Rolston officially #Sabres head coach

[deluca67]

I dont like Rolston, Darcy hired Rolston instead of looking at other options, therefore no coach wants to come to Buffalo.

 

Show me one speck of evidence coaches don't want come to Buffalo.

You can't because you don't have any.

Having to settle for Ron Rolston is some pretty strong evidence.

 

If asked to interview, any of them would have been on the next plane in. I'd bank on it.

I sincerely doubt that.

[drnkirishone]

Along with Roy's coaching experience you get the 19 years of NHL experience of one of the greatest goaltenders, make that greatest players, that ever played the game. A Stanley Cup champion that has played the game at the highest level.

 

Has Rolston ever played in a NHL game?

Tell me again how coach Wayne did with the yotes?

[dudacek]

 

Having to settle for Ron Rolston is some pretty strong evidence.

 

No chance it's because Darcy likes Rolston, or Darcy is too lazy or scared to look at other hires?

Sorry, doesn't fit the narrative.

 

 

Along with Roy's coaching experience you get the 19 years of NHL experience of one of the greatest goaltenders, make that greatest players, that ever played the game. A Stanley Cup champion that has played the game at the highest level.

 

Has Rolston ever played in a NHL game?

 

But I thought Teppo's 19 years and Patrick's 19 years are meaningless...?

[Weave]

Having to settle for Ron Rolston is some pretty strong evidence.

 

 

I sincerely doubt that.

 

Seems to me that the Sabres got the man they wanted. They didn't "settle" for Rolston. They never considered interviewing anyone else.

 

How many coaches jobs are going to be available this offseason? Coaches that have never coached pros or only coached for a few seasons before getting fired and having to turn to television to keep employed can't afford to turn down opportunities presented to them if they really want to be in the business of coaching NHL players. You are projecting your prejudices onto them.

 

I'm not terribly fond of the choice of Rolston, but it seems pretty clear to me that Rolston was their choice, not their fallback position.

[deluca67]

Tell me again how coach Wayne did with the yotes?

Did Gretzky coach anywhere prior to taking the job with Phoenix? Roy at least has 7 seasons of coaching under his belt. Not exactly the same scenario, wouldn't you agree?

 

No chance it's because Darcy likes Rolston, or Darcy is too lazy or scared to look at other hires?

Sorry, doesn't fit the narrative.

 

 

 

But I thought Teppo's 19 years and Patrick's 19 years are meaningless...?

Other than being 19 years, there is no comparison between the two. Other than his short stint as an assistant with the Sabres, does Teppo have any coaching experience?

 

Seems to me that the Sabres got the man they wanted. They didn't "settle" for Rolston. They never considered interviewing anyone else.

 

How many coaches jobs are going to be available this offseason? Coaches that have never coached pros or only coached for a few seasons before getting fired and having to turn to television to keep employed can't afford to turn down opportunities presented to them if they really want to be in the business of coaching NHL players. You are projecting your prejudices onto them.

 

I'm not terribly fond of the choice of Rolston, but it seems pretty clear to me that Rolston was their choice, not their fallback position.

Sorry man, this hire has the same feeling to me as the Jouron and Gailey hires by the Bills.

 

As always, just my opinion.

[SwampD]

There are plenty of coaches that were hired with a much less impressive resume than Rolston's. I couldn't care less if someone played in the NHL or not. How often do great players make great coaches in any sport, anyway? The more I think about this hire, the more I like it.

[Weave]

There are plenty of coaches that were hired with a much less impressive resume than Rolston's. I couldn't care less if someone played in the NHL or not. How often do great players make great coaches in any sport, anyway? The more I think about this hire, the more I like it.

 

It seems to me that Darcy is going for a Herb Brooks, a teacher first that can work well with a young team. Maybe Roy would be effective in that roll too but his coaching resume is not distinctive enough for me to want to see him hired beyond the AHL level.

 

Wasn't Lindy a "young player teaching coach" when he was 1st brought on? Or am I misremembering that?

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Wasn't Lindy a "young player teaching coach" when he was 1st brought on? Or am I misremembering that?

 

Yeah...but he was an assistant on a Stanley Cup team.....so he had a bit more of a goose in the pantry.

 

Sorry man, this hire has the same feeling to me as the Jouron and Gailey hires by the Bills.

 

I will agree with you on this......Rolston seems like a blend between the two.....but I was actually fine with both those hires given the circumstances, as I am this one. There is something about Rolston I like......he isn't an extrovert, but he has a common sense quality about him even if he is a "teacher". He understands you have to hold this generation of kids' hands while still being authoritative.

[drnkirishone]

Did Gretzky coach anywhere prior to taking the job with Phoenix? Roy at least has 7 seasons of coaching under his belt. Not exactly the same scenario, wouldn't you agree?

I am sure he probaly coached or helped the coach on some peewee teams but i dont think that was what you where asking me. your right thou it didn't make him a top tier coach just like Roy doesn't get that designation for having been a HOF player.

[JJFIVEOH]

I dont like Rolston, Darcy hired Rolston instead of looking at other options, therefore no coach wants to come to Buffalo.

 

Show me one speck of evidence coaches don't want come to Buffalo.

You can't because you don't have any.

 

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure you don't have any either. You're going on a hunch just like everybody else.

 

A GM does not make a Cup winner. A head coach does not make a Cup winner. An owner does not make a Cup winner. Every coach in the league has different characteristics and backgrounds, if there were a common denominator in winning a Cup, every team would have similar coaches. A GM does not win without a good coach. A good coach does not win without a good GM. And with the current trend over the last 15 years or so of the strongest teams at the end of the regular season (regardless of overall success) being the strongest playoff teams, many times it's all about momentum and nothing to do with coaching and GM. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw.

[nfreeman]

Benefits to coaching in Buffalo relative to the rest of the league:

1) central location, favourable for travel

2) nice place to raise a family

3) cheap housing

4) deep pockets owner,

a) not afraid to spend money on acquiring talent

b) " on hiring assistant coaches

c) " on facilities and coaching tools

5) GM who is intensely loyal to his hires (one coach in 17 years?)

6) GM shown to be hands-off and collaborative

7) hockey market where people care about the team

8) small market where the media are relatively easy to ignore

 

We have a lack of talent, but it is not the wasteland some would have you believe

And our "dysfunctionality" is more the creation of tired fan base than many here would care to admit.

 

And where exactly are the "prime coaching candidates," the ones clearly superior to Rolston — not in your eyes, but in the eyes of the hockey world?

As far as I know, the only available one there is the one we just fired.

 

Great post. I agree especially with the bolded (except for the travel part -- not enough nonstop service to/from Buffalo).

 

If asked to interview, any of them would have been on the next plane in. I'd bank on it.

 

Definitely.

 

Having to settle for Ron Rolston is some pretty strong evidence.

Sorry man, this hire has the same feeling to me as the Jouron and Gailey hires by the Bills.

 

I understand the Jauron/Gailey comparison completely. But I agree with others here that Rolston was their first choice AND that they could've gotten just about anyone else.

 

My 2 cents:

 

- I've been mostly checked out, but I got around to listening to the presser from the day they hired him, plus the separate DR and RR interviews with Kevin Sylvester. Well worth listening to. I must say that I came away reasonably impressed with Rolston.

 

- Bottom line is that I'll be much more disappointed if there isn't any meaningful roster improvement than I am about Rolston (which I would say I am reasonably optimistic about).

 

- I thought it was interesting that both DR and RR said that they want both Miller and Vanek in the lineup on opening night.

 

- I might as well admit now that even though I think DR should be gone, listening to his interviews reminded me that I think he's a genuinely good guy.

 

Hope springs eternal.

[deluca67]

I am sure he probaly coached or helped the coach on some peewee teams but i dont think that was what you where asking me. your right thou it didn't make him a top tier coach just like Roy doesn't get that designation for having been a HOF player.

Roy's experience as a player and a coach does make him a top candidate, IMO. Gretzky as coach was like Marv Levy as GM, he was a figure head meant to make people feel good.

[Trettioåtta]

Roy's experience as a player and a coach does make him a top candidate, IMO. Gretzky as coach was like Marv Levy as GM, he was a figure head meant to make people feel good.

 

Firstly he was a goalie - a position famed for being about focusing on yourself only. He would never have been involved in any tactics, so he would have only picked them up by being around them. 19 years as a mediocre player beats 19 years as a goalie in terms of understanding the tactics of the game imo

 

Secondly, I would argue great players make bad coaches because what they did was all natural/instinct. They didn't see the game in the same way normal players do, so i think they will never be able to teach normal players. Whereas mediocre players have to work at the game much more - they have to study it more because they lack that innate ability. Datsyuk just feels the gaps in the ice, he sees it when other don't. Other players would have to study game tape and look for cues in how the players are positioned etc.

[shrader]

Just a hunch, but I think they didn't just settle on Rolston. I really think that Darcy thought he was the best candidate to nurture everyone under 25 on that roster and develop a younger roster.

 

That's just my opinion, and I'm a little non-plussed by it. But the lack of high end candidates is not the reason.

 

I thought I posted it back when he originally took over, but he was definitely the guy they wanted from that very second. A friend has very close ties to Rolston from his BC days and they were told from day 1 that this wasn't just a short interim hiring. They are very high on him.

[Doohicksie]

Firstly he was a goalie - a position famed for being about focusing on yourself only. He would never have been involved in any tactics, so he would have only picked them up by being around them. 19 years as a mediocre player beats 19 years as a goalie in terms of understanding the tactics of the game imo

 

Strong disagreement. The goalie is out there for every single shift. He sees what works and what doesn't, especially when the play is in his zone. He sees how the Datsyuks of the world play, but he also sees the Matt Ellises. And rather than a position player focusing on his particular role, a goalie is taking in the whole team at once, reading it to prepare for the next shot.

 

Look at the broadcast crews and how many of the analysts are former goalies. That is no coincidence. They are used to watching plays and breaking them down.

 

Now, the last thing I want to see is Patrick Roy behind the Sabres bench, mostly because I think he's an @sshole. But to count him out because he was a goalie just doesn't hold water.

 

(except for the travel part -- not enough nonstop service to/from Buffalo).

 

How do the Sabres travel? Do they fly commercial flights, or do they charter? If they charter, the non-stop thing is a red herring.

 

EDIT: Apparently, they charter on a company called USAJet.

[Trettioåtta]

Strong disagreement. The goalie is out there for every single shift. He sees what works and what doesn't, especially when the play is in his zone. He sees how the Datsyuks of the world play, but he also sees the Matt Ellises. And rather than a position player focusing on his particular role, a goalie is taking in the whole team at once, reading it to prepare for the next shot.

 

Look at the broadcast crews and how many of the analysts are former goalies. That is no coincidence. They are used to watching plays and breaking them down.

 

Now, the last thing I want to see is Patrick Roy behind the Sabres bench, mostly because I think he's an @sshole. But to count him out because he was a goalie just doesn't hold water.

 

They make good analysts because they analyse the play. But they look at it from their point of view - they read the play to see where the shot is coming from. However, they don't have to make the call of what position to take to take a player out or which passing lane to block or use. It is a reactional position. I am not ruling him out because he is a goalie but it is a slight against him. I think defensemen make the best coaches, they are always looking at the play but are also involved and to win the cup you need to be good defensively in your own zone and I think a former d-man would push for his forwards to cheat on the puck less because it would have pissed him off when forwards did that when he played

 

5/7 of the last SC winning coaches were former D-men

[X. Benedict]

I thought I posted it back when he originally took over, but he was definitely the guy they wanted from that very second. A friend has very close ties to Rolston from his BC days and they were told from day 1 that this wasn't just a short interim hiring. They are very high on him.

That sounds right to me.

[Stoner]

I thought I posted it back when he originally took over, but he was definitely the guy they wanted from that very second. A friend has very close ties to Rolston from his BC days and they were told from day 1 that this wasn't just a short interim hiring. They are very high on him.

 

Maybe he was the guy they wanted from the moment Darcy interviewed him for Roch last summer. Not to belabor the point, but it's pretty extraordinary for the team president to just happen to sit down and join the talks, to get a cut of the guy's jib. Lindy's goose was probably cooked at that moment.

[spndnchz]

Ding ding! Still sorry to see Lindy get a Stanley Cup in Buffalo.

[Jsixspd]

is there really such a thing as a "permanent coach?"

 

Well, Buffalo came as close as possible to having one. Ruff was around for 16 seasons, and would have made 17 if Regier hadn't decided to throw him to the curb in order to deflect the ire of Terry rightfully from himself.

[TheFunPolice]

Of course they "want" Miller and Vanek on the team. When you're selling you want to create the illusion that the players are going to be hard to get. That's how you extract top value.

 

Still, it's hardly a mystery that both want out of here.

 

How old is Darcy? Maybe he'll get tired of being a GM and retire one day. That's our only hope for a new GM.

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

Frustrating to read about the processes going on in Vancouver, Dallas and New York right now.

 

I guess to the beautiful minds in the Sabres front office there was no better possible solution than Ron Rolston, so why even try.

 

This goes against my nature, but I am almost at the point where I hope Ron Rolston is a huge fiasco and Lindy Ruff goes on to win two consecutive cups somewhere, whomever else they bring in wherever Ruff is not does excellent, and Darcy Regier is left standing naked in a corner and there will be no choice than to make a long overdue change at the GM position.

[wjag]

After having sometime to cogitate on this, consider the opinions, pro and con of others and analyze things, I restate my initial reaction.

 

Booooooooooooooooooo.

[X. Benedict]

Frustrating to read about the processes going on in Vancouver, Dallas and New York right now.

 

I guess to the beautiful minds in the Sabres front office there was no better possible solution than Ron Rolston, so why even try.

 

This goes against my nature, but I am almost at the point where I hope Ron Rolston is a huge fiasco and Lindy Ruff goes on to win two consecutive cups somewhere, whomever else they bring in wherever Ruff is not does excellent, and Darcy Regier is left standing naked in a corner and there will be no choice than to make a long overdue change at the GM position.

 

I don't have a lot of enthusiasm for this move, but at the same time he had a poor roster to work with.

We'll see what Rolston can do with a training camp and selection process.

 

I have no doubt he is a good hockey guy - I just don't know if this is his level.

He strikes me as more the ideal NCAA coach.

 

I willing to give him a chance.

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

I don't have a lot of enthusiasm for this move, but at the same time he had a poor roster to work with.

We'll see what Rolston can do with a training camp and selection process.

 

I have no doubt he is a good hockey guy - I just don't know if this is his level.

He strikes me as more the ideal NCAA coach.

 

I willing to give him a chance.

 

Yeah, as I said, it is against my nature to wish anything but the most brilliant success for Rolston as a Sabres head coach. I just would feel a lot better if the Sabres announced that he was the new head coach after having talked to people like Dallas Eakins and whatever else is out there before deciding we're sticking with what we have.

 

Feels like a pretend rebuild the way things are going right now.