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JohnC

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Everything posted by JohnC

  1. Let me get this straight. Jemal took over the tallest building in western NY that was virtually vacant for more than a decade. At the time no one else had any interest in taking on that challenging project. He built up the area around the mostly empty building in order to get more economic activity around the building. He then restores the building and fills it up with tenants that includes a banking operation, stores, other businesses and apartments. So your main criticism of this grand and complicated project is that you don't find it aesthetically pleasing. Do you know what is less aesthetic than his completed project? An empty building with little activity around it. On this topic we simply disagree. You stated your position very well. However, I respectfully but strenuously disagree with your take as you do with my take. It's pointless to continue going back and forth on this topic.
  2. What do you think we can get for him? A third round pick?
  3. I'm not sure the relevancy of Croce to the Jemal discussion. As it turns out Jemal bought the Statler from the Croce estate. He is currently in the process of remodeling the former white elephant of a building. If you have any criticisms of any of Jemal projects, I would like to hear them. You may not think that he is an asset to the community but I do.
  4. I agree with you that because how his finances are structured he would be an unlikely candidate to buy a hockey franchise. And I don't think that his particular business acumen/experience translates to owning a hockey franchise. I suspect as @Brawndostated that if there is a relationship between Pegula and him it relates to some real estate holdings that he is interested in that the Pegulas' own.
  5. You are right that for the most part he doesn't put up his own money but rather he gets financed by banks and other financial entities. That's how most developers finance their projects. One of the reasons that he has such access to money is that his projects are successful resulting in the loans being paid in a timely manner. Or to put it in simple terms: He is credit worthy.
  6. The one project that he took on that impressed me is the Bidwell/Elmwood project. A faction of the community was at war with the developer who wanted to take on a sizeable project in that community. The project was hopelessly stalled because of the conflict between the community (faction of it) and the developer. Jemal came in and took over the project. He met with the resisters and modified the project by scaling it down to get their approval. The project got completed to everyone's satisfaction. This is the type of developer you want working in your community.
  7. No thanks to what? To the many building projects in western NY he has successfully completed? He has transformed many vacant and non-functioning buildings and restored them to hubs of economic activity. And you find that problematic? He got convicted for making illegal political contributions. He got caught and paid for it. And now he is one of the main participants in working to transform a lagging region. And because of his past indiscretion are you saying he should be disqualified from rebuilding the community he has chosen to work in? That makes absolutely no sense.
  8. The projects he gets involved in end up being completed. The Seneca One project was a dead zone for a generation. Now it is an employment hub. He bought the Police HQs location in downtown. He restored it to fully occupied apartments. He took over a mostly empty Statler Building and is now steadily restoring it bringing back some business activity for a building that was coming apart and being a public danger. The Bidwell/Elwood project was a multi-year stalled project because of some community resistance. He took over the project and worked with the community to satisfy their complaints. He did it by listening to them and then scaling the project down to satisfy their concerns. Jemal is a developer who pays his contractors and provides jobs. He doesn't get entangled in legal wranglings because he does things in a complicated and high stakes business the right way. Why do you think bankers fund his projects? Because he pays off his loans! And this is a guy you compare to Madoff!
  9. I have the opposite view of him than you do. The projects that he gets involved in are projects that he completes. I don't know anything about the City Hall condo proposal. But what I can say is that his Seneca One Project was masterfully done. This outsider has been an asset to western NY.
  10. Douglas Jamel's approach in his development business is to surround himself with top shelf people. He has a number of projects going in a different cities. He handles his numerous projects by putting competent people from his staff and quality outside contractors to manage his myriad projects. He is good at juggling projects because he relies on quality staffing inside and outside his company.
  11. I do. When you take on a contract for a player who was not going to be on the roster for the sole purpose of reaching the cap floor what does that tell you about the organization's intention to assemble a competitive roster? Look at the paltry money spent to address the goalie position? You don't have to be a MENSA member to figure out that this was from a competitive standpoint a deliberate throwaway year.
  12. Every project that he has gotten involved in the Buffalo area has been successfully followed through. The Seneca One project was a large and complicated project. When he took over this white elephant that was dormant for years he stated in advance what his plans were for it. It took time but he steadily moved forward with the implementation of his plans and in the end this long time barren and unused landscape became a center of economic and social activity. The downtown police HQ was successfully turned into apartments. I have no clue whether he is interested in buying the Sabres or Pegulas have any interest in selling the franchise. But what I can say is that Douglas Jemal is a serious and accomplished developer. This outsider has been a tremendous asset to Western NY.
  13. With respect to the highlighted section the needs that you list that should and could be addressed this offseason are doable. Considering our grand cap room and the abundant draft capital this franchise has for the next two years this franchise has the wherewithal to address the need list that you noted. And all that can be done and still stay within the strategy of mostly building through the draft. I also apologize for my repetitive responses. But my juices get activated because I strongly believe that systemic losing is corrosive to the players and the organization. Just ask yourself when was the last time that this franchise played meaningful games entering the last third part of the season? This year the Sabres had no impacting games after the first dozen games. And that is sad.
  14. I believe that a rebuild was/is necessary. That doesn't mean that I fully go along with how it is done. There is no doubt that the primary method revolves around the strategy of drafting and developing. I'm fine with that. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't other avenues alongside the drafting strategy that could be used to accelerate the pace of the reconstruction. It has become apparent to me from a competitive standpoint that this was a throwaway year. That was made abundantly clear when the organization took on a hefty contract for a player they had no intention of keeping for the purpose of using it as a write-off to get to the cap floor. This offseason, the franchise has a copious amount of cap space and an excess in draft capital for the next couple of years. Will some of those assets be judiciously used to upgrade the roster and put our young players in a better position to succeed? If it doesn't I will be very disappointed. It's time for this rickety organization to exhibit a greater degree of urgency to becoming more competitive. It's time! The vanishing fanbase deserve better.
  15. Absolutely not. Peterka is going to be a Sabre next season and hopefully will eventually be a legitimate first or second line player for us. For a variety of reasons ROR does not fit in with what this organization is attempting to build. And the biggest obstacle is his age and how he fits in with what is being constructed here.
  16. There are not enough quality defenders. We do have some good young players but there simply isn't enough talent on the backend. Most of the issues that plague this team revolve around the lack of talent. Coaching matters but it can't overcome a deficit of talent. They are working with what they got.
  17. It is not inconceivable that the Reinhart trade that brought us Levi might turn out to be the most consequential of the three trades. Who would have thought that when that deal was made? The next intriguing issue about Levi is what is his timetable to the NHL if he demonstrates he has the capacity to get there?
  18. I have listened to Granato on a number of occasions. What is striking/appealing is his honesty. Although he cloaks his comments in a diplomatic manner he is well aware that the roster he has to work with is simply inadequate. That's why his commentary usually focuses on development and the future. If TG started spouting off about the playoffs his words would ring hollow and he would come off as delusional fool. The solution is to give him a better roster to work with so the increased expectations would fall within the realm of reality.
  19. What happens if the owners fire KA because the results don't meet their expectations? Are you going to re-start the rebuild clock all over again? This gimpy rebuilding process didn't start with KA. It actually started with Botterill. The players that form the young core of this team are Botterill players. I understand that after a year KA decided to go on a fire sale and deal his old core (who understandably no longer wanted to be here) in order to disassemble in order to re-assemble. Your KA up to the task clock runs much slower than my clock does. If this front office doesn't smartly utilize some of its draft and cap capital to upgrade this roster this offseason beyond adding the youngsters in the system, then my alarm bell will go off with this regime. When you are in the competition business you need to seriously compete. Enough is enough.
  20. You and I are riding on the same train. I believe, as I think you do, in the primacy of drafting and developing strategy of the rebuild. However, as you point out if this bedraggled organization doesn't use its other assets of cap space and parlaying some of our abundant draft capital to add more talent, then this rebuild will be needlessly and punishingly extended. As it stands what player who might be available in a trade with NMC would be willing to come to this junkyard franchise? I'm more interested to see what this front office is going to do this offseason. If the owner allows the GM to judiciously utilize the assets that it possesses to bring in a few good players I believe that the rebuild stage would be shortened and enhanced.
  21. There could be a major turnaround if this owner and organization are committed to doing what is necessary to get better. Everything is relative when competing. If you are improving that doesn't mean that other teams aren't also improving and doing it at even a faster rate. If there isn't a more aggressive approach to upgrading the roster this offseason beyond working in the prospects in our system then outcomes won't be significantly altered.
  22. The reason that KA took over as the GM is because Botterill under the orders of Pegula refused to fire a large number of his scouting staff. I am not criticizing the current GM for what he has done so far other than inadequately addressing the goalie position this offseason. The Sabres will be entering this offseason with an abundance of high draft picks for the next two years. And they will have more cap room than any just about any team in the league. The issue is whether the owner is going to allow the GM to smartly use a portion of the gaping cap space and draft assets to bring in some solid to good players to replace the interchangeable JAGs on this roster, and also offer more support for the young players. This season the actual number of people at the games is 4000-6000. Everyone understands that the Sabres are in the midst of a rebuilding process. But that doesn't mean that the owner can't be committed to fielding a competitive team. For where this lagging team stands relative to the rest of the league the owners should be ashamed of themselves. This troubled franchise has already gone through a disreputable tank. For what? So the players that we acquired because of the tank end up desperately wanting out because they realize that their careers are being squandered in this malignant franchise. This season had little meaning right from the start because it was planned that way. The owners need to have more pride and self-respect as owners. If they are not committed to winning and showcasing a respectable product, then they should sell the team and get out of the business. Enough is enough.
  23. Tampa has been one of the premier teams in the league for the past number of years because they are and have been one of the best run operations in hockey. Their organization has been one of the best drafting franchises in the business producing many good players drafted below the first round. Their goalie is arguably the best goalie in the world. When you compare the talent on our roster to top tier teams we are pigmies in the land of giants. The argument that the Sabres can't succeed because they don't have enough jam is a Bull Shiit distracting issue. Success primarily comes down to a team's level of talent. We don't have enough talent on the team. It is evident to anyone who watches the games with their eyes open.
  24. When you lack enough talent the margin of error is small. Mistakes get magnified due a lack of talent and experience because there is an inability to overcome setbacks. Your post accurately singles out the primary reason why in so many games that we are in this team ends up faltering when faced with adversity: a lack of talent. As you pointed out Casey did make a boneheaded play that ended up being damaging. But those bad judgments are more prone to happen when a player has not played in a long time. The instincts that worked when playing on a regular basis become diminished when returning to play after a long layoff. It seems to me that he is back to playing at a pre-injury pace. That doesn't mean that his hockey instincts have caught up quite yet. Until he has a few more games under his belt I'm going to cut him some slack.
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