Elliotte Friedman is reporting Pegula will meet the team in Montreal

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, Doohicksie said:

I was on a flight with Brett Hull once...

[DarthEbriate]

36 minutes ago, SDS said:

I am not sure I read your post correctly. But that list contains one first liner and one top defender. I think Reinhart was on the third line when we traded him to Florida. Just hanging in the NHL doesn’t buy you much.

Ah, my bad. I listed instead of quantifying. The top-15 picks are the ones you expect to contribute in the NHL and any lower picks being just gravy. The Lightning have had to have some of those amazing picks (Kucherov, Point) because they've only had 4 top-15 picks since they bottomed out for Stamkos/Hedman. Those other four are Connolly, Koekoek, Drouin, and Foote. Drouin and... nothing. All told, the Lightning have had 6.

The Sabres have had 11. It should be enough high-end talent to build a solid core as the Lightning did. And then you can hit on a couple mid-round home runs to boot (Hagel). 

The issue, as always with the Pegula-era Sabres, are the players aren't necessarily a good fit, there's a bad culture, poor leadership, and GMs changing up the team to match their visions and therefor jettisoning the not-my-guys of previous regimes, and so on. And palm trees.

 

Edit: Had to do some more research for this one. Reinhart was on the 2nd with Krueger, but finished the season under Granato on the top line between Skinner and Olofsson. Asplund-Mittelstadt-Thompson rounded out the top 6.

Edited 2 hours ago by DarthEbriate

[That Aud Smell]

6 minutes ago, SDS said:

I get the sarcasm for effect.

I'd call it a bit of hyperbole. A nice rhetorical device.

What's the old saw about monkeys, infinite time, typewriters, and Hamlet?

I credit not at all what Adams has done during "his" tenure. Not a whit. 

Blind squirrels and chestnuts? Maybe.

But everything he's done, taken as a whole, has convinced me that he doesn't understand asset management, roster management, nor team building. Not at an NHL GM level anyway.

[That Aud Smell]

10 minutes ago, SDS said:

I don’t think anyone would call him a chimp.

Okay.

Opie then.

[Flashsabre]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/sabres-slump-puts-latest-phase-of-seemingly-interminable-rebuild-in-question/

[SDS]

12 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I'd call it a bit of hyperbole. A nice rhetorical device.

What's the old saw about monkeys, infinite time, typewriters, and Hamlet?

I credit not at all what Adams has done during "his" tenure. Not a whit. 

Blind squirrels and chestnuts? Maybe.

But everything he's done, taken as a whole, has convinced me that he doesn't understand asset management, roster management, nor team building. Not at an NHL GM level anyway.

Point being, in the history of terrible sports GM’s, a guy coming in and being marginally, maybe even statistically insignificantly, better than his predecessors will never justify his characterization here. I don’t understand why we can’t just say he’s experienced a normal level of failure that happens every year, in every sport across the world?

His failure as GM is the Matt Ellis of failures.

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

 

Terry message:   "I believe in all of you guys, and I think the solution to turning this team around is right here in the room.  You guys can do it, and no costly trades will need to be made, because this group is the best team I have seen so far.   You know I once coached my sons Squirt and Pee Wee teams and we won the Olean Youth Hockey House League for Development (OYHHLD)* two years in a row, so I know something about winning ice hockey.  Now take the day off, check out those fantastic Montreal strip joints, just be careful, the girls tend to wear a lot of cologne.  I have to fly back to the super yacht now, the Christmas Palm Trees are to be delivered tomorrow,  but have a good game.  Good-bye, fella's."  

 

footnote:  * pronounced oiled

[HumanSlinky39]

https://x.com/EricEngels/status/1868702946088960351

Yes, yes - a team that sucks out loud needs LESS practice. That's a brilliant plan, it's a swiss ***** watch if I understand it correctly.

[Stoner]

33 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I'd call it a bit of hyperbole. A nice rhetorical device.

What's the old saw about monkeys, infinite time, typewriters, and Hamlet?

I credit not at all what Adams has done during "his" tenure. Not a whit. 

Blind squirrels and chestnuts? Maybe.

But everything he's done, taken as a whole, has convinced me that he doesn't understand asset management, roster management, nor team building. Not at an NHL GM level anyway.

Yeah but he's not THAT bad.

[Stoner]

16 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Terry message:   "I believe in all of you guys, and I think the solution to turning this team around is right here in the room.  You guys can do it, and no costly trades will need to be made, because this group is the best team I have seen so far.   You know I once coached my sons Squirt and Pee Wee teams and we won the Olean Youth Hockey House League for Development (OYHHLD)* two years in a row, so I know something about winning ice hockey.  Now take the day off, check out those fantastic Montreal strip joints, just be careful, the girls tend to wear a lot of cologne.  I have to fly back to the super yacht now, the Christmas Palm Trees are to be delivered tomorrow,  but have a good game.  Good-bye, fella's."  

 

footnote:  * pronounced oiled

Of all the xmas goodies here, Terry calling it ice hockey was the best. Because you know in your heart of hearts, he says it.

[SDS]

8 minutes ago, Stoner said:

Yeah but he's not THAT bad.

As someone who constantly needles people over their usage of words, what exactly is the problem here? Are you saying moving from 25th place to 22nd place is a historically bad run as a general manager? 

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

Were you (ever) any of those things?

[Awakens alarmed. Blinks strenuously. Clears throat]: "Where is that bailiff? ... @Stoner?!"

I've seen this here before. It is a madness.

"We gave that chimp a Chevy pickup five years ago. And yeah, he's been careening all over the eight counties of WNY ever since. But his driving qualifications must have improved over that period of time."

Isn't Terry's comment more evidence of meddling? Who decided there wasn't going to be a big trade?

[LabattBlue]

3 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

Awesome!  Way to go Terry! Way to go!

Edited 2 hours ago by LabattBlue

[Stoner]

Just now, SDS said:

As someone who constantly needles people over their usage of words, what exactly is the problem here? Are you saying moving from 25th place to 22nd place is a historically bad run as a general manager? 

If I constantly did it, when would I sleep?

In a rare run of conversation with us, are you really going to die on this hill?

[That Aud Smell]

33 minutes ago, SDS said:

Point being, in the history of terrible sports GM’s, a guy coming in and being marginally, maybe even statistically insignificantly, better than his predecessors will never justify his characterization here. I don’t understand why we can’t just say he’s experienced a normal level of failure that happens every year, in every sport across the world?

His failure as GM is the Matt Ellis of failures.

I've read this post three times. I'm just not sure what you're getting at.

Grab a torch or pitchfork, man.

[That Aud Smell]

6 minutes ago, Stoner said:

Isn't Terry's comment more evidence of meddling? Who decided there wasn't going to be a big trade?

Dude - I think the verdict has perhaps been slow to come but is by now decisive.

I'm not even sure "meddling" captures the nature of how he affects hockey ops.

[Thorner]

40 minutes ago, SDS said:

Point being, in the history of terrible sports GM’s, a guy coming in and being marginally, maybe even statistically insignificantly, better than his predecessors will never justify his characterization here. I don’t understand why we can’t just say he’s experienced a normal level of failure that happens every year, in every sport across the world?

His failure as GM is the Matt Ellis of failures.

It’s only a normal amount of failure relative to the sabres (and even then, only if you unreasonably dismiss the variable of time: Adams is about to field 5 teams that missed the playoffs to JB and Tim Murray’s 3 each). It took Darcy 11 years to miss the amount of times Adams is going to do in 5. 

No, missing 5 years in a row isn’t historically bad. But it’s certainly not a “normal” level of failure, either: aside from buffalo only 4 teams in the entire league have droughts of 5 years. JUST ADAMS TENURE ALONE would be good for the 5th longest playoff drought in the league currently. 

[LGR4GM]

Terry giving an inspirational speech is bound to turn the season around... it would be like if Pippin gave the Theoden "death speech"

 

[Thorner]

22 minutes ago, SDS said:

As someone who constantly needles people over their usage of words, what exactly is the problem here? Are you saying moving from 25th place to 22nd place is a historically bad run as a general manager? 

You know how many GMs are employed with droughts longer than Adams? 

1.

Adams has a longer drought than anyone but Yzerman. We aren’t just normal bad 

Edited 1 hour ago by Thorner

[HumanSlinky39]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Terry giving an inspirational speech is bound to turn the season around... it would be like if Pippin gave the Theoden "death speech"

 

They were apparently so inspired that they cancelled practice.

Just now, Thorner said:

You know how many GMs are employed with droughts longer than Adams? 

1

Yzerplan.

[LGR4GM]

Just now, Thorner said:

You know how many GMs are employed with droughts longer than Adams? 

1

What is Steve Yzerman 

[Night Train]

 

TP enters the room...

 

[SDS]

14 minutes ago, Thorner said:

You know how many GMs are employed with droughts longer than Adams? 

1.

Adams has a longer drought than anyone but Yzerman. We aren’t just normal bad 

Like I said, people can bring up statistics to support their point. If you want to view the world as a step function then that’s your prerogative. I don’t. I don’t think missing the playoffs by one point supports the over-the-top nature of the discussion. I don’t think that improving the previous GM’s supports the over-the-top nature of the discussion. I don’t think this is unreasonable. I can say looking where he started and looking where he ended he has achieved the normal level of failure in sports. 

[Thorner]

16 minutes ago, SDS said:

Like I said, people can bring up statistics to support their point. If you want to view the world as a step function then that’s your prerogative. I don’t. I don’t think missing the playoffs by one point supports the over-the-top nature of the discussion. I don’t think that improving the previous GM’s supports the over-the-top nature of the discussion. I don’t think this is unreasonable. I can say looking where he started and looking where he ended he has achieved the normal level of failure in sports. 

We’ve come so far through the desert that team sunshine’s new platform is “Adams is a normal failure.”

I’m going to rest my case/digress. I think the above says enough 

Should also be noted your statement is “normal level of failure in sports” under the prism of him needing to rebuild (which you started with): which isn’t something I ever agreed with in fact I vociferously did the opposite. He’s done nothing but prove me right: the rebuild especially the extent of it was absurd. And hindsight need not apply: I said it 5 years ago 

Edited 1 hour ago by Thorner

[SDS]

19 minutes ago, Thorner said:

We’ve come so far through the desert that team sunshine’s new platform is “Adams is a normal failure.”

I’m going to rest my case/digress. I think the above says enough 

Should also be noted your statement is “normal level of failure in sports” under the prism of him needing to rebuild (which you started with): which isn’t something I ever agreed with in fact I vociferously did the opposite. He’s done nothing but prove me right: the rebuild especially the extent of it was absurd. And hindsight need not apply: I said it 5 years ago 

So it isn’t enough for me to agree with you that he has been a bad GM who should be replaced. I actually have to concede that he has been one of the worst GMs in all of sports, despite the fact that he did better than both of his predecessors? Which I guess by definition they were also historically bad. So the Sabres have been unfortunate enough to hire 3 consecutive historically bad general managers - each one as bad as the previous one. Anything short of that is an unreasonable opinion. Got it.