What Does Bylsma Bring to Buffalo?
Finally Dan Bylsma's exodus from the NHL has ended. Today it was announced that he has been appointed the 17th head coach of the Buffalo Sabres. His hiring will no doubt come as positive news to Sabres fan, who are still aggrieved at losing out on Babcock. Here is a statement of intention by Sabres management to improve the dour situation at the First Niagara Centre. But the real question will remain, can Bylsma wring any life out this dying team?
Although his previous life at Pittsburgh didn't have a happy ending, Bylsma still gave away with an impressive record. His team took home a Stanley Cup in 2009 and in each of his five seasons in charge, they reached the playoffs. But sadly despite having some of the NHL's elite players, he failed to replicate his cup win and slowly tested the patience of fans and management alike. What the Sabres off him is a completely clean slate and the possibility of having Jack Eichel on the roster. Having coached this same player at the 2015 World Juniors, he is the ideal man to handle this player in his first NHL season should he be selected.
Bylsma worked wonders with Sidney Crosby and turned what was once a fading Penguins team into a real contender. Sabres management is hoping for the same kind of results and with both free agency and the NHL draft coming up- now is the time to strike. This team has had an undecided style of play in recent years which has been partly responsible of their decline. Bylsma can bring more of a flowing and attacking minded style of play. Buffalo has the potential to be something else entirely, it has been seemingly buried under a mass of rubble. Already Bylsma has reached 250 wins and was the fastest coach ever to do, how many more can he provide Buffalo?
There will no doubt be much work to be done and maybe we shouldn't expect change quite so soon. The Sabres after losing not only Jeff Petry to Montreal, but also Chris Stewart to Minnesota are looking for more players that can make a difference. Byslma has to rebuild from the ground up which at first will be a bigger challenge than he has ever face. However, he has also been credited as a great communicator over the years and will be sure to make his skills and lessons heard.
Long term success could well be on the cards with this one and the Sabres have in my book chosen well with Bylsma. After the horror show that has been the last few years, Buffalo fans need a reason to cheer. Next season might not bring home the cup, but it might bring a few more smiles around the First Niagara Centre!
Mike's edit: Dan Bylsma is a decent coach, but the Sabres currently epitomise everything that's wrong with the franchise system. There are AHL teams that could do better. While the draft system works reasonably well to distribute talent, it will take a long, long time to get Buffalo back to proving a reasonable challenge for the majority of the league. The new coach will bring a better attaching model, but remember Buffalo conceded 274 goals in 2014-15. That's 12 more than the highest scoring team (Tampa Bay) scored.
Unless Byslma fixes the issues on the blue line, the Sabres will continue to be the league's whipping boys.
Although his previous life at Pittsburgh didn't have a happy ending, Bylsma still gave away with an impressive record. His team took home a Stanley Cup in 2009 and in each of his five seasons in charge, they reached the playoffs. But sadly despite having some of the NHL's elite players, he failed to replicate his cup win and slowly tested the patience of fans and management alike. What the Sabres off him is a completely clean slate and the possibility of having Jack Eichel on the roster. Having coached this same player at the 2015 World Juniors, he is the ideal man to handle this player in his first NHL season should he be selected.
Bylsma worked wonders with Sidney Crosby and turned what was once a fading Penguins team into a real contender. Sabres management is hoping for the same kind of results and with both free agency and the NHL draft coming up- now is the time to strike. This team has had an undecided style of play in recent years which has been partly responsible of their decline. Bylsma can bring more of a flowing and attacking minded style of play. Buffalo has the potential to be something else entirely, it has been seemingly buried under a mass of rubble. Already Bylsma has reached 250 wins and was the fastest coach ever to do, how many more can he provide Buffalo?
There will no doubt be much work to be done and maybe we shouldn't expect change quite so soon. The Sabres after losing not only Jeff Petry to Montreal, but also Chris Stewart to Minnesota are looking for more players that can make a difference. Byslma has to rebuild from the ground up which at first will be a bigger challenge than he has ever face. However, he has also been credited as a great communicator over the years and will be sure to make his skills and lessons heard.
Long term success could well be on the cards with this one and the Sabres have in my book chosen well with Bylsma. After the horror show that has been the last few years, Buffalo fans need a reason to cheer. Next season might not bring home the cup, but it might bring a few more smiles around the First Niagara Centre!
Mike's edit: Dan Bylsma is a decent coach, but the Sabres currently epitomise everything that's wrong with the franchise system. There are AHL teams that could do better. While the draft system works reasonably well to distribute talent, it will take a long, long time to get Buffalo back to proving a reasonable challenge for the majority of the league. The new coach will bring a better attaching model, but remember Buffalo conceded 274 goals in 2014-15. That's 12 more than the highest scoring team (Tampa Bay) scored.
Unless Byslma fixes the issues on the blue line, the Sabres will continue to be the league's whipping boys.
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