Berglund suspended, failure to report

[LTS]

1 minute ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

Honestly I don't really care what happens with Berglund....if it were Jack, yes.

The 1st bolded....isn't there a thread dedicated to this with many questioning coaching decisions made along the way? "Houseley should have until end of December" is now on the 2nd page. Has everyone been satisfied with all coaching/management decisions over the years? Or don't you read your own posts either? 

The 2nd bolded....you could say the same about Mitts.

Like I said... I really don't care about this whole thing because I feel it will work its way out and somehow for the better which ever way it goes. Berglund would not be my 1st choice for a 2C any way. The "Hockey Gods" will prevail over this.

 

People will always question the coach, even if he wins the Stanley Cup.  That doesn't mean anything.  Overall, you argue that Berglund should be given a proper chance.  What is a proper chance?  How do you earn it?  Overall I have faith in Housley.  Every person makes mistakes in a singular fashion, I don't see Housley racking them up in repetition.

I could say the same thing about Mitts.  But he's not a veteran making millions of dollars and he hasn't walked away from the team.  So, what did you want me to say about him? He's playing the role the coaching staff is putting him in.  I think it's a fine role because frankly I don't think there's anyone else to play it.  He's 19(20?) and he's learning. This team is overachieving where I think they should be and I am fine with it. 

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

This article seems very interesting in light of his going AWOL soon after.

https://buffalonews.com/2018/12/05/buffalo-sabres-patrik-berglund-phil-housley-news/

[nfreeman]

17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/gordo-unhappy-berglund-wants-out-of-buffalo/article_01baa75f-5407-5439-862a-6a2948ae3df8.html

interesting tidbit in this column.  It’s has the best description of what happened when Berglund’s NMC converted to a limited NTC.  Apparently Berglund had to deliver his list at the time the clause converted and didn’t.  Therefore Armstrong was free to trade him to us.  So it’s Berglund (and his agent’s) own fault he is in this situation.   

At this point I’m terminating this deal ASAP. I’m no longer waiting until the end of this month.  If you don’t want to be here.  See yeah!  You’ve made yourself impossible to trade.  We could send you down or loan you out, but why keep most of this cap hit for the next 3+ years.  Terminate for conduct detrimental and failure to play and move on.  Even a forced settlement with the NHLPA will likely be cheaper then the current cap hit and will get this cancer off our team. 

I would guess that JB has been in touch with the NHL on this as to how long he has to wait before he can terminate the contract.  The NHL doesn't get to decide unilaterally, but they can probably tell JB that they will back him if he waits, e.g., 2 more weeks.

As a related point, I wonder whether there was any discussion between JB and the Blues at the time of the trade about Bergy's no-move arrangements.  In particular, I wonder whether the Blues hid the ball at all -- i.e. did they say something technically accurate but still misleading like "Bergy hasn't put the Sabres on his no-go list" as opposed to being fully honest and telling JB that Bergy's agent screwed this up so STL didn't have to comply with a no-go list if they made the trade that day.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

3 minutes ago, LTS said:

People will always question the coach, even if he wins the Stanley Cup.  That doesn't mean anything.  Overall, you argue that Berglund should be given a proper chance.  What is a proper chance?  How do you earn it?  Overall I have faith in Housley.  Every person makes mistakes in a singular fashion, I don't see Housley racking them up in repetition.

I could say the same thing about Mitts.  But he's not a veteran making millions of dollars and he hasn't walked away from the team.  So, what did you want me to say about him? He's playing the role the coaching staff is putting him in.  I think it's a fine role because frankly I don't think there's anyone else to play it.  He's 19(20?) and he's learning. This team is overachieving where I think they should be and I am fine with it. 

 

If Berglund was given the chance for lets say 10-15 games as the 2C with players like ...lets guess at Sheary and Reinhart. He would then have either proven himself worthy or not. If he did and then could shelter Casey, we might have more secondary scoring. Maybe not but we won't really know if he doesn't get the chance.

I don't really think this team is "over" achieving and if so not by much. I think we are seeing the results of the tank kicking in and what the future is going to look like. Enjoying every minute whether I agree with coaching/management decisions or not.

[LTS]

Just now, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

If Berglund was given the chance for lets say 10-15 games as the 2C with players like ...lets guess at Sheary and Reinhart. He would then have either proven himself worthy or not. If he did and then could shelter Casey, we might have more secondary scoring. Maybe not but we won't really know if he doesn't get the chance.

I don't really think this team is "over" achieving and if so not by much. I think we are seeing the results of the tank kicking in and what the future is going to look like. Enjoying every minute whether I agree with coaching/management decisions or not.

Players are given chances in practice to show what they can do as well.  Berglund has never been that dynamic player.  Randall outlined his ability to basically create a very boring ice surface (if I am recalling correctly).  Something along the lines that points aren't scored when he;s out there, either for or against.  I thought he was fantastic in his role... he felt otherwise it seems.

[Huckleberry]

I'm  just surprised he didn't fire his agent july 1st.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I'm  just surprised he didn't fire his agent july 1st.

Maybe he did and the guy now is the new guy?  I have no idea.  Did you look it up?

If it is the same guy it is surprising that the agent is not fired, but ultimately it is on Bergy, or anyone else, to make sure things happen.  We all trust those fancy talking lawyers too much.  Right Smell, Eleven, Freeman ... (insert winkie-winkie thingie here).

[Huckleberry]

Just now, New Scotland (NS) said:

Maybe he did and the guy now is the new guy?  I have no idea.  Did you look it up?

If it is the same guy it is surprising that the agent is not fired, but ultimately it is on Bergy, or anyone else, to make sure things happen.  We all trust those fancy talking lawyers too much.  Right Smell, Eleven, Freeman ... (insert winkie-winkie thingie here).

Didn't look it up, but enough articles came out , and none stated he fired his agent.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

1 hour ago, LTS said:

Players are given chances in practice to show what they can do as well.  Berglund has never been that dynamic player.  Randall outlined his ability to basically create a very boring ice surface (if I am recalling correctly).  Something along the lines that points aren't scored when he;s out there, either for or against.  I thought he was fantastic in his role... he felt otherwise it seems.

He's been known to be a slow starter and a 20ish goal scorer....would you be happy with a defensive role on the 4th line? I didn't see Reinhart put on the 4th line the last few years..another slow starter and 20ish scorer.

Like I said, I really don't care and would agree we could do better whatever happens with this ordeal.

[Cheektorado]

47 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Maybe he did and the guy now is the new guy?  I have no idea.  Did you look it up?

If it is the same guy it is surprising that the agent is not fired, but ultimately it is on Bergy, or anyone else, to make sure things happen.  We all trust those fancy talking lawyers too much.  Right Smell, Eleven, Freeman ... (insert winkie-winkie thingie here).

 

46 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Didn't look it up, but enough articles came out , and none stated he fired his agent.

I've also wondered why his agent wasn't saying more.  I just looked this up FWIW.

When Berglund signed his 5 year deal in Feb 2017 his agency was Octagon (large agency sports, entertainment, etc) per Over the Cap.

When the Sabres sent an email to his agent it was Peter Wallen (CEO of Alterno, a smaller Swedish owned agency).

I couldn't find which agency was representing Berglund on 1 Jul 18 and it seems THW (The Hockey Writers) cant either.

Here is an except from an article yesterday from THW.

Details about Berglund, who was acquired from the St. Louis Blues as part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade on July 1, are not easy to come by. He has gone AWOL. Calls to Berglund’s agent, Peter Wallen, have not been returned........  It’s a little puzzling that Doug Armstrong, the GM of the Blues, didn’t check with Berglund or his agent to find out if the Sabres were on the list of acceptable teams he’d agree to be traded to. The harsh reality is the onus completely lies with Berglund’s agent to provide a list.

https://thehockeywriters.com/buffalo-sabres-berglund-future/

[woods-racer]

 A snippet from the BN article...

A veteran on a young team, Berglund said that his mindset has changed over time from worrying about individual stats to team success and imparting that wisdom on his teammates.

“I think it’s how you play overall,” Berglund said. “The 200-foot game is very important to get team success. That’s something that I take pride in, and if you keep doing that right, other guys will get their chances to score goals and in the end you’ll find your way there, too.”

 

His heart was in the right place in late November early December.

Something has gone very wrong quickly.

[sabills]

31 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

 A snippet from the BN article...

A veteran on a young team, Berglund said that his mindset has changed over time from worrying about individual stats to team success and imparting that wisdom on his teammates.

“I think it’s how you play overall,” Berglund said. “The 200-foot game is very important to get team success. That’s something that I take pride in, and if you keep doing that right, other guys will get their chances to score goals and in the end you’ll find your way there, too.”

 

His heart was in the right place in late November early December.

Something has gone very wrong quickly.

Or guys just say stuff in interviews and its rarely meaningful.

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, sabills said:

Or guys just say stuff in interviews and its rarely meaningful.

Or he really was trying to make the best of the situation but then something occurred that changed his point of view.

[...]

3 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Or he really was trying to make the best of the situation but then something occurred that changed his point of view.

[Doohickie]

1 minute ago, ... said:

Actually someone posited that on HFBoards.  ?

[Doohickie]

(That was in response to a comment that I made.  Someone said that Berglund didn't want to come to Buffalo but didn't submit his list.  Armstrong took advantage of that and included him in the ROR trade, knowing that he was exploiting a loophole to move him off their books, tricking JBot into accepting damaged goods.  I said maybe JBot was in on it too and purposely made sure Berglund wouldn't be happy so that he'd just leave.  It was just a wild hare but I threw it out there.  The next guy accused me of spreading conspiracy theories and said he thought it was aliens.)

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

Wait....what does it say to the players when a guy with past proven talent and most people here WANT on the team(on the 4th line where he HAS been better than expected) and feels he can be an even greater asset to this team in a higher role, to be treated in this regard?

Was he really given the opportunity for a good sample size to prove himself over let's say Casey for example? Berglund has shown that defensively he wouldn't be a liability by playing on the 4th line but where did he get the chance to prove himself as an offensive threat, playing with Sobotka and(?) ?

In some ways I feel for the guy because I wanted to see him succeed WITH this team and feel if he was given the chance with some good wingers that he could do just that. We are all wanting some increased secondary scoring and a way to shelter Mitts to develop and Berglund could've been the answer at least temporarily. Our Middle 6 aren't providing what we need or want especially with Bergs playing on the 4th line.

With that said.....however the team seems fit to deal with this situation is fine with me. I just wanted to point out that he seems to want to play a bigger role in this teams success, and that can't be all bad. If he's just being a whiney brat then over this NMC crap and list, then good-bye.

It says this is a team serious about winning and you have to be ready to go and do your best or you won’t play. Yes, he was given the opportunity and he did not perform as expected. Nobody cut Berglund, he could have played every game and he could have worked his way up the lines.  The fourth line plays more than the third in some games and Berglund was also getting some power play time.    Girgs and Erod have also sat out games and then come out flying when they get back.  If Ellie gets another shot expect him to bust his tail    Wilson will be back and he brings a high level work ethic   You earn your spot on this team  

I  would not worry about that the players think, they get the message.    Eichel already said they take care of the people in the room.  They went through something like this with Moulson who was with the team much longer and had close relationships with Eichel and Okposso. 

We were all hopeful Berglund could be the 2C until Mitts was ready.  Berglund has periods of lackluster play throughout his history in St Louis too, he is a veteran so he should know what Housley is trying to accomplish.  

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, shrader said:

Has there been anything out there suggesting that he was helping with the young swedes?  He's not a guy I've paid much attention to and I don't read anywhere near as many of the stories as others around here do, so I have no idea how much truth there might be to that.  The whole thing right now is at a place where so much gets thrown out there now that the last 6 months or so of his life become a blurred mess.

Yes.   Eichel called him the Grandpa Swede in the beginning of the season.  Berglund spent some time with Dahlin, Pilut, Olofsson, etc  

He has not been a distraction, which makes this whole situation strange. 

[Brawndo]

 

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Yes.   Eichel called him the Grandpa Swede in the beginning of the season.  Berglund spent some time with Dahlin, Pilut, Olofsson, etc  

He has not been a distraction, which makes this whole situation strange. 

I agree. If it is over ice time/role on team I am inclined to believe Berglund is professional enough to make the coaching staff look twice at him. Something doesn't add up here. Was there a falling out in the locker room no one has heard about? Is there something else at play here?

[Tondas]

59 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

Says a lot without saying much.

[Brawndo]

2 minutes ago, Tondas said:

Says a lot without saying much.

It certainly does 

[Brawndo]

 

[Weave]

With Berglund a no show and Pominville in protocol our wing depth is going to be tested.

[Scottysabres]

Just now, Weave said:

With Berglund a no show and Pominville in protocol our wing depth is going to be tested.

Who was in the press box tonight, Elie?

Who's the call up if needed?