ricojes Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) You also need to look at how many man-games Crosby, Malkin, etc. lost to injury during Disco Dan's tenure. It was a ton. Googled, because WGR gave a stat yesterday that he had a good record without them and found this: http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/38804-Dan-Bylsma-keeps-Penguins-on-track-during-season-without-Crosby-Malkin.html another interesting read: http://deadspin.com/dan-bylsma-was-doomed-by-his-roster-not-his-coaching-1576186568 Exert from another article: In Dan Bylsma’s tenure alone, Sidney Crosby missed 121 regular season games, and Evgeni Malkin missed another 100 games. After a quick cross-reference, it brings us to 174 regular season games in which Dan Bylsma was without one or both of his premier talents. Edited May 29, 2015 by ricojes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFunPolice Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 The next few years are going to be a LOT of fun to be a Buffalo sports fan. Eichel is a freaking beast! There is no "settling" involved. It's kind of like this. Knowing what we know now about both guys you have a choice: Peyton Manning as a rookie, or Aaron Rogers as a rookie. They will go #1 and #2 overall (because we know that Rogers is great). Two different skill sets, both great. One (Manning) pretty much universally thought of as better though coming in. Either way you win. And #2 might be better than #1 in some ways or for certain teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 You also need to look at how many man-games Crosby, Malkin, etc. lost to injury during Disco Dan's tenure. It was a ton. You can always rationalize. You could say that Nolan should not have been fired based on the absolute turd of a roster he was given for example. The point being, we should now see if Bylsma has NHL HC abilities or not. He has a big challenge in front of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 You can always rationalize. You could say that Nolan should not have been fired based on the absolute turd of a roster he was given for example. The point being, we should now see if Bylsma has NHL HC abilities or not. He has a big challenge in front of him. If you're going to say Bylsma didn't win enough because he had Crosby and Malkin, it's fair to point out that one or both of those guys weren't in the lineup for a significant period of time -- 174 out of 401 regular season games, or 43%! That's not rationalization -- it's a fact. It's pretty clear Bylsma already has shown he has "NHL HC abilities" -- only a fool would suggest otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 If you're going to say Bylsma didn't win enough because he had Crosby and Malkin, it's fair to point out that one or both of those guys weren't in the lineup for a significant period of time -- 174 out of 401 regular season games, or 43%! That's not rationalization -- it's a fact. It's pretty clear Bylsma already has shown he has "NHL HC abilities" -- only a fool would suggest otherwise. I'm sorry, I forgot who I was talking to for a minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExWNYer Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Agreed. Bylsma, not so much. He -like Eichel- was our 2nd choice. We brazenly Tank an entire 81 game season just to be distant bridesmaids.. At least we have Rex. You obviously haven't seen Eichel play or don't know how good he really is to make such an uninformed statement. He's the real deal and not a consolation prize. The Sabres aren't "distant bridesmaids". They're one of the brides in a double wedding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 You obviously haven't seen Eichel play or don't know how good he really is to make such an uninformed statement. He's the real deal and not a consolation prize. The Sabres aren't "distant bridesmaids". They're one of the brides in a double wedding. Getting a little nervous that people think Eichel is going to be a savior his first year. I mean he will be 19 next year. Even Crosby and the Quins missed the playoffs his first year. Just hope the team and fans give him the time to develop and the pressure does not become to great.. Can hear after his first -2 game....we lost for two years for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Getting a little nervous that people think Eichel is going to be a savior his first year. I mean he will be 19 next year. Even Crosby and the Quins missed the playoffs his first year. Just hope the team and fans give him the time to develop and the pressure does not become to great.. Can hear after his first -2 game....we lost for two years for that? Saw a stat this morning that Tampa has drafted in the top 3 in 3 of the past 7 years, but they've been pretty good in between. They drafted 3rd two years ago. It doesn't take that long with the right moves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Getting a little nervous that people think Eichel is going to be a savior his first year. I mean he will be 19 next year. Even Crosby and the Quins missed the playoffs his first year. Just hope the team and fans give him the time to develop and the pressure does not become to great.. Can hear after his first -2 game....we lost for two years for that? i think most fans (at least that I know) andlocal media have realistic expectations. They think the team will be better, but don't expect playoffs in his first year. The # of points expected for him seems realistic as well. Of course, I'm sure there are some fabs who will react as you predict/fear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seq004 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Love seeing Rex love on Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 91 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Agreed. Bylsma, not so much. He -like Eichel- was our 2nd choice. We brazenly Tank an entire 81 game season just to be distant bridesmaids.. At least we have Rex. Not a hockey fan at all but i thought Eichel and McDavid were like 1a and 1b. I still hated every second of the tank. Rooting for your team to lose is the exact opposite of what sports should be. Thank god it's over. Hopefully the ghost of Ted Nolan doesn't haunt the Sabres. That crap was poor taste and I really hated it. How do you get free agents to come to Buffalo when the fan base is as ignorant as they were at the Coyotes game. That was utterly disgusting. Im glad I wasnt on this board during the suck for Luck campaign. I really considered turning in my bills fandom behind that display. GR550 was even worse than normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Not a hockey fan at all but i thought Eichel and McDavid were like 1a and 1b. That crap was poor taste and I really hated it. How do you get free agents to come to Buffalo when the fan base is as ignorant as they were at the Coyotes game. That was utterly disgusting. Im glad I wasnt on this board during the suck for Luck campaign. I really considered turning in my bills fandom behind that display. GR550 was even worse than normal. Just want to say I'm with you. That whole "embrace the tank" thing was just f$cking embarrassing. Shameful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills Fan of St Augustine Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Yeah, I think this stuff really comes easy to him because he is genuine. He is better placed in Buffalo than NYC in my opinion. I really wish him all the best and hope he falls in love with the area like so many of the athletes do and finds his home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Classy of Rex. I hope he delivers as a lot of us expect this year. If he does get us to the playoffs, I love his off the field demeanor. He's perfect for Buffalo. Regarding the Sabres stuff, I'm glad we hired a decent coach. Not a huge hockey fan, but would love to see the sabres competitive again. Down here in Tampa, people are going nuts over the Lightning. I'm sure you guys are surprised, but hockey has become really popular down here since the Stanly Cup a decade ago. Part of that has to do with the large amount of transplants from up north. Go Rex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Just want to say I'm with you. That whole "embrace the tank" thing was just f$cking embarrassing. Shameful. It was tough, man, but understandable. Seeing how difficult it was to "rip off the band-aid" that was the former Sabres' core, and understanding we were in full rebuild mode, made it easier. I can't fault those of us who saw the potential of getting McDavid or Eichel and said, "screw it, let's finish this thing and start over." I won't speak for those who attended games and openly rooted against the Sabres -- I agree, that is shameful. If I lived there I would have just stayed away until it was over. As it was, I "quietly" watched the box scores and grimaced every time one of the goalies won a game in which the Sabres were outshot 45-16. Anyway, time to move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 91 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 It was tough, man, but understandable. Seeing how difficult it was to "rip off the band-aid" that was the former Sabres' core, and understanding we were in full rebuild mode, made it easier. I can't fault those of us who saw the potential of getting McDavid or Eichel and said, "screw it, let's finish this thing and start over." I won't speak for those who attended games and openly rooted against the Sabres -- I agree, that is shameful. If I lived there I would have just stayed away until it was over. As it was, I "quietly" watched the box scores and grimaced every time one of the goalies won a game in which the Sabres were outshot 45-16. Anyway, time to move on. Lol there is respect due to your stance. You didnt wish for a loss but you instead wanted "McEichel". I drove by there that day when they played the Coyotes there were SO MANY PHOENIX JERSEYS when the sabres scored they booed. When Phoenix scored they cheered. Its like Gianta Ennis and the rest of them want to tank for a player who could take their spot. Like think about it, these guys are reppin our city. We had all out crap on the ice because they mailed it in. We traded good players for junk and guess what. That junk played as hard as they could for 60 minutes... dont they deserve some home town respect? They are playing for jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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