The Krueger Crux? "Not thinking out there"

[Zamboni]

Meh. I’m gonna not have strong negative Nancy opinions or unbridled enthusiasm with what RK is or will be doing or saying. I’m gonna let this season unfold and see what I see. I gave Housley a full season before I had a strong opinion on him. Wanted to give things time. I’ll do the same with RK. 

[Kruppstahl]

3 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Meh. I’m gonna not have strong negative Nancy opinions or unbridled enthusiasm with what RK is or will be doing or saying. I’m gonna let this season unfold and see what I see. I gave Housley a full season before I had a strong opinion on him. Wanted to give things time. I’ll do the same with RK. 

Sensible approach.  I think objective fans can agree, though, that the odds of him being a hidden gem of a coach are improbable at best and probably highly unlikely.

No need to discuss it now.  It will unfold in front of us soon enough.

 

 

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

18 hours ago, Thorny said:

Indeed. He sounds like the magic man. 

He is fantastic at managing a team.  He went to England and really turned a nothing side into a very well run EPL team.  That most often does not lead to a championship, as the EPL is the most notorious league for having championships bought, most recently with Middle East oil money.

I think that he was brought in for a bigger role, but the coach was the available position and might as well have him turn around the players first and then move on to running the team as President.

[LTS]

On 9/13/2019 at 10:13 PM, darksabre said:

I loved him in Knight Rider.

[...]

The Krueger Crux? "Not thinking out there"

How about:  The Krueger Hoax? "No thinking in here"

F...me.  As if the lack of doing anything to help scoring all off-season wasn't enough, we're being asked to buy into a gamble of a coach.  And we get Vesey - Eichel - Sheary as a first line in the first preseason game?  Just no.  NO.  Not good.

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, ... said:

The Krueger Crux? "Not thinking out there"

How about:  The Krueger Hoax? "No thinking in here"

F...me.  As if the lack of doing anything to help scoring all off-season wasn't enough, we're being asked to buy into a gamble of a coach.  And we get Vesey - Eichel - Sheary as a first line in the first preseason game?  Just no.  NO.  Not good.

You are overreacting to be honest. The off-season comment I get but it is literally preseason game #1. They could put Eli and Sobotka with Eichel and I wouldn't think much of it. 

[...]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

You are overreacting to be honest. The off-season comment I get but it is literally preseason game #1. They could put Eli and Sobotka with Eichel and I wouldn't think much of it. 

It illustrates a thinking pattern.  I don't like the pattern.

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, ... said:

It illustrates a thinking pattern.  I don't like the pattern.

What pattern? Honestly asking because I don't really have an opinion on Krueger yet. He can say whatever he wants but if the team doesn't win games, it doesn't matter. 

 

[Zamboni]

RK is gonna throw a lot of weird combos out there for the majority of the preseason. ALL coaches do every year. For the Sabres, Housley did it, Bylsma did it, Nolan did it, Ruff did it etc ...

The combos will change from period to period some games. 

This concept is nothing odd, weird, wrong or outside the box.

[...]

A pattern demonstrated here is the lack of observing past performance. 

I also think this could be a result of RK and Botterill communicating - but then Botterill would be ignoring past results.

I don't like Sheary playing with Eichel, period.  Sheary is not a top-line guy.  He's not even a second-line guy.

I can see experimenting with one of Vesey or, I guess, Sheary, on the top line for a...A...preseason game, but we need goals and we need our goal scorers to tune to and lock in with each other.  This is just playing, toying.  There's a certain lack of seriousness to this, it seems to me.

YMMV.

 

Just now, Zamboni said:

RK is gonna throw a lot of weird combos out there for the majority of the preseason. ALL coaches do every year. For the Sabres, Housley did it, Bylsma did it, Nolan did it, Ruff did it etc ...

The combos will change from period to period some games. 

This concept is nothing odd, weird, wrong or outside the box.

Is that how it works? That's nutty.

[LGR4GM]

I don't agree but I understand your point. 

[Randall Flagg]

That's where I'll be if we start this season with both those guys on Jack's wing. But I'll let him mess around in the preseason to his heart's content. Jeffrey and Jack will slide back together smoothly. 

[...]

It's the whole "clean slate" thing.  We still have Steve Smith and Botterill.  We have an analytics department.  There is a past and history with these players.  As I said, this looks like tinkering far more than a serious consideration of the data that's already available.

[#freejame]

RK has said the first five days of camp he wanted to spread his veterans out with new and young players. After that, things would start to shake out more. I wouldn’t read into anything prior to this upcoming Wednesday. 

[dudacek]

Or he’s trying to see if either of these two candidates have some chemistry with Jack, because Jack will likely have at least one new winger this year?

42 minutes ago, ... said:

It's the whole "clean slate" thing.  We still have Steve Smith and Botterill.  We have an analytics department.  There is a past and history with these players.  As I said, this looks like tinkering far more than a serious consideration of the data that's already available.

 

[Weave]

Meh.  Early preseason lines mean very little, if anything.  The wealth gets spread around to see who might have the skills to play “up a level”.  There are only so many forwards that you can put a guy with the see if he can keep up.

 I’ll be more concerned if it is still a thing in the last 2 preseason games and the last week of preseason practices.

[Thorner]

2 hours ago, Zamboni said:

RK is gonna throw a lot of weird combos out there for the majority of the preseason. ALL coaches do every year. For the Sabres, Housley did it, Bylsma did it, Nolan did it, Ruff did it etc ...

The combos will change from period to period some games. 

This concept is nothing odd, weird, wrong or outside the box.

I seem to recall the Skinner - Eichel - Pominville top line being a thing REALLY early last year. That Jimmy/Sheary/Eichel has been a line for 3 practices and now a game, means something to me. The season is two weeks away, some of these lines and pairings are probably meant to build chemistry among players that will in fact start the year together. 

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/sharpen-up-september-22-2018/c-300320634

There ya go. Our top line to start the regular season last year started our first preseason game together.

Edited September 16, 2019 by Thorny
Edit: That was our 2nd preseason game with Jack. Can’t seem to find the pairings for preseason game 1

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

I seem to recall the Skinner - Eichel - Pominville top line being a thing REALLY early last year. That Jimmy/Sheary/Eichel has been a line for 3 practices and now a game, means something to me. The season is two weeks away, some of these lines and pairings are probably meant to build chemistry among players that will in fact start the year together. 

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/sharpen-up-september-22-2018/c-300320634

There ya go. Our top line to start the regular season last year started our first preseason game together.

Strictly as an FYI, for the 1st practice last year Eichel was centering Skinner and Okposo; Berglund was between Nylander & Bailey; Larsson centered Olofsson & Pekar; and Criscuolo, Cornel, Glotov, & Wilson rounded out Group A.

Mittelstadt centered Sheary & Pominville; Sobotka centered Smith & Thompson; Asplund, Rodrigues, & Baptiste were together; and Girgensons, Malone, O'Regan, & Randell rounded out that groupings lines.

Reinhart was still waiting on a contract.

[Thorner]

11 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Strictly as an FYI, for the 1st practice last year Eichel was centering Skinner and Okposo; Berglund was between Nylander & Bailey; Larsson centered Olofsson & Pekar; and Criscuolo, Cornel, Glotov, & Wilson rounded out Group A.

Mittelstadt centered Sheary & Pominville; Sobotka centered Smith & Thompson; Asplund, Rodrigues, & Baptiste were together; and Girgensons, Malone, O'Regan, & Randell rounded out that groupings lines.

Reinhart was still waiting on a contract.

Ya, caught that Pominville didn’t get there till preseason game 2 with my edit. Regardless, one of Eichel’s wingers was set day one of camp. And the other was there by his second preseason game. 

This bodes well for one of Vesey and Sheary being there and potentially both. The “camp lines mean nothing” idea is greatly exaggerated.  

Edited September 16, 2019 by Thorny

[Taro T]

12 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Ya, caught that Pominville didn’t get there till preseason game 2 with my edit. Regardless, one of Eichel’s wingers was set day one of camp. And the other was there by his second preseason game. 

This bodes well for one of Vesey and Sheary being there and potentially both. The “camp lines mean nothing” idea is greatly exaggerated.  

Yeah.  Have to believe thisis more of an audition for both he and Sheary to see if there's chemistry with Eichel rather than simply to see how they skate "with a veteran."  Would guess that if either/ both falter we'll see Olofsson get a shot there (and possibly, shudder, Thompson) as they try to find a way to let both of the top 2 wings play on line 2 creating a semblance of a 2nd line or even catch lightning in a bottle and have 1 of those 2 with Johansson provide effective wings for the 2nd line making the 3rd li ne better than it realistically should be.

2 thoughts on that. 1 catching lightning in a bottle isn't a strategy.

And 2 Eichel is comfortable enough w/ both Skinner & Reinhart that they should be effective from day 1 should Krueger put one or both back onto Eichel's line after having thrown everything else imaginable against the wall.

[dudacek]

If Sheary Eichel Vesey becomes a thing that lasts, what does it need to do to be considered a success?

Combine for 70-80 goals?

The above, plus the middle six scoring significantly more than last year?

Win more games? A lot more?

[Thorner]

I think just about everything comes down to winning hockey games this year. At least, it should. 

[Taro T]

9 minutes ago, dudacek said:

If Sheary Eichel Vesey becomes a thing that lasts, what does it need to do to be considered a success?

Combine for 70-80 goals?

The above, plus the middle six scoring significantly more than last year?

Win more games? A lot more?

Only if they're winning games is that a success.

[LGR4GM]

Should call this the overreaction thread. Let's see where they are next Monday. I bet lines will change a lot. 

[Thorner]

19 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Should call this the overreaction thread. Let's see where they are next Monday. I bet lines will change a lot. 

Who’s overreacting? 

I’ve already illustrated that half of Jack’s wingers were the same day one of camp last year as they were regular season game 1, and both his wingers from preseason game 2 lined up to start the season with him. 

There’s a HIGH likelihood one of Vesey and Sheary is there and a fair chance it’s both. At least worthy of discussion and not a random overreaction. 

Edited September 16, 2019 by Thorny