The Current Situation

[mjd1001]

8 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Cozens: Promising but gets a beating from Hathaway and hasn’t been the same since.

Thompson: Borderline garbage then pops off as an offensive juggernaut. Cools off and almost irrelevant to start the season.

 

Thompson.  Garbage not at all, he is getting chances from the prime spots on the ice, he's just not burying them.  He already has gotten in position in the prime spots on the ice and gotten off good shots many times, and he hasn't played poorly defensively. His game has not been garbage at all, hes just not scoring.

Cozens.  Same as Thompson except Thompson has scored one time on less shots, Cozens has taken even more shots and not scored.  Again, he has gotten into good spots on the ice to coaching/positioning is not an issue. its simply a matter of scoring on your chances.

[Thorner]

6 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Thompson.  Garbage not at all, he is getting chances from the prime spots on the ice, he's just not burying them.  He already has gotten in position in the prime spots on the ice and gotten off good shots many times, and he hasn't played poorly defensively. His game has not been garbage at all, hes just not scoring.

Cozens.  Same as Thompson except Thompson has scored one time on less shots, Cozens has taken even more shots and not scored.  Again, he has gotten into good spots on the ice to coaching/positioning is not an issue. its simply a matter of scoring on your chances.

Or getting better chances 

[Taro T]

19 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Thompson.  Garbage not at all, he is getting chances from the prime spots on the ice, he's just not burying them.  He already has gotten in position in the prime spots on the ice and gotten off good shots many times, and he hasn't played poorly defensively. His game has not been garbage at all, hes just not scoring.

Cozens.  Same as Thompson except Thompson has scored one time on less shots, Cozens has taken even more shots and not scored.  Again, he has gotten into good spots on the ice to coaching/positioning is not an issue. its simply a matter of scoring on your chances.

Personally, am hoping Benson stays on the Thompson line when Peterka comes back because Peterka and Quinn have killer chemistry and Cozens absolute best production came from being in the "toe" spot off of tic-tac-toe plays.

Cozens, as a Sabre, has not been an effective scorer EXCEPT when he was with Frick & Frack.  Especially with a defensively sound 3rd line and a legit energy line as the 4th line; would 100% be willing to put that line together and deploy it the way the RAV line was back in the day.  Maybe he'd be able to then sustain what he does with that line after he's gotten some confidence back in his shot or maybe they'd have to keep it together; but either way, THAT is IMHO how you get Cozens back on track.

[Believer]

Sabres are careless shooters, it seems. Atrocious, actually.

Interested in the opinion of current or former amateur or pro hockey players.

Shooting a puck at a small target is a complex hand eye, high speed movement.

Can a player’s shooting be improved with regular practice?

I ask because as a lifelong golfer and single digit player years ago, know you can hit 100 balls on the range mindlessly every day and not improve accuracy. Improvement takes focused practice, feedback, and more focused practice.

The same must be true of shooting a puck. Wrist shot or slap shot. Wraparounds. Backhands. Each require focused and repetitive practice. 

Is much time spent on individual shooting drills during each practice or is it left to the player to put in the time before or after team practice?

It confounds me in pregame warmups to see many players mindlessly shoot pucks at the net with no apparent focus on a smaller target.

Maybe Ruff needs to rebalance his offense/defense emphasis?

idk.

[Sidc3000]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

Thompson.  Garbage not at all, he is getting chances from the prime spots on the ice, he's just not burying them.  He already has gotten in position in the prime spots on the ice and gotten off good shots many times, and he hasn't played poorly defensively. His game has not been garbage at all, hes just not scoring.

Cozens.  Same as Thompson except Thompson has scored one time on less shots, Cozens has taken even more shots and not scored.  Again, he has gotten into good spots on the ice to coaching/positioning is not an issue. its simply a matter of scoring on your chances.

Thompson was getting chances last season and not burying them but everyone used “he was playing injured” to excuse why he couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. He’s picked up exactly where he left off last season. 

What’s going to be the excuse this season? 

Edited October 12 by Sidc3000

[mjd1001]

20 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

Thompson was getting chances last season and not burying them but everyone used “he was playing injured” to excuse why he couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. He’s picked up exactly where he left off last season. 

What’s going to be the excuse this season? 

What are you talking about?

He led the team in goals last year. He had 29 despite missing 11 games. (would have had well over 30 without those games missed).  Not as good as the prior year, but couldn't hit the broadside of a barn?  Holy anti-Tage vendetta you have there.

And yes, he had an arm injury.  It happened. And guess what? as the season went on and he got farther away from it, he got a lot better. 

You said picked up right where he left last year?  Do you even know what you are talking about?  Lets see where he 'left off last year'. The last 2 months of the season as he got farther away from that injury, he had 11 goals in 21 games (more than a goal every other game) and he shot almost 17%.

And you think injuries for players like him don't matter? Think again. The year before Austin Matthews had a very similar injury...Matthews shooting percentage when down by 5 whole points the year he had the similar injury to Tage, and the following year, it was back up to his previous years average. Some people can use injuries as an 'excuse', but where there are facts behind it, its not an 'excuse' its more of a reason'.

You want to look for excuses? Come back here in 10-15 games if he isn't producing, many of us will listen then. But to criticize his play by saying he's picking up where he left off last year? He finished last year playing very well and scoring quite a bit for the LAST 2 MONTHS.

Edited October 12 by mjd1001

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

You are correct; it is objectively too early to abandon all hope for this season. But, the organization did itself no favours when they chose to act in ways that are contradictory to the norms of how successful NHL teams operate. 

It is interesting that Adams opted to ice the youngest team in the NHL and leave millions of cap space unused (again), while also laying down the marker that this is a “no excuses” season. Adams and Pegula might be bad at their roles of GMering* and Ownering, but they aren’t dumb. They know that success would be more likely, if not guaranteed, if they spent more and were willing to move future assets for better established players. Some have interpreted this “no excuses” season as meaning Adams is on thin ice. I’m the opposite. I interpret the incongruence between the “no excuses” statement and the “ lots of excuses” actions, as an indication that Adams is not a man afraid of losing his job. 
 

*I’m not sure Adams is bad at his job. I still think the evidence supports that he does not have the authority to spend what needs to be spent. I’m also aware that at some point it makes no difference whether he is bad at his job or whether he is in a job where there is no chance of success. 

I don't know of many comments from the board members and from NHL analysts who have stated that this organization acted in a significant way that elevates this team against the competition. That is deeply understood by most sentient observers who follow the Sabres. That's the general judgment made about this offseason.  What did you expect? A blockbuster deal and a splurge on players? It's a middling organization and operation. Most of us are aware of that sad conclusion that is evidently true. The historical record supports that notion. 

However, that doesn't mean that every comment about each Sabre game should be colored by that ugly reality. In the King game, the Sabres played well for two periods. We had our scoring chances but didn't capitalize on them. A positive takeaway in that game is that for two periods the players played a tougher brand of hockey that the new coach is trying to instill. That's a positive takeaway from the bigger negative that we lost to a team at home when the house was full. 

The Sabres are in my opinion a fringe playoff contender. I'm just trying to be realistic and hope for the best. To be fair, it's still too early to make a judgment about this team under this new coach.  

[SABRES 0311]

Time to dust this thread off 😂 

[Stoner]

In light of The Current Situation we go to Grégoire in Khartoum, where an estimated 2.5 million people have flooded the streets. Grégoire, what can you tell us?

[Pimlach]

Well let’s see.   We won’t beat anyone by giving up 5 or 6 goals per night.  
 

I would play UPL in Chicago and I stick with him for 3 straight games to get him going again.   Play him more to help get his game going.  We need a hot goalie. 
 

This is the part of the schedule that we don’t need a 1A/1B.   Now we can complain about Levi not being in Rochester where he belongs.  

Edited October 18 by Pimlach

[LabattBlue]

If you told me that if Pegula sold the team, new owner moved them, and Buffalo would get an expansion team a year later(with a NEW owner) I would be all in. 

Edited October 19 by LabattBlue

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

If you told me that if Pegula sold the team, new owner moved them, and Buffalo would get an expansion team a year later(with a NEW owner) I be would be all in. 

That would be a good way to have a full reset. Assuming you bring in competent hockey guys to run it and they build a new team from the bottom up with a solid hard working culture, draft a few new future stars and spend to the cap wisely. Current expansion rules do allow you to construct the beginnings of a roster. 

[SABRES 0311]

2 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

If you told me that if Pegula sold the team, new owner moved them, and Buffalo would get an expansion team a year later(with a NEW owner) I be would be all in. 

 

10 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

That would be a good way to have a full reset. Assuming you bring in competent hockey guys to run it and they build a new team from the bottom up with a solid hard working culture, draft a few new future stars and spend to the cap wisely. Current expansion rules do allow you to construct the beginnings of a roster. 

I’ve semi jokingly talked about this. I do wonder if the damage is done. The Coyotes were horrible for so long in a market that probably didn’t have a very resilient fan base. Moving to Utah gave the franchise a fresh start. For Buffalo it would give the city/fans a fresh start.

Even if a new owner came in and hired the right personnel in management, how long to make impactful improvements? The fan base would have some reinvigoration but after all these year’s skepticism would temper enthusiasm.

I don’t want the team to move but if the ends justify the means, the suffering has to end. Too much history between the team and city to allow this disrespect of that history to continue. It somewhat feels like the end of a relationship where both parties are going through the motions out of familiarity. Sometimes you need to go your separate ways and start fresh.

The last decade and a half is a slap in the face of every former player who bled for this team and every fan who emptied their wallet to give the family a memorable night.

Despite management’s words the actions/inactions of them and the players show they do not understand the history and pride. They do not understand what that crest stands for and you could say few deserve to wear or represent it.

Edited October 19 by SABRES 0311

[thewookie1]

5 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

If you told me that if Pegula sold the team, new owner moved them, and Buffalo would get an expansion team a year later(with a NEW owner) I be would be all in. 

The thing is we would t get a new team; the NHL isn’t going to bring a team back to Buffalo if the Sabres were to leave. They’d either go to Hamilton or Toronto 2 or not at all. None of which are sufficient 

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

 

I’ve semi jokingly talked about this. I do wonder if the damage is done. The Coyotes were horrible for so long in a market that probably didn’t have a very resilient fan base. Moving to Utah gave the franchise a fresh start. For Buffalo it would give the city/fans a fresh start.

Even if a new owner came in and hired the right personnel in management, how long to make impactful improvements? The fan base would have some reinvigoration but after all these year’s skepticism would temper enthusiasm.

I don’t want the team to move but if the ends justify the means, the suffering has to end. Too much history between the team and city to allow this disrespect of that history to continue. It somewhat feels like the end of a relationship where both parties are going through the motions out of familiarity. Sometimes you need to go your separate ways and start fresh.

The last decade and a half is a slap in the face of every former player who bled for this team and every fan who emptied their wallet to give the family a memorable night.

Despite management’s words the actions/inactions of them and the players show they do not understand the history and pride. They do not understand what that crest stands for and you could say few deserve to wear or represent it.

I hear you but I'm thinking about opening night this year and the place was buzzing. With Ruff back the expectation was high but the fans were ready to go. It'll die as the season goes on (assuming they keep sucking) but it's clear the fanbase in Buffalo, starved as it is, is strong. Really strong. A good owner and a new way of doing things and they  would flourish in Buffalo. 

[JP51]

On 10/12/2024 at 2:31 PM, Taro T said:

Personally, am hoping Benson stays on the Thompson line when Peterka comes back because Peterka and Quinn have killer chemistry and Cozens absolute best production came from being in the "toe" spot off of tic-tac-toe plays.

Cozens, as a Sabre, has not been an effective scorer EXCEPT when he was with Frick & Frack.  Especially with a defensively sound 3rd line and a legit energy line as the 4th line; would 100% be willing to put that line together and deploy it the way the RAV line was back in the day.  Maybe he'd be able to then sustain what he does with that line after he's gotten some confidence back in his shot or maybe they'd have to keep it together; but either way, THAT is IMHO how you get Cozens back on track.

I hope so I personally think they ruined Cozens like so many others... but one can hope

[Pimlach]

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I hear you but I'm thinking about opening night this year and the place was buzzing. With Ruff back the expectation was high but the fans were ready to go. It'll die as the season goes on (assuming they keep sucking) but it's clear the fanbase in Buffalo, starved as it is, is strong. Really strong. A good owner and a new way of doing things and they  would flourish in Buffalo. 

We had a great crowd for the home opener.  Sold tickets were 19,000+, but not quite that many made it to the game.  

The fans want to come back, they deserve better. 

From what I observed many on the edge of booing the team, because they want things fixed and they want to be heard.  

[Mango]

On 10/12/2024 at 2:07 PM, mjd1001 said:

Thompson.  Garbage not at all, he is getting chances from the prime spots on the ice, he's just not burying them.  He already has gotten in position in the prime spots on the ice and gotten off good shots many times, and he hasn't played poorly defensively. His game has not been garbage at all, hes just not scoring.

Cozens.  Same as Thompson except Thompson has scored one time on less shots, Cozens has taken even more shots and not scored.  Again, he has gotten into good spots on the ice to coaching/positioning is not an issue. its simply a matter of scoring on your chances.

Would you agree that more skilled players tend to score more often compared to less skilled players when given the opportunity? 

Not scoring on lots of scoring ops would mean that Cozens and Thompson aren’t as skilled even though coaches have put them into position to score. 

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, Mango said:

Would you agree that more skilled players tend to score more often compared to less skilled players when given the opportunity? 

Not scoring on lots of scoring ops would mean that Cozens and Thompson aren’t as skilled even though coaches have put them into position to score. 

Yeah, but Thompson is shooting 15.8% this year. Small sample size, but he's where he needs to be in terms of percentage.

Cozens at 0%.

So if you are going to say that more skilled players tend to score when given the opportunity...Thompson was at 15.0%, 15.9%, 11.8%, and back to 15.8% this year. He is doing what I want him to do.

Edited October 19 by mjd1001

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

We had a great crowd for the home opener.  Sold tickets were 19,000+, but not quite that many made it to the game.  

The fans want to come back, they deserve better. 

From what I observed many on the edge of booing the team, because they want things fixed and they want to be heard.  

There's no question in my mind it's a passionate fanbase. Hockey can and should thrive in Buffalo. Matter of fact it's probably the only thing keeping it going. If this team and their 13 years of futility and mismanagement was located in some lesser market or non traditional hockey market the rink would be near empty and nobody would care. 

[#freejame]

On 10/18/2024 at 11:18 PM, thewookie1 said:

The thing is we would t get a new team; the NHL isn’t going to bring a team back to Buffalo if the Sabres were to leave. They’d either go to Hamilton or Toronto 2 or not at all. None of which are sufficient 

No they wouldn’t. If Toronto was going to have a second team that would have happened long ago. Bettman is about expanding the NHL into new markets. Toronto also doesn’t want a team in Hamilton and while Bettman didn’t give two shits about any team in Canada, Toronto is in with the BoG and will get what they want. Buffalo won’t lose the franchise for at least 15 years until there’s serious financial incentives and even then it’s unlikely. The NHL is still in the “we want owners who want to own a hockey team” phase and not the “we want owners who will help us make gobbles of money” phase.