Mango
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Posts posted by Mango
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"This team is craving accountability and structure"
Ouch, what a shot at Donnie.-
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Adams is very fiery. He is either getting this thing under control or he is spiralling. Either way the success or trainwreck should be entertaining.
3 minutes ago, Night Train said:Next HC - experience. NHL experience important.
Sticking up for absent Pegula.
I would prefer an absent Pegula. A highly involved Terry is bad for hockey in this town.
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1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:
Briere's situation was also prior to Kim's medical incident
My very spicy take is that I do not believe that Terry's management style has changed pre and post Kim's health concerns.
He has still be present at nearly Bills camp and Bills game, no? Still at the draft table on draft day for both orgs? Sitting in on player interviews during both combines?
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2 minutes ago, SabresVet said:
Yeah, career management is a prime consideration for professionally minded people. Fans can think what they want, but without better assurances from management to have a shot at success in this position, head coaching options will pass.
It's why I think Sean McDermott demanded much more control than TPegs was originally willing to give. But a team in a rough spot like the Bills were at the end of 2016 or the Sabres are now might mean a new HC gets some authority. Otherwise, solid options will pass by.
Maybe Terry is coming to that realization with the Sabres.
It was speculated fairly recently that Briere requested the same autonomy from Ter-Bear and he declined. But again, that is speculation, so maybe he is wising up? I can dream I guess....
The one advantage that McBeane have is that they have a nearly 10 year working relationship from outside the org before they ever shook hands with Terrance. There is no weird flat management between them and Terry because of it, and even if we move on from McDermott Beane still has the upper hand at this point. I think Ter-Bear fails miserably if tasked with a Bills rebuild (sans Allen).-
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For those who keep saying "There are only 32 NHL HC jobs in the world you always take it if offered".
David Carle is saying exactly what I have in this thread, that for some coaches the right opportunity is more important than the next opportunity.
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24 minutes ago, msw2112 said:
I don't see a passionate hockey coach caring that much about the roof. (Plus, didn't they announce a new roof, along with the scoreboard?) Also, the Sabres are said by the national experts to have the top pipeline in the NHL (and if not the top, one of the best), so what they have in place for scouting the last few years seems to be working.
Also, not spending to the cap, in my opinion, is less about saving money than it is about letting the young core develop rather than displacing them with expensive veterans. When they have tried to spend (Leino, Ehrhoff, Taylor Hall, etc. and arguably Okposo and Skinner) it has not typically gone well. Given where the team is in the development cycle, I think they'll be willing to spend a little more this offseason to fill in some of the holes in the roster (RHD, veteran "power" forward types). I also think that the new coach will have a lot of input on how they shape the roster. That can certainly be discussed at the interview and/or laid out as terms for accepting the job.
It is not about "the roof" that has been leaking on fans in the upper deck for YEARS. It is about the willingness to invest and solve in the most basic solutions facing the team and the fanbase.
The NHL is set up for bad teams to have great prospects and good teams to have bad prospects. It is because the worse you are the higher you draft and vica versa. Buffalo has been the worst franchise in the league by P% since Terry bought the team. They are supposed to have decent prospect. The only notably achievements are when teams like Ottawa have really bad prospects or last years NJ Devils were ranked super highly. These rankings also flip quickly. NJD went from a top prospect pool to a bottom prospect pool pretty quickly. If the Sabres don't get over the hump their prospect pool ranking will tank in short order.
You can claim it is not about saving money all you want. But Pegula himself has said that the franchises goal is to be efficient, effective, and economic. It is really difficult to separate a failing building, minimal spending to the salary cap, and one of the smallest scouting departments in the league from that statement. That is a bridge too far for most people.
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4 minutes ago, msw2112 said:
I don't think the Sabres will have a difficult time finding candidates interested in the job. This is not the team that finished last in the league a few short years ago. The team is in the .500 range, with lots of young talent at all 3 levels. They are regarded for having one of the top pipelines of young talent in the league, if not the top. Their owner has deep pockets and has spent money before. The same owner has had a lot of success with the Bills. Adams seems like an easy guy to work for/with and the Mittelstadt trade and Granato firing show that he's willing to make some tough decisions (which has previously been a knock on him). Buffalo has a great fanbase in place. While Buffalo may not be the most desired destination for 20-something millionaire athletes (although it's usually fine for hockey players), coaches are older, established adults who are past they partying days and may well enjoy a great community like Buffalo.
I don't think the new coach is coming into a mess. Rather, they would be coming into a great situation with a team that is on the cusp. With the right coaching and system, I believe this is easily a playoff team and with some roster tweaks to go along with that coaching, could be a contender within a couple of years. That's my glass half-full assessment. Fix the power play alone and this is a playoff team. Get a full season out of the current version of a UPL and this is a playoff team. Improve on first period play out of the gate and this is a playoff team. Fix any one of those things, and it's a playoff team. A new coach can fix all 3 of those things in short order.
The biggest issue won't be the roster. It will be the unwillingness to fix a leaky roof for years, having half the scouting department other franchises do, and an unwillingness to spend much of the cap.
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25 minutes ago, Believer said:
Ha… If what might be “dangerous for his career” is a coach’s focus… we wouldn’t want him anyway… The focus has to be an “exciting opportunity.”
The Sabres can offer their next HC every bit of an exciting opportunity…
Only those who see it need apply.
Institutional support is a very real concern. It can be managed or even improved upon, but it is a reasonable concern for any candidate.
Imagine being an assistant basketball coach at UConn and you get an opportunity to take over Dayton (ranked 24th). But Dayton only has 9 scholarships (EEE) out of the maximum 13 and the roof of the arena has been leaking on fans for years (just like the KBC). Staying at UConn isn't an issue with the candidate it is an issue of a track record bad institutional support.
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3 minutes ago, erickompositör72 said:
With all due respect, I think this notion is absurd.
Anyone who doesn't already have a job offer will interview here. It's a head coaching position in the NHL. These spots don't grow on trees.
Turn down interviews or turn down job offers? I am mostly speaking to job offers.
I am not an NHL or NFL coach, but have worked with the NCAA and USOC. There are 2 types of coaches that will turn down a chance at a HC position at National Championship/Olympic level.
1. Senior Head Coaches with accomplished resume's. They will take a year off, work as an independent contractor, advisor, etc. before the enter a program without institutional support.
2. Assistants in top tier programs. Those coaches have stability and are already competing for National, World, or Olympic Gold Medals. At that point in their career they will hold out for the right promotion, not take the first promotion.
Of course there is a whole slew of coaches who don't fall into either of those buckets who would certainly take the first NHL HC job offered to them. But the rule you are playing by is not hard and fast. Sometimes no credit is better than bad credit. The Sabres seem to have the stench of "bad credit" at the moment. -
35 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:
There are only 32 jobs to be had.
I think there is some grey area between the "There are 32 jobs, you take one if offered" and "Nobody wants to work here ever".
If you are a long time NHL coach with a background of success who is on a lot of teams shortlist year after year it isn't crazy to turn down job offers. SImilarly there will be assistants in very stable organizations who compete for championships and see a path to a HC in their future without tarnishing their reputation who won't want the Sabres position either.
Sometimes "no credit" is better than "bad credit". There will be coaches old and young who view the Sabres as "bad credit" and dangerous for their career going forward. -
5 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:
The more I think about Lindy behind the bench game 1 next season, the more excited I get to see it happen. Would be electric
The Sabres have a large fan and marketing problem. Brining in a long time member of the community with a long track record of success helps alleviate that....at least temporarily.
I do know that Lindy would not allow the stupid fan protest BS.-
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46 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:
Does a Matt Smith firing even deserve to be mentioned in a press release? 😂
A quick google says this position pays between $49k-$79k. Knowing the Sabres he is on the low end.
Imagine being an inside support rep at Ingram Micro and them tweet out that you were fired.
Working under Pegula sounds wonderful.
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27 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:
It 1000% is going to be Lindy or this Appert. I don't think any of these names that we want will even consider an interview here.
This is a very real and gigantic hurdle for the org.
I think the best and most realistic chance of righting that under Pegula is likely something like bringing Ruff back in, getting us back into the playoffs regularly, and then "retiring" as President of Hockey Ops and being able to shelter the franchise from Ter-Bear.-
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23 minutes ago, Goldseatsaud said:
My guess it’s Ruff. The fans just love him. Me not the right choice
Fans wouldn’t be excited with the HC from Amerks
When it comes to hires the Sabres need to find a candidate who overlaps all three things. In that model I think Ruff is probably pretty close to the top of the list.
- Who they should hire.
- Who Terry is willing to hire.
- Who is willing to take the job,-
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1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:
I personally feel bad for Granato because he seems like a great guy but from a team standpoint that was very much needed to push beyond development central.
Totally agree. I kinda feel about Donnie the way I did about Gailey.
I think Donnie was needed to get these kids to take the next step but ultimately wasn’t good enough to see this thing through.
I do think with better ownership and better vision from GM he could have gotten this team to the playoffs but never a contender.
Unfortunately anybody who comes into Buffalo as HC will have to overcome both the GM and ownership.
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1 minute ago, shrader said:
of course, but he much closer the the latter.
I haven’t read the article since I’m not a subscriber. I’d imagine they outlined the definition of exactly what players they were ranking. All this prospect definition talk ignores that and just becomes a matter of semantics instead. Whatever their definition is (if the word prospect was even used), they think Buffalo has the best. Let’s not move the goal posts in order to debate that stance.
Fair.
I am sick of getting excited about prospects mainly because when you are a bad hockey team for a really long time the system is set up to so that you have a great prospect pool.
Buffalo has been historically bad, their prospects are supposed to be great.
Boston has been historically good, their prospects are supposed to be bad.
The interesting stuff to look at are when a young team like NJ is on the rise with a good looking prospect pool or a bad team like Ottawa's suck. But the worst team and the best team over the last 10 years having the best/worst prospect pools is the way the system is designed.
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3 hours ago, #freejame said:
The difference between Buffalo and Boston is both teams could switch prospect pools and neither team would have a change of mindset. Boston would continue to put their young prospects in positions to succeed and Buffalo would continue to promote prospects to get them experience so we can win multiple cups…like Boston.
It is weird to me that you separated these two things, but attributed "winning multiple cups" to the path of the Sabres and not the Bruins.
Boston puts their young prospects in a position to succeed and win multiple cups.
Buffalo promotes prospects for "experience", putting them in a position to fail, and have struggled to finish a season 16th ot better let alone win Stanley Cup. -
3 hours ago, shrader said:
At least when it comes to Power, I have no problem with the word prospect being thrown around. A 21 year old is nowhere close to being a final product.
There are more than two buckets. It isn't "final product" or "prospect".
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On 4/11/2024 at 12:34 PM, JoeSchmoe said:
I didn't see the article itself, but the thread title says we're number 1 in "prospects".
So they have to be talking about the pipeline, not players with multiple years of NHL experience.
Forget experience. Power and Dahlin signed MASSIVE extensions. How can you be a prospect when you sign an 8x8 second contract?
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7 hours ago, Pimlach said:
Adding those "leadership character players" is not staying the course. Adams has showed no ability to add those kind of players - Stahl didn't want to help us, Hall could not help us, EJ and Anderson were expired players on an empty tank. The Mitts-Byram trade just got us younger and gave us another 21 year old kid to cover up for - Byram is not yet a first pair guy either. Paired with Joker, they make up a very weak 2nd pair that gets exploited.
So far he has drafted 3 good NHL players - Quinn, Peterka, and Benson - all still learning their way. He made one good trade to fill a need (Greenway for a #2), and he made one good UFA signing (Clifton). Everything else he did is a big nothing. Maybe a few more prospects will develop, making the team younger still, but the roster is completely devoid of men that play the game the right way and know how to win.
So stay the course? There are some good building blocks. I say bring in a better coaching staff at the minimum. Prefer that Terry brings in an experienced hockey man (POHO) to put over Adams. Then Adams can concentrate on contracts and the draft. Let the POHO fix the roster (handle the pro personnel) and find a coach.
My trust in Adams to make all the right moves is waning.
It should be noted that Quin and JJP were allowed to bake in Rochester where as guys like Cozens were forced into action immediately. Cozens has been much more inconsistent getting up to speed. I know others are sky high on Cozens, I am "eh" on him at this point and sky high on JJP/Quinn.
Levi needs/needed to bake in Rochester.
Benson is weird because he is way too talented for Juniors and this team so not talented enough for the NHL at the moment so he sort of accidentally makes the team.
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On 4/9/2024 at 3:40 PM, Scottysabres said:
.For as much as an overwhelming majority of the fan base want change, outside of maybe some asst. coaches, the roster is where that change will occur. There are real time improvements that have been made, and to not acknowledge them while our frustration grows just doesn't feel right.
1. Goaltending.......inside organizational growth has improved this position. No need to get in to the particulars, we all watch it.
2. Defensive corps.......improved, the 2nd half of season gaa says it all, and while it's a complete effort, the defense has improved.
3. Forward ranks........we all know the skill talent is there, need on ice leadership towards what some call grit, others call heart. For myself, it's called individual accountability from each player to dig down game after game to apply a full 60 min. effort. Leadership on the roster is critical for this in my opinion ad Donny can't throw on a jersey and join the in game action. Sure the coach can do some, make adjustments, hold players accountable, but it's the players that need to self police their own play imo.
So, from my view, we stay the course, continue to build the maturity of the roster, add those character leadership players in the off season and beyond. I'm very optimistic about this current teams future. I see an upward mobility in the standings in our immediate future.
"Steady as she goes, stay the course".'
Since January 1 this team is something like bottom 7 in the league in xGA, HD Shots Against, HD Chances Against, and Shots off the rebound against. I don't understand how anybody can watch these games and think the defense has been good.
GA is a very high level stat that doesn't tell a complete story. There is a strong argument to be made that UPL has been a Vezina level goaltender from January 1 on. How is it even debatable that UPL single handedly bailed this team (and defense) out of a top 5 pick in the 2024 draft. If everybody on the bench and in the FO is brought back they should all give a portion of their paycheck to UPL.
Without hyperbole, he has carried that much weight in keeping this team out of the dumpster this year.
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38 minutes ago, Drag0nDan said:
I feel like this years Sabres didn't hit a stride all season. They buckled down to play better defensively, but at the expense of offense. They haven't been able to counter-attack effectively for a number of reasons.
- Cohesion has been an issue, and i think thats coaching - line shuffling is part of it, but it just feels like no one ever knows where to go with the puck outside the offensive zone. They either push back to the defense (hurting our chance to pressure the opponent), or hold the puck (obnoxious turnovers at the blue line).
- Always seem to take the puck at the wall, and they don't push the pace often enough - they're afraid of turnovers.
- On the odd-man rushes they do get, a considerable number get broken up on their own mistakes. Never looking to shoot, slowing up and letting the opponent break it up, stupid drop passes. So many never even get a SOG.
- Even with an increased focus on defense, they still give up a lot of high slot shot attempts which usually stems from poor defensive play by the centers.
You watch good hockey teams, and the second the puck is on their stick in their zone they are moving and grooving.
The power play falling off of a damn cliff is the big thing that really killed them though. To go from 63 PP goals to 36 is... a big drop off. They've also had more short handed goals allowed than last year too oddly enough, so the power play net goals went from 56 to 27.
PK improved from the worst in the league to league average which is nice I guess.
It isn't just feeling. It happened.
They had two "winning streaks" of 3 games. That is it.
I said it early, I don't think teams lose by a point or a game. It is an 82 game season, the sample size is quite large. Teams miss the playoffs because of trends and tendencies. A 16-17 game season like the NFL can be largely impacted by luck, or a call, or a game. But (for the most part) teams don't have enough luck/unluckiness with such large sample sizes in the NHL, NBA, and MLB.
The Sabres xGA and high danger chances have stunk, face offs/puck possession, are embarrassing, they lack a quite a bit of physicality, huge defensive gaffes, lack of effort, playing well in meaningful situations, and the PP has been embarrassing for about 18 months now. This is why this team isn't good enough.
The problem is the Sabres "solved for a point" instead of "solving their tendencies".-
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12 minutes ago, Big Guava said:
So let me get this straight. I am supposed to believe a pretty smart guy like Pegula sees how successful the Bills have been when he isn't interfering but yet ignores that and tries to interfere every chance he gets with the Sabres?
Is that what I am supposed to believe based on your opinions?
I find that stretches the bounds of believability and credibility.
Pegula considers himself a hockey man and not a football man so I believe that changes a few things. The rumor swirled around Danny Briere coming in as President of Hockey Ops but Pegula refused the clause.
When it comes to the Bills McBeane have one major advantage and that is they more or less came as a package deal with a pre-existing 10 year working relationship. Pegula's weird flat, independent, and inconsistent reporting structure doesn't work because they came together and have been doing this together for a long time before Buffalo. It is impossible for Terry to get in the middle.
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I think the first period numbers are the symptom and not the disease.
They have two compounding issues:
1. Not enough try hard. I don't know if they aren't prepared, they think they are doing enough, or are just simply not trying.
2. Too many boneheaded decisions, defensive gaffes and high danger opportunities that leave their goaltender out to dry far too often. The high danger metrics and xGA metrics indicate that this team would be picking in the top 5 if not for UPL.
Kevyn Adams, press conference 4/16/2024
in The Aud Club
Posted · Edited by Mango
He seems to be talking A LOT about effort, grit, etc. He even mentioned that it was a problem day 1 of training camp.