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Buffalo Sabres and NHL: 2019/20: Sabres season officially over. Draft lottery June 26th


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14 minutes ago, Boca BIlls said:

Don't really give a rats ass about Edmonton

Edmonton has been my no. 2 team going way back to the '80s when they were the most fun team in NHL history.

 

Some of those Battle of Albertas in that era remain my favorite hockey memories!  Calgary and Edmonton had awesome teams back then. 

 

I'm happy to see Edmonton maybe putting it together (FINALLY) and it would be epic to see them face Buffalo in the Finals...though it would not be hard to know who I was cheering for.  That would be Buffalo.

 

 

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12 minutes ago, bbb said:

 

I wonder if people like Mike Harrington who have been crowing these last few years about "See - the tank didn't work" will now have to admit the teams getting McDavid and Eichel did turn out better in the long run.................IF they keep it up. 

How many years later? I think they are both on their 3rd coach and 2nd GM too. And is the success their tes are having now solely based on those players presence? I wouldnt go around celebrating the tank as being successful because eventually after many years and regime changes, the teams are starting to turn around.....

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Just now, apuszczalowski said:

How many years later? I think they are both on their 3rd coach and 2nd GM too. And is the success their tes are having now solely based on those players presence? I wouldnt go around celebrating the tank as being successful because eventually after many years and regime changes, the teams are starting to turn around.....

 

I said IF they keep up.....................And, I would think those two players would be the biggest reasons, yes. Based solely?  Common man!  

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5 hours ago, shrader said:

If they can ever get Mittelstadt's line going, look out.  It will come eventually.  One thing I find interesting about that group is that people were whining after the trade about Vesey being a defensive liability.  But look who is out there on the 2nd PK unit with Sobotka.

 

I liked the Vesey move when it happened.

From what I saw with him on the Rangers, he seemed a bit underrated.

 

 

 

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The Sabres, Avs, and Phlyers are the only three teams in the league who have yet to lose in regulation -- and Philly has only played 3 games.

 

That's remarkable, and I don't even care that they've only played 1/14th of the season.

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1 hour ago, eball said:

The Sabres, Avs, and Phlyers are the only three teams in the league who have yet to lose in regulation -- and Philly has only played 3 games.

 

That's remarkable, and I don't even care that they've only played 1/14th of the season.

They look good doing it, not like the 10 game winning streak where the goalies were pulling whales out of hats. Consistent attacking no matter what score they have. Looks like a real hockey team.

Edited by Boca BIlls
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1 hour ago, Boca BIlls said:

They look good doing it, not like the 10 game winning streak where the goalies were pulling whales out of hats. Consistent attacking no matter what score they have. Looks like a real hockey team.

I agree with this.  That streak was almost completely smoke and mirrors.  It was exciting but just about every game the Sabres were outplayed by the opponent but kept pulling rabbits out.

 

They are still a work in progress and need another guy to create offense but this is the first time in a long time that the coach seems to understand his pieces and is putting them in the best position to succeed.  He's tailoring the system to the talent instead of the alternative.

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11 minutes ago, snafu said:

 

Refreshing.

 

 

 

All my life, I've been hearing about how good coaches tailor their system to the talent...............And, then for the last 25 years or so, it seems my teams, especially the Bills, do just the opposite................Gregg Williams comes in changes the defense - which was great, gets new personnel.  All the way through Rex, doing the exact same thing.................I was not happy with McBeane pretty much doing it yet again.  But, they seem to have really brought in excellent talent.  

 

It's unreal that teams do it any other way.  

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6 hours ago, bbb said:

 

I said IF they keep up.....................And, I would think those two players would be the biggest reasons, yes. Based solely?  Common man!  

In order to say that throwing away seasons to be extremely bad in order to get the top pick to obtain the player I would say that that player better be the biggest reason why they are winning. The time has passed in order to call the tank as successful or worth it. It failed and took many years to fix the mess....

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“I was actually thinking the other day, he might be the best coach I ever had, for sure, in sport and pro hockey,” Ristolainen said. “It’s been really good. He knows what we’re going through, how we feel. He’s maintaining the schedule, his practice days really well.

 

“He’s a great human being. He’s a really good talker. The speeches he’s giving us, I think that gives everyone energy and keeps everyone motivated. Then the style we play, I think everyone bought into it and everyone knows their roles. That’s happening on the ice.

 

“It helps that all five guys are playing for the same system and are on the same page. If I do something, I know where the other guys are — and they actually are there right now.”

 

Quote

The players credit Krueger’s scheme, while he is crediting the players, including Ristolainen, for believing in it. Krueger hasn’t been watching Ristolainen’s minutes, just what happens during them.

 

Risto seems a lot happier so far. Hopefully he will want to stay. He’s filling a key role for this team right now. We don’t have another defenseman like him, and honestly I think Risto in his current role is more valuable to this team than adding a 2nd line, 50pt. type of forward. Now, if someone offers a player like Taylor Hall again (or any legit top line forward) then it’s a different story. But I definitely wouldn’t be in any hurry to trade Risto unless the offer was too good to pass up. 

 

 

Also, I have to say that I’m feeling pretty damn good about Ralph Krueger being a legit good coach. Maybe even something special... 

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30 minutes ago, bbb said:

 

All my life, I've been hearing about how good coaches tailor their system to the talent...............And, then for the last 25 years or so, it seems my teams, especially the Bills, do just the opposite................Gregg Williams comes in changes the defense - which was great, gets new personnel.  All the way through Rex, doing the exact same thing.................I was not happy with McBeane pretty much doing it yet again.  But, they seem to have really brought in excellent talent.  

 

It's unreal that teams do it any other way.  

 

Agreed. It isn’t like any “system” guy doesn’t know any other way. You’d think they would come in and slowly work their method into what talent they have.  Starting with the basics isn’t a bad idea at all.  Making sure the players play sound fundamentals is key no matter what style. Krueger gets it.

 

 

15 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

 

 

Risto seems a lot happier so far. Hopefully he will want to stay. He’s filling a key role for this team right now. We don’t have another defenseman like him, and honestly I think Risto in his current role is more valuable to this team than adding a 2nd line, 50pt. type of forward. Now, if someone offers a player like Taylor Hall again (or any legit top line forward) then it’s a different story. But I definitely wouldn’t be in any hurry to trade Risto unless the offer was too good to pass up. 

 

 

Also, I have to say that I’m feeling pretty damn good about Ralph Krueger being a legit good coach. Maybe even something special... 

 

This is great to hear. I thought (and think) they’re much better off with Risto. They can get talent up front in other ways. They’ve got a couple pieces to move that aren’t him. I’d wager that if Scandella continues to play well he can be a piece. I’d bet Nelson has value, too. The Sabres have a glut of good blueliners that teams may want. 

 

 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, apuszczalowski said:

In order to say that throwing away seasons to be extremely bad in order to get the top pick to obtain the player I would say that that player better be the biggest reason why they are winning. The time has passed in order to call the tank as successful or worth it. It failed and took many years to fix the mess....

The tank was 100% successful.  We got Eichel, who is a top NHL center and has his entire prime contractually locked up and we had tons of assets to build a very successful team. 

 

GMTM wasted those assets AND hired the absolute wrong coaches.  It was the perfect example of what not to do after getting the most important piece of your rebuild.


 

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1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

The tank was 100% successful.  We got Eichel, who is a top NHL center and has his entire prime contractually locked up and we had tons of assets to build a very successful team. 

 

GMTM wasted those assets AND hired the absolute wrong coaches.  It was the perfect example of what not to do after getting the most important piece of your rebuild.


 

Eichel is good, but he hasn't done anything in the league that would make teams purposefully through away a season to get him. He was even the 2nd choice for the guy who drafted him. Has he lead the league in any category so far in his career? He isn't a Crosby, or Malkin, or Ovechkin and may not reach the level where he leads the league in a category.

Since he was drafted there have been multiple GMs and coaches brought in to try and make this team better. If you plan on throwing away seasons for better draft positions, you better be getting someone who is going to lead the league and carry a team. If the tank wasn't a failure, GMTM would still be here in charge......

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7 hours ago, apuszczalowski said:

Eichel is good, but he hasn't done anything in the league that would make teams purposefully through away a season to get him. He was even the 2nd choice for the guy who drafted him. Has he lead the league in any category so far in his career? He isn't a Crosby, or Malkin, or Ovechkin and may not reach the level where he leads the league in a category.

Since he was drafted there have been multiple GMs and coaches brought in to try and make this team better. If you plan on throwing away seasons for better draft positions, you better be getting someone who is going to lead the league and carry a team. If the tank wasn't a failure, GMTM would still be here in charge......

If the prize were Gretzky instead of Eichel and Murray didn't change anything else he'd done, he'd still be gone.  

 

He may have been the worst GM in the history of pro sports.  He turned all of those resources into useless drafted players, a bad goalie, wasted time, a drunk Canadian donut store killer with motivation issues, bad coaching, and multiple years of ineptitude all while being a complete douche.  That is not a resume that keeps jobs.  The Sabres weren't doing any better than 10th from the bottom if they tried their damndest anyway.  Pinning the results since on the fact that Eichel isn't Michael Jordan is inaccurate.

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13 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

I agree with this.  That streak was almost completely smoke and mirrors.  It was exciting but just about every game the Sabres were outplayed by the opponent but kept pulling rabbits out.

 

They are still a work in progress and need another guy to create offense but this is the first time in a long time that the coach seems to understand his pieces and is putting them in the best position to succeed.]/b]  He's tailoring the system to the talent instead of the alternative.

You make an excellent point about the coach understanding the capabilities of his players and then put them in a position to succeed. Most often,  a new coach would come in and he would juggle the lines and pairings in an attempt to find the best matches. It seems that he studiously examined his players' assets and liabilities and by the end of preseason he smartly put together the complementary pieces. 

 

Last year, Okposo, Scandella and Sobotka were struggling. Now they seem rejuvenated and are embracing and thriving in their roles. What is apparent is that the internal improvement of the inherited players as much as the addition of talent (Johansson, Miller, Vesey and Joki) has helped to stabilize this rudderless team. 

 

Note: I didn't intentional highlight my post. I am not egotistical!

Edited by JohnC
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The attached link is an article by Lance Lysowski for the BN. It focuses on Risto. The gist of the article is that the team's history of losing wore him down. Hopefully, more consistent winning will be the medicine that will improve his attitude about playing here. It also points out that the coach isn't concerned about limiting his playing time. He's more concerned about getting as much out of him that he can.

 

https://buffalonews.com/2019/10/15/buffalo-sabres-rasmus-ristolainen-ralph-krueger-nhl-news-2019/

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7 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

I always assumed he flew on the charter and the Sabres covered that cost..wonder if that is wrong? I mean then the only costs would be hotel and food.

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The attached link is an article by Bill Hoppe for Buffalo Hockey. This link was taken from the hockey side of TBD. The focus of the article is on Vesey. It highlights the fact that although he is not producing offensively he is contributing defensively. It also points out that he has a history of starting slow. 

 

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/jimmy-vesey-happy-with-sabres-says-start-has-been-good-and-bad/?view=getnewpost

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