Jhonas Enroth: "It's tough to win with this team."

[Yeaoh]

Wow who would have thought I always though Buffalo was dressing a contender team and wasn't in the midst of a rebuild.

Tough for goalies to be on a rebuilding team though, they are in an ungrateful position.

 

[cardiffgiant]

Sabres site finally posted the interview. It didn't sound as bad coming out of his mouth as it does in print.

Agreed, and I also think that it's important to give a little slack on phrasing when English isn't someone's first language.

He seems like a good guy and if he says something that would have been ok if it was phrased differently, I'm going to give him the benefit if the doubt.

 

[Chainshot]

Whoa.

I knew it was a crap number, but 18 in 14?

lol...

Only 7 goals scored in his last 8 starts to break that down even farther.

Why are people shocked by his comment I wonder? It IS hard for this team to win. They're flirting with being one of the worst offensive teams of all time.

 

[Takeo]

I bet Miller would say the exact same thing.

These goalies are in tough positions. Miller is trying to show that he still has game in him and that he has value on the open market in a contract year, while Enroth is trying to show that he can be a starter in this league but both don't get much help from the guys in front of them.

His quote doesn't bother me, mostly because I just don't care. But I'm not sure why you'd advocate a player prioritizing personal success over the team. The point here is that you don't call out teammates in the media. It is a simple concept despite how the Sabres and their fans often struggle with it.

 

[MagnumForce2]

Maybe he is pushing for the trade to Edmonton.

 

[JThorne]

I want more players to be mad. If they aren't mad, they don't belong here.

 

[barnell]

Enroth gets NO "run support" as Brian Duff points out.

It's exceedingly tough for a back-up goalie to win games where they are given 1 goal to work with.

 

[RazielMoshman]

I bet Miller would say the exact same thing.

These goalies are in tough positions. Miller is trying to show that he still has game in him and that he has value on the open market in a contract year, while Enroth is trying to show that he can be a starter in this league but both don't get much help from the guys in front of them.

Well said.

I have no problem, whats more I agree completely. The support he gets is a joke. 18 goals in 14 appearances? That's ****ing embarrassing. Every player on this team should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[RazielMoshman]

His quote doesn't bother me, mostly because I just don't care. But I'm not sure why you'd advocate a player prioritizing personal success over the team. The point here is that you don't call out teammates in the media. It is a simple concept despite how the Sabres and their fans often struggle with it.

His prioritizing winning. Not a better save % or lower GAA, winning. That's a team thing.

I don't believe in not calling out teammates in the media in extreme situations. There's a time when people need to be told that they are an embarrassment. Goalies especially have that right in my view.

 

[Clock]

It might be a bit crass, but he clearly isn't wrong. I think I prefer this to the "we've gotta dig deeper" crap.

 

[Jame]

It might be a bit crass, but he clearly isn't wrong. I think I prefer this to the "we've gotta dig deeper" crap.

I agree.

I think overall, I'd prefer these comments be kept from the media, because it can only serve to be used to divide.... but the reality is, it is 100% true, and given the year Enroth has had (pretty good with pathetic goal support), it's understandable.

But, I do agree... given the type of season, I prefer the honest answer... to the ******** cliche.

 

[OcAirlines]

I'm not upset with a player stating the truth, especially if it's a truth that everyone else around the team (fans, media etc.) doesn't get tired to point out.

 

[CrankyJay]

I don't like the comment at all. Its a true comment but its something you should keep to yourself...Which is sometimes easier said than done if hes an angry cocky ******* like myself.

why? i'm tired of the sugar coated interviews...that's one of the things i hated most about Pominville. After every game he just rehearsed his list of non-offensive answers.

 

[BowieSabresFan]

I wonder how much flak Miller would have received for making that comment.

 

[Takeo]

His prioritizing winning. Not a better save % or lower GAA, winning. That's a team thing.

I don't believe in not calling out teammates in the media in extreme situations. There's a time when people need to be told that they are an embarrassment. Goalies especially have that right in my view.

You make excuses for the players because you're a fan. That's fine. But there's a certain locker room etiquette in all sports, violations of which will create conversation if not controversy. I've never heard of special exceptions for positions. Maybe exceptions for a coach or certain leaders on a team, but not positions.

But maybe this is just a translation thing. I haven't heard the audio so I can't say.

 

[jamers]

Whatever. We're last in the league and historically bad.

 

[Bobby Bottle Service]

Can't say that Jhonas is defaming his teammates when he's speaking the truth. No one can expect a backup goaltender (or even a starter) when the team in front of him gets outshot on a scale of 3-1 and only scores 1 measly goal per game.

 

[Clock]

Whatever. We're last in the league and historically bad.

That's about it. There's nothing meaty here unless you're in complete denial.

 

[Sabretooth]

This is the worst he's said in what 4 years being a good soldier team player sitting behind miller embracing his role and waiting for his opportunities. Are we really going to sit here and call him selfish for his comment now?

 

[Zman5778]

I wonder how much flak Miller would have received for making that comment.

The more reasonable (aka, 5% of the fanbase): "Yep. He's right. *chuckle* This oughta be good."

The rest: "ZOMG!!!!! TRADE HIM NOW!! He's such a diva prima-donna!! He's hurting the team!! GET HIM OFF THE ROSTER!!!"

 

[zbubble]

If you didn't hear the audio and see the the video of his body language at the time, it's easy to take the comment a dozen different ways. I thought in all his comments he looked and sounded extremely depressed and it came out rather sheepishly. This comment was nothing more than him just rationalizing in his head why he doesn't have more wins. The was nothing malicious about it. If he was angry and throwing people under the bus, I think it would be different. Miller's done that way plenty and he always gets a pass anyway because he's Miller.

 

[OcAirlines]

This is the worst he's said in what 4 years being a good soldier team player sitting behind miller embracing his role and waiting for his opportunities. Are we really going to sit here and call him selfish for his comment now?

This. I can't imagine how frustrated Jhonas must be by now and if this is the only thing he says in his situation then I'm totally fine with it. The guy was drafted more than seven years ago, spent three years in the AHL and now is in his third year as a back-up (four if you count the season he split between AHL and NHL) behind a great goalie where he has little chance to earn the starting spot unless Miller plays himself out of it. And now whenever he gets a chance to start he gets almost no support by his teammates... Enroth has been so patient in his time here, if this comment really sparks such an outrage among fans then I can just shake my head.

 

[BowieSabresFan]

If you didn't hear the audio and see the the video of his body language at the time, it's easy to take the comment a dozen different ways. I thought in all his comments he looked and sounded extremely depressed and it came out rather sheepishly. This comment was nothing more than him just rationalizing in his head why he doesn't have more wins. The was nothing malicious about it. If he was angry and throwing people under the bus, I think it would be different. Miller's done that way plenty and he always gets a pass anyway because he's Miller.

Actually, Miller rarely gets a pass. His comments are always analyzed, and analyzed again, and criticized...

I don't have a real problem with Enroth saying that. He must be frustrated. However, you usually don't go public with such comments.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

We agree with you Jhonas, but you probably shouldn't be the one saying it.

 

[Man of Principles]

for reference.

I didn't like the way he said it but it's true.

My two cents is that when you're a foreigner trying to speak English (and it doesn't matter where you're from or how fluent you are with the English language), sometimes things don't come out the way you meant to phrase them.

What Jhonas probably meant to say was that it's tough for this team collectively to get wins. I don't think it was meant to be any sort of arrogant or down-looking statement toward his teammates. He just knows this is the reality of a rebuild; knows the level of overall skill on this team is lacking right now.