JohnC Posted February 18, 2019 Posted February 18, 2019 24 minutes ago, Ol Dirty B said: I know it doesn't all fall on the current management, however, this team has been rebuilding forever. Fans frustration is pretty fair. One of the main reasons why this rebuilding has been going on for so long is because there have been so many staff changes. This constant lurching back and forth with different front offices has set this franchise back instead of advancing its cause. I believe in this GM and support what he is doing. Let's give him the time do implement his plan.
BillsFan4 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Posted February 19, 2019 https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-okposo-not-feeling-right-so-hes-back-buffalo Summary: Scandella downgraded to week-to-week and placed on injured reserve to make room for Casey Nelson. Both Bogosian and Ristolainen missed practice. Housley said it was more of a maintenance day but they will know more tomorrow on both. And Okposo was in NJ and skated Sunday morning, but something wasn’t feeling right so he was sent back to buffalo. I hope it’s just playing it safe. I was worried after that knock out punch, with the severe concussion issues/complications he’s had. Buffalo only has 12 forwards with them on the trip, so they may look to call up someone.
K-9 Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 26 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-okposo-not-feeling-right-so-hes-back-buffalo Summary: Scandella downgraded to week-to-week and placed on injured reserve to make room for Casey Nelson. Both Bogosian and Ristolainen missed practice. Housley said it was more of a maintenance day but they will know more tomorrow on both. And Okposo was in NJ and skated Sunday morning, but something wasn’t feeling right so he was sent back to buffalo. I hope it’s just playing it safe. I was worried after that knock out punch, with the severe concussion issues/complications he’s had. Buffalo only has 12 forwards with them on the trip, so they may look to call up someone. Olofsson, please. 1
Nextmanup Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 7 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: What empirical evidence suggests they have not done the same again? i really would appreciated you listing out what he has done that gives you great confidence in the job he is doing besides dishing up platitudes that folks like to hear...build through the draft, strong AHL team, build with character..keep our own, blah blah blah. Same as every GM ever has said. I look forward to your list Now onto this years performance and what could have been done. One month ago you said," I am not worried about the playoffs, but just being in the race down the stretch will give these guys great learning experiences, and that's what's important this season" . Well, here we are with 24 games to go and playing meaningless hockey again, so I guess by your words, and what's been reported as being important this to the organization as well, the season is an abject failure. Now maybe a first and Nylander was well worth it to get freaking Muzzin in here, stabilize the Top 4, maybe win a few more games and still be in the race, and STILL have him under contract for next year. Maybe then the team says okay, what do ya know, someone in management thinks we CAN win this year, maybe the expectations have risen ALL THE WAY UP to make the freaking playoffs.... ..but no, that precious first was too much to give up...now hopefully, and I do mean hopefully , that pick might contribute in 2021...i hope that was worth not executing on said objective for the season. Maybe sell two of those firsts for a 2C now that either has some term or is an RFA. I don't know, I see the Flyers and Blues surging under new coaches, I see the Isles and Canadians with supposedly lesser talent with way more points than the Sabres..maybe coaching has something to do with that? Maybe bringing in Q with an offer he could not refuse makes a diffrence this season, and moving forward But the refusal to acknowledge, (in my best Michael Ray Richardson voice) " the ship be sinking" when it was clear as day in December and crystal freaking clear in January is a crime for this management team. They lucked into a ten game win streak, they owed to the fans and players to not piss it away. But we have devolved as Buffalo sports fans to somehow believing that rebuilds take 5 years, that every year is a growth year.That the goal is not to win games, it is to win the process. You stated in an earlier post Toronto struggled with young talent...umm, they finished 3rd to last the year the Sabres finished last, then dead last the next year...then in the playoffs for 3 straight years since then. I don't call that struggling..I call that winning with young talent.I will take that struggle. Housley has pulled maybe the greatest trick ever in sports..take a team that underachieved and caused your predecessorr to get fired, make them even worse, not really improve in year 2, still be below the point toatl that got the other dude fired...and preach plan and process and got job security and preaching it as progress cause we finished dead last two years ago, but will be all the way to 5th from the bottom this year! Man, better by that bridge soon too, Brooklyn is really growing ! I thought Botterill was extremely slow to implement some type of plan all last year. The theory was he was "watching" and "learning what he has." In the end, he was very slow to implement change and what change he did implement has been an overall wash. He needs to start hitting home runs this trade deadline, into the draft, and FA and the off-season at large. If things aren't much better next season, I think he should be replaced. And I realize constant turnover at the top just slows things down even more, but that is the price you pay for making bad hires. No point in keeping the wrong people in the name of continuity. 1
Ol Dirty B Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 4 hours ago, JohnC said: One of the main reasons why this rebuilding has been going on for so long is because there have been so many staff changes. This constant lurching back and forth with different front offices has set this franchise back instead of advancing its cause. I believe in this GM and support what he is doing. Let's give him the time do implement his plan. And who is at fault for that? I think you have a fair point, even though I don't think he's done a great job. I follow the Sabres from a far. The Skinner trade is great, but other than that what has he done that is good?
Lurker Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 Not Sabres related, but a neat video nevertheless: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/2019/02/18/pierre-mcguire-puck-head-nbc-broadcast-lightning-blue-jackets/39078369/ 1
shrader Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 12 hours ago, K-9 said: Olofsson, please. I feel like if they follow their pattern of calling up the more seasoned guys, it's either O'Regan or Nylander time. I'm too lazy to look up which position might need the call up, but I'm leaning towards O'Regan probably getting the call. 1
K-9 Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, shrader said: I feel like if they follow their pattern of calling up the more seasoned guys, it's either O'Regan or Nylander time. I'm too lazy to look up which position might need the call up, but I'm leaning towards O'Regan probably getting the call. Yeah, you’re probably right. Really makes no difference though, as coach clueless will slot the called up player on a scrub line and promote a current scrubber to a higher line. God forbid we should see a call up from Roch play with more skilled wingers to see what he has. Much better to play him with Sobotka. Edited February 19, 2019 by K-9 1
Lurker Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, K-9 said: Yeah, you’re probably right. Really makes no difference though, as coach clueless will slot the called up player on a scrub line and promote a current scrubber to a higher line. God forbid we should see a call up from Roch play with more skilled wingers to see what he has. Much better to play him with Sobotka. Your ire should be directed at Botteril for the roster he put together. Housley's stuck with two good lines (the first and the fourth) and has to keep shuffling the deck with no face cards or diamonds to be found. The prospects in Rochester are not NHL-ready, especially with Nylander hurt. And the worst way to turn them into the next Tage Thompson would be to bring them up, hoping they'll be the answer... BTW, here's another reason why Bots is not calling on the Amerks for help right now: https://www.diebytheblade.com/2019/2/18/18228314/amerks-weekly-rochester-americans-buffalo-sabres-ahl-syracuse-crunch-tampa-bay-lightning-hockey-nhl Second Line - Victor Olofsson, Rasmus Asplund, and Danny O’Regan have arguably been the Amerks best line all season, but they went missing in four games last week, putting up a combined total of zero points. They combined to be only a -5 overall in those five games, so they weren’t exactly a liability on the ice, but the Amerks need these guys to get the puck in the net. The depth scoring has been great, but it won’t always be there and the snipers will need to fill the net more often than not.
K-9 Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 23 minutes ago, Lurker said: Your ire should be directed at Botteril for the roster he put together. Housley's stuck with two good lines (the first and the fourth) and has to keep shuffling the deck with no face cards or diamonds to be found. The prospects in Rochester are not NHL-ready, especially with Nylander hurt. And the worst way to turn them into the next Tage Thompson would be to bring them up, hoping they'll be the answer... BTW, here's another reason why Bots is not calling on the Amerks for help right now: https://www.diebytheblade.com/2019/2/18/18228314/amerks-weekly-rochester-americans-buffalo-sabres-ahl-syracuse-crunch-tampa-bay-lightning-hockey-nhl Second Line - Victor Olofsson, Rasmus Asplund, and Danny O’Regan have arguably been the Amerks best line all season, but they went missing in four games last week, putting up a combined total of zero points. They combined to be only a -5 overall in those five games, so they weren’t exactly a liability on the ice, but the Amerks need these guys to get the puck in the net. The depth scoring has been great, but it won’t always be there and the snipers will need to fill the net more often than not. When it comes to who to play on what line, that’s Housley's call, Botterill’s inability to provide great players at every position notwithstanding. And yeah, I get that the Amerks prospects aren’t NHL ready, but we need them on emergency call up bases from time to time, like now. If you’re gonna bring up a winger that you hope will develop into a top six scoring threat, then let him play with an Eichel, Reinhart, or Skinner, etc. instead of a non talent like Sobotka, like CJ Smith had to when called up initially. Housley is an idiot when it comes to player usage. So I look for him to ask Botterill to bring up Elie instead of a promising offensive prospect. On the bright side, Elie should feel right at home on a mucker line.
plenzmd1 Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 WTF, anyone else disturbed at this Okposo news? Ya put the dude in two flights with a freaking concussion? How do you miss that as a Doctor. Even the Sabres doctoring skills suck.
K-9 Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 9 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: WTF, anyone else disturbed at this Okposo news? Ya put the dude in two flights with a freaking concussion? How do you miss that as a Doctor. Even the Sabres doctoring skills suck. Yeah, it’s sad news about KO. Not it sure I’m ready to blame the doctors for missing anything...yet. Symptoms manifest differently and can take several days to present. And players aren’t exactly forthcoming with information. I have to wonder about putting him on a flight home, especially a long one, after he presented those symptoms, but it may be a case of doctor’s weighing the benefits of being with a familiar team of doctors in Buffalo vs. down in Florida, especially considering his recent history here, vs. the drawbacks of a long flight, symptoms permitting. KO needs to hang up the skates.
shrader Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 23 minutes ago, K-9 said: KO needs to hang up the skates. Now there's an unexpected cap gift that would dwarf everything that happened with Berglund.
K-9 Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 12 minutes ago, shrader said: Now there's an unexpected cap gift that would dwarf everything that happened with Berglund. Could they designate him to the LTIR list? Not sure how that works, exactly. Have they changed the rules since Philly did that with Pronger? I’m not sure if the Sabres get cap relief if he just up and retires, either. Didn’t Berglund have to agree with the Sabres on the issue of his realease for the team to realize cap relief? I got some reading to do.
shrader Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 46 minutes ago, K-9 said: Could they designate him to the LTIR list? Not sure how that works, exactly. Have they changed the rules since Philly did that with Pronger? I’m not sure if the Sabres get cap relief if he just up and retires, either. Didn’t Berglund have to agree with the Sabres on the issue of his realease for the team to realize cap relief? I got some reading to do. Pronger was an over 35 contract. Those are the only contracts where the team is stuck with the hit if the player retires (unless they pull a Pronger). All other contracts, with retirement, the cap hit is gone. That's based on the age when the contract was signed, so it has no impact on Okposo's contract. 35+ contract retires: the full cap hit stays on the books for the life of the contract (same applies for buyouts) normal contract retires: the cap hit goes away, but any potential re-capture comes into play edit: If, for whatever reason, Okposo retired after this season, the Sabres would be hit with a $1 million each season over the last 4 years on his deal. So that's $5 million in cap savings. That re-capture hit goes up slightly for each year he plays, but it never goes north of $2 million. Edited February 19, 2019 by shrader 1 2
EmotionallyUnstable Posted February 19, 2019 Posted February 19, 2019 In Ft. Myers with the family. It will be interesting to hear the Panthers broadcast.
K-9 Posted February 20, 2019 Posted February 20, 2019 So, are we allowed to criticize Housley for the sorry state of our power play or is he immune to that as well? All I know is that the year before he arrived we had the best PP in the league and it has been in a steady decline ever since he stepped behind the bench. I know, I know, lack of talent yada yada yada. He won’t be a good coach until he has a roster full of all stars. What a crock that is.
plenzmd1 Posted February 20, 2019 Posted February 20, 2019 7 minutes ago, K-9 said: So, are we allowed to criticize Housley for the sorry state of our power play or is he immune to that as well? All I know is that the year before he arrived we had the best PP in the league and it has been in a steady decline ever since he stepped behind the bench. I know, I know, lack of talent yada yada yada. He won’t be a good coach until he has a roster full of all stars. What a crock that is. dude, i fast forwarded the first period outside the power plays. For whatever reason DVR recorded the Panthers broadcast. Even their PBP guy said Sabres looked disinterested, and the Panthers wanted the puck way more than the Sabres. Housley is a dead man walking, why prolong his agony? The team has quit on him, what more of indictment do you need? As I say this, they open the 2nd strong, lets see what happens
Lurker Posted February 20, 2019 Posted February 20, 2019 30 minutes ago, K-9 said: yada yada yada. How many times are you going to make the same point? This is a bad team, full stop.
K-9 Posted February 20, 2019 Posted February 20, 2019 12 minutes ago, Lurker said: How many times are you going to make the same point? This is a bad team, full stop. As many times as it takes. Gotta problem with that, you may want to put me on ignore because this head coach inspires no confidence whatsoever. Housley is a crap coach coaching crap players. Both can be true.
Recommended Posts