I am Defecting

Welcome to this Team Storm Cloud Emergency Meeting. I'd like to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules, on such short notice. The first point of order is to create a meeting agenda. I ask you please to state your name, your affilliation with the Team, and to state the item or items that you would like added to the agenda. My name is Yuri Olesha. I became a member of Team Storm Cloud in late 2012. I had previously led a breakaway faction of the Sunshine and Kittens called the Unicorns and Rainbows. When no one joined my party, I became disillusioned, fed up with the Status Quo, and went through some trying personal times. This is what led me to Team Storm Cloud. My expertise lay in Anti-Pegula Propaganda (APP). As part of the team, I was finally able to change the Status Quo. It started with Lindy and snowballed from there. The item that I would like to see on the agenda is, perpetual revolution vs. provisional government: should we have the pieces already in place to seize power when the next revolution occurs?

"He's a good christian man," said Terrence of Dan.

Yuri's Dummy Lineup Hodgson will play right wing with Eichel and Kane and do the dirty dishes (assists). That's called leading with the punchline. But seriously, Cody will improve dramatically with a new system and better line-mates. That is my bold prediction. That is if if if Catfish Haggis is still here. Aside from the dissimilarities, he's just like Jason Pominville. Also, I can't wait to see Kane play for us. I think he'll be a fan favorite. Hopefully Eichel can not slow the other two down. (slaps knee) I like the Moulson - Zemgus - Ennis line, but I'd like a Moulson, Reinhart, Ennis line even more. I think Moulson should be scoring more goals and Reinhart could find him better than Zemgus. Putting Girgensons on the third line would reserve his speed and two way prowess for different line where it might produce better matchups, and I think Zemgus will find the net there too. Zemgus is like Cris Drury. Reinhart, I expect, will get sheltered minutes on the third line along with Grigorenko on his left and Gionta on his right. I'm putting a lot of faith in Misha (Russian nickname for Mikhail) maybe unwarranted and for no other reason than I loved Mogilny growing up. They're from the same Siberian town. On the right, Gionta is a decent setup man. Zemgus, Grigorenko, and Gionta is what I'd like to see, till one of Fasching, Baptiste, or Bailey are ready to take over for the old guy down the right the following year. That said, I'm no scout, but isn't there a rule that every team needs a Czech player, so maybe we could part ways with Brian and plug Frolik into right wing for a year here, just for crazies. Unless that would piss off Gorges. That leaves Foligno, Larsson, and DesLauriers I figure on the 4rth. They could actually put up some offense. We could roll four lines like bonkers. If Nolan were still here, I'd be more likely to include Kaleta, sorry Patrick. I wouldn't mind being proven wrong, but I was impressed with Deslauriers, and 15 pts was good output for his role last year. Kane-Eichel-Hodgson Moulson-Girgensons-Ennis Grigorenko-Reinhart-Gionta Foligno-Larsson-Deslauriers OR Kane - Eichel - Hodgson Moulson - Reinhart - Ennis Girgensons- Grigorenko- Frolik Foligno - Larsson - Deslauriers On defense, I'm concerned with handedness, and a healthy balance of size and skill in each pairing. I have less to say about defense. Like many of you, I too loved Andrej Sekera while he was here. In fact, it was I who started the Sekera-ra-ra Thread. In hindsight, I should have called it the Sekera-ra-sis-koom-bah Thread. So, I wouldn't mind swapping Weber's spot in the lineup for Andrej. Perhaps it would be wiser, though, to season McCabe in Rochester, with Ruhwedel as the first call-up, and keep Weber with the Sabres as an ol' reliable 7th d-man. Zadorov (L)- Ristolainen ® Sekera (L) - Bogosian ® Gorges (L) - Pysk ® 7th: Weber For Goalie, I hope Ullmark makes it someday. For now, though, I would give Irbe a big raise and tell him that we will bring in any two goalies he wants if he would just please, please work his whispering on Bylsma's staff. :worthy: I hope that the added trust that would be placed in Arturs would be taken by him as a sign of great respect, and as a deserved recognition of the distinctiveness involved in tending goal as opposed to all other aspects of the game. Goalies are a different breed, I'd say, shrugging my shoulders and looking confounded. :unsure: And that's what makes you, Arturs Irbe (looking him now straight in the eyes) :mellow: the most valuable, uniquely talented, and outstanding member of our staff.

Anyone else notice how Bylsma's face lit up in a big smile when he got questions from Harrington? He was beaming. I expect an immediate end to the Cold War.

I didn't need the clip to know exactly what you were talking about. :flirt:

I expect a dramatic run to ninth place. I hope for a heroic race to eighth.

Someone had really better congratulate Ghost before he has to do it himself.

GMTM: I had better not see anything in there about call ups or draft picks

Let's just say that Anna, by lovely secretary, was getting a little too friendly with the locals while I was away. I have her handling my business in Kiev. FIFA stuff. She sends her regards.

Sure looks like it.

With all due respect to a fellow poster, your impression comes off as subjective to me. Why didn't you qualify it with a "seems to me," rather than the quasi-omniscient vibe? :rolleyes: I just don't get why Murray would be taking cheap shots.

I suspect a lot of folks around here are fatigued by any Nolan conversation. It's water under the bridge. I can accept and am hoping that the Sabres find a better coach than Nolan. I never would try to argue that Nolan's better than Babcock. When Nolan was brought back with Patty, I wrote here, on that surprising day, that it seemed stupid to me, but that lots of things in sports might seem stupid. Down 0-3 games to the Yanks in the ALCS, the Redsox started calling themselves the Idiots, and the rest is history. “One thing led to another and it was like, ‘Wow, this guy is pretty impressive,’ so I guess I popped the question,” Pegula said. “I asked him if he thought he could be a GM. He said, ‘No, but here’s what I think I can do.’ ” It was one of those days when the traffic brought the board down. It was, to set the context, two weeks after Battista was hired, the day that Rolston and Regier were fired, and some time before Patty led the search to hire Murray. Pegula and Patty bumped into one another in a restaurant, and the beginnings of a plan were formed in Terry's head. Second meeting, Pegula offered Patty the GM job, and Patty said, I've got zero experience as GM, but I will use my contacts to help you with the job. And Patty was hired as President of Hockey Operations. Ted was brought in as interim coach 'till the new GM could pick his own guy. All of that was known up front. The new GM would choose his own coach. General sentiment here was more surprise at the Nolan hire, than at the return of Patty. Someone may have even predicted Lala coming back. Hoss saw it coming, he wrote. At the same time, most everyone was just so relieved to get rid of Regier. It was a happy happy press conference thread. A few here expressed their doubts, rightly so, that the moves reeked of nostalgia. If anyone from our ranks deserves a merit badge for healthy skepticism and foresight, well done Shrader. But Regier Is Gone was the biggest headline of all. Let's not forget, Battista was hired shortly before, so there's my hatchet man theory born. In hindsight, the LaFontaine hiring was probably a mistake. It makes me think Terry just couldn't find a GM by himself. And if you're like minded, he couldn't even fire a GM by himself. He appeared to be in over his head, making every excuse for mistakes, and still in retreat over his over his "ain't going anywhere" whoopsie. Anyway, LaFontaine was well received by just about everyone here. Patty, in his own haste, because it was right during the season, had Nolan ready to assume coaching duties immediately. Just about everyone here was OK with that. It was definitely interim. Both were there for the immediate finite task of getting the culture changed, and the franchise turned around. They were then supposed to ride off into the sunset. Ostensibly, Patty's job was done the minute he hired Tim Murray. Maybe part of the deal was that he would help Tim Murray transition. That didn't work out so well. Pat's resignation put Pegula in another embarrassing spot. It also put Tim Murray, as a first time GM, just weeks on the job in a very difficult position regarding his team's coach. What do we do about Nolan? It was March 1st, of the same damn season. They hardly waited. Almost immediately, Nolan was offered a three year contract extension. The same Ted Nolan who was VP of Hockey Operations of the Amerks 'till Pegula bought the team and Darcy fired him. With Patty gone, why not let Nolan go that first off-season? "I don't know if there was one 'Eureka moment,' " Murray said on contract day. "But I certainly got to the point where I knew I wanted him back, and I wanted him to be our head coach. And that wasn't yesterday or the day before." Murray was only two months on the job when the contract was offered. At face value, this was Murray's chance to choose his guy, and he chose Nolan. If that's the case, then he made a big mistake. The other possibility is that Pegula forced Nolan on Murray, also a big mistake. I suppose the talk around town, even before the season began was a lot about McDavid, and Nolan being coach was just taken for granted. Some thought we'd improve. Most didn't. It was probably a PR mistake to keep Nolan on. They'd have lost a lot more gracefully under someone less beloved. There have been lots of mistakes, I find it hard to reason extending Nolan for three years, just to fire him after this season was somehow wise. Ruff was given a huge extension before being fired, and Rolston, and Regier, now Nolan. I hope that Murray was a good hire, but that really would be an aberration under this ownership. I tend to think it was Pegula's decision to force Nolan on Murray, so that's a tough break GMTM, and better luck moving forward. It’s water under the bridge, the whole Nolan fiasco, but I don’t like the truth to be distorted. There’s speculation, and there’s character assassination. Not a single player mentioned above, '97 era Hasek excepted, has publicly said anything disparaging about Nolan as a coach or as a person. "No one wanted to see the coaches get fired" http://media.wgr550.com/a/104152343/414-brian-gionta-talks-nolan-s-firing.htm As I said, I don’t like the truth to be distorted, or blatant lies to be told, so I do what I can to set the record straight. If someone tells the same lies over, and over, some people might think it’s the truth, e.g. Nolan and Hasek’s wife. That's a rumor that should have died 17 years ago. In 2033, I'd hate to have people writing that the players all trashed Nolan when he left. He would tell some pretty sweet life stories too. This posts for you Ted Nolan. Excelsior!

It came off as flippant and dismissive, which isn't at all your modus operandi. In my opinion, a mod's got to check in every now and then to keep up the high standard of conversation around here. Mod's probably like you, and don't want to see you postin any B-'s. Might even be grooming you.

Nolan did get an interview with the Vancouver Giants. There is a thread on this. Fingers crossed, as a Nolan fan, that he lands the job. But if he takes a job like that, would he have to forfeit the million(s) coming to him from the Sabres? "The players could care less what management thinks of their opinion?" I respectfully disagree. They can be fined by the team, given less playing time, or less money in their next contract. Borderline NHL players would be particularly vulnerable to being cut or having their reputations tarnished in a business where opportunities are hard to come by. "Over and over they talk about... how the team is looking forward to more structure and professionalism." I question whether by over and over, you mean once from Weber, in reference to Babcock, without any reference to Nolan or the word "more," in the singular quote. Lots of questions. Hey, I like the guy, but this is just crazy.

Patty LaFontaine brought Ted in to be hired. I'd bet Ted felt he had more security when Patty was still employed. When Patty res(z)igned, sure Ted must have questioned his long term future here. It took Ted weeks, in fact, to hammer out the language on the extension, and finally agree to an extension deal. At that point, Murray said, "We need to get him better players; it doesn't take a genius to figure that out." So, I think Ted knew he might be fired, but thought that he would be given a fair shot to win games. When he wasn't given the players, e.g. Pysk, then I do think Nolan realized he was just being used, and got bitter and hostile with Murray as a result - because he had been lied to about getting better players. It may be a bit much to say that the tank cost Nolan his job, but it was a factor in the mutual resentment between Murray and Nolan, from what I could tell.

Bylsma may not have a ton of experience with rugged defenseman. With McKee, a rugged defenseman by my estimation, Bylsma insisted that he tie up the man in front, instead of going for the blocked shot. I'd be ok with that approach, were Bylsma to use it with Bogosian and Gorges. Big strong guys are useful tying guys up in front and clearing out the crease.

Welcome aboard, 7 + 6 = 13 That's a strong take. I don't know too much about the market values. If you were on the negotiation team, I'd want greenhorns like me to stay out of your way for this process. The Sabres want to pay as little as they can, as you suggest, that seems right. Don't chum up the waters like a dang barbarian. Be cool, roll light, spin cast easy baby. Still bring that discofish onto the boat. Like he wanted to be caught man. Like he's been waiting for us, and we've been waiting for him. Not even trollin'. Just casting, our eyes, on each other. I like the optics on this coach. He got Sid the Kid his only ring. He got Babcock's goat in the mano i mano. He can caress and assuage the media. They'll be eating out of his hands. But he's still looks good in a leisure suit. He's got got a young mans mojo. The fireplaces in the locker room finally make sense. The rosewood ambience too. The hot tubs, of course. Money well spent. That he'd have old baddies like the OP in love with his hockey team is testament to something larger. This guy's a healer. A Disco Priest. One Buffalo, Hoss and Yuri. Ghost and Nfreeman. Team Storm Cloud, and Team Sunshine and Kittens. Tank and Anti-tank. Bylsma.

I'd give this years to have a shot in the lotto, or not, next year. I guess we won't have to give up a straight first, but I can only imagine what a package deal for Bylsma's rights would be. If we give the first but get an interesting prospect back, along with the rights, that would excite me most.

The millions! I've been away for a while, but how could I forget the old funnel cake shuffle - onesies, twosies, threesies - the finances!. Just because they ask doesn't mean we have to give it to them. Yes!!! But this is less stupid.

In all seriousness, a good coach would be worth the 21st pick. I'd do it. What's the logistics on this:

You seem to have an awful lot invested in this emotionally, buddy. This should help your case, because Ted Black will always do, like, the opposite of what anyone aligned with you in a united front would suggest, so I'm switching my alligience to De Boer. Name means, "The Farmer," in in Dutch. Orange third jerseys have massive untapped market potential. Milk is the scientists perfect sports drink. We're setting up a booth at the Erie County Fair. Hanson Brothers are already booked. Your'e welcome to show up for the nacho cheese bit, though. It's for the kids. I'm gonna race the little piggies round the track on my hands and knees. Already have our theme song picked out. We're with the Grange Movement. Heck, I'd already have put up the Getting to Know You segment, if there weren't like 20 strong farmhands piled up in a logjam ahead of me, till we said easy boys, easy. We'll strike em when the time is right, just like mules a-kickin. Organized, like a beautiful Dutch farm. That's how you go about it then, Mr. Ted Black.

That's the best. Did you make that up? I'll bandwagon him. :lol:

Thanks for holding my place. It's nice to be back amongst so many fine folks. Hopefully my posts will be well seasoned, and finely reasoned, like the lot I've been reading from you all.

I don't think that Battista runs anything, per say, or makes any decisions. I think he is Terry's "hatchet man," so to speak. If there is uncomfortable news to be delivered, and Terry doesn't want to do it himself, he sends Joe B. That way, Terry can maintain a magnanimous, benevolent image, because Battista is the one who does the dirty work. For congratulations, welcomes, and praises, Terry does it; To light a fire under someone's ass, threaten, or terminate someone, Joe does it. It's your birthday! Terry got you a present! You're seen getting drinks with Mike Harrington. Joe B. paid your wife a visit, and went on and on about the importance of life insurance.. That job would suit him I figure, because he'd know just enough about hockey to not get bamboozled, but not enough to have independent thoughts. Plus he'd be loyal as name-your-dog. He's a made man. Wise-guy. Legend. I'm just guessing. It's fun.

Julien's attitude with the media could make him the best fit within the Sabres organization as far as similarities to Murray and Pegula go. The three of them could have a real blast sticking it to the News boys. As to who I'd prefer, it's someone with more charm. I could see Claud fitting in real well, though, with the aforementioned, and his resume is hard to argue against. He's not my idea of fun, but it will be the wins and losses on the ice, that count most. It's hard to beat Disco Dan for fun-factor, but I have a suspicion that his ease with the media will not be counted as an asset by the decision makers. I may not be giving the brass enough credit. As I see it, what they need, is a fun, smart, dashing young guy who can disarm the critics with his guile and wit. What I fear that they want, on the other hand, is a bully who can put those pissants in their place. That said, Julien could be a great hockey coach too, for the Sabres.