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Dan Bylsma all about Sabres’ success, not shaming Penguins

Via Joe Yerdon, NHL.com
Via Joe Yerdon, NHL.com

The last time Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray worked with new coach Dan Bylsma was around 11 years ago, when both were with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

“I was the director of player personnel. Danny was near the end of his career as a player. So I complained about him. A lot. That’s about all I remember,” said Murray, drawing a laugh from Bylsma.

They’ve both come a long way since then, although Murray is quick to note only one of them has hoisted the Stanley Cup. And that’s why Bylsma is an essential choice to coach a Buffalo Sabres team that's trying to claw its way up from a self-imposed descent to the bottom of the standings.

“He’s been through it. He’s a winner. He knows what it takes to get there, and how to perform when he gets there,” said Murray.

Getting there has never been the issue for Bylsma. He made the playoffs all six years he coached the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009 – his first season as an NHL head coach – and advancing to the second round four times; including in 2013-14, after which he was fired along with general manager Ray Shero because they failed to put a second ring on Sidney Crosby’s hand.

Which is to say that expectations in Pittsburgh were at absurd levels for Bylsma.

“When the expectation is for your team is to win every game, that’s maybe a different expectation [than] what we’re dealing with the Buffalo Sabres going forward,” he said on Thursday. “But the expectation for the winning culture and how we play will not change.”

There were many who felt Bylsma was wronged being fired for his general manager’s mistakes – though honestly, after six seasons, the timing seemed right – and there was at least one reporter in Buffalo who wanted to know how motivated Bylsma was to prove the Penguins wrong by being a success in Buffalo.

Bylsma’s reaction was akin to being asked if his taking the job in Buffalo was to advance communism.

“That is no way or shape the reason that I coach or want to coach, or why I had any interest in coaching the Buffalo Sabres. I don’t look at it that way at all,” he said.

So how does he look at the Buffalo Sabres?

He looked from afar for a while, admiring the commitment from the Pegula family, who also constructed the hockey program at Penn State while Bylsma was coaching in Western PA.

He first met Pegula in 2011. “Right away, the want, the passion and the desire to bring a winning team to Buffalo was obvious,” he said. “I took note of it. Saw it from the distance. I was involved in some other things at the time, but you want to be part of that type of organization.”

It’s an organization he says is on the upswing more than win-loss record would ever indicate.

“It’s not a situation where it’s a teardown, total rebuild,” he said.

Bylsma mentioned the young defensemen in the Sabres’ system, in discussing how a defensive slant to his coaching philosophy will be essential for success, as evidenced by the final four in the 2015 NHL playoffs.

“They all can defend. They all can defend and keep the puck out of the net,” he said. “By defending better, we’ll be better in the other end.”

He mentioned having spoken to Evander Kane, the dynamic winger acquired from the Winnipeg Jets, and having admired Tyler Ennis, who lit the lamp with regularity at this year’s world championships in Prague, where Bylsma was an assistant coach with Team USA

“You look at the pieces that are coming to the organization. Young players that are drafted and turning pro,” he said, “and other new members of the organization.”

It was funny how Bylsma danced around the Jack Eichel in the room, at first playing it vague that the Sabres would select him second overall in the 2015 NHL draft and then outright discussing him as part of the team next season.

He coached Eichel at worlds. He was blown away.

“Man, a lot of NHL players were there. He matched up against Evgeni Malkin when we played Russia,” he said.

Crosby and Malkin had been in the league for years before Bylsma arrived in 2009, having played for the Stanley Cup in the previous season. Bylsma will be the first NHL coach for Eichel, and said he learned a bit about how to handle that kind of star wattage from coaching the Penguins.

“You understand the spotlight that’s on those players. The analysis, the little eyes on them by just about everybody, on how they live and how they play the game,” he said.

Similar circumstances brought Eichel and Byslma to the Buffalo Sabres. Connor McDavid was the prize of the NHL draft. The Sabres tanked, finished No. 30, but lost the lottery to Edmonton. No shame in that: Eichel is the rare No. 2 that could be a No. 1 in many other seasons – a foundational franchise player and a can’t-miss prospect.

Mike Babcock was the prize of the Sabres’ coaching search, before he opted to take the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blockbuster offer. But like with Eichel, it’s not like they’re settling for Bylsma. He's a solid pro and a geat teacher for young players. Plus, he’s had similar NHL success to Babcock – well, save for Sochi – and has actually beaten Babcock for a title – well, again, save for Sochi.

With Dan Bylsma and the next franchise player he’ll coach, the Buffalo Sabres are primed to turn their fortunes around and, in the words of Bylsma, add success to the organization’s DNA.

“Act like winners, and eventually become winners,” said Murray.

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