Hardest Working Team In Hockey Is Back...

[thesportsbuff]

Sarcasm meter takes Christmas off.

 

Your sig gets me every time. That's one of the longest running Sabres-related jokes among my group of friends. A couple of them have great Rayzor impersonations.

[HopefulFuture]

Much speculation in this thread on Nolan's future given the GM vacancy. Unwarranted at this time. Ted is doing a great job creating team cohesion among the players. There is no way to spin that in a negative fashion.

 

As for the Hardest working team in hockey tag........that's a stretch in my opinion. The problem to me wasn't their work ethic alone. I saw the problem as a team in chaos from the top down, not just the coach down. There appears to have been a positive response immediately to the GM firing, what that can be attributed can only be speculated on of course. This team has many problems besides work ethic, the #1 problem I see is talent, they lack top end talent.

[darksabre]

Much speculation in this thread on Nolan's future given the GM vacancy. Unwarranted at this time. Ted is doing a great job creating team cohesion among the players. There is no way to spin that in a negative fashion.

 

As for the Hardest working team in hockey tag........that's a stretch in my opinion. The problem to me wasn't their work ethic alone. I saw the problem as a team in chaos from the top down, not just the coach down. There appears to have been a positive response immediately to the GM firing, what that can be attributed can only be speculated on of course. This team has many problems besides work ethic, the #1 problem I see is talent, they lack top end talent.

 

They also lack talent in the correct structure. Darcy built this team with a hammer and no ruler. A chandelier in the bathroom, the oven in the basement. The pieces individually made sense, but their placement and utilization didn't.

 

 

[Hoss]

Much speculation in this thread on Nolan's future given the GM vacancy. Unwarranted at this time. Ted is doing a great job creating team cohesion among the players. There is no way to spin that in a negative fashion.

 

The speculation has nothing to do with Nolan's performance. I don't think anybody thinks he's doing anything negative. But he still has the interim tag and the new GM still has to make a decision either way. So until the new GM says Nolan is the coach, then the speculation is warranted.

[HopefulFuture]

The speculation has nothing to do with Nolan's performance. I don't think anybody thinks he's doing anything negative. But he still has the interim tag and the new GM still has to make a decision either way. So until the new GM says Nolan is the coach, then the speculation is warranted.

 

I disagree. Ted's exit or lack there of upon the GM vacancy being filled has little to nothing to do with how this team will perform in the next 5 years as it attempts to achieve playoff contention again. The GM is the one that is going to build the finished product, not Ted. And I don't see this team as the hardest working team in hockey.......yet.

[Two or less]

Much speculation in this thread on Nolan's future given the GM vacancy. Unwarranted at this time. Ted is doing a great job creating team cohesion among the players. There is no way to spin that in a negative fashion.

 

The speculation has nothing to do with Nolan's performance. I don't think anybody thinks he's doing anything negative. But he still has the interim tag and the new GM still has to make a decision either way. So until the new GM says Nolan is the coach, then the speculation is warranted.

 

Everything in this thread is speculation.

 

I really want and hope the next GM keeps Nolan as coach but it's silly for us to predict what they never GM will do since we don't even know who the next GM will be? We can speculate that PLF will only hire a guy who is open to keeping Nolan as coach. Theres some who believe that Jim Benning will become the next GM and around the time we first brought in PLF and Nolan, it was speculated by many in the media that if Benning does become GM, he would bring in Doug Houda from Boston to be his coach. Again... more speculation.

 

Also, it should be noted, any GM not really willing to work with Nolan has little to do with how he coaches his players. Everyone knows he's a excellent coach, a elite motivator and great developer of talent. The issues prospective GMs (and Darcy when he first got here) was Nolan's control over player personal. Even players say it in interviews "if you don't play hard, you won't play". Which is a good way to set an example, but Nolan goes beyond that, and would demand to cut a guy or sign a guy who can lead by example. Like a D'Agostini i'm sure was 100% Nolan move. A GM usually wants a 100% control over his roster and a GM who understands his philosophy.

 

That said, i hope everything works out and Nolan is our coach.

[kishoph]

I keep hearing and seeing this. I just don't see it. To me, he looks like the same guy we've seen for a while.

 

You don't see it because you're not open minded to seeing it, in nearly every game thread you post how bad he sucks. I'm not singling you out, that's the way it is with fans a lot, it's common when someone likes a player they overlook his mistakes, when they dislike a player, every time he losses the puck or shoots wide, he's terrible. I did it with Hodgson a lot, looking for and magnifying every little mistake he made and the opposite with Ennis, even in his bad games, I would think that at least he's exciting to watch. Right now I think it would be hard not to see that Ennis has stepped up his game, aside from being the leading scorer under Nolan, he's out there giving it his all, which may have not been the case in the past. That top line is feeding off each other, remove anyone of them and I don't think you'll see the same results.

[sabills]

This is exactly why I was not in favor of bringing in Nolan, it will be a PR nightmare for the team to let him go again.

 

bingo.

[matter2003]

Did you guys hear Rick last night? He was really into that game. After Ennis scored to tie the game, not long later he made a play to get the puck to Girgensons who was all alone in front of the net. Rick was the loudest he's been in years on that call -- i felt like i was watching the 2006 playoffs. When a guy who's watched and commentated every game for 40 years recognizes the difference in the team, I think it'd be accurate to say this is a hard working team. finally.

 

They were swarming Phoenix for a long time before scoring that goal...you could literally see it coming because it was only a matter of time...Phoenix looked like they were getting swarmed by a hornets nest

[SwampD]

You don't see it because you're not open minded to seeing it, in nearly every game thread you post how bad he sucks. I'm not singling you out, that's the way it is with fans a lot, it's common when someone likes a player they overlook his mistakes, when they dislike a player, every time he losses the puck or shoots wide, he's terrible. I did it with Hodgson a lot, looking for and magnifying every little mistake he made and the opposite with Ennis, even in his bad games, I would think that at least he's exciting to watch. Right now I think it would be hard not to see that Ennis has stepped up his game, aside from being the leading scorer under Nolan, he's out there giving it his all, which may have not been the case in the past. That top line is feeding off each other, remove anyone of them and I don't think you'll see the same results.

FTR, I always thought he was one player who always skated hard, every game, even under Ro-Ro. I don't see any more hustle than I ever have, which is still good. He still loses the puck too much, though, he still gets knocked off the puck too easily, and he still over stick handles at times. Is he scoring at a faster pace? Maybe his defense is a little better, but other than that, I don't see this vast improvement everyone is talking about, and it's not that I'm not open minded, it's that he's the same guy.

[Weave]

They were swarming Phoenix for a long time before scoring that goal...you could literally see it coming because it was only a matter of time...Phoenix looked like they were getting swarmed by a hornets nest

 

You should use that power to make you very wealthy. It is wasted on the Sabres.

[kishoph]

FTR, I always thought he was one player who always skated hard, every game, even under Ro-Ro. I don't see any more hustle than I ever have, which is still good. He still loses the puck too much, though, he still gets knocked off the puck too easily, and he still over stick handles at times. Is he scoring at a faster pace? Maybe his defense is a little better, but other than that, I don't see this vast improvement everyone is talking about, and it's not that I'm not open minded, it's that he's the same guy.

 

I agree it may not be a vast improvement, I don't think any player has vastly improved (maybe Myers) under Nolan, but you can see the improvement in a few players on the offensive side, E.g. Myers, Ennis, Gus, Moulson and Stafford are the ones that I believe can be see improving. Myers and Staff might not be showing up on the board, but seeing them push the puck up the ice and work hard in the offensive zone is something we haven't seen from either in a while.

[dudacek]

Ennis has always hustled. Under Rolston that hustle had no purpose.

He rarely made plays and coughed up the puck with regularity.

 

My impression was Rolston had him thinking way too much about his game.

Not a great idea when your strengths are quickness and unpredictability.

 

I think Girgensons and Moulson are the perfect line mates for Ennis - Girgensons can go get the puck and Moulson can capitalize on the havoc the other two create.