NEXT COACH should be? mega thread ...

[Radar]

8 hours ago, pi2000 said:

JBOTs job is on the line.  If he's smart he'll choose the most experienced guy willing to come here who has a history of quickly turning around bad teams.   He doesn't have the luxury of giving a Sheldon Keefe a season or two to adjust to the NHL. 

Tippett is the only choice that makes sense.

JBOTs job is on the line is significant. No time to take risks and Tippett is the lower risk at this point. Frankly,to me, I'm okay with Keefe, the Swede or Tippett but if I'm in Botterill's position I'd go with Tippett.

[Brawndo]

I would love Sheldon Keefe. He has won at every level, is heavily involved in analytics and appears to be headed to be at the least a very good NHL Coach.

After listening to Friedman and most recently Jeff Blair from SN, I truly believe that the Keefe is the next coach if the Toronto Maple Leafs either next season or the shortly after.  Per Blair once the Marlies are done with the playoffs there will be a meeting where Dubas and Babs sit down and Dubas tells him that Keefe will be one of his Assistants. If Babcock refuses he’s out. 

Friedman mentioned he believes that Babcock will be back next year, but someone did ask him if Keefe would believe that Buffalo is his best fit for him.

He also wondered if the Sabres would call Toronto to ask about Babcock. Marek said that wouldn’t happen as he is unlikely to volunteer to leave. 

We will see what happens 

 

[WildCard]

3 hours ago, Brawndo said:

I would love Sheldon Keefe. He has won at every level, is heavily involved in analytics and appears to be headed to be at the least a very good NHL Coach.

After listening to Friedman and most recently Jeff Blair from SN, I truly believe that the Keefe is the next coach if the Toronto Maple Leafs either next season or the shortly after.  Per Blair once the Marlies are done with the playoffs there will be a meeting where Dubas and Babs sit down and Dubas tells him that Keefe will be one of his Assistants. If Babcock refuses he’s out. 

Friedman mentioned he believes that Babcock will be back next year, but someone did ask him if Keefe would believe that Buffalo is his best fit for him.

He also wondered if the Sabres would call Toronto to ask about Babcock. Marek said that wouldn’t happen as he is unlikely to volunteer to leave. 

We will see what happens 

Exactly. The writing is on the wall there

And Babcock can kick rocks. He's overvalued as a coach and he spurned us, screw him

Edited May 3, 2019 by WildCard

[Marvin]

3 minutes ago, Radar said:

JBOTs job is on the line is significant. No time to take risks and Tippett is the lower risk at this point. Frankly,to me, I'm okay with Keefe, the Swede or Tippett but if I'm in Botterill's position I'd go with Tippett.

One way for JBot to play defence is to do something tactical that could buy him an extra year of leeway - that would be to screw the Leafs and hire Keefe.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

8 hours ago, pi2000 said:

JBOTs job is on the line.  If he's smart he'll choose the most experienced guy willing to come here who has a history of quickly turning around bad teams.   He doesn't have the luxury of giving a Sheldon Keefe a season or two to adjust to the NHL. 

Tippett is the only choice that makes sense.

What impresses you most about Tippett's coaching career....seriously asking. Any certain time frame?

[pi2000]

1 hour ago, Torpedo Forecheck said:

My sons former teammate and buddy plays for the Sharks. He lives in Denver now and spent Weds. evening hanging out at his apartment with this guy. My son played against Sheldon in Juniors and he asked him if he knew Sheldon Keefe. The sharks player responded, "oh yeah, everyone knows him, he's gonna be a superstar real soon!"

So you are correct, it is the only choice that makes sense for the Sabres. Hire the guy who's like a dozen other guys.sarcasm

What is it they say on 2BD Billsy?

Two close friends of mine played for Sheldon in Pembroke.   They love the guy, and can't say enough good things about him.

I don't think he would be a bad choice, however, given that JBOTs job likely hangs in the balance, I'm not sure he can afford to take another chance on a hot coaching prospect with no NHL experience. 

But who knows, maybe Pegula has told him not to try and rush things... Or maybe he's given him an ultimatum... we don't know.

[LGR4GM]

Gronberg talking about stuff on a podcast, he comes in at 31:35 so skip to that. 

https://t.co/gPOpkU8yiS 

Quote

Listen to Swedish National Team Head Coach Rikard Gronborg talk about the 2019 World Championships, which are scheduled to get underway in the first week of May. How do you get the players on the same page? What do the world championships mean to European hockey? How long until you’re coaching in the NHL?

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by LGR4GM

[Curt]

17 hours ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

Just my opinion but....then there's the best of both worlds....Gronberg. 

When talking about SHL all we hear is that they are a level below the AHL in comparison. Yet, this guy can take lower level than AHL players and sprinkle in some NHL players and put them up against the best that the rest of the world wants to offer up and come away with the GOLD. This is coaching a mix of vets and younger players and putting them up against the Eichel and McD's and Hughes and Reinharts of the world and not the Spokane Chiefs or Beauts.

But, unlike some, I think I'd be happy with any of the three as long as the Sabres find a way to WIN.

Here's a recent article...

 

https://www.diebytheblade.com/2019/4/23/18511391/buffalo-sabres-rikard-gronborg-is-a-risk-worth-taking-botterill-coaching-search

This idea that the Swedish National teams are made up primarily of SHL players and is beating teams made up primarily of NHL players is false.  The Swedish teams are also almost completely made up of NHL players with only a few SHL players sprinkled in.

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, Curtisp5286 said:

This idea that the Swedish National teams are made up primarily of SHL players and is beating teams made up primarily of NHL players is false.  The Swedish teams are also almost completely made up of NHL players with only a few SHL players sprinkled in.

Yup, here is the list https://www.nationalteamsoficehockey.com/sweden/ 

I think it is 16 out of 25 players are NHL guys with some SHL and KHL sprinkled in. 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

1 minute ago, Curtisp5286 said:

This idea that the Swedish National teams are made up primarily of SHL players and is beating teams made up primarily of NHL players is false.  The Swedish teams are also almost completely made up of NHL players with only a few SHL players sprinkled in.

I was referring to his time spent working with the U-18 and U20 mostly. Even so, with less quantity of players in the NHL to choose from than teams such as Canada and USA it still means something. Let's just say he doesn't have players like McD, Eichel, Matthews, etc to work with. I do understand where you stand though. Just saying that he has less to work with as far as quantity and quality, if that makes sense.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

18 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Yup, here is the list https://www.nationalteamsoficehockey.com/sweden/ 

I think it is 16 out of 25 players are NHL guys with some SHL and KHL sprinkled in. 

That is this years line-up and I didn't see it. Didn't realize there were that many. But, he still has less to work with seeing that Swedes are the third in numbers from the NHL. I might try looking back at the previous years rosters to see how they compare. But thanks for the info, as usual you are on top of things and it's appreciated. Wish I was better on the computer researching things but you know us old farts.....rage against the machine.

[Radar]

Dreger was on Instigators today. He seems to think Tippett is a outside chance to be Sabres coach. Interesting comment seeing there's been so much talk that he's a candidate. Dreger has credibility so we'll see. He also thinks it will be awhile before coach is hired.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

1 hour ago, Radar said:

Dreger was on Instigators today. He seems to think Tippett is a outside chance to be Sabres coach. Interesting comment seeing there's been so much talk that he's a candidate. Dreger has credibility so we'll see. He also thinks it will be awhile before coach is hired.

I would say it will likely go into June and maybe closer to the draft.

[shrader]

4 hours ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

I was referring to his time spent working with the U-18 and U20 mostly. Even so, with less quantity of players in the NHL to choose from than teams such as Canada and USA it still means something. Let's just say he doesn't have players like McD, Eichel, Matthews, etc to work with. I do understand where you stand though. Just saying that he has less to work with as far as quantity and quality, if that makes sense.

I still don't know what we can really take away from that, whether we're talking about the juniors or the world championships.  Either way, it's an all star team that isn't going to be built in the same way that an NHL would.  I won't go as far as to say it's just like saying Marv Levy could coach hockey since he's proven to be a good coach, but we are definitely dealing with a very different game in your comparison.

With the very limited information we have on these guys, I would put Gronborg as the #3 option.  It just seems like the most uphill of the 3 battles.  But I'll willingly admit that this opinion is about as informed as 5 year old at a quantum physics conference.

[Radar]

1 hour ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

I would say it will likely go into June and maybe closer to the draft.

Could be. The question is why. Unless there is someone still involved in playoffs seems like it's taking a long time. If it's going to be someone not with a playoff team you would think it wouldn't take that long. That's why I suspect it's an assistant or someone coaching (Keefe, the Swede or an assistant on a playoff team) that they want to speak with.

[Curt]

19 minutes ago, Radar said:

Could be. The question is why. Unless there is someone still involved in playoffs seems like it's taking a long time. If it's going to be someone not with a playoff team you would think it wouldn't take that long. That's why I suspect it's an assistant or someone coaching (Keefe, the Swede or an assistant on a playoff team) that they want to speak with.

Maybe Botterill would like to interview all of the top people he is interested in (some of which are probably still involved in playoffs) before he makes a decision.

[Radar]

2 hours ago, Curtisp5286 said:

Maybe Botterill would like to interview all of the top people he is interested in (some of which are probably still involved in playoffs) before he makes a decision.

Agree.

[millbank]

On 4/29/2019 at 9:00 AM, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

I hope not, Keefe I could deal with but not Babs. I don't think Babs would like it either.

Just a thought but, we are the laughing stock of the NHL right now and Babs turned us down for TO. Wouldn't that be embarrassing for both sides? Babs must be thinking right now that maybe the better choice would have been Buffalo because there would be less scrutiny when he at least got us to the playoffs. Making that choice now would be admitting he was wrong in his choice. Also, if he doesn't have success here it would just be another strike on his resume for the next time.

Buffalo would be just walking the line of "settling" for the lesser of the evils. I don't want someone who didn't want us before when we needed them.

 

[SDS]

Yael is a professional soccer player. Had had a great career. Interesting take.

 

 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

2 hours ago, SDS said:

Yael is a professional soccer player. Had had a great career. Interesting take.

 

 

So, next year we can expect to either pick 1st overall(depending on lottery) or sneak into the playoffs. Great!

[In The Buff]

2 hours ago, SDS said:

Yael is a professional soccer player. Had had a great career. Interesting take.

 

Yep that would be my take on it too. In the pros you're dealing with players who have played the same game for most of their lives. Learning & picking up things as years go by. When they play the game, the core concepts that got them to that place generally remain the same. A new coach can come in & perhaps motivate them more than the last guy, but can also put them in a better position to succeed, with a new system or with their role or linemates, but they're still gonna be doing pretty much what they've always done. However a coach who does that poorly can adversely affect a team (obviously).

I read this once in an interview with Scotty Bowman, he was asked: 'whats your secret to having success in the NHL?' And his response was simply: 'Good players'.

I think that goes in line with all the above. A good coach isnt gonna change the fortunes of a team much unless you have a quality group of players or the right mix to begin with. But a bad coach can make a good team worse.

This game is so fast & instinctual, a good coach imo would create a system that allows the players to rely on those instincts that got them to this level in the 1st place. Once they get inside their heads too much or play a system counter to their instincts, they play a step behind or are prone to making unnatural mistakes.

A few of the names mentioned the most lately in this thread, from what i've heard/read believe in letting your players play instinctively within a systems framework, which is a breath of fresh air imo. Just hope we hire one of em, & soon because I can't wait any longer!

[Hoss]

 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

We need to get this right no matter what....I don't want to be known as the Oilers of the East.

Generational talent, coaching changes, changes in management....nothing has worked long term.

[MODO Hockey]

This team obviously need strength in their next Coach together with IQ.

I cannot speak of former coaches before Belysma, but dear god have i been missing pure maskulin personality, this team and town has a history of losing and losing and obviously that grows within core players aswell in their mentality. This is why i personally want a man that can lead this team on a level of mentality that grows on you.

Phil Hously looks like momas boy that loves cupcakes to me, he does not have the mentality that i want to see, i want to hear a coach tell the truth no matter how much it hurts.

I pointed out earlier that i like Rikard Gronborg for his mentality and how he see hockey, he is not afraid to prove his point and he does not hand out his wifes cupcakes after a loss, he unleashes his knowledge to the players so that they dont do that sh1t again.

I see alot of good points proven in this thread, Keefe and Tippet for example and i trust you guys, u know these coaches way better than me and therefor i can only speak for my self and what i believe and know for a fact.

Do not put disbelief in Rikard just because, he knows what it takes to win and he knows how it feels to win it all and above most he knows how to form a team to gain that mentality

 

 

[Radar]

I'm getting the feeling after listening to Dreger on the Instigators and Holland to Oilers and Tippett possibly in the mix there that he's a long shot for here. Gronborg has been floating around all along so wouldn't be shocking but not having coached in North America would JBOT take a chance with him? Having said that wouldn't a guy like Keefe have similar risk level? Then there's always Martin still out there. He seems not to be too popular with posters on here. I think we'll find out after JBOT gets back to the states.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Radar