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HERE HERE! Right on! They all smoked back then. LaFleur absolutely!!! It was a different era. Phil Esposito himself said: "The offseason was the off season, you didn't set foot on any ice" We used training camp to get ourselves into playing shape". Smokes was big back then.

Totally agree with you on this. I hate the Leafs big time but there is some underrated talent there. They had serious dressing room issues after Halloween there. Google that if you don't know the crap behind it. Babcock may be just what they need like Burns or Quinn was to them so don't rule them completely out as non-playoff contenders. Reimer and Bernier can be solid with some decent defense in front of them This will be a serious test of how good a coach Mike Babcock truly is and I do believe he will make a major difference there (it pains me to say that but I am expecting it, as I am in Edmonton with McLellan)

Coming from Hamilton, Ontario where almost all my friends and schoolmates were either Leafs or Habs fans. They would always ask me 'Why the hell are you a Sabres fan?" I flat out told them "I love the French Connection". The way they broke up ice and the way they could finish. They were my idols all 3 of them (and tough as nails Jimmy Schoenfeld- loved him too!) I have never looked back and while I may be seriously critical of this organization at times, I do bleed blue & gold and it is all because of them. Great times and I was fortunate enough to see them play live as well. :doh:

That person would be me also. This is the part that worries me about Bylsma being our coach-saviour now. He had infinitely more talent in Pitt then he has here in Buffalo and that was his one and only Cup. Not completely sold on the puck possession times and Corsi stats etc. etc. The Leafs were huge on that this past season and man, they sucked as well. It is the thing to do right now and while puck possession matters to a certain extent. You can have it all you want in the perimeter but if you aren't generating chances with it it won't matter. What matters most is what you can do when you do have the puck. I am willing to give Disco Dan a try as I don't really know who else is out there of relevance. I would take a youngster like Richardson over DeBoer (I think DeBoer is crap, I really do) as he does have a decent track record coaching youth. Should i start a "getting to know Ron Wilson thread"? :w00t:

The bottom line for me is this. People here complained that Nolan didn't really have a system (The PP was crap, penalty killing, forechecking etc.) If Disco Dan can come in and show me some semblance of a system with this young talent, I, for the most part will be happy. It may take a little time for "Dan's system" to be successful, but if you can actually see it on the ice, with this group of youngsters, then I would be satisfied that we are moving in the right direction and that Dan Bylsma may indeed work out here. Here's hoping! Go Sabres!!

Hasek was the best I have seen in a Sabres uniform. Barrasso was brilliant in that the kid came out of High School and won rookie of the year and didn't look out of place whatsoever in the pros. I loved Gerry Desjardins (now I am aging myself !) and felt awful when he had to retire due to the eye injury as I felt he was getting better and better in a Sabres uniform. he gave way to Don Edwards who wasn't too shabby and from my neck of the woods. The Sauve/ Edwards tandem was pretty damn good. My list as follows: 1) Hasek ( the undisputed king- brought me out of my seat several times) 2) Miller (did the same a few times, just not as often as the Dominator) 3) Barrasso (couldn't believe he came straight out of high school) 4) Sauve (back to back shutouts of the Habs on forum ice in the playoffs- never been done before or since) 5) Edwards (saw him play several times, a really good goaltender) 6) Desjardins (Sabre career cut short in my mind) 7) Crozier 8) Fuhr (short body of work as a Sabre) 9) Puppa 10) Biron

I couldn't have said it better myself. Almost exactly what I'm feeling. Hey, if Murray gets this club turned around (and I am cautiously optimistic that he will) as I have stated in other posts, I am ready to worship the man. Time for some winning exciting hockey for long suffering fans. Go Eichel!!! Go Sabres!!!!!

I'll take Bylsma over DeBoer. Something about DeBoer scares me. As for the situation in Pitt. I am starting to get the impression that Malkin and Crosby may not be too crazy about each other. Cannot understand why Pitt was so lousy this past season despite the decent play of their goaltender Fleury. Maybe that dressing room may not be all it's cracked up to be. I don't care who the coach really is either, as long as they can develop our young talent into a competitive club. I am not sure though that DeBoer is that guy.

My apologies on that one shrader. Even though I come from the land of McDavid, I did indeed know that Eichel played for Boston University. Typo on my part. And a shout out to Hoss for showing me how to use the quote button. Still a student on this site but I am learning. Thank guys for keeping me honest!

I actually believe Babcock. I think on his own, he actually would have come here, but I do believe the family angle. I guess his wife didn't and the family has to be happy. The Toronto gig won't last forever and being a douche to another club can come back to haunt you if you wish to work for another organization because who knows where Tim Murray may be in 8 years? (or less) Plus if T-pegs felt Mike lied to him, as an owner with deep pockets, who I feel has some clout at the NHL table, he may get to influence other owners as to Babcock's character and if he felt it was poor, Mike may not work again at the NHL level should he want to. Anyhow, as other posters have stated and I agree. He is The Leafs head coach now and I look forward to booing him and hoping that we beat his ass each and every time we play the Leafs because it just never gets old for me! (most of my friends are Leaf & Hab fans)

LTS: I agree with Touched by Boyes. If I have a 100% chance of getting 4.5 million dollars and only a 20 % chance of 5 million, I'm holding up the 4.5 million sign. Not even a question. I was just commenting on another post that claimed that Murray shouldn't be criticized for getting Eichel (and I wasn't criticizing him for that at all) It really did seem at the post lottery presser that he was truly disappointed with not getting the first pick. Hence that infamous quote of his which SportsCentre enjoyed replaying. Even if you are disappointed, I felt Murray shouldn't have said what he did because as everyone here agrees, Jack Eichel is a very good player and we are getting him. This caused me to seriously question TM as our new messiah. He did a lot to redeem himself in my eyes with the coaching search presser post Mike Babcock. SportsCentre then brought up the question, "How do you feel if you are Eichel and his camp?" What if you now decide to go back to Boston College for another year? They never answered their question and that worried me because I didn't understand the NCAA rules regarding drafting their players (which was later pointed out to me by another poster and I am grateful for that) I got scared we were going to lose both Eichel and McDavid (and now with the loss of Babcock) I just felt all this insanity the past 2 seasons was going to be for absolutely nothing! I am glad we have Jack and I want nothing but success for him here (which would translate into success for this club and us fans. Anyhow, as I stated, if Murray can turn this around, I am ready to worship at his altar. If you wanted to see disappointment, did you see McDavid's face when the Edmonton sign went up? He could barely mask it. Poor kid. He really, truly wanted to come here. Many of my friends mentioned the same thing. In Jack we shall now trust!

SMJ: Murray sure as hell looked disappointed to me that he didn't get McDavid. Let me paraphrase him: "It was like getting the call at 6 a.m. to tell you that you've been cut from the Canadian Junior team". Also, correct me on this. whenever they showed the crowd at First Niagara Centre on Sabres lowlights this season, there seemed to be many signs, posters saying "We want McDavid" not so much any Eichel posters. In fact, from the television highlights that I saw, I never saw one for Eichel.

How come no one has mentioned Ron Wilson? He's come close to winning a Cup? Is he available? Works well with youth! See what I did there? :P Torts would be a blast actually. I just like listening to him lose his $#@! with the media. I miss him!

I was not a Murray fan either but I thought this was his best presser so far. I guess he is talking with Bylsma as he wouldn't confirm nor deny it. He said he doesn't like to make the candidates known as it is a job search and likes to keep that confidential. But Disco Dan is on the short list.

Again, me being lazy with the long paragraphs. More learning. I just like to go on long rants (can't you tell) Not sure what BeerMe1 is talking about. I am not posting under any other name. This is me and me alone.

I think the coach in Edmonton will make a huge difference this year. He would have been my choice after Babcock. I think Edmonton will tighten up defensively under McLellan. As will the Sabres choice as coach, huge decision for the development.

I hear you. No more capitals. Basically lazy was the main reason, not yelling. Loving the give and take today. Yup Babcock lied to Buffalo. Do you think Nolan was lied to also? (or LaFontaine?)

Never have I said that Jack Eichel isn't a good (maybe even great) player. Am I happy to have him on the Sabres? Yes absolutely. Do the Sabres have talent? Yes they are assembling what appears top be talented young players (I never said they weren't) Are things looking up in Sabre land? They appear to be, but again, the choice of coach will be instrumental in the development of the young talent already assembled (see Edmonton as to how that can fail)Edmonton is loaded with talent (they finished higher in the standings then the Sabres) and now I believe Edmonton has gthe right coach and that will show itself this season. The same thing can happen in Buffalo, hell I want it to happen here, really bad. I just will bide my time and see what happens and not get mmy hopes to high as one other poster accused me of. It's how I am now. Not saying I won't get excited if this club shows positive progress. I will. Not going "all in" anymore is all I'm saying. I love Lindy Ruff. He was the coach that had us overachieving. I did agree that his time finally ran out though as it does with even the best coaches in the game.

Not sure why the caps lock offends. Just me being lazy actually. Like I said, I am still learning the nuances of The Aud Club. Already got called out for not being on topic with some of my other posts. I am just a student here. some assume caps lock is like yelling at someone 9i assure that is not the case)To me it's "easy reading"!

Again, I don't mind peoples knives out for my posts. Like I said, i am learning stuff also and as Sabres fans, I love all you guys and enjoy conversing with Sabres/Bills fans when I am in Western New York or at games at First Niagara Centre. I am not saying T-Pegs isn't generous, without a question he certainly is and has been a Godsend for the Sabres and Bills. I just want to see us all rewarded at the Pro level for all his efforts and I may be impatient for sure. I am also critical and if we can't be critical, how do we expect to improve? Again, if Tim Murray can mold this club into a serious contender, I will worship at the altar of Tim Murray. I am glad T-Pegs is here and never said otherwise. it is just my impatience speaking.

YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THE NHL MAKES ZERO MONEY OFF OF MONTREAL OR TORONTO OR THAT THAT MONEY IS NEGLIGIBLE? REALLY? TELL IT TO THE HABS AND LEAFS WHO ARE SICK OF PROPPING UP FAILED ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE COYOTES, PANTHERS AND HURRICANES. IT IS A TOPIC EVERY YEAR. I AM GLAD PEOPLE ARE EDUCATING ME ON THE NCAA STATUS THING AS SPORTSCENTRE DIDN'T ANSWER THAT WHAT IF? I HAD MY CONCERNS. NOT SURE WHAT GOALIES ARE AVAILABLE AS FREE AGENTS THIS OFF SEASON. I MISS NEUVIRTH AND ENROTH. I THOUGHT THEY COULD ACTUALLY WORK OUT HERE. I WILL STATE THIS HERE AND NOW. I DO BELIEVE MCDAVID WILL BE BETTER THEN EICHEL (AND HE DOES HAVE WAY MORE TALENT TO PLAY WITH IN EDMONTON THEN IN BUFFALO AND A GOOD COACH NOW) HE WILL PUT UP MORE POINTS THEN EICHEL BUT AGAIN, WE SHALL SEE IF THIS TRUE BUT I AM EXPECTING THAT. AS FOR OVERACHIEVING GOALTENDING, ISN'T THAT WHY ARTURS IRBE IS HERE????? DO CAROLINA, FLORIDA AND ARIZONA GAMES REALLY RAKE IN THE REVENUE TV WISE FOR THE LEAGUE? I MEAN, IF PEOPLE CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO GO THERE, ARE THEY BOTHERED TO WATCH ON TV? EVEN IF THEIR OPPOSITION IS CHICAGO, BOSTON OR NEW YORK? AS FOR TED BEING FIRED BECAUSE OF RESULTS. WHAT OTHER COACH DO YOU KNOW OF THAT HAD HIS STARTING LINEUP SOLD OUT FROM UNDER HIM AND WAS THEN EXPECTED TO 'GET RESULTS"? IT'S LIKE SUPPLYING A HOT DOG VENDOR WITH HAMBURGS THEN SHUTTING HIM DOWN BECAUSE HE COULDN'T GENERATE HOT DOG SALES.

End of November will be 7-8 weeks in the season. just assessing the style of play they will go to. Not their record of wins/losses. we should be able to see how the PP looks. Puck possession, goaltending, are the panicked or composed, speed etc. not looking at wins/losses at that time or really for next season. Just looking for improvement is all.

Nolan picked up Rolston's abortion and then was told to finish last (remember the tank?) That is why they were last. It was part of 'the master plan". Or so I am told

Oilers had bad coaching. Mac T and whomever the last guy was. I thought Eakins would have worked out better though. this is why it is imperitive on Murray to get the coaching right.

LGR4GM: You're reading too much into my post. Yes I do like Jack Eichel and feel he will be a very good player. Will he be better then McDavid: NO!(and that is why McDavid will go 1st in June and not Eichel.) To your argument, could you tell me how many Conference winners have won the Cup in the last decade? (as opposed to the 8th place finishers) So maybe you don't want to shoot for the moon and the stars. No, I never at any point felt the Sabres would make the playoffs last season as I was aware that the tank was on. I am not aware of what happens to Jack if he stays for another season in Boston. This question was brought up on SportsCentre here and no one answered it so pardon my ignorance on that. I agree with you that the jury is out on Murray and we will see if his future bodes well for this club. I believe that it does. I don't like the way he went about it but I am not the GM. I felt we had good goaltending with Neuvirth and Enroth. Maybe Lindback will be good also. The NHL has teams in Florida, Carolina, Arizona and perhaps Vegas in the future so I don't give a damn "what the NHL likes". they are feeding off the cap money from good Canadian clubs like Montreal and Toronto so screw them for that. I hope I have made things somewhat clearer. I do get off on a rant but I'm starting to feel like a Leafs fan. I want a winner in Buffalo before I die!!!!! That is all.