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Buffalo Sabres & NHL 2018-19: Sabres picking 7th overall (6/21/19). Ralph Krueger hire as new head coach!


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2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I don't know what you are talking about. This roster has about half a dozen rookies or essentially rookies playing. They are learning on the job. There is an obvious developmental process going on while playing NHL games. Did you expect so many young players playing so much would result in instant success? I believe that Mittelstadt in time is going to be a good player. But right now he is struggling in his rookie year. You can say the same thing about Tage, Pilut, CJ, Ullmark and even Dahlin to a lesser and different extent. Will they be better next year? I believe so but I can't say to what extent. 

 

The GM took an approach that he is going to give the young players a lot of playing time. Collectively they are struggling. What I believe is that ultimately the extensive playing time in their rookie years will accelerate their advancement. 

 

If you have a different rebuild strategy then so state it. I'm open to different ideas. Whether you agree with the strategy  or not the GM has set a course and is following it. You may disagree with it while I don't. 

So..... they are right where you said they would be 3 years ago? 

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1 minute ago, BigMcD said:

So..... they are right where you said they would be 3 years ago? 

You are making no sense. I don't know where you are coming from.  This organization has been lurching back and forth since the Pegulas bought this team. They wasted at least three years with bad front office hires. The LaFontaine hiring and all the front office chaos got us off to a bad start. The hiring of Murray brought on a lot of tough talking and bad decisions. Finally, Pegula hired a GM who I believe is competent and has a coherent plan to rebuild the roster and organization. His first year he used to assess the organization from top to bottom. So we are still in the very early stages of a rebuild. You and others may want to saddle him with the failings of the prior regimes but I am not willing to do so.

 

You can disagree with his rebuild strategy of mostly drafting and developing players. That's fine. However,  I agree with it as being the best and most sustaining approach to take. That doesn't mean that trades and other deals won't be made like the Skinner and Pilut acquisitions but the main focus is going to be on internal player development.   

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3 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You are making no sense. I don't know where you are coming from.  This organization has been lurching back and forth since the Pegulas bought this team. They wasted at least three years with bad front office hires. The LaFontaine hiring and all the front office chaos got us off to a bad start. The hiring of Murray brought on a lot of tough talking and bad decisions. Finally, Pegula hired a GM who I believe is competent and has a coherent plan to rebuild the roster and organization. His first year he used to assess the organization from top to bottom. So we are still in the very early stages of a rebuild. You and others may want to saddle him with the failings of the prior regimes but I am not willing to do so.

 

You can disagree with his rebuild strategy of mostly drafting and developing players. That's fine. However,  I agree with it as being the best and most sustaining approach to take. That doesn't mean that trades and other deals won't be made like the Skinner and Pilut acquisitions but the main focus is going to be on internal player development.   

Still in the very early stages of the rebuild. Lol enough said. ? 

 

Are you employed by the team? 

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2 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

You know there is a reason not a single person outside your immediate family likes you  I will have you know the temp in Columbus Ohio never got above 38 this weekend, and never a pant was worn!!! 

 

I am willing to bet a bunch that the Sabres will fire Housley before a playoff game is ever seen, and I do not think he will be fired this season.

 

Winning breeds continuity, not the other way around. It plain and simple. The folks who believe the opposite should believe everyone should drive drunk as only 30% of driving fatalities involve drunk drivers...so 70% are caused by sober drivers...so we be way better off if everyone drove drunk!

 

 

I would be willing to wager in the 4 major sports in the last 20 years you can't find more than 3 or 4 coaches who had losing records for two years that went on to have consistent playoff  teams 

Did you end up watching the Devils game? 

 

Another ***** show!  

 

I agree on both counts with the bolded text in your post.

 

Harrington was in fine form in the post game PC, giving it to anyone who would listen, including Housley.

 

Reinhart and Bogo in particular were really pissed as Harrington called them out, straight up.

 

I enjoyed it. 

 

 

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

Just back from a weekend trip. Really debating watching. I was totally fine not seeing this coach grind the team into the ground on Friday night

 

This is a fair question: When are you NOT just back from a weekend trip? 

 

Do you get frequent driver miles? As I get older (far past your years, as you know) Long hours on the road get longer and longer.....

5 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Did you end up watching the Devils game? 

 

Another ***** show!  

 

I agree on both counts with the bolded text in your post.

 

Harrington was in fine form in the post game PC, giving it to anyone who would listen, including Housley.

 

Reinhart and Bogo in particular were really pissed as Harrington called them out, straight up.

 

I enjoyed it. 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, my....

 

Try to not get him worked up. He likes to point out that he’s younger than I am, but it doesn’t mean he’s not old as dirt. Any little thing could put him over the edge. Think of his family, if you must......

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3 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Did you end up watching the Devils game? 

 

Another ***** show!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well, i watched in fast 3X Fast Forward for the most part. I was enjoying the golf, so watched that without any hesitation. They are unwatchable again, the same place they were last year.......and have been there since Thanksgiving,!We all just don't want to admit they are the worst team in the NHL again..cause we are all idiots!?

3 hours ago, Augie said:

 

T

 He likes to point out that he’s younger than I am

 

Methuselah is younger than you. to ...so what's your point???

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11 hours ago, JohnC said:

What solutions do you have for a team that lacks talent? They are not good enough. How long have I been saying that? They have only one line that can score. There is no genuine second line on this team. There is minimal, bordering on non-existent secondary scoring. If you change the coach does that address the talent deficit? That's the issue that you continue to skirt. What fanciful trades are you going to make in-season that is going to add talent to the roster without creating additional liabilities? 

 

With respect to the playoff race I have stated that I'm not obsessed about it for a couple of reasons. The first is that I accept the reality that there is not enough talent on the roster to qualify for the playoffs. My primary interest is the development of the young players. That's the most important takeaway I have for this season. 

 

You and many others believe that jettisoning the coach will be a solution to what actually hinders this team. I think otherwise. My belief is that until more talent is added to the roster this team is going to struggle on the ice. If you think there was going to be a quick-fix to rebuilding this team then you are living in a fantasy world. 

How are young players going to develop by playing the same crappy am excited over and over and over?  They appear to be getting worse actually.  There is no on ice leadership and progress does not show itself.  Resignation is more likely than advancement under current circumstances.

 

Where is anyone showing any fire at all?  Maybe they will when they are drafted by Seattle.

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10 hours ago, JohnC said:

You are making no sense. I don't know where you are coming from.  This organization has been lurching back and forth since the Pegulas bought this team. They wasted at least three years with bad front office hires. The LaFontaine hiring and all the front office chaos got us off to a bad start. The hiring of Murray brought on a lot of tough talking and bad decisions. Finally, Pegula hired a GM who I believe is competent and has a coherent plan to rebuild the roster and organization. His first year he used to assess the organization from top to bottom. So we are still in the very early stages of a rebuild. You and others may want to saddle him with the failings of the prior regimes but I am not willing to do so.

 

You can disagree with his rebuild strategy of mostly drafting and developing players. That's fine. However,  I agree with it as being the best and most sustaining approach to take. That doesn't mean that trades and other deals won't be made like the Skinner and Pilut acquisitions but the main focus is going to be on internal player development.   

Couple of [points

 

1) Do I understand you correctly he needed an entire year to assess a team and individual players?

 

2) What makes you believe Botteril has any clue he knows what he is doing? 

 

  • his best player acquisition was bourne out of luck and him making the team worse then it was when he became the GM
  • his next best player is a rental at this stage that may walk..(and BTW, why did we give up long term assets to acquire him? Thought the plan was to grow this year?)
  • and possibly the 4th best player on the team is on walk year next year cause Botterill did not want to commit to him long term
  •  

 

 

 

3) what should be the expectations for next year..year 3 in the Botteril experiment.

  • t. Should it sniff the playoffs?
  • Should win a couple rounds?
  • Or are we gonna hear the apologists say.." hey, we got 8 first or second-year players getting significant minutes, they moved up to 10th in Conference after being 13th last year( my prediction wherre they finish this year)..have patience cause next year in year 4...thats the year we make the playoffs"
  •  

Lets not even think of what the Leafs have done for 3 years with young players...just not fair i guess to expect Botteril and Hously to compete to year 4.

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4 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

Couple of [points

 

1) Do I understand you correctly he needed an entire year to assess a team and individual players?

 

2) What makes you believe Botteril has any clue he knows what he is doing? 

 

  • his best player acquisition was bourne out of luck and him making the team worse then it was when he became the GM
  • his next best player is a rental at this stage that may walk..(and BTW, why did we give up long term assets to acquire him? Thought the plan was to grow this year?)
  • and possibly the 4th best player on the team is on walk year next year cause Botterill did not want to commit to him long term
  •  

 

 

 

3) what should be the expectations for next year..year 3 in the Botteril experiment.

  • t. Should it sniff the playoffs?
  • Should win a couple rounds?
  • Or are we gonna hear the apologists say.." hey, we got 8 first or second-year players getting significant minutes, they moved up to 10th in Conference after being 13th last year( my prediction wherre they finish this year)..have patience cause next year in year 4...thats the year we make the playoffs"
  •  

Lets not even think of what the Leafs have done for 3 years with young players...just not fair i guess to expect Botteril and Hously to compete to year 4.

Now you are going from we are doomed because of our HC to we are doomed because of our GM.

 

The GM acquired Skinner, our best goal scorer, for virtually nothing. Is there a risk that he might not sign with us? Yes, there's always a risk that a deal won't work out the way you want it to. If you are afraid of taking risks then are  you arguing that we should cowardly do nothing out of fear that a transaction might not work?  You are making the absurd argument that giving up any asset for a player violates my preference of not willing to trade assets for a deal that makes this team better. Stop with that foolish logic. I never said I wouldn't make a deal that made us a better team. The point that I made and you constantly are cheaply distorting is that I wasn't willing to give up a future asset for a deal that was only to make us better for a  meaningless benefit of making us more competitive in a wild-card race. 

 

Now you are criticizing an organization that is playing a lot of young players because their play is hindering the team. By giving these young players significant playing time the hope is that they will get better sooner. What do you expect from them? Instant greatness? Is Jack better in his third year than his first? Is Reinhart better in his fourth year than his first? Will Ullmark be better next year compared to this year because he got major playing time this year? Will Dahlin be better in his second year compared to his rookie year? etc. etc. 

 

You point to Toronto as an example to follow. What you fail to remember is that they struggled for quite a while as the young players got better together. It's gotten to the point where you have gone crazy because of the predictable struggles of a young team. As I have stated for a long time this roster still has some glaring deficits. There is simply not enough talent to field a full roster. As it stands we don't have a legitimate second line. It's going to take time to address those needs and internally have the young players on the roster get better. 

 

If you can't handle the frustration and exasperation of following this team then watch more golf. Or drink yourself into oblivion so you don't have to soberly face the tough reality of a rebuilding team. 

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1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Now you are going from we are doomed because of our HC to we are doomed because of our GM.

 

The GM acquired Skinner, our best goal scorer, for virtually nothing. Is there a risk that he might not sign with us? Yes, there's always a risk that a deal won't work out the way you want it to. If you are afraid of taking risks then are  you arguing that we should cowardly do nothing out of fear that a transaction might not work?  You are making the absurd argument that giving up any asset for a player violates my preference of not willing to trade assets for a deal that makes this team better. Stop with that foolish logic. I never said I wouldn't make a deal that made us a better team. The point that I made and you constantly are cheaply distorting is that I wasn't willing to give up a future asset for a deal that was only to make us better for a  meaningless benefit of making us more competitive in a wild-card race. 

 

Now you are criticizing an organization that is playing a lot of young players because their play is hindering the team. By giving these young players significant playing time the hope is that they will get better sooner. What do you expect from them? Instant greatness? Is Jack better in his third year than his first? Is Reinhart better in his fourth year than his first? Will Ullmark be better next year compared to this year because he got major playing time this year? Will Dahlin be better in his second year compared to his rookie year? etc. etc. 

 

You point to Toronto as an example to follow. What you fail to remember is that they struggled for quite a while as the young players got better together. It's gotten to the point where you have gone crazy because of the predictable struggles of a young team. As I have stated for a long time this roster still has some glaring deficits. There is simply not enough talent to field a full roster. As it stands we don't have a legitimate second line. It's going to take time to address those needs and internally have the young players on the roster get better. 

 

If you can't handle the frustration and exasperation of following this team then watch more golf. Or drink yourself into oblivion so you don't have to soberly face the tough reality of a rebuilding team. 

Okay, so tell me how long they get? BTW, I do not see them as a young team. Middle of the road in terms of average age, and it ain't like they got 42 Chara on the roster to skew it. Hurricanes, Jets, Canadiens. for instance all younger

And, if  as you say the talent is so bereft, I am assuming you believe next year will be just as bad cause we will have 4 kids come up from the Amerks?  If not from there, how do you think we are getting better? Trades?  Draft picks? Where the hell will this team if Skinner walks? 

Botteril has basically turned his roster 50 % each year he has been here, with no discernable improvement. But I am now supposed to believe that he will magically improve the team in year 3? 

 

 

And not to bust ya chops to hard, but ya breached patience and heaped praise on  Murray too till the end, but now put all the Sabres woes on him, and him alone. ( i know you hated the Lehner trade too..maybe he was right on that one and Lehner just needed to get his life in order)

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Bottom line: the sabres stars aren't good enough. What's Eichel got 14 goals? Generational talent there.

 

I disagree. The Sabres have MORE than enough talent to earn a wild card playoff berth. It's the coaching that's wasting it. #FireHousley

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2 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

Okay, so tell me how long they get? BTW, I do not see them as a young team. Middle of the road in terms of average age, and it ain't like they got 42 Chara on the roster to skew it. Hurricanes, Jets, Canadiens. for instance all younger

And, if  as you say the talent is so bereft, I am assuming you believe next year will be just as bad cause we will have 4 kids come up from the Amerks?  If not from there, how do you think we are getting better? Trades?  Draft picks? Where the hell will this team if Skinner walks? 

Botteril has basically turned his roster 50 % each year he has been here, with no discernable improvement. But I am now supposed to believe that he will magically improve the team in year 3? 

 

 

And not to bust ya chops to hard, but ya breached patience and heaped praise on  Murray too till the end, but now put all the Sabres woes on him, and him alone. ( i know you hated the Lehner trade too..maybe he was right on that one and Lehner just needed to get his life in order)

 

 

 

You want to know what the time frame for becoming a serious team? Obviously, I don't know for sure because I don't know what deals Botterill is going to come up with. Because we have those additional first round picks I'm counting on him making some quality deals and signings to upgrade the roster. So if you want to know what my timeline is I would say two years. 

 

As far as the GM Murray I was willing to give him the time to do his job. It would be manifestly unfair to rush to judgment. However, when all is said and done I don't think he did a good job in building a good roster and farm system. Botterill is to an extent unwinding his handiwork.

 

If you have a better strategy to build a more competitive team then offer it up. The approach that our GM is taking is not an outlier approach. He is doing what most GM's do when they are involved in a rebuild. You draft and develop talent. And along the way you make deals that you believe will upgrade the roster. What I know for sure is your constant frenetic chasing of bogeymen is not a solution to anything. 

 

As I have stated on many occasions the biggest obstacle that this organization has encountered is the owner hiring the wrong people to run the operation. (He made the same mistake with his football team.)  The constant churning of staff within the organization destabilized more an instable franchise. This lurching back and forth with different front office staffs has set this organization back. I believe that we finally have a GM who is more strategic and more willing to invest throughout the organization. You can howl at the moon all you want. There is no quick fix and magical solution. Botterill has a plan and is executing it. I support him and what he is doing. If you want to get off the horse and ride another lame pony then that is your prerogative.  

 

The below link is a WGR interview with Brian Lawton. He has a more upbeat assessment of the Sabres and their future. 

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/02-18-brian-lawton-nhl-network-howard-and-jeremy

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1 hour ago, JohnC said:

You want to know what the time frame for becoming a serious team? Obviously, I don't know for sure because I don't know what deals Botterill is going to come up with. Because we have those additional first round picks I'm counting on him making some quality deals and signings to upgrade the roster. So if you want to know what my timeline is I would say two years. 

 

As far as the GM Murray I was willing to give him the time to do his job. It would be manifestly unfair to rush to judgment. However, when all is said and done I don't think he did a good job in building a good roster and farm system. Botterill is to an extent unwinding his handiwork.

 

If you have a better strategy to build a more competitive team then offer it up. The approach that our GM is taking is not an outlier approach. He is doing what most GM's do when they are involved in a rebuild. You draft and develop talent. And along the way you make deals that you believe will upgrade the roster. What I know for sure is your constant frenetic chasing of bogeymen is not a solution to anything. 

 

As I have stated on many occasions the biggest obstacle that this organization has encountered is the owner hiring the wrong people to run the operation. (He made the same mistake with his football team.)  The constant churning of staff within the organization destabilized more an instable franchise. This lurching back and forth with different front office staffs has set this organization back. I believe that we finally have a GM who is more strategic and more willing to invest throughout the organization. You can howl at the moon all you want. There is no quick fix and magical solution. Botterill has a plan and is executing it. I support him and what he is doing. If you want to get off the horse and ride another lame pony then that is your prerogative.  

 

The below link is a WGR interview with Brian Lawton. He has a more upbeat assessment of the Sabres and their future. 

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/02-18-brian-lawton-nhl-network-howard-and-jeremy

5

What empirical evidence suggests they have not done the same again? i really would appreciated you   listing out what he has done that gives you great confidence in the job he is doing besides dishing up platitudes that folks like to hear...build through the draft, strong AHL team, build with character..keep our own, blah blah blah. Same as every GM ever has said. I look forward to your list

 

Now onto this years performance and what could have been done. One month ago you said," I am not worried about the playoffs, but just being in the race down the stretch will give these guys great learning experiences, and that's what's important this season" . Well, here we are with 24 games to go and playing meaningless hockey again, so I guess by your words, and what's been reported as being important this to the organization as well, the season is an abject failure.

 

Now maybe a first and Nylander was well worth it to get freaking Muzzin in here, stabilize the Top 4, maybe win a few more games and still be in the race, and STILL have him under contract for next year. Maybe then the team says okay, what do ya know, someone in management thinks we CAN win this year, maybe the expectations have risen ALL THE WAY UP to make the freaking playoffs.... ..but no,  that precious first was too much to give up...now hopefully, and I do mean hopefully , that pick  might contribute in 2021...i hope that was worth not executing on said objective for the season. Maybe sell two of those firsts for a 2C now that either has some term or is an RFA. I don't know, I see the Flyers and Blues surging under new coaches, I see the Isles and Canadians with supposedly lesser talent with way more points than the Sabres..maybe coaching has something to do with that? Maybe bringing in Q with an offer he could not refuse makes a diffrence this season, and moving forward

 

But the refusal to acknowledge, (in my best Michael Ray Richardson voice) " the ship be sinking" when it was clear as day in December and crystal freaking clear in January is a crime for this management team. They lucked into a ten game win streak, they owed to the fans and players to not piss it away. 

 

But we have devolved as Buffalo sports fans to somehow believing that rebuilds take 5 years, that every year is a growth year.That the goal is not to win games, it is to win the process. You stated in an earlier post Toronto  struggled with young talent...umm, they finished 3rd to last the year the Sabres finished last, then dead last the next year...then in the playoffs for 3 straight years since then. I don't call that struggling..I call that winning with young talent.I will take that struggle.

 

Housley has pulled maybe the greatest trick ever in sports..take a team that underachieved and caused your predecessorr to get fired, make them even worse, not really improve in year 2,  still be below the point toatl that got the other dude fired...and preach plan and process and got job security and preaching it as progress cause we finished dead last two years ago, but will be all the way to 5th from the bottom this year!

 

Man, better by that bridge soon too, Brooklyn is really growing !

 

Edited by plenzmd1
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7 hours ago, JohnC said:

 

 

If you can't handle the frustration and exasperation of following this team then watch more golf. Or drink yourself into oblivion so you don't have to soberly face the tough reality of a rebuilding team. 

 

I know it doesn't all fall on the current management, however, this team has been rebuilding forever. Fans frustration is pretty fair.

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2 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

What empirical evidence suggests they have not done the same again? i really would appreciated you   listing out what he has done that gives you great confidence in the job he is doing besides dishing up platitudes that folks like to hear...build through the draft, strong AHL team, build with character..keep our own, blah blah blah. Same as every GM ever has said. I look forward to your list

 

Now onto this years performance and what could have been done. One month ago you said," I am not worried about the playoffs, but just being in the race down the stretch will give these guys great learning experiences, and that's what's important this season" . Well, here we are with 24 games to go and playing meaningless hockey again, so I guess by your words, and what's been reported as being important this to the organization as well, the season is an abject failure.

 

Now maybe a first and Nylander was well worth it to get freaking Muzzin in here, stabilize the Top 4, maybe win a few more games and still be in the race, and STILL have him under contract for next year. Maybe then the team says okay, what do ya know, someone in management thinks we CAN win this year, maybe the expectations have risen ALL THE WAY UP to make the freaking playoffs.... ..but no,  that precious first was too much to give up...now hopefully, and I do mean hopefully , that pick  might contribute in 2021...i hope that was worth not executing on said objective for the season. Maybe sell two of those firsts for a 2C now that either has some term or is an RFA. I don't know, I see the Flyers and Blues surging under new coaches, I see the Isles and Canadians with supposedly lesser talent with way more points than the Sabres..maybe coaching has something to do with that? Maybe bringing in Q with an offer he could not refuse makes a diffrence this season, and moving forward

 

But the refusal to acknowledge, (in my best Michael Ray Richardson voice) " the ship be sinking" when it was clear as day in December and crystal freaking clear in January is a crime for this management team. They lucked into a ten game win streak, they owed to the fans and players to not piss it away. 

 

But we have devolved as Buffalo sports fans to somehow believing that rebuilds take 5 years, that every year is a growth year.That the goal is not to win games, it is to win the process. You stated in an earlier post Toronto  struggled with young talent...umm, they finished 3rd to last the year the Sabres finished last, then dead last the next year...then in the playoffs for 3 straight years since then. I don't call that struggling..I call that winning with young talent.I will take that struggle.

 

Housley has pulled maybe the greatest trick ever in sports..take a team that underachieved and caused your predecessorr to get fired, make them even worse, not really improve in year 2,  still be below the point toatl that got the other dude fired...and preach plan and process and got job security and preaching it as progress cause we finished dead last two years ago, but will be all the way to 5th from the bottom this year!

 

Man, better by that bridge soon too, Brooklyn is really growing !

 

You act as if the GM has thrown in the towel about improving the roster. The best time to make more and bigger deals is in the offseason. How do you know that Botts isn't going use some of his draft picks to make some acquisitions this offseason? With respect to Muzzin you don't know if the GM made some overtures to get him. On the other hand if the GM believes that Nylander can be a second-line forward then I wouldn't trade him. As I have repeatedly stated I'm not recommending a deal to maybe help us be more competitive for a wild-card chase this year. If the price for a deal is for a player that the organization believes can be a long-term second line player then I prefer sticking with your own player. Is Nylander that caliber of player? I don't know because I don't watch him play. But if this organization believes that he falls in that category then they shouldn't deal him off. 

 

We can forever go in circles on this topic. There comes a point where the repetition of arguments becomes acts of futility. We just have different perspectives that won't be reconciled because the positions are irreconcilable. I'm willing to be more patient than you are because I believe that the course that has been set will in the long run work out and be more sustainable. You and the majority of others are not buying it. That's okay, you are entitled to your views. The reality is that the GM has a strategy to rebuild, and that is exactly what he is doing. His roadmap is not the same roadmap that you and your cohorts want to follow. The GM is driving the bus. And the map he is following is his own. 

 

 

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