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

[shrader]

14 hours ago, apuszczalowski said:

I think he was the Christmas Poo?

 

And now the Sabres want to hire George's Boss on Seinfeld?

 

If they replace him in every camera shot and press conference with a poorly drawn cartoon, I can sign up for that.

 

Kay ooger!

[May Day 10]

10 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

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. 

 

Quote

 

 

 

In the NHL, coaches have a short shelf-life if results don't come.  I don't think a case could be made that any of those coaches (save maybe Nolan) should have been retained past time where they were turfed.  If anything, Housley was gifted too much time.  It isn't the NFL where they need to build a staff, get specialized personnel to fit specific schemes, etc.  

 

Edmonton has gone through 6 coaches in the time since the Pegulas bought the Sabres

 

I dont think this type of thing scares coaches away.  Lou Lamoriello has fired a 1st place head coach within a month of the playoffs, yet Barry Trotz happily assumed the head coach role under him.

 

The problem with the Pegulas' changes, were, most often they were half-measures.  They needed to move on decisively from Ruff and Regier prior to the 2013 lockout.  Move forward into the major rebuild overhaul with a tried and true organizational manager.  Ownership bungled around through the process and the results speak for themselves.

Edited May 14, 2019 by May Day 10

[GG]

Just saw on Sabrespace that Johan Larsson is leaving Sabres to join SHL team.

 

(Edit) Or maybe not

Edited May 14, 2019 by GG

[JohnC]

11 minutes ago, GG said:

Just saw on Sabrespace that Johan Larsson is leaving Sabres to join SHL team.

I don't believe that he would have been on the roster this year. He is a gritty defensive player who excels in his penalty killing roll. But one of the areas that the GM has to address is secondary scoring. Because Johan and Gergs can't offer more than a morsel of scoring their roster spots were in jeopardy anyway. Now that Johan has departed Gergs chances to make the roster may have increased a little.  

[BillsFan4]

 

 

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. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by BillsFan4

[Dr. Who]

Widely being reported Krueger is the hire. Think it's worth a shot.

[BillsFan4]

 

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. 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by BillsFan4

[JohnC]

31 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

McKenzie has spoken. Ralph Krueger it is. lol

 

I’ll gather up some Ralph Krueger articles for everyone here when I get a chance. 

 

 

 

How long is it going to take for 4merper4mer to criticize the hiring of a soccer coach to take over the reigns of the hockey team? 

 

I would have been satisfied with either Tippitt or Krueger with my preference for Tippitt because it was the more conventional hire. Howard Simon of WGR has spoken to a number of people who are familiar with Krueger and his work. They all have given glowing reports. The theme of all the responses is that he is a forward thinker and a great motivator. 

 

The most important task is for the GM to add some talent through the market and trades and put this new coach in a situation to succeed. That's the heart of the matter. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by JohnC

[Jauronimo]

Apparently Krueger was on the toad's end of a retrenchment following a right bolloxing of the Southhampton Fish and Chips at the hands of the Bolton Spotted ***** which resulted in a relegation from the Earl Grey Division to the shameful Sanka league.  

 

I'm sure he'll be great as the Sabres head coach.

[eball]

So Krueger is getting out of the industrial smoothing game?

[Dr. Who]

12 minutes ago, JohnC said:

How long is going to take for 4merper4mer to criticize the hiring of a soccer coach to take over the reigns of the hockey team? 

Already he is brewing a batch of new and especially bitter venom and contempt. JBots was on the golf course deciding to hire a soccer coach.

[Q-baby!]

Freddy Krueger? Does that make the Sabres scary good? 

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

Already he is brewing a batch of new and especially bitter venom and contempt. JBots was on the golf course deciding to hire a soccer coach.

Now 4mer can't complain about Botts going to Europe because he went to Europe to hire a coach who was in Europe. 

[YoloinOhio]

Someone tell me how to feel

in the pictures i've seen of ralph krueger he has gone from lead singer of goldfinger to nate oats to bond villain

[GG]

The Athletic just confirmed as well.

 

Stanley Cup!!

[Jauronimo]

17 minutes ago, eball said:

So Krueger is getting out of the industrial smoothing game?

My sources tell me he couldn't smooth out a silk sheet even if he had a hot date with a babe.....and hes a ***** soccer coach.  Pretty damning stuff.

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Jauronimo said:

My sources tell me he couldn't smooth out a silk sheet even if he had a hot date with a babe.....and hes a ***** soccer coach.  Pretty damning stuff.

Is 4merper4mer your source? If you want to be depressing just hang around him for a few moments and his inspiring charisma will be imprinted on you. That's the type of fine fellow he is. 

[Jauronimo]

6 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Is 4merper4mer your source? If you want to be depressing just hang around him for a few moments and his inspiring charisma will be imprinted on you. That's the type of fine fellow he is. 

Did you and 4mer used to date?  Time to move on.  If you really want his attention use the @ function 

[BillsFan4]

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)

 

Quote

“It would be a huge, huge, huge get for Buffalo,” the former Sabres forward said Tuesday. “I think very highly of him. He’ll get the most out of any group.”

 

Quote

“In the World Cup, not many picked us,” Vanek said. “But he’s got a way of gluing a team together and getting them to play for each other.”

 

“He’s one of my favorite people,” Vanek said. “He’s such a good people person. He’s a great talker. He remembers names. He really, really cares about people. He doesn’t care about your best player. He cares about every single guy on the team, and he will make you feel that way.

“I think that’s a talent. If you’ve never met him or you know him, you will get the same reaction when you walk away from him: ‘Wow, he’s great.’”

 

Quote

“X’s and O’s at the World Cup, he had his say,” Vanek said. “But we had Paul Maurice on our staff who is really good with that stuff. That’s where Ralph was very good. He knows we had a guy like Maurice on staff, and he’s OK with delegating. That shows leadership and character on his part. He wasn’t threatened by Paul. He loved Paul, and we trusted the system because he trusted it. They worked great together, and I loved playing for him. I can speak for most of the guys in that they loved him.”

 

 

Quote

“He coached in Austria when I was a little kid, so when he called me for the World Cup he said, ‘I’ve seen you play since you were 5 years old, Thomas,’” Vanek said. “He did a ton for Austrian hockey. I wish he would have been our national coach and not Switzerland’s. Austria would be a lot better off now.”

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

 

Quote

Krueger’s background makes him — in my mind — one of the most interesting men in the world. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, he would go on to play international hockey for West Germany, the country of his parents. After a healthy playing career, at age 30 he moved into the coaching ranks and led Austrian club VEU Feldkirch to five straight Austrian titles, and a European Cup. He then spent 11 years as the Swiss national team coach and guided them at three Olympic Games.

 

After the Vancouver Olympics, Krueger’s career brought him back to North America, where he rose through the coaching ranks with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, eventually becoming Head Coach in 2012. Relieved of his duties after one lockout-shortened season, Ralph joined Hockey Canada’s coaching staff for their gold medal run at the Sochi Olympics. He’s written a book (in German); coached Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey; and been an active member of the World Economic Forum, where he contributed on leadership.

 

But none of that is the interesting part.....

 

Some interesting quotes from Krueger in the article. Worth a read. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by BillsFan4

[Guest K-GunJimKelly12]

On 5/13/2019 at 9:44 PM, 4merper4mer said:

Something is very broken.  Botts has guys scurrying away.  How long since Krueger's name has come up anywhere?  Did all people currently involved in hockey opt out so we found some guy that had gone to soccer?

 

I hope this guy succeeds and we need a change of pace but I'm not sure the whole Tony Robbins schtick is they way to go.

I think what is broken is Botterill.  He has done a very poor job so far.  He traded Ryan O'Reilly for basically scraps.  A trade that was widely criticized when it was made.  The pick they will get for O'Reilly will be close in value to the pick they gave up for in acquiring Skinner.  Berglund who retired mid-season and Sobotka were vastly overvalued by Botterill and instead of providing veteran depth like Botterill had expected, the were both net negatives.  Sobotka had some the worst advanced stats this past season.  Tage Thompson who was about the 5th best prospect in the Blues organization, Thomas, Dunn, etc, I would say is unlikely at this point to develop into a top 6 forward.  He may have a hard time sticking in the NHL all together.  So you basically gave up one of the top 3 two way centers in the league for a late first round pick and a average prospect.  Not a blue chipper at all.  That is just terrible asset management.  If he was mandated by ownership to make a move before the bonus kicked in that is one thing, and we have a whole other problem we didn't think we would have with the Pegulas at the helm.  If there was no mandate, it is hard to have any confidence at all in him going forward.  It is an all time bad Sabres trade.

 

Think of it this way,  If we don't re-sign Skinner, we basically gave up almost all the value from pick we received in the O'Reilly trade.  How does this look:

 

TO Buffalo:

 

1 year of Jeff Skinner where you don't make the playoffs

29th overall pick in 2019

Thompson

Berglung

Sobotka

 

To other teams:

 

Ryan O'Reilly

36th overall pick in 2019

3rd round pick in 2020

Cliff Pu

 

Botterill's handling of Skinner was another one.  I am always in favor of paying guys right away when you trade for them.  Good Gm's do it all the time with guys they trade for and have one year left on their contract.  If you go without signing them it is guaranteed that you will pay more in the future.  Skinner has been a pretty consistent scorer and we should have got a deal done right away.  The market at that time was 7 years, $7 million per for a player of his caliber.  That is what Kane got.  Botterill waited and waited and couldn't make it happen.  Now you are looking at an 8 year $8-9 million deal to keep him.  If he walks, it will be a like a mini Briere/Drury and the Sabres will look foolish.  If he stays, you just payed an absolute premium to keep him.  If Botterill knew he wasn't close to a deal, he should have traded him at the deadline.  Teams were giving up firsts this year and we would have had a nice return.  Of course Botterill would have been the one negotiating, so maybe we wouldn't have. 

 

Then there are the stupid add-ons like we can't trade Matt Hunwick, or we will have to give up more.  Seriously WTF was that?  Matt freaking Hunwick.  Also the insanely stupid Reinhart bridge deal that will end up costing us probably around 2-3 million more in cap space for what were suppose to be the cup window years lmao.  If we do re-sign Skinner, you will have to give Reinhart more in two years.

 

I think Botts is in over his head and should have stayed an assistant.  I have no confidence in the guy.