This is gonna be fun

[Torpedo Forecheck]

I my world, optimism isn't something the organization is entitled to year after year. As a fan, all I can do is turn it off and at most remain a casual Sabres fan if I don't enjoy it. If this stays the way it looks like it will be, I'll probably watch at the beginning and if it becomes a waste of time........well I'll find something else to spend time on. Bottom LINE.

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, Curt said:

I don’t believe this to be true.  NHL player will take NHL jobs for money.  Buffalo won’t be 1st choice, but it won’t be truly shunned.  No, the types of signings we saw yesterday were by design.

There is a another self-sabotaging side to running a dysfunctional operation. It goes beyond enticing players to your team. It's about retaining players that you already have. As you well know contracts have expiration dates. What we are seeing this offseason is that players on the roster who were drafted and developed by us are determined to find better situations when they no longer are contractually obligated to the team that drafted them.  The problem this offseason isn't enticing people to come as it is enticing them to remain. Ullmark exemplifies that trend. 

[Curt]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

There is a another self-sabotaging side to running a dysfunctional operation. It goes beyond enticing players to your team. It's about retaining players that you already have. As you well know contracts have expiration dates. What we are seeing this offseason is that players on the roster who were drafted and developed by us are determined to find better situations when they no longer are contractually obligated to the team that drafted them.  The problem this offseason isn't enticing people to come as it is enticing them to remain. Ullmark exemplifies that trend. 

Did you read what I wrote?  I don’t think they were really trying to entice many players to sign.  I think a lot of this is by design, not due to inability to sign anyone.

[Buffalonill]

They're going to make me spend more time with my wife .

 

 

[Doohicksie]

12 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Another 20 win season is not funny and I doubt Cozens, Dahlin, and Mitts are laughing. 

Nope.  They're digging in and preparing to take the team on their shoulders. 

13 minutes ago, Torpedo Forecheck said:

I my world, optimism isn't something the organization is entitled to year after year. As a fan, all I can do is turn it off and at most remain a casual Sabres fan if I don't enjoy it. If this stays the way it looks like it will be, I'll probably watch at the beginning and if it becomes a waste of time........well I'll find something else to spend time on. Bottom LINE.

[JohnC]

14 minutes ago, Curt said:

Did you read what I wrote?  I don’t think they were really trying to entice many players to sign.  I think a lot of this is by design, not due to inability to sign anyone.

Did you read what I wrote? They are not retaining the players they drafted and developed. The issue isn't about enticing players to come in. The organization has made it clear that isn't how they are going to operate. (I'm aware you pointed that out.)  The problem is that the players they drafted and developed are moving on. The escalator going down is faster than the one going up. That was my point.

[sabrefanday1]

so does anybody really think or believe that the terrible culture that is being developed whereby we do not re-sign our own drafted and developed players such as Sam, Linus & Jake is going to sit well with the younger guys? Who the hell wants to and will want to down the road play here? As soon as you get anywhere in your career and if you are quiet good players like these three I mentioned you get rewarded by not getting re-signed and shown the door? The losing last and next year will deflate anybody (players and us included). Doing what they are doing now will either ruin the young players career or they will follow suit and ask to be traded ASAP.  

[Doohicksie]

4 minutes ago, sabrefanday1 said:

so does anybody really think or believe that the terrible culture that is being developed whereby we do not re-sign our own drafted and developed players such as Sam, Linus & Jake is going to sit well with the younger guys? Who the hell wants to and will want to down the road play here? As soon as you get anywhere in your career and if you are quiet good players like these three I mentioned you get rewarded by not getting re-signed and shown the door? The losing last and next year will deflate anybody (players and us included). Doing what they are doing now will either ruin the young players career or they will follow suit and ask to be traded ASAP.  

There are other threads for those discussions.

[Drag0nDan]

4 minutes ago, sabrefanday1 said:

so does anybody really think or believe that the terrible culture that is being developed whereby we do not re-sign our own drafted and developed players such as Sam, Linus & Jake is going to sit well with the younger guys? Who the hell wants to and will want to down the road play here? As soon as you get anywhere in your career and if you are quiet good players like these three I mentioned you get rewarded by not getting re-signed and shown the door? The losing last and next year will deflate anybody (players and us included). Doing what they are doing now will either ruin the young players career or they will follow suit and ask to be traded ASAP.  

Yeesh, you must be fun at parties.  Why is the culture terrible?  And was it good with Jack?  Was it ever good?

[Buffalonill]

48 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

They're going to make me spend more time with my wife .

 

 

 

 

[Mustache of God]

3 hours ago, Kristian said:

I’m sorry….? We have “morale”??

The morale in the youth who are still in the "oh geez, I'm actually playing in the NHL which is a dream come true".

[Pimlach]

57 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Did you read what I wrote? They are not retaining the players they drafted and developed. The issue isn't about enticing players to come in. The organization has made it clear that isn't how they are going to operate. (I'm aware you pointed that out.)  The problem is that the players they drafted and developed are moving on. The escalator going down is faster than the one going up. That was my point.

Correct!  And until they stop all the churn and start playing for today, and stop accepting losing, and focus on continuous improvement, and plan to win right NOW, and then expect to win right NOW, this will just continue.  Dahlin, Mitts, Cozens can leave when their contracts expire, leaving the next wave of youth on its own.  Power could never be a Sabre.  
 

Boston lives by what I am preaching.  Rask is hurt and they have undeveloped and inexperienced backups. They bring in Ullmark and commit  to 4 years at $5M.  Ullmark will be a solid bridge until their youth take over. Then he will be a solid backup.  They are not tanking because Rask is old and hurt. They are moving on.  

Edited July 29, 2021 by Pimlach

[DarthEbriate]

47 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

There are other threads for those discussions.

She's skipping in a straight line...   Skip serpentine! Serpentine skip!

Also, it could be a lot of fun to just watch a team of talented youngsters try to outscore everybody 8-7. Will it work? Errrrrr.....  But that's not important right now. It could be highly entertaining hockey.

[Eleven]

I think we need to distinguish between "tanking," i.e., purposefully being bad, and just being bad.  This isn't by design.  This is the team's two best players (one of whom was a RFA) wanting out.

[MISabresFan]

3 hours ago, nucci said:

I credit those looking for positives but I think you're reaching. There is nothing good going on here. If you were a fan of another team you would be laughing at the Sabres right now. Thinking that this time will be better, I think is misguided. Everything has been handled poorly.

In your opinion what was handled poorly...

[Radar]

Just now, MISabresFan said:

In your opinion what was handled poorly...

Are you serious! Have you watched this franchise for the last decade? What has been  handled well under this owner.

[MISabresFan]

1 minute ago, Radar said:

Are you serious! Have you watched this franchise for the last decade? What has been  handled well under this owner.

I am refering to the current brass.  The rest is history and can not change that, it is what it is.  

[Radar]

1 minute ago, MISabresFan said:

I am refering to the current brass.  The rest is history and can not change that, it is what it is.  

Maybe the worst run franchise in sports over this decade. I'm not sold on the current brass. It's simple to dismantle a team, I could do that. We're supposed to be an NHL franchise not a development team. Our team is an average to good AHL team. The best Pegula teams,coaches and GM he inherited!

[Doohicksie]

I'm referring to enjoying the team this year for what it is.

There are other threads for complaining.

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, DarthEbriate said:

She's skipping in a straight line...   Skip serpentine! Serpentine skip!

Also, it could be a lot of fun to just watch a team of talented youngsters try to outscore everybody 8-7. Will it work? Errrrrr.....  But that's not important right now. It could be highly entertaining hockey.

It won’t work.  Look at the forwards. Look at the center spline without  Eichel.  Even 3 goals will be hard to get consistently.  
 

Part of the plan should have been to improve the goaltending by signing Linus and adding a competent backup via free agent or more likely by trade.   Let the goaltending try to  keep it close and give the young team a chance.   That is a plan for a team that wants to get better than they were the year prior.   They need a goal driven plan that shows year over year progress.  That will help build the illusive “good culture” people talk about so much   It is long overdue that we actually try to win.    

Instead we have this recurring dream of tearing down any progress made, however limited it may be, and then magically rebuilding from the rubble.   That dream has become a nightmare.  

Edited July 29, 2021 by Pimlach

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Good.  So let's make some lemonade!

I am so thankful we have you, LTS, Zamboni and Eleven to bravely, heroically and optimistically carry us into the future! Godspeed!

[JohnC]

16 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Correct!  And until they stop all the churn and start playing for today, and stop accepting losing, and focus on continuous improvement, and plan to win right NOW, and then expect to win right NOW, this will just continue.  Dahlin, Mitts, Cozens can leave when their contracts expire, leaving the next wave of youth on its own.  Power could never be a Sabre.  
 

Boston lives by what I am preaching.  Rask is hurt and they have undeveloped and inexperienced backups. They bring in Ullmark and commit  to 4 years at $5M.  Ullmark will be a solid bridge until their youth take over. Then he will be a solid backup.  They are not tanking because Rask is old and hurt. They are moving on.  

Winning is without question critical in the development of the young players this organization is going to rely on. The best way to support them and put them in a position to succeed is to back them up with solid goaltending. It's going to take time for the youngsters to play to their potential because they are still growing as players. The reality is that because of this transition to younger players this team is not going to be a contending team. That is not to say that it can't be a very competitive and entertaining team next year. The best way to undergird these rising players (hopefully) is to put them in a better situation to win. If anyone doesn't believe that systemic losing is corrosive then they need to explain why so many of our players want out? 

I can understand why the front office felt that the contract terms for Ullmark were too long and rich. But paying a premium is the cost of running a ramshackle organization. And on top of that the Sabres have more leeway than most teams because they have such a large cap space to work with. The organization was in a good position to absorb his contract and still be in a good position and help to put the young players in a position to succeed. When you take a step forward and then take two back you end up going backwards. It's getting tiresome. 

 

[nucci]

19 minutes ago, MISabresFan said:

In your opinion what was handled poorly...

Everything that has been done trying to build this team. Hiring poor GMs and coaches.....only giving them 2-3 years. Bad trades, bad drafting. Making a place where no one wants to be......is that enough to start for you?

[Pimlach]

5 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Winning is without question critical in the development of the young players this organization is going to rely on. The best way to support them and put them in a position to succeed is to back them up with solid goaltending. It's going to take time for the youngsters to play to their potential because they are still growing as players. The reality is that because of this transition to younger players this team is not going to be a contending team. That is not to say that it can't be a very competitive and entertaining team next year. The best way to undergird these rising players (hopefully) is to put them in a better situation to win. If anyone doesn't believe that systemic losing is corrosive then they need to explain why so many of our players want out? 

I can understand why the front office felt that the contract terms for Ullmark were too long and rich. But paying a premium is the cost of running a ramshackle organization. And on top of that the Sabres have more leeway than most teams because they have such a large cap space to work with. The organization was in a good position to absorb his contract and still be in a good position and help to put the young players in a position to succeed. When you take a step forward and then take two back you end up going backwards. It's getting tiresome. 

 

Yes.  We are on the same page. 
 

All Boston had to do was match our offer. Boston does not want to take a step back, not ever.  I don’t know if we had an opportunity to counter and I don’t care at this point.  The error was made when he protected Linus and did not lock him up.  Maybe Linus would not sign until he at least tested the market?  The fact that he bolted says it all.  The continuous losing and constant change is not conducive to retaining players or to success.  

13 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

I am so thankful we have you, LTS, Zamboni and Eleven to bravely, heroically and optimistically carry us into the future! Godspeed!

I wish I could find some silver lining.  I just want to win.  

[Wyldnwoody44]

11 hours ago, apuszczalowski said:

Is that what they are naming their new Yacht? The 'Bargain Basement Budget Buster'?

No way it's gonna be "Drillin and Chillin" 😎