eman Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Thanks 11. I have been a fan of the Sabres my whole life, well for as far back as I can remember. As a fan I have been trough it all. I don't feel that I have to defend myself and my feelings on the past two seasons and the way management, including the GM, are running this team. I detested the tank, to the point of calling the Sabres management cheaters for taking the team down that road. I also stated that the league should find a way to prohibit the Sabres from picking first, or second. The worst part about the tank is the fact that, as a direct result of it, some of us are starting to question others fandom. We are all fans of the Sabres. We may see things differently, but the bottom line is we are all fans and want the team to do well. I will be experiencing weird feelings when the Sabres do become good again and I do feel they will be very good again and challenge for the cup. I will remain a fan of the team and do hope they win the cup. I will be happy when / if they do, but wish that they had gone about getting to that point differently. I would feel the same way if anyone else owned the team and if there was another GM, so it's more the way the business works now that has me all wound up. On this presser itself ... when Murray was talking about good communication between the next coach and himself I don't see how anyone could not view that as a shot against Nolan. Sure, Murray did say that communication was a two way street and he was partly to blame for the poor communication between him and Nolan, but why bring it up again? Anyway, I've said what I have to say. I hear the Sabres are looking to hire a head coach. What about 3 fun boys? Thanks 11. I have been a fan of the Sabres my whole life, well for as far back as I can remember. As a fan I have been trough it all. I don't feel that I have to defend myself and my feelings on the past two seasons and the way management, including the GM, are running this team. I detested the tank, to the point of calling the Sabres management cheaters for taking the team down that road. I also stated that the league should find a way to prohibit the Sabres from picking first, or second. The worst part about the tank is the fact that, as a direct result of it, some of us are starting to question others fandom. We are all fans of the Sabres. We may see things differently, but the bottom line is we are all fans and want the team to do well. I will be experiencing weird feelings when the Sabres do become good again and I do feel they will be very good again and challenge for the cup. I will remain a fan of the team and do hope they win the cup. I will be happy when / if they do, but wish that they had gone about getting to that point differently. I would feel the same way if anyone else owned the team and if there was another GM, so it's more the way the business works now that has me all wound up. On this presser itself ... when Murray was talking about good communication between the next coach and himself I don't see how anyone could not view that as a shot against Nolan. Sure, Murray did say that communication was a two way street and he was partly to blame for the poor communication between him and Nolan, but why bring it up again? Anyway, I've said what I have to say. I hear the Sabres are looking to hire a head coach. What about 3 fun boys? 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!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 NS, I still love you. I have a spot on the Murray bandwagon reserved for you whenever you decide to hop on :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudacek Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Damn, the amount of criticism Disco Dan gets from Pens fans is crazy. Even after backsliding this year seems like nobody wants him back. Tactically inflexible and terrible with young talent come up again and again. I'm not sure what young talent he ever had in Pittsburgh, and always blamed his playoff failures on a bad goalie, but there is some pretty detailed, informed stuff out there. It's above and beyond the typical tired fanbase stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Damn, the amount of criticism Disco Dan gets from Pens fans is crazy. Even after backsliding this year seems like nobody wants him back. Tactically inflexible and terrible with young talent come up again and again. I'm not sure what young talent he ever had in Pittsburgh, and always blamed his playoff failures on a bad goalie, but there is some pretty detailed, informed stuff out there. It's above and beyond the typical tired fanbase stuff. The large criticism on failure to develop young talent is because Beau Bennett and Brandon Sutter didn't skyrocket to stardom immediately near the end of his tenure. I don't know how many fans down there I talked to when I lived in the area talked about this. The Pens badly needed better defense and more consistent hockey from their bottom six, and so fans assumed that Bennett and Sutter would be a big part of the latter immediately. They weren't. That may not be Bylsma's fault, but the expectations were also a bit too lofty. Olli Maatta was good immediately for Bylsma two seasons ago and looks like a top-pairing dman if he can stay healthy so there's that. Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy were both better and younger in Pittsburgh than they have been since playing elsewhere, so something was working between them and Bylsma. The reason that there was a lack of development in young player is because there was none. Shero, and maybe Bylsma, didn't want to wait. Every move they've made for years has been to win NOW. There wasn't much opportunity to work with youth. In 2011-12 they had just three players 24 and under play at least 41 games for them - Jordan Staal, Matt Niskanen and James Neal. I picked that year because it's towards the middle of his tenure and about the time people started doubting him. This is a defense on that criticism of Bylsma, but it's also worth noting that it might be risky bringing in a guy that was never asked to develop young players in his last job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Why not a Bylsma/Richardson tandem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJFIVEOH Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 So basically there's as much to base the criticism on as there was with Nolan yet so many here were convinced Nolan couldn't do it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Why not a Bylsma/Richardson tandem? I'd be interested to see if Richardson is interested in an assistant job. Might need the associate head coach title to consider it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom webster Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 So basically there's as much to base the criticism on as there was with Nolan yet so many here were convinced Nolan couldn't do it either. How many pkayers have to publicly rip Nolan begore you admit he is not a good coach? 3,4,5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/dan-bylsma-to-meet-with-buffalo-sabres-this-week/ Sabres interviewing Bylsma later this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Damn, the amount of criticism Disco Dan gets from Pens fans is crazy. Even after backsliding this year seems like nobody wants him back. Tactically inflexible and terrible with young talent come up again and again. I'm not sure what young talent he ever had in Pittsburgh, and always blamed his playoff failures on a bad goalie, but there is some pretty detailed, informed stuff out there. It's above and beyond the typical tired fanbase stuff. I wouldn't even say they backslid this year...they were looking great until their top-4 defensemen decided to miss 150 man games to injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 To add to this point. Was not the idea idea of "the Tank" that you can't win without elite top end talent? In order to win a Cup the Sabres need to draft their Crosby and Malkin? Why would we then count winning with a Crosby & Malkin as a negative? The plan is to draft the elite talent and find a coach that can take that talent and win. Byslma has done just that. It's not like Babcock won his Cup with a group of underdogs, Detroit was loaded. When they met head to head Byslma's Pens beat the Babcock's Red Wings, that should count for something. Having a coach that spent 5+ seasons coaching coaching Crosby and Malkin working with the young Sabres can'e be a bad thing. Can it? Good call sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 If we hire Hot Disco Daniel, it will be his first time coaching a team that's building from scratch (at least we have a great foundation laid down). His first job, he inherited a SCF losing team. Now, he could possibly take over the team that finished DFL 2 years running. It would certainly give us the chance to see what he's made of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 If we hire Hot Disco Daniel, it will be his first time coaching a team that's building from scratch (at least we have a great foundation laid down). His first job, he inherited a SCF losing team. Now, he could possibly take over the team that finished DFL 2 years running. It would certainly give us the chance to see what he's made of. You can say the same thing about Babcock. Babcock took over a a Ducks team that had won a Cup and lost in the Conference finals the two previous seasons and a Red Wings team that had averaged 110.8 points the five previous seasons including a Stanley Cup. Toronto is paying $50 million to a coach that has never coached a team in that position before. No matter who the Sabres hire, that coach is going to be in uncharted territory for them. It's a great challenge and an opportunity to cement a legacy. If Dan Bylsma can take a franchise that has finished dead last in consecutive seasons and win a his second Cup with a second team then he forever becomes part of that top coaches conversation not to mention he would be treated like a a Hockey God here in Sabres Nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eman Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 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!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I'm honestly scared that Bylsma will pick somewhere else to go. The time to strike was to understand what value he had when everyone was chasing the Babcock rainbow. Now that Babcock and Mclelan are gone, Bylsma is the talk of the nhl circles. If you could have identified him sooner and wooed him when things were calm, he'd already be yours. Sadly, now is the time you have to look 2 steps forward. Where do you go if he rejects you for another team, and what does that say about Hockey Heaven once again? I can't say that he will reject Buffalo, I'm just saying that while everyone was having a PP party the past few weeks chasing "the great white whale" which turns out, you never really had a shot....now the 2a choice is in Edmonton and 2b is suddenly on top of Buffalo, San Jose, New Jersey and whoever's list. The Kobe Beef and Filet have sold out. The seasoned Cowboy Ribeye now has 4 orders for 1 steak. You're down to a few strip steaks, some burgers, and mystery meat after that. To me the best value is always in the 32oz. ribeye and a big ol' baked potato with sour cream and chives and a quarter stick of butter. A martini at the bar....one on the way to the table....and another with dinner. That's living! The sad thing is, it was Tuesday February 10th and you didn't want to order it. It's now Saturday February 14th at 8PM, and all of a sudden you want that ribeye and full meal experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I'm honestly scared that Bylsma will pick somewhere else to go. The time to strike was to understand what value he had when everyone was chasing the Babcock rainbow. Now that Babcock and Mclelan are gone, Bylsma is the talk of the nhl circles. If you could have identified him sooner and wooed him when things were calm, he'd already be yours. Sadly, now is the time you have to look 2 steps forward. Where do you go if he rejects you for another team, and what does that say about Hockey Heaven once again? I can't say that he will reject Buffalo, I'm just saying that while everyone was having a PP party the past few weeks chasing "the great white whale" which turns out, you never really had a shot....now the 2a choice is in Edmonton and 2b is suddenly on top of Buffalo, San Jose, New Jersey and whoever's list. The Kobe Beef and Filet have sold out. The seasoned Cowboy Ribeye now has 4 orders for 1 steak. You're down to a few strip steaks, some burgers, and mystery meat after that. To me the best value is always in the 32oz. ribeye and a big ol' baked potato with sour cream and chives and a quarter stick of butter. A martini at the bar....one on the way to the table....and another with dinner. That's living! The sad thing is, it was Tuesday February 10th and you didn't want to order it. It's now Saturday February 14th at 8PM, and all of a sudden you want that ribeye and full meal experience. Happy Valentine's Day. GO SABRES!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Happy Valentine's Day. GO SABRES!!! True story... When I was still in high school, I had Bills season tickets. The SuperBowl was going to be in Atlanta, and I have family down there. I booked a flight in the summer for that weekend. My uncle got reservations at the best steakhouse in town. While we were eating dinner, there was a little bit of activity and commotion out front. It turns out out that Al Gore wanted to come in for dinner. At the time he was the Vice President. They turned him away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Im not really nervous about not getting Bylsma. He's slowly becoming my preferred choice, but that's mostly because I think he's the most likely choice. However, I just don't think there are any real good candidates this offseason beyond Babcock. Bylsma is a mystery, I think. He's touted as a known, but he's never dealt with kids at the NHL level. His team USA experience might help in that regard but we'll see. Beyond that there aren't really any hot assistant candidates out there. Not a great year to be looking for a coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Im not really nervous about not getting Bylsma. He's slowly becoming my preferred choice, but that's mostly because I think he's the most likely choice. However, I just don't think there are any real good candidates this offseason beyond Babcock. Bylsma is a mystery, I think. He's touted as a known, but he's never dealt with kids at the NHL level. His team USA experience might help in that regard but we'll see. Beyond that there aren't really any hot assistant candidates out there. Not a great year to be looking for a coach. This year was an exception in that a "great" not "good" coach hit the market in Babcock. The rest of the field isn't any different from most other years. McLellan, Bylsma, a handful of retreads with NHL HC experience, a few AHL guys, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) Frankly I'm surprised Bylsma isn't talked up more considering the whole Pegs/Pittsburgh thing. Edited May 24, 2015 by Promonov Robotnik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I'm not convinced any NHL coach these days is really "great". I mean sure some are better than others but the difference between Babcock and the rest is minimal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 You can't lay hindsight at the feet of the Sabres over this. They wanted Babcock and had as good a chance as any team in landing him, as far as anyone knew at the time. Normally these coach searches fly under the radar, so normally we aren't aware of the process, and therefore have no real baseline to reference when it comes to evaluating whether "they're doing it right" or not. I think it's safe to say that the odds are in the Sabres favour they will have a coach by September, if not July 1. And, goodness but I hate to say it, I really do, but I'm kind of hoping old Claude becomes available. I think he and Richardson as a coaching team would be exceptionally interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) Did I hear the latest scuttlebutt correctly that Babs was sold on the Sabres, but the ol' battleaxe nixed it? Edited May 24, 2015 by Promonov Robotnik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 You can't lay hindsight at the feet of the Sabres over this. They wanted Babcock and had as good a chance as any team in landing him, as far as anyone knew at the time. Normally these coach searches fly under the radar, so normally we aren't aware of the process, and therefore have no real baseline to reference when it comes to evaluating whether "they're doing it right" or not. I think it's safe to say that the odds are in the Sabres favour they will have a coach by September, if not July 1. And, goodness but I hate to say it, I really do, but I'm kind of hoping old Claude becomes available. I think he and Richardson as a coaching team would be exceptionally interesting. I agree with pretty much everything you said. Babcock was the target and trying to pass him off as barely better than the rest is just hindsight setting in. However, I don't think the Sabres or anybody else had a chance once Toronto made a big offer. We'll have a coach well before July 1st I believe. Some will hate it and others won't but nobody will know how it'll turn out until the team hits the ice. On Julien: I still can't behind having him as coach. I don't recall a more whiny coach in my lifetime that committed the crimes he complained about witnesses other teams commit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Did I hear the latest scuttlebutt correctly that Babs was sold on the Sabres, but the ol' battleaxe nixed it? Is that what we're calling JoeBa now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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