KA approval rating?

[GASabresIUFAN]

So  how do we feel about the job KA has done so far?

 

[Stoner]

TSDV

[GASabresIUFAN]

I voted for C-. 

Rieder and Sheahan were good pickups.  Hall is just OK and not worthy of a long-term deal.  Staal is an improvement on last year's 2C situation but that isn't saying much.  Eakin is a bust and is failure to upgrade Hutton is looming large.

He didn't take much risk to off-season except maybe Hall and that is only a 1 year deal and kept much of the status quo and the team is basically status quo from last year's 1 pt per game played team.

The team's special teams are vastly improved.  We are one of the best FO teams in the NHL with Jack finally learning to take a draw, but the absent 5 on 5 offense is a huge and continuing problem.  I don't think he has any idea of how to solve the problem.  

 I was worried that fielding 5 or so bottom 4th line type players would be a problem and while they have been a bright spot (Lazar, Sheahan and Rieder) they lack the ability to carry a team (which is why they are 4th line players).  

To fix this situation he is going to need to do something to fire up this club.  St Louis fired Mike Yeo after 17 games their Cup winning season, KA needs to do the same with RK (or at least take away his coaching duties).  

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

5 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

TSDV

Targeted Source Data Verification?

or do TSBD?  Think of this as a SS version of a Presidential favorability tracking poll. 

[Norcal]

I'm a B.

His enthusiasm for the job and drive to succeed are definitely there.

He made some positive changes, brought in some better bottom six and signed Hall for scoring.

He failed however to bring in a goaltender or trade any surplus RHD for help in other areas such as an experienced LHD. 

His taxi squad/ 7th D  13th F are weak with Irwin being a huge liability. 

Not sure how much credit the GM gets for the AHL team but they are competitive so far and filled with college FAs who are contributing to a good start and look like hard working fellas.

[Thorner]

C I guess. The team isn't any better in the standings, don't see how it can be a B. 

You are what your record says. If anything they are underachieving (especially at 5 on 5, the most important part of the game) relative to the talent. But GMs don't get a pass when a team is "underachieving". It's literally his job to ensure that isn't the case - his job is to field a winning hockey team, not a team that "should", based on someone's view or a collective, be winning. 

Not upgrading Hutton was such an obvious need, and they claimed the expectations were so high this year, that combined with going for Hall for one year and the other moves we made, that particular non-move deserves disproportionate scorn to what one singular roster failing usually would. 

It reflects insanely poorly on his judgement. 

Thompson getting that contract is a farce, worried about his asset/contract evaluation. Larsson significantly better than Eakin. Came into the season with a LHD RHD imbalance, left LHD shallow, McCabe unsurprisingly gets injured, and now we have no one to play the left? How is that not on Adams? Is Hall even a good move when he could have spent his time addressing these other things?

Frankly, C is generous, he gets that because the sample size is so small still. Too early to pass definitive judgment. 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Thorny

[Cal Naughton Jr]

He brought in arguably the biggest fish in the pond last offseason so I gotta give him some credit for that. But also neglecting the goaltending position completely was a bad idea. We probably have the best team on paper we’ve had in a decade, I’m not putting the poor play on him. I give him a B

[Scottysabres]

Solid F

Not addressing the goaltending situation supersedes anything else he's done to date imo.

 

[Marvin]

C because the the goaltending situation is still trouble.  On paper, the off-season was one of the best in ages.

[Norcal]

The glaring hole in Adams resume so far is the goaltending situation. 

The last few games we have started to see a renewed Ullmark, possibly on the verge of a breakout season.

It's fair to consider the team may have expected more from Ullmark but with his quarantine issues and fathers death stunting his early season and then Covid ravaging the team its taken till now to see what they saw. 

Hutton obviously hasn't played well, this is a problem.

This season is different, I'm not going to go into all the ways Covid could have or has affected the season and I know all teams have had the same problems to deal with but teams are holding onto assets in case of emergencies this season making it harder to acquire the things you need.

 

[Kruppstahl]

It's somewhere below "C" but above "D" for me, based on the way the options were worded.

I don't think the team has taken a step backward, per se, but the bad outweighs the good and the end result is about the same. 

 

 

[jsb]

I gave him a B, can't blame him for the NJ Covid situation and with the PK additions a positive and the injuries on the backend, I can't blame him for any of that. Hutton in goal, that may be a different story but he's covered most other bases.

[Carmel Corn]

Solid C.  In his defense, GMKA is in somewhat of a no-win situation.  The Pegula's did not set him up for success with an experienced staff already in place.  They handed him a team with a head coach he did not hire himself.  Any incoming GM is going to inherit some bad players and contracts, but not necessary having to keep a  sitting coach.  I think he is trying to change some of the character on the team with his new player additions.  Goaltending is a weakness, but he would have had to give up picks and/or prospects to replace Hutton....hard to do with so many other holes to fill.

[Zamboni]

The first one should read “I think he has done an excellent job ...” 

 

although no one will be picking that anyway 😂

[IKnowPhysics]

Pros:

• He landed Hall.  Highest profile UFA signing in Buffalo since at least the salary cap era started, likely longer, I'm not looking it up.
• He landed Staal, and while not the player he was and probably frustrating to watch, he is still a functioning upgrade at middle-six center.
• He held a steady hand on Ristolainen, the Sabres' best defenseman, who's showing signs of improvement under Krueger.

Cons:

• He made the wrong call on Hutton, likely because he was told Hutton's faliures would be fixed with his vision recovery.  He was likely thinking that Ullmark and Hutton could hold the fort until UPL was ready, but this won't be enough.  Many predicted this outcome.
• He brought in Matt Irwin.  Everyone saw how bad he was going to be.

Time will tell / work in progress:

• He drafted Quinn over Rossi and Perfetti, which most people thought was a minor reach, especially Rossi lovers (myself included).  We'll see.  Quinn is still an outstanding prospect.  I'm open minded about it.
• He made the call to keep Ullmark, who is showing signs that he may be evolving to the next level: NHL competence.
• He reworked a very ***** bottom six into something that might evolve into something less *****...?  He's found some value roleplayer UFAs, but has also found some *****.  More to do here next trade deadline and UFA cycle.
• He's chosen to keep Ralph Krueger, likely the most polarizing figure in Buffalo sports right now.  Krueger is either a buffoon or he's going to make us all look like buffoons.
• He could theoretically manage to re-sign Hall while managing other core re-signings.  I like Hall so far, so this'd be a win to me.
• Seattle expansion.  It's a pretty big test for a new GM to masterfully handle their assets so as not to get ***** in a VGK-style expansion.

 

If all of the latter is a push, then it's basically Hall/Staal vs Hutton/Irwin with a sprinkling of an improving Ullmark.  Hutton and Irwin are back up and supposedly third-pair plugs.  Hall is a Hart Trophy elite 1LW still in his prime and Staal's a 2.5C we didn't have.  It washes out significantly better than average at the moment and only gets better as Hall signs, goalies get fixed, bottom six improves, and Quinn shows up.  Kevyn Adams has put the Buffalo Sabres in position for marked improvement despite its current frustrations.  B+.

 

 

[IKnowPhysics]

For the record, I didn't forget he walked on Kahun and Larsson.  Time will tell.  Larsson is playing heavily defensive minutes in ARI (OZstart% 23!) but is struggling corsi-wise.  Kahun is playing with Draisaitl and has 4G, 4A in 22GP, with corsi so-so.

[Marvin]

1 minute ago, IKnowPhysics said:

For the record, I didn't forget he walked on Kahun and Larsson.  Time will tell.  Larsson is playing heavily defensive minutes in ARI (OZstart% 23!) but is struggling corsi-wise.  Kahun is playing with Draisaitl and has 4G, 4A in 22GP, with corsi so-so.

Hmm.  Larsson's and Okposo's performance this year may be a testimony to line chemistry.  None of the LOG line are all that good, but put them together and you get a checking line that is a joy to watch drive the opposition nuts.

We could use Kahun instead of Reider.

[Weave]

Without a playoff push, it's gotta be an F.  Period.

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, IKnowPhysics said:

Pros:

• He landed Hall.  Highest profile UFA signing in Buffalo since at least the salary cap era started, likely longer, I'm not looking it up.
• He landed Staal, and while not the player he was and probably frustrating to watch, he is still a functioning upgrade at middle-six center.
• He held a steady hand on Ristolainen, the Sabres' best defenseman, who's showing signs of improvement under Krueger.

Cons:

• He made the wrong call on Hutton, likely because he was told Hutton's faliures would be fixed with his vision recovery.  He was likely thinking that Ullmark and Hutton could hold the fort until UPL was ready, but this won't be enough.  Many predicted this outcome.
• He brought in Matt Irwin.  Everyone saw how bad he was going to be.

Time will tell / work in progress:

• He drafted Quinn over Rossi and Perfetti, which most people thought was a minor reach, especially Rossi lovers (myself included).  We'll see.  Quinn is still an outstanding prospect.  I'm open minded about it.
• He made the call to keep Ullmark, who is showing signs that he may be evolving to the next level: NHL competence.
• He reworked a very ***** bottom six into something that might evolve into something less *****...?  He's found some value roleplayer UFAs, but has also found some *****.  More to do here next trade deadline and UFA cycle.
• He's chosen to keep Ralph Krueger, likely the most polarizing figure in Buffalo sports right now.  Krueger is either a buffoon or he's going to make us all look like buffoons.
• He could theoretically manage to re-sign Hall while managing other core re-signings.  I like Hall so far, so this'd be a win to me.
• Seattle expansion.  It's a pretty big test for a new GM to masterfully handle their assets so as not to get ***** in a VGK-style expansion.

 

If all of the latter is a push, then it's basically Hall/Staal vs Hutton/Irwin with a sprinkling of an improving Ullmark.  Hutton and Irwin are back up and supposedly third-pair plugs.  Hall is a Hart Trophy elite 1LW still in his prime and Staal's a 2.5C we didn't have.  It washes out significantly better than average at the moment and only gets better as Hall signs, goalies get fixed, bottom six improves, and Quinn shows up.  Kevyn Adams has put the Buffalo Sabres in position for marked improvement despite its current frustrations.  B+.

 

 

I’m interested to see how Risto performs without from McCabe. 
 

He has looked the best with McCabe and to a lesser extent Pilut

I would add Eakin to the con list. Particularly with a 2 year deal at 2.25M AAV. 

57 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

For the record, I didn't forget he walked on Kahun and Larsson.  Time will tell.  Larsson is playing heavily defensive minutes in ARI (OZstart% 23!) but is struggling corsi-wise.  Kahun is playing with Draisaitl and has 4G, 4A in 22GP, with corsi so-so.

Must be the Housley Effect with Larsson, he did the same with Larry 

And I can think of 7.8 Million Reasons KA kept Krueger 

[Scottysabres]

Question:

Who can you have an approval rating, or, conversely, a disproval rating for that matter, when your merely a figure head and your coach and owner are calling all the shots?

Serious question.

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Question:

Who can you have an approval rating, or, conversely, a disproval rating for that matter, when your merely a figure head and your coach and owner are calling all the shots?

Serious question.

An interesting and provocative question.  Being a puppet definitely hurts his rating.  
 

I don’t think he is a puppet by the way. He is inexperienced, unqualified and certainly isn’t completely in charge but he is making the roster decisions.

Edited February 26, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Scottysabres]

1 minute ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

An interesting and provocative question.  Being a puppet definitely hurts his rating.  

I would like those that follow this line to understand, I'm not stating with any solid state evidence he is, but on anecdotal evidence based on several critically important factors. Adams silence, Krueger's actions, the owners benign statements, the players frustrations, the lack of communication between coach and GM (see Jeff Skinners agent contacts Adams, Adams does not inform Krueger, said communication was directly on Krueger's decision on agents player), the lack of movement to address glaring need on the roster, the murmured dissatisfaction the team franchise player, Jack Eichel, has with the teams current trajectory, and the list grows from here.

It is a very real question, and yes, I concur, can be construed as provocative. However, the question lay on the table, none the less.

So, what say you all?

[PerreaultForever]

I put him in the middle, mostly because it's too soon to tell. What he does with Hall (assets at the deadline?), whether or not he trades Eichel (and for what), signing or trading pending FAs, solving Skinner situation (miracle worker if he can do that) , lots and lots of big changes might be coming, or not, and to me what we look like at the beginning of next year along with how full the prospect/draft cupboard is at that point will determine my real assessment of him.

I'm still not really clear on what his vision/direction for the team in terms of style etc. is. Are we in a transition or just a mess? I'm not sure. 

[LabattBlue]

D+

[Claude Balls]

His failure to upgrade the goaltender situation makes him a failure to me.