Anonymous players spill on what went wrong this year

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

Peters and Rivet aren't my "cup of tea" when it comes to hockey podcasting.  But, they do have good insights into the mindsets of NHL players, particularly players who played similar roles to theirs. 

I listened to this particular episode of After the Whistle last night. I find Harrington and Hamilton very hard to listen to, and I typically disagree with most of their opinions. I think though, they are probably correct that Ruff will have increasing influence. What is a bit disappointing is how there is no interest in looking at Ruff's record since he left Buffalo, with a critical eye. They both clearly hold Ruff in very high esteem.  I've seen a lot of head coaches over the years who did not need half a season to diagnose and repair what was wrong with a team.  Ruff's status in the community, is just going to get him the benefit of the doubt in some circles.  The cynic in me thinks that was part of the reason for bringing him back; his presence buys time.

To bring it back to my 1st paragraph. I thought the one insightful portion of this episode came from Rivet. At one point Hamilton and Harrington, and to a lesser extent Peters, were going on about the Noesen hit on Thompson. They were in an uproar about the incident and about how in the following days Lindy Ruff had to teach these "NHL players" how to be good teammates*. Rivet, was having none of it and, I think correctly, spoke up for the players on the ice and said that they are likely good teammates and that they are players who just don't have it in their make-up or skill-set to respond to such incidents. He then pointed out that years ago if something like that happened when Pominville, Roy, and Vanek, were on the ice, none of them would have done anything. Rivet's view was that this falls on bad roster construction and that you need multiple players dotted through your line-up who are willing and able to respond either in the moment or in the aftermath.

* Perhaps interesting that the two big "the players don't stick up for their teammates" incidents (Lucic/Miller, Thompson/Noesen), came with Ruff as head coach.  

It was interesting that they (I think to a man) believe that Samuelsson is done as a Sabre due to the Noesen hit.

It reminded me very much of how Gaustad wore the response on Miller.

Stuff like this always fascinates me in terms of group psychology: why do certain things take hold the way they do? 

Dozens of big hits happen without response throughout the season and throughout the league every year. Dozens of guys are guilty of not responding. A year later, most people would struggle to recall 3 of them, but a decade later everybody remembers Lucic on Miller.

I bet a lot of you might say something like "teams just don't overcome that". I think that's probably because we don't remember the ones they did overcome. I mean I've seen people blaming Lucic on Miller for the 14 years of no playoffs. I mean seriously? There's one player left from that team in the entire league.

The actual hit and the response literally had no tangible impact on goals for and against — then or since. But the impact of the story that grew up around it is immense.

Why that particular one and not others? I'm sure there's reasons but it's crazy, and seems kinda capricious how things can take hold in our minds.

Sorry, just random musings.

(Personally I think Mule is done as a Sabre too, but because of his ***** play)

Edited 7 hours ago by dudacek

[Archie Lee]

3 minutes ago, dudacek said:

It was interesting that they (I think to a man) believe that Samuelsson is done as a Sabre due to the Noesen hit.

It reminded me very much of how Gaustad wore the response on Miller.

Stuff like this always always fascinates me in terms of group psychology: why do certain things take hold the way they do? 

Dozens of big hits happen without response throughout the season and throughout the league every year. Dozens of guys are guilty of not responding. A year later, most people would struggle to recall 3 of them, but a decade later everybody remembers Lucic on Miller.

I bet you a lot of you might say something like "teams just don't overcome that". I think that's probably because we don't remember the ones they did overcome. I mean I've seen people blaming Lucic on Miller for the 14 years of no playoffs. I mean seriously? There's one player left from that team in the entire league.

The actual hit and the response literally had no tangible impact on goals for and against — then or since. But the impact of the story that grew up around it is immense.

Why that particular one and not others? I'm sure there's reasons but it's crazy, and seems kinda capricious how things can take hold in our minds.

Sorry, just random musings.

(Personally I think Mule is done as a Sabre too, but because of his ***** play)

I agree so much with the bolded.  My view is that if something like this happened in a Panthers game, as an example, and the Panthers did not immediately respond and then after the game the narrative was "It was a one goal game and we didn't want to risk a penalty", they would have credibility because everyone knows there are no shortage of players on the Panthers who are willing to respond, plus they win a lot.  When you are a team like the Sabres and you lose a lot and you have a reputation for being soft, then "it was a one goal game...", doesn't really hold water as an excuse.

I found, by my observation, that most of the "improved responses" that we saw after the Noesen hit, were half-hearted and performative.  

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

It was interesting that they (I think to a man) believe that Samuelsson is done as a Sabre due to the Noesen hit.

It reminded me very much of how Gaustad wore the response on Miller.

Stuff like this always fascinates me in terms of group psychology: why do certain things take hold the way they do? 

Dozens of big hits happen without response throughout the season and throughout the league every year. Dozens of guys are guilty of not responding. A year later, most people would struggle to recall 3 of them, but a decade later everybody remembers Lucic on Miller.

I bet a lot of you might say something like "teams just don't overcome that". I think that's probably because we don't remember the ones they did overcome. I mean I've seen people blaming Lucic on Miller for the 14 years of no playoffs. I mean seriously? There's one player left from that team in the entire league.

The actual hit and the response literally had no tangible impact on goals for and against — then or since. But the impact of the story that grew up around it is immense.

Why that particular one and not others? I'm sure there's reasons but it's crazy, and seems kinda capricious how things can take hold in our minds.

Sorry, just random musings.

(Personally I think Mule is done as a Sabre too, but because of his ***** play)

How many other blatant hits on a goalie can you remember? I just doesn’t happen. That’s why we remember it.

[JohnC]

55 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Isn’t that what a director of hockey operations does?

Whether you want to give him the title or not, that’s what he is. Lindy answers directly to him.

Is the owner acting as a director of the hockey operations and usurping that role for himself? I can't say for sure. Probably so. As an owner, he can do whatever he wants. He can be frugal or be profligate with his team payroll. He can interfere with the hockey operations or not. He can do what he wants. The owner can structure the organization any way he wants. Again, as an owner that is his prerogative. And that's why he is a failure. As demonstrated by his tenure as an owner, his record is dismal and embarrassing. 

It's pointless to get enmeshed in what he does or doesn't do. It's pointless to argue about what the best structure for the organization should be. What most people can agree with is that the owner has hired inept upper staff, most notably KA as his GM, to lead this floundering franchise. Anyone who has been in the work world knows recognizes that placing inept upper staff is a recipe for failure. 

I have, and so have many others stated, that success/failure starts at the top. Terry Pegula is a buffoon in the manner he has operated an NHL franchise. Until he dramatically alters how he runs this woebegotten franchise, little will change. 

I don't want to be totally pessimistic. There are encouraging signs that he will soon make some changes within the organization that will hopefully alter the course of this lost franchise. How will he do that? Hiring a qualified GM and empowering his hockey staff to do their jobs without interference by this know-nothing owner. Will he do that? TBD. 

[SwampD]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Is the owner acting as a director of the hockey operations and usurping that role for himself? I can't say for sure. Probably so. As an owner, he can do whatever he wants. He can be frugal or be profligate with his team payroll. He can interfere with the hockey operations or not. He can do what he wants. The owner can structure the organization any way he wants. Again, as an owner that is his prerogative. And that's why he is a failure. As demonstrated by his tenure as an owner, his record is dismal and embarrassing. 

It's pointless to get enmeshed in what he does or doesn't do. It's pointless to argue about what the best structure for the organization should be. What most people can agree with is that the owner has hired inept upper staff, most notably KA as his GM, to lead this floundering franchise. Anyone who has been in the work world knows recognizes that placing inept upper staff is a recipe for failure. 

I have, and so have many others stated, that success/failure starts at the top. Terry Pegula is a buffoon in the manner he has operated an NHL franchise. Until he dramatically alters how he runs this woebegotten franchise, little will change. 

I don't want to be totally pessimistic. There are encouraging signs that he will soon make some changes within the organization that will hopefully alter the course of this lost franchise. How will he do that? Hiring a qualified GM and empowering his hockey staff to do their jobs without interference by this know-nothing owner. Will he do that? TBD. 

So, you say he’s not the defacto director of hockey operations, and then list everything he’s done, as the defacto director of hockey operations.

And I don’t know what I would do with myself if I didn’t argue over meaningless *****.

[dudacek]

13 minutes ago, SwampD said:

How many other blatant hits on a goalie can you remember? I just doesn’t happen. That’s why we remember it.

LOL. So you're expecting me to disprove my point by remembering the hits I said no one remembers 😜

(The goalie factor is definitely something that makes that one stand out more than, say the two we saw on Kulich this spring.)

Edited 6 hours ago by dudacek

[SwampD]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

LOL. So you're expecting me to disprove my point by remembering the hits I said no one remembers 😜

(The goalie factor is definitely something that makes that one stand out more than, say the two we saw on Kulich this spring.)

That’s all I’m saying.

I agree with you.

[Demoted]

On 4/22/2025 at 12:23 PM, dudacek said:

Interesting follow-up piece by Lance Lysowski, who says there was a large disconnect between Ruff and the players in the 1st half of the season and internal griping about Adams dating back to the start of the previous season.

"And, according to multiple veteran players, the frustration of losing led to some griping over factors that were out of their control."

Players were griping about and second-guessing the defensive coverage and PP schemes in particular and not connecting with Lindy's sense of humour. They were also upset about and mocking of Adams' palm tree presser.

Dating back to the previous year, some loved Benson, but Adams' choice to keep him, Levi and Ryan Johnson in 2023 instead of acquiring veterans for those roles and using Erik Johnson more wasn't seen internally as being in line with wanting to win.

Lance says Adams focus changed in response — he pushed Granato to stop preaching patience and made the Byram, McLeod, Zucker and Ruff moves. The Cozens move was made to further shake the room. Ruff's connection with the players has improved over the course of the year and his influence with Terry has grown.

"New faces and different personalities will join the Sabres this summer. The defense needs upgrades. Dahlin and Thompson should be surrounded by more experienced leaders. Adams’ annual end-of-season meeting with Pegula will determine and finalize staff changes, one of which may include a new title for the embattled general manager.

The coach isn’t going anywhere, though, and the foundation of the roster will be the same. In some ways, the team’s culture will reset and must be earned again."

https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/article_02242795-b912-4558-9618-34c8990e7ed0.html

Just more blah, blah, blah finger pointing. 

[dudacek]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

It was interesting that they (I think to a man) believe that Samuelsson is done as a Sabre due to the Noesen hit.

It reminded me very much of how Gaustad wore the response on Miller.

Stuff like this always fascinates me in terms of group psychology: why do certain things take hold the way they do? 

Dozens of big hits happen without response throughout the season and throughout the league every year. Dozens of guys are guilty of not responding. A year later, most people would struggle to recall 3 of them, but a decade later everybody remembers Lucic on Miller.

I bet a lot of you might say something like "teams just don't overcome that". I think that's probably because we don't remember the ones they did overcome. I mean I've seen people blaming Lucic on Miller for the 14 years of no playoffs. I mean seriously? There's one player left from that team in the entire league.

The actual hit and the response literally had no tangible impact on goals for and against — then or since. But the impact of the story that grew up around it is immense.

Why that particular one and not others? I'm sure there's reasons but it's crazy, and seems kinda capricious how things can take hold in our minds.

Sorry, just random musings.

(Personally I think Mule is done as a Sabre too, but because of his ***** play)

Sorry for quoting myself, but I think this is sorta related to the Shadeur Sanders stuff going on right now at the NFL draft.

Lots of kids yet to be drafted. Pretty much all of them because no NFL team had them #1 on their board when their turn came to pick.

Few are losing their minds over any of them, but Sanders is breaking the internet.

The only thing different about Sanders is the story that was built up around him.

[Thorny]

22 hours ago, JohnC said:

I don’t believe the big challenge is to identify what our critical needs are. Most people recognize what they are. 

EXACTLY.

It’s forever “development” and “diagnose” with this team, they are always selling things that have the connotation of more time being necessary, the implication results won’t be here in the now. They just need to stop. No one is falling for it anymore

They *seriously* are going to try to sell the idea they “figured out” what is going wrong, and they cashed ANOTHER season to do it? How many times do I need to say it? They are the youngest team in the league. They don’t spend to the cap. Those are the issues. Those are documented, demonstrable obstacles to making the playoffs. We already knew these things. 

please do not buy what they try to sell you 

They want to run a professional plumbing company that’s about leaning to plumb on the job. Results may very. Welcome fans! Welcome players! 

Edited 1 hour ago by Thorny