Second Take with @BradleyGelber – What To Do With Ted Nolan

What a boring weekend in the world of Buffalo Sabres hockey… Ha. Ha. Ha. But on a serious note… WHAT THE F*CK HAPPENED?!? Is Miller really gone?! Is Ott really gone?! Is LaFontaine really gone?! Is John Scott still really here?! Unfortunately (especially in regards to the last question) the answer to all of those is an unequivocal YES.

I could sit here and recap what feels like a dream (or nightmare) of a weekend, but that’s been done to death. Instead, I’d rather look at what the future holds for the guy that has been somewhat seemingly forgotten in all of the hullabaloo. The guy who in theory should have a great deal of power manning the helm behind the bench, but in actuality seems more like a figurehead if you ask me… Mr. Ted Nolan.

Only 3 short months ago things finally seemed to be looking up for what had become an awfully dark period of time for the Buffalo Sabres. Darcy Regier, to the fans elation, was finally out as GM. Ron Rolston and his glasses were also shown the door. The part that made it even more enjoyable was the fact that in the midst of chaos, a grand reunion provided comfort. Who doesn’t feel better when it times of turmoil you are met with something familiar? It’s like going through a rough patch in your life and leaning on an ex’s shoulder. Probably not the smartest thing in the long run, but at least in that moment, it feels right. To me, that’s where the trouble began. We were attempting to start a new chapter in Buffalo by bringing back guys from the past. Hindsight is 20/20, but perhaps we let nostalgia get in the way of common sense.

Fast-forward to now and the hope of that new regime has been blown to smithereens. Pat LaFontaine has returned to his job with the NHL, which was supposedly his choice. BS *cough cough*. It has also been confirmed that Pat was long gone before the Miller trade and had no hand in that deal, which makes sense seeing as he was tied to being the one who wanted to extend Miller, not ship him away. Whether Pat wanted to leave, or was kindly told to get the hell out, the fact of the matter is he’s gone. With one reunion ending so abruptly, what do we do with the other one?

As many Sabres fans know, Nolan was brought back to coach this team mainly because of his close-knit bond with LaFontaine. Sure they needed the approval of Pegula, but there is no question that it was Pat’s doing. Now that Pat’s abandoned what many are referring to as ‘hockey hell’ for the greener pastures of the league’s front office, how do we handle his good buddy Nolan? John Vogl of the Buffalo News tweeted on Sunday the following:

So there was a plan to extend him, but now it isn’t happening (at least for the moment.) Early on when the rumors began swirling of trouble between Murray and LaFontaine, many-figured Nolan was the main cause. It was thought that Pat wanted his friend to be the coach of the Sabres for the foreseeable future and that the new Sabres GM wasn’t seeing eye-to-eye with him. The part that gets me though, is that wasn’t this discussed prior to hiring Murray? LaFontaine is the one who conducted the god damn coaching search and ends up hiring a guy who doesn’t agree with him on something as monumental as who the head coach of your team should be?! It makes ZERO sense to me.

From what I’ve read it seems like LaFontaine wanted to hire a young, inexperienced guy to take over in Buffalo and essentially do what he was told. It allowed Pat to refrain from taking the “GM” title too soon, while also having someone to throw under the bus if need be. My guess is that Murray ended up having bigger cojones than originally expected. He was hired to be the GM of this team and wasn’t going to let anyone else tell him how to run it. How can you not respect the guy for that? To me that says two things about LaFontaine… either he didn’t do his homework when hiring the GM, or he underestimated the guy he was hiring. Either way I think Pat’s proven that regardless of how great of a player he was, he’s not only a shitty NHL executive, but a shitty NHL executive that bails when times get tough.

So now that Pat’s gone, Murray is clearly running the show & Ted Nolan is now left in limbo. What the hell is the guy supposed to do? Honestly, I am not entirely sure. On one hand, as I’ve made clear, his good friend has flown the coop. It would be very easy for Nolan to thank the Sabres for the opportunity and get the hell out of this nut house before it consumes whatever is left of his soul. On the other hand, this is undoubtedly it for Ted Nolan in terms of coaching in the NHL. Unlike last time he left the Sabres in 1997, if he leaves now he’s done. No one is going to be lining up to give this guy another shot, so if he really loves the game and loves being a coach he doesn’t really have much of a choice.

The second part of all of this is what does Murray actually want to do? Again Vogl provided some insight on the matter:

I realize that should make it pretty cut and dry that Murray thinks Nolan is the guy for the job, but it isn’t that easy. You have to think about how embarrassed this organization must be right now. They just dealt away the cornerstone of their franchise for the last 12 years because they knew they needed to start from scratch after effing things up so badly. Then go ahead and throw in the fact that one of the most beloved former Sabres in history just bailed on the team after only three months. To come right out and say a fan favorite like Nolan is “out of here,” would only cause more drama in what is already a pretty full soap opera. Like it or not, this franchise is in saving face mode and Tim Murray is the leader. Perhaps you offer Nolan something like a one-year extension and claim you think he’s the “right guy,” all the while knowing he’ll fail and that way you can say, “hey we gave him a fair shot.” Or perhaps you know that now that his bestie is gone, there is no way in hell he’s going to sign an extension, so at least by putting it out in the public that you offered him a new contract you look like the good guy…

I don’t know what to tell you folks. It’s an absolute mess. Pegula released a comment that he knows this all looks bad, but he’s confident winning will solve everything. That's nice and all, but that doesn't help when we feel as far away from winning as EVER. Personally, I don’t think that Nolan is the guy that is going to lead the Sabres to the Stanley Cup. I think we need to hire someone with experience and no prior ties to the franchise. BUT I also don’t necessarily think that right now is the best time to do it. We know this team isn’t going to contend for the next couple of seasons (at the least) so perhaps having a players coach and fan favorite like Nolan to shoulder the load of frustration and disappointment wouldn’t be the worst thing. Then when the team’s ready to really contend, you thank Ted for his services and find the coach of the future. Fair? Not at all, but then again neither are sports. At the end of the day it certainly feels like a few months ago we took one step forward and this past weekend we took three steps back. Pegula has claimed numerous times that he is all about doing what it takes to win and while that makes for a great headline, or sound bite, if things keep unraveling like this, that’s all it’ll be.

Tweet of the Week:

Wouldn’t doubt if this exact thought was going through Murray’s head: