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Buffalo Sabres head coach Ted Nolan was on WGR's Howard Simon Show for his weekly appearance. As is par for the course in the Buffalo media these days, the host and co-host spent the majority of the segment trying in many ways to get his thoughts on what's transpired over the course of the last week. Nolan was asked about the home fans cheering the opposition, the players being annoyed by it, the wins vs. Arizona and Toronto, the value of positioning amongst the bottom-dwelling teams and how he's handling it all.
Host Simon and his co-host Jeremy Whiter were sneaky, which is typical, because if one hopes to get an answer, that's the way one must be when asking a question on a touchy subject. And Nolan didn't just fall off the turnip truck. After one question thrown his way, the coach came right out and said, "That's a loaded question."
What we're witnessing, and have been witnessing, throughout this long, tedious and rather exhausting process, is a simple case of people doing their jobs. The boys on the air and in print, in essence, are speaking for many fans (or think they are) and are trying to get some information and/or sound bites. The players on the ice are doing their jobs as they're trying to win and make an impression so that they may continue their careers. Nolan and his staff are doing their jobs in trying to get the best out of each player on an individual basis while GM Tim Murray is keeping in mind the long-term best interests of the franchise.
Add it all up and you have the Sabres tenuous hold on 30th place and a fan-base getting more and more nervous with every point Buffalo gets. But "Tank-nation" needn't fret all that much as the level of competition coming up is sharply greater than what Arizona and Toronto have to offer.
It just so happened that the Sabres last three games were against two teams on the same level they're on. We're familiar with Arizona, but for the uninitiated, the Toronto Maple Leafs have tumbled from a playoff position in December to 27th in the league. Going into last nights matchup with the Sabres at the First Niagara Center the Leafs had a 8-25-5 road record, having lost the last five, and have only eight wins total this calendar year.
In the three games against the Coyotes and Leafs, the Sabres grabbed five of a possible six points which has lead to "Code Orange" on the Peace Bridge. The Sabres loss was at Colorado, a team with far superior talent.
In looking ahead, the Sabres play the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow night, travel to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders, return home to face the Carolina Hurricanes, travel south to Columbus before finishing the season at home vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Blackhawks and Penguins have far superior talent than the Sabres. So does Columbus. Don't let their overall record fool you, they were beset by an inordinate number of injuries that put them in a hole early on but have gotten much better lately as the walking wounded have returned. The Blue Jackets are 9-1-0 in their last 10.
The team with the least amount of talent amongst Buffalo's final five opponents is the Hurricanes, a team the Sabres haven't faced since January 8th. They're 3-4-3 in their last 10 with a schedule that was overloaded with playoff teams.
So, "Tank-nation," the scenario is this: if the 29th place Coyotes lose-out, the Sabres would need to get three points versus that group of five to move out of last place and with the lineup their icing, it's difficult to see that happening.
Which brings us to the supposed animosity between fans and players as fans see a golden opportunity slipping away while the players can't see beyond the here and now of each shift. Somehow what's transpired over the course of the last week has become personal. Or that's what we're lead to believe by the various media outlets as well as in chat rooms and in comment sections.
Perhaps Sabres d-man Mike Weber took things too personal after Buffalo fans cheered Arizona and the outcome of their first match-up. And perhaps there was added motivation for Weber and his teammates to play harder in an effort to win and throw it right back in the faces of the most vocal fans of "Tank-nation." If that's the case then so be it. My God, we're all human, aren't we?
Caught in the middle, however, is the head coach.
Nolan has been doing his best Walenda act through all of this and should be commended for it. When Simon brought up the question of how Nolan has handled it personally when "Tank-nation" voiced their opinion like they did at the Arizona game, Nolan said, "Personally, you can't blame them. You can't blame anybody for wanting something that [one would assume] is going to be great.
"You just have respect for that. You don't have to disagree or agree, sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. But the bottom line is the respect factor."
Make no mistake, from this blogger's eyes it shows disrespect for the Buffalo players on the ice for fans to come into the F'N Center decked out in their Sabres regalia openly and vociferously cheering for the other team. No matter what the intentions. That being said, Nolan has managed to keep it all in perspective.
"I've tons of respect for the fans and for the people of Buffalo for the way they support [us]," said Nolan. "Last year we finished in 30th place and we were playing the NY Islanders who weren't much better than us on a Saturday afternoon the building was packed. That just shows you how passionate the fans are for the team here.
"I don't think that's gonna change and you can't change the make-up of the [players] who are trying to do their best for you also."
Being caught in the middle is tough for Nolan as he's really in a no-win situation. But he's handled it rather well. "One thing with our position, you've got to take the good with the bad," he said. "Sometimes when you hear things it gets to you at certain times. Everybody's human. If people are getting mad at you for giving it your best, that's their opinion. Everybody has an opinion. But when you go to bed you have to wake up with yourself everyday and you have to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself 'I did my best today.'"
It's what he's been saying all along about himself and his players and how they approach each game.
It's a shame that most of the attention is on positioning for the upcoming draft. This edition of the Sabres has a real strong young group that's growing before our eyes. Players like Rasmus Ristolainen and Zemgus Girgensons, before he was injured, look to be big-time contributors. We've watched the emergence of Johan Larsson. Nikita Zadorov has had his ups and downs but it's hard not to get excited about his upside. And Nolan brought up somewhat forgotten Marcus Foligno who he says is "playing some of the best hockey he's played for us."
Like Nolan said, "Sometimes you're so focused on the future, you forget about the present."
Pretty much sums up the two sides, one on the future the other on the present.
Much thanks to WGR.
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