How do you honestly feel about this team

[JP51]

Very interested in peoples thoughts here... I am between toxic relationship and I despise this... 

[Weave]

6 minutes ago, JP51 said:

Very interested in peoples thoughts here... I am between toxic relationship and I despise this... 

Honestly, if you treat it more like an entertainment source and less like a meaningful part of you, it doesn’t hurt at all.

It’s like the middle Star Wars trilogy is playing right now.  At some point there will be a Rogue One and you can buy in then.

[PerreaultForever]

Toxic and disappointed and just whatever, growing numb. 

Being old it's near impossible to switch teams and so it feels like a toxic trap because I just don't see how next year will be any different than this year and on it goes. My optimism is gone as they just pass up opportunities and basically just don't do much of anything to change things. 

[Demoted]

I dont know if there is anything that could be done with this team. I have no idea where the problem is...

 

Is it the GM being a loser?

Is it the HC just too old to get these guys to play?

Are the players mostly garbage?

Is Pegula not allowing the front office to spend money?

Is it all of the above?

[Stoner]

All of the above?

[msw2112]

I'm bummed out/disappointed that the Sabres suck, but it doesn't really impact my life that much.  For me, it's a little bit more than entertainment, as I played hockey and grew up attending and watching Sabres games (with my father, grandfather, brothers, and friends), so there are some sentimental ties to the team that I wouldn't have to an actor or movie, but I still enjoy my life, my job, and my family and just accept that my favorite hockey team is terrible.

Edited Tuesday at 09:25 PM by msw2112

[DarthEbriate]

This team is ###### psycho, man. But, they're my mate, so what can you do?

[Wyldnwoody44]

It's like being gaslight on a daily basis, but it's either them or no team. What kind of choice is that!? 

 

I don't like the makeup of this team, I think they're soft. But I'm not sure it's on the individual players, someone with some hockey acumen from above is paid to make these decisions. 

[Flashsabre]

I feel that nothing changes until Terry sells. And it’s so sad

[Indabuff]

18 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

This team is ###### psycho, man. But, they're my mate, so what can you do?

The lassie got glassed

[tom webster]

On one hand, if I look at it as Lindy’s first year, I should be filled with optimism. They have fixed their first period issues, they are now number four in five on five scoring, number eleven in goals per game and are the youngest team in hockey. They should be able to fix the lingering issues.

 

On the other hand, it feels like I’ve said the same thing since Adams took over and I have come to believe he has no idea how to take the extra parts and turn them into a true team instead of a collection of prospects and young talent.

 

And all of this is further diminished by the belief that the owner still hasn’t proven that he will do whatever it takes to end this cycle.

 

And finally, I can’t believe that a sixty five year old guy living a fairly blessed life still gives a damn and just wasted another five minutes thinking enough to write this.

[Scottysabres]

I love hockey, I love my, our Sabres.

That being said, I feel I’ve licked a poopy flavored lollipop these past 14 years or so.

[Porous Five Hole]

I’m addicted to this franchise. I was playing a game with the family tonight called Loaded Questions. The question was what is the one thing you would wish for in this lifetime?

My wife went first and said health and happiness for all of her family and friends.  
 

I said one Sabres Stanley Cup win before I die. And I meant it.  

[Rasmus_]

For the first time in my hockey fandom, I just don't get excited about the sport.  Pegula/Adams and the front office just don't give a **** about anything.  If they do, they have a piss poor way of showing it.  

6 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

I’m addicted to this franchise. I was playing a game with the family tonight called Loaded Questions. The question was what is the one thing you would wish for in this lifetime?

My wife went first and said health and happiness for all of her family and friends.  
 

I said one Sabres Stanley Cup win before I die. And I meant it.  

I've seen the other teams I root for win.  I'd trade a large majority of those to see the Sabres hoist the best trophy in professional sports.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, tom webster said:

On one hand, if I look at it as Lindy’s first year, I should be filled with optimism.

I was filled with optimism as I know many others were as well. It was the first time we had an experienced NHL hockey coach, a guy who has won in this league, as the coach since the tank. It felt poised to make the big move forward. But then the assistants were all the same with Appert called up and that deflated me. Then they didn't spend to the cap and more air drained out and then they didn't spend any of that prospect capital to fill the holes and my optimism ended not with a bang but a whimper. 

[SABRES 0311]

Disinterested at this point. Something to watch after working all day but no emotional attachment to meaningless games. 

[Archie Lee]

8 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I was filled with optimism as I know many others were as well. It was the first time we had an experienced NHL hockey coach, a guy who has won in this league, as the coach since the tank. It felt poised to make the big move forward. But then the assistants were all the same with Appert called up and that deflated me. Then they didn't spend to the cap and more air drained out and then they didn't spend any of that prospect capital to fill the holes and my optimism ended not with a bang but a whimper. 

This is largely how I felt, though my peak off-season optimism was when they fired Granato, which was quickly deflated when they almost immediately hired Ruff. Up until the Ruff hiring, I had convinced (tricked) myself into believing that when the time came to win that Pegula/Adams would pivot to ensuring the organization behaved like a normal NHL team. We would do an actual search for the right head coach. That coach would bring in a new assistant or two. We would make one or two prominent off-season personnel moves (not just 4th line changes). We would spend like a team that plans to win. We would be proactive if things were not going well. We would no longer worry about kids being blocked. Then we hired Ruff in what was an obvious charade intended to bring back a public-relations-nostalgia-hire who the owner and GM were comfortable working with and who would accept their preferred terms (2 year deal, no new coaches).  This cemented for me that the Sabres are simply not a normal NHL team; the goal of winning has been displaced by a hundred sub-goals related to cost and personality and fear and apprehension. 

It’s too late now though. I’m in until the end.  

[JP51]

I want to be optimistic... but I honestly feel nothing but hopelessness when you are in your second decade of being a laughing stock... the Owner doesnt recognize the main issues, and the Front Office is not only clueless in obtaining and retaining critical players... but lacks the ability to develop the ones we have, and just for fun locks us into huge contracts for players or at least some that actually ARE the problem...  and then are porky when we question what is going on...  yet... here I am ... 

[PromoTheRobot]

I think they are very talented but can't figure it out.

[R_Dudley]

What team? 

They don't regularly play like the team I used to know and love, disappointment and disgust now replace that.  

[Stoner]

Honesty? @Sabres Fan in NS

Honestly the thing that is keeping me engaged and hopeful is humility of all things. I am deathly afraid of pulling the plug now, then having the daring vision of Tervyn come to fruition.

Now, if that doesn't come to pass, and Terry doesn't make the wholesale change he'd clearly need to make, all bets are off. It would be akin to Ralph taking a home game to Trono, a sign he had no interest in winning. That move was the nail in my Bills coffin.

[GASabresIUFAN]

It's complicated.

I am a life long Sabres fan and may even want them to win a Cup more than I want the Bills to win a Super Bowl and that is saying something.

From a player standpoint, I believe there are building blocks of a good NHL team.  Thompson, Dahlin, Byram, Benson, JJP and maybe Kulich are something for competent management to build around.  Tuch and UPL are solid pieces as well.  

The problem ultimately lies with ownership and management.  Adams and Pegula are destroying the franchise.  As long as they are in charge this team is DOA.  I have tried to remain a little hopeful that they get a clue and between the approaching deadline and this coming off-season they add defensemen who can defend and a top 6 playmaker for the offense, but even that scant hope is in short supply.  

Edited 8 hours ago by GASabresIUFAN

[GASabresIUFAN]

16 hours ago, tom webster said:

And finally, I can’t believe that a sixty five year old guy living a fairly blessed life still gives a damn and just wasted another five minutes thinking enough to write this.

It's called being a fan.  I became a grandfather in Jan and immediately put the baby in a Bills onesie.  I, like you, have lead a pretty blessed life, but that doesn't stop me from wanting a few things I have always wanted; championships for my teams.  

[OverPowerYou]

17 out of 20 of our players are 1st or 2nd round picks. Maybe they need to add some veterans but nobody in the Sabres front office listens to me.

 

it’s like Kevyn Adams forgot what it was like to be on a Stanley cup winning team

 

we can easily do it with the talent, we just need veteran leadership

 

im In a toxic relationship 

[HumanSlinky39]

I've been a fan since the late-80's, so I'm not going anywhere, but holy hell it's hard to love this team. The last 15 years have been impossibly rough, but I've never been more frustrated as a fan than I have been this season.

I foolishly let myself get sucked in late in the 2022/23 season when they had all of these young guys playing legitimately really good hockey as that season closed. I truly thought we were FINALLY on our way to being an actual contender again. Then 2023/24 happened, but honestly, it didn't bother me that much because young teams sometimes regress in the process. I thought we were a good coaching staff from getting back on track.

Then, last spring, they didn't even do a real coaching search. They just went for the easy nostalgia hire. Now, I love me some Lindy. I loved many of the teams he coached here in his first go round and they provided my best memories as a Sabres fan. But, he's had very mixed results since leaving 14 years ago and I could not reconcile how bringing in the definition of a retread really moved this team forward. Then strapping him with a dollar store coaching staff really bothered me. BUT, I kept an open mind and thought (hoped?) Lindy could get the most out of those guys. As so often happens, optimism was abound as the season drew close and I bought into these guys putting it back together and returning to their spring-2023 form. It didn't take more than a couple of games to see that the same issues that plagued them in 2023/24 were still there and it was more than just having an "off season" last year. The problem is that this is a poorly constructed roster and most of these guys just do not know how to win.

I'm done with Adams. He's in his 5th season as GM and is fully responsible for the mess. His roster strategy of loading up on "skilled" players with no regard for how these pieces fit together to form a cohesive unit has utterly failed. He has failed to add the type of veteran pieces that can elevate a roster because he doesn't want to "block" his guys. Has it increased the overall talent level? Absolutely. Are we anywhere close to being a team that is a legitimate playoff contender? No. No we are not. As constructed, this is a massively flawed team that lacks leadership, grit, hockey IQ, and the ability to roll out lineups that compliment each other. I also think Lindy needs to be a one and done. I know the turnover of coaches since TP has come on is absurd, but that's not a reason to stick with a coach who has failed to make the team better. Hell, they're worse than they were last year with much the same roster.

How do we move forward? The easy answer is TP needs to move on from Adams and install a front office structure that eliminates him wholly from the decision making and that understands how to build a winning team/culture. No more nepotism hires. Go outside the organization and find somebody with fresh/uncompromised eyes to audit the organization from the top down. Focus on accountability and a merit-based approach. Hire an experienced GM that understands how to build a roster. Hire an experienced coach that knows how to win. I do not think we need a full tear-down rebuild, but reshape the roster in their vision.

Do I think any of the above will happen? No I do not. I've seen nothing from TP's 15 years of ownership that indicates he has any clue how to hire the right people. If, and it's a big IF, he moves on from Adams/Lindy I expect another internal promotion in the front office and Seth Appert as the new HC. Which almost certainly leads to more of the same.

Pessimistic? You bet. But this is where we are. An endless cycle of stops and starts, firings and hirings, and more wasted years.