Is It Time For A New Coach NOW

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Unfortunately there’s no isolated variable here, as he hasn’t been given a good nhl roster to work with from our GM…but something needs to change. It doesn’t need to be Granato but you can’t do nothing as another crucial season slides away 

yes, I know we’ll do nothing 

I thought the “it’s not the coach” narrative was put to bed when we kept watching the Sabres outplay top teams when they felt like it, and then the next game went back to sleepwalking. We have an above average team, and they have the ability to be a playoff team, they just need to be motivated to play solid hockey every night for 60 minutes.  I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve seen that this season.
 

Could you imagine if we had someone like Torts, Ted Nolan, or Lindy Ruff here running practices?  I bet the Sabres wouldn’t have such poor starts and inconsistent efforts. 

[Indabuff]

10 minutes ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

We have an above average team, and they have the ability to be a playoff team, they just need to be motivated to play solid hockey every night for 60 minutes.  I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve seen that this season.
 

 

If this disaster of a season truly comes down to a lack of effort from the players then this team can go ***** themselves.   

[Thorny]

19 minutes ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

I thought the “it’s not the coach” narrative was put to bed when we kept watching the Sabres outplay top teams when they felt like it, and then the next game went back to sleepwalking. We have an above average team, and they have the ability to be a playoff team, they just need to be motivated to play solid hockey every night for 60 minutes.  I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve seen that this season.
 

Could you imagine if we had someone like Torts, Ted Nolan, or Lindy Ruff here running practices?  I bet the Sabres wouldn’t have such poor starts and inconsistent efforts. 

It’s not effort. That we “try less” than other teams is a myth. A bandaid narrative. It could be system related partially but the good games against good teams are a function of the mathematical reality of an 82 game season and the fact good teams play down to lesser opponents 

Edited January 2 by Thorny

[SABRES 0311]

2 hours ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

I thought the “it’s not the coach” narrative was put to bed when we kept watching the Sabres outplay top teams when they felt like it, and then the next game went back to sleepwalking. We have an above average team, and they have the ability to be a playoff team, they just need to be motivated to play solid hockey every night for 60 minutes.  I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve seen that this season.
 

Could you imagine if we had someone like Torts, Ted Nolan, or Lindy Ruff here running practices?  I bet the Sabres wouldn’t have such poor starts and inconsistent efforts. 

I just want to see Torts go off on Power. 

[PerreaultForever]

32 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

I just want to see Torts go off on Power. 

There is absolutely zero chance Skinner could play for Torts. Torts would talk about "needing to make subtractions" very quickly if he was here. There are quite a few players on this roster that Torts would "go off on". Power is young enough and perhaps malleable enough that Torts could save him. Tage would irritate him I think. He, like me, would want him to throw a check now and again. Use that big body for more than snap shot wristers from a distance. Tage might be good enough to still play for Torts, but it would be a constant irritant for him. But Skinner, lol, that'd be worse than it was with Kreuger. 

 

[Doohickie]

13 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It’s time to move the Sabres franchise to Salt Lake, and for the NHL to give a new owner an expansion team in Buffalo under the rules utilized by LV and Seattle.

There I said it.

If the Sabres leave Buffalo, the NHL will never come back.

[SABRES 0311]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

There is absolutely zero chance Skinner could play for Torts. Torts would talk about "needing to make subtractions" very quickly if he was here. There are quite a few players on this roster that Torts would "go off on". Power is young enough and perhaps malleable enough that Torts could save him. Tage would irritate him I think. He, like me, would want him to throw a check now and again. Use that big body for more than snap shot wristers from a distance. Tage might be good enough to still play for Torts, but it would be a constant irritant for him. But Skinner, lol, that'd be worse than it was with Kreuger. 

 

Your post got me thinking how different players would react to Torts. 

Skinner would mouth off and get scratched.

TT would go through a big adjustment resulting in a temporary loss in production.

Dahlin would only hear “good job.”

Power would have a nervous breakdown.

Greenway and Tuch would feel the same as Skinner but be less vocal about it.

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

37 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

If the Sabres leave Buffalo, the NHL will never come back.

1. the Sabres aren't leaving

2.  Even if the Sabres left, they'd put another franchise in Buffalo.  The market isn't nearly the smallest in the NHL and it has one of the highest TV ratings.  In addition, the Buffalo/Toronto rivalry is great for hockey.

3. I was just commenting on a way to move on from TP and get a new and better product for Buffalo.

[PerreaultForever]

30 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Your post got me thinking how different players would react to Torts. 

Skinner would mouth off and get scratched.

TT would go through a big adjustment resulting in a temporary loss in production.

Dahlin would only hear “good job.”

Power would have a nervous breakdown.

Greenway and Tuch would feel the same as Skinner but be less vocal about it.

 

Yes to Skinner, yes to Tage. I think Dahlin would struggle but maybe eventually buy in. At first he'd have a lot of trouble though because with Torts it would likely be think defense first offense second and he's always had it the other way around here. Power I wouldn't be so sure. That Olympic team was playing a fairly solid defensive style. It's not a foreign concept to him to go back to. Greenway idk. I do get a sense he might march to his own drummer but I really don't know. Tuch might be fine. he might be like Konecny is on Philly who they also said wouldn't fit and has excelled. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

15 hours ago, jad1 said:

You don't have to move the franchise to do what you suggest.

Hire one of Vegas' pro scouts to be Director of player development or even GM, and the start trading the Sabres players and prospects for other team's bottom six forwards and bottom two defensemen.  

Target the 7th best forward or 4th best defenseman on any team, and Thompson, Dahlin, Tuch, Cozens, Power, Quinn should easily get you him.  Prospects like Savoie and Benson should do the same.  Need an old, expensive goalie? Trade Levi for Bobrovsky.  You would have dig deep to replace the prospects in Sweden and the juniors, but you should be able to find deals.  Finally, sign a bunch of washed FAs to complete the lineup.

Sabres should keep next year's draft picks in tact; they'll probably be able to pick up additional picks trading guys like Thompson for a third line player, but be ready to trade those drafted prospects for disgruntled, injured all-stars from poorly-run franchises.

Follow this plan and you can skip the trauma of losing a franchise, but still get the benefit of rebuilding the lineup with middle-of-the-roster players from other teams.

I see what you did there.

*Serpent's egg already hatched* ... they did the very above and it's landed the Sabres where they are today.

Super bonus if you know the * reference.

[Big Guava]

Save your breath, they aren't making any changes. Should they? Probably. Will they? No.

[Ross Rhea]

Haven't won 2 games in a row since 10/29 and 11/1, it's not like they are being asked to win 5, 6, 7 in a row or something, getting more than 1 in a row seems to be asking too much of Dons team, really! I have liked Don but this is unacceptable and cant keep going forward with the talent and expectations they had, changes need to be made ASAP.  

[PASabreFan]

8 hours ago, Doohickie said:

If the Sabres leave Buffalo, the NHL will never come back.

[Porous Five Hole]

Will a new coach be allowed to pick his own assistants? Or will they be assigned to him like Granato did? This is important.

You can't convince me that Don Granato CHOSE Matt Ellis. Kevyn Adams 100% forced Granato to take Ellis as an assistant coach because he was already in the org and super cheap.

There’s no way Meatballs said “hey Kev, what do you think about grabbing that former sabre who is coaching 13u AAA for the Jr. Sabres?”

[Flashsabre]

The entire staff needs to go. Watching Peca and Weber leave Rochester and go to NYR and St. Louis because there was no room on this staff is a joke. 
 

This staff couldn’t install an effective defensive system, and both special teams are a mess. Not being able to win 2 games in a row is the lowest bar possible and they can’t seem to clear it.

 

Pegula needs to look in the mirror. He needs to hire a respected vet NHL guy to lead this franchise who in turn hires successful vet hockey people with a clue how to properly build competitive teams. “Vibes” ain’t cutting it.

Edited January 2 by Flashsabre

[Archie Lee]

Just now, Porous Five Hole said:

Will a new coach be allowed to pick his own assistants? Or will they be assigned to him like Granato did? This is important.

You can't convince me that Don Granato CHOSE Matt Ellis. Kevyn Adams 100% forced Granato to take Ellis as an assistant coach because he was already in the org and super cheap.

There’s no way Meatballs said “hey Kev, what do you think about grabbing that former sabre who is coaching 13u AAA for the Jr. Sabres?”

As a fan, one can only judge coaching by outcomes.  We aren't in the room, don't see what is being taught or how the lesson is communicated.  I have no reason to think that any of our coaches are incapable or are out of their league as individuals.  The desired outcome has not been there though.

Matt Ellis worked as a development coach on the same Sabre staff as Granato (under Krueger).  I don't know that there is any reason to think that Granato has had any issue with Ellis being on his staff.

We don't know what discussions occur internally.  For all we know, Adams may have been interested in flipping Ellis/Christie to Rochester for Peca/Alpert and Granato said no (I'm not saying this occurred; but what do we know about internal discussions that may or may not have occurred?).

The bottom line is, regardless of who made the decisions, it isn't working.  When things aren't working you can let the people you have entrusted to the job adjust and try and do better, or you can replace the people.  For now, Adams is opting for the former over the latter.   

 

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

12 hours ago, Indabuff said:

If this disaster of a season truly comes down to a lack of effort from the players then this team can go ***** themselves.   

It looks like that from the outside at least.  I was at the Colorado game earlier this year and they looked amazing.  Later that week I went to the Philly game and left during the second period it was such an awful effort.  I can’t remember the last game I left early for, no matter what the score was…

12 hours ago, Thorny said:

It’s not effort. That we “try less” than other teams is a myth. A bandaid narrative. It could be system related partially but the good games against good teams are a function of the mathematical reality of an 82 game season and the fact good teams play down to lesser opponents 

Seems like semantics, but whether they try less, or don’t try as hard, it’s literally the coaches job to prepare them for the game, and to make necessary changes throughout the game to get them going.

10 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

I just want to see Torts go off on Power. 

Power would likely have been healthy scratched a few weeks in.  We also would have seen him get more like 13-16minutes instead of the 20+ every night.  We need a coach that isn’t afraid of his players getting upset with him. 

[That Aud Smell]

12 hours ago, Thorny said:

It’s not effort. That we “try less” than other teams is a myth. A bandaid narrative.

I agree with this sentiment. IMO, when fans see an apparent lack of effort, a lack of intensity, what they're actually seeing is failed or failing or fading confidence. The difference between success and failure at this level of hockey -- the highest in the world -- is quite thin from shift to shift and game to game. Moments of indecision can and will make you look awful. 

I'm sure there's something to the idea of "these guys just need a kick in the a.ss", but I think that's quite limited.

This is a bad NHL team. I'd love to see a new coaching staff come in, turn it upside down, and get some of the mojo back.

Also, I'm officially done with and out on Skinner.

Edited January 2 by That Aud Smell

[SwampD]

39 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Should I know what this means?

[PASabreFan]

9 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Should I know what this means?

That depends how big a Letterman fan you were.

[SwampD]

11 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

That depends how big a Letterman fan you were.

Not big enough, apparently..😂

[inkman]

11 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

I just want to see Torts go off on Power. 

 

9 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Your post got me thinking how different players would react to Torts. 

Skinner would mouth off and get scratched.

TT would go through a big adjustment resulting in a temporary loss in production.

Dahlin would only hear “good job.”

Power would have a nervous breakdown.

Greenway and Tuch would feel the same as Skinner but be less vocal about it.

 

Did Owen bang your sister or something?  He’s a 21 year old kind playing defense in the NHL against the best players in the world.  

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

As a fan, one can only judge coaching by outcomes.  We aren't in the room, don't see what is being taught or how the lesson is communicated.  I have no reason to think that any of our coaches are incapable or are out of their league as individuals.  The desired outcome has not been there though.

Matt Ellis worked as a development coach on the same Sabre staff as Granato (under Krueger).  I don't know that there is any reason to think that Granato has had any issue with Ellis being on his staff.

We don't know what discussions occur internally.  For all we know, Adams may have been interested in flipping Ellis/Christie to Rochester for Peca/Alpert and Granato said no (I'm not saying this occurred; but what do we know about internal discussions that may or may not have occurred?).

The bottom line is, regardless of who made the decisions, it isn't working.  When things aren't working you can let the people you have entrusted to the job adjust and try and do better, or you can replace the people.  For now, Adams is opting for the former over the latter.   

 

First paragraph is major double speak.  The staff gets judged on their outcome, FULL STOP.  No need to continue  

You watch the team, you see the stats.   Yet you go on to say  “no reason to believe any of our coaches are incapable or out of their league”.   Have you watched the power play?   I know I’ve seen enough.  

None of our coaches have ever had NHL success.   The team is in disarray. The talent exceeds the results.  What more do you need?  No matter if Adams decided on the assistants or if Granato did, the results are terrible.  It’s not working and it should be fixed.  
 

The only questions are, is their a qualified replacement willing to step in, and if so when is the best time. 
 

[Archie Lee]

11 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

First paragraph is major double speak.  The staff gets judged on their outcome, FULL STOP.  No need to continue  

 

Good coaches get fired all of the time.  Lots of fans want us to bring in Bob Woods who was fired because the Wild special teams were terrible.  Doesn't mean he's a bad coach.  Sometimes the sum equals less or more than the parts. 

[That Aud Smell]

55 minutes ago, inkman said:

Did Owen bang your sister or something?  He’s a 21 year old kind playing defense in the NHL against the best players in the world.  

That'd be sort of sweet, tbh.

Agreed 100% re the balance.