Mango

I will believe it as soon as Terry Pegula sits in front of a podium and says "Jerry Forton and Kevyn Adams no longer have any job in any capacity with the Bills, Sabres, Harbor Center, etc. Him nor Adams are on my payroll in any capacity."

Right, and people who think they have all/most of the answers are generally the ones who make the worst hiring decisions. I have found that people who have an honest inventory of their own strengths/weaknesses generally do a better job solving problems than those that don't. Terry considers himself a "hockey man". I would much rather any organization (professional sports or otherwise) be run by somebody who is wildly successful in a different industry to come in and go "holy shnykies, I don't know anything about this, let me assemble a group of qualified people who do".

I just want anybody else at the top at this point. Between Laura and Jessie, I want whichever one will screams "I don't know enough about hockey to be making these decisions. Let me go get a real life professional" the loudest is my first choice.

I think if Lindy and Jarmo both move up that means they've moved away from the Appert plan. There's a 50% chance that they go to Forton, and that almost guarantees Appert.

That's not a thing, that's been mentioned before. It's impossible. Wasn't it The Athletic that revealed that Adams was the "secret meetings" guy rumored around the Darcy/Black era? The owner is having secret meetings with the low level film guy behind his GM and coaches backs. He's having secret meetings with the rink manager across the street. Kevyn Adams needs to be removed from the payroll all together. There is no moving him to a different business unit. Full stop.

There is no benefit vs not benefit. Terry is a bad owner who hit it out of th park with McBeane by accident. I have approximately zero faith that Terry is capable of cycling multiple regimes with success. He's a bum.

Hell, he won't just not get fired. He will get promoted along with Forton and Appert.

I don't disagree with you. But I think moments like these are pretty simple. "What the fork am I even doing here. I am not playing like myself, my buds aren't carrying the load, and I am getting boo'ed at home? And for what, so my wife can almost die all by herself. Peace, I am out, call me when you guys give a shirt?". (Hopefully he directs the "you guys" at Pegula and Adams)

Not blaming fans here. But it likely isn't a coincidence he took off after getting boo'd off the ice....again this season. Not a good effort last night. Thompson and Tuch have to do more in games like that. If my wife was recovering from a heart transplant I'd also be like "WTF am I even doing here".

That is literally my point. Lindy is a "fine" coach. But the best coach the Pegula/Adams were ever going to actually hire. Could you hire a better coach then Lindy? Sure Was Pegula/Adams going to hire a better coach than Lindy? No. This is a group that has whined and cried and given up under what 3, 4 head coaches now?

I only caught the 3rd tonight. From that period alone my big gripe was that this team lacks top end talent, and what top end player we do have have to start burying the puck on games like thought. Tommers and Tuch playing like top end players every night give us an extra 2 points in a couple of our 6 game OTL's. I know everybody hates Lindy right now, but this team is bottom of the league, as bad or worse than STL with a different Adams HC hitched to this staff and FO.

Yeah, I don't get the Ruff anger here. The issue is the Pegula, Adams, Forton clan. Hands down. There was no other realistic hire that that group was going to make that's significantly better than Lindy. There just isn't. With Adams in House, Appert is the heir apparent and we'll beg for Lindy back.

My take is that for the first time in a long time we are fielding what looks like a professional NHL hockey team. Albeit a team that is lacking talent. I know Ruff is a whipping boy, but he is a real life, acredited NHL coach. He gets a lot of credit for managing this team the last year and getting it to where it is right now. Does that mean he is amazing? Or the best hire? No, not at all. But he may have been the only realistic/possible hire that could manage PegAdams and field what looks to be a professional hockey team. I have no faith in Appert next year and I think we go back to whatever the fork the last 13 years were. Hoping we keep Jarmo and Ruff in house in some way going forward so there are at least hockey professionals in the room with Pegula, Adams, and Forton.

My quick $0.02 is that the thinking is that we desperately need to close out a win in regulation so they are playing their best goaltender while they are short handed with their forward group. Not saying I agree or disagreem, but that is likely the thinking.

I think the change in development path is thanks to having real life hockey adults in the room. The problem with a 23 year old Levi is that he sees the change in path as a demotion rather than a reset. And frankly that's understandable for a 23 year old. But honestly, were just bringing him along the way he should have been all along. The problem isn't today's situation. The problem was the situation he walked into. It's hard for a 23 year old to see that spending more time in the AHL is better for them then playing meaningful games in during a playoff push. But it really is a better spot for him. Whether he becomes an NHL starter is a different conversation. But you can't convince me that Adams sticks to this path for Levi without Ruff/Jarmo in the room.

We've gotten lucky a few times that they've mishandled the puck, missed the net etc. with half of it wide open. (I know I'm quoting myself)

Is it just me or does it seem like UPL barely knows where the puck is at times?

We're also hanging him out to dry. It's barely sustainable for great goaltenders.

You don't need to wonder. That's what happened. Jerry Forton is the brother in law of his business manager on the natural gas side. That's 100% the case and Forton is 100% a nepo hire. They've known each other decades before Terry bought the team.

2 things. 1. I did specify hockey ops 2. Even outside of hockey ops, reconstituting somebody like Adams, who failed so hard at his job is a decision that solidifies the idea that they haven't taken a complete honest inventory of the situation. At that point Adams might as well be blood related and actually be a nepo baby. Because Adams has next to no value add to the org in any capacity outside of likability to Terrance Pegula. And having guys around that Terrance likes vs who is doing a good job is exactly how we got here in the first place. Adams history with Pegula as a lowly video guy who got to chirp in the owners ear makes it impossible to keep him around. There's no world where keeping Adams in the building is a good idea. ZERO.

I totally agree with you. I am not saying it is a good decision. Or even a sensical one. I just think that if Terry is going to keep Adams in hockey ops rather than cut him loose then they are ultimately keeping the same vision and plan, just shuffling chairs. So if Adams goes to POHO, then the likely decision for Pegula is Forton and Appert. My totally uneducated opinion is that in order for somebody like Jarmo to be hired as GM, and Appert not become HC, then Adams needs to be out of the building. Adams being in the building means business as usual. To be clear. I hate that outcome.

I didn't say Forton was a good choice, just that I thought it would be likely if they stick with Adams in hockey ops. Forton is a worse choice than just about any other candidate that has been considered for any other NHL GM position for any other orginzation in the last ....well ever.

I think this org either wants somebody like Jarmo in charge or they want somebody like Adams in charge. They will either stick with the plan with Adams in the Hockey Ops C-Suite or they won't. I don't think there is a grey area where they hire a real life NHL professional to roll up to Kevyn Adams.

If Adams is moved to POHO I don't think it's Jarmo, I think it's Forton as GM

Curious of the perspective of both Sabres and Bills fans right now. It should be Kevyn Adams and it should have been done at least 365 days ago. My money is on Terry running it back with all 3. (I spared Lindy on this list, because his contract is up anyways. He isn't coaching anybody in 26-27. He would just be a scapegoat)