Dahlin Met With GMKA, Turn it Around or He’s Gone

[Sidc3000]

4 hours ago, bunomatic said:

Time for a fan revolt. 

That should have happened a few years ago

[Sidc3000]

9 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Would you want a player who is happy taking the paycheque and losing year after year?

Do I think Dahlin wants out? No

Is he fed up with this shitshow of an organization and wants to know a plan to improve? Absolutely

If you work for a company that is being run into the ground, would you want to stay when you know you could be infinitely more successful personally and professionally somewhere else? 
 

if things do drastically change for the Sabres in the next season or two, Dahlin will be very vocal about not wanting to be on the Sabres.  Book it. 

[Archie Lee]

2 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

The assistant GM working remotely is very much a thing. Working remotely is fine for some jobs. It is definitely not okay for higher level management jobs where collaboration is crucial.

I need to watch the clip later.

Just in case I was unclear, by “not a thing” I meant “not an issue” for that type of role. 
 

I’ve since listened to the interview. My take is that where Karmanos lives was being discussed in the context of the lack of experienced management people around Adams and that the one experienced person they have lives in Pittsburgh. So, not so much that it’s wrong for a person in Karmanos’s role to live in Pittsburgh, but it would be good to have someone with senior NHL management experience in Buffalo.

Edited Friday at 12:01 PM by Archie Lee

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, Brawndo said:

It all comes down to money. 

The salary cap in the National Lacrosse League is approximately 1.6 million, which the Bandits probably come very close to given the level of talent they have. There are nine home games in the regular season, plus playoff games. The revenues for the team exceeds the operating costs and there appears to be little input from the owner. Notice he was not with the team for the championship celebration. 
 

Everyone knows the NFL prints money with its revenue streams and the Bills Organization is a direct recipient of that. Beane and McDermott have every available resource at their disposal they need. They can spend to the salary cap, the front office gets as much personnel as it needs, same goes for the the coaching staff and sports performance staff. Both Beane and McDermott were rising stars and ready for their current roles and have had success. They also have the best quarterback in the league. 
 

The Sabres players can see what is happening relative to most other teams in the league in terms of overall spending. They know that Skinner’s Buyout savings has gone unspent. They hear Adams preaching the goal of the past two season is the playoffs, all while the TDL has passed twice with the franchise having well north of six million in cap space each time. They see a GM and a coaching staff that cannot get the job done, but probably will remain largely intact for the final year of their contracts in 2025-26. 
 

They also see a roster that was constructed for three different coaches with players being brought in to suit different styles of coaching. 
 

A large drop in STH renewals and embarrassing national media coverage has an extremely slim chance of causing some sort of change, but I doubt it. 
When the national broadcaster who called your game four days ago is suggesting a reset, you probably should pay attention. 
 

 

I appreciate your comments and agree with you that money $$$ is driving force behind how this franchise is operated. At this point, that is a given and unchallengeable. However, even with a spartan budget and restrictive financial ethos that permeates this sick franchise, selecting an ill-equipped GM to run your hockey operation makes little sense even if the primary focus is saving money. The sycophantic GM has given out some boneheaded long-term contracts that were unwarranted and not financially sound. 

What our fool owner doesn't understand that if he had a presentable team, the faded fanbase would be restored and the home building would be filled with paying customers. Ask our parsimonious owner how much revenue is an empty seat providing? 

The league should intervene and try to influence our silent owner to sell the franchise. He would make a handsome profit if he did. If he's not serious about competing, why go through the humiliation of being considered a fool owner. Terry Pegula is a self-made billionaire. Good for him. On the other hand, as an NHL franchise owner he is a disgrace and embarrassment. I'm so tired of his silent act and incompetent management of this sinking-ship franchise. 

[Brawndo]

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 
 

 

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, Thorner said:

The rub is that Adams *does* have authority to make decisions - because Terry trusts Adams. That’s the underplayed aspect I’ve been saying all along - of course he wants his voice heard, but he doesn’t need to force Adams to do things: he hired Adams specifically because he liked what he was going to do - and how he operates. The Marek segment illustrated this - that Adams is the one declining experience being added to the fold. He’s in charge. 

It comes to the same issue in that the better candidates are seemingly unavailable to us, but it’s that Terry wouldn’t hire them at all, not that he’d egregiously interfere after they are hired. 

Adams has rope because Terry trusts him. 

The owner has given the proverbial rope to an incompetent GM. It makes no freaking sense that you retain confidence in a fool GM who after five years in implementing his own rebuilding blueprint your team resides at the bottom of the standings. The silent owner has strangled this franchise by his idiosyncratic/stupid judgments in hiring critical staff. It makes no bloody sense!

[thewookie1]

27 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 
 

 

That could also lend to his anger at the news claiming he wanted out

[That Aud Smell]

58 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Just in case I was unclear, by “not a thing” I meant “not an issue” for that type of role. 
 

I’ve since listened to the interview. My take is that where Karmanos lives was being discussed in the context of the lack of experienced management people around Adams and that the one experienced person they have lives in Pittsburgh. So, not so much that it’s wrong for a person in Karmanos’s role to live in Pittsburgh, but it would be good to have someone with senior NHL management experience in Buffalo.

I understood you, I think.

And I think it’s a very bad idea to have the Sabres’ assistant GM living in the Pittsburgh area and (mostly?) working remotely.

24 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 

Lol - suffice to say that Friedman’s sources and Biz’s sources are different kinds of people. Friedman reports what he hears from (often carries water for) FO’s and agents. Biz reports what he hears from players.

[LGR4GM]

38 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 
 

 

Did Elliott get that from Adams or Pegula?

[inkman]

38 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 
 

 

We could use one of those Sabres Banners here.  
 

“Dahlin satisfied with what he heard 3/6/25” 

[Brawndo]

44 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I understood you, I think.

And I think it’s a very bad idea to have the Sabres’ assistant GM living in the Pittsburgh area and (mostly?) working remotely.

Lol - suffice to say that Friedman’s sources and Biz’s sources are different kinds of people. Friedman reports what he hears from (often carries water for) FO’s and agents. Biz reports what he hears from players.

The segment started with them referring to Biz as a friend of the Pod and Friedman said “this was kinda of my fault, I won’t go any deeper than that, but this is kinda of my fault” 

 

39 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Did Elliott get that from Adams or Pegula?

 Not sure.

Rumor has it, Adams is not a fan of Friedman at all, secondary to Friedman bringing up faults of organization 

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

The assistant GM working remotely is very much a thing. Working remotely is fine for some jobs. It is definitely not okay for higher level management jobs where collaboration is crucial.

I need to watch the clip later.

He is the Assistant GM in Buffalo AND he is the GM in Rochester.  He should spend some time in both cities.  These are higher lever management jobs in the Sabres organization.   Collaboration is critical.  The hockey organization under Pegula is broken, which has been true since he fired Regier.  

 

 

 

[HumanSlinky39]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 
 

 

"Chill, Ras. By 2028 we'll be knocking on the playoffs door."

[Archie Lee]

43 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I understood you, I think.

And I think it’s a very bad idea to have the Sabres’ assistant GM living in the Pittsburgh area and (mostly?) working remotely.

Lol - suffice to say that Friedman’s sources and Biz’s sources are different kinds of people. Friedman reports what he hears from (often carries water for) FO’s and agents. Biz reports what he hears from players.

On Karmanos living in Pittsburgh.  We have known this all along. How often is he in Rochester or Buffalo or on the road scouting? Is it common for assistant GM's in the NHL to live elsewhere? I think this is the sort of thing that is not uncommon and that people only become focused on it when a team is losing. Further, I think media and fan concern over such things only gives an owner or GM a chance to "fix things" by insisting the assistant GM move to Buffalo. There are lots of reasons for why the Sabres are awful; where Jason Karmanos's permanent residence is, in my view, does not register as a factor.

On Friedman and Biz, I don't know, could these not be variations of the same meeting?  Dahlin is concerned about the future, and expresses frustration that he is going into the 8th year of his career without being in the playoffs, and states or implies or hints that he's not sure how much longer he can take it.  And Adams lays out the plan for the off-season and Dahlin leaves the meeting at least satisfied that Adams intends to make improvements, if not entirely confident that Adams will be able to? The meeting is cordial and nobody is demanding anything, but it's clear that things need to improve soon because the patience among some players, including Dahlin, is understandably wearing thin. The big picture is, it's not a good thing when your young captain and star player hasn't made the playoffs once in his 7 year career, and when the team is further away now then they were 3 years ago, and when he is meeting with the GM to discuss how the mess is going to be fixed.  

  

[HumanSlinky39]

5 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

On Karmanos living in Pittsburgh.  We have known this all along. How often is he in Rochester or Buffalo or on the road scouting? Is it common for assistant GM's in the NHL to live elsewhere? I think this is the sort of thing that is not uncommon and that people only become focused on it when a team is losing. Further, I think media and fan concern over such things only gives an owner or GM a chance to "fix things" by insisting the assistant GM move to Buffalo. There are lots of reasons for why the Sabres are awful; where Jason Karmanos's permanent residence is, in my view, does not register as a factor.

On Friedman and Biz, I don't know, could these not be variations of the same meeting?  Dahlin is concerned about the future, and expresses frustration that he is going into the 8th year of his career without being in the playoffs, and states or implies or hints that he's not sure how much longer he can take it.  And Adams lays out the plan for the off-season and Dahlin leaves the meeting at least satisfied that Adams intends to make improvements, if not entirely confident that Adams will be able to? The meeting is cordial and nobody is demanding anything, but it's clear that things need to improve soon because the patience among some players, including Dahlin, is understandably wearing thin. The big picture is, it's not a good thing when your young captain and star player hasn't made the playoffs once in his 7 year career, and when the team is further away now then they were 3 years ago, and when he is meeting with the GM to discuss how the mess is going to be fixed.  

  

This got me thinking - I wonder what percentage of players at that point have yet to reach the playoffs. Obviously it's a non-zero number, but in a league where 50% of the teams get in every year and with a decent amount of parity, it's gotta be a very low number.

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

The big picture is, it's not a good thing when your young captain and star player hasn't made the playoffs once in his 7 year career, and when the team is further away now then they were 3 years ago, and when he is meeting with the GM to discuss how the mess is going to be fixed.    

It goes right down the very basic element of a D-pairing. Every time I look at the Sabres lineup or think about a future lineup -- I don't know who is playing alongside Dahlin or even which side he's playing on. (Yes, it's always in flux, just like every hockey shift.) We keep saying: get a legitimate veteran D-partner for Power. Dahlin doesn't need the veteran side of it, but he does need a partner.

But, who is Dahlin's partner: this year, next year? The last two seasons he's had Joker (RD on left), Byram (RD on right), and Muel (RD on right), and Bryson (RD on right)*. But only one of those partners is a top-pairing talent, and he (Byram) is the same playing style as Dahlin, not really a complementary partner.

*Note: I didn't find an instance of Power-Dahlin as a starting pair, though I'm sure it's probably happened sometime, and they do skate together often when trailing.

 

(Conclusion: Next season, it's Samuelsson, same as today.)

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

The segment started with them referring to Biz as a friend of the Pod and Friedman said “this was kinda of my fault, I won’t go any deeper than that, but this is kinda of my fault” 

I haven't listened - may not.

Can you further explain what you're saying here? I don't follow.

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

He is the Assistant GM in Buffalo AND he is the GM in Rochester.  He should spend some time in both cities.  These are higher lever management jobs in the Sabres organization.   Collaboration is critical.  The hockey organization under Pegula is broken, which has been true since he fired Regier.  

Some variation of: Stupid is as stupid does. 

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

On Karmanos living in Pittsburgh.  We have known this all along. How often is he in Rochester or Buffalo or on the road scouting? Is it common for assistant GM's in the NHL to live elsewhere? I think this is the sort of thing that is not uncommon and that people only become focused on it when a team is losing. Further, I think media and fan concern over such things only gives an owner or GM a chance to "fix things" by insisting the assistant GM move to Buffalo. There are lots of reasons for why the Sabres are awful; where Jason Karmanos's permanent residence is, in my view, does not register as a factor.

We have? I did not.

I most certainly frickin' doubt it.

Why do you think that? I can only speak to my experience in a variety of private industries - both profit and nonprofit. Having someone in the upper echelon of leadership who is not regularly on-site is an organizational deficit. Full stop.

It's all of a piece. And it's symptomatic of some more fundamental rot.

When you're at the top of an org chart, you need legitimate thought-partners around you. Who's Adams got in Buffalo? Jakubowski and Forton.

Pfffffff. The former has been with the Sabres for 20 years and, I think, is more of a capologist than anything. Forton's  hockey resume does not inspire much confidence. He kicked around as an assistant coach in the lower tiers of D-1 hockey for 20 years before falling into a job with the Sabres.

And not for nothing: Jakubowski and Forton are both Buffalo/WNY guys. Local guys. 

Pegula's not hiring the best and brightest. He's casting about in a local bargain bin for the people to lead the franchise.

Come to think of it: The same thoughts apply equally to Adams.

1 hour ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

This got me thinking - I wonder what percentage of players at that point have yet to reach the playoffs. Obviously it's a non-zero number, but in a league where 50% of the teams get in every year and with a decent amount of parity, it's gotta be a very low number.

Dahlin be like: "Oh sh1t. I'm the next Jeff Skinner?"

[That Aud Smell]

Also bears mentioning: Karmanos is Associate GM. He's above Jakubowski and Forton.

[Flashsabre]

3 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 
 

 

Adams: “I’ll be shitcanned at the end of the season Rasmus”😁

[LTS]

21 hours ago, Palm Trees And Taxes said:

After watching that interview with Lance: To have an assistant GM in Karmanos working from Pittsburgh and rarely if ever going to Rochester is an abomination.

How can he NOT be in WNY???

This organization is a complete and utter dumpster fire.

I've been working in highly functioning organizations with remote workers for years now. A person's ability to communicate and perform their job is not a function of where they are located. It's a function of themselves.

20 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

The more I think about this, the more I'm convincing myself that Biz is actually correct.  I suspect the Sabres made Dahlin issue those statements on camera (denying the allegations).  I have no proof, but I trust outsiders more than I trust anybody inside the organization....even Dahlin.  I do believe Dahlin wanted to tell management he's giving them one last chance.....but the organization is incapable of achieving this.

I don't agree. The more I think about it the more I think someone heard Dahlin and Adams were meeting and Dahlin told him that losing is unacceptable and someone took out their jump to conclusions mat and decided it meant Dahlin was threatening to leave.

That said, the inherent threat is there.  Dahlin clarifying that he never used the word leave is enough proof of all of it. His remarks are spot on. The team sucks, he hates it. It needs to get better.  But he has not threatened to leave.

7 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

The assistant GM working remotely is very much a thing. Working remotely is fine for some jobs. It is definitely not okay for higher level management jobs where collaboration is crucial.

I need to watch the clip later.

Working remotely is fine for a LOT of jobs. The guy who runs my entire organization is not located in a market where we do business. Most of the people in his leadership team are not. We've been highly successful.

What is the advantage of being there, in market, day after day?  And keep in mind, it doesn't mean he's never in Buffalo (all of a 3 hour drive away).

[Thorner]

4 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Update from the 32 Thoughts Pod. FWIW Elliott Friedman mentioned that the meeting between Adams and Dahlin went well and that Dahlin was satisfied with what he heard in the meeting. 
 

 

“We will trade you this summer.”

 

[Thorner]

7 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

The assistant GM working remotely is very much a thing. Working remotely is fine for some jobs. It is definitely not okay for higher level management jobs where collaboration is crucial.

I need to watch the clip later.

Ya there’s definitely a line, wanted to say this yesterday and I forgot 

as an exercise, how would we feel if Adams lived in Pittsburgh? That’s what I thought 

I’m sure there’s a level of employee we wouldn’t care / it wouldn’t matter but I don’t think it arises at assistant GM

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

The segment started with them referring to Biz as a friend of the Pod and Friedman said “this was kinda of my fault, I won’t go any deeper than that, but this is kinda of my fault” 

 

 Not sure.

Rumor has it, Adams is not a fan of Friedman at all, secondary to Friedman bringing up faults of organization 

Makes sense. I would bet privately Adams is extremely agitated by how often his org gets used as a punchline. He has no one to blame but himself. 

[JustOutsideChicago]

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Makes sense. I would bet privately Adams is extremely agitated by how often his org gets used as a punchline. He has no one to blame but himself. 

Incidentally adding to the narrative. Norris is already hurt. I mean you can’t make this up.

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

I haven't listened - may not.

Can you further explain what you're saying here? I don't follow.

Some variation of: Stupid is as stupid does. 

We have? I did not.

I most certainly frickin' doubt it.

Why do you think that? I can only speak to my experience in a variety of private industries - both profit and nonprofit. Having someone in the upper echelon of leadership who is not regularly on-site is an organizational deficit. Full stop.

It's all of a piece. And it's symptomatic of some more fundamental rot.

When you're at the top of an org chart, you need legitimate thought-partners around you. Who's Adams got in Buffalo? Jakubowski and Forton.

Pfffffff. The former has been with the Sabres for 20 years and, I think, is more of a capologist than anything. Forton's  hockey resume does not inspire much confidence. He kicked around as an assistant coach in the lower tiers of D-1 hockey for 20 years before falling into a job with the Sabres.

And not for nothing: Jakubowski and Forton are both Buffalo/WNY guys. Local guys. 

Pegula's not hiring the best and brightest. He's casting about in a local bargain bin for the people to lead the franchise.

Come to think of it: The same thoughts apply equally to Adams.

Dahlin be like: "Oh sh1t. I'm the next Jeff Skinner?"

I believe Friedman was implying he was Biz’s Source for the Dahlin Rumor