WTF is wrong with this team?

[GASabresIUFAN]

Defensive scoring, that's what's wrong with this team. Do you know how many total goals the sabres D have scored this year? Zero. How many other teams have scoreless defenses? Zero. We are alone in that category and prior to the start of the season I was really hoping PH would help solve that as it hurt us last year.

 

I'm not sure Housley can do much about it if he doesn't have the horses. When you draft a Defenceman 8th overall four and a half years ago, you'd hope he'd be an effective stalwart on the top pair and so far Ristolainen is not that. He's certainly being given the minutes, but the production and results both offensively and defensively this year hasn't been enough. He's only been ok. I'm definitely not putting all the defensive problems on him, but eventually we need one of these guys who has the potential to be great, to be great. Not just adequate.

Same problem as last year.  The difference this year is that we have player who should be able to add to scoring (Baloo, Scandella and Antipin).  Those guys were brought in to execute Housley's system and so far haven't.

[LTS]

Same problem as last year.  The difference this year is that we have player who should be able to add to scoring (Baloo, Scandella and Antipin).  Those guys were brought in to execute Housley's system and so far haven't.

 

I wouldn't agree with that per se.  Scandella was brought in to shore up the defense.  Antipin was signed because "why the hell not".  And Beaulieu was traded for because if he pans out awesome and if he doesn't how much worse could it be than what was here?

 

The D depth is not good enough.  Period.  Bogosian is taking his routine extended pre-season holdout and it will be nice to have him back. 

 

I'd like to think having a D of Risto, Scandella, Bogosian, McCabe, Falk, and Gorges would actually improve this team significantly over where they are at today.  You can rotate Beaulieu, Antipin and Tennyson around in the 5/6 roles if you'd like.

[LikeEich]

Stamkos has more goals and assists than Montreal has goals for. Fun fact

[Pokey Jones]

Same problem as last year.  The difference this year is that we have player who should be able to add to scoring (Baloo, Scandella and Antipin).  Those guys were brought in to execute Housley's system and so far haven't.

Scandella yes, but in all fairness Antipin needs time and development. He will be better if he has the work ethic and will. Sometimes those Russians aren't all that motivated so we shall see. As for Baloo, he is just a dice rolling gamble. Low wager, potential reward, I can see why they did it and don't hold it against them even if he doesn't develop and is a total bust. 

 

Give Housley time with the younger D especially. It's going to take time, probably a year or two. 

[Stoner]

Scandella yes, but in all fairness Antipin needs time and development. He will be better if he has the work ethic and will. Sometimes those Russians aren't all that motivated so we shall see. As for Baloo, he is just a dice rolling gamble. Low wager, potential reward, I can see why they did it and don't hold it against them even if he doesn't develop and is a total bust. 

 

Give Housley time with the younger D especially. It's going to take time, probably a year or two. 

Tim? Ghost? Now I'm really confused.

[GASabresIUFAN]

the BN has articles about how disappointing the Columbus game was. Housley says the guys didn't stick to the game plan blah blah. The BN writes they don’t know how to string wins together blah blah. While there are huge problems with this team, the Columbus game was lost before it started. A team like the Sabres wasn’t going to best a rested good team on the road on the back end of a back to back. This is a film I’d toss in the trash and forget about.

[LTS]

the BN has articles about how disappointing the Columbus game was. Housley says the guys didn't stick to the game plan blah blah. The BN writes they don’t know how to string wins together blah blah. While there are huge problems with this team, the Columbus game was lost before it started. A team like the Sabres wasn’t going to best a rested good team on the road on the back end of a back to back. This is a film I’d toss in the trash and forget about.

 

Well, even if you aren't going to beat them there's no reason to not practice the game plan that you are expected to deliver on every night. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Well, even if you aren't going to beat them there's no reason to not practice the game plan that you are expected to deliver on every night.

 

No question and I thought they did that for 30 minutes until they ran out of gas mid way through the 2nd period

[Taro T]

No question and I thought they did that for 30 minutes until they ran out of gas mid way through the 2nd period

Not positive that it was running out of gas or more a case of running out of luck. They could easily have been down 3-0 (maybe even 4-0) by the end of the 1st.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Not positive that it was running out of gas or more a case of running out of luck. They could easily have been down 3-0 (maybe even 4-0) by the end of the 1st.

Bob made some great saves early. The breakaway is the obvious one, but there were a couple of other golden chances for us. So yes we got lucky they didn’t score early, but so did they.

 

Do what is wrong with the Sabres? To many TM players.

Edited October 28, 2017 by GASabresIUFAN

[GASabresIUFAN]

Why are we so bad in the second period?

[Wyldnwoody44]

Why are we so bad in every period?

Ftfy

[GASabresIUFAN]

Two things are wrong with this team.   Lack of talent and lack of heart.  The first is curable and the second, I'm not so sure.

[calti]

​I'm trying to think of great coaches who were hall of fame players..........

[Taro T]

​I'm trying to think of great coaches who were hall of fame players..........

Toe Blake.

 

(Not sure that he was a great coach, but Larry Robinson might also fit the bill.)

[calti]

Toe Blake.

 

(Not sure that he was a great coach, but Larry Robinson might also fit the bill.)

Thanks Taro. Toe def fits the bill.

And Larry Robinson coached the devils to a cup so I would qualify him as well even though he seemed to get fired a lot.Maybe he had the Ted Nolan syndrome who knows....

Edited October 29, 2017 by calti

[Marvelo]

The Sabres have been losing for so long that it's become ingrained in the blood. It used to be this team would win regularly...I know some of you have never seen this but it's true.  In the 70s and early 80s they seemed almost unstoppable. There were actual Hall of Famers on this team who were in their prime. Hasek was the last one...he left in 2001. After a brief rally when they almost won the cup in 2005 and finished first overall in 2006, it started slipping away. Drury and Briere left and the Sabres became only the third team ever to miss the playoffs after finishing first overall. They made the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 but lost again.

 

The Pegulas took over in 2010, acquired Ville Leino, spent $10 million on the locker room, Lucic hit Miller and nobody responded and then the bottom fell out. Since the bottom fell out the team has been stumbling around like a strung-out junkie. Even when they "won" the lottery by losing out, they still lost. It's as if the Pegula Era, despite the rebuild of downtown, has been a curse to the team. The Pegulas, despite a constant diet of big failure with the Sabres, were allowed to buy the Bills in 2014, a further distraction to the neophyte ownership. Since then, the constant management changes, the instability and lack of foresight, the interchangeable anonymous players unsuccessfully filling roles, the overpaying/bribing old and declining players to come to Buffalo with long expensive contracts, the consistent drafting failures, the promising young players psychologically ruined by the constant losing, the dead gamenight experience and the resulting dead crowds...the winning formula and spirit has been lost. 

 

Too many damn mistakes by the Pegulas, that's wtf is wrong with this team.

Edited October 29, 2017 by Marvelo

[Jacque Richard]

They all like losing

[Stoner]

The Sabres have been losing for so long that it's become ingrained in the blood. It used to be this team would win regularly...I know some of you have never seen this but it's true.  In the 70s and early 80s they seemed almost unstoppable. There were actual Hall of Famers on this team who were in their prime. Hasek was the last one...he left in 2001. After a brief rally when they almost won the cup in 2005 and finished first overall in 2006, it started slipping away. Drury and Briere left and the Sabres became only the third team ever to miss the playoffs after finishing first overall. They made the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 but lost again.

 

The Pegulas took over in 2010, acquired Ville Leino, spent $10 million on the locker room, Lucic hit Miller and nobody responded and then the bottom fell out. Since the bottom fell out the team has been stumbling around like a strung-out junkie. Even when they "won" the lottery by losing out, they still lost. It's as if the Pegula Era, despite the rebuild of downtown, has been a curse to the team. The Pegulas, despite a constant diet of big failure with the Sabres, were allowed to buy the Bills in 2014, a further distraction to the neophyte ownership. Since then, the constant management changes, the instability and lack of foresight, the interchangeable anonymous players unsuccessfully filling roles, the overpaying/bribing old and declining players to come to Buffalo with long expensive contracts, the consistent drafting failures, the promising young players psychologically ruined by the constant losing, the dead gamenight experience and the resulting dead crowds...the winning formula and spirit has been lost. 

 

Too many damn mistakes by the Pegulas, that's wtf is wrong with this team.

:flirt: :w00t: :wub: :worthy: ;) :o :rolleyes:

[French Collection]

​I'm trying to think of great coaches who were hall of fame players..........

This question caught my eye.

 

Toe Blake and Larry Robinson are indeed two of the best combined player/coaching careers.

 

Most of the ones I've found are old timers but I would suspect today's money and years spent in the limelight would keep some stars from coaching. There could be more but these are the HOF players who I recognized as long time coaches.

 

Alphabetical with games coached in the NHL.

 

Sid Abel 891

Frank Boucher 527

King Clancy 222

Hap Day 546

Dick Irvin 1449

Red Kelly 742

Lester Patrick 604

Lynn Patrick 443

Bob Pulford 829

Milt Schmidt 770

[bunomatic]

The Sabres have been losing for so long that it's become ingrained in the blood. It used to be this team would win regularly...I know some of you have never seen this but it's true.  In the 70s and early 80s they seemed almost unstoppable. There were actual Hall of Famers on this team who were in their prime. Hasek was the last one...he left in 2001. After a brief rally when they almost won the cup in 2005 and finished first overall in 2006, it started slipping away. Drury and Briere left and the Sabres became only the third team ever to miss the playoffs after finishing first overall. They made the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 but lost again.

 

The Pegulas took over in 2010, acquired Ville Leino, spent $10 million on the locker room, Lucic hit Miller and nobody responded and then the bottom fell out. Since the bottom fell out the team has been stumbling around like a strung-out junkie. Even when they "won" the lottery by losing out, they still lost. It's as if the Pegula Era, despite the rebuild of downtown, has been a curse to the team. The Pegulas, despite a constant diet of big failure with the Sabres, were allowed to buy the Bills in 2014, a further distraction to the neophyte ownership. Since then, the constant management changes, the instability and lack of foresight, the interchangeable anonymous players unsuccessfully filling roles, the overpaying/bribing old and declining players to come to Buffalo with long expensive contracts, the consistent drafting failures, the promising young players psychologically ruined by the constant losing, the dead gamenight experience and the resulting dead crowds...the winning formula and spirit has been lost. 

 

Too many damn mistakes by the Pegulas, that's wtf is wrong with this team.

in a nutshell. This is pretty much spot on.

[LGR4GM]

The Pegulas only made two mistakes. Trying to fix the team in 2012. The lafontaine and Murray things. I group them because lafontaine have us gmtm. I think both have been fixed and I'd like to say the dt development is better then a winning team because jobs.

 

Also the bills are better so ...

Edited October 29, 2017 by LGR4GM

[GASabresIUFAN]

The job the bills have done is both shocking and amazing. They need their coaches to come in and light a fire under the Sabres. Like the Bills Jbot needs to get rid of the malcontents regardless of skill and salary.

[Rasmus_]

The job the bills have done is both shocking and amazing. They need their coaches to come in and light a fire under the Sabres. Like the Bills Jbot needs to get rid of the malcontents regardless of skill and salary.

 

+1 - This is definitely a need to happen.  Stop fixing things on the fly.  Which isn't something Botterill seems likely to do.  I believe he's probably talking to anyone/everyone with the attempt to upgrade the roster / make changes need sooner than later.  He has prefaced the need for renewed patience, which is annoying, but the team speed is still far away from what it needs to be. 

[Jacque Richard]

The bills seem to very well coached and play hard. The Sabres just don’t play hard