Sabres Announce GM Jason Botterill has been Fired. Kevyn Adams Named GM

[GASabresIUFAN]

https://buffalonews.com/sports/chuck-lamattina-out-as-executive-vp-of-finance-at-pegula-sports-and-entertainment/article_eafe2c92-ba2e-11ea-bcb7-e7deaba6bbca.html

Another one bites the dust.

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

https://buffalonews.com/sports/chuck-lamattina-out-as-executive-vp-of-finance-at-pegula-sports-and-entertainment/article_eafe2c92-ba2e-11ea-bcb7-e7deaba6bbca.html

Another one bites the dust.

 

Freddie in tight and small sexy shorts and not much else ... oh, my!!  Rockin' and Habs hat in Montreal.

[DeleteThisAccount]

On 6/19/2020 at 4:57 PM, IKnowPhysics said:

Pretend you "do this kind of work for a living" for the Sabres.  Your hockey team is losing.  You're aware the GM and hockey department are under scrutiny from the fans.  You're aware that they are undergoing review by the ownership, but it is not yet complete.  The Associated Press asks the ownership very directly if the GM is returning next year.  Any response: positive, negative, and even a non-response will be published as a response.

What do you tell the owner to say?

@john wawrow : What would you expect an owner to say?

 

neat theory.

it's wrong. but it's a neat one, nonetheless.

jw

note: you could've asked me politely, as i'm right here. but since you didn't, i see no need to reveal why you're wrong, just that you are.

[DeleteThisAccount]

On 6/21/2020 at 11:41 AM, nfreeman said:

@john wawrow -- Just wondering if you have any info on this?

it's been difficult to pin this one down, and a reason why i've had difficulty laying all the blame on Botterill for the trade.

though i don't know for certain whether pressure came from above, i do know JB was under a lot of pressure to complete the trade before O'Reilly's bonus kicked in first thing next morning.

at this point, it's going to be difficult to prove one way or another, because people will now have agendas to say one thing or another.

that said, i'd say it's a 50-50 one way or the other.

 

jw

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, john wawrow said:

 

neat theory.

it's wrong. but it's a neat one, nonetheless.

jw

note: you could've asked me politely, as i'm right here. but since you didn't, i see no need to reveal why you're wrong, just that you are.

I will now take the opportunity to ask the esteemed hirsute reporter if you believe  Botterill would have been retained if he was more receptive to the restructuring (thinning out) of the hockey operation? Or another way of saying it is when you are not receptive to the boss's suggestion/request you are looked at less favorably by your superiors and put in a very precarious position.

[Tondas]

2 minutes ago, john wawrow said:

it's been difficult to pin this one down, and a reason why i've had difficulty laying all the blame on Botterill for the trade.

though i don't know for certain whether pressure came from above, i do know JB was under a lot of pressure to complete the trade before O'Reilly's bonus kicked in first thing next morning.

at this point, it's going to be difficult to prove one way or another, because people will now have agendas to say one thing or another.

that said, i'd say it's a 50-50 one way or the other.

 

jw

I guess that, I'll just drill another well" comment is haunting the Pegulas now.

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, john wawrow said:

it's been difficult to pin this one down, and a reason why i've had difficulty laying all the blame on Botterill for the trade.

though i don't know for certain whether pressure came from above, i do know JB was under a lot of pressure to complete the trade before O'Reilly's bonus kicked in first thing next morning.

at this point, it's going to be difficult to prove one way or another, because people will now have agendas to say one thing or another.

that said, i'd say it's a 50-50 one way or the other.

 

jw

It's obvious that this trade was a disaster and has had a lingering damaging effect on the team. For the sake of argument if it were Terry P who forced the trade to be made prior to the bonus being paid it put the GM in a difficult position because he couldn't publicly state that it was the owner who created this boondoggle. I suspect now that Botterill is no longer associated with the team that it will come out who was responsible for this ridiculously unbalanced deal. 

[IKnowPhysics]

20 minutes ago, john wawrow said:

 

neat theory.

it's wrong. but it's a neat one, nonetheless.

jw

note: you could've asked me politely, as i'm right here. but since you didn't, i see no need to reveal why you're wrong, just that you are.

Apologies.  The bulk of that question was really for the other poster, and wasn't intended to admonish your efforts.  I tagged you to gather your opinion about how you might expect an official source to answer a question they don't want to answer, be it during the middle of an internal confidential personnel decision process or a potential "no truthful answer will make for good PR" situation.  This isn't criticism of the the act of asking the question or the question itself; hard questions are paramount to journalism.

[DeleteThisAccount]

1 hour ago, IKnowPhysics said:

Apologies.  The bulk of that question was really for the other poster, and wasn't intended to admonish your efforts.  I tagged you to gather your opinion about how you might expect an official source to answer a question they don't want to answer, be it during the middle of an internal confidential personnel decision process or a potential "no truthful answer will make for good PR" situation.  This isn't criticism of the the act of asking the question or the question itself; hard questions are paramount to journalism.

The answer regarding Botterill being retained is something I was aware was coming weeks in advance.

jw

 

[dudacek]

Did we see that the Pegulas have hired Adams’ replacement to Sabres business operations? Do we care?

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/kim-pegula-names-jason-sinnarajah-and-mike-mcfarlane-to-buffalo-bills-sabres-pse-leadership-team/c-317351350

[Taro T]

On 7/6/2020 at 2:05 PM, john wawrow said:

it's been difficult to pin this one down, and a reason why i've had difficulty laying all the blame on Botterill for the trade.

though i don't know for certain whether pressure came from above, i do know JB was under a lot of pressure to complete the trade before O'Reilly's bonus kicked in first thing next morning.

at this point, it's going to be difficult to prove one way or another, because people will now have agendas to say one thing or another.

that said, i'd say it's a 50-50 one way or the other.

 

jw

My original guess as to the driving force of the trade itself put in at 90% ownership & 10% GM with the deadline being 100% on ownership.

Am now giving more weight to the reports that Botterill felt it would be "easier to tear down to the studs" if the Sabres won the Dahlin lottery as moving it to 40% ownership & 60% GM.  (And the deadline for the deal still has to be 100% ownership.)

Never gave credence to O'Reilly being pouty face in interviews as souring the owners on him but did think that the Timmy Ho's incident combined with his brother hazing Murray's non top 2 #1 draft pick as leading them to believe that they could finish in last place without those headaches just as easily & if the GM told him he could get a great haul for him if he had to trade him led them to say 'make it happen #2.'  Have definitely shifted my guess in the past couple of months.

Thanks for the input.

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

My original guess as to the driving force of the trade itself put in at 90% ownership & 10% GM with the deadline being 100% on ownership.

Am now giving more weight to the reports that Botterill felt it would be "easier to tear down to the studs" if the Sabres won the Dahlin lottery as moving it to 40% ownership & 60% GM.  (And the deadline for the deal still has to be 100% ownership.)

Never gave credence to O'Reilly being pouty face in interviews as souring the owners on him but did think that the Timmy Ho's incident combined with his brother hazing Murray's non top 2 #1 draft pick as leading them to believe that they could finish in last place without those headaches just as easily & if the GM told him he could get a great haul for him if he had to trade him led them to say 'make it happen #2.'  Have definitely shifted my guess in the past couple of months.

Thanks for the input.

Are there new reports? I've definitely been quoting Friedman saying that for 2 years now around here. 

Glad to see you shifting some of that blame over to a side where plenty needs to be. 

[Taro T]

On 7/9/2020 at 10:55 PM, Thorny said:

Are there new reports? I've definitely been quoting Friedman saying that for 2 years now around here. 

Glad to see you shifting some of that blame over to a side where plenty needs to be. 

Sorry, just saw this now.  No, there haven't been new reports about the "tear down" quotes, but the info that came out when/since Botterill was canned gave some added credence to those earlier reports.

Would say my opinion has shifted to it being about 60/40 that the idea to dump O'Reilly was Botterill's brainchild.  (Had been firmly of the belief that the owners wanted him gone.  Have definitely mellowed on that stance.) 

[DeleteThisAccount]

On 7/6/2020 at 2:09 PM, JohnC said:

I will now take the opportunity to ask the esteemed hirsute reporter if you believe  Botterill would have been retained if he was more receptive to the restructuring (thinning out) of the hockey operation? Or another way of saying it is when you are not receptive to the boss's suggestion/request you are looked at less favorably by your superiors and put in a very precarious position.

very much, yes.

pardon belated response.

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, john wawrow said:

very much, yes.

pardon belated response.

Thank you for your response. 

When I made my comment about the primary reason for the former GM's firing I was pilloried by many. Terry and Kim stated that they had on going conversations with the GM after the season about their desire to restructure (downsize) the organization without getting him to agree to it. He was then fired. What's obvious is obvious. Even Inspector Clouseau could figure this out. 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=inspector+clouseau&docid=608014713287279278&mid=74E5BAB25A8BD316DE7474E5BAB25A8BD316DE74&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

[Thorner]

9 hours ago, john wawrow said:

very much, yes.

pardon belated response.

This is a little disappointing. 

Opens up the possibility Adams is Botts 2.0, “but for less!”

Thanks for the response. 

[bob_sauve28]

On 9/1/2020 at 4:20 AM, john wawrow said:

very much, yes.

pardon belated response.

So Who is the power behind the throne? Is this Ralph’s team now? Adams just a yes man there to Kruger? 

[LGR4GM]

We pretty much knew that Botterill was fired because he wouldn't do the downsizing plan. That was the only logical way to read what happened.

On 9/1/2020 at 1:37 PM, Thorny said:

This is a little disappointing. 

Opens up the possibility Adams is Botts 2.0, “but for less!”

Thanks for the response. 

Except Adams has already changed things from how Botts did them. You don't start bringing in guys that want to pair analytics with traditional methods or elevate them into higher roles because you are Botts 2.0

[DarthEbriate]

45 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

So Who is the power behind the throne? Is this Ralph’s team now? Adams just a yes man there to Kruger? 

It's GM Sheevyn. He's been the phantom menace behind the scenes for a decade. Now his army of clones is ready to unleash. His ultimate coup was the road trip with the team at the end of the year when he could raise the vote of no confidence in Chancellor JBot. Unlimited power!  (This may not be true, but it's my head canon now.)

[Curt]

On 9/1/2020 at 9:22 AM, JohnC said:

Thank you for your response. 

When I made my comment about the primary reason for the former GM's firing I was pilloried by many. Terry and Kim stated that they had on going conversations with the GM after the season about their desire to restructure (downsize) the organization without getting him to agree to it. He was then fired. What's obvious is obvious. Even Inspector Clouseau could figure this out. 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=inspector+clouseau&docid=608014713287279278&mid=74E5BAB25A8BD316DE7474E5BAB25A8BD316DE74&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

It was fairly obvious.  Especially since Pegulas stated that Botterill was fired because he wasn’t listening to them and wasn’t on the same page regarding the organization restructuring.  They told us exactly why they fired him.

On 9/1/2020 at 1:37 PM, Thorny said:

This is a little disappointing. 

Opens up the possibility Adams is Botts 2.0, “but for less!”

Thanks for the response. 

No person is really someone else 2.0.  Adams has already made significant changes and has expressed a philosophy that quite different from that of Botterill.

7 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

So Who is the power behind the throne? Is this Ralph’s team now? Adams just a yes man there to Kruger? 

The Pegulas are the power behind the throne, always.  Adams is GM, Krueger is coach.  I don’t know why Adams would be taking his orders from Krueger.

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

We pretty much knew that Botterill was fired because he wouldn't do the downsizing plan. That was the only logical way to read what happened.

Except Adams has already changed things from how Botts did them. You don't start bringing in guys that want to pair analytics with traditional methods or elevate them into higher roles because you are Botts 2.0

Agree on all counts.  Pegulas actually told everyone exactly why Botterill was fired.  Adams is very different from Botterill.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Curt
I type bad on my phone.

[Weave]

46 minutes ago, Curt said:

It was fairly obvious.  Especially since Pegulas stated that Botterill was fired because he wasn’t listening to them and wasn’t on the same page regarding the organization restructuring.  They told us exactly why they fired him.

No person is really someone else 2.0.  Adams has already made significant changes and has expressed a philosophy that quite different from that of Botterill.

The Pegulas are the power behind the throne, always.  Adams is GM, Krueger is coach.  I don’t know why Adams would be taking his orders from Krueger.

Agree on all counts.  Pegulas actually told everyone exactly why Botterill was fired.  Adams is very different from Botterill.

The only difference between Botterill and Adams that we know anything about at all is, Adams was willing to follow the owners lead and Botterill felt strongly that their lead needed push back.  The rest up until now appears to be Pegula decisions implemented by Adams moreso than Adams decisions. 

[Curt]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

The only difference between Botterill and Adams that we know anything about at all is, Adams was willing to follow the owners lead and Botterill felt strongly that their lead needed push back.  The rest up until now appears to be Pegula decisions implemented by Adams moreso than Adams decisions. 

Well, the apparent fact that Adams wants to run a slimmed down, more analytics focused organization, and Botterill apparently really really didn’t, is a difference in itself.  

Additionally, Adams speaks about integrating analytics into the decision making processes in a way that Botterill never did.  Furthermore, that restructuring has resulted in the Director of Analytics be named an Assistant Director of Scouting, so there actual follow through on that integration.

In the end I guess it’s possible that Adams is just going to do whatever the Pegulas tell him every day, but I’m going to assume that he was hired because his vision aligned with the PegIslas’ vision, and that he actually believes in the things he is doing and saying, not that he is a mindless Pegula puppet.

[Weave]

1 minute ago, Curt said:

Well, the apparent fact that Adams wants to run a slimmed down, more analytics focused organization, and Botterill apparently really really didn’t, is a difference in itself.  

Additionally, Adams speaks about integrating analytics into the decision making processes in a way that Botterill never did.  Furthermore, that restructuring has resulted in the Director of Analytics be named an Assistant Director of Scouting, so there actual follow through on that integration.

In the end I guess it’s possible that Adams is just going to do whatever the Pegulas tell him every day, but I’m going to assume that he was hired because his vision aligned with the PegIslas’ vision, and that he actually believes in the things he is doing and saying, not that he is a mindless Pegula puppet.

I'm not calling him mindless.  I'm sure he has his own ideas.  But let's face it, the world is full of ambitious people that are willing to do what they are told now in the hopes that it gives them the opportunity to do what they want to do down the line.  A slimmed down, automated organization is what the Pegula's asked of Botterill.  That Adams chose to implement it doesn't assume that Adams believes it the best way to run the organization.  It is equally likely that what he believes is he ca do it well enough to use it as a stepping stone to what he really believes in.

He knows the room and is willing to work it to his own ends.  Office politics 101.

[Curt]

10 minutes ago, Weave said:

I'm not calling him mindless.  I'm sure he has his own ideas.  But let's face it, the world is full of ambitious people that are willing to do what they are told now in the hopes that it gives them the opportunity to do what they want to do down the line.  A slimmed down, automated organization is what the Pegula's asked of Botterill.  That Adams chose to implement it doesn't assume that Adams believes it the best way to run the organization.  It is equally likely that what he believes is he ca do it well enough to use it as a stepping stone to what he really believes in.

He knows the room and is willing to work it to his own ends.  Office politics 101.

Sure, maybe, or maybe he actually believes in what he is doing.  I can’t know his mind with any certainty.

Regardless, he is doing it, and Botterill didn’t.  That’s a big difference between the two.

[JohnC]

13 minutes ago, Curt said:

Well, the apparent fact that Adams wants to run a slimmed down, more analytics focused organization, and Botterill apparently really really didn’t, is a difference in itself.  

Additionally, Adams speaks about integrating analytics into the decision making processes in a way that Botterill never did.  Furthermore, that restructuring has resulted in the Director of Analytics be named an Assistant Director of Scouting, so there actual follow through on that integration.

In the end I guess it’s possible that Adams is just going to do whatever the Pegulas tell him every day, but I’m going to assume that he was hired because his vision aligned with the PegIslas’ vision, and that he actually believes in the things he is doing and saying, not that he is a mindless Pegula puppet.

I agree with almost all your responses with a slight difference about Botterill. The issue is as I see it is not that Botterill was adverse to an analytical approach because it is already a factor with all hockey operations. I'm sure that he was willing to cut staff but not to the extent that the Pegulas' were demanding. It certainly was going to be uncomfortable for the former GM to be forced to cut so many people that he hired. 

Because of the financial hemorrhaging the organization was already faced and with the gloomy future economic climate that their hockey business would have to contend with this austerity program was going to be installed no matter who was going to be the GM. It should be noted that no one outside the organization was considered for the job so it is clear that the owners had the person in hand who was going to implement what they wanted to do. 

I am not criticizing the owners. From a business standpoint what they did made sense. And they had a good argument that even when they were copiously spending money the results didn't come close to matching the invested resources. So altering their course of action in such a maelstrom made sense. 

Where I slightly deviate from your take is that I don't believe the issue of analytics was much of a factor for the GM departure. And I'm not getting caught up on how the slimmed down operation will change how things are done. The bottom line is: are Adams and his smaller staff able to make better hockey decisions that can turn the fortunes of this sputtering team? This offseason we should get a better sense of what the answer will be. As I, and others have stated, the organization is in a good situation this offseason to make some important hockey decisions. Will they sufficiently seize the opportunity? I am hopeful that they will.    

(I want to emphasize that for the most part our views coincide except for a difference on the emphasis on the analytical factor.)