JJFIVEOH

That's disgusting. What are the children supposed to think?

Wasn't that the last time they scored a goal?

Coaches shouldn't be forcing a system on a team. Perhaps bring in some of the aspects of a style, but a quality coach will play up to his players' strengths instead of forcing them to play a system. This is the problem the Sabres have had since Lindy's last couple of years, Rolston and then Goober Bylsma. The Sabres need to get rid of Housley, but as long as they keep hiring the same kind of coach over and over, this team is going nowhere.

Not trying to play Devil's advocate here, but a large number, if not the majority on this board was beyond happy when O'reilly was traded. Many didn't like his locker room cleanout comments and didn't want him around any more because they thought he was a locker room cancer. There's this thing called hindsight..........

Panthers @ 21st, Sabres @ 23rd. Is he high? http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/26252789/nhl-power-rankings-puck-luck-edition

"It's a tough league...........", "It's tough to score in this league.............." Because the other 30 teams don't play in the same league.

13-25-7 since their 10 game win streak. Way to go, boys!

Good point.

The fans need to be booing this team off the ice.

I'm so sick and tired of hearing the "They just can't catch a break" excuse. Or "We just keeping facing hot goaltenders". Right, because the Sabres are the only team who has bad luck from time to time. Nobody else faces a hot goaltender. Nobody else hits the posts. I hope they get shutout like I predicted. It's unfortunate they are at home, I'd love to see the Sabres leave him at the curb waiting for a cab like the Panthers did to Spuddy.

Sorry, I know I brought this thread up but I've decided not to go. If I went, I;d have to spend 3-4 days there just having fun in the city. Then ticket costs, then gas costs, then Airbnb costs......... I figured it would cost me over $1,500 to go watch a pathetic team. Then are $1 from me. Now that I moved to NC, I'd be interested to go watch any Canes game next year. Have fun!

At least when the Phlyers had their 10 game win streak and did't make the playoffs, they finished with 88 points. The Sabres will need to go 9-3-1 just to tie that.

This team is an absolute joke. How Housley is even being considered to have a job next year is beyond me.

"In a lot of ways this team is worse than the team that is widely regarded to be the most inept team in the league" He was way out of line, They're much worse than that.

I think Tavares made Okposo (and Moulson) look good. P-Ville is just quietly good. He has 2-3 decent years left in him.

I'll take P-Ville for two more years over Okposo any day.

0-10-1 after a win since mid December.......... quite impressive with the talent of the Ballerina, Eichel, Dahlin, Mittlestadt, Ristolainen, Bogo, Rodrigues, Reinhart, Ullmark, Hutton........... Housley can't be thrown to the curb fast enough. I'll pay for the cab fare when they can his ass and throw him to the curb (a la Spuddy Gallant, the most liked coach in the NHL, the coach Sabres fans thought I was nuts to want to bring in).........

Bump

Reminiscent of the tank days. Almost halfway through the 3rd and only on page 6 of a GDT.

You're right. I'd like to see a player's coach behind the bench and not a "teacher". To be more specific, as MSGA mentioned, I'm referring to an actual teacher, and not one who teaches life experiences. I'd like to see a "teacher" who teaches life experiences and not X's and O's kind of guy. As I mentioned, the best coaches in the league are cheerleaders, motivators. Even guys like Babcock who we might picture as a X's and O's teacher, he really isn't (from what I've read). He prepares these kids to deal with the stress and drama of being a professional athlete. Didn't he tell Matthews not to take any interviews in his rookie year just because he didn't want it to become a distraction until he matured? I just want a coach who will stand up for his team when they are wronged. Not a Torts type, or Claudia Julien type, or Sullivan type who bitch about every single play. Save the outrage for when it's needed most, it makes that much more of an emphasis. Housley doesn't do it at all. It's no secret how much I like Spuddy Gallant. But he sticks up for his team, but he doesn't over-do it. When he gets outraged, it's usually for a good reason. But he won't hesitate to push the boundaries of telling the officials what he thinks and getting kicked out of a game.

That's an excellent point.

I agree with you to an extent. But at some point you have to give the head coach some credit. It will never happen, but wouldn't you be curious to see how this team would do under somebody like Nolan?

You bring up a good point. Some link age with maturity and a need for a certain type of coach. But everybody is different. You might get a really mature young team who doesn't need a teacher, you might get an immature older team who needs a teacher. You need to sit back and evaluate what you have and hire accordingly. In my opinion, if you go back 5-10 years ago, each team had two assistants. So the head coach being a teacher was more of an issue. Nowadays, you've got 2 or 3 behind the bench along with 2 or 3 upstairs watching the game. So I think a head coach being a cheerleader is more important than it once was. Some people might trash me for this because I'm a big Nolan fan. But the Nolan teams played with more heart than any Sabers team ever since. Of course they were a dead last team, but that was because they had zero talent. But it was fun watching those games because they never gave up no matter how far out of the playoffs they were. Nolan was never a strategist, but he found a way to get the most out of the guys he had. It's no different than his first stint with Buffalo. Making the Cup finals as arguably one of the least talented teams to ever get that far.

The way I see it is, if you're playing in a tournament that's only a couple weeks long, you're playing on adrenaline and knowing you aren't going to have to form a partnership with your teammates. When you play 82 games and 2/3 of the year (more if you make the playoffs) you share hotel rooms, you travel on a bus and plane cramped up with everybody, etc...... You're forced to get along with people you might not otherwise get along with. If you play in the ECHL or the AHL, you might need a teacher to get you to the next level. But, if you're made it to the NHL. you have the talent to know what you're doing. At that point, you don't need a teacher, you need somebody who can keep everybody together as a group. Pegula hired Rolston for the purposes of being a teacher. Same goes for Bylsma and Housley. And it just doesn't work. Who are the best coaches in the league? Gallant, Torts, Maurice, Q-Ville, Trotz............... they aren't teachers, they're cheerleaders. If you take an old team, they don't need a cheerleader. But young teams do, and the Sabres are a young team. Now I took what you said into consideration. Housley does deserve credit for bringing together a group of players who really didn't know each other. That can't be easy. I give him that much, and I give you that much for pointing that out. It's a lot easier to find some kind of cohesion over 82 games, but to do it over a couple of weeks, that is impressive.

I'm behind so I can't read this thread. But when is Housley going to realize Mittlestadt has no business being in the NHL at this point?