GDT: Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7 p.m., 11/8/14

[Hoss]

 

 

OK Tank, I'm with you. I'm just frustrated that if this were a contrived effort to lose intentionally, I feel punked that I got in way too late.

 

I think they kind of stumbled into this plan on accident. Regier's mismanagement forced the hand of those in power now.

[Iron Crotch]

Where is the deception? Murray has never claimed this was a winning team. In fact, he has said on multiple occasions that it isn't.

How is a higher draft pick unlawful or unfair gain? It's not even a little bit unlawful or unfair. By any stretch.

 

"This is not going to be a five-year rebuild. ... When you tear it down, it doesn't happen overnight, but I don't buy into five-year rebuilds."

 

"We want to be competitive. If anybody thinks that there's a message of tanking being sent from upstairs, I would suggest they put a camera on me for 60 minutes of the game when we're losing and you'll know that tanking is not what I want," Murray said. "I want to play properly. I want to be competitive."

 

"The coaches on the bench don't want to lose," Murray said. "I can't imagine there's one player in there that wants to finish last so we can get Connor McDavid so he can lose his job to him. Where in our organization would the tanking come from if the GM doesn't want to lose and the coaches don't want to lose and the players don't want to lose?"

 

(Buffalo News on 4/16)

[Hoss]

 

 

"This is not going to be a five-year rebuild. ... When you tear it down, it doesn't happen overnight, but I don't buy into five-year rebuilds."

 

"We want to be competitive. If anybody thinks that there's a message of tanking being sent from upstairs, I would suggest they put a camera on me for 60 minutes of the game when we're losing and you'll know that tanking is not what I want," Murray said. "I want to play properly. I want to be competitive."

 

"The coaches on the bench don't want to lose," Murray said. "I can't imagine there's one player in there that wants to finish last so we can get Connor McDavid so he can lose his job to him. Where in our organization would the tanking come from if the GM doesn't want to lose and the coaches don't want to lose and the players don't want to lose?"

 

(Buffalo News on 4/16)

 

Thanks for supporting my arguments. You can't really read those and not get the obvious message, right? The closest he gets is saying he doesn't want to lose. But he's deflecting everything onto the players and coaches. Those people never want to lose because it's their jobs otherwise.

 

Impressive restraint to not go too far in these quotes.

[calti]

Bill polian set the colts up for 10-15 yrs.And what did he get for it??

[Hoss]

Bill polian set the colts up for 10-15 yrs.And what did he get for it??

 

Time with his family, a job at ESPN and a call from the hall of fame.

[LTS]

Hah. I saw none of the game tonight as I was busy watching the Amerks lose to the Comets (best team in the AHL). The Amerks looked like sorry turds against the Comets. Sigh.

 

That said, why does anyone even bother to complain about the Sabres? Losing to Pittsburgh is a foregone conclusion. The Penguins are at an entirely different level in the NHL than the Sabres.

 

This is the Sabres. This is who they will be for this season. If you can't handle it, then you would do your health a benefit by tuning out. I'm not saying that to be flippant, but seriously, think about the absurdity of getting upset over this.

 

This team sucks. I don't think Nolan is the answer by any means. This is the pain that was arranged. It will be played out.

 

That said, to put any of this on Murray is absurd. OF course, watching the Amerks tonight I saw a few things. Passes into skates, players slow in reading the plays, players taking bad angles, one too many passes, etc. I did actually have a thought that perhaps Cassidy needs to go because there are some problems in Rochester that seem to also appear in Buffalo.

 

Oh well. At least I got to watch my son play tonight and then we got to watch a hockey game.

[JJFIVEOH]

I actually think that as long as the tank is the plan, it should be the owner, president, or GM answering questions in the post game locker room? The guys are playing their balls off and they are hanging them out to dry. What a bunch of cowards.

As if the team's performance wasn't bad enough, we have to suffer through 60+ more games of tired sports cliches. "Gotta work hard"...blah, blah, blah.

John Vogl ‏@BuffNewsVogl 2m2 minutes ago

Zemgus Girgensons says you can take his quotes from all the other games about players not having an effort and apply them again tonight.

 

I think they went through this phase with Rolston at one point, the broken record type post-games. I still listen to it hoping for something substantial.

[HopefulFuture]

Zads and Risto looked good together.

The situation with the offensive will be addressed over the next 2 seasons.

Prepare to have Myers resigned before the end of his current contract.

 

There is much to be said about the developing Defense. This loss means nothing, the development and further education of the D means everything.

 

That is all.

 

Hah. I saw none of the game tonight as I was busy watching the Amerks lose to the Comets (best team in the AHL). The Amerks looked like sorry turds against the Comets. Sigh.

 

That said, why does anyone even bother to complain about the Sabres? Losing to Pittsburgh is a foregone conclusion. The Penguins are at an entirely different level in the NHL than the Sabres.

 

This is the Sabres. This is who they will be for this season. If you can't handle it, then you would do your health a benefit by tuning out. I'm not saying that to be flippant, but seriously, think about the absurdity of getting upset over this.

 

This team sucks. I don't think Nolan is the answer by any means. This is the pain that was arranged. It will be played out.

 

That said, to put any of this on Murray is absurd. OF course, watching the Amerks tonight I saw a few things. Passes into skates, players slow in reading the plays, players taking bad angles, one too many passes, etc. I did actually have a thought that perhaps Cassidy needs to go because there are some problems in Rochester that seem to also appear in Buffalo.

 

Oh well. At least I got to watch my son play tonight and then we got to watch a hockey game.

 

Much like a young team, the Amerks are still finding themselves.

 

"This is not going to be a five-year rebuild. ... When you tear it down, it doesn't happen overnight, but I don't buy into five-year rebuilds."

 

"We want to be competitive. If anybody thinks that there's a message of tanking being sent from upstairs, I would suggest they put a camera on me for 60 minutes of the game when we're losing and you'll know that tanking is not what I want," Murray said. "I want to play properly. I want to be competitive."

 

"The coaches on the bench don't want to lose," Murray said. "I can't imagine there's one player in there that wants to finish last so we can get Connor McDavid so he can lose his job to him. Where in our organization would the tanking come from if the GM doesn't want to lose and the coaches don't want to lose and the players don't want to lose?"

 

(Buffalo News on 4/16)

 

This means nothing. Obviously the Sabres are built to grow. Not lose. They brought in supposed scoring in Moulson, they brought in supposed leadership in Gionta, they reinforced the defense with Gorges. These aren't moves of a team that wants to be dead last. But none the less here we are, and in that context I say let's tank full force.

[qwksndmonster]

I think his idea is dead nuts. Management has created this monster. They should be the ones to answer for it post-games.

Take it above GMTM and yes they do. And I don't give a ###### if we are the first or the last, it is a ###### way of doing business. Management should definitely have to answer for it. It's not Nolan or the players fault this crap is on display.

What was Tim Murray supposed to do? Magically make the team good? Somehow, not raging about the team predictably being terrible means that we are just dumb drones that got swindled by darcy?

 

Call the Wambulance.

[beerme1]

This is no way to treat the STH population and is akin to fraud. Again, a team this bad does not happen by accident, and must be willful. I will continue to watch and pull for the Sabres because I'm from Buffalo, be this sucks from the start to finish.

 

As a majorly disgruntled STH with a ridiculous invoice that arrives annually for this crap let me tell you something.

I want to say you're wrong but that would come across as harsh and not what I mean. But I see you've repeated this mantra several times.

Even though I am going to bitch and moan about the product on the ice and the invoice I get annually that always goes up, NOBODY is holding a gun to my head forcing me to cut the check. So as a season ticket holder there is most certainly some culpability here.

 

However as bad as it is, I'll never get my seats again should I choose to give them up and that reason keeps me a STH. For how long is the question though.

Get me McDavid and I am not ever giving my seats up as I am sure the future is bright and will last a long time.

Eichel moves the needle enough to say I'm still on board. Oh ######. Now I sound like a tanker lol. I'm not really though. But I'm also not stupid. I know there's a reward at the end of this ######. There has to be. If not we will soon be back to a STH base of about 6000 and I just don't see that happening.

We will be, Hockey Heaven! Sooner or later :-)

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

*insert slow clap gif here*

 

Dwight, I don't know if you are reading the game day threads, but if you are, here is my apology to you. Yes, Darcy is a fecking weasel. He has foisted upon us this abomination of a plan and sold it to the masses. and for that he is most definitely a weasel.

 

This is an embarrassment of epic proportions.

 

Feck the tank.

 

[wjag]

 

Marvelous propaganda

[nucci]

My wife asked me, "Why are they so bad"? I couldn't answer her rationally. They are are all professional hockey players. The only answer is talent. GMTM is in charge of that. He MUST be the tank leader and has TP's blessing. (For my money, and that's much less than TP's, TP can be talked into anything sports related, and has been). Something this bad must be created and contrived. Hopefully, when the time comes, GMTM can create a winning team. TN must be in on the tank and therefore was less than excited to sign his extension. He knows he will be gone once the cavalry arrives, and this was the impetus for PL's leaving also. This is no way to treat the STH population and is akin to fraud. Again, a team this bad does not happen by accident, and must be willful. I will continue to watch and pull for the Sabres because I'm from Buffalo, be this sucks from the start to finish.

I respectfully disagree. While high end level talent is lacking, if this team had a coach like Hitchcock they would be better defensively and much more competitive. All we hear from Nolan is...we have to play harder..This team is so disorganized it's embarrassing. The worst teams in the league do not give up 45+ shots a game.....Nolan's previous Sabre teams were the same. Lots of shots against and poor play in defensive zone.

[sicknfla]

DR sells Pegula on a plan. Pegula then fires DR because the fans are outraged with the on ice product. He then tells a competitive and proud PLF on a yacht that he wants to win. PLF comes in with a plan far different than the guy that just got fired. Pegula says "wait I still like the plan of the guy I fired". PLF says f u. TN says I should follow my heart and walk away from this debacle. Then he realizes he hasn't had a real job in decades and could use the money. So he begrudgingly stays. New GMTM has his first gig. He is happy. Pegula tells him the plan and here we are.

 

This shitshow is not that difficult to figure out. Our owner is a complete moron.

[BuffaloBorn]

On a more positive note, Risto and Zadorov looked natural out there together. When Regier & company drafted them they intended on them one day becoming a pair, and they look like they have instant chemistry and logged big minutes.

[Claude_Verret]

 

 

 

Someone needs to create a similar fancy graphic outlining the plans for the previous eras of Sabres hockey. You know, the plans for which we already know resulted in jack squat.

 

 

[Weave]

Hah. I saw none of the game tonight as I was busy watching the Amerks lose to the Comets (best team in the AHL). The Amerks looked like sorry turds against the Comets. Sigh.

 

That said, why does anyone even bother to complain about the Sabres? Losing to Pittsburgh is a foregone conclusion. The Penguins are at an entirely different level in the NHL than the Sabres.

 

This is the Sabres. This is who they will be for this season. If you can't handle it, then you would do your health a benefit by tuning out. I'm not saying that to be flippant, but seriously, think about the absurdity of getting upset over this.

 

This team sucks. I don't think Nolan is the answer by any means. This is the pain that was arranged. It will be played out.

 

That said, to put any of this on Murray is absurd. OF course, watching the Amerks tonight I saw a few things. Passes into skates, players slow in reading the plays, players taking bad angles, one too many passes, etc. I did actually have a thought that perhaps Cassidy needs to go because there are some problems in Rochester that seem to also appear in Buffalo.

 

Oh well. At least I got to watch my son play tonight and then we got to watch a hockey game.

 

Interestingly enough, I don't get mad at the games themselves. I don't get "mad" at all.

 

And the 1st half of the prospects that are supposed to be part of carrying this team into the future are looking less than spectacular, eh? Shades of our last savior, Scotty Bowman, and the team he built.

 

This board may implode.

 

Someone needs to create a similar fancy graphic outlining the plans for the previous eras of Sabres hockey. You know, the plans for which we already know resulted in jack squat.

 

I'm not sure any of those previous eras involved trying to sell us historically bad as a good thing.

[Claude_Verret]

 

I'm not sure any of those previous eras involved trying to sell us historically bad as a good thing.

 

They absolutely didn't, and this is a big part of why im on board with it. We've tried all the other ways, I like a fresh approach.

[Weave]

They absolutely didn't, and this is a big part of why im on board with it. We've tried all the other ways, I like a fresh approach.

 

You've been. flim flammed. Hog washed. Horn swaggled, even.

[Stoner]

DR sells Pegula on a plan. Pegula then fires DR because the fans are outraged with the on ice product. He then tells a competitive and proud PLF on a yacht that he wants to win. PLF comes in with a plan far different than the guy that just got fired. Pegula says "wait I still like the plan of the guy I fired". PLF says f u. TN says I should follow my heart and walk away from this debacle. Then he realizes he hasn't had a real job in decades and could use the money. So he begrudgingly stays. New GMTM has his first gig. He is happy. Pegula tells him the plan and here we are.

 

This shitshow is not that difficult to figure out. Our owner is a complete moron.

 

This is fantastic. It's almost like something we could put in a history book 25 years from now when all the principals are given the fancy new truth serum and start singing like canaries. I would only quarrel with the first statement. Darcy pretty cleverly hung the complete teardown concept on Terry in an interview of WGR when Darcy said, "The owner will determine the extent of the rebuild." Why Terry fired Darcy is a bit of a mystery, except that he was covering his own ass and currying favor with the fan base.

[Claude_Verret]

 

 

You've been. flim flammed. Hog washed. Horn swaggled, even.

 

Entirely possible and a risk I'm willing to accept for the potential payoff. If this franchise spirals into oblivion I'll have zero regrets about throwing away two seasons that weren't amounting to anything regardless.

[Stoner]

The management that created this monster doesn't work for this team anymore... Let's stop acting like we're the only team to be terrible in the history go professional hockey. Management doesn't have to answer ######.

 

Hang on, sonny. Come over here, grandpa's got a nice lap. Listen... someone above Darcy conceived of this monster. GMTM is not here to clean up someone else's mess, he's here to continue the mess-making as per the plan. Tim's pretty young and this is his first rodeo. He's more than willing to be compliant and follow orders from up top. Did he really have the luxury of coming in and saying, "I want to turn this thing around fast"? No. There's your answer. I still think ###### will hit the fan when Murray's balls drop and he tells Terry et. al. he wants to cash in a top pick or prospects for NHL-ready talent. Hell, imagine what the 2015 second pick could bring in.

Edited November 9, 2014 by PASabreFan

[Stoner]

By the way, the faith on display by many fans shouldn't be all about the faith that this plan will work. Before you get that far, you have to have faith that the plan is really all about winning a Cup. When you have Ted Black openly talking about not being able to assume Terry's going to be around forever, the team struggling to reach the cap floor, the paying customer continuing to support the product (a highly predictable constant variable), and the long odds of a tank actually working anyway, well, it just makes you wonder what the real end game here is. Was it the Pegulas establishing their bona fides as professional sports owners so they could be handed the Bills? That's what keeps me awake some nights. Something has just never added up from the get-go. Starting with the superfan owner who didn't know the team was for sale after the Rigas Scandal. Hmmm...

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

You've been. flim flammed. Hog washed. Horn swaggled, even.

 

I love how the pamphlet boasts 69% of goals are scored by 1st or 2nd rounders and 62% of games played are by 1st and 2nd rounders.

 

Well, this season, 67% of the Sabres goals have been scored by 1st or 2nd rounders, and 60% of the players in last night's game are 1st or 2nd rounders.

 

I guess we should be 2% away in points in the standings as well?

[X. Benedict]

Faith in a cup? I generally take it one season at a time. I've never really believed that the Sabres were going to win the cup in any particular year. After this clunker, I'm pretty sure it won't be in the next 3 even if they make every right move.