LTS

And Bales supposedly worked wonders with their goaltending right? It's not an easy answer. If it were just Dahlin I would give a lot less crap to Steve Smith but it really isn't just Dahlin. He's not playing well, his confidence is way down and I think that plays a huge amount into how he performs. he needs to get an upward cycle and build on it.

There it is. Not a fan of the 1-2-2, especially if your D are giving up the line. No quick passing support. And the cheating.. ugh.. you play with 1 person on the ice who doesn't do their job and you might as well be short handed. Hmm.. go figure. 🙂 Everything about them said, play defensive first, don't give up a goal. If you get the puck try and counter on a long pass. Puck possession is not important. The worst formula you can use. Thanks for digging that up.

Totally. I think many said it all along. You see a team spread out over the ice, one guy on the forecheck most of the time or guys backing out of the battle for the puck. Dumping the puck in and hoping one guy can beat two to the puck. Long passes. That's not how you win in this game. You need two to three guys near the puck. It's not a big area game. That might work somewhat on international rinks but not in the North American rink. Looking forward to excerpts if you get them.

You can take 5 of the most talented people and put them together to play. It doesn't mean they will play together. When player A believes he should go left and player B expected him to cross the line, that ends up in off-side. The point being, the coach is the one who brings them together to play as a team and not a group of individuals. If your group of individuals is going off-side in practice then they are not working as hard as they should, paying attention to detail, etc. It might be that he was the least tied to what the team had been doing and so provided the best choice for an interim coach to smooth transition.

No, you're right. I wouldn't mind that atoll. Perhaps we hang him upside down and send him acrost the Falls on a wire and see what happens?

To a certain degree I think this is accurate, but the output on the ice is a reflection of the preparation and attention to detail that occurs in practice. The clear lack of discipline in the defensive zone, the lack of puck possession, etc. are all reflections of what the coaching staff are teaching. I don't disregard the article from the former captains of the Sabres or the input of others who have coached and played because their experience gives them an awareness that others simply don't have.

I will hope to find time to listen. I wonder how much insight he has into things from people talking to him. Certainly lots of it is obvious from the outside, but I would bet he's been able to discuss some things with people who have direct knowledge too. One can only hope that all this negative attention they are receiving finally smacks them upside the head to operate better and make the changes necessary. Right now I don't have faith until I see the owners change. The "we know best" schtick is tiring, irksome, and condescending.

Well... at first I was excited because I remember now that the Sabres actually play one of the teams normally in their division. Boston, it's been too long. And now... it would seem more waiting is in order. By the end of this the Sabres and Boston will have to play 8 games in 8 days to get the season in. Or the league just gives the wins to the Bruins and calls it a day.

listening on WGR for now.. but if there is a link I'm all in!

That's just straight fire boys.

When I start getting paid to post I'll focus on the detail... or is it details?

The share matters on viewership. 10% of 1 million and 1% of 10 million still equate to the same number of eyeballs.

Yes, and yet here are all these players having trouble with the basics of the game. It's not coaching onsides so much as coaching the details in the game. You allow the players to cut corners and they will adapt to that level of play. The overall play deteriorates because opponents don't allow those corners to be cut. The team being held to the precision required to push the line but NOT be offsides is one example of demanding focus and precision across all aspects of the game.

Which Granato? 🙂

Maybe I need to change my avatar? It's a good day. Now we can all debate what comes next. I think the bigger message here is that Steve Smith is gone. Ralph was admittedly just the motivator... Smith has persisted behind the scenes and our D coverage has been awful.

That's true, but I think the Pegulas eventually sell if they can't get it right. At some point they will care enough to not be tied to what they've created. The team will eventually get better. But potentially not for awhile. I agree with your last statement, but the love for hockey in Buffalo is not solely seeded by the Sabres. I think having a team, in market, that can win back hearts will do so. By no means am I saying this ideal, it's anything but. I just give a lot of credit to the fans of hockey in Buffalo and surrounding areas.

I would imagine that the stuff you see in the games is accepted in practice and that's the problem. There is clearly no attention paid to the little things and those little things make a difference. Everything about how they play, to me, indicates poor coaching. A team that is not sharp and not required to be sharp.

Buffalo is an established market that craves hockey. Everyone recognizes that. This ownership team has pretty much used up its capital, but the franchise and the city continue to be held in high regard by many. This ownership group may be on its last legs barring some miraculous turnaround, but I think everyone comes running back if the Sabres return to even a moderate level of respectability.

Everyone gets better when they leave Buffalo. 🙂 Although Byron did have a good run in Montreal.

I wonder if Ralph is consulting on other items within PSE and the coaching job is just a way to pay him. Seems like a sham that he's brought in, at a higher salary than necessary, to achieve the horrendously poor results we're seeing. There has to be another reason he was brought here, and is still here, making what he makes. If there isn't, then the Pegulas are demonstrating what monumentally poor owners they are. If there is, then the Pegulas are demonstrating their willingness to screw the fans of one team for potential benefit elsewhere. The third option is that they don't want to add any additional cost into the organization at the coach level. Naturally they will also be taking a hit in the fan column and reducing their already reduced revenue from the fans as more and more people grow weary of the nonsense and losing. All in all, the bottom line, this team is failing by every measure and the ownership has not taken action. That's 100% on them.

Hated to break out the old avatar... but I reached that point. I'll go to the gym tonight instead of watch the game. Hope for the best always, but this team is not worth the time investment anymore, let alone any actual monetary investment.

It never looked like you were talking to yourself. It looked like you responded to a poster 6 times within an hour or so each time calling that person Kim and refusing to step away from it. And yes, it was obvious the poster said they deleted posts because that was not the kind of poster they wanted to be. Should I condemn them for that realization?

People questioning his heart and leadership began long before he was a captain. Last season was the first season where he played engaged almost at all times. I don't think it's that pathetic to wonder why he might be disenfranchised with this team and what it has done. Another point to consider, there's a point past which making an attempt to play is not in the best interest of the team. Clearly Eichel was at that point and had been hovering around it for the season. There's a certain level of arrogance that says, even at 50% I am better than the next guy the team has.

Oh yeah. I've no doubt they are looking to build up that area. The problem is no one is going to go because they'll be so sick of the ownership team. Or.. maybe who am I kidding.. people will forgive all if the team starts performing.

Jesus, obnoxious much? It really should not be acceptable to start trashing other posters just because they want to provide thoughts that run counter to your own. Not even a reasonable response to the poster, just immediately labeling the person Kim and starting on some some petulant little tirade. Grow up.