Pimlach
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Posts posted by Pimlach
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Love it. Marchand effects the game once again.
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5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
I'd bet that Ottawa is talking to one or both of them as well and they might be more inclined to go there with that team roster more closely aligned with their philosophies. Adams would also not want to get into a bidding war or get used in a negotiation. Sabres aren't exactly in a good position to come out a winner in those.
Yup, I thought about that too.
Gallant may end up in Ottawa, which will give them a big boost.
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7 hours ago, LGR4GM said:
Lindy sounds infinitely better today in this interview with Biron. Make me feel a bit better but that roster surgery is gonna make or break it.
None of the Buffalo media asked about roster improvements and what Lindy thinks they need. I would have ask him that. Ruff knows what they need. But will he say it on Day 1?
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3 hours ago, Pimlach said:
I watch the game with the volume muted and I either stream music or spin vinyl.
I have a nice Bourbon for tonight.
Southern Tier Smoked Bourbon.
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16 hours ago, inkman said:
Mute is your friend. Put on some music you enjoy instead.
I watch the game with the volume muted and I either stream music or spin vinyl.
I have a nice Bourbon for tonight.
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I will be watching the Broons and Leaves tonight.
Go Broons (cant believe I said that)!
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50 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:
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?
Did any coach ever do that?
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1 hour ago, Thorny said:
Have to agree. He makes a great first pass and therefore starts off plays well, but if he could be moved for a guy who’s stand-out skill is ending them, it’s a demonstrably more impactful contribution. Particularly because of our strength at D. If you trust Byram.
And I kind of don’t - so it would have to be a a player with equal upside to Power, just at forward. Probably very unlikely we’ll see that type of deal. Which is fine - Power is going to be very good
ByramDahlinPower
JokerMuel Clifton
Johnson
BrysonStill developing: Novikov
Lines are through the most movable players.
I would keep Power over Byram. Byram will fetch much less in a trade but after listening to Lindy talk about how todays game is played you have to stick with Power. They at least have to see what Lindy can do for him as a player. They will probably keep both Power and Byram and let Lindy evaluate things. The Byram contract will be interesting. Joker is a decent 3rd pair guy that plays 2nd pair on our team, this is a problem. He can be moved.
It is a matter of time before Bryson fades away but he can be 7/8 until then.
I want a bigger and more physical, defense first guy in the top 4 to pair with Power. Not gonna wait for Novikov, go get a guy now and give Novikov time to mature.
Adams will need a complete mindset shift away from "no blockers" and "players that want to be here". We can be a real team now.
Win a lot of games and fill the house and players will want to be here again.
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19 hours ago, dudacek said:
Are these guys who are settled in Buffalo?
I know Tage and Dahlin have settled into homes there as well, but they seem to summer "back home".
Most have seemed to only be Buffalonians in the winter, although I suspect that changes as they grow up.
The players today make so much more money than on the past, they can live were they play and anywhere else that they like.
Once they get married and have kids in school it changes and they tend to have their family in one place. Buffalo is a good place for that. Always was an still is. Just get a winning tradition back and they will love it.
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19 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:
Echo chamber alert.
I hope it works out for the best, of course. I had to vote that it was a dumb move though. I would have gone with Gallant.
It's been 25 years since 1999. Almost 20 since 2006. Time as taken it's toll on Lindy, as it always does for all of us. He said he is super excited, but it appeared that he was barely awake. Maybe he will be different with the players, but he was always very animated when he ever spoke with any of the press back when.
What toll has time taken? He is smarter and more patient as a coach.. He recently led a very young NJ team way past Buffalo and to their best point season ever.
I am still far more worried about the roster than the HC. Watch the playoffs and you see we need at least 6 players.
Ruff has 2 years. Adam’s better get him a few more players.
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Ruff’s input on the roster is going to be important if Kevyn is going to bring in some help.
Two way hockey and fast and hopefully with a physical presence.
We are going to join the NHL soon
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5 hours ago, JohnC said:
As you point out, regardless who the coach is, the critical issue relates to the composition of the roster. That includes bringing in talent and better balancing the roster so it is not simply a collection of players but the proper construction of a team. It's about getting players slotted into the right roles. In my view, getting the right players to play in the lower lines is more important than addressing the top two lines. It is these lower lines that will determine whether the Sabres become a more rugged and difficult team to play.
The Okposo and Olofsson spots will need to be filled. And most likely players such as Rousek, Jost, Robinson and maybe Girgs and Krebs spots will be open. That means that somewhere in the range of 4-6 positions will need to be addressed. These types of players are available at a reasonable price. It's a question of smartly using your assets to get the right type of support players on to your roster. I'm not looking for blockbuster Jack-like deals; I'm looking for judicious deals that makes this a more competitive team.
They need a center to replace Mitts.
After that, the the middle and bottom 6 must be improved. Lindy wants a face-off guy. He wants someone to put out for key draws, especially in the defensive zone. We also need one tough SOB that can also play hockey and will pound people if need be. We have a middle weight in Clifton that handles some things. Now gimme a heavy weight too. It's not Greenway, Tuch, or anyone else.
Then there is backup goalie. Bring one in and let Levi start in the AHL? If you can swing that insurance then why not.
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17 hours ago, Thorny said:
Don’t hate the player hate the game
Don’t hate the game, hate the league
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6 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
The bottom line for me on why this is a good move is this:
We argue on here about why they lose all the time. Is it the coach? Is it the players? Is it the culture? Is it Adams fault? Is it Pegula's? and there is some consensus but there's also a lot of differing views. With a new coach like Gallant or Berube we'd be in the same arguments should they lose. Berube was overrated. Players won't play for new coach. We chose the wrong coach and so on.
With Lindy we know this for certain, 100%, as we've seen it before. With a sufficiently talented roster Lindy knows how to win in this league. He's done it numerous times and you don't get to his win total without knowing how to win. So if this team still loses we will know for sure, 100%, that it's simply not going to happen with anybody in this franchise. There is absolutely no question that this team has to win now and barring some incredible injury bad luck they should win next year and make the playoffs and become a contender. If they still don't, then Adams has built a roster of lazy uncoachable losers (which I don't believe now) and we will have to tear it all down again and the team will likely never win until Pegula sells it. This imo will be a certainty.
But for the moment, I now have hope for next season.
Hmmmmmm. Ruff is not going win that much more than Granato did if they roll back the same roster. Maybe enough to make a wild card, sure.
Ruff talked about the little things, winning key face offs, protecting leads, winning puck battles, having leaders call out players, goaltending, building from the defense and out. All great stuff. They still need more players that have done that and will show the way.
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11 minutes ago, Weave said:
We don’t know the timeframe for the interviews. He could have started the interviews in the aftermath of the “Fire Granato” chants but chose to not make a change until after the season.
Sure. But that is not what Adams says. He said it again today - He was on it immediately after the Press Conference, he made it seem like he was just getting on it. Maybe that was to protect Granato a bit.
What I really think is that Adams was on the Lindy track for months, and maybe not so much for the other vet coaches.
I am fine with Lindy, he is certainly qualified, he is a life long learner, he is accomplished, and he deserves respect.
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3 hours ago, thewookie1 said:
There's far more than those 5
Claude Julien with Montreal
Darryl Sutter in Calgary
Scotty Bowman and Ted Nolan here in Buffalo
The article is wrong then. Bowman never left, GM to coach to GM to Coach was not the criteria. Back in the 6 team era lots of Coaches were GMs too.
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1 hour ago, Broken Ankles said:
I should have never gone back to Toronto and that dam Harold Ballard.
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28 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:
I don't believe he is lying about interviewing 10+ people; perhaps he didn't interview 10 guys in depth but if 4 of them had the wrong persona and he didn't pursue further.
No way did he do formal interviews of double digit guys in 6 days. How long were the interviews? Any follow up? He admitted he spent time on numerous calls with Lindy. If Lindy took multiple calls then why wouldn't some of the other candidates? If just 4 of the double digit choices are compelling choices then you are going into the next week.
Here is a scenario:
KA: "Hello Mr Gallant, this is Kevyn Adams GM for the Buffalo Sabres, your not interested in coaching the Sabres, are you?"
KA: "Oh, MAYBE?" "Thanks, I am just checking on it. Good Bye for now"
Hangs up, calls Terry.
"Hey Terry, I just talked to Gallant and he said maybe."
Terry: "Maybe? What else did he say? Nothing? Will if he doesn't want it move on, I heard he is a pain anyway." click
Ok, I jest. But I do not consider Adams to be credible anymore. Not until there is more follow through on roster improvements.
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51 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:
No argument from me, but it’s uncommon around the league to have your goal scoring 1st line center killing penalties because the injury risk from blocking shots.
It is uncommon.
50 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:Not to mention those are minutes that you now do not have to give your high scoring forward at even strength and on the powerplay because Tage is tired.
Definitely.
39 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:Tage on the PK tells you that Adams failed at roster construction. A key component for a 3rd line player is that you can use them on the PK or PP just like a key component to making the 53 man roster is being useful on special teams. Same concept but Adams decided to build a roster that didn't make any sense and this was the result. He needs to grow up quick because the only excuses left are incompetence.
This is the root cause. The bottom 6 is important. The Sabres lack diversity of skill and diversity of age. We cannot fill the 3rd and 4th lines with 20 year old prospects and have a balanced team.
We cannot have Tuch fighting Tkachuk, and Cozens fighting Hathaway, and Dahlin fighting Wilson, or whatever. We need good solid experienced role players. We need to stop being the developmental day camp for the rest of the league.
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16 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:
Precedent for this sort of thing working out? Legendary coaches returning to the roost and winning.
Here are the two term with same team coaches. https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1043798
It has happened five times, and now will be 6 with Lindy's return. None won a Cup the second time or even reached similar past heights.
Punch Imlach and Jacques Lemaire are the only Cup winners that went back to their Cup teams.
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53 minutes ago, _Q_ said:
It is entirely possible that following the lack of leadership when the players protested the fans, the decision on Granato was made.
That leaves a couple month vetting process for potential candidates, both employed and unemployed. To say that a legitimate process can only happen after a firing is folly. Most companies have a succession plan in place before letting its CEO go, either internal or external.
If we were to take Ruff's name off the hire, people would be talking about how he just took a young team in NJ to 110+ points and was let go after crappy goal tending (still a winning record), and how the Devils fell apart after he left.
You give the Pegula run Sabres way too much credit. This hire is another Pegula pivot and jump. It is just as much about selling tickets than about winning games.
I mean, I really hope that the Sabres did start looking at and talking too coaches during the regular season. The issue with the players and the fans would be reason enough for me. I sure hope that they talked to Berube and Gallant and found out if they were interested and a good match. I would not be surprised if they was not interested in working for Terry and Adams.
The Sabres having a succession plan in place for replacing Granato is the folly. They just extended him the last off season. They extended him for almost making the playoffs, like teams would be beating down his door after this season.
The Pegula's also gave Boterill a public vote of confidence and then fired him just weeks later. They asked Adams to gut the front office and lean everything down and start another rebuild while publicly stating the Sabres cannot adversely impact the "family lifestyle". Adams was on nobody's radar as a viable NHL GM at that time.
I like Lindy, and wish him well, but if didn't have strong Buffalo connections he would not be coaching here again either. Something tells me the other vet coaches are not interested.
If Lindy succeeds it is because he is a good coach, and he is extremely dedicated to the fading honorable past of this hockey club.
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13 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:
Muel should be used as a PK specialist and get third pairing minutes time for 5v5. Nothing is guaranteed, but I think changing his minutes from 20-25 a night to 15 would go a long way to helping reduce his injuries. And it’s not like I think that’s a poor utilization for him either. I think that’s to the best benefit of both the team and the player.
Then again, Granato had Thompson blocking shots on the PK, so who knows what Ruff might do or how the team will look.
Everybody that plays the PK should be taking away passing and shooting lanes, and blocking shots. Thompson did what he should have done. Injuries happen.
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15 hours ago, The Jokeman said:
He was good not great in the Donald Audette sort of way. Ideal 2nd liner/PP specialist. Jack Quinn should be an adequate replacement so he can stay healthy.
Uh, Quinn is already a better 2way player and was already on a higher line, playing top 6 minutes.
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They really should move on from Ellis and Wilford. Flush that era and move on.
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NHL Playoffs (First Round) discussion
in The Aud Club
Posted
Adams better listen to Lindy.
Adam’s has a chance to learn a lot in his two years with Ruff. He better listen and get him what he needs.
Lindy knows NHL pro personnel MUCH BETTER than anyone in the organization. He probably has a better chance of bringing in NHL players too. They better utilize that.