Mango

I like and respect KO. But I have to say he is leaving this town with a bad taste in his mouth that they don't deserve.

We live in a world where we don't get to think "who is the best hire for position x at the Buffalo Sabres next year?" But a world where we have to navigate "who is the best person at position x that Terry Pegula and Kevyn Adams are willing to bring into the Buffalo Sabres next year?" More often than not the answers to both questions are very different.

At the very least he was very productive running a team built on efficient economics like this one. And Lindy is a respected hockey man across the league. There is something to say about both being positives. Is he the best option? No.... But is anybody else taking the job with Adams/Terry dictating what they can and cannot do? Also no. A big part of what this franchise needs is somebody to separate Terry from any actual personnel/staffing decisions. A real life hockey professional to sit on top of the Sabres hockey throne. If Terry has the trust of Lindy the way he does Beane I could also get behind him as POHO. Which would likely include clearing house and moving on from Adams and Donnie. Same questions as above. Are there others you would maybe like more? Sure. But would they get the job? Probably not.

The whole thread was fair but also hilarious. So I was just joining in. It isn't quite recipe sharing season yet so I had to make due with what I've got.

This is sort of the way the league is set up. For teams that are bad for extended periods of time to have a better prospect pool than teams that are good. It certainly isn't a hard and fast rule: - The 5 best prospect pools are Buffalo, Columbus, Detroit, Anaheim, and San Jose. - The 5 worst prospect pools are Islanders, Ottawa, Boston, Tampa, and Toronto. Detroit should be pumped. Ottawa should be scared. Everybody else are sort of where they are supposed to be.

I commented on the Britney Spears subreddit asking the worst thing she had done post conservatorship. I responded with calling out her children multiple times on social media. Not her adult children, but her children children. She has been a bad mother. It got deleted with a message from the mod "RESPECT BRITNEY". I think this is a good line in the sand for thread and comment deleting. "Does deleting this thread make me more similar or less similar to Britney-stans".

I think part of the reason the acoustics are being looked at is because of the new jumbotron. Not so much a "convenience" thing. But more so even if they keep the same exact audio gear in place it likely has to be repositioned which will change the arena sound. Similarly if they upgrade the audio system as well. Either way everything would need to be more or less recalibrated.

Why? I flip flop on whether the Sabres will leave. But even by your own admission, how is replacing a roof at the end of its life proof of anything?

With 26 games left, all but eliminated from the playoffs, and the league/pundit consensus being that this team has no grit or fight in it, we aren't getting anybody's best shot. Hell, we might not be getting some of their good shots.

Pegula tried to get this paid for by the county and the county told him to kick rocks and that it was part of the lease agreement that he maintain the facility. That is all this is. These aren't upgrades. The jumbotron is nearly double the estimated life expectancy from the manufacturer. It should have been replaced nearly 10 years ago. The roof has never ever been replaced since it went up nearly 30 years ago in 1996. Terry is way behind on maintenance. These two replacements have zero to do with the longevity of the team in Buffalo and everything to do with his contractual obligation of the lease. Given the fact that multiple sources have cited that the arena could use $150M+ in upgrades (not just replacement/repair) a $10M display and a $5M roof are hardly an investment to get excited about. In fact, I would posit that spending 20% or so of the estimated cost to upgrade the arena is a reasonable cause for concern. I am not sure the second bolded is true. It very well may be. But we know that the lease holder has for KBC has been held accountable for other upgrades in the past. https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/buffalo/its-desperately-in-need-are-improvements-on-the-way-for-keybank-center https://buffalonews.com/news/local/business/after-bills-stadium-deal-will-keybank-center-upgrades-become-next-priority/article_41cc63d6-2238-11ed-a23f-cff0095c9fe6.html

Bahaha. It is hard to believe that thing crashed within the first 60 days or so.

I think this is likely just the bare minimum to stay in compliance with the lease. The roof has never been done and the jumbotron was done in 2007. Daktronics, the vendor who made says that the life expectancy is about 10 years. We are approaching year 17-18. For reference Golisano replaced the prior jumbrotron 11 years after it fell in 1996. Pegula is waaaaaay behind on arena maintenance.

If we tear down the skyway before I get to see this beauty, I swear to god!

My point is that Terry and Kevyn like having a data point to fall back on. Of course you and I know the org was stooopid for letting Ullmark go. But for the average fan in the FB comments (not on team specific message boards and following closely) this provides them a bit of curtain to hide behind. "We didn't extend him because the analytics say....."

It is worth noting that renovations = contractually obligated maintenance. The roof has never been replaced and the scoreboard is well passed due on the manufacturers recommendation. They originally tried to get this paid for by the county and the county said "that isn't what the lease says". Estimates for a true upgrades and renovations to the arena are $150M+. I wouldn't be shocked if they only spend approximately 10-15% of that on the roof/score board.

I don't think it is to undercut players players salaries in an effort to sign them for less. And I don't think it is some grand conspiracy. Every franchise in the big 4 leagues in the US floats stories to gauge and prep fan reaction. Floating unrealistically low contract values to prep fans for players eventual departure isn't uncommon in any league in the US. In fact they have already done it with Ullmark. AFP valued Ullmark at nearly half and the teams response was that they offered him what they thought was fair value but Boston gave him more money/longer term or whatever. Sorry, "worked".

These guys at AFP work with the org. They have floated a couple of things in regards to trades and contracts the last few months that I believe are testing the fan base reaction and present information as a 3rd party. I think the Mitts and UPL values are bit low on purpose so the team can set itself up to say "so-and-so team over paid".

I have been told on this and other forums that NHL GM's don't plan for the cap 3, 4, 5 years in advance. But I am also told on this and other message boards that we will be getting insane value in years 5, 6, and 7 on Cozens, Power, and Thompson. I whish people would pick a lane. Right now, gun to my head, I would rather have Mitts and UPL over either Cozens or Power. In fact, if you asked me to pick my favorite pairing of that group of 4 it would b Mitts/UPL.

I am not sure we can realistically make the current contracts, plus Mitts/UPL, and the coming contracts of Levi, Quinn, and Peterka work. Next year we absolutely have to start getting way more value out of Power/Cozens/Thompson. Have to! Otherwise we are talking about letting players that are good today walk because somebody might be comparable tomorrow. I don't think this team can afford to let UPL walk. They have to lock him up.

Right, the fans and other orgs would not disagree with you. I am speaking in regards to what the locker room thought they were doing vs. what they actually did. They are a bunch of dumb-dumbs.

As much as these kids think they were defending their coach they likely cost him his job. As long as professional sports has existed any franchise can want to run it back as much as they want regardless of W/L until 1 of 2 things happen: 1. They lose the locker room 2. They lose the fan base. By telling the Buffalo News they were turning on the last few people who actually show up to these games that they were punishing them they sealed the fate of one if not a couple people in that building/locker room. Congrats guys, the guy you wanted to keep so bad? He will be fired because you couldn't keep your mouth shut.

You can zoom in and out as much as you want to find a lot of frustration with this franchise. Pegula is terrible in his tenure. Adams and Granato are the worst among his peers in his tenure. This roster as it it exists in this season is on pace for another historically bad record. Pegula: 13 years....Nearly double the longest playoff streak in league history. Ruined this franchise. And that isn't hyperbole. Adams: Longest tenured GM without a playoff appearance Granato: Longest tenured HC without a playoff appearance. 2023-24 Roster: The first Sabres team to not win 3 games in a row in a single season (sans shortened covid year). This might be an NHL first. I am about 1/3 of the way through the league and so far it is.

I had more fun watching last years team than I have in a decade. The bar is so low for me with this team right now. Play good, fun, entertaining, try-hard hockey and I can live with 90 point seasons for a while. This year is one of, if not the most disappointing year in the Pegula era.

I like Donnie. He was good enough to help some of these kids progress but not good enough to get the job done. I don't love calling him out live in real time. It is harsh. But I also get it. You lost to the worst team in the league 9-4 at home in a season that was supposed to be pushing the 100 point mark. We may very well finish below 80. The whole thing is a tremendous let down for everybody. Any org can want to stay whatever course all they want unless they either: 1. lose the locker room or 2. lose the fan base. As much as hearing a couple thousand people chanting for you to lose your job is a tough pill to swallow for everybody in the locker room, the final nail in DG's coffin was ultimately pounded in when the players told local reporters they were turning on the fan base. That is a sure fire way for at least one if not a few people to get fired. Had they limped through the season and silently hate forked this fanbase with a .500 record to close the year I think Donnie would have been back to coach them next year.

I think you are both right and giving this too much credit. Also Allen has been getting boo's since his rookie year. You don't have to be a vet to try hard/not give up.