The Total Irrelevance of the Buffalo Sabres

[Thorny]

Dahlin is elite for sure, unless elite is only like top 3? He’s an elite D man if the category gets to 10, even 5 imo

tage needs a qualifier. I don’t think he’s an elite 1C, elite goal scorer yes 

Tuch is good

Should be noted Dahlin was here when Adams got here 5 years ago, as was a Thompson. Adams hasn’t acquired a player even close to either. Tuch is his best and he traded a far better player than all players mentioned in this post to get him 

Edited March 31 by Thorner

[Palm Trees And Taxes]

If Rasmus Dahlin was on say Florida, he would have a line of 15+G 50+A +40 80+ PIM's, 25+ PPP, and lots of hits and blocks and would be a absolute Norris favorite. Dahlin is elite. What are we doing folks LOL

[dudacek]

58 minutes ago, Palm Trees And Taxes said:

If Rasmus Dahlin was on say Florida, he would have a line of 15+G 50+A +40 80+ PIM's, 25+ PPP, and lots of hits and blocks and would be a absolute Norris favorite. Dahlin is elite. What are we doing folks LOL

Despite who he plays for, Dahlin’s counting stats and his analytics are very much in the same ballpark as the Norris contenders and his physical play is better.

The Sabres are 0/8/2 with him out of the lineup and have been completely lit up on the scoresheet.

After O’Reilly, Eichel and Reinhart, I can’t believe people are still doing this stuff.

 

[PonyBoy2]

9 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

This seems to come up in every GDT when they win lately, so I got curious and I'll put it here. I know they did make a couple really heroic charges to 8th-9th place back with Ruff/Regier, but if you make the playoffs those are meaningful wins because they generate playoff revenue.

We keep saying "they always finish strong" and win a bunch at the end. This narrative needs to stop. Here are the Sabres' records in their final 20 games of each season for the last 10 years. There hasn't been a single "run" since they tanked. I simplified it to combine all losses, but it's not like there was ever a 10-1-9 record in there.

2023-24   10-10
2022-23   10-10
2021-22   11-9   
2020-21   8-12
2019-20   8-12
2018-19   4-16
2017-18   7-13
2016-17   7-13
2015-16   10-10

This '24-25 season could be their first heroic charge -- from last in the East to... 3rd-to-last? They're currently 7-4 with 9 games remaining.

What are you talking about? 

10-10, 11-9, 10-10....that's considered finishing strong for these scrubs over the last 10 years.

Well... at least it seems like to many of us on this board 😃

[PotentPowerPlay21]

Did you ever notice Kevyn Adams says he talks to Terry Pegula everyday? There's your problem. The owner should hire competent hockey people and then get the heck out of the way!!!

[Cranky old man]

3 hours ago, PotentPowerPlay21 said:

Did you ever notice Kevyn Adams says he talks to Terry Pegula everyday? There's your problem. The owner should hire competent hockey people and then get the heck out of the way!!!

Pete Guelli claims to talk to Pegula every day as well, yet nothing changes in Sabreland. Talk is cheap, just like the Sabres. Apparently they just all sit around and talk, wish, hope and think. What they don’t do is change their failed approach. That would require hiring competent professionals to run their operation. 

[PASabreFan]

15 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

This is a better way to look at it, but the results still aren't all that rosy. A few good closes in bold.

 

2015-16 
P% Before:    92%
P% Last 20:  120%    

This is the Eichel rookie season and it's a dramatic improvement and we'd probably all agree it wasn't in vain at all (at the time). Eichel/Reinhart and the Byslmas system all coming together. Bright future. (120% is still only a 98-point pace -- so typically 3rd in your division and a road playoff series. It's good and relatively great for the Sabres, but not on fire.)

2016-17
P% Before:    100%
P% Last 20:    80%

2017-18
P% Before:   76%
P% Last 20:  75%

2018-19
P% Before:    106%
P% Last 20:   50%

2019-20
P% Before:   104%
P% Last 20:   85%

2020-21
P% Before:    56%
P% Last 20:    85% 

This is also great relatively, but note that the entire 18-game losing streak that got HCRK fired is in the first portion. 85% is a 70-point pace and they'd already locked up #1 lottery odds for Power. You could also argue that it's not in vain because Granato is the new coach and he's actually a hockey coach.

2021-22
P% Before:     81%
P% Last 20:   125%  

This was a run. 125% is only 102-point pace, so not hottest-team-in-the-league, but it was a legitimate strong finish.  (Nothing like STL this season, which is 16-3-3 since the start of February.)

22-23
P% Before:    101%
P% Last 20:   102%

23-24
P% Before:    100%
P% Last 20:   101%

24-25
P% Before:   87%
P% Last 20:     7-4   off to a great start, but plenty of time remaining

This year's 62nd game is the final game of the 6-game losing streak, so games 63-82 should be better when omitting 19 consecutive losses.

My take, last 30 of one season, first 30 of next.

 

[PASabreFan]

13 hours ago, dudacek said:

I struggle with the duality of the two conversations that go on here simultaneously and constantly cause friction when they collide:

The first is about plays and news and trends and analysis of things that are going on in and around Sabredom on a given day.

The second is about 14 consecutive years of dismal failure.

I get why most seem to focus on the latter; we all cope with negative situations as best we can and it’s good for people to have a place to vent. But personally, I find conversations like this tedious. I feel like it’s obvious, I’ve heard it all, I share the frustration, I rarely have something new to add and it does nothing but put me somewhere I don’t want to be.

I still very much enjoy the other conversation stream but it’s hard when it inevitably moves into “none of this matters because the Sabres suck”. It sucks the joy out of hockey talk. It sucks the joy out of a debate over the merits of the Cozens trade, Lindy Ruff’s coaching job, or an 8-5 road win over the league’s top team.

Now to be clear, blame for this rests primarily with the Sabres, not Sabrespace.

But for me, whatever else the Sabres are, they remain primarily a hobby, entertainment, something I do for fun. The same applies to Sabrespace.

I made a point this year to take the Sabres game by game. As a result they’ve generally made me happy 31 times and unhappy 42 times. Not a great ratio, but I find it better than being unhappy all the time.

Threads like this are not fun. They embody why I havent spent as much time around here this year and probably won’t be in the weeks to come.

You must love listening to Duffer. It's SabreSpace Bizarro World. The drought does not exist, and there is constant joy, even moments after a crushing defeat.

[Demoted]

I take offense of this b.c they are nowhere near irrelevant. 

 

They are an amazing farm team for the other NHL teams in the league to poach.

[LabattBlue]

Oh goody…a heroic late season run to 9th place, which will then convince KA & TP that they are on the right path and to continue forward with status quo. 
 

SELL THE TEAM!  

[JP51]

1 hour ago, LabattBlue said:

Oh goody…a heroic late season run to 9th place, which will then convince KA & TP that they are on the right path and to continue forward with status quo. 
 

SELL THE TEAM!  

This is totally whats going to happen and we will be having the same conversation next year I am fairly certain.  That being said, I am not for a tank etc... they need to learn to win... but its just kind of our luck... 

Edited April 2 by JP51