May Day 10 Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 Detroit's neglect of hitting on anything near the first few rounds of the draft (except larkin) and the information age (can no longer be at the cutting edge of finding diamonds in europe) has caught up with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 ok well maybe the “McLellan sweepstakes” is not over yet after all.... lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/31-thoughts-breaking-major-nhl-awards-candidates/ some good stuff on the sabres in here. Thoughts #7 through #12 are Sabres related (with small mentions in #29 and 31) Edited April 10, 2019 by BillsFan4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: I do agree about not hiring someone out of fear of losing out. But sometimes you need to act quick when there’s proven coaches available. If we miss out on AV too, then I agree there’s no longer any rush. I really don’t want another assstant coach though. Not right now anyway... Washington was in a much different position than us, with a veteran team coming off a Cup win. I still think they were nuts for letting Trotz go. But a BIG reason they were willing to let Trotz walk is because their owner is cheap and wasn’t willing to pay Trotz what he deserved. They were only willing to give him something like a $500k raise and he was already making a low salary (MILLIONS less than the top coaches). They also felt very very strongly about Todd rierden. They were blocking him from interviewing for years. He was an in-house candidate the team knew very well. Detroit has yet to recover since Babcock left. Their fans hate Blashill. They’ve finished near the bottom of the NHL basically every year since he was hired. But again, he was another in house candidate that has been groomed by the team for many years. They even brought him up to learn from Babcock before sending him to coach in the AHL. They were here very sad to see Babcock leave, btw. Ken Holland tried everything he could to get Baba to stay. I followed that whole story very closely. I also disagree about Q, McLellan and Alain Vigneault being just some crappy veteran retreads. All 3 are distinguished veteran NHL coaches with proven track records of success. Q had 3 Cups. 2 of AV’s 3 teams have made the Cup finals and they’ve won 2 presidents trophies. Hisnteams have made the playoffs 9 of the last 10 years. McLellan is the least distinguished of the 3 (which is why he was my 3rd choice behind Q and AV) but he still has a proven track record of success. His San Jose teams made the playoffs every year. Had 3 division wins in 6 years. Made the conference finals twice. Took a historically inept Edmonton franchise to a game away from the conference finals in his 2nd year there. As ive said before, I feel that the Buffalo job is quite clearly a heavy lift. I really think we need someone who’s been there and done it before. Not another first time trying to learn on the job. This job has overwhelmed every coach to take it so far. I want someone who’s shown that they can take over a team and improve it. Someone with a track record that will give him instant respect in the Sabres locker room. The Sabres job is a different situation than most jobs out there. We have a team that has been proven to be difficult to coach. They go off script a LOT and throw the coaches game plan right out the window. We don’t have that experienced veteran leadership group to keep all the kids in line. Thats is a big reason why I think we need a proven veteran coach. Someone that’s a leader and will command the respect of that locker room and change this losing culture, similar to what Babcock did in Toronto or Trotz did with the NYI. Or AV IN Vancouver or NYC i think we need someone with some real credibility, that can actually get these p,Ayers to fully buy in to what they’re doing, and keep that belief if/when times get tough. Still have some hope that we can land AV... though I haven’t heard anything about a possible interview or him being interested. I worry that he’s not (interested) I’m not so sure how attractive a franchise we are right now, to be perfectly honest, and you know I’m normally a pretty positive guy. We’ve fired 5 coaches and 3 GMs just since 2013 (about every 2-3 years). Our current GM is in year 3 and already on his 2nd coach. 3 last place finishes in the past 5 years. Havent finished better than 8th last since 2012. We have multiple ex-players recently talking about how depressing and soul crushing it was to play in Buffalo. Having said all that, I will find reasons to get excited about anyone we hire. I always do. I am a “look on the bright side”type of guy. I will get on board with whoever we hire. Sometimes I just need to vent is all. I'm not denigrating either McLellan or AV. The real issue for this team is not only an inadequate talent level but also how the team is constructed. You can be a top shelf coach and still not be able to turn around a struggling franchise when the talent is thin. That's the heart of the problem. With respect to Trotz I'm also very familiar with the how that departure transpired. I live in the MD/DC area. Money wasn't the primary issue although it certainly was a factor. The reality is that the organization thought very highly of Reirden and didn't want to see him go to another organization. As you pointed out the organization refused other organizations from talking to him. The owner explained the primary reason why he made it difficult for Trotz to stay. His thinking was that the coach's voice/authority had a shelf life. The owner believed that after an extended run the players tune out the coach. Is that thinking accurate? I'm not sure. But what made the organization willing to risk losing their cup winning coach is that they thought very highly of their assistant coach. With respect to the coaching search I wouldn't recommend foreclosing on any candidate whether a former HC or current assistant coach. Why limit your pool of candidates? If AV is the next best option or if McLellan does sign with Buffalo then so be it. But those signings will not be placed in a good situation unless the roster is significantly bolstered. That's where my focus is on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 22 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/31-thoughts-breaking-major-nhl-awards-candidates/ some good stuff on the sabres in here. Thoughts #7 through #12 are Sabres related (with small mentions in #29 and 31) Good stuff, but why no love for Dahlin for the Calder? Second highest point total for an 18-year old defenseman in history and he doesn’t even make the top 3 short list? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 9 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Good stuff, but why no love for Dahlin for the Calder? Second highest point total for an 18-year old defenseman in history and he doesn’t even make the top 3 short list? Fine by me. The fewer accolades a player gets, the less dollar demands they're likely to have down the road. As a small market team, I've always wondered why Bills or Sabres fans want players to win awards that ultimately make them harder to sign when they become free agents--and large market teams start bidding for their services... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 43 minutes ago, Lurker said: Fine by me. The fewer accolades a player gets, the less dollar demands they're likely to have down the road. As a small market team, I've always wondered why Bills or Sabres fans want players to win awards that ultimately make them harder to sign when they become free agents--and large market teams start bidding for their services... That may have been an issue when Rigas or Golisano were the owners, but Pegula has the deepest pockets in the NHL. There’s still a lot of undug oil wells when he needs to pony up for a player. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 39 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said: That may have been an issue when Rigas or Golisano were the owners, but Pegula has the deepest pockets in the NHL. There’s still a lot of undug oil wells when he needs to pony up for a player. Some players, believe it or not, are motivated by more than money. They want to go to large markets (i.e., Panarin to Florida) or winning teams. Same with Babcock choosing Toronto over Buffalo, even though Pegs would have paid him whatever he wanted... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 5 minutes ago, Lurker said: Some players, believe it or not, are motivated by more than money. They want to go to large markets (i.e., Panarin to Florida) or winning teams. Same with Babcock choosing Toronto over Buffalo, even though Pegs would have paid him whatever he wanted... Agreed, but I was responding to your statement that we should root against Buffalo players winning accolades because it will lead to larger dollar demands at contract time. I want them to win all the accolades they can because Pegs will not be outbid for a player that he wants to retain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 Dahlin getting $11M for 8..bank it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 39 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: Dahlin getting $11M for 8..bank it He will be worth every penny. The only way that an organization can accommodate their multiple premier talents with their commensurate maximum contracts is to maintain a farm system that provides emerging young talent with their cheaper contracts. Tampa has a blockbuster roster. They won't be able to keep all their scintillating talent but will squeeze in most of them because they have a loaded farm system that can funnel in cheaper players that can offset the bonanza contracts of their big boys. It's going to be interesting to follow Toronto with their star young players who will demand big money when their contracts are up. I foresee some roster shuffling in the not to distant future when the financial squeeze forces them to make some deals. The trade of O'Reilly hurt us severely in the short term. No question about it. However, I'm not going to be critical of our GM because the player didn't want to be here. So what we gained was cap space that presumably will be used for Skinner, we picked up Tage and one of the extra first round picks acquired in the deal was used in the Montour pickup. If Tage develops then the deal will look a little more balanced. Although as it currently stands our GM got his arse wiped clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 This column speculates on the possibility of Connor McDavid being traded and three teams that could pull off a deal for him. One is the Sabres. Take a look at what they have the Sabres offering and tell me how quickly you think Jason Botterill would jump through the telephone to make this deal happen. https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/if-connor-mcdavid-gets-traded-here-are.html?m=1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said: This column speculates on the possibility of Connor McDavid being traded and three teams that could pull off a deal for him. One is the Sabres. Take a look at what they have the Sabres offering and tell me how quickly you think Jason Botterill would jump through the telephone to make this deal happen. https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/if-connor-mcdavid-gets-traded-here-are.html?m=1 yea that ain't happenin..the Great Ones never get traded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 Just now, plenzmd1 said: yea that ain't happenin..the Great Ones never get traded I agree and yet The Great One did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 5 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said: This column speculates on the possibility of Connor McDavid being traded and three teams that could pull off a deal for him. One is the Sabres. Take a look at what they have the Sabres offering and tell me how quickly you think Jason Botterill would jump through the telephone to make this deal happen. https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/if-connor-mcdavid-gets-traded-here-are.html?m=1 Not a chancein Hades the Eulers would settle for that. Eichel heads to Alberta in any trade they'd make with the Sabres. As to your question: Botterill answers before it rings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 6 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: yea that ain't happenin..the Great Ones never get traded 5 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said: I agree and yet The Great One did. You expect that Katz is having the sort of cash flow issues that Pocklington had in the late 80's? If not, they're getting some monster offer to consider moving McClavicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 14 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said: I agree and yet The Great One did. so watching the Tampa game...rather have McDavid and lose the other assets, or offer Point and give up the 4 firsts? I like the offer Point route Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 44 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said: This column speculates on the possibility of Connor McDavid being traded and three teams that could pull off a deal for him. One is the Sabres. Take a look at what they have the Sabres offering and tell me how quickly you think Jason Botterill would jump through the telephone to make this deal happen. https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2019/04/if-connor-mcdavid-gets-traded-here-are.html?m=1 I feel stupider after opening that link... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts