Sabres Waive Dalton Smith

[Ogre]

That kid made more dolla billz in that 1:26 mins than....

It was also awesome to watch everyone’s common sense have a meltdown.

[Gatorman0519]

What an absolute waste of time that was.  Wow. 

[North Buffalo]

What did he have like 3 shifts?

10 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

What an absolute waste of time that was.  Wow. 

 

[Pimlach]

Kruger did not want to play him while “protecting “ a 3 goal  lead.  
 

Dalton Smith was the least of the problems last night.  Special teams hurt us again.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Pimlach

[Ross Rhea]

Smith wasn't the answer, he's not and NHLer, barely an AHLer. 

 

It's been way too long past the time for JBot to address the grit issue with this team with legit NHLers. 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

23 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I'm sorry I don't give a ***** who his father is or who he's related too. If the Sabres need a 4th line plug to defend themselves or find the grit to score, this team is completely ***** for the foreseeable future and beyond. 

Please don't be....it's me who is sorry. Sorry I even bothered to read your response. You really tore my post up then re-taped the pieces together to mean the total opposite of what it said originally. Do you regularly date Victoria's Secret models or the pig's with lipstick?

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

23 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Last post today. You want to believe that some 4th line JAG, an actual jag btw, is going to make this team somehow better then I'm sorry. This team will continue to be trash as long as the management group believes that 1 gritty 4th liner is the key to a team that can't score, sucks on the pk, and regularly is simply not talented enough. We need at least 2 top 6 forwards including a 2c and #1 rw.  Adding Smith is like putting lipstick on a pig and saying you're dating a Victoria's secret model. I'm absolutely stunned the general feeling is that this move is anything other than window dressing. 

Just like the Sabres......I've lost all hope that we'll ever see progress.

[LGR4GM]

[tom webster]

59 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

And now the team is starting to “leak” stories telling everyone why they can’t do anything. I think they have realized what a lot of us have; nothing they do this year can put them on par with the best teams in their division and thus they are going for the covert tank.

[Taro T]

40 minutes ago, tom webster said:

And now the team is starting to “leak” stories telling everyone why they can’t do anything. I think they have realized what a lot of us have; nothing they do this year can put them on par with the best teams in their division and thus they are going for the covert tank.

Sadly, my fear that Botterill and Pegula view this season as another meaningless one seems to be coming to pass.

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Sadly, my fear that Botterill and Pegula view this season as another meaningless one seems to be coming to pass.

Looking at our cap structure and all the unsigned players for next year, I absolutely believe that is the case. This year doesn't matter to them. 

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Looking at our cap structure and all the unsigned players for next year, I absolutely believe that is the case. This year doesn't matter to them. 

Which implies they'll try to have a competitive team next year (and, actually likely will), but it doesn't really make one want to go to the game on Thursday or Saturday even though both likely will be W's.

[Randall Flagg]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

And now the team is starting to “leak” stories telling everyone why they can’t do anything. I think they have realized what a lot of us have; nothing they do this year can put them on par with the best teams in their division and thus they are going for the covert tank.

tom, is this what Vogl's article was? Or do you have other examples of the leaking?

And is the latter speculation, or whispers that you're hearing from your source? This is important. 

I've never resented a member of the Sabres organization as much as I resent Jason Botterill, in my entire fanhood. His three year bad/good ratio has, every step of the way, grown at an alarming rate. I've never seen a hockey team with more predictable and obvious problems than his last two, problems that have gone resoundingly untouched. I don't have to rehash them, as we have all spent thousands of hours pointing them out to each other. I've never seen a GM more content to sit on his hands during predictable unfathomably bad stretches, despite seeing what it does to good players the first time around (with ROR). We are in another unfathomably bad stretch as we speak. 8 wins in our last 29, 1 in our last 8. 4 wins in our last 19 games against eastern conference opponents, who we're supposed to be battling for these playoff spots. Think about that. 4 wins in NINETEEN games against our own conference. And growing speculation that nobody will trade with him since they assume they can either fleece him or look elsewhere. 

I think the evidence suggests that this situation is untenable and unfixable while Jason Botterill is at the helm, and formally declare my desire to see him removed from his position as soon as possible. 

[nfreeman]

34 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

tom, is this what Vogl's article was? Or do you have other examples of the leaking?

And is the latter speculation, or whispers that you're hearing from your source? This is important. 

I've never resented a member of the Sabres organization as much as I resent Jason Botterill, in my entire fanhood. His three year bad/good ratio has, every step of the way, grown at an alarming rate. I've never seen a hockey team with more predictable and obvious problems than his last two, problems that have gone resoundingly untouched. I don't have to rehash them, as we have all spent thousands of hours pointing them out to each other. I've never seen a GM more content to sit on his hands during predictable unfathomably bad stretches, despite seeing what it does to good players the first time around (with ROR). We are in another unfathomably bad stretch as we speak. 8 wins in our last 29, 1 in our last 8. 4 wins in our last 19 games against eastern conference opponents, who we're supposed to be battling for these playoff spots. Think about that. 4 wins in NINETEEN games against our own conference. And growing speculation that nobody will trade with him since they assume they can either fleece him or look elsewhere. 

I think the evidence suggests that this situation is untenable and unfixable while Jason Botterill is at the helm, and formally declare my desire to see him removed from his position as soon as possible. 

You're referring to this one, yes?  https://theathletic.com/1497801/2020/01/01/why-the-sabres-and-jason-botterill-want-to-end-their-reliance-on-long-term-injured-reserve/

I'm not all the way to "terminate JB immediately and with extreme prejudice" yet.  But if this season ends up as bad as it looks it might, AND if JB's "cap management" ends up hamstringing the team the way Vogl describes, I could see myself getting there.

[DarthEbriate]

29 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

I think the evidence suggests that this situation is untenable and unfixable while Jason Botterill is at the helm, and formally declare my desire to see him removed from his position as soon as possible. 

It's treason, then. ?

As soon as Berglund left (and thankfully terminated his contract and that cap hit --- he could have stayed or floated all last year) a move needed to be made for the 2C. Mitts was not ready and Sobotka ... well, yeah. That $4M saved instantly should have been invested as salary going the other way or to take on an overpriced 2C rental. We needed the ROR-replacement then and we still don't have it now a full year later. Asplund is not the guy. MoJo is a very good signing as a mid-6 winger. Goodness, just imagine if Goalofson hadn't arrived this year and Thompson hadn't had any ROC time and was stunted again this season.

You're saying coming here was a bad idea. I'm beginning to agree with you. R-2F what are we doing here? It's like something out of a dream...

[LGR4GM]

Is Dalton Smith playing tonight against Edmonton? With Erod wanting to jump ship I wonder if they will sit him again. 

[LTS]

21 hours ago, tom webster said:

And now the team is starting to “leak” stories telling everyone why they can’t do anything. I think they have realized what a lot of us have; nothing they do this year can put them on par with the best teams in their division and thus they are going for the covert tank.

This team was never going to compete this year anyway.  The Lightning, Bruins, and Leafs were all primed to be at the top of the conference.  Florida was going to improve.

I know I said it at the beginning of the season, but everyone should have realized that this season was going to be a wasted season. There was nothing that could be done about it that would not be an extreme reach and certainly set the team up for falling flat after the Seattle expansion draft.  I wouldn't call it a tank, it's reality.

 

 

[tom webster]

26 minutes ago, LTS said:

This team was never going to compete this year anyway.  The Lightning, Bruins, and Leafs were all primed to be at the top of the conference.  Florida was going to improve.

I know I said it at the beginning of the season, but everyone should have realized that this season was going to be a wasted season. There was nothing that could be done about it that would not be an extreme reach and certainly set the team up for falling flat after the Seattle expansion draft.  I wouldn't call it a tank, it's reality.

 

 

I disagree, it would not have been easy, but it could have been done. The new narrative is bull, as well, because if cap compliance was the goal this year, then there is no MOJO, Vesey or Miller.

Last year, at the end they told us they didn’t make moves because they knew they weren’t good enough. This year it will be about saving cap space for next year. They have no plan and keep changing it on the fly.

Additionally, the key to staying under the cap? Value contracts, finding guys like Briere, Duclair. Their only surprise so far has been Olafsson and that’s TM’s guy. It’s been three years, whose JNOT’s diamond in the rough?

[inkman]

9 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I disagree, it would not have been easy, but it could have been done. The new narrative is bull, as well, because if cap compliance was the goal this year, then there is no MOJO, Vesey or Miller.

Last year, at the end they told us they didn’t make moves because they knew they weren’t good enough. This year it will be about saving cap space for next year. They have no plan and keep changing it on the fly.

Additionally, the key to staying under the cap? Value contracts, finding guys like Briere, Duclair. Their only surprise so far has been Olafsson and that’s TM’s guy. It’s been three years, whose JNOT’s diamond in the rough?

Duclair is a troubling one. He was at a position of need, with no real cost yet the Sabres didn't bother.  Just stupid. 

[Brawndo]

On Waivers Today.

 

[Thwomp!]

1 minute ago, Brawndo said:

On Waivers Today.

 

This whole episode now has crystal clear transparency.  Worked so well too!  What a hapless, ridiculous organization the Sabres have become. 

[nfreeman]

Well, that tempest in a teapot didn't last long.

Best of luck to him, presumably in Rochester.

[inkman]

He deserved better. He should have gotten a few weeks just to let a few guys know what it takes to make it in the NHL.  

[tom webster]

11 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

On Waivers Today.

 

I know it’s a minuscule amount but a team whose main focus is cap compliance just threw a couple bucks in the garbage can.

[Thwomp!]

Just now, inkman said:

He deserved better. He should have gotten a few weeks just to let a few guys know what it takes to make it in the NHL.  

Well they only needed some heart for one game, right?  Now that the big, bad, mean Lightning are done for the year.  I'm sure the rest of the league has not taken note of the Sabres lack of toughness and will not take any liberties whatsoever.  They literally told the rest of the league that there is absolutely no toughness currently on their NHL roster!