Ghost of Dwight Drane

In all honesty, I'm just tradmarking the name in the off chance he actually comes to Buffalo. I hereby give Jerry Sullivan permission to use the name as well.

Yes, he is consistant. He is a good and influential coach. If he ends up in Buffalo, that is not a bad thing. You hit the point....why the 99% attention? Apple is great. Why is it so consistant? Detroit had a few more Cups the decade before if I remember....but there was one constant. Your best 5 players are in order: 1) A 23 year old power forward who was lambasted for sharing his Vegas success with the public, and who has no problem speaking his mind inside the room even if people don't like it. 2) An 18 year old big boy center who has no problem chugging beer on camera and has been the king of the court in his hometown the past year. 3) A 24 year old defenseman who has the skill of a top European, but the intelligence and mindset on the ice of Butkus or Nitschke. He is a rover to be trusted by nature. 4) A 21 year old Latvian who likes to hit, hustle, and wear cheap prostitutes' clothing. 5) Ristolainen....and/or, a 20 year old Russian bear who enjoys leaving his position on occasion to maul a victim, then skate by Rob Ray on his way to the bench and call him an elderly #####. Who has the skill and temperment to let guys like that thrive? This isn't: Lidstrom Datsyuk Zetterberg Holmstrom Franzen Samuelsson Flippula with an occasional Kronwall thrown in...... There are dirt horses....and there are turf horses.......sometimes you need to know which type of horses you have and who is the best to train them.......

If they are going to Charlie's on Wherle near the airport, just send them to La Nova on Main and they can catch the 290 to the Falls from there. Not much room to sit in, but an easy route without backtracking to downtown unless they really want to go there.

He's 4 standard deviations of giddy......the opposite of Angry Eleven

Please forgive me for starting a new topic, but given our Moderator's confidence in a specific new Sabres coach being named in the next 72 hours, and the palpitations coming from the airwaves which procure 85% of their revenue off of Terry Pegula.......maybe it is time to focus on the leading candidate who is said to be better than 50/50. I'm not sure how familiar people are with the Tulip Mania that was centered around Holland back in the day. I probably only am familiar with it so deeply because of my background, but long story short.....a flower that was native and common in another region suddenly became available to a new region. The forces alligned, and people were so amazed by the pretty colors and novelty of this flower that they started selling their possesions, livestock, and homes....just for a chance to get this "special" flower. In a matter of a few years, people came to their senses and realized that a tulip wasn't worth a life of saving, but nothing more than a common onion. Holland had built up The Tulip......the masses bought into the idea it was special.....and the richest of the rich walked away even richer. http://www.investopedia.com/features/crashes/crashes2.asp Don't get Dutch Ovened.......learn about The "Holland Tulip"

For some reason I am picturing Mrs. Freeman currently pushing you away and saying..."Leave me alone.....go let out the dog." :) Was Hasek hurt? The regular season? You are right, Osgood played more games than Hasek in the playoffs and the regular season. What is your opinion of Fleury? How was the other 99.3% of the post.....

Good deal. I will admit the US team mailed it in for the bronze. Instead of 200 scouts, why doesn't Pegula try and hire ALL the top coaches for the staff? If he can give $40 million to Lieno and Ehrhoff for a few mediocre years, why can't he hire Babcock, Bylsma, Torts, Carlyle, McClellan, etc.....give them each $5 million......put their heads together,,,and keep them out of the job pool? If I had $4 billion, I'd pay Torts $5 million just to hang with me on a pool raft, drinking rum runners and smoking cohibas.....

A bunch of dudes that complain about Bettman for his lack of management skills.......

Didn't he come within 2 minutes of losing to Ted Nolan who had a teenage goalie and gave a 50 year old defenseman 40 minutes? :) Bylsma.....as many Cups as Babcock in less than half the games coached......... Bylsma......a better playoff series record than Babcock......... Bylsma.....had Crosby and Malkin together for a total of 200 regular games......Babcock had Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterberg for more time..... Bylsma....wins Cup with Marc-Adres Fleury........Babcock with Dominik Hasek.......... Bylsma won his Cup..................OVER Babcock................ I think I may nickname Babcock......"The Holland Tulip". Overvalued in an irrational mania and bound to come crashing to earth...... Will Terry make Tim buy the bulb? I like her with the extra 12-15 lbs. she had on. I also think she is a good enough sport that she would let you motorboat her for charity......

You don't want to see that pointer......

How is their record against each other with both in the lineup??? :P

Very well said, and that is my concern. Babcock is a good coach. Lindy Ruff was a solid coach. It's all about value and synergy. I would compare Babcock to an NFL coach like Andy Reid or Mike McCarthy. I'd compare Bylsma to a guy like Bill Cowher or Pete Carrol. There's a higher chance he can flame out with a roster but a better chance to win the whole thing. It just seems like 99 out of 100 guys are in line to meet Kate Upton, while Sophia Vegara is sitting alone in the corner. Ok...question....if we are going to praise Babcock for regular season results and failure in the playoffs, how many regular season games in the 5 years after the Stanley Cup win did Bylsma have BOTH Crosby and Malkin in the lineup at the same time???????????????

It's a combo of the Buffalo media machine and the "It'll all be worth it!" fanbase, but when you really look at the qualifications and results...... Who would you rather have.....Crosby/Malkin/Satan/Fleury/Gonchar/Letang or Datsyuk/Lidstrom/Hasek/Chelios/Zetterberg/Franzen? What's his playoff record with the post-Lidstrom Wings?

Crosby/Malkin.....ok...... Fleury in net versus Hasek. Show me the stacking??? And remember....Babcock has 1 Cup in 14 years of coaching....Bylsma 1 in 6..........and Bylsma has a higher series win %......... Can one of our fancystats fellas at GR or in house run a query of Babcock's post season victories versus regular season output? You could do the same for Hitchcock and Ruff. I like to call it, "The Family Tree of Coaching"....... Seriously guys.....run the numbers.

Not to steal your thunder, but to piggyback off of it considering this place has the pulse of Mama Cass, 20 minutes after a ham sandwich.......but I would love to see Ted Black, Mike Gilbert, and Kevin Snow in a Human Centipede of 3rd jerseys, parading through the FNC lobby on a gamenight. No crazy stuff....just upright, with sleeves sewn to shoulders. That is punishment enough.

All you can eat sirloin tips and fried shrimp.......... Best first job ever!!!

Sadly, it was made out of wood......... This is the most anti-fancystat comment from a fancy-stat commenter I have ever seen! May the good Lord bless you. "And he shall be forgiven, the one who used possesion statistics for Joseph in the Season of 1 B.C."

Concept of Babcock

I have a question......if I say yes, and i draft all minorities......will I get banned?

This board must really hate the Irish. 2 full days and nobody called you out on trading McNabb. They're all the same! I wouldn't be counting on Pysyk at this point either. He seems destined to early retirement with some sort of Lupus/LymeDisease/Fibromyalgia diagnosis and a friendly visit from animal control for the 60 cats he has at his house.

In 2028, nobody shall have the need to "read", as our input chips are just rebooted by the system at 3am every Tuesday.

If we had a superdraft of sabrespace posters.....I would be in.....

Good input. Maybe loosening the reins is what I want to say. I agree that he is more apt for a vet team, but the personality of the top players on the Sabres right now are that of "old souls"....with a little bit of flash. If we need to wait on Fasching, Bailey, Compher, etc....then it doesn't really matter who is here to coach now. Next year you have guys like Kane, Bogosian, Girgensons, Eichel, Gorges, Gionta, Zadorov.....all those guys should love Bylsma. Add Ennis, Moulson, Risto as skill guys who have creativity and aren't wusses...should be fine. Deslauries, Weber, Foligno....should be fine as well. When you look at what Murray has done to the personality of this team in 18 months.....Buffalo just may be the new Philly. There is more leadership here now with 20-26 year olds than there was with the old letter wearers under Lindy in their late 20's. I'm afraid if the team isn't playoff ready, you may have a mini mutiny against a guy like Babcock with the personality level here. I can also see Murray and Bylsma having a pitcher or chatting on the phone a lot easier than Babcock.

Babcock..... 15-10 in playoff series in his career which started in 2002.....1 Stanley Cup to his name. Bylsma.....8-5 in playoff series in his career which started in 2008.......1 Stanley Cup to his name. Babcock 6-7 in playoff series and no Cups since Bylsma entered league. The year Bylsma took over when the Pens were out of a playoff spot and he won the Cup......Here was half of his team that won the Cup.... Guerin, Kunitz, Talbot, Cooke, Hal Gil, Orpik, Craig Adams, Scuderi, Dupuis.......you look at that team, and it was a bunch of workmen on defense with Gonchar and Letang. Yeah...they had Crosby and Malkin.... Look at the year Babcock won the Cup. It reads like Lindy Ruff's wet dream, where he can alternate the C between a bunch of eurobots. See Above!

Sorry...Mantha. My 80's/90's progeny wires got shorted out for a second. Where's the proof of anything? I'm actually in a Williamsville condo, massaging I Know Physics feet right now. Blysma - Navy Seal Babcock - German Officer Take your pick......