At this point, it’s tough to describe the feeling towards this hockey club. There’s anger, disappointment, confusion and just pure shock in the way the season has gone for the Buffalo Sabres. Entering Monday night’s matchup, the Sabres had a 6-16-4 record, reaching the bottom of the NHL standings. Just about four days back now, captain Jack Eichel was ruled out “for the foreseeable future”, as he battles what’s been described as a neck injury. Dylan Cozens was injured in a game against Philadelphia, as he took a brutal hit against the boards and since then, has been sidelined from hockey activity. Goals were scarce with this team as it is, but now, it’s almost worth celebrating if they don’t get shutout.
In Monday night’s tilt against Washington, the Capitals shutout the Sabres for the second straight game, winning this one 6-0. It is just flat out embarrassing right now in Buffalo. To make matters worse, the Sabres were supposed to let fans back into KeyBank Arena on Saturday night against the Bruins. Season ticket holders were contacted first to see if the demand would be met, and as it turns out, it was not. Even with the franchise now offering tickets to non-season ticket holders, the goal of 1,920 fans I highly doubt will be met.
I don’t know what’s next for this team. Players are unhappy, coaches are unhappy, fans are way beyond unhappy and I would hope at this point that ownership is unhappy. It’s very rare we hear from Kim and Terry Pegula, but in my opinion, they have got to come out and say something here. Virtual, in person it simply doesn’t matter.
When Terry Pegula first bought the Sabres, he was in tears, saying that this was his dream since he was a child to buy the Sabres. It is astonishing that the same owner now does not release statements or rarely talks to the media and addresses the fans.
If that is the case, he needs to make a move here. Terry and Kim Pegula’s plan is not working, they are losing money with this team, and if they are so tied up with the Bills and the money they are bringing in because of the football team, they have got to hire someone who actually cares. Kevyn Adams coming out and saying that the situation they are in is “unacceptable”, then proceeding to drop the next six games after, is simply flat out embarrassing.
Something has to change, the trade deadline is coming up, and even though players wont say it, I’m sure they’re counting down the days until their phone rings, so they can get out of this terrible situation. Buffalo is back at it Thursday night as they open a homestand against the Boston Bruins. It’s sad how far this franchise has fallen, as a die hard Sabres fan who watches every game from start to finish. It is getting harder and harder to tune in as the season progresses. We’ll see what happens moving forward, as they look to snap their 12, yes 12, game losing streak.