dudacek

I would be shocked if any significant system changes are implemented at all. Player usage is another story.

Doubt it. I’m expecting a listless repeat of the Washington game tomorrow. After that it will get a little better as we numbly slouch to the new coach’s arrival. I have some hope that Dahlin and Skinner may respond, that a number of vets are quickly purged, and that Asplund, Borgen, Thompson, Jokiharju, Bryson and Mitts will be given a plenty of opportunity to sink or swim out the rest of the season.

It will be very interesting to see if Skinner gets radically different usage under Granato. Or any other player for that matter.

I don’t dislike many of the players, but the group is broken.

To finish my earlier point: Just because Ralph had influence in what happened last fall, doesn’t mean there was friction, it just means that he had influence, just like Steve Smith had influence on Ralph’s decisions.

I read that a little bit differently. I took it as the Pegulas signing off on the plan Kevyn presented them, starting with firing Ralph, but also how he would like to generally reshape the roster and the front office over the coming months. As opposed to them bashing heads with Botterill’s plan that didn’t include a front office flush, and firing Murray after he had no plan at all to deal with the concerns they had at the end of 2017.

If you aren’t a competitor who bought completely into the team concept and wanted to be there, the McDermott/Beane Bills had no time for you, regardless of what else you brought to the table.

Hiring Leaman also tells me that a Bills style remake from the ground up will continue to be the organization’s template and the tired bodies and spirits will be flushed like the Fred (Okposo) Jacksons, the Sammy (Eichel) Watkins and the Marcel (Rasmus) Dareus. Yes, I am probably over projecting on the players, but my overall point stands.

Skinner, for all his frustrations with Krueger, doesn’t fit that profile to me. To Curtis Lazar, this is where he carved out a real NHL role for himself. Dahlin, Casey, Thompson, Joki and Dylan are probably all too young to feel this way. But anyone who has been here any length of time: Eichel, Reinhart, Risto, McCabe, Girgensons, Okposo, Ullmark, Hutton... And anyone who has experienced the good of the NHL elsewhere: Staal, Eakin, Montour, Miller... You can’t win when the majority of your key guys and pretty much all of your veterans feel this way.

Krueger’s coaching record speaks for itself. But I have no issues with the way he conducted himself here. Treat people well, stick to your principles, learn from your experiences. There are worse ways to approach life. I wish him well and have no doubt he will land on his feet. Just not as an NHL coach.

Don’t get me wrong. Girgensons will almost certainly be here. We arent trading all of Jack, Sam, Victor, Risto, Dahlin, Joki, Miller, Thompson, Eakin and Mitts. But some of the above will be moved, and probably all of Staal, Hall, Sheahan, Rieder, Montour, McCabe, Irwin, Ullmark, Hutton and maybe even Okposo aren’t coming back. It will be a different team, if nothing else.

I just don’t see Kevyn Adams as at all invested in this roster and I think he genuinely understands the need for significant change. Jeff Skinner, Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar are the only players on this roster guaranteed to be back next year, in my opinion. Cozens and Lazar because they are under contract and have the compete Adams has identified as missing. Skinner, of course, is untradeable.

I will be very surprised if all three of Sam, Risto and Jack are back. I don’t want stupid trades for the sake of trades, but I will support the trade of anyone for the right return.

If he’s upgrade over Lazar, he’s certainly an upgrade over Staal.

“The firing of Karmanos caught a lot of people by surprise — internally and around the NHL, multiple team and league sources said. Karmanos’ job security was not thought to be in jeopardy, the sources said. His ties to Rutherford run deep and date to their tenure together in Carolina. He was a Hurricanes executive under Rutherford from 1998-2013, a run that included a Cup championship in 2006 and a trip to the Cup Final in 2002. In fact, Karmanos’ stock had never been higher than over recent months. He interviewed for the GM vacancy with Arizona, and though he did not land that job, Karmanos’ duties with the Penguins were expanded to include managing their AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.” “Rutherford had not wanted to fire assistant GM Jason Karmanos, multiple league sources said, adding that the move caused what one described as “a big blow up.” Rutherford had long considered Karmanos, who initially started working with Rutherford when he was GM of the Carolina Hurricanes, a second son. He said the firing of Karmanos was one of many difficult dismissals he made after the Penguins’ loss to the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup qualifying round last August.” The athletic

I suspect this process has been ongoing longer than we might think. The senior executive rumour a week or two back was probably the first public whiff of it and it probably emerged because somebody knew somebody who had an interview. I have no idea if Karmanos is a good choice, but he is certainly qualified.

Often when a coach gets fired there is a sense that there are certain things he and the GM don’t see eye-to-eye on, that the GM thinks that making the change might address. I get the sense the reason Ralph stuck around for so long is because there weren’t a lot of these issues between he and Kevyn; they were on the same page in a lot of ways philosophically. He got fired when his record made it impossible not to fire him.

I think he wasn’t fired because they need a coaching staff to finish out the season and he has the best resume for interim head coach. As for the rest, maybe.

Because Sabres fans are thirsty for an opposite of Krueger and this is about encouraging fans to place bets.

I think Granato has had a significant role in how they were asked to play. I think the players have had an opportunity to provide the type of feedback you are talking about. So while I can’t disagree with your points, or speak against this as a course of action, I have my doubts that it will solve much, or that Granato is the guy to implement it.

This has to be about showing you want to make the team better immediately. Make it mean something as soon as you can.

I think anyone expecting a bump with the change is going to be very disappointed. By and large, I expect that once the immediate relief from the pressure valve release is over, there will be an existential crisis that flows through the room. This wasn’t a team chafing under a tyrant. They liked and believed in Ralph and they let him down. The Sabres lifers will feel trapped and lost. The short-term vets will be counting the days until they move on. I don’t expect a significant shift in systems. Granato’s voice will pale next to Ralph’s. Maybe the young D get a bump from Girardi? For a lot of the players and part of the coaching staff, there will literally be nothing to play for. I expect the next two months will be akin to the final weeks at a workplace where the company has announced a permanent branch shutdown. A handful of guys will still see a future with the firm and will either be trying to cement their roles or jockeying for new positions. Most will be putting in time with one foot out the door. It’s limbo until the new coach is hired and the summer roster moves are made.

Adams steadfastly refuses to throw people under the bus, and I admire that. But it was pretty clear that he thought the Steve Smith/our defence corps combination was an issue

Yeah, it sounded like that process is well underway — as in interviews have happened and a hire might be coming soon.

This had to happen. It does not bring me hope.