Who Should Take The Heat?
Posted 1:34 PM ET | Comments 0
I took last nights loss extremely hard. After getting a much needed win against the division rival Toronto Maple Leafs I felt it was time for the Buffalo Sabres to finally right the ship and make a push towards the playoffs. I was hoping for the awakening of Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Ville Leino, and Marc Andre Gragnani. All players who we have seen be productive in the past, all who have shown glimpses of greatness, but who have done nothing but disappoint this season.
For about 20 hours I had that feeling. Then we played the worst team in the conference, the New York Islanders, and we got outworked, outplayed, and outscored. Just look down right bad.
It was yet another poor 60 minute performance put together by this Sabres team, which begs the question "Who is to blame?"
I am of the opinion that coaching is pivotal to a teams performance. Coaches put together plays and schemes which they pound into their players heads every single day. The coaches of the Buffalo Sabres are the reason why the players continuously surrender their zone to the opposition. They're the reason why the breakout is so slow and lack luster. They're the reason why the power play looks powerless. Either Lindy Ruff's system just doesn't work anymore, or the players just don't buy it.
For that reason, I believe a coaching change is desperately needed. It can work wonders with a team who is under performing. Just look at the St. Louis Blues. They fire their coach and hired Ken Hitchcock and have been a force ever since. Sometimes all that is needed is a fresh face in the locker room preaching to the team to revitalize a team.
Can Lindy Ruff get his team to pull it together? Maybe. Is the Sabres organization willing to wait and see? From what Ted Black and Terry Pegula have been saying to the media it definitely sounds like it. So I guess we will just have to wait and see.
For about 20 hours I had that feeling. Then we played the worst team in the conference, the New York Islanders, and we got outworked, outplayed, and outscored. Just look down right bad.
It was yet another poor 60 minute performance put together by this Sabres team, which begs the question "Who is to blame?"
I am of the opinion that coaching is pivotal to a teams performance. Coaches put together plays and schemes which they pound into their players heads every single day. The coaches of the Buffalo Sabres are the reason why the players continuously surrender their zone to the opposition. They're the reason why the breakout is so slow and lack luster. They're the reason why the power play looks powerless. Either Lindy Ruff's system just doesn't work anymore, or the players just don't buy it.
For that reason, I believe a coaching change is desperately needed. It can work wonders with a team who is under performing. Just look at the St. Louis Blues. They fire their coach and hired Ken Hitchcock and have been a force ever since. Sometimes all that is needed is a fresh face in the locker room preaching to the team to revitalize a team.
Can Lindy Ruff get his team to pull it together? Maybe. Is the Sabres organization willing to wait and see? From what Ted Black and Terry Pegula have been saying to the media it definitely sounds like it. So I guess we will just have to wait and see.