Standards - By: Marty Finucane / Sports

Worst fan in Buffalo gives us his opinion on the Buffalo Sabres

“I need to be better.” “We weren’t ready to play.” “We need to play a full 60 minutes.” “We’ll learn from this.” These post game quotes, heard all too often from players and coaches both past and present, sum up pretty much my entire lifetime as a Buffalo Sabres fan. The players change, the coaches change, the GMs change, hell, the owners change – but the results have largely been the same. Mediocre to bad hockey. Why is that? How many times do we have to be told we are headed in the right direction before we actually reach our final destination? What is our final destination? Is it to be a perennial contender and win Stanley Cups, as Terry Pegula said in his introductory press conference some 8 years ago? Or is it to be competitive and play in meaningful games in the spring, as Jason Botterill has said on multiple occasions this year? Whatever the answer is, the Sabres have fallen woefully short of pretty much every goal they have set for themselves, aside from finishing last in consecutive years (what kind of goal is that). So the question is, why? The answer is standards.

           The Sabres have very low standards. What do I mean by that? Well, for starters, there is no pressure to win here. This franchise has never hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup and players and coaches that come here really don’t feel pressure to do so. More stake is put in effort and learning than executing and winning. How many times, after a loss, have we heard the coach say that he liked the effort or the compete level of the guys but we made too many mistakes that cost us that we have to learn from? I feel like I have been listening to that excuse on loop for 20 years! How many times have we seen the same players make the same dumb mistakes over and over again (I’m looking at you Marco Scandella) but still hop over the boards for their next shift? Where is the accountability? What kind of example are you setting for the young guys if they see veterans making these game changing mistakes that go unpunished? What motivation do they have to work to get those out of their own games? They know they wont be benched for it, so they skip over that detail in practice.

          The GM and coaches need to raise the expectations of the players from the beginning of training camp. It can’t be just about development anymore. Your core players are 2-4 years into their prime and you have already wasted away their cheap years. Eichel and Reinhart are terrific young players and this organization has done them a disservice by not surrounding them with more NHL level talent. Dahlin looks like he will be better than advertised and I am scared to death that they are going to waste him as well because this team hasn’t been able to develop a player (not picked in the top 2) for shit in 20 years. Who is the last player picked outside of the top 2 that has amounted to anything in this organization? Thomas Vanek? In 2003!? Pominville and Roy? Tim Murray set this franchise back 5 years with his reckless style of trading EVERYTHING AWAY for O’Reilly, Kane, and Lehner – all of which are NO LONGER WITH THE TEAM!! Jason Botterill needs to raise expectations starting next year – its playoffs or bust! No more of this “we hope to be playing meaningful games in March” or “we would like to be in the race” or “we have a lot of young players that are learning”. The learning is done! It’s time to win.

            Another thing this team lacks is veteran leadership. Spare me with your Okposo’s and your Sobotka’s. I’m talking about upper echelon, veteran leadership. Guys that have won in this league before. Not 38-year-old Brian Gionta on his last legs. Guys that can step in and perform and raise the level of play of the guys around them and show the young guys like Eichel, and Reinhart, and Dahlin how to win in this league because all they have known is losing. That thought process creeps into your mind when things don’t go right. “Oh no here we go again.” If you’ve ever been on a team that loses all the time, you know what I’m talking about. Something bad happens and you are just waiting for the roof to cave in. If you’ve ever been on a winning team you think the opposite. You have the confidence to know that you can and will come back and win the game. It’s a mindset. And it all comes back to the expectations. If guys have low expectations, then they have no reason to push past the negative thoughts and better themselves overall. Losing has to become unacceptable here. No more excuses. No more learning. No more moral victories. It has to be about wins.

          If I were GM, I would be looking at pending UFA’s like Brock Nelson, Riley Sheahan, Joonas Donskoi, and Michael Ferland. Four guys that are still in their prime, and that have played on playoff teams for most of their careers. As a matter of fact, Donskoi – Nelson – Ferland would make a hell of a middle 6 line. Sheahan is more of a bottom 6 guy but is an upgrade over Girgensons, Larsson, and/or Sobotka. I still think you need to make a couple of splash trades at the draft with your 1^st round picks and some of your defensemen (cough – Ristolainen – cough) to fill out a potent top 6. Maybe you flip Risto and a 1^st for a guy like Brayden Point (RFA – TB) or Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA) or, dare I say, Patrick Kane. This offseason will go a long way toward telling us exactly what kind of team they intend on being for the next 3-5 years. The only thing I know is that it doesn’t matter how much talent you have if the standards are set too low. Raise the standard and I guarantee that the product on the ice will follow suit. Oh, and FIRE THE COACH!