TSN: Bylsma helps Sabres take a big step forward

[jamers]

Article here.

...the 2009 Arizona Coyotes, who improved their even-strength possession numbers by 6.5 per cent – the highest number we have on record.

Note: We are currently at a 12% even-strength possession improvement over last season.

So, yes, part of this is driven by the fact that the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres were the worst Corsi% team on record (36.2 per cent). But, the turnaround for this team (approaching 49 per cent on the year) is still ridiculous. It’s impossible to believe the introduction of a handful of new players to the roster is unilaterally driving a possession jump like we have never seen before. Under Nolan, this team was just absorbing punch after punch and trying to survive for 60 minutes. Under Bylsma, they are trading blows.

Regardless of what happens with Bylsma’s club this season, it’s impossible not to be impressed with the steps this team has taken. Their evolution from frustratingly (and purposely) incompetent to structured and competitive in such short time is unlike anything we have really seen before. In a weak division, they could hang around for a lot longer than anyone expected.

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Some nice graphs which put our improvement in historical context, and some good points. The only question I have is whether his theory that our shooting percentage will stay lower than average is correct.

Click to read more...

 

[CatsforReinhart]

Is it really fair to compare last year to this year when it is a much different team? Last year it was all Nolan's fault and this year it is Blysma who gets the credit.

 

[Dreakon13]

It's not only that we gained a handful of new players, we also lost a lot of dead weight. With the exception of Myers (and maybe Zadorov), almost everyone we lost were all borderline NHL prospects and passengers. I'm sure some of it is coaching, but people can't ignore just how much roster turnover we had in one trade deadline/offseason.

 

[Sabre the Win]

Is it really fair to compare last year to this year when it is a much different team? Last year it was all Nolan's fault and this year it is Blysma who gets the credit.

Yes because if Nolan was a competent coach we wouldn't have watched nearly as much bad hockey as we did. Look at Toronto; the subtracted their best scorer and added a good coach and now they look more posed and competent than they have in the last 5 years.

Don't entirely blame the roster for Nolan's shortcomings.