To be clear, it has nothing to do with peoples opinions. As you all know, I love to debate. Its just that the snark in the debate reminds me so much of twitter. Part of it is that nothing changed over a long offseason, so the same debates happened over and over. In that sense, there was nothing wrong with ejecting for a while. So many people wanted to dwell on the same stuff over and over again, and that isn't for me.

I also loved Hockey Hotline and the post-game shows.
- Slump Buster

The GM did so little, the debate turned into whether you believe he is right or not, and it compounded.

For clarity, the GM was not correct.

The GM did so little, the debate turned into whether you believe he is right or not, and it compounded.

For clarity, the GM was not correct.
- washedup20

There are still 17 games left to decide that.

Depending on the results this week, things will get highly interesting

There are still 17 games left to decide that.

Depending on the results this week, things will get highly interesting
- Swedish_Jesus

The toe of your show has worn off from kicking this can down the road my friend...time for steel toe boots.

Meatballs
- Jet Jaguar BD

Interesting, think Donny is that bad or is it that you think coaching has a bigger affect in general?

You can't let people's opinions about the Sabres get to you. Having terrible and strong opinions about the Sabres is nearly as old as the club itself. When I was young I enjoyed the Empire Sports call in post-game show more than the game itself.
- Buffalo--Sabres

Yup it was great. MSG has a quick pre and post game. They could do a lot more. But they don’t

Properly funny:



https://www.instagram.com...igsh=MXZ6dXo5aTd5Z2VvZA==

The GM did so little, the debate turned into whether you believe he is right or not, and it compounded.

For clarity, the GM was not correct.
- washedup20

Everyone agreed that the GM wasn't doing enough. We all have different opinions about what he should do. Hearing people whine about it all day (or worse, the last 13 years) just became excessive.

One other thing that I think I got right: I wasn't impressed with the moves that Detroit or Ottawa made in the offseason, and that has been true. Sure, Detroit has been better than us for most of the year and are more likely to make the playoffs. Even if they did, that is NOT a team that is going anywhere anytime soon. My interest is winning a cup and not just to make the playoffs. As a franchise, we are still in a great spot. We'd be in a better spot if the questions about the gm, coach and owner did not exist.

(And this is NOT to absolve Adams for not making more moves)

The GM did so little, the debate turned into whether you believe he is right or not, and it compounded.

For clarity, the GM was not correct.
- washedup20

I think the overall Sabres roster prior to the trades was talented. I think Donny and his horrible huge long list of mistakes adds up.

He’s is the major problem.

Also the PP coach should also get canned.

I think Adams roster wise has done okay.

Donny would overplay Okpsoso
Not scratch Erik Johnson
Bench Ryan Johnson

The Sabres would be down by a goal with 3 minutes left and there goes Okposo and girgensons over the boards.

His forward lines are a trainwreck.

Robinson was on our 1st line 2 games ago. Like Kulich even if he had 1 leg. Couldn’t be called up to play those minutes?

Greenway at center? Head scratcher

Krebs benched when he was playing well.

I could go on and on. But I won’t.

Donny has made so many fireable decisions. Even if they are small. Those small issues add up

You could be definitely be right, and they did try sticking him back with Tage/Tuch to start. I don't know, I'm hoping they see the wheels are coming off that wagon pretty fast.

At this point I'm just hoping he can get back to his old ways. While I've never liked his game, if he's putting up points at least he's helping. Right now, to me, he's a big anchor on any line he's on. Passing and effort have really been poope all year.
- QuinnFan

Are you sure the wheels are coming off quickly due to age and not due to injury?

I think you can sum it up this way: both Adams and Granato were "fine" for a team that was tearing things down. Neither of them are suitable for a team with any sort of high expectations.

I think the overall Sabres roster prior to the trades was talented. I think Donny and his horrible huge long list of mistakes adds up.

He’s is the major problem.

Also the PP coach should also get canned.

I think Adams roster wise has done okay.

Donny would overplay Okpsoso
Not scratch Erik Johnson
Bench Ryan Johnson

The Sabres would be down by a goal with 3 minutes left and there goes Okposo and girgensons over the boards.

His forward lines are a trainwreck.

Robinson was on our 1st line 2 games ago. Like Kulich even if he had 1 leg. Couldn’t be called up to play those minutes?

Greenway at center? Head scratcher

Krebs benched when he was playing well.

I could go on and on. But I won’t.

Donny has made so many fireable decisions. Even if they are small. Those small issues add up
- Sabretooth9

Very well said. If you listen to Adams closely, I think he is frustrated with Meatballs as well.

I've been pleasantly surprised by Robinson, although he surely does not belong in the top 6. He still looked better than Greenway in the top 6, and that should tell you something. I like Greenway on the 3rd line, but he looked downright awful when elevated. It is just so amazing that these clowns would get looks over Krebs.

Actually, out of curiosity, if you could fire one of them today...

Adams or Granato? The other has to stay for 2 years minimum afterwards though.
- QuinnFan

Donnie.

Adams gave him a wild card team on paper, we aren’t a wild card team today.

Is criticism of Adams warranted ? 100%. With the cap space and assets we have, we should have strived for more than just “getting in”. But not getting in at all to begin with will fall on the coach.

Everyone agreed that the GM wasn't doing enough. We all have different opinions about what he should do. Hearing people whine about it all day (or worse, the last 13 years) just became excessive.

One other thing that I think I got right: I wasn't impressed with the moves that Detroit or Ottawa made in the offseason, and that has been true. Sure, Detroit has been better than us for most of the year and are more likely to make the playoffs. Even if they did, that is NOT a team that is going anywhere anytime soon. My interest is winning a cup and not just to make the playoffs. As a franchise, we are still in a great spot. We'd be in a better spot if the questions about the gm, coach and owner did not exist.

(And this is NOT to absolve Adams for not making more moves)
- Slump Buster

The oversight of this approach (not caring about making the playoffs only winning the cup) is that there is a roster signed long term and you don't even know how they perform in the playoffs, which we all can agree is a completely different (harder) game than the regular season.

Donnie.

Adams gave him a wild card team on paper, we aren’t a wild card team today.

Is criticism of Adams warranted ? 100%. With the cap space and assets we have, we should have strived for more than just “getting in”. But not getting in at all to begin with will fall on the coach.
- Swedish_Jesus

To be fair, we also don't know what kind budget limitation that he is working with. The fact that we don't weaponize cap space like other teams do should tell us a lot about the owner. But we can say for a fact the he could have done more in the current budget.

Hey guys, I took a few months off from this board after spending a summer arguing. To be honest, the snark gets to me after a while.

With a few months of hindsight, this is how I am seeing things.

Things That I Think We All Agree On (to varying degrees)

- Adams still isn't aggressive enough. I was fine not going shopping for big-name free agents, but more should have been done over the last 2 years to fill in our shortcomings. It cost us a playoff spot last year (when D injuries hit), and it probably will again this year (bringing back the 4th line was moronic). I damn near lost my poope when I heard they were negotiating with Gus.
- Granato might not be the guy. Lineup choices, line combinations, etc. I don't need him to yell and screen in public, but I do need him to make obvious decisions. Why is Greenway playing in the top 6 while Krebs languished on the 4th line? Why does he regularly pair D together that have proven not to work well when looking at the data? Why does Skinner ever see the ice with less than 3 minutes to go (or overtime)?


Things That I Think I Got Right

- The goalies. I thought that one would rise to the top, and it happened. I still think that Levi was fine as the backup (his stats were average), but it was wise to send him down once UPL established himself. Thankfully we didn't go shopping for the likes of Jack Campbell and so many others. Remember people falling over themselves over the Devil's goalies? Its voodoo, and should be treated as such.
- The D. Well, kind of. People obsessed over who was physically capable of playing x minutes, and I thought that was nonsense. Don't get me wrong - EJ was still a giant mistake (we all agreed on that), and Clifton is disappointing. The point is that nobody talks about minutes.
- Not being jealous of every freaking move that everyone else made. As per usual, the majority of the moves made were terrible. I don't get doing something *just because*, but things clearly needed to be done (especially after the Quinn injury).
- Not being obsessed with bringing in people with cups to teach the kids. Listening to Adams talk about EJ before the season or Gus now, it made me sick. Bring in good hockey players, and don't coddle them.

Things That I've Moved On (A bit)

- I was never against making a hockey trade. In fact, I am all for it. But now I think it is necessary. We need another top 6 forward. The problem is that Skinner's contract is going to make things dicey in a couple of years. Either way, that can be dealt with. Also, the fourth line needs to be so much more than it is today. That should be easy enough to do - I worry that Adams doesn't see it that way (again, see comments on gus).

The Byram Trade


I couldn't give a rat's arse how many LHD we have. If you can make this trade, you do it every time. His ceiling is so high. I got a chance to watch him in person on saturday - he very much reminds me of Montour as he is always lurking. He was so noticeable all over the ice, and I hope his attacking style rubs off on 25 and 26 as they haven't done as much of it as they used to.

Offseason Moves

- Skinner has to be moved at any price. If that means retaining and attaching a giant asset to him, you do it. You can't win a cup with him on your top line, and his contract limits us in a year or two.
- Move on from one of Joker or Clifton. They are both bottom-pair D and you can't pay both of that money in the bottom pair. Or more on from both.
- A hard-to-play against 4th line.
- Top 6 winger. Let the kids fight over who plays on the 3rd line.

The future is still incredibly bright, but I worry about the coach and GM. And I guess by extension, the owner. I wonder if he also falls in love with prospects and players too much (as I know I have been prone to do). Losing has become acceptable.
- Slump Buster

This is the best Sabres blog someone has written in weeks.

On the point below, if you mean an all kids line, or even a veteran Center with kid wingers, if they're planning on being a serious team next season, it would be a problem, especially on the road, when opposing coaches would crush the kid line on matchups.

Let the kids fight over who plays on the 3rd line.

I think the overall Sabres roster prior to the trades was talented. I think Donny and his horrible huge long list of mistakes adds up.

He’s is the major problem.

Also the PP coach should also get canned.

I think Adams roster wise has done okay.

Donny would overplay Okpsoso
Not scratch Erik Johnson
Bench Ryan Johnson

The Sabres would be down by a goal with 3 minutes left and there goes Okposo and girgensons over the boards.

His forward lines are a trainwreck.

Robinson was on our 1st line 2 games ago. Like Kulich even if he had 1 leg. Couldn’t be called up to play those minutes?

Greenway at center? Head scratcher

Krebs benched when he was playing well.

I could go on and on. But I won’t.

Donny has made so many fireable decisions. Even if they are small. Those small issues add up
- Sabretooth9

A year ago Donnie was the prospect whisperer and the best coach since Lindy....he is a product of the enviornment built by the GM. You are correct that all of the moves you noted are horrible, I agree he should not be the coach, but at the end of the day, the problem is so deep in Buffalo you need the head to be removed, not the hands

Everyone agreed that the GM wasn't doing enough. We all have different opinions about what he should do. Hearing people whine about it all day (or worse, the last 13 years) just became excessive.

One other thing that I think I got right: I wasn't impressed with the moves that Detroit or Ottawa made in the offseason, and that has been true. Sure, Detroit has been better than us for most of the year and are more likely to make the playoffs. Even if they did, that is NOT a team that is going anywhere anytime soon. My interest is winning a cup and not just to make the playoffs. As a franchise, we are still in a great spot. We'd be in a better spot if the questions about the gm, coach and owner did not exist.

(And this is NOT to absolve Adams for not making more moves)
- Slump Buster

I liked your earlier write up, and thought you were spot on for most of it. I think that top 6 winger you mentioned needs to have a heavy, aggressive game, and I thought you were way too easy on a GM who has thrown one, likely 2 playoff appearances away, and a coach who continuously fails to do his job.

So that’s where I draw the line. It is not “whining” to point out the flaws when they never change. If you wanted to hear something less repetitive then you’d have needed to be in a different message board for another team. Year after year after year of questionable GM and coaching decisions. What would you have us discuss then? Such a weird take

The oversight of this approach (not caring about making the playoffs only winning the cup) is that there is a roster signed long term and you don't even know how they perform in the playoffs, which we all can agree is a completely different (harder) game than the regular season.
- washedup20

Fair point. But my argument would be that if you got guys that are good enough to just get you over the threshold (as I believe Detroit has done), you're going to need different guys anyway to get you to the top. I'd rather just start out trying to get those guys. I'd aim to build the roster the way it should be built for a cup, even if that requires a longer view. This is probably where I butt heads the most with people here.

This is also where I worry the most about Adams. I have loved the few trades he made, and they have obviously drafted well. I have no reason to think that he is worried enough about roster contstruction.

Very well said. If you listen to Adams closely, I think he is frustrated with Meatballs as well.

I've been pleasantly surprised by Robinson, although he surely does not belong in the top 6. He still looked better than Greenway in the top 6, and that should tell you something. I like Greenway on the 3rd line, but he looked downright awful when elevated. It is just so amazing that these clowns would get looks over Krebs.
- Slump Buster

I like Robinson as well. But he can stay on the 4th line and PK.

Are you sure the wheels are coming off quickly due to age and not due to injury?
- kingcong39

It's worse than that, I don't think he's worth keeping around even when he's at his best. I know many agree, and to each their own, but I wouldn't want him at half cost to be quite honest. His lack of effort in the defensive zone will always be a liability and his streakiness goes back to his days in Carolina.

However, I will say that while I don't know if it's injury related, he certainly snapped back to form against Montreal. That tells me it isn't an injury, it's desire, which is far more damning.

I liked your earlier write up, and thought you were spot on for most of it. I think that too 6 winger you mentioned needs to have a heavy game, and I thought you were way to easy on a GM who has thrown one, likely 2 playoff appearances away, and a coach who continuously fails to do his job.

So that’s where I draw the line. It is not “whining” to point out the flaws when they never change. If you wanted to hear something less repetitive then you’d have needed to be in a different message board for another team. Year after year after year of questionable GM and coaching decisions. What would you have us discuss then? Such a weird take
- SoCalPucks

I pointed out that the gm probably cost us 2 playoff appearances - how is that going easy on him? I have more questions about the coach and gm than I did last summer. I am legit concerned, and last summer I was their biggest supporter here.

Also not sure why being tired of the whining is a weird take. The problem is that it gets in the way of legit discourse. We all know the history and are tired of it. We've all been there. Having the last 13 years injected into regular conversation just gets old after a while, especially since it was the same 3 or 4 people doing it over and over. I wish we could just pin something like "we know that the last 13 years sucked" at the top of this page so that people didn't have to remind us all of the time. So yeah, I took that advice and ejected.

Fair point. But my argument would be that if you got guys that are good enough to just get you over the threshold (as I believe Detroit has done), you're going to need different guys anyway to get you to the top. I'd rather just start out trying to get those guys. I'd aim to build the roster the way it should be built for a cup, even if that requires a longer view. This is probably where I butt heads the most with people here.

This is also where I worry the most about Adams. I have loved the few trades he made, and they have obviously drafted well. I have no reason to think that he is worried enough about roster contstruction.
- Slump Buster

Valid...every player signed long term has bent when the pressure gets turned up.....in the regular season. The talent is there, why regardless of the nameplate on the back, they break when it matters?

The assumption Adams drafts well will be exposed by training camp next year IMO.

It's worse than that, I don't think he's worth keeping around even when he's at his best. I know many agree, and to each their own, but I wouldn't want him at half cost to be quite honest. His lack of effort in the defensive zone will always be a liability and his streakiness goes back to his days in Carolina.

However, I will say that while I don't know if it's injury related, he certainly snapped back to form against Montreal. That tells me it isn't an injury, it's desire, which is far more damning.
- QuinnFan

That last paragraph is a giant assumption based on your core hatred of him as a player.

I voted yes. I'd enjoy a one game play-in, or even a best of 3 with the higher seed needing to only win one while the lower seed would need to win 2, of a 7v10 and 8v9 in each conference.

>>> Would you be open to the NHL expanding their playoffs to include a play-in round?

██████████
Yes  (32.5%)
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No  (67.5%)

2.9K votes · 14 hours left

https://fxtwitter.com/NHL...dyx3FBnTBl_YcccFohtg&s=19
- kingcong39

If it's allowing even more teams into the playoffs, then that's a hard no from me.