Why should Granato and the assistants be brought back?

[Slack_in_MA]

8 minutes ago, #freejame said:

And if they don’t I don’t want them here. 

Id be very interested to be a fly on the wall in Clifton and Bryam’s exit interviews. I doubt either will stick their neck on the line, but they should no doubt have some important perspective. 

Clifton's might sound something like his post-game interview last night: https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/connor-clifton-postgame-vs-ott-6349838315112

[Flashsabre]

I’m at the point right now that no other move would excite me.

Who they draft: who cares, just a prospect that won’t reach full potential here

Who they trade for: who cares, one or two players won’t move the needle of the rut that is this organization.

Outside of firing Adams or at the least, firing the coaching staff and bringing in a proven successful respected coach I just don’t see anything changing at all.

Seeing what the Vancouvers and Edmontons and Nashvilles and Winnipegs have been able to do with the right coaches is just beyond frustrating because you know at the end of the day Adams won’t pull the trigger on that kind of move.

Edited March 28 by Flashsabre

[PerreaultForever]

I really wish they'd have kept Peca as an assistant and then we could have fired Granato this year and seen if things would change with Peca as an interim. As is I see only one good move and that is hiring Lindy Ruff. It's the best PR move, it conjures history, it signals a new era (or return to an old) and if Lindy can't get this lot to perform better you might as well scrap it all. Would he take the job? Probably not. 

My dream? Pegula hires Pat LaFontaine as senior advisor for all hockey operations and retires to Florida and then we can all pretend all of this never happened, just a dream, a really really really bad dream.

[Pimlach]

13 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Clifton will say "obviously it was a disappointing year and something I'm not used to but I'm excited about next year as we have a lot of good guys here........." etc. as he takes his pay to the bank, enjoys his time off, and makes plans for leaving town in 2 years.

Byram will say "it's disappointing not to be in the playoffs but I'm looking forward to playing with these guys next year for a full season. I think we can be a really good team here..............." etc. as he calls his agent and makes plans for a tough negotiation and contract hold out or trade. 

The "next year" stuff will all be very predictable. 

It will be very telling, and bad news for Adams, if Byram does not re-sign and goes into his last year without an extension.   He could be gone by the next trade deadline.   

[Buffalonill]

7 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I really wish they'd have kept Peca as an assistant and then we could have fired Granato this year and seen if things would change with Peca as an interim. As is I see only one good move and that is hiring Lindy Ruff. It's the best PR move, it conjures history, it signals a new era (or return to an old) and if Lindy can't get this lot to perform better you might as well scrap it all. Would he take the job? Probably not. 

My dream? Pegula hires Pat LaFontaine as senior advisor for all hockey operations and retires to Florida and then we can all pretend all of this never happened, just a dream, a really really really bad dream.

Lol after the last Disaster ? He ruined that relationship forever

[pi2000]

Teflon Don is a great developmental coach.   However he doesn't know how to get a consistent effort from his team, or have them ready play from the drop of the puck.    

That said, Adams and Pegula like him as a person, and that's more important than winning.... apparently.

[SwampD]

51 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

So according to you, losing the team is fine as long as they win. Well let me inform you that losing the team is the biggest loss you can possibly have.

I have no idea what they means.

[FrenchConnection44]

When you’ve played awful most of the early season except for a snippet here and there;

When there was very little development in most of the young players from one year to the next;  

When you come to the final stretch of the season, needing to win every game, and you go against a team with a losing record and lose 6-2, well, that says it all. 
 

They need a real coach. Not this one. 

[TageMVP]

GALLANT 

[thewookie1]

6 minutes ago, SwampD said:

I have no idea what they means.

Effectively you said that because they are bad you don’t care if they move. As such it would be assumed they’d win elsewhere and as such you would rather the Sabres win in Utah than lose in Buffalo.

 

I don’t know if you live in Buffalo but losing a team is far far worse than any bad season. Especially in Our case seeing as any team we’d lose we’ll never get them back.

[Carmel Corn]

If they are under contract and get paid regardless, then ship the whole coaching staff to Rochester and have them coach the Amerks next year (vs. paying them for doing nothing).  Under no circumstances should DG, Matty, Christie, Marty be in Buffalo next year.  Appert can go run the harbor center for all I care.

[xzy89c1]

4 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Granato deserves credit for turning the kid forwards (including Skinner) back around after the Krueger debacle. That job is done and so should his be. And his staff isn't an NHL staff, so purge 'em, Sheevyn. Do it. 80% (estimated, I'm not looking it up) of the roster has played for Team Canada, Team USA, Team Sweden, and Team Finland. They know how to play and can adapt to coaches.

Granato still doesn't have the team ready in the 1st, encourage any physicality or finishing of checks, work on the refs like I work in Star Wars references, design a powerplay beyond setting up TNT for a one-timer, match lines at home, or know when to take a timeout or make a goalie switch (though it appeared he learned these last two late last season and then forgot this year). And more recently, apparently, his practices are slow-paced and players don't break a sweat when they should be faster, more intense, to prepare the team with playoff expectations.

Those forwards have taken a massive step back this year with the Granato. If you think he deserves credit for improvement he deserves the blame for the falling play. DC was a 5 to start last year and maybe got to a seven by end of year. He is at best a five now.

Krueger was right about skinner. We will not make playoffs with him on team taking up ice time and loafing around. As long as he is here players know there is no need to give max effort.

The team has no plan when a game starts. No preparation for the team they are playing. He is terrible at matching lines to the point where i don't think he considers it. Our Dman look like they are not coached at all. No gap control, if there is a defensive zone coverage system, then it changes every shift. Power play is the same thing every game and easy to plan for. 

He must go. His replacement must be a disciplinarian type coach.

[Night Train]

They deserve to be replaced.  Obviously.

The only person that is resisting is Pegula, we think. His zeal to extend these guys early justifies nothing, unless he doesn't mind an empty arena. Adams would have to make a bunch of moves to generate interest if everyone stays.  How likely is that ?  

I'll just wait. It was ugly last night with the fans anger. Justified. 

[SwampD]

46 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Effectively you said that because they are bad you don’t care if they move. As such it would be assumed they’d win elsewhere and as such you would rather the Sabres win in Utah than lose in Buffalo.

 

I don’t know if you live in Buffalo but losing a team is far far worse than any bad season. Especially in Our case seeing as any team we’d lose we’ll never get them back.

You can assume anything you want to, but that is not what I said or even mean. If they are going to suck here, or even worse, not even try to win, I’d rather not have a team at all. If they move, they can win or lose or do whatever they want. I won’t care at all. 

[Nitro60]

5 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Ignore the contract or Adams. Bales is excluded because UPL.

What have Granato and his assistants done that deserves retention for next season? 

They could not get this group to play consistently.   The players like him but that is not enough.  Do they have talent?  Yes.   Need to tell Don and staff thanks but time to move on to the next level.  Nothing done merits them coming back.  

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

It really is head scratching. If Terry's not up for the financial stress of owning the Sabres, why not just sell and make a very very tidy profit on the return? If he's a real fan he has to know how much he has screwed things up. For thr love of something you love let someone else take over. It's bizarre.

I think he wants his kids to run the sports empire someday.  

[Flashsabre]

Doug MacLean was on the radio in Toronto. He thinks that Torts is going to move upstairs and Philly and they will bring Berube in to coach the Flyers. Apparently Torts has wanted to move upstairs since his Columbus days.

[Thorny]

Keeping Granato into next year ensures Adams a shot with a new coach for ‘25-‘26

If it’s a 2 year shot that’s 7 years of runway total for Adams right there. Easy. Brawndo has theorized a similar timeline

[Weave]

6 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Keeping Granato into next year ensures Adams a shot with a new coach for ‘25-‘26

If it’s a 2 year shot that’s 7 years of runway total for Adams right there. Easy. Brawndo has theorized a similar timeline

I hate you for inserting this into my consciousness.

[Thorny]

9 minutes ago, Weave said:

I hate you for inserting this into my consciousness.

[msw2112]

2 hours ago, #freejame said:

If you’re not willing to chant out against 13 years of futility because you’re afraid of losing the team, then you don’t care if they lose because having the team is what is important, not the result. 

Is there any proof of this? I’ve seen this a ton on the board. I don’t think he’s made many, if any, positive contributions to these players. I see very few players who are better at hockey or significantly ahead of their previous trajectory without DG.  

We all know that Granato has not been a great behind-the-bench coach.  But you can't ignore that a number of players have improved significantly under his tutelage.  Guys like Dahlin, Thompson, and Mittelstadt's careers appeared to be going nowhere under previous regimes and have become good to excellent NHL players under Don.  Tuch came in from Vegas and had a career year last season.  Cozens has developed.  Jokiharju has improved a lot this season.  Even Clifton has improved a ton since the beginning of last season.  Absent last night and the 3rd period in Edmonton, UPL has developed a ton this season (although that may point more to the goaltending coach).  So there is evidence of Granato developing individual players.

Where he lacks:  a) having the right assistants on staff, b) power play strategy (which could be directly tied to having the right assistants on staff); c) having guys ready to play at the drop of the puck; d) playing more consistently; e) playing physical hockey to match an opponents' intensity.  I like Granato.  He seems like a genuinely good guy and a good hockey man.  He's done a lot for the Sabres franchise and was a central part of them moving from being a last-place team to being a middle-of-the-pack team.  A lot of young, talented players have developed under his watch.  He just may not be the guy to take the team to the next level - making the playoffs on a regular basis and competing for a Stanley Cup. 

[OverPowerYou]

They should be brought back to improve our chances at a lottery pick in June of 2025

[Malazan]

6 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

***youngest team in the league***

 

What do you expect?

 

I'm going to go hide now...😇 But they are, right?

They play like they're a geriatric team formed with nursing home patients though

[#freejame]

1 hour ago, msw2112 said:

 Guys like Dahlin, Thompson, and Mittelstadt's careers appeared to be going nowhere under previous regimes and have become good to excellent NHL players under Don.  Tuch came in from Vegas and had a career year last season.  Cozens has developed.  Jokiharju has improved a lot this season.  Even Clifton has improved a ton since the beginning of last season.  Absent last night and the 3rd period in Edmonton, UPL has developed a ton this season (although that may point more to the goaltending coach).  So there is evidence of Granato developing individual players.

 

I don’t disagree that these players have all developed while under Granato, but it can’t be discounted that they almost all have incredibly high draft pedigrees and aren’t really significantly ahead of any of their drafted peers.

He’s overseen a lot of development. He’s freed Dahlin of RaKru. I don’t think he’s had any outsized role in making these players better. These are all guys who should be good anyway. Tuch is different but he had a significantly larger role here than Vegas and stayed healthy for once. 

I think a lot of coaches could have gotten these players to what some might call their expected levels for their drafted position. The fact that they were behind progress when DG got here is another issue. 

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Lol after the last Disaster ? He ruined that relationship forever

I see it as the moment this franchise broke.