Pittsburgh fires GM Hextall and POHO Burke

[Wyldnwoody44]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

The writing has been on the wall since Fenway Sports Group took over in late 2021. FSG is very heavy into analytics with their sports teams while Burke and Hextall are certainly not. 
 

Shortly after being hired they did not renew the contract of Sam Ventura much to the delight of Adams and Karmanos. 
 

Winning a playoff round was the only thing that would have saved their jobs. 
 

 

On a side note, Ventura and Jason Botterill have been mentioned as possible GM candidates for Pittsburgh 

It would be a promotion for Ventura, wonder how that would affect us.. 

 

If it's JB. Go for it Pitt 😂

[Brawndo]

On 4/15/2023 at 9:58 AM, Wyldnwoody44 said:

It would be a promotion for Ventura, wonder how that would affect us.. 

 

If it's JB. Go for it Pitt 😂

Ventura is primarily responsible for the Jost and Stillman acquisitions and has revamped the Sabres Scouting Methods. 
 

It would be a huge loss for the Sabres 

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Ventura is primarily responsible for the Jost and Stillman acquisitions and has revamped the Sabres Scouting Methods. 
 

It would be a huge loss for the Sabres 

Would be very unhappy to see him leave this soon after getting here.  Let them hire Botterill and keep Ventura here 3-4 more years so his revamps to how things are done here are ingrained.

He'll be a GM someday.  Just don't make it happen NOW.

[Brawndo]

Chad DeDomincis has mentioned that the Sabres will be expanding their front office this off-season.  He’s not sure exactly where it will will occur, scouting or analytics or possibly another AGM. 
 

My ideal offseason would be moving Adams to POHO and promoting Ventura to GM, with Adams continuing to have the final say in hockey related decisions. 

[Brawndo]

15 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Would be very unhappy to see him leave this soon after getting here.  Let them hire Botterill and keep Ventura here 3-4 more years so his revamps to how things are done here are ingrained.

He'll be a GM someday.  Just don't make it happen NOW.

Botterill made some questionable acquisitions and trades, hiring Krueger was the ultimate WTF Moment, but there is something very interesting about His Defense Corps from a few seasons ago 

 

 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Brawndo said:

Chad DeDomincis has mentioned that the Sabres will be expanding their front office this off-season.  He’s not sure exactly where it will will occur, scouting or analytics or possibly another AGM. 
 

My ideal offseason would be moving Adams to POHO and promoting Ventura to GM, with Adams continuing to have the final say in hockey related decisions. 

The bolded is interesting.  

At the B&G Insights last year, asked Adams if the FO was where he wanted it or if he still wanted to add people.  He'd said at that time that the analytics was set and he'd like to have added 1 more scout and possibly 1 more development coach.  Didn't have a chance to check if those positions were filled and also didn't have a chance to ask about what changes he wanted to make this year.  (And unfortunately, nobody else asked either.)

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Brawndo said:

Botterill made some questionable acquisitions and trades, hiring Krueger was the ultimate WTF Moment, but there is something very interesting about His Defense Corps from a few seasons ago 

 

 

He definitely had / has a knack for D-men.  Would take him back in a heartbeat as an AGM tasked specifically to that 1 area.

But he did not do a good job with choosing coaches (2 very big whiffs), goaltenders, filling out the F's, nor contracts.  Keep him completely away from those and sure, as said above, would take him back to focus on the D if he were masochistic enough to want to come back in that limited role.

[kas23]

I can’t see them hiring Ventura as a GM. He’s a numbers guy. I can’t see him overseeing all of the hockey operations a GM is responsible for. GMing isn’t just about figuring out who to draft or who to trade for. 

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Chad DeDomincis has mentioned that the Sabres will be expanding their front office this off-season.  He’s not sure exactly where it will will occur, scouting or analytics or possibly another AGM. 
 

My ideal offseason would be moving Adams to POHO and promoting Ventura to GM, with Adams continuing to have the final say in hockey related decisions. 

If Kyle Okposo retires, he will be one.

I’ve previously shared my feelings the Ryan Miller may be another.

Role TBA, but I’d imagine it would be less about filling a hole and more about adding what they have to offer in terms of relationships and understanding the game and it’s players: good, thoughtful people, passionate about the club and its direction, adding their voices to the pool.

 

59 minutes ago, kas23 said:

I can’t see them hiring Ventura as a GM. He’s a numbers guy. I can’t see him overseeing all of the hockey operations a GM is responsible for. GMing isn’t just about figuring out who to draft or who to trade for. 

 

Hockey is no different than any other industry: people start in a department with a particular area of expertise and expand their knowledge and understanding of other areas through experience until they gain a broad understanding of how things work and are qualified for senior positions overseeing broad departments.

Ventura has spent 2 years in the Sabres inner circle and has certainly acquired a lot of knowledge about ownership, contracts, administration, scouting, coaching and player development in the process. And that is on top of whatever he picked up in PIttsburgh.

Whether he’s ready is up for debate, but he’s certainly advanced to a place where he can start entering the conversation.

I suspect the Ventura to PIttsburgh chatter has more to do about where he comes from and from Fenway Sports affection for analytics than anything else.

But I’m kinda comforted by the idea that other organizations might actually be considering raiding our organization for off-ice talent, which was apparently also the case with Karmanos.

When was the last time that has happened?

Edited April 16, 2023 by dudacek

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, kas23 said:

I can’t see them hiring Ventura as a GM. He’s a numbers guy. I can’t see him overseeing all of the hockey operations a GM is responsible for. GMing isn’t just about figuring out who to draft or who to trade for. 

 

52 minutes ago, dudacek said:

If Kyle Okposo retires, he will be one.

I’ve previously shared my feelings the Ryan Miller may be another.

Role TBA, but I’d imagine it would be less about filling a hole and more about adding what they have to offer in terms of relationships and understanding the game and it’s players: good, thoughtful people, passionate about the club and its direction, adding their voices to the pool.

 

 

Hockey is no different than any other industry: people start in a department with a particular area of expertise and expand their knowledge and understanding of other areas through experience until they gain a broad understanding of how things work and are qualified for senior positions overseeing broad departments.

Ventura has spent 2 years in the Sabres inner circle and has certainly acquired a lot of knowledge about ownership, contracts, administration, scouting, coaching and player development in the process. And that is on top of whatever he picked up in PIttsburgh.

Whether he’s ready is up for debate, but he’s certainly advanced to a place where he can start entering the conversation.

I suspect the Ventura to PIttsburgh chatter has more to do about where he comes from and from Fenway Sports affection for analytics than anything else.

But I’m kinda comforted by the idea that other organizations might actually be considering raiding our organization for off-ice talent, which was apparently also the case with Karmanos.

When was the last time that has happened?

Agree with Dudacek here. Adams did not have any experience in a NHL Front Office and managed to assemble one of the most impressive FOs in the NHL. Adams knew what areas he needed help in and acquired that help over a two year period. 
 

Ventura has more experience in front offices and would follow GMKA’s Pathway to hiring the right people to assist Him.  As analytics continues to grow in front offices, eventually persons with analytics backgrounds will become GMs. 

I do find it interesting that when Adams was thanking His Front Office Staff at the TDL Presser that he lead off with Ventura over Karmanos 

 

[Brawndo]

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Brawndo

[Brawndo]

If Sam Ventura gets a promotion with the Sabres, I would maybe be Ok with this. 

[IKnowPhysics]

Karmanos missed the playoffs this season, Pittsburgh should find that unacceptable and leave him here.  Please and thank you.

[SDS]

On 4/16/2023 at 3:58 PM, Brawndo said:

he lead off with Ventura over Karmanos 

That's not even alphabetical!

[Randall Flagg]

We have some unfinished business here fellas don't leave