Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - Will The Buffalo Sabres EVER Turn It Around?? w/Rob Ray | BB Clips

Episode Date: December 8, 2025

Boomer and Rhett are joined by Rob Ray — former Buffalo Sabre and now colour analyst for the team — as they break down the current state of the Buffalo Sabres. Will this franchise ever turn things around? Despite high draft picks, talented young players and years of hope, the Sabres continue to spin their wheels and frustrate the great people of Buffalo. Rob Ray brings honest insight from inside the market and shares why this team still can’t make the jump.VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/G3WCFdanes4#nhl #nhlshorts #nhlplayoffs #nhlpredictions #nhlhockey #nhlpicks #stanleycup #stanleycupfinal #buffalosabres #buffalo #buffalobills CHECK OUT OUR STUFF ⬇️BARN BURNER MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/shirts/FlamesnationBARN BURNER SHORTS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9&si=jo8iNGxT4ImhS2Y8📲 Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fnbarnburner/X (Twitter): https://x.com/barnburnerfn?lang=en🎧 Listen on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/barn-burner-boomer-pinder-with-rhett-warrener/id1648562889Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mc6Qd5U22R2zbMlQ7RxIiProducer: Jack Haverstock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So what about these sabers? Yeah. This guy, he gets wound up. I'm a fan of the sabers. So am I. I should do better. And I think the people in Buffalo are great people and they haven't been able to enjoy a competitive team or a long time.

Yeah. There's a lot of things I haven't enjoyed in long time. Yeah. It's like they're the cautionary tale because we're here. And you know what the flames are. It looks like a team that should probably. try and pick high for a little bit and turn some things around and that, well,

just hasn't worked for the Sabres. Yeah, we'll look at the Sabres. That's what rebuilding the Sabres. So what is, I'm sure it's not any one thing. You've got to draft well, your trades have to work out, your contracts and all of that sort of thing.

But it is, I mean, it's kind of historic now, how long the Sabres have missed playoffs. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, but there was a lot of years there too when you're changing coaches a lot, there was no stability anywhere, right? So now, you know, you keep guys in place now

and everybody thinks that's the problem. They're here too long or, you know, they're not doing it. It takes a while, obviously, it does, but is that an excuse? No. I think you can sit there and be a general manager and look at a kid and say, this kids can play, this kid, the coaches, you know, tell them what you want.

It comes down to the guys themselves. It doesn't matter what the coach or general manager a lot of the time does. It's the guys on the ice. And I think that in our case, a lot of the times, it's just them needing to take a little more responsibility for what's going on on on the ice. It's, you can't keep just making excuses about things. And as player that, you know, it's because of this.

It's because of the injuries. It's tired. It's this. Go play. everybody else everybody goes through the same thing but you know i i think that in our position you get a management and coaches they get a ton of heat because of the performance of the guys and realistically it's you tell your kids to do something and you hope they do it but if they don't then you're a bad parent right you it's just kind of you would think somewhere the

covid year lockouts it's not like they've been devoid of talent that they wouldn't just kind of but they're back in one year you're you're back in one year you're Like some other teams hit the shits and then all the savers sneak in as a second wild card or whatever. I just think that in the last few years you kind of hit that point where you go on those too longest kids and then you can't recover from it. And, you know, whether, how weather good you play going down a stretch, you know, I think once we got within one point and, you know, a few points here and there, it's you got to avoid that long stretch. and so far in the last number of years we haven't been able to avoid that long stretch of losses because you just can't recover.

Like even a season like this, we're in last place in our conference and you're only six, seven points out of, you know, third place in your division. So, you know, if you go on a stretch or a good or bad, it can either put your rate in there or it sets you back where it's hard to recover.

Yeah. Your first overall picks haven't, being, like, I think Dahlin's a hell of a player. But power isn't. He's a celebrini or whoever. No, but a defense too, you know, you guys always say his defense, it takes more time. Oh, for sure. I still think he's mature and all this kind of thing.

He's a highly skilled guy, you know, obviously big and skate like the wind. And, you know, I think sometimes he just maybe a little indecisive. Do I go? Do I go? Do I, you know, do I take this man? do I not and I think that's maybe the one thing that kind of hampers him sometimes but as a player he's he's awesome he's a very good player it's just game situations it's indecisive sometimes it gets me in a bad spot it's it's you you want to be able to the year that you pick first overall could this be a generational player a game changer and and and he isn't that like you say it's

like badard is 20 and celebrini's 19 and and they're going to make the Olympics kind of thing. It's that that hasn't really worked out. And there's nothing to Sabres. That's just the timing of the draft. You know, we've got our first, first overall is our D. You know, obviously forwards are going to get more attention because they're going to be scoring goals.

You know, they're going to be in the offense all the time. And that's what everybody knows and everybody thinks. And, oh, you got to have the offense. You know, so other guys, you know, they don't get that same attention. Yeah. But like Benson hasn't scored in forever. Yeah. Like is that what you mean by these guys got to pull up their own socks?

And the coach can't make you. No, the coach can't make you do it. And, you know, it's up to you. They lay the game plan, but it's, it's the individual. Because when you look at the ducks in Saddle-Ozay, it's like, drafted high, drafted high, drafted high, well, look, now the ducks are off. And the Saddle's, look at just, you know, Jack Quinn and like he said, Benson, two first overall.

the, in theory, that that should be kind of the same story for the Sabres, but it hasn't been yet. Is the goaltending that poor that it's letting? No, goaltending, especially off the hop, Lyon was smoking off the hop, and he was doing really well. Ellis, since I picked him up, maybe one tough game, maybe one or two, but he's played really well. Lukinen's played decent since he come back, too. He, you know, they, they have the three goalies because they weren't sure about Lukinen. They, like, he was pretty, you know, whatever injury at the beginning of the year. And then he's, you know, so they're, they're kind of sitting there, okay,

we got to kind of protect this situation here. Do we, do we, do we, you know, figure he's going to be okay? And then what do we do if we're getting a bad spot? So, well, and the kid they were going to hand the reins to a couple years ago that Levi hasn't. Yeah. Now, he, you know, he's played well in the minors, but he's consistently, he's, you know, this year he's not where he was. I don't think in the minors, but, you know, when he's had a chance to come up,

Has he, you know, stole the reins? No. So it's another situation where a little more time that, you hope you see, they establish himself mature and grow and get to where they need to be. It just feels like the plan has never really come together. Like Levi, I think at this point was expected to be kind of our wolf where it's like, yeah, we're going to have him locked in. Or at least him stepping in when, you know, UPL's deals over and maybe,

moving on or whatever and then, you know, this guy's the air apparent. At least sharing, yes. But you know, it's, you never know. Like, that's, everybody thinks just because somebody's drafted in a certain position that they're going to be successful. That's, this league is littered with guys that, you know, were high picks and they're drafted. Incorrectly.

Yeah. You know, they're playing third, fourth line, you know, situations on teams. It felt like maybe there was a turning point when, when Tuck went there. So here's a guy. I grew up. Yeah. Connolly and I love Buffalo. It's like that's what you need.

You need those guys to care about the crest and the city and that sort of thing. And now here we are. I don't know. Tuck's as he played well enough, he needs a contract. You bring him back. You need the guys that are going to be happy to play there. Paterka obviously wasn't that guy.

And you thought Tuck was that guy. What do they do with Tuck? Is that? Tuck is a pretty popular guy back home. And, you know, he's still, you know, you're going to be 30 at the end of this year. He's, you know, everybody thought it was going to be injuries, you know, carrying through it.

He's done a good job of maintaining that, staying in the lineup, doing his, he's a very good player. Like, telling me kills, stick a lot. He's fast still. He's got a great shot. Him and Thompson seemed to have, you know, very good chemistry when they play together. So he's still doing his thing. I think, you know, in a lot of cases, especially on the road,

we're having a hard time scoring goals on the road that, you know, kind of reflects on, you know, the people are going to look at and go, well, you're not doing your job. At home, you know, we do a nice job of that. Is he a good, he's a hell of a player, and he's a really good guy, and people enjoy him. He's a good leader in the room. He leads by example, all that kind of thing you want to see. So, you know, as far as signing him, that's up to them. I don't know, you know, the money, obviously the cab's going up.

There's a lot more money, and I think guys in those situations are sitting there looking at it and going, And, hey, you know, I can maybe ask for a little more because of that. But, hey, if Alex Stock stays, that's not a problem. So if Mr. Pagula walks up to wherever you're calling the game that night, Robin, he'd talk to you for a second. Yeah. I heard that fat guy in Calgary on that podcast. He was talking about maybe that is what we need.

We need a guy dyed in the wool with sabres blood running through his veins. Here's the keys. president hockey ops you're running this team do you do you say yes and if so what's what's the first thing we're doing i would say thank you but i'm come on more than happy doing what we're doing right now you would do it i i'll tell you what mr baguul is a fan through and through and and he he loves the team he loves everything about it the town the stuff that they have done that family in our town is crazy the amount of money they've spent around there to make things better downtown, to build things, to, you know, maintain things to donate.

They've done so much. And, you know, you hear all these people, sell the team, sell the team, well, careful what you wish for. That's so, that's so dumb in my mind when they sit there and they go, oh, you've got to get a new owner. This guy is doing as an owner what he's supposed to do. he's supplying the funds. He's trying to put the right people in place to make these decisions.

You know, if it doesn't work, and he's shown that he's not hesitant to move and make changes. So I think he's a good guy. And if you wanted to have that conversation with him, he's a kind owner that would stand there with you for 20 minutes and have that conversation. So he's a good man.

It's a good family. And I think people that are out there saying, well, everything but then they're they haven't got they don't know they haven't got to figure it out because it's a small market team yeah you you you there's only so many trevor and you you can bring into an organization in a in a small market it's probably similar to here it's i mean you think so you got to make sure that you do the right thing with what you have he ain't whining or complaining about no he's not and and and probably losing lots of money a year sure and doesn't sit there and go

and you know blame whatever because he's losing the money he's trying to they're continuously behind the scenes of people in positions in the organization from ticket sales to marketing to that stuff is those positions have changed so much over the years that they're continuing trying to find the right recipe to make it work.