In The Buff

I keep refreshing this page looking for an update on the contract situation. Lots of people saying today is the day. You've guys all made lots of good points on the pros & cons of the deal. While the back half of the contract does scare me a bit, I still don't think it'll turn into an Okposo or Moulson kinda thing. That bar is pretty low lol. Skinners shot is/was better than both of theirs, as is his skating. So if he falls off maybe 15-18 goals per year would be his floor. All conjecture of course. I personally think Skinner is worth $7mil x 8 but no way in hell does JBots let him walk. So around $70 mil over 8 it is i'm guessing

Not to play devils advocate, but "only putting up points when playing with Eichel & disappearing from the scoresheet for stretches" could also be applied to Skinner for this past season. For Reinhart its a ding on him for scoring primarily from the inside, but when people talk about Skinner scoring from the inside, they talk about it as 1 of his strengths. We need that inside presence imo, & Reinhart is 1 of the guys we have who's not afraid to be around the net & is pretty productive there. And at what, 23 years old, has lots of room to grow. This is Skinners Goals area chart, unless i'm mistaken it's not that drastically different from Reinharts. What is he, 2% points better from the top circle & 6% on the bottom? Skinner no doubt is a better sniper, but i think Reinhart is the more complete player. Give him another few years of growth where he's the same age as Skinner is now & crosses that threshold from young man to man & he'll be stronger on his skates. I bet at 23 Skinner wasnt as strong on his skates as he is now.

Hey after the slug aka the urine soaked mullet aka the bee that got smeared across your windshield, in all honesty this logo could've been a lot worse. This logo doesn't excite me like i wish it would've, but I'm not embarrassed by it either. It serves its purpose i guess, even if it is a bit uninspiring.

I didnt hear the interview but the context with that question even being asked would require one to know who Yakupov even is, which i assumed you had. Yakupov was the 1st overall draft pick of the Oilers back in 2012 i think. And as i said in my previous post, Yakupov had his greatest success with Krueger. So with that as a baseline, given the youth of our roster & having similar situations with other players as he had with Yakupov, given that context one could infer what the question was. Such was my attempt to answer it for you ?

I wasnt referring to the thread tho, I was referring to the post on Mike Bove's twitter about how someone asked krueger a Yakupov question. You asked what the question was & thats what my reply was about. The stuff after that post in the thread had nothing to do with the Yakupov part of the thread. Shouldnt that be obvious?

Given the context & who Nail Yakupov is, i imagine it had to do with how Krueger was able to help Yakupov improve as a player & get the most out of him. I believe Yakupov was a .6 ppg player under RK & around .3ppg everywhere else.

yep just announced on CBC during the intermission of the game, Ralphie it is Stanley Cup here we come boys!

So far this offseason is looking great lol

Yeah going off his bio after hearing the news that he's on the short list to be our next coach, it kinda makes you wanna Ralph right? Haha sorry, I just thought someone had to make that joke. Tbh im surprised no one else has thrown out a few of those by now. Must be a slow day with Mothers Day & all. ? From what i've seen, he's a smart guy, widely respected as a great mind in hockey, but hasn't coached in a couple years & its been some 6 or 7 years since he coached a handful of games for the Oilers. Not too inspiring if you ask me. It's rumored that Tippett is slotted to go to Edmonton so perhaps Ralph is gonna be our future. (Puke reference either way with that one) Cuz it could go either way

I'm sure that would be the preferred plan. Especially with Seattles entrance into the league where they'd like to protect him, so that'd be another case to consider for him staying in Roch longer. But i think a lot of what happens in his development timeline will depend on what is happening here in Buffalo with our goaltending situation. If it takes a step back next year & we don't bring in any other free agent goalies, that time table may change & we might see him here a year sooner. I have a couple friends who live in Finland & they say we got a great one in him so I'm excited about his future. He seems to be right where he should be in his development which is great news for sure!

Just read this article over at espn. Pretty cool hearing how much better our Beauts were run than other teams in the league. But its a shame womens hockey appears in limbo atm. Would be nice if the NHL can come up with a way to better support it. http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/26701696/sabres-owners-give-women-team

Yep that would be my take on it too. In the pros you're dealing with players who have played the same game for most of their lives. Learning & picking up things as years go by. When they play the game, the core concepts that got them to that place generally remain the same. A new coach can come in & perhaps motivate them more than the last guy, but can also put them in a better position to succeed, with a new system or with their role or linemates, but they're still gonna be doing pretty much what they've always done. However a coach who does that poorly can adversely affect a team (obviously). I read this once in an interview with Scotty Bowman, he was asked: 'whats your secret to having success in the NHL?' And his response was simply: 'Good players'. I think that goes in line with all the above. A good coach isnt gonna change the fortunes of a team much unless you have a quality group of players or the right mix to begin with. But a bad coach can make a good team worse. This game is so fast & instinctual, a good coach imo would create a system that allows the players to rely on those instincts that got them to this level in the 1st place. Once they get inside their heads too much or play a system counter to their instincts, they play a step behind or are prone to making unnatural mistakes. A few of the names mentioned the most lately in this thread, from what i've heard/read believe in letting your players play instinctively within a systems framework, which is a breath of fresh air imo. Just hope we hire one of em, & soon because I can't wait any longer!

I'm of the mindset that if we get any one of those 3 i'll be happy, even throw in Todd Richards. But fans gotta realize & i'm sure they do, that theres only so many "good" coaches available to hire. Most currently have jobs, so if you can get one of these guys that has something going for him, whether it be experience or being an up & comer, that's pretty much all you can hope for imo. I'm in the camp of pretty much anyone but Taylor. But for as much as i'd like to know already who the next coach will be, i'd rather Botts take his time & do his due diligence & get the right guy. I still refresh this thread everyday hoping for an update tho ?

for those that are subscribed to The Athletic & can read it ?

and without Skinner too. Kinda funny how things turn out

yep there it is

Yeah he's been looking shaky all game imo. Even now watching him, he doesn't look like he's playing with much confidence. Just the opinion of a layman observer

A lot of those early playoff exits were at the hands of our Sabres & the Leafs. Hasek & Joseph were probably a big part in their defeats. But yeah I agree i'd rather have someone else. Although from what I've read, Martin does a good job with coaching up younger players & of course he is experienced. I'd just prefer someone with more upside. If JBotts hires Martin its almost as if Pittsburghs coaches are to the Sabres as the Carolina Panthers players are to the Buffalo Bills. On one hand it makes sense since theres that familiarity but also seems very safe & uninspiring.

I'd have to think that if the choice for Martin is between us & Ottawa, that he would go back to Ottawa. There's not only the familiarity with Melnyk & the franchise as a whole, but dude was born there & calls that place home. If the choice is between coaching for the Sabres or coaching for your home city, you'd think Ottawa would be his dream job so to speak & a chance to not only turn that franchise around again but to even right whatever wrongs happened last time. We can definitely offer more money for his services than Ottawa can however & a roster with more potential. But i'm not excited at the possibility

yep. My whole point was that it just wasnt a flattering picture. Was just a reaction to it. Kind of my reaction to hearing his name as our top choice atm. Suppose we could do worse though

This image from that wivb article isn't that flattering. Mike Sullivan doing the coaching while Martin stands there with a dumb look on his face & his hands in his pockets:

Ironic being interested in Myers since he was Risto'd around here 1st before Risto. I can just see if we trade Risto that in 5 years a new thread will pop up titled 'Risto anyone?' But in all seriousness while i think Myers is a good dman, I don't think he'd even want to come here first of all, nor do I think it'd be a good fit. He's prone to making mental mistakes from time to time & needs to be paired with someone who can clean up, which sounds a lot like what we have currently. We need more d that can clean up so to speak. Risto & Myers are too closely related, both in their careers here in Buffalo & in what they provide on the ice.

Idk bud but thanks for pointing that one out. I have a: 'Where's The Keef?' bumper sticker staring me right in the face too.

Or on the flipside, maybe we'll have to wait longer to hear Keefe is the guy.