Why do the Buffalo Sabres (always) keep sucking.. no matter what..

[SPLBRUIN]

They are similar to Ottawa, lots of talent all over the ice with shaky goaltending. I think both teams need coaches who teach proper structure and demand two way play.

 

[Fatass]

so what i'm getting from this thread is that they need to get better Defensively and never should have traded Ristolainen

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Defending is a lot more than just the D. It’s a commitment by all the players to be on the right side of the puck and be close enough to one another to be support.

 

[frisco]

GM has no balls. Treliving got a lot of flack but at least he wasn't afraid to shake up the Flames roster.

It's a bit different when all the good players demand a trade and won't sign long term. It's called having your hand forced.

As far as the Sabres, is John Gibson available or what? He'd be a godsend at this point in goal. Any chance the Preds could be enticed to move Saros for a swatch of prospects or picks?

My Best-Carey

 

[GAGLine]

Buffalo can't defend and their offense isn't good enough to outscore their problems.

YEAR	GFA	GFA Rank	GAA	GAA Rank
2023-24	2.88	23rd	3.25	16th
2022-23	3.57	3rd	3.62	26th
2021-22	2.79	22nd	3.50	25th
2020-21	2.39	28th	3.50	30th
2019-20	2.80	21st	3.12	22nd
2018-19	2.70	23rd	3.27	24th
2017-18	2.41	31st	3.39	29th
2016-17	2.43	24th	2.82	19th
2015-16	2.43	25th	2.62	15th
2014-15	1.87	30th	3.28	29th

Last year was the only year in the last 10 in which they scored over 3 goals per game. Unfortunately for them, they were 26th in the league defensively.

They've got to figure out how to keep the puck out of their net. Whether that's by replacing players, the coaches, and/or using different schemes, I don't know. Probably some combination of all that. But until they figure it out, they aren't going anywhere.

 

[Fatass]

They are similar to Ottawa, lots of talent all over the ice with shaky goaltending. I think both teams need coaches who teach proper structure and demand two way play.

That starts with the coaches but it has to transfer to the leaders of the team playing the right way and holding the other players accountable. Who are the leadership group in Buffalo? Are they the right kinds of guys?

 

[Bjindaho]

Pegula decided to remove most of Buffalo's in-person scouting when he took over. This doesn't make a huge difference for your Dahlin, Power, Cozens tier of players, but it makes it incredibly hard to find any real depth. In a cap world, you need to draft your depth.

 

[RickyLafleur]

Lack of patience which leads to no consistency and zero stability.

Since 2013, there have been 7..... SEVEN! different Sabres head coaches and four different general managers.

The Sabres are currently the youngest team in the league and are heading in the right direction, and some people are once against calling to fire the GM and burn it down and start over because the team may not make the playoffs this season.

You can't make this stuff up.

At some point, you need to call a spade, a spade. And this team, no matter how many promising prospects it has, is perpetually mediocre and they look like the Coyotes of the East.

 

[RickyLafleur]

Maybe handing out massive 8 year deals to a bunch of young guys who haven't even made the playoffs much less proven themselves in them yet isn't the 4D chess GMing this board seems to think it is.

What's the motivation to get better exactly? To put in the extra hours at the rink, in the gym, in the video room? Just a vague idea that winning would be nice? Everyone thinks winning would be nice, you need to have the edge and the drive to actually get there.

It's a much better alternative than teams like Calgary giving out 7+ year deals to a bunch of 30-year-olds who don't even want to be there, where is their motivation?

 

[DickSmehlik]

We overperformed the last two seasons. Granato is not a magician and they have to take a step back at some point.
We lost our best goalie (Anderson) and replaced him with a kid.
Talked about Power getting a veteran partner yet again (gave him Jokiharju).
On top of that we are pretty much a full line short when it comes to NHL forwards.
My guess is that Adams is waiting on prospects making the team, this season is a another punt.

Pretty much this.

I think Adams assumed the team would keep overachieving and take the next step by making the post-season and made minimal changes however we know that progression isn't always linear.

The Sabres are deep at forward prospects. We don't/won't have an available spot or enough ice time for everyone (see Krebs who is put in a difficult position in the 4th line because there isn't a top 9 spot for him).

Adams really needs to leverage some of these prospects into a stronger top 4 or shore up the goaltending.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Still paying their penance for that shameful tank job back in 2012-15. That's what happens when you sell off every nhl asset to the highest bidder. Hopefully Chicago follows

 

[Matty Sundin]

Not saying it’s the right way but Sabres are the reason why some teams refuse to rebuild. Don’t do it right, you could be rebuilding and being stuck mutiple times for over a decade

 

[thedjpd]

The reality is that building a winning hockey team isn’t just about accumulating a lot of talent. It’s about balance. Some talent, some effort, some culture. Edmonton and Buffalo prove that talent isn’t enough.

Boston proves that even losing top end players you can be competitive.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Roster not as good as everyone thought

 

[AfroThunder396]

It's Terry Pegula.

 

[Mattilaus]

Still paying their penance for that shameful tank job back in 2012-15. That's what happens when you sell off every nhl asset to the highest bidder. Hopefully Chicago follows

Oh Jesus, get over it already.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I think Patrick Kane is the perfect addition. They are 21st in goals scored. They’re a team where you look at the lineup up and down and the forwards that can create offense nose dive quickly. Kane immediately bolsters the top three lines.

 

[lwvs84]

It's a bit different when all the good players demand a trade and won't sign long term. It's called having your hand forced.

As far as the Sabres, is John Gibson available or what? He'd be a godsend at this point in goal. Any chance the Preds could be enticed to move Saros for a swatch of prospects or picks?

My Best-Carey

Not that Gibson is untouchable, but I don't think moving him makes sense. The team is playing well and he's putting up good numbers (small sample size), and he won't return anything the team really needs. Ducks have loads of depth in the prospect pool, they don't need salary cap relief, and Dostal probably isn't ready to be the guy yet. Unless Gibson wants out, I don't know if it happens now. Gibson doesn't have the value to get what the Ducks need (elite forward talent).

 

[Advanced stats]

They play in a very top heavy division and that combined with their refusal to commit to going for it has really hurt them.

To be a top 3 team in the Atlantic, they would have needed to add a goaltender and elite defender to insulate their young defense.

They haven't done that yet and are waiting for those pieces to develop

 

[Frank Drebin]

Oh Jesus, get over it already.

your team needs to first

 

[leafsfan2point0]

They’re stuck in the division of death, that’s the problem.

 

[Buck Naked]

They’re stuck in the division of death, that’s the problem.

No, it's not. That implies that they're good. If you watch them you'll see that's not the case.

 

[CowbellConray]

I mean, they are 7-8-1…. They don’t get the luxury of playing the Sharks and Oilers in their division.

Seasons are longer than 16 games

 

[ffh]

The bills think the Sabres are overrated

 

[goldnblack]

Is it possible it's the city? That place may be cursed

 

[Selanne00008]

They had Linus Ullmark but they traded him. Then he magically becomes a stud with Boston. They just can't put it together for some reason.

They did not trade him. They wanted to sign him long term but he would not sign with a team that sucked. They Could have traded him at the deadline, but they held out hope they could resign him. he left in free agency and they got nothing for him.

Edit; Sorry i see someone corrected you.

I think it comes down to age, they are still a bit too young. I believe last year they were the youngest team in the league and it was by 6 months or something. Which is a huge gap. Okposo will leave after this year, and everyone else is going to gain a year. I think they'll compete next year. But even then, they still have some 20 year olds nearly ready to make the jump. Seems like they'll be a top ten youngest team in the league the next decade lol.