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Column day and as luck would have it I'm sitting here with a laptop, well, in my lap, listening to the Howard Simon show here on WGR. You should too. Not necessarily with a laptop in your lap. What you do with your lap is your business. There already is enough government.
What? I don't know. Look, I'm reeling a little bit here. A guy just called in and suggested that the Sabres bring the Vice President of Hockey Operations from Rochester in to coach the team. The caller was thinking of Ted Nolan, who had a position with the Amerks while they weren't affiliated with the Sabres.
Problem with the suggestion. On August 3rd 2011 Ted Nolan replaced Olegs Znaroks as head coach of the Latvian national team. That doesn't exactly make him unavailable, I mean, it's Latvia. But at the very least that's on a different continent not just a different county.
Nothing in this column so far is made up.
Now it may seem like I'm making fun of this caller, or Nolan, or maybe both. Not exactly. It's just today's way of pointing out how frustrated and at a loss the fans are for what we should want to happen to save what was supposed to be the most super fun hockey season ever.
Bring back Ted Nolan. From Latvia. Fire Darcy. Fire Lindy. Fire everyone. Trade everyone. Trade Roy, Stafford, Miller, Hecht, Shiestel. No really, Schiestel.
Just do something. They need to do something, right? If you can't make a trade you usually see a coach get fired. Often this is a move that happens when the GM doesn't know any other way to preserve his job. Ownership wants something done so he better do something and the old can't fire the players thing works. You do it and hope for the best. Maybe you get St. Louis who went bananas after hiring Ken Hitchcock. Maybe you get Anaheim who were last when they fired Randy Carlyle and are still last with Bruce Boudreau.
I think it's important to keep in mind the part in there about the GM's self preservation. I don't think registers here. Not necessarily because ownership doesn't want Darcy Regier to right this ship, but because I just don't believe this GM will ever throw Ruff into the volcano to save himself.
You may want it and you may be right. It could work. This team looks like dead man walking and a different coach might get a different result. The scorers can't score, the defenders don't defend, and the goalies aren't good enough to overcome that on their good nights and have been worse than that too many nights. The coach has to carry a lot of that blame.
The do something Darcy crowd has a point. I have no doubt that Darcy Regier also thinks he should do something and would actually like to do something. I'm thinking of a trade, and I think so is he. The chances of
Regier canning this coach because he can't make a trade seem just about non existent to me.
So here we sit, wondering about trades and in some cases, Latvia.
What? I don't know. Look, I'm reeling a little bit here. A guy just called in and suggested that the Sabres bring the Vice President of Hockey Operations from Rochester in to coach the team. The caller was thinking of Ted Nolan, who had a position with the Amerks while they weren't affiliated with the Sabres.
Problem with the suggestion. On August 3rd 2011 Ted Nolan replaced Olegs Znaroks as head coach of the Latvian national team. That doesn't exactly make him unavailable, I mean, it's Latvia. But at the very least that's on a different continent not just a different county.
Nothing in this column so far is made up.
Now it may seem like I'm making fun of this caller, or Nolan, or maybe both. Not exactly. It's just today's way of pointing out how frustrated and at a loss the fans are for what we should want to happen to save what was supposed to be the most super fun hockey season ever.
Bring back Ted Nolan. From Latvia. Fire Darcy. Fire Lindy. Fire everyone. Trade everyone. Trade Roy, Stafford, Miller, Hecht, Shiestel. No really, Schiestel.
Just do something. They need to do something, right? If you can't make a trade you usually see a coach get fired. Often this is a move that happens when the GM doesn't know any other way to preserve his job. Ownership wants something done so he better do something and the old can't fire the players thing works. You do it and hope for the best. Maybe you get St. Louis who went bananas after hiring Ken Hitchcock. Maybe you get Anaheim who were last when they fired Randy Carlyle and are still last with Bruce Boudreau.
I think it's important to keep in mind the part in there about the GM's self preservation. I don't think registers here. Not necessarily because ownership doesn't want Darcy Regier to right this ship, but because I just don't believe this GM will ever throw Ruff into the volcano to save himself.
You may want it and you may be right. It could work. This team looks like dead man walking and a different coach might get a different result. The scorers can't score, the defenders don't defend, and the goalies aren't good enough to overcome that on their good nights and have been worse than that too many nights. The coach has to carry a lot of that blame.
The do something Darcy crowd has a point. I have no doubt that Darcy Regier also thinks he should do something and would actually like to do something. I'm thinking of a trade, and I think so is he. The chances of
Regier canning this coach because he can't make a trade seem just about non existent to me.
So here we sit, wondering about trades and in some cases, Latvia.