Buffalo Sabres & NHL 2020-2021

[K-9]

2 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

 ... The way they have run the Sabres, and how stubborn they have been is nothing short of comical.  Just hire a team President and don't get in his way.  Nobody needs to hear your 'exchange of ideas'.   Terry Pegula sounds like a low information sports fan, and I never believed the huge Sabres fan origin story.  When he speaks he sounds like the low information guy in a group watching a game who keeps making dumb or overly simplistic comments and everyone else rolls their eyes.   The over-arching pattern with this team is they always chase former high 1st round draft picks, even if they are busted out.  No rhyme or reason other than that. ...

He was a Sabres season ticket holder for 18 years as well as a youth hockey coach in Olean. Sounds like a hockey fan to me. 

[May Day 10]

So they say...  But he doesnt/never struck me as grasping the Sabres or the sport of hockey like a long-time fan.  He never seemed to get it.  Ted Black did only because he immersed himself in it, and at the time it gave the organization a flavor of 'getting it'.

 

 

 

Anyways, rumors originally made the rounds today the Sabres were 4 sale, but some of the chatter morphed into 'help' or a Team President.

[K-9]

8 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

So they say...  But he doesnt/never struck me as grasping the Sabres or the sport of hockey like a long-time fan.  He never seemed to get it.  Ted Black did only because he immersed himself in it, and at the time it gave the organization a flavor of 'getting it'.

 

 

 

Anyways, rumors originally made the rounds today the Sabres were 4 sale, but some of the chatter morphed into 'help' or a Team President.

Well, two of those “they” who have reported it are Bill Hoppe and Chuck Pollack of the Olean Times Herald; two long time and highly respected journalists in WNY.
 

Anyone who makes the commute from Olean to downtown Buffalo for every home game, parks his car on a bridge in Pittsburgh just to receive the radio play by play, or has his friend hold the phone to the radio so he can listen to a playoff game while he’s in Houston, qualifies as an obsessive fan who “gets it” in my book. 
 

Terry Pegula may be clueless as a team owner in pro sports, but he’s paid his dues as a fan over the years as we all have. And I can’t fault him for that. 
 

And Ted Black was nothing more than a yes man sycophant poser. 

[4merper4mer]

4 hours ago, ALF said:

 

He's not worth having for 40 goals at his style of play   at $9M a year  ?

Not even close.  But it would look good on a highlight reel if you ignore the 50 selfish plays he made creating goals for the opposition and the wear and tear he creates for the other 4 Sabres on the ice.  And what on God’s green Earth makes you think 40 was anything other than a contract year aberration?  
 

The Sabres are stuck with this guy for quite a while now.  It would be nice if he tried to learn to be a better hockey player but it looks like his preference is standing on the blue line waiting for a breakout.  He’s a skinnier Marcel Dareus.  

[OZBILLS]

LGI

[thenorthremembers]

10 hours ago, Greg S said:

 

The perfect example for the Pegula's to follow is Robert Kraft. He lets Bill run the show and has been rewarded with a dynasty over the past 20 years. Kraft does nothing except sign the checks and watch the games in his press box. Terry should do the same expect he might want to avoid getting his "Jimmy" waxed in massage parlors like Kraft likes to do. I doubt Kim would stand for any of that.

I mean except the time he traded Bill's backup and future starting QB to make Brady happy.  Kraft isnt some open wallet lemming for God's sake. 

[Jauronimo]

Yet another game left wondering what in the F@#$ Dahlin is doing out there.  1st and 2nd second goals against were not his fault.  3rd goal against, after Risto's horrible giveaway he leaves his man to go after the puck carrier who Risto already has and of course the man he leaves immediately receives the puck and blows right by Risto to score. 4th goal he turns the puck over, then watches the shooter as a guy blows right past him to bury the rebound which was sitting at his skates.  5th goal he just lets the puck carrier come out and walk through the crease for a slam dunk.  

 

Dahlin and Risto were on the ice for all 5 goals against.  Just pitiful.  

[oldmanfan]

So let’s say Kruger gets canned.  Then you’ll have Eichel and the rest of the underachievers say they are all in with what the new guy preaches, just like they’ve done the last two times.  And then they’ll come out and underperform.

 

Get players that want to play hockey.

[4merper4mer]

6 hours ago, Jauronimo said:

Yet another game left wondering what in the F@#$ Dahlin is doing out there.  1st and 2nd second goals against were not his fault.  3rd goal against, after Risto's horrible giveaway he leaves his man to go after the puck carrier who Risto already has and of course the man he leaves immediately receives the puck and blows right by Risto to score. 4th goal he turns the puck over, then watches the shooter as a guy blows right past him to bury the rebound which was sitting at his skates.  5th goal he just lets the puck carrier come out and walk through the crease for a slam dunk.  

 

Dahlin and Risto were on the ice for all 5 goals against.  Just pitiful.  

Vendetta against Dahlin is bizarre.

[May Day 10]

1 hour ago, oldmanfan said:

So let’s say Kruger gets canned.  Then you’ll have Eichel and the rest of the underachievers say they are all in with what the new guy preaches, just like they’ve done the last two times.  And then they’ll come out and underperform.

 

Get players that want to play hockey.

This is the 3rd time eichel has played a part in absolutely desecrating a coach.  2 of which were hand chosen to work better with his personality.

 

I think it is a combination of everything.  Just a terrible franchise that needs a new start and a thorough structuring/building

[Greg S]

9 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

I mean except the time he traded Bill's backup and future starting QB to make Brady happy.  Kraft isnt some open wallet lemming for God's sake. 

 

But he stayed out of the way and let Bill run the show. Look how that turned out. While owners are the big bosses they really need to STFU and GTFO and let their qualified people run the team. The Pegula's problem is it doesn't seem like they can find such people to run the Sabres. They have with the Bills though.

[oldmanfan]

11 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

But he stayed out of the way and let Bill run the show. Look how that turned out. While owners are the big bosses they really need to STFU and GTFO and let their qualified people run the team. The Pegula's problem is it doesn't seem like they can find such people to run the Sabres. They have with the Bills though.

I think they hoped Kruger and Adams are like McD and Beane in that they have a vision of how to build a consistent winning team, and that believe in processes to do so.  For McD and Beane to do that with the Bills they had to move a lot of players out to get guys who bought in. 
 

Which brings me again to guys like Eichel.  Is there a coach he will actually decide he wants to play for?  Reinhardt?  Skinner?  When is it about the player and not the coach?

[BillsFan4]

 

wow! Talk about an unexpected hire!

[SinceThe70s]

5 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I think they hoped Kruger and Adams are like McD and Beane in that they have a vision of how to build a consistent winning team, and that believe in processes to do so.  For McD and Beane to do that with the Bills they had to move a lot of players out to get guys who bought in. 
 

Which brings me again to guys like Eichel.  Is there a coach he will actually decide he wants to play for?  Reinhardt?  Skinner?  When is it about the player and not the coach?

 

When the coach allows it to be that way.

 

[oldmanfan]

6 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

When the coach allows it to be that way.

 

Right.  So when he sat Skinner for basically being a big tub of goo on the ice, how many people got on Kruger instead of Skinner?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

wow! Talk about an unexpected hire!

I thought there's a clause somewhere saying a Sutter or Plager must be somehow involved in NHL activities at all times? 🤔

[BillsFan4]

https://theathletic.com/2426679/2021/03/05/former-sabres-captains-weigh-in-on-teams-woes-a-whole-new-kind-of-unwatchable/
‘Former Sabres captains weigh in on team’s woes: ‘A whole new kind of unwatchable’ (athletic sub. req.)

 

Quote

The Athletic reached out to five former Buffalo Sabres captains for unvarnished thoughts about their kindred club.

 

Quote

What I hear from my friends and ex-teammates throughout the league is not nice. The Sabres are a mess. As much as it hurts me to say, they’re a laughingstock. I don’t like hearing that. I had a lot of success in Buffalo. I’m proud of my time with the Sabres. I want them to be good, especially for the fans.

 

Players are getting crushed for their performance on the ice, but it goes a lot deeper than that. There isn’t any consistency within the organization. Leadership starts from the top and trickles down throughout, but there has been such a high rate of turnover at the top that it’s almost impossible to tell what the team’s identity is. Everything changes every couple years. You’re almost starting from scratch.

 

So you might want to plant your flag and say, “This is going to be the start of long-term stability. We are going to stick this out.” Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have the right people just because you insist on keeping them around. I don’t think they have the correct people in place, and a lot of other NHL people doubt these are the correct people because of how it was done. The league is shaking its head. There are so many highly qualified people in the NHL, and it bothers me when I hear the laughter that the Sabres’ GM was running their junior program a year ago.

 

Everything they do just seems so forced. The Pegulas need guidance to bring that winning attitude within the organization.... (continued in link)

interesting read.

Edited March 5, 2021 by BillsFan4

[Jauronimo]

3 hours ago, 4merper4mer said:

Vendetta against Dahlin is bizarre.

He's playing like ***** and was on the ice for 5 goals against last night.  Until it elevates to a point where I'm starting threads like "Idi Defense-Amin" or "Premier Stahlin" and taking shots at him in 5 other threads around the board, I wouldn't call it a vendetta.

[BillsPride12]

8 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

This is the 3rd time eichel has played a part in absolutely desecrating a coach.  2 of which were hand chosen to work better with his personality.

 

I think it is a combination of everything.  Just a terrible franchise that needs a new start and a thorough structuring/building

The arena's a dump but that's the least of our worries right now 

[SinceThe70s]

10 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

Right.  So when he sat Skinner for basically being a big tub of goo on the ice, how many people got on Kruger instead of Skinner?

 

I'm not a Sabres fan so I don't know the details but from a distance it looks like Kruger has lost the locker room.  Apparently the other night the Rangers studio guy blew up the Sabres effort after the game. If true, I put that on the coach.