Housley Should Have Until End of December

[Wyldnwoody44]

I would like to see a little shake up, it doesn't have to be crazy, but some sense that he sees the good we've done falling apart and at least tries to correct with what we have. 

 

We sat through an 82 game tryout last year, this year they Dont get the luxury of standing pat when it looks abysmal 

[PASabreFan]

He has them playing tight. All he's wanted to talk about of late is how tight the games are going to be, how hard it's going to be to score, dirty areas, grind it out, they're coming for us, they'll be ready for us.

1 minute ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I would like to see a little shake up, it doesn't have to be crazy, but some sense that he sees the good we've done falling apart and at least tries to correct with what we have. 

 

We sat through an 82 game tryout last year, this year they Dont get the luxury of standing pat when it looks abysmal 

It's pretty reminiscent of so many Darcy seasons. "We like our team."

[Robviously]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

He has them playing tight. All he's wanted to talk about of late is how tight the games are going to be, how hard it's going to be to score, dirty areas, grind it out, they're coming for us, they'll be ready for us.

It's pretty reminiscent of so many Darcy seasons. "We like our team."

Darcy also pulled off some amazing robberies at the deadline. GMTM was a complete disaster and I think we’re still waiting to see what Botterill can do. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

He has them playing tight. All he's wanted to talk about of late is how tight the games are going to be, how hard it's going to be to score, dirty areas, grind it out, they're coming for us, they'll be ready for us.

It's pretty reminiscent of so many Darcy seasons. "We like our team."

He knows he doesn’t have the soldiers upfront to score at will like TB or Tor.  This team is going to have to grind it out.  

We have 6 good D, good goaltending, a very good top line and a strong 4th line, but the middle six are a mess.  

This is enough to compete each night and if we get anything from the middle six we win.  When we don’t, we lose close games.  Tonight’s game was a shining example.  PH is doing a fine job with one hand tied behind is back. This is a step forwardwhen he coached with both hands tied behind his back. If Jbot get him a good middle six center, things will get better.

Edited December 30, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN

[Radar]

10 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

He knows he doesn’t have the soldiers upfront to score at will like TB or Tor.  This team is going to have to grind it out.  

We have 6 good D, good goaltending, a very good top line and a strong 4th line, but the middle six are a mess.  

This is enough to compete each night and if we get anything from the middle six we win.  When we don’t, we lose close games.  Tonight’s game was a shining example.  PH is doing a fine job with one hand tied behind is back. This is a step forwardwhen he coached with both hands tied behind his back. If Jbot get him a good middle six center, things will get better.

This!!

[Samson's Flow]

10 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

He knows he doesn’t have the soldiers upfront to score at will like TB or Tor.  This team is going to have to grind it out.  

We have 6 good D, good goaltending, a very good top line and a strong 4th line, but the middle six are a mess.  

This is enough to compete each night and if we get anything from the middle six we win.  When we don’t, we lose close games.  Tonight’s game was a shining example.  PH is doing a fine job with one hand tied behind is back. This is a step forwardwhen he coached with both hands tied behind his back. If Jbot get him a good middle six center, things will get better.

There's a lot right in this post. Tough to keep perspective when we've been waiting for a competitive season for years

[Thorny]

14 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

He knows he doesn’t have the soldiers upfront to score at will like TB or Tor.  This team is going to have to grind it out.  

We have 6 good D, good goaltending, a very good top line and a strong 4th line, but the middle six are a mess.  

This is enough to compete each night and if we get anything from the middle six we win.  When we don’t, we lose close games.  Tonight’s game was a shining example.  PH is doing a fine job with one hand tied behind is back. This is a step forwardwhen he coached with both hands tied behind his back. If Jbot get him a good middle six center, things will get better.

Powerplay. 

Powerplay.

Fix the powerplay.

We DO have the soldiers up front to match Tampa Bay's Powerplay, which has 17 more goals than ours does. 

There really, truly, is a Get Out Of Jail Free card here that Housley and the Team is unwilling or unable to use.

And he needs to stop playing Dahlin on the right side, particularly with Scandella. But yet they lined up together in practice today. They got torched yesterday. Fault to Botterill there as well for the appalling RHD depth coming into the season.

I'm all aboard the Botterill needs to get a 2C train, too, but it's not going to solve the powerplay, and it's not going to stop Phil from making boneheaded lineup decisions like Scandella-Dahlin that make me think he's woefully or intentionally ignorant of what is happening on the ice. 

Edited December 30, 2018 by Thorny

[pi2000]

Jury.... still out.

[Eleven]

Well, apparently he just demoted Okposo to the fourth line (see the thread I'm about to start); this is not a smart move.

[LGR4GM]

I'm building a Housley bunker. When I hear a head coach make the excuse that the team is young, specifically cite Reinhart, Eichel and Ristolainen and then claim they are only in year 2-3, I am building a bunker. The head coach of the team doesn't even know how long his players have been in the league? Are you serious? None of them have 2-3 years. Reinhart and Eichel are in year 4 and Ristolainen is in year 6. 

We aren't losing games because those guys are young and learning. We are losing games because outside of those guys no one else on the freaking team can produce with the exception of Skinner. 

The Housley Hole is getting a roof and some barbed wire at this point. Also the article in the Athletic about line combos shows some of the other issues I see with Housley. I keep wanting to like him and keep being given reasons not too. 

Edited January 2, 2019 by LGR4GM

[GASabresIUFAN]

How do you make a lineup card with a forward group we have?

0f our 14 NHL forwards, we only have 3 deserving of PT in the top 6.

We have a good top line, then...

2 players being unsuccessfully force feed the NHL.

3 overpaid vets who aren’t or can’t produce.

1 decent winger who needs a center.

3 utility forwards who are best utilized in an energy capacity.

1 decent forward bottom winger who has been out all year.

1 guy who can’t even get PT over this mish mash of mediocrity. 

The good news is outside the two rookies, 5 of the remaining 9 forwards are FAs and 3 of others have only 1 additional year.  

I think this group is salvageable.  However it’s very clear that without a second line center to elevate guys like Sheary, help the 2nd PP and force the kids into lesser roles, we simply aren’t good enough. 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by GASabresIUFAN

[Thorny]

12 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I'm building a Housley bunker. When I hear a head coach make the excuse that the team is young, specifically cite Reinhart, Eichel and Ristolainen and then claim they are only in year 2-3, I am building a bunker. The head coach of the team doesn't even know how long his players have been in the league? Are you serious? None of them have 2-3 years. Reinhart and Eichel are in year 4 and Ristolainen is in year 6. 

We aren't losing games because those guys are young and learning. We are losing games because outside of those guys no one else on the freaking team can produce with the exception of Skinner. 

The Housley Hole is getting a roof and some barbed wire at this point. Also the article in the Athletic about line combos shows some of the other issues I see with Housley. I keep wanting to like him and keep being given reasons not too. 

It's like having a conversation with someone where half-way through you start to think, there's no way this guy actually knows what he's talking about, and they ran out of facts 10 minutes ago. 

Housley is a dunce. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by Thorny

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Everybody loved him during the streak.  Now, not so much.  It's the way it works.  I think he is a good coach.  He was when he had a full NHL level roster, even if many were not playing that well.  Now he does not have a full NHL roster and it's a problem, as it would be with any coach.

[LGR4GM]

I didn't "love" him during the streak. The underlying metrics were still suspect and low and behold here we are. The other thing is that when things start to go wrong, it is partially up to the coach to find solutions. Instead we got game after game of Mitts with Okposo and 0 coming from that while Rodrigues was benched or demoted in favor of Sobotka because Sobotka can play on the PK. Now we have Dahlin playing with Scandella. It's just like they completely ignore playing styles and analytics when creating lines. 

[pi2000]

On 11/24/2018 at 12:00 AM, pi2000 said:

Jury is still out, it's not even December yet.

If we're not gonna fire him after 8 months of bad hockey, we shouldn't absolve him after 8 wins.

Seems like we're back to the bad hockey part.  26th in shots against per game.  I thought Steve Smith was supposed to fix that? 

[CallawaySabres]

Do it now, before it's too late. This team is obviously not as good as the one that won 10 games in a row but they have enough talent to make the playoffs. Housley just does not seem to have what it takes to get this team to the next level

[Brawndo]

10 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

Do it now, before it's too late. This team is obviously not as good as the one that won 10 games in a row but they have enough talent to make the playoffs. Housley just does not seem to have what it takes to get this team to the next level

The question becomes even if Housley is a good coach, is he good enough?  Can he beat Cooper, Babcock or Julien in a seven game series? 

Bovada the online betting site listed four teams with the best odds to land Barry Trotz as their next HC last summer. The Sabres were on that list as the fourth team. Now that could have been because they finished last or was there genuine interest by the Sabres. 

We have missed out on too many good coaches, call Q and make the move during the bye if he is interested. 

[...]

Trotz wasn't good enough to get the money he wanted from Washington. Quenneville was fired straight up.  Washington is still good.  Chicago is not.  What's the difference?

How does Bylsma have a Cup ring?

I think we've seen what bad coaching looks like around here,  and Phil doesn't qualify as a bad coach in my opinion.  This roster has way too many holes still, coupled with a lot of youngsters.

Edited January 12, 2019 by ...
oopsy

[PerreaultForever]

Since it's January, isn't this thread over? 

[CallawaySabres]

4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Since it's January, isn't this thread over? 

Just pointing out that they should have listened to me  ?

[Brawndo]

9 hours ago, ... said:

Trotz wasn't good enough to get the money he wanted from Washington. Quenneville was fired straight up.  Washington is still good.  Chicago is not.  What's the difference?

How does Bylsma have a Cup ring?

I think we've seen what bad coaching looks like around here,  and Phil doesn't qualify as a bad coach in my opinion.  This roster has way too many holes still, coupled with a lot of youngsters.

And yet Trotz has a team that lost their franchise player in FA this summer and was expected to be a bottom feeder squarely in playoff contention and will probably make them over the Sabres. This is Six months after he did lead the Caps to their First SC Championship.

Chicago has reached the point where they have too much money tied up in aging players and have a GM who sacrificed his future draft capital and prospect pool for playoff runs. The losing wasn’t because Quenneville all of a sudden became a bad coach. Bowman sacrificed Q in an attempt to save himself, we will have to see how that plays out.

The Capitals are the defending Cup Champs and did not lose any key pieces this offseason, of course they remain a good team.

Crosby and Malkin are a great way to win a cup and the prevailing thought out of Pittsburgh was that they should have won more under Bylsma.

The Sabres Roster does have a lot of holes but Housley does not maximize the talent he does have. This is a major red flag moving forward. 

[Hoss]

Phil Housley’s job security should be ROCK solid.

Also, I think Patrik Berglund was a bigger factor than people want to let on. He played in 23 of 30 games prior to his disappearance. I’ve seen a few posters saying he was scratched multiple times but just to clarify: he wasn’t. He was a healthy scratch a total of one time prior to his disappearance. He was on IR for five games and had a minor injury for the other.

Prior to Berglund’s departure the team consistently had two bookend lines. A top line that could score like any other top line and a shutdown line. It still has the top line but you can flip around other players as many times as you want. The fact is there just isn’t enough developed talent to get you the lines you want right now.

The development of Tage Thompson has been notable. He looks like he has an NHL future.

McCabe is a factor at all times. He’s turned into a rock steady second pairing dman.

Risto’s progress over the season has been big.

Pilut looks capable and isn’t a big disappointment which is how it’s been for a long time with Sabres prospects.

This team won two of three without its star player.

There are so many factors when considering a coach’s job security. Right now, I’m still very happy with Housley.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

And yet Trotz has a team that lost their franchise player in FA this summer and was expected to be a bottom feeder squarely in playoff contention and will probably make them over the Sabres. This is Six months after he did lead the Caps to their First SC Championship.

Chicago has reached the point where they have too much money tied up in aging players and have a GM who sacrificed his future draft capital and prospect pool for playoff runs. The losing wasn’t because Quenneville all of a sudden became a bad coach. Bowman sacrificed Q in an attempt to save himself, we will have to see how that plays out.

The Capitals are the defending Cup Champs and did not lose any key pieces this offseason, of course they remain a good team.

Crosby and Malkin are a great way to win a cup and the prevailing thought out of Pittsburgh was that they should have won more under Bylsma.

The Sabres Roster does have a lot of holes but Housley does not maximize the talent he does have. This is a major red flag moving forward. 

The Isles might have lost Tavares but they still have depth through their line-up. Maybe not household names but depth none the less.

Phil has tried almost every conceivable combo with what he has to work with. He has maximized it to the point that there is only 2 lines that actually work and we all know that .

Your other points are "well received".

[Thorny]

7 hours ago, Hoss said:

Phil Housley’s job security should be ROCK solid.

Also, I think Patrik Berglund was a bigger factor than people want to let on. He played in 23 of 30 games prior to his disappearance. I’ve seen a few posters saying he was scratched multiple times but just to clarify: he wasn’t. He was a healthy scratch a total of one time prior to his disappearance. He was on IR for five games and had a minor injury for the other.

Prior to Berglund’s departure the team consistently had two bookend lines. A top line that could score like any other top line and a shutdown line. It still has the top line but you can flip around other players as many times as you want. The fact is there just isn’t enough developed talent to get you the lines you want right now.

The development of Tage Thompson has been notable. He looks like he has an NHL future.

McCabe is a factor at all times. He’s turned into a rock steady second pairing dman.

Risto’s progress over the season has been big.

Pilut looks capable and isn’t a big disappointment which is how it’s been for a long time with Sabres prospects.

This team won two of three without its star player.

There are so many factors when considering a coach’s job security. Right now, I’m still very happy with Housley.

Putting Housley aside for a second then.

If an overpaid, 4 point, minus- 5 player is the difference between us winning games and not, then Botterill should get off his ass and add another 4 point, minus 5, overpaid player that I can't imagine would be that hard to find, before it costs us a playoff spot. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by Thorny

[Hoss]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Putting Housley aside for a second then.

If an overpaid, 4 point, minus- 5 player is the difference between us winning games and not, then Botterill should get off his ass and add another 4 point, minus 5, overpaid player that I can't imagine would be that hard to find, before it costs us a playoff spot. 

Straw man. Nobody said this.

Edited January 12, 2019 by Hoss