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"It's a tough year," the team president said.
That summed up the obvious. The Sabres are 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference. They've won only four times in 18 games. The season is well on the way to becoming a lost one.
Black isn't quite there. After all, something good may eventually come out of the struggles. That's the hope, anyway.
"I wouldn't say that about any season [being a lost one] because you never know where the seeds of greatness are going to be planted," Black said. "So I wouldn't say it's a lost season because that would suggest somehow we're abandoning our efforts, and we're not."
Fans hoping for change at the top should abandon their efforts, though. For the umpteenth time, Black expressed his support for General Manager Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff.
"If this was a court reporter, I'd ask to read back the record on prior answers," Black said regarding his support for the NHL's longest-tenured duo.
The players may not be as safe.
"Our commitment is to winning, not to any particular group of players that are labeled as a core," Black said. "Take that for what it's worth."
Black, unlike others in the organization, did not pull out the injury excuse while discussing the struggles. Plain and simple, the players are not performing.
"Guys are just on pace to have career-low years in key categories such as goals," Black said. "If you had a team that had Lemieux, Gretzky, Orr and Howe, and imported their worst statistical years, you'd probably have a team that wasn't going to make the playoffs. There's no slight to those great players, the fact is every player has a career-best year, and every player has a career-worst year.
"Unfortunately, we've got a lot of guys that are on track to have their worst year on the same team in the same year. ... If you have too many guys that have below average or worse, you're just not going to win."
That summed up the obvious. The Sabres are 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference. They've won only four times in 18 games. The season is well on the way to becoming a lost one.
Black isn't quite there. After all, something good may eventually come out of the struggles. That's the hope, anyway.
"I wouldn't say that about any season [being a lost one] because you never know where the seeds of greatness are going to be planted," Black said. "So I wouldn't say it's a lost season because that would suggest somehow we're abandoning our efforts, and we're not."
Fans hoping for change at the top should abandon their efforts, though. For the umpteenth time, Black expressed his support for General Manager Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff.
"If this was a court reporter, I'd ask to read back the record on prior answers," Black said regarding his support for the NHL's longest-tenured duo.
The players may not be as safe.
"Our commitment is to winning, not to any particular group of players that are labeled as a core," Black said. "Take that for what it's worth."
Black, unlike others in the organization, did not pull out the injury excuse while discussing the struggles. Plain and simple, the players are not performing.
"Guys are just on pace to have career-low years in key categories such as goals," Black said. "If you had a team that had Lemieux, Gretzky, Orr and Howe, and imported their worst statistical years, you'd probably have a team that wasn't going to make the playoffs. There's no slight to those great players, the fact is every player has a career-best year, and every player has a career-worst year.
"Unfortunately, we've got a lot of guys that are on track to have their worst year on the same team in the same year. ... If you have too many guys that have below average or worse, you're just not going to win."
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