Marvin

I assume he means it like I do: calling a goalkeeper a "head case" means, "even relative to goalkeepers, he's a head case." That was why I wanted to stay away from Georgiev over the summer.

Buffalo Sabres defencive zone play is a comedy show I watch regularly.

They are playing the game right. The other guys are definitely less aware of things in their own zone. I don't know what they can do during a game to help the other forwards.

What needs to come from within the organisation? 1. The coaching staff must install a real defencive system. 2. The players must learn all of the defencive strategy and tactics that are required to execute the defencive system. This includes positioning, coverage, and situational awareness. 3. The players and coaches must have a more conservative philosophy with zone breakouts, recovery when the opponents breakout, and backchecking. 4. The coaching for the penalty kill must improve a LOT. 5. When do I start questioning the work of Mike Bales? What needs to come from outside the organisation? A. We need a real starting goaltender. No compromising. B. We need a top 4 D. No compromising. C. We need grittier forwards and defencemen who can play the grinding game all year.

No one remembers any of Lindy Ruff's gaffes in 1997-9 because Hasek covered up for his and his players' shortcomings. The phrase "hilariously inept coaching with even more inept players" once appeared in my copy of _The Hockey News_ in 1998. Granato is there but he does not have a Hasek or Miller bailing him out. He may or may not get better.

We need a better face-off centre than Jost, although he could play wing on the 4th line. Although I like the idea in theory, I am not convinced Killorn will leave Tampa even if he has to give a significant discount unless it is a contender willing to give him a stupid contract. I think we might have better luck with guys like Compher or, as others have mentioned, Haula: mid-range guys whom we can overpay slightly if need be who play a grittier game. The grittier game is non-negotiable.

Why didn't HCDG bail out Comrie against Dallas?

HCDG: this week would be a good time to teach a defencive system.

On a 2-on-1, whatever you do, stop the pass across the ice.

I can see the defencive breakdowns about to happen a few seconds beforehand. They must be immediately obvious to the scouts, coaches, and players and they gear the offence's attack to induce these gaffes.

Welcome back! And that sucks.

One thing that will definitely improve our record: no national TV games.

I will plead guilty to some of this. The Sabres went from expansion team to playoff team in 3 years. They were one of the best teams in the league from 1975-84 virtually year-in and year-out. Our top 4 defencemen in this era had great positional play. Once we got Edwards and Sauve, we had good to great goaltending almost every year until Ryan Miller was traded outside of the bankruptcy. Until the tank, the Sabres had a winning record against virtually every team in the league except Philadelphia and Edmonton. I EXPECT quality from this franchise. The last decade plus are more painful to me than others because of my expectations. This season is doubly frustrating because the Sabres are weak where I used to take it almost for granted that they would be strong. And the lack of goaltending is very painful because the Sabres weak goaltending probably cost them a Cup in 1975. (I can re-iterate my evidence if you want.) Honestly, it has not been easy keeping my head level this season.

What do I need to do to get a home equity line of credit to finish fixing my house?

Marcus Welby.

My theory was, all other things being equal, that he would give Chychrun a better situation to make more money.

There is a part of me that thinks that Chychrun told Armstrong to send him to a team with at most 1 offencive defenceman if at all possible. Why? Because he would not get PP time, hence lowering his potential points and thus the value of his next contract. To my mind, this makes sense given what we heard from LA's GM about why they ended talks with Arizona and why the ask from Adams was higher than Ottawa's: Armstrong was going to do him a solid and avoid sending him to a team where he would not be a clear #1 or #2 offencive D unless the offer was significantly better. So Armstrong used the Sabres as leverage against Ottawa once he knew he wasn't getting a Tim Murray trade from Adams.

Funny. The same thing hit me too.

That is what I infer from the Arizona GM: he wanted almost no protection for the 2023 1st.

No to the demonic goat. Yes to everything else here. Even if you don't like that kind of player, I can't imagine anyone being unhappy with a couple of guys Mike Grier being added to the team or the Sabres icing a line akin to Mair-Gaustad-Kaleta.

Thanks for your goalkeeper stats.

The evidence I have is that the emphasis from the entire staff is offence so that the players learn what they can do on the NHL level. I think they flat out don't practice defence much for the forwards. I presume it is not an incompetent coach but the emphasis of the staff on offence. As I have noted before, many teams rise from the depths by learning offence in season 1 with the kids followed by learning defence in season 2. This season, I would have preferred, say, 1 practice per week to have been specifically for a defencive structure. Getting the personnel to play gritty defence game-in and game-out will help too.

Goal? Make the playoffs. That is my expectation for the next decade with the talent on the team -- and he should be able to keep the pipeline continually stocked. Therefore, Adams needs a plan which preserves most of our futures but makes a couple of big moves. Far and away the top need is goaltending. This team is probably in the playoffs with just mediocre goaltending. Because of Adams's experience in Carolina, I am dubious that he will get a goaltender of the caliber I want; it is far more likely that he hunts in the 2nd and 3rd tiers for goalkeepers. IMHO, he must get a sure thing. Because Adams went after Chychrun, he knows that he needs a legitimate top 4 D. He needs someone who does all the boring stuff well. I would prefer a heavier set of defencemen in the 5-8 slots overall. I would also prefer that Bryson, Clague, et al. start in 9th position. A competent defencive centre who is competent at face-offs is also a must. Face-offs don't necessarily matter when you are not statistically significantly different from 50%. But when a team is as bad as the Sabres are, it puts them back on their heels far too often. Next season, there had better be an emphasis on team defence, from structure through positioning to awareness. I am sick of opponemts routinely cruising down the slot or on the weak side being totally uncovered. If this comes at the price of some offence, then so be it. I would start by teaching the youngsters not to overpursue in the defencive zone. Heck, start now. A very reachable goal is to rebalance the team with more rugged player. This team needs to learn how to play playoff-type hockey. The PK has to stop being embarrassing. I know that they have been experimenting with players to figure out who should be doing it after Girgensons and Okposo leave, but the coaches had all season to correct the glaring mistakes.

Welcome back to the board! Maybe other teams have figured out our defencive zone coverage stinks.

Just asking: is part of the problem simply that well-coached and veteran teams now know how to attack us? I can see John Tortorella and Lindy Ruff licking their chops when the see how easily our defencive coverage breaks down.