New GM, New Coach & Star Player

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

I think the Sabres are at a boiling point with the fans. It has been bad for quite some time, but something feels a heck of a lot more hopeless now than ever before. There seems to be no answer to the freefall, no end in sight.

I think there is a real chance that if major, and I mean MAJOR organizational and player changes aren't made, this team will fall in line with the likes of the Bisons. People will go see them once in a while if they have kids, but nobody will really care if they win or lose. After a while, the team will be sold and maybe they relocate, maybe they won't (depending on the new owner.)

I am already past the breaking point, and if they can reduce my fandom to apathy, imagine what has already happened to the casual fan, or bandwagoners. There are 20  or so meaningless games left and that place is going to be half empty the rest of the way.

[Second Line Center]

I truly believe this group did not lose the fans because of the on ice failure they’ve been.  
 

They lost the fans the way they handled the fire Donnie chants.  The stupid salute the fans stuff in the aftermath.  The stupid way they handled all that.  
 

I think they loved Donnie.  Adams fires him.  States essentially the reason why was because of accountability issues - that essentially they don’t work hard enough.  
 

The players all responded to the Ruff hire echoing everything Adams said.  Not bc they wanted to but because they had to.  
 

They lost respect for Adams.  The fans lost respect for the players that pouted.  And the players in turn play soft, stupid, uninspiring hockey far too often. 

 

If Adams isn’t fired it’s imo bc Pegula won’t let it be bc of the players.  That could be the reason he went to Montreal to give them the “pep talk” (riot act the players probably couldn’t care less about.)

 

Donnie was fired and they never got over it.  
 

Mentally weak team.  With a pathetic GM who handled the firing of Donnie poorly, and then made everything worse with his palm trees and taxes whining.  
 

Total disaster.   

[Doohicksie]

The Hockey Guy understands the Sabres.

 

[BillLions]

I keep coming back to same reality checks.

They've been youngest team or close for longest time.

They are always so far below salary cap.

Have not had an experienced GM in forever.

Have not had an experienced coach in forever, save for Ruff.

Are trying to do it without a President H Ops.

Conclusions...

All these items have $ in common.

Need to spend $ to make $

Compounded issues have led to compounded mistakes.

Silver linings?

When they finally make playoffs fans will go crazy (at least I will). $ will follow.

Players are getting older/ more experienced. 

They seem to finally be letting talent develop with Amerks. 

If they can just fix 1-2 of the issues it just may fall into place .....finally.... by design or by finally getting lucky.

Edited Friday at 07:55 AM by BoomKoo
Fix dupe

[Brawndo]

 

[Thorner]

16 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

This sucks 

Like legitimately sucks. 

Edit: where the heck in that link is the quote lol 

[matter2003]

new goalie that can post an NHL level save percentage outside a contract year.

1 hour ago, Thorner said:

This sucks 

Like legitimately sucks. 

Edit: where the heck in that link is the quote lol 

sounds like Pegula is falling into the Ralph Wilson move of wanting to be comfortable with the person as the GM rather than requiring him to be good at his job and get results.

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, Thorner said:

This sucks 

Like legitimately sucks. 

Edit: where the heck in that link is the quote lol 

It’s a giant FU to the fans. 

 

 

[Thorner]

Just now, Brawndo said:

It’s a giant FU to the fans. 

 

 

In intention or result or both 

[Carmel Corn]

51 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

It’s a giant FU to the fans. 

 

 

If true, I wish it was possible for the league to intervene and force Pegula to do something more substantive, whether new management or SELL.

[7+6=13]

23 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

I think the Sabres are at a boiling point with the fans. It has been bad for quite some time, but something feels a heck of a lot more hopeless now than ever before. There seems to be no answer to the freefall, no end in sight.

I think there is a real chance that if major, and I mean MAJOR organizational and player changes aren't made, this team will fall in line with the likes of the Bisons. People will go see them once in a while if they have kids, but nobody will really care if they win or lose. After a while, the team will be sold and maybe they relocate, maybe they won't (depending on the new owner.)

I am already past the breaking point, and if they can reduce my fandom to apathy, imagine what has already happened to the casual fan, or bandwagoners. There are 20  or so meaningless games left and that place is going to be half empty the rest of the way.

I so wish we would try the MAJOR organizational and players route.  Oh wait, we did that and it's what manifested the situation we're in.

[Thorner]

They don’t need a major roster overhaul. The need a major overhaul to their thinking. 

[Archie Lee]

7 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

I so wish we would try the MAJOR organizational and players route.  Oh wait, we did that and it's what manifested the situation we're in.

I don't know what you mean with this sentence?  

[HumanSlinky39]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

I've been saying for over a year now that this just isn't a serious hockey organization. Not firing a GM with Kev's track record coming off a season like this is just the confirmation of that. 

[Archie Lee]

Just now, HumanSlinky39 said:

I've been saying for over a year now that this just isn't a serious hockey organization. Not firing a GM with Kev's track record coming off a season like this is just the confirmation of that. 

I don't think Adams will be fired.  But, the Murray and Botterill firings came out of nowhere.  I suspect there are people in the Pegula orbit who have some influence on him who might candidly tell him that a change is needed.  I'm not holding out hope, but I think that things can change between now and the end of the season.

[mjd1001]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

So, they don't want to make any management changes because they think they have the right pieces in place and just need more time?  Or......do they just want to keep everyone happy and not rock the boat anymore because everyone is comfortable with each other?

In the past this team made a lot of changes.....but lately it seems as if....lets keep everyone comfortable!  The players all want to be here and get along....Terry likes Kevin...Kevin likes Lindy....   When things get TOO comfortable....that is the exact time you probably need a shake-up.

Just now, Archie Lee said:

I don't think Adams will be fired.  But, the Murray and Botterill firings came out of nowhere.  I suspect there are people in the Pegula orbit who have some influence on him who might candidly tell him that a change is needed.  I'm not holding out hope, but I think that things can change between now and the end of the season.

Yeah, but why did they get fired?  It seems to me it was as much about a personality conflict....about not listening to ownership...about a little sandpaper in the front office (which can be a good thing).  Adams is soft spoken, he wants everyone to get along......maybe THAT is the key to keeping your job under Pegula.

[Archie Lee]

1 minute ago, mjd1001 said:

So, they don't want to make any management changes because they think they have the right pieces in place and just need more time?  Or......do they just want to keep everyone happy and not rock the boat anymore because everyone is comfortable with each other?

In the past this team made a lot of changes.....but lately it seems as if....lets keep everyone comfortable!  The players all want to be here and get along....Terry likes Kevin...Kevin likes Lindy....   When things get TOO comfortable....that is the exact time you probably need a shake-up.

Yeah, but why did they get fired?  It seems to me it was as much about a personality conflict....about not listening to ownership...about a little sandpaper in the front office (which can be a good thing).  Adams is soft spoken, he wants everyone to get along......maybe THAT is the key to keeping your job under Pegula.

I agree.  It's why I don't think Adams will be fired.  But, and I realize I'm just repeating myself at this point, you can't overstate how bad this season has been. You can't do a worse job as a GM than Adams has done over the past 22 months. Maybe Pegula is not at all concerned about his credibility and the viability of the franchise; I just think it is possible that there is someone who he trusts as much as Adams (one of his kids, Guelli, another owner who he has a friendship with, Bettman) who will say something that convinces him that a change is vital. 

[DarthEbriate]

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

I agree.  It's why I don't think Adams will be fired.  But, and I realize I'm just repeating myself at this point, you can't overstate how bad this season has been. You can't do a worse job as a GM than Adams has done over the past 22 months. Maybe Pegula is not at all concerned about his credibility and the viability of the franchise; I just think it is possible that there is someone who he trusts as much as Adams (one of his kids, Guelli, another owner who he has a friendship with, Bettman) who will say something that convinces him that a change is vital. 

Exactly. It’s like the old saying: a puncher’s chance. When you are that bad a GM, you always have a punchers chance of being shitcanned 

[Thorner]

23 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

So, they don't want to make any management changes because they think they have the right pieces in place and just need more time?  Or......do they just want to keep everyone happy and not rock the boat anymore because everyone is comfortable with each other?

In the past this team made a lot of changes.....but lately it seems as if....lets keep everyone comfortable!  The players all want to be here and get along....Terry likes Kevin...Kevin likes Lindy....   When things get TOO comfortable....that is the exact time you probably need a shake-up.

Yeah, but why did they get fired?  It seems to me it was as much about a personality conflict....about not listening to ownership...about a little sandpaper in the front office (which can be a good thing).  Adams is soft spoken, he wants everyone to get along......maybe THAT is the key to keeping your job under Pegula.

It’s a salient point: the next GM Terry fires for performance reasons will be his first 

We don’t care about winning 

[thewookie1]

10 hours ago, Doohicksie said:

The Hockey Guy understands the Sabres.

 

Well, that was depressing

[mjd1001]

8 minutes ago, Thorner said:

It’s a salient point: the next GM Terry fires for performance reasons will be his first 

We don’t care about winning 

It makes you wonder.

Also, I don't think this team was going to be a long term winner under any of the GM's that were here, and Murray made some bad decisions, but all of Pegula's hires....they seem to follow this pattern.

Each hire Pegula has made appears to progress along the lines of being a potentially worse GM than the previous one but being easier for him to get along with.

Murray was an abrasive and matter-of-fact outsider, he was blunt and not soft spoken at all. He was fired and replaced by Botts. Botts was a former Sabre, from all signs less abrasive than Murray but a bit more of a 'people person', but he was fired and replaced by Adams...who has put together the worst team (with respect to the starting point in many opinions) but he is the easiest to get a long with and a really really nice guy!

At that rate, if Adams is fired, we might end up with a close family friend as GM or Pegula's childhood friend.

Each new hire is less of an experienced 'hockey guy' and more someone who will make things comfortable in the front office for everyone.

Edited Friday at 03:44 PM by mjd1001

[HOUSE]

Haaa, the boiling point was 5 years ago. This is a forrest fire, 3000 acres

Edited Friday at 03:42 PM by HOUSE

[Thorner]

3 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

It makes you wonder.

Also, I don't think this team was going to be a long term winner under any of the GM's that were here, and Murray made some bad decisions, but all of Pegula's hires....they seem to follow this pattern.

Each hire Pegula has made appears to progress along the lines of being a potentially worse GM than the previous one but being easier for him to get along with.

Murray was an abrasive and matter-of-fact outsider, he was blunt and not soft spoken at all. He was fired and replaced by Botts. Botts was a former Sabre, from all signs less abrasive than Murray but a bit more of a 'people person', but he was fired and replaced by Adams...who has put together the worst team (with respect to the starting point in many opinions) but he is the easiest to get a long with and a really really nice guy!

At that rate, if Adams is fired, we might end up with a close family friend as GM or Pegula's childhood friend.

Each new hire is less of an experienced 'hockey guy' and more someone who will make things comfortable in the front office for everyone.

Botterill seemed to have the best credentials. I believe he was league recommended. And since Pegula doesn’t understand the principles of mathematics, he’s seemingly sworn off candidates with a shred of qualifications based on a solitary failure. 

but I’d hazard to say even that is inaccurate because, again, Botts wasn’t fired due to performance reasons. Terry is mad at the league for recommending someone with a spine?

the owner is full of shite 

[Doohicksie]

33 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Well, that was depressing

The Sabres are a depressing team.

THG doesn't root for them per se but he sees them as kindred souls to his favorites, the Canucks, as they came into the league together.

Edited Friday at 04:14 PM by Doohicksie