nfreeman

No, but if a certain poster is inclined towards coming to conclusions without analyzing the facts, and if one of those conclusions is that TP is heavily involved in HC hiring decisions, and if the reason for that conclusion is that "every picture and every video of every transaction the Sabres have done in the past 10 years have Terry sitting right at the table" -- it would seem relevant that in the pressers regarding the 2 most recent HC decisions, TP is nowhere to be found.

All of this is fair. Ultimately the franchise has fallen to pieces on his watch, and it's reasonable for him to be accountable.

Did you see TP today? Do you see TP in this video (when RK was announced as coach)? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sabres+hire+ralph+krueger+may+2019&t=ffnt&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7UXkFOwtdzQ Seeing him sitting in the draft war room -- like pretty much every other NHL owner does -- doesn't mean anything, unless you think he's in there lobbying for Alex Nylander or Ukka-Pekka-Lukkonen.

The line that separates enjoyable message board conversation from the other stuff that you, I and others from time to time engage in.

Do other NFL owners behave like TP? Is that why the Bills are doing well? In what way do I twist, distort, shuck and jive? You are of course free, and encouraged, to post your views, just as others are free to call you out when you cross the line.

Well, we're all free to infer things and get senses on things, and I think it's fair to say that this has happened on both sides of this particular discussion. My point is that "what we know, have heard and read" does not in any way establish that TP's involvement in hiring coaches is greater than that of most owners. Certain posters believe that it is greater, and repeat that proposition ad nauseum, but that does not transform the belief into fact. As for KA and the next coach: since you don't think he'll be recommending a candidate to TP and asking for TP to sign off -- what specifically do you think will happen?

As I said -- TP met with the candidate(s) recommended by the GM. If TP hadn't liked RK, I am sure there would've been a discussion between TP and JB in which JB would've had to have made a good case to hire RK. As it happened, TP liked RK. NB that this does NOT mean that TP liked RK and instructed JB to hire RK. It means that he liked RK and was accordingly pleased to sign off on JB's recommendation to hire RK. Of course TP was involved in the search/selection of a new GM. Who else would've done it? That is an entirely different situation from instructing the GM to hire/not hire the guy whom the GM wants as coach. I made the crusade comment after seeing probably a dozen posts, plus a new thread, from a certain poster in a bunch of different threads in a 24-hour span all making the same point. As for the underlying point: I don't think it's realistic to expect the owner not to want to meet and be comfortable with the new coach. I certainly agree that I don't want the owner instructing the GM to hire/not hire someone.

Has anyone credible EVER said that TP has been more involved in HC selection than meeting his GM's choice and signing off on it? Or for that matter that TP has any more involvement in HC selection than 75% of other NHL owners? You are certainly right that some fans are concerned that TP is too involved in the HC hiring process. Some fans are also concerned that the real Jack Eichel was abducted by aliens. The existence of the concern, which I do not dispute, does not indicate any basis for the concerns.

Interesting. Both of those Torts items are appealing, but he's still coaching CBJ. Ugh. That alone should disqualify him.

I agree with all of this and would just add that it supports IMHO the idea of getting the new coach in here ASAP. The sooner they start caring about winning, the sooner the loser culture will dissipate.

anyone got a link? I don't see it on the Sabres' website.

What does this mean? Who, exactly, is saying the NHL is pressuring TP to sell?

Oh goody. More crusade.

This is nuts. The other owners, and therefore the league, are not going to require TP to hire/not hire anyone.

This is a common canard. Buffalo is far from the NHL's "best market." We have strong NHL ratings as a percentage of the local population, not in absolute numbers. The number of people watching NHL games in WNY isn't enough to move the needle for the TV networks, advertisers or anyone else who matters.

This seems right to me, although I suppose it's possible that they've decided on the Providence coach and are just waiting until Providence's season ends to make the move. It seems logical to me that TP has decided that the season is a lost cause, Eichel and Ullmark are injured and perhaps gone for the year, there is almost no revenue, and he should just wait until the offseason before starting to spend money on the organization again. If that's the case, it seems like short-term thinking that will prejudice his ability to attract the kind of people he needs to right the ship, but I guess we'll see. What a freaking debacle.

Well, of course there's a fair amount of hope. I also think though that KA seems like a pretty sharp guy who has been part of the NHL in a variety of roles for a substantial period of time. Also, the law of averages hopefully will work in our favor such that after a string of duds the next guy they hire will have the goods. We'll see.

No. KA will pick the right coach and we will finally build a solid team starting next season.

The Bills are just a high-quality organization at this point. Halle-freakin-lujah.

Serious question: Team A offers a low 1st (say, the 25th pick) for Hall. Team B offers a 6th-round pick and a lousy, overpaid veteran whose contract expires this summer for Hall and Okposo. Which offer should the Sabres take? As a reminder, KO has 2 more seasons after this one at $6MM per season. (For the record, no one is taking Skinner, so we're only talking about KO.)

I feel your pain gentlemen. All I can say is I think TP is going to keep trying until he finds the right guys to run the team, and as long as I think he’s trying I will continue to be fine with him owning the team. Having said that, I really don’t want a college coach to take over for RK, and I would like to see some growth in KA’s management team so it’s clear they aren’t running on a shoestring budget.

I think @Eleven’s point though is that perhaps it’s not inexcusable, as many here seem to think, that TP hasn’t found those 2 guys yet, and that TP had tried and is almost certainly going to keep trying to do so, which is a reason to cut TP some slack.

I too do not dislike any of the choices, as I wouldn’t dislike anyone just for incompetence, and there is nothing to indicate anything worse than that. However, since the question asks for “least favorite,” I’ll go with TM and JB, as they IMHO inflicted the most damage on the franchise.

I don’t think one can describe one’s own question as “profound.”

It's gotta be young vets (so not Cozens) who are top-6 forwards or top-4 defensemen and who have fire in the belly and understand that practice makes perfect. Neither Briere nor Drury was a fighter, but both played hard and determined, conducted themselves like pros and were incredibly clutch.