K-9

Yep, they are pleased as punch, because they’ve established two low bar criteria for success: playing hard and staying in it to the end; the BARE Fing minimum for expectations. And losing. Again. Continuing to confuse effort with results. Not what a winning organization should espouse.

I’m sure Botterill and Housely are quite pleased with tonight’s game. It checked all their boxes for success: they gave effort, they were in it to the very end, and...well, that’s about it. Moral victories are for losers.

I agree about expecting turd sandwiches. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be called out when they do offer it up, though. Some turd sandwiches are more revealing than others. As such, I’m concerned about what Botterill considers progress and success.

I fully understand the position Botterill is in and I'd never suggest he throw Housley under the bus. I'd find that unprofessional and unacceptable. But I also cannot accept the turd sandwich he threw out there for our consumption yesterday. I had hoped he was smarter than that. Worse, he may actually believe that giving effort and playing hard is some sort of achievement, when it's the bare minimum requirement. No great shakes in that department and I give Housley no credit for that. Every team in the league plays hard most nights. Like I said, it sounds like Botterill and Co. are confusing effort with results. This team has been treading water, nothing more. And if Housley needs "his players" to implement "his system" and we need to wait years for that or we have to wait for a team full of All Stars before we can say he's a good coach or not is a crock, imo. Good coaches can exhibit good traits, regardless of the talent level on their team. They especially need show good coaching ability when the talent level isn't optimal. I've seen precious little of that from him so far. But I'm sure he'll be a great coach when he has that team of All Stars at his disposal.

OK, not only did Housley come close to replicating Bylsma's post All Star game pace of 96 points, he smashed it! In the first six weeks of the season. Because of a 10 game win streak. Isn't there an old sports adage about not where you start, but how you finish? Housley's been on a 67 point pace since December, and falling. And, even though they sit at one point better than last year's 62 points, they will be hard pressed to equal Bylsma's season worst of 78 points. Should have kept Rolston! Botterill can support his coach publicly without insulting the intelligence of long suffering fans by offering platitudes and cliches about effort. Or, maybe not.

Then by all means, Housley needs to be in the discussion for coach of the year! Bylsma’s pace may have been post All Star break, so it wouldn’t have been an even season split. Doesn’t matter. Seriously though, Housley leading them to a great record in the first half (actually first two months) has nothing to do with today. Nothing. It was ENTIRELY the result of a completely fluke 10 game win streak. Question: was it the great coaching or crappy players that brought us that streak? It’s been so long I can’t remember. What’s his pace since the streak ended? It was at 67 points going into the Panther game. Not much better than the 62 for last year’s season. And counting. Anyway, I found Botterill’s quotes lacking in a huge way. Especially that bull crap about how Housely and the staff do such a great job communicating with the players. Really? Because they look like nothing is sinking in. But hey, they compete hard, so yippee!

I’ve been a coach K fan since meeting him and Bobby Knight at West Point at a clinic when I was 10. Been a die hard Duke fan since he became their coach. And I agree entirely with your post. I give Carolina all the credit for taking the game to Duke the way they did. It was a great display of basketball the way the game should be played, imo. All credit to NC for the win. I was very impressed with Maye. He never stops moving on the floor and doesn’t seem to wear down, either. Not the norm for a big man.

Good luck with your wager. I think it it depends on our start because if the ‘Ning start hard and fast, I can see this team folding like the cheap tent they resemble. Then again, this fragile group doesn’t handle prosperity very well, either, as the season long let down of giving up quick goals after scoring continues as well. We’ve played them tough this season. But that was before the true nature of this team was revealed. If Housley doesn’t have answers for the Devils and Panthers of this league, I gotta think he’d be completely befuddled by the likes of Tampa Bay. Im sorry. I forgot. It’s ENTIRELY the players’ fault for any unsuccessful outcomes this year. The coach actually has little to do with it. Other than making sure they “compete” and are “in the game” late in the third. It’s almst like the quit job against the Blackhawks during the recent home stand never happened.

I didn’t hear the presser, but I just read a few of his comments. I now have concerns about Botterill as well. Not because he’s retaining Housley as I can understand that in his position as GM. Rather, it’s his hackneyed rhetoric about “being in games” that has me worried. This team has “been in games” and “competing” hard for years. They were “in games” last year and under Bylsma, too. Indeed, the second half of Bylsma’s first season saw the team play at a 96 point pace for an entire season. Something Housley hasn’t come close to replicating, even with much of the same team Bylsma team last year. “Being in games” and “competing” is the BARE minimum for admittance to the league and not some achievement to be celebrated. Every team competes hard on most nights over a long season.This idea of “being in games” and “competing” is a loser’s lament. A sign that the people in charge are confusing effort with results which is a huge cause for concern. It is also a huge slap in the face and an insult to the intelligence of the fan base. Lets see how patient Botterill remains if the season continues at the same 11-18-5 post streak pace to finish out the year.

Neither. It’s Maurice.

ERod did extremely well in the handful of games he played with Eichel and Reinhart last year. You’ll have to ask Housley why he broke them up. Regardless, it’s a good move. Pommers simply can’t skate with Eichel and Skinner for a whole game. A shift here and there, fine. Eichel should be seeing an occasional shift with the middle six as well.

He’s not a cerebral coach. We need Nelson back ASAP or any other RH Dman. It’s a disadvantage to have Dmen playing on their off hand.

I certainly haven’t. I scooped up large swaths of land along the Rt. 36/408 Letchworth corridor because I connected the dots.

It’s interesting to see how your bar keeps lowering as the season wears on. It went from being happy to contend for a playoff spot, to a 25 point improvement, to a 20-25 point improvement, and now to a 16-18 point improvement as being an acceptable barometer of progress. I guess when a team is the first in league history to finish in 31st place with 62 points, then any incremental improvement is acceptable. We shoulda stuck with Rolston. To my question, is it possible for a coach to be a bad coach even if he has poor players?

I was willing to see where we were on Halloween. If we were within the magical four points, I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. And then the streak happened and that changed the equation for everyone. But, as it turned out, it was fools' gold. And we all should have looked more closely at the nature of that streak at the time, but we wanted, NEEDED, to believe and nobody wanted to be that stick in the mud. In many ways, I think that streak was the worst thing that could have happened to the hearts and minds of this loyal fan base. I think we will see that manifested when the crowds start to dwindle and what crowd does show up rains down the much deserved boos. And screw everyone involved with this team if they don't like it. I will NOT have my loyalty questioned by this group of losers. Enough is enough. Eight year rebuilds are NOT the norm. We'll see how patient Botterill really is down the stretch. Good chance we will see him slam doors and storm out of the press box like he did last year.

I agree with this. Some guys just do better at different levels. No shame in that as you said. And great, HOF players, seldom make good coaches, let alone cup winners. @plenzmd1made a great point in a post last night; that perhaps Housley has quietly quit on this group rather than vice versa. Given how great he was as a player and given his success with one of the best D corps in the league in Nashville, maybe he's reached his limit. Regardless, we aren't going anywhere this year or next year with him at the helm, given the sheer amount of roster turnover that needs to occur.

Per the bold text, we just should have stuck with Rolston, then. This would have been his magical 7th year. All of the points you raise about poor players and poor veteran leadership are valid and are key reason why this era of suckitude has lasted so long. We will forever disagree about Housley’s ability as a head coach. Perhaps he is best suited to an assistant’s job. If anyone wants to point to examples of his head coaching a acumen, I’m all ears. But this idea of it taking good players to show good head coaching ability is a crock. There are traits good coaches need to exhibit, regardless of the talent at his disposal.

No surprise there. Housley was JBott’s hire, so firing him would be an admission that he screwed the pooch on the coaching hire. This team has crashed and burned in an unprecedented fashion it its history. Tough sell for the fan base to maintain the faith after this. There will be enormous pressure going into next season. Seeing how this team responds to pressure, and knowing that half the roster needs to be blown up, it looks like another long season with no playoffs again next year.

We’ve all said a lot of things repeatedly around here. You’ve often mentioned a 20-25 point improvement over last season as a positive step forward. My question was a simple one: if they fail to reach that modest goal, does it change your opinion at all? Also, is it possible for a coach to show ineptitude even if he is saddled with inadequate talent? I thinks it’s a question worth asking.

I’d say having Antonio Brown on the same roster as Jordan Poyer is an untenable situation.

So, we can’t score and we have defensive lapses. Sounds like we are equally inept in both the O zone and the D zone. And regressing to boot. There is a better than even chance we won’t win any of our next six games. That would leave us with 17 games to realize that 20-25 point improvement over last year that you’ve long been predicting. They would need to capture 20 out of those remaining 34 points to do that. That’s a .588 clip. Five. Eighty. Eight. Just to finish 20 points better than last year’s last place team. Assuming they don’t do that, does your opinion of “stay the course” change at all?

Milwaukee?

11-18-5 since the streak. 27 out of a possible 68 points. A .397 pace. And getting worse. If this keep up, and there’s no reason to think it won’t, it will be a collapse of epic proportions; history making in the life of this franchise. That is untenable for ANY head coach, let alone a clueless one. Housley will be gone at the end of the year if it doesn’t turn around in the next couple weeks. And he has shown ZERO answers for this group. None. That simple.

Sobotka! You can’t stop him. You can only hope to contain him. He’s a threat from anywhere every 40 games or so. How do you spell juggernaut! Can’t wait to hear what coach offers up after this laugher. Stay the course. He’s got this team on the right trajectory.

We’ve got a top line, a decent mucker line, and a bunch of bottom six forwards. And out D corps is over rated to say the least. So, we need an infusion of talent. Thst said, our coach can’t seem to get his message through as we are seeing the same mistakes every night. A coach that can’t impart his message, is not a good coach. It’s been like that since he arrived. I’ve asked the question to anyone willing to answer it: what qualities has Housley shown to suggest he’s a good coach. Those qualities can be seen regardless of talent level. I got nothing.