GDT: Flames @ Sabres, Oct. 19, 2023 - 7pm EDT, MSG 📺 WGR 📻

[Carmel Corn]

3 minutes ago, Buffalo Sabres Fan said:

Why does this Buffalo Sabres team start slow and by the third period look like they are a 35 year old plus NHL team out of gas? The Sabres are a young 25 year old team they shouldn’t be out of gas by the third period. That is strength and conditioning basically poor coaching. Don Granato can’t have a too many men on the ice that is on him being unorganized and unprepared. No way Don Granato should return next season if the Sabres miss the playoffs again this season. Hire Michael Peca as Sabres head coach. The score could have been higher if it wasn’t for Devon Levi stopping clear cut breakaways on Sabres turnovers. Onto the New York Islanders game Saturday in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

I love Peca, but no....this team needs a PROVEN head coach at the helm

[Thorner]

12 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Yes and I have used a lot more swear words watching the team this year than any year before this combined. It changes something in your psyche 

It’s always been about delivering a product worthy of the consumer. This is the final acknowledgement of the Fan. It’s on the team to create something for sale that people have an interest in buying: so it’s not surprising that when you make the purchase based on faith rather than results and actual output, that they’ll “get ya”. And thus the cursing 

 

It took a long time for the MCU’s box office to start to drop off, faith was strong for a long time 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Thorny

[Randall Flagg]

Just now, thewookie1 said:

Frankly the only year he could of was 3/4 years ago. The last two weren't exactly conducive for it based on the market available. All the good UFAs re-signed  with their former team such as Andersen, Raanta, and Varlymov and no goalie trades actually occurred this offseason despite massive rumors. When the only NHL goalie dealt is Casey DeSmith (with some old baggage) you know there's little to pick from.

1.) No

2.) completely irrelevant. You either have good goaltending or you don't. if you don't, you need to get it as fast as possible, not shrug and say "the market!" So far our 3rd/4th  "answer" still has us under .900.

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, K-9 said:

For what it’s worth, the Blues were something like 17-24 and in last place in the first week of January 2019 and they turned it around and went on to win the cup. Anything is possible I guess.

We need to trade for O’Reilly!

[Gatorman0519]

Team has 18 year olds on it with a ton of guys under 21.  Expecting a team that young to be a playoff contender might be a bit unrealistic.  Since we have gone full on youth, it takes a while to season them and learn the game at this level.  And we have 3-5 more young prospects to add the next few years.  It could be years of this. 

[Thorner]

8 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I disagree. We are perfectly capable of being 17-24 by the first week of January. 

My sabrespace persona switches from “beating dead horse narrative guy” in the offseason to “really? You still think they have a chance this season?” guy DURING the season, and I don’t actually change anything at all lol

this place goes way up, and it goes way down 

[Randall Flagg]

Just now, Gatorman0519 said:

Team has 18 year olds on it with a ton of guys under 21.  Expecting a team that young to be a playoff contender might be a bit unrealistic.  Since we have gone full on youth, it takes a while to season them and learn the game at this level.  And we have 3-5 more young prospects to add the next few years.  It could be years of this. 

It's not that I expect this current group to be a playoff contender, it's that with absolute floor, bare-minimum general managing, last April's group could have trivially been turned into a playoff contender. And we didn't even get that, so we are hoping on several long odds that are showing no trace of even being possible right now.

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Frankly the only year he could of was 3/4 years ago. The last two weren't exactly conducive for it based on the market available. All the good UFAs re-signed  with their former team such as Andersen, Raanta, and Varlymov and no goalie trades actually occurred this offseason despite massive rumors. When the only NHL goalie dealt is Casey DeSmith (with some old baggage) you know there's little to pick from.

If true, that there was literally no option available (which I don’t believe can possibly have been true, especially because other teams have addressed GT) then it merely seeks to illustrate how poor of a decision KA made on Ullmark, when there was apparently no viable backup plan available. If the market was truly as bad as you are seeing, *ANYONE* could have seen it coming 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Thorny

[thewookie1]

1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:

1.) No

2.) completely irrelevant. You either have good goaltending or you don't. if you don't, you need to get it as fast as possible, not shrug and say "the market!" So far our 3rd/4th  "answer" still has us under .900.

Well sorry but reality is far different from going out there and buying a goalie. No team in their right mind, regardless of need, is going to pay obscene assets for a goalie. 

We can't just go, "hey Nashville, give us Saros for a 1st and UPL" and then force them to comply. They're going to look to gouge us due to our need at the position and ask for Savoie, UPL and a 1st and probably more. 

[PerreaultForever]

Pretty much the same as the Tampa game really, we're just on the other side of it this time. We don't come out with home ice determination and they dominated the third, as Tampa did. We lose most of the board battles and net front is, as always, the biggest problem. Rookie goalie was rookie goalie. Good one play terrible the next. Benson showing that he is clearly not physically ready. Cozens is back in form and Peterka is definitely getting there, but parts of this roster are not pulling their weight. This won't get it done.

I really don't get this team though. 3 goalies on the roster but we are going to do what? Play Levi for every one? Makes no sense to me.

[Randall Flagg]

Just now, thewookie1 said:

Well sorry but reality is far different from going out there and buying a goalie. No team in their right mind, regardless of need, is going to pay obscene assets for a goalie. 

We can't just go, "hey Nashville, give us Saros for a 1st and UPL" and then force them to comply. They're going to look to gouge us due to our need at the position and ask for Savoie, UPL and a 1st and probably more. 

There are 64 goaltenders in the NHL and more in the AHL. If you have ONE year of bottom 5 goaltending, in today's NHL where the position is like RBs in the NFL (ie league average is easy to get to and lots of JAGs do it every year) then you CANNOT have 2 years of it. You seem to be fine with infinite, perpetual bad goaltending for literally no reason. Enjoy I guess.

[thewookie1]

Just now, Thorny said:

If true, that there was literally no option available (which I don’t believe can possible have been true, especially because other teams have addressed GT) then it merely seals to illustrate how poor of a decision KA made on Ullmark, when there was apparently no viable backup plan available 

Who exactly addressed goaltending this offseason? Ottawa signed a big contract with Korpisalo, LAK are running with Talbot and Copley, Carolina and the Isles retained their goalies.

[sabremike]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

If true, that there was literally no option available (which I don’t believe can possible have been true, especially because other teams have addressed GT) then it merely seals to illustrate how poor of a decision KA made on Ullmark, when there was apparently no viable backup plan available 

Letting Ullmark walk is really going to end up a Whalers trading Ron Francis level ***** up isn't it?

[PerreaultForever]

6 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

Team has 18 year olds on it with a ton of guys under 21.  Expecting a team that young to be a playoff contender might be a bit unrealistic.  Since we have gone full on youth, it takes a while to season them and learn the game at this level.  And we have 3-5 more young prospects to add the next few years.  It could be years of this. 

and who's decision/fault is that? It's always NEXT year with this team. That's unacceptable. 

[Thorner]

6 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

Team has 18 year olds on it with a ton of guys under 21.  Expecting a team that young to be a playoff contender might be a bit unrealistic.  Since we have gone full on youth, it takes a while to season them and learn the game at this level.  And we have 3-5 more young prospects to add the next few years.  It could be years of this. 

If in his 4th season as GM Adams iced a team that can’t reasonably be expected to make the playoffs, that really would start and end the argument, no?

[Randall Flagg]

1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:

Who exactly addressed goaltending this offseason? Ottawa signed a big contract with Korpisalo, LAK are running with Talbot and Copley, Carolina and the Isles retained their goalies.

Why are you outsourcing to the hivemind of NHL GMs who all have different needs and issues and assets? What does that have to do with us? 

[PerreaultForever]

1 minute ago, sabremike said:

Letting Ullmark walk is really going to end up a Whalers trading Ron Francis level ***** up isn't it?

Yes. Along with not getting one of the Russians or Latvians or another of the goalies that were moved around at that time. 

[thewookie1]

Just now, Randall Flagg said:

There are 64 goaltenders in the NHL and more in the AHL. If you have ONE year of bottom 5 goaltending, in today's NHL where the position is like RBs in the NFL (ie league average is easy to get to and lots of JAGs do it every year) then you CANNOT have 2 years of it. You seem to be fine with infinite, perpetual bad goaltending for literally no reason. Enjoy I guess.

So in effect your idea would be to effectively just bring in every UFA goalie imaginable. How do you do it when goalies want 2 year contracts as well as young goalies need to play? I'm not saying he shouldn't have targeted a Reimer or something in the offseason but there isn't exactly much out there better than what Levi can give us and UPL and Comrie still exist.

[Thorner]

4 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Well sorry but reality is far different from going out there and buying a goalie. No team in their right mind, regardless of need, is going to pay obscene assets for a goalie. 

We can't just go, "hey Nashville, give us Saros for a 1st and UPL" and then force them to comply. They're going to look to gouge us due to our need at the position and ask for Savoie, UPL and a 1st and probably more. 

And fart around and make the playoffs? Don’t want to get crazy here 

[...]

16 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I disagree. We are perfectly capable of being 17-24 by the first week of January. 

In all seriousness, I thought for a long while there the Sabres rose to the occasion. It seems to me they didn't know how to corral themselves and play with discipline. Johnson's comments are in that vein.

[Thorner]

6 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Who exactly addressed goaltending this offseason? Ottawa signed a big contract with Korpisalo, LAK are running with Talbot and Copley, Carolina and the Isles retained their goalies.

No one. No one in the last 4 years. And overpaying Ullmark would have been a mistake because, while winning much more, our cap sheet, online GM mode, top of the line prospects, “we have no room for anyone at forward”, “hockey news ranks our prospect pool at the top” online Simulator set-up wouldn’t look as clean

some people are happier just not having expectations

merely the promise of

Edited October 20, 2023 by Thorny

[thewookie1]

1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:

Why are you outsourcing to the hivemind of NHL GMs who all have different needs and issues and assets? What does that have to do with us? 

Well Thorny said everyone else solved their goaltending issues and I'm retorting few if any did much of anything in terms of goaltending this offseason. There wasn't some massive game of musical chairs we refused to take part in. How many backups are better than our starter, while also available for offers? 

[Randall Flagg]

1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:

So in effect your idea would be to effectively just bring in every UFA goalie imaginable. How do you do it when goalies want 2 year contracts as well as young goalies need to play? I'm not saying he shouldn't have targeted a Reimer or something in the offseason but there isn't exactly much out there better than what Levi can give us and UPL and Comrie still exist.

I am just trying to get through to you that just because something didn't happen, and because OTHER TEAMS didn't fix their goaltending (most teams did not need to do this nearly as bad as we did, so of course they would distribute assets differently), doesn't mean that there is nothing we could have done! Other teams that finish bottom 5 3 and 4 years ago, left us behind a long time ago. We still languish, and each season along the way I was on this board pointing out "Hey our goalie situation is terrible and it's going to guarantee a continuation of losing" and it did every single time. This is by definition failure, not *shrug it's fine nothing we could do*

Losers think this way. Losing franchises act this way. That's what we are, and I don't want you, wookie, to be that too.

[sabremike]

Having 3 goalies on a roster was one of the legendary Garth Snow clown car moments and a great example of why he was and is considered a complete joke who will never get another GM job. So Kevyn decided to copy one of the all time worst moves by one of the biggest joke executives in hockey history.

[Pimlach]

45 minutes ago, Eichless21 said:

Such a disgusting effort tonight. Clifton is terrible, drop Tuck to 3rd line and pull benson to top line. What an embarrassment 

Eh, Benson had a very rough game.