Could move into 30th in a few minutes.

Edit: nvm, columbus is ass tastic as well
- Sabresfan-365

I'd say everyones performance today was pure poop. That was not a game I enjoyed watching. At all

The Pens also didn't have much else around Crosby
http://www.hockeydb.com/i...ons/teams/0000502006.html


About 25% of that roster was there a few years later. They also added Malkin, Staal, and Letang to that roster.

Our roster is supposedly mostly "set"
- sbroads24

What do u mean by "set?"
Bc even IF guys like Girgensons are here for the long haul...
They still have SO MUCHto learn before they become the Milkin, etc supporting staff that the Pens had
And I could site Chicago, Nyi & the Kings as well

A TOTAL OVERHAUL LIKE WE DOD TAKES TIME
it your prerogative if u wanna be impatient...
It's just not realistic

You'd think the coach would say something to Kane about the high/wide shot that goes all the way back to his own end...
- Sabresfan-365

He needs to talk to, in order, Alexi Zhitnik(so as to not shoot 100mph on every shot regardless of position/situation. Zhitnik got a lot better towards the end of his career with that), Gilbert Perrault(so he can actually hit the (frank)ing net!), literally any other player in the league past or present including Tanner Glass(again, so he can hit the (frank)ing net!).

I always knew he was a "volume" shooter ala Ovechkin, but Ovechkin can actually hit the net with the vast majority of his shots. Kane is just shotgunning. Maybe he's shooting with the wrong hand this whole time? Or every time he takes a shot from the left circle and misses and it ends up in our end he has to do 5 "Herb" skates; right there in the game like Willie Mays Hayes from Major League with the push-ups for pop flies.

When we are ready to contend, imo, of course:

The core: Jack, ROR, Sam, Risto, Kane

Highly important secondary players: Bogo, Pysyk, McCabe, Gus.

Take em or leave em (i.e. trade bait): Ennis, Foligno, McGinn (deadline, free agent to be)

Doesn't hurt the team/need a guy of his ilk: Deslauriers

Bye, bye: Gorges, Franson, Legwand, Carlo, Moulson, Gio, Weber.

There will obviously be free agents, trades, other current prospects, maybe couple future draft picks (one of those Finnish studs would be nice) added.

This team is, by no means, set.

Realistic expectations would do some on these boards well.
- grand-magus

Very similar to my post yesterday.
We could share the GM duties if you're interested.

It pisses me off. It's really good but it pisses me off so much
- Stripes77

Yeah, those middle episodes made me want to throw poop at my screen with how frustrating it was

I have read that some here seem to be okay with "another year tanking". ( like a losing culture is okay to keep continuing)
I have also read that some here are trying to say that Tim Murray was trying to tank this season all along. <---(That's some real horse poop )
Really? Are you really trying to defend him that awkwardly now?
That display once again last night on home ice was disgraceful to the fans that pay to go and watch that crap, and on a wintry cold Tuesday night none the less.
Bylsma appears to have no clue as to what he is doing, another Murray blunder, and I really don't care what he did in Pittsburgh because we must not forget he had Crosby and Malkin in his time there.
And just to think, some thought that Nolan was bad.
I mean, I hope Weber was a maintenance night off after his recent surgery because I don't understand why you bench your +/ - leader for a guy like Carlo who was responsible for at least 2 goals last night, dumb move Dan !
With the totality of moves Murray has made and just about depleting our one thing that we did have going for us , (farm system), if this team ends up in 30th or near it again Murray's job needs to be challenged by Terry / Kim Pegula and I certainly hope it is.
Enough with the excuses for Murray.
I also saw someone blame this on goaltending which is also BS.
Sure Linus was not great last night but this has not been on goaltending, or not as much as some may have thought when this season began.
Lehner, oh boy,...i'd bet that Murray is really sweating out this Lehner thing giving up a 1st round pick and all for all goalie that may in the end be worse than Chad Johnson.
Lehner poops the bed and this team ends up 30 th or close to it, i'd like to see an incompetent Murray relieved of his GM duties before he further cripples the betterment of this franchise.
There is no improvement of the product on the ice since Murray has been here.
Improvement means points and well, we all know where we sit right with points as compared to last season.
Murray reminds me a lot of a guy that coaches the Buffalo Bills.
Another guy with a ton of hot air/big talk and no results to back him up.

I have read that some here seem to be okay with "another year tanking". ( like a losing culture is okay to keep continuing)
I have also read that some here are trying to say that Tim Murray was trying to tank this season all along. <---(That's some real horse poop )
Really? Are you really trying to defend him that awkwardly now?
That display once again last night on home ice was disgraceful to the fans that pay to go and watch that crap, and on a wintry cold Tuesday night none the less.
Bylsma appears to have no clue as to what he is doing, another Murray blunder, and I really don't care what he did in Pittsburgh because we must not forget he had Crosby and Malkin in his time there.
And just to think, some thought that Nolan was bad.
I mean, I hope Weber was a maintenance night off after his recent surgery because I don't understand why you bench your +/ - leader for a guy like Carlo who was responsible for at least 2 goals last night, dumb move Dan !
With the totality of moves Murray has made and just about depleting our one thing that we did have going for us , (farm system), if this team ends up in 30th or near it again Murray's job needs to be challenged by Terry / Kim Pegula and I certainly hope it is.
Enough with the excuses for Murray.
I also saw someone blame this on goaltending which is also BS.
Sure Linus was not great last night but this has not been on goaltending, or not as much as some may have thought when this season began.
Lehner, oh boy,...i'd bet that Murray is really sweating out this Lehner thing giving up a 1st round pick and all for all goalie that may in the end be worse than Chad Johnson.
Lehner poops the bed and this team ends up 30 th or close to it, i'd like to see an incompetent Murray relieved of his GM duties before he further cripples the betterment of this franchise.
- Pluviophile

It is awkward. We are on pace for 70 points.

Most people said 80-85 (Which is still possible) yet can't admit for the life of them we are severely underachieving. We aren't even that competitive. We rarely have leads, rarely score goals.

It is awkward. We are on pace for 70 points.

Most people said 80-85 (Which is still possible) yet can't admit for the life of them we are severely underachieving. We aren't even that competitive. We rarely have leads, rarely score goals.
- sbroads24

Because basing where a professional team should be in the standings by using posts on an internet message board is what makes the most sense.

It is awkward. We are on pace for 70 points.

Most people said 80-85 (Which is still possible) yet can't admit for the life of them we are severely underachieving. We aren't even that competitive. We rarely have leads, rarely score goals.
- sbroads24

It's all a ploy to give posters on here something to complain about. With all the analists on here.. If the Sabres were winning , they would be typeless.

Because basing where a professional team should be in the standings by using posts on an internet message board is what makes the most sense.
- stashu

It gets easy to forget there's a real world out there.

It is awkward. We are on pace for 70 points.

Most people said 80-85 (Which is still possible) yet can't admit for the life of them we are severely underachieving. We aren't even that competitive. We rarely have leads, rarely score goals.
- sbroads24

The on ice play by many is much, much better. It isn't pond hockey anymore, there actually is structure...most player know where to go with the puck on break outs and play through the neutral zone.
Their issue is goal scorin and getting the puck and players into the dirty area...that clearly needs plenty of help and is very frustrating to watch.
The D has some issues as well, while goaltender is better than I thought it would be, but yet it is clearly substandard. Some nice stops, then the blunder occurs.

Personally, I expected 75-80 points and a finish in the bottom 5...while showing improvement in positional play. While that is still very much attainable, I'm completely surprised by the lack of secondary scoring...it is the same 4 or 5 guys on nearly every goal or 2 they do manage to score each game.
They have to get the secondary scoring going to get to that point.
As far as ok with losing no, but it is a comfort knowing the top 5 picks look to be complete studs.

That display once again last night on home ice was disgraceful to the fans that pay to go and watch that crap, and on a wintry cold Tuesday night none the less.

- Pluviophile

I have to disagree with this. They played well last night. They really had a ton of good chances, but couldn't bury anything. I'd say the only disappointing part to the game for me last night, was Ullmark's play. The 2nd goal he allowed is one your goaltender HAS to stop.

He's so damn over rated.

What a turnover
- sbroads24

Kane's shooting percentage this year is brutal, yet he's still on pace for around 22g
If it was around his norm, he'd be on pace for over 30g easily
I doubt ppl would be complaining as much then
Obv not a perfect player,
But he's also scoring more then quite a few guys that you'd consider pretty good players

I think you're judging a lot of these guys too harshly, too soon

I'm starting to think the plan was to tank all along this season, and I am not happy
- homiedclown

I wouldn't say that
I think A LOT of things needed to go right this year for us to contend for the playoffs
Lehner being a top goalie, one of them
Obv that hasn't happened
Actually, almost nothing has worked out as QUICKLY as we'd have liked
But u can see the talent is there with a lot of these guys
We're on the up & up...
Even if u can't see the results in the standings yet

Kane's shooting percentage this year is brutal, yet he's still on pace for around 22g
If it was around his norm, he'd be on pace for over 30g easily
I doubt ppl would be complaining as much then
Obv not a perfect player,
But he's also scoring more then quite a few guys that you'd consider pretty good players

I think you're judging a lot of these guys too harshly, too soon
- jdfitz77

The turnover late in the game last night was pretty brutal. SBroads has been saying all season that he's not a smart hockey player and it was totally obvious last night. He was probably one of our worst players on the ice to be quite honest.

Everyone has bad games. I'm not about to take him out back to tar and feather him, but he's making life a lot harder for his teammates because he doesn't make the smart play, he just throws the puck at the net which seems to result in either a horribly easy clear for the opposition or the puck ends up flying down the ice for some sort of odd man rush.

UFA in 30 months


just sayin
- homiedclown

The "down" seasons that Kane, Ennis & Gorgensons are having are gonna enable us to sign all of them at a bargain compared to what their talent level and (likely) future production would otherwise dictate
Could end up working quite nicely for us!

The turnover late in the game last night was pretty brutal. SBroads has been saying all season that he's not a smart hockey player and it was totally obvious last night. He was probably one of our worst players on the ice to be quite honest.

Everyone has bad games. I'm not about to take him out back to tar and feather him, but he's making life a lot harder for his teammates because he doesn't make the smart play, he just throws the puck at the net which seems to result in either a horribly easy clear for the opposition or the puck ends up flying down the ice for some sort of odd man rush.
- HonkFortheGoose

Those are fair criticisms
He seems to be having a rough time with consistency & finding chemistry with linemates
Tough to imaging he continues to shoot under 7% for us in the future
If he were up above 11% he'd be on pace for about 35g

This has been a weird year for quite a few guys I see producing more for us in years to come (Kane, Girgensons, Ennis, Moulson)

Those are fair criticisms
He seems to be having a rough time with consistency & finding chemistry with linemates
Tough to imaging he continues to shoot under 7% for us in the future
If he were up above 11% he'd be on pace for about 35g

This has been a weird year for quite a few guys I see producing more for us in years to come (Kane, Girgensons, Ennis, Moulson)
- jdfitz77

Girgensons is the only one I'm not worried about, because even when he hasn't been getting on the scoresheet, he's been "producing" in other ways. But Ennis and Moulson have been cement blocks dragging us down for sure, and Kane has had some really good games, but he's also had some really awful ones.

I expected there to be a ton of inconsistency from one game to the next this year. To expect anything different would be crazy. But I was hoping that by now they'd be able to string more wins than losses together and it's trending the opposite at the moment.

It's all a ploy to give posters on here something to complain about. With all the analists on here.. If the Sabres were winning , they would be typeless.
- cabin

I disagree.
The posters on this particular blog would certainly be more upbeat and more jovial.
The "next year" rally cry for a team that you are passionate about is old and tiresome.
And it appears to me that Murray has done nothing to improve this franchise since he has been here.
The points and that product on the ice last night don't lie, especially when you can see it with your own eyes.
His first bad move was hiring a coach that had success with 2 future hall of famers as his "core".
I happen to love the rain, hence my name but this is a flooding rain that even Noah would not enjoy.

It is awkward. We are on pace for 70 points.

Most people said 80-85 (Which is still possible) yet can't admit for the life of them we are severely underachieving. We aren't even that competitive. We rarely have leads, rarely score goals.
- sbroads24

They won't.
Their penchant is to be right.
They would rather foolishly go down with a sinking ship.

Because basing where a professional team should be in the standings by using posts on an internet message board is what makes the most sense.
- stashu

This is a hockey message board.
We are discussing hockey.

When we are ready to contend, imo, of course:

The core: Jack, ROR, Sam, Risto, Kane

Highly important secondary players: Bogo, Pysyk, McCabe, Gus.

Take em or leave em (i.e. trade bait): Ennis, Foligno, McGinn (deadline, free agent to be)

Doesn't hurt the team/need a guy of his ilk: Deslauriers

Bye, bye: Gorges, Franson, Legwand, Carlo, Moulson, Gio, Weber.

There will obviously be free agents, trades, other current prospects, maybe couple future draft picks (one of those Finnish studs would be nice) added.

This team is, by no means, set.

Realistic expectations would do some on these boards well.
- grand-magus

My list would be...

The core: Jack, ROR, Sam, Risto, Girgensons

Highly important secondary players: Pysyk, McCabe, Kane

Secondary players: Bogosian, McGinn

Lesser players that would be important as depth for a cup team: Foligno, Deslauriers, Larsson, Schaller (?)

Conundrum: Ennis

Thanks for the memories: Gorges, Franson, Legwand, Carlo, Moulson, Gio, Weber

They won't.
Their penchant is to be right.
They would rather foolishly go down with a sinking ship.
- Pluviophile

To me, there is zero difference between 20th and last.

It's playoffs or meaningless, and since I never thought they would make the playoffs this year, I only care about the young players and their progress.

That and hoping to enjoy watching the games, although the NHL is doing a damn fine job of trying to suck the enjoyment out of the game.

There were many times last night where you only saw one Panther player in the offensive zone while the other 4 were packed in to their own blue line, and that was after they were up 1-0.

If they are not going to call penalties as they should, these defensive systems need to stop or boring hockey will ruin the sport.

To me, there is zero difference between 20th and last.

It's playoffs or meaningless, and since I never thought they would make the playoffs this year, I only care about the young players and their progress.

That and hoping to enjoy watching the games, although the NHL is doing a damn fine job of trying to suck the enjoyment out of the game.

There were many times last night where you only saw one Panther player in the offensive zone while the other 4 were packed in to their own blue line, and that was after they were up 1-0.

If they are not going to call penalties as they should, these defensive systems need to stop or boring hockey will ruin the sport.
- kingcong39

Seeing an improvement in points is very important.
Think about all that Murray has given up to finish at par or worse in points as compared to last season.
So, there is certainly a huge difference between a 20th and 30th place finish !
I take it you would be okay with this team finishing with the same amount of points or worse than last year, especially with all that Murray has given up to achieve such substandard results?

Seeing an improvement in points is very important.
Think about all that Murray has given up to finish at par or worse in points as compared to last season.
So, there is certainly a huge difference between a 20th and 30th place finish !
I take it you would be okay with this team finishing with the same amount of points or worse than last year, especially with all that Murray has given up to achieve such substandard results?
- Pluviophile

You're basically saying right now, that they're only going to get 20 more points over the final 42 games of the season. That's doubtful. They had 54 to finish the year. They're at 34 one game shy of the halfway point. If you double that, they'll finish with 68. I expected somewhere around 75-80 to be quite honest this year, which is still a distinct possibility.

Back away from the ledge. The situation is nowhere near that dire.