The Sabres need to move on from Mattias Samuelsson

[Flashsabre]

On 2/5/2025 at 8:34 PM, BuffalOhio said:

Why, with the poor defense we've had for the last several years, does Marty Wilford still have a job?  Been saying this for over a year now.

Because firing Wilford would

mean they would have to pay another salary to the new D coach.

The fact Ruff wasn’t allowed to bring in a single coach with him speaks volumes.

[LGR4GM]

Just now, Flashsabre said:

Because firing Wilford would

mean they would have to pay another salary to the new D coach.

The fact Ruff wasn’t allowed to bring in a single coach with him speaks volumes.

And Ruff is still being paid by the Devils so he is cheaper too. 

[Flashsabre]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

And Ruff is still being paid by the Devils so he is cheaper too. 

Yep. Adams has lied through his teeth for a few years saying that there are no financial restrictions when everything points to the opposite being true. Be very interesting to see if they try to keep this charade going while the cap rises over the next couple years.

[SwampD]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

And Ruff is still being paid by the Devils so he is cheaper too. 

Haven't we already determined that the Devils are not paying Lindy Ruff any more?

[Pimlach]

5 hours ago, Stoner said:

I sure do.

Translate RD and OOT please? 

[DarthEbriate]

On 2/5/2025 at 6:42 PM, Pimlach said:

To the Bold.   Until now I hadn't connected the two.  

Adams was waaaayyy over his head. 

Thanks Terry.    That EEE is working great.  

I didn't mean to infer a direction connection. It was just more of the same: electing not to build around your team's 1W who had improved each season, was likely going to lead the team in scoring and PPG the following year, and was just entering his prime. Instead, the choice was to build around a defensive defenseman who had yet to play 60 NHL games.

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, SwampD said:

Haven't we already determined that the Devils are not paying Lindy Ruff any more?

No? He was under contract when he was fired wasn't he?

[Thorner]

Dunno, he might still be untouchable 

 

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

No? He was under contract when he was fired wasn't he?

They only had to pay him until he was getting paid by someone else.

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, Thorner said:

Dunno, he might still be untouchable 

 

As in don’t touch him he might break.

[Flashsabre]

There is a Daily Faceoof article today on Cozens and an NHL Exec says the Sabres are a hard team to make a deal with.

Everything we hear about Adams and this team is just a disaster.

A new owner who actually wants seasoned, competent NHL people in charge would be such a God Send.

[K-9]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

They only had to pay him until he was getting paid by someone else.

Offset language in their contracts is usually boilerplate for coaches. If a fired head coach takes a job or position that pays less, the difference is made up by his former employer. If the new position pays equal or more than previously, then his former employer is off the hook. 

[SwampD]

11 hours ago, K-9 said:

Offset language in their contracts is usually boilerplate for coaches. If a fired head coach takes a job or position that pays less, the difference is made up by his former employer. If the new position pays equal or more than previously, then his former employer is off the hook. 

That’s way better than how I could have said it.

Pegula might be cheap for other examples, but it’s not because NJ is still paying his coach.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

That’s way better than how I could have said it.

Pegula might be cheap for other examples, but it’s not because NJ is still paying his coach.

I mean, he definitely is getting salary relief on Ruff because the Devils can pay him. 

[Jorcus]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

I mean, he definitely is getting salary relief on Ruff because the Devils can pay him. 

In the meantime paying Don Granato. I guess that is one reason why so many coaches are recycled.

 

[Rasmus_]

Fire Adams into the sun already. 

[Night Train]

Adams seems to on the Run It Back bus with no other passengers. 

Muel, Power...they should be dealt for cap relief and I wouldn't miss them at all. 

[Archie Lee]

On 2/7/2025 at 4:21 PM, Thorner said:

Dunno, he might still be untouchable 

 

The Sabres need to move on from Kevyn Adams (and Lindy Ruff).

Judging any player in the bottom-of-the-league environment that Adams has created, in this Adams’s 5th year as GM, is a flawed endeavour. 

At this point, if Adams stays on, the best we can hope for is that Adams accidentally stumbles into a line-up that can hang in the playoff race until the last few days of the season. He has proven himself capable of nothing more as GM. The sample size is more than large enough to draw conclusions. 

Edited February 10 by Archie Lee

[Thorner]

7 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

The Sabres need to move on from Kevyn Adams (and Lindy Ruff).

Judging any player in the bottom-of-the-league environment that Adams has created, in this Adams’s 5th year as GM, is a flawed endeavour. 

At this point, if Adams stays on, the best we can hope for is that Adams accidentally stumbles into a line-up that can hang in the playoff race until the last few days of the season. He has proven himself capable of nothing more as GM. The sample size is more than large enough to draw conclusions. 

Ya I mean Adams took over from a prorated 81 point finish by Botterill. He put together a plan, enacted his vision, and FIVE years later we are pacing for..74 points.

What are we doing? 

[Weave]

I know I have stated it elsewhere, maybe it was in this very thread.  I distinctly remember a rumor shortly after he was drafted that someone close to him (father or uncle maybe) was counseling him not to sign with Buffalo.

He showed such promise that first NHL season, and it seems he became less reliable the more he played here.  He’s not even standing up for teammates right now.  It seems apparent to me that he doesn’t want to be a member of the Sabres, and it is affecting his efforts.  He needs to go.

And I fully expect he is going to become the player we thought he was those first two seasons.  No doubt in my mind a motivated, happy Samuelsson is a force to be reckoned with on the ice.  He will be miserable to play against.

I just hope he’s tradable in the offseason and we don’t have to buy him out and get nothing.

[Carmel Corn]

13 minutes ago, Weave said:

I know I have stated it elsewhere, maybe it was in this very thread.  I distinctly remember a rumor shortly after he was drafted that someone close to him (father or uncle maybe) was counseling him not to sign with Buffalo.

He showed such promise that first NHL season, and it seems he became less reliable the more he played here.  He’s not even standing up for teammates right now.  It seems apparent to me that he doesn’t want to be a member of the Sabres, and it is affecting his efforts.  He needs to go.

And I fully expect he is going to become the player we thought he was those first two seasons.  No doubt in my mind a motivated, happy Samuelsson is a force to be reckoned with on the ice.  He will be miserable to play against.

I just hope he’s tradable in the offseason and we don’t have to buy him out and get nothing.

If they didn’t already trade away 2 other D’men, I’d love to see Ruff sit him for the rest of the season….or at least enough games that he might actually want to get back in there.

[Archie Lee]

I think Samuelsson is a victim of the same things all of our players are victims of. Adams has just assembled pieces, with no thought of how they fit together. I’m just done with singling out players. Step one is Adams and Ruff being fired. After that, the new guys can evaluate who fits and who doesn’t. 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

I know I have stated it elsewhere, maybe it was in this very thread.  I distinctly remember a rumor shortly after he was drafted that someone close to him (father or uncle maybe) was counseling him not to sign with Buffalo.

He showed such promise that first NHL season, and it seems he became less reliable the more he played here.  He’s not even standing up for teammates right now.  It seems apparent to me that he doesn’t want to be a member of the Sabres, and it is affecting his efforts.  He needs to go.

And I fully expect he is going to become the player we thought he was those first two seasons.  No doubt in my mind a motivated, happy Samuelsson is a force to be reckoned with on the ice.  He will be miserable to play against.

I just hope he’s tradable in the offseason and we don’t have to buy him out and get nothing.

IDK.  He seemed to like his teammates and was popular.  
 

Maybe 57 games is not sufficient time to make him a core player and pay him ? 

[DarthEbriate]

42 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

I think Samuelsson is a victim of the same things all of our players are victims of. Adams has just assembled pieces, with no thought of how they fit together. I’m just done with singling out players. Step one is Adams and Ruff being fired. After that, the new guys can evaluate who fits and who doesn’t. 

But shouldn't Ruff, with 30 years of coaching experience, have been able to do that already? And then, because he's the future POHO, he could give Adams the shopping list to go get a defenseman who fits the need?

[inkman]

I’d be stunned if Donkey wasn’t suiting up for the Buffalo Sabres this fall.  He hasn’t been healthy scratched. No signs of him falling out of favor with the team. Fans just hate him. Nobody in the organization cares about the fans otherwise they wouldn’t keep ragdolling us with this hysterically bad roster.