Who here doesn't think the Sabres will make the playoffs??

[THATHURMANATOR]

Barring Miller getting injured for a long period of time the Sabres are a shoe in to make the playoffs and again challenge for the division.

I don't believe they have the toughness or grit to bring home a cup but to think they are not a playoff team seems crazy to me.

[Dr. Lecter]

10th in the East.

Book it.

But if they make the playoffs they are better equipped to make a run. Morrisonn and Neidemeyer do add grit, toughness and leadership.

I don't think they make it though.

[Philagape]

and once again the bar is set high in Buffalo

[THATHURMANATOR]

10th in the East.

Book it.

But if they make the playoffs they are better equipped to make a run. Morrisonn and Neidemeyer do add grit, toughness and leadership.

I don't think they make it though.
Why would they be any worse than last year??? Please explain?

[THATHURMANATOR]

and once again the bar is set high in Buffalo
Trust me I hate that we didn't improve our top 2 lines in any way shape or form but why would this years team be any worse than last years? If anything the few moves they made improved the team.

[OpIv37]

Why would they be any worse than last year??? Please explain?

The biggest reasons are the loss of Lydman and Tallinder- I'm not sold on Morisson and especially Leopold as sufficient replacements. They are also short on depth on defense.

And let's not forget that their scoring was inconsistent last year- Miller and Myers covered a LOT of problems and they were exposed by Boston.

I think they make the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed and get killed in the first round.

[hydro]

We did lose Tallinder and Lydman. They weren't slouches.

[RockStar36]

The biggest reasons are the loss of Lydman and Tallinder- I'm not sold on Morisson and especially Leopold as sufficient replacements. They are also short on depth on defense.

And let's not forget that their scoring was inconsistent last year- Miller and Myers covered a LOT of problems and they were exposed by Boston.

I think they make the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed and get killed in the first round.

They are starting the season with 8 d-men. How is that short on depth?

[RockStar36]

10th in the East.

Book it.

But if they make the playoffs they are better equipped to make a run. Morrisonn and Neidemeyer do add grit, toughness and leadership.

I don't think they make it though.

I'll assume this is your attempt at a reverse jinx.

Otherwise, you're insane.

[Philagape]

Trust me I hate that we didn't improve our top 2 lines in any way shape or form but why would this years team be any worse than last years? If anything the few moves they made improved the team.

I didn't say they'd be worse than last year.

But status quo isn't any more desirable.

[OpIv37]

They are starting the season with 8 d-men. How is that short on depth?

quantity isn't the same as quality.

[Dr. Lecter]

Why would they be any worse than last year??? Please explain?


1. I am not sure that Miller can repeat his performance from last year- if he is not the best goalie (and maybe best player) in the NHL the team wil struggle

2. Lydman + Tallinder > Morrisonn + Leopold

3. The Sabres struggled some in the 2nd half the year.

4. The playoffs showed how to beat the Sabres.

[Dr. Lecter]

Another area of concern - One of the reasons for Myers success was that he knew Tallinder would stay at home and be playing defense to cover his ass if he got caught up ice. Will he have the same rapport and confidence with Leopold (who is more offensive)? Do they try to put Morrisonn back with Myers?

Or somebody else?

[hydro]

4. The playoffs showed how to beat the Sabres.

Gotta disagree on this one. The playoffs didn't show anything. Any team with decent scouts should have known that a long time ago. The fact is nobody plays playoff style hockey in the regular season.

[Dr. Lecter]

The biggest reasons are the loss of Lydman and Tallinder- I'm not sold on Morisson and especially Leopold as sufficient replacements. They are also short on depth on defense.

And let's not forget that their scoring was inconsistent last year- Miller and Myers covered a LOT of problems and they were exposed by Boston.

I think they make the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed and get killed in the first round.


Meh.They have depth on defense. Not sure they have a legit #2 guy though. But the depth is there. From 5-8 they are as good as anybody in the NHL.

As for the inconsistent scoring I think that is common in today's NHL.

[RockStar36]

The loss of Tallinder and Lydman is comical. Before Myers showed up, people were about ready to burn down HSBC if they didn't get rid of Tallinder.

As for Lydman, he has never been a fan favorite, until the day he left that is.

[OpIv37]

The loss of Tallinder and Lydman is comical. Before Myers showed up, people were about ready to burn down HSBC if they didn't get rid of Tallinder.

As for Lydman, he has never been a fan favorite, until the day he left that is.

But again, here is the problem with this FO. Tallinder sucked ass in 08-09. They keep him. In fact, I'll even give them a pass on that because they probably couldn't have traded him with his contract anyway. 09-10 comes along. Tallinder rebounds and has a great season with Myers. They don't trade him at the trade deadline now that his value is back up. They don't re-sign him. They just let him walk for nothing.

Huh?

But they keep, say, Lalime.... there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to who they keep and who they dump (or how they dump them). If the team was successful on the ice, I'd step back and say "they're professionals- they know what they're doing and I don't." But they don't get the results, so clearly there is a problem.

[RockStar36]

But again, here is the problem with this FO. Tallinder sucked ass in 08-09. They keep him. In fact, I'll even give them a pass on that because they probably couldn't have traded him with his contract anyway. 09-10 comes along. Tallinder rebounds and has a great season with Myers. They don't trade him at the trade deadline now that his value is back up. They don't re-sign him. They just let him walk for nothing.

Huh?

But they keep, say, Lalime.... there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to who they keep and who they dump (or how they dump them). If the team was successful on the ice, I'd step back and say "they're professionals- they know what they're doing and I don't." But they don't get the results, so clearly there is a problem.

They weren't going to trade him when his value was high because they were in the middle of a playoff race.

I can only imagine your reaction if they dumped Tallinder at the deadline just to get something. That makes no sense with the position they were in. If they were out of it, ok, I see that point.

[OpIv37]

They weren't going to trade him when his value was high because they were in the middle of a playoff race.

I can only imagine your reaction if they dumped Tallinder at the deadline just to get something. That makes no sense with the position they were in. If they were out of it, ok, I see that point.

I would have been fine with it because I knew they weren't going on much of a playoff run anyway. Clearly, keeping Tallinder didn't help.

[Dr. Lecter]

The loss of Tallinder and Lydman is comical. Before Myers showed up, people were about ready to burn down HSBC if they didn't get rid of Tallinder.

As for Lydman, he has never been a fan favorite, until the day he left that is.
That is because Tallinder has been inconsistent - not within a season but from season to season.

In 05/06 he was the team's best Dman (yes he was better than Campbell who I have always called overrated). Two years ago he was bad and the year before he was average. Last year he was very good and was in a great role. I don't necessarily mind them losing him as it is a by product of free agency and once he started to have a great season he was testing the market unless the Sabres way overpaid him longterm - and they can't do so with Myers only having two years left on his deal. (Since in 2012 he hopefully will be making 7 million or more per season for a long time if he is willing to do so).

I never had a problem with Lydman (ask Chern!). He is not an all-star but is a solid #3/#4 guy. Again, his loss was partially due to free agency but signed the same deal as Leopold and I like Lydman better especially with the injury history.

My problem is that they replaced those two with a guy that is often injured in Leopold (concussions are scary in the NHL) and Morrisonn who is a more talented Montador.

Maybe I am just beat down with years of disappointment from Buffalo sports teams but I fear that this could be a very disappointing season. They finished 10th two years in a row and then jumped to 3rd. I am not sure they can stay in the top 8.

I do expect Vanek to rebound - history shows he is a 35 goal + guy. And maybe Connolly will go nuts in a contract year. But how will the team respond to management dumping Kennedy over, in essence, less than $200,000 (and actually about $30,000)? All the while they kept Stafford at 2.3 million? Will somebody like Gerbe, who looked very good in the playoffs, dress over Stafford? And will the team play well enough around Lalime (who was fine last year) so the games without Miller are not 2-1 and 3-2 losses?

Way too many questions for me.

[Dr. Lecter]

They weren't going to trade him when his value was high because they were in the middle of a playoff race.

I can only imagine your reaction if they dumped Tallinder at the deadline just to get something. That makes no sense with the position they were in. If they were out of it, ok, I see that point.


I agree with this 100% - dumping him would have generated a rabid response and rightfully so.

Part of FA is losing players for nothing and signing them for nothing too. It sucks, but it is part of the game now.

[RockStar36]

Granted I don't have extensive time watching Leopold or Morrisonn, but I've been doing some research for a Sabres preview I'm writing and I honestly don't see the dropoff in numbers comparison at all. I guess time will tell once we actually see them play.

[THATHURMANATOR]

The biggest reasons are the loss of Lydman and Tallinder- I'm not sold on Morisson and especially Leopold as sufficient replacements. They are also short on depth on defense.

And let's not forget that their scoring was inconsistent last year- Miller and Myers covered a LOT of problems and they were exposed by Boston.

I think they make the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed and get killed in the first round.
The biggest reason is the loss of 2 guys that no one in this town wanted on the team?

I agree with this which is why I am not even remotely thinking of a cup run.

I could see that.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Granted I don't have extensive time watching Leopold or Morrisonn, but I've been doing some research for a Sabres preview I'm writing and I honestly don't see the dropoff in numbers comparison at all. I guess time will tell once we actually see them play.
Leopold seems to bring a more offensive game than Tallinder gave.

Morrison is certainly more of a physical force than Lydman.

[trapezeus]

i wouldn't be surprised either way, but i would be stunned if they got past the first round of the playoffs.

still a gutless team with a coach who seems to lost his desire to win and a FO that throws darts at a board to solve problems.

[OpIv37]

i wouldn't be surprised either way, but i would be stunned if they got past the first round of the playoffs.

still a gutless team with a coach who seems to lost his desire to win and a FO that throws darts at a board to solve problems.

hard to blame the coach for losing his motivation when the FO and the players don't give a ****.

[Bufftp]

they will make the playoffs, not sure they make it past first round.

[Nighthawk]

Simple reason that I find it tough to believe in this team is that the core is still together and that core is not gushing with leadership. Until they get rid of some of mainstays on this team, this team will always look the same.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Simple reason that I find it tough to believe in this team is that the core is still together and that core is not gushing with leadership. Until they get rid of some of mainstays on this team, this team will always look the same.
Can't disagree with this but they are clearly still a playoff team.

[Philagape]

Playoffs or no playoffs is trivia.

A first-round loss like last year is no different than not making it at all.

First place in division? Poop. Even when they won the President's Trophy, I said they should use it as a lamp.

The issue is contender vs. pretender, and I mean for the Cup. Last year they were clearly pretenders, and I see no reason to think otherwise now.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Playoffs or no playoffs is trivia.

A first-round loss like last year is no different than not making it at all.

First place in division? Poop. Even when they won the President's Trophy, I said they should use it as a lamp.

The issue is contender vs. pretender, and I mean for the Cup. Last year they were clearly pretenders, and I see no reason to think otherwise now.
Agreed.

[RockStar36]

Every single forward besides Kaleta and Hecht declined last season. If they were actually capable of earning what they make and improving, the team could be very good.