GASabresIUFAN
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Posts posted by GASabresIUFAN
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Coach hired. Now time to start fixing the roster.
I do worry that run it back GMHD is going to bring back nearly the entire failed roster from last season.
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31 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:
Candidate to be the poster child for the mediocrity of this particular Sabres team. (Although I'd be partial to some others.)
Girgensons. 688 gms. 89g 99a 188 pts -66
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5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
What's his record since leaving Buffalo?
1 division title and 3 playoff teams in 8 years.
In Dallas 165-122-41; in NJ 128-125-28.
Not great, but better than the last 3 coaches here.
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2 hours ago, #freejame said:lol
I said the day DG was fired that TP wanted Ruff and low and behold he's hired. I'm shocked (ok not really).
At least he is a good coach. If he had no history in Buffalo, but had his track record, people would be very happy with the hire. I was for getting someone new here like Berube or Gallant, but they may have been looking to see what else opened up. Ruff at least wants to be here.
All in all we could have done a lot worse.
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Despite my comments on wasting 2 years of Benson (which still hold by the way), if he is going to be on this team, then we need to get him in open space. That means PP time. Just on raw skill he and JJP are probably our most talented forwards. In the pre-season, Benson looked good as the bumper on the PP.
I'd like to see JJP, Benson, Tage, Tuch and Dahlin as the 1st PP.
I'd then like to see Cozens, Quinn, Byram, Power and Savoie (if he makes the team) on the 2nd PP.
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From watching other teams' PPs it seems they utilize more plays down low with a player often behind the PK net. They also move the puck quicker.
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4 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:
Every free agent we acquire should be from a winning organization from here on out. Also if we find out this core has no leadership or fight in them how do we move on from these bloated contracts if true?
Johnson, Clifton, Byram, Jost, Krebs, & Tuch were all from "winning" organizations. None have changed the losing culture KA has created. It has to be more than just a guy from a winning team. It has to be a leader that insists that the team play hard like a winning team. It has to be someone playing in a key role that the other players will respect, not a 3rd pairing D or a 4 line forward. Guys like Drury and Teppo certainly made a difference, but sadly there are not many of those types of players floating around and willing to come here.
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6 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
Skinner's uncoachable (has to go) but I'd like to see a year of Cozens, Power, etc. under a real NHL coach. A coach who can develop the defensemen and the defensive side of the game. I think these guys could still be much better and just might be. Especially Power. He's still really young. We just haven't developed him properly yet.
I don’t necessarily disagree, but where is our organizational depth? LHD NHLers and forward prospects. If you are going to gain good assets in trade, those would be the two areas I’d be trading from.
Our NHL LHD depth chart looks like
1. Dahlin
2. Power
3. Byram
4. Samuelsson
5. Johnson
6. Bryson (RFA)
7. Novikov
We can afford to move on from at least 2 of these players.
Our top 6 forward prospects are
Savoie, Kulich, Östlund, Rosen, Wahlberg and Neuchev stepped up. The top 5 at least are future NHLers. We can again afford to move on from 2.
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18 minutes ago, dudacek said:
If he doesn’t get better he will be. 😁
So you’d be shopping one or more of Tuch, Power, Tage, Skinner or Cozensto the highest bidder as “part of the problem?”
Yes. Power for sure and maybe Cozens. Skinner isn’t tradable and Tuch and TNT elevated their play in the last 3rd of the season. IMHO, Power is thesame player this past season as he was the prior year. Byram is cheaperand adds an aggression lacking in Power. I would love to see what an offer to Power might look like. We need a top 6 center and a top 4 RHD and Power maybe an asset that helps us get there.
An analogy from the Bills was Beane signed Samuel for the slot, so that he could move Shakir to Diggs’ spot and trade Diggs. Maybe he acquired Byram so that he could ultimately move Power.
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4 hours ago, dudacek said:
What does this mean? How are players held accountable in the summer?
It's pretty simple. Which players didn't pull their weight or were cancers in the locker-room, and which of those player might KA trade this summer because of it?
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Are any current Sabres under contract going to held “accountable” by Adams during the remake this summer?
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Let Krebs go.
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4 minutes ago, #freejame said:
Assistant to the general manager
Custodial Engineer
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1 hour ago, ska-T Chitown said:
That's GM Howdy Doody - put some respect on his title!
GMHD for short?
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Quenneville is never getting another NHL job.
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1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:
he doesn't get kudos for it but your need to harp on this point everytime and it ended up looking ok by year's ended.
It's simple. His wait for Levi/UPL strategy sank this season as well. Our goaltending was poor to start the season because we utilized a 3 headed goalie monster. By the time UPL established himself as a true No. 1, the team was already out of contention and remained so. Who created the 3 headed goalie monster? Adams and it's a reflection of his poor decisions making on development, free agency and roster construction. Just because UPL bailed out his poor decisions for the last 50 games or so, doesn’t give Adams a pass for the failure to give this roster proper goaltending for years.
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Why should anyone, the media, the fans, the players and TP trust that KA's plan to fix the mess he created.
His track record in fixing roster issues is terrible.
1) He never fixed the goaltending - Seriously, he tried 40000 year old Anderson, Subban, Dell, and Comrie
2) He tried and failed to fix his defense with Lyubushkin, Stillman, Clifton and Eric Johnson
3) He kept bringing back failing players like Jost, KO, and Girgensons and then added guys like Robinson
4) his big trade was to trade his only playmaker for a even younger D with the same skill set as the two youngsters he's paying 19 million for.
Does anyone here really have confidence this Howdy Doody GM of ours can fix this team?
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so the upshot from this presser is that KA's butt is in a sling for his failures this season and that his plan is to try to save his arse by doing everything we have all said needed to be done for three years; play hard for the open practice of the season, be harder to play against, go to the net, and work hard on defense.
Until today, the only player held accountable for the failed team, was Mitts and he was nearly the only forward showing nightly effort most of the season.
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7 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
I am not happy with Adams. He did not do enough.
I fully agree. He has failed the organization time and again. He didn't shore up the goalies for years. Still hasn't fixed the D group. Didn't make any substantive changes when the offense fell apart early in the season and for reasons only know to him and G-d, Matt Ellis still has a job. Enough!
His firing of DG today and this vehement press conference doesn't even begin to change the lack of accountability in this organization under his leadership. Why weren't any of these issues vocalized and changed in season when there was still a chance to make the playoffs?
Frankly, this whole friggin mess is on him. He should be fired as well for gross incompetence.
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45 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
RFAs: UPL, Krebs, Jokiharju, Bryson and Clague
35 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:Krebs is also a RFA
Honestly, I think Krebs needs to go. He regressed this season and never found his game once Mitts was traded. Bringing him back in any capacity is a mistake. Even if they choose to re-sign him, it doesn't change the need to upgrade the center position in the top 9 besides Cozens and TNT.
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Step 1: Fire the Coaches (aka making someone else the scapegoat for the GM's poor roster construction) - Donnie, Christie and the Video Coach Fired! \
Step 2: Hire a new coach - let the search begin.
Step 3: Fix the friggin roster.
Current roster situation 14 Sabres under contract for next season with a cap cost $65,406,050
Forwards (8) TNT, Tuch, Skinner, Benson, Cozens, JJP, Quinn & Greenway
Defense (5) - Dahlin, Power, Byram, Clifton and Samuelson
Goalies (1) - Levi
RFAs: UPL, Krebs, Jokiharju, Bryson and Clague
UFAs (who may return): Girgensons, and Robinson
Step 3A: re-sign or trade key RFAs - Honestly the only 2 relevant decisions are Joki and UPL. UPL must be re-signed and IMHO Joki needs to be traded.
Step 3B: Fill roster holes.
Up front, this team needs an entirely new 4th line and probably needs a top 6 center. This offense needs to be more physical, add some playmakers and guys willing to drive to the net. KA also needs to answer what the long-term future is for Skinner as a Sabre. Could be bought out this off-season?
On Defense: I'd trade Joki. I'd then acquire (trade or FA) a top 4 RHD who knows how to play defense. With 5 D under contract and Ryan Johnson ready for an NHL role, I'm not expecting much change here.
In Goal. This might be the most interesting decisions to watch. How much and how long do they re-sign UPL and whether they add a vet in order to leave Levi in Rochester another year (option A) or do they anoint (again) Levi as a NHL goalie in tandem with UPL (option B). I suspect KA will go with option B.
The overriding roster questions are can KA re-invigorate the offense? Can he finally get the team to improve defensively? Will he make the team more physical and who will replace Mitts as the primary playmaker on offense?
Prospect Watch: Besides Levi and Ryan Johnson, which prospects have the best chance to make the Sabres net fall? Savoie, Kulich, Rosen and Novikov top the list, but all will have to have great camps to force their way onto the roster.
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There were only 4 players who truly improved year over year - JJP, Quinn, UPL and Joki. Not surprisingly UPL and Joki need new contracts.
This past season feels like the curse of Ralph Krueger.
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12 minutes ago, ... said:
Let's compare win percentages to some coaches we know:
Montgomery .623
Brind'Amour .616
Keefe .611
Cooper .597
Bylsma .566
Bednar .551
Quenneville .548
Laviolette .534
Hitchcock .531
Berube .517
Ruff .487
Tortorella .480
Maurice .470
Tocchet .446
Bowness .384I’d like to see this as points % or pts per game coached. I did the math on Lindy and his was 1.104 pts per game coached. That’s about 91 pts per season on average.
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The case for Ruff is simple and good. He is a Sabres. He is the only coach to lead this team to the conference finals or better with two distinctly different player groups (Hasek Era and Briere/Drury window). He understands what it takes to win in Buffalo.
Someone else mentioned he failed other places. I’m not sure I agree. In Dallas he got them to the playoffs for the first time in 6 years, reached the playoffs twice in 4 years, won a division title, and his record was 165-122-41. In NJ he took a rebuilding club to the playoffs in year 3 and was fired this season when his team was hovering at 500. He was 128-125-28 in 3+ years in NJ
Granato’s record in Buffalo was 122-125-27 with no playoff appearances.
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Lindy Ruff officially hired as Sabres HC
in The Aud Club
Posted · Edited by GASabresIUFAN
I should have posted two poll questions; who do want to be the next coach and who you think will be the next coach. I wanted someone other than Ruff, but thought the day DG was fired that Ruff would be the next coach. I’m actually surprised on 28% of Sabrespace thought Ruff was going to be the man. I thought it was an obvious TP hire.