GDT / Anaheim Ducks @ Buffalo Sabres Monday Feb 19th 12:30pm ESPN+ MSG & WGR Radio

[steveoath]

1 hour ago, PickaPecaPickles said:

My 2 cents. The Sabres struggle with young teams that play hard every shift because they have too many players who don’t. 

that's why we need a coach that demands they play hard, or sit. Same could be said about those wearing letters as well.

[FrenchConnection44]

9 minutes ago, SabresVet said:

This is all well and nice, but why do pro athletes need to be motivated, especially some who've been rewarded with long-term extensions?  

Yelling and screaming does nothing for a guy who's got guaranteed money coming for 4 or more seasons.  

GM has really tied the hands of a future HC, if they did dump Granato with 2 year left on his deal. 

I don’t expect a coach to yell and scream. But you get a chance with some clout and they will respect him or get a bad rep around the league. And he can also sit their butts on the bench. And ride them so hard they won’t like it. Bill Belichick was a total ***-**** but got players to respond. Don’t have to be that severe. 
 

But players need 1) a hard kick in the pants. If not a belt whipping. They are soft. 2) A confidence boost that they have talent but need to up their game starting in the offseason. 3) A winning system. 

That’s why I’d fire Granato and bring in a new coach ASAP. Before the offseason begins to set expectations; and before free agency so we can have some appeal. 

12 minutes ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Watching these games on tv, the body language amongst these guys is terrible. Last year, they were a team. They were smiling, they were flying around, they looked like they were enjoying themselves and eachother. This year, I see a team (barely) going through the motions. Some of that is certainly on the players, but (to me) that falls heavily on the coaches. When's the last time you saw Granato or Ellis getting on someone's ass on the bench? Ever? Has Granato ever benched or scratched someone for lousy effort or making an inexcusable mistake? I can't name an instance. If nobody above is correcting their behavior, the players will continue to loaf and mope around. The guys on the ice certainly aren't policing themselves. It's a ***** country club.

I’ve been saying this for the last three months. 

[gomper]

I really have no words anymore. They lack everything a good, playoff team has. No emotion or physicality.  The mental mistakes are brutal seems like there is no end in sight to those. KA put this roster together and DG to coach it. It's obvious to anyone that it's not only not working, it's an embarrassment. They just hide under some blankets and hope it magically works out. This organization is rudderless.  I can go on but you all already know the issues.  Sad.

Edited February 19 by gomper

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Believer said:

Who were named the Three Stars today?

Vatrano

MacTavish

Benson 

[Thorner]

3 hours ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

Horrible Buffalo Sabres loss to a Western Conference Anaheim Ducks in the afternoon in the Eastern time zone. The Sabres need major changes to their roster makeup in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Damn even AI is scoring “likes” off this team, now 

3 hours ago, Kristian said:

Nah, KO is still butthurt.

Can’t wait until he retires.

He’s over half-way to 2000 games. It’ll be a while 

1 hour ago, Rasmus_ said:

This team is toast.

No, we’re bread.

Toast is a process. Gotta give it time. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

Oh, good. The ol' 1960s-80s television show amnesia twist. The last game of the season, they'll get hit on the head AGAIN and that will make them remember how to score.

Glad that there's a plan in place now.

[Porous Five Hole]

1 hour ago, #freejame said:

That would be such a ***** joke

I’m not a defender of the pod, but that’s not what he said. 
 

[Radar]

25 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Oh, good. The ol' 1960s-80s television show amnesia twist. The last game of the season, they'll get hit on the head AGAIN and that will make them remember how to score.

Glad that there's a plan in place now.

Man at one point I liked the guy as our coach but I'm  now so tired of him. He so matches my view of this team and what needs to change.

 

[Thorner]

I moved into the condo I’m currently living in in March of 2012. Miss 1 of the Drought followed, that spring. 12 years I’ve been here. Not one appearance. Not since I lived at home.

I move out this coming April.

We make the playoffs in 23-24. I’m absolutely sure of it. 

[Chair]

5 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I moved into the condo I’m currently living in in March of 2012. Miss 1 of the Drought followed, that spring. 12 years I’ve been here. Not one appearance. Not since I lived at home.

I move out this coming April.

We make the playoffs in 23-24. I’m absolutely sure of it. 

I shyt my pants the last time they made the playoffs so I'll just shyt my pants again right now 

[#freejame]

15 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I moved into the condo I’m currently living in in March of 2012. Miss 1 of the Drought followed, that spring. 12 years I’ve been here. Not one appearance. Not since I lived at home.

I move out this coming April.

We make the playoffs in 23-24. I’m absolutely sure of it. 

Holy ***** that’s some stability. I’ve had 15 major moves during that time. 

[Ogelthorpe]

WOW, Meatballs presser. This guy should be fired immediately.  What an enabler. Have never seen coach make excuses for his players. This team is a joke. I think I dislike them more than the cocaine cowboys. 

[...]

7 minutes ago, Ogelthorpe said:

WOW, Meatballs presser. This guy should be fired immediately.  What an enabler. Have never seen coach make excuses for his players. This team is a joke. I think I dislike them more than the cocaine cowboys. 

The bolded is a great way to position the Meatballs.

[HOUSE]

Can't wait till Wednesday 

[Cityo'Rasmii]

1 minute ago, Shoot da Puck said:

Can't wait till Wednesday 

Ain't that the trooth

[Second Line Center]

The team and players were actually always going to be good - the players had the talent it was here.  
 

We’ve been fooled thinking Granato was some kind of development whisperer. 
 

His stamp is all over this team now.  Full reflection of him and the coddling.   
 

The coddling is also a reflection of Adams btw.  He’s in love with all the prospects and development but has no clue about what’s gone wrong on the ice.  
 

And Granato for what it’s worth is a terrible coach in game.  
 

GM gets one coach fire then need to look at him.  Pegula’s job is simple.  Adams must fire Granato and the ultimatum has to be “we preach winning and winning only here….

…..and find a coach that gets them to develop skin thick enough to handle booos.”   

[pi2000]

Still the youngest team in the league, have some patience.   They're learning right now, trust the process.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[SABRES 0311]

16 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Still the youngest team in the league, have some patience.   They're learning right now, trust the process.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Absolutely wrong thing to say in here 😂 

[SabresVet]

2 hours ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

I don’t expect a coach to yell and scream. But you get a chance with some clout and they will respect him or get a bad rep around the league. And he can also sit their butts on the bench. And ride them so hard they won’t like it. Bill Belichick was a total ***-**** but got players to respond. Don’t have to be that severe. 
 

But players need 1) a hard kick in the pants. If not a belt whipping. They are soft. 2) A confidence boost that they have talent but need to up their game starting in the offseason. 3) A winning system. 

That’s why I’d fire Granato and bring in a new coach ASAP. Before the offseason begins to set expectations; and before free agency so we can have some appeal. 

 

This is a generational issue and what worked 20-50 years ago with Gen X and Boomer generation athletes doesn't now.  It's why other pro leagues have been hiring managers and head coaches who are younger...to connect with these young guys.  Seems like the NBA, MLB and even the NFL now are plucking guys pretty soon after they retire from a pro career or after only a couple jobs for that top job.  

I still think Granato has done all he can and it's time to exit stage left.  They need someone up to the task of the NHL and all it's complexity.   

[OverPowerYou]

I’ve been watching some other games today. The way other teams play makes the Sabres look like an AHL team in comparison. 

[HumanSlinky39]

55 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Still the youngest team in the league, have some patience.   They're learning right now, trust the process.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Last year, that was a fine motto. They barely missed the playoffs and were playing great hockey the last 1/3 of the season. THAT was a developmental season. They've regressed almost across the board this year; I'd say only Peterka and Upie have taken steps forward. Given last season, playoffs should have been the expectation this season. Going on 13 years without a single postseason. When does it end? When are people going to be held accountable for their failures? Because that's what this season is, a failure.

Edited February 20 by HumanSlinky39

[pi2000]

33 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Absolutely wrong thing to say in here 😂 

If you remove the lense of "haven't made the playoffs in 12 years"... they're actually not far off from where they should be.      They had a strong second half last season, over-achieved IMHO.    A young over-confident group heading into 2023-24, mix in some key injuries and shaky goaltending early on, and the result really isn't that surprising.    This humbling experience should give them renewed motivation heading into 2024-25.

[CallawaySabres]

Sooo, I take it we lost? I genuinely did not think this would be a loss. Yay, expectations lowered.....

[HumanSlinky39]

1 minute ago, CallawaySabres said:

Sooo, I take it we lost? I genuinely did not think this would be a loss. Yay, expectations lowered.....

They won the previous game. This season says odds were very high they were gonna eat an L today.

[Broken Ankles]

1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

Still the youngest team in the league, have some patience.   They're learning right now, trust the process.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Isn’t that the idea?  Throw out some babies and get some grown ass men?