GDT: Buffalo Sabres @ les Canadiens de Montréal 12/17/24 - 7:00 PM EST - TSN2, RDS, MSG-B, WGR550

[mjd1001]

They aren't at the bottom of the league standings yet, they are still better than Chicago and Nashville.

30th out of 32 isn't so bad.

[Indabuff]

1 minute ago, mjd1001 said:

Tuch, Tage, and Cozens all have letters.

Tuch seems to be one of the interviews after every game on TV, i'll give him a little credit for that.

Why is it that it seems Tage and Cozens hardly ever do any interviews, at least televised ones, after the bad games?

Because they have no backbone.  

[Gatorman0519]

I don’t think Lindy made 1 minute in the presser. Completely dejected. 

[mjd1001]

I think I'm ready for a Brett Murray sighting and maybe Kozak again in a Sabres uniform.

[Billznut]

6 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Tuch, Tage, and Cozens all have letters.

Tuch seems to be one of the interviews after every game on TV, i'll give him a little credit for that.

Why is it that it seems Tage and Cozens hardly ever do any interviews, at least televised ones, after the bad games?

I swear I've seen Clifton do more tough interviews after bad games than Cozens and Tage.

Just more proof it was beyond idiotic to give Cozens and Tage letters. Wonder if that was solely a Ruff decision or a collaborative one from up higher. 

[CallawaySabres]

Wow, Lindy actually blaming the referees. Non-call for not getting the momentum back. What a freaking joke this entire clown show is.

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, K012010 said:

The worst part is that they have put us in a position where we are forced to make it more likely that our team could possibly ever leave the city. People can say oh well if you don’t show up, that’s the risk but we don’t have a product that is worth any sort of energy or our money. I don’t think most of us would actually go to the arena if somebody paid us at least at this point.

So it’s just another strike against the current regime that they’ve made us so disillusioned we are going to put our own team at risk. 

1 hour ago, bunomatic said:

The fans are not at fault.

At this point, Buffalo losing the team would be a huge relief.

Sell. The. Team.

40 minutes ago, bunomatic said:

Tank

level

Team.

Yep.

40 minutes ago, Thorner said:

We forget how young the players are, and how easily accessible social media is: they have plenty of time to be on their phones and social media and to see how much of a laughing stock we’ve been since the palm tree bit. And it was at quite a humorous level before that. This situation just looks beyond them - the league is hard enough for a young player on a good day 

My buddy was listening to the Caps radio broadcast and they PBP guy mentioned that it was 6-1 and also mentioned Terry flying to Montreal and saying that he thought the solution was in the room. The color guy just went, "Boy, oh Boy." 😂

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

This team has no heart. 

Yep. They are kinda low on talent, too.

[mjd1001]

In Lindy Ruff's press conference, he was asked about the Laine PP goal where he was wide open.

He said they talked about that in the meetings with the player, they talked about staying in position. Yet Clifton shaded away from that side and Tuch was WAY over on the other side.

If Lindy is not lying outright, and he says they went over that very thing, how does the next day, at the very beginning of the game, half of your PKers make such a critical mistake?

[SwampD]

Tage is not a #1 center.

[Crusader1969]

6 minutes ago, Nitro60 said:

This is all on the players.  Play with no heart, passion or intelligence.  Change the coach or GM will do nothing.  The talent to win is there but not the willingness to do what is needed to win.  Start the process of ridding guys who are not buying into the program.  I have been a fan since day one but this is the worse "team" I haave witnessed.  No magic wand will get this to change.  Sigh.

How many players have come and gone and non have had heart while playing for the Sabres?   The common denominator is the owner.  NOTHING will change until he pours the money into the franchise or sells 

[K012010]

27 minutes ago, apuszczalowski said:

I think this is the problem with this franchises 'rebuild plan' over the last 13+ years. They believe the only way to build the team is through drafting and developing prospects who will all some day just click and become an NHL Dynasty that will win together for years. They seem to hate the idea of bringing in good/great players (whether it be through FA or trade) because it might mean blocking a young prospect who may need to spend some extra time in the minors and really earn their spot on the team. Or also realising that Good/Great players and prospects can also be used as trade chips to obtain other good/great players or prospects at other positions of need. Instead they force prospects up to early hurting their development, and bring in only washed up Vets or guys looking for a one year deal to rebuild their image so they can move on after. This franchise needs to stop looking long term, and look to rebuild short term to rebuild its image and get back to being atleast a playoff team that can work on becoming a Cup contender. Fans were spoiled in the Dary/ruff era that they seemed to get to the point where they thought regularly winning and being in the playoffs isn't a good thing and that it was necessary to throw everything away and start from scratch to get a Cup team

This is absolutely spot on. Very well summarized. 

[mjd1001]

1 minute ago, Billznut said:

Just more proof it was beyond idiotic to give Cozens and Tage letters. Wonder if that was solely a Ruff decision or a collaborative one from up higher. 

Not to keep defending Ruff, but he did say it would take him time to get to know the players.  He did say you can't just watch film, you have to see how they play in action and how they respond to situations. I'm not sure why he would make that decision when he openly admitted he didn't have a 'feel' for the team yet, certainly not through offseason meetings and just a couple weeks of camp.

[Indabuff]

2 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

I don’t think Lindy made 1 minute in the presser. Completely dejected. 

The man needs to bail.  This goddam "team" has tarnished the current reputation of this team and is now beginning to tarnish the reputation of years past.  

[Big Guava]

If I was Lindy Ruff, I would have told the coaches on the way to the tunnel to not say a word to any of the players and walk out of the locker room to the team bus and wait for them there.

 

Then not say anything the entire trip back. Then leave without telling them about practice tomorrow. Then send a group text message to cancel practice tomorrow morning 15 minutes before it started.

Show these f**ks the same level of disrespect they showed him, the rest of the coaches, the GM and the owner.

Edited Wednesday at 03:22 AM by Big Guava

[GASabresIUFAN]

Apparently Pegula's pep talk didn't work.  Wow! I'm almost sorry I missed it.  

What a giant ........

[K012010]

7 minutes ago, SwampD said:

At this point, Buffalo losing the team would be a huge relief.

Sell. The. Team.

Yep.

My buddy was listening to the Caps radio broadcast and they PBP guy mentioned that it was 6-1 and also mentioned Terry flying to Montreal and saying that he thought the solution was in the room. The color guy just went, "Boy, oh Boy." 😂

Yep. They are kinda low on talent, too.

Oh man haha. We are the clowns of the league. It’s just such a weird feeling because I think most of us have really gotten used to having a very well run organization in the Buffalo Bills. I know I have. And we have this complete clown show in the Sabres. And what makes it even more odd is the fact that it’s the same owner. 
 

I wonder how this would feel if the Bills were still the bills of the drought years. I think we have a direct example in our own city of top-tier competence at the highest level of a professional sport, this nightmare is just crystal clear by comparison. 
 

i’m obviously so happy about the Bills and it feels amazing to have an awesome team and a historically amazing player in Josh Allen at the most important position, but the Sabres going their opposite direction and just being the trash of the league is so disappointing.
 

Hockey might be my favorite sport or at least it used to be, And it just feels worse because why is one organization going in the wrong direction while the other one is ascending to probably winning a Lombardi trophy soon if not this year. It just sucks because I love hockey so much. I know that the Bills and the Sabres aren’t equal for everybody in Buffalo, but they are for me. I was obsessed with Dominik as a kid and always wanted to play goalie and always did play goalie because of him. Always wore the same facemask. And all I want is the Stanley Cup win.

Edited Wednesday at 03:24 AM by K012010

[...]

11 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

If Lindy is not lying outright, and he says they went over that very thing, how does the next day, at the very beginning of the game, half of your PKers make such a critical mistake?

Because the team is Dan Dunleavy.

[Indabuff]

2 minutes ago, K012010 said:

And what makes it even more odd is the fact that it’s the same owner. 
 

I wonder how this would feel if the Bills were still the bills of the drought years. 

I've been thinking about this all week.   How do (exclusive) Bills' fans feel about T(oilet) P(aper)?  I'm guessing they're indifferent right now based on how well the team is doing but they probably don't really trust him.   

[JP51]

12 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

If I was Lindy Ruff, I would have told the coaches on the way to the tunnel to not say a word to any of the players and walk out of the locker room to the team bus and wait for them there.

 

Then not say anything the entire trip back. Then leave without telling them about practice tomorrow. Then send a group text message to cancel practice tomorrow morning 15 minutes before it started.

Show these f**ks the same level of disrespect they showed him, the rest of the coaches, the GM and the owner.

This

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, Indabuff said:

I've been thinking about this all week.   How do (exclusive) Bills' fans feel about T(oilet) P(aper)?  I'm guessing they're indifferent right now based on how well the team is doing but they probably don't really trust him.   

The Bills are a function of Josh Allen, who is probably the best player in the league this year the the single position in all of North American sports that matters the most.

Take Allen away and put in any of the other QB's in their recent history, and they probably struggle to be .500 team.  No superstar playmakers on offense. An Offensive line that allows Defenses to get to the QB that is only saved by Allens mobility (put a statue QB back there and he'd likely be sacked 40+ times already).  A suspect defense, imagine how many points they would allow if a lesser QB allowed more 3-and-outs?

[Big Guava]

1 minute ago, mjd1001 said:

The Bills are a function of Josh Allen, who is probably the best player in the league this year the the single position in all of North American sports that matters the most.

Take Allen away and put in any of the other QB's in their recent history, and they probably struggle to be .500 team.  No superstar playmakers on offense. An Offensive line that allows Defenses to get to the QB that is only saved by Allens mobility (put a statue QB back there and he'd likely be sacked 40+ times already).  A suspect defense, imagine how many points they would allow if a lesser QB allowed more 3-and-outs?

I disagree with the OLine. They are very good...one of the best in the NFL in both pass and run blocking.

Allen has been sacked only 13 times all season, an NFL low. 

Sure, some plays Allen gets pressure but that's going to happen here and there. Most plays, especially the last month, Allen has a clean pocket.

[Slack_in_MA]

7 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

The Bills are a function of Josh Allen, who is probably the best player in the league this year the the single position in all of North American sports that matters the most.

Take Allen away and put in any of the other QB's in their recent history, and they probably struggle to be .500 team.  No superstar playmakers on offense. An Offensive line that allows Defenses to get to the QB that is only saved by Allens mobility (put a statue QB back there and he'd likely be sacked 40+ times already).  A suspect defense, imagine how many points they would allow if a lesser QB allowed more 3-and-outs?

To the bold…What? The answer is because they play as a team, and have good leadership at all levels.
 

Edited Wednesday at 03:44 AM by Slack_in_MA

[mjd1001]

3 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

I disagree with the OLine. They are very good...one of the best in the NFL in both pass and run blocking.

Allen has been sacked only 13 times all season, an NFL low. 

Sure, some plays Allen gets pressure but that's going to happen here and there. Most plays, especially the last month, Allen has a clean pocket.

I don't know, I seriously see 3-5 times a game that a less mobile QB would have been burried that Allen gets away from.

And as far as run blocking...they are OK, keep in mind that with a different/lesser QB, the opposing teams would probably play the run a bit more, and you wouldn't have to have a spy on Allen either.  I think those 2 things make the offensive line a bit less effective than they look now.

When I watch the Bills, I just see Allen making plays, and setting up plays, and making things easier for everyone on the team, including the offensive line, than any other QB I have ever seen for the Bills. Its a waterfall effect, everything gets harder if he isn't there. Every single position on the team has a challenge to look as good as they do now without Allen out there.

Edited Wednesday at 03:46 AM by mjd1001

[HumanSlinky39]

37 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Tage is not a #1 center.

One of the biggest problems with this team is that we have a pair of wingers as our #1 and #2 Centers. Cozens and Tage should be on the wing. Of course, you do that...who are your top 2 centers? McCleod, Krebs or Kulich? Adams has bungled the roster construction so badly, your top 2 lines stink because they have mediocre centers running them. Let Tage loose on the wing in a Draisaitl kind of role. He's a talented scorer, but doesn't have the hockey sense to center a top line. Same with Cozens. Take the pressure of centering a line off of him and i bet he's a 60 point guy, easy with some talented linemates. 

This roster is so poorly constructed and deployed it's unbelievable.

Edited Wednesday at 03:54 AM by HumanSlinky39

[Second Line Center]

33 minutes ago, Billznut said:

Just more proof it was beyond idiotic to give Cozens and Tage letters. Wonder if that was solely a Ruff decision or a collaborative one from up higher. 

Everything is collaborative after many conversations and more conversations in Hockey Hell.  
 

Then Pegula gives final say.  
 

He thought Ville Leino was awesome.  
 

That’s who essentially your Team president is.  
 

The guy that gave Ville Leino that contract.