What would you advise TP to do?

[Randall Flagg]

On 11/26/2019 at 8:15 PM, Let's Go B-Lo said:

They are about to drop 5 straight

Oh

[nfreeman]

Well, they've looked freaking terrible for the last 2 games and no one could really be surprised if they are at the beginning of another stretch of, say, 10 losses in 12 games -- which, if it happens, will effectively end the season.

What have we learned about JB in the last few weeks?

- The first guy he drafted -- Mitts -- has fallen off the table and is looking more like a complete bust than a future NHL #2 center.

- The first goalie he brought in -- Hutton -- has also fallen off the table, has lost his last 11 starts and has given up 5 or more goals in 5 of his last 7 starts.  This is no surprise, as Hutton was terrible in the 2nd half of last season and has never been a starter, but no goalie was brought in over the summer.

- The first big contract he gave out -- Skinner -- hasn't quite fallen off the table but certainly hasn't produced much lately, with 1 goal and 2 assists in his last 10 games.

- The only respectable forward he brought in from outside the organization -- Johansson -- has fallen off the table after a good start and has been completely ineffective, with 1 goal in his last 20 games.

- The concerns virtually everyone raised going into the season -- i.e. too many NHL defensemen and not enough NHL forwards -- have proven out, with the Sabres getting very little 2ndary scoring, dressing 11 forwards and 7 defensemen many nights, good NHL defensemen being healthy-scratched every night, and one of those healthy scratches demanding a trade.

I continue to think that TP needs to bring in an experienced hockey czar with a real track record and no ties to JB or the Penguins to oversee and evaluate JB. 

[Kruppstahl]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

Well, they've looked freaking terrible for the last 2 games and no one could really be surprised if they are at the beginning of another stretch of, say, 10 losses in 12 games -- which, if it happens, will effectively end the season.

What have we learned about JB in the last few weeks?

- The first guy he drafted -- Mitts -- has fallen off the table and is looking more like a complete bust than a future NHL #2 center.

- The first goalie he brought in -- Hutton -- has also fallen off the table, has lost his last 11 starts and has given up 5 or more goals in 5 of his last 7 starts.  This is no surprise, as Hutton was terrible in the 2nd half of last season and has never been a starter, but no goalie was brought in over the summer.

- The first big contract he gave out -- Skinner -- hasn't quite fallen off the table but certainly hasn't produced much lately, with 1 goal and 2 assists in his last 10 games.

- The only respectable forward he brought in from outside the organization -- Johansson -- has fallen off the table after a good start and has been completely ineffective, with 1 goal in his last 20 games.

- The concerns virtually everyone raised going into the season -- i.e. too many NHL defensemen and not enough NHL forwards -- have proven out, with the Sabres getting very little 2ndary scoring, dressing 11 forwards and 7 defensemen many nights, good NHL defensemen being healthy-scratched every night, and one of those healthy scratches demanding a trade.

I continue to think that TP needs to bring in an experienced hockey czar with a real track record and no ties to JB or the Penguins to oversee and evaluate JB. 

The theme here seems to be "falling off the table." 

What concerns me most about Botterill is that he seemingly has no idea what a good NHL hockey player looks like, particularly as viewed from the perspective of being able to generate a long run of success in the playoffs.

He seems to love physically small, weak choir boy types who have absolutely no inner drive or competitiveness in them, by nature.

Somewhere along the line in the last 20 years or so, hockey players stopped being hockey players.  or at least a lot of them did.

By that I mean the profile of who ends up in the NHL is changing quite a bit.  The 2 big drivers are how soft the game has become, allowing soft players to excel, and the money involved now, turning even a very short career into a "set for life" pay day.

Whole lotta pussies floating around the league now, and Botterill seems to have a knack for finding them and turning them into Buffalo Sabres.

 

 

 

 

[nfreeman]

29 minutes ago, Kruppstahl said:

The theme here seems to be "falling off the table."

Indeed.

I don't like the idea of starting over with a new GM yet again, and I like a number of things that JB has done, but he has to be accountable for the results.  If they don't end the season within shouting distance of the playoffs, it will be hard to justify keeping him, and it will be totally valid to include in the analysis his huge misses on goaltending, draft picks, his first coach, roster construction, the ROR trade, etc.

At a minimum there should be someone else there to contribute to the decision-making.

[nucci]

On 11/26/2019 at 11:25 AM, pastajoe said:

I don’t think the comparison with the Bills doing things right is valid. The Bills aren’t as good as their record and have benefited from a schedule of bad teams. I never liked the emphasis of drafting all the high defensive picks at the expense of the offense, and passing on drafting Mahones or Watson when QB was a clear priority.

And the fact football players don’t have guaranteed contracts but hockey players do makes a difference in cutting players.

Having said that, the breaking point for me with Botts was when he recently said they need all those defensemen for depth. At this point depth on D does no good when the forwards can’t score.

Yes, they are...