nfreeman

What is this based on?

Bloodbath. I assume this is because Adams is not a fan of CT and his staff? If so, it's well within Adams' prerogative.

There's a reason MH never breaks any stories -- he has no sources in the organization because they are put off by his mannerisms.

That's not what I said. I said other posters may say things to JW that JW views as being disrespectful and obnoxious. I did say that I would rather JW let those statements slide off of him and keep a sense of humor about it, so that part was more or less accurate.

Well, he retained somebody else's hire in Darcy, and he then hired 2 of his own, both of whom crapped out. Even if you include Darcy, I don't see how you get to "so many".

I don't disagree with your pessimism based on these facts. KA's relative lack of experience lends further support to the theory that it will be RK that runs the show. Which, in turn, evidences that hiring RK was yet another incompetent move by JB -- since JB hired someone whom the Pegulas liked and trusted more than they did JB.

No, but I wasn't looking for it -- rather just assuming that those would be 2 natural reasons for a professional sports writer to come here.

Ooooooooooohhhh. Now THAT is an interesting bit of speculation. Adams may have leaked the fact that JB spent $13MM on, and stuck with, a blind goalie! And then JB gets canned a couple of days later! I don't even care whether it's a "that" or a "whether." Full marks for PA.

So, in a quest for fairness, I went back and read @john wawrow's posts over the years. It's certainly true that a couple of posters -- in particular @Hoss and @Ghost of Dwight Drane -- took a number of shots at him, and I can totally understand him thinking "I don't need this aggravation from these DBs." In the board's defense, I will note that those posters aren't really a representative sample of the broader membership -- both of them had serious problems interacting with others. One has been permanently banned, while the other has been suspended more than any other poster. I think it's also true that JW didn't exactly react to the shots he took with a jocular, devil-may-care sense of good humor -- and when a number of other posters (including me at one point) noted a certain thin-skinnedness, JW got more PO'd and lashed back. Understandable, perhaps, but also unnecessary and probably not his finest moments. Bottom line, IMHO is that on the one hand, I think everyone here would like to have JW as a poster and a resource, and most here respect JW's work, while from time to time disagreeing with or doubting certain items that might be reported. On the other hand, though, it is inevitable that on a message board, someone will from time to time say the wrong thing -- i.e. something that from JW's perspective can be reasonably viewed as disrespectful or obnoxious. In those situations, I would hope that JW would let the offending post go by without getting worked up about it. Of course, it's up to him whether participating in the discussion here and getting feedback, story ideas, etc. from a devoted (and IMHO quite knowledgeable) portion of the fan base is worth the aggravation.

When you misuse a word, is it OK to ask whether dementia is creeping in?

MH is indeed the man for that question -- which is a good question -- and will likely ask it in precisely that obnoxious manner. But I disagree with the bolded. There is no GM in the NHL, or in any sports league, that has completely free rein. Is BB the GM of the Bills? Do you think he can fire McD?

Serious question: you were one of JB's few defenders here. Are you unhappy with him being fired? Or just with Adams being the replacement? Or both?

Yes -- I think this was a factor. I think the Pegulas like RK and didn't want to have to can him after 1 year -- both because they like him and because it would contribute to their reputation as being trigger-happy. I agree that McD and BB deserve the credit, but the Pegulas deserve credit for finding McD and trusting him to build the organization, including bringing in the guy he wanted as GM. I think it's fair to surmise -- and highly likely -- that the Pegulas looked at their experience with McD, decided that they felt similarly about RK, decided that they wanted to keep RK and trust him with a senior and influential role in the organization, and decided that a less-experienced GM who was on the same page as RK would work with the Sabres, as it did with the Bills. That is, more or less, a management model. Yes -- I think this also played a role. Yet another embarrassing revelation about JB's handpicked FA goalie, who has stunk.

Like most here, I wanted Gillis or other experienced GM with a good track record. But that doesn't mean Adams can't be a good GM here. He knows the organization and evidently has the trust and respect of the Pegulas and presumably RK. I think that RK will probably have more say in setting the overall tone and priorities of the organization, and KA will be in charge of executing the plan. Let's hope they both have the chops to deliver. After all, what else can we do?

Well, I agree with the bolded -- but why did they make the statement about keeping JB to begin with? There was no need to say anything about him at that time, or at least nothing beyond "we're evaluating the organization and will make an announcement when that process is complete."

In all seriousness, it sounded like they were pretty close to firing JB, then Eichel aired his grievances, then yet another Sabre (Pilut) decided to bail -- so Pilut really could've been the last straw. I wouldn't say puppet, but I do think RK is playing the McD role and Adams is playing the Beane role. No. Narrowly missing the 24-team pandemic-driven playoffs does not mean they were a bubble team. Adams has always interviewed well. I have tended to discount that quality because he's been part of a franchise that has delivered consistently terrible results.

Well, you have just rocketed to the top of the "SabreSpace inside source" credibility rankings. It doesn't look that way. Yikes.

My son and I got haircuts today. Halle-freakin-lujah. It had been close to 4 months since my last one. I think that’s the longest I’ve ever gone in my life without a haircut.

I've had worse. Glad you're back. Please bring @Wyldnwoody44 in from the cold too while you're at it. After all, there is a LOT of hockey talk to be had. Did you see that Laaksonen signed! Be still my heart.

I will respectfully disagree. The stunts and action sequences have improved with each movie. They’ve also gotten some good actors and big stars to take smaller one-off roles as the franchise has gotten bigger. The dialogue may have gotten a bit dumber but they were already starting at a fairly low point. Having said that, “Hobbs and Shaw” was pretty bad IMHO.

Certainly JB has richly earned the current lack of faith in him from most observers here, and thus the assumption that this was another blunder or misplay.

@Doohickie -- it's important to remember that the new case numbers are inevitably going to rise as testing becomes more widespread. I think the more important numbers are virus-related deaths and hospitalizations. It will be important to evaluate any changes in those figures pre- and post-reopening (with a time lag adjustment as I think it takes about 2 weeks on average for the virus to cause debilitating health effects).

I think at least 24 NHL GMs would take Nylander over Reino though.

Well, based on JB's recent comments, it sounds like Simmonds will be back. I don't think more than 1 of the other 4 you named will be back. I think Cozens is close to a lock to be in Buffalo and Mitts is close to a lock to be in Rochester. I think if Tage can go to Rochester without clearing waivers -- which is still a critical open issue on Sabrespace -- he will at a minimum start the season in Rochester. Otherwise, he'll be in Buffalo. And I'd guess that JB brings in another MoJo-level vet forward and tries to plug him in at 2C. I'd like to think that JB will make a strong move and trade a good defenseman for a good 2C, but I'm skeptical.

Interesting. I can certainly see Eichel insisting on Reino being on his line -- and similarly, I think a major cause of Skinner's tailspin last year was him being unhappy about being removed from Jack's line. I wouldn't expect Mitts to have much of a relationship with Jack -- I don't think Eichel has time or interest in underperforming possible busts. I am curious about Dahlin though. And while I would love to be as confident in RK as I was in Phil Jackson, I think he needed to handle Skinner differently from the way he handled him last year.