DarrylshutzSydor
Registered User
Great fight tonight by Jeanot! Destroyed Frederick!
Why put yourself through that?I would laugh at buffalo, but than I remind myself that i'm also a New York Jets fan
Those 2005 and 2006 Sabre teams are the best I have ever watched in my time as a hockey fan. I still have to remind myself they have sucked for like the last 16 years. That when we play them, Vanek isn't gonna drop 2 goals, Briere and Drury won't end up with 5 points each and Pomenville, Hecht, Kotalik and Afiningenov won't score in 4 goals in 4 minutes and we won't in fact get our shit caved in 7-2 while Campbell is a +4 with 6 shots on goal and 4 assists of his ownIt all dates back to Summer 2007: Buffalo is coming off of two straight Conference Final appearances that ended in heartbreak. Chris Drury and Daniel Briere are UFAs, Buffalo prioritized Drury, which pissed off Briere, who was already fairly likely to go elsewhere, and he signed with the Flyers. Drury, a Trumbull Connecticut (closer to NYC) native, was then offered the same deal the Sabres offered by his childhood team, the New York Rangers, he signs with them, and then the Sabres are left with egg on their face. Sabres struggle the next year, trade pending UFA Brian Campbell to the Sharks for a 1st (became Tyler Ennis) and Steve Bernier at the deadline. Mediocre 2008 and 2009 campaigns lead to playoff misses, 2010 and 2011 playoff appearances are reached on the backs of Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy, and Thomas Vanek. Terrible Leino and Ehrhoff overpay contracts are then made in 2011. They barely miss in 2012, are slightly below average in the lockout shortened 2013 season, trade Pominville to the Wild at the 2013 deadline, Roy signs with St Louis in summer 2013, team falls off a cliff & blows it up in 2014, trading Vanek to the Islanders, Miller to the Blues, officially starting the rebuild.
Since then, it's been a full youth movement, Eichel drama, cancerous dressing room, not good enough goaltending/defense, carousel of coaches & GMs, meddling ownership, mostly poor drafting until 2017 or 2018, not enough quality veterans recently, and the obvious inability to get quality UFAs to sign there because Buffalo is in high tax New York, but far smaller and boring than NYC.
I feel like that explains most of it.
If Vanek could somehow only play against us Gretzky's records would have been shattered. f*** that guy.I feel like Vanek's entire career was overrated because of how much he inflated his numbers against us.
Vanek gets a ton of praise because of the US hockey media (specifically in Minnesota) who love him for tearing up the USHL and then delivering a national title for the Minnesota Golden Gophers (their last) in 2003 where he lit up Michigan and New Hampshire in the Frozen Four. He was very good for most of his time in Buffalo and then became a solid journeyman, but his one way play led to fewer people loving him as a player.I feel like Vanek's entire career was overrated because of how much he inflated his numbers against us.
He's picked it up lately. Visually, looks like he's in Playoff Mode, skating harder/faster, actually trying most of the time.Brayden Point now leads the league in game winners.
That seems true for so many guys that I'm wondering if we fell for "the switch" again. You have to go all the way back to 2019 to find a season where the team played like the games mattered before, well, right about now. Just with all the new personnel it felt, and still does kind of feel, like there's no way they can actually be "good."He's picked it up lately. Visually, looks like he's in Playoff Mode, skating harder/faster, actually trying most of the time.
I feel like Vanek's entire career was overrated because of how much he inflated his numbers against us.
I did the math on Vanek's stats against the Lightning and I plugged it in against a long career. I did this like 4 years ago so I don't remember if it was a 15-20 year career or something like 1500 games. But either way assuming he stayed healthy we would be talking about a guy who gets mentioned with Phil Esposito and is a 700 goal scorer. The math is there but I'm too lazy to figure how I plugged it in.If Vanek could somehow only play against us Gretzky's records would have been shattered. f*** that guy.
I don't know what the Buffalo fans were like back then so I have nothing to compare to but I can tell you that I have never seen fans as rude and obnoxious as Boston fans. This is the mid teens and through the cup years. In your face, fights, swearing. It was bad. Probably still is but I don't go to the games anymore.Buffalo fans when they were winning were amongst the most obnoxious fans ever to grace the Ice Palace, I'm completely happy with them continuing to wallow about in the dirt
Boston fan is a double edged sword. The 58 year old construction contractor from Boston who came with his wife is the classiest person you'll ever meet and you cross your fingers you sit next to him at the Rays game. The 26 year old who went to Gaither High School in Lutz and has never been to Massachusetts is a 6 speed douche canoe.I don't know what the Buffalo fans were like back then so I have nothing to compare to but I can tell you that I have never seen fans as rude and obnoxious as Boston fans. This is the mid teens and through the cup years. In your face, fights, swearing. It was bad. Probably still is but I don't go to the games anymore.
Buffalo fans have to be traumatized by now. Similar to Leaf fans, but not so drastically.Boston fan is a double edged sword. The 58 year old construction contractor from Boston who came with his wife is the classiest person you'll ever meet and you cross your fingers you sit next to him at the Rays game. The 26 year old who went to Gaither High School in Lutz and has never been to Massachusetts is a 6 speed douche canoe.
Buffalo fans were class acts to me when we drank at "Hot Tuna" or "Andreychuk's Grille" whatever the hell it was at the time in like 2007. Loud and obnoxious as f***. But genuinely nice people who were just having a good time at our expense
Oh for sure dude. You don't get Eichel instead of McDavid and all the crap that's happened since and not have the sports equivalent of PTSD. I admit I wanted to see McDavid in Buffalo. Something about that city having its own wunderkind felt right after all they had been through up to 2015. I think losing that lottery REALLY messed them up. Now here we are laughing at Buffalo instead and the Lightning have Kucherov -who is having a career peak expected from a McDavidBuffalo fans have to be traumatized by now. Similar to Leaf fans, but not so drastically.
If Vanek could somehow only play against us Gretzky's records would have been shattered. f*** that guy.
Dude do you remember Havlat roasting us for 10 freaking points in the playoffs? I'm still not over itVanek, Spezza, and Horton. The unholy trinity.
Usher better be watching out for some lawsuits coming his way.