Mathematically, the Buffalo Sabres are still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In my heart, they are a bunch of good-for-nothing underachievers.
After Saturday's loss to the New York Rangers, I've thrown in the towel. I'm done. Why should I care about players on a team that don't care about themselves?
Ever since goaltender Ryan Miller injured his ankle, my gut told me this team had no shot at the postseason.
The trade deadline solidified my thoughts.
Now, with 10 games remaining in the regular season, fans sit at a turning point. Where do we go next?
The team's leadership is nonexistent and, as former Ottawa Senators head coach Craig Hartsburg so bluntly put it, "They're probably the only team in the league softer than we are."
The truth hurts.
Since Ryan Miller fell, this team proved that it isn't worthy of anything that remotely sounds like the word offseason. They don't hit, they don't continue to the whistle and they don't capitalize on every moment possible.
In short hand, they aren't playing the game.
Their lack of play begs the question - who is there to blame? It obviously starts with leadership.
I wonder if Craig Rivet, the team's first single-captain since Stu Barnes in 2001-03, is to blame. But he's not. He's one of the only people on the ice that still cares. He earned his position and he hasn't failed to deliver.
The verdict? The problem goes higher than that.
Ever since head coach Lindy Ruff has been behind the bench, Sabres fans have looked at him as the second coming of Jesus Christ. With the exception of a scare in 2002-03, homers and serious fans alike loved this man.
Not anymore.
Never have I seen this fan base turn their eyes to Ruff like they have in this final stretch of the regular season. They are angry and upset that a team that shocked the world post-lockout has begun to follow the trend of Buffalo sports franchises - close, but not good enough.
It's time for an upheaval.
Minus the obvious choice of canning General Manager Darcy Regier, it's time to shake things up a bit.
It's time to let Ruff bite the dust.
Ever since Chris Drury and Daniel Briere left the team, the Sabres are only going through the motions. They know that they can underachieve because nothing will be done to them.
I'm looking at you, Maxim Afinogenov.
Naysayers can argue with me, but these ridiculous contracts that are given to these players only solidify their stay. No one wants Jason Pominville for $5.3 million a year.
By cutting Ruff, Buffalo's savior, perhaps the players will realize that they are on the chopping block as well. Maybe they will actually begin to work for their money and offer the NHL's greatest fans something that they've been dying to have - Lord Stanley's Cup in Buffalo.
I've always loved the Sabres, and I admit that when the team lost to Carolina in their dream season, I punched a hole through a wall.
If something isn't done in the upcoming weeks, I think I'm going to break my hand.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
