Marv's Neighbor Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Great news! I'll always wonder where we would be if they kept Lindy and fired Darcy BUT, I'm very pleased to see Ted back behind the bench. OOOOOOHWAAAAAHHHH!
PastaJoe Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 I agree! Don't know about LaFontaine as GM but I thought Nolan was a great coach. Never understood him being fired Technically Nolan wasn't fired. Darcy only offered him a 1 year contract after he won coach of the year, and he turned it down. It was a move by Darcy to get rid of a coach who wasn't afraid to challenge a GM. Plus Hasek didn't like Nolan, and it was suspected that Hasek faked an injury in the playoffs.
BringBackFergy Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Love this move. Great to see Teddy behind the bench. I remember those teams in the 90's and those guys (May, Barnaby, even Marty Biron) were all competitors and feisty. This is what the team needed. Darcy was here long enough.
bowery4 Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 Love this move. Great to see Teddy behind the bench. I remember those teams in the 90's and those guys (May, Barnaby, even Marty Biron) were all competitors and feisty. This is what the team needed. Darcy was here long enough way too long. Fixed that. AND YEAH Baby, I think my hockey strike is finally over! LOL, I know nothing about this team now though. I will have to watch again and learn. And Terry good move, you will not regret this. Happy you are figuring this hockey thing out finally, Ted was a good coach (and Pat was a good center/leader) here's to moving on: CHEERS!!
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 This is what Pagula should have done when he bought the team. My hope is restored. Wish they had done this before Vanek was traded. Kaleta is Ted's type of player, hopefully this gives him a fresh chance. BUT, is Vanek Ted's type of player... Moulson seems more in line. This had to be in the works. Use Darcy for what he was good, dump Vanek. I would assume they took a pulse of the team and the players and maybe Vanek wasn't on board. Again, sounds like this was all in the works...
Buftex Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 BUT, is Vanek Ted's type of player... Moulson seems more in line. This had to be in the works. Use Darcy for what he was good, dump Vanek. I would assume they took a pulse of the team and the players and maybe Vanek wasn't on board. Again, sounds like this was all in the works... I wonder how all of these moves today change this season. Are the Sabres still "bottoming out", or do they try to dig and claw their way into a playoff spot...most likely, to come up short? Also wonder what it means for guys like Miller, Ott and Moulson. I have a feeling Moulson is not happy, or at least wasn't under Rolston. The other night, after he was benched by Rolston for the final 26 minutes of the Anaheim game, Moulson said he was "humiliated" and had "never been so embarrassed in his NHL career". Ott has looked miserable at times out there... will Pat Kaleta have a role on this edition of the Sabres? Either way, I can't wait to see the next Sabres game Firday night...the first of a home and home with Toronto...it has been a while since I have been excited about a Sabres game!
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) I wonder how all of these moves today change this season. Are the Sabres still "bottoming out", or do they try to dig and claw their way into a playoff spot...most likely, to come up short? Also wonder what it means for guys like Miller, Ott and Moulson. I have a feeling Moulson is not happy, or at least wasn't under Rolston. The other night, after he was benched by Rolston for the final 26 minutes of the Anaheim game, Moulson said he was "humiliated" and had "never been so embarrassed in his NHL career". Ott has looked miserable at times out there... will Pat Kaleta have a role on this edition of the Sabres? Either way, I can't wait to see the next Sabres game Firday night...the first of a home and home with Toronto...it has been a while since I have been excited about a Sabres game! I never caught why Mouslon was benched... What did Rolston say about it? Why? Perfect timing too! Right before the TOR home-home!!! #SabresOrganizationalChange Edited November 14, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois
BringBackFergy Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 I wonder how all of these moves today change this season. Are the Sabres still "bottoming out", or do they try to dig and claw their way into a playoff spot...most likely, to come up short? Also wonder what it means for guys like Miller, Ott and Moulson. I have a feeling Moulson is not happy, or at least wasn't under Rolston. The other night, after he was benched by Rolston for the final 26 minutes of the Anaheim game, Moulson said he was "humiliated" and had "never been so embarrassed in his NHL career". Ott has looked miserable at times out there... will Pat Kaleta have a role on this edition of the Sabres? Either way, I can't wait to see the next Sabres game Firday night...the first of a home and home with Toronto...it has been a while since I have been excited about a Sabres game! and Ted knows the significance of the Toronto rivalry...he'll have them fired up.
Buftex Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 Sabres have been granted permission by the Penguins to speak with Jason Botterill, who is an assistant GM (and former Sabre), one would assume, to fill the vacant Sabres GM job.
plenzmd1 Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 Sabres have been granted permission by the Penguins to speak with Jason Botterill, who is an assistant GM (and former Sabre), one would assume, to fill the vacant Sabres GM job. Guess he has Cups on his resume. My gut tells me Duds...
bbb Posted November 14, 2013 Posted November 14, 2013 Did yesterday really happen? Haha - I kept asking myself that yesterday when I'd take a short break from work and it would hit me again.
ExiledInIllinois Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 It is still gonna be a tough season that goes with out saying. BUT, when change occurs, it is always nice to open on a winning note! Especially against Toronto... Always nice when the new coach can open w/that win... One for the archives! Again, gonna be rough sledding but you can't take his first game as a win away! It means a lot and I hope now the coach and players got each other's back! The symbolism is important here... Very damn important! Step taken to polishing this turd and it starts @ home!
stevestojan Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 It is still gonna be a tough season that goes with out saying. BUT, when change occurs, it is always nice to open on a winning note! Especially against Toronto... Always nice when the new coach can open w/that win... One for the archives! Again, gonna be rough sledding but you can't take his first game as a win away! It means a lot and I hope now the coach and players got each other's back! The symbolism is important here... Very damn important! Step taken to polishing this turd and it starts @ home! Yes, sir.
PastaJoe Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 For the first time this season I actually was emotionally invested in caring that they won. You could still see that they don't have enough big physical players when Toronto would win the battles along the boards, and Toronto had the puck for too long, but at least they were hustling and picking up the open players to deny quality shots. Even the fourth line had some good forecheck and cycle, and Ted rewarded them by giving them ice through the third period. I still didn't see much compete from Leino, and McBain is a defensive liability. I'd like to see them waived and replaced with Luke Adam and McNabb.
Buftex Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 For the first time this season I actually was emotionally invested in caring that they won. You could still see that they don't have enough big physical players when Toronto would win the battles along the boards, and Toronto had the puck for too long, but at least they were hustling and picking up the open players to deny quality shots. Even the fourth line had some good forecheck and cycle, and Ted rewarded them by giving them ice through the third period. I still didn't see much compete from Leino, and McBain is a defensive liability. I'd like to see them waived and replaced with Luke Adam and McNabb. Holy crap, that was a fun game last night... last season, and the way this season started, I almost forgot what it was like to enjoy watching the Sabres...after last night, they gotta re-sign Ott! All that said, anyone have a guess as to how this season will play out? Is Miller still a goner? Are they still in Darcys' full-on rebuild mode? Is the plan still the same? As frustrating as this team has been to watch the last 3 years or so (I am being kind!), I still feel like there is more talent on this roster than the results are showing. Could a combo "lion-heart" /fresh blood coach like Nolan be the one to get more out of them? I realize, that is a big jump to make after one game... but from all the hype I have heard about Nolan, his teams "will" play with all the cliche passion and emotion that is needed to win...unlike what they have been doing for a few years now. Christ, even Drew Stafford looked like an NHL hockey player last night. Cody Hodgson, in my book (even before the coaching change) is looking like the rare Sabres long-term extension that may have actually worked out. The kid is not a great defensive player, true, but he is improving, as does his comfort in the offensive zone. I am not quite ready (but close) to giving up on Lleno just yet. He is always hurt, but when he is not, I feel I see glimpses of what the Sabres saw when they agreed to overpay him...but he just can't stay healthy. He could be going down the Tim Connolly path... but I sometimes feel like, with the right pairing, he could still excell. I realize, that is not a popular opinion.... Have to admitt, as big a Sabres fan as I am, and have been, I actually saw very little of the Lafontaine/Mogilny/Hawerchuk/Hasek/Ted Nolan era in the 90's. I had moved away from WNY in the early 90's, and, until Center Ice came along much later, it was damn near impossible to follow the NHL in those days. No internet...just the 2 or 3 regular season games in ESPN2, and then some playoff games, on the rare chance that the Sabres made it past the second round of the playoffs. So, my impressions of Ted Nolan are based mostly second hand info...but I am enjoying the "new era" so far!
Donald Duck Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 Been a Bills fan as long as I could walk and talk, but it was much later in life when I became a Sabre fan. The passion of then HC Teddy Nolan was a big reason why I became a fan of the Sabres/hockey.
RuntheDamnBall Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 What a game. What is says to me is they've got to at least wonder if they're as far away as they've thought. When they face some adversity, we'll see how the guys like Staff and Myers respond -- and how Nolan addresses it. That'll be the true test, I think. They have too much raw talent to have been this bad, but they need to play as a team. Last night was the first time I've seen that for a full 60 minutes... in I don't know how long.
Buftex Posted November 16, 2013 Posted November 16, 2013 What a game. What is says to me is they've got to at least wonder if they're as far away as they've thought. When they face some adversity, we'll see how the guys like Staff and Myers respond -- and how Nolan addresses it. That'll be the true test, I think. They have too much raw talent to have been this bad, but they need to play as a team. Last night was the first time I've seen that for a full 60 minutes... in I don't know how long. Don't know what the final tally was, but it was the first game, in a long time, too, where the Sabres weren't outshot by a mile. The Leafs may have finished with a few more shots, but the Sabres, by far, had the better quality scoring chances.
bbb Posted November 17, 2013 Posted November 17, 2013 Sabres way outshot the Leafs Saturday night, but got the loss. I didn't see anything. Enroth must have been way off. 4 goals in only 22 shots. But, that might have been the first game all year we have outshot the opponent!
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