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

[Curt]

3 minutes ago, Thorny said:

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 wouldn’t look as clean

some people are happier just not having expectations 

I’ve been there.  It’s easier.

[Mango]

If this continues something is clearly broken  with the admin and needs to be replaced. But not blown up. I just can’t put my finger on it.

On one hand we don’t play any real defense. But this roster has really progressed under his tutelage.

On the other hand, we have all these great forward prospects, but no defensive depth, no goalie; and no real plan/attempt to fix them. 

[Carmel Corn]

Maybe our goaltending wasn't good enough to "steal" a win tonight, but Levi had his moments....so I'm not in the camp that we should have overpayed for an aging goalie in the off-season.  However, I do continue to doubt the coaching staff to achieve a stronger defensive zone game to help our goalies.   Once again, we gave up too many quality chances at ES and even with the PP.  

[Huckleberry]

We need a west coast trip to get going 😄

[thewookie1]

2 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

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.

I understand, I'm honestly just extremely risk adverse and have a difficult time believing any move would work to begin with. The most likely outcome is us getting garbage goaltending and trading superstars because that is the Buffalo way in regards to luck. So at this point I'm just too beaten down to really feel anything about hunting down better goaltending since I don't see it likely improving regardless of the move in question.

On a side note I want a new goalie coach, we've seen far too many goalies struggle here to keep the same guy around every year.

[Mango]

17 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. 

This feels like the hockey version of “But Edmunds is so young” that went on for eternity. 

[Pimlach]

34 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

We had like 10 different guys post career seasons last year. Forget about asking what might happen if a few of them couldn't repeat it- what happens if none of them can?

[Randall Flagg]

1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:

I understand, I'm honestly just extremely risk adverse and have a difficult time believing any move would work to begin with. The most likely outcome is us getting garbage goaltending and trading superstars because that is the Buffalo way in regards to luck. So at this point I'm just too beaten down to really feel anything about hunting down better goaltending since I don't see it likely improving regardless of the move in question.

On a side note I want a new goalie coach, we've seen far too many goalies struggle here to keep the same guy around every year.

The Sabres did this to you, and the Sabres continuing to act in this way will make unbearable, soul-crushing hockey happen again, and we will be booing some of these guys in a few years just like we do Eichel. 

[Thorner]

At the end of the day, we are 1-3 out of 82. There’s a ton of runway and the story for this season is still obviously being written. Maybe it’d take a twist worthy of Shyamalan for the looming story take such a turn from the previous 12 chapters…but there have been Signs

Edited October 20, 2023 by Thorny

[triumph_communes]

39 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.

They canned their coach. We need to do the same 

[thewookie1]

3 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

The Sabres did this to you, and the Sabres continuing to act in this way will make unbearable, soul-crushing hockey happen again, and we will be booing some of these guys in a few years just like we do Eichel. 

Frankly, I would of pestered Nashville about Saros and had my analytics guys do a deep dive on Gibson to see if there's any hope he can turn it around. For all we know Adams did something akin to this but we are in the dark. For all we know the league as a whole is playing screw the Sabres with goaltenders and we'd be none the wiser.

[PerreaultForever]

5 minutes ago, Thorny said:

At the end of the day, we are 1-3 out of 82. There’s a ton of runway and the story for this season is still obviously being written. Maybe it’d take a twist worthy of Shyamalan for the looming story take such a turn from the previous 12 chapters…but there have been Signs

I don't see the signs (but I hate most of his movies too) or maybe what I see is signs of the same things as last year and the year before and so on. The same problems, the same weaknesses. It's just THE SAME. 

[Randall Flagg]

2 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Frankly, I would of pestered Nashville about Saros and had my analytics guys do a deep dive on Gibson to see if there's any hope he can turn it around. For all we know Adams did something akin to this but we are in the dark. For all we know the league as a whole is playing screw the Sabres with goaltenders and we'd be none the wiser.

That's just silly though! I believe kevyn does his due-diligence but then gets gunshy, and this offseason was just the worst time imaginable to do that, because they created so much leverage to springboard from. If they really let all the energy out of the spring the way it looks like, there's really no telling how ugly it can be or how much work it might take to try and wind up again. Just an all-time fumble if they can't claw out of it starting basically right now.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Randall Flagg

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:

Frankly, I would have pestered Nashville about Saros and had my analytics guys do a deep dive on Gibson to see if there's any hope he can turn it around. For all we know Adams did something akin to this but we are in the dark. For all we know the league as a whole is playing screw the Sabres with goaltenders and we'd be none the wiser.

He missed on Ulmark. He had him. 

[Thorner]

54 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Frankly, I would of pestered Nashville about Saros and had my analytics guys do a deep dive on Gibson to see if there's any hope he can turn it around. For all we know Adams did something akin to this but we are in the dark. For all we know the league as a whole is playing screw the Sabres with goaltenders and we'd be none the wiser.

You are a better fan than me, my guy

and there is not one iota of snark in that

you are the epitome of loyalty where the Sabres are concerned, and when they eventually win the cup, the team should be sending folks like you, who buoy this team up beyond what they probably even realize, one of those miniature Stanley cups 

53 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I don't see the signs (but I hate most of his movies too) or maybe what I see is signs of the same things as last year and the year before and so on. The same problems, the same weaknesses. It's just THE SAME. 

You got the reference and that’s all that matters 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Thorny

[RETURNTOGLORY]

Lethargic play and sub-par goaltending.

Look familiar?

[Pimlach]

5 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I don't see the signs (but I hate most of his movies too) or maybe what I see is signs of the same things as last year and the year before and so on. The same problems, the same weaknesses. It's just THE SAME. 

It’s a different cast.  The result is still unknown. There is talent here. Quite a bit of it.  

Edited October 20, 2023 by Pimlach

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, Pimlach said:

It’s a different cast.  The result is still in unknown. There is talent here. Quite a bit of it.  

Cinematography looking a bit equal 

[pi2000]

There's an old saying in Tennessee....

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by pi2000

[LabattBlue]

43 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

It could be years of this. 

😂😂😂

[sabremike]

10 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

That's just silly though! I believe kevyn does his due-diligence but then gets gunshy, and this offseason was just the worst time imaginable to do that, because they created so much leverage to springboard from. If they really let all the energy out of the spring the way it looks like, there's really no telling how ugly it can be or how much work it might take to try and wind up again. Just an all-time fumble if they can't claw out of it starting basically right now.

Another thing he has in common with Garf: He will never make a trade he is not forced to make unless he is absolutely certain he has won it. We have a billion undersized skilled forward prospects and he absolutely refuses to part with ANY of them to fix the obvious roster holes.

[zow2]

Things look more dark and cloudy this year than i ever could have imagined.  The Eastern Conference is looking good.  Sabres don’t have a chance if they continue to lose home games. They won’t sniff the playoffs .

[Mango]

23 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

He missed on Ulmark. He had him. 

“At least we didn’t over pay” -  Team with the most cap space in the league. 

[Gatorman0519]

You forgot "defensive gaffes".

[K-9]

1 hour ago, ... said:

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.

Agree entirely. I’m glad Johnson spoke up and I look for the team to turn it around. We aren’t that far off and we do have talent on this roster.