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Totally in agreement with your thoughts. I believe Phil is a horrible mistake now. I had high hopes for him but not anymore. I do believe regardless of the impending player turnover, we will not see a Sabres club finish over 0.500 to finish a season under Housley's guidance. Feel free to disagree with my thoughts but it is a strong feeling I have that Phil just isn't ready to be a head coach yet.

Your kidding me right? Look, even with Bylsma (who likes like a genius now) this group played much better. There are many nights so far that this team has quit (Jack looked like it huge this afternoon, did you watch?) That crap never sat with Babcock and players go to the press box (see Bozak, Conner Carrick) they go to the Marlies or they are released outright. No way he would have tolerated this crap. Gallant has a temper and he has molded a "rag tag" group of players (all who came from different coached systems} into a cohesive entertaining competitive unit. I'm not sure where wishful thinking comes in. Look at Risto's regression. He was a great D-man and looks like an AHLer now. Phil is garbage. Call me back when he starts winning. Everyone seems to like "Nice guy Phil" and wants to play for him. Funny, it sure as hell isn't translating on the ice. We may well be watching the worst Sabres club ever.

Babcock would have fixed it. In fact, with Babcock, it wouldn't have started. Perhaps with Gallant as well. Too late now.......

Phil can go. I cannot believe this group of NHL players cannot "play Phil's system" (whatever the hell it is) They all came up through the minor ranks with different coaches and styles and were drafted to the NHL. Not buying the garbage they are not the right type of players to play his system. I believe Phil's system sucks huge and whomever replaces Phil would still have a better record than what we currently see. Lehner has played well this season despite his shortcomings (OT & Shootouts) and has kept us from being blown out too many times to mention. Risto is talented but right now he would be hard pressed to make the Finnish Junior National team, and from what I saw this afternoon, Jack looks like he can't wait for April and the off season. Ryan O'Reilly (unless injured and we don't truly know about it) is another talented player who played terrifically for Canada, and was instrumental in their Gold Medal at the World Championships last year. Okposo does look slow (I still don't think he's the same anymore) and Kane has been our best this season. Reinhart disappoints me. Maybe it was all the hype surrounding his pick but I just see a wasted roster spot (maybe he will perform better under another coach with a different system? Anyhow our defense is butter soft, not sure why (Phil's "system"?) Still, this club should be way better then the garbage we're seeing. These guys are professionals, if they are not playing Phil's system, I find it hard to believe. I think the "system" needs to be called into question.

I beg to differ on Housley. I have a sneaking suspicion we are going no where with Phil. Time will tell. Having said that , I do hope that you are right though and I am wrong. Just a feeling on my part. I don't like what I see of this club under Phil. He doesn't sit players and seems to tolerate "phone it in" efforts. That cannot happen .Everyone feels good right now after a win in Colorado (who is improved but still not a playoff contender) Lets talk again after the St. Louis game.

They still might suck, just a whole lot less and definitely be more entertaining then what we're seeing right now. Wait until the St. Louis game! Have you seen the Blues speed and fore check. They made the Leafs look slow.

totally agree. I love Ted Nolan. The year he won Coach of the Year, that club was exciting to watch. Short on talent. 100 % effort. Ahhh, the good old days! And both those teams were better then the current roster and #### show!

Reality will settle in after the St. Louis game. The Blues fore check is relentless. Our only hope is of Jake Allen is complete garbage that night. This one could get ugly.

Not even a question sir! Absolutely an unwatchable product right now. I do think Phil needs to go, as players have had more then enough time now to try and play whatever his system was supposed to be. I do believe they can score as they did have the #1 PP last season and this is the same group. Under Phil's group, even that has disappeared. No way They will get better under Philly's soft tutelage. No one is being sat. Half hearted effort is tolerated. These few intangibles are all on the coach as the team is a reflection of its teacher. Lets see who else is out there and if they're actually interested in the gig.

In all honesty, I had high hopes for Phil also and I am so disappointed it hasn't worked out for him here. But I do believe the team is a reflection of its coach.

The problem is Phil. You'll see. The team is a reflection of it's coach. Phil was a soft player (talented, but soft) This team is a soft as Wonder bread. (and it's tolerated) Yup, management chose the wrong coach for the 3rd time (Rolston, Bylsma now Phil) Nolan doesn't count as he was the babysitter for tank team.

My analysis ( for what it's worth) It is the coach. Phil has to go. These guys can score but they cannot (or will not) play Phil's ###### system. These guys can score as we saw last season with the #1 power play. This season, they're a mess and they're the same group. This club (unfortunately) has chosen the wrong coach 3 times in a row (Rolston, Bylsma and now Housley) I don't count Nolan 2.0 as he was just babysitting. I think management should be seriously checking out who is available out there and see if they'll even come to this club. Then, if they have another candidate, cut Phil loose. This club is a reflection of it's coach: SOFT! (and lets be honest, for a D-man, Phil was soft but he could skate and put up points) Other posters are correct in that Torts and Gallant would not tolerate this crap for one minute and butts would be sat. No way this club gets better with Philly as coach. Just my 2 cents worth. They have had enough time to try and play Phil's system. These are professional hockey players and I have never seen this club worse then it is right now. The tank teams were much better. This isn't even watchable.

I'm for "traditional" also. Rpyal blue and gold. Eichel's red hair would be Schoenfeldian 2.0!!!! Count me in under traditional!

Bingo Neo! Because we actually do have some talent here that should be better then the abysmal record we have. And I'm sorry if anyone gets offended at this, but there are several nights so far this season, that this club just went out for a skate. That's on the coach. I got lambasted on this site for suggesting Babcock was way better then Bylsma when Babs went to Toronto. Everyone cited that Babs only won one Cup in Detroit with a stacked lineup as had Bylsma so there really was no difference. I got lambasted suggesting Gallant would have been a better choice as well and hell, I even wanted Tortorella which really got this crowd frenzied. Not to say, I told you so, but they are all doing very well and I do believe still, any one of those afrorementioned would have us playing way better then what we are seeing. There is talent here, perhaps not an over abundance of it but we should not be where we are and look how we look. I believe Edmonton will deal us an embarrassing loss tonight but I am glad Neo, that you see the same thing. coaching makes a huge difference. The Nolan Sabres (when he won coach of the year) were not a greatly talented group, but they were a team and played like a team. They played for each other and their coach and we had an emerging Hasek to boot. But the Nolan team was exciting in that they played hard every freaking night. The Leafs are similar in that regard under Babs. I now fear that Phil may be Ron Rolston 2.0! (and I did have high hopes for him)

Quite frankly, I would love to see Phil snap and come out angry. Why is benching guys in this city not an option? They aren't performing so call up a rookie and bench someone. I do believe it might be a country club atmosphere in the beautifully renovated Sabres dressing room. Babcock does it or threatens to. Aside from sitting one of our D-men, maybe Phil sits a forward for once. Hell, we're barely scoring more then once per game.

I hate to agree with you, but I suspect you are correct. With Marcus and Ennis each with a goal for the icing on the cake!

Well posted Thorny. Seeing it too many times on these posts that we are still 3 or so many years away from being good. Time is wasting and Jack gets another 3 years older. Don't think that Jack and his agent are going to stand for 3 more years of this either. If things don't start to look much better, they will start making noise about getting traded out of here. Some team may be more then willing to eat his contract if they figure they are close to a Cup and can acquire his skills to bring it home too. jack is not cemented here. Is the tank mentality what caused Pat LaFontaine to quit? I always believed it was and that he wasn't on board with that strategy. I know GMTM was his boy but I think Patty wanted to go the rebuild mode, not with a tank. Can anyone clarify this? I remember it was kind of shocking when he just up and left the organization.

Cheers SwampD- you have stated it exactly! So tired of hearing about 'the future". It has been beaten to death by this organization. Great post!

Again, sorry to mention it, but it has been negative on the Buffalo Sabres hockey scene for going on 7 seasons now. I appreciate the "optiimism" that you guys try to bring forth, but I can't find the merit in it. 7 seasons most likely headed to an 8th, perhaps 9th as JBot will need to draft players in his vision and then mold them in Rochester. This will take more time. No quick fixes here and the big "if" in all of this is whether or not Phil is the right coach going forward. My point is: What I feel is right for this club is for JBot to go and draft the players he feels will fit his mold. Free agency, trades etc, have not helped us and will not down the road, given this clubs performance. So now we need to rebuild (again) under JBot and while this will take some time again, I feel it is the only way we will see decent improvement in the on ice product. I think this is the route he is set to go and this is what is right. Not a bad time to be a Leafs fan by the way. I should know, I am surrounded by them and they keep reminding me of this.

So essentially, we are all in consensus on this: The Buffalo Sabres are a bad hockey club who will not make the playoffs for a 7th consecutive season.

Pokey, where have you been all my life? Totally agree with your assessment once again. Julien will be canned by the end of this season. Montreal doesn't look good at all, even when Price was in goal to start this season. Rookie Lindgren is stealing some games and they were ripe for the picking against the Sabres. Not sure why the Habs are stinking with the guys they have and I do like Julien, (hell, I wanted him here!!) but his methods seem to wear thin with the players after only a few seasons for some reason.

Guys, I hate to rain on everyone's optimism. They WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON! I will go with TSN's stats on that subject. If you are out of a spot by US Thanksgiving, the odds of you making it are very heavily stacked against you. They did the math, not me and I believe them. I wish things were truly different for this club but the reality shows when they hit the ice. They do not score near enough to win games (and as Pokey has posted earlier, this has been an ongoing issue for several seasons now) Even when entirely healthy, aside from Falk, Risto and McCabe, I hate the rest of our defense. Soft as hell. Our hope is that JBot is able to draft and scout wisely (better then previous regimes) and build from the farm up. This will take a few seasons so I believe we may actually go a decade now with no playoffs. You heard it here and feel free to argue my points. Believe me, I would love to be wrong on all counts.

Great quote on the bottom of your post North Buffalo. Schoenfeld was one of the reasons I became a Sabres fan. Tough as nails and sacrificed his body a ton to block shots. I really miss him. Wish we had someone on D who plays like he did. I once had the pleasure of sitting next to his Dad at the old Maple Leaf Gardens when Schoenfeld was a head coach. Great guy and so proud of his son. He was beaming as I gushed over how much I enjoyed watching his son play. It was a cool moment for me. I really hope JBot rebuilds via the draft and good scouting. We are starved for some good times again.

Exactly, and my age! Have been a fan since then!!!! Just one Cup before I leave this earth, it is all I ask! Which is why my impatience with this franchise grows with each season that passes by on the calendar. Especially when you're old enough to remember the old Aud and even HSBC electrified with energy during a playoff run. There really isn't anything like it!!!

You're right that it comes down to coaching Pokey. The Leafs have Babcock, we don't. There's one of the differences. The Leafs have also just reeled off 4 wins in a row. I think their talent pool is better then ours as is their front office (now, with Shanny and Lamoriello) I will give Jbot a few more seasons as I do believe he inherited a mess. Housley gets a shorter leash from me because I do not see any effort from the group he coaches. If they played with a stronger and consistant effort, and still lost, then it's on the crew assembled. Right now, the coach is part of the problem.