GDT: Boston @ Buffalo 7pm EST

[shrader]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

The Funny thing is...imagine they wet on a 30 game winning streak.  That would put them at 103 points with 2 games to play in the season.  That would make them the 10th -12th best team in the league (recent history that is where 102 points get you.)

If there was ever a team that would wet themselves during a winning streak, it’s this one. 

[Stoner]

I apologize all. I've been using my late wife Marlene's pill organizer, unwittingly, since last Sunday. She was a master planner and had her pills all set up for the next four years. It hasn't been the same since she departed. It also hasn't been the same since Björn went back to Sweděn.

[DarthEbriate]

39 minutes ago, Stoner said:

Anyway let's nip this one in the butt... "The Sabres would have made the playoffs but for the losing streak."

They are 8-7-1 since the streak ended.

And their record before the streak was probably not playoff caliber, either.

Hoppe's gonna Hop and Lysowski is gonna Lyso anyway.

11-9-1 pre-streak and 8-7-1 since. If they follow suit and go 7-6 during it...

They're 26-22-2. 54 points. One point behind upstart Columbus and in tenth place overall. Then, an EP trade discussion could be season- and franchise-altering. Instead, it's mere future fancy.

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, Stoner said:

I apologize all. I've been using my late wife Marlene's pill organizer, unwittingly, since last Sunday. She was a master planner and had her pills all set up for the next four years. It hasn't been the same since she departed. It also hasn't been the same since Björn went back to Sweděn.

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

The season is a lost cause.  Trying to win every night should be a given, and I don't believe in any other way.  Always try to improve the team and win games.  

The fact that this GM could be safe for another season kills all of my urges to play "what if" with trade proposals and roster options.  I don't want him trading big pieces.   I want real change and I want a proven NHL Exec with a winning pedigree running things for a change.  

I have a trip planned to Buffalo, we have a family event and I added Super Bowl weekend to the trip in anticipation of something great happening. 

Cant wait to get down to Florida afterwards.   Time to move on .... 

       

Dan Snyder, the former owner of the Washington Commanders, was responsible for his franchise's demise just as Terry Pegula is responsible for this franchise's demise.  Both owners preferred playing with their toys rather than seriously creating a professional operation to run their franchise. Once Washington was able to shed its sleazy owner the franchise was quickly resurrected. I don't expect Terry P to sell but my hope is that he comes to the realization that when it comes to hockey that he is blatantly inept. It starts at the top!

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, Stoner said:

Nope. Astute hockey people know it means nothing.

So what are you arguing for? Giving up and not playing to win. I recognize that this is a lost season from a playoff standpoint but I'm not buying players should dispiritedly play out the string. How about showing some pride and character. Absolutely not for me! 

[DarthEbriate]

24 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Dan Snyder, the former owner of the Washington Commanders, was responsible for his franchise's demise just as Terry Pegula is responsible for this franchise's demise.  Both owners preferred playing with their toys rather than seriously creating a professional operation to run their franchise. Once Washington was able to shed its sleazy owner the franchise was quickly resurrected. I don't expect Terry P to sell but my hope is that he comes to the realization that when it comes to hockey that he is blatantly inept. It starts at the top!

The Washington Team Footballs also drafted an excellent, amazingly composed, quarterback who immediately began winning them games. QB is the NFL cheat code.

Add a Prime Hasek or a Full-season-Vezina-run goalie and you see similar impacts for a hockey team.

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

The Washington Team Footballs also drafted an excellent, amazingly composed, quarterback who immediately began winning them games. QB is the NFL cheat code.

Add a Prime Hasek or a Full-season-Vezina-run goalie and you see similar impacts for a hockey team.

There is no question that drafting the special qb has made a huge difference. But since jettisoning the former sleazy owner there has been a complete makeover of the organization and staffing. I believe that even with the addition of the scintillating rookie qb that franchise would still be struggling because the owner wanted to stay involved with the football operation. The obvious point is that ownership matters!

[mjd1001]

12 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

The Washington Team Footballs also drafted an excellent, amazingly composed, quarterback who immediately began winning them games. QB is the NFL cheat code.

Add a Prime Hasek or a Full-season-Vezina-run goalie and you see similar impacts for a hockey team.

For me its not how quickly they turned it around, we won't know that until/unless Pegula sells, if there is any correlation.

The issue is how bad they were with him. I think he owned Washington for what, 24 years? And in that time they won a total of 2 single wildcard games.

As far as the Sabres go, how could this team never miss the playoffs for more than 3 seasons (yes, decades ago more teams made the playoffs, but still), and they had a pretty good team when led by a guy who didn't care about hockey that much so was hands off (Golisano), and then Pegula steps in saying he is a big fan and IS involved, and the team becomes one of the worst stories in the history of North American major professional sports.

Through their history....the Sabres when they had a somewhat-to-totally hands off owner = pretty good results.  With Pegula tinkering with things = worst results probably in the history of the nhl.

Edited Wednesday at 07:27 PM by mjd1001

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Dan Snyder, the former owner of the Washington Commanders, was responsible for his franchise's demise just as Terry Pegula is responsible for this franchise's demise.  Both owners preferred playing with their toys rather than seriously creating a professional operation to run their franchise. Once Washington was able to shed its sleazy owner the franchise was quickly resurrected. I don't expect Terry P to sell but my hope is that he comes to the realization that when it comes to hockey that he is blatantly inept. It starts at the top!

I don't think Terry Pegula is in the same category as Dan Synder.  I think he is a decent man that is well intended.  I just want more effort to find someone that has the leadership and the NHL hockey know-how to restore the franchise, just like he did with the Bills.    The Sabres need a top down cleansing.  

Until then I wont go to hockey games, and it pains me to have to do that.  

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

For me its not how quickly they turned it around, we won't know that until/unless Pegula sells, if there is any correlation.

The issue is how bad they were with him. I think he owned Washington for what, 24 years? And in that time they won a total of 2 single wildcard games.

As far as the Sabres go, how could this team never miss the playoffs for more than 3 seasons (yes, decades ago more teams made the playoffs, but still), and they had a pretty good team when led by a guy who didn't care about hockey that much so was hands off (Golisano), and then Pegula steps in saying he is a big fan and IS involved, and the team becomes one of the worst stories in the history of North American major professional sports.

Through their history....the Sabres when they had a somewhat-to-totally hands off owner = pretty good results.  With Pegula tinkering with things = worst results probably in the history of the nhl.

In one year, the new regime got rid of most of the previous regime's draft picks because they didn't fit in with the concept of how they wanted to reconstruct the team. Another thing they did that could apply to the Sabres is that they brought in 4-6 high character veterans who although were on their downside were still able to contribute and influence a dramatic change to the culture in the locker room. They were the models for being a pro that the younger players learned from. This was quite a change in a very short time. 

I'm not a Pegula fan. I'm tired with how he has structured this organization in a manner that has kept him in the forefront of all hockey decisions. My hope is that after a near generation of failure he might come to his senses and recognize that he has to do things differently, i.e. hiring the right staff, most notably the GM position, and allow them to do their jobs. The irony is that's exactly what he has done with the Bills. And the outcome is dramatically different from his mocked hockey franchise. Doesn't this self-made billionaire have any freaking pride?

[Stoner]

3 hours ago, inkman said:

You are a little too smart to be uttering this so I’ll assume you did it with tongue firmly pressed in cheek.  
 

 
The expression nip it in the bud means to put a quick end to something. This phrase comes from the garden but has branched out. When a leaf or flower is beginning to form, it's just a little bud, and if you nip it — cut it — then it won't grow. You nip it in the bud.

 

I can't type what I want to.

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I don't think Terry Pegula is in the same category as Dan Synder.  I think he is a decent man that is well intended.  I just want more effort to find someone that has the leadership and the NHL hockey know-how to restore the franchise, just like he did with the Bills.    The Sabres need a top down cleansing.  

Until then I wont go to hockey games, and it pains me to have to do that.  

I don't want to be misunderstood: Terry Pegula from a character standpoint is an upstanding person. He's the opposite of the sleazy Danny Snyder who also presided over a failed franchise. Where there are similarities between the two billionaires is that both were very much involved in the operations and also structured the organization and staffed it with sycophants who would tolerate their self-sabotaging involvement. Again, these two fellows from a character standpoint are the opposite from each other. I want to make that clear. 

Danny Snyder is a disgusting human being. The pornographic culture he promoted in the organization and the crude and abusive manner women were treated are a testament to how much of a low-life he was. He's a rich fellow but also a disgusting human being.   

[shrader]

22 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I don't think Terry Pegula is in the same category as Dan Synder.  I think he is a decent man that is well intended.  I just want more effort to find someone that has the leadership and the NHL hockey know-how to restore the franchise, just like he did with the Bills.    The Sabres need a top down cleansing.  

Until then I wont go to hockey games, and it pains me to have to do that.  

And then there’s the very different results in the NFL between the two. I know where he was going with the comparison, but sometimes it’s best to just go a different way. 

[msw2112]

22 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I don't think Terry Pegula is in the same category as Dan Synder.  I think he is a decent man that is well intended.  I just want more effort to find someone that has the leadership and the NHL hockey know-how to restore the franchise, just like he did with the Bills.    The Sabres need a top down cleansing.  

Until then I wont go to hockey games, and it pains me to have to do that.  

While I'm not a big fan of fracking, I largely agree with the comment above.  Snyder is a giant a-hole and the NFL couldn't wait to get rid of him.  Pegula is a good guy who has done a great job with his football franchise and a lousy job with his hockey franchise.  When he ultimately finds the right management team for the hockey team, that team will be fine.  It's been a long wait and the wait continues, but he'll eventually get it right, even if by blind luck.

[Thorner]

On 1/29/2025 at 11:18 AM, DarthEbriate said:

11-9-1 pre-streak and 8-7-1 since. If they follow suit and go 7-6 during it...

They're 26-22-2. 54 points. One point behind upstart Columbus and in tenth place overall. Then, an EP trade discussion could be season- and franchise-altering. Instead, it's mere future fancy.

Removing your worst stretch of the season (and a large one, at that) and finding that over the course of all the other games your team paced for a mere 89 points over 82 games, a mark good for 19th overall last year, in YEAR 5 of your rebuild where you haven’t made the playoffs once, is absurdly bad 

89 points this year would have been absurdly bad for year 5 

89 points as a pace only after removing a THIRTEEN game losing streak lends into question the sanity of me taking the time to make this post 

On 1/29/2025 at 12:58 PM, JohnC said:

So what are you arguing for? Giving up and not playing to win. I recognize that this is a lost season from a playoff standpoint but I'm not buying players should dispiritedly play out the string. How about showing some pride and character. Absolutely not for me! 

The players won’t be liable to be held accountable until those with much more power, are. Management and ownership itself are not accountable, because they preached playoffs being the goal this year and failed to approach the roster in good faith relative to that statement. Fielding the youngest roster in the league while spending bottom 10 is not a team prioritizing winning. 

Asking the kids to do what the grown ups won’t?