We have the talent. What we don't have...

[RETURNTOGLORY]

Is the Leadership!

No emotion on the bench or rarely behind it.

I've said it before in other posts.

 

At this level, you need to hit the ice like Conner McDavid!

Going 100% from the moment your blades hit the ice until you hit the bench.

Can you name or identify anyone who is taking on the identity of a leader?

This is a crucial aspect of team sports, ESPECIALLY Ice Hockey!

Why do you thing we suck so bad in 1st period play?

I don't see that person in the lineup right now. Tuch & Dahlin are close,  but I'd love a proven NHL player who has won a cup and has grit.

What say ye?

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14 by RETURNTOGLORY

[bunomatic]

KA openly has stated no blocking the kids. Its an inane comment when clearly you need veteran leadership in this league to compete for the cup. KA has lived this with the Canes but how easily he forgets. And here we are.

[DarthEbriate]

57 minutes ago, bunomatic said:

KA openly has stated no blocking the kids. Its an inane comment when clearly you need veteran leadership in this league to compete for the cup. KA has lived this with the Canes but how easily he forgets. And here we are.

Exactly. We wonder what might have been if Connolly, Numminen, Tallinder, Kalinin, and McKee stay healthy (Cup victory).

But what GM Sheevyn and we forget is how that Canes roster was loaded with proven playoff warriors who could still play. And Justin Williams who would soon become Mr Game 7.

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[inkman]

4 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Exactly. We wonder what might have been if Connolly, Numminen, Tallinder, Kalinin, and McKee stay healthy (Cup victory).

But what GM Sheevyn and we forget is how that Canes roster was loaded with proven playoff warriors who could still play. And Justin Williams who would soon become Mr Game 7.

The roster that he was A FREAKING A PART OF btw. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 minute ago, inkman said:

The roster that he was A FREAKING A PART OF btw. 

Oh I know. That’s what’s so alarming. 

It'd be like adding Palat, Killorn, Hornqvist, Alec Martinez, and Patrick Kane to this roster. Arguably, the only passenger on that Canes roster was Adams. 

[Thorner]

Plenty of courage I see…not a bad mind either. There’s talent, oh yes…and a thirst to prove themselves.

But where to put them for next year? 

[GoPuckYourself]

4 hours ago, RETURNTOGLORY said:

Is the Leadership!

No emotion on the bench or rarely behind it.

I've said it before in other posts.

 

At this level, you need to hit the ice like Conner McDavid!

Going 100% from the moment your blades hit the ice until you hit the bench.

Can you name or identify anyone who is taking on the identity of a leader?

This is a crucial aspect of team sports, ESPECIALLY Ice Hockey!

Why do you thing we suck so bad in 1st period play?

I don't see that person in the lineup right now. Tuch & Dahlin are close,  but I'd love a proven NHL player who has won a cup and has grit.

What say ye?

 

 

 

 

We keep saying no leadership which to me is scary... Thompson will be 27, Tuch will be 28, Skinner will be 32, Clifton will be 29, UPL will be 26, Dahlin is still young but will have been starting since 2018 and will turn 25 at this time next season, if not 1 of these guys are natural born leaders then why are they even here? To me none of them have shown leadership, the excuses they put out in the media instead of owning it just shows me none of them are ready for that "C" on their chest but someone most likely Dahlin will be getting it. It's time for the excuses to stop and the play to speak for itself imo. 

[Thorner]

20 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

We keep saying no leadership which to me is scary... Thompson will be 27, Tuch will be 28, Skinner will be 32, Clifton will be 29, UPL will be 26, Dahlin is still young but will have been starting since 2018 and will turn 25 at this time next season, if not 1 of these guys are natural born leaders then why are they even here? To me none of them have shown leadership, the excuses they put out in the media instead of owning it just shows me none of them are ready for that "C" on their chest but someone most likely Dahlin will be getting it. It's time for the excuses to stop and the play to speak for itself imo. 

Thomson was such a relatively late bloomer that I feel like we can already see the horizon of the end of his prime and it just started. Almost always a drop off once you near 30 

Was always difficult reading posts projecting out our top line from last year like 4 years into the future for when Benson and Co are in theirs. More likely we hope the top line last year can shift gracefully into a line 2. Though, people already want Skinner gone.

It’s tough to let a season like last for our forwards go to waste. 

Edited April 15 by Thorny

[PerreaultForever]

Star players who are leaders are rare (eg. Crosby). Usually they only evolve into true leaders if they have years of mentorship under other leaders. We haven't had that. Kyle Okposo may have been a nice guy, but he wasn't a mentor for these stars. Almost everyone on this roster has not been on an NHL winner. Only Tuch, Clifton, and Byram really qualify and Clifton was a fringe player in Boston. Byram hasn't been here long enough and so that leaves Tuch but even he was shipped out before Vegas won it all. I look at Boston and they went Chara to Bergeron to Marchand and next will be McAvoy even though Pasternak is their best player. That's a solid passing of the baton. 

It could have been ROR, but they blew that moment. Now they are blowing it again by not bringing in leaders. The lack of emotion and inconsistency is something I've been talking about for years (as have others) but it never seems to change. I just don't know what they are going to do. 

[Broken Ankles]

18 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Thomson was such a relatively late bloomer that I feel like we can already see the horizon of the end of his prime and it just started. Almost always a drop off once you near 30 

 

Definitely not the end. It’s not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning….so they say.

[GASabresIUFAN]

We don’t have….

1. Accountability at any level of the organization

2. A winning culture

3. Good coaching

4. Any elite forwards

5. A competent GM

[Thorner]

45 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:

Definitely not the end. It’s not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning….so they say.

No I disagree. It’s probably close to the beginning of the end. NHL prime for forwards is statistically ~23-24

I’m not saying he won’t be a good player for a good while longer, but speaking specifically of prime years it’s quite unlikely they’ll be found within any year where his age starts with a 3. 

Edited April 15 by Thorny

[TheAud]

24 minutes ago, Thorny said:

No I disagree. It’s probably close to the beginning of the end. NHL prime for forwards is statistically ~23-24

I’m not saying he won’t be a good player for a good while longer, but speaking specifically of prime years it’s quite unlikely they’ll be found within any year where his age starts with a 3. 

We still have Thompson’s 27,28, and 29 year seasons before the 30’s. I also think his skill set will endure better than most into ‘old’ age because he won’t get any smaller. 

[JoeSchmoe]

Leadership? That was Eric Johnson's job. How'd that turn out. 

What we need is to score more than the other teams. For that, we need talent. No more Eric Johnsons, no more Tyson Josts, no more Clifton's.

[Thorner]

29 minutes ago, TheAud said:

We still have Thompson’s 27,28, and 29 year seasons before the 30’s. I also think his skill set will endure better than most into ‘old’ age because he won’t get any smaller. 

Hard to say with skills sets. Most important is definitely durability. Then I’d say players who don’t rely on speed are most likely to keep up. Size…who knows. Sometimes it’s harder for those big bodies to keep up 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

We don’t have….

1. Accountability at any level of the organization

2. A winning culture

3. Good coaching

4. Any elite forwards

5. A competent GM

and as they put it on Shorsey, "they don't hate to lose". 

[TheAud]

2 hours ago, Thorny said:

Hard to say with skills sets. Most important is definitely durability. Then I’d say players who don’t rely on speed are most likely to keep up. Size…who knows. Sometimes it’s harder for those big bodies to keep up 

After I made the prior post and looked back on it was I actually expecting you to reply, "That's what she said". 

[Thorner]

12 minutes ago, TheAud said:

After I made the prior post and looked back on it was I actually expecting you to reply, "That's what she said". 

Opportunity indeed missed, I don’t know what’s gotten into me 

[sabremike]

We have the absolute worst coach and staff in the league, everything else is just piss and wind.

[triumph_communes]

ROR blew his only chance to lead before he geared up 

[#freejame]

8 hours ago, Thorny said:

Plenty of courage I see…not a bad mind either. There’s talent, oh yes…and a thirst to prove themselves.

But where to put them for next year? 

“Not Buffalo. Not Buffalo. Not Buffalo.”

 

[LGR4GM]

9 hours ago, Thorny said:

Plenty of courage I see…not a bad mind either. There’s talent, oh yes…and a thirst to prove themselves.

But where to put them for next year? 

In the basement below the 2nd floor bathroom, right next to the chamber of secrets. 

[sabrefanday1]

All of us experts (haha) can clearly see what this team lacks (good coaching, veteran leadership), yet KA can't see this? That seems very strange... talent is there so please Mr. Adams do something and please do not just bring this same lineup back and tell us it is a learning thing and that they are young. We know...

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Heart.