Taro T

This team was the Avs in the last year of Patrick Roy as the head coach there. They were WAY too focused on puck possession and no where nearly focused enough on driving to the net and forcing chances from high danger areas. Swapping gears briefly to their defending, the Sabres had absolutely no answers for when a team drove the puck below the goal line and then back into the slot. Why might that have been? Could it be that they never ever faced that situation in practice as the Sabres never did that offensively themselves. Driving the puck below the goal line and passing it back into the slot could lead to a really ugly odd man rush against if that pass misses. How many times this past season did the Sabres work the puck to the slot, but have a contested opportunity to get a shot off and rather than attempt the shot, they passed it to a teammate who was in an uncontested spot but with a much lower percentage shot available (if ANY shot was available)? Those decisions aren't on the players. Those are on the coaches. You don't get an entire team's worth of players get to the highest level of their profession but yet not have enough confidence in their shot to actually shoot. Sure, you get a Power who doesn't feel his shot is hard enough to get past an NHL goalie because he's only ~20 and doesn't have full man strength yet, and the team is young so he's not the only one, but you don't get the entire bloody team so afraid to shoot from that high danger region unless it is by design. MHO.

Not sure precisely what you mean by this? Would be interested if you could elaborate. He battled through some sort of injury that happened as camp opened / right before camp and was (along with Thompson and a few others) pretty bad the 1st 1/2 of the season. He seemed to get healthy around January and he started looking like his old self about then. His poor start was a significant part of the team's poor start; but as alluded above, not sure that it was part and parcel of immaturity.

From hearing Adams talk about his D, really expect all of his top 8 are going to be back. And, while sure, anybody could be traded, and he would be a key piece in a package for something else the Sabres need; just can't see them getting rid of the only RHD they have that's remotely close to being ready for prime time. (And sure, they could bring in somebody else to then replace Jokiharju, but again, Adams talks VERY highly of his D. Personally, believe they're too young to be high end, but they (minus Johnson) have a LOT of NHL experience for their ages; MAYBE Adams will be right and that experience will leave them fully cooked/baked/finished(/however you want to describe it) this season.) With a couple of glaring exceptions, (such as an inability to defend the puck below the goal line; or an inability to box out/tie up sticks in front of the net) the D itself was pretty good at defending (they didn't get much help from their F's IMHO), so maybe there's something to Adams' belief in his D.

2 seasons ago, there were no better options. Last season, one of Dahlin or Tuch should've had the C and though few here would like this next call (and it would've made for a VERY awkward trade deadline) but Mittelstadt should've had the other A. The team NEEDED to have the younger guys that were top pairing / top liner that others look to to take on that leadership role. And, in a worst case, we would've found out that Dahlin and Tuch weren't capable in those roles and Adams could at this point be looking for more than just a 2/3W and a 3/4C and possibly shuffling the 4W's. He could be looking to fill a leadership void. My 2 cents. Ymmv.

Presuming all are healthy, a big if considering there's no word on how Samuelsson is recovering from the shoulder injury, would have him the typical 7 but taking a few games from Jokiharju. He would be the 1st guy into the lineup when the inevitable injuries hit. Bryson is the 8 out of the gate.

This season: Out of the gate: Levi & Johnson As injury replacements: Kulich, Rosen, Savoie, MAYBE Novikov Next season: Out of the gate: the 3 F's above As injury replacements: Östlund, Novikov, maybe somebody else. Don't follow the prospects nearly closely enough to say who's in that very last group of "maybe somebody else," but that's pretty realistic IMHO.

Europe, other AHL squads, see if they can get 2 way contracts on bad teams to have a shot at finally living out their dream. Lots of options, though a lot of them claimed to have liked playing in Ra-cha-cha, so there is that. Would expect finding out who Appert's replacement is will go a long way towards finding how much of that team is back.

Presuming most of the UFA's come back, yes, they should be. But a LOT of that team can go where they choose this off-season.

That could very well be correct. He and the rest of the organization clearly expected to have a really strong October regardless of the personnel simply because that's what they got the 2 previous years even though they were regularly playing teams that looked better than them on paper (and actually were better than them). So, just being down one middle six W wasn't expected to tank the start of the year. But they totally didn't factor in (nor did yours truly) just how badly treating the preseason as a look at the kids they might be bringing up as injury replacements in January or February rather than preparing to go from day 1 would slow up that fast start they expected. And had they had the October they'd expected, then there's a very good chance Kane is a Sabre by the end of December. Hopefully, that was a lesson learned - you can't take ANYTHING for granted, because the other guy certainly isn't going to do so.

He 100% is a believer in the vision he has for making this work. And he COULD be right. It's just that there is soooooo much variability in when (or even IF) kids will develop that even if he IS right, he could still be wrong. Which is where their inability to convert just one more regulation loss from a year ago into a win is such a tragic event. People would've been fine with the step back this year (not happy about it, but ok with it), if they'd've made the playoffs last year. It wouldn't've adjusted Adams trajectory nor urgency but it would've placated the fanbase. And, even though 93 points would've been good enough either of the last 2 years, it still isn't actually GOOD. But it would've been good enough. Personally, have faith that the skaters on this team can be good enough. Not fully convinced the coaching will be, considering how much of it wasn't good enough last year and is being brought back anyway. The wildcard in it all is will the GT be good enough? If it is, can't see none of the 5 good teams in the east taking a step back while at least 3 other teams besides the Sabres actually become "good"; so they'll be good enough to make the playoffs. If it isn't, maybe the rest of it will be good enough to get them in, but not nearly as certain. Would REALLY like to see Adams hedge his bet some; but he hasn't done it once in the previous 3 years. Don't expect to see him start doing it now. Which also raises the angst level of this off-season.

And some of the plan was downright bizarre. Pretty sure Patrick Kane was the plan's replacement for the injured Quinn even though both were on the same timeline more or less to become available. The Sabres being so futile the 1st 2-3 months of the season is a big part of why Kane chose Detroit over Buffalo. But, had Adams made a move to actually replace Quinn, the team might've been good enough to cause Kane to sign up and then he'd've been essentially bringing in 3 "middle 6" or maybe even 2nd line W's that the team ended up as it all played out not having on day 1. Wonder if that "top 9" winger that Adams is planning on chasing is still Patrick Kane and bringing in Ruff is part of making that a reality?

Don't recall and can't find the notes. Thought it was Adams himself, might've been Okposo.

Except it was the previous season. When Comrie was finally healthy again, the players (aka Okposo) lobbied for management to keep UPL up in Buffalo rather than return him to the Amerks thus birthing the "3 headed monster." Absolutely would believe that management asked for Okposo's input on moves and how the season was progressing as Adams has stated repeatedly that he does solicit opinions and has "honest conversations" with everybody in the organization. And, with that said, no, the roster deficiencies were NOT on Okposo or any of the other players. They fell in large degree on Adams and to a far lesser degree on Granato.

And that's why he gets 1 game. But Soucy is already in the process of giving McJesus a shot when Connor gets whiplashed into him. Honestly, at least 9 times out of 10, the shot to the back when he's not anticipating it at all is going to be the more dangerous hit. And, as stated earlier, without it, the shot from Soucy is harmless. (Btw, the hit from behind is SUPPOSED to be a MAJOR and a Game. Zadorov is the one that should've been catching supplemental discipline. My 2 cents, ymmv.) Might go back and watch the end of the game, because am curious about what exactly McDavid did to get Soucy to give him the love tap on the shin pads, the blindside shot from Zadorov, and the crosscheck from Soucy. Guys on the team that just won the game don't normally randomly start attacking an opponent when the horn sounds.

Actually, Granato's answer was the players needed to be more aware. He talked about how when they reviewed the video there were excellent chances that were available but the players made the wrong pass or took the wrong shot. Hearing Granato say that was honestly the most troubling thing he ever said as HC. That PP was beyond abysmal, and except for a 6-7 week stretch was for 2 full seasons. The entry was something that youth hockey coaches would be embarrassed by. When they finally lucked into getting the puck back into the zone, they didn't win battles even though they had the opponent outnumbered, they took horrible shots, they had poor movement (both puck and player), and if Benson wasn't on the ice there was a very good chance that if the puck were on Dahlin's stick at the blue line that there would not be a single Sabre below the dots. Really, the plan is if they can't force the one timer to Thompson then to have a point shot with 3 forwards then crashing the net? Thougth it was just Ellis being totally out of his element having not played on a PP professionally; but hearing his answer showed Don was clueless on that one as well.

Can see it only being worth 1 game. Soucy was all set to give McJesus a pop in the chest just as Zadorov pops him in the back. Without Zadorov's hit that Soucy can't anticipate, it's an absolutely nothing play. Intent has to factor into it, right? (OK, it's the NHL, so all that factors in is the outcome; but intent SHOULD be a factor.)

Yeah, as mentioned above, Frank is NOT having a good day today.

Yes, it says Frank Batres-Landaeta's job is not getting any easier. 😉

Agree with a lot of this, but to the bolded, if it is true that Ellis will no longer be on the bench as we've seemingly been told he won't be, then there is still 1 opening on the staff (or more accurately, there MAY be 1 more opening on the staff) as there needs to be a coach that isn't worried about sending the next D-pair out or line out or trying to keep the entire picture in focus and not losing the forest for the trees. Maybe they're going to fill that role with an assistant to the video guys, but there's more to that "rover" role than just staying in communication with the guys upstairs. That guy needs to be paying attention to when a guy that got dinged up will be ready to get back out on the ice, or if the other team is changing up their lines and coming up with matchups you didn't expect the opponent to be going with, and letting the HC know that the other team's backup goalie is starting to get his gear on. All of this stuff needs to be paid attention to, and a random assistant won't be ready to do all that. On 1st blush, expected that & PP to be Appert's role; but if Ellis finally is off the bench and Christiansen (or wtf his name was) is gone too; there's one more role than needs to be filled. Maybe that role gets filled by Bales? But others have said he won't be on the bench. Something doesn't add up.

There IS room for 1 more, but will take the announcement at face value that the coaching staff is what it is and what it is going to be. Will only change that expectation when they announce another coach joining in. But, that is also part of the frustration. With needing people reviewing every single zone entry and every single shot, they really NEED a 4th person on the bench to be in contact with the people up in the suite that are doing those reviews in real time. That "rover" (as we used to call the 4th coach) plays a really important role. Hoping you are correct, and the announcement was just poorly worded. Because if not, they are intentionally making life tougher on themselves than it needs to be.

When's the last time a coach with Ruff's resume only got a 2 year deal to come to a new team? Haven't seen it stated openly anywhere, but expect the 2 year timeline was Ruff's decision. Ruff works as HC until he's 66 and then either becomes the PoHO or an advisor to the GM/newly promoted PoHO depending upon how well those 2 years worked out.

Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes an outlier is simply an outlier. If that WEREN'T the case, Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens would be making much closer to $9MM/yr IMHO.

So, Bales is moving onto the bench? Interesting.

And though this board nearly unanimously would like to see Ellis punted into the sun, Ruff knows him well and knows exactly what he's getting with him. Can't recall if he has a history with Wilford or not, but doubt that he's been forced on Lindy either. As for Bales, he still has a very solid reputation and it was under him that UPL finally got beyond the mental hurdle of the hips not feeling right when he tried to go cross crease. Personally, was hoping Lindy would take that staff in a different direction, but we're getting to dead horse territory already and it's only a few hours since the entire coaching staff was announced.

Honestly, not 100% why the F in the IF was capitalized. Probably was merely stressing, without writing a novella (but then there is THIS post, so much for the lack of writing a novella 😉 ) that it's looking at a particular version of trading him (1/2 salary retained; depending upon what comes back for him, could see it only being 1/3 retained should Adams find a team that would take him AND Skinner would be willing to play for). Or, it might've just been the shift key sticking on a rainy humid day.