WTF with Buffalo?

[pekka55]

A team stuck in no mans land on a winning streak that cost themselves potentially 10 draft spots for nothing. I understand the players still trying hard, but god this is awful to continue to watch. They need to improve, not win meaningless games right now in front of no fans.

How many more top picks does Buffalo need? They've had enough and have done f*** all with them. Maybe it's time to change strategies.

 

[TageGod]

Should have trademarked the heroic run to 9th years ago. We have all been saying for 3 years to give the ol heave ho to their huge asset pool. They at least made one good move with Mcleod. Their centers don't drive possession well and the team D is bad. Second pairing D is also bad. Roster is constructed as a 45% corsi team full of snipers. I don't even know how Norris will factor in next year. More of the goal scoring center type, heard he is at least good defensively. Team is SJS level if Dahlin is off the ice.

 

[MOGlLNY]

This team is such a joke. Theyre going to from a top 5, maybe 1st overall pick to somewhere in the 8-13 range, but congrats to Tage for padding his stats.

A team stuck in no mans land on a winning streak that cost themselves potentially 10 draft spots for nothing. I understand the players still trying hard, but god this is awful to continue to watch. They need to improve, not win meaningless games right now in front of no fans.

This you?

 

[landy]

View attachment 1011578
This you?

Any plan is better than no plan. Are we still on the 2C, 2nd pairing dman and everything will change in BLO? Lol

 

[MOGlLNY]

Any plan is better than no plan. Are we still on the 2C, 2nd pairing dman and everything will change in BLO? Lol

Just one more talented 18 year old bro

 

[Nikki Potnick]

 

[shello]

The last time the Sabres made the playoffs, Halo Reach was a new game. I don’t think their issues can properly be explained

 

[EastVillageBlues]

Based on historical data, it doesn't matter at all with this franchise.

Whichever picks they have, they will eventually ruin him and move him away. See their entire set of 2010s top pics:

• 2010: Pysyk , virtually zero impact on the team's future
• 2011: Armia , moved before much done for the team, career bottom 6
• 2012: Griegorenko , never a full time NHL material
• 2013: Ristoleinen , pretty decent for a few years, then flamed out
• 2014: Reinhart , great while he was there, but eventually wanted out
• 2015: Eichel, you know the story well
• 2016: Nylander, almost a redux of Griegorenko
• 2017: Mittelstadt, late bloomer, but still got moved because some haters among fans screamed really loudly
• 2018: Dahlin, borderline generational player, really the only one that has stuck so far, not sure when he will be asking for a out also
• 2019: Cozens, had one great season, but then continuously regresses, and eventually was moved
• 2020: Quinn, seems to be following the foot steps of Risto and Cozens
• 2021: Power, decent so far, not progressing as fast as hoped; and based on some in the media and among buffalo forum, he's next
• 2022: Savoie, already gone, in record time (their turnover seems to be speeding up over time)
• 2023: Benson, has played above expectations so far, but give it time???
• 2024: Helenius, hasn't played a game yet.

Just absolutely mind boggling. Any top pick thrown to the franchise is likely to be a complete waste.

• 2022: Savoie, already gone, in record time (their turnover seems to be speeding up over time)

What if I told you he was moved for a 25 year old 50 point defensive center while he sits in the AHL under a point per game in his draft plus three as an undersized scoring winger? A prospect surpassed in his own system by Ostlund and Kulich from the same first round, Benson the next year and Helenius the next?

Maybe that’s why it “sped up his timing”

Because they got a good young player, at a position of need, for their fifth best offensive prospect?

If you look at the list, it's not about just one player. It's the consistent inability to take raw talent, develop him, and bring him to the NHL level and keep him there.

I guess for Savoie they got smart about their own ineptitude, and cut loss before it became really apparent. But if you just go down the list, the pattern is clear as night and day. I don't see any possible explanation except that some combination of their ownership and fan-base is just incapable of fostering young talent and skill, and unable to develop and stay the course for more than a few months.

Take Mittelstadt, a prime example of the lack of plan or patience, and terrible judgement of development trajectories (basically they thought that they already had Cozens locked up as the long term 2C), and an unwillingness by the fanbase to entertain any type of patience or long term plan for developing players.

 

[MOGlLNY]

If you look at the list, it's not about just one player. It's the consistent inability to take raw talent, develop him, and bring him to the NHL level and keep him there.

I guess for Savoie they got smart about their own ineptitude, and cut loss before it became really apparent. But if you just go down the list, the pattern is clear as night and day. I don't see any possible explanation except that some combination of their ownership and fan-base is just incapable of fostering young talent and skill, and unable to develop and stay the course for more than a few months.

Take Mittelstadt, a prime example of the lack of plan or patience, and terrible judgement of development trajectories (basically they thought that they already had Cozens locked up as the long term 2C), and an unwillingness by the fanbase to entertain any type of patience or long term plan for developing players.

What are you talking about dude? Mittelstadt has been dogshit since he left Buffalo

 

[TruePowerSlave]

What are you talking about dude? Mittelstadt has been dogshit since he left Buffalo

Last season's cameo for the Avs was solid, but man oh man did he ever suck this year. Absolute garbage play night after night.

 

[BB79]

Dont be surprised if this team competes next year and makes the playoffs

No. They won't. We're never making the playoffs again.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

The NY Jets of hockey

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

The last time the Sabres made the playoffs, Halo Reach was a new game. I don’t think their issues can properly be explained

Last time the Sabres made the playoffs, Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.

This would be a fun game.

 

[Nikki Potnick]

Last time the Sabres made the playoffs, Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.

This would be a fun game.

Last time the Sabres were in the playoffs, Osama Bin Laden was still alive.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Last time the Sabres were in the playoffs, Osama Bin Laden was still alive.

Sure he was

 

[shello]

Last time the Sabres made the playoffs, Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.

This would be a fun game.

Fun or sad depending which side you’re on

 

[MoneyManny]

Any plan is better than no plan. Are we still on the 2C, 2nd pairing dman and everything will change in BLO? Lol

It's not like any pro team tells their players to lose on purpose. And even if they did, no player is gonna stop scoring goals or look bad on purpose so the team can draft higher.

They gotta try with what they got at this point, the team is too strong to tank.

 

[JAK]

Hockey gods are going to reward the Sabres with a lottery win, and then people will argue that it is not fair.

 

[DickSmehlik]

Take Mittelstadt, a prime example of the lack of plan or patience, and terrible judgement of development trajectories (basically they thought that they already had Cozens locked up as the long term 2C), and an unwillingness by the fanbase to entertain any type of patience or long term plan for developing players.

Adams has had his warts but fleecing Byram from Colorado wasn't one of them.

 

[Djp]

Based on historical data, it doesn't matter at all with this franchise.

Whichever picks they have, they will eventually ruin him and move him away. See their entire set of 2010s top pics:

• 2010: Pysyk , virtually zero impact on the team's future
• 2011: Armia , moved before much done for the team, career bottom 6
• 2012: Griegorenko , never a full time NHL material
• 2013: Ristoleinen , pretty decent for a few years, then flamed out
• 2014: Reinhart , great while he was there, but eventually wanted out
• 2015: Eichel, you know the story well
• 2016: Nylander, almost a redux of Griegorenko
• 2017: Mittelstadt, late bloomer, but still got moved because some haters among fans screamed really loudly
• 2018: Dahlin, borderline generational player, really the only one that has stuck so far, not sure when he will be asking for a out also
• 2019: Cozens, had one great season, but then continuously regresses, and eventually was moved
• 2020: Quinn, seems to be following the foot steps of Risto and Cozens
• 2021: Power, decent so far, not progressing as fast as hoped; and based on some in the media and among buffalo forum, he's next
• 2022: Savoie, already gone, in record time (their turnover seems to be speeding up over time)
• 2023: Benson, has played above expectations so far, but give it time???
• 2024: Helenius, hasn't played a game yet.

Just absolutely mind boggling. Any top pick thrown to the franchise is likely to be a complete waste.

Armia--was traded in the deal for Kane. He was drafted on thr late teens. You usually don't get top line players here

Pysyk was traded for Kulikov since they wanted to balance out the team

Risto -' traded him for 1st and 3nd as part of the rebuild

Diff gm traded nylander for jokiharju

If you look at the list, it's not about just one player. It's the consistent inability to take raw talent, develop him, and bring him to the NHL level and keep him there.

How are you measuring this?

I guess for Savoie they got smart about their own ineptitude, and cut loss before it became really apparent. But if you just go down the list, the pattern is clear as night and day. I don't see any possible explanation except that some combination of their ownership and fan-base is just incapable of fostering young talent and skill, and unable to develop and stay the course for more than a few months.

Savoie was drafted in 2022.

After thr next 3 drafts he was down the prospect list

I strongly thing there was stuff behind the scenes with him that pissed of the team.

They trade him for a young established center who has speed and strong on face offs.

Your logic could apply yo just about all gms who trade a top 40 drafted prospect still on their ELC ir not yet started it.

Shall I remind you about a player named Tage Thompson,? He was a prospect acquired in the ROR trade.

Take Mittelstadt, a prime example of the lack of plan or patience, and terrible judgement of development trajectories (basically they thought that they already had Cozens locked up as the long term 2C), and an unwillingness by the fanbase to entertain any type of patience or long term plan for developing players.

Mittlestadt was an upcoming RFA. So with Thompson and Cozens ahead of him, and kulich and idtlund coming up behind him, they felt signing him to a long contract would not be a good idea and the cost if the 4C was going to be higher than they wanted to pay.

Looking at this way..

Mittlestadt and savoie for byram and mcleod

The acquire a top 4D they needed and they got a 3C they fits more into their liking.

 

[landy]

The team is going nowhere until they find a true 1C. Tage should be a LW. One isn’t magically going to come to them since there are maybe 10-20 in the league only who are true 1C’s. Need to get it in the draft.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

The team is going nowhere until they find a true 1C. Tage should be a LW. One isn’t magically going to come to them since there are maybe 10-20 in the league only who are true 1C’s. Need to get it in the draft.

You mean like Jack Eichel?

 

[EastVillageBlues]

What are you talking about dude? Mittelstadt has been dogshit since he left Buffalo

Did you actually bother to read what I wrote? That's exactly the point.

OK, here is it again

"It's the consistent inability to take raw talent, develop him, and bring him to the NHL level and keep him there."

 

[EastVillageBlues]

Armia--was traded in the deal for Kane. He was drafted on thr late teens. You usually don't get top line players here

Pysyk was traded for Kulikov since they wanted to balance out the team

Risto -' traded him for 1st and 3nd as part of the rebuild

Diff gm traded nylander for jokiharju






How are you measuring this?


Savoie was drafted in 2022.

After thr next 3 drafts he was down the prospect list

I strongly thing there was stuff behind the scenes with him that pissed of the team.

They trade him for a young established center who has speed and strong on face offs.

Your logic could apply yo just about all gms who trade a top 40 drafted prospect still on their ELC ir not yet started it.

Shall I remind you about a player named Tage Thompson,? He was a prospect acquired in the ROR trade.



Mittlestadt was an upcoming RFA. So with Thompson and Cozens ahead of him, and kulich and idtlund coming up behind him, they felt signing him to a long contract would not be a good idea and the cost if the 4C was going to be higher than they wanted to pay.

Looking at this way..

Mittlestadt and savoie for byram and mcleod

The acquire a top 4D they needed and they got a 3C they fits more into their liking.

Savoie is clearly a failed development process by the organization, one of the clearest examples of the broken system in the organization. Like I said, they were smart to recognize their own inability to do so with him, so got out early before the market for him craters.

Tage was largely developed in a different organization. Even while in the Blues org, he had always been known to have the potential of a high end goal scorer, and was developed as such. His drafting and development process is hardly much credit to Buffalo, although they do get the credit for the final stage of finding him the appropriate role in the league.

Your other points, sure, about Pysyk, Armia, etc, were more or less what I described. Risto especially was very promising early one, but later one (even while he was still on the Sabres, appeared to be unable to round out his game as a top pairing defenceman. That's 100% on the Sabres since they put him in a very difficult position early on, with very little support from the rest of the D corps. Another prime example of how the organization mishandles young players that eventually leading to them failing to come close to their potential.

 

[Djp]

Savoie is clearly a failed development process by the organization, one of the clearest examples of the broken system in the organization. Like I said, they were smart to recognize their own inability to do so with him, so got out early before the market for him craters.

You mean a player drafted in 22 who could only do juniors or nhl in 22/33 and 23/24 is a failure on thr organization?

His first ELC yr is this year

Tage was largely developed in a different organization. Even while in the Blues org, he had always been known to have the potential of a high end goal scorer, and was developed as such. His drafting and development process is hardly much credit to Buffalo, although they do get the credit for the final stage of finding him the appropriate role in the league.

Utter BS

Tage Thompson was drafted in 2016
16/17 NCAA/AHL
17/18 AHL/NHL
--traded--
21/22 was when he broke out....with the help of the sabres coaches.

Your other points, sure, about Pysyk, Armia, etc, were more or less what I described. Risto especially was very promising early one, but later one (even while he was still on the Sabres, appeared to be unable to round out his game as a top pairing defenceman. That's 100% on the Sabres since they put him in a very difficult position early on, with very little support from the rest of the D corps.

Not even going to bother trying to answer......