K-9

With all due respect, this is a pollyanna concept of coaching. Youth tends to need more motivation? That kind of generalization is a copout and an insult to young people. Here's a shocker: NOBODY, not a coach, teammate, mentor, or even a parent, can INSTILL attitude and motivation. All we can do is set an example and offer our best advice; you can't MAKE somebody care enough about anything. Those character traits are a personal responsibility that some acquire earlier than others while others just never do. Conversely, this positive character trait CAN be drummed out of people if not nurtured and allowed to come to the forefront. I think Nolan unwittingly does this to younger players. Nolan's coaching psychology, much like his hockey strategy itself, tends to be one of circling the wagons and adopting an "us against the world" approach. That's all well and good in the short term, but sooner or later, you have to adopt new tactics. I honestly don't think Nolan possesses the necessary flexibility to allow this. And I think that would be detrimental to the development of players, especially superstar prospects. GO SABRES!!!

You nailed it! Well done. GO SABRES!!!

Outshot and outpossessed. When you deliberately coach a system that doesn't seek to maximize puck possession, you're just not putting guys in the best position for scoring opportunities most of the time. It deliberately stifles offensive hockey and I can only imagine what Murray thought about one of McDeichel in that scenario. Nolan was out of his depth and it showed. GO SABRES!!!

Pure gold.

Is it not possible that teams improve with better coaching and that Murray honestly believes we can do better in the coaching department in order achieve that improvement? I'm not following the comment about Murray going behind PL's back at all. Are you now blaming Murray for PL's dismissal? That Murray intentionally set out to usurp the man who hired him? Seems you are taking your anti-Murray position to a whole new level with that accusation. GO SABRES!!!

Only if we can bring back Miller and they become road roomies. GO SABRES!!!

The one think I liked about Nolan as a coach was his not even entertaining the thought of tanking. Some of the players, on the other hand, were all about coasting in the tank until they had their pride hurt and decided to actually put forth an honest effort after 74 games or so. GO SABRES!!!

Double hip surgery? What, is he a geriatric? Where's Ghost when you need a medical diagnosis and prognosis for a player based on a horse's anatomy? GO SABRES!!!

I don't understand all this stuff about "blame." Let's put the "blame" where it belongs and that's on LaFontaine and Nolan. Patty has anger-management issues and Teddy has hockey-clue issues. And it's just hard to assign "blame" when both were given million dollar paydays upon being let go. Let's just call a spade a spade. Except pi2000, who can't be trusted to use the term in a non-pejorative fashion. GO SABRES!!!

A huge stretch to justify your opinion that Nolan is a good coach at the NHL level, too. Which is cool. I just won't ever agree that he is. GO SABRES!!!

I'll leave the rest of your post for others to respond to if they want, but Messy Balls was strictly a move to get to the cap floor. Nothing more. During our 10-3 run in December when we were closer to 8th in the conference than last, and before we were decimated with injuries, was Murray panicking for the tank? GO SABRES!!!

Alex, that would be, "What constitutes Tom Brady's genitalia?"

Love-seat or recliner, maybe, but never couch. GO SABRES!!!

25 pull-ups?! Eleven just felt it move. GO SABRES!!!

Nil koitus* rendered. *Who knew the language filter wouldn't let me spell it correctly.

Eichel strikes me as too mature for this to even be mentioned as a potential issue for him. GO SABRES!!!

Doesn't come across as snarky at all. It does come across as something else entirely, though. GO SABRES!!!

Bailey is having a nice post season with the Greyhounds of Sault Ste Marie. Nice to see. GO SABRES!!!

We don't give a phuck. GO SABRES!!!

Agreed, but it amazes me how Nolan is so adept at burning bridges none the less. He seems like he's all emotion, zero tact. Not surprising given that's exactly how he coaches. GO SABRES!!! Agree with this entirely. Losing them and Mitchell ruined whatever momentum they had from their 10-3 run in December. There were more than a few of us wondering about the tank when we were closer to 8th than last in the conference at the time. I'm surprised there isn't more mention of that simple fact. Just because we were a poor team that everyone just assumed wanted to finish last, doesn't mean that injuries weren't a factor in the record. They were as you point out. GO SABRES!!!

Given Nolan's incessant refrain about lack of work ethic and "compete", I don't agree with this. Especially after Meszaros admitted he needed to just work harder after 74 games or whatever it was. There were several floaters on this squad of frauds all year and acting like they just won a game 7 in the locker room after beating Arizona clinched that belief for me. GO SABRES!!!

I stand corrected as well. Not sure where the WGR guys are getting their info. Perhaps they are confusing intra-squad scrimmages with pre-season games. Who knows? At any rate, considering Nolan never met a rookie he thought was ready for the show, I'm not surprised Lemieux would bristle at the idea that his coach thought he wasn't as ready as he thought he was. GO SABRES!!!

It's hilarious right up to the point where it costs you a future job in the league. If there's one community smaller than the coaching community, it's the GM community. GO SABRES!!!

Absolutely. Great point here. GO SABRES!!!

Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it? We'd be rich if we had the answer. I think it depends on the prospect as these kids all mature at different rates. On average, I'd say the Detroit model seems to work and I believe they prefer to give their prospects 3 years. But it all depends on the player. Take Eichel for example, he's already strong enough to withstand the physical rigors of the NHL whereas a Reinhart just wasn't at 18. GO SABRES!!!