Adams And Granato Media Availability Wednesday: What Do You Want To hear?

[SabresBaltimore]

Here's the link from Twitter for GMKA: 

 

[Buffalonill]

12 minutes ago, Radar said:

No. My own opinion is bye,bye and maybe team wise not a bad thing. Unless there's something else other than just not wanting to be here. That's one KA mantra I agree with "we want players who want to be here".

Sounds like hes a spoiled brat and hard to deal with

[mjd1001]

12 minutes ago, Radar said:

No. My own opinion is bye,bye and maybe team wise not a bad thing. Unless there's something else other than just not wanting to be here. That's one KA mantra I agree with "we want players who want to be here".

"Wanting to be here" vs "getting the best players at any cost" are 2 schools of thought. Which one is correct may very well depend on where a team is in its development cycle.

I have always been of the 'get guys who want to be here', even when the team was bad a few years ago, I wanted someone who wasn't here just to collect a paycheck. I'd rather have a slightly 'worse' player but someone I can root for instead of a mercenary type who would be slightly better.  I guess that is why I really would like to see them move on from Okposo, but wont' be upset if he comes back.

[mjd1001]

12 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Sounds like hes a spoiled brat and hard to deal with

Maybe. Or maybe he is just someone struggling with a decision. I put myself in his spot and try to look at it....he may very well like Buffalo and the guys he has met along the way, but on the other hand, at this point what is the downside of him not signing here right away and having the ability to look at ANY situation and see what ANY team has to offer him (including the Sabres at a later date)?  

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

"Wanting to be here" vs "getting the best players at any cost" are 2 schools of thought. Which one is correct may very well depend on where a team is in its development cycle.

I have always been of the 'get guys who want to be here', even when the team was bad a few years ago, I wanted someone who wasn't here just to collect a paycheck. I'd rather have a slightly 'worse' player but someone I can root for instead of a mercenary type who would be slightly better.  I guess that is why I really would like to see them move on from Okposo, but wont' be upset if he comes back.

As I said for years... 

 

1 minute ago, mjd1001 said:

Maybe. Or maybe he is just someone struggling with a decision. I put myself in his spot and try to look at it....he may very well like Buffalo and the guys he has met along the way, but on the other hand, at this point what is the downside of him not signing here right away and having the ability to look at ANY situation and see what ANY team has to offer him (including the Sabres at a later date)?  

I've thought for 2 years he would sign in LA or Anaheim and wanted him traded to either. 

[Buffalonill]

If they dont trade for a vet goalie its going to  Be a train  Wreck again ..

 You can't put that much pressure on a rookie Goalie 

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Its on the Sabres Facebook site.

Johnny Wawrow making the hard-liners proud

 

Hardliner. OK. How bout radical extremist postseason terrorist?

Not sure why some of you gag at the p-word.

Coach sure didn't want to touch it. He even bizarrely laid out things that could derail the playoffs again next year... Injuries, youth, conference competition, even a statistical anomaly that will make Taro's head explode: missing the playoffs with 110 points.

I understand his hesitancy to be more forceful. Same goes for KA. They are very, very lucky to have the jobs they have.

But what's worse is voicing the very definition of a losing culture... Reminding us unnecessarily that only one team wins the Cup. Where have we heard that before?

[Dr. Who]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

Hardliner. OK. How bout radical extremist postseason terrorist?

Not sure why some of you gag at the p-word.

Coach sure didn't want to touch it. He even bizarrely laid out things that could derail the playoffs again next year... Injuries, youth, conference competition, even a statistical anomaly that will make Taro's head explode: missing the playoffs with 110 points.

I understand his hesitancy to be more forceful. Same goes for KA. They are very, very lucky to have the jobs they have.

But what's worse is voicing the very definition of a losing culture... Reminding us unnecessarily that only one team wins the Cup. Where have we heard that before?

Well, the West owes more to Athens than Sparta. I agree though that the Klingons are a more robust culture than the milquetoast Federation and all their boring peace talk.

[Mr. Allen]

43 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Sounds like hes a spoiled brat and hard to deal with

I think he believes he’s the next Fox and not the next Vesey.  
F him.  Next. 

[matter2003]

35 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

If they dont trade for a vet goalie its going to  Be a train  Wreck again ..

 You can't put that much pressure on a rookie Goalie 

Unlikely. The team will have grown and improved with a year of experience. It might not be good, but it will be better than last year.

Edited April 19, 2023 by matter2003

[dudacek]

28 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Maybe. Or maybe he is just someone struggling with a decision. I put myself in his spot and try to look at it....he may very well like Buffalo and the guys he has met along the way, but on the other hand, at this point what is the downside of him not signing here right away and having the ability to look at ANY situation and see what ANY team has to offer him (including the Sabres at a later date)?  

At this point in time any rational person has had enough information to make up his mind. We're talking a year here.

I doubt the Sabres sprang anything surprising on him last week.

It's very odd. It speaks to either character or some bizarre circumstance behind the scene.

 

15 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Hardliner. OK. How bout radical extremist postseason terrorist?

Not sure why some of you gag at the p-word.

Coach sure didn't want to touch it. He even bizarrely laid out things that could derail the playoffs again next year... Injuries, youth, conference competition, even a statistical anomaly that will make Taro's head explode: missing the playoffs with 110 points.

I understand his hesitancy to be more forceful. Same goes for KA. They are very, very lucky to have the jobs they have.

But what's worse is voicing the very definition of a losing culture... Reminding us unnecessarily that only one team wins the Cup. Where have we heard that before?

 

They are entirely process-driven. They've been telling the players and themselves "do the right things and the results will take care of themselves."

It's hardly unusual in the athletic world

You're asking them to do effectively abandon that and say "***** the process, now we're focused on the result".

It's OK to be disappointed they don't share your view of what's needed to be said, and it's OK to think that is motivated by weakness.

But you shouldn't be surprised.

Do you make a habit of promising things you may not be able deliver, or enjoy people who do?

And for the record, both Adams and Granato made it clear that they believe that they've set a foundation that should mean the playoffs now and for years to come.

If you didn't hear that, you're not listening.

[Randall Flagg]

Both guys behave bizarrely when the playoff question gets brought up. Granato's answer was better than Kevyn's, but they're both strange all around. 

Something would have to go wrong for this team to miss again. We understand that this is where the team is. Donnie alludes to this, and says anything is possible, which covers injury bases, but won't complete the sentence. Just kind of weird. 

Edited April 19, 2023 by Randall Flagg

[Zamboni]

I like John Warrow. I do. But why does it seem like his questions are a gigantic word salad. And it seems like most of them are that way.
I am certainly not telling him how to do his job. He knows how to do it better than I ever would. But I would think just a one or two sentence statement that ends in question mark would be better for not only him, but the fans, The rest of the media there, and the person he’s asking the question to. That’s just the way I see it but, maybe I’m wrong.

[Randall Flagg]

Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott literally coined "process-driven" as it pertains to Buffalo sports. Kevyn would readily admit that they are a huge influence, rightfully so, on his team-building. The NFL playoffs are much harder to get into, and it is far easier for luck to knock your team astray in the NFL than the NHL, because in the former sample sizes hurt you and in the latter they help you.

Those guys, from day 1, put "playoff caliber" on every wall in the building during the regular season. They state that people need to understand at every moment what the franchise is driving for, what the goal is, both at the high level where Kevyn lives and the "we need to make the playoffs right now" level where the players are

The 2019 Bills were setting up to make the playoffs year in and year out, and weren't quite championship caliber yet. They still put the signs up, and explicitly told us at every opportunity that those were the expectations. 

I think kevyn and Don will materially operate in a way that will get us to the playoffs. But they are being weird about this question, and could absolutely say "that year over year thing I keep saying starts now," and can absolutely make moves without the whole thing tumbling down. It's just goofy

Edited April 19, 2023 by Randall Flagg

[Zamboni]

Meh … I thought the first five minutes of DG’s Press conference pretty much answered the whole playoffs scenario for next season. 

 

 

[French Collection]

5 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Both guys behave bizarrely when the playoff question gets brought up. Granato's answer was better than Kevyn's, but they're both strange all around. 

Something would have to go wrong for this team to miss again. We understand that this is where the team is. Donnie alludes to this, and says anything is possible, which covers injury bases, but won't complete the sentence. Just kind of weird. 

It’s not like our expectations are outrageous. I think we all realistically think this team can make it and even compete with a few roster tweaks. These guys have been around the NHL long enough to know they are on an upward trajectory and this is the logical next step.

[LabattBlue]

2 hours ago, Radar said:

Really what do you expect.

I expect DG and KA to say…playoffs are the goal and missing them will be unacceptable, no excuses!

[Taro T]

9 minutes ago, dudacek said:

At this point in time any rational person has had enough information to make up his mind. We're talking a year here.

I doubt the Sabres sprang anything surprising on him last week.

It's very odd. It speaks to either character or some bizarre circumstance behind the scene.

 

 

They are entirely process-driven. They've been telling the players and themselves "do the right things and the results will take care of themselves."

It's hardly unusual in the athletic world

You're asking them to do effectively abandon that and say "***** the process, now we're focused on the result".

It's OK to be disappointed they don't share your view of what's needed to be said, and it's OK to think that is motivated by weakness.

But you shouldn't be surprised.

Do you make a habit of promising things you may not be able deliver, or enjoy people who do?

And for the record, both Adams and Granato made it clear that they believe that they've set a foundation that should mean the playoffs now and for years to come.

If you didn't hear that, you're not listening.

Yup.  And they seem to be more beholden to it than the guys that brought "process-driven" to town.  They trust that their process will work but they flat out won't say that the goal is to win the Stanley Cup - too much luck involved.  The goal is to be a legit contender every year.

It seems from this vantage point, that Adams puts a smidge too much emphasis on his "being true to himself and being truthful" to the point that if he says the goal is WINNING the Stanley Cup that in a year that they don't do that (and lets face it, they won't far more often than they do) that they'll necessarily have to make changes they don't really want to make to try to find that elusive result.  His goal is to be a contender every year because he can control whether the team is a legit contender but he can't control for that final step actually being taken.

Probably reading too much into his comments (and to be fair, haven't heard today's comments yet; just the reactions to the comments) and am stating this concept too succinctly.  There's a nuance to it that doesn't really translate in a non-GA length post.  ;)

It gets back to the answer about playoffs being a goal next year a few weeks back.  He said that yes, it is, but that they won't mortgage the future to make it happen if they are in the same exact place next year they were this year.  The moves they'll make will be designed to help today AND tomorrow.

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I expect DG and KA to say…playoffs are the goal and missing them will be unacceptable, no excuses!

Doubt you will ever get either to make that statement.  Because when they make that statement, they start making moves that will hurt tomorrow's chances of getting to the ultimate goal.  Adams has been pretty consistent in that sentiment.

Do expect that he expects the team to solidly be in the playoffs next year barring something catastrophic.  But that's where missing the playoffs by 2 points hurts so much.  The fanbase would be very forgiving should the team have a serious run of injuries like what Columbus had this year (could've sworn they said 47 different players dressed for them this season which is absolutely shocking) had the team snuck in this year and a miss was year 1 in the losing skein.  But it would be year 13 were it to come to pass.  (Doubt it does, but until they're actually in the playoffs, they're still on the outside looking in.)

[Malazan]

I wanted them to shore up my emotionally fragile state and when they don't do that, I get very angry!

[dudacek]

25 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I expect DG and KA to say…playoffs are the goal and missing them will be unacceptable, no excuses!

Why? 

[Cheektorado]

20 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I wouldn't mind hearing the "Russians are coming," "the Russians are coming."
 

Great movie.

[Flashsabre]

My biggest takeaway was both Granato and Adams admitting that team defence was a big problem this season.

More then any player move they can make, shoring up the defensive structure is the biggest needle mover for next season.

[Radar]

52 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I expect DG and KA to say…playoffs are the goal and missing them will be unacceptable, no excuses!

Well, I think they do think playoffs are the goal. In fact he said he was disappointed not getting to the playoffs. He didn't bite on Warrows take of it being a lost or whatever season. Guess it's how he says it wasn't satisfactory for you and that's fine.

 

 

 

 

[Cascade Youth]

55 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I expect DG and KA to say…playoffs are the goal and missing them will be unacceptable, no excuses!

Again, I get downvoted for saying this, but it’s clearly to me a symptom of absentee ownership.  DG and KA do not appear to be operating under any kind of measurable accountability other than “don’t embarrass your bosses.”  Why would they volunteer a metric for themselves when none exists internally?  Telling the media it’s playoffs or bust and then missing the playoffs would count as embarrassing their bosses, who haven’t imposed such a standard in the first place.

Look - I like this current roster, and I really like Donny and Kevyn personally - but they have maybe the easiest jobs in pro sports right now - zero expectations from within or without and zero pressure to do anything quickly.  This is the longest “build” I’ve ever seen.  Multiple franchises have peaked and crashed and rebuilt in the time it is taking the Sabres to get wherever it is they’re going.  And many of the fans have somehow bought in - there are posters here who tell us with a straight face that it’s perfectly fine to install the defense maybe next year because offense is easier to learn.  What planet are we on?