Owning Our Mistakes

[Chainshot]

With yet another lost season winding down, what is something you as a poster were sure would happen this year that was the absolute opposite of your expectation? Think back to how some reacted to the Greenway deal or Luukkonen still being in net or Ryan Johnson's intentions or what have you.

Mine? That Pat Kane was washed. That guy looked so cooked and had a surgery that nobody has come back from to produce at a high level and yet, he's doing it with the Wings. I admit, I was wrong.







Just as a note, grandstanding on some hot take will probably get deleted. You want to take a victory lap on something, this isn't it. This is looking at what was held as so and turned out to be diametrically different in outcome.

Click to read more...

 

[MOGlLNY]

I thought the Finns were beyond cooked

I thought Power would explode this year

I thought Krebs would take a step to be a good 3C

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Do I even need to mention Boston? Again??

That’s two years in a row that me and plenty of others have been dead wrong. How many times do we need to learn that a culture of accountability is much more important in this game than any player…or even any five players.

 

[Chainshot]

Oh hell yeah, the Bruins never ending ability to forestall stepping back and instead just continue to churn on a like a machine.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Oh hell yeah, the Bruins never ending ability to forestall stepping back and instead just continue to churn on a like a machine.

The big question is, is that a result of years of great coaching, or years of guys like Bergeron and Chara, keeping guys honest, and passing along those lessons?

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Boston's a good one. I had Donny pegged as a Coach of the Year finalist.

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

The goaltending situation. UPL has not been consistently good at basically any level and his performance has been nothing short of remarkable.

 

[sabresfan129103]

I really did think they would take the next step and make the playoffs. I remember reading all those pre-season rankings about us missing again and had a smug smile. The team put me in my place by December though.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

League wide - Boston...thought they would drop to a WC team.

Sabres - I thought Granato was going to get the team to another level. I was really high on him last season and now... As far as any players, I'm surprised/let down most by Thompson. So much lost possession trying to be Mario.

 

[Mattilaus]

You mentioned mine, but I was sure if we missed the playoffs it would be because of goaltending.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Oh hell yeah, the Bruins never ending ability to forestall stepping back and instead just continue to churn on a like a machine.

Im still convinced Chara's leadership still has some ripple effects with their success! Amazing player, and by all accounts- an amazing person and leader.


As for me? Man, where to start.

-we'd make a WC spot
- Krebs would take a step forward
- UPL was a mediocre goalie
- Our players regressing so heavily surprised me

I was just completely wrong about this season on so many levels. I don't like when my crow is fed with negative results. Can't I be wrong about good things?! UPL is that littlw ray of sunshine I suppose.

 

[Beerz]

I was expecting more of the same offensively from last year.

Expected an entertaining and fun team.

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

Boston is definitely a good one. I was sure they'd take a step back.

For the Sabres, it's just the fact that they can't score this year and seem to lack confidence. With Donny at the helm and the same group of players, I took those things for granted.

There would probably be more but I honestly had no idea what to expect coming into the year.

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

When I predicted 85-90 points for Sabres I felt shame as many predicted 90 +. Now I feel shame that I predicted to many points...Was wrong about UPL.

 

[SundherDome]

That this team could plug in Oloffson or Kulich for Quinn and not skip a beat...

 

[MeenOlViks]

Cozens was a huge L for me. “Maybe next year Charlie Brown”

 

[HOOats]

Thought Power was going to score 12-15 goals with all the chances he had last year. Instead he hasn't gotten the same chances and his shot is still bottom bin.

Thought Levi had a real shot at just keeping the Northeastern magic rolling.

Been wrong about Ryan Johnson almost the whole way.

Thought we'd get a wild card and didn't think nearly the entire team would regress.

 

[Dirty Dog]

The bruins for me. I really expected to finally see that team slow down a lot…not so much

For the Sabres, the forwards having a down year and the goaltending not being the problem. Though as we see with the devils, development is not linear. Still have a ton of faith in our players (not so much the coaching or front office), but that’s not for this thread

 

[TehDoak]

I thought E Johnson was a bad signing and Clifton was a good one. Flip that.

 

[Zman5778]

1.) I thought for sure that Patty Kane was done like a steak temping at 350.
2.) I thought for sure that Boston would struggle to make the playoffs, if they made it at all
3.) I was pretty sure that Ryan Johnson would need a full year of Rochester before challenging for a roster spot
4.) While I expected that our offensive numbers would drop some while learning to play 200 feet.......I didn't expect THIS.
5.) I thought Jokiharju was pretty much done as a Sabre.
6.) I was wrong about Benson....no way did I think he'd make the team AND stick all year AND play the way he has.

I'm sure I'm wrong about more, but this is what pops immediately to mind.

 

[Zman5778]

I thought E Johnson was a bad signing and Clifton was a good one. Flip that.

Since his false start, Clifton has been fine as our 3rd pairing RHD.....and I think he'll be fine as our 3rd pairing RHD going forward.

 

[Tatanka]

I didn’t think there was a snowball’s chance in hell KA would let the season slip away without even a token in season move to give the fanbase something to cling to.

 

[Fezzy126]

Heh, fun thread, I was wrong about EVERYTHING except Mitts and Vic - I thought both would continue their second halves from a year ago, and both have.

Forwards:

• Skinner - Whether centered by Mitts or Tage, I thought he'd be able to keep up the elite production for another year
• Tuch - See Skinner above
• Tage - Thought he'd be a perennial 35-40 goal guy
• Cozens - Predicted a breakout; better 2-way play and more offense
• Peterka - Thought he'd develop into a 2-way PKer with a slight bump in points (~45 points)
• Quinn - Predicted a Tage like breakout, then when he got hurt predicted he would still be an impact forward and get 20 goals
• Greenway - Hoped for some solid defensive play, he's given way more than I expected though
• Benson - Didn't think he had the size or strength to stick, his tenacity and stick work at this level has far exceeded expectations
• Krebs - There might not be a player I want to succeed more than him, but he still looks like an AHL all-star level player trying to figure out what works at this level more often than not.
• Okposo - Thought we'd get more of the same, but the regression is real
• Girgs - Alright, he's been exactly what I thought he would be (in a good way)
• Kulich - Thought he would stick and make an impact
• Rosen - Thought he would be first call up and show some flashes

Defense:

• Dahlin - Thought he'd be a top 3 Norris candidate based on his pre-injured play from last year
• Power - Was looking for him to take that next step, but haven't seen much of an improvement
• Samuelsson - Last year's injuries were kind of freak occurrences (similar to Borgen's call ups with us), predicted a mostly healthy season and solid play as Dahlin's running mate
• Jokiharju - I was done with him, ready to trade, waive, whatever. Thought the vets would push him into healthy scratch territory, but he's far exceeded expectations
• Clifton - Thought he would take the opportunity for a larger role and run with it, becoming Power's steady partner with a very complimentary style of play. He was disappointing to start, but has been much better the last couple months. He's also a much faster skater than I thought he was.
• Erik Johnson - Eh, he's been pretty much as expected
• Ryan Johnson - Saw him in Rochester for the year, and maybe next year too. He's had very real rookie moments, but he's definitely exceeded expectations

Goalie:

• Levi - Thought he'd be ok with a split role. Inconsistent play and poor rebound control were exacerbated by the Sabres poor play in front of him.
• Comrie - Thought he'd be the other half of the split, but the dude can't stay healthy, and he's not good enough to overcome the poor systematic breakdowns that the Sabres are prone to
• UPL - Predicted waivers or a trade - Didn't think he was an NHL goalie, questioned if he could develop into one, and even if he did thought his ceiling was that of a backup. Oopsie...

Coaching: I'll just say that I never expected to start every game down 1-2 goals, and for the power play to be the thing that ultimately crushed our souls.

 

[Matt Ress]

Pretty much all of my optimistic takes have been beaten out me.

Team points
Dahlin - although far from bad
Power
Tage
Granato
...

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Boston Ottawa Columbus Calgary New Jersey all surprised me.

But most of all, and it should be on everyone’s list is Vancouver.