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Let the Fire Bylsma Watch begin

matter2003

By matter2003
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Jsixspd Second Liner

Jsixspd

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But for two awful goals, his system would have worked, too.

 

 

And at one point, TO went 11 minutes without a SOG.

 

 

Just sayin'.

But frankly, two of OUR goals came off horrible amateurish face-palm worthy defensive miscues by Toronto both in the 1st frame.  We were lucky they made those mistakes;  I think the odds are they wouldn't even make one of them in the typical game. So that sort of cancels out the two horrendous embarrassing softees our goalies surrendered last night. 

 

 

I said it before Bylsma was hired and got heat for it, but I'll say it again: if he's fired, Claude Julien.

That would be a terrific add to the team!   

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Sabres Fan in NS Hall of Famer

Sabres Fan in NS

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Teds Nolans was a great motivator but a terrible hockey coach. His players would run through a wall for him, they just weren't sure which wall they needed to run through.

 

What about Ted's first stint?

 

He had a more talented team and they would go through a wall for him and they knew which wall ... and the results were much better and he was coach of the year that year.  Then the team management stabbed him in the back.

 

I think Ted is a good coach and that he was placed in an impossible position during that awful time.

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Scottysabres First Liner

Scottysabres

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Nolan is a better "players" coach than Bylsma. Ted would undoubtedly have this team playing "fired up" hockey. Which in my opinion is exactly what this team needs.

 

Bylsma's system sucks. Here is what I see just about every game.

 

- Defensive zone breakouts fail, the long pass isn't working at all.

- complete lack of puck support both in the O & D zones. (What few times I do see it they still lose possession most of the time)

- breakdowns in coverage in the D zone, both by forwards and defensive players.

- poor neutral zone to O zone transition and entries.

- complete disappearance of urgency in loose puck battles, especially foot races to loose pucks.

- poor pinching decisions by defensemen, especially in the 3rd ad the urgency kicks in to do something, anything to attempt offense.

- lack of, especially in the mid to lower 6. Lets face it, Eichel, Ennis and Carrier are the top wheels on this team with Kane a close 2nd tier. Not exactly inspiring a fast game and that is one of the main problems that needs to be addressed.

- poor line changes, not just timing by the coach, but watch the games, no sense of urgency for players coming off the ice to hustle up to do so.

- poor shooting aim both from the outside and the points.

- no one on the ice setting the example to set the pace and be a driving force, a difference maker.

 

There is more i am sure but those are the main ones I notice.

 

Coaching is a large part of the problem here in Buffalo right now, but not 100% of it.

We have Eichel©, Reinhart(RW) and O'Reilly©, Okposo(RW) as staples on our top 2 scoring lines. It is abundantly clear we need Afinogenov speedsters on the LW of each of these lines. Hopefully one's will show up that take puck possession to new levels.

I see Kane as a 3rd line LW'ers on a cup team. But getting the players is up to the GM. So is getting a coach to use them properly to maximize success.

 

Firing Bylsma is like putting a band-aid on a gash requiring 20 stitches. Its only going to cover part of the problem and without the tree moss under it to help the healing process, the infection that had started will only get worse, IMHO.

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Randall Flagg Hall of Famer

Randall Flagg

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I said it before Bylsma was hired and got heat for it, but I'll say it again: if he's fired, Claude Julien.

Pierre said on a radio station today that Julien is on terribly thin ice. We need to root for Boston to miss the playoffs, he's gone if they do. And then we need to go get him. I hate his stupid face, but he'd be the best coach we've had since before Lindy sometime. 

 

Jon Cooper is on thin ice too. Last year at this time I'd be all over him, but there are a lot of red flags now IMO.

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WildCard Hall of Famer

WildCard

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Pierre said on a radio station today that Julien is on terribly thin ice. We need to root for Boston to miss the playoffs, he's gone if they do. And then we need to go get him. I hate his stupid face, but he'd be the best coach we've had since before Lindy sometime.

 

Jon Cooper is on thin ice too. Last year at this time I'd be all over him, but there are a lot of red flags now IMO.

How the hell is Cooper on thin ice?

 

For what it's worth, I will take any coach in the league besides maybe 5 over Byslma

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Randall Flagg Hall of Famer

Randall Flagg

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How the hell is Cooper on thin ice?

 

For what it's worth, I will take any coach in the league besides maybe 5 over Byslma

From what I've gathered:

- He's doing a terrible job handling/developing Vasilevskiy. He didn't get any break during a stretch of five or six games where he allowed four goals or more, and was never pulled/relieved during those games.

- He clashes with star players (fans cite the Drouin incident but imply that there's more than that)

- He was put off by the lack of being able to finish the last two years, thinking he was doing something wrong, and has changed his systems up with the net result being worse.

- He's determined to ruin Palat's career somehow based on usage.

 

These are talking points I've seen repeated on their boards in the Cooper thread. Take them for what they're worth. But they're not in a good spot standings-wise either, remember that we could have jumped them with a win in Tampa just a couple games ago. 

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Beer Second Liner

Beer

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Flagg, just want to say excellent post, a bit wordy for my liking but worth the time. One thing you didn't mention is the PP... watching this team try to enter the offensive zone on the PP is head scratching, they kill all forward momentum by dropping the puck back to a trailer, usually Jack on the first unit, by the time he crosses center ice there are 4 Sabres standing flat footed on the blue line and 5 defenders clogging up the remaining ice. So what does Jack do, he either tries to stick handle through 2-3 defenders or he fires the puck in and it's a race to the puck. It's a terrible play but it's our go-to. I'm all in for a new coach. We need a system that fosters puck possession and puck support. We just give the puck away to easily and too often.

 

My other favorite is when we carry the puck into the offensive zone and the other 2 forwards go off for a change so it's 1 on 5. Those odds are great. How about maintaining possession in the defensive zone, get fresh legs on the ice and come up as a unit!

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Randall Flagg Hall of Famer

Randall Flagg

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Flagg, just want to say excellent post, a bit wordy for my liking but worth the time. One thing you didn't mention is the PP... watching this team try to enter the offensive zone on the PP is head scratching, they kill all forward momentum by dropping the puck back to a trailer, usually Jack on the first unit, by the time he crosses center ice there are 4 Sabres standing flat footed on the blue line and 5 defenders clogging up the remaining ice. So what does Jack do, he either tries to stick handle through 2-3 defenders or he fires the puck in and it's a race to the puck. It's a terrible play but it's our go-to. I'm all in for a new coach. We need a system that fosters puck possession and puck support. We just give the puck away to easily and too often.

 

My other favorite is when we carry the puck into the offensive zone and the other 2 forwards go off for a change so it's 1 on 5. Those odds are great. How about maintaining possession in the defensive zone, get fresh legs on the ice and come up as a unit!

I don't think it's a coincidence that our PP zone entries are brutal and our team does not ever transition as a unit with puck support.

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Derrico First Liner

Derrico

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Just came to say I heard Julien could be fired and wanted to get others opinions.  Looks like I'm late to that party.  As for me?  Ummmm yes please!!  If Julien were to go mid season I wish they would immediately fire Bylsma and replace him with Julien.

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bob_sauve28 All Star

bob_sauve28

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Nolan is a better "players" coach than Bylsma. Ted would undoubtedly have this team playing "fired up" hockey. Which in my opinion is exactly what this team needs.

 

Bylsma's system sucks. Here is what I see just about every game.

 

- Defensive zone breakouts fail, the long pass isn't working at all.

- complete lack of puck support both in the O & D zones. (What few times I do see it they still lose possession most of the time)

- breakdowns in coverage in the D zone, both by forwards and defensive players.

- poor neutral zone to O zone transition and entries.

- complete disappearance of urgency in loose puck battles, especially foot races to loose pucks.

- poor pinching decisions by defensemen, especially in the 3rd ad the urgency kicks in to do something, anything to attempt offense.

- lack of, especially in the mid to lower 6. Lets face it, Eichel, Ennis and Carrier are the top wheels on this team with Kane a close 2nd tier. Not exactly inspiring a fast game and that is one of the main problems that needs to be addressed.

- poor line changes, not just timing by the coach, but watch the games, no sense of urgency for players coming off the ice to hustle up to do so.

- poor shooting aim both from the outside and the points.

- no one on the ice setting the example to set the pace and be a driving force, a difference maker.

 

There is more i am sure but those are the main ones I notice.

 

Coaching is a large part of the problem here in Buffalo right now, but not 100% of it.

We have Eichel©, Reinhart(RW) and O'Reilly©, Okposo(RW) as staples on our top 2 scoring lines. It is abundantly clear we need Afinogenov speedsters on the LW of each of these lines. Hopefully one's will show up that take puck possession to new levels.

I see Kane as a 3rd line LW'ers on a cup team. But getting the players is up to the GM. So is getting a coach to use them properly to maximize success.

 

Firing Bylsma is like putting a band-aid on a gash requiring 20 stitches. Its only going to cover part of the problem and without the tree moss under it to help the healing process, the infection that had started will only get worse, IMHO.

What exactly is his "system"? 

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LTS First Liner

LTS

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Flagg, just want to say excellent post, a bit wordy for my liking but worth the time. One thing you didn't mention is the PP... watching this team try to enter the offensive zone on the PP is head scratching, they kill all forward momentum by dropping the puck back to a trailer, usually Jack on the first unit, by the time he crosses center ice there are 4 Sabres standing flat footed on the blue line and 5 defenders clogging up the remaining ice. So what does Jack do, he either tries to stick handle through 2-3 defenders or he fires the puck in and it's a race to the puck. It's a terrible play but it's our go-to. I'm all in for a new coach. We need a system that fosters puck possession and puck support. We just give the puck away to easily and too often.

 

My other favorite is when we carry the puck into the offensive zone and the other 2 forwards go off for a change so it's 1 on 5. Those odds are great. How about maintaining possession in the defensive zone, get fresh legs on the ice and come up as a unit!

 

The drop pass is employed by many teams and the Sabres power play has been in or around the top 10 all season.  Honestly not sure what we are complaining about there.  The purpose of the drop pass is to get the 4 defenders lined up standing still on the blue line defending the 4 guys standing still.  If you attack with speed you can chip by and attack.  Of course that never happens because a D has to drop to protect against that and most of the time the guy attacking with speed will see which D drops and go to that point.  The idea then is to gain the blue line and dish to the open attacker standing at the blue line where the defender left.  If you attack up the ice with 2-3 the defending team can match you man to man and has a greater chance of breaking up the play.

 

The thing about coaching... coaches can improve a team only so much over the base talent level.  However, they hinder a team at a rate much lower than their base talent level.

 

If every player were rated on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the highest talent level.. I'd estimate that a great coach at best can raise the play 1-1.5 points of a player where as they can reduce it by as much as the whole amount.

 

Right now, I think Bylsma is reducing the talent output of this team by a 2-2.5 margin.

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pastajoe Second Liner

pastajoe

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Just came to say I heard Julien could be fired and wanted to get others opinions.  Looks like I'm late to that party.  As for me?  Ummmm yes please!!  If Julien were to go mid season I wish they would immediately fire Bylsma and replace him with Julien.

 

I expect that if Bylsma was fired, they would just promote Terry Murray as interim coach.

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Taro T Hall of Famer

Taro T

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I expect that if Bylsma was fired, they would just promote Terry Murray as interim coach.

Well, yeah. Obviously that'd be the plan.

 

But the next non-interim coach will be identified in the off-season. And that guy could very well have a head coaching gig at present.

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