Post-Game Talk (GBU): "They want a coaching change?"

[5 Minute Major]

Do not agree with the assessment of Phil Housely in this thread. And I know way to little to comment on Botterill.

But here are my impressions from the other side of the Atlantic.

Good: Phil Housely is playing with his new toys in a structured way. The first two months were bewildering as the line-up changed quite a bit. He quickly tried Dahlin with all the other D men and found out that Dahlin made everyone around him better. Just like Jach Eichel does.

It is obvious (to me at least) that the future D core is Dahlin, Montour, Pilut, and Risto/Bogo + extras. Housley needs to discipline Risto a bit I think, I like his attitude though. The offensive force is Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart and .. not surprisingly .. Dahlin & Risto !! (they get a ton of PP)

Bad: Not enough depth up front. Not Housleys nor Botterills fault though. Thompson toe-drags too much (needs to mature) .. Mittlestadt seems destined to be a sideboard warrior (which he does well btw I think). Beyond the first line there are .. crickets ..

There are no alternate universes where this team makes the playoffs without or with Housley. Not possible. This team is still in re-build mode. Expectations are too high. It is deeply unfair to blame Botterill/Housley for not over-performing with as unbalanced a team as this. You play the cards as you get them.

Outside of the 10 game streak, this team is on par, or worse, than last years.

That’s with losing ROR but gaining Skinner, Dahlin and the further maturation of Eichel and Reinhart.

There is no excuse for Phil.

 

[Abraham de Lacy]

Outside of the 10 game streak, this team is on par, or worse, than last years.

That’s with losing ROR but gaining Skinner, Dahlin and the further maturation of Eichel and Reinhart.

There is no excuse for Phil.

Yeah .. I don't know .. I think you guys put the bar too high. You all want results immediately. There are many players on this team that would probably not find steady employment in the NHL if they were laid of.

The bottom half of the roster is mediocre on a good day. How to switch them out is a headache for management. Obviously.

This is going to take some time.

 

[member 311261]

Do not agree with the assessment of Phil Housely in this thread. And I know way to little to comment on Botterill.

But here are my impressions from the other side of the Atlantic.

Good: Phil Housely is playing with his new toys in a structured way. The first two months were bewildering as the line-up changed quite a bit. He quickly tried Dahlin with all the other D men and found out that Dahlin made everyone around him better. Just like Jach Eichel does.

It is obvious (to me at least) that the future D core is Dahlin, Montour, Pilut, and Risto/Bogo + extras. Housley needs to discipline Risto a bit I think, I like his attitude though. The offensive force is Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart and .. not surprisingly .. Dahlin & Risto !! (they get a ton of PP)

Bad: Not enough depth up front. Not Housleys nor Botterills fault though. Thompson toe-drags too much (needs to mature) .. Mittlestadt seems destined to be a sideboard warrior (which he does well btw I think). Beyond the first line there are .. crickets ..

There are no alternate universes where this team makes the playoffs without or with Housley. Not possible. This team is still in re-build mode. Expectations are too high. It is deeply unfair to blame Botterill/Housley for not over-performing with as unbalanced a team as this. You play the cards as you get them.

Wrong.

Exhibit A- T Sabres record of relentlessly getting scored on within minutes of them scoring shows the ineptitude behind the bench.

Exhibit B- When Pominville was playing on the first line, he was a great complement to Jack and Skinner. He was producing far outside what he would be capable of on any other line because of his knack for being able to bang home Jack's perfect set ups. This freed Reinhart up to lead (albeit from the wing) a respectable 2nd line. Housley chose to fix what wasnt broken and move Reinhart up to the 1st line, making Pommer a non factor in the lineup AND weakening the 2nd line.

Exhibit C- Consistently playing slugs like Thompson, Sobotka, Scandella, and others while making the up and comers from Roch sit. Sitting the right guys would send a message to Botts that they are not welcome in the lineup.

At the end of the day, I'm betting Pegs doesn't want to embarrass one of his hero's in Housley and wont fire him mid season with more than a year to go. I'm just hoping they mutually part ways this summer.

 

[dotcommunism]

Yeah .. I don't know .. I think you guys put the bar too high. You all want results immediately. There are many players on this team that would probably not find steady employment in the NHL if they were laid of.

The bottom half of the roster is mediocre on a good day. How to switch them out is a headache for management. Obviously.

This is going to take some time.

This would be less of a problem if management didn't bring in many of those players.

 

[OkimLom]

Yeah .. I don't know .. I think you guys put the bar too high. You all want results immediately. There are many players on this team that would probably not find steady employment in the NHL if they were laid of.

The bottom half of the roster is mediocre on a good day. How to switch them out is a headache for management. Obviously.

This is going to take some time.

We are getting results as a result of Phil's coaching. It's negative results. Outside the wins/losses, if you look how he handles the roster on a consistent basis, it's failure of coaching that you would expect ANY competent coaching to pull off, regardless of talent.

Setting standards and discipline when the team makes a crucial mistake or doesn't put forth the effort. Haven't seen Scandella disciplined from his multiple mental lapses.

No reduction in ice time or situations (in a learning year) when they make mistakes.

Being flexible with lineup decisions in the face of injuries or suspensions when there are no stakes at risk. The fact Reinhart didn't play at the center position when Jack went down, and Sobotka spent time as the 1st line center is a laughable offense, he favored the lesser talent over the better talent; that's not a "he doesn't have much to work with" choice. His lack of in game adjustments in to slow down a team with a lesser roster, or seeing something the other team is doing, doesn't take a specific talent level, it takes a competent coaching approach.

Not being able to read Mittelstadt was not just having issues getting up to speed to playing center, but playing in this league, and not doing anything about it to ease the pressure (for example, putting Reinhart, a guy he showed chemistry with at center while Casey played wing, an easier position)

The lack of creativeness when your team is struggling to produce offense, yet you continue to go to putting your top 3 players together on one line, where one of those players showed he could carry his own line, and continue to deploy the same guys in the same positions and expecting different results.

His questionable goaltending decisions that led to a heavy reliance on Hutton to start the year, and then switching to Ullmark and relying on him too heavily, which not only tired them both out by the end of the year, but got them both out of any sort of momentum, is Lindy Ruff levels of bad goaltending management.

Sobotka being heavily used in defensive matchups when Larsson has a longer history of being used in that deployment in the past.

 

[Aladyyn]

Yeah .. I don't know .. I think you guys put the bar too high. You all want results immediately. There are many players on this team that would probably not find steady employment in the NHL if they were laid of.

The bottom half of the roster is mediocre on a good day. How to switch them out is a headache for management. Obviously.

This is going to take some time.

I don't think "don't set the non-playoff team you're taking over back by 18 points in your first season at the helm" is a particularly unreasonable expectation.

 

[Icicle]

I don’t blame Botterill on Scandella. He was good last year and obviously something has caused him to go ‘off’ this season.

You can blame him on Sobotka, but be fair he expected Berglund to play and contribute. But when it was clear he was about to become a major liability he cut ties. You can say he should’ve then added to this team, but by then things were already lost.

Botterill has been clear though, Housley makes the final decisions on the roster. It’s the leash he has given his coach, which is the kind of thing that Babcock is publicly fighting with his own GM about now, but it’s clear with player usage that Housley has just hung himself with all that leverage.

 

[5 Minute Major]

Yeah .. I don't know .. I think you guys put the bar too high. You all want results immediately. There are many players on this team that would probably not find steady employment in the NHL if they were laid of.

The bottom half of the roster is mediocre on a good day. How to switch them out is a headache for management. Obviously.

This is going to take some time.

My friend, when you have top end talent in their 4th year, a prized rookie and a 40 goal scorer, amongst others, competing for a playoff spot should not be the goal. The playoffs are what should be expected.

Don’t look now but Eichel and Reinhart are entering their mid 20’s.

 

[Paxon]

I don’t blame Botterill on Scandella. He was good last year and obviously something has caused him to go ‘off’ this season.

You can blame him on Sobotka, but be fair he expected Berglund to play and contribute. But when it was clear he was about to become a major liability he cut ties. You can say he should’ve then added to this team, but by then things were already lost.

Botterill has been clear though, Housley makes the final decisions on the roster. It’s the leash he has given his coach, which is the kind of thing that Babcock is publicly fighting with his own GM about now, but it’s clear with player usage that Housley has just hung himself with all that leverage.

He cut ties when Berglund failed to report. Berglund failed to report seemingly at least in part because he was being used as a 4th liner. He was being used as a 4th liner because that is the level of player he is now. To say you can blame Botts for Sobotka but not Berglund just doesn't add up. He traded our second-best player for them. Berglund was good, as a 4th liner, aside two better 4th line players. Its not like Botts acquired an important contributor in Berglund then lost that important contributor.

 

[Icicle]

He cut ties when Berglund failed to report. Berglund failed to report seemingly at least in part because he was being used as a 4th liner. He was being used as a 4th liner because that is the level of player he is now. To say you can blame Botts for Sobotka but not Berglund just doesn't add up. He traded our second-best player for them. Berglund was good, as a 4th liner, aside two better 4th line players. Its not like Botts acquired an important contributor in Berglund then lost that important contributor.

By this logic, Sobotka is a 3rd liner.

 

[Paxon]

By this logic, Sobotka is a 3rd liner.

That is not an accurate extrapolation of what I said. Berglund sucked everywhere but that 4th line role. He was a 4th line-level player when he retired. Sobotka sucks everywhere. He gets used on the 3rd line but is garbage at it. How would that make him a 3rd line talent?

 

[Icicle]

That is not an accurate extrapolation of what I said. Berglund sucked everywhere but that 4th line role. He was a 4th line-level player when he retired. Sobotka sucks everywhere. He gets used on the 3rd line but is garbage at it. How would that make him a 3rd line talent?

Berglund Larsson Girgensons was getting 2nd-3rd line minutes when they existed

 

[Buffaloed]

Berglund Larsson Girgensons was getting 2nd-3rd line minutes when they existed

Put Thompson on that line instead of Girgensons and you'd have something good. A BLT.