Mango

I 100% quoted the wrong comment.

I don't get the sense this is true just because there is too much evidence the other way. It is certainly possible that Pegula has always let his people have the freedom to fail. But given what we know, what he has been quoted as saying, and the results that have ensued, it is certainly "possible" however statistically wildly unlikely that the below could all happen and the Sabres nearly double the leagues longest ever playoff drought without pulling a lot of levers that he shouldn't. Here are the things we know to be true: - Both the GM and HC roll equally to the owner. - Fired Rex Ryan without consulting his GM. - When asked about scheming behind Ted Blacks back with Darcy his response wasn't "no". It was "Ted Black does not have a monopoly on hockey IQ". He was certainly meddling. - He has had 2 high level staff walk out on him. Marrone and LaFontaine. Both might be ash holes. But franchises rarely see one guy ever do that let alone two. - He has also admitted that the other NHL owners might think he is crazy for the way he runs his team. A few things that have been speculated as of late: - McBeane have the only two no meddling clauses in either organization - McBeane have worked hard to make sure that the Bills org is not part of the Sabres org and one does not bleed into the other. - Danny Briere was interested in a POH role but Pegula refused to sign a no meddling clause and that was the deal breaker. - Pegula forced the Skinner extension on GMJB. Edit: Quoting the correct post. Also words.

I like Donnie the person quite a bit. Kind of in the same way I liked Gailey with the Bills I think he’s likely a smart hockey man but not an NHL HC. Seeing him at the podium these days is depressing. I feel for the guy. It almost seems like it’s in his best interest to take him behind the barn.

I generally agree with you on this statement. The effort was so bad from our skaters that goaltending barely seems worth mentioning in regards to this single game. But at scale, I totally agree with you.

Not defending Comrie. But he made some saves. He needs to be replaced. Full stop. But he’s not why this team lost tonight either.

I’m irrationally annoyed that Tuch opened his post game with “I think them getting the first goal was the difference tonight.” I really like Tuch the player, the teammate, and the person. But Jesus dude… 45 BS shots to the center of the chest from 30 feet out won’t get it done in the ECHL let alone the NHL. Also, these fanatics hats almost never fit anybody properly. I can’t believe they have a 10 year contract.

You asked for evidence of Terry meddling. You specifically asked for a major/ credible publication. There are quotes from Terry himself when questioned about his own meddling saying he goes around the president of the team. He has admitted that other owners say he’s crazy. A major newspaper has an article about him firing his coach without talking even discussing it with the GM. A coach the GM didn’t even want to hire in the first place, mind you. And a GM he kept around for another 4 months plus a draft. Forton himself is a friend of the family hire. His brother in law is the business manager for Pegula. Pegula has had 2 members of his senior leadership team bail on him before their contacts were up. Granted Marrone and LaFontaine are ash hats. But nobody walks out on executive roles in the big 4. Pegula has had 2. I’ve jumped through the hoops. Do what you like. But Pegula is a mess.

When asked about going around Ted Black to scheming with Darcy Terry Pegula literally said “Ted Black doesn’t have a monopoly on hockey IQ”. What article do you need? He admitted it. Before McBean the Toronto Sun reported that Pegula fired Rex without taking to Whaley first. https://torontosun.com/2017/01/05/terry-pegula-a-case-study-in-billionaire-sports-team-owners-gone-wrong If you want a detailed statement you’re never ever going to get it. So congrats on winning this one. But you’ve basically made it impossible to do otherwise.

There’s certainly been stories that have leaked out like the Skinner extension. It’s been rumored that McBeane have a no meddling clause. It’s further been speculated that Briere asked for the same but it was denied. There is also that insane slide deck that was released where the Pegula’s told the team that part of Pegulas sports was to “maintain family lifestyle” Since buying the Bills it’s been common knowledge that Terry has a stranglehold on local media outlets. He’s been noted for being quick to pull access for anybody who is critical so you’ve seen less stories. There’s also been some questionable quotes from Terry: I am not sure what is proof for you? Botrill getting in front of mic and going through a slide deck of specific instances Terry got in the way? Terry to stand at the podium and say “I Terry Pegula regularly overrule the hockey people in the building and a regular basis” You are never ever going to get any of that from any professional sports owner in any of the big 4 leagues in the US.

I think everybody is white knuckling at the moment. I have some connections in manufacturing, IOT, and remote access, and there is a major slow down in production globally. Machine builders aren't moving anything out the door. The US seems to be a quarter or two behind but APAC and EMEA.

I have been in tech the better part of 10 years. It has been quietly very bad. I know people who have spent a career at the director level with pretty notable vendors who have been on the sidelines for a year. A friend who is a tech sales recruiter is always talking about how she doesn't understand all the talk of booming or bounce back, that she hasn't seen a job market this bad in a very very long time.

I posted earlier that I think that big part of keeping Levi in Rochester isn't for his development. Rather to keep them in the playoff race. When they sent Levi down they were 2 points away from being on the outside looking in. They are now 4 points from missing the playoffs. My tinfoil hat says Tokarski is the next man up because Rochester is mediocre and if they miss the playoffs the wheels fall off this FO completely.

This now makes Adams the longest tenured playoff drought in the league. (Assuming the standings stay the same as they are today) Technically Arizona hired Bill Armstrong the same offseason as Adams, but KA was hired 3 months earlier. Way to go Terry!

This is an actual concern for me. I am struggling to see why we waited his long to make a change at assistant when it was near the top of every single persons to do list. I don't see how this is anything other than trying to elongate job security. I honestly believe the below could happen: 24-25 Season: Miss the playoffs again. "Well, it takes some time for the new coaching staff to gel and the team to pick up the changes. We are still very young. A lot of excitement about the future in this building"....Rolls it back 25-26 Season: Donnie is fired mid-season, we miss the playoffs. "We wish Donnie could have stuck around but he had to deal with some health issues and he thought it was best for him to spend time with his family" 26-27 Season: New coach. Misses the playoff again. "We believe in the talent in this building. It often takes time to pick up a new system and the players to gel". The fan base has been so gutted that it is almost like there are no more fans to make noise. It isn't like Pegula cares that we average like 600 people per game. Maybe it would be better to go the Cleveland Browns route and fill the entire place up with fans with paper bags over their heads?

Not the worst idea. A good guy to have in the building in general. But considering he proactively tried to work for the org as a senior consultant or whatever and they didn't bring him in. I cannot imagine Kevyn Adams bringing him in as a coach if he doesn't want him as an extra set of eyes and ears. I am pretty sure that Kevyn Adams is like a kid wearing his dads suit playing dress up. The dude is just Tom Hanks in BIG. Everyday his number one priority is convincing everybody around him that he knows what he is doing....Which is why hiring a Berube or McLellan will never happen. He would be exposed.

I agree that would be a great tool for Adams, but given the Mclean article this week it does not seem like the org is open to outside thought at the moment. Adams turned down hiring a senior adviser and then told us just a few months ago that "our Stanley Cup window opens now" and rolled out this team. I just don't see how that guy hires a quality HC who pushes him to change. In fact I don't see how a quality HC ends up taking the role with him as GM. A number of people called for Adams head prior to this season. I defended him because the org was a mess. We needed to clear out some of the toxicity. The team improved somewhat every year. The writing was on the wall this past offseason. Goalie, defense, replace Matt Ellis. He did none of those things, called us a Stanley cup contender, and we are under .500. Adams doesn't need a new HC. We need a new GM.

I get that and I agree. You can't replace Terry. I still think replacing Kevyn Adams is more important than replacing Donnie. It is just delaying the inevitable. We have a roster a team vision construction problem at its core. A better coach will still be running a flawed team. Replace the GM and you replace Granato too. Replace Granato and we still have Kevyn "Our Stanley Cup window opens now" Adams.

I didn't say any of that. We are poorly run from the top down. Pegula struggles to find quality hockey people and/or give the the freedom to operate. Kevin Adams over values the prospects we have in the system and his baseline vision for the roster is flawed at best. Donnie isn't getting the most of what we have. ________ If you solve Donnie you have an unqualfied guy you still have a flawed roster and an even more flawed person assembling it. If you solve Adams you have a better hockey man but a meddlesome owner. If you solve Pegula you stand a chance to put the pieces in place down the line. This isn't a get out of jail free card for meatballs. I just think upgrading Donnie first is simply delaying the inevitable. He is the symptom not the disease.

It was a super inconsistent exercise where Mitts and Tuch star in Multiplicity 2 but I also tried to realistically fill some holes on the roster with guys who are here and real players in the NHL who are not available. In order to keep it grounded in reality while also make some cap room I traded Skinner. Try and keep up. (Mitts and Tuch sounds like a Sabres Space buddy comedy about a couple of doctors who also play bar league hockey….with a woman!)

Kevyn Adams is far more detrimental to this franchise than Meatballs is. My depth chart for most important moves for this franchise is as follows: 1. Pegula sells the team to somebody who keeps it in Buffalo. 2. Get a new GM 3. Replace Donnie Don't get me wrong. Coaching is a problem and is likely a problem no matter who is GM and owner. But I truly believe Terry Pegula is a worse owner and Kevyn Adams is a worse GM than Granato is a hockey coach by some margin.

Folks, lets not forget that to open this season Kevyn Adams said he thought this team was a Stanley Cup contender. That isn't hyperbole. He didn't think this was a developmental year. He didn't think next year was the year. He didn't even say generically "we expect to be competitive". He legitimately said the below: The guy literally woke up in October and thought "Yup, this is a championship caliber team" To be so wrong without any outside catastrophe is fireable offense in any business unit, in any org, across the country. This is when I wish Buffalo was a bigger market and had less control over its beat reporters. Adams/Pegula should be asked about this quote everyday until they cry.

I honestly don't know what to think about anything anymore. Like, we clearly lack some bottom end depth/physical play. Guys who play big and tough. Girgs and Okie are part of that problem. But if a team like Boston, winning the east right now, wants these guys.... That said, I think there would be a lot less criticism of these guys if we had a Deslauriers and/or Reaves around. I do think this team is a couple of clones away from being a lot better. At least the foreword group. Benson- Thompson - Tuch Peterka - Mitts - Quinn Greenway - Mitts - Tuch Deslauriers - Girgs - Okie/Reaves

That isn't what I am saying at all. I am all for making any trade you know you are going to win. Everybody fan of every sports team is. Like if I were an Edmonton fan I would be against trading McDavid. But if the return on McDavid was Mackinnon, Rantanen, and Makar from the Av's I would have a listen. So in general I would be against trading McDavid. But if that is the return then yes in that specific scenario I am for it. The inverse is I Skinner. I like Skinner. He is a nice piece. Funny dude. But he is over paid and we need more guys with a 200 foot game and some grit. My operating window for moving Skinner is a lot bigger. I am pro moving him to free up some cash. But if the return was 37 year old Tim Kennedy I would be pretty upset. You have to understand that nuance right? I don't really care where Casey and Dylan started. Just like I hate when a rookie QB throws a million INT's and we have to hear about Peyton Manning. Developing takes time. I get that. The Sabres have a lot of developing players. Some of them are costing us a lot of money and some of them have arrived and need extensions (Peterka/Mitts) I am in a spot where I am ready to move on from guys taking up space who have not arrived in order to keep guys that are producing a real life NHL level. Mitts was a clunky boneheaded young player. Cozens looks like he has no idea where he is supposed to be sometimes. He could certainly turn out to be a better NHL player than Mitts, but I am fairly confident that it will not be next year and likely not the year after that. If it happens I think it will be 3 years away. For me, it needs to definitively be next year. We aren't talking about a 32 year old center vs. a 20 year old. These are two pretty young centers. At $7M per year I don't have the patience for the "But he, they, we are young" for some of these guys anymore. We cannot continue to be 2, 3, 4 years away. That cannot be the plan.

Funny you mention that. This article came out today. https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/buffalo-sabres-nhl-doug-maclean-kevyn-adams-columbus-blue-jackets/article_6b6eff34-c76c-11ee-97a9-eb4884dd06d4.html A few interesting quotes that I fail to link together as anything other than "I won't bad mouth anybody. There are good players, but not the players they think they have. Organizationally they have no interest in doing anything different or hearing from anybody else."

Honestly, I think we are putting too much pressure on the market to keep the team in Buffalo and not enough on Terry. He bought this team from an owner who mandated that the next buyer keep the team in Buffalo. Pegula can and should do the same. He destroyed this fanbase/franchise, ran this thing into the ground, then took $1B from the locals to fund another sports venture. Terry Pegula owes it to Sabres fans, the city, and the state to make sure that any sale of this team includes the same or stronger no-movement language that he signed himself. The only reason this team leaves Buffalo is because Terry allows it to. The weight of that falls squarely on his shoulders, not the NHL's, not market conditions, nothing.