Was this the hardest season for the fans in Sabres history?

[nfreeman]

This doesn't feel as bad, but only because I've been dead inside for the last 10 years. 2006 should have been the year. I may never get over that.

 

That was our best shot and our best team in the post-Bert era. 

 

And the summer of 2006, when they let Grier, McKee and Dumont go, was when they started thumbing their noses in the faces of the hockey gods -- and when the fans started paying the price.

 

 

For me the 2006 season remains the hardest season ever.  To have a team that was so damned good run into that rash of D injuries at the worst possible time killed me.

 

1999 was hard too because it should not have ended that way..

 

 

 

2006 may have had the worst ending, but that season as a whole was a freaking blast. This year has been miserable from start to finish, though, so it takes my top spot--I've never actively hated my team before. I hate this team.

 

I'm with TB on 2006 (and the same goes for 1999) -- those were thrilling rides albeit with disappointing endings.  I'd be ecstatic if we get seasons like those anytime soon.

 

I don't hate this team though.  I just want to see what they can do with a  new coach and a couple of new defensemen. 

 

Separately:  if one is inclined to believe in such things, one could easily conclude that the Sabres have gotten, over the last 10 years, exactly what they deserve for committing 2 abominations:  letting Drury and Briere go, and then the tank. 

 

The hockey gods are not mocked.

[Weave]

I'm not sure. We have this Raccoon that comes around our property. Cute as a button but the thing with raccoons is they always shite in the same spot. Every stinkin time so it slowly piles up on top of the shite that came before it. This season feels oddly like that. In that respect its hard to judge whether this is the worst season we've suffered through because I'm simply unable or unwilling to peel back the previous shite that I've been subjected to.

The essense of Sabres fandome boiled down to 6 sentences.

[TrueBlueGED]

@Freeman: the hockey gods can suck it. They provided us plenty of misery before Black Sunday and The Tank.

[nfreeman]

@Freeman: the hockey gods can suck it. They provided us plenty of misery before Black Sunday and The Tank.

 

I think the 10 years since Black Sunday have been the bleakest period in franchise history.

[Weave]

I think the 10 years since Black Sunday have been the bleakest period in franchise history.

The 80's are pretty damned close, but I think this is right.

[TrueBlueGED]

I think the 10 years since Black Sunday have been the bleakest period in franchise history.

Maybe. But I still think we're closer to being good than we are to being Colorado.

 

Edit: Beyond that, if the hockey gods see fit to continually punish the fans for the actions of the owners, then they can doubly suck it.

Edited April 9, 2017 by TrueBlueGED

[bunomatic]

There are no hockey Gods. 

 

There I said it. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

The tank years were the worst ever.

 

This season and the many other seasons that we were just bad do not compare, at least for me.  There were plenty of disappointingly bad seasons, but when management decided to tank they almost lost me as a fan.  It really was that close.

 

I will take bad hockey any day over the blatant policy to tank.

 

The best days are still to come, I think and hope.

[Stoner]

The 80's are pretty damned close, but I think this is right.

The 80s were OK. Many thought Bowman was going to win that Cup for us. The new generation kids were fun. We swept the Habs. They bottomed out, got a #1 pick and started coming back up fairly quickly. Sabres hockey in the late 80s was not boring, but it sure was frustrating in the playoffs. 80s vs whatever we call this decade (the 10s?)? Not even close, so far.

[Weave]

The 80s were OK. Many thought Bowman was going to win that Cup for us. The new generation kids were fun. We swept the Habs. They bottomed out, got a #1 pick and started coming back up fairly quickly. Sabres hockey in the late 80s was not boring, but it sure was frustrating in the playoffs. 80s vs whatever we call this decade (the 10s?)? Not even close, so far.

4 out of 5 teams in each division getting into the playoffs hid the truth of those teams. Today we'd be talking about failed cores, failed systems, and lousy drafts. Back then there was enough offense in general that we could be distracted from the reality of what we really had.

[Ottosmagic13]

I'm 31, I've watched since I was old enough to understand. I have memories of seasons (not just "watching hockey") since they switched from the Adams division.

 

2006 was a hard ending but it wasn't the worst. Most heartbreaking, easy first (like Gretzky overall points leader first). The early 2000's were just blah, even when we did make the playoffs. 

 

All that said, hardest season to stomach, this one or 14-15. 14-15 because I NEVER wan't to actively root for the Sabres to lose ever again(even if it may be in there best interest). That season had the we're paying our dues feel.  

 

This season because we had promise. Coming in to the pre-season games there was a sense of we payed our dues and we'll be coming up. This season wasn't a playoffs or bust (especially after Eichel got hurt) but it was one that I feel will echo and be felt in the next few years. Even near the end I wasn't actively wishing for us to lose at any point this year. I most certainly got indifferent after we lost those two games coming off the bye week but what has me so down about this season isn't necessarily the on ice product. It's everything that has (or hasn't) happened off the ice. Constant mismanagement of players that are going to be our core if we are ever going to get out of this slump. Reinhart is a center. Foligno has zero business being on Eichel's wing. Lehner should never play both games of a back to back. Coming out dead after the bye week.  Not making a move at any point to get another D-man, especially when injuries and individual slumps started to hurt us. Among countless other headscratchers that add up to more feel bads than some injuries and D-side roster inadequacy.  

 

As I'm writing this Carrier scores from Nylander and Ullmark makes 2-3 amazing saves. Maybe next year won't be as bad. 

[Jacque Richard]

Year that Horton died

[Sabel79]

I'd have to say the post-Rigas NHL owned years were the worst as a fan. On-ice issues aside, the sword of Damocles was, if I may paraphrase Rocky Horror, hanging over our heads (oooooohhhh ah ah ah ah) as far as what was going to happen long term.

 

Then OSP at least ensured the franchise stayed put. So there was that.

[I-90 W]

13-14 and 14-15 were the worst for me. At least this season we were able to watch Jack and Samson and had a glimmer of hope in late february. Such a massive disappointment though.

[Jacque Richard]

There have been many seasons harder on the fans. I've seen them all and this season is not even in the top 10.

 

What is most disappointing to me about this season is that both the Sabres and the Amerks were worse than last year. Tim Murray is clearly not the genius many people thought he was. I guess several of the bad deals he has made are now being reflected in the standings. Clearly, something must change.

 

agree

[Thorner]

They were all bad, but this one will be the worst if I don't read "Dan Bylsma has been fired as the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres" in the headlines within the next few days.

For me this season is up there as one of the worst, but a lot of it hinges on what happens with Bylsma. If after everything we saw, he remains the coach? It's the worst season.

[LTS]

2006 may have had the worst ending, but that season as a whole was a freaking blast. This year has been miserable from start to finish, though, so it takes my top spot--I've never actively hated my team before. I hate this team.

 

The season, while we were in it, was a blast. But now I have to continually think back to that year and each time I do so I have to think about what didn't materialize.

 

I didn't have high expectations for this team this year. I had higher expectations than what we got but it wasn't that high.  In a few years I won't look back on this year with as much disgust as 2006.

 

That was our best shot and our best team in the post-Bert era. 

 

And the summer of 2006, when they let Grier, McKee and Dumont go, was when they started thumbing their noses in the faces of the hockey gods -- and when the fans started paying the price.

 

 

 

 

I'm with TB on 2006 (and the same goes for 1999) -- those were thrilling rides albeit with disappointing endings.  I'd be ecstatic if we get seasons like those anytime soon.

 

I don't hate this team though.  I just want to see what they can do with a  new coach and a couple of new defensemen. 

 

Separately:  if one is inclined to believe in such things, one could easily conclude that the Sabres have gotten, over the last 10 years, exactly what they deserve for committing 2 abominations:  letting Drury and Briere go, and then the tank. 

 

The hockey gods are not mocked.

 

Retaining Vanek was more of an abomination in my opinion.  But, like I said.. the disappointing end completely negates the fun of the season.  Sometimes its the destination that matters and not the journey.

[TrueBlueGED]

The season, while we were in it, was a blast. But now I have to continually think back to that year and each time I do so I have to think about what didn't materialize.

 

I didn't have high expectations for this team this year. I had higher expectations than what we got but it wasn't that high.  In a few years I won't look back on this year with as much disgust as 2006.

 

 

Retaining Vanek was more of an abomination in my opinion.  But, like I said.. the disappointing end completely negates the fun of the season.  Sometimes its the destination that matters and not the journey.

 

This is where you and I are totally different. I'm all about the ride.

[MattPie]

Does this feel so bad because it gave us all a feeling of hopelessness?

 

It has for me. These couple years were going to be some of the best chance the Sabres had for a cup (Eichel, Sam, Risto on cheap contracts making room to bring in good vets), and from the looks of it they're going to get pissed away. Assuming ownership is pulling at least some strings, I'm getting to the point where the Sabres aren't going anywhere until someone says, "we can do it your way, or we can win."

[BMWR100RT]

I'm 55. I was 10 when the Sabres came to be. First game was the "Fog Game". Look at posts for details. Watched or listened to every game for all but the college years and the years I couldn't tune them into my AM radio at night when I listened from Westchester county. Moved into my current house when the Dallas thing happened.....had to go to a bar and watch because we couldn't afford cable. Went to a playoff game in every series since Philadelphia in 76.

 

But this was by far the worst. For a few reasons.....lost my Dad who took me to my first game back in the aud and the thought that I could be like my mom and uncle and him who just watched ten years of bad hockey and then........

 

Took my kids to three games. No atmosphere. Lifeless play. Stupid turnovers. Ineffective coaching. And just a bad game experience. I tried to talk it up, try to make the kids feel what a real hockey experience could be like. Realization that they will probably never catch hockey fever watching this crap. I feel like a failure as a hockey dad. 

[Drunkard]

This season sucked. Next season will be worse.

[Radar]

This season sucked. Next season will be worse.

By the sound of things could it be worse?

[LTS]

This is where you and I are totally different. I'm all about the ride.

 

Well, it's not always about the destination, I just said sometimes it is.  In this case, for me, 2006 was a great ride until the end and then it all went to hell.  It undid every bit of good that season... and then it led to even worse things.

 

If the Sabres had won the cup in 1999 I would probably not view 2006 as the hardest season ever.  I would have experience a championship.  It changes the perspective.  I would have wanted a second one, but I don't have the first one yet.  

 

There may come a time when I don't view 2006 as the hardest season ever.  All I know is that I don't view this season in that way because I never thought they'd be more than sniffing 8th with a hope.  It was worse than that but I'm not surprised by it.

[Stoner]

I'm 55. I was 10 when the Sabres came to be. First game was the "Fog Game". Look at posts for details. Watched or listened to every game for all but the college years and the years I couldn't tune them into my AM radio at night when I listened from Westchester county. Moved into my current house when the Dallas thing happened.....had to go to a bar and watch because we couldn't afford cable. Went to a playoff game in every series since Philadelphia in 76.

 

But this was by far the worst. For a few reasons.....lost my Dad who took me to my first game back in the aud and the thought that I could be like my mom and uncle and him who just watched ten years of bad hockey and then........

 

Took my kids to three games. No atmosphere. Lifeless play. Stupid turnovers. Ineffective coaching. And just a bad game experience. I tried to talk it up, try to make the kids feel what a real hockey experience could be like. Realization that they will probably never catch hockey fever watching this crap. I feel like a failure as a hockey dad. 

I'm sorry about your dad. One of the biggest reasons your enthusiasm for a team can wane is when someone you've watched the games with passes away. It's almost like it's not really about the sport at all. With the Bills, when my dad died, and then my mom -- who was the true original troll, cheering for every team that played the Bills -- the experience was never the same. And you're not a bad hockey dad. Times have changed. It's all about the dollars now. Look at Fan "Appreciation" Night. I remember when they added ads to the boards and a sponsor to the scoreboard at the Aud. It was pretty jarring. It was also the beginning of the end.

Edited April 11, 2017 by PASabreFan

[mphs mike]

This year or '73-'74.

Bert injured, Horton deceased, missing the playoffs right after "thank you, Sabres."

i'd also throw in losing to the isles in both 76 and 80. those were cup quality teams and the ens was just awful.