Losing sucks. The only good thing that comes of it is that the locker room gets cleaned spic and span. Last saturday morning, the Sabres packed up and shipped out of the First Niagara Center. Their 2-1 shootout win that earned Ryan Miller a win in his 500th career game was the silver lining. Moral victories mean nothing to a playoff-starved fan base in Buffalo. They want the world and they want it now. They will have to wait until September.
Rochester Amerks fans weren't given any such consolation prize. They were spanked 3 games to none by their arch nemesis the Toronto Marlies. The Amerks were punted from the AHL playoffs on Wednesday night. At least the made the playoffs. Today, the Amerks packed their hockey bags and headed out the door to the long Summer.
Sabres GM Darcy Regier was in Rochester on Friday and he was asked to comment on several topics, including:
1). The future of Amerks free agents David Leggio, Nick Tarnasky, and Mark Mancari.
2). The Amerks goaltending situation moving forward, including Hackett and Makarov.
3). Who will head coach the Sabres? Who will head coach the Amerks?
Listen closely to Regier's comment on the coaching decisions.
"Fairly soon" he will be unveiling the plan for both of the squads that he presides over..
Regier met with Rolston on Wednesday. Afterwards, he said that he would be focusing on debriefing this past season with Rolston, and his coaching staff. Frankly, Regier doesn't sound like a GM who is actively recruiting a new head coach who can guide his team through the extreme makeover. It sounds to me like Rolston will be named the permanent head coach of the Sabres. Personally, I want to see Regier shake things up and to reach for another candidate. Rolston is a good teacher, however, to me, he lacks the necessary passion level and motivational qualities necessary to to get professionals up for games and to help them to manage their lows. In short, he's not Lindy Ruff. No one is. I want a head coach who is going to hold the players accountable. i want a guy who the players can and will respect and who they can learn from. I want a guy who can win games and to instill in his players that its not okay to lose to Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, et al. In the brief time that I encountered Rolston this seasin, I can say that i was impressed by his practice preparation. He's a teacher of fundamentals and his practices, however few of them there were well scripted and articulate. In my opinion, Rolston's line combinations and playing time distribution left me wanting more. His in-game coaching decisions for the most part were correct, however, there were times when I wished he'd take a timeout to calm his squad down, or in some instances, I wanted RR to push the pace in games rather than retreating into trap mode.
Thats just me.
Will Rolston be named the permanent head coach in Buffalo? Will Cassidy return to Rochester?
Video courtesy Kevin Oklobzija, Rochester D and C
How do you feel about Rolston? Do you wish to give him a chance to coach the team under less stressful circmstances?
Would you rather that Regier hire Patrick Roy, Guy Boucher, Scott Arniel, Mike Foligno or another man to be the Sabres next head coach?
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