Archie Lee

Mitch Love, Todd Nelson, Glen Gulutzan, Marco Sturm. This shouldn’t be complicated. There are no guarantees. We are not bringing Jim Nill and Peter DeBoer over from Dallas. When Adams and Ruff are gone (and they will be gone barring an unlikely 89 point WC2 finish that gets them multi-year extensions), the Sabres will be moving on to a new unproven GM. Every day that the Sabres don’t try to find their Nill, Cheveldayoff, Brind’Amour, or Carbery, is just a day wasted by putting off the inevitable. Adams is not going to be the first GM in NHL history to finally figure it out after 5 seasons of missing the playoffs with one team.

You’re right. In reality, I would prefer Adams and Lou to just Adams. I just hate that Adams now gets to become his own reclamation project, and gets to hire his own Advisor and Assistant. If Adams were fired and Rob Blake hired and Blake announced that he was bringing in Lou as a Senior Advisor, because what Gm in his right mind would not want to learn whatever he can from Lou, I would be over the moon with excitement. With Adams, it is all just a lame-duck-in-over-his-head-GM clinging to the only job he is going to have in the NHL (unless Pegula keeps him on in some capacity).

I know we are looking for solutions and not problems, but Barzal has a 22 team no trade list. He most likely did not negotiate this only to have the Sabres as one of the 9 teams he would be willing to go to.

What’s weird to me, is that you would think the Bills’ success would make it easy for Pegula to attract a good hockey man. Why can’t he approach someone like Rob Blake and just explain that he just hasn’t found a Beane or McDermott on the hockey side and that he thinks Blake could be that guy and the plan is to just stay out of the way. Give Blake a 4-5 year $20-$25 million contract and tell him to go out and find our young Montgomery or DeBoer or Cassidy. It should not be complicated.

I like the idea of Lou as a senior advisor only slightly more than I like the idea of Kevyn Adams staying on as GM, which means I really hate it. But, this is who you get as senior advisors: Either a recent GM who wants to get back in, or a really old guy who is driven by nothing but hockey and who just wants to stay involved in some capacity. I guess my big concern with Lou is that he advises Adams to be more bold. I mean, maybe the one positive thing about Adams and his general state of reluctance to make big moves, is that it has actually prevented more bad than good. If Lou’s impact is for Adams to be more bold, is that a good thing? Maybe. But maybe the best we can hope for is to survive this season with minimal damage and then move on to a new regime.

We could, but it is nearly impossible to imagine Adams doing so. Also, we don’t have our 2nd in 2026 (included in the Norris trade), which limits the options.

I don’t disagree with this. Better is better. But, how much of Samuelsson and Clifton being bad is coaching and system related? How much better would they be on Dallas? I look around the playoffs and see all kinds of d-men who were seen as journeymen, castoffs, not good enough, in some cases by the Sabres (Stecher, Klingberg, Sandin, Benoit, McCabe, Lyubushkin, Ceci, Petrovic, Collin Miller, Gostisbehere, Schmidt, Kulikov, Mikkola). It feels a little to me like our need to improve the 4th line and then watching Okposo win a cup and Robinson and Girgensens play in the playoffs while Malenstyn, Lafferty, and Aubé-Kubel all underwhelm (to be charitable). I’m not advocating for no player changes. I’m just skeptical that the talent of the type of player we are most likely to bring in, will overcome the bad coaching and system and culture that they will encounter here.

I think we are potentially wrong about both the defense and the goaltending. That doesn’t mean upgrades aren’t warranted. Of course, better players would be better. But, there is a world where I could see the following as a playoff calibre back end as soon as this year: Dahlin/Power (could be an elite pairing) Byram/Clifton (ok together late in season) Samuelsson/BDocker (third pairing, fine) UPL (needs a bounce back) Levi (is he ready?) What I struggle to imagine, is this being good enough with Lindy Ruff as our coach. His teams have been very bad defensively for most of the years since he left Buffalo and there is no assistant on the current staff who we could count on to successfully take over the responsibility for our defensive structure. If I had to bet on the players or the coaching staff, I would bet on the players.

Garry Galley would be great.

Perhaps one thing to consider in the comparison, is that Metsa is only 11 months younger than Bryson. Metsa was 24 when he started his last year of college. He was 26 at the start of this AHL season. Bryson has been a full-time NHL roster player, more or less, since he was 23. I’m not taking anything away from Metsa, or really trying to defend Bryson, but maybe people would think differently about Bryson if he had not played in the NHL prior to age 27.

To the bolded, I was thinking the same thing. But, when I actually looked at the teams that are potentially in the "rebuilding" category, I only found one name that more or less fits the description and who also doesn't have some level of trade protection that would likely eliminate the Sabres as an option. That player is Rasmus Ristolainen. It even fits a little with Samuelsson's dad having the history with the Flyers and Samuelsson being from that area. I'm not advocating for this or suggesting it is even remotely possible, but there aren't many (any) options that fit the criteria in a Samuelsson trade. FWIW: Risto appears to have become a much more low-event player than he was when he was here. If he didn't have the Sabre-history... Also, this shouldn't be construed as me thinking there are no options for improving our defense. I think there are lots of options. I don't think we need to make a big splash. I think we are more in need of a different type of player (experienced, more-physical defensively), than we are in need of "better" players.

Maybe I don't understand how offer-sheets work. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that in order to offer-sheet Byram in the $7-8 million range (what it would take to get him, I would think), the team making the offer would need to have their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rd picks in 2026, since that would be the cost. I don't think any team that has more than a 50/50 chance of missing the playoffs this coming season, is going to give up their 2026 1st for Byram. Also, the Sharks don't currently have their 3rd in 2026.

The Sabres are not in an impossible situation with regards to the salary cap and their roster. It is quite complex though. Extending our RFAs in pretty-much any realistic combination of expert projections, takes them right up to, or over, the cap. They are in a cap and roster situation that teams headed into year 5 of a rebuild, with no success to show for it, are not typically in. Typically, NHL teams in this sort of cap situation, have at least had some regular season successes. Also, serious NHL teams would typically entrust the management of this type of situation to a POHO and/or GM who has successfully navigated a franchise through such scenarios before. Adams has thus far not been able to build a playoff level roster, despite (I would argue) starting out with more assets than a GM would typically start a rebuild with. If Adams has not proven that he can build a winning team with all of the cap space and tradeable assets in the world to work with, then I don't know how he can possibly be expected to navigate the cap and contract complexities of the multiple moves needed this off-season to get the Sabres to the place where they have a playoff level roster. Could it happen? Sure. But, there is just no reason for optimism.

I remembered that there were reports on what Granato was making. So I looked that up and found a number of sources that report Granato’s extension lifted his annual salary to $1.9 million. So, Donnie did ok. A reasonable bet is that Adams makes north of that.

Victor Olofsson with his first career playoff goal.

Agreed. The Sabres made big mistakes long before Adams arrived. But, I think it is incredible (in the bad sense) that 4 years post the Power draft, considering the assets on the team in 2020-2021, that Adams has not produced a playoff team. It’s actually stunning and reflects that he truly is not capable of being an NHL GM. That Adams is getting a 6th year is negligence. I would not dream of telling any fan how to approach the off-season when it comes to expectations. But from my perspective, every draft pick, trade, front office hire, UFA signing or RFA extension this off-season, should be viewed in the context of “this is being done by Kevyn Adams; set your expectations accordingly”.

I was looking at Rob Blake's history with the Kings. He was an assistant GM for a few years after their cup seasons. They missed the playoffs in 16-17 and he took over as GM in 17-18. They had a single season resurgence back into the playoffs, and then started a rebuild in 18-19. They bottomed out in 19-20 and in the summer of 2020 they drafted Byfield 2nd overall. They missed the playoffs for one more season (the 2020 covid year), and in the 4 seasons since they have had 99, 104, 99, and 105 points. He had some misses. The Turcotte draft and the Dubois trade, being the biggest two. Perhaps in hindsight, Stutzle was the pick over Byfield. He couldn't get past McDavid and Draisaitl four seasons in a row. It seems to me that there is some parallel to the moment that the Kings drafted Byfield in 2020 and the moment, under Adams, that the Sabres drafted Power in 2021. I thought I would compare the rosters of the 19-20 Kings and the 2020-21 Sabres, the respective seasons before the Byfield and Power drafts. Kings / Sabres Kopitar / Eichel Kempe / Reinhart Toffoli / Hall Iafallo / Skinner Vilardi / Mittlestadt Lizotte / Cozens Amadio / Thompson Doughty / Dahlin Roy / Montour Martinez / Ristolainen Walker / Miller Quick / Ullmark Now, consider that one season after bottoming out and drafting Byfield, the Kings had a 99 point season and went on to average 102 points over the next 4. And then, Blake decided it was time to move on to see if someone else could get the Kings over the first round playoff hump. Contrast that with the Sabres. Four seasons after drafting Power we have averaged 82 points per year, we have not made the playoffs, and they are just now apparently getting serious about surrounding Adams with a veteran hockey man to assist him in how he carries out his duties. Would Adams voluntarily step down to allow another person to take the team to the level of just making the playoffs? Of course not. Adams knows that this is likely to be his only job as an NHL executive. Blake, on the other hand, will have a job with another NHL team as soon as he wants one. Imagine how different the outlook for the coming seasons would be, if tomorrow it was announced that Kevyn Adams has been relived of his duties and Rob Blake has been hired as GM. The Sabres are not a serious NHL team.

Watching the games last night and two things occurred to me. 1. As you note, I think the Leafs are certainly the most complete team in the East. Maybe in the league. They could win it all. 2. Of the goalies left, Oettinger is the best and I don’t think it is close. So I like Dallas’s chances. This should doom the Leafs and Stars. Also, a side note on Dallas. I’m watching them close out games with Cody Ceci on the ice (he played the last 3 minutes v. Colorado in game 7) and I’m thinking he would be a great partner for Power or Byram on our 2nd pair. He was available for a song last off-season. He is a UFA July 1. Of course, other teams will notice this.

The off-season is going the opposite of what I hoped (though not the opposite of what I expected). I was hoping for Adams and Ruff to be removed and if not removed at least somewhat neutered by having their roles changed and new people hired (perhaps promoted in Karmamos's case) to the GM and HC roles. Instead, it would seem that Adams and Ruff are having their roles and influences entrenched. There is nothing Adams and Ruff can do that would excite me about the coming season. Adams and Ruff have combined for 3 winning seasons and 3 playoff seasons in their last 16 (in their respective respective roles). These are not the men that a serious and competent NHL team/owner hires to oversee their Hockey Ops. There is zero reason to think that any roster moves these men make, will have the desired outcome.

This is the front office equivalent to last year's 4th line "upgrades". Yes, I am now fully a cynic.

It's a great question. We all have our theories. I think it is simply that Adams is the first guy Pegula has hired to manage the Sabres, who he truly likes and trusts. Had Murray or Botterill had the sort of success that McBeane is having with the Bills, then maybe they are still with the Sabres, whether Pegula liked and trusted them or not. But neither had any real success, so they were fired. Adams also hasn't had success, but the combination of Pegula liking and trusting Adams along with Pegula also being, I think, sensitive to the perception that he is too quick to fire people, has lead him to be far more patient with Adams than is warranted. I don't think it has anything to do with micromanaging or not being committed to winning*. I think Pegula just failed to get it right the first 3 times, and now that he finally has a person in the role who he likes and trusts, he is going to give Adams a very long leash. *I understand that many, me included, will rightfully say that this is the same thing as not being committed to winning. I just mean that I don't think he has consciously determined that winning doesn't matter or that pinching pennies is more important. I think that Pegula thinks/hopes that they will eventually win with Adams. As a fan, there may be no point in distinguishing between the motivations.

I think there are solid arguments for Adams with every trade (given the circumstances surrounding each). A few, could even be called good trades. The larger point though, is that in his 5 years Adams had traded away multiple young players that cost us a 1st rd pick to acquire, with nothing to show for it. Adams has traded Montour, Ristolainen, Reinhart, Eichel, Mittlelstadt, Savoie and Cozens (we acquired Montour with the 1st rd pick we received from San Jose for Evander Kane). So, Adams has traded away seven players that we acquired using 1st rd picks, five of which were top 10 picks, two were 2nd overall. Every one of the players traded is either still in the NHL or, in Savoie's case is still a prospect. Only Montour is over 30. These players are largely still in, or heading into, the prime of their careers. And 5 years into Adams's tenure, we had a 79 point season. The year before Adams took over, in the covid shortened season under Botterill and Krueger, the Sabres had 68 points in 69 games; that is an 80-81 point pace. Five years of Adams trading all these highly drafted and young players, has produced nothing. So, it's not that Adams won't get value in any particular trade, but rather he will do nothing with the value he obtains. Ray Ferrero said it best when he was doing a Sabre game a couple of years ago: Buffalo's roster is just a collection of nice pieces. I'm not afraid that Adams will make a terrible trade. I just have no faith that any trade he makes will result in the Sabres becoming a playoff-level team. And so, every day that Adams remains GM is just putting off the day when the job is given to someone who might be able to get us there.

Such a sad state of affairs. From here forward, starting with Adams representing the Sabres at yesterday’s lottery, the 25-26 season will exist under the cloud of “here we go again”. Draft picks and trades and free agent signings, will all be tainted by the reality that they are being overseen by a GM who has clearly demonstrated he is not capable of fulfilling the role. Every blown 3rd period lead, two-game losing streak, failure of a Sabre to sufficiently stand-up for a teammate, will be viewed in the context of 14 years out of the playoffs, and 5 years of failures under Adams. An expectation of failure has soaked the culture of the organization. This is how you have a 13 game losing streak in December of a must-win season.

As many of us suggested, this year’s scapegoat is conditioning. Last year the players needed accountability. This year they need to be in better shape.

At this stage it looks like he is still the GM because: - Pegula still trusts Adams. Pegula’s trust in Adams’s ability to ice a winning hockey team has to be fading. But Pegula is not ready to fire the man he considers a trusted consigliere. And/or - Pegula does not want to pay 2-3 men seven figure salaries to not work for him, which would be the case if he fired Adams (and Ruff). So we get one more lame-duck season of GMKA, starring Kevyn Adams and featuring Lindy Ruff. Together or apart, they are terrible reasons for not making needed change. Betting money should be on things getting worse. There just isn’t any precedent for a 1st time GM having no success through 5 seasons, and then figuring it out in year 6.