Pimlach

Many GMs start out as scouts, or coaching, or both. Adams was mostly business administration prior to becoming GM. Which is why him having no advisors until this season was a curious decision that probably hurt him.

True. True again. hmmm, yes but really depressing. I want you all to be wrong.

Restaurants and bars were heavily hurt for a while, he had the means to ride it out but chose not to. Probably a good move. Covid didn’t devastate the NFL Buffalo Bills and its massive TV revenue, and Covid didn’t not adversely affect any natural gas businesses (if he was still involved in them). The acquisition of the big boat did seem to change things though. It seemed odd to hear a family worth ~$6B publicly talking about about “maintaining the family lifestyle” while putting the Sabres into EEE cost cutting.

Woke up to four pages of this. Anything I can say or think has probably been said. Two more years of Byram at ~$7M when you have Power at $8.3M and Dahlin at $11M is not a great situation for a lot of reasons. On the other hand I don’t trust Adams to acquire futures and then flip them with any success. It’s not something he has shown us he can do.

Good summary. Generous IMO but very comprehensive. Lyon was a good move given what was out there. We have to hope for a UPL recovery and that UPL/Lyon are a decent 1A/1B. Otherwise we bring up Levi. My view is Peterka was better than Quinn, we lost Peterka and kept Quinn. Another really good player that we developed is gone and it is hard to be happy about it or about the return. Right now, unless a top 6 F is obtained, Quinn may end up top 6. This does not improve the top 6 and it is the exact kind of gamble that Adams makes every off season. The goal of improving the top 6 will most likely not be met, Adams still has time but so far the top 6 looks worse and a key goal is not met. Peterka for Kesselring and Doan is key. Peterka will play on the top line in Utah and he will score goals. Kesselring has yet to show he is a shut down defenseman, which was another key goal of the off season. Our management loves puck movers. I like Kesselring but where he fits and if he is the guy to help Power is TBD. Doan is someone I am high on (and I must disclose that I really liked the way his father played so I have a bias). Owen Power is a big key to the season. It is time for him to grow up and play better defense. Either he does it on his own or he gets help from Kesselring or Timmins but it has to happen, especially if Byram gets traded. Timmins for Clifton plus a 2nd was hard to get excited about. I am not going to ooohh and aaahh at Adams for managing the potential offer sheet stuff, it is an expectation that a GM knows the rules and can do that simple arithmetic. We shall see what Timmins gets for a salary and if he is any better than what we have. Adding Danforth/Timmins/Doan plus deleting Lafferty should improve the fringes of the roster but this team finished with only 79 points so that alone is not enough and the top line players need to be better. It goes without saying that the Sabres will need good health and big years out of Tage, Dahlin, Tuch, Power, and Norris to compete. So are they better? Nothing they did moves the needle very much but if everything aligns then they are slightly better. How they react to Lindy and his staff will be a telling factor. Lindy's first season back was a disappointment and no coaching changes seems wrong to me.

I can agree with this. UPL had one good stretch last season and then the turnovers and poor team defense became the norm. He overcompensated and lost his positioning and his confidence. Not sold on UPL but he and Lyon might be a decent 1A/1B combo. We need it if we have any chance of contending for a playoff spot.

No doubt he knows the rules. Lots of doubt on both his player evaluations and his contracts. He has recently used a 2nd on Malenstyn, a 2nd to secure Norris and JBD, and a 2nd to dump Clifton (and salary) and get Timmins. You would think that he knew what he would pay for Timmins and would work that out in advance? Especially as part of clearing space for a Byram offer sheet. So, using your explanation, Timmins is forcing negotiations to get serious and Adams offer was too low. Again, I would think they would have worked it out in advance.

Yes, of course. But in light of the recent events it’s still funny. It’s healthy to laugh.

JBD signed with Detroit for $875K.

You did a lot of research on cozens last year that was spot on. Quinn very often looked like a spectator last year. He is the one they have from the Aquino/Peteka draft unfortunately.

Peterka Quotes: He wants to be part of a young core, apparently just not in Buffalo. “When you look at the roster, how many young players are there who are already so good. I think, just like timeline-wise for me, it’s going to be a perfect fit. Growing together with those guys and hopefully winning a lot of games,” Peterka said. “I think the team has a lot of skill. The speed they play with got me most excited. How quick they move the puck, and that they have some serious players that can make a lot of good plays. That was pretty cool to watch.” He is training hard in the off season, not sure if he was in Buffalo. “I think there’s still a lot left. That’s why I have to work hard every day,” Peterka said. “I told them I’m going to work my ass off in the offseason.” He is excited to play for a coach that demands a two way game, apparently just not Lindy Ruff who also demanded a two-way game. “I talked to Quinn, actually, a lot about [Tourigny],” Peterka said. “He really liked him as a coach and as a person. He said he’s a hard coach but a really good coach. That got me really excited.” What went wrong in Buffalo (the losing aside)? He probably does not see a commitment to win from management. “I think that just shows how committed I am to Utah, how excited I am. And how much I believe in that group, what they’ve got going and what they’re building there,” Peterka said. “That’s why I decided to do that. Super excited now to meet all the guys and get things going.”

Indeed goaltending is a big factor and a key reason to be skeptical. Lyon and UPL, maybe Levi, that is what we have. Last season we counted on UPL to emerge and he did not. New year, seems hard to predict what they will do.

Fair assessment. I hope you are wrong on Ruff. The center spline is still a concern to me, mostly given Norris’ past history of missing games. The top 6 with Peterka was lacking a bit and its worse now without him. Move Byram to help top 6 and the defense takes a hit. It’s like squeezing a water balloon. The way to jump ahead is made difficult by this teams inability to sign quality UFAs and by NTCs. I’m looking forward to watching this group but my expectations are tempered.

You are a good straight man.

And Mitts noticed how hard the Avalanche practices were.

Tuch is a good player. Benson has a chance.

No, I am not contradicting a thing. You simply refuse to acknowledge that I made a valid point that was, and apparently still is, over your head. Others here chimed in that they get it. You don't. Your sentence in bold shows that either you don't get it or you just want to argue and twist things. You act like the RFA risk exposure is something new. The rules have been in place for a long time. Adams did not do anything brilliant, he did what every GM would do. He was reacting to the situation that he created. He expected to unload Byram in the first days and he failed to do it, so he had to make the moves he did. You can call it smart, I see it as more of the same - his inability to get the job done. You seem to forget that it is not my job, or any other posters job, to manage this team. I do not have to think of every contingency Adams faces and then post them, and that would be impossible without more details. You are being absurd to even suggest it. You are grasping and it is not a good look. Your defense of Kevyn Adams as an NHL GM would be laughable if it wasn't so tiring and sad. Just so you know, I hope he does fix things. I don't enjoy seeing this team on the bottom. I love the team, I try not to be overly negative but I can't defend the way it is being managed.

A 20% success rate. Not criticizing, just the facts.

You pick the offer sheet part of my statement and you conveniently missed the salary cap part. Combine the two situation and you might understand my point - he is a step behind. He does not spend to the cap, even though he says its not Terry that is holding him back. Despite this, he is dumping salary to defend against an offer sheet for his 2nd best defenseman. Why? Because he created the situation he was defending against - just look at Power's contract and Samuelsson's contract - they are the work of a GM that had no business running an NHL team. To me he appears to be operating without a plan. In my opinion he was done a poor job and is over his head. But since I am married to this team I am willing to follow them and see if Lindy can make something out of this roster.

where do you see a suggestion? Did you watch his latest press conference? I didn’t call him dumb but I do think he is a very poor GM, not dumb, just bad at his job and his record reflects that. Sorry if that offends you.

The team that doesn’t spend to cap was dumping salaries because of Bo Byram’s potential offer sheet. Only Adams.

settle down gents.

My comment has nothing to do with Buffalo as a city. Yes, been to St Louis a lot and they have a rabid fan base, a owner that wants to win, a winning culture, and its actually a very nice city too. (As a city it is similar to Buffalo but lacks the beauty of the Great Lakes. They certainly have lots of inner city problems and also many very beautiful and wealthy suburbs)