Housley Should Have Until End of December

[SabresBillsFan]

I think this team needs a coach that is gonna let these guys show off their skill but have they have to work hard. It just seems to me like they lack a strong work ethic and are going thru the motions. I’m okay if you lose but play hard and if you lose so be it but at least put the effort in. 

[sabills]

I doubt that Phouse will be fired before the end of this season, but it wouldn't shock me if he's gone at the end of it. Botts strikes me as the type of GM who has expectations and needs them to be met. Last year was bad, but he knew that going in. Maybe a little worse then he expected, but still, the talent wasn't there. He did a BIG makeover to the talent of this team in the offseason, and if he looks at his roster and says "with these players I expect them to get 85-95 points" and they come in at 75 or something he'll turn his gaze to the coach.

The question is what his true expectations for this year are.

Edited October 17, 2018 by sabills

[Radar]

I think we as a group may be bipolar.

[Andrew Amerk]

21 minutes ago, Radar said:

I think we as a group may be bipolar.

Very likely. 

[Weave]

47 minutes ago, SabresBillsFan said:

I think this team needs a coach that is gonna let these guys show off their skill but have they have to work hard. It just seems to me like they lack a strong work ethic and are going thru the motions. I’m okay if you lose but play hard and if you lose so be it but at least put the effort in. 

I think this team needs a seasoned second line center that can put up 50-60 points, take the hard minutes against the other teams top line to free up Jacks line, and dominate face offs in key situations.

I wonder if we could trade Berglund, Sobotka, and Thompson for one.

Nah.  Thats foolish thinking. 

[darksabre]

2 minutes ago, Weave said:

I think this team needs a seasoned second line center that can put up 50-60 points, take the hard minutes against the other teams top line to free up Jacks line, and dominate face offs in key situations.

I wonder if we could trade Berglund, Sobotka, and Thompson for one.

Nah.  Thats foolish thinking. 

I mean, it's not like O'Reilly has elevated the Blues to any appreciable level. He put up 4 points in the first 2 games and hasn't done squat since. The Blues are second last in the Western Conference. 

[CallawaySabres]

51 minutes ago, Radar said:

I think we as a group may be bipolar.

That is a TERRIBLE thing to say and infuriates me to no end....although, I'm actually feeling pretty happy right now about our goaltending

[Drunkard]

20 minutes ago, darksabre said:

I mean, it's not like O'Reilly has elevated the Blues to any appreciable level. He put up 4 points in the first 2 games and hasn't done squat since. The Blues are second last in the Western Conference. 

We'd still be much better off with O'Reilly to anchor the 2nd line than we are having Mittelstadt do it as a rookie. The collection of spare parts we got for him haven't done much at this point either.

O'Reilly may only have 4 points in 5 games but that's double what the trio of lesser pieces have done combined.

Berglund (1 point in 6 games), Sobotka (1 point in 3 games), and Thompson (0 points in 6 games).

[That Aud Smell]

Housley may not be a solution at the HC position.

But, more and more, I am resolved that the biggest issue with the Sabres is player-related. This is Jack Eichel's team. Does this team reflect its captain's game, his play, his intensity, and so forth?

I sorta think so, thus far.

[pi2000]

It's interesting to listen to post-game interviews after a loss.

Eichel - We lost because we didn't execute.
Housley - We lost because we didn't execute.
Hutton - We lost because we weren't desperate enough.

I liked that Hutton admitted he should've made the save on their second goal.  Kudos to him.

The more I listen to Hutton, the more I hear the voice of a future NHL head coach.     

[LGR4GM]

What bothers me is that Hutton is the one noticing the lack of effort some nights. 

[Randall Flagg]

1 hour ago, darksabre said:

I mean, it's not like O'Reilly has elevated the Blues to any appreciable level. He put up 4 points in the first 2 games and hasn't done squat since. The Blues are second last in the Western Conference. 

Hold the phone. 

The Blues are 6% through their first season of 4 remaining on ROR's contract (or 5). If he hasn't done squat "since" (3 games...) and isn't helping the Blues, and their standings place (a crippling 4 points in 5 games) is relevant, then Captain Jack has last place Buffalo hitting records relative to .500 they haven't seen in almost a decade, and things are fine here. 

Or, the hockey season is incredibly young and some of the conclusions being drawn by this forum have completely lost the plot already
 

[Randall Flagg]

28 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Housley may not be a solution at the HC position.

But, more and more, I am resolved that the biggest issue with the Sabres is player-related. This is Jack Eichel's team. Does this team reflect its captain's game, his play, his intensity, and so forth?

I sorta think so, thus far.

Called it

I just can't believe it only took 6 games, of which the Sabres won 3

[darksabre]

11 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Hold the phone. 

The Blues are 6% through their first season of 4 remaining on ROR's contract (or 5). If he hasn't done squat "since" (3 games...) and isn't helping the Blues, and their standings place (a crippling 4 points in 5 games) is relevant, then Captain Jack has last place Buffalo hitting records relative to .500 they haven't seen in almost a decade, and things are fine here. 

Or, the hockey season is incredibly young and some of the conclusions being drawn by this forum have completely lost the plot already
 

I was just providing counter. If the Sabres are struggling right now because ROR is gone, then surely the Blues should be better right now with him?

It's nice to see the Sabres at 3-3. I just want to see more from them that will let me feel better about being 3-3. Maybe Blues fans are more optimistic at 1-2-2. 

[That Aud Smell]

25 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

What bothers me is that Hutton is the one noticing the lack of effort some nights. 

I bet he does.

23 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Called it

I just can't believe it only took 6 games, of which the Sabres won 3

There's still hope. Perhaps a good bit more than a fool's hope. He's gotta get his head wrapped around maintaining a higher level of sustained intensity in his play. It's there sometimes. And then other times, not.

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

It's interesting to listen to post-game interviews after a loss.

Eichel - We lost because we didn't execute.
Housley - We lost because we didn't execute.
Hutton - We lost because we weren't desperate enough.

I liked that Hutton admitted he should've made the save on their second goal.  Kudos to him.

The more I listen to Hutton, the more I hear the voice of a future NHL head coach.     

 

54 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

What bothers me is that Hutton is the one noticing the lack of effort some nights. 

I think people are mistaking "overthinking the game and trying to make the right play, therefore hesitating" as "not playing with intensity or giving enough effort."

That's what I saw. It looked like guys just weren't sure about where to go or where their line mates were supposed to be, so plays looked slow or even lazy, giving Vegas time to swarm them.

Edited October 17, 2018 by SwampD

[pi2000]

35 minutes ago, SwampD said:

 

I think people are mistaking "overthinking the game and trying to make the right play, therefore hesitating" as "not playing with intensity or giving enough effort."

That's what I saw. It looked like guys just weren't sure about where to go or where their line mates were supposed to be, so plays looked slow or even lazy, giving Vegas time to swarm them.

That's the classic excuse when you have lack of effort.

[That Aud Smell]

43 minutes ago, SwampD said:

I think people are mistaking "overthinking the game and trying to make the right play, therefore hesitating" as "not playing with intensity or giving enough effort."

That's what I saw. It looked like guys just weren't sure about where to go or where their line mates were supposed to be, so plays looked slow or even lazy, giving Vegas time to swarm them.

I do think some of that could be going on. But I also see times when -- regardless of what's going on around him -- Eichel looks like he's sort of half-assing whatever he's doing.

[WildCard]

Eichel is everything Pi claims Matthews is

[darksabre]

36 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

That's the classic excuse when you have lack of effort.

I'm agreeing with you a more than I would like to be today. 

What I see when players aren't giving their best effort is:

-players not skating hard enough to create space for themselves 

-players not looking around and assessing changing situations with urgency

-players not using their bodies to protect the puck 

The result is soft one on one turnovers, bad passes because teammates aren't making the effort to get open, and blown coverage.

[Weave]

3 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

Housley may not be a solution at the HC position.

But, more and more, I am resolved that the biggest issue with the Sabres is player-related. This is Jack Eichel's team. Does this team reflect its captain's game, his play, his intensity, and so forth?

I sorta think so, thus far.

There have been warning signs of this for 3 years. 

1 hour ago, WildCard said:

Eichel is everything Pi claims Matthews is

I think there is reason for concern here.

Instead of being up there with Gil, he may be somewhere between Gil and Pierre.  Hopefully, much closer to Gil, but the jury is still out.

[That Aud Smell]

5 minutes ago, Weave said:

There have been warning signs of this for 3 years. 

I think there is reason for concern here.

Instead of being up there with Gil, he may be somewhere between Gil and Pierre.  Hopefully, much closer to Gil, but the jury is still out.

Honestly, having him be a cut above Pierre would give me comfort at this point.

[Weave]

1 minute ago, That Aud Smell said:

Honestly, having him be a cut above Pierre would give me comfort at this point.

I think they are pretty comparable at similar points in their careers.  Pierre was putting up points, but it was a different league then.  I think the concerns re: leadership and saviorship at that point are pretty comparable though.

[TrueBlueGED]

3 hours ago, pi2000 said:

It's interesting to listen to post-game interviews after a loss.

Eichel - We lost because we didn't execute.
Housley - We lost because we didn't execute.
Hutton - We lost because we weren't desperate enough.

I liked that Hutton admitted he should've made the save on their second goal.  Kudos to him.

The more I listen to Hutton, the more I hear the voice of a future NHL head coach.     

I can't imagine anything less interesting than listening to post-game interviews. 

Anyway, to paraphrase Bill James, the one thing that all bad teams do is blame their best players for their problems. 

[Randall Flagg]

2 hours ago, SwampD said:

 

I think people are mistaking "overthinking the game and trying to make the right play, therefore hesitating" as "not playing with intensity or giving enough effort."

That's what I saw. It looked like guys just weren't sure about where to go or where their line mates were supposed to be, so plays looked slow or even lazy, giving Vegas time to swarm them.

I'm right here for 95% of all effort concerns people have with the Sabres, and the 5% that is real happens to every hockey team on the planet. 

And Eichel might not have the ridiculous drive of Matthews or McDavid or Dahlin hopefully seems to have (like Geno doesn't quite have Sid's), it's not a big deal, because I don't think he's ever really loafing either. And his preparation, from everything we could know, is top-notch. 

I recall reading more than one poster, before Eich ever played a second for the Sabres, pointing out that Jack's effort will forever be a topic of discussion simply because of his "slow the play down" nature as a player combined with his upright posture. Whoever those posters were, I think, nailed it.