It's Boycott Time

[Taro T]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

I think the pp will be key. They need Benson on pp2. I still think they are short a player. 

They very likely are short 1 player - the middle 6C that has a 2 way game and isn't a black hole offensively.

And still hope they find that guy this off-season.  But am not particularly hopeful.

If they don't, by mid-season, either Krebs may be finally putting it together, or more likely one of Savoie, Kulich, or Östlund, or less likely Helenius or a midseason trade could fill that role long enough for a trade deadline add to upgrade it.

Am only expecting 40 goals from the 3rd line.  Competence at C there would go a long way towards achieving that.

[GASabresIUFAN]

There are some strange things going on with the Sabres.  I watched Baker and Fairburn last night and they raised some weird things going on with the Sabres.

1.  Adams has been taking shots at Granato. Essentially blaming him for last year’s failures instead of the assistants, who are all still with the organization, or looking inward to see if his roster was bad last year and whether he properly supported the team in-season.

1b.  They talked about Granato’s teams earning more points than any other teams with a bottom 5 payroll and the youngest roster in the NHL during that time.  The implication to me is Adams is the problem and or Terry’s internal cap.  

2.  They also wondered why buyout Skinner and not spend the savings unless the only goal was to  save TP real money?

3.  They wondered if the actual big acquisition was Lindy.

4. But if Lindy was the big acquisition, why wasn’t he allowed to bring in his own assistants? 

5.  They also felt Adams is talking like a guy who is very secure in his job even if he doesn’t do anything more to improve the roster and the roster is still lacking. 

6. They also were surprised at the complete lack of veteran prospects at development camp.  They think the older guys should be there to help the new guys adjust to pro hockey and to build friendships and general team building.  They also think the vets should be there for the coaches and staff to see their off-season progress especially guys like Kisakov.  

7. Baker did mention that there was and may still be an internal cap. 
 

I put this rundown here as the only conclusion I can see is that Adams and Terry are running the team into the ground.  

[SabresVet]

So far, this off-season has been more of "trust us, we know what we're doing" type of message from Adams.  Really more of the same compared to the previous couple off-seasons where little tweaks were made and they expected the current roster to produce.    

It seems like their off-season review has been that coaching was the culprit and their bottom 6 forwards were a supporting cause for the downturn from 2022-23.  

If so, then they're again banking on the top-6 forwards minus Skinner producing and assuming they addressed that and the bottom 6 lines.   

After 3 seasons rebuilding it doesn't come off as much different, albeit with a new proven HC and not one who wasn't operating with urgency.

Where ownership and their guidance to the GM fits is another matter altogether.  

Reminds me a little of the Bills where there is one guy (Allen) who is supposed to elevate the entire ship.  With the Sabres this off-season, that comes off as the hiring of Ruff.  Time will tell. 

[caseydean]

There are a lot of teams, e.g., Nashville, Colorado, etc. that will have to move guys for cap reasons.  There is still time over the next month to find a goal scorer.

[inkman]

9 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

I said this at the end of the season, but I'm never buying another Sabres ticket unless they're sitting in a playoff position. In the last two years, I think I paid for 5 games (got some seats given to me as well).

Being 23rd in scoring last year and ditching two of our best offensive players (Skinner and Mittelstadt) almost guarantees we don't score enough to make the playoffs next year.

Now it looks like we're icing two 4th lines next year, with no 3C in sight.

We easily have the pieces to trade for a top 6, but I'm guaranteeing ownership won't pay the extra salary. In that case, I'm not paying either.

Hopefully Adams gets additional pieces and makes this all for naught, but I'm 100% boycotting. Anyone else in?

Go for it. This is how capitalism works. If you don’t like the product, you don’t consume it. I commend anyone for participating in our economy this way.  Drive change. 

[SwampD]

9 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

I said this at the end of the season, but I'm never buying another Sabres ticket unless they're sitting in a playoff position. In the last two years, I think I paid for 5 games (got some seats given to me as well).

Being 23rd in scoring last year and ditching two of our best offensive players (Skinner and Mittelstadt) almost guarantees we don't score enough to make the playoffs next year.

Now it looks like we're icing two 4th lines next year, with no 3C in sight.

We easily have the pieces to trade for a top 6, but I'm guaranteeing ownership won't pay the extra salary. In that case, I'm not paying either.

Hopefully Adams gets additional pieces and makes this all for naught, but I'm 100% boycotting. Anyone else in?

 

1 hour ago, LabattBlue said:

@JoeSchmoe didn’t say he wasn’t going to follow the team, he just said he was not going to buy tickets.  I have already been “boycotting” spending a penny on the team for a couple of years now.  

Going on year 11 for me.

I have most likely relayed this story before, but I remember it vividly. We were camping at Beaver Meadow campground in Java. We had to go to Tops in Arcade for supplies. I needed a hat. I was standing in the Bills/Sabres section deciding which one to get and was actually holding a Sabres hat in my hand,… I just stopped and said, “Nope,” and put the hat back on the rack.

Right then and there, I decided to not spend a dime on them until they were worth it.

Never though it would take over a decade.

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, caseydean said:

There are a lot of teams, e.g., Nashville, Colorado, etc. that will have to move guys for cap reasons.  There is still time over the next month to find a goal scorer.

This is true. We're in part 2 of the offseason where teams who got UFA's look to see who they need to move or augment their roster. Trades happen this week and then it all goes dark until September. 

[Doohicksie]

8 hours ago, Sabres73 said:

If someone wants to "boycott", just go. No need to announce your departure. I'll be here supporting the Buffalo Sabres.

You don't know how boycotts work, do you?  The point is to get as many people as possible to join the boycott to send a message.

[caseydean]

18 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

This is true. We're in part 2 of the offseason where teams who got UFA's look to see who they need to move or augment their roster. Trades happen this week and then it all goes dark until September. 

Even more than a week.  Teams will have until they have to be cap compliant to figure out what they want to do.  Did we not trade for Skinner in August? And Tkachuk went for Calgary to Florida in late July.

[SDS]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

The year after they had more talent. 

Please point to the roster players that we acquired (the subject of this discussion) that replaced the scoring numbers of Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart.

BTW, when those players were traded you threw an absolute fit about who is going to replace the point production on the team.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000332023.html

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, SDS said:

Please point to the roster players that we acquired (the subject of this discussion) that replaced the scoring numbers of Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart.

BTW, when those players were traded you threw an absolute fit about who is going to replace the point production on the team.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000332023.html

Tage Thompson outscored Jack Eichel.

Tage, 47g, 47a

Jack, 27g, 39a

Sam Reinhart was stupid and has been the dumbest trade considering what he does. No one has replaced him although Tuch has at least helped and Quinn has helped more. Levi and Kulich both hitting might make that trade eventually palatable but I still dislike it. 

[LTS]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

Go for it. This is how capitalism works. If you don’t like the product, you don’t consume it. I commend anyone for participating in our economy this way.  Drive change. 

Indeed!  Also, for mental health reasons, if this team is lowering your quality of life I recommend stepping away from following them day to day. Save your wallet and your mind.

We know fans are fanatical.. if you can handle the team being bad then great.  but I think people are dealing with a lot of non-Sabres stuff and so adding the bad Sabres situation to the daily grind won't help.

[JoeSchmoe]

If they actually have a plan to replace Skinner's 55% 5 on 5 GF% and 8 PP goals, along with Mittelstadt's 50+ points, I'll eat my words.

But given the number of plumbers we brought yesterday, my hope level of adding more forwards is very low. We're now a penny pinching franchise... Not one who's sole purpose is to win a cup.

If that's how Terry wants to do business, he's welcome to... But as ticket buyers, we should let him know what we think.

[SDS]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

Tage Thompson outscored Jack Eichel.

Tage, 47g, 47a

Jack, 27g, 39a

Sam Reinhart was stupid and has been the dumbest trade considering what he does. No one has replaced him although Tuch has at least helped and Quinn has helped more. Levi and Kulich both hitting might make that trade eventually palatable but I still dislike it. 

So the answer is nobody, which was exactly the point I was trying to make to the OP. Kind of weird that you told me to stop though, but I appreciate you supporting my argument.

[FrenchConnection44]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

There are some strange things going on with the Sabres.  I watched Baker and Fairburn last night and they raised some weird things going on with the Sabres.

1.  Adams has been taking shots at Granato. Essentially blaming him for last year’s failures instead of the assistants, who are all still with the organization, or looking inward to see if his roster was bad last year and whether he properly supported the team in-season.

1b.  They talked about Granato’s teams earning more points than any other teams with a bottom 5 payroll and the youngest roster in the NHL during that time.  The implication to me is Adams is the problem and or Terry’s internal cap.  

2.  They also wondered why buyout Skinner and not spend the savings unless the only goal was to  save TP real money?

3.  They wondered if the actual big acquisition was Lindy.

4. But if Lindy was the big acquisition, why wasn’t he allowed to bring in his own assistants? 

5.  They also felt Adams is talking like a guy who is very secure in his job even if he doesn’t do anything more to improve the roster and the roster is still lacking. 

6. They also were surprised at the complete lack of veteran prospects at development camp.  They think the older guys should be there to help the new guys adjust to pro hockey and to build friendships and general team building.  They also think the vets should be there for the coaches and staff to see their off-season progress especially guys like Kisakov.  

7. Baker did mention that there was and may still be an internal cap. 
 

I put this rundown here as the only conclusion I can see is that Adams and Terry are running the team into the ground.  

When those guys are critical you know it’s bad. 
 

And all those criticisms are fair. Pegula seems more interested in spending on the Bills and seems to be doing so at the expense of the Sabres. We need a billionaire with ties to WNY to buy the team. I don’t see them going anywhere with Pegula. Unless we just get lucky with some players. 

[Sabres73]

3 hours ago, Doohickie said:

You don't know how boycotts work, do you?  The point is to get as many people as possible to join the boycott to send a message.

Right, let me be clear - we all know what a boycott is. No need for the snark.

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, SDS said:

So the answer is nobody, which was exactly the point I was trying to make to the OP. Kind of weird that you told me to stop though, but I appreciate you supporting my argument.

What? Ralph Krueger was terrible. I have no idea what you are talking about here now. You asked me who outproduced Eichel, i said Tage. you said Nobody. I don't get it. 

[GoPuckYourself]

11 hours ago, Sabres73 said:

If someone wants to "boycott", just go. No need to announce your departure. I'll be here supporting the Buffalo Sabres.

Easy Kevyn you don’t have many fans left to let go.

 

[Drag0nDan]

15 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

I said this at the end of the season, but I'm never buying another Sabres ticket unless they're sitting in a playoff position. In the last two years, I think I paid for 5 games (got some seats given to me as well).

Being 23rd in scoring last year and ditching two of our best offensive players (Skinner and Mittelstadt) almost guarantees we don't score enough to make the playoffs next year.

Now it looks like we're icing two 4th lines next year, with no 3C in sight.

We easily have the pieces to trade for a top 6, but I'm guaranteeing ownership won't pay the extra salary. In that case, I'm not paying either.

Hopefully Adams gets additional pieces and makes this all for naught, but I'm 100% boycotting. Anyone else in?

So are you boycotting... buying tickets to the games or watching the games?

If you do this... are you also boycotting the board?  

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, Drag0nDan said:

So are you boycotting... buying tickets to the games or watching the games?

If you do this... are you also boycotting the board?  

Of course not.  They're tied for 1st right now.  😉

[JoeSchmoe]

1 minute ago, Drag0nDan said:

So are you boycotting... buying tickets to the games or watching the games?

If you do this... are you also boycotting the board?  

It's in the very first sentence. No more tickets.

I'll still watch the games, hoping we don't get any injuries and our top 6 get back to scoring like they did two years ago. 

And if at any point, we're sitting in a playoff spot (and I was wrong about the current trajectory) I'll 100% be looking at going to some games.

At it stands though, the hope tank is on low.

[IKnowPhysics]

 

 

SACK UP, YOU BABIES.  WE HAVEN'T LOST A GAME YET.

LET'S GO BUFFALO.

Ride or die.

Ruff wins the Jack Adams.

[inkman]

2 hours ago, GoPuckYourself said:

Easy Kevyn you don’t have many fans left to let go.

 

I think you are overestimating how many “fans” Kevyn has. 

[JoeSchmoe]

7 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

 

 

SACK UP, YOU BABIES.  WE HAVEN'T LOST A GAME YET.

LET'S GO BUFFALO.

Ride or die.

Ruff wins the Jack Adams.

If Pegula doesn't cheap out, I'll buy tix, win or lose, just as I always have (except COVID when the border was closed).1

I'm boycotting because he's not doing his part to put the best product on the ice.

The sob story might be that he's in the red every year in this small market town, but the reality is he's made a boatload in the appreciation of NHL franchise values.

 

[RochesterExpat]

1 hour ago, IKnowPhysics said:

 

 

SACK UP, YOU BABIES.  WE HAVEN'T LOST A GAME YET.

LET'S GO BUFFALO.

Ride or die.

Ruff wins the Jack Adams.

Can you explain to me where exactly during the last 13 seasons the Sabres have had "fair weather" under which you think these "fair weather fans" must have come from? I'm genuinely curious. 

Are we going to continue to sit and pretend the fans are the issue? How patient do fans need to be? Are fans not allowed to be upset at an organization that can't even accidentally stumble its way into the playoffs once during 13 seasons--a post-season with 50% league participation? This is the same organization that gives knockoff jerseys to alumni with misspelled names, players who refuse to salute the fans because the fans booed a coach who is fired a few months later anyway, and who have a self-imposed salary cap 13 years after the owner promised to spend to the cap to win a Stanley cup.

How many years of, 'trust in the process' and 'next year is our year' do you have to endure before you realize you're just Sisyphus, destined to eternal 'the future is bright in Buffalo' optimism? It's not an accomplishment to win consecutive titles for "best prospect pool." There is no participation trophy.

I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. The Pirates didn't make the playoffs from the time of my third birthday until after I could legally buy a drink while I watched them lose. While Bob Nutting will easily give Pegula a run for his money as the worst franchise owner in professional sports, at least I've never felt like the Pirates organization, particularly the players, actively hate the fans. More importantly, I've never had a conversation with a Pirates fan where I said, "I'm tired of giving this Bob Nutting guy my money"  met with accusations of fair weather fandom or the equivalent claim of not being a "true fan." The response is always, "I don't blame you. We suck."

I can't say that's true for the Sabres. It's not just this forum. Reddit is the same way. People seem to take pride in their commitment to supporting an organization that doesn't return even the smallest amount of respect to them. Are you actually proud that you are a fan of a franchise that hasn't been relevant for over a decade? Do you want a medal for your bravery? Should we raise a banner for your sacrifice?

Is this Stockholm Syndrome? Is this a coping mechanism for being the laughing stock of a league that espouses parity?

If people are finally fed up enough to stop spending their money on the Sabres, can you really blame them?