Sabres Embedded Series Debuts on Monday

[Brawndo]

 

[chloewoj]

the second episode was absolutely masterful. we should be kissing the ground that coach walks on because he's the reason taylor hall is a buffalo sabre. that pitch he gave to hall during the conference call gave me chills. so good to see the amount of emotion kevyn adams has. you could just tell that he was so nervous, in a very good way, when he was waiting for the call back from hall's agent. adams eats sleeps and breathes the buffalo sabres. this team is gonna be good. 

[dudacek]

That was interesting.

The conversations that you have to be having without being able to fully commit to while waiting for Hall must be tough as hell.

Favourite bit was “Staallsie” texting Adams to get out there and get us some good players.

Terry: ‘if we sign this guy we aren’t just going for the playoffs, we’re going for the cup.”

Ralph sounded pumped.

Wish we could have had some hints about other conversations going on

The short term contracts are clearly a business-related directive straight from the top.

The quick cut to Eichel after the emphatic message fromRalph about winning right now 🍺

Adams made a lot of noise about being challenged by his staff and good conversations, but you sure wouldn’t know it by the first two videos. Obvious marketing decision being made to focus on Kevyn and rebuild faith in the organization through him.

So far, so good on that last point.

Edited October 30, 2020 by dudacek

[7+6=13]

I found that video captivating.  It sounded like Hall's agent was communicating that Hall would have considered a longer term contract with the Sabres but it was in fact Adams that dictated it.  Further, hearing Hall after signing the deal, clearly said he hopes things go well and he's a Sabre for a long time.

Sabres fans proceed with caution because of all we've been through.  However I think similar to the Bills getting Diggs we can't truly comprehend how different a player like Hall can make this team.  The organization thinks he changes us instantly and I agree.

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, chloewoj said:

the second episode was absolutely masterful. we should be kissing the ground that coach walks on because he's the reason taylor hall is a buffalo sabre. that pitch he gave to hall during the conference call gave me chills. so good to see the amount of emotion kevyn adams has. you could just tell that he was so nervous, in a very good way, when he was waiting for the call back from hall's agent. adams eats sleeps and breathes the buffalo sabres. this team is gonna be good. 

I agree a lot of the reason Hall is in Buffalo is Krueger. I wouldn't go so far as to say the speech made the difference, if that's your point. I think the business side of professional sports is too cold and rational for that to be true, although it's fun to think about it. The history with RaKru, playing with Eichel, the chance to set himself up for a big pay day, I think those ruled the day.

I wonder what Terry's resting pulse is.

[I-90 W]

Wow! The latest episode was amazing, hope they keep this content coming.

Feel like we learned a few things from it; Hall was open to long term but it was KA/ TP that insisted on short term cause of COVID, Tpegs seems to think that the addition of Hall will catapult us to cup contender, and it was not only RK and Jack but also the fan base and city that attracted him.

Everything RK said about Buffalo is what I’ve always thought too.

 

[I-90 W]

2 hours ago, chloewoj said:

the second episode was absolutely masterful. we should be kissing the ground that coach walks on because he's the reason taylor hall is a buffalo sabre. that pitch he gave to hall during the conference call gave me chills. so good to see the amount of emotion kevyn adams has. you could just tell that he was so nervous, in a very good way, when he was waiting for the call back from hall's agent. adams eats sleeps and breathes the buffalo sabres. this team is gonna be good. 

Yeah Ralph really sold the city and fan base to him. What’s great is everything he said was and is 100 percent true. It felt so great to see a NHL coach say this to a top free agent and more so, the free agent be receptive to it. 

[I-90 W]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

That was interesting.

The conversations that you have to be having without being able to fully commit to while waiting for Hall must be tough as hell.

Favourite bit was “Staallsie” texting Adams to get out there and get us some good players.

Terry: ‘if we sign this guy we aren’t just going for the playoffs, we’re going for the cup.”

Ralph sounded pumped.

Wish we could have had some hints about other conversations going on

The short term contracts are clearly a business-related directive straight from the top.

The quick cut to Eichel after the emphatic message fromRalph about winning right now 🍺

Adams made a lot of noise about being challenged by his staff and good conversations, but you sure wouldn’t know it by the first two videos. Obvious marketing decision being made to focus on Kevyn and rebuild faith in the organization through him.

So far, so good on that last point.

Noticed that bit about Staal as well. Pretty sure we can put to bed the “what if he just retires talk”. He’s all in. 

[inkman]

On 10/6/2020 at 12:49 PM, dudacek said:

It was Crowe. Here's the exact quote, which I love:

“We’re going to want guys that are competitive, have a strong desire to impact the game however it is they do that and are invested in themselves from a development perspective and burn to be hockey players,”

Calling Casey Mittelstadt.  You are being put on notice.  I believe the kids are calling it on blast. 

[fiftyone]

Good episode. I also like seeing and hearing the inner workings of these kinds of things. Couple questions/thoughts:

 

1. They mentioned Irwin and Reider were guys they had done their homework on and they wanted to make offers to if they were there. I wish we had a little more info on that -- what about those two exactly did they like so much relative to what else was out there?

2. The involvement of Terry and Kim - how normal is that among the other GMs out there calling free agents, I wonder? Kevyn didn't show anything one way or another, but I wonder what his thoughts are as they chimed in during the call with Hall. Of course they own the team and can do whatever they want, but at what point does he think they are hurting the process as opposed to aiding it?

3. Like dudacek, would have liked to hear a bit more about other players they were after and talked to. Maybe even a bit of that last call with the agent, though I see why that was left out. Even noticed the whiteboard was edited out so we couldn't see what was written there. 

[I-90 W]

^ I think when Kim chimed in to Hall on the speaker phone it felt abrupt, needless and awkward. Not because it was her, but rather just the way she did it and what she said. 

[Thorner]

Ya, the bit in the middle with the 3 of them on the phone with Taylor was a bit cringe. But Krueger was pretty compelling. 

I liked Adams little fist pump when we got Irwin of all players lol

I liked how near the beginning Adams said something like "we are only interested in a short term deal", and later on, when it was close to Hall making his decision, his verbiage changed to something like "we probably wouldn't.." or something like that. I think they viewed him as enough of a game changer that I can't completely rule out they would have budged a bit on term if pushed by the Hall camp. 

We are a win now team, based on the video, and that's the best part. Well, that, and all the royal. 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Thorny

[LGR4GM]

7pm tonight 

[LGR4GM]

This series is great. 

[Andrew Amerk]

I’m interested in seeing how Quinn develops in relation to the players we passed up to get him.

Also hoping JJP pans out as well. 

[Stoner]

Is The Observation Effect a plus or a minus here? Having to look like an NHL franchise for the cameras can't be a bad thing, can it?

[dudacek]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Is The Observation Effect a plus or a minus here? Having to look like an NHL franchise for the cameras can't be a bad thing, can it?

I can't decide whether I am impressed by the way Kevyn Adams has carried himself as a leader or by the way the marketing department has chosen to portray him as such.

The defining thread tying all three pieces together is "You can have faith in the man in charge now."

[fiftyone]

17 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

I’m interested in seeing how Quinn develops in relation to the players we passed up to get him.

Also hoping JJP pans out as well. 

I know specific names are something they would never divulge, but I just wish we could hear what scenarios would have had to have played out for us not to pick Quinn? Who falling to 8 would have changed the pick? Or who was next if Quinn was gone? What was that offer for the 8th pick that he said no to on the phone? 

Good series, but opens up so many more questions. 

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, fiftyone said:

I know specific names are something they would never divulge, but I just wish we could hear what scenarios would have had to have played out for us not to pick Quinn? Who falling to 8 would have changed the pick? Or who was next if Quinn was gone? What was that offer for the 8th pick that he said no to on the phone? 

Good series, but opens up so many more questions. 

The Nashville video made it seem like they were willing to drop to 11, so that offer was likely lower than that.

The video also showed they had 8 guys ranked as worthy of being in the conversation for pick 8. Since Byfield, Stutzle and Lafreniere weren't going to be there at 8, that also pushes their tier drop-off point to 11.

Nightengale says Quinn was definitely in the top 5 in the second half of the season. Given the organization's seeming emphasis on trajectories and growth curves, I'm going to say it was entirely possible Quinn finished ranked number 5 on their board. Given that emphasis on risers, and other tidbits I've seen and heard about who they liked, I think that Quinn was number two in their group of 8 (after the big three) and number one was Sanderson.

He said "a bunch of picks" was the offer he rejected. At least two of them must have been quite high, as in the top 50.

• Carolina had 13, 41 and 53
• Montreal had 16, 47 and 48
• New Jersey had 18 and 20
• Ottawa had 28, 33 and 44

Wouldn't have surprised me a bit if it was the Sens, especially given that Rossi and Quinn were both from Ottawa and both still on the board.

And if it was the Sens, Adams was smart to dismiss it.

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by dudacek

[Wyldnwoody44]

These videos are pretty awesome! 

[fiftyone]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

The Nashville video made it seem like they were willing to drop to 11, so that offer was likely lower than that.

The video also showed they had 8 guys ranked as worthy of being in the conversation for pick 8. Since Byfield, Stutzle and Lafreniere weren't going to be there at 8, that also pushes their tier drop-off point to 11.

Nightengale says Quinn was definitely in the top 5 in the second half of the season. Given the organization's seeming emphasis on trajectories and growth curves, I'm going to say it was entirely possible Quinn finished ranked number 5 on their board. Given that emphasis on risers, and other tidbits I've seen and heard about who they liked, I think that Quinn was number two in their group of 8 (after the big three) and number one was Sanderson.

He said "a bunch of picks" was the offer he rejected. At least two of them must have been quite high, as in the top 50.

• Carolina had 13, 41 and 53
• Montreal had 16, 47 and 48
• New Jersey had 18 and 20
• Ottawa had 28, 33 and 44

Wouldn't have surprised me a bit if it was the Sens, especially given that Rossi and Quinn were both from Ottawa and both still on the board.

And if it was the Sens, Adams was smart to dismiss it.

 

All fair. I too wondered about Sanderson, seems like a good guess as to someone taken above them that they may have liked. 

Also wonder how close Perfetti and Rossi were to making them change their mind.

Anyone know how many episodes there are going to be of this?

[thewookie1]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

The Nashville video made it seem like they were willing to drop to 11, so that offer was likely lower than that.

The video also showed they had 8 guys ranked as worthy of being in the conversation for pick 8. Since Byfield, Stutzle and Lafreniere weren't going to be there at 8, that also pushes their tier drop-off point to 11.

Nightengale says Quinn was definitely in the top 5 in the second half of the season. Given the organization's seeming emphasis on trajectories and growth curves, I'm going to say it was entirely possible Quinn finished ranked number 5 on their board. Given that emphasis on risers, and other tidbits I've seen and heard about who they liked, I think that Quinn was number two in their group of 8 (after the big three) and number one was Sanderson.

He said "a bunch of picks" was the offer he rejected. At least two of them must have been quite high, as in the top 50.

• Carolina had 13, 41 and 53
• Montreal had 16, 47 and 48
• New Jersey had 18 and 20
• Ottawa had 28, 33 and 44

Wouldn't have surprised me a bit if it was the Sens, especially given that Rossi and Quinn were both from Ottawa and both still on the board.

And if it was the Sens, Adams was smart to dismiss it.

 

My guess, based on how they kept out any early pick reactions, is that one of the guys picked prior to Quinn was our #1 choice and Quinn was #2. From there Adams tried to pry #42 from Nashville probably for something akin to #8 for #11 and #42. That tier drop off of 11 makes a lot of sense then as he likely had more offers but they would of taken us out of Tier A. (Based on that sheet next to the Sabres Creed Paper) Thus with Rossi, Lundell and Perfetti still around he couldn't strong arm one of them to jump up to grab their guy. Had perhaps Rossi been taken by NJ, there's a chance either WPG or FLA would of tried to hop the Wild to prevent losing out on the other.

[Ruff Around The Edges]

Say what we want to about the Sabres ad the futility they have shown on the ice over the last decade: The work they have been doing on socal media and these clips is great. Keep em coming

[WildCard]

2 minutes ago, Ruff Around The Edges said:

Say what we want to about the Sabres ad the futility they have shown on the ice over the last decade: The work they have been doing on socal media and these clips is great. Keep em coming

I just can't watch these self-indulgent fests when they've done nothing to earn any sort of respect. Just seems like wrapping up sht in a pretty package.

[Weave]

17 minutes ago, WildCard said:

I just can't watch these self-indulgent fests when they've done nothing to earn any sort of respect. Just seems like wrapping up sht in a pretty package.

Thats about where I am at.