Don't look now but the Sabres have gotten points in 9 of the last 10 games

[Doohicksie]

12 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

there's so much more to get right on a 53-player roster!

Easier to hide players that are a drag on the roster.

[MattPie]

20 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Easier to hide players that are a drag on the roster.

I agree here. If your corner play is sub standard, you work your system to give the corners help. If your WRs are terrible (cough, Bills), you run a lot and play to the TE.

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

Gotta get over the DeLuca hump.

And honestly, it will be a tremendous improvement if this team finishes around 90 points. Bottom line seems to be that they need more good NHL players in order to be in the top third tier of NHL clubs.

It does confound me: Why are the Bills turned around more quickly than the Sabres?

Are they though? I've had this weird feeling for a while that, in the most bizarre scenario possible, one that most Buffalo sports fans cannot even allow themselves to dream of, both franchises will get off the schneid in the same year.

Edited December 16, 2019 by PASabreFan

[Doohicksie]

Well the Bills made it to the playoffs two years ago, so your theory is flawed.

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

Gotta get over the DeLuca hump.

And honestly, it will be a tremendous improvement if this team finishes around 90 points. Bottom line seems to be that they need more good NHL players in order to be in the top third tier of NHL clubs.

It does confound me: Why are the Bills turned around more quickly than the Sabres?

Two words: Guaranteed Contracts.  The NFL has none and all are guaranteed in the NHL.  Therefore the Bills could simply dump malcontents or players not living up to expectations. Beane was smart to dump these guys for picks which he used to upgrade his team and made good FA picks ups.  Only 3 of 54 players remain from 2106.

On the other hand Jbot was saddled with Moulson, Gorges, Ennis, Risto, Bogo, KO, Lehner, Kane, ROR, and others plus a depleted farm system when he got here.   To show how hard it is to turn a NHL franchise around, 9 players who played 30+ games from Tim Murray’s last team are still here.  Of these 9, 3 were long-term deals that couldn’t be moved in Risto, Bogo and KO.  The remainder, Erod, McCabe, Larsson, Z, Eichel and Sam were all young(ish) players who were under team control.

Edited December 16, 2019 by GASabresIUFAN

[Randall Flagg]

McBeane and their staff,  to this very moment, have been more successful at the impossibly large task of bringing together all of the facets of an NFL football organization relative to other organizations in the league, than Botterill and Housley/Krueger and whoever else completes their front office, relative to other NHL franchises. If you made a pro/con list of each, it'd be clear that one has done a better job than the other, and so a turnaround has happened quicker. The nature of the two leagues is also wildly different as others have elaborated on, so it's not a fair comparison. It'd be easier to compare the Sabres to the Oilers, Coyotes, Devils, Islanders, Avalanche, Leafs. 

This doesn't mean that the Sabres can't be on the cusp of righting the ship, or in the process of it - they're right there with everyone else in the east, and control their own destiny as far as what happens to them in April and beyond.

[Stoner]

21 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Well the Bills made it to the playoffs two years ago, so your theory is flawed.

No, it's not. And it's not even a theory.

[Doohicksie]

Yes it is.  And yes it is.

[GASabresIUFAN]

FYI 3-0-2 in our last 5 games thus 8 of 10 points.

[Curt]

5 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

that's a sticking point for me, though. there's so much more to get right on a 53-player roster!

oh well. to the extent it's a mystery to me, it's likely to remain so.

1) Drafts take much longer to bear fruit in the NHL.

2) It is much easier to move players and contracts in the NFL.

3) The Sabres were purposefully torn down to the studs in a way that the Bills never were (I think)

4) Crowd Yells: “Quit making excuses for the Sabres!  They just suck!”

ALSO:  Bills posted one winning record in a 14 yr period from 2000-2013.  They went 17 years between playoff appearances.  They haven’t won a playoff game in 23 years.  Did they really turn things around that quickly???

Edited December 17, 2019 by Curt

[GASabresIUFAN]

40 minutes ago, Curt said:

1) Drafts take much longer to bear fruit in the NHL.

2) It is much easier to move players and contracts in the NFL.

3) The Sabres were purposefully torn down to the studs in a way that the Bills never were (I think)

4) Crowd Yells: “Quit making excuses for the Sabres!  They just suck!”

ALSO:  Bills posted one winning record in a 14 yr period from 2000-2013.  They went 17 years between playoff appearances.  They haven’t won a playoff game in 23 years.  Did they really turn things around that quickly???

Well said, but it is amazing how quickly things did change once they got the right GM and coach.

[shrader]

17 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

McBeane and their staff,  to this very moment, have been more successful at the impossibly large task of bringing together all of the facets of an NFL football organization relative to other organizations in the league, than Botterill and Housley/Krueger and whoever else completes their front office, relative to other NHL franchises. If you made a pro/con list of each, it'd be clear that one has done a better job than the other, and so a turnaround has happened quicker. The nature of the two leagues is also wildly different as others have elaborated on, so it's not a fair comparison. It'd be easier to compare the Sabres to the Oilers, Coyotes, Devils, Islanders, Avalanche, Leafs. 

This doesn't mean that the Sabres can't be on the cusp of righting the ship, or in the process of it - they're right there with everyone else in the east, and control their own destiny as far as what happens to them in April and beyond.

I don't pay close enough attention to the Bills to really know what they've done.  But the bolded is a good indicator of the impression I always get from them.  Those two always come across to me as being a true team, both levels of the management being on the same exact page and working together.  The Sabres haven't had anything remotely like that i a long time now, probably the earlier years of Darcy/Lindy.  Maybe Botterill/Krueger can finally be that, but we haven't seen enough yet to really know.

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

Maybe Botterill/Krueger can finally be that, but we haven't seen enough yet to really know.

I would say issues like Mittelstadt and possibly Bogo are evidence against that.

[matter2003]

21 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

It does confound me: Why are the Bills turned around more quickly than the Sabres?

Because they had a plan, stuck with it and spent 3 years under the same coach and GM to build something the right way that works and will last.  

Sabres have not had that continuity yet even though they have some good pieces. I think after 3 years under JBotts/Kreuger we will see similar results.

Edited December 17, 2019 by matter2003

[...]

21 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

It does confound me: Why are the Bills turned around more quickly than the Sabres?

A lot less of an emotional attachment by Terry led to a lot less meddling and a lot more focus?

[shrader]

15 minutes ago, ... said:

A lot less of an emotional attachment by Terry led to a lot less meddling and a lot more focus?

He made the right hire in one place but not in the other.

[Stoner]

20 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Yes it is.  And yes it is.

My friend, my friend. Think bigger schneid. Think Schneid.

[Doohicksie]

Well then capitalize it next time.

[Taro T]

6 hours ago, shrader said:

He made the right hire in one place but not in the other.

Perhaps.

Jury is still out on Botterill.

[shrader]

14 hours ago, Taro T said:

Perhaps.

Jury is still out on Botterill.

Exactly.  But what we do know for sure is that hire #1 was a bust.  One can only hope that he learned a thing or two from that, because he appears to have nailed the next GM he hired (please don't take that out of context... you know who you are).

Actually, now that I look back at the timeline, did they really hire both of the current GMs within days of each other?