Travis Yost on WGR-550 Today; Worth Listening To

[Kruppstahl]

Always *love* Travis.

Listen to his comments on the ongoing Skinner vs. Krueger feud, among other interesting points.

 

https://www.radio.com/wgr550/podcasts/schopp-and-bulldog-20261/02-24-travis-yost-tsn-357829824

[Trettioåtta]

Cliff notes?

[Ruff Around The Edges]

'There is nothing that he will see from a press box that he hasn't seen for 600 games on the ice'

'Even Jeff Skinner playing well will not be a productive goal scorer with Curtis Lazar and Riley Sheahan'

Best lines about Jeff Skinner from Yost.

ALso I have to wonder if Terry has said something, he cant be pleased investing this much $ and looking this bad about it

 

[PerreaultForever]

One has to assume that Skinner is not doing what the coach is asking him to do. In any situation like that, regardless of how talented that player might be, if the player wins and gets his way, the coach loses the team. As such, it's one or the other and not both. So imo the solution solves itself. Kreuger has decided and now he has to win games. If the team wins without Skinner Kreuger stays and Skinner, who cares?  If the team loses Kreuger gets fired and the next coach tries to build a relationship with Skinner and then you go through it again and it comes down to winning games again. 

The fact that Skinner makes a boat load of money cannot and should not be a determinant of his ice time. 

[dudacek]

It's funny, Curtis Lazar hasn't had trouble scoring goals playing on the Sabres fourth line — has nearly twice as many over the past calendar year as Jeff. Zemgus too.

Stop making excuses for Jeff Skinner.

Edited February 24, 2021 by dudacek

[Ruff Around The Edges]

Just now, PerreaultForever said:

One has to assume that Skinner is not doing what the coach is asking him to do. In any situation like that, regardless of how talented that player might be, if the player wins and gets his way, the coach loses the team. As such, it's one or the other and not both. So imo the solution solves itself. Kreuger has decided and now he has to win games. If the team wins without Skinner Kreuger stays and Skinner, who cares?  If the team loses Kreuger gets fired and the next coach tries to build a relationship with Skinner and then you go through it again and it comes down to winning games again. 

The fact that Skinner makes a boat load of money cannot and should not be a determinant of his ice time. 

I agree that Skinner may not be doing what the coach is asking him to do, but my biggest issue with Kreuger is he seems to want to fit players into what he wants to do, and I find that the best coaches make their system work best for what they have.

Skinner has 3 30+ goal season and 1 40 goal season, make something that brings out the best in Skinner.

Based on this alone,I have lost a lot of love for Kreuger.

[PerreaultForever]

2 minutes ago, Ruff Around The Edges said:

I agree that Skinner may not be doing what the coach is asking him to do, but my biggest issue with Kreuger is he seems to want to fit players into what he wants to do, and I find that the best coaches make their system work best for what they have.

I wouldn't disagree with this idea, only that there are limits to how much one bends or adapts the system to the players. idk if there is a point of overlapping common ground between them or if Kreuger is trying to assert dominance or vice versa but we didn't win hockey games with Housley's fast attack whatever it was and Skinner's 40 goals didn't get us to the playoffs so a more balanced approach (Kreuger) doesn't seem like a bad idea imo. 

Skinner's absence from #1 power plays and 3 on 3 overtimes speaks volumes imo about his lack of disciplined play as both those situations require strong positional play and teamwork as well as just skill. 

I just wish JBot hadn't given him a no trade with all that coin. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

12 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I wouldn't disagree with this idea, only that there are limits to how much one bends or adapts the system to the players. idk if there is a point of overlapping common ground between them or if Kreuger is trying to assert dominance or vice versa but we didn't win hockey games with Housley's fast attack whatever it was and Skinner's 40 goals didn't get us to the playoffs so a more balanced approach (Kreuger) doesn't seem like a bad idea imo. 

Skinner's absence from #1 power plays and 3 on 3 overtimes speaks volumes imo about his lack of disciplined play as both those situations require strong positional play and teamwork as well as just skill. 

I just wish JBot hadn't given him a no trade with all that coin. 

He is probably willing to waive the NTC/NMC at this point just to get away from RK

[Sabre fan]

16 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I wouldn't disagree with this idea, only that there are limits to how much one bends or adapts the system to the players. idk if there is a point of overlapping common ground between them or if Kreuger is trying to assert dominance or vice versa but we didn't win hockey games with Housley's fast attack whatever it was and Skinner's 40 goals didn't get us to the playoffs so a more balanced approach (Kreuger) doesn't seem like a bad idea imo. 

Skinner's absence from #1 power plays and 3 on 3 overtimes speaks volumes imo about his lack of disciplined play as both those situations require strong positional play and teamwork as well as just skill. 

I just wish JBot hadn't given him a no trade with all that coin. 

trust me Skinner would waive that NTC in a heartbeat but there is no way to trade a $9MIl player who is basically not wanted...

[Ruff Around The Edges]

14 minutes ago, Sabre fan said:

trust me Skinner would waive that NTC in a heartbeat but there is no way to trade a $9MIl player who is basically not wanted...

 

Unless the Sabres eat a good amount of the contract

[LabattBlue]

I’ll give you one good reason to throw Skinner in the top 6 and PP1...

TRADE VALUE!

Right now with ZERO goals and sitting in the press box, even if the Sabres retained a huge chunk of the contract(I don’t know what the max is that a team can retain), what will the return be?

 

Ralph is being stubborn, and has ruined the chance of Skinner being productive as a Sabre. 

Edited February 24, 2021 by LabattBlue

[Marvin]

I decided to watch highlights of games where Skinner scored with Housley at the helm versus Krueger.  Then I picked through a few random games with Carolina.

First, Skinner is a great garbage man.  He has a skill to find the puck around the net and then to beat the goaltender.  He just seems to have an instinct to cash in when rebounds are lying around the net.  That makes him more effective in scrambles, converting rebounds, and on the power play.  He is a shoot-first player, so he should not be the expected primary puck-handler in any game situation; when he carries the puck a lot, he often seems to be unaware of where some of his linemates should be.

He can generate chances on his own with defencive linemates, but he is far less effective finishing the same kinds of chances than when he has offencively-minded linemates.  In Buffalo and in Carolina, it looked like he feels like he has to do it all when his linemates are not as offencively skilled as he is.  He presses too much, tries to beat players 1-on-1 rather than taking a shot in a decent spot, and looks more tired on any shift when was generating chances with lesser offencive players.  IMHO, he needs at least one linemate whom he can trust to cash in rebounds from his shots.

Housley's offencive system played more to Skinner's instincts than Kreuger's.  Housley's break-outs and offencive set plays seemed very natural to Skinner, even when the team went 1-17-2 before the last 2 games of 2018-9.  He seemed to always find a good spot in the ice wherever the puck was when the Sabres had possession.  He routinely generated chances, even in tough times.  (Aside: the Sabres noticeably lost confidence after the ASG and fell apart after the TDL.  Skinner's results fell off more than Eichel's or Reinhart's, but the effort was still there -- albeit more grim determination than the relaxed push from earlier in the season.)  When he did not have the puck, he cycled well below the face-off dots to get separation from the defencive coverage.

Krueger's system seems to inhibit Skinner mentally, even when he was scoring successfully.  He often seems confused or hesitant when going up ice on a break-out.  He seems to fight his own instincts in the offencive zone -- I saw a few times where he started to turn down low, hesitate momentarily, and then peel off to a different position as if he suddenly remembered what Krueger's system required.  When he gets the puck, he can make good things happen with it.  He is generating first chances as a puck carrier, but he seems to be unaware of what his linemates are doing.

His defencive instincts on the backcheck or in defencive zone coverage vary from rudimentary to atrocious.  Even when he plays well, he has a tough time reading the coverages and can get caught running around or settle in wildly out of position.  This season, he seems to have somewhat improved defencive positioning and his read of defencive zone coverage.  The brain cramps he has in his own zone from virtually every year before this one seem to be less frequent.

IMHO, as he plays the game now, Krueger's system works against every instinct Skinner believe makes him an effective offencive player.  Krueger has clearly made him better defencively, but the trade-off looks dubious.

[jad1]

5 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I’ll give you one good reason to throw Skinner in the top 7 and PP1...

TRADE VALUE!

Right now with ZERO goals and sitting in the press box, even if the Sabres retained a huge chunk of the contract(I don’t know what the max is that a team can retain), what will the return be?

 

Ralph is being stubborn, and has ruined the chance of Skinner being productive as a Sabre. 

I think it's more than just Skinner.  Eichel, Hall, Staal, Dahlin, Reinhart, and Skinner are struggling right now.  That's a lot of top six players bombing at the same time.

At the same time the bottom six is playing well, and the defense has cleaned up play in their own end.

So maybe the problem is that those skill players have seen their games erode, or they all have lousy attitudes, or they all want to be traded, or they got their paychecks and they don't care anymore.

Or maybe Ralph does a better job covering up weaknesses than optimizing strengths, and has difficulty coaching the better players in league.

The Sabres won't win many games playing not to lose. Krueger needs to prove he can maximize the skills of the top players on the roster if he's going to coach this team to a championship.  

[darksabre]

No one cares about Travis Yost 

[IKnowPhysics]

1 minute ago, darksabre said:

No one cares about Travis Yost 

I care about Travis Yost.  I think it's important to keep an open mind about unbiased opinions from outside the Buffalo sports echo chamber.

[Andrew Amerk]

6 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

I care about Travis Yost.  I think it's important to keep an open mind about unbiased opinions from outside the Buffalo sports echo chamber.

I, too, like egg yolk. 

[Scottysabres]

3 hours ago, Sabre fan said:

trust me Skinner would waive that NTC in a heartbeat but there is no way to trade a $9MIl player who is basically not wanted...

Buffalo finishes with a lottery pick, Seattle will come knocking. They'll need cap, both Skinner and Okposo they would happily take I'd surmise.

[Curt]

14 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Buffalo finishes with a lottery pick, Seattle will come knocking. They'll need cap, both Skinner and Okposo they would happily take I'd surmise.

It’s easy to get the cap floor.  They can sign actually good FAs or acquire 1-2 contracts.  They don’t need to saddle them selves with long term dead weight.

[Scottysabres]

9 minutes ago, Curt said:

It’s easy to get the cap floor.  They can sign actually good FAs or acquire 1-2 contracts.  They don’t need to saddle them selves with long term dead weight.

Neither Okposo nor Skinner are considered "long term dead weight" by everyone.

In other words, not everyone thinks the same. Okposo could be considered a short term cap dump, as well as a veteran presence, Skinner could be viewed as a productive player, even if over priced. Hell, it was only 2 seasons ago he hit 40 + goals.

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, darksabre said:

No one cares about Travis Yost 

I care.

[gomper]

Thanks for the summary. Schoop and Deadweight are unlistenable. 

[darksabre]

1 hour ago, IKnowPhysics said:

I care about Travis Yost.  I think it's important to keep an open mind about unbiased opinions from outside the Buffalo sports echo chamber.

 

6 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

I care.

Why. He's just another talking head who hasn't been relevant since the last time Buffalo was in the playoffs.

[Curt]

43 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Neither Okposo nor Skinner are considered "long term dead weight" by everyone.

In other words, not everyone thinks the same. Okposo could be considered a short term cap dump, as well as a veteran presence, Skinner could be viewed as a productive player, even if over priced. Hell, it was only 2 seasons ago he hit 40 + goals.

 

I was responding to the idea that Seattle would want these players specifically because they need to take on salary.  I don’t think that will be the case.  Both of these players, with their contracts, have negative value.  I suppose it’s possible that Seattle takes them, but if they do, it will be with sweeteners added by Buffalo, because there just isn’t any value there.

Okposo actually “only” has 2 years left.  I was thinking it was 3.

Skinner, even if he rebounds to be a 25-30 goal scorer again, still isn’t worth his contract.  He has negative value.  Maybe if Buffalo retained some salary on the contract they would want him.

My point was that those are two very bad contracts.  Seattle should have no problem reaching the cap floor without purposely acquiring bad contracts.  Any idea that Seattle would want these contracts because they “need” to just acquire salary should be dismissed.

Cap floor is only $60M.

Even a payroll structure as bare bones as this gets you comfortably over:

6 players x $1M

7 x $2

5 x $3

3 x $5

1 x $6

1 x $7

23 players = $63M

Thats with only 5 players making over $3M, and 13 players making $2M or less.

Its just not difficult to reach the cap floor and I doubt Seattle will need to go out of their way to get there.

[Doohicksie]

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

there are limits to how much one bends or adapts the system to the players.

Well so far, RFK has tried "not at all."

[Billznut]

4 hours ago, jad1 said:

I think it's more than just Skinner.  Eichel, Hall, Staal, Dahlin, Reinhart, and Skinner are struggling right now.  That's a lot of top six players bombing at the same time.

At the same time the bottom six is playing well, and the defense has cleaned up play in their own end.

So maybe the problem is that those skill players have seen their games erode, or they all have lousy attitudes, or they all want to be traded, or they got their paychecks and they don't care anymore.

Or maybe Ralph does a better job covering up weaknesses than optimizing strengths, and has difficulty coaching the better players in league.

The Sabres won't win many games playing not to lose. Krueger needs to prove he can maximize the skills of the top players on the roster if he's going to coach this team to a championship.  

Lol RK won’t be changing. And he also won’t be leading Buffalo to any championships. He will be fired at some point. Hopefully 2021. 2022 at the latest.