QCity Posted February 6 Posted February 6 The Athletic NHL player poll: Best/worst facilities? NBA-style tournament? Season too long? Should Bettman retire? A few players offered a blanket rejection of the seven Canadian teams, given the weather and the taxes and the scrutiny. But just across Niagara Falls is another frequently cited spot, as the Sabres hurtle toward their 14th straight season without a playoff appearance. "The way it's going there, Buffalo — it's just been kind of mucky there forever,” one player said. “And for me right now in my career, I don't really need that. It's not gonna help me." "High taxes, the organization hasn't been that strong recently,” another player said. “They haven't made the playoffs in like 14 years. In saying that, I have some friends there and they love playing there." “All they do is lose,” another player said. Quote
Gregg Posted February 6 Posted February 6 https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/report-maple-leafs-among-several-teams-in-the-mix-of-trade-discussions-for-sabres-forward-dylan-cozens/ar-AA1ywGpg?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=72165b42da314f01caa2cead3e5ff377&ei=13 Quote
BADOLBILZ Posted February 6 Posted February 6 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Gregg said: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/report-maple-leafs-among-several-teams-in-the-mix-of-trade-discussions-for-sabres-forward-dylan-cozens/ar-AA1ywGpg?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=72165b42da314f01caa2cead3e5ff377&ei=13 At this point, the Sabres need to be just making trades that they can win. After sitting on all these young players for years, the roster is about to start aging into that 26 year old average when teams actually start making the playoffs. So unless you can win the deal, let it play out. I heard WGR talking about a Quinn Hughes for Dahlin deal that would see the Sabres getting the perceived better player in return because the Canucks would want fellow Swede Dahlin to team up with their enigmatic young star Elias Pettersson. Edited February 6 by BADOLBILZ 2 Quote
UConn James Posted February 7 Posted February 7 This is a few days old, but yeah. Bills RT Spencer Brown showing more fire for defending Tage against a cheap shot by the Devils than the whole Sabres team. Just a terrible look and only the latest confirmation that we’ve got a bunch of cream puffs who don’t have their teammate’s back. 1 2 1 Quote
Doc Posted February 8 Posted February 8 22 hours ago, UConn James said: This is a few days old, but yeah. Bills RT Spencer Brown showing more fire for defending Tage against a cheap shot by the Devils than the whole Sabres team. Just a terrible look and only the latest confirmation that we’ve got a bunch of cream puffs who don’t have their teammate’s back. Like I said earlier, the players have talent, they're just soft. Quote
Rockpile233 Posted February 8 Posted February 8 They keep turning crop after crop of highly regarded prospects into soft teams so I still feel the problems are obviously larger. Wish I could be a fly on the wall for a month in the building to get a better beat on just how bad it is and why. They don’t have serious people in charge at any key position. Most of my life the Sabres put out a competitive team despite Buffalo not being a destination city, uncertainty at owner, threats of moving, not a lot of money, etc. They always had at least a few serious hockey people in place though… Quote
Trump_is_Mentally_fit Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Well, five was just a bridge too far 1 Quote
QCity Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Tis the time of the year when every team plays their backup goalie against us and for the rest of the season gives the illusion of a 90+ point team. Quote
May Day 10 Posted February 10 Posted February 10 On 2/8/2025 at 9:53 AM, Rockpile233 said: They keep turning crop after crop of highly regarded prospects into soft teams so I still feel the problems are obviously larger. Wish I could be a fly on the wall for a month in the building to get a better beat on just how bad it is and why. They don’t have serious people in charge at any key position. Most of my life the Sabres put out a competitive team despite Buffalo not being a destination city, uncertainty at owner, threats of moving, not a lot of money, etc. They always had at least a few serious hockey people in place though… I know when Pegula bought the team, he scrambled and read a bunch of books about hockey. He also had a few conversations with Jim Devellano that have been cited (like in Nolan's book when he says that Pegula said something like "Jim Devellano once told me that if you are going to be bad, then be really bad). I am convinced that he heard or read that toughness and fighting have no correlation to winning and success. The organization as a whole have rejected tough play throughout his ownership, and that philosophy has been accelerated through the Botterill and now the Adams regimes. To the defense of that, the rejection of toughness dates back into Regier's time. While it is tough to pick out "toughness" in analytics and stats. However, hockey can be a brutal and territorial game. Teams enjoy the physical night off they get from the Sabres. Every time the Sabres manage to crawl back in any sort of chase, and has a semi-important game, the opposition grinds them into dust. If they ever did manage to qualify for the playoffs, Im not sure they physically survive into the 4th game to get swept. Quote
Fleezoid Posted February 11 Posted February 11 On 2/8/2025 at 9:06 AM, Doc said: Like I said earlier, the players have talent, they're just soft. They need to bring this kind of fire back. Lindy is definitely the coach that can do it. We just need to see it. 2 Quote
Jauronimo Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Sweden started off slow last night and it looked like they were going to get run out of the building by Canada. A power play of Crosby, McKinnon, and McDavid just isn't fair. Big saves by Gustaffson and a highlight reel save by our own Dahlin kept them in it long enough to make a game of it. In the 3rd period, Le Confrontation des 4 Nations delivered. Not loving the 3 on 3 OT for 10 minutes but I get it. Can't have these guys going 6 OTs in an exhibition in the middle of an NHL season. Looking forward to seeing Team USA face the Fins tonight. The Fins lack the star power that the other 3 rosters have but Finland always shows up in international competition and they are never easy to play against. The World Cup of Hockey is coming back in 2028 and the NHL is sending their best to the Olympics once again. Big wins for international hockey. 1 Quote
Gregg Posted February 13 Posted February 13 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Sweden started off slow last night and it looked like they were going to get run out of the building by Canada. A power play of Crosby, McKinnon, and McDavid just isn't fair. Big saves by Gustaffson and a highlight reel save by our own Dahlin kept them in it long enough to make a game of it. In the 3rd period, Le Confrontation des 4 Nations delivered. Not loving the 3 on 3 OT for 10 minutes but I get it. Can't have these guys going 6 OTs in an exhibition in the middle of an NHL season. Looking forward to seeing Team USA face the Fins tonight. The Fins lack the star power that the other 3 rosters have but Finland always shows up in international competition and they are never easy to play against. The World Cup of Hockey is coming back in 2028 and the NHL is sending their best to the Olympics once again. Big wins for international hockey. On a Sabres note. Bettman is already on record saying they will be getting another Winter Classic once the Bills new stadium is ready to host events. Hopefully they will be a good team by then. I also am looking forward to USA vs Fins tonight. I give Sweden credit for coming back and making it interesting last night. In the first period it looked like they were going to be blown out falling behind 2-0 and not even being able to get shots on goal. For most of that period they had zero shots on goal. Edited February 13 by Gregg Quote
Jauronimo Posted February 13 Posted February 13 2 minutes ago, Gregg said: On a Sabres note. Bettman is already on record saying they will be getting another Winter Classic once the Bills new stadium is ready to host events. Hopefully they will be a good team by then. I also am looking forward to USA vs Fins tonight. I give Sweden for coming back and making it interesting last night. In the first period it looked like they were going to be blown out falling behind 2-0 and not even being able to get shots on goal. For most of that period they had zero shots on goal. It was a rough start but by midway through the second you could see the tide shifting. After Sweden got on the board they had all the momentum. I thought they were going to win it in regulation but Binnington made big stops after letting in a couple of questionable goals. OT was all Canada. Too much talent. Whats up with the Canadian fans booing Sweden? 1 Quote
Gregg Posted February 13 Posted February 13 1 minute ago, Jauronimo said: It was a rough start but by midway through the second you could see the tide shifting. After Sweden got on the board they had all the momentum. I thought they were going to win it in regulation but Binnington made big stops after letting in a couple of questionable goals. OT was all Canada. Too much talent. Whats up with the Canadian fans booing Sweden? Game was in Montreal so it's a home game for Canada. I think they said they finish the tournament in Boston so USA will be the home team then. The booing doesn't surprise me as 90% of the crowd was cheering for Canada. Mario got a huge ovation last night which was nice to see. Quote
BillsFan4 Posted February 13 Posted February 13 38 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Sweden started off slow last night and it looked like they were going to get run out of the building by Canada. A power play of Crosby, McKinnon, and McDavid just isn't fair. Big saves by Gustaffson and a highlight reel save by our own Dahlin kept them in it long enough to make a game of it. In the 3rd period, Le Confrontation des 4 Nations delivered. Not loving the 3 on 3 OT for 10 minutes but I get it. Can't have these guys going 6 OTs in an exhibition in the middle of an NHL season. Looking forward to seeing Team USA face the Fins tonight. The Fins lack the star power that the other 3 rosters have but Finland always shows up in international competition and they are never easy to play against. The World Cup of Hockey is coming back in 2028 and the NHL is sending their best to the Olympics once again. Big wins for international hockey. That was such a great game! So fun to watch. It reminded me why I used to love hockey so much before the Sabres killed my passion for the sport. lol Team Canada truly has an insane amount of talent. The speed that McDavid, MacKinnon and Makar can attack with is crazy to watch. 1 Quote
Jauronimo Posted February 13 Posted February 13 1 minute ago, BillsFan4 said: That was such a great game! So fun to watch. It reminded me why I used to love hockey so much before the Sabres killed my passion for the sport. lol Team Canada truly has an insane amount of talent. The speed that McDavid, MacKinnon and Makar can attack with is crazy to watch. I think that game would be even better were it played on an international sized rink. International hockey is amazing. I was curious as to how into the competition the players were going to be. I forgot all about the tournament until a week ago. 10 minutes before the puck dropped and there was little doubt in my mind that they were all in. The arena was rocking. Well done by the NHL attaching this tournament to the lore of the Canada Cup, Olympics, and last but not least, the World Cup of Hockey for us Americans. I still don't like him personally, but I liked what Eichel had to say about the tournament and how the young American players have been dying for an opportunity to represent their country in an international best on best. I'll be cheering for him while he wears the stars and stripes. Good luck rat face and Go USA! https://www.nhl.com/news/4-nations-face-off-projected-lines-defense-pairs-for-team-usa I like our goaltending more than any team in the tournament. I like our D. I still don't understand how Kreider and Trochek made this team over Tage. I like that second line of Matthews - Hughes - Connor. 1 Quote
Mike in Horseheads Posted February 13 Posted February 13 6 hours ago, Jauronimo said: It was a rough start but by midway through the second you could see the tide shifting. After Sweden got on the board they had all the momentum. I thought they were going to win it in regulation but Binnington made big stops after letting in a couple of questionable goals. OT was all Canada. Too much talent. Whats up with the Canadian fans booing Sweden? That was nothing compared what they will have for the US 2 Quote
Jauronimo Posted February 14 Posted February 14 USA looked excellent. Two Tkachuks on one line proved to be too many Tkachuks for Finland. Loved the physicality of Team USA which will be needed against Canada Saturday night. Matthews and Hughes showed flashes of chemistry. If that line can gel we got a nice shot at winning this thing. Defense and goaltending were excellent as I expected. Jokiharju scoring was comical. I don't think we can match Canada in terms of high end skill. McKinnon, McDavid, and Crosby on a unit is ridiculous. But I do think USA can skate with any team and our speed and forecheck will be a problem for every team. Binnington made saves when it mattered but I thought he was shaky. Advantage USA in net. Love that this game will NOT be played in Montreal. Sweden winning on Saturday puts more pressure on Canada to get a regulation win but Sweden losing pretty much makes this tournament a two team race between Canada and USA. Go Finland? Quote
May Day 10 Posted February 14 Posted February 14 On 2/11/2025 at 10:22 AM, Fleezoid said: They need to bring this kind of fire back. Lindy is definitely the coach that can do it. We just need to see it. Lindy has always been a wimp. Wimpy player and a wimpy coach with wimpy teams. this is the outlier incident. 3 3 Quote
Mike in Horseheads Posted February 15 Posted February 15 Good game this afternoon between the Fins and Swedes 4-3 in OT Finland. Lots of tempers and cheap shots good old fashion rivalry game! Nice preview of tonight... 1 1 Quote
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