys on the team now. Personally I would like to see Vanek traded for pieces that can make them a better overall team. While the guy is talented I can't say he makes them better with him on the team. He will get his points but for his talent he vastly underachieves, I think he kind of holds them back in some respects

Underachieves??? Seriously... He's second behind Pomminstein (43) with 40 points. He's first on the team in goals with 19 what more do you want from him?

 

I would remove Darcy ASAP maybe give LR one more year, have the new GM make the assessment on coach and players. After all we knew this team as it was wasn't capable of going deep... We all scratched our heads with VL being a Centre, don't get me wrong I think he was a good pick up just not as a centre.

Posted

Underachieves??? Seriously... He's second behind Pomminstein (43) with 40 points. He's first on the team in goals with 19 what more do you want from him?

 

I would remove Darcy ASAP maybe give LR one more year, have the new GM make the assessment on coach and players. After all we knew this team as it was wasn't capable of going deep... We all scratched our heads with VL being a Centre, don't get me wrong I think he was a good pick up just not as a centre.

 

Centre ... you must be Canadian, Australian or a Brit. ;)

Posted

Fair, just pointing it out. lol.

 

The three year plan is a nice goal to have, just not sure I see it happening with some guys on the team now. Personally I would like to see Vanek traded for pieces that can make them a better overall team. While the guy is talented I can't say he makes them better with him on the team. He will get his points but for his talent he vastly underachieves, I think he kind of holds them back in some respects

 

The fact that they would be so much worse without him is confirmation enough that he makes them better already.

 

GO SABRES!!!

Posted

I'm not so sure that we are "underachieving" at this point... I get the feeling what you see is what you get. This is more or less a

veteran squad now, and they all received nice big fat new contracts so we do not see the "desperation" everybody wants or expects to see at this point. They are what they are...

Posted

My player/coach evaluation:

 

 

Cancer:

 

Roy

Stafford

Miller

Ruff-Regier

 

Mediocre:

 

McCormick

Gaustad

Ellis

Hecht

Sekera

Gragnani

Kaleta

Weber

 

Underachieving:

 

Ehrhoff

Leino

Meyers

Boyes

 

 

Being Dragged Down by the rest of the team:

 

Regher

Adam

Ennis

 

That leaves Vanek, Pominville, Leopold, Gerbe, McNabb, Enroth. That's about it.

  • 0

Posted

Centre ... you must be Canadian, Australian or a Brit. ;)

 

w00t! That is all. :D

 

 

My player/coach evaluation:

 

 

Cancer:

 

Roy

Stafford

Miller

Ruff-Regier

 

Mediocre:

 

McCormick

Gaustad

Ellis

Hecht

Sekera

Gragnani

Kaleta

Weber

 

Underachieving:

 

Ehrhoff

Leino

Meyers

Boyes

 

 

Being Dragged Down by the rest of the team:

 

Regher

Adam

Ennis

 

That leaves Vanek, Pominville, Leopold, Gerbe, McNabb, Enroth. That's about it.

 

 

I like the list but I'd say MAG is still a rookie though, and, I believe, in the youngstars game so might deserve a little slack. My biggest thing is Miller being a cancer? That seems bizarre to me as his always been the first to call the players out and been a leader on a team with no leadership. Pom and Van may work hard up front but I'd say Miller holds what is a shambles of a defense together rather well.

 

On a related note I wouldn't put anyone on D aside from MAG and maybe Leopold in any category other than 'underachieving'. Regehr and Ehrhoff aside as I think they have done an ok job, it's taken time but Ehrhoff ate up minutes pretty well when we needed him to and using that big shot of his. Regehr is playing his simple game pretty well. imho

Posted

w00t! That is all. :D

 

 

 

 

I like the list but I'd say MAG is still a rookie though, and, I believe, in the youngstars game so might deserve a little slack. My biggest thing is Miller being a cancer? That seems bizarre to me as his always been the first to call the players out and been a leader on a team with no leadership. Pom and Van may work hard up front but I'd say Miller holds what is a shambles of a defense together rather well.

 

On a related note I wouldn't put anyone on D aside from MAG and maybe Leopold in any category other than 'underachieving'. Regehr and Ehrhoff aside as I think they have done an ok job, it's taken time but Ehrhoff ate up minutes pretty well when we needed him to and using that big shot of his. Regehr is playing his simple game pretty well. imho

 

thanks for the comment. I do believe Miller's a cancer at this point. He talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk anymore consistently for this team. And yes, he's on a team with no leadership but he's not a leader either. So through no fault of his own, except maybe too many head injuries, I think the man must go.

 

As far as d, I said at the beginning of the year that this is the best Sabres defense ever. Now I ammend myself, "On Paper". When you pay someone an average of $10 million a year, he better do much more than eat up minutes. The rest of the d, from what I see of Myers, he's a funnel, but again, I don't know if he'll ever be a dominating physical presence...or maybe we got him too early in his career. He may never be anything more than a big dork. I don't see the mean streak in him to make him intimidating. I do think we've given Gragnani time and he's adequet, but I don't think he's underachieving. He's mediocre. I tend to put Reghier in mediocre territory too because although he's solid, he tends to blend into the grey of mediocrity. And that's what I see in this team, a core of mediocre players and inadequate leaders.

Posted

thanks for the comment. I do believe Miller's a cancer at this point. He talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk anymore consistently for this team. And yes, he's on a team with no leadership but he's not a leader either. So through no fault of his own, except maybe too many head injuries, I think the man must go.

 

As far as d, I said at the beginning of the year that this is the best Sabres defense ever. Now I ammend myself, "On Paper". When you pay someone an average of $10 million a year, he better do much more than eat up minutes. The rest of the d, from what I see of Myers, he's a funnel, but again, I don't know if he'll ever be a dominating physical presence...or maybe we got him too early in his career. He may never be anything more than a big dork. I don't see the mean streak in him to make him intimidating. I do think we've given Gragnani time and he's adequet, but I don't think he's underachieving. He's mediocre. I tend to put Reghier in mediocre territory too because although he's solid, he tends to blend into the grey of mediocrity. And that's what I see in this team, a core of mediocre players and inadequate leaders.

 

Fair play, I can see your point regarding Miller but I also can't help but feel the Sabres have been a team that have relied completely on the goalie for 20 years or more. Miller has generally had to be brilliant because thats what, as Sabres fans, we're used to. I understand this season his been underacheiving and he obviously was a mess after getting blind sided by Lucic but I still feel he gets a harder time than he often deserves.

 

Ehrhoff is overpaid, nobody would argue with that and whats more we knew that when the deal was made. No player is worth that contract. None. Not Crosby, Gretzky or whoever. But I think his doing the exact job we needed, his been our best overall defenseman, especially as Myers has missed large amounts of the year. I still think a top D line of Myers-Ehrhoff could kill, both offensively and defensively.

 

Mediocre players? Hmm maybe, I'd say good players who just aren't achieving as they should (Van/Pom/Adam excluded). No real leadership? I can see that. I just don't know. Pom is a great player as a leader but I don't think his inspired others to be their best.

Posted

I voted yes to crisis / no, I don't care what Pegula says publicly. I have been in some level of denial about the crisis, thinking they can pull out of the tail spin same as last season, but last night's loss to the Leafs ended that hope. I can't run from it anymore, this team is a complete mess. While it's ridiculous to single out one player, I couldn't stop focusing on Stafford's completely inept play -- he is so lost, it looks like he can barely skate at this point. Guy can't finish any scoring opportunity, provided he controls the puck long enough to even take the shot.

 

Toss in the fact that we are on the road for an eternity this month, this is going to go from ugly to fugly.

Posted

I've always been a RUff supporter but even Black and Terry P. have to be re-evaluating the whole Ruff/Darcy regime. Ruff's system (or whatever you call it) is not working anymore and it's easily broken down by our opponents. The so called "weakest" teams in the NHL have dominated us this year. I think an infusion of a new coaching style may be needed and if it's Ruff, he will need to change his ways.

Posted

I've always been a RUff supporter but even Black and Terry P. have to be re-evaluating the whole Ruff/Darcy regime. Ruff's system (or whatever you call it) is not working anymore and it's easily broken down by our opponents. The so called "weakest" teams in the NHL have dominated us this year. I think an infusion of a new coaching style may be needed and if it's Ruff, he will need to change his ways.

Nice summary, it's true. I see no way of Regier continuing though. Even cats only get 9 lives.

Posted

Now would be the perfect time to dump Lindy, not just to start the rebuild correctly in Buffalo, but to give him a chance to start marketing himself with plenty of time to find another team to coach. Because he will probably do better in a new environment, as well. But you guys have convinced me, it needs to be Darcy first, THEN Lindy, or both at the same time would be fine, too.

Posted

 

 

Calgary's record is similar. Possibly. How many more years do we have him under contract going forward?

 

This year + next year.

 

The Sabres aren't in Crisis. The Sabres are in Buffalo.

Posted

I think the real crisis is that no one anywhere that has anything to do with the Sabres, from the players to Ruff to Regier to ownership, actually thinks there is anything wrong here. This team has gone on with the same attitude and the same core for far too many years. Things are not going to change til there's big changes from the bottom-up here. Instead, we're told to be patient because it takes time for the new players to "gel" and for the team to develop "chemistry". Teams like Florida, Toronto and Philly added all types of new talent to their lineup and see immediate results. It doesn't take them half the season to 'gel". And of course we hear the injury excuse, even though Pittsburg loses the best player in the league, along with a bunch of other good players, and they continue to win. Crisis...what crisis??? It's beyond a crisis unfortunately.

 

No, they've hit a wall...six losses in a row and counting...

Posted

Fair play, I can see your point regarding Miller but I also can't help but feel the Sabres have been a team that have relied completely on the goalie for 20 years or more. Miller has generally had to be brilliant because thats what, as Sabres fans, we're used to. I understand this season his been underacheiving and he obviously was a mess after getting blind sided by Lucic but I still feel he gets a harder time than he often deserves.

 

Ehrhoff is overpaid, nobody would argue with that and whats more we knew that when the deal was made. No player is worth that contract. None. Not Crosby, Gretzky or whoever. But I think his doing the exact job we needed, his been our best overall defenseman, especially as Myers has missed large amounts of the year. I still think a top D line of Myers-Ehrhoff could kill, both offensively and defensively.

 

Mediocre players? Hmm maybe, I'd say good players who just aren't achieving as they should (Van/Pom/Adam excluded). No real leadership? I can see that. I just don't know. Pom is a great player as a leader but I don't think his inspired others to be their best.

 

You're right. As soon as Hasek made his meteoric ascent, the organization discovered that you don't have to pay for goal scorers when you have a world class goalie. That has been the Lindy Ruff formula...ride the goalie, win 2-1, 3-2 games. Well he doesn't have an elite goalie anymore and plus we don't have scoring...nature has taken it's course. The smallish team that Regier has surrounded him with can't protect him in the "new NHL."something that changes every few years...

 

Regier's personnel tactics, along with no scouting staff for years ("the Sabre method" -- I wonder how many teams are copying it -- how do you evaluate character when you're not right there) and now Pegula spending money like a drunken sailor on questionable talent, has made at least this year into a lost year. How they could make Ehrhoff the highest paid player in the NHL this year is an absolute sign of desperation.

Posted

Not sure where this would go but here's something for ya:

 

Regehr is a -12. I know his a shutdown defenseman so his +/- is going to suffer, especially on this team atm, but wow, thats bad. Anyone else not notice that? Worst on the team.

Posted

Not sure where this would go but here's something for ya:

 

Regehr is a -12. I know his a shutdown defenseman so his +/- is going to suffer, especially on this team atm, but wow, thats bad. Anyone else not notice that? Worst on the team.

Sure have. Not very happy about it either.

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