Rene Robert sounds off
In Sunday's Inside the NHL, Sabres legend Rene Robert tells Bucky Gleason he feels your pain.
Gleason writes:
"The only difference between you and him these days is, well, the former right winger played on one of the famed lines in NHL history and his No. 14 hangs from the rafters at HSBC Arena.
"Well, it's up there for now, anyway.
"To say he's frustrated is an understatement. Robert has grown increasingly angry and disgusted from watching his former team, your favorite team, miss the playoffs in two straight seasons after building a contender. He also wanted fans to know they weren't alone."
I agree with Robert. I think Quinn is a moron. He helped screw this team up during the Rigas years, and now he's doing it again.
Get him out of the day-to-day business, and let people who know what they're doing run the club.
Tell Quinn to stick to what he has excelled at: waterfront development.
Oh, yeah, that's been a wonderous achievement for him also.
Posted by: beastfan | April 21, 2009 at 08:46 AM
BRING BACK the "Angry Goat" logo! While the Sabres used that emblem, they appeared to be harder-edged, and unwilling to budge on the ice!
Posted by: Lloyd Marshall, Jr. | April 21, 2009 at 06:41 AM
"(T)he 'new' logo has apparently come to accurately represent the players, coach, GM and ownership of this team. The Buffalo Slugs...coming to a slush pond near you."
A-MEN, HockeyPuck, AMEN!
Posted by: Lloyd Marshall, Jr. | April 20, 2009 at 08:30 PM
No playoffs in 5 of last 7 seasons. 'Nuff said. Ruff and Regier should have both been long gone by now, given those accomplishments. Players don't develop. Are they too young, don't have enough talent, or have they tuned out the coach and GM?? Any way you slice it, Ruff, Regier and upper management have failed too much, for too long, to still be around. They're a quiet team with no leaders? Take a look at the team captains since Ruff's tenure as coach. With the exception of the rotating captains from a couple of years ago (when Campbekll and Pominville tempoarrily wore the "C", all Sabres captains in that period have been players acquired through trades. not a drafted player among them. What does it say when last year's captain (Rivet) shows up at training camp, plays with his new teammates for 3 weeks of preseason, and is named the team captain? It means something is missing in all the "team drafted" crop of players, many of whom all look and play the same, as if cut from the same cookie-cutter. Maybe video scouting isn't all Sabres brass think its cracked up to be. Think I'll go buy an original jersey with RR's number 14 on it to recall some of the good old days.
P.S. - What is the love affair BG has with "Roy-Boy." BG has no trouble calling out some players for lack of leadership, etc., but nothing when it comes to the supposed #1 center on this sorry team, which appears further from the playoffs now than the Bills do. If TG doesn't want to sell the team now, wait til he sees all the empty seats come next season, unless something really significant is done to spark fan interest. Just wondering - what/who would be the hockey player equivalent of Terrell Owens? Better hope whomever that is winds up wearing Blue and Gold next year or the Elmira Jackals might just outdraw the Slugs. Hey, come to think of it, how ironic is it that the "new" logo has apparently come to accurately represent the players, coach, GM and ownership of this team. The Buffalo Slugs...coming to a slush pond near you.
Posted by: HockeyPuck | April 20, 2009 at 05:47 PM
Hail Rene!! It's about time someone had nerve enough to put blame in the correct place. Quinn should have been banned from the city after the first go round. The honeymoon is over for Galisano. Put up or shut up. I can't believe he is a billionaire with such poor business decision making.
Posted by: Chris | April 20, 2009 at 12:59 PM
Robert nailed it right.........we need a HOCKEY OWNER NOT PRETENDERS
Posted by: paul | April 20, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Finally, a voice comes out of the shadows to confirm what Sabre fans have been saying for a long time. Thank you Rene, I wish I could say that in person and shake your hand.
I also like Bucky's article today, regarding the complete lack of emotion and passion surrounding the players.
Thanks Bucky for both pieces, don't know if anything will be done, I have zero faith in this franchise right now. And, I certainly plan on my money boycott until there are solid changes. But it's nice to have your thoughts validated, wish I was wrong, but it looks like things are that bad.
Posted by: Rifleman | April 20, 2009 at 09:59 AM
No comment needed from me,Rene said it all!
Posted by: dumbunny | April 20, 2009 at 07:49 AM
Remember all those games where in the post game Ruff and the Sabres say "we didn't give it our all" "we didn't play 60 min of hockey ?" can you imagine anyone in this economic day and age going to work and saying that ?
so here is my new idea for the sabres.
keep ruff and all the players you want. but institute performance based play.
each player will get half of his salary as base pay. then next 1/4 will come depending if the sabres win or lose that night and the other 1/4 will be based on a derivative of their +/- rating for that game. Benched or "didn't give it your all ?" I bet you will try harder next time !
in this system winning and playing hard is rewarded and slacking and losing is not.
I think our boys would take a different attitude towards the game if they adopted this system.
Posted by: Bill Paitch | April 20, 2009 at 03:28 AM
here are my questions.
1) a top to bottom review is promised. after 5% is completed in just few days it decieded to keep ruff and rieger. how much time does that 5% represent ? did Quinn pull "all nighters" w/ these guys ? and why would you make such a key decision without finishing 100% of the eval ?
2) did anyone see Steve Bernier's goal last night ? Biron in goal ? why does it seem that ex-buffalo players do really well elsewhere but not here ? perhaps its not the players rather the coaching staff ?
3) 5 teams in the playoffs have changed coaches this year. NYR and PP wouldn't even be in the playoffs had they not taken new coaches. why do people keep arguing that a coaching change won't help ? oh btw the Ottawa senators that beat us this year ? new coach !
So here is the deal Buffalo. management took a play from the Bills handbook. they will keep top management, spend some money on 1 big name player and bring him out as the great savior and face of the new sabres and then go on to have a season just like the last 2. We will then hear how they are a young team and need time etc....
BTW save your comments so you can repost them next year. they will still be relevant :)
Posted by: Bill Paitch | April 20, 2009 at 03:19 AM
Thank you Rene'!! Now if only we could get some more alumni to speak without fear, maybe Golisano will finally "get it", that hiring Quinn was a mistake of epic proportions. I said it before, and I'll say it again: Quinn is nothing more than a fan with connections. He is most definitely NOT a "hockey guy". Due to Quinn's arrogance I'll bet he thinks he's smarter than Scotty Bowman, Toe Blake and Punch Imlach combined. This guy knows NOTHING of running an NHL franchise. I wouldn't want him running my kid's peewee team! He's like a spoiled rich kid who got this cool toy to play with, and doesn't care if it breaks. This guy absolutely RUINED this team once before, and now we're stuck with history repeating itself. Hey Tom G - wanna be popular in Buffalo again? FIRE QUINN!!!!
Posted by: Mark | April 20, 2009 at 01:06 AM
All Robert has done is give a lot more credibility to what fans here on these blogs have been stating for quite some time.
And, you can point out that he played quite some time ago, but that doesn't hold water when you consider that the same sentiments have been offered up by Grier and several others recently.
Golisano deserves praise for stepping up and putting his money down when no one else would. However, his FATAL mistake was bringing back Quinn, who almost single-handedly divided the Sabres in his first go-around, and gave him the power he needed to meddle and destroy a good product all over again. Until Quinn gets the boot, bought out, sent packing, eliminated,etc., not much will change with this organization.
I hope Golisano is prepared for what's ahead, and that is a lot of empty seats, a very disgruntled fan base, a declining value of his franchise, and more one-of-a-kind blunders by his "hockey guy".
It's already bad enough that we just became the first team in history to win the President's Trophy and miss the playoffs the next two years. That feat is so tough, no one has ever done it. Quinn made it look easy.
Posted by: itswingnut | April 20, 2009 at 12:01 AM
I wonder if Robert thinks Quinn, et al, will actually listen to him.
http://hockey-sense.today.com
Posted by: Norm | April 19, 2009 at 11:14 PM
The problem isn't Golisano, it's Quinn.
I'll never forget him skating with the Sabres Alumni, thinking, "who is this guy, and why is he even on the ice?".
I don't think I'd see Jimmy Devallano in a Red Wings Alumni Game.
As a part owner of the team, Quinn has a vested interest in making a profit.
Making a profit and winning the Cup are two very different things.
Posted by: Paul K. | April 19, 2009 at 10:52 PM
The whole point is Rene Robert is not speaking for himself. The article was clear that many Sabres alumni have the same opinion. More importantly, active players in the NHL today have a campaign against Larry Quinn that is almost a "union" attitude. If that is so, it's not business. It becomes personal. And management never "wins" that battle. They can field a team, but not a contender.
Owners can spoil the chemistry. An example is the Washington Nationals in MLB.
Montreal doesn't want them back. Today they kept Elijah Dukes from playing because he was five minutes late, from a little league community event. Some players, including Adam Dunn, went on the field and when they buttoned their shirts, the name spelled "NATINLS". The "O" was incredibly missing. This is SNL stuff, folks. I won't be surprised if SNL does a job on Golisano and Quinn.
Robert said Buffalo fans just want an honest-to-goodness effort. It is supposed to start at the top. Instead, that's a dead end.
Posted by: David,Amherst | April 19, 2009 at 10:33 PM
The point was simple. A member of the French Connection (whether deserved or not) ripping the Sabres is not news. They have been ripping for a good portion of 30 years now on an on and off basis. At least 1 (sometimes all 3) believe at any one time they have been given the shaft by the franchise. Perhaps they have been, but it is not news. The story on Robert by Gleason was extremely predictable.
Posted by: ColumbusJoe | April 19, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Uh wait.
Did ColumbusJoe just rank Brent Peterson in the same category as Rene Robert?
Posted by: philbony | April 19, 2009 at 08:34 PM
When Golisano stepped up and bought it when no one else with financial deep pockets would I was pleased. That was short lived when Quinn was brought back in the mix, I figured sooner or later there would be a problem. Now that they have Regier and Ruff coming back they need to turn the checkbook over to Regier so he can go after some real free agents and get rid of some of the deadwood we have hanging around.
Posted by: Mark | April 19, 2009 at 08:28 PM
I have absolutely nothing against Robert and he is entitled to his opinion like anyone else, but you have to take his comments knowing that he's had an axe to grind with this organization for years. He's essentially been exiled since before his jersey was retired. Conversly if there was an ex-player that spoke up saying that management has been unfairly criticized, I wouldn't expect anyone to take much stock in it.
The difference, of course, is that bucky wouldn't seek out an ex player with something positive to say.
Posted by: Hambone Johnson | April 19, 2009 at 08:24 PM
Sell them already. I think most of the fans have figured it out by now. This has been nothing but a financial transaction all along. Of course Darcy and Lindy were going to be retained. They're "yes" men who have traded credibility for long term financial security. Lindy the player (and captain) would have never settled for the shenanigans that go on in front of the net. But Lindy the coach gets paid very well to keep his mouth shut. He's the biggest sellout in Buffalo sports history and yet 85% of the fans here wanted him retained. I feel for Robert. That's one of his fellow alumni behind the bench turning a blind eye to the to scam that this ownership is pulling on the fans!
Posted by: Jwo | April 19, 2009 at 08:12 PM
All I can say is...
AMEN.
Then again, was that a tree falling in the woods on a groundhog???
Nothing changes, we turn the page, and its off to battle with an over-hyped average team.
"This town deserves a winner. They have supported us unbelievably, and these are really tough times. One way or another, we have to get them a winner.” Larry Quinn 3/14/2009
Posted by: Buffalo Excuses | April 19, 2009 at 07:45 PM
Columbusjoe, get a clue. What have you written more than a sentence long. Nice column Bucky.
Posted by: BuffaloBob | April 19, 2009 at 06:56 PM
Wow! Rene Robert is upset! What is next the big Brent Peterson exclusive next week? Bucky needs to be demoted to the Olean Times-Herald he has no sense of what is interesting.
Posted by: ColumbusJoe | April 19, 2009 at 04:53 PM
I am glad that Rene stepped and voiced his disappointment with the club and how they have fallen off. Just 2 years they were a collection of speed and clutch play. Now they are soft like tissue paper. Robert has the guts to put his name on his commentary. I do not think he has an axe to grind with Buffalo. Like many of us, he is tired of letting go of heart-and-soul players and soft, fallible players are left behind.
Posted by: abdul | April 19, 2009 at 04:41 PM
*correction a President in charge of operation, not G.M., Quinn and Brandon the dynamic duo of land developer and director of marketing.
Posted by: Kevin S. | April 19, 2009 at 03:26 PM
Robert on the breakaway... skating in on Quinn... Robert all alone... he shoots he SCOOOOORRRRRRRES!
Posted by: ted's ghost | April 19, 2009 at 03:26 PM
All I can say is amen Rene, Amen. I don't think he cares what Golisano or Quinn says and is just telling it like it is. He feels the way I do and many others. Talk is cheap he says and so is the owner, and they need a hockey man to run operations that knows what he's doing. Sounds just like the Bills doesn't it? Cheap owner and a Gm who knows nothing of the sport,except the Sabre's have a real coach!! We have to have the cheapest owners in professional sports and it's sickening. Totally agree with Robert! You tell em! Atta Boy! He's got my vote of approval and admiration, that's why your number belongs there, he cares!!
Posted by: Kevin S. | April 19, 2009 at 03:22 PM
So either Robert has an ax to grind with ownership or knows they've been a joke all along.
As far as experts in hockey matters are concerned, I think I'll go with a 40-goal scorer over glorified property managers and payroll clerks.
Hmm, by that logic I guess that means I need to listen to Thomas Vanek. Wonder why he's so quiet.
Posted by: philbony | April 19, 2009 at 02:43 PM