nfreeman

I liked it. It doesn’t make up for the shortcomings of the past couple of seasons but I thought it was a very solid ending.

Well it’s pretty likely that he leaves if the Sabres don’t give him 8 years. I certainly don’t love it but I’d give him the 8th year in order to keep him.

I think Tippett and MacLellan were both strong candidates. I guess we'll see how they do with their new teams (assuming Tippett gets hired somewhere).

Good thread. I agree that assembling a strong staff will be important and likely a good indicator of whether he succeeds.

@steveoath — I don’t think leaving was his decision — I think the team decided not to renew his contract.

I would guess that Lindy's agent contacted the Sabres and JB interviewed him out of respect/courtesy but that it wasn't a real possibility.

We shouldn’t kid ourselves— this could easily crash and burn. But for now @French Collection is dead on about the fresh infusion of optimism.

So I just listened to his interview with Schopp and Bulldog from this afternoon. I really liked him. And I freaking love the fact that before he took the job, he went to a few bars incognito, watched the playoffs and talked hockey with whoever was around. Go Sabres.

RK is the prince who was promised.

So -- Did RK come to the USA for the interview? Did JB go to Europe? Dear me I hope this wasn't just done over the phone.

It’s not random. It sounds like part of the reason this guy was chosen is that he’s good at setting a positive tone, establishing a winning culture, etc. Those qualities are sorely needed here because the franchise has become thoroughly suffused in a culture of losing — and that is EXACTLY the outcome that many of us warned against. Didn’t you agree last summer that if this past season turned out badly, you would admit that the tank was the wrong move?

This is obnoxious.

And this:

Puck daddy on RK: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/is-ralph-krueger-the-man-to-defeat-canada-juggernaut-144502834.html

Well, I posted in the other thread that I thought this was crazy, and I am still quite skeptical. I have a hard time believing that leadership/positivity/communication/culture will overcome the handicaps he will face due to lack of familiarity with opposing NHL coaches, players and tactics. It's also hard to ignore the undeniable fact that JB appears to have whiffed on a non-negligible number of major decisions during his short tenure. But but but... They really are dying for someone to muscle them out of the idiotic-tank-induced loserville quicksand that they stupidly jumped into -- and this is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Maybe Mr. Positive Attitude/Culture/etc. is the guy. And RK seems like a guy who could be smart enough and big-picture enough to figure out and implement best practices across a range of areas -- analytics, nutrition, matchups, etc. And knowledgeable hockey people do seem quite impressed with him. And maybe fortune does favor the bold. And maybe if you hire 5 coaches eventually you stumble into the right one. Now please find us a goalie JB and don't be wrong on RK either.

Whoa. That is pretty horrible stuff. Has it been confirmed that Keefe was one of the guys who testified on Frost's behalf? That article didn't name the players who did so. Seconded.

Am I the only one who thinks this is nucking futs? The guy's total NHL experience consists of 1 season -- 2012-13! -- with the Oilers, in which his record was 19-29. Since 2013, his only hockey coaching experience of any kind was coaching Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He's been running a GD soccer team -- which finished 17th in a 20-team league last year and 16th this year. I have no reason to doubt that he's a smart, talented guy, but still. This is an irrational fascination with the latest exotic flavor-of-the-month. I will be amazed if JB puts what are probably his remaining NHL GM eggs in this basket.

No doubt. My point is simply that despite all the vague allusions in this thread, there is zero information in any of the articles posted (other than a reference in the anonymous reddit post to rumors about parties with young girls) about Keefe’s involvement with Frost’s misdeeds.

Sophie Turner (Sansa) is starring in the next X-Men movie.

I agree with the poster upthread who said it was too long to copy entirely into a post here. Here is the link to the reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/4vyd9y/wayback_wednesday_brampton_boys_the_four_horsemen/ And here is the only unsavory detail about Frost I saw: This is yet another article that really sheds zero light on what exactly Keefe allegedly did with Frost.

Correct -- NP providing a link to the reddit post. (Sorry -- I deleted the entire text box as it was the only way to delete the article.)

Please delete the text of the article -- we can't copy entire articles on this board. You can copy a couple of excerpts -- I would suggest the ones that relate to Keefe directly. You can unlock once that is done. thanks.

No thank you. For anyone who wants this guy: can you explain why?

Thanks @Thorny. Unfortunately that article, in a major failing, didn’t say why he refused to shake the commissioner’s hand. And we still have zero information about any involvement with Frost’s misdeeds, despite multiple vague allusions upthread.

Locked until the OP fixes the title.