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

[Believer]

10 hours 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. 

Samuelson as an A is laughable. 

[Nitro60]

10 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

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 

Last I saw the owner does not lace up the skates and plays.  

[ska-T Palmtown]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

I'm in the minority in my positive view of Power. He's not a banger and never will be. He's more of a skater and finesse style of player. I'm confident that as he gets older, he will get stronger and will play a tougher game. If this dumb organization put him on the market, there would be a lot of teams salivating to get this young player with a lot more potential to tap into. The shame of it is that he is stuck here to wallow in this garbage pile of franchise.  

His hockey talent is undeniable. I am constantly amazed by even 'crappy' teams like Montreal in how they nearly always have players in better positions for breakouts than the Sabres do. The Sabres D finally get the puck, they look up and Quinn is at the far blueline already, JJ is standing on the wall right next to an opposing player (not open) and the center? Do they even know they are playing center? Rarely does a forward cycle back towards the D to help them. I think a fair amount of the "turnovers" from the D-men are due to such horrible breakout options.

[sabresouth]

1 minute ago, Believer said:

Samuelson as an A is laughable. 

Agreed. I think it was a big mistake to make dahlin captain. Yet another failure by ka by not bringing in vets that know how to win. And made them captain. 

[Archie Lee]

8 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I'm not disagreeing that this team is fragile. However, if that fluke play wouldn't have happened, the Sabres would still have gotten pummeled. The play was disorganized throughout the game. Individually, our players are not bad. If you put them on a pro functioning team, they would thrive. But from a team composition standpoint, this team is disjointed. 

It just seems to me that both the coaching staff and the players can't get on the same page and react as a team. Everyone is scrambling around, and the concept of team play has been lost. Sandlot hockey might work in midget hockey but it certainly doesn't work in the NHL. 

Players have lost their confidence. They expect bad things to happen leading to an onslaught. It's so sad that things have gotten to such a low point. The diminishing fan base deserve better. This franchise has become the laughingstock of the league. What more can be said that already has been said. Simply pathetic!

Agreed. The context of the situation that has developed is unique. The players of course are responsible for their own performances, but in the big picture I believe they have been hung out to dry by bad mgmt. The Sabres are 13 years out of the playoffs and their GM made no truly meaningful off-season acquisition to address the top 6 forwards or top 4 D. Then, before they even got home from Prague there are stories floated about how the GM is looking to do something big, meaning he doesn’t believe in the team. Now that he has failed to do anything and has blamed it on geography and has let things slip to the point of no return, he tells them it’s all good and not to expect him to do anything to make the team better. At this point, it would be an act of mercy to trade any of our players. 

[SwampD]

34 minutes ago, Nitro60 said:

Last I saw the owner does not lace up the skates and plays.  

No. He just gives pep talks that result in last night’s performance. Ugh.

This sucks.

[SwampD]

I still can’t get past Tuch’s drive by attempt last night. I mentioned rollerblading last night and that’s it. He looked like a high school rollerblading all-star at a shinny game.

Edited Wednesday at 03:03 PM by SwampD

[JohnC]

10 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Agreed. The context of the situation that has developed is unique. The players of course are responsible for their own performances, but in the big picture I believe they have been hung out to dry by bad mgmt. The Sabres are 13 years out of the playoffs and their GM made no truly meaningful off-season acquisition to address the top 6 forwards or top 4 D. Then, before they even got home from Prague there are stories floated about how the GM is looking to do something big, meaning he doesn’t believe in the team. Now that he has failed to do anything and has blamed it on geography and has let things slip to the point of no return, he tells them it’s all good and not to expect him to do anything to make the team better. At this point, it would be an act of mercy to trade any of our players. 

My growing concern is that our best players (Dahlin most notably) will get so frustrated with being stuck in this hopeless situation that they will demand to be dealt. You don't think that there are some pangs of jealousy when they see former teammates (who demanded out) such as Eichel, Reinhart and ROR hoisting the Cup? You don't think that Dahlin sees that his friend, Mitts, is happier with his new team and will feel some envy when he sees Mitts playing in the playoffs while he is on the couch watching the postseason games again? How many road games are played in raucously full arenas while the Sabre home games are played in front of half-filled sleepy and agitated audiences? And don't you think that the players take notice that when the Sabres play the Maple Leafs at home, it seems like a road game? 

The players are very much aware that the franchise they play for is a league joke. You don't think that it bothers them that their place of employment is universally mocked? There is a lot of mention that a lot of players don't want to come here to this toxic waste site. There is an even more worrisome problem that the players here are desperate to get out of this manure pile. 

The irrefutable truth is that through its own ineptitude the organization put itself in this pitiful situation. It didn't have to be this way. An accumulation of bad decisions has sunk this franchise into the depths of irrelevancy. So freaking pathetic!

[mjd1001]

42 minutes ago, Nitro60 said:

Last I saw the owner does not lace up the skates and plays.  

That is one of the most laughable explanations I have heard.

An inept dictator of a nation may not be the one pulling the trigger on the guns, but his lack of leadership or knowledge can be the reason for losing a battle or war.

An terrible CEO may not be putting the rivets in to connect the bed to the frame of the truck, but he/she may be many times more responsible for the demise of a great automobile company.

Stu inman didn't take a shot or make a pass on the floor for the Trailblazers anytime in the 1980's, but he did draft Sam Bowie when Michael Jordan was sitting on the draft board (and Bowie was NOT the consensus pick by others due to his injuries.)

An excuse for an owner or other member of leadership (GM, team president) like the one you listed above is one of the laziest, shallowest, and mis-guided in all of sports.

[JohnC]

44 minutes ago, Nitro60 said:

Last I saw the owner does not lace up the skates and plays.  

The owner doesn't skate. But what he did do is hire an ill-equipped person to be his GM, and kept him on the job for five years. During that interlude, his franchise has degenerated to being a laughingstock franchise in the league. He elevated a person that no organization would have even considered for the position, let alone allow to interview for the job. Common sense 101: If you put an incapable driver in your race care, expect a crash and casualties!

[Pimlach]

If I was on the Canadians team, and I heard that Terry came to address his team, in MY BUILDING, and the result was a canceled practice I would be dying to play that game.  
 

The Montreal team was fired up and not gonna lose that game last night. 

Edited Wednesday at 03:53 PM by Pimlach

[Stoner]

1 minute ago, Pimlach said:

If I was on the Canadians team, and I heard that Terry came to address his team, in MY BUILDING, and the result was a canceled practice I would he dying to play that game.  
 

The Montreal team was fired up and not gonna lose that game last night. 

Great point. Terry picked the game he thought most likely to produce a win. No way in Hell he waltzes into the Spectrum.

[JohnC]

52 minutes ago, ska-T Palmtown said:

His hockey talent is undeniable. I am constantly amazed by even 'crappy' teams like Montreal in how they nearly always have players in better positions for breakouts than the Sabres do. The Sabres D finally get the puck, they look up and Quinn is at the far blueline already, JJ is standing on the wall right next to an opposing player (not open) and the center? Do they even know they are playing center? Rarely does a forward cycle back towards the D to help them. I think a fair amount of the "turnovers" from the D-men are due to such horrible breakout options.

 It's stunning to see so much disorganized play at this level. Chaotic play leads to more chaotic play. There is such a stark difference when you watch a Sabre game compared to when you watch other games. You can be unschooled in the game of hockey and still recognize that qualitative difference in play. Pathetic!

[LTS]

[ASlugAbove]

Next games are vs TOR, BOS, NYI, CHI, STL, DAL, COL, VGK, WSH......they win, MAYBE 1?  

[DarthEbriate]

Just now, ASlugAbove said:

Next games are vs TOR, BOS, NYI, CHI, STL, DAL, COL, VGK, WSH......they win, MAYBE 1?  

The game versus Chicago will be for last place in the league. I like the Sabres' chances.

It's been way too long since a Pegula-era Sabres squad was last in the league.

[ASlugAbove]

11 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

The game versus Chicago will be for last place in the league. I like the Sabres' chances.

It's been way too long since a Pegula-era Sabres squad was last in the league.

So 1 win. They have a legit shot at going 1-19 which I will root for at this point 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Stoner said:

Great point. Terry picked the game he thought most likely to produce a win. No way in Hell he waltzes into the Spectrum.

I don't know if he picked that game for any reason other than he was in Detroit and the next game was in Montreal.  

Seem like these kinds of meeting are best held at home and made to fit into the teams schedule.  Maybe not great to interrupt a scheduled practice either.  But he is the POHO and owner so anything goes I guess.  

He runs this team like its the OYHHLD.  

Edited Wednesday at 04:30 PM by Pimlach

[Stoner]

7 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I don't know if he picked that game for any reason other than he was in Detroit and the next game was in Montreal.  

Seem like these kinds of meeting are best held at home and made to fit into the teams schedule.  Maybe not great to interrupt a scheduled practice either.  But he is thre POHO and owner so anything goes I guess.  

He runs this team like its the OYHHLD.  

That might just catch on. It took 18 months for OSP to catch on.

[Pimlach]

23 minutes ago, Stoner said:

That might just catch on. It took 18 months for OSP to catch on.

OYHHLD = Olean Youth Hockey House League for Development (oiled) was a last minute change for me.  

OYHHL = Olean Youth Hockey House League (oil), was the original thought.  Since they are in perpetual development and it added a past tense feel to it, I preferred oiled. 

So OYHHLD it is.  

[DarthEbriate]

15 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

OYHHLD = Olean Youth Hockey House League for Development (oiled) was a last minute change for me.  

OYHHL = Olean Youth Hockey House League (oil), was the original thought.  Since they are in perpetual development and it added a past tense feel to it, I preferred oiled. 

So OYHHLD it is.  

Do the graduates go to Sabres University?

[TRIP65]

16 hours ago, Kristian said:

Triple A** GM?

That explains why he looks like Butthead from Beavis and Butthead, at least.

Base Ball reference but AHL level. Adams does have a Cartoon look to him.

[Billznut]

12 hours ago, Believer said:

Samuelson as an A is laughable. 

Yep him too. 

[bunomatic]

14 hours ago, SwampD said:

I still can’t get past Tuch’s drive by attempt last night. I mentioned rollerblading last night and that’s it. He looked like a high school rollerblading all-star at a shinny game.

Before the game during the skate he’s fast. He goes all out. But you’ve got to mention the hair. How could you forget that hair. Oh the humanity.

[Big Guava]

On 12/17/2024 at 10:44 PM, mjd1001 said:

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.

This simply doesn't match up with reality. I am guessing you don't watch enough other teams play football to have any real comparison points.

 

Edited Thursday at 12:14 PM by Big Guava