Amerks 24/25 - Young Talented Roster

[JohnC]

7 minutes ago, inkman said:

For the record, I never need to hear the owner of a franchise speak. Nothing he says matters, it’ll just be platitudes to placate the masses. I need action, not words.  

I don't need the owner speak. However, I do expect someone in the organization to regularly explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. The Sabres are in the sports and entertainment business. Communicating with the public/customers is a basic part of any business. Consistently losing your fan/customer base (in any business) without communicating with it is a recipe for a failed business. And that seems to be the self-sabotaging business model that the owner is following. The empty seats on game day are a testament to that reality. 

[EM88]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I don't need the owner speak. However, I do expect someone in the organization to regularly explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. The Sabres are in the sports and entertainment business. Communicating with the public/customers is a basic part of any business. Consistently losing your fan/customer base (in any business) without communicating with it is a recipe for a failed business. And that seems to be the self-sabotaging business model that the owner is following. The empty seats on game day are a testament to that reality. 

In business, there is often a fine line between thinking the fans are your customers that you are providing a product/service for them, or thinking the fans are they to support your product and your vision.

When a team is failing like the Sabres, Terry Pegula seems to run the franchise more as if this is his product, his toy to play with, and the fans are just the ones that fill up the seats and pay money to support his project.

Edited Wednesday at 06:34 PM by EM88

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, EM88 said:

Agree on the Bandits.

With the Bills, one can take a different side of the argument than what is popular.  Maybe, just maybe they are less of a success story than we think.  How many times has a team had a Quarterback as good as Josh Allen has been and has yet to reach the superbowl let alone win one?  I personally put him in a category that has 95% of Quarterbacks with his talent already at least making a superbowl appearance by this point of his career.

Yes, Patrick Mahomes is in his way. But Brady did not stop Roethlisberger or Manning from reaching, and winning the Superbowl.  If you were to make up a list of the greatest Quarterbacks of the past 25 years, Allen and Lamar Jackson are probably the only 2 that have not even made a Superbowl, let alone winning one. That might say something more about the organization around them.

There is no question that Josh Allen is a great qb and is the main driving force for the team's success. But it should also be acknowledged that he was drafted by the Bills' front office while other teams bypassed him. No one can deny that the Bills are and for a number of years a well-run franchise. The Bills organization is a respected organization because it is competently managed. That can't be said about the hollow Sabre organization that has failed for a generation. There is a good reason why this hockey franchise is not only an irrelevant but also a laughed at franchise where many players don't want to come to and where many of its best players demanded to get out. 

[Thorner]

lmfao. I’m sorry, Baker feeling a bit seen? 

Dude is full value for every bit of grief I give him. Incapable of even *seeing* flaw in a sabres prospect. A disingenuous company salesman 

Edited Wednesday at 06:38 PM by Thorner

[EM88]

7 minutes ago, JohnC said:

There is no question that Josh Allen is a great qb and is the main driving force for the team's success. But it should also be acknowledged that he was drafted by the Bills' front office while other teams bypassed him. No one can deny that the Bills are and for a number of years a well-run franchise. The Bills organization is a respected organization because it is competently managed. That can't be said about the hollow Sabre organization that has failed for a generation. There is a good reason why this hockey franchise is not only an irrelevant but also a laughed at franchise where many players don't want to come to and where many of its best players demanded to get out. 

I am not saying they are poorly run.  Just not quite at the top of the list as many people think.  As I said, even with Josh Allen, not even one Superbowl appearance yet.  The reason I brought it up is many think the Bills are an elite organization. I do not think so. They are a good organization, with a great QB ,Much better than the Sabres, yes. but not good enough yet.

Edited Wednesday at 06:43 PM by EM88

[inkman]

2 minutes ago, EM88 said:

I am not saying they are poorly run.  Just not quite at the top of the list as many people think.  As I said, even with Josh Allen, not even one Superbowl appearance yet.  The reason I brought it up is many think the Bills are an elite organization. I do not think so. They are a good organization, with a great QB ,Much better than the Sabres, yes. but not good enough yet.

Bruh we had 17 years of futility.  Now every game is straight up party.  I’m not even talking about tailgating.  I just mean the atmosphere surrounding the team. We have Josh.  Life is good. Of course everyone wants to win the chip but only one team gets to do that every year and it’s usually not the same team. So I’ll continue to ride out this wave of Buffalo Bills fun until the wave comes crashing to the shore.  What a ride it’s been. 

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, EM88 said:

I am not saying they are poorly run.  Just not quite at the top of the list as many people think.  As I said, even with Josh Allen, not even one Superbowl appearance yet.  The reason I brought it up is many think the Bills are an elite organization. I do not think so. They are a good organization, with a great QB ,Much better than the Sabres, yes. but not good enough yet.

The Sabres have been bad for a generation. That's an ignominious accomplishment that few organizations are capable of achieving.  

[EM88]

1 minute ago, inkman said:

Bruh we had 17 years of futility.  Now every game is straight up party.  I’m not even talking about tailgating.  I just mean the atmosphere surrounding the team. We have Josh.  Life is good. Of course everyone wants to win the chip but only one team gets to do that every year and it’s usually not the same team. So I’ll continue to ride out this wave of Buffalo Bills fun until the wave comes crashing to the shore.  What a ride it’s been. 

I guess I must learn my lesson to not bring up anything bad about the Buffalo Bills here.

Let me repeat, I am not saying they are bad as the Sabres.  What I am saying is I have read alot of talk about how they are a super-well run organization that does almost everything correctly.  My point, as a somewhat outsider to football, is can they really be run that well when they have what many consider a top 5 player in the league and they have not even made a superbowl yet?

In no way am I saying they should not be fun to watch for those who enjoy their games. I am not saying they are a bad team.  I am simply saying that they have had quite a few years with Josh Allen giving them elite-level play, and as an organization have not been good enough to make the proper moves around him to reach a title game. That is it.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, EM88 said:

I guess I must learn my lesson to not bring up anything bad about the Buffalo Bills here.

Let me repeat, I am not saying they are bad as the Sabres.  What I am saying is I have read alot of talk about how they are a super-well run organization that does almost everything correctly.  My point, as a somewhat outsider to football, is can they really be run that well when they have what many consider a top 5 player in the league and they have not even made a superbowl yet?

In no way am I saying they should not be fun to watch for those who enjoy their games. I am not saying they are a bad team.  I am simply saying that they have had quite a few years with Josh Allen giving them elite-level play, and as an organization have not been good enough to make the proper moves around him to reach a title game. That is it.

What you're doing is trying the "square the circle" about the owner. We all blame Terry for the Sabres predicament, but the Bills are an elite team in the NFL. (Bandits are elite too, but no one cares.) How can that be possible when they are owned by the same man? So you're weaving a story how the Bills are actually a mess but Josh Allen is so awesome he compensates for the obvious disfunction behind the scenes.

It's a cool story, but in no universe can one player make an NFL team a perennial contender. No question Josh drives the bus, but it takes an organization to win. 

[EM88]

42 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

What you're doing is trying the "square the circle" about the owner. We all blame Terry for the Sabres predicament, but the Bills are an elite team in the NFL. (Bandits are elite too, but no one cares.) How can that be possible when they are owned by the same man? So you're weaving a story how the Bills are actually a mess but Josh Allen is so awesome he compensates for the obvious disfunction behind the scenes.

It's a cool story, but in no universe can one player make an NFL team a perennial contender. No question Josh drives the bus, but it takes an organization to win. 

I would disagree with your last statement. There are many examples, and few exceptions, of an elite QB making a team good-to-great every year, and when they are no longer there, the team quickly fades.

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, EM88 said:

I would disagree with your last statement. There are many examples, and few exceptions, of an elite QB making a team good-to-great every year, and when they are no longer there, the team quickly fades.

Yeah, I’m with Promo on this. I can think of few examples were a QB has taken a bad team and made them good or made a good team great. Maybe a good team to very good  or a very good team to great but not good to great.

[K-9]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

Yeah, I’m with Promo on this. I can think of few examples were a QB has taken a bad team and made them good or made a good team great. Maybe a good team to very good  or a very good team to great but not good to great.

To further this line of thinking, the world is littered with great QBs on poor teams with bad supporting casts who never won much of anything, let alone the whole enchilada. 

[thewookie1]

4 hours ago, EM88 said:

I guess I must learn my lesson to not bring up anything bad about the Buffalo Bills here.

Let me repeat, I am not saying they are bad as the Sabres.  What I am saying is I have read alot of talk about how they are a super-well run organization that does almost everything correctly.  My point, as a somewhat outsider to football, is can they really be run that well when they have what many consider a top 5 player in the league and they have not even made a superbowl yet?

In no way am I saying they should not be fun to watch for those who enjoy their games. I am not saying they are a bad team.  I am simply saying that they have had quite a few years with Josh Allen giving them elite-level play, and as an organization have not been good enough to make the proper moves around him to reach a title game. That is it.

I will forever fall back on Terry was a Sabres fan prior to buying the team; the Sabres are also the only team he has more of a direct role in the team’s management.

I also have mentioned before that I have a very legit source who told me that we interviewed Briere to be GM or Pres back prior to his job with Philly. Briere asked for the stipulations Beane and McDermott had in regards to non-interference and Terry refused.
 

This in all likelihood also stemmed from one of the Kim Pegula vs Lafontaine debates in which the Pegulas wanted to have the Sabres visit their Nashville based record company on the night prior to the game day which descended into Kim more or less pulling the owner’s wife card and got her way. Frankly, Kim’s request here wasn’t absurd by any means to be honest but I get the sense that back and forth was frequent and often frustrating and Terry wants to have sit in and interaction rights with the team because like us, he’s a fan.

[shrader]

36 minutes ago, K-9 said:

To further this line of thinking, the world is littered with great QBs on poor teams with bad supporting casts who never won much of anything, let alone the whole enchilada. 

And it’s the same team over and over with lightning bolts on their shoulders. 

[EM88]

44 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

I will forever fall back on Terry was a Sabres fan prior to buying the team; the Sabres are also the only team he has more of a direct role in the team’s management.

I also have mentioned before that I have a very legit source who told me that we interviewed Briere to be GM or Pres back prior to his job with Philly. Briere asked for the stipulations Beane and McDermott had in regards to non-interference and Terry refused.

If that did happen, that is the biggest indictment of anyone associated with this team, and in my personal opinion why this lack of success all falls at the feet of Pegula.

The blanket cries to fire Adams as GM mean nothing if the above is true and Pegula does not change his mind about it.  Better to keep Adams and everyone else until things get so bad that Pegula changes his mind on it.

Edited Wednesday at 11:52 PM by EM88

[K-9]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

And it’s the same team over and over with lightning bolts on their shoulders. 

So true. They’ve had some great QBs over the years for sure. 

[K-9]

Levi with a 26 save shutout in a 4-0 win over the Monsters. Östlund with a pair. The kid has been on a bit of a heater lately. 

[PromoTheRobot]

6 hours ago, EM88 said:

I would disagree with your last statement. There are many examples, and few exceptions, of an elite QB making a team good-to-great every year, and when they are no longer there, the team quickly fades.

No. Not true. Not for 5 years straight.

Edited Thursday at 03:27 AM by PromoTheRobot

[PromoTheRobot]

Back on topic...

Amerks win 4-0 over Cleveland tonight. Östlund with 2 goals. Levi gets his 4th shutout. With 66 points in 49 games, the Amerks are the #1 team in the entire AHL.

[JoeSchmoe]

7 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Back on topic...

Amerks win 4-0 over Cleveland tonight. Östlund with 2 goals. Levi gets his 4th shutout. With 66 points in 49 games, the Amerks are the #1 team in the entire AHL.

I've been Östlund's biggest critic... Didn't like the pick and haven't liked that he hasn't been dealt. 

Here's hoping he makes me look bad.

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, JoeSchmoe said:

I've been Östlund's biggest critic... Didn't like the pick and haven't liked that he hasn't been dealt. 

Here's hoping he makes me look bad.

Curious how often you’ve watched him play?

[JoeSchmoe]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

Curious how often you’ve watched him play?

Just world Juniors. I was more going of stats, size, etc.

[Flashsabre]

Noah Östlund will be a good one. Do not trade him, let him cook in Rochester and continue to get stronger. He has a great brain for the game, great skater, distributor, great defensive awareness, shot has vastly improved.

He checks all the boxes of what you want in a centre. And the Sabres don’t have that type of centre on the NHL roster. He is 20 years old and this last stretch has become a 1C for the Amerks which is impressive.

Edited Thursday at 01:18 PM by Flashsabre

[inkman]

9 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

I've been Östlund's biggest critic... Didn't like the pick and haven't liked that he hasn't been dealt. 

This is weird 

[EM88]

10 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

No. Not true. Not for 5 years straight.

What is the list of examples you speak of? Where a great team lost their great QB and then wasn't considerably worse?