Don Granato Interim Coach for Sabres/Ellis and Girardi to the Bench. Steve Smith Fired

[John Tucker]

18 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

My biggest question is why wasn’t this done at 4:30 on 3/5?  

KA obviously didn’t have the authority to fire.  This he lied.  Second if he was going to make Granato the interIm, he was already in place.  

What a joke of an organization.

Heck, why wasn't this done at 12:01 on 1/1/21??

Edited March 17, 2021 by John Tucker

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just now, John Tucker said:

Heck, why was this done at 12:01 on 1/1/21??

It took him that long to pack his office.

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

Correct.  The one constant in the Pegulas' ownership of both teams is that they hate being embarrassed - that's usually what motivates them to act.  Doug Whaley press conference, the 6-0 pasting to the Capitals - it's all about whether the Pegulas are laughed at.

It's sad that mere objective failure isn't enough to get the job done.

[John Tucker]

Just now, GASabresIUFAN said:

It took him that long to pack his office.

Or to write another book... This one titled..."How to milk a franchise out of millions of dollars"

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 minute ago, John Tucker said:

Or to write another book... This one titled..."How to milk a franchise out of millions of dollars"

....Without Even Trying!

[Mustache of God]

How did Steve Smith manage to stay employed on this team for so long? When RK retained him - our PK coach who had the worst PK in the league w/Housely, my spidey sense started tingling that something was amiss, but I dismissed that thinking we should trust the new guy.

Good riddance. 

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, Mustache of God said:

How did Steve Smith manage to stay employed on this team for so long? When RK retained him - our PK coach who had the worst PK in the league w/Housely, my spidey sense started tingling that something was amiss, but I dismissed that thinking we should trust the new guy.

Good riddance. 

Steve Smith has basically ruined Dahlin. That kid is a ***** shell of what he was at 17 in the SHL. His creativity and confidence has been vampired away by Steve Smith forcing him to play a game that he simply can't currently as a 20 year old in the NHL. ***** steve smith. 

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Steve Smith has basically ruined Dahlin. That kid is a ***** shell of what he was at 17 in the SHL. His creativity and confidence has been vampired away by Steve Smith forcing him to play a game that he simply can't currently as a 20 year old in the NHL. ***** steve smith. 

Was it Smith or Ralph? Or both?

[LGR4GM]

 

[PromoTheRobot]

33 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

"Obi wan Kenobi...Old Ben Kenobi...I don't see the connection." 🥴

[WildCard]

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Steve Smith has basically ruined Dahlin. That kid is a ***** shell of what he was at 17 in the SHL. His creativity and confidence has been vampired away by Steve Smith forcing him to play a game that he simply can't currently as a 20 year old in the NHL. ***** steve smith. 

I have to believe Dahlin can be saved otherwise I go from apathetic with this team to actively hating them

[Mustache of God]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

Matt Ellis has been trying as hard as he can his entire life.

[Thorner]

7 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

So much this honestly I'm glad someone like Marek is tweeting this

[LabattBlue]

10 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Was it Smith or Ralph? Or both?

...or Dahlin?

[Zamboni]

Ok who’s the next inexperienced coach on the roulette wheel of hires and fires will the Sabres get next.

I for one don’t believe an experienced NHL head coach will be the next hire. Or I should say I’ll believe it when I see it.

RK is gone. Is there really any need to clench your fists and be mad because It wasn’t done sooner. Waste of energy in my opinion. What’s done is done. I hope the next hire is a better one. Plain and simple.

[GASabresIUFAN]

9 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

Haven’t we been saying this since the purge? Since the rebuild started?

[LGR4GM]

Just now, LabattBlue said:

...or Dahlin?

Nope. The player I have watched this year is not the player I watched in 2018. The creativity, the puck carrying, the clever passes, the shifty skating... all of it is gone. 

[Thorner]

8 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

...or Dahlin?

He definitely has a big part it in. 

I've said it before, it's not always about negative influence, there's an absence of some positive influence that I think Dahlin needs. To develop. The issues are assuredly his, but a good teacher can help him learn. 

This isn't a surprising or unfortunate thing - it's par for the course with young players coming into a new league, and the Sabres just never have proper structure in place 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Thorny

[nucci]

32 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

Correct.  The one constant in the Pegulas' ownership of both teams is that they hate being embarrassed - that's usually what motivates them to act.  Doug Whaley press conference, the 6-0 pasting to the Capitals - it's all about whether the Pegulas are laughed at.

Yet it happens often

[Stoner]

58 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

He's been fired! wooooot

I feel bad for you if you think Ralph was the problem or this firing fixes anything. There should be no joy. It's like taking drugs, or so I hear. Eventually you need more. And that more? I'm waiting.

21 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Was it Smith or Ralph? Or both?

Not Dahlin, for sure. Or Skinner. Poor guys just couldn't perform with the current coaching staff. All that should change now.

[apuszczalowski]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Steve Smith fired as well

Ellis and Dan Girardi on the bench

The Welland Connection on the Bench

I wonder if Paille is willing to join the coaching staff too?

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by apuszczalowski

[Randall Flagg]

Not thrilled at having an interim with the names available. We will see what happens at HC.

[LGR4GM]

Just now, PASabreFan said:

I feel bad for you if you think Ralph was the problem or this firing fixes anything. There should be no joy. It's like taking drugs, or so I hear. Eventually you need more. And that more? I'm waiting.

Not Dahlin, for sure. Or Skinner. Poor guys just couldn't perform with the current coaching staff. All that should change now.

Ralph was absolutely part of the problem. If you read multiple threads you would see that almost universally across this board, most posters don't think this suddenly makes everything sunshine and rainbows. 

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

I feel bad for you if you think Ralph was the problem or this firing fixes anything. There should be no joy. It's like taking drugs, or so I hear. Eventually you need more. And that more? I'm waiting.

Not Dahlin, for sure. Or Skinner. Poor guys just couldn't perform with the current coaching staff. All that should change now.

Well I did mention Dahlin is a big part of it in a follow up post. 

The reason Ralph wasn't the true, central issue is the same reason Dahlin isn't - a historic pattern of poor decisions organizationally from the top down. 

It's why my posts have illustrated I'm in line with your "no joy" bit, here

[MODO Hockey]

37 minutes ago, Sabre1974 said:

If I'm granato I'm sending okposo and eakin to the taxi squad and bringing asplund and Smith in and keeping them up the rest of the season. Then after the deadline bring up Brett Murray and whoever else we need and roll with them getting as much game time as possible. Blow it up at the deadline and then with who we have left let them play the game and not get them systemised.  

If i was granato, id make sure to send as few players as possible to the taxi squad and try go with what we started the season with as much as possible.

This is the only way to turn things around this season to leave the season with a couple of more wins and some confidence. This team does NOT need alot ot changes with players right now. The team we started this season with need to turn this around, that is my firm belief.

Jack Eichle is one happy "capitano" today, im certain of that.