Long rant coming, feel free to skip if all you are interested in is trying to make fun of semantics. I promise I won't continue this discussion past this rant anyway.
I see that the concept that the Sabres are currently (and have been for several yaers) a team that plays hockey at a very slow pace compared to the rest of the NHL is challenging for some here to accept. In fact. the idea is one of the most out there ever on these boards. Well, since it's more important to try to attack wording than the actual points let me try to give an example of what I mean.
Everyone saw the game against Chicago. The Sabres were lucky to be tied after two periods, but they were not being blown out of the rink. Was that because the Nolan hustle is the great equalizer or because the Blackhawks didn't play nearly up to their potential? The third period showed anyone with any sort of clue about hockey how far the Sabres are away from even being able to pretend to play with the elite teams in the league. Sure, we can't expect to compare to the power houses of the league I am sure many will retort, and I agree, but at the very least you want to look like your playing in the same league.
The Sabres have only looked semi competent against Carolina, another total turd that is playing at a very low level. Still, when the chips were down the Hurricanes were able to completely skate circles around the Sabres to tie the game up. The reality is that the way the Sabres are playing right now, they are not at NHL level. Not elite, not mediocre, they are not even a poor NHL team. They play as if they are an AHL team.
It's not because the players can't stick handle, or because no one can skate at all. The biggest issue is that the Sabres can not play the game at an NHL pace. That means, they are hardly ever cleanly first to the puck, they are unable to complete a pass when there is any sort of pressure, they can not gain control of the puck in their own zone or hold on to it for any time at all in the offensive zone and they never end up with the puck when possession is contested. I am sure people will say that it's because there's no talent on the roster, but the way I see it all of these problems comes from the same issue: The Sabres play the game too slow. Against a competent opponent they are incapable of making the plays they need to make because they don't have enough time to do what needs to be done. That's why passes and up 6 feet behind players, why people get worked off the puck so often, why no one seems to be able to clear the zone. The examples are hundredfold for anyone who cares to look for it, and it's also the reason why the Sabres look decent in preseason, or why Foligno looks like he can snipe the puck on a 2 on 1 if he gets 2 seconds to make the play. At NHL speed you don't get 2 seconds. Against utterly crap teams you do.
Why are we so slow? I don't know, but in all team sports I've ever played, the pace of your team is set in practice. It is very difficult to play at a higher pace than what you practice for. That is, again in my opinion, why we see players have good training camps and then end up looking completely outmatched when the puck drop for real.
And here we are at the core of my argument. For the Sabres to ever have a chance to be competitive in the playoffs, we need to elevate the team to play at mediocre NHL levels, then elevate the level again to match playoff hockey which is even faster than anything we have seen in years, and then you can start to stabilize at that extreme peak level. Working at playing the games at proper game speed runs counter to tanking for last place. These things can't be done at the same time. In my opinion, it is much more crucial that the Sabres start adjusting to playing the game at an NHL level than to go for last place. Chances are we would draft pretty high regardless, but at least we have started to process of finding out which prospects will be able to elevate their game to the needed levels and who can't. Right now, we are wasting time playing AHL hockey, or playing at Sabre speed since everyone finds that wording so funny, while hoping for the draft to bail out a horrible team.