DarthEbriate

He’s a great bargain-bin 20g guy (on the right roster). Once you pay him like a 2nd liner, you’re going to be disappointed because he needs to be protected. And this roster couldn’t shelter anyone unless the TNT line was on fire.

Two seasons ago, Ruff had a healthy Dougie and Graves and Severson in late-20s contract years. All the forwards had career years. And the goalies were good. Also a Miles Wood type, if inconsistent on the score sheet, the type of player this roster lacks entirely. This year they were all hurt and the two vet D were replaced by Hughes and Nemec, high upside offense first guys but easy in their own zone. Amend the roster correctly and Ruff can lead most of this lineup to the playoffs. One thing of note: Ruff was never able to transform Myers into a #1 defender (by merit). Can he tap into the potential of Power?

A bunch of Canucks bottom 6 are on expiring contracts: Joshua, Lafferty, Blueger. They know the role. Carrier out of Vegas. O’Brien from Phoenix, but I guaranteed Utah gives him a contract because of the value of that role for an expansion/new fan base.

I’m not sure “objectively” is ever provable, let alone at this stage.

I won’t pretend to know how this all turns out, but I am glad they fired him when they did and spared him the indignity of coaching those rosters.

If you have a spare 6th or 7th, always pick a Satan if available.

Something like 15 NHL coaches have been switched in the last 12 months. Two years is a good run with these guys.

He absolutely should go to Chicago and get 20+ again for a couple seasons until their kids are ready to win. That’s not a bad gig, really. But as soon as Greenway replaced him, GM Sheevyn should’ve traded him for whatever. Then, when Quinn gets injured, you’re forced to go get a 2W to play with Cozens all season. Also, good job, VO. You made it from a 7th round flier to a legit PP2 sniper in the NHL. And that’s a pretty good run.

Even more than system/design, they need to be willing to outwork the PK. If you get pinched on the boards because you foolishly turn your back, then you have to fight to maintain the puck. Chip it deep again and then fight to get possession again. Every loose puck race you have to win. Every face off you need to battle for position because most draws aren’t clean. And screen the goalie all the time. Outwork them and the PP suddenly will look amazing. (And TNT may occasionally kill your screener.)

Darth Maullis. Always two there are: the master and the apprentice.

Curiously, they’ve been very solid hanging onto leads the last couple seasons because they’ve been good at transition and punishing teams that open up. Start strong, then finish them, pad the stats, and play your goal songs.

And this is the key. Fix the critical issues that crushed the Oreo up (autocorrect “previous” but too good to delete), without exposing entirely new ones. Will Ruff and his staff get the team to show up in the first, get the power play to average (with all the top-first-round talent), and gain some structure defensively still with a bunch of kids on the blue line? Do that, and you may make the playoffs. But it’s not all on the staff. TNT, Cozens, Krebs, ??… that’s not a playoff-caliber center spine.

Well, at least they’re going to interview recent Cup-winning and experienced coaches…. Oh? Or that. Hola desde España, ‘Spacerinos. I was wearing a Sabres t-shirt yesterday so perhaps a bit of premonition was kicking in. I look forward to not scheduling vacations in April-June. And now the important part: All coaches are “bad guys”: check. You need someone who was involved back in the Republic era and would have been considered a good guy: check. Someone older: check. Who could be a lead villain: check. Who wears slippers on set: check. Who will has legacy, gravitas, and maybe occasional CGI rendering: check. Who is ready to take over just as this thing goes operational as is now the ultimate power in the universe: check (basically the entire B story of Rogue One.) Oh, if only there was a name I’ve been saving for the obvious choice, when it was time. I present to you: Grand Ruff.

Or that some crusty coach will bench him because the refs keep calling him for everything, including dives.

I think the whole point of having coaching is to push folks to do more than otherwise. People need coaching just to pedal harder in a gym class. If I had a coach, I'd have written the Sabres Wars Prequel Trilogy script ages ago (once Eichel won the Cup). Do people think Belichick or Lombardi didn't push their players to greater heights and it was all internal motivation?

Former Amerk Eric O'Dell (it rhymes) is... still playing! He was an alternate captain for Dynamo Moskva the past two seasons.

I admit, I'm curious to see the Phoenix fan reaction to their last home game, and how the team plays against McDavid.

They may have kept him a season too long (or 3/4 of a season too long for sure), but that's the hindsight after TNT's and Cozens' offense disappeared after injuries. But he got the transition and confidence back after Krueger. And now, thank you, HCDG, and it's time to move on. And that's OK. This past season, the glaring error is on GM Sheevyn for the roster construction. A d-zone bottom 6 faceoff center (hell, even a Glendening); one heavier checker than KO/Zemgus; a top 4 D, a vet goalie to backup whomever... move VO and get a temporary Quinn replacement (Nyquist, for example). Those were all known possibilities last offseason for a team on the cusp. The GM was too patient. The finishing of the checks is important. If there's no fear, then dump-and-chase is ineffective because the D knows he can turn and still look for the breakout pass anyway because all he has to contend with is a VO flyby stick (which occasionally works, but not consistently).

Would have to pry him away from TV deals. He's done NHL Network, Rangers, NBC desk work when they had it, and Sabres games -- and he's been good in every venture. I think he's got a solid broadcasting future.

Really solid assist by Davies on the bank pass, rather than waiting too long or trying to skate it up himself and try a dump in. Need his goal song to be You Know My Name (Look Up the Number).

The real phantom menace. Always two there are. The master and the apprentice. Maul Ellis!

We'll just put this in the correct thread... Good game, Comrie. Now, let us never speak of it again.

You say that... but exchange Savoie for Jost, Kulich for Olofsson, Rousek for Girgensons, and Levi for Comrie. Too old!

Cozens and Quinn singlehandedly forecheck Tampa into the tv timeout.

Bryson playing AHL speed on that possession, Sheary closes... Benson! Also, I think that Bryson turnover just killed my preseason prediction that VO would finish (barely) with a positive plus/minus.