Quote:
Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube
Haha, even I've been surprised. I mean, I was expecting bad, but this has so far been the worst hockey team I've ever seen. I honestly feel they didn't try to tank this season -- they went and spent some money on some decent free agents. It just didn't work. No one can tell me they pulled aside Matt Moulson and Brian Gionta and said "Okay guys, play like crap so we can get the first overall draft pick" and they agreed.
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I don't really you think you need to tell Brian Gionta that...
. He really hasn't been anything special the last few years and on a team without guys like Plekanec, Pacioretty and Galchenyuk - he really isn't going to to do much for you. Basically you could have told him "play like a 35 year old Brian Gionta" and it would have the same effect.
To be honest - aside from Moulson, the signings weren't anything special. Gorges on the first pairing? Gionta at 35? Mesjaros - who has been on the downside the last few years? I don't think the Sabres could legitimately have hoped for them to have much of an impact. It's hard to say whether the free agents just didn't want to come to Buffalo or if they didn't try hard enough but it sure looks like management just gave up on building a competitive team for this season. Lots of talent in the pipeline though so they'll have a solid team in 2-3 years.
