Michael Pachla: Are the Buffalo Sabres a bad team, as some have intimated? Not really, especially with Jack Eichel in the lineup

yost said earlier this year that there would be a lot of teams in the group where buffalo is. said that there wouldnt be much separation until somebody decides to sell. its played out pretty much how he suggested. three point games are gonna make passing teams very tough, and an outright win streak of more than a few games isnt in the cards with this team. we are what we are, incomplete.

yost said earlier this year that there would be a lot of teams in the group where buffalo is. said that there wouldnt be much separation until somebody decides to sell. its played out pretty much how he suggested. three point games are gonna make passing teams very tough, and an outright win streak of more than a few games isnt in the cards with this team. we are what we are, incomplete.
- rover16

you're probably right...but they've been becoming more complete with the return of players to the lineup and that helps...

I just can't subscribe to the notion that this is a bad team

you're probably right...but they've been becoming more complete with the return of players to the lineup and that helps...

I just can't subscribe to the notion that this is a bad team
- Michael Pachla

if all the pieces are on the ice to be a better team and they are not what is typically te cause

Michael Pachla: Are the Buffalo Sabres a bad team, as some have intimated?
Not really, especially with Jack Eichel in the lineup
- Michael Pachla

Bad? No

Horrible? Oh Hell yeah.

you're probably right...but they've been becoming more complete with the return of players to the lineup and that helps...

I just can't subscribe to the notion that this is a bad team
- Michael Pachla

Ennis or no Ennis, this is a bad team. Huge let down against the Leafs the other night and countless times before that.

you're probably right...but they've been becoming more complete with the return of players to the lineup and that helps...

I just can't subscribe to the notion that this is a bad team
- Michael Pachla

Not a bad team, but weakness at D position I think is our achilles heel. If we had some better players back there, I think it would make a huge difference.

yost said earlier this year that there would be a lot of teams in the group where buffalo is. said that there wouldnt be much separation until somebody decides to sell. its played out pretty much how he suggested. three point games are gonna make passing teams very tough, and an outright win streak of more than a few games isnt in the cards with this team. we are what we are, incomplete.
- rover16

Well said. "Incomplete" is a good word to describe it.

From last blog

Fedun and Falk are UFA's and wont be protected in no realm of possibility would Austin be protected by Murray over Bad gosian so I wouldn't even consider it. I get it. You're losing someone. Likely one of Carrier or Ennis but maybe Murray trades one of them too. I'd rather lose Carrier with the hope Vegas takes Bogosian or Gorges

Therefore..

O'Reilly, Okposo, Risto, McCabe, Foligno, Kane, Larsson Carrier/Ennis (Depending on how Ennis finishes season)

Trade one of Girgensons/Larsson. For this example trade Girgensons

Would leave Vegas with Moulson, Deslauries, Bogosian, Gorges, Carrier/Ennis

Bad? No

Horrible? Oh Hell yeah.
- Larsson_fan

I knew I could count on you

Bad team? No. Still a work in progress. Bad coach? hell yeah. You have to do something about that.

if all the pieces are on the ice to be a better team and they are not what is typically te cause
- IndianaSabresFan

not all the pieces have been on the ice for much of the season...look at the difference in team speed with Eichel and ennis, and even kane, back in the lineup...

Ennis or no Ennis, this is a bad team. Huge let down against the Leafs the other night and countless times before that.
- SABRES 89

are Detroit, philly, los angeles, Nashville, Carolina florida and tampa, among a few others, bad teams?

Bad team? No. Still a work in progress. Bad coach? hell yeah. You have to do something about that.
- madmike71

probably ain't happening this season

The team isn't bad...the coach is.

probably ain't happening this season
- Michael Pachla

It will happen though. Unfortunately for us, the owner waited far too long.

We aren't a bad team but we are bad in a few areas. Our top six is fairly set. LW is question mark but if Nylander works out that's a guarenteed guy there for years to come and with Kane... You've got him for another year unless we trade him for a top 4 defenceman then you'd have a problem at LW but that brings me to my next point

The defense is no qualms about it in the bottom ten most likely bottom five in the NHL. We have two young defenceman who have top four potential and another three prospects two of which are at least two years away from playing in the NHL. Then you've got two guys who should be bottom pairing defenders in Bogosian and Gorges who are here through at least next year and are getting paid like in 47's case a top pairing guy and in Gorges case a 3/4 guy. I did the com parables on contacts with Bogosian and the guy is getting paid more than guys like Morgan Reilly, Justin Falk, Ryan MacDonugh, Josie, Brodie etc. He needs to go as there is no contract reworking in the NHL.

We also desparetly need to improve the overall speed and skill and tenacity of our bottoms six. More Carrier's and less Deslauries and Derek Grants.

are Detroit, philly, los angeles, Nashville, Carolina florida and tampa, among a few others, bad teams?
- Michael Pachla

Really, you're better then that. This team is a mess, they implode constantly. 1 good game and then 2 or 3 bad games. They have no consistently.

not all the pieces have been on the ice for much of the season...look at the difference in team speed with Eichel and ennis, and even kane, back in the lineup...


- Michael Pachla

they just suck too bad from time to time.. i feel like its the coach more than anythign

if you looked at a list of guys on this team it doesnt come out so bad, there's obviously talent.

Problem is when you fill in the positions and realize most of the talent is up front.

if you looked at a list of guys on this team it doesnt come out so bad, there's obviously talent.

Problem is when you fill in the positions and realize most of the talent is up front.
- Sabresfan-365

I agree. If we somehow win a lottery pick in the 2017 entry draft, I think we should try to make a trade with say Anaheim for Fowler and Lindholm. Adding those 2 would be a great help.

are Detroit, philly, los angeles, Nashville, Carolina florida and tampa, among a few others, bad teams?
- Michael Pachla

Outside of Detroit those teams don't get taken to school consistently 5v5. There's reason to expect or hope for some kind of turn around. When a team gets beat as badly as we do as often as we do in this category it's more than just coaching.

Good blog Pach. Last week I went onto the Jets blog when he said the Jets lost to a "brutal" Sabres team. At the time, the Sabres had a better winning % than the Jets. Too often adjectives such as brutal/bad etc are thrown around too loosely. Yes, the Sabres were brutal/bad when they were tanking for Eichel. But to compare those two brutal years to this year's .500 team is just wrong.

Many of us Sabres fans are disappointed where they sit in the standings. It doesn't matter if it's because of injuries, global warming or aliens. However, to call us "bad" is wrong. As you have astutely pointed out, does that make the Kings, Wings, Preds etc bad teams as well? I think not.

As one poster just said, the word "incomplete" is probably a better descriptor. However, I also agree with the Penguins poster who said we had a "bad" coach. This is something we probably all agree upon!

I agree. If we somehow win a lottery pick in the 2017 entry draft, I think we should try to make a trade with say Anaheim for Fowler and Lindholm. Adding those 2 would be a great help.
- mattsox

I wouldn't trade Risto for the #1 pick this year, so im guessing Lindholm will be a hard no given his favourable contract. They're going to have to package whatever pick they get with a few other players/picks to get someone to bite. Carolina might be a good trade partner for that.

Good blog Pach. Last week I went onto the Jets blog when he said the Jets lost to a "brutal" Sabres team. At the time, the Sabres had a better winning % than the Jets. Too often adjectives such as brutal/bad etc are thrown around too loosely. Yes, the Sabres were brutal/bad when they were tanking for Eichel. But to compare those two brutal years to this year's .500 team is just wrong.

Many of us Sabres fans are disappointed where they sit in the standings. It doesn't matter if it's because of injuries, global warming or aliens. However, to call us "bad" is wrong. As you have astutely pointed out, does that make the Kings, Wings, Preds etc bad teams as well? I think not.

As one poster just said, the word "incomplete" is probably a better descriptor. However, I also agree with the Penguins poster who said we had a "bad" coach. This is something we probably all agree upon!
- SabreWest

It is incomplete, problem is they tried to sell us on the fact that it was close to complete and ready to compete.