dudacek

I stand by my comments upthread about not having a real clue. But by appearances, he certainly seems an excellent fit: a no-nonsense presence with a track record of both winning and of coming in and quickly focusing a locker room that desperately needed it; experienced, but not too much of a retread; and despite his reputation as a player, he seems to have a brain in his head. His worst season was 81 points. His Blues weren't particularly loaded with high-end talent, at least for a cup-winner, but they were deep. Not sure he's got much of a track record with young players, but Kyrou and Thomas did emerge nicely under his watch.

That's quite the clickbait thread title and not in the way I think @inkman intended

I haven't had a favourite Sabre in a long time, but it dawned on me watching yesterday's game that he's it. This shouldn't be read as "he's going to be great and save the franchise". It's just me saying "I love watching him play". He plays the game the right way, every night.

No one is. I hate coaching searches because we have only the most peripheral idea of what any coach brings to the table, what the current needs of the team are, and how well those two situations match. There's a reason all coaches are hired to be fired. Most candidates are going to be qualified. It's all about trusting Adams to find the right match for these players in this particular place and time. Granato, in hindsight, was a good match for the summer of 2021, so I guess Adams has that going for him.

My point was simply to reply to what I thought was hyperbole and I explained why. I respect your opinion, and don't mind that you disagree. Ask Promo what the point of Captain Hindsight game is.

I'm aware of one for sure (Babcock) and likely 2 (McLellan). Each chose better offers, so it doesn't negate the point being made.

Really, it's about comfort level with Terry and whether he's going to be with you or an obstacle to what you want to do. If that's established, the situation should otherwise be enticing for most unemployed guys with egos.

There's a few who were shitting on him earlier in the year who should be thinking about apologizing Anyone paying attention over the years knows Webster is a credible source who talks to people. He's not always right, but he doesn't claim to be. He shares what he hears without embellishment and we're lucky to have him.

Picks in the 20s most often are Roslovics and Whites, so no. Look, GMTM was a ***** manager. No one in his right mind would support his tenure and I'm not aware of anyone who does. But his biggest failing was people: the types he chose for his organization, and how he treated them. The number of prospects he "squandered" is overrated.

But... what about Brind'Amour?

I think the only question with Ellis is whether or not the coach wants him on his staff. If not, he will be offered another role with the organization.

This feels right on a macro level. Step one: clear the room Step two: develop the talent Step 3: teach them how to win

There was a well-publicized quote a few years back that I think came from a GM/former GM: Expect the process to be somewhat collaborative, but the exec said coach typically gets to pick one assistant and the GM another. Don't know what the deal is with any additional guys, but I imagine consensus. I'd also imagine the ground rules are part of the process of hiring the head coach. In the case of the current staff, I always felt Christie was there strictly to be Donnie's crony. He has no obvious role and not much of a pedigree. I think he was let go because of that personal connection. I suspect Ellis, Bales and Wilford have more tenure and more respect from the GM and their future will be decided in conjunction with the new coach.

I realize there is a whole different vibe around the Bills fan perception of Pegula and the Sabres fan perception. But I wonder how much the Diggs trade has in common with the O'Reilly trade? Did the owner feel disrespected by the star and decided he no longer wanted him in the organization?

Once again, Adams unexpectedly shows he really is wiling to make the hard decisions, and is not too much in love with "his guys". I like Donnie a lot. I like the way he treats people and I think he deserves a ton of thanks for pulling our kids out of the Krueger black hole and for developing them into NHL players. In the end, they let him down and I hope that's the last lesson he teaches them. This is professional sport: win or be replaced. Hope he lands on his feet.

Two: Colin White and Jack Roslovic. Still taking O'Reilly.

For those keeping track (sorry to the majority who won't) From that "#1 rated prospect pool" Tim Murray traded away Girgorenko, Zadorov, McNabb, Armia, Lemieux and Luke Adam. Personally, I would still give up that entire group for Ryan O'Reilly alone. But hey, that's just me. Edit: Missed JT Compher. Doesn't change my opinion.

Woke up thinking about the kind of goals the Sabres scored last night: hard forecheck, bodies and pucks to the net. Every single one of them. 🥹

I agree with this point in general: they ain't mean enough. Sick and tired of how everyone overlooks Dahlin in this conversation. He's an absolute prick out there and everybody seems to look right past it. He's 6'3 and always dishing out the reverse hits, facewashes, hipchecks, ramming guys into the boards, sneaky elbows, hacks and spears: he does all that ***** people claim to want and nobody notices. It was very nice a few weeks back to hear Torterella talking about what a competitor he is, because it seems like nobody notices. It felt like there was at least a dozen games this year where I heard a visiting broadcaster say "Oh, and now --- is getting into it with Dahlin of all people. There's an unlikely combatant." No it's not. Watch some ***** games. That's who he is.

Can always depend on Cal to express the most desolate version of Sabres fandom. I suspect the opposite would also be true. Hope someday we get a chance to see that.

Some poetry in those numbers about this team, isn’t there?

I’m obviously interested but I don’t feel particularly invested in who they keep or who they fire. I like the people well enough and I think the assets are here to make the kind of step the Canucks took this year and the Devils took last year. (If people don’t remember Vancouver had 83 points last year and the bubble was their only playoff appearance over the previous 8 seasons; the Devils had 63 points and had missed 4 straight and 9 out of 10.) Just make it happen. I don’t care how. I’ll judge you on the results.

I do put some stock in them, not so much as gospel in and of themselves, but as an indicator of what message they want out there, and I also like to read into how they react to the tone and the questions that are posed. What isn’t said is often the most interesting stuff. Taken within the exact context you describe, you can find a few nuggets. I would never expect Adams to give me the truthful answers to the questions I posed: those are more my way of telling you fine people what I think his priorities should be and what I care about when it comes to fixing the team. I’ll get my answers by what he does this summer.

This isn’t really about prospects anyway, it’s about wanting more shift disturbers on the actual team. The number of Tom Wilsons worthy of top 10 picks in the NHL draft are few and far between, year after year. If you’re taking the best one available ahead of a Zach Benson, or an Owen Power, you’re probably not getting the best player. It’s not that aren’t interested in the type. The Sabres picked Wahlberg and Strbak in the 2nd round last year, they’ve got guys like Miedema, Novikov, Poltapov and Nadeau in the system. It’s whether or not guys like that work out.

Always appreciate when the numbers support the eye test. It felt like the Sabres improved in their own zone this year; if I could say it in one sentence, it would be “instead of giving guys a clear lane and a full second to shoot like last year, they were giving him partially obstructed lanes and a half-second.” Also interested in the offensive data stating they did not create nearly as much off the rush this year. Am I correct in reading that as they were sending one guy to blow the zone instead of 2? Certainly that would affect the numbers of Tuch and Cozens, who I’ve always found to be extremely dangerous off the rush. This also feeds into the acquisition of Byram, and type of defencemen they gravitate to: one way to compensate for fewer breakout targets is to employ accurate breakout passers. Another thing I’m curious about is how the numbers at both ends of the ice compared from the first half to the second. I felt by eye test there were noticeable improvements as the season progressed defensively. I did not necessarily feel the same way offensively. One would expect a break-in period at both ends of the ice, if we were dealing with a new system.