Sabres 2017 2018 season.

[cheekman]

Wow, the news had a great article on the sabres yesterday can believe it. Won't he this from local sports guys.

How do you sell Sabres tickets that no one wants? You don't. How long have I been saying this.. don't go stick it to old money bags?
Some great pics of the FNC empty. Something that you dont see when watching the game.

The street sellers are experiencing a double whammy. In addition to a bad team, online sales have diminished the need to search out scalpers. Fans can go to StubHub.com or VividSeats.com and get the seats they want with guarantees that the tickets are real.

Those tickets are selling at a fraction of the price, if at all. For five of the last six home games, tickets were available on StubHub for $6. The other game, a Saturday against St. Louis, featured a low price of $11. Each 300 Level seat cost the season ticket-holder between $30 and $53."If you're counting on selling some of them, you're getting dimes on the dollar," said Stan, the owner of six season tickets who has been reselling them for 15 years. "There's some nights when I've stood out there from 5 o'clock to 7:30 and not sold a single ticket. Not even not been able to come to an agreement, I mean not talked to a person who's buying a ticket."
By Mike Harrington: Sabres fans really aren't that demanding. Give them effort, give them goals, maybe give them a win once in a while and KeyBank Center can become fun. There probably weren't more than 11,000 ... but fake sports on tv will tell you the games have 17,000 fans.

http://buffalonews.com/2018/02/16/in...icket-brokers/

[grump]

Last night against the Leafs was fun. Bad as they are they seem to be able to give the Leafs a bunch of trouble. More than 1/2 the crowd wearing Leaf regalia. Listening to them bitch about the officiating was comical. “The league and the officials favor Buffalo.” That about sums it up. The league, which conducts challenge reviews in Toronto, proves time and again that they favor the second worst team in the league. It probably accounts for the Sabes marvelous record.

[Mr. Lackawanna]

As the Buffalo Sabers season winds down. I have some comments on their disappointing season.
The Sabers are a blah team. Phil Housley and Dan Bylsma both coaches have the same style of being blah behind the bench.
The hockey team reflects the personalty of their coach. That may be why the Sabers are so bad.

[HipKat]

As the Buffalo Sabers season winds down. I have some comments on their disappointing season.
The Sabers are a blah team. Phil Housley and Dan Bylsma both coaches have the same style of being blah behind the bench.
The hockey team reflects the personalty of their coach. That may be why the Sabers are so bad.

I said it on the day he was hired. Housley was an epic mistake. HUGE and the results speak for themselves

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

I said it on the day he was hired. Housley was an epic mistake. HUGE and the results speak for themselves

As the Buffalo Sabers season winds down. I have some comments on their disappointing season.
The Sabers are a blah team. Phil Housley and Dan Bylsma both coaches have the same style of being blah behind the bench.
The hockey team reflects the personalty of their coach. That may be why the Sabers are so bad.

And just what would have either of you done differently?

Like it or not, the Sabres are still paying for the sins of Regier and Murray. Look at the 1st round picks from 2005 (the year Sidney Crosby was drafted) and 2012. Multiple years without taking a 1st round pick, multiple misses and here is the honest truth....a lot of below average players because Regier was tasked with keeping the team just good enough not to suck.

Back when taking was still allowed, teams used to throw it all away for a rebuild. Rebuilds are healthy. But in Buffalo and the small market..it was about keeping just enough dope flowing to ensure money flowed. So rebuilds never happened. Murray went all in on the tank but was so convinced he was going to get McDavid he accelerated the rebuild too much and traded away a bunch of young players to try and win. Didn't work.

I don't think coaches should ever be judged on a single season. Same for GMs. There are a lot of crappy contracts and crappy players on the team. I think a 2 year cycle for the current HC and GM is fair. Lucking out in the lottery this year, which has never happened for Buffalo, would be nice.

2005:
Marek Zagrapan

2006:
Dennis Persson

2007:
No 1st

2008:
Tyler Myers (Traded)
Tyler Ennis (Traded)

2009:
Zack Kassian

2010:
No 1st

2011:
Joel Armia

2012:
Mikhail Grigorenko
Zemgus Girgensons

[HipKat]

I don't know what I would have done differently. I wasn't really paying a lot of attention to the coaching search, but I think I remember there were a lot of coaches moving around last year. Regardless, you're dead on about paying the sins of Regier/Murray. And it will be a long time before that's paid in full

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

I don't know what I would have done differently. I wasn't really paying a lot of attention to the coaching search, but I think I remember there were a lot of coaches moving around last year. Regardless, you're dead on about paying the sins of Regier/Murray. And it will be a long time before that's paid in full

Ya. About 4 years or so.

The challenge I see is that they tried to make a run in 2011-12 when what they should have done is tanked and started the rebuild. They didn't get nearly enough for Pominville and they should have traded Vanek the same year. Pominville just came off 72 points and they got crap for him. Vanek had 62 points in the 2011-12, but the signs were there. He has only gone over 50 once in the last 10 years since being traded.

The problem was there was not a 'generational' prospect worthy of a 'tank' so they waited. They should have been OK being horrible in the short season and the season after.

The problem with Buffalo sports teams, and more specifically Buffalo sports fans, is that they demanded being good. Not great but good. In order to be great you need to take the house down to the studs. That's being done not but it's a process.

[HipKat]

The problem with the Sabres is that for so many years, decades, they were good - not great - but good enough to be a challenge for any team and get in the playoffs most years.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

The problem with the Sabres is that for so many years, decades, they were good - not great - but good enough to be a challenge for any team and get in the playoffs most years.

Good enough to challenge is the challenge. How much better is it to get bounced in the first round than missing the playoffs in the big picture? It's like the Bills with their 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7 seasons. Getting into the playoffs means you missed the lottery. Building a team that any expert knew was just good enough to be a borderline playoff team was the problem.

In the big picture, winning 20 to 25 games is better than winning 35-40 games. Even more before they changed the rules in the draft lottery. Those extra 10-15 wins each year appeased the masses and gave false hope but also prevented the franchise from getting top level talent.


I am happy that Botts didn't rush players this season and didn't give away prospects like GMTM did. It might not work out but at least it's following the right way to build a team.

[HipKat]

Good enough to challenge is the challenge. How much better is it to get bounced in the first round than missing the playoffs in the big picture? It's like the Bills with their 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7 seasons. Getting into the playoffs means you missed the lottery. Building a team that any expert knew was just good enough to be a borderline playoff team was the problem.

In the big picture, winning 20 to 25 games is better than winning 35-40 games. Even more before they changed the rules in the draft lottery. Those extra 10-15 wins each year appeased the masses and gave false hope but also prevented the franchise from getting top level talent.


I am happy that Botts didn't rush players this season and didn't give away prospects like GMTM did. It might not work out but at least it's following the right way to build a team.

I guess I should have continued on with saying that having a team that could win any game on any given night lulled the fans into believing it would just always be that way and if you think, it was that way for so long, they had to be doing something right to keep and get talent in here, but going back, Regeir was a cancer for this team, Murray had a plan but it was executed terribly. He took a high risk shot and missed. I agree with one thing, I want a team that can go deep into the playoffs regularly, not just make and get bounced in the first round

[grump]

For so many of the last 25 years the team was cash strapped. The last couple years under the Knoxes, the Rigas mess put it in bankruptcy, Galisano viewed the team in much the same way that a house flipper views a foreclosed house. At least the team has sound ownership. Murray was a mistake, LaFontaine was a joke but JB at least has a plan. Might take awhile but it’s a plan. Rasmus Dahlin would help it along.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

For so many of the last 25 years the team was cash strapped. The last couple years under the Knoxes, the Rigas mess put it in bankruptcy, Galisano viewed the team in much the same way that a house flipper views a foreclosed house. At least the team has sound ownership. Murray was a mistake, LaFontaine was a joke but JB at least has a plan. Might take awhile but it’s a plan. Rasmus Dahlin would help it along.

I can hear the 30 for 30 now...Sometimes it takes more than one tank to make an army.

[grump]

Leftie, you’ve outdone yourself!!!

[cheekman]

I can hear the 30 for 30 now...Sometimes it takes more than one tank to make an army.

I think the Sabres and bills are having a hard time in finding one tank for their army.

Old Money bags. He lost his pants this year on attendance but wait. Terry Pegula is not happy. He knows Buffalo Sabres fans aren't happy, either.

As a result, the team won't raise its season-ticket prices.

After a losing year on the ice and at the box office, the Sabres' owner expressed his disappointment in a letter to season-ticket holders that arrived Thursday.

"I'm sending you this letter so that I can personally tell you that we will not be raising Season Ticket prices this year," Pegula wrote. "You've been loyal to us in one of the most difficult times in franchise history, and you deserve better."

The Sabres have been raising prices by approximately 5 percent every year since Pegula bought the team in 2011. While the streak of missing the playoffs has continued to seven seasons, the run of price hikes is over. He has no choice if he did next year no one will go.
Buffalo finished 31st in the 31-team NHL and won just 11 of its 40 home games. (What a joke) The Sabres announced their lowest attendance average since the 2005-06 season. No-shows were in the thousands for many games. about time then how long did that take for this people to finally stop going.

"I've challenged everyone in the organization to be better," Pegula said. "Every single person, including me, needs to improve on everything we do. Youra goofball sell the team

[grump]

Rasmus Dahlin will look good in a Sabres uniform. Also, I’m intrigued by the signing of college free agents. These guys are older and more physically mature and may be able to step in sooner rather than later. I’ll be interested to see who gets moved out in the offseason.