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Botterill backs coaches, cites "progress"


PASabreFan

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2 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I really think we have to hold JBot accountable for only scoring 3 goals in his 36 games as a Sabre. If he'd done better we might have had a better 2002 or 2003 season. 

Botts was only here 36 games? Why the hell is he so solidified in my memory then...

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3 hours ago, Marchand'sNose said:

Ok, but I don't think it's irrational to hold JB and PH accountable for the past 35 games. The team has been treading along at a 65-point season pace for the past 3 months.  Remember that JB and PH inherited a roster that finished a disappointing 78 points and then took them to an NHL-worst 63 points last year. And all this with a healthy roster all season. You cite the individual progress of our top line. Fine. I will cite the overall team's lack of progress. Which is more important? At what point will all the "voice of reason" fans like you start holding these guys accountable? If they don't make the playoffs next year, will that be ok with you? How about the 2020-21 season?

I hold them accountable for the whole season.  The team overachieved early on.  It was not sustainable, for whatever reason.  I'm not ready to fire guys who've barely been given a chance to prove themselves and have a less than talented roster to work with unless the Sabres were a complete mess on the ice. 

The "voice of reason" looks at the timelines and who has been involved and makes judgments that are applicable.  Botterill can't turn over the whole roster in a single season. He dealt with the biggest issues last season and gets to fine tune for next season.  He's not responsible for the lack of talent in the prospect pool that was drafted before he arrived.  That's just the way it is.

If they don't make the playoffs next year and there's reasonable support for what it didn't happen then yes, it will be okay with me.  I look at the moves that are made in the league. What other teams are doing and if they are in a better position than Buffalo such that Buffalo isn't able to achieve, then what can you do about it?

When a trade is made, it requires the teams to have something that is valued by another team. If the Sabres, because of poor management in the past and poor drafting, don't have those resources or they do and they simply are not as coveted as resources from another team, there's nothing to do.  Now, if Botterill makes some very questionable moves and the team continues to play terrible, then it's going to be lights out.

I don't worry about the 2020-21 season. There are far too many things that can happen between now and then. 

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6 hours ago, IrwinNelson said:

Was he on the lockout team? That’s the only time I really followed Rochester as a kid. 

No. He was not really a memorable player for any reason I can think of. Got around a bit. You can see his stats here if you want to.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=490

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