Can we take a step back here for a moment

[LABillsFan]

The Sabres have been on a roll the last 2 seasons. And we all can blame the FO for Drury, Briere and now Campbell. To borrow a phrase, the didn't win with them....You know the rest.

Every NHL team goes through this. Including Det, NYR, Mont, Dallas etc. Remember Det being 1st overall and losing in the first round in the playoffs a few years back?

The Sabres need to make changes because the game has changed in the last 2 seasons. It's getting physical again and the Sabres (and I know 99.9% of you) know they lack in that area. Kaleta is still young, Mair and Gaustad are decent but you need toughness out of your first 2 lines as well.

I don't like the fact the Sabres have fallen this far back this year, but the 2 playoff series losses can't be ignored. They need to rebuild and the homegrown players are going to get cut. But the system works, the right cogs aren't there this year so they have to make these changes.

[Philagape]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

They could have kept the roll going. When you have a shot, you take it, or what's the point of even having a team?

[LABillsFan]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

They had 2, other teams figured them out and caught up. IMHO, they saw the writing on the wall.

[raphael120]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

I think it's quite obvious we weren't making any noise in the playoffs WITH Campbell.

We lost at home against the Rangers, Penguins, Flyers, and the Bruins.

Those are the teams that we're fighting playoff spots for and we're losing to all of them.

Do you want a consolation prize of limping into the playoffs and getting beat or do you want to take a chance and get better and build for next season, meanwhile still having a decent shot at making the playoffs this year?

And again...you can either have had Miller or Campbell. It wouldve been highly unlikely to get both signed.

[OpIv37]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

Fine- we weren't winning with Campbell, Briere and Drury- well, actually we WERE winning- we just weren't winning it all.

So we need to improve- fair enough. But you have to REPLACE them. You can't just lose players of that caliber and pull some guys up from Rochester and expect to get BETTER.

I have no problem with changing a formula that isn't working, but that change has to include additions as well as subtractions.

[Philagape]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

They had 2, other teams figured them out and caught up. IMHO, they saw the writing on the wall.

The league didn't catch up, we fell back.

[LABillsFan]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

The league didn't catch up, we fell back.

Even Rome fell

[Ebenezer]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

NJ doesn't seem to fall.

[Michael82]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

Fine- we weren't winning with Campbell, Briere and Drury- well, actually we WERE winning- we just weren't winning it all.

So we need to improve- fair enough. But you have to REPLACE them. You can't just lose players of that caliber and pull some guys up from Rochester and expect to get BETTER.

I have no problem with changing a formula that isn't working, but that change has to include additions as well as subtractions.

Exactly! Great post, Op!

[Dude]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

The thing that pisses me off about the latest FO **** up is the disturbing trend I am seeing. Unlike their fans, the Sabres refuse to want to win a Cup. They are ****ing up contract negotiations with regularity - see, Briere, D.; Drury, C.; Vanek, T.; and now, Campbell, B.. The trade itself doesn't bother me as much as their unwillingness to recognize their place in the league, and their desire to improve it.

They let Drury and Briere go and didn't replace them. They have now done the same with Campbell. Who's next, Miller? The FO is so slow and so stubborn that they are behind the curve when it comes to contracts, and as a result we are losing good players and overpaying for marginal ones.

This team last year was the best since 1999 - they had the best chance since then to win. They were missing a few key pieces that could easily have been added during the offseason. So instead of taking that core and making it better, they ****ed it up and ripped it apart. Anyone who thinks the core of this team is as good as it was last year is kidding themselves. They lost heart, determination, and skill, and didn't replace it.

The Sabres used to be a team that knew how to win and that you could never count out. Now they are a team that blows three goal leads to teams on 10-game losing streaks. They used to be a team that had multiple All-Stars. Now they are a team that trades away their only All-Star. Last year they had the entire city behind them because they were playing their asses off. This year they seem to have lost that fire.

Why? The front office, particularly Larry Quinn and B. Thomas Golisano. These two are singly responsible for the decline of this team, and it pisses me off to no end that they are happy to sit back and watch the team fall apart due to their incompetence. I pray that Golisano never does become a player in the purchase of the Bills when Ralph Wilson passes away, because I don't want to see him ruin both of my favorite teams. It's bad enough watching what he's doing to the Sabres. Where is Golisano? Why do we never hear from him? Why is he hiding? Sure, he was front and center when he rescued the team from bankruptcy. Now that he is tearing it apart piece by piece, he's nowhere to be seen. What a coward.

The Sabres may make the playoffs this year, and may even win a few games. But players talk. They know what kind of organization this is. They will sign elsewhere because of it. And the days of HSBC being sold out, and 10,000+ fans jamming into the plaza in May and June to watch the Sabres on the big screen will become a distant memory.

[Michael82]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

The thing that pisses me off about the latest FO **** up is the disturbing trend I am seeing. Unlike their fans, the Sabres refuse to want to win a Cup. They are ****ing up contract negotiations with regularity - see, Briere, D.; Drury, C.; Vanek, T.; and now, Campbell, B.. The trade itself doesn't bother me as much as their unwillingness to recognize their place in the league, and their desire to improve it.

They let Drury and Briere go and didn't replace them. They have now done the same with Campbell. Who's next, Miller? The FO is so slow and so stubborn that they are behind the curve when it comes to contracts, and as a result we are losing good players and overpaying for marginal ones.

This team last year was the best since 1999 - they had the best chance since then to win. They were missing a few key pieces that could easily have been added during the offseason. So instead of taking that core and making it better, they ****ed it up and ripped it apart. Anyone who thinks the core of this team is as good as it was last year is kidding themselves. They lost heart, determination, and skill, and didn't replace it.

The Sabres used to be a team that knew how to win and that you could never count out. Now they are a team that blows three goal leads to teams on 10-game losing streaks. They used to be a team that had multiple All-Stars. Now they are a team that trades away their only All-Star. Last year they had the entire city behind them because they were playing their asses off. This year they seem to have lost that fire.

Why? The front office, particularly Larry Quinn and B. Thomas Golisano. These two are singly responsible for the decline of this team, and it pisses me off to no end that they are happy to sit back and watch the team fall apart due to their incompetence. I pray that Golisano never does become a player in the purchase of the Bills when Ralph Wilson passes away, because I don't want to see him ruin both of my favorite teams. It's bad enough watching what he's doing to the Sabres. Where is Golisano? Why do we never hear from him? Why is he hiding? Sure, he was front and center when he rescued the team from bankruptcy. Now that he is tearing it apart piece by piece, he's nowhere to be seen. What a coward.

The Sabres may make the playoffs this year, and may even win a few games. But players talk. They know what kind of organization this is. They will sign elsewhere because of it. And the days of HSBC being sold out, and 10,000+ fans jamming into the plaza in May and June to watch the Sabres on the big screen will become a distant memory.

Wow! Excellent post, Dude. I couldn't have said it any better myself.

[raphael120]

Re: Can we take a step back here for a moment

I pray that Golisano never does become a player in the purchase of the Bills when Ralph Wilson passes away, because I don't want to see him ruin both of my favorite teams. It's bad enough watching what he's doing to the Sabres.

LOL

The Sabres are doing the same thing as the Bills. The Bills have been even more messed up in recent past. Overpaying the wrong people and hitting and missing with bringing in the young talent.