Reasons not to panic

[Torpedo Forecheck]

I don't know about panic. We've been competitive games in all but the 6-1 game, and we won it! We do have some questions, like what's going on with Skinner/Coaching staff etc.? Second goalie?

I also maintained that teams that weren't in the playoff bubble started out behind the others who were. Are we as good as Wash or Bost? not a chance. Are we competitive with the rest?-yes. Are we better than anyone? no.

Oh and no way Jack is checked out! 

[Drag0nDan]

3 minutes ago, Torpedo Forecheck said:

I don't know about panic. We've been competitive games in all but the 6-1 game, and we won it! We do have some questions, like what's going on with Skinner/Coaching staff etc.? Second goalie?

I also maintained that teams that weren't in the playoff bubble started out behind the others who were. Are we as good as Wash or Bost? not a chance. Are we competitive with the rest?-yes. Are we better than anyone? no.

Oh and no way Jack is checked out! 

Dahlin needs to be a lot better.  If the hall move to the staal cozens line is permanent, i'd personally like to see skinner with eichel and reinhart.  Oloffson can still get his PP1 minutes and play with sheahan and lazar.  Send okposo to the press box, or figure out a way to get him on LTIR for the balance of the year so you can buy him out.  Maybe he's just getting his feet under him with the limited offseason but he looks like john scott out there.

[dudacek]

Panic? I did not expect the Sabres to end up in the playoffs. I did expect them to be in the race. So far, they are pretty much exactly that.

I also expected this to be the best Sabre team in a long time. They might be that too, and that is the double-edged sword that has made this place so raw.

I don't think this particular group of players, coaches and managers is broken — hell, after 10 games they look decidedly average. But what is broken is the franchise's relationship with its fanbase.

Expecting .500 hockey to heal that is like expecting to repair 10 years of cheating, lying and verbal abuse with a bouquet of flowers and two weeks of taking out the garbage and driving little Billy to soccer practice.

Edited February 2, 2021 by dudacek

[LTS]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

I appreciate the OP's sentiment.

I'm fairly numb to what this team is, what it does. It's a fascinating study in ineptitude at this point.

It occurred to me over the past few days: FGMTM and FGMJBOTT have each left a legacy of a bad (or even brutal) contract. The team has nearly 20% of its cap space tied up in a pair of players who are not contributing and/or can't meaningfully contribute to a winning team. That is some sh1t, man.

At least we're not the Sharks?

They have:
Karlson, 30, for 7 x $11.5M
Burns, 35, for 5 x $8M
Vlasic, 33, 6 x $7M
Jones, 31, for 4 x $5.75M
Couture, 31, for 7 x $8M
Kane, 29, for 5 x $7M

And are in last place the last I looked.

As for panic?  I am happy if they win and I don't care if they lose. They aren't worth the effort it takes to care. I don't even get mad about that. It's just a game. I can appreciate why others get bothered over it however.  It's not exactly been a good news story for quite some time.

[lost in dc]

SOSDD. I’ve been watching this team since the beginning. Terry Pegula is the worst owner this team has ever had. I wish he would sell the team.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Panic? I did not expect the Sabres to end up in the playoffs. I did expect them to be in the race. So far, they are pretty much exactly that.

I also expected this to be the best Sabre team in a long time. They might be that too, and that is the double-edged sword that has made this place so raw.

I don't think this particular group of players, coaches and managers is broken — hell, after 10 games they look decidedly average. But what is broken is the franchise's relationship with its fanbase.

Expecting .500 hockey to heal that is like expecting to repair 10 years of cheating, lying and verbal abuse with a bouquet of flowers and two weeks of taking out the garbage and driving little Billy to soccer practice.

It's not just the pile of lies and bad play, it's the mountain of bad decisions from day 1 of the Pegula Era.  DR and Ruff retained and DR is allowed to begin the rebuild process despite 10 years straight of bad drafting.  LaFontaine, with little or no management experience, comes in and hires TM, then Patty is gone.  Coaches come and go both experienced and inexperienced.  Draft picks are stockpiled and then flittered away to accelerate the rebuild, except most of the vet pieces brought in are damaged goods and or underperform.  The replacement fixes the pipeline, the D and the AHL, but leaves the goaltending and offense in tatters, especially after trading a vet all-star center for nothing and then not replacing him.  Stupid contracts are acquired or handed out like candy leaving cap anchors for years and years to come.  Add bad draft decisions,  highly drafted prospects developing slower then expected or not at all, plus poor prospect management and development in general.   Now add "generational" talent plateauing and the franchise wasting their primes and what do you have?  A Everest size mountain of steaming, smelly, gooey, oozing crappola.  This franchise gives Disfunction Junction new meaning. 

Honestly it's amazing they are even a 500 team given the history.  

What keeps hope alive is that we all know this will end positively at some point.  The Bills spent 25 years wandering the NFL desert and then bam everything suddenly came together (even with the Pegula's in charge).  Are KA and RK the guys to change the past?  No idea, both have made both good and bad decisions in their tenures already so the jury is still out (although storm clouds are gathering for RK).  Eventually the Sabres will make the playoffs, it's just a question of when and whether I'll be alive to see it.

Edited February 2, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[LabattBlue]

33 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It's not just the pile of lies and bad play, it's the mountain of bad decisions from day 1 of the Pegula Era.  DR and Ruff retained and DR is allowed to begin the rebuild process despite 10 years straight of bad drafting.  LaFontaine, with little or no management experience, comes in and hires TM, then Patty is gone.  Coaches come and go both experienced and inexperienced.  Draft picks are stockpiled and flittered away to accelerate the rebuild, except most of the vet pieces brought in are damaged goods.  The replacement fixes the pipeline, the D and the AHL, but leaves the goaltending and offense in tatters, especially after trading a vet all-star center for nothing and then not replacing him.  Stupid contracts are acquired or handed out like candy leaving cap anchors for years and years to come.  Add bad draft decisions,  highly drafted prospects developing slower then expected or not at all, plus poor prospect management and development in general.   Now add "generational" talent plateauing and the franchise wasting their primes and what do you have?  A Everest size mountain of steaming, smelly, gooey, oozing crappola.  This franchise gives Disfunction Junction new meaning. 

Honestly it's amazing they are even a 500 team given the history.  

What keeps hope alive is that we all know this will end positively at some point.  The Bills spent 25 years wandering the NFL desert and then bam everything suddenly came together (even with the Pegula's in charge).  Are KA and RK the guys to change the past?  No idea, both have made both good and bad decisions in their tenures already so the jury is still out (although storm clouds are gathering for RK).  Eventually the Sabres will make the playoffs, it's just a question of when and whether I'll be alive to see it.

I agree with ALL of this except the comparison to the Bills.  In the NFL, before this year, 12 out of 32 teams made the playoffs every year(~38%).  In the NHL, 16 out of 31 make the playoffs every year(~52%), and despite this the Sabres have missed 9 years in a row.

One other note on the Bills, without Allen, Beane and McD may still have had the Bills treading water.  In a game of QB roulette, they lucked into Allen, and he appears to be on the road to making them SB contenders for the next decade.

 

On RK, no one can convince me otherwise that the Pegula's went with RK aka motivational man because they viewed him in the same light as McD.   Swing and a miss!

 

Edited February 2, 2021 by LabattBlue

[msw2112]

No panic here.  Just the usual - frustration turning into apathy.  Just looks like another Sabres team that will flirt with .500 and flirt with the final playoff spot, but fall short.  It's been going on so long that I just don't want to invest my energy in caring.

I do believe that ownership has TRIED to improve the team.  They've made coaching and front office changes and spent money on seemingly good players, but they just don't seem to have found the right combination.  After making some questionable decisions to start, they made what seemed like sound decisions.  Housley, when hired, was considered the top assistant and the rising star in coaching.  Botterill was also considered to be a rising young executive.  You could argue that they were NHL versions of McDermott and Beane.  Obviously, neither worked out.  Krueger was also well regarded.  Adams is a bit of a different take, but after swinging and missing on guys from outside the organization, they wanted to give a shot to someone they knew and trusted.  I think they will eventually get it right (as they did with the Bills), but how long it takes is anyone's guess.  There's still time for things to turn around this season, but I am not holding my breath.

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, LTS said:

At least we're not the Sharks?

Ooof. Yeah. That is bad. 

Okay. So there is a team, are teams, out there with worse contract situations than the Sabres.

Yay? 🥺

47 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

On RK, no one can convince me otherwise that the Pegula's went with RK aka motivational man because they viewed him in the same light as McD.   Swing and a miss!

I like the thought process that led them to RaKru. I do. And I still think he could play a role in a successful hockey organ-eye-zay-shun - maybe as HC? Or maybe as a POHO.

[PerreaultForever]

10 hours ago, #freejame said:

Shhhh you’re just depressed in your normal life and need help. 

Actually the only time I get depressed is watching the Sabres. 

[Mike in Horseheads]

Until this team gets a solid goalie every game is is going to be a adventure. Is Ukko even going to get a chance?

[Zamboni]

24 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Until this team gets a solid goalie every game is is going to be a adventure. Is Ukko even going to get a chance?

UPL needs obvious time to marinate. Next year, I can see him getting a couple games to see where he’s at. I’m thinking he’s 1-2 years away... and that’s optimistic.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Maybe this will make people feel somewhat better.  Nash is paying 16 mill for Duchene (5 years left) and Johansen (4 years left) and they have identical 9gm 0g 3a each.  Awful.  

Skinner sadly has 6 years left at 9 mill.  

 

[nfreeman]

5 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

 

Honestly it's amazing they are even a 500 team given the history.  

 

They are not a .500 team.  They are 4-6.  If they end up on that pace they will finish a mile away from the playoffs.

#theonly500isDeLuca500baby

 

4 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

I agree with ALL of this except the comparison to the Bills.  In the NFL, before this year, 12 out of 32 teams made the playoffs every year(~38%).  In the NHL, 16 out of 31 make the playoffs every year(~52%), and despite this the Sabres have missed 9 years in a row.

One other note on the Bills, without Allen, Beane and McD may still have had the Bills treading water.  In a game of QB roulette, they lucked into Allen, and he appears to be on the road to making them SB contenders for the next decade.

 

On RK, no one can convince me otherwise that the Pegula's went with RK aka motivational man because they viewed him in the same light as McD.   Swing and a miss!

 

There is much truthiness in this, but I think the key point is that McD and Beane identified QB as a key component -- unlike the bozos who ran the franchise into the ground before they got there -- and took steps to address it.  That was a good franchise-building decision.

Speaking of goaltending...

[Marvin]

4 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Until this team gets a solid goalie every game is is going to be a adventure. Is Ukko even going to get a chance?

Welcome to the board!

[Gatorman0519]

If we miss this is year 10 of the drought. We would have tied the previous longest 2. 1 away from the nHL record of futility. This a mind blowing possibility.  

[Scottysabres]

5 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Until this team gets a solid goalie every game is is going to be a adventure. Is Ukko even going to get a chance?

Take a good look at goalies average NHL regular entry ages. Miller, Hasek, and more than I can list. They get a taste at 23 / 24, but 25 is the average regular entry age. UPL has some time yet, he'll need it to get ready.

[steveoath]

Thing with the Skinner line is that they are tipping the ice in our favour. OK, they aren't scoring aside from a few but they pegging other teams back (according to my limited understanding of fancy stats). I think Skinner is embracing RKs philosophy as that line works hard as a unit. 

https://www.expectedbuffalo.com/jeff-skinner-is-still-providing-a-positive-impact-on-the-buffalo-sabres-without-the-scoring/

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, steveoath said:

Thing with the Skinner line is that they are tipping the ice in our favour. OK, they aren't scoring aside from a few but they pegging other teams back (according to my limited understanding of fancy stats). I think Skinner is embracing RKs philosophy as that line works hard as a unit. 

https://www.expectedbuffalo.com/jeff-skinner-is-still-providing-a-positive-impact-on-the-buffalo-sabres-without-the-scoring/

Which is why he is keeping them together.  The key to unlocking something from Skinner imho is to get him to screen goalies and pick up loose change on the 2nd PP unit.  He doesn't pass particularly well, but he has great edges and a quick shot.

PS No reason to panic anyway, if this incident with the Devils is typical for the remainder of the season, this season isn't getting done anyway.  The NHL should work a deal with local government and get these guys vaccinated some how.  

Edited February 3, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Cityo'Rasmii]

31 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Which is why he is keeping them together.  The key to unlocking something from Skinner imho is to get him to screen goalies and pick up loose change on the 2nd PP unit.  He doesn't pass particularly well, but he has great edges and a quick shot.

PS No reason to panic anyway, if this incident with the Devils is typical for the remainder of the season, this season isn't getting done anyway.  The NHL should work a deal with local government and get these guys vaccinated some how.  

If the NHL were to work a deal with local government to circumvent the process to get players vaccinated (ahead of the aged or compromised individuals) that would open up major controversy.

[USMCSnyper]

I'd love to see Gerald Gallant behind the bench. I like HCRK, but I think this team would thrive under Gallant.

[inkman]

18 hours ago, nfreeman said:

They are not a .500 team.  They are 4-6.  If they end up on that pace they will finish a mile away from the playoffs.

#theonly500isDeLuca500baby

Harrington tried to pwn me when I posted this very fact yesterday.  I just got tired of responding.  
 

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

15 minutes ago, Cityo'Rasmii said:

If the NHL were to work a deal with local government to circumvent the process to get players vaccinated (ahead of the aged or compromised individuals) that would open up major controversy.

I agree, except you could almost call them essential workers.  

[North Buffalo]

Agree goalie is a priority.  Sabres used to be great at goalie development... Need to get back to it.

[spndnchz]

35 minutes ago, inkman said:

Harrington tried to pwn me when I posted this very fact yesterday.  I just got tired of responding.  
 

 

Lmao