Official Ralph Krueger named Sabres Head Coach

[jad1]

Seems like Krueger is a great guy based on statements from those who know him, but even with that, his NHL resume is thin on results.  He hasn't coached in the NHL since 2013.  He lead the Oilers to a losing record in the lockout season.  He last coached a hockey team in 2016, three years ago during the World Cup exhibition.  His hockey coaching resume lacks any sustained success, and after being delivered a bad break in Edmonton (admitted by even those who fired him), he walked away from the league, taking a position with Southampton in the EPL, who finished 16th out of 20 teams this season, avoiding regulation by 5 points.

Considering that Botterill is probably facing the ax if the team spends any significant time this season at the bottom of the standings, you kind of have to scratch your head at this choice.  He could have hired a 'retread' like Trotz, DeBoer, or Gallant.  He could have hired a guy who worked his way up through the system like Cassidy.  He could have hired a tough former player like Brind'amour.  Hiring a coach from one of these types would give you a better idea of how things will play out.

With Krueger, who knows what's going to happen.  Is he going to be too much of a buddy to the players, unable to make hard roster decisions?  Is he going to continue the endless roster re-shuffle, using analytics?  Will he introduce a foundation and structure for the team's play, especially in their own end?  Will he encounter difficult times, and walk away from the league again?

This could be one of Botterill's last big decisions in his GM career.  He decided to choose the guy with the highest risk, and maybe not the greatest reward.

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by jad1

[Thorner]

Still reading through the thread. I find it interesting that Botterill stated the expectations going into last season were playoffs, and now this season it’s to be “in the discussion” for playoffs. 

Less bold. 

[WildCard]

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/what-can-sabres-expect-from-krueger~1682865

[WildCard]

I will say, if this this guy likes our owners/organization this much, then that's a good sign

[Formerly Allan in MD]

He's supposedly a "defense first" coach.  That's a breath of fresh air.

[Doohicksie]

18 minutes ago, shrader said:

... and what was the question?

Something about Nail Yakupov.

[WildCard]

 

[I Remember Imlach]

I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe. . . . . . . . .

[Doohicksie]

12 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Still reading through the thread. I find it interesting that Botterill stated the expectations going into last season were playoffs, and now this season it’s to be “in the discussion” for playoffs. 

Less bold. 

A bit of a reset going to a new coach.  It might also be an undersell so that this coming season it will be "exceeded expectations."

7 minutes ago, WildCard said:

I will say, if this this guy likes our owners/organization this much, then that's a good sign

I think that's just his nature from what I've read.  He dwells on the positive and lets the negative lurk in the shadows, never to be discussed, and hopefully to wither away and die.

[In The Buff]

21 minutes ago, shrader said:

... and what was the question?

Given the context & who Nail Yakupov is, i imagine it had to do with how Krueger was able to help Yakupov improve as a player & get the most out of him. I believe Yakupov was a .6 ppg player under RK & around .3ppg everywhere else.

[DarthEbriate]

3 minutes ago, I Remember Imlach said:

I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe.  I want to believe. . . . . . . . .

mmmm... Cygnet Committee. Now that's a song I've not heard in a long time.  A long time.

[WildCard]

1 minute ago, Doohickie said:

A bit of a reset going to a new coach.  It might also be an undersell so that this coming season it will be "exceeded expectations."

I think that's just his nature from what I've read.  He dwells on the positive and lets the negative lurk in the shadows, never to be discussed, and hopefully to wither away and die.

I don't think his disposition towards life in that regard matters in how he evaluates a potential career opportunity

[shrader]

Just now, MillerVaive said:

Given the context & who Nail Yakupov is, i imagine it had to do with how Krueger was able to help Yakupov improve as a player & get the most out of him. I believe Yakupov was a .6 ppg player under RK & around .3ppg everywhere else.

See, this is the exact opposite read I get from where the thread went after that comment.  It turned to a "would you sign him" angle instead of what you're suggesting.

[In The Buff]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

See, this is the exact opposite read I get from where the thread went after that comment.  It turned to a "would you sign him" angle instead of what you're suggesting.

I wasnt referring to the thread tho, I was referring to the post on Mike Bove's twitter about how someone asked krueger a Yakupov question. You asked what the question was & thats what my reply was about. The stuff after that post in the thread had nothing to do with the Yakupov part of the thread. Shouldnt that be obvious?

[Thorner]

9 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

A bit of a reset going to a new coach.  It might also be an undersell so that this coming season it will be "exceeded expectations."

I think that's just his nature from what I've read.  He dwells on the positive and lets the negative lurk in the shadows, never to be discussed, and hopefully to wither away and die.

Yes, there’s no reason to set respectable standards of achievement when the whole thing can just be reset every 2 years to raucous applause. 

[WildCard]

If anyone is wondering how we're going to play, go back and watch Team Europe in the World Cup; Krueger has said in his presser that that's is the core of the way we will play

[shrader]

2 minutes ago, MillerVaive said:

I wasnt referring to the thread tho, I was referring to the post on Mike Bove's twitter about how someone asked krueger a Yakupov question. You asked what the question was & thats what my reply was about. The stuff after that post in the thread had nothing to do with the Yakupov part of the thread. Shouldnt that be obvious?

Was there a post I missed?  The tweet I saw was (forgive me if I missed/added a word) "someone asked a question about Yakupov".  There's zero context there.

[DarthEbriate]

3 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Yes, there’s no reason to set respectable standards of achievement when the whole thing can just be reset every 2 years to raucous applause. 

So this is how the tank HCPH (no politics) dies... to raucous applause.

[In The Buff]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

Was there a post I missed?  The tweet I saw was (forgive me if I missed/added a word) "someone asked a question about Yakupov".  There's zero context there.

I didnt hear the interview but the context with that question even being asked would require one to know who Yakupov even is, which i assumed you had. Yakupov was the 1st overall draft pick of the Oilers back in 2012 i think. And as i said in my previous post, Yakupov had his greatest success with Krueger. So with that as a baseline, given the youth of our roster & having similar situations with other players as he had with Yakupov, given that context one could infer what the question was. Such was my attempt to answer it for you ?

[Marvin]

I want to put up a small defence of Ted Nolan.

Yes, he was not an X's and O's guy.  (Nor an "Ex's and Oh's" guy.)  But given what the team did during the pre-season warm-ups and games of the tank year, he did have a recognisable system, if loose.  IMHO, it was a clear adaptation to the ice of the "ginga" football style (originally from Brasil, Argentina, and Chile in the 1950's) which has evolved into our possession game (and killed the European long-ball football style for International play):

Defencive zone coverage was largely 1-on-1 with clearly defined spacing and zone hand-offs of responsibility from one player to the next.  The hand-offs were defined in triangles (D-C-D, D-W-C, W-C-W) relative to the other team's structure.

Break-outs and offencive zone movement were also defined by the same triangles.  The definitely worked on passing in moderately sized triangles to advance the puck out of the zone from the boards.

Several of the Eastern-European countries used this structure, probably because it was so much like possession football.  In fact, it was obvious that the European players got it almost instinctively while North American players clearly had to ponder their options.

[Mustache of God]

Took me all day to get caught up with this thread and from what I can infer is that Ralph Kruger is the German Tim Nolan. More efficient, higher-performing, and always adapting to crush the opposition.

If that's what were getting then I'm fully on-board.

Ever since Phil took over, my biggest issue with his was that he always came off as being something of a mushy turd. He had the personality of a door knob and inspired nothing but apathy. Kruger seems like a natural leader and that's what this team has been lacking. HCPH and HCDDB were both great hockey minds but were not great head coaches. I'm curious to see the coaching staff he puts together and am optimisic of what he can bring.

Go Sabres!

[shrader]

 

26 minutes ago, MillerVaive said:

I didnt hear the interview but the context with that question even being asked would require one to know who Yakupov even is, which i assumed you had. Yakupov was the 1st overall draft pick of the Oilers back in 2012 i think. And as i said in my previous post, Yakupov had his greatest success with Krueger. So with that as a baseline, given the youth of our roster & having similar situations with other players as he had with Yakupov, given that context one could infer what the question was. Such was my attempt to answer it for you ?

What exactly are we doing here?  I can't tell if you're trying to be helpful, a smart ass, or something else.  Below is the whole exchange in this thread, which suggests that they were indeed asking about signing him as opposed to what Krueger's impact on him was.  That's all based on the response from @Brawndo though.  Maybe he can chime in on what the question actually was.

I'm really not trying to be a pain here.  But as someone who didn't hear a second of the interview, this Bove tweet is an odd one that says absolutely nothing.  This is where character limits fail us.

 

2 hours ago, WildCard said:

 

 

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

...and what was the response?

 

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

The player personnel department will look at all available UFAs, when the time is right 

Edited May 15, 2019 by shrader

[darksabre]

He literally went to Buffalo bars and chatted up random fans about the team. That's... something. 

 

[Thorner]

5 hours ago, Eleven said:

My thoughts are in the other thread and need not be repeated.  To sum up, I am happy with the hire and will not blame Botterill for taking a bold and unconventional decision if this doesn't work out.

So much so that if it was up to you, he'd get a third coaching hire?

Edited May 15, 2019 by Thorny

[shrader]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

So much so that if it was up to you, he'd get a third coaching hire?

Once Krueger retires after winning multiple Cups?  Sure.