Randall Flagg

Yep. Which is why system talk now bores me and when some posters (not you guys) lean heavily into it, their stance becomes something I dismiss offhand

I agree and I agree it's an issue. I would give $1000 to anyone who can give me a cover-1 tier video explaining it, and backing up the film with stats (and not like team level performance stats, but new stats that show how ours differs from different systems employed by other teams)

I think this is what answers the original point I responded to, why that might be underappreciated. I've just never seen a compelling hockey system breakdown. On the other hand, watch cover 1's bills videos. It is stunning how much detail there is in football, and how easily the chess match can be explained if you know what you're talking about. It's far more concrete and far more likely that two independent observers can watch the same things and come to the same conclusions than with "hockey systems"

There's a video on YouTube containing every goal from the 10 game streak. Almost all players involved are still sabres and still have their peak physical fitness and skills. Yet we haven't seen them look remotely like they do in those clips since very early in the 2019 season.

Was Krueger's system low event or are the skaters low event? They've been low event since the tank ended. I certainly don't think Phil Housley was a coach who preached low event hockey, but that"s what his team was. I just haven't seen verbal proof or proof on tape that Ralph wanted us to play in a way that ensured we got about 2 scoring chances per night. I've read a lot of people assert that (and I do believe that he wants players to get back and be responsible, but so does Sheldon Keefe) but I don't necessarily believe that they have this knowledge and derived it from objective analysis

Oh yeah, and the young guys are cool and I like them, but the sample size is so small I haven't yet grown attached

I like Jack Eichel. A lot of things get projected onto him, helped along by his natural upright skating stance and how he can get down on himself and express that when he shoots the puck high and wide. But nothing I've ever read indicates he doesn't love the city, love us, and want nothing more than to win hockey games for us, even if he was ultimately the wrong guy to put the C on. Plus, we've heard lots of small stories along the way - the guy on the beach whose son recognized Jack, and Jack, who loves kids, spending a long time just talking to them, making the kid's day. Every story I've ever heard about the guy like this, away from the rink, was relentlessly positive - I think he's a good, smart guy with a good soul, and I'm grateful for the time and effort and enjoyment he's given me. I like Reinhart, though I don't think I'd be friends with him, if that makes sense. I've heard a couple things (friend's GF's friend has hung out with him before) that suggest he's, while not a bad person, just not someone I'd be interested in being around. On the ice though, I like him quite a bit and would keep him around. I like Risto, McCabe, Girgensons for the way they have battled for so long. Okposo is in this category as well, and he really seems to be a great guy, but I like him less ON the ice than the other 3. It was great when we had a line going that he really fit on. That was obliterated so we could sign Cody Eakin and 3 other 4th liners. Similarly, I appreciate the effort that newer guys like Lazar and Rieder and Sheahan bring. i like Ullmark's relentlessly positive attitude. Oh, and I like Jeff Skinner. I think he's severely flawed, though I do think that there are coaches out there under which it wouldn't have gotten THIS bad. But whether or not you agree with me on that, I am impressed that he has always held his tongue even if he has wanted to say something that would cause fireworks to the press (not sure if he has wanted to, but there are MANY players that would have caused issues in the same circumstances), he just keeps trying to fix it/get better. I know it hurts him to be struggling so badly. He still skates and tries hard, and he's a really funny/interesting/quirky guy if you watch videos of him off the ice, I get the impression he's a guy who is simple, happy, nice, and loves his family. I don't hate anyone on this team, though I can't wait until Staal is gone. But these are the guys I actively like.

Probably because there's never been a more vague topic more consistently spoken of on this board. I know I was one of the most guilty ones of it for a long time, but the reality is nobody knows anything about "systems' or how much they impact things. When I did the Bylsma system thing, I wasn't even showing evidence of a "system" technically - I assumed that he instructed forwards to do one thing in one small area of the game (breakouts) and then counted outcomes of all breakouts over a span of 8 games. This is "sort of" analyzing a "system" but it's really analyzing hockey skills of players maybe or maybe not doing one of the 100 things they are told/encouraged/taught to do during one of 25 different common hockey scenarios. Hardly an overview of an entire "system"

I really like the Panthers example. The Islanders too - they could have crumbled after JT left. Trotz gave them much-needed credibility, and they had a core of guys willing to buy in together. Maybe Bryson and Borgen are Pulock and Pelech. The Avalanche didn't fall nearly as low as us for as long, but post-ROR, Nathan MacKinnon rookie season, they weren't going in the right direction and it culminated in a 48 point season. They kept Landeskog, MacKinnon, Johnson, Zadorov around from that team but built up other areas well and somehow got it figured out, and they've made the playoffs every season since. Kevyn wants to do this right and I think he's smart enough to do it right

I have borderline unreasonable belief that Kevyn Adams is going to get this right

Buying into an established coach like Q probably played a small role too. There are one or two Qs available to us

IMO, they're decent players in their roles - 4th line PK specialists. But you should have 2-3 guys like that on your team, and we have 5, and they all play

im ready

No matter which "path" they choose (I think the sticking point between potential paths is the presence of Reinhart/Eichel), if they don't bring more wins in 2021-22 than we've seen in a long time, they are executing that path poorly. Even if they blow it up, they should be able to put together a team that can flirt with a wild card spot and is poised for an influx of talent immediately. IF they do it right.

Wonder why they give Torts such good odds? I could see him getting fired, and I could see him getting hired here, but since he's coaching another team right now it hardly seems right to give him the best odds

Yup, they're just starting today. Could easily see Boudreau/Gallant heading in the building March 28th, or April 4th, after they talk to a few guys and decide they really think one of these guys is the right answer. I wouldn't put money on it happening this way, but I fully disagree with those suggesting that Bruce not being the guy right this second means there's no chance he's ever the guy.

He scored/was pacing for 20 goals 3 different times. carved out a nice career

Even if you're thinking about moving him, you don't just decide to give him the cold shoulder while he's still your captain and most important player

Nothing particularly revealing or compelling, not that we should have expected any different. We are currently in the most uncomfortable limbo in franchise history, save for the Rigas stuff. It will probably be a few months before the direction of the franchise is even clear, much less whether or not we can be confident it's the right direction. Who will the coach be? What will our front office staff look like? What are we doing with Jack? Will we be putting a legitimate NHL roster on the ice this fall? We are months from answers to questions that will only start to give us an idea of whether or not we are on a real foundation again. Very disconcerting time

Sans Eichel, Cozens, and Ullmark? No. With those guys? I thought maybe, but apparently no.

The Pegulas have now hired and then fired 5 NHL head coaches. The combined record of those coaches post-Sabres (including Krueger's NHL-less future) is and will continue to be 0-0-0. We need to hire a good coach this time.

I want a lot of questions about getting experienced people in proper roles.

Your buddy had a bad reading of that appearance. Bruce's phone broke up, so we aren't sure exactly what he said about the sabres, but hearing something negative would have required fabricating a word with an "n" sound that just wasn't said. Most people actually think he was implying or joking that they might have an opening soon for him, and a couple of people have said he'd love to coach here

There's a chance that they haven't even talked to BB, GG or CJ yet right? I think its possible they really made this decision last night, in which case they would probably not start reachig out until today if they were interested, and someone has to coach this team today, tomorrow, and through a quarantine I would definitely give this guy a chance, I would just think the Pegulas are ridiculous for going that route at this juncture.

One small step of many large ones we need to take. I'm not happy and I won't be until it's clear we are on the path out and not just walking on a treadmill