Sabres & NHL 2016-17 - Victor Antipin Signs One Year Deal

[K-9]

Are the Pegulas' too generous and accommodating? An argument can be made that spending a lot of money but not doing it wisely is not the right approach to take. When they first took over the reigns of the hockey team he paid a lot of money for unmotivated free agent talent. It was a disastrous approach that led to the tanking strategy.

 

Look at the Bills. The Pegulas hired Rex after a losing record with the Jets and a record of 4-12 in his last year there before being fired. The Pegulas signed him with a lucrative five year contract. Rex was the caliber of coach who if he was foolishly going to be hired should have garnered a four year deal with the organization holding the option in his last year.

 

In the Rex case and in the case of the Sabres the Pegulas wanted to demonstrate their seriousness through their generous spending on players and staff. What they are painfully learning as new owners is that purposeful spending is more important than injudicious spending.

I think there's a lot to this.

 

And I get the impression a lot of Pegula's employees are taking advantage of their good nature. It's great that we have owners that recognize we have to pay more to attract talent to the region and can afford that, but sooner or later the players have to hold themselves accountable. NOBODY on this squad seems to have the ability to do that.

 

We need a new Drury. But those guys are rare.

[plenzmd1]

thankfully just made my dinner reservations for this evening so don't have to listen to my son B word at me for not watching. A nice viewing at 3X when we get home should suffice.

[JohnC]

I think there's a lot to this.

 

And I get the impression a lot of Pegula's employees are taking advantage of their good nature. It's great that we have owners that recognize we have to pay more to attract talent to the region and can afford that, but sooner or later the players have to hold themselves accountable. NOBODY on this squad seems to have the ability to do that.

 

We need a new Drury. But those guys are rare.

My sense of the Pegulas is that although they are new to the business of sports ownership they are the type of people who are not afraid to admit that they have made mistakes and they are open to learning. As you described the Pegulas are good natured and are approachable. Simply put they are good people. But you don't achieve the level of success they have achieved without being hard nosed about the reality of their employees' production and the outcome.

 

Their competency was demonstrated by their Canalside development that included multi-faceted and complicated projects that got completed on time and done well. Joe Cappacio on WGR was talking about how the Pegulas go about their business. Their philosophy is to hire quality people and then empower them to do their jobs without much interference. As with the Bills and then probably later with the Sabres there will come an assessment followed by a reckoning for the employees in charge.

[26CornerBlitz]

[zevo]

W-T-F

[4merper4mer]

At least they only put costumes on the guys who,are playing crappy.

[plenzmd1]

I just came home, saw my kid was not watching...and thought...uh-oh!

 

I watched zero of the game, only seen May and Duffer post game...but we got a problem Houston.

 

 

I am all in on a blood bath that will be forever remembered in Buffalo sports history. Fire every single person associated with both teams...GMTM, Whaley, Rex, Disco...and most important Russ..t

 

this is just awful

Edited December 24, 2016 by plenzmd1

[zevo]

I've pretty much had enough with Murray....his gambles haven't paid off....I have no idea what's going on but this absolutely does not look like a team on the rise....it looks no different than the heartless group we had prior to the tank...boring, uninspired hockey to which the fans pay a premium to watch..

Edited December 24, 2016 by zevo

[JohnC]

I've pretty much have had enough with Murray....his gambles haven't paid off....I have no idea what's going on but this abosultely does not look like a team on the rise....it looks no different than the heartless group we had prior to the tank...boring, uninspired hockey to which the fans pay a premium to watch..

Just think, Pegula paid in the range of $2 billion for the hockey and football franchises. It's not what you would call bang for your buck. What's worse than the repetitive losing is the irrelevancy of both of these franchises in their respective sports. It's not only sad to witness but the bigger insult is that both franchises are boring to follow.

[QCity]

This was a five game stretch where they played poor teams (Isles, Panthers, 'Canes) and were supposed to take a step as a rebuilding team. They went 1-2-2 and managed 4 points out of 10.

 

No injury excuses now. To say this was a disappointment is an understatement. They look like a team that just doesn't care. I had to turn that game off after the 2nd period.

[JohnC]

I've pretty much had enough with Murray....his gambles haven't paid off....I have no idea what's going on but this absolutely does not look like a team on the rise....it looks no different than the heartless group we had prior to the tank...boring, uninspired hockey to which the fans pay a premium to watch..

The one deal that has come back to bite Murray is the Kulikov for Pysk deal. While Kulikov is a more physical player Pysk is more of an efficient player who cleanly and quickly gets the puck out of the zone. From a positional standpoint Pysk is a textbook player while Kulikov lacks positional awareness and roams all over the place at the peril of the defense.

 

I remember someone from Florida commenting on the trade of Kulikov. His analysis was that Kulikov is a talented player who lacks discipline in his play and his too often lapses have disastrous results. Sadly the analysis was spot on. The bottom line is that Murray traded away intelligence for more physicality. In this case intelligence was more valuable to the team than unruly and dumb play.

[PromoTheRobot]

@BuffaloSabres

 

"Right now is the time to make the push, not the end of February." Sabres getting in right mindset for tonight:

If that was getting into the right mindset, I'd hate to see what the wrong one is. Dan Bylsma might be unemployed before Rex Ryan.

[4merper4mer]

Is it possible that Murray has screwed this up on purpose because his crybaby uncle Bwyan always hated the Sabres?

 

I can't imagine anyone would do that but if a GM were sabotaging their own team they would be hard pressed to have done a better job than this @$$ hole.

[plenzmd1]

I get that. I've been to the games and have to agree about the "atmosphere" in that arena.

 

But that's not the point here. Fans passionate enough to call them out on a piss poor effort and boo them are not the same as that apathetic crowd too busy checking their phones. Buffalo is a smart hockey town and fans know a poor effort when they see it. And that's what they called Foligno and the rest out on. Those boos turned to cheers when we scored, btw.

 

Foligno is wrong to call out the fans for booing. Ironically, he is one of a couple who gives an effort to be proud of. But he needs to grow up and be determined to give us something to cheer about. That's not on us fans. Simple as that.

I agree with all this...as I said after the game last Friday ...the arena/fans take their clue from the team.

 

I was livid last week when no one stood up for Jack...and if I heard correctly Foligno went with Boychuck last night....sure is reminiscent of Gaustad....always to late and too little with this team.

[GG]

This was a five game stretch where they played poor teams (Isles, Panthers, 'Canes) and were supposed to take a step as a rebuilding team. They went 1-2-2 and managed 4 points out of 10.

 

No injury excuses now. To say this was a disappointment is an understatement. They look like a team that just doesn't care. I had to turn that game off after the 2nd period.

 

My thoughts exactly. This is finally a healthy roster and they still looked pathetic against reeling teams. Too bad there's no McEichel in this draft. Great timing Buffalo.

[26CornerBlitz]

@TBNSports

.@ByMHarrington: In wake of break, Bylsma and Murray have to fix #Sabres' mess

https://t.co/Sai7y6EHmK

[K-9]

 

@TBNSports

.@ByMHarrington: In wake of break, Bylsma and Murray have to fix #Sabres' mess

https://t.co/Sai7y6EHmK

 

Normally, I wouldn't even line a bird cage with the newspaper Harrington's columns appear in, but I think he's right on this score for the most part, especially with regard to the defense and getting some different young blood up from Rochester. I'm beginning to think Bylsma is out of his depth and I can understand why the Penguins fans were happy to see him go. I think he's a dinosaur with a reluctance to put players past their prime out to pasture. I'm looking at you Josh Gorges.

 

And why do I get the impression Murray is meddling with the lineup? It was OBVIOUS that McCabe and Risto developed a good top pairing chemistry and I have to wonder why Bylsma would upset that in the absence of a directive by Murray to put his big trade acquisition on the top pair. Kulikov is border line top 6 the way he plays most of the time.

[plenzmd1]

K-9...i agree 100% with your post. But here's my question....

 

Howard brought this up the other day...when you can only see the bad in a player. I am like that with Kulikov. I hated the trade, so I think I only see the bad in his play.

 

Can someone out there who is objective tell me how Pysyk is playing...especially as it compares to Kulikov?

[26CornerBlitz]

VS.

SABRES (12-13-8) at RED WINGS (15-15-4)

TUE DEC 27, 2016 @ 7:30 PM ET

TV: MSG-B

RADIO: WGR 550

Sabres Digital Press Box Game Preview

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 164)

Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 33 games
Tyler Ennis (groin, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 21 games
Cody Franson (undisclosed, Dec. 22) – 2 games

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Dec. 29: Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 31: Buffalo at Boston, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 3: Buffalo at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 5: Buffalo at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 7: Winnipeg at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME

SABRES AT RED WINGS
This is second of four meetings between the Sabres and Red Wings this season.
Last meeting: Detroit defeated Buffalo 2-1 (OT) in Buffalo on Nov. 23
Next meeting: Friday, Jan/ 20 in Buffalo
The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Red Wings; 1-7-2 on the road.
This is the 131st game all-time between Buffalo and Detroit; Buffalo has a 55-57-18 series record.
The Sabres are 20-38-8 on the road against the Red Wings all-time.

Morning Skate: December 27, 2016 at 11:30 am – 12:30 pm at Joe Louis Arena

[JohnC]

K-9...i agree 100% with your post. But here's my question....

 

Howard brought this up the other day...when you can only see the bad in a player. I am like that with Kulikov. I hated the trade, so I think I only see the bad in his play.

 

Can someone out there who is objective tell me how Pysyk is playing...especially as it compares to Kulikov?

I can't comment on how Pysyk is playing in Florida. What I can say is that when Pysyk was with the Sabres he was a very fundamentally sound player. Although he wasn't a banger he was consistently in position and moved the puck quickly and efficiently out of the zone. He wasn't much of a scorer and he was not much of a shooter. But in general he was a smart player and a quiet player who didn't draw much attention because his game was so clean and efficient.

 

Although Kulikov is more of a banger he is very erratic from a positional standpoint and a decision-making standpoint. His too often mistakes are usually costly, especially for a team that struggles to score.

 

To simply categorize each's game Pysyk plays with intelligence while Kulikov plays like he is a dumb ass! This was a horrible trade by Murray that diminished an already thin defensive corps.