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

[mjd1001]

52 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Regardless, looking at where the franchise is now with the benefit of hindsight, handing the reins to first-time GMs three straight times can’t be glossed over.
Listen, no one is complaining in South Florida about first-time NHL GM Bill Zito, nor in Vegas about first-time NHL GM Kelly McCrimmon. But in Zito’s case, he’s got former GMs Rick Dudley, Paul Fenton and Les Jackson surrounding him in his inner circle. McCrimmon has George McPhee.

 

Not only is Dudley a Buffalo Alumni, didn't he, or doesn't he still live in Niagara County?

52 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

The temptation now for Adams, or the pressure weighing on his shoulders, will be to make a roster-altering trade to shake things up. That’s a natural reaction.

And league sources suggest he’s pretty open-minded in his conversations with other teams. A lot of different things could happen depending on what teams are willing to do.
 

But don't other league sources say he hasn't been return phone calls at all?

So who to believe? He's open minded in coversations with other teams? or not even returning calls?

Edited Monday at 07:54 PM by mjd1001

[PromoTheRobot]

9 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Not only is Dudley a Buffalo Alumni, didn't he, or doesn't he still live in Niagara County?

But don't other league sources say he hasn't been return phone calls at all?

So who to believe? He's open minded in conversations with other teams? or not even returning calls?

Most of the information reporters get are from agents and GMs, often times to massage things their way. If Adams stopped taking your calls because your offers are a joke, why not float an unflattering rumor? It's not like anyone wouldn't believe it.

Edited Monday at 08:02 PM by PromoTheRobot

[Weave]

4 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

From Pierre Lebrun at The Athletic:

”As the Buffalo Sabres have descended into this 0-10-3 tailspin, landing them last in the NHL in points and headed toward a hard-to-fathom 14th straight season missing the playoffs, I keep thinking about the decisions ownership has made in its general manager hires.

Tim Murray was GM from January 2014 to April 2017, Jason Botterill from May 2017 to June 2020, and it’s been Kevyn Adams since then.

All three were first-time NHL GMs. That doesn’t mean they weren’t qualified. Everyone has to get their first chance at some point, and especially in the cases of Murray and Botterill, they had worked their way up the NHL scouting and front-office ranks before landing the gig.

Regardless, looking at where the franchise is now with the benefit of hindsight, handing the reins to first-time GMs three straight times can’t be glossed over.
Listen, no one is complaining in South Florida about first-time NHL GM Bill Zito, nor in Vegas about first-time NHL GM Kelly McCrimmon. But in Zito’s case, he’s got former GMs Rick Dudley, Paul Fenton and Les Jackson surrounding him in his inner circle. McCrimmon has George McPhee.

At the very least — especially with Adams, who is a very likable guy with tremendous passion for the sport — couldn’t the Sabres have brought in some sort of mentor to help him along the way? Like how Jim Rutherford is helping along first-time GM Patrik Allvin in Vancouver?

Wouldn’t it have made sense to bring in a Ray Shero or someone of that ilk to help support Adams? (Did I mention that Ken Holland is currently a free agent?). The Sabres have locked up young core players to long-term deals: Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelssonand Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. All of them would be desirable NHL commodities on their own. But as a whole, they have failed to come together consistently as a nucleus of a team resembling a playoff contender.

The temptation now for Adams, or the pressure weighing on his shoulders, will be to make a roster-altering trade to shake things up. That’s a natural reaction.

And league sources suggest he’s pretty open-minded in his conversations with other teams. A lot of different things could happen depending on what teams are willing to do.

But as we’ve seen, there’s a risk of a panic move the franchise could regret. Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, Jack Eichel and Ryan O’Reilly are all former Sabres who became Stanley Cup champions elsewhere. There are different reasons those players ended up out of town, sure. But it all comes back to the seemingly never-ending question of what ails the Sabres franchise. It is a damaged brand.

And also facing Adams: As difficult as it is right now, especially for an awesome fan base in Buffalo that deserves so much better, this is the worst time to make a sizeable trade when the majority of your players are depressed assets with lowered values.

The smarter move is to wait this out and more fully investigate the market in the summer, when bigger trades are easier to pull off.

And between now and then, there’s the low-hanging fruit of yet another coaching change. Maybe Lindy Ruff is shown the door to give the team the short-term bump a coaching change often brings. But firing a coach eight months after he was named to replace the last coach fired seems rather flimsy as a fix.“

It’s an interesting pattern.  Not only has this organization decided to throw young players into the fire without sufficient support of veteran players, the organization has also thrown 1st time GM’s and coaches into the fire without sufficient experienced hockey exec support.

JFC Terry.  

Edited Monday at 11:40 PM by Weave

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

It’s an interesting pattern.  Not only has this organization decided to throw young players into the fire without sufficient support of veteran players, the organization has also thrown 1st time GM’s and coaches into the fire without sufficient experienced hockey exec support.

JFC Terry.  

Younger players, lack of veteran players. 1st time coaches and GM's.....one thing they all have in common is they don't cost as much $ as the alternatives.

Pegula used to be all about spending whatever it took, but something changed about 10 years ago, now he seems to want to save every dollar with this team (with a very few excpetions)

[bob_sauve28]

On 12/19/2024 at 9:02 PM, 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 this time we should stay the course, add a vet PP specialist in off season, re-sign Zucker and maybe a stay and home defense man and do better. 

[Doohicksie]

[klos1963]

On 12/20/2024 at 6:07 AM, Big Guava said:

 

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.

This is probably why they are so open to expansion. The entry fee is absurd, but it's a nice chunk of change for each owner.

[kas23]

52 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

This is probably why they are so open to expansion. The entry fee is absurd, but it's a nice chunk of change for each owner.

But at the same time, they are diluting the value of their clubs. If there were 5 teams, people would murder to get one. 50? Not so much. But I do see the appeal of immediate cash. 

Edited Wednesday at 01:35 AM by kas23

[Big Guava]

On 12/20/2024 at 8:54 AM, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

Not sure where you are getting these numbers but this doesn't look accurate - both conceptually and numerically.

First off, annual operating costs and valuation are not a 1:1 coorelation.  Think about it like home ownership.  These teams appreciate in value just like your home, but there are costs to maintain it. So even if you lose money annualy, your investment is increasing in value which results in a net profit.  

Secondly, all these teams are turning an annual operating profit (revenue - daily costs).  Here are the 2023 numbers:  https://www.forbes.com/lists/nhl-valuations/#:~:text=This past year%2C revenue rose,to the NHL's sponsorship growth.

Buying a professional sports team is a great investment if you control your operating costs.  There are different ways to do this, some better than others and each with its own risks and opportunitites, and this is where TP continually makes bad decisions that impact peformance on the ice.  

 

Conveniently forgot the huge expansion fees teams have paid that have padded the owners bottom line recently huh?

Let's see what happens when there are no more expansion fees for a while and most teams go back to hemorrhaging money again without huge windfalls for doing nothing.

Edited Wednesday at 01:59 AM by Big Guava

[PerreaultForever]

On 12/23/2024 at 12:01 PM, PromoTheRobot said:

Most of the information reporters get are from agents and GMs, often times to massage things their way. If Adams stopped taking your calls because your offers are a joke, why not float an unflattering rumor? It's not like anyone wouldn't believe it.

Because it's a small incestuous boys club and you never know who you will be working for in the future so they generally don't screw each other over that way. You become known as the rumor spreading guy and pretty soon you are blacklisted and never work in the NHL again. 

That's part of the problem hiring these rookies though. They haven't earned any respect yet either. Don't have the old school connections and can get fleeced in trades while they learn on the job. They make a "plan" and then 4 or 5 years later realize how idiotic their "plan" was, but by then it's too late. 

[Big Guava]

On 12/23/2024 at 2:52 PM, mjd1001 said:

Not only is Dudley a Buffalo Alumni, didn't he, or doesn't he still live in Niagara County?

But don't other league sources say he hasn't been return phone calls at all?

So who to believe? He's open minded in coversations with other teams? or not even returning calls?

Yes, Dudley lives in Lewiston...

He currently resides in Lewiston. “I think it's the people,” Dudley said Monday. “There's some incredible areas around here. I live in Lewiston, it's such a beautiful place.”

[7+6=13]

Yes we should have signed vets to play instead of any young players.  No one would have complained about that.  Just imagine the patience SS would have displayed, waiting 3 years to play any prospects.

[Sidc3000]

On 12/23/2024 at 8:07 PM, mjd1001 said:

Pegula used to be all about spending whatever it took, but something changed about 10 years ago, now he seems to want to save every dollar with this team (with a very few excpetions)

It’s called the Buffalo Bills and a new stadium. 

[7+6=13]

25 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

It’s called the Buffalo Bills and a new stadium. 

I think he's willing to spend but waiting for an appropriate time and it hasn't come.  

[Sidc3000]

What makes you think he’s willing to spend? I’m hoping with the new Bills investors he will put some money back into the Sabres.  Time will tell