BillsFan4

The ROR trade looks terrible right now. I won’t defend it. But Thompson was their 3rd best prospect IMO, if you don’t count the most recent draft that had just happened a week ago. It was Thomas, Kyrou and then Thompson (dunn wasn’t a prospect anymore). I too would have likes to sign Skinner right away but it was reported that he wasn’t ready to negotiate a contract. He wanted to see what buffalo was like and how he fit (etc). We have no idea at what point he became open to negotiating, but it was reported that negotiations started around the all-star break (or shortly after) and that both parties felt good about getting an extension done eventually. So you can’t blame Botts for not trading him at the deadline. That’s not the best strategy to further negotiations. The Sabres were still technically fighting for a wildcard spot, too. Plus, Skinner has a full no movement clause so he fully controlled the situation (That’s how he ended up getting traded here for so cheap in the first place). There were reports (from Jeremy White’s secret Sabres source iirc, so not the most reliable) that Skinner was originally asking for $9+M, as well. If that’s the case you can’t blame Botterill for not signing him. Skinner’s great but he’s not worth $9M a year. Stuff like this is hard to judge without all of the proper information. I still haven’t lost hope of Skinner signing, though. Even if it goes to the tampering window so both sides can see what the offers are like. We can still offer that 8th year up until July 1st. And Skinner supposedly wanted to be near his family in Toronto (and there’s no way the leafs are happening). Maybe Botterill plays his bluff and gets us a fair/good deal... (I can dream, right? lol) Hunwick was the reason Botterill got Sherry for a 4th. He used the Pens cap situation and Hunwick’s contract to pry sherry away on the cheap. So I can see why Rutherford would want some type of protection in place in case Botterill tried to turn around and flip Hunwick for a late pick or something. I don’t see this as anything to criticize. I actually see it as a smart strategy by Botterill to use a bit of the Sabres extra cap space to acquire a good depth player for cheap (something the Sabres need more of). And as for the Reinhart deal, you have to look at it fairly. Botterill only saw 1 year of Reinhart before he had to sign him to a new deal. Look back at that season. For the first half of the year Reinhart only had 11 total points in 38 games. Then went on a tear scoring 39pts in 44. I can see why he wanted more time to evaluate reinhart before before handing out a big money long term deal. We fans saw more of Reinhart and many were more sold on him. I wanted a longer term deal too. But I get where Botterill was coming from. Plus we don’t know how much Sam wanted. What if he was asking for $8M or something? Not saying he was, just say8ng we don’t have all the info. So far Botterill has been a mixed bag for me. I am still in wait and see mode. He’s done some good things (Montour trade, Skinner trade, Sherry trade, even the Scandella trade was pretty decent at the time). The only move I really hated was the ROR trade, and it looks like a doozy right now. Thompson’s development can help change that, as well as some huge luck with the 2 picks still coming (not holding my breath on that...). But we also don’t know what role the Pegulas and that $7.5M payment played. The reportedly lose money on the Sabres, so I can’t necessarily blame the owners if they didn’t want to eat that payment. And ROR’s end of the year comments + ticking clock on the bonus didn’t exactly put buffalo in a position of strength in negotiating a trade. But it was still an awful trade that set the Sabres back. Struggling teams like buffalo can’t afford to make trades like that. You have to get a better return for a player of ROR’s caliber. It could be a move that haunts us for years if Tage doesn’t develop. Though the STL pick could still end up being part of the Montour trade, which would make it ROR for Montour, Thompson and a 2nd (plus Sobotka/Berglund). That would be a little better at least. Anyway.... This offseason is a big one for Botterill. He has to plug some holes somehow. And I’ll be holding my breath on any Risto trade. The return better be good if he’s traded. I still find myself cautiously optimistic about Botterill and the Sabres. I like the Krueger hire, especially if he lands a good experienced assistant coach. There’s a lot of potential there with Krueger.

Vanek really singing his praises https://theathletic.com/978383/2019/05/14/as-sabres-tab-ralph-krueger-to-become-their-next-coach-one-of-teams-former-stars-sings-his-praises/ (sub required) Krueger took a no-name Austrian team to 5 straight championships and a euro cup. Another interesting article - (no sub required) How Does A Canadian Hockey Coach Run An English Premier League Team? https://medium.com/where-others-wont/ralph-krueger-southampton-37c7b59277b7 Some interesting quotes from Krueger in the article. Worth a read.

McKenzie has spoken. Ralph Krueger it is. lol I’ll gather up some Ralph Krueger articles for everyone here when I get a chance. Teams have reportedly been chasing him for years, so I have to give Borterill some credit for landing him.

Friedman says if his intel is right, Ralph Krueger could be hired by buffalo as soon as tomorrow. I think his contract with Southampton officially ends tomorrow, so it would kind of line up. I guess we will see... was still kind kind of hoping for Tippett. But Krueger is a good hire if Tippett turned us down. Definitely intriguing enough that I’ll be excited and cautiously optimistic about it. Though there’s obviously risk to a Krueger hire, he’s never really bombed out anywhere. He always seems to leave a place in better shape than it was when he got there, so... I could also see him transition into a front office role here in time. That’s something he’s said to be interested in eventually doing. He definitely has the unique skill set to do it. If it is Krueger, you can’t get mad at Botterill for going with yet another retread. Krueger is definitely not that. He is a bit of an outside the box hire. And Krueger himself is an outside the box, forward thinker. It’ll definitely be an interesting hire.

https://www.gofundme.com/pancho-power might as well post the link to his go fund me here too.

https://www.gofundme.com/pancho-power just wanted to post this again. All proceeds go to pancho’s family.

RIP Pancho. You touched a lot of lives, inspired a lot of people and you Will be remembered for many years to come. Not everyone can say that they made such a mark on so many people. Thoughts and and prayers with Ezra’s significant other and his children in this difficult time.

Krueger has turned down multiple NHL jobs in recent years (at least 2 in just the last 2 years). Teams have been trying to get him back in the NHL going back to at least 2016. But he wouldn’t break his contract with Southampton. His contract just expired less than a month ago. He is actually a very well respected hockey mind, and is known for getting more out of his teams than anyone really expected. He’s done it almost everywhere he’s been - German league, Swiss team, his 1/2 season in Edmonton and just recently with Southampton. He is kind of like a rich man’s Ted Nolan. It is a risk though. He doesn’t have a proven NHL track record, has been out of hockey for a few years and has more experience with the European game. But he is a valid, respected coaching candidate. Teams have been trying to lure him back for years. Id prefer Tippett, but I’m not sure if he’s an option. I agree that Friedman did make it sound like McLellan and Tippett may have chosen other teams over the Sabres. But that could just be because McLellan has a close relationship with LA’s GM and Tippett has a close relationship with Ken Holland (plus Holland never fires his coaches, so Tippett knows he will get time to fix the Oilers). If candidates really are being scared away, I don’t really think it’s anything Botterill did though. I think its likely due to how many coaches and GMs have been fired since Pegula bought the team. They’ve fired a coach and/or GM about every 2 years. We are going on our 5th head coach in the 6 years since Ruff was fired, and our 6th head coach since Pegula took over in 2011. fired Ruff in Feb. 2013. Fired Rolston and Regier Nov. 2013 Lafontaine left (lets be real, he was fired) in March 2014. Nolan fired Apr. 2015 Bylsma and Murray fired Apr. 2017 Housley fired Apr. 2019 Coaches tend to be cocky SOBs. Most think they can fix any mess if given enough time. But no coach has been given more than 2 years here since Pegula took over. Having owners who are quick to fire people seems to be one thing that scares off good candidates in any sport.

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/05-13-sportsnets-elliotte-friedman-instigators elliotte Friedman on the instigators talking Sabres coaching search. He seems to think they are zeroed in on Krueger (around the 17-18 minute mark). He said we looked into McLellan and he went to LA, looked into Tippett but Edmonton looks more likely for him. So at some point they started to zero in on Krueger.

We are already down 2 defenseman to start next season (Bogosian and now Pilut). Best wishes on a speedy recovery Pilut! Wonder if it’s something he played through? It would explain why he was shying away from contact, and why it was so easy to get him off his game with a few big hits.

Yep. But that was edmonton when Craig Mactavish was their GM. He’s up there as far as incompetent GM’s go... and Edmonton, under Krueger, finished 3rd in their division. They had finished last in the division for 3 years before that (their best finish was 2nd last in their division in the 6 years before Krueger got there), and finished last in their division for 3 straight years after he left, too. The 3 years before Krueger came on board, the Oilers were 30th, 29th and 30th in the NHL (out of 30 teams). That edmonton roster all had better goals-above-replacement numbers under Krueger then after he left. He even had Nial Yakupov looking like a budding star in his only year there (Yakupov’s only really good NHL season). Edmonton fans and media have nothing but good things to say about him and think he was wrongfully fired by a new GM that wanted his guy. They would all take him back in a heartbeat from what I’ve seen written.

He’s not a soccer GM. He’s a life long career hockey guy who took a job with a soccer club for a few years because his good friend was also good friends with the new owner of Southampton. She was Swedish and really admired the job he did with the Swedish national team, and so she arranged to meet him through his friend and they both asked him to come in and change the culture of a struggling Southampton club. He said he saw it as a new challenge and wanted to take it on to help him to continue growing as a leader. Outside of his few few years there, he was a hockey player and then a coach from 1991-2016. He is actuslly one one of the more respected hockey minds out there, and is considered an innovator (he’s real big on analytics). He’s also won whenever he’s been. NHL teams have been after him for years. We would be damn lucky to actually land him (IMO anyway). Krueger or Tippett would both be big gets for Botterill.

Welcome back Lee! Anyone else remember the last time he was here (under Marrone/Hackett), how predictable the playcalling was? Every run play, Smith was put on the field. Every passing play, they put Chandler out there. It got to the point that TV announcers were predicting the play by the personnel on the field.

Aw man, so sad to read that update. Pancho and his family will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Well.... that was not quite what I expected to read through when clicking on this thread... lol. Anyway... the video was nice. Allen seems like a great kid. Very easy to root for. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/31-thoughts-intrigue-around-nhl-draft-starting-take-shape/ Friedman saying Tippett is the favorite in Edmonton, and Krueger potentially the favorite here. I would be ok with either. Like Tillett, I Never thought Krueger was a possibility. I actually think Krueger could be a really good fit here. He’s like a NHL head coach, a sports psychologist, a motivational speaker and self help guru all rolled up into one! (seriously) He’s a very well respected hockey mind (Babcock even specifically requested he be hired as an advisor for the 2014 olympics, and Babs is a tough guy to please), he’s had success as a head coach, he’s helped turn around multiple teams, he’s taught motivational seminars, He wrote a self help book on overcoming adversity (after his experience taking over a struggling German B team and then unexpectedly winning 5 consecutive championships with them). He’s also a very positive and very, very energetic person. Players say his energy rubs off on them. Ill always remember the job he did at the 2016 World Cup with team Europe (a team assembled from the countries with not enough players to field a national team roster). They were basically expected to get crushed and they upset almost everyone at that tournament to finish in 2nd.

Apparently during the intermission on hockey night in Canada, Elliotte Friedman said that Ralph Krueger is in the mix for the Sabres job, and possibly even a favorite along with Tippett. Now Ralph Krueger is a coaching hire that I could get excited about. I’ve been intrigued by him for years. I think he would be an excellent fit for this current Sabres team. Edit - here it is - https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/headlines-karlssons-health-affect-future-sharks/

Me too. I have never been less interested in an NHL playoff final 4. I don’t really want to see any of the teams win it. Definitely not Boston or Carolina. If ROR were not in STL I would totally root for them to win. They entered the NHL a couple years before Buffalo and have never won a Cup yet. But, screw ROR. I guess I am rooting for San Jose. They have never won a Cup either, and a bunch of guys on that team deserve one. I have little issue with Kane (outside of the accusations against those women). He actually really wanted to stay in buffalo and said as much. It’s not his fault the Sabres didn’t even attempt to negotiate with him. Plus, Logan Couture is a big Buffalo Bills fan. https://www.fearthefin.com/2016/9/5/12797186/the-daily-chum-logan-couture-and-the-buffalo-bills-a-love-story and Brent Burns randomly showed up at a Bison’s game a couple years ago, stayed to party in buffalo and spoke highly of the city. https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/28/three-things-to-know-how-sharks-burns-became-a-cult-figure-in-buffalo/

Both of the teams we traded with are playing each other in the conference finals, which is the absolute worst case scenario for us. Draft pick position goes by the regular season record until teams make the conference finals. So had STL lost in double OT against Dallas, Buffalo would have got pick #19 from them. Instead now we get pick #30 or #31 (31 is the last pick in the 1st). Thankfully we traded one of the picks for Montour (#28 or 29). We get the other. I said this in the playoff thread, but I’ll say it again. I still think it is just unbelievable that both teams we traded with made the conference finals. As I said, that was the disaster scenario at the time of both trades. That it actually happened feels like a perfect example of buffalo sports luck... lol

I really hope he is. It will be crucial to the Bills success this year, as well as Allen’s development.

I would be beyond disappointed with a Martin hire. He has a ton of experience and had some success as a head coach in Ottawa 20 years ago. But there is a reason why he hasn’t been a head coaching candidate for years.... I don’t think he is the right personality type for this current team either. Hes kind of soft spoken and passive. He’s not the type of guy that will command a locker room. I just don’t think he’s the type of leader this team needs. I could see the whole buy-in issue popping up again with Martin, similar to Bylsma. Plus he’s almost 70... There was a report that came out a while back (after the last time Martine was mentioned as a top candidate) saying that Martin was only being looked at in an assistant coaching type role. I am really hoping that is still true. Martin as an assistant would be a good thing. As a head coach? No thank you.

I really hope Tippett decides to come here, assuming White super secret source is right, which doesn’t seem to happen that often... but I really, really want to believe him this time! lol Jacques Martin would be a tough one to get behind.

https://www.buffalobills.com/video/mcdermott-there-s-a-lot-of-work-to-get-done here is a working link if you missed it live.

I still can’t believe that BOTH teams buffalo acquired 1st round picks from are playing against each other in the conference finals (giving them 2 of the last 4 picks in the 1st round). Thankfully we traded one one of the picks to Anaheim for Montour while it still had that value of the unknown. Unreal though. If that’s not buffalo luck, I don’t know what is. lol