Former NHL Scout dishes on what he sees wrong with the Sabres

[Big Guava]

A few main points:

1) Young players being rushed to the NHL too quickly. Says the main core of the Sabres isn't even close to their potential yet.

2) Disconnect between NHL team and AHL development plan.

3) Lack of enough solid vets on the team to allow younger players to develop in AHL

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/scouts-analysis-why-the-sabres-potential-isnt-paying-off/

Edited Friday at 02:02 AM by Big Guava

[bunomatic]

Exactly what many of us have been saying. Look at the successful teams. The thought of no blocking the youngsters is insane. KA s philosophy is and has been an abject failure. 

[Flashsabre]

It’s all money related. Pegula stopped wanting to spend the money. They don’t pay for a quality POHO, quality GM, quality Front Office overall. Don’t pay for a quality coaching staff. Do scouting on the cheap.  Don’t want to pay for quality vets so they throw the ELC contract kids in the lineup to sink or swim.

The fact they thought it was a smart idea to say publicly that they are going lean and that they want to maintain their lifestyle is just mind boggling.

And Adams standing up in front of the media and lying through his teeth everytime that there are no financial restrictions on him. Clown Show.

They are not a serious organization under Pegula plain and simple.

[JP51]

Bottom line is they are literally trying to lose they enjoy it there can be no other explanation for this level of incompetence no one can possibly be this bad at their given profession

[bunomatic]

13 minutes ago, JP51 said:

Bottom line is they are literally trying to lose they enjoy it there can be no other explanation for this level of incompetence no one can possibly be this bad at their given profession

Hold my beer

[Indabuff]

See the articles about the Jets and Woody Johnson?  Dude didn't want to sign Jeudy because of his lackluster Madden rating.  That's what I think is going through T-Peg's mind.  Like an adolescent "running" an NHL organization.

[JP51]

15 minutes ago, bunomatic said:

Hold my beer

It may be empty when you get it back lol 😆 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, bunomatic said:

Exactly what many of us have been saying. Look at the successful teams. The thought of no blocking the youngsters is insane. KA s philosophy is and has been an abject failure. 

Or ..Adams plan to bring those veteran players in failed because they all said no.

[SwampD]

Like I said. Scars.

SMH

[Stoner]

38 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Or ..Adams plan to bring those veteran players in failed because they all said no.

The article points out the kajillion players willing to come at maybe a slight overpayment.

[Richard Noggin]

On one hand, you could say that part of this "playing the prospects too soon" problem boils down to how terrible the Sabres roster is outside of what should be the maturing prospect pipeline. Their legitimate NHL veteran depth chart has been ABYSMAL for a long time. So the conveyer belt of rushed draft picks is too often getting bombarded at the NHL level like so many sea turtle newborns being picked off by savvy seagulls.  

Even mediocre NHL teams DEVOUR sloppy, unfocused, and inconsistent play. 

I think Benson, in spite of his penalties and diminutiveness, might be the most gritty and competitive player on the team (outside of a couple of the 3rd and 4th liners). One of the only players who consistently does the greasy things any coach would demand. He'd look good on a line with some real dudes. 

[bunomatic]

3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Or ..Adams plan to bring those veteran players in failed because they all said no.

Excuses are for losers. KA literally told everyone he wouldn’t block the kids.

[PerreaultForever]

Yup, it's no rocket science and as @bunomatic said at the top a lot of us have talked about these very points for years. I've talked about the flawed development strategy multiple times at length, but we're just dumb old fans what do we know. THEY have said before they know better. 

[Sidc3000]

9 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

It’s all money related. Pegula stopped wanting to spend the money. They don’t pay for a quality POHO, quality GM, quality Front Office overall. Don’t pay for a quality coaching staff. Do scouting on the cheap.  Don’t want to pay for quality vets so they throw the ELC contract kids in the lineup to sink or swim.

The fact they thought it was a smart idea to say publicly that they are going lean and that they want to maintain their lifestyle is just mind boggling.

And Adams standing up in front of the media and lying through his teeth everytime that there are no financial restrictions on him. Clown Show.

They are not a serious organization under Pegula plain and simple.

And that’s why I don’t think Terry gives a flying ***** about the Sabres. I will stay steadfast in saying he bought the Sabres to show NFL owners he could own a sports team so he could buy the Bills. 
 

 

[Big Guava]

34 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

And that’s why I don’t think Terry gives a flying ***** about the Sabres. I will stay steadfast in saying he bought the Sabres to show NFL owners he could own a sports team so he could buy the Bills. 
 

 

I find that hard to believe considering he grew up loving and listening to the Sabres and cried at the press conference when he saw Gilbert Perreault there and told him he was his hero.

 

Not knowing what to do or doing the wrong things doesn't equate to not caring. He simply doesn't understand how to do things in hockey the way he does in football.

Edited Friday at 11:56 AM by Big Guava

[Stoner]

3 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

I find that hard to believe considering he grew up loving and listening to the Sabres and cried at the press conference when he saw Gilbert Perreault there and told him he was his hero.

 

Not knowing what to do or doing the wrong things doesn't equate to not caring. He simply doesn't understand how to do things in hockey the way he does in football.

He didn't grow up a Sabres fan.

[Earl]

Thanks for sharing, great article

- Convincing premise that the problems are at the organization level, probably not sensible to blame our very young players too much 

- Times are tough and I'm feeling down, but at least the NY Jets are doing everything in their power to make us feel better 

[Archie Lee]

Great article. Thanks for posting. 

If Adams is limited in spending, and all signs are he is, that is still not an outright excuse. He has spent the cap money he does have poorly. Cozens and Power and Samuelsson could have been bridged (like Dahlin was). That would have saved $5 million plus in space under any internal cap. There are successful teams who bridge quality youngsters (Dallas bridged Oettinger and Harley). 

[Sidc3000]

52 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

I find that hard to believe considering he grew up loving and listening to the Sabres and cried at the press conference when he saw Gilbert Perreault there and told him he was his hero.

 

Not knowing what to do or doing the wrong things doesn't equate to not caring. He simply doesn't understand how to do things in hockey the way he does in football.

just because he got a little emotional doesn’t mean he didn’t have an ulterior motive to buying the team. If he cared about the Sabres he wouldn’t have severely cut the budget, hired ONLY first time GM’s (because they’re the cheapest), allowed inferior product on the ice including icing the youngest team in the league three years running,  only goes to games when they play Florida teams, etc. Almost everything he’s done has been on the cheap.  Since owning the team he hasn’t done anything productive except for maybe the first few seasons. Funny, those were the seasons before buying the Bills. Ever since he hasn’t cared about the Sabres. 
 

For someone who cares so much he really doesn’t show it. Believe what you want but I don’t consider his little boo hoo session at a presser 13 years ago any sort of proof he cares. 
 

oh sorry, I forgot he does care because he replaced the roof on a building that is almost 30 years old and put in a new Jumbotron. 👄on a 🐷
 

face it, the Sabres are the redheaded stepchildren in the sports family. 

Edited Friday at 12:49 PM by Sidc3000

[bob_sauve28]

Dude, they got pumped?? Well, alright

 

Quote

 

Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula paid a visit to his team on Monday in Montreal where the message was that the answer to the team's struggles was in the room. By all accounts, the owner backed his GM, coach and, most importantly, the players, and suggested no major trades would be on the way.

How did the team respond in their game against the Canadiens the next night? By getting pumped 6-1 and falling to last place in the Eastern Conference standings. 

 

 

[Big Guava]

33 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Dude, they got pumped?? Well, alright

 

 

 

39 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

just because he got a little emotional doesn’t mean he didn’t have an ulterior motive to buying the team. If he cared about the Sabres he wouldn’t have severely cut the budget, hired ONLY first time GM’s (because they’re the cheapest), allowed inferior product on the ice including icing the youngest team in the league three years running,  only goes to games when they play Florida teams, etc. Almost everything he’s done has been on the cheap.  Since owning the team he hasn’t done anything productive except for maybe the first few seasons. Funny, those were the seasons before buying the Bills. Ever since he hasn’t cared about the Sabres. 
 

For someone who cares so much he really doesn’t show it. Believe what you want but I don’t consider his little boo hoo session at a presser 13 years ago any sort of proof he cares. 
 

oh sorry, I forgot he does care because he replaced the roof on a building that is almost 30 years old and put in a new Jumbotron. 👄on a 🐷
 

face it, the Sabres are the redheaded stepchildren in the sports family. 

Let's be real for a second here...the NHL's business model is completely broken.

Only 6 teams actually make a profit.  That's absurd.  So effectively 26 teams either break even or lose money?

Expecting owners to pump in 30-40-50 million year after year of their own money is not a model that even makes any sense.

No NFL team loses money. Pretty sure the only reason an NBA team loses money is because they go way over the luxury tax cap trying to win a championship. MLB is similar to the NHL with the haves and have nots in terms of revenue and spending but even they have some sort of revenue sharing model.

It's absurd for the NHL to operate their business with a model where under 20% of teams make money.

Why are the players getting such a large revenue share when teams are struggling to make money?

This isn't the NFL where all player contracts are set by a salary cap based on TV revenue that essentially is free payroll for owners.

The NHL is way, way too reliant on game day activities like ticket sales, concessions and parking. That makes up 56% of NHL revenue. The NFL makes 65% of its money from National TV contracts, close to $13 Billion. Almost double what the NHL makes in total revenue from all streams.

Is it any wonder why teams are constantly moving around? They need to fix their business model..I sure as hell am not blaming an owner because he doesn't want to maximize his losses.

Edited Friday at 01:20 PM by Big Guava

[PromoTheRobot]

6 hours ago, bunomatic said:

Excuses are for losers. KA literally told everyone he wouldn’t block the kids.

Because he believed that or because he couldn't get the players he wanted? 

Adams may be an inexperienced GM, but he was part of a cup winning team in Carolina. He knows what kind of players a young team needs because that was his exact role in 2006 with the Hurricanes.

[Sidc3000]

21 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

I sure as hell am not blaming an owner because he doesn't want to maximize his losses.

If the owner wants to maximize their profits, they have to have a winning team. To have a winning team you have to spend money and bear loss. Icing the youngest team in the league and hiring unproven GM’s will just increase his losses both on the ice and in his pocketbook. 
 

I’m still waiting to see what has Terry done to show he really cares about the Sabres. 

Edited Friday at 01:30 PM by Sidc3000

[GASabresIUFAN]

11 hours ago, Big Guava said:

A few main points:

1) Young players being rushed to the NHL too quickly. Says the main core of the Sabres isn't even close to their potential yet.

2) Disconnect between NHL team and AHL development plan.

3) Lack of enough solid vets on the team to allow younger players to develop in AHL

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/scouts-analysis-why-the-sabres-potential-isnt-paying-off/

So basically Adams plan to not block prospects was a stupid one.  Just like his plan to hand out long-term deals to players after one good season, just like his plan to not acquire any veteran goaltending while waiting for prospects to develop, just like his plan to build a fast mobile offensively minded D group while ignoring in zone D play.

 

[mjd1001]

11 hours ago, Big Guava said:

A few main points:

1) Young players being rushed to the NHL too quickly. Says the main core of the Sabres isn't even close to their potential yet.

2) Disconnect between NHL team and AHL development plan.

3) Lack of enough solid vets on the team to allow younger players to develop in AHL

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/scouts-analysis-why-the-sabres-potential-isnt-paying-off/

I was probably wrong on the need for more veterans mixed in with the youngsters on the Sabres roster.

Actually the Sabres probably brough in enough veterans, maybe one or two more would work, but the issue was the quality of the veterans. I was wrong in the past thinking they had enough. But the issue was the quality:

-Okposo was used in a roll where he would slide up to higher lines and on the PP, but you needed somoene better than him.

-Other vets were Hinestroza, Tyson Jost, Collin Miller, Erik Johnson, Cody Eakin, Mark Psysk, and Riley Sheahan.   THAT is the issue, they brought in some vets, but they needed to pay more to get guys who were difference makers, not guys that would be in the press box every couple games, and when they did play, were on the ice for 12-14 minutes per game at most.

Edited Friday at 01:47 PM by mjd1001