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

[Flashsabre]

2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

When the Sabres finally win a cup, people will be mad it didn't happen sooner.

They won’t win it the right way😁

[Stoner]

13 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

When the Sabres finally win a cup, people will be mad it didn't happen sooner.

How many games did it take?

[PromoTheRobot]

52 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

How many games did it take?

Too many.

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, dudacek said:

Why do you say that?

They traded away their entire core two years ago, acquiring just one veteran of any significance (who missed nearly half the year) and improved by (a prorated) 21 points through internal development.

They made no significant trades or free agent signings last year and improved by 16 points through internal development.

They are bringing back 4 rookies, 2 more near-rookies and adding Levi. Why cant there be more internal development?

 

Because the same holes will be there. There's no D prospect chomping at the bit. the D and possibly goaltending will sink them. PK could be a problem too. 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, K-9 said:

Next season is in the future, no? 

KA has stated on several occasions that the goal is to build a perennial contender, which means they are always “future based.” He would be remiss if he wasn’t concentrating on the long term. It’s the definition of a fluid situation. 

As I've stated many times although a perennial plan is a solid idea you can maintain that plan and make moves to start winning now, especially when you are this close. We have all identified the weak spots, and unless they add people those weak spots will still be there next year. 

[dudacek]

3 hours ago, bunomatic said:

Perennial contender is a good talking point but nothing is guaranteed and has there ever been one ? At some point in the next couple years it has to be about ‘now’ or he runs the risk of missing players prime years for some future shangra la that may never materialize. And I’m pretty sure no team has ever won the cup exclusively with homegrown talent. That sounds a little pie in the sky. Guys are always brought in at some point to get over the top.

There have been plenty of perennial contenders over the past 15 years.

PIttsburgh made the playoffs for 16 years straight. Washington under Ovie. Chicago for all but the final years of the Toews Kane run. When was the last time Tampa was bad or Boston wasnt in the mix?

Alex Tuch isn’t a homegrown talent, neither is Jeff Skinner. Technically neither are Thompson or Krebs or Levi. I’m sure there will be more.

I agree with the bold. I will be surprised if it doesn’t happen here. I’ve seen and heard nothing that suggests to me it won’t.

Most of the debates seem to be a matter of degree anyway: the make some moves crowd isn’t really advocating blowing things up, the stay the coursers aren’t really saying don’t add.

And the frustrations generally boil down to “you’re too pessimistic/optimistic because you aren’t paying enough attention too…”

Here’s to a team that comes back in September ready to take the next step. 

See you all again when something actually happens.

[ndirish1978]

11 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Who asked for a show?  Making a statement that 12 years of this ***** is unacceptable is a show…or am I not being a super fan by stating this?

I didn't realize GMKA and DG had been running the team for 12 years. You go on an "hold them accountable" I'm sure they will lose sleep over it.

It's pretty obvious that they wanted to see how this young team responded to pressure and that this was a teaching moment because this team is obviously not a contender at this moment. This season was positive experience for quite a few of our guys. Same thing was said when the Bills turned over their FO and coaching staff, they had to build the right way and even though they inherited a streak for missing the playoffs they didn't feel any ownership for it, not should they have. Bills backed into the playoffs yr1 unexpectedly and then missed the next year. The current incarnation of the team wasn't set til year 3. Sabres have a solid group of talented forwards, the best prospect pool in the league and have learned what it takes to win by being put in a pressure cooker. They came up short this year, it was not a wasted year, they accomplished a lot. Tired of people complaining about "tone" and "messaging" who don't know what it takes to create a successful team. We will make the playoffs next year. 

[SabresBaltimore]

So my take on GMKA is when he got here he was faced with a perennial losing team, that had bad culture who no one wanted to play for, and an underwhelming pipeline towards the future.

Another GM might have come in and just done what they could to make the playoffs now, it has been over 10 years after all and fans are impatient. Or they could try to fix the fundamental problems of the franchise at the cost of a longer rebuild. I think he's gone a long way towards fixing the fundamental problems.

 

I can't say for sure, but I doubt he thinks we'll be a perennial team just from home grown talent, but having a good pipeline of young talent and the ability to develop them properly is important to offset the big contracts you have to pay to your vets. He talked a bit about a guy on his staff who is really good at salary projections, so he's factoring all of that into his plans.

 

He talked in the presser about how they've been handling the cap so far, and that they are moving into "the next phase" of cap management, which I think we've already started to see with Thompson, Cozens and Samuelson. I expect to see something with Dahlin and hopefully Power soon.

 

We won't really know if he's delusional about being a perennial playoff team until we're a few years down the road. Given the additions he's made so far, I think he'll be willing to bring in the "right" Free Agents.

 

However, I'm not sure that will matter. Unless we win the cup every few years, there will be some portion of the fanbase that will be unhappy. You can ask the Bills how well being a perennial playoff team has gone for them. I've never seen so many people angry we still haven't won the super bowl rather than just enjoying the fact that we have a great team again.

I'm not trying to tell other folks how to feel, but as much as I want a cup, it's a long season. I want to enjoy the whole season, not just put all my joy on the final outcome. That's a recipe for disappointment.

 

I do hope we get to a point where we're trying to capitalize on the window of our young talent and manage to finally win a cup, but I don't think next season is the year to do that yet.

[Radar]

5 minutes ago, SabresBaltimore said:

So my take on GMKA is when he got here he was faced with a perennial losing team, that had bad culture who no one wanted to play for, and an underwhelming pipeline towards the future.

Another GM might have come in and just done what they could to make the playoffs now, it has been over 10 years after all and fans are impatient. Or they could try to fix the fundamental problems of the franchise at the cost of a longer rebuild. I think he's gone a long way towards fixing the fundamental problems.

 

I can't say for sure, but I doubt he thinks we'll be a perennial team just from home grown talent, but having a good pipeline of young talent and the ability to develop them properly is important to offset the big contracts you have to pay to your vets. He talked a bit about a guy on his staff who is really good at salary projections, so he's factoring all of that into his plans.

 

He talked in the presser about how they've been handling the cap so far, and that they are moving into "the next phase" of cap management, which I think we've already started to see with Thompson, Cozens and Samuelson. I expect to see something with Dahlin and hopefully Power soon.

 

We won't really know if he's delusional about being a perennial playoff team until we're a few years down the road. Given the additions he's made so far, I think he'll be willing to bring in the "right" Free Agents.

 

However, I'm not sure that will matter. Unless we win the cup every few years, there will be some portion of the fanbase that will be unhappy. You can ask the Bills how well being a perennial playoff team has gone for them. I've never seen so many people angry we still haven't won the super bowl rather than just enjoying the fact that we have a great team again.

I'm not trying to tell other folks how to feel, but as much as I want a cup, it's a long season. I want to enjoy the whole season, not just put all my joy on the final outcome. That's a recipe for disappointment.

 

I do hope we get to a point where we're trying to capitalize on the window of our young talent and manage to finally win a cup, but I don't think next season is the year to do that yet.

Interesting. Good post. I do think there is much more emphasis today on winning a championship as opposed to enjoyment of having a good winning team that may not get to or win a Super Bowl or Stanley Cup. I sense there is a more significant group of fans who it's more all or nothing. Maybe It's just me. I'm eighty years old and followed the Bills and Sabres from their inception and that's my perception but forums are probably not necessarily a good indicator of the total fan base either.

[PromoTheRobot]

47 minutes ago, SabresBaltimore said:

So my take on GMKA is when he got here he was faced with a perennial losing team, that had bad culture who no one wanted to play for, and an underwhelming pipeline towards the future.

Another GM might have come in and just done what they could to make the playoffs now, it has been over 10 years after all and fans are impatient. Or they could try to fix the fundamental problems of the franchise at the cost of a longer rebuild. I think he's gone a long way towards fixing the fundamental problems.

 

I can't say for sure, but I doubt he thinks we'll be a perennial team just from home grown talent, but having a good pipeline of young talent and the ability to develop them properly is important to offset the big contracts you have to pay to your vets. He talked a bit about a guy on his staff who is really good at salary projections, so he's factoring all of that into his plans.

 

He talked in the presser about how they've been handling the cap so far, and that they are moving into "the next phase" of cap management, which I think we've already started to see with Thompson, Cozens and Samuelson. I expect to see something with Dahlin and hopefully Power soon.

 

We won't really know if he's delusional about being a perennial playoff team until we're a few years down the road. Given the additions he's made so far, I think he'll be willing to bring in the "right" Free Agents.

 

However, I'm not sure that will matter. Unless we win the cup every few years, there will be some portion of the fanbase that will be unhappy. You can ask the Bills how well being a perennial playoff team has gone for them. I've never seen so many people angry we still haven't won the super bowl rather than just enjoying the fact that we have a great team again.

I'm not trying to tell other folks how to feel, but as much as I want a cup, it's a long season. I want to enjoy the whole season, not just put all my joy on the final outcome. That's a recipe for disappointment.

 

I do hope we get to a point where we're trying to capitalize on the window of our young talent and manage to finally win a cup, but I don't think next season is the year to do that yet.

Ain't that the truth. They are angrier now than during the playoff drought. Fact is getting good is a skill. Winning a title involves some luck.

[SabresBaltimore]

28 minutes ago, Radar said:

Interesting. Good post. I do think there is much more emphasis today on winning a championship as opposed to enjoyment of having a good winning team that may not get to or win a Super Bowl or Stanley Cup. I sense there is a more significant group of fans who it's more all or nothing. Maybe It's just me. I'm eighty years old and followed the Bills and Sabres from their inception and that's my perception but forums are probably not necessarily a good indicator of the total fan base either.

 

For me it's a combination of places I read about/discuss sports (in person, twitter/facebook, these forums, a private slack server, sometimes reddit). I couldn't put a  number on it. But I have friends who are this way. I had to mute a friend on facebook simply because I couldn't stand his constant negativity about the Bills.

 

However the main people I discuss the Bills/Sabres with in person have similar attitudes as I do. They want to see us be good and hope we win, but aren't losing their minds when we don't.

 

I do also want to mention that while I'm more about the "journey than the destination", I certainly don't want the GM, Coaches or Players to be that way. I want them to be trying to win every season.

 

However a GM more than the others has to be realistic about what is actually possible. If you delude yourself into thinking you have a legitimate chance every year even when your team is garbage, you'll quickly find yourself out of a job.

 

It's a delicate balancing act. I hate to keep using football because teams/cap management etc aren't exactly the same, but look at the Rams. They went all in and got a bit lucky and won a Super Bowl. But now they are going to be in a terrible position for a few years to come.

 

Most fans (myself included) would take that trade. But there are no guarantees. The Rams could have just as easily lost a game and then be in terrible shape with nothing to show for it. Many teams have done that in many leagues.

 

Good franchises and GMs find a way though. I think it's just too early to judge if that's what Adams is doing, or if it will all crumble in a few years because he was too concerned with his own prospects.

 

For now I like the more cautious/long term approach Adams has been taking, but the longer we get into his tenure, the less patience I'll have. 

[Night Train]

Could care less about others " patience " . Who are you trying to impress here ? LOL.  See your Dr. 

KA could be anything but he basically took over a bombed out franchise 2 years back with 10 dry years. We all get that.  Eichel and Reinhart leave and the trade return turns out to be pretty good. Improvement is real.  Now get some more help and make a good showing next year with the playoffs being expected. Mindset. 

[Archie Lee]

9 hours ago, bunomatic said:

Perennial contender is a good talking point but nothing is guaranteed and has there ever been one ? At some point in the next couple years it has to be about ‘now’ or he runs the risk of missing players prime years for some future shangra la that may never materialize. And I’m pretty sure no team has ever won the cup exclusively with homegrown talent. That sounds a little pie in the sky. Guys are always brought in at some point to get over the top.

Isn’t it obvious that we are at the “it’s about now” stage? I get the frustration with the years of losing. It seems to me though that lots of folks want a meaningless sound-bite from the GM or coach. 
 

The Sabres are one of 2-3 youngest teams in the league They just had back to back seasons where they increased their points % from .330 to .457 to .555. They missed the playoffs by a regulation win. In what world is it not their goal to make the playoffs? 
 

Lots of GMs and coaches make promises and pronouncements. That’s not the style of Adams and Granato. Until the progress stalls or regresses, they have earned the benefit of my doubt. 

[LabattBlue]

Okay…maybe I was a little over the top with my expectations for the PC’s.  That being said, I really hope KA is willing to pull the trigger on deals to bring in a top 4 dman, bottom 6 difference makers(replacements for KO and Girgs), and a goalie to be a 1A/1B to Levi. 
 

You just can’t fall in love with every prospect drafted, and hold on to them for dear life. 

[North Buffalo]

Yeh I get he cant guarantee anything but weird he wouldnt be more affirmative except Warow can be a bit of a prickly know it all.... maybe he reacted to that history... yes to what we see needed on D... Keep developing the rest...

[LabattBlue]

1 hour ago, SabresBaltimore said:

Unless we win the cup every few years, there will be some portion of the fanbase that will be unhappy. 

This is ridiculous and you know it. 

[SDS]

9 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

This is ridiculous and you know it. 

Sorry. 100% true.

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, SDS said:

Sorry. 100% true.

So which portion of the fanbase would be unhappy if they won a Cup after 55 years, and then didn’t win another within  2-3 years?  

[Dr. Who]

43 minutes ago, Night Train said:

Could care less about others " patience " . Who are you trying to impress here ? LOL.  See your Dr. 

KA could be anything but he basically took over a bombed out franchise 2 years back with 10 dry years. We all get that.  Eichel and Reinhart leave and the trade return turns out to be pretty good. Improvement is real.  Now get some more help and make a good showing next year with the playoffs being expected. Mindset. 

I prescribe, as I invariably do, a pint of Guinness, listening to relaxing music, and contemplative prayer which allows one to properly gauge the importance of various aspects of life. The last is the most important and the least followed, but the first is pretty easy to pull off.

[Stoner]

39 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Isn’t it obvious that we are at the “it’s about now” stage? I get the frustration with the years of losing. It seems to me though that lots of folks want a meaningless sound-bite from the GM or coach. 
 

The Sabres are one of 2-3 youngest teams in the league They just had back to back seasons where they increased their points % from .330 to .457 to .555. They missed the playoffs by a regulation win. In what world is it not their goal to make the playoffs? 
 

Lots of GMs and coaches make promises and pronouncements. That’s not the style of Adams and Granato. Until the progress stalls or regresses, they have earned the benefit of my doubt. 

It's not about semantics. It's about whether individual player development conflicts with tangible team goals. There's an obvious example at hand. Do you let Levi learn to be a starter at the NHL level next season at the cost of the best chance of winning games? Not "blocking" young players was an example this season.

What the coach said yesterday is that player development is the focus and the playoffs will "take care of themselves." (And also that next season is not playoffs or bust.)

[kas23]

Was that Warow who asked the questions about “guaranteeing” playoffs or how this season “was a lost opportunity”? I know KA lost his cool a little with these statements, and not in a good way, but the guy who asked these “questions” lost a bit of credibility. It showed his his ignorance. 
 

Outside the playoff questions we’ve been going back and forth on, one statement I found incredibly interesting was the one where KA said they have a specific position/roster spot in mind for reach prospect in their system. I just don’t know how that’s going to work. There may be some players moving on we don’t know about. 

[ddaryl]

Do not change a thing. Keep the developing and the great drafting. Find the under the radar FA types. Fully expect playoffs if we do not make a single move, but I do feel we will make a move or 2 this offseason. 

 

Patience is paying off and I expect it to pay fat dividends. Look at Mittlestadt... The team gave him lots of time and now nobody wants to move him as he has demonstrated he is finding his niche... We have seen the same story with Tage..

 

G is a curious situation. I fully believe Levi is an annomaly... He will excel in pressure and I think he can handle at least half the load... The question is wether we do bring in a vet or roll with what we have.

 

I am perfectly ok with the franchise direction and see a very bright future

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by ddaryl

[Night Train]

 Lets agree that anything KA said can be taken in multiple directions. Each poster shows their mindset, real or imagined. 

 It's standard press conference talk , prior to the start of the off-season. Now to observe moves prior to the fall training camp. 

[SDS]

57 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

So which portion of the fanbase would be unhappy if they won a Cup after 55 years, and then didn’t win another within  2-3 years?  

I’m going to go ahead and say the VAST majority. The week after any cup victory will be filled with people complaining about the inaction regarding the steps to win another one. The minute we get down in the next playoff series people will be throwing a fit at our terrible players, our crap coaching, and our incompetent GM. Book it. 
 

I’m gonna point you to a guy on this  forum who said that this was a bottom 4 team and complained how bad we were going into the season who then complained that we fell 2 short two points short of the playoffs. These types of people are everywhere. Complaints are constant, goalposts are always moving, satisfaction is never achieved.

[NAF]

I'm at the point where I roll my eyes when I hear Wawrow. Seems like an okay guy but he asks these long and convoluted questions that often make no sense. As a reporter your job is to be as specific as possible to get exact answers.