PerreaultForever

jauni sākumi

Foligno.

Looks like the playoffs will start on the 15th. The NHL site has the Bruins/Caps scheduled for that day now so I guess they'll start the playoffs with the meaningless regular season games still going. Good. That series will be a war. Can't wait for Tampa Florida either. Watch some real hockey.

Well if that's true, which I doubt, why wasn't he dealing with it before the season? maybe that's the beginning of the disconnect. Eichel showing up to camp and saying oh by the way, I'm injured.

Ya, the Nylander draft was a disaster . JBot's drafts actually don't look too bad though. Still a number of solid possibles in the mix from them. We could end up with 2-3 pros from each and that's decent.

Hall was on fire tonight. He has really clicked with Krejci which is what was supposed to have happened with Eichel. So it brings up the question to my mind, was Eichel injured game 1, OR had he asked for a trade during the off season and not being granted his wish checked out and then shut himself down with the injury first excuse chance he got and hence the disconnect as the team was already pissed he hadn't given it his all after they got him the winger and so they felt it wasn't that bad and it was an excuse? Then obviously Hall checked out and forced his outcome. Hard to believe Hall came here with the idea of checking out, seeing as he was playing for his next contract. If this was his masterplan guy is a villain, but also a genius.

jack and his agent.

about time. long over due. Skinner's a problem. but otherwise I'm excited.

We will not be dead last without them if we hire the right coach and do this the right way finally. There is enough youth to build off of (adding the trade pieces of course). The problem left will be Skinner. That could be an anchor .

cause it's spin, and they timed it for the end of the season.

I'd give him 5 years myself. Let all the players know this is how it's going to be and this is what this team will be. You give him 2 years with this history/culture and the team could just quit and wait for the next guy. Torts is not the old school hard ass some think he is. He's evolved and learned. Players love him. He rewards hard work and that's a good thing, but he knows what he's doing and he will develop all these young guys the right way. Those that refuse to buy in were not worth keeping anyway.

I think he's going to say there was a disconnect between his ability to stop all the pucks and the team's ability to win.

Just watched a bunch of Columbus players praising Tortorella and saying how they will miss him. Merzlikins especially. So, just saying, bring them both in and reset the culture with a new core.

What I meant was the dynamics of the team have a different feel. There's more unity, they compete, they feel like they have a chance. McDavid doesn't smash his stick he digs down and plays harder. the team follows. I'm not saying that is all they need, the Oilers have made a ton of mistakes and are not going to win it all, but the team isn't a shambles like we are. I am sure if the draft was flipped we'd have done a lot better over these years and if not in the playoffs this year damn close. We'd be excited about that too and building off it, not pointing fingers and arguing about where the most blame goes.

Well we're dead last with them so we can't actually be worse. I don't consider those 4 similar but the first two have not delivered what you need to win. I guess I'm way in the minority, but if it doesn't change and they're both here again that was making me consider finally giving up on the Sabres after some 48 years or so of watching them. A complete reboot without them is probably the only thing that'll keep me a fan. I guess this thing is going to be polarizing to the extreme.

It's a team sport and the dynamics of being a team are what's important.

I don't believe any of this disconnect crap. Likely comes from his agent. A way to make himself look like the good guy and the team the villain. Whole thing was a complete dump on the franchise and the fans. He doesn't give a damn about Buffalo and likely never did. Good riddance we can finally right the ship with a proper captain. Good bye *****.

I'm not buying one bit of his spin on the "disconnect." That is his way of making himself look better and dumping on the franchise as the problem. Probably his agent's advice. Oh look, Jack tried his best, he did everything, it's just those damn Sabres kept him from being the greatest. Bull. If anything, the Sabres mistake was in handing him the keys to everything without actually earning it. This set the tone and the culture. Eichel this Eichel that. he should have never been named captain. It ruined this franchise. So I guess in doing that it's Pegula's fault, but ultimately if Eichel was as dedicated as McDavid it would have gone differently. But he's not.

Well given the Eichel comments there is a little tearing down required. You remove the old core and then build up around the youth and new players. New attitude. No prima donnas. Again, Ottawa is doing it right. Do that.

I don't really get why some people are upset by this. To me the cat's finally out of the bag. There's your broken culture. It's always been about Jack and Jack has always been about Jack and now we can finally end this era, turn the page and start over (hopefully) properly. The entire old core has to go (unless they are fully committed to the team which is unlikely) . Time to build a team with a team first attitude. I actually have an optimism for my Sabres now that I don't think I would have if things didn't change.

<sigh> One quick last try. It's not about going old school, but you don't throw the baby out with the bath water. The game on the ice has changed, everybody knows that, but the dynamics of team building and what makes a successful organization have not. The point is, we, as a franchise did it the right way once upon a time and thus we need to look back and do those things (the ones that are still relevant in today's game, and there are many) again and the top needs to stop thinking they know some new better way. Hockey is still hockey.

Meh, just apply their win percentages and call it a day.

You are totally misreading and mischaracterizing what I said. Not much point in going over it again. Suffice it to say your "incongruent mixture of players" is the direct result of a lack of clear identity and comes about from building top down rather than bottom up. Lastly, falling back on thuggery vs. talent is a tired strawman argument. It's about balance, team spirit, and unity. Teams without it fail.

Everything that matters is decided. Going to be so boring waiting ages for the playoffs. League should drop the Canucks games. There's no fans allowed anyway. Pointless.

I know full well it's a long time ago, but what I am saying is that era was Buffalo's best era. Don't blame me that we haven't had so much success over the decades that it's just one of many good eras. It stands out as a different time. Yes, things are different in today's league, but many aspects of hockey are still the same. Men might make less homophobic jokes and they might not have a shaggin' wagon parked outside like Danny Gare used to and so forth but it's still a boys club and it's still a team dynamic and the boys bond in many of the same ways they always did. Rangers bonded big time this past week. You might find it silly, you might not like it, but trust me, that team grew up and became a team. You think we would have responded at all? The Imlach era had an identity. They were a team. We are a grouping of individuals with only an identity of losing at the moment. You don't change that easily, and it's not as easy as saying just start winning. It won't happen. I've been around enough teams in my life to know what the psychological make up of a successful team has to be, and we ain't it.