So If The Season Is Over By January.....

[CallawaySabres]

Seriously, what if this team is out of 8 spot by like 20 points? I look at the names in that lineup without Eichel and Kane (who is not that great to begin with) and see a bottom 5 team. What happens from February - April? Looking at mock drafts, I see nothing compared to the last two years. If goaltending is not at an A plus level, this team is going to be in serious trouble. Just watching the games so far, I see nothing that gives any hope to even being a borderline playoff team. How do we know this coach is any good?

 

Listen, if I didn't have kids to bring to these games, I could suck it up for another year but damn, the money spent and the boredom of these games (especially for my kids) is becoming a real issue in even wanting to go to this crap. I keep telling myself not to give up the season tix because THIS is when it all gets turned around. I don't see anything different in this years team and so far, it looks even worse. Yes, Eichel is out of the lineup but there should be enough talent to at least be an entertaining product. I don't see that anywhere and last nights 3rd period should NEVER happen anymore. Forget the 3 goals, they were not even trying to score being outshot 18-3....ugh

[WildCard]

Fire Dan

 

Before everyone freaks out, I'm only mostly joking. Dan will be here all the way through next year

Edited October 26, 2016 by WildCard

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Fire Dan

 

Way back when Lindy was the coach and someone posted this our beloved 11 would reply with a simple ...

 

... ROSTER!!

 

That said, I am not sure if the coach knows what he is doing,

[North Buffalo]

Again theey havent let too many of the young guys up and its getting time to see if they can sink or swim. Need at least 1 more high end D in this years draft and a scoring forward. Bring up Bailey, Carrier Baptiste, sit Moulson., D-Lo and any other non performers and let them work thru it.

[Drunkard]

Again theey havent let too many of the young guys up and its getting time to see if they can sink or swim. Need at least 1 more high end D in this years draft and a scoring forward. Bring up Bailey, Carrier Baptiste, sit Moulson., D-Lo and any other non performers and let them work thru it.

 

No way we sit Moulson when the guy is finally producing. He's worked on his conditioning and is finally contributing. We have enough trouble scoring so sitting one of the few guys actually putting pucks in the net would be a bad idea, unless we're starting to tank already.

[SwampD]

I'm going to wait until the season starts before I decide what to do when the season is over.

[North Buffalo]

Again theey havent let too many of the young guys up and its getting time to see if they can sink or swim. Need at least 1 more high end D in this years draft and a scoring forward. Bring up Bailey, Carrier Baptiste, sit Moulson., D-Lo and any other non performers and let them work thru it.

By January we should know..

[Huckleberry]

I'd like lindy back :(

[pi2000]

Don't give up your season tickets, no way, not now.   Sure there are likely some dark days ahead, but it's a long season and it's not inconceivable that they find their way and make a run for a playoff spot.    It's only a matter of time before Eichel and Kane are back, and if guys like Moulson are producing they're going to win some games.   

 

They've played 5 games, 4 on the road and have only 2 regulation losses... .a bounce here, a bounce there and they could easily be 3-2-0 or better.    Don't throw in the towel.

[Randall Flagg]

Don't give up your season tickets, no way, not now. Sure there are likely some dark days ahead, but it's a long season and it's not inconceivable that they find their way and make a run for a playoff spot. It's only a matter of time before Eichel and Kane are back, and if guys like Moulson are producing they're going to win some games.

 

They've played 5 games, 4 on the road and have only 2 regulation losses... .a bounce here, a bounce there and they could easily be 3-2-0 or better. Don't throw in the towel.

Yeah. However bad things look, switches can be flipped at any moment. Remember when the Sabres were in 15th place in January and made the playoffs? We don't have to hate those magical runs to 8th anymore. We have our pieces.

[WildCard]

I'd like lindy back :(

Me too

[Eleven]

Way back when Lindy was the coach and someone posted this our beloved 11 would reply with a simple ...

 

... ROSTER!!

 

That said, I am not sure if the coach knows what he is doing,

 

The two sentiments are not incongruent in this particular case.

 

I need to see what the team looks like with JE and EK back before I consider Callaway's question, though.  It could be that they're 20 points out of 8th in January because those two guys didn't get back soon enough.

[Stoner]

The two sentiments are not incongruent in this particular case.

 

I need to see what the team looks like with JE and EK back before I consider Callaway's question, though.  It could be that they're 20 points out of 8th in January because those two guys didn't get back soon enough.

Really?

 

On another note a quick glance at StubHub looks like some of the darker days of the tank. Sorry Promo!

The two sentiments are not incongruent in this particular case.

 

I need to see what the team looks like with JE and EK back before I consider Callaway's question, though.  It could be that they're 20 points out of 8th in January because those two guys didn't get back soon enough.

Really?

 

On another note a quick glance at StubHub looks like some of the darker days of the tank. Sorry Promo!

[Thorner]

Really?

 

On another note a quick glance at StubHub looks like some of the darker days of the tank. Sorry Promo!

Really?

 

On another note a quick glance at StubHub looks like some of the darker days of the tank. Sorry Promo!

 

You can say that again!

 

The interesting thing is it may be difficult for us to garner what we consider to be a fair assessment of the roster if we are waiting on a completely healthy team. 100% health is unlikely to be achieved, never mind for an extended period. 

 

There is some element of - you have to perform with what you have, but missing your most dynamic forward (Eichel) may provide an exception. We may need at least him to evaluate fairly, even if there is another injury(s). 

[Radar]

I'm going to wait until the season starts before I decide what to do when the season is over.

Thank you.

[Neo]

I guess we'll be left with the Bills' playoff games.

[Stoner]

Just for shits and giggles, of the 14 teams out of the playoffs on Halloween last season, five came back to reach the postseason. The year before, four came back.

 

Too lazy to keep looking.

 

Slow starts are pretty tough to overcome.

[TrueBlueGED]

Just for shits and giggles, of the 14 teams out of the playoffs on Halloween last season, five came back to reach the postseason. The year before, four came back.

 

Too lazy to keep looking.

 

Slow starts are pretty tough to overcome.

 

It's not so much that they're tough to overcome as they're generally pretty reflective of the quality of the team.

[Wyldnwoody44]

I give the first few games a pass, as we need to evaluate line combos and etc.... Plus injuries.

 

But that game the other night wasn't a product of line combos at all.... It was the product of a mentally and physically weak, poorly coached team

[PromoTheRobot]

Me too

But we had to clean house!

[WildCard]

But we had to clean house!

It was inevitable. No way Ruff stays throughout that entire tank. Even if he wanted to, it just wasn't feasible 

[GASabresIUFAN]

This team without it's most important player (Eichel) and a key scorer (Kane) has 4 pts in 5 games.  Not great, but not terrible either, and there have been some real positives.  The PP, even without those key players, have been very good (thank you Matt Moulson) and the PK (other then last night) has been stellar.  Our Team Faceoff % is greatly improved with the addition of Grant and improved numbers by Reinhart and Girgensons.  The goaltending has been steady.  We have also played a difficult schedule so far with 4 road games including a West Coast trip.  Our opponents YTD are 22-10-4 with only Calg being below 500 at 3-4-1.  Despite the hard schedule our goal differential is only -2 which means we have been competitive in every game (ok except Mon and I'll give the boys a pass on that one with the shock of losing Eichel and then Kane).  Also don't forget we are integrating two new key players (Okposo and Kulikov) to a team that was thrown in chaos with the injuries with even the new pieces sidelined to start the year.   Other positives IMHO have been the improved play of Moulson and Girgensons.  Larsson is becoming a top defensive forward and I think McCabe is becoming our best defensive defenseman. 

 

My goal for this team until Jack and Kane return is for them to tread water and stay around 500 which they are doing.  I'd like to see DD settle on some D pairings and let them develop some chemistry.  However, the tinkering both up and back by DD is his search for chemistry on a young team trying with everyone trying to find a role and it's pretty clear that the chemistry is there yet.  

 

Last year we went 15-22-4 to start the season and then finished 20-14-7.  If they can manage 41 pts the first half this year and if they can turn 3 of the OTL's into win and go 23-14-4 down the stretch we'll still be in the playoff hunt by year end.  

[pi2000]

Good post yse. I agree on all points. Although I was expecting Lehner and Risto to be better. Reinhart seems like he's taken a step back, which is a big concern now.

 

They haven't been good at home for whatever reason, and that has to change if they expect to be in the playoff hunt.

[Andrew Amerk]

I thought that this thread was about spices.

[Stoner]

I thought that this thread was about spices.

Hey! I make the strange, corny jokes around here.

It was inevitable. No way Ruff stays throughout that entire tank. Even if he wanted to, it just wasn't feasible 

I still wonder if Ruff and Regier got fired at all. Maybe technically, so Terry could feel good about their golden parachutes. I've suspected neither guy could stomach the idea of a tank and asked to be put out of their misery. Same thing with Vanek. Was he really unwanted? Terry said he was willing to make him the highest paid player in the league. Vanek also wanted no part of Suffering.