Chandler#81 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 At what point do we officially suck? Are we past that? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 On 1/30/2020 at 6:21 AM, ChevyVanMiller said: Give a listen to this instant classic rant on WGR 550 from a guy named Duane. He speaks for the huddled Sabre’s masses. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-29-caller-duanes-sabres-rant Not unlike anything you'll hear on Philly sports radio on any given week. But he's not wrong. The sabres are HOT TRASH, and that fool @Jrb1979 had the nerve to tell me this team was exciting? What an ass that guy is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 1 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 About the only fast improvement would be an upgrade at goal tender. It's too bad Robin Lehner didn't have his illness under control till after he left the Sabres. Good tenders like the past Tom Barrasso , Dominik Hasek , Ryan Miller , if only. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 16 minutes ago, ALF said: About the only fast improvement would be an upgrade at goal tender. It's too bad Robin Lehner didn't have his illness under control till after he left the Sabres. Good tenders like the past Tom Barrasso , Dominik Hasek , Ryan Miller , if only. I like both guys as backup. Ullmark is young and improving. Hutton is serviceable and passionate despite his recent woes. Haseks don't grow on trees. I can't lay this on Botts. Murray had no objectivity regarding Lehner and damaged the Sabres as a result. He sure didn't help Lehner either and that could have turned out much worse. The best opportunity to improve our goalie situation was a few years back but Murray, as usual, decided he was smarter than everyone else. Yes Botts wanting to wait 100 years for the goalie with the 100 letter name is frustrating but I'm not sure he had better options than Hutton/Ullmark in the immediate term. Don't get me wrong, I have no real confidence that he'd do the right thing if he had a chance, I'm just not sure he has had one. 47 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said: At what point do we officially suck? Are we past that? Perhaps you're not aware that this team gained valuable playoff experience in the World Juniors. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 (edited) This headline needs no further explanation: Three power plays, only three shots It was infuriating to see the constant perimeter passing on PP for 2 straight games Edited January 31, 2020 by GG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristocrat Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Cozens has to be the answer at second line and for him to be a legit one out of the gate. Good thing is he's doing the right things in juniors. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 10 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Curious, Why do you say something is up with Paul Hamilton? He was not on the pregame last night, and the way Schoop said "we have Brian Kozial in for Paul"...no mention of vacation, or Paul has the flu, or something small like that. Just a hunch is all. I know absolutely zero if anything is wrong or not. 2 hours ago, May Day 10 said: Botterill needs to be released now and work needs to be done installing a new pres/gm before this offseason (preferably the deadline). He has failed. In 3 years, this team is still worse than the murray/bylsma era without many futures. Stinks for krueger. I think he is fascinating and deserves a shot. However, he is way too bound up in advance stats for my liking in a hockey setting. Coaches in the nhl are fairly disposable anyway. That is exactly why I love him. Bruce Cassidy provides a good example on this..never says " i need to watch the tape" when asked a question about a completed game..says "need to look at the numbers" .. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 35 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: He was not on the pregame last night, and the way Schoop said "we have Brian Kozial in for Paul"...no mention of vacation, or Paul has the flu, or something small like that. Just a hunch is all. I know absolutely zero if anything is wrong or not. That is exactly why I love him. Bruce Cassidy provides a good example on this..never says " i need to watch the tape" when asked a question about a completed game..says "need to look at the numbers" .. I think the numbers can be helpful, but they also need to be weighed with real life humans in a continuous sport like hockey with such variable situations. Baseball is different because there is such a large sample space and the conditions are generally easy to define. For example. A team that doesnt possess the puck well pulls the goalie very early because the analytics say so. The Sabres have given away a staggering number of empty net goals and have gained nothing from pulling the goalie. The clown-act with Skinner's usage is another head scratcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 7 minutes ago, May Day 10 said: I think the numbers can be helpful, but they also need to be weighed with real life humans in a continuous sport like hockey with such variable situations. Baseball is different because there is such a large sample space and the conditions are generally easy to define. For example. A team that doesnt possess the puck well pulls the goalie very early because the analytics say so. The Sabres have given away a staggering number of empty net goals and have gained nothing from pulling the goalie. The clown-act with Skinner's usage is another head scratcher. I agree needs to be blend between the two, but guys who only rely on the "eye" test are going to go the way of the dodo bird. They did win one game this year with the early pull on the PP...but generally I do not like to not see the goalie pulled in late game PP situations unless under a minute left. I just have to assume 6-4 is hardly ever practiced, but i could be wrong there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 I'd bring Ukko up for a game and see if thats any spark. I realize that doesn't solve the pathetic 3 shots in a period but nothing else works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 3 hours ago, 4merper4mer said: I like both guys as backup. Ullmark is young and improving. Hutton is serviceable and passionate despite his recent woes. Haseks don't grow on trees. I can't lay this on Botts. Murray had no objectivity regarding Lehner and damaged the Sabres as a result. He sure didn't help Lehner either and that could have turned out much worse. The best opportunity to improve our goalie situation was a few years back but Murray, as usual, decided he was smarter than everyone else. Yes Botts wanting to wait 100 years for the goalie with the 100 letter name is frustrating but I'm not sure he had better options than Hutton/Ullmark in the immediate term. Don't get me wrong, I have no real confidence that he'd do the right thing if he had a chance, I'm just not sure he has had one. Perhaps you're not aware that this team gained valuable playoff experience in the World Juniors. He failed to sign Cal Peterson. Even looking at the top 20 in save percentage... many of them have changed teams since Botterill's tenure started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 8 hours ago, May Day 10 said: Botterill needs to be released now and work needs to be done installing a new pres/gm before this offseason (preferably the deadline). He has failed. In 3 years, this team is still worse than the murray/bylsma era without many futures. I still don't see the need for a president AND a GM. Isn't it the same job? 5 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: He was not on the pregame last night, and the way Schoop said "we have Brian Kozial in for Paul"...no mention of vacation, or Paul has the flu, or something small like that. Just a hunch is all. I know absolutely zero if anything is wrong or not. Hope not. He had an unbelievable amount of deaths in a short time frame a few years ago - wife, sister, and I think both parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 23 minutes ago, bbb said: I still don't see the need for a president AND a GM. Isn't it the same job? Hope not. He had an unbelievable amount of deaths in a short time frame a few years ago - wife, sister, and I think both parents. yea, i am hoping for the best. Has not posted on Twitter in 4 days. I don't have a great feeling about it, but hopefully he just has the flu or something. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Sabres always make me think of this clip from Major League. https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/47b16f43-bd64-4d31-ba1e-3aca588be333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, bbb said: I still don't see the need for a president AND a GM. Isn't it the same job? It can be the same job, but doesnt have to be. I am thinking of a guy like Rick Dudley perhaps. He has enough experience, success, credibility, and connections to build the whole organization from the top-down. He probably would not want to take-on the heavy lift and pressure of the General Manager job. He would essentially be the wall and conduit between ownership and the team. The current format of both the GM and Coach reporting to ownership is toxic in the NHL and with how disposable coaches are. Thinking about the Pegulas and the Sabres funding Karin Housley's Senate campaign. They will also never attract a GM worth anything if he cant fire a coach whenever he wants. Lamoriello fired Julien once with a week left in the season, when they were in first place because he felt they werent prepared enough for the playoffs. Or it could be a pres/gm combo like Lombardi (or Lamoriello), who do everything, but are completely empowered over the hockey ops. Some successful organizations have a president and then a GM. You have Neely-Sweeney with the Bruins, you have Shanahan and Dubas (and previously Hunter and Lamoriello) with Toronto. John Davidson/Gorton with the Rangers, Linden-Benning with Vancouver, Holmgren and Fletcher with the Flyers, etc. It is pretty much science-fact that the Sabres' organization is broken they need help fixing it. Especially before they squander Jack Eichel in the process. They could use a healthy dose of credibility and a clean start. I would fire Botterill today and hire Dudley (theoretically if he would accept) as President of Hockey ops and Interim General Manager. Allow him to negotiate the deadline and monitor/interview all potential candidates for the best GM for the direction he wants this team to go. If he likes Krueger, thats fine. If he isnt a fan, Im not willing to let krueger be the reason the Sabres cant alter their course. Edited January 31, 2020 by May Day 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Housley told you so. These guys are full of excuses How old is the guy with headband who played here and coached here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 3 minutes ago, May Day 10 said: It can be the same job, but doesnt have to be. I am thinking of a guy like Rick Dudley perhaps. He has enough experience, success, credibility, and connections to build the whole organization from the top-down. He probably would not want to take-on the heavy lift and pressure of the General Manager job. He would essentially be the wall and conduit between ownership and the team. The current format of both the GM and Coach reporting to ownership is toxic in the NHL and with how disposable coaches are. Thinking about the Pegulas and the Sabres funding Karin Housley's Senate campaign. Or it could be a pres/gm combo like Lombardi (or Lamoriello), who do everything, but are completely empowered over the hockey ops. Some successful organizations have a president and then a GM. You have Neely-Sweeney with the Bruins, you have Shanahan and Dubas (and previously Hunter and Lamoriello) with Toronto. John Davidson/Gorton with the Rangers, Linden-Benning with Vancouver, Holmgren and Fletcher with the Flyers, etc. It is pretty much science-fact that the Sabres' organization is broken they need help fixing it. Especially before they squander Jack Eichel in the process. They could use a healthy dose of credibility and a clean start. I would fire Botterill today and hire Dudley (theoretically if he would accept) as President of Hockey ops and Interim General Manager. Allow him to negotiate the deadline and monitor/interview all potential candidates for the best GM for the direction he wants this team to go. If he likes Krueger, thats fine. If he isnt a fan, Im not willing to let krueger be the reason the Sabres cant alter their course. I'm still not really clear on what duties a Prez has and what a GM has - and who has the final say on trades, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 (edited) 9 minutes ago, bbb said: I'm still not really clear on what duties a Prez has and what a GM has - and who has the final say on trades, etc. it is however the Team President defines it. Someone like Rick Dudley has been involved in numerous organizations and has seen success nearly everywhere he has been. It is reasonable to think he knows a good structure and delegation of duties... and would also be able to hire management personnel with the same philosophies. For example, right now he is VP of Hockey Ops with the Hurricanes. Waddell is their president and GM. Carolina got serious with management and suddenly they are run well and are a playoff team. There arent horrific battles and resignations over trades and draft picks. It works. These things work in many organizations who are run much better than the Sabres. We have potatohead Jason Botterill with nothing around him, save Kim Pegula who is officially team president. Edited January 31, 2020 by May Day 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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