That Aud Smell

Well, the Sabres bought that centerpiece fruit for the foreseeable future.

This strikes me as a good read on the situation. Seems to me that word percolated up to Pegula that Bylsma was too focused on a complex system of X's and O's, and not enough on building relationships with the players. Then they hired Housley, and we heard this from Eichel in September: If coaches are hard on me, they're hard on me. That's fine. I also like my coaches to have a personality. I want them to be able to talk to me about things that aren't about hockey. You come to the rink every day and some days you're in a good mood and some days you're in a bad mood. I like coaches to be able to relate to me a little bit. I've had hard coaches, I've had easy coaches, and it doesn't matter to me how they are as [far as] their personality. I just want to be able to know them outside the neutral-zone forecheck and the offensive zone. Me, then: Dude. This is AWESOME. Harmony is upon us. Eichel *and* the Sabres are bound for 100 point seasons. Me, now: Mmm, 'kay. I find myself pining for the team to bring in one of those old warhorses who've had a few stints here and there, and who have had some success in the league.

It would help explain why he went from looking the part of a 4/5 NHL d-man to looking like a beer leaguer.

Agreed. Which brings me back around to thinking that there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. OTOH, the way that Housley was able to deal with just the d-men may not have readily translated to how he deals with the entire squad. Maybe? I dunno. Of course, even if he's precisely the same sort of guy with the Sabres as he was when he was with NSH leaves open the possibility that he is not a good NHL head coach.

Fwiw: I've now twice heard a rumour from people who have "contacts in the building" that some/many of the players have bristled and/or chafed at Housley's approach. The stories differed in some of the details, but the common theme was that Housley tends to act like he's coaching a high school or U20 Juniors team, and (some of) the players don't care to be treated like kids. F.W.I.W. There's something to be said for the gripe that this core of players keeps running people out of town. I'm starting to wonder. Phil coached at the high school level for nearly 10 years, and, yes, coached a World Juniors championship team in 2013, before being hired into the Preds organ-eye-zay-shun in 2013. Trotz was the HC when he arrived, and Laviolette (sp?) took over in 2014. In other words: He worked under two very seasoned head coaches with significant NHL track records of success. What exactly were his duties as an assistant coach in the NHL?

Dan is a good and earnest man. He does a capable job in calling a game on TV. For a radio call, I do better to have my youngest read play by play updates on a real time score app (which I have done). Dan’s refusal to say “score(s)” when an opponent notches a goal is inexplicable.

Agreed and agreed.

My remark was pointed to your contention that there was no debate being had. And this is just a fact. Gretzky was/is the greatest of all-time, but I take the view that part of what made him great was that his fellow professionals, as a cohort, were *so* far behind him. There's been a lot of catching up that's gone on in the meantime, which is partly what makes a guy like Crosby so amazing. Those guys were all amazing. But they're also all HOFers, I'm guessing. When I watch highlights from the late 70s and throughout the 80s, I'm amazed at how poorly the average d-man moves.

Around the 7:20 mark, there's a fascinating discussion of how specialized body types have become far more prevalent in pro sports in recent times. Especially in the NBA. Enough of that.

As did I. And I could not disagree more: The extent to which d-men have become more fluid, mobile, and agile is a huge factor in making it harder to score. It's a message board. That's generally all we do. I think pro athletes -- as a group -- are getting better. There's myriad reasons for that. Fascinating TED talk on the subject:

I saw several Tweets that were aghast at Lehner's technique on the tying goal. 4:00 mark here The consensus seemed to be that if Lehner moves in a way where he remains more upright, he saves that puck. One Tweeted to the effect that Lehner must have thought he was in a beer league impersonating Hasek.

The passage of time has made it clear that the Ravens D that year was not just great, but incredible -- likely one of the best units, if not the best unit, ever. The Broncos did something similar in recent memory, but still needed Peyton Manning to come over and get them over the hump. The rule changes of the last 10-15 years or so have really left no doubt that you need a great (or good capable of getting hot and being great) QB in order to win it all. I'm not sure whether the 2000-2001 Ravens would have won a SB in the current NFL.

Boy, I hope not. He's a nifty player. I posted upthread: He made a pass to Wilson moments before that flub that was spectacular. That mulligan was on Johnson.

Quintessential stuff right here. Fingers crossed that he doesn't regress. I said shut it down. SHUT IT DOWN!

I'm always on the lookout for improvement, even if the season is lost. I didn't see much of the games when they started out that post-ASG home stand and lost 3 (or 4?) in a row, but I recall hearing analysis that they looked pretty decent actually. Last night's game had some score effects (I think I'm using that right - puck luck, basically), a shaky backup goalie, and the continuation of a torrid power play pace. So, it's nice to see. There are factors at play that can't be maintained, though. They still really need a few more, better players. I was at the game, and even in real time, I was thinking by the 3rd that PH was playing the guy way too much.

Hear, hear. Also: Please, HCPH, don’t fall into playing ROR 25 minutes a game (which is what happened last night). Seriously. Nelson especially — if he can keep up his current trajectory, he’s gonna be good. Agreed, agreed. The chirps about how bad the home crowd is can go away forever. Last night, the team showed a real pulse, and the crowd responded in kind. Getting some puck luck against a bad goalie helps, of course.

The Ewing Theory. Also: Score effects and puck luck help.

Amen.

The pass Antipin made before that goal was unreal.

We are on the refs in here — three missed calls before the Bolts got that power play. Also, TB 21 made Sabres 71 look like the AHL player he likely is.

As to the latter, I have not yet watched any of the hockey. But I hope to. For my own part, I greatly enjoy watching top flight women's soccer -- women's basketball, not so much (although I don't watch much basketball of any kind).

I'll be attending tonight - I got a call from an old friend who happened into some very nice tickets and he wanted to make an evening of it. This is a guy who used to drink everyone under the table, back in the day. He's mellowed out considerably since (in fact, the arsehole ran a half marathon in 2017!). But, um, it is Mardi Gras. So we got that going for us.

You hoser. It seems more than fair to say that his posture and stance on the ice are unorthodox. I don't know whether and to what extent that lack of orthodoxy has played a role in his injuries, but two high ankle sprains in two seasons (suffered in not dissimilar situations) are an obvious source of concern.

Please don’t misunderstand: The participants were talking about Eichel in amazement and wonder — but pointing out that he’s a unique animal — that you could never (would never) teach kids to skate that way. Hmmm. I dunno. I think he meant what he said.