Fixing the Sabres Long-Term - Can it be done?

[WildCard]

14 minutes ago, Ducky said:

If you're re-building, have the patience to know you won't win a cup in 2 years and it takes a lot of pain before building a contender.

We've been rebuilding for 11, we know

[SabresBillsFan]

So how do you fix this mess called the Buffalo Sabres? This team is practically unwatchable. Miller and Eakin who I have seen first hand in Vegas look like they are even lost. Skinner and Okposo with 15 million tied up between them should have never happened. Their is no way this team should be right against the Cap with this current squad of garbage. I like Ralph as an individual but I think his system isn’t working and these players look lost. Adams has some tough decisions ahead. Eichel and Hall haven’t even come to the tandem we all thought they might become. If I’m Hall I’m gone at the end of the season. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

 

[SwampD]

I thought they were watchable tonight.

They lost and it sucks, but they were at least watchable.

We will beat the Devils, twice.

Let's reconnoiter after to see how we feel.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

We will beat the Devils, twice.

Not if the Devils play the way they did against the Bruins tonight. 

 

As to the question, I see no solution aside from a complete teardown and rebuild with a new blueprint.  We've tried too many times already with this so called "core". 

[triumph_communes]

Fire Steve smith

 

get new goalies

[Sabre1974]

I am in the camp at the moment of these players are struggling with the system that the coach has them playing. Let them play to there strengths. We are the specialists at scoring 1 goal per game if we are lucky. But I also feel that certain players need to take a long hard look at themselves. First thing I would do today is waive okposo - he is done at NHL level and I would seriously consider Ralph's position if I was GM k Adams. We have the players there but it's not happening. The next move we make can we please please please get this one right. 

Really struggling with this now and find watching this team and continuous losing unbearable.

 

 

[MODO Hockey]

It's already brought up in other threads.

Hire a coach that can coach - easy win. It's that simple really.

[Thorner]

23 minutes ago, MODO Hockey said:

It's already brought up in other threads.

Hire a coach that can coach - easy win. It's that simple really.

Sometimes I think about how Dan Bylsma took a team that had a rookie Jack Eichel, for all intents an purposes a different player to the star we see today, and a team that was missing Jack to start the following year, for a substantial period of time, to better results than any coach we've seen since..

Grass is...*checks notes*..NOT always greener. 

[Sabre1974]

45 minutes ago, MODO Hockey said:

It's already brought up in other threads.

Hire a coach that can coach - easy win. It's that simple really.

That's my thinking Modo. Ralph is the problem here. Would like to see this roster under a different coach.

[Scottysabres]

5 hours ago, SwampD said:

I thought they were watchable tonight.

They lost and it sucks, but they were at least watchable.

We will beat the Devils, twice.

Let's reconnoiter after to see how we feel.

Lindy has the Devils playing some good hockey right now. There is no way this Sabres team is beating them imo.

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

23 minutes ago, Sabre1974 said:

That's my thinking Modo. Ralph is the problem here. Would like to see this roster under a different coach.

Not a fan when he was hired and watching this team and his line choices makes me just  🤦‍♂️ Time for him to be gone just don’t know who might be a solution going forward.  I,look at the canes and as much as I hate them they play hard for a coach I despise but guy knows how to get them going .  

[Sabre1974]

5 minutes ago, bills_fan_in_raleigh said:

Not a fan when he was hired and watching this team and his line choices makes me just  🤦‍♂️ Time for him to be gone just don’t know who might be a solution going forward.  I,look at the canes and as much as I hate them they play hard for a coach I despise but guy knows how to get them going .  

For the group that we have for where we are currently is baffling. Has to be the coaching. Has to be. 

[golfball323]

Put Eichel at wing. Way too much processing happening with and without the puck. Team needs a shakeup, that might do it.

[Torpedo Forecheck]

Well it certainly isn't to add more top 10 drafted players, we have 10 already.

[Carmel Corn]

You have to change the HC.  There is nothing else RK can say to inspire this team.  Only a new HC with proven experience and success can change the mindset of the players.  No single or even multiple trades will change the room enough in the short term to fix what is broken.

[Thwomp!]

New ownership.  We need a complete top to bottom rebuild.  We've tried everything else multiple times.  

[OhMyDahlin]

On 2/13/2021 at 10:25 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

While it is somewhat true that the team was completely gutted, much of that was by TM himself.  Moulson, Myers, Miller, Ott, and Halak, and Neuvirth were all useful vets traded away (Moulson then re-signed) by TM to gain more assets.  He also traded away many of the near ready prospects like McNabb, Armia, and Zadorov.  Don’t forget good vets can be acquired through free agency (Gionta) and smaller deals (Gorges). Blockbusters aren’t necessary to shepherd the kids.

His whole strategy never made any sense.  The only one of his big moves that made sense was ROR.  The rest were simply dumb.  Why acquire Lehner, when you could have rolled with Neuvirth and or Halak and received equal play?  Why do a blockbuster for Kane, when Wpg would have likely given him away to get him off the team? Bogo wasn’t a step up from Myers. Why trade McNabb at all?  None of this is hindsight.  I said these things then (I didn’t want Kane or Bogo at all because I’d seen them in the ATL). 

Still the ultimate bad decisions were hiring Patty as President who hired TM as GM.  If your rebuilding an organization get experienced hands to run the asylum.

 

 

People are still blaming Tim Murray? He's the only GM we have had who brought in any talent.

If Tim Murray was given more time, we'd be a playoff team right now.

[LGR4GM]

15 minutes ago, OhMyDahlin said:

People are still blaming Tim Murray? He's the only GM we have had who brought in any talent.

If Tim Murray was given more time, we'd be a playoff team right now.

Tim Murray couldn't draft to save his life. We would have no prospect pool and sure we might make the playoffs once or twice but we would have made no impact. 

[#freejame]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Tim Murray couldn't draft to save his life. We would have no prospect pool and sure we might make the playoffs once or twice but we would have made no impact. 

Just to play devils advocate—neither could Darcy 

[OhMyDahlin]

22 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Tim Murray couldn't draft to save his life. We would have no prospect pool and sure we might make the playoffs once or twice but we would have made no impact. 

Neither could Botterill, and Kevyn Adams just took Jack Quinn over much better prospects...so there's that.

The only good players on this team, aside from Hall, were brought in by Tim Murray.

I'd rather have a team with Ryan O'Reilly, Evander Kane and Robin Lehner, than this soft-as-sh*t garbage we're getting from this team.

[pi2000]

The number 1 priority should be goaltending.   If I was GM, Hutton woulda been gone this offseason and replaced with a starter.    

If I'm made GM right now, I call every team in the league today to find a goalie.   Hutton is waived immediately.  Ullmark will play every game until I find a permanent solution in net.  

I also tell Ralph and the players they have 20 games to show something.   If nothing changes Ralph is gone and I bring in Bruce Boudreau to close out the season.   This puts the players on notice that RKs future is in their hands.

I also put Reinhart, Miller, and Montour up on the trade block.    Looking for a veteran left shot D.

On day 2 I put Kyle Okposo on waivers.   He'll go play in Roch the remainder of the season, yes there is no cap savings but he sucks, so buh bye.  I buy him out over the summer, saving $1mil next season, and $3mil the following season.   Rasmus Asplund takes his place in the lineup.

Day 3 I call Seattle and try to work a deal so they take Jeff Skinner as part of an expansion draft deal.    Everything is on the table.

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

32 minutes ago, #freejame said:

Just to play devils advocate—neither could Darcy 

That actually isn't true.  While he didn't get impact centers which we needed to sustain the team long-term, he actually did a decent job of getting real NHL players in his last few drafts.

In 2013 he drafted Risto, Zadorov, Compher and Petersen.  Risto is arguably one of our two best D.

In 2012 he drafted Girgorenko, Girgensons, McCabe and Ullmark.  While Z and Grigorenko didn't have the impact we hoped both are in the NHL and solid players. Grigorenko has matured and is contributing for CBJ this season.  McCabe and Ullmark don't need an explanation.

That's 8 NHL players from his last 2 drafts.  TM has 5 in 3 drafts, but two were no brainer 2nd overall picks. JB has 3 in 3 drafts, and hopefully more to come.

2011 and 2010 Armia and Pysyk only.  Not great but both are in the NHL and Armia continues to provide good depth scoring (5pts in 8 gms this year)

2009 - 3 more solid NHlers in Kassian, McNabb and Foligno

2008 - 2 very solid NHLers in Myers and Ennis

So from DR's last 6 drafts, there are 15 current NHL players and his most recent draft was 7 years ago.  No superstars, but Risto, Zadorov, Myers and McCabe are pretty solid players.

Edited February 19, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[#freejame]

33 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

That actually isn't true.  While he didn't get impact centers which we needed to sustain the team long-term, he actually did a decent job of getting real NHL players in his last few drafts.

So, more or less, the fruits of his labor were given to GMTM. The issue is the period beforehand when he had nobody coming in to provide support. Our drafts in the early 2000s are terribly ugly. Knowing what you know now, would you have kept Darcy at the helm?

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 minutes ago, #freejame said:

So, more or less, the fruits of his labor were given to GMTM. The issue is the period beforehand when he had nobody coming in to provide support. Our drafts in the early 2000s are terribly ugly. Knowing what you know now, would you have kept Darcy at the helm?

Who traded away Compher, Lemieux,Grigorenko, Zadorov, Pysyk, Myers, Armia, and McNabb.  That’s a lot of depth to trade away.  

Hindsight is 20/20.  Keeping DR may have worked better, but I think TP needed to move on from DR and LR when the rebuild began not after it started.  He also needed to bring in experienced hockey people to guide the rebuild as if it were an expansion team. (The tank turned us into a virtual expansion team.) Instead he replaced DR with newly minted executive Pat LaFontaine who brought in first time GM TM.  Neither man had any idea on how to build a team and it showed.