Are you ready to give up on the team?

[GASabresIUFAN]

I have been a Sabres fan since year 1.  My first Sabres games was the 1st Sabres game.  I attended the first Cup finals, the two great Russian games and hundreds of home games and a fair number of away games over the years.  

This season is a critical offseason for me as a fan of this franchise.  If they run it back again, can I seriously invest more time, money and care in this moribund franchise or is it time to start again with the ATL Team 3.0?

The offseason, which is not officially even here, began at the deadline. 

The moves this offseason started with the acquisition of Norris (injured) and JBD, the re-signing of  Zucker, Greenway (injured), and Bryson (why?).  Ruff and Adams are confirmed as returning. 

Not exactly the start we were hoping for.  I wrote before the 22/23 season that we needed the following  

 

Quote

 

My approach.  

Goaltending.  I'm trading UPL.  I don't think he has anywhere near the upside of Levi and Portillo and I also don't think he's ready for NHL backup duty.  I want Levi to be the starter in Rochester next season.  I'm  acquiring through trade or free agency two NHL experienced goaltenders.  I want KA to look at Varlomov, Talbot, and Quick, but also to look at Samsonov and Georgiev.  I'm also re-signing Houser and Tokarski to mentor Levi in the AHL and Portillo in the ECHL. 

Defense I think I have 5/6 of my starters already locked in Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson, Bryson and Jokiharju.  What we need is a modern version of Toni Lydman or Teppo Numminen to partner with Power and mentor the entire young group.  This is probably the 2nd most important decision of the offseason after the goaltending.  I'd like Orlov but I don't that's realistic, but maybe Nick Jensen (Washington) or Jan Ruutta (TB) would fit the bill.  I'm also carrying 8 D this coming season. I'm also willing to include either Fitz or Bryson to help get a trade done.  If we do trade on of the them, then a 2nd vet RHD needs to be acquired or signed.

 

It's sad that 3 years later we still need a partner/mentor for Power (also now injured) and need to replace UPL with a real goalie.

I think without major improvements in the defense and goalie, I think it maybe time to move on until Adams and Pegula are gone.  This team has no chance to succeed with management that doesn't understand the issues with their organization. 

Edited Thursday at 03:19 PM by GASabresIUFAN
emphasis added.

[bob_sauve28]

They won't win the cup this year, I acknowledge that

 

It's sad but true 

[Thorner]

I don’t think KA is technically confirmed 

[LGR4GM]

Just now, Thorner said:

I don’t think KA is technically confirmed 

That's because Terry never talks about anything, ever.

[GASabresIUFAN]

16 minutes ago, Thorner said:

I don’t think KA is technically confirmed 

If he is announcing that Ruff will return, that pretty much confirms he'll be in charge of what happens to this team this offseason.  

[shrader]

26 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

That's because Terry never talks about anything, ever.

How many owners do? I have to say, I don’t really keep up on the actions of owners around sports. 

[Pimlach]

15 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

If he is announcing that Ruff will return, that pretty much confirms he'll be in charge of what happens to this team this offseason.  

Remember what he did to Jason Boterill?  

 

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Remember what he did to Jason Boterill?  

 

 

Jbot wasn’t Pegula’s pet.

[Cranky old man]

The worst owner in the NHL has driven me to give up on the Sabres. I’ve been a fan since the franchise began. No longer can my head and gut take the lies, pandering and pomposity of failure GMKA. (the poodle) This team makes lateral moves year after year. What’s-his-name spends under the cap. His pet poodle makes sure all his dirty little duties are undertaken. This team hasn’t had good, consistent goal tending in the five years of Adams oversight. That alone would have broken the drought. Every off season we talk about the same issues. Incompetence at this level has a name. J-E-T-S……jets, jets, jets. 

Edited Thursday at 05:35 PM by Cranky old man

[Pimlach]

3 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Jbot wasn’t Pegula’s pet.

He was for a time.  Terry used to talk fondly about his pedigree, and how he won championships in 3 Junior World Cups, and one in the NCAA, and maybe another in the AHL, and other such nonsense.  He was smitten with his Pittsburgh connections too.  

When JBot said "no I cannot do that" that was it.  Terry wanted JBOT to fire half the organization, including many rank and file long time working people, during Covid to help maintain his families "lifestyle".   I think the House Yacht was just being delivered too.  

I am always going to respect JBot for that.  

[Weave]

[R_Dudley]

Tough question whether I am giving up on the team that I started following in 1973-74 playing pick up hockey with the kids of different ages from the neighborhood on the ice naturally formed in a low spot in the park across the street from where I grew up.

We all knew about and some mimicked the French connection and players from those early teams and that's how I grew to know and love hockey. So give up on the team has to be a no for me unless I am willing to give up on my like of hockey as a sport. 

I did give up caring and closely following them with the current ownership, management and bull shaught version of my once favorite team and sport as currently ruined.

American football has become my favorite sport with hockey fighting to stay second while this Pegula perversion continues on with no clear hope for it ending. 

Thanks for nothing and for your version of Heaven Terry.       

[GoPuckYourself]

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

He was for a time.  Terry used to talk fondly about his pedigree, and how he won championships in 3 Junior World Cups, and one in the NCAA, and maybe another in the AHL, and other such nonsense.  He was smitten with his Pittsburgh connections too.  

When JBot said "no I cannot do that" that was it.  Terry wanted JBOT to fire half the organization, including many rank and file long time working people, during Covid to help maintain his families "lifestyle".   I think the House Yacht was just being delivered too.  

I am always going to respect JBot for that.  

There is a huge difference between being a yes man (Adams) and someone TP respected for a time (Jbot).  Adams is TP's pet.  When TP speaks Adams says yes sir right away sir.  When TP overreached Jbot stood his ground.  Adams would have kept firing people until Pegula said stop.

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

There is a huge difference between being a yes man (Adams) and someone TP respected for a time (Jbot).  Adams is TP's pet.  When TP speaks Adams says yes sir right away sir.  When TP overreached Jbot stood his ground.  Adams would have kept firing people until Pegula said stop.

Adams did just that

[PromoTheRobot]

Nope. I renewed for next year. I know you'll all be back too.

[mjd1001]

Ready to give up on them no.

There is not much they can or can't do, change or not change....there is no 'line in the sand' for me.

However, I posted this about a week ago, something hit me then.  I just didn't feel like watching anymore, I didn't care if they won, or lost. If they drafted 10th or 6th.  For the last 7-10 days, I'm feeling very little about this team. And...that is new for me. I didn't feel that way through the losing streak, through last year, or the year before..or even most of this year.  Don't know what it is...just, whatever happens, happens.   I'm looking forward to the matchups in the playoffs. The Sabres just don't matter to the league, and at this moment not to me.

The thing that gets me thinking is...this is what happened to me with Football and the Bills.  Had Bills season tickets for years and years starting when I was a teenager. Never missed a game. Memorized the rosters...all that stuff.  Even through the Bills drought I followed them a 'tad' less, but I was always there.  2-3 years ago, when the started making the playoffs with Allen being great...I just stopped caring.  No idea why  Now I barely watch half the games and if I hear Bills talk on the radio I'm usually switching the channel.  No idea why it happened, it just did.  

Edited Thursday at 06:03 PM by mjd1001

[inkman]

I’ve been ready to give up for a decade.  Am I going to?  Doubt it.  We are creatures of habit, no matter how much self loathing and self harm is involved.  

[Doohickie]

For this season?  Yeah, I think it's time to call it.

[shrader]

Giving up just now? That reminds me of the impact of Craig Anderson retiring two years ago. He was the last NHL player older than me, officially killing my dream to play pro hockey. 

[calti]

About a week ago  I watched  a Las Vegas Knights game. They play an entirely different sport from the Sabres. 

We need to get rid of every player we have. 

Not to cast any aspersions on our guys. 

[JP51]

4 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

If he is announcing that Ruff will return, that pretty much confirms he'll be in charge of what happens to this team this offseason.  

Yeah, if they are letting him do the press conference and confirm Ruff is back then Pegula is likely doing nothing... Adams will do Adams and we will suck again. In perpetuity....    I can only hope a ton of empty seats show up at games.

Edited Thursday at 07:26 PM by JP51

[HumanSlinky39]

I gave up on this team/organization as currently constructed during the 13 game losing streak. That was it for me. Until KA is fired and a capable GM is brought in, along with hopefully a POHO to buffer Terry from any kind of operational decisions, I have zero hope in the Sabres going anywhere. That said, I will still watch and root for them because they're my team and have been for 35 years. I just have zero expectations.

[St. Pete Gogolak]

Odds of missing the playoffs 14 years in a row (this of course eliminates any factor other than the math involved in 16 teams out of 32 making the playoffs in a given year):  0.006%.  Let that sink in for awhile.

*Math is 0.5 to the 13th power times 100.

[repster]

I think the more important question is: are season ticket holders ready to give up on the team?  Before this latest stretch of meaningless winning, I thought the base could go down to the 6000ish level again next year.  Then I thought, maybe the hardest of the die-hards would buy into the faint hope the team was actually and too late again, buying into Lindy’s style - which doesn’t really fit with the type of player mostly on this team, yet had them winning.  However 4 losses in a row hopefully has brought most back to reality again that changes are needed and the loudest message is to say no to next year.  It would be easy to re-up when they become a playoff team again (Bwahahaha), or at least a better team that passes the eye test, but actions speak louder than words with Terry and co.  This team does not play with enough intensity to remotely begin to imagine how they would perform in the playoffs, much less get close to it.