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

[BillsFan4]

6 hours ago, K-9 said:

Nice debut for Ukko. My question is, will 6K get a look in the playoffs given the struggles of Wedgewood lately. 

Wondering the same thing myself. 

 

Goaltending killed the Amerks in the playoffs last year. Don’t want to see that happen again this year. 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

damn it. I really wanted AV. 

 

That about does it for the few big name veteran coaches that were on the market. 

I don’t think we were high on their lists though, seeing as we didn’t even get an interview with Q or AV. 

 

I know some will say that anyone is an upgrade in Housley (like they said about Bylsma...) but I was in the camp that if we fired Housley I wanted it to be for a clear upgrade. I am still hoping that ends up being the case. 

[Lurker]

8 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

damn it. I really wanted AV. 

 

No loss IMO. 

 

AV is the classic "looks good initially but wears out his welcome in 2-3 years" kind of coach that doesn't get you a cup.    Sort of fools gold, rather than the real thing.

 

IMO, there are no good options among the "retreads" left on the market, so I suspect they'll have to go with another young, "up-and-comer" when the coaching carousel music stops...   

[BillsFan4]

31 minutes ago, Lurker said:

 

No loss IMO. 

 

AV is the classic "looks good initially but wears out his welcome in 2-3 years" kind of coach that doesn't get you a cup.    Sort of fools gold, rather than the real thing.

 

IMO, there are no good options among the "retreads" left on the market, so I suspect they'll have to go with another young, "up-and-comer" when the coaching carousel music stops...   

We need someone that can get us back to respectability and consistently making the playoffs before we even start to worry about whether or not a coach can win us a Cup. 

 

AV has a track record of making every team he takes over better. He made the playoffs 9 out of the past 10 seasons, 2 of those being cup final appearances with 2 separate teams. 

 

It it doesn’t matter now, but I feel we would have been lucky to have him. Even if his voice wore out in 4 years, who cares if he got us consistently in the playoff mix.

Then you look to hire that coach to put you over the top.

 

 

I just really wanted a veteran coach that’s had experience improving teams and has that instant credibility with the players in the locker room, since buy-in has been such an issue. This is clearly a tough job. I worry that another newcomer will be overwhelmed by the size of the task at hand. 

 

I guess I also just feel like the Sabres are one of the teams that can least afford to take a risk with their next coaching hire... 

[K-9]

Bring back Lindy! Enough time has past. Enough personnel have been purged. 

[BillsFan4]

16 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Bring back Lindy! Enough time has past. Enough personnel have been purged. 

You know.... that’s not the worst idea I’ve heard. 

 

We know he loves Buffalo. 

 

He could probably help re-establish the sense of pride these players should have in putting on that Sabres jersey (or any NHL jersey for that matter), with the history he has with this franchise. 

 

One things for sure, when he was here the players were not running the show.

 

Even the face of the franchise (at the time) Ryan Miller, during his peak US olympic years, was scared to complain about Lindy. I remember the media asking him about his playing time, or being pulled or something like that, and trying to bait him into saying something and Miller wouldn’t dare. He even said something like “that’s the guy who controls my playing time. Whatever he says, goes”. 

 

Miller knew that even though he was the sabres franchise player, Lindy was still in charge. I don’t think we’ve had that since Lindy left to be honest. 

 

 

 

[Lurker]

5 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Even if his voice wore out in 4 years, who cares if he got us consistently in the playoff mix.

 

Having a quality roster gets you in the playoff mix.    A quality coach gets you playoff wins (and sometimes a Cup).

 

AV would have not elevated this roster.  Only Botts can do that...

[May Day 10]

The problem with ruff is, the emotional bridge would instantly be reformed, and once again, only an act of congress would get him removed.  Years and years too late

[Helpmenow]

Stop with bringing ruff back. Only here folks want an old timers. How about  don lever, Scott arniel, Craig Ramsey, Jim schoenfeld, Ted sator, Rick Dudley. Their all out there.

[JohnC]

15 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

We need someone that can get us back to respectability and consistently making the playoffs before we even start to worry about whether or not a coach can win us a Cup.

 

AV has a track record of making every team he takes over better. He made the playoffs 9 out of the past 10 seasons, 2 of those being cup final appearances with 2 separate teams. 

 

It it doesn’t matter now, but I feel we would have been lucky to have him. Even if his voice wore out in 4 years, who cares if he got us consistently in the playoff mix.

Then you look to hire that coach to put you over the top.

 

 

I just really wanted a veteran coach that’s had experience improving teams and has that instant credibility with the players in the locker room, since buy-in has been such an issue. This is clearly a tough job. I worry that another newcomer will be overwhelmed by the size of the task at hand. 

 

I guess I also just feel like the Sabres are one of the teams that can least afford to take a risk with their next coaching hire... 

I'm not fixated on who the next HC is going to be as I am more focused on what players are going to be brought in to fortify the roster. That's the more critical issue. When you have an incomplete roster your team on the ice is going to be exploited. Who is the GM going to bring in to maximize his assets and minimize his liabilities? Make no mistake that next year's roster might be even younger than this year's roster. Who best can manage that type of roster? 

 

Different coaches emphasize different systems. Yet, the reality is that there is a basic and fundamental nature to the game that all teams play. It's not so much about innovation as it is having enough talent and having the right mix of players. The biggest consideration that the GM has to make when deciding on a HC is how does he relate to young players and how does he handle dealing with their inevitable mistakes. Does the GM make the short term decision to go with a veteran/retread coach who leans toward experienced players or does he widen the net and select an upcoming coach from the minors or promising assistant who is more inclined to working with young and developing players. 

 

There is no reason to hurry with this critical coaching selection. Let the playoffs conclude and then scan the field for either an appealing assistant coach or a coach who has had success in the minors such as the coach of the Marlies and Taylor from the Amerks. 

[BillsFan4]

 

Nice!   This is a really nice addition for the Amerks hopeful playoff run. Bryson was one of the better college defenseman this year. 

 

And I love that they didn’t burn a year of his ELC to get it done. 

 

 

[The Senator]

3 hours ago, Helpmenow said:

Stop with bringing ruff back. Only here folks want an old timers. How about  don lever, Scott arniel, Craig Ramsey, Jim schoenfeld, Ted sator, Rick Dudley. Their all out there.

 

 

Joe Crozier and Scotty Bowman are still alive too!

 

Seriously, at 59, Ruff is still relatively young, and possibly the best coach the Sabres have had.  An assistant with the Rangers now, he’d probably jump at the chance to return to Buffalo.

 

It’s not the worst idea I’ve heard.

 

JMO

.

[May Day 10]

Almost cant wait to watch Ruff try to turn Eichel into Jochen hecht

[GG]

10 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

Almost cant wait to watch Ruff try to turn Eichel into Jochen hecht

 

And this is based on what theory?

[shrader]

51 minutes ago, GG said:

 

And this is based on what theory?

 

Eichel's a german name, isn't it?

[Helpmenow]

They hire Ruff that would be  like hiring levy for the bills.

[The Senator]

38 minutes ago, Helpmenow said:

They hire Ruff that would be  like hiring levy for the bills.

 

Hardly.  Ruff is 59, Levy is 93.

 

You had a problem with Coach Levy?  GM Levy, I could understand, but as Bills coach, Marv has more wins than any other.

 

Same goes for Lindy Ruff and the Sabres.

.

Edited April 16, 2019 by The Senator

[K-9]

And Levy hasn’t been on sidelines as an assistant coach since leaving, either. Lindy still has his finger firmly on the pulse of the game. Marv? Not so much. 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

Now official

[BillsFan4]

For anyone wanting to watch the Amerks playoff run -

 

https://www.watchtheahl.com/#/

 

AHLtv came out with their playoff package today. It’s actually pretty reasonable. 

 

Quote

PRICING

2019 CALDER CUP PLAYOFF PACKAGES

$24.99 - Playoff All-Access

Access to every game of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs

$7.99 - Daily All-Access

Access to every game for one day (only valid on date of purchase)

 

 

You can also occasionally find the Amerks games on YouTube. 

 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

O’Reilly, Bergeron and Stone ar the Selke finalists this year. 

 

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/04/17/bergeron-oreilly-stone-are-the-2019-selke-trophy-finalists/

 

Quote

The Case For Ryan O’Reilly: Leading the Blues with 77 points, including 23 goals, O’Reilly enjoyed his first season with in St. Louis. He was once again strong in the face-off circle with a 56.9% success rate, posted a 53.44 Corsi %, his best since the 2013 NHL season, and had a 2.82 Corsi relative percentage. The Blues had a 93.39% on-ice save percentage when O’Reilly was out there at even strength and his 42.53 expected goals against percentage led the team’s forwards.

 

 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

 

Quote

Upon being named captain of the Sabres, Eichel continued to further his leadership role in the community this past season. He donated a suite at KeyBank Center to local charitable organizations for all 41 home games, which included post-game meet and greets. 

 

 

 

Quote

"In terms of the stuff I do off the ice, I've just been trying to become as much a part of this city as I can because this city's done so much for me and welcomed me with open arms. I just want to be as influential and make as big as an impact on people outside of the rink as I do at the rink."

 

 

[JohnC]

11 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

 

O’Reilly, Bergeron and Stone ar the Selke finalists this year. 

 

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/04/17/bergeron-oreilly-stone-are-the-2019-selke-trophy-finalists/

 

 

I'm not second-guessing the ROR trade because I understand why it was made. But it is obvious that this deal very much hurt us in the sort term. He would have been our second line center and would have pushed Mitts down to the third line or lower. That lower responsibility situation would have been better for the rookie. ROR is one of the best two way players in the league. That certainly would have been an asset  for a team where too many players scramble in the defensive zone and lose sight of their defensive coverage. 

 

Botts has explained that he is hoping that in the long run the deal would work out for us. He pointed out that dealing ROR allowed him to make the Skinner deal and hopefully sign him to a long term deal. He also pointed out that in making that deal it gave him a draft asset that allowed him to trade for Montour. If Tage develops as hoped then the original trade won't look as uneven in the longer term than it does in the shorter term. What's obvious is that the GM has to acquire a genuine second center to offset the void that the trade created. 

 

 

 

[shrader]

That's why the rush to judge all trades always drives me crazy.  Most of the time, one team in a deal is not making that trade for today.  All of the major team sports have that kind of trade.  I'm not going to attack or defend a deal, but it is clear that our side of the deal is not yet defined.  Botterill made a change, made some space, and now he needs to put in more work, as you've suggested, to get some fruit from that tree.

[K-9]

Too much is made of Mitts being “forced” into a 2C role this season. Both Sobotka and especially  ERod played more minutes in that role. 

[4merper4mer]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I'm not second-guessing the ROR trade because I understand why it was made. But it is obvious that this deal very much hurt us in the sort term. He would have been our second line center and would have pushed Mitts down to the third line or lower. That lower responsibility situation would have been better for the rookie. ROR is one of the best two way players in the league. That certainly would have been an asset  for a team where too many players scramble in the defensive zone and lose sight of their defensive coverage. 

 

Botts has explained that he is hoping that in the long run the deal would work out for us. He pointed out that dealing ROR allowed him to make the Skinner deal and hopefully sign him to a long term deal. He also pointed out that in making that deal it gave him a draft asset that allowed him to trade for Montour. If Tage develops as hoped then the original trade won't look as uneven in the longer term than it does in the shorter term. What's obvious is that the GM has to acquire a genuine second center to offset the void that the trade created. 

 

 

 

Zero reason to second guess the trade even if we got a bag of potato chips for him.  He quit when he was here.  He is a douche bag.  The fact that the whiny baby played better after he stomped his feet to get out of here tells you everything.  The Sabres have a good fan base, had a good young core and he had a good contract but drunken donut ROR is apparently about ROR.

 

The Skinner/TO move from Botterill was exciting even though it was a long term waste.  Hey at least he sold some tickets.  I can't wait to see more interviews with Botterill from various golf courses over the off season.  I was hoping the sickness in our locker room was ROR but clearly that wasn't all of it.

13 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Too much is made of Mitts being “forced” into a 2C role this season. Both Sobotka and especially  ERod played more minutes in that role. 

19-20 will tell if Mitts is a viable NHL player.  He has skills but is not strong.  Tim Connelly/Tyler Ennis redux.  He got worse as the season progressed.  Literally no one on the team improved other than Erod in my opinion.  Even 18yo Dahlin was better in the beginning of the year.

[plenzmd1]

4 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

Zero reason to second guess the trade even if we got a bag of potato chips for him.  He quit when he was here.  He is a douche bag.  The fact that the whiny baby played better after he stomped his feet to get out of here tells you everything.  The Sabres have a good fan base, had a good young core and he had a good contract but drunken donut ROR is apparently about ROR.

 

The Skinner/TO move from Botterill was exciting even though it was a long term waste.  Hey at least he sold some tickets.  I can't wait to see more interviews with Botterill from various golf courses over the off season.  I was hoping the sickness in our locker room was ROR but clearly that wasn't all of it.

I can't bash the trade now when I didn't bash it back then. 

 

27 minutes ago, shrader said:

That's why the rush to judge all trades always drives me crazy.  Most of the time, one team in a deal is not making that trade for today.  All of the major team sports have that kind of trade.  I'm not going to attack or defend a deal, but it is clear that our side of the deal is not yet defined.  Botterill made a change, made some space, and now he needs to put in more work, as you've suggested, to get some fruit from that tree.

 

I admit I do this ..i can distinctly remember remarking on this here very board that ROR was obviously a cancer in  the room as every team he was on stunk and the team got better when he was moved. That was when St Louis had fight in practice and was in last place and Yeo was getting fired within a week. I was obviously wrong, just don't  tell @JohnC I have ever admitted to being wrong

[K-9]

4 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

19-20 will tell if Mitts is a viable NHL player.  He has skills but is not strong.  Tim Connelly/Tyler Ennis redux.  He got worse as the season progressed.  Literally no one on the team improved other than Erod in my opinion.  Even 18yo Dahlin was better in the beginning of the year.

Per the bold text, I don’t know if it’s as cut and dried as that. He’s actually like most young players In their first year in the league. I’m not surprised that he and Dahlin wore down, either; the grind an 82 game NHL season is a real eye opener. While he needs to get stronger and I think he will, it may be a couple more seasons before he gains that “man strength” he needs. He’s very similar to Reinhart in that regard and it took Sam four seasons to mature. 

 

If he turns into another Connelly, I’d be ecstatic. Minus the concussion issues of course. Connelly could play the game at an extremely high level when healthy. 

[shrader]

15 minutes ago, K-9 said:

If he turns into another Connelly, I’d be ecstatic. Minus the concussion issues of course. Connelly could play the game at an extremely high level when healthy. 

 

Thanks, now I'm having flashbacks to that overtime "now do you believe" game against Ottawa.  Connolly was a true stud in that game.  Oh what could have been without a few shots to the head.

[BillsFan4]

 

 

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/jack-eichel-world-championship-team-usa/c-306865936

 

 

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, K-9 said:

Too much is made of Mitts being “forced” into a 2C role this season. Both Sobotka and especially  ERod played more minutes in that role. 

I'm a Mitts fan. I think that he is going to be a good player. What was obvious to me is that he struggled as a second line or third line or fourth line center this season. Most rookies in his situation would gradually be eased into playing time. He got more ice time than his playing warranted. One of my points in the prior post is that because of the  ROR departure he played a bigger role than he was ready for.

 

A good follow-up question to my above comments is whether being thrust into a role than he wasn't quite ready for will it better have prepared him for the not too distant future or set back his development? I think that even with his struggles this rookie learning season will turn out to be beneficial for him. At least I hope for.   

4 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

 

 

I admit I do this ..i can distinctly remember remarking on this here very board that ROR was obviously a cancer in  the room as every team he was on stunk and the team got better when he was moved. That was when St Louis had fight in practice and was in last place and Yeo was getting fired within a week. I was obviously wrong, just don't  tell @JohnC I have ever admitted to being wrong

I very much value your opinion. When you say up----I say down. When you say go north----I say go south. When you say you like vanilla----I say I like chocolate. You are my invaluable barometer. Thank you for your service. 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

 

Nice! 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

Steve Yzerman is being named the GM of the Detroit Red Wings. Ken Holland will stay on as a senior Vice President (for now...). 

 

The Atlantic division is going brutal...

 

we already have Tanpa, Boston and Toronto. Now the Panthers add Quenneville and the Red Wings add Yzerman.

 

Buffalo better get their **** together, and quick, if we want any chance of competing. 

[BillsFan4]

As of now it looks like there should be a stream available (on YouTube) for tonight’s Amerks playoff game.

 

 

[JoeF]

I feel bad, but I am cheating on the Sabres with the Hurricanes during the playoffs.... yes, those Hurricanes, the Bunch of Jerks

[Rockpile233]

30 minutes ago, JoeF said:

I feel bad, but I am cheating on the Sabres with the Hurricanes during the playoffs.... yes, those Hurricanes, the Bunch of Jerks

GROSS

[BillsFan4]

Great first period by the Amerks. They outshot Toronto 15-5 (and hit 3 or 4 posts).

 

They were relentless on the forecheck. It’s 0-0 after 1 but the Amerks should’ve had a couple. 

 

Lets hope they continue this in the 2nd.

[K-9]

Amerks with four or five hit pipes and a couple yawning open nets missed and they find themselves down 2-0 after two. Hope they don’t get frustrated. They’ve been carrying the play pretty much the entire game. 

[BillsFan4]

3-0 Marlies with 8 minutes left. Doesn’t look like the Amerks will pull it off tonight. 

 

I wasnt aware that they have have never beaten the Marlies in the playoffs. They’ve played them twice and were swept both times. 

 

No no excuse this year. The Amerks were 5 games to 1 in the season series this year and they’re facing the Marlies 2 backup goalies this playoff series. 

 

 

Make that 4-0. Marlies just scored short handed. 

 

Rochester is falling apart now. 

[4merper4mer]

On April 18, 2019 at 11:26 AM, K-9 said:

Per the bold text, I don’t know if it’s as cut and dried as that. He’s actually like most young players In their first year in the league. I’m not surprised that he and Dahlin wore down, either; the grind an 82 game NHL season is a real eye opener. While he needs to get stronger and I think he will, it may be a couple more seasons before he gains that “man strength” he needs. He’s very similar to Reinhart in that regard and it took Sam four seasons to mature. 

 

If he turns into another Connelly, I’d be ecstatic. Minus the concussion issues of course. Connelly could play the game at an extremely high level when healthy. 

Connelly and Ennis were too small and weak and that is Mitlestadt's trajectory.  I get that Connelly's issues were noggin related but if not that it would have been something else.  

 

Your 72 year development plan for Mittlestadt is depressing.  Must every single team in the NHL go from good to bad to good again before the Sabres win anything?  

 

There simply has to be something drastically wrong.  I honestly think Seattle will make the playoffs before Buffalo.