shrader Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 1) I do want them win tonight and make the playoffs , as I am sick of people who say tanking does not work...it obviously does and the Leafs are a great example of how quick it can happen. Just casue it has not happened in Buffalo, does not mean the strategy was wrong. Let's not pretend that Toronto's approach was a one year plan. They've been in rebuild practically since the 2006 lockout. This will be only the second time they've made the playoffs during that time. There's been a couple different resets during that time, but they've definitely been acquiring this current group of players for several years now. The main difference between their tank and Buffalo's is that it came at the end of their retooling. Ours was the start.
JohnC Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 Let's not pretend that Toronto's approach was a one year plan. They've been in rebuild practically since the 2006 lockout. This will be only the second time they've made the playoffs during that time. There's been a couple different resets during that time, but they've definitely been acquiring this current group of players for several years now. The main difference between their tank and Buffalo's is that it came at the end of their retooling. Ours was the start. It was a universal belief by the hockey experts that the Sabres were entering this season ahead of Toronto in the rebuilding process. What went wrong? Our GM miscalculated how poorly staffed his defensive corps was. It went from being not only a weak spot to an exploitable liability that couldn't be masked. It's not unfair to say that it dragged down the team in general. I agree with you that the Toronto rebuilding process has been in place for a few years. And so has ours. In fact, most hockey experts believed that we were one to two years ahead of them. The glaring hole on defense sucked the juice out of the rest of the lineup to the point that it wasn't good enough to overcome the weakness on the blue line. Toronto had a number of recognized young talent that most people thought were a year or two away. It was that young talent that mushroomed together and played at a high level faster than most thought. Give them credit for the year that they have had (playoffs or not). They are the surprise team while the Sabres are the disappointing team, at least for me.
BillsFan4 Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 Let's not pretend that Toronto's approach was a one year plan. They've been in rebuild practically since the 2006 lockout. This will be only the second time they've made the playoffs during that time. There's been a couple different resets during that time, but they've definitely been acquiring this current group of players for several years now. The main difference between their tank and Buffalo's is that it came at the end of their retooling. Ours was the start. Agreed. I've been saying this for a while now. People like to say that this is only Toronto's 2nd (or 3rd) year rebuilding, and I just don't see it that way at all. Look at all the players they have from previous rebuilds - Rielly, Kadri, Bozak, Gardiner, JVR, Connor Brown. Those are all guys that are big contributors to the Leafs current success, and all of them have been with the Leafs longer than a couple/few years. Kadri was drafted in 2009... The Leafs just didn't tear it down the same way the Sabres did. Sabres went scorched earth, total rebuild. The Leafs current rebuild is more of a re-tool of previous rebuilds. They kept a lot of talent from previous teams. Buffalo didn't do that. The other MAJOR difference is coaching (and probably management IMO). Babcock blows Bylsma out of the water. It's not even close IMO. And Shanahan is proving to be a top, top end NHL exec. I am very impressed with him. He's done a fantastic job in Toronto. The book is still,out on Tim Murray, but I think he may have screwed up by trying to speed hints up so much and trading away so many assets. Thinking about what could have been from just that 2015 draft alone really bugs me some days. Toronto definitely went flying by us in their rebuild. But I also think maybe people thought Toronto was going to continue tearing down the team this year. I kept reading how JVR, Bozak and more would be traded away. But they kept them instead and they've been contributing more than anyone thought. Their rookies have been very surprising as well. Auston Matthews is about to hit 40 goals! Who would have ever thought that?! Man that's nuts! Marner and Nylander have also been fantastic. Nobody thought they'd come in and contribute so much. I get it. It's hard not to be jealous of Toronto. I know I am at times. They still have some nice talent in the pipeline too, and their rookies look miles ahead of some of ours. But I am willing to be patient with the Sabres. Our rebuild was just different than theirs, and their coaching is far superior. I do like what Toronto is doing though. They are drafting for speed and skill. Talent is their #1 priority. Buffalo is drafting for size and toughness, along with speed and skill. I feel like Tim Murray is building a team more in the Western conference mold and Toronto is building a team that seems to fit the direction the East is currently going (but NHL trends are constantly changing). We will see which works out better. Ultimately, you have to beat a western conference team to win a Cup. But you have to go through multiple eastern conference teams to get there...
row_33 Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 I hate the Leafs as much as anyone else, and am torn on if I want them to make the playoffs or not, or even win the game tonight. 1) I do want them win tonight and make the playoffs , as I am sick of people who say tanking does not work...it obviously does and the Leafs are a great example of how quick it can happen. Just casue it has not happened in Buffalo, does not mean the strategy was wrong. 2) I dont want them to win tonight...as they have back to back tomorrow against the Caps, then Tampa comes to Toronto, Then they finish with Pittsburgh and Columbus..who both could still be battling for home-ice in their opening round series against each other. Be fun to watch another epic Leaf collapse, like game 7 few years back. Leafs were in a playoff spot when they 100% tanked in January 2015. They pulled the plug on the NHL.com message board for the team that very minute. Also helps to bring in greats for execs and coaching staff, and timed it right for a very very good #1 pick in Matthews. It's a bit early to have swagger for this team, but it's coming together nicely and very watchable. Lou and Babcock know what to do over the offseason to further the situation well.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 I will be at the Sabres/Habs game on Wednesday... Cant wait!!! CBF
plenzmd1 Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 No Olympics for the NHL...i have mixed feelings on this.
row_33 Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 No Olympics for the NHL...i have mixed feelings on this. Canada can't tank a game against France in the opening round and then "courageously" and "against all odds" get the gold medal?
4merper4mer Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 Lou and Babcock know what to do over the offseason to further the situation well. And the Sabres are stuck with a douche bag who is 1 part caustic and 1 part clueless. Clearly Bylsma has been far from perfect but I think it is hard to totally judge him given the miscalculated roster that Murray put together. Thinking you are smarter than everyone, talking down to people and being generally belligerent is actually a management style that can work if you are actually smarter than everyone. When you're an idiot it flames out fast. This year's Sabres were evidence of that and Murray still thinks he is the smartest guy in the room. It probably took Babcock 4 seconds to realize that when he considered the job. The Sabres aren't winning jack until Murray is gone gone gone. He sucks.
snafu Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 Let's not pretend that Toronto's approach was a one year plan. They've been in rebuild practically since the 2006 lockout. This will be only the second time they've made the playoffs during that time. There's been a couple different resets during that time, but they've definitely been acquiring this current group of players for several years now. The main difference between their tank and Buffalo's is that it came at the end of their retooling. Ours was the start. Lamoriello > Murray Babcock > Bylsma
4merper4mer Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 Lamoriello > Murray Babcock > Bylsma Lamoriello>good GM>average GM>bad GM>open position>pile of crap>nepotized obnoxious loser trying to act cool all the time GM Murray should really just have an ounce of dignity and hand in his resignation. But dignity looks like a ship that sailed on him quite a while ago. He needs to be fired. Either way GTFO
snafu Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 Lamoriello>good GM>average GM>bad GM>open position>pile of crap>nepotized obnoxious loser trying to act cool all the time GM Murray should really just have an ounce of dignity and hand in his resignation. But dignity looks like a ship that sailed on him quite a while ago. He needs to be fired. Either way GTFO Have you settled on your position yet? Stop equivocating.
Dante Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 No Olympics for the NHL...i have mixed feelings on this. I think I'm ok with it. It screws with the schedule way to much. If I was a owner/coach I really don't want my players getting injured either. They earn their money with the club. Hockey Canada or US Hockey doesn't pay the bills.
BillsFan4 Posted April 3, 2017 Posted April 3, 2017 Man, 3-0 Leafs already... Matthews with his 39th goal. 69 points. Just broke the Leafs rookie record. That's amazing. But man I HATE losing to Toronto. Buffalo needs to wake up here. I was expecting them to be fired up for this game and so far they are sleep walking. They literally don't even have a shot on net almost 10 minutes into the game. WTF
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 I just wanna say this to thebug: You are such a bug! Good luck... At least you guys won't be in the lottery. :-)
4merper4mer Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 Man, 3-0 Leafs already... Matthews with his 39th goal. 69 points. Just broke the Leafs rookie record. That's amazing. But man I HATE losing to Toronto. Buffalo needs to wake up here. I was expecting them to be fired up for this game and so far they are sleep walking. They literally don't even have a shot on net almost 10 minutes into the game. WTF Eventually teams run for the bus. And working for a douche bag like Murray makes that happen sooner.
BringBackFergy Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 Can we please cancel next year's episodes of "The Lehner Project"...this series sucks.
row_33 Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 Kadri got the sweetest revenge for getting slashed 9 times before getting the goal, score, tell the truth, get a great punch in and skate away.
BillsFan4 Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 Eventually teams run for the bus. And working for a douche bag like Murray makes that happen sooner. I haven't heard anything at all about the players not wanting to play for the Sabres because of Tim Murray. All I've heard is respect from the players for him. But there has been all sorts of stuff about how Bylsma has lost the younger players on the team and how half the team doesn't want to play for him, and how Eichel hates playing for Bylsma etc etc etc.
BillsFan4 Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 Kadri got the sweetest revenge for getting slashed 9 times before getting the goal, score, tell the truth, get a great punch in and skate away. Yeah I didn't really understand what Ristolainen was so upset about. I watched the replay a bunch of times and all I seen was Kadri getting pushed into the goalie and then cross checked/slashed repeatedly by 2 separate Buffalo Sabres, but I didn't see Kadri actually do anything. Maybe something happened that we didn't see? Kadri is a bit of a pest, it wouldn't surprise me... Ristolainen was charged up all game though. He was one of the few Sabres that actually looked engaged in the game. Half the damn team looked like they had no interest in being there.
4merper4mer Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 I haven't heard anything at all about the players not wanting to play for the Sabres because of Tim Murray. All I've heard is respect from the players for him. But there has been all sorts of stuff about how Bylsma has lost the younger players on the team and how half the team doesn't want to play for him, and how Eichel hates playing for Bylsma etc etc etc. Who hired Bylsma? How much respect did Babcock have for Murray? Who forgot to hire actual defenseman? Murray is the architect of the disaster that Bylsma can't turn around. If the players have respect for Murray it is youthful naïveté. I'm not defending Bylsma but I'm not going to slam him for being unable to make lemonade from the stream of lemons Murray dished out.
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