Hockey Heaven!

[Mango]

Has it occured to you that the guys on this roster that have been losing for 3-5 years in a row are just not good enough to win more hockey games than they lose?*


*Under the current roster construction. 

[Mango]

12 minutes ago, Hawerchuk said:

Wrong. Read Harringtons article today in the Buffalo News. This lies squarely on Pegula who refuses to inject proven hockey minds in the front office.

From the article: "And since social media and TV are only concerned about those kind of clips and not any real depth, what’s missed is the most important takeaway from the news conference: Adams speaks to Pegula every day. It’s well-known by those of us who cover this team but lots of you probably needed to hear that in the open. There’s your organizational red flag, the siren wailing to signify the real problem here."

 

 

I am sorry, are trying to tell me that Jerry Forton, former NCAA volunteer assistant and HC of NIagara University Club Hockey, is not cut out to be a high level executive in the NHL? 

Shocked I tell you. SHOCKED!

[CallawaySabres]

Lindy Ruff was always the dumbest choice for HC of this team of idiots. He no longer has the fire and and drive to fix whatever is wrong with this team. It was a feel-good story for both sides and another idiotic hire by an organization that other coaches feel is diseased. No respected coach will ever come here so it's either hiring a retread that has no other offers or rolling the dice on a first timer. 

The truth of it is that there are no answers anymore. Every single night, it's something different that causes these mental midgets to fold. There is talent but they are broken. Every single player on the roster has a major weakness and together, it is just an awfully constructed team. The only hope is firing Kevin Adams and letting Lindy walk away with pay. 

Since that will never happen, there is no hope. There is literally NO HOPE. It's a terrible place to be and the fans get screwed the most. 14 freaking years, wow, it's almost impossible to be irrelevant that long.

[Mustache of God]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

One of the knocks on the Sabres organization is the high level of turnover.  They tried to stop that perception when they gave Granato a good look. Firing Lindy after 30 games will only keep the really good coaches and GMs further away. 

Besides, do you think Terry and Adams can run a coach search?  They just showed us last off season that they are not willing, or able to perform a proper  coach search.  Berube was out there, he publicly said that he never got a call from Adams.  He seems to be doing ok in Toronto.  I have no desire to turn it over to Seth Appert either.   Which is likely to be Adams next move.  

If Lindy goes then I want to see Adams go before him.   I prefer they finish the season before they blow up another regime.  After that - Hire a POHO.  Let him hire the GM.  Let the GM hire the coach.  Let the coach hire his staff.  Do it like normal teams do it for a change.  

Losing leads at home is a mental and physical weakness by the players.  It was there before Lindy.  

Matt Ellis salivating in the corner...

[EM88]

1 hour ago, Hawerchuk said:

Wrong. Read Harringtons article today in the Buffalo News. This lies squarely on Pegula who refuses to inject proven hockey minds in the front office.

From the article: "And since social media and TV are only concerned about those kind of clips and not any real depth, what’s missed is the most important takeaway from the news conference: Adams speaks to Pegula every day. It’s well-known by those of us who cover this team but lots of you probably needed to hear that in the open. There’s your organizational red flag, the siren wailing to signify the real problem here."

 

 

I get some replies when I say its on Pegula. A lot of asking for proof. A lot of saying its just not true.

There may not be the smoking gun to convict Pegula, but there is so much circumstantial evidence from every angle that it convinces me this is more on Pegula than on any coach, any GM any player this organization has had through the recent drought.

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

One of the knocks on the Sabres organization is the high level of turnover.  They tried to stop that perception when they gave Granato a good look. Firing Lindy after 30 games will only keep the really good coaches and GMs further away. 

Besides, do you think Terry and Adams can run a coach search?  They just showed us last off season that they are not willing, or able to perform a proper  coach search.  Berube was out there, he publicly said that he never got a call from Adams.  He seems to be doing ok in Toronto.  I have no desire to turn it over to Seth Appert either.   Which is likely to be Adams next move.  

If Lindy goes then I want to see Adams go before him.   I prefer they finish the season before they blow up another regime.  After that - Hire a POHO.  Let him hire the GM.  Let the GM hire the coach.  Let the coach hire his staff.  Do it like normal teams do it for a change.  

Losing leads at home is a mental and physical weakness by the players.  It was there before Lindy.  

I think Terry cannot, or if he does it will be with terrible results...

I think Adams, with Pegula's input, will get us to the same spot we have been.

Adams along, with Terry removing himself from the process?  I have no idea if the results would be good or bad. I'd be willing to give it a try, because as the above posters have stated, and as the BF article states also...This organization is being run as Terry Pegula's fantasy team and he has no idea what he is doing and he does not let those below him make decisions without his MAJOR input.

[Carmel Corn]

Many years ago, Coach Ron Wilson of the Capitals called the Sabres a Chicken $hit team.  He was right then and fast forward to today it still applies.  I don’t know if there is a coach in all of professional sports who could get this soft and fragile roster to win a cup.  Lindy may fail, but he is not the problem.

[Ross Rhea]

2 hours ago, #freejame said:

Lindy was nothing more than a marketing hire. He’s always been a 2nd/3rd tier coach in the league. Expecting him to right the ship was always a pipe dream. 

I'm kind of starting to think Lindy was the only coach willing to come to Buffalo.

If Adams is really having trouble getting good players to come to Buffalo why would it not apply to good coaches also. 

Because of this 13 year shitshow, some is self induced, I kind of do get why Adams hands are a bit tied. 

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

How is it 1:30pm the day after the 7th loss in a row, second blown lead going into the third, and Kevin Adams still has a job?  
 

It is now crystal clear the lack of accountability starts at the very top. 

Edited December 10 by SHAAAUGHT!!!

[Mango]

I am actually shocked that Adams has not yet been shown the door. That continues to be such an embarrassing presser that the fans at home, nor in the stadium are letting go. 

Adams has thrown gasoline on the a fire that was maybe the worst in Buffalo sports history. I don't know how Terry doesn't see this as an immediate need for action. It is hard for me not think that Terry is doing anything other than going full "Major League". 

I don't see how anybody paying attention to the Sabres are not terrified of what the Bills could become in a post McBeane/Allen era. 

[phil_soisson]

3 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

 

Come on, if the team is talented enough to take big leads on other teams then they are talented enough to hold the lead.

 

Sorry, this one is on the coach. Why does he still have the left over on his staff from the last (failed) regime?

 

New coach with a big broom. Sweep it clean

 

Agree, Lindy was a lazy Pegula "he ain't goin' nowhere" hire. How much of his salary is being paid by NJ? Adams definitely has to be shown the door at the same time. Ideally, Pegula sells.

[Flashsabre]

3 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

 

Come on, if the team is talented enough to take big leads on other teams then they are talented enough to hold the lead.

 

Sorry, this one is on the coach. Why does he still have the left over on his staff from the last (failed) regime?

 

New coach with a big broom. Sweep it clean

 

Do you honestly think. Lindy said “Please let me keep all the assistants that I have no relationships with”?

Come on. He was told that they stayed. It was all about saving money. Adams has stood up there and lies many times saying money is not an issue and there are no financial restraints. Appert was promoted from within and the others retained so only one new salary and some of that is paid by NJ.

[Flashsabre]

30 minutes ago, Mango said:

I am actually shocked that Adams has not yet been shown the door. That continues to be such an embarrassing presser that the fans at home, nor in the stadium are letting go. 

Adams has thrown gasoline on the a fire that was maybe the worst in Buffalo sports history. I don't know how Terry doesn't see this as an immediate need for action. It is hard for me not think that Terry is doing anything other than going full "Major League". 

I don't see how anybody paying attention to the Sabres are not terrified of what the Bills could become in a post McBeane/Allen era. 

I really think that Terry has no idea where to go next if he removes Adams. Adams is his hand picked yes man. He doesn’t trust NHL people and Adams does and says exactly what he tells him to.

[Mango]

14 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I really think that Terry has no idea where to go next if he removes Adams. Adams is his hand picked yes man. He doesn’t trust NHL people and Adams does and says exactly what he tells him to.

At the risk of being pedantic I don't think this is the case. I think Pegula, Forton, and Adams are for the most part in lock step. This was all of their plans. 

The big reason I was pro Lindy being hired is because he might be the only guy with enough trust from Terry to move the franchise forward. I know it is a pipe dream, but it would be great if this offseason let Lindy bring in his own GM. Somebody he has a prior working relationship with, like Dan MacKinnon from NJD. Lindy sits behind the bench for 1, maybe two years and he brings in an old assistant like Ryan McGill to join. Lindy moves to some sort of performative "Senior Advisor" role and the team just pushes forward fairly seamlessly. 

What cannot happen is Terry hires a new guy, then they both hire a different new guy, both new guys roll up to Terry independently. 

To your overall point, I think that if Terry doesn't go down a similar path to what I laid out with Lindy, I don't think there is any hope. 

[Thorner]

10 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I think Terry cannot, or if he does it will be with terrible results...

I think Adams, with Pegula's input, will get us to the same spot we have been.

Adams along, with Terry removing himself from the process?  I have no idea if the results would be good or bad. I'd be willing to give it a try, because as the above posters have stated, and as the BF article states also...This organization is being run as Terry Pegula's fantasy team and he has no idea what he is doing and he does not let those below him make decisions without his MAJOR input.

We know Adams is wholly unqualified. *that’s one of the largest pieces of evidence of Terry’s failures*, the puppet/first-timer GM after two other first time GMs. You can throw out every single bad decision during his 5 years of bad results as if he’s had no say at all (which is absurd), and he’d *still* be an awful choice based on his original credentials.

Furthermore, part of EVERY GM’s job is managing the relationship with the owner and convincing them of the proper way to do things: we indisputably know this is not something Adams is capable of.

This is the plan and strategy Adams *signed up* to implement. I get your continued insistence to point out that “Pegula has to go too” and I agree. But I can see the “what can Adams have even done? Let’s give him another shot” Trojan horse underneath and I’m not buying it

Edited December 11 by Thorner

[Kristian]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

One of the knocks on the Sabres organization is the high level of turnover.  They tried to stop that perception when they gave Granato a good look. Firing Lindy after 30 games will only keep the really good coaches and GMs further away. 

Besides, do you think Terry and Adams can run a coach search?  They just showed us last off season that they are not willing, or able to perform a proper  coach search.  Berube was out there, he publicly said that he never got a call from Adams.  He seems to be doing ok in Toronto.  I have no desire to turn it over to Seth Appert either.   Which is likely to be Adams next move.  

If Lindy goes then I want to see Adams go before him.   I prefer they finish the season before they blow up another regime.  After that - Hire a POHO.  Let him hire the GM.  Let the GM hire the coach.  Let the coach hire his staff.  Do it like normal teams do it for a change.  

Losing leads at home is a mental and physical weakness by the players.  It was there before Lindy.  

Terry is the POHO.

Which is why we suck.

He should never have hired a GM himself, let alone three!

[Mango]

At worst Lindy is an average NHL coach. If you give him the 9th best roster in the league, you'll make the playoffs and probably win a series, maybe 2. If you give him the 20th ranked roster in the league, you'll be an average NHL team who sometimes makes the playoffs and sometimes misses.

What we are seeing now is all the deficiencies in roster building once you get one real life NHL adult in the building. Lindy isn't a world beater, but right now he is a giant magnifying glass on the rest of the org. He has flipped on the lights and the roaches are scurrying. 

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, Mango said:

Has it occured to you that the guys on this roster that have been losing for 3-5 years in a row are just not good enough to win more hockey games than they lose?*


*Under the current roster construction. 

sure.  And it also occurs to me that there are probably a dozen really good players on the team, stuck in a losing culture, who had to play in poor coaching systems, and in an organization that that does not have the leadership and the know how to build a competitive team.  

Many, many players leave and have good careers, and some have great ones.  

[Pimlach]

17 hours ago, K-9 said:

Botterill was fired for one specific instance of not following orders when he refused to fire 20 or so people in the operations department, including nearly all of his scouts. It was part of their austerity program during the pandemic when teams all around the league were implementing severe cost cutting measures in the face of anticipated heavy losses of revenue. 

True.  But I think Bots saw the bigger picture - such as playing at the cap floor for 2 years and still not being at the cap 4 years later.   

 

[PerreaultForever]

I was saying this in another thread but it's worth repeating here. My biggest disappointment with Lindy this year is he isn't being honest enough. 

I listen to some of the pressers and he's saying the right things about what the team did or didn't do on the ice but it's always vague and subdued and fairly soft pedaled. I want him to say enough is enough, call this crap out for what it is and go full Torts on this bunch of slackers and quitters. You can see he knows, but he's being meek about it and often looks quite defeated himself. Like he has to play along to keep the job. I wanted a Lindy who would not give a F and would tell it like it is. Without that, this will never end. 

I don't believe any coach can fix this team, but I do believe a good and honest coach can make it clear who should stay and who needs to go and who we need to come in to fix it. 

[Cranky old man]

The reason Pegs doesn’t see the need to meddle in the Bills operations is the NFL sends him $372M (2022) in yearly revenue sharing. His team is worth three times what he paid —-$4.2b now. He has a first class cap crew that keeps spending on course. The sabres in the other hand are run on a cash basis. Thus Terry is alway looking for nickels under the couch cushions. Kevyn is his eyes, ears and mouth in the building. No actual hockey executive would want that job. 

[Gatorman0519]

If anything Lindy has fully exposed the mental fragility and softness of this roster. We simply lack real NHL players. 

[Cityo'Rasmii]

The potential on-ice improvements if they were to provide coconut milk for the espresso.

🌴🥥

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

Edited December 10 by \GoBillsInDallas/

[Believer]

2 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

Our Sabre Brain Trust. Dumb and Dumber.