New GM Watch

[WildCard]

This is what it comes down to. Murray was fun, entertaining and in your face. That's what was his attraction for the most part. Unfortunately I don't think that's what builds organizations. I'm not sure how Botterill will do if hired but I have no doubt his resume is impressive. I want a team built to entertain me not a GM to entertain me.

Good points

[7+6=13]

 

 

What does Terry think Murray did wrong? We don't deserve to know. He doesn't want to talk about the past, unless he's throwing LaFontaine and Murray under the bus to try and save face.

 

I guess we'll never know.  My main point was Murray has my respect for his effort.  We should have been better even with our lack of defensive talent and I put that on largely on Bylsma. 

[dudacek]

I think Murray handed the next guy a great base to work with and I love his style.

I also think he could have fixed the holes, but his people/leadership skills, his coaching choice, and his failure to rectify either in time let him down.

 

I've said it before. If we hire our version of Quenville and Bowman, he will be remembered as our Tallon.

[Radar]

Murray did a bit more than entertain you in a press conference. 

 

I think Murray put everything he had into making this team a winner.  A well connected man in hockey that I'll always respect for his efforts.

 

Obviously every move he made didn't work out but I don't think we got the short end of any trades.  Heck he got so far as to be able to make an offer to Stamkos.  He pursued Vesey, Drouin and Antipin. 

 

I didn't like his goalie decisions, Moulson and Ennis extensions, and Bylsma was a flop. 

 

What an active and creative GM he was - far beyond just a fun sound bite. 

 

Ok, I feel better.

I liked Murray. I liked his ROR trade and Kane trade he took a gamble and I still think it was worth taking it. Overall his moves ,in my mind, were so so. The other areas of operations as a GM seemed to fall short. Like it or not the whole organization is his responsibility and it appears he didn't handle it well enough.

[Jsixspd]

 

John Vogl‏Verified account @BuffNewsVogl  2m2 minutes ago

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Well, none of these people are Jason Botterill or any Sabres candidate, unless they're going really outside the box with an unknown.

 

 

 

 It's Russ Brandon's  father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.    Which makes him absolutely nothing.  

[Sabre fan]

I do think that while EXGMTM clearly had his heart in the right place, and some of his moves were excellent (and will benefit this team for many years to come and make a new GM probably look good), I feel his attitude more then anything was a big problem. I get the impression other teams grew tired of his cocky attitude and did not wish to have any dealings with him which made any further trades almost impossible

 

Hopefully NGMJB (that's new-general-manage-jason-botterill) will come in and make the moves needed (like defence obiovusly).

[Radar]

I do think that while EXGMTM clearly had his heart in the right place, and some of his moves were excellent (and will benefit this team for many years to come and make a new GM probably look good), I feel his attitude more then anything was a big problem. I get the impression other teams grew tired of his cocky attitude and did not wish to have any dealings with him which made any further trades almost impossible

 

Hopefully NGMJB (that's new-general-manage-jason-botterill) will come in and make the moves needed (like defence obiovusly).

Good post. It's been my suspicion the way this came down your posts nails it.

[kas23]

I do think that while EXGMTM clearly had his heart in the right place, and some of his moves were excellent (and will benefit this team for many years to come and make a new GM probably look good), I feel his attitude more then anything was a big problem. I get the impression other teams grew tired of his cocky attitude and did not wish to have any dealings with him which made any further trades almost impossible

 

Hopefully NGMJB (that's new-general-manage-jason-botterill) will come in and make the moves needed (like defence obiovusly).

I also found that comment about decreasing video time in favoring of having a coffee puzzling. Why was that aired to the public? And why at the end of the year presser? If this was an issue, why didn't ExGMTM address this back in December? Or last year? And it's even more troubling that ExGMTM finally found out about this during the players' exit interviews. I still think he was an excellent hockey guy, but something was missing.

 

This is an article floating around the Bills board, but it's an excellent read and I think it's applicable to the Sabres:

 

https://theringer.com/nfl-buffalo-bills-gm-doug-whaley-fired-sean-mcdermott-d87e027bae86-d87e027bae86

[nfreeman]

What does Terry think Murray did wrong? We don't deserve to know. He doesn't want to talk about the past, unless he's throwing LaFontaine and Murray under the bus to try and save face.

 

So you think TP should've specified XGMTM's mistakes and deficiencies?  Would that be an honorable or professional thing to do?  Has an owner ever done this in any sport when firing a GM? 

 

And how did TP throw PLF under the bus?  What exactly did he say?

 

Or are you just lashing out in yet another fact-free tantrum because the rich guy hasn't given you what you want, when you want it?

 

 

I liked Murray. I liked his ROR trade and Kane trade he took a gamble and I still think it was worth taking it. Overall his moves ,in my mind, were so so. The other areas of operations as a GM seemed to fall short. Like it or not the whole organization is his responsibility and it appears he didn't handle it well enough.

 

Yes.

[3putt]

Interesting read.  I challenge 2 points.  An owner is not the same as a gm.  If the owner doesn't know the difference between a TE and an end table, delegating tactical execution to a gm is imperative for sustained production.  Coaches responsibilities are limited to short term goals.  If there is no accountability between long term and short term you create an inherent conflict of interest. Second hockey is much different from football in that pure talent is much more a deciding factor than scheme and execution.  The game is more fluid.  While a terrible scheme can hamstring good talent, bad talent cannot be schemed to overcome better players all playing to their strengths.  I think Bylsma was a hinderance, but we are not yet at the stage where we have superior talent in enough quantity to challenge for the ultimate prize.  We have good pieces but need more and also need to dump the underachieving contracts and playing time sewers that keep from adding better players into the lineup. I feel that TM was adding the pieces but Bylsma was hindering their effectiveness. We are close, that is why I am loathe to shakeup the roster for a short term fix when that would simply shift the talent gap from one area to another.  I hope whoever gets the gm role is cagey enough to not mortgage the future for a short term fix unless that delivers the ultimate goal immediately.  A championship not just a ticket for admission to the tournament.  Jmho 

[Sabre fan]

I do think that while EXGMTM clearly had his heart in the right place, and some of his moves were excellent (and will benefit this team for many years to come and make a new GM probably look good), I feel his attitude more then anything was a big problem. I get the impression other teams grew tired of his cocky attitude and did not wish to have any dealings with him which made any further trades almost impossible

 

Hopefully NGMJB (that's new-general-manage-jason-botterill) will come in and make the moves needed (like defence obiovusly).

Further to my point here, obviously a new GM (which EXGMTM was ) should not have come on with a cocky, rather obnoxious attitude but that was him. I enjoyed his outspoken ways and his rather funny but sarcastic remarks but he truth is when dealing with other GM's around the NHL and trying to make deals, that would have no doubt just not worked in his favor.I have no doubt he may have even pulled a attitude on TG which was not a very smart thing to do. In the end, his legacy will live on here as the OReilly deal was a major boost for the team and a steal of a trade, and obviously other players he traded for or drafted will have a positive effect on the club for years to come, his attitude just may have been his single biggest downfall

[PromoTheRobot]

Murray did a bit more than entertain you in a press conference.

 

I think Murray put everything he had into making this team a winner. A well connected man in hockey that I'll always respect for his efforts.

 

Obviously every move he made didn't work out but I don't think we got the short end of any trades. Heck he got so far as to be able to make an offer to Stamkos. He pursued Vesey, Drouin and Antipin.

 

I didn't like his goalie decisions, Moulson and Ennis extensions, and Bylsma was a flop.

 

What an active and creative GM he was - far beyond just a fun sound bite.

 

Ok, I feel better.

Seriously? You don't think Murray didn't get screwed on trades? One could argue he lost every trade he made. Edited May 5, 2017 by PromoTheRobot

[sabills]

Seriously? You don't think Murray didn't get screwed on trades? One could argue he lost every trade he made.

 

I think you're nuts if you believe he lost the Kane or O'Reilly trades, which are by far the most important trades he's made.

[SwampD]

Seriously? You don't think Murray didn't get screwed on trades? One could argue he lost every trade he made.

They could argue that,… they'd be wrong, but they could still argue that.

[Sabre fan]

Absolutely no way he lost the OReiily trade. That was in fact a major heist and just may have screwed him in the future as other GM's saw how he stole OReiily and were cautious with him in any trade talks. And kane when he's on, like he was for much of this past season, is a major talent and nobody Winnpeg got are even close to him and there's a old saying that the team that get s the bets player wins the trade.

 

Kane was by far the  best player out of all of the players who  exchanged uniforms. Myers is still struggling (when he's not hurt) and Drew was a great guy and a good player in his day but we were never going to re-sign him.   Bogo has frustrated but then again so would have Myers if he was still here. The prospects may or may not pan out, who knows? The Jets tried to play Armia on he top line and he got lots of ice time but still didn;t show much.

 

Whatever, I think EXGMTM made good trades that will without a doubt benefit the Sabres for many years to come and will no doubt help the new GM look good. Whether we keep Kane or trade him for a defenceman, he is a major talent that was the centerpeice of that trade and of course OReilly was a steal. Even the Kulikov deal wasn;t that bad and actually may have been quite good (getting Asplund with the pick we got in the deal who looks to be a major talent and would have been gone when we drafted next) and Kulikov showed at the end that he is actually a pretty good mobile defenceman who unfortunantly  suffered a freak injury that ruined his season. Still think he'll sign somewhere and look great.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Sabre fan

[bunomatic]

Further to my point here, obviously a new GM (which EXGMTM was ) should not have come on with a cocky, rather obnoxious attitude but that was him. I enjoyed his outspoken ways and his rather funny but sarcastic remarks but he truth is when dealing with other GM's around the NHL and trying to make deals, that would have no doubt just not worked in his favor.I have no doubt he may have even pulled a attitude on TG which was not a very smart thing to do. In the end, his legacy will live on here as the OReilly deal was a major boost for the team and a steal of a trade, and obviously other players he traded for or drafted will have a positive effect on the club for years to come, his attitude just may have been his single biggest downfall

GMTM had relationships with most of the other GMs in the league before he ever came to Buffalo so the narrative that he was the new kid on the block that was too cocky just doesn't hold up imo. Also public persona and what dynamics GMTM may have had in private can be two different animals. I'm pretty sure when he was one on one with other GMs he didn't come across as the new guy that lacked respect. Pulling an attitude on TP isn't out of the question. ZFG

[Eleven]

I think you're nuts if you believe he lost the Kane or O'Reilly trades, which are by far the most important trades he's made.

 

I agree w/ you.  Some of his other trades, well, I'm not such a fan. But these two were the big ones, and he did very, very well.

[shrader]

Absolutely no way he lost the OReiily trade. That was in fact a major heist and just may have screwed him in the future as other GM's saw how he stole OReiily and were cautious with him in any trade talks.

 

No, the only thing other GMs are going to do in that situation is to immediately call Joe Sakic.

[sabills]

I agree w/ you.  Some of his other trades, well, I'm not such a fan. But these two were the big ones, and he did very, very well.

 

Right, the Kulikov one is bad, I don't mind the Lehner thing but I get why people think we overpaid. The Fasching/McNabb trade might have hurt more than it helped, too. But saying he lost every trade is nuts to me.

[inkman]

Seriously? You don't think Murray didn't get screwed on trades? One could argue he lost every trade he made.

I can't have a reasonable discussion with anyone who thinks this.

[Swedesessed]

I think you're nuts if you believe he lost the Kane or O'Reilly trades, which are by far the most important trades he's made.

 

 

Agree.

 

Kane and OReilly are not the reasons the Sabres disappointed so badly, far from it,

[dudacek]

Seriously? You don't think Murray didn't get screwed on trades? One could argue he lost every trade he made.

One could argue Darcy Regier won every trade he made.

[TrueBlueGED]

One could argue death is preferable to this search dragging on much longer. This place desperately needs something new to talk about.

[dudacek]

POWER TAKE (TMtbn)

Botterill has been hired. The league has asked the team to delay an announcement until after the Pens/Caps.

He is working with Pegula to bring in a few other key pieces to the hockey department and they will all be introduced at a presser Monday morning. (The league has already decided the Penguins wrap it up tomorrow)

Edited May 5, 2017 by dudacek

[WildCard]

https://www.fanragsports.com/news/friedman-thinks-sabres-gm-job-botterills-lose/

“I think it’s Botterill’s job to lose,” said Friedman, who was then asked about Botterill’s role in the Penguins’ success over the years. “I think that he’s been a stabilizing influence there for a long time. He worked under Shero. He worked under Rutherford. He has a lot of say over their Wilkes-Barre team, which has been really good for a long time – consistently good… he’s a player who knows the cap, he did a lot of negotiations.

 

“One thing that they gave him a lot of credit for is hiring Mike Sullivan in Wilkes-Barre, so the guy was in position last year to take over and help lead them to a Stanley Cup. And you know what, I just think he’s been with the organization for a long time. I know the league really likes him, and I think that’s a big factor here.

 

“The one thing I’m just wondering is I get the sense – and I know they’ve told at least one, if not two of the candidates – ‘Are you comfortable with us hiring you and then hiring a president after?’

 

Friedman | Penguins are in the Capitals’ heads

 

“Botterill obviously is not talking, and he shouldn’t, but I just wonder how some of the people are going to feel about that. That’s the one hitch I could possibly see.”

Edited May 5, 2017 by WildCard