Official Ralph Krueger named Sabres Head Coach

[Drunkard]

11 hours ago, IKnowPhysics said:

Has anyone heard or read -not made up or imagined, but heard or read- anything negative about his coaching style?

He taught his players to not use their hands so I imagine we'll see a lot of puck kicking.

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

So -- Did RK come to the USA for the interview?  Did JB go to Europe? 

Dear me I hope this wasn't just done over the phone.

[dudacek]

5 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

So -- Did RK come to the USA for the interview?  Did JB go to Europe? 

Dear me I hope this wasn't just done over the phone.

There were reports that Botterill would be doing interviews while in Europe for the worlds.

(And I hear Krugsie has an aversion to Skype for some reason.)

[ddaryl]

I too am in the camp where this guy got a raw deal in Edmonton but seems to have enough success where ever he has gone or done in life.  There were no safe retreads that make me feel as optimistic as Krueger. This is a high ceiling type of hire with a moderate floor... We should be better than Housley teams at minimum.

 

The tank was not the problem. As the score card stand the tank was miss managed by Murray mostly and because Botterill failed to shed cap hits, or get a significant asset with the O'Reilly trade, we are in a bit if  cap hell and are limited to what we can do.

The Bills are being rebuilt correctly finally.. Patient moves finding diamonds in the tough and a player types that buy into culture. The Sabres are not there and Botterill has tied his own hands some IMO....

If Krueger exceeds expectations and Boterill makes intelligent moves from here on out we can turn it around. Otherwise Botterill is gone in the next 2 and we get to reboot.

 

 

 

 

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, SDS said:

 

Did they win the game?

We'll see how that "positive" attitude plays with the Sabres roster, from the captain on down.

[Brawndo]

20 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

So -- Did RK come to the USA for the interview?  Did JB go to Europe? 

Dear me I hope this wasn't just done over the phone.

Botterill just said on The Instigators that he sat down with RK on a few occasions. 

[eman]

11 hours ago, dudacek said:

Gives me a whole new impression of Botterill.

Nothing safe or boring here.

Well, while I have to say I am seriously underwhelmed by this hire. JBots is going "all in" on his career with this hire, so my hat is off to him for a ballsy approach. I hope "Coach K" proves me wrong and turns this club into a free-wheeling, exciting, competitive hockey club once again. I really wish him all the best as well as Botterill for going "off the grid". There's always optimism with a new approach, my only hope is that this doesn't turn into another disaster hire as I am not sure I can take one more. Go Sabres!!! Go Coach Krueger!"

[Brawndo]

 

To confirm Sabrespace Super Sleuth @IKnowPhysics Research, Cal Botterill was Ralph Krueger’s 5th Grade Teacher 

[Doohicksie]

2 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

To confirm Sabrespace Super Sleuth @IKnowPhysics Research, Cal Botterill was Ralph Krueger’s 5th Grade Teacher 

[Brawndo]

From Botterill’s Interview with Duff, I got the impression that Botts wanted him in 2017 but he could not leave Southampton at the time 

[...]

7 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

We'll see how that "positive" attitude plays with the Sabres roster, from the captain on down.

If you're implying Eichel can get Krueger fired, I think the table on the players has turned with this hire.  See the Bills for an example.

[sabills]

17 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

I like that he’s not a “system guy.”  Leverage your strengths, don’t waste too much time on your weaknesses.  

Hard same. The wheel of coaching  KILLS me.

New Coach -->

Has HIS system that's better than everyone elses -->

Current players don't fit system -->

GM brings in new players to fit system -->

Team is bad for 3 years because players are still new -->

Coach fired -->

New Coach with different system-->


Rinse and repeat, and you have the last 20 years of the Bills
 

5 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

So -- Did RK come to the USA for the interview?  Did JB go to Europe? 

Dear me I hope this wasn't just done over the phone.

They also interviewed him last time, I believe in person, so a phone interview or five might have been enough for J-Bot

[Doohicksie]

Just now, ... said:

If you're implying Eichel can get Krueger fired, I think the table on the players has turned with this hire.  See the Bills for an example.

No, just that his between-periods motivational speech didn't come across as very positive to me.  I'm not saying it's bad, but it's in contrast to what some of the articles are saying about him.

[eman]

10 hours ago, klos1963 said:

not to argue, I just don't know enough about him. Where has he won and exceeded expectations.

Exactly, and if so, why hasn't some other club noticed this and snatched him up way before the Sabres? I am cautiously optimistic as well. I hope all these good things said about him are absolutely true. The guy was coaching soccer and has n't been an NHL head coach since what? 2013? Again, I hope he is just what this club needs and I do wish him all the best! My gut instinct tells me different and I honestly hope I'm wrong.

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, eman said:

Exactly, and if so, why hasn't some other club noticed this and snatched him up way before the Sabres? I am cautiously optimistic as well. I hope all these good things said about him are absolutely true. The guy was coaching soccer and has n't been an NHL head coach since what? 2013? Again, I hope he is just what this club needs and I do wish him all the best! My gut instinct tells me different and I honestly hope I'm wrong.

Given that your gut thinks he was coaching soccer, your gut is woefully uninformed. 

[WildCard]

4 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

From Botterill’s Interview with Duff, I got the impression that Botts wanted him in 2017 but he could not leave Southampton at the time 

I wonder if that had anything to do with firing Phil

[...]

9 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

No, just that his between-periods motivational speech didn't come across as very positive to me.  I'm not saying it's bad, but it's in contrast to what some of the articles are saying about him.

"Positive" is a relative term. He did not say they were all staring at a long off-season.  He didn't say they were all slackers that get paid a lot to perform better.  He pointed out that they had a goal and that to meet that goal and take control of their destiny was dependent on choice - and eliminated the losing choice as an option.  

Edited May 15, 2019 by ...
my binary was missing two bytes. whatever

[eman]

Just now, SDS said:

Given that your gut thinks he was coaching soccer, your gut is woefully uninformed. 

Was it Hockey? I was listening to WGR550 this morning and they were either joking about that or something. I thought soccer. Again, other than his stint in Edmonton, I know very little about him and this is why I worry. If he is as great as everything we are currently reading, why has no one else stepped up to make a pitch for him since then? Again, I want him to be very very successful. I think we all want him to so we don't end up bitching with each other over another lost season. It is long over due for this team, organization, fan base and city to reach respectability again at the very least. I do think think this is JBots "line in the sand" with his career in Buffalo anyhow and I commend him on making a bold move.

[...]

6 minutes ago, eman said:

Exactly, and if so, why hasn't some other club noticed this and snatched him up way before the Sabres? I am cautiously optimistic as well. I hope all these good things said about him are absolutely true. The guy was coaching soccer and has n't been an NHL head coach since what? 2013? Again, I hope he is just what this club needs and I do wish him all the best! My gut instinct tells me different and I honestly hope I'm wrong.

No other club went with him after Edmonton because: 1) Edmonton soured him to the NHL for a long time. 2) In 2017 RK was still happy in his present job. 3) Choosing RK is the crazy, non-linear choice.  Nothing confusing here.

[eman]

Just now, ... said:

No other club went with him after Edmonton because: 1) Edmonton soured him to the NHL for a long time. 2) In 2017 RK was still happy in his present job. 3) Choosing RK is the crazy, non-linear choice.  Nothing confusing here.

True, I did hear Edmonton had little patience with him after that strike shortened season and never considered him to come back for the next full one. Still not sure how this translates into all this positive buzz we're currently reading about him given such a short body of work at the NHL level. Hoping for the best anyhow, always nice to be optimistic heading into a new season.

[eman]

9 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I hate to say this but he sounds like Ted Nolan.  Motivator but not an X and O guy.  This teams real structure and real coach'em up coaching.  Motivation is not enough.  Who is going to provide the structure?  Who is going to make sure that Risto isn't overplayed and who is going to teach him how to pass to facilitate the breakout?  Not Krueger.

On second thought, my initial reaction of Meh! was wrong. This is a bad hire.

This is what I feel deep down also. I really really want to be wrong on this one.

[matter2003]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

This is obnoxious.  

A small percentage of what the post I responded to was however.

[eman]

9 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I've edited my previous post.  This is a lousy hire.  Smith is supposed to be a D guy.  RIsto was a bad under him as he was prior.  The D, especially in the second half got worse as the season progressed.

Agree here also. Not crazy about Steve Smith based on last seasons body of work with our defense.

[nucci]

30 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

I too am in the camp where this guy got a raw deal in Edmonton but seems to have enough success where ever he has gone or done in life.  There were no safe retreads that make me feel as optimistic as Krueger. This is a high ceiling type of hire with a moderate floor... We should be better than Housley teams at minimum.

 

The tank was not the problem. As the score card stand the tank was miss managed by Murray mostly and because Botterill failed to shed cap hits, or get a significant asset with the O'Reilly trade, we are in a bit if  cap hell and are limited to what we can do.

The Bills are being rebuilt correctly finally.. Patient moves finding diamonds in the tough and a player types that buy into culture. The Sabres are not there and Botterill has tied his own hands some IMO....

If Krueger exceeds expectations and Boterill makes intelligent moves from here on out we can turn it around. Otherwise Botterill is gone in the next 2 and we get to reboot.

 

 

 

 

Hockey and football are different. You can get 2-3 good to great football players in the draft to start and contribute as rookies. Hard to do that in hockey. You can't tear a hockey team to nothing and expect to build it back with talent and depth quickly....

[TrueBlueGED]

I'd have preferred Keefe, but I'm pretty excited. He's just a super interesting hire and infinitely preferable to any normal retread. Dare I say it's an inspired hire. That doesn't mean it'll work, of course, and he could end up being a jack of all trades master of none type person (or worse). But it's easy to get excited about a guy who has had some success in pretty dramatically different positions.