Taking a look through Sabres history

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2:08It's ready to step in and be a huge factor in the way we play and in all assets of our game where there's penalty-killing power play. I thought where he got his game to the end of the regular season and playoffs was fantastic. When I talk about Tuck, I have a lot of admiration for what he's done for the franchise, what he's done for the team. Feeling that a guy like Don can play more, Benson can play more. We've got Quinn, Helene, Austin. We've got a list of players that are ready to take that next step. I just remembered after hearing Lindy's voice again to check to see if I have the other number. No way. No, I might have even thrown my phone out of the car after that. It's so long. I think I'll make this one. 15 phones ago. I mean, it's a couple. It would have been like iPhone 1. Or something. When was Darcy fired?

3:0913, November of 13. Okay. Right? Or is it 14? 13. What's EJ Manual's? When does EJ Manual beat the Carolina Panthers with the last second pass to Stevie John's? Is that the 13 season? I think it is. There's a tweet that like back when I don't see bots anymore, which I guess I'm grateful for. I know it's one thing that seems like at least not as prominently as I used to. There used to be randomly like some sort of some some bot accounts would just grab a tweet from six or 10 years ago out and favored it and you'd get a notification like some, you know, XYZ with maybe a naked lady picture liked this tweet. Like what? And there's one from like the day after that foot that game, the Carolina game that manual brought them from behind late to win. Like the next day is here comes Pat LaFontaine and Ted Nolan is back and all of that happened and that is when Darcy went.

4:10Lindy was already gone, of course by then. So I think is that November of 13 or November of 14? I don't remember which year. 13. It's got to be because Stevie Johnson's not here in 14. Sandy Watkins is. I think Regier and Ralston are fired at the same time, which would be a year later. No? No. No. No, I think I have said it. It's November of 13. They are fired at the same time. If I'm right and then Nolan arrives. Right. Okay. Yeah. 13. Yeah. That's right. I think you're right. I was at a game early that season and it was bleak before that had happened. It was bleak. I want to say it was against the Kings, but yeah. All right. I'm really glad that when you asked Lindy that question about if you remember a time where we really annoyed you that he didn't realize that we were talking about how he probably

5:14should probably. He needed to be fired. And then like eight minutes just like just like tonight, except today we're talking to the Lindy Ruff at like three o'clock. We started the show and we're talking about how this has to happen. And like 10 minutes into the first segment, the news broke that he had been fired. And that's the year before. Right. That's right. That's right. Ruff goes first. Right. And then Ralston and then the next year, it's Ralston and then it's changed. Happy Nolan. And eventually Tim Murray is brought in and yeah, all that. Tim Murray. Listen to these names. Oh my God. The show has never sounded older. Not even about people we enjoyed talking to. I mean, Tim Murray was always a ride talking to him. Yeah. I do think, I mean, this came up with Ruff. I mean, I think it's incredible. I think the league largely has locked into it that the games are so electric or they can be. It's not a time and place where really is anybody complaining about the state of hockey

6:17I mean, no, the game on the ice. No, I mean, I feel like those conversations are like, like, are 10 years ago. But how did they get there without making the net spigger without certain gimmicks? I think I would. I'm not sure how, you know, how much in, you know, you said like you want to say, like, maybe they just sort of fell into it. Yeah. I do. So like my experience, I mean, it's still very limited, but it's more experienced than maybe the average person has, like even watching, you know, 16, 17 and 18 year olds play. When I went to the first Sue St. Marie Greyhound's training camp that Owen was invited to. So September of 2018 and watched their coaching staff running practices at a training camp for OHL hockey and making them start over and redo drills every time someone just threw

7:20the puck aimlessly off the glass. And I like the coaching in the sport right now at those levels is predicated on what I think, you know, they're expecting to need to have what guys will need to do to play in the lead. And it became like you better be able to skate like great defenseman forward. It doesn't matter. Skate handle the puck. Do something smart with it. You can't just high and hard off the glass, ain't going to get it done anymore. You're just giving it back to them. You got to try to do it. And of course there's exception, but like mostly that was really eye opening to me. And I feel like like from the those levels, not the lower levels of the sports, the higher levels of amateur hockey that I thought I saw evidence of a change. It was just like. NERD! Today's episode is sponsored by Nerdwallet Smart Money Podcast. Personal finance can feel like a pop quiz you didn't study for. This podcast is your study guide. On Nerdwallet Smart Money Podcast, you'll hear from trusted journalists who explain the

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9:24world running deserve tools that actually work. Try Maintain X free at MaintainX.com. That's M-A-I-N-T-A-I-N-X.com. An auto-disk company. Imagine you're finally cleaning out your gutters when the smoke alarm starts blaring from inside. Smoke billows out of the window. ADT's affordable DIY systems are built for those moments where everything can change in a second. They're easy to set up, customizable, and help keep your home safe with 24-7 monitoring. No one wants to feel unsafe at home and with ADT, you won't. ADT prioritizes your peace of mind with the most company operated monitoring centers in the industry. With the ADT plus app, you stay in control from virtually anywhere. Don't wait to prepare for an emergency. When every second counts, count on ADT. Visit ADT.com or call 1-800-ADT-ASAP. You gotta handle the puck. You gotta be able to do something positive with it or you are not going to play. And I think eventually that just that breaded generation of players that are more skilled.

10:30There's more, there's more of a emphasis on that part of the game, I think coming up. And maybe that even stems from the lockout of 0405 and what the game was like in 05 and 06 and moving forward that that again, those level of junior level coaches. And believe it wasn't across the board. I'm sure there were teams out there in the OHL and in all junior leagues that were still trying to muscle you up and clutch and grab and intimidate you and push you around because you're still talking about teenagers that maybe could be susceptible to that. But I think the teams that were successful starting then emphasized possession of the puck and skating and skill. And I just think that that has led to, in the sport itself, again, all the developmental levels of it. There's just so much more emphasis on all programs. I would think at this point any amateur hockey program has a power skating option.

11:33There are skills coaches. There are, you know, how to shoot, how to drag and all of it. I think has just grown in leaps and bounds from say 20 years ago, which is what we're talking about. We're talking about 05 06. So that's my best guess at it. I mean, I'm sure surely it is not the most informed opinion about it. But I feel like I witnessed that sort of starting to percolate. It was really a pleasure to talk to Ruff. We have in our position, not simply the luxury of the privilege of doing that. But also, like, when we get Lindy, it's like the off season, it's once in a while, it's years in between sometimes. And I don't feel any pressure to ask him about line combinations or who's going to be the next goalie, you know, to start the next game. Like it's just, it's more relaxed and that makes for a very, you know, nice and good conversation. I felt if he didn't say it directly, he showed a real soft spot for that 05 06 team.

12:41And we have that as fans. I mean, he really sort of almost sounded like he was lighting up thinking about Max and Roy and the names, he started to mention the names. And then he said how it was a question about like the evolution of the game in the NHL and a game where they had 12 power plays, whatever game that might have been. I was at that first game that year. I did the Islanders. The Islanders got a penalty for not like being in the, like somebody got thrown out of the face off dot twice. And that was delay of that was a thing. Yeah, you've never seen that in forever. If it's even still in the books, but you got, you got a penalty for twice on the same face off attempt being thrown out, whatever, you know, it was called. I'm looking at the box score from that game. And there were 6, 10, 13, 18 penalties called. That's the first game of that season. We're in a them declined. They were not declined.

13:41But there was nothing coincidental and they were all minors. There were 18 minors called that night. I think 10 against New York and eight against Buffalo. That is potentially, I mean, I know there probably were goals scored on some of those. So they all didn't run the full two minutes, but like that's 36 minutes out of a 60 minute game. Special, but it was the so called point of emphasis like we're not going to let you hook and hold. Right. Lindy sat even even you just get your stick. You almost didn't even have to be impeding the player. If you put your stick parallel to the ice in front of the player at all, you were getting called. You just got your stick on the body. That's it. Interference. That was very, very strict. And I do, you know, that is slid, I think, over the years, which I think is good. Because as much as I think it needed to happen, the way it did, you know, maybe over correct and then sort of come back to like a more reasonable level.

14:41But I don't think you get the reasonable level without the over correction to begin with. Right. So you had to go out there and get 18 power plays in a game or 18 penalty. It's called it a game and then just bring it back and find maybe the sweet spot. So, you know, I think they have largely, I think the sport and I said it when we were talking to Linda, I don't think the sport I mean, you know, you've been in here with me since I started saying it. I don't even know. Is it 10 years ago? Maybe longer? But it's never been better to me. And I stand, I still feel that way. I think it's the game is just in a very healthy place from a performance standpoint and an entertainment standpoint. No, they're all not brilliant. You know, I mean, there's lots of long season. There's going to be some dog ass games out there. It just happens. I think it's been true for a few years. No. But it's definitely something that's been going on for a while. And I, you know, to everyone's credit, however it happened, they, I think they got to a very good place. They got lucky.

15:42You were at that game. That islander game, yeah. Yeah. I remember the play I was just describing, the like the parent, the stick parallel to the ice and just get I remember Briar drawing a penalty on a play. I mean, I can still kind of see it like we were at one end. I was at one end. I don't know where you were. I was in the press box. I was at, okay, I maybe was in the suite. I don't know. I was watching for the end. And I just can still see Briar coming down the right side around the face off circle and the stick going on them and the arm goes up and like there you go. So three avidors that night would play for the Sabers or had. Or would. Two had one would. Third one's tough. They're all, I mean, they're all a little bit tough. You'll get, I think you'll get one. 05 06 season opener right out of the canceled season. Is Kyle a post of the one who was he there yet? Nope. Too early for him. Yeah, that makes sense.

16:44He's not that old. October of 05. Maybe it's more, but I don't see anybody else on here that had a Saber. Hmm, chapter. Oh, was one scored. Was Peckas still there? No, no, okay. Because that's a one he goes right the off season of all one after they lost to Pittsburgh. Then he got traded and all the, okay. Yeah. So he's gone from there by then. I don't, I don't, I think he said that Euler. He, oh, that's, that's correct. That's correct. He was on that team. Yes. I'm not, I'm not, I'm just going to be starting the mud here. Miro. Okay. Sure. Because you can think of him. You can see him in the playoffs. The next year. That's right. For the Islanders. Jitnik played for the Islanders and scored a goal in this game. Mm-hmm. Your buddy. My favorite. I don't see him on the Islanders at all. No. Mark Parrish.

17:44Oh, wow. Yeah, that would be really tough. That would be tough. He was the one who came to the Sabers after. When, I mean, that was only for a minute. Yeah. Mark Parrish. Name in some guys. Wow. In here. A couple coffee drafts. A couple of coffee. I mean, barely. Mark Parrish. 2011. Two games. That's a good one. That's a good one. We have Tom Tolesco, former NFL GM and Hamburg Buffalo native joining us here at the top of the hour. Mike Schopen, the Bulldog, Paul Hamilton, later as well. This is WGR. Nice. Today's episode is sponsored by Nerd Wellets Smart Money Podcast. Every Google and Money question and end up 12 tabs deep with 12 different answers. This podcast is your shortcut back to clarity. Nerd Wellets Smart Money Podcast breaks down financial decisions with a team of trusted journalists. They explain the why behind decisions like investing, home buying and choosing credit

18:48cards with clear research-backed insights. No jargon, no misinformation. Make your next financial move with confidence. Follow Nerd Wellets Smart Money Podcast on your favorite podcast app. When equipment breaks down and operations come to a halt, every single second counts. The why is your maintenance team spending 60% of their time doing anything but turning wrenches? Maintain X is the AI-powered maintenance and asset management system that helps your team get back to actually fixing breakdowns. No more searching for manuals. No more hunting down parts. No more drowning in paperwork. With Maintain X, your team can access manuals from anywhere. Create new procedures in minutes and turn voice notes into clear and complete work order feedback. What used to take hours now only takes minutes. Keep your operations moving and your wrenches turning. Join over 13,000 maintenance teams that are already fixing more and filing less.

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