Buffalo Sabres & NHL 2020-2021

[oldmanfan]

1 hour ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

I'm not a Sabres fan so I don't know the details but from a distance it looks like Kruger has lost the locker room.  Apparently the other night the Rangers studio guy blew up the Sabres effort after the game. If true, I put that on the coach.

If guys like Eichel and others hadn’t done it for 3 coaches I’d agree.  Effort is on the guys on the ice.  Where is the leadership within the team?  How many coaches get thrown under the bus?

 

McD got it going by making it clear what he expected, and getting rid of guys who weren’t bought in.  Do the same with the Sabres.  

[SinceThe70s]

17 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

If guys like Eichel and others hadn’t done it for 3 coaches I’d agree.  Effort is on the guys on the ice.  Where is the leadership within the team?  How many coaches get thrown under the bus?

 

McD got it going by making it clear what he expected, and getting rid of guys who weren’t bought in.  Do the same with the Sabres.  

 

Fair enough.

 

It's funny, I come on this board and Eichel is a whipping boy, but the local media is claiming that the Rangers will be first in line if he's available. 

[BillsPride12]

10 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

If guys like Eichel and others hadn’t done it for 3 coaches I’d agree.  Effort is on the guys on the ice.  Where is the leadership within the team?  How many coaches get thrown under the bus?

 

McD got it going by making it clear what he expected, and getting rid of guys who weren’t bought in.  Do the same with the Sabres.  

In the Sabres case that's the entire team

[oldmanfan]

2 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

In the Sabres case that's the entire team

So be it.  I’d keep Cozins and Dahiln.

[Nextmanup]

On 3/5/2021 at 10:29 AM, Jauronimo said:

He's playing like ***** and was on the ice for 5 goals against last night.  Until it elevates to a point where I'm starting threads like "Idi Defense-Amin" or "Premier Stahlin" and taking shots at him in 5 other threads around the board, I wouldn't call it a vendetta.

As of a few days ago, he literally had the worst +/- of anyone in the league.

 

To say his development has not gone according to plan is an understatement.

 

He was supposed to be the next Bobby Orr.

 

Right now, I think we have seen enough to know he will never be a Norris Trophy candidate.

 

He's just not that caliber of player.

 

I hope he proves me dead wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

1. Stop playing in a game.
2. Leave your goalie out to dry with no protection.
3. Get wildly outshot by the other team.
4. Lose.
5. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[Rockpile233]

I listened to Adams’ press conference yesterday and I got the sense he put most of the blame on his players. These guys don’t play hard for 3 shifts let alone 3 periods. 
 

[Chandler#81]

The destruction is complete.

[4merper4mer]

Watched for about 5 minutes of game time on and off today.  Saw Skinner again hanging at the blue line waiting for the breakout pass.  He got two, fumbled one of them and hit the goalie’s left pad with the other.  The situation is really bad and there are many culprits but Skinner is untradeable, bad and on an expensive long term deal.  He burns a roster spot and an inordinate amount of cap.

[snafu]

12 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

So be it.  I’d keep Cozins and Dahiln.

 

Dahlin could use some Rochester humility. 

He plays like an entitled teenager. 

[BillsFan4]

Mentions teams are calling about Reinhart and Staal, among others.

I don’t really care who they trade anymore as long as they get a good return.

I have absolutely Zero interest in draft picks though (for younger guys like Reinhart anyway). Especially in this draft. The 1st round looks terrible, even in the top 5 (this looks like one of the worst drafts in recent memory).

If they trade guys away I want to get good NHL players back in return. Make change of scenery trades with teams also looking to shake up their cores, like Calgary & Nashville.

Edited March 7, 2021 by BillsFan4

[BillsFan4]

 

🤢 🤮 

[Nextmanup]

3 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Mentions teams are calling about Reinhart and Staal, among others.

I don’t really care who they trade anymore as long as they get a good return.

I have absolutely Zero interest in draft picks though (for younger guys like Reinhart anyway). Especially in this draft. The 1st round looks terrible, even in the top 5 (this looks like one of the worst drafts in recent memory).

If they trade guys away I want to get good NHL players back in return. Make change of scenery trades with teams also looking to shake up their cores, like Calgary & Nashville.

Eichel and Reinhart cannot be traded before we acquire a real HC.

 

Staal, Hall, Risto, and lots of other guys can go first.

 

 

16 hours ago, 4merper4mer said:

Watched for about 5 minutes of game time on and off today.  Saw Skinner again hanging at the blue line waiting for the breakout pass.  He got two, fumbled one of them and hit the goalie’s left pad with the other.  The situation is really bad and there are many culprits but Skinner is untradeable, bad and on an expensive long term deal.  He burns a roster spot and an inordinate amount of cap.

He's not bad.  He is pretty much untradeable.

 

His confidence right now is totally shot.  And he continues to be grossly misused by a stubborn coach who doesn't have a clue what he is doing.

 

If a real HC comes in here in the next few days, I would pray the first thing he would do is resurrect Skinner's game by putting him back with Eichel and Reinhart.  That line worked and it worked very well.

 

Olofsson can go to line 3 or 4 but should be retained on PP1.

 

 

[Rockpile233]

I didn’t believe this was a real quote. Yikes.

....asked about Skinner scoring: "That's certainly something for Jeff Skinner, who has measured his whole career on goals” - Ralph Krueger

Edited March 7, 2021 by Rockpile233

[4merper4mer]

7 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

 

 

 

He's not bad.  He is pretty much untradeable.

 

His confidence right now is totally shot.  And he continues to be grossly misused by a stubborn coach who doesn't have a clue what he is doing.

 

If a real HC comes in here in the next few days, I would pray the first thing he would do is resurrect Skinner's game by putting him back with Eichel and Reinhart.  That line worked and it worked very well.

 

Olofsson can go to line 3 or 4 but should be retained on PP1.

 

 

He is bad.  He plays 50% of the game.  His confidence is not shot.  He only cares about scoring goals and he is confident enough to ignore his duties on defense and lurk on the blue line.  He has a career +/- of -123 and his best career season was +0.   They cannot trade him because of his gigantic contract.  
 

Obviously the Sabres have major problems and Krueger may indeed be part of them.  Skinner is most certainly part of them and there is no miracle coach out there that will make him part of any sort of solution.  

[Jauronimo]

1 hour ago, 4merper4mer said:

He is bad.  He plays 50% of the game.  His confidence is not shot.  He only cares about scoring goals and he is confident enough to ignore his duties on defense and lurk on the blue line.  He has a career +/- of -123 and his best career season was +0.   They cannot trade him because of his gigantic contract.  
 

Obviously the Sabres have major problems and Krueger may indeed be part of them.  Skinner is most certainly part of them and there is no miracle coach out there that will make him part of any sort of solution.  

Outside of one game earlier in the season where Skinner was clearly motivated I have seen a guy who is consistently the last man back on defense and just drifts around the defensive zone.  He was a gifted finisher but this year he has squandered so many golden chances.  I used to argue for him but at this point its undeniable that he just isn't trying to do what Kruger asks of him.  Glad he scored that $9 million goal today.

 

This current incarnation of the first line is so bad defensively that it couldn't hurt putting Skinner on first line.  Maybe he will produce enough to be tradeable?  Eichel and Hall are just running around like recently decapitated chickens in their own zone.

[4merper4mer]

12 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Outside of one game earlier in the season where Skinner was clearly motivated I have seen a guy who is consistently the last man back on defense and just drifts around the defensive zone.  He was a gifted finisher but this year he has squandered so many golden chances.  I used to argue for him but at this point its undeniable that he just isn't trying to do what Kruger asks of him.  Glad he scored that $9 million goal today.

 

This current incarnation of the first line is so bad defensively that it couldn't hurt putting Skinner on first line.  Maybe he will produce enough to be tradeable?  Eichel and Hall are just running around like recently decapitated chickens in their own zone.

The entire thing is weird and it’s not like Skinner is the only problem, but there is zero chance any team will trade for him.

[BillsFan4]

3 hours ago, Rockpile233 said:

I didn’t believe this was a real quote. Yikes.

....asked about Skinner scoring: "That's certainly something for Jeff Skinner, who has measured his whole career on goals” - Ralph Krueger

[Rockpile233]

11 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Definitely did not come off as snarky as that quote read. With that being said, if he is still the coach when they get back from the road trip it’s a joke.

[BillsFan4]

33 minutes ago, Rockpile233 said:

Definitely did not come off as snarky as that quote read. With that being said, if he is still the coach when they get back from the road trip it’s a joke.

I’m praying they have Bruce Boudreau (or some other experienced coach) secretly quarantining for 2 weeks in Buffalo...

 

I think that’s part of the issue - who replaces Krueger if he’s fired? Covid rules complicate things. Would any of Ralph’s assistants be any better? If Chris Taylor was still in Rochester I have little doubt he’d be coaching the Sabres right now. But their head coach in Rochester (Seth Appert) is a rookie. This is his first ever season coaching pro hockey.

 

 

Kevyn Adams also said at his most recent presser that the players enjoy playing for Ralph and still have belief in what he’s preaching (seems hard to believe by the way they play on the ice...). So he said he has to consider that when making a change.

Ive read Eichel especially likes Ralph. 

 

If they replace Ralph I hope like heck that it’s with an experienced veteran coach like Boudreau, Gallant or Julien. If Ralph is as beloved as reported, replacing him with a clear upgrade is a much easier sell than another inexperienced rookie head coach. 
 

My dream scenario is that Kevyn Adams goes after his buddy Rod Brind’amor in the offseason. He still hasn’t signed an extension with Carolina, though it’s tough to imagine he doesn’t (unless Tom Dundon just refused to pay him a competitive salary which is a possibility). But the issue with waiting until the offseason is that more teams will be looking for head coaches then and I can’t imagine Buffalo being high on anyone’s list. I’ve read Bruce Boudreau is dying to get back behind the bench, he was born right across the border in Toronto and still has family in the area (plus he lives in PA). If he’s willing to come here I’d hire him immediately. He’s improved every team he’s ever coach and almost never missed the playoffs in his entire NHL coaching career.

 

If any team was ever in need of an experienced, successful NHL coach it’s the Sabres! And there are multiple experienced, successful NHL coaches just sitting out there. It seems so obvious...

But, Being that it IS the Sabres we’re talking about, I expect them to do the opposite. Waiting to hear about some coach from the harborcenter being promoted, and we find out it’s not just on an interim basis (like Adams).

Edited March 8, 2021 by BillsFan4