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We all would like to hope that RK forces us to swallow the "culture does matter" pill for a season too many. However, there isn't one thing in his past that says he alone has the coaching ability to work the magic needed by the Sabres. He hasn't said one thing that we can point to and say "that, there, is an insightful coaching mind". He does come with the culture and team building credentials, which is great if he were VP of Hockey Ops, but he's not, he's the head coach. It took a little to sink in, but one of the first things we have to accept is that with RK, the term "head coach" is being redefined. I'm okay with this, as I keep pointing out. It's an interesting, bold move that, as I began, if it is successful will come with a lot of bitter pills to swallow. We do have to face the fact that there was no Trotz available to us. I'm going to guess Quenneville had no interest in coming here. That's it. After that, what do you do? You aim in a different direction. And that's RK. I think it's foolish to say he gives hope. Based on what? There is nothing, as we've been discussing, to indicate he is worth blind faith. He will have to earn it. I am willing to give him that chance. I also think it's foolish to give up on him before he starts. The potential is there and success can be there for the person who pulls it all together properly. RK has been built up as the guy, if there is one, who can do that. Okay, but don't waste my time. If this even begins to look like a bust, they will lose me, again, and I suspect I'm not the only one.

This one seems a little more realistic until it gets to the top 5, and then I start to question how these were put together. Then again, I know they would say they're not ranking playoff success, just regular season success.

Nice! IOW, RK's prospects would look better if Botterill had done something about the goal scoring problem.

I think I've seen that, too, and forgot about it. Maybe earlier this thread. That is the best explanation and the only one that makes any sense.

I am neither hopeful or woeful, myself. Like I said, I can see this working out to a certain level. I think the recipe is the right one for the team at this time. The plateau depends on how clever and insightful RK is. I don't expect him to be a high-end hockey coach (not saying that you are, either) - I don't have a clue what kind of coach he will wind up being - but, again, I think, if nothing else, with the data that we have on RK and what we've seen from the team, the "RK Attempt" if you will, was a good call.

Appreciate the effort. I get all of the mechanisms waiting to be sprung for a Buffalo-centric set of probable circumstances, and understand that the same mechanisms are set and under tension throughout the league. That not a one has been sprung is what makes me wonder.

I don't think they've tossed all of the whiteboards or don't plan to use them. You used four videos in your post to make the point. Now, how much white-board-ing does it need? Some, but, probably not to the extent to where the players' eyes glaze over. I don't trust KO's instincts, either, but I get that if they're bitching about it, they were probably overwhelmed by "tactics" and "on-ice variables".

I'm sure the answer is in this thread, and, of course, I'm familiar with the history of NHL roster activities over the summer, but I can't quite wrap my head around why a guy or two is/are stopping everything. The conventional wisdom applies: "As for the others, it feels like they’re waiting for one another to sign in order to gauge their worth. They all want to get paid what they’re worth and it’s helpful when you have other player’s contracts to compare to." https://ham-sports.com/2019/09/01/september-1st-thoughts-training-camp-2-weeks-out-27-rfas-left/ Is this it? Really? Aren't there another 600+ contracts out there to compare with? It must be more involved than that to make sense.

I think Botterill is right there with you. Without getting terribly into the weeds on intelligence and all of that, RK might be an "evolved Teddy". A guy who can theorize and then execute, test, and revise his theories. Teddy wasn't that kind of a person. RK understands and respects analytics and therefore knows how to weave them into the overall approach to the players. Teddy was likely old-school hockey (non-analytic) and an underwhelming strategist. RK, indirectly, admits to not being fully versed in NHL strategies, but recognizes he needs someone who is. I can see this all working out to a certain level and then plateauing. Will that plateau be play-off level hockey? It needs to be. And if they make it in, the coaching staff needs to be a well-oiled machine by that point or they're 4 and out.

I pay less than $50/month for FIOS and $55 for Fubo. That's the sum total of my internet/TV/and landline (yes, I still need one). Way cheaper than the other options.

Agreed on all points. The coaches and GMs should worry about the stats, and they should be able to reduce the game to its most simple form for the players. I think RK was hired to do this, to un-do all of the chaff and distractions floating around in the players' heads.

The Sabres' 50th jersey is so cheesy and ugly. Ugh.

I was going to post something about looking forward to low scoring games, except I remembered our goalies...

I'm going to steal @nfreeman's lists, because they spell it out exactly for me. Except for the expectations. I can't really say what I would expect to happen because I simply don't know. One always looks like an idiot when trying to predict the future with such little data available. I could say "I expect Risto to be traded before opening day" (which I actually don't) and it happens that Risto becomes a project for RK. I would expect, and this is different from hoping, I would expect Botterill to do something about this roster not being ready for prime time. Do I believe he will? Again, not enough data to go with to say. He should be desperate to solve the roster problem because right now, I'm sorry to say, this upcoming season is looking hopeless once again as things stand.

I know, we're supposed to be waiting on the remaining RFAs, but, we're in September now and our roster is just not there. I'm getting concerned about our upcoming hockey season.

Since when? I thought NHL.tv blocked out your local sports provider, which in our case would be MSG.

You better turn them in! Write MSG an email, let 'em know they've let the vile FuboTV get away with it for too long.

Anyone who says the fight scenes in John Wick 3 are too long and boring are totally missing the point...among other things.

IP-based if I'm not mistaken. I seem to recall reading on their site that you can't get local content if you're out of your local area. I would check their site, though, to verify.

It went up as of July. They have made it more stable for whatever that is worth.

I think Direct TV has a streaming option but it's expensive.

FuboTV

I don't understand. This is called "Rise of Skywalker", overtly implying an ascension. I think what happens here is the Skywalkers finally bring "balance to the Force". Anakin finally fulfills the prophecy though his bloodline.

I think that baptism-by-fire is a tried-and-true method. The counterproductive part is that their confidence could take a hit, and then that needs its own rehabilitation. I also would suspect that they might learn coping strategies rather than proper productive and efficient game-processing strategies that would need to be fixed as well. There has to be some sort of computer-aided mental training they could do to augment the in-game cognitive development, alongside classroom stuff and video training (the latter of which, obviously, we know they do already).