How will you react to no offseason structure changes to FO/Coaching

[Pimlach]

30 minutes ago, dudacek said:

People have been very slow to keep up with what's been going on post-Krueger.

They're hanging on to this old version of Terry Pegula, puppet master, when the latest Sabres failures are really more of a case of the owner being too patient and hands-off.

Terry was painfully aware of his reputation as an interfering owner with a quick trigger finger and has leaned hard in the other direction with Adams. He's hardly been absent, but he's trusted in Adams and his plan well past its due date.

@Thorner and I disagree on the necessity of what Adams did in the great sell-off of 2021, but I think we are in full agreement that the deconstruction was the easy part. The tough part is how you react and adjust when your plan starts getting punched in the face.

I’d argue that the Cozens trade was the first time Adams has adjusted at all.

Adams decided it was going to be a slow and steady build through the draft process. Adams selected and signed and developed the cornerstone pieces. Adams decided who should coach them and who should surround them. And Adams has stuck with them until “I believe in the guys in that room” has become a meme.

This is Adams' team. These are Adams' failures.

Terry's crime this time basically amounts to allowing that to continue.

Fair points.  

1.  Who decided on spending under the cap the past two season when playoffs were the goal?   I am going with Terry.  

2.  Who decided on hiring Lindy and retaining Granato's staff that is still on contract?  I am going with Terry.  

Adams is accountable for his 5 years but Terry is still in there with the EEE bull$hit. 

Terry "drill another well" Pegula is still a big part of the problem

Terry will always be involved, as he is with the Bills.  But with the Bills, Beane has full control of Football Operations final decisions.    And with the Bills on the cusp of a championship Terry appears to be smart enough to let McD and Beane run things.  He just likes to be "in the room where it happens".  

Just from the two examples above, it is safe to say that Adams does not have full control.  

[Drag0nDan]

13 hours ago, GoPuckYourself said:

Not doing a single thing in a 13 game losing streak is unacceptable from the GM not making a trade to the HC not changing things up, failure from the top to the bottom.

13 games was just a killer. That was when i made up my mind on UPL honestly.  When the team needed a guy to step up, he absolutely collapsed.  He's looked way too lost out there for my liking.  

Levi didn't get a start until a back-to-back away game against toronto, which i think was number 10? .900 SV% on 40 shots.  4 power plays though.  And the team just struggled with turnovers pretty much that entire stretch.  I know we sent him down as he was struggling with irregular playing time and you want him to get games in.  FIne, i get it.  But if we're struggling with the NHL goaltending, and the seasons slipping away, why not give him another game?  In any case... cya in Seattle in January.  

11th game - UPL @ Montreal - 6 goals in 2 periods and got yanked for Reimer - .714 SV%

3... days.. later... 

12th game - Toronto at home - 4 goals in 1 period and change - .692 SV%

 

[Wyldnwoody44]

On 4/16/2025 at 9:05 AM, LGR4GM said:

It is totally unacceptable. Adams has repeatedly and continuously dragged his feet, shown favoritism, made bad contract choices, and blatantly refused to improve the very obvious issues with the roster. Marty Wilford is clearly not good enough. Seth Appert's powerplay is trash. Running this back is like if the Titanic had crashed into the ice berg, then circled around to hit it again. 

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

People have been very slow to keep up with what's been going on post-Krueger.

They're hanging on to this old version of Terry Pegula, puppet master, when the latest Sabres failures are really more of a case of the owner being too patient and hands-off.

Terry was painfully aware of his reputation as an interfering owner with a quick trigger finger and has leaned hard in the other direction with Adams. He's hardly been absent, but he's trusted in Adams and his plan well past its due date.

@Thorner and I disagree on the necessity of what Adams did in the great sell-off of 2021, but I think we are in full agreement that the deconstruction was the easy part. The tough part is how you react and adjust when your plan starts getting punched in the face.

I’d argue that the Cozens trade was the first time Adams has adjusted at all.

Adams decided it was going to be a slow and steady build through the draft process. Adams selected and signed and developed the cornerstone pieces. Adams decided who should coach them and who should surround them. And Adams has stuck with his course until “I believe in the guys in that room” has become a meme.

This is Adams' team. These are Adams' failures.

Terry's crime this time basically amounts to allowing that to continue.

EXACTLY. It’s definitely a disconnect I’ve noticed.

its like, yes I know the mayor of Gotham is corrupt and allows it all to happen but I still think the joker should be stopped in the mean time CALL ME CRAZY 

[dudacek]

54 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Fair points.  

1.  Who decided on spending under the cap the past two season when playoffs were the goal?   I am going with Terry.

We’ll probably never know, but Adams says it’s not Terry and the trend line of Adams and 2nd contracts supports the surface argument that Adams was saving to pay for his dynasty-in-development.  

2.  Who decided on hiring Lindy and retaining Granato's staff that is still on contract?  I am going with Terry.  

I tend to agree with you on Lindy, but I don’t think it happened over Kevyn’s better judgement, and I think the assistants are about Kevy, but not over Lindy’s better judgement.

Adams is accountable for his 5 years but Terry is still in there with the EEE bull$hit. 

I think there is both truth in this and that EEE is a bit overrated. Sure Terry doesn’t want his money wasted, but who does?

He agreed to pay Skinner and Bishop not to play, and was going to eat Matt Murray’s contract. The hockey department has built back up to it’s pre-COVID levels, except they hired more analytics, coaches and development people, rather than scouts.

I think Terry certainly has probably stepped in and said I’m not going to spend money on that, and hurt the team. But I don’t think there is a hard internal cap. I also think Adams has a streak of arrogance in regards to not spending to the cap that hurts us as well. In that he thinks he’s smart enough not to need it. He has influence with Terry and could have done more to present Terry with good reasons to spend. 

Terry "drill another well" Pegula is still a big part of the problem

Terry will always be involved, as he is with the Bills.  But with the Bills, Beane has full control of Football Operations final decisions.    And with the Bills on the cusp of a championship Terry appears to be smart enough to let McD and Beane run things.  He just likes to be "in the room where it happens".  

Just from the two examples above, it is safe to say that Adams does not have full control.  

Agreed, but no GM does. I don’t know that Adams has operated with handcuffs no other GM has to deal with. Like the palm trees stuff, Pegula probably makes the road tougher, but he’s not the reason Adams has failed.

 

Edited Thursday at 05:23 PM by dudacek

[JP51]

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Flags were raised at the hasty and exorbitant free agent singings of Ehrhoff and Leino.

Flags were raised at hiring the concoction if  Black, LaFontaine, Murray, Nolan, Battista, etc  - all massive fails never to be seen again in the NHL.    

Flags were raised at the obvious gutting of the team and the blatant tanking. 

Flags were raised at the hiring of the young Jason Boterill, the inexperienced Phil Housley, and the washed up soccer coach Ralph Krueger 

Flags were raised when Eichel was injured and his medical treatment became the reason he was shipped out (even though it was not the real reason).  

Flags were raised when Adams was hired as GM and EEE was the plan.

Flags were raised when Adams let the vets go (Eichel, Reinhart, Risto, McCabe, Montour and Ullmark) and committed to a massive youth movement and a salary cap floor team. 

Flags were raised when predictably that youth strategy failed, and the exhaustive coaching search for an NHL vet coach started and ended with old friend Lindy Ruff. 

As much as I do not like Adams as a GM, this is all on Terry.   

Agree with everything... especially the last point... I believe I said in another post... something like... Murray, Botterill, Adams, Housely,Kreuger,Ruff, Rolston, Granato... 2011... all have one common denominator... Pegula.... until he changes nothing changes. 

Edited Thursday at 07:09 PM by JP51

[SABRES 0311]

I’m the only one who picked the billboard option? If we get enough people we can split the cost. Just saying.

[Second Line Center]

 

[dudacek]

8 minutes ago, Second Line Center said:

 

Of course many are expecting that around the league.

Who in their right mind wouldn't given what's happened the past 2 years?

 

 

[pi2000]

I don't care what they do in the offseason unless they hire a POHO to call the shots instead of Terry.   

Until that happens it will just be more of the same.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

On 4/16/2025 at 7:48 AM, JP51 said:

How will you react to no offseason structure changes to FO/Coaching

The think the FO needs to FO.

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

I don't care what they do in the offseason unless they hire a POHO to call the shots instead of Terry.   

Until that happens it will just be more of the same.

I don't think Pegula wants to give up any level of involvement, decision making, contact, etc with the team.

If, IF they hired a President of Hockey operations, I don't think Pegula does anything differently. I think it would just be one more person included with everyone else, between him and the on ice players. And by 'between' I don't mean it would distance him from anything.  I think there is the "on ice product", then a "group of 6-8 guys" in the front office, and then Pegula. The only think would change would be that group/pool of 6-8 now becomes a group/pool of 7-9.

[Thorner]

8 hours ago, dudacek said:

People have been very slow to keep up with what's been going on post-Krueger.

They're hanging on to this old version of Terry Pegula, puppet master, when the latest Sabres failures are really more of a case of the owner being too patient and hands-off.

 

2 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I don't think Pegula wants to give up any level of involvement, decision making, contact, etc with the team.

 

[LGR4GM]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

Of course many are expecting that around the league.

Who in their right mind wouldn't given what's happened the past 2 years?

 

 

Terry Pegula, that's who. 

[Flashsabre]

Seravalli: “"Many are expecting wholesale front office and
coaching changes in Buffalo”

Come on now Frank let’s not get silly 😂

In reality if they don’t can Adams this organization is done. Anything short of wholesale FO and coaching staff changes tells me they have clue and no desire to fix this mess.

Edited yesterday at 01:06 AM by Flashsabre

[JohnC]

10 hours ago, dudacek said:

People have been very slow to keep up with what's been going on post-Krueger.

They're hanging on to this old version of Terry Pegula, puppet master, when the latest Sabres failures are really more of a case of the owner being too patient and hands-off.

Terry was painfully aware of his reputation as an interfering owner with a quick trigger finger and has leaned hard in the other direction with Adams. He's hardly been absent, but he's trusted in Adams and his plan well past its due date.

@Thorner and I disagree on the necessity of what Adams did in the great sell-off of 2021, but I think we are in full agreement that the deconstruction was the easy part. The tough part is how you react and adjust when your plan starts getting punched in the face.

I’d argue that the Cozens trade was the first time Adams has adjusted at all.

Adams decided it was going to be a slow and steady build through the draft process. Adams selected and signed and developed the cornerstone pieces. Adams decided who should coach them and who should surround them. And Adams has stuck with his course until “I believe in the guys in that room” has become a meme.

This is Adams' team. These are Adams' failures.

Terry's crime this time basically amounts to allowing that to continue.

Whether he interfered too much or not are both indictments on him as an owner that he has miscalculated in staffing the franchise. He's the person who hired KA; and he is the person who has continued to retain him for the past five years. There isn't an owner who would have hired KA to be their GM; and there isn't an owner who wouldn't have fired a GM who has performed at that inadequate level for so long.

Will KA continue on to be the GM next season? I don't know for sure but think it is more likely than not. If that is the case, then it is fair to say that the owner is the person who is most responsible for the failed performance not only during KA's tenure but also during the owner's tenure since he became the owner. The level of success is determined by the person at the top, and that is Terry P. 

 

[Flashsabre]

 

[CallawaySabres]

As soon as this team falls out of 8th by 8 points or more by December, I check-out emotionally and could not care less if they lose every game the rest of the season.

This pathetic group cannot even make games interesting from January - April.  I would love to see a stat that showed how many points from 8th they have been over the last 14 years. Other than last year, I would be willing to bet they they were 10 points or more for most of them.

[matter2003]

[Flashsabre]

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/suns-owner-calls-season-embarrassing-and-a-failure~3118507
 

They haven’t even missed the playoffs for 14 straight years. What is wrong with the Suns owner?😝😁

[pi2000]

The fact that nobody was fired this morning is an absolute joke.

What a sad franchise.   

Accountability trickles down... none at the top = none at the bottom.

As a fan, the feeling of hopelessness is overwhelming.

My 19y son was 5 when they last made the playoffs, hell.... I was in my 30's!   

They've lost an entire generation of fans, shameful. 

[JP51]

2 hours ago, pi2000 said:

The fact that nobody was fired this morning is an absolute joke.

What a sad franchise.   

Accountability trickles down... none at the top = none at the bottom.

As a fan, the feeling of hopelessness is overwhelming.

My 19y son was 5 when they last made the playoffs, hell.... I was in my 30's!   

They've lost an entire generation of fans, shameful. 

As if it were possible to despise a franchise and a situation like the Sabres any more than people already do... and as if it were possible to be even more inept from ownership down than we have the past 14 years... Pegula says "Hold my beer" 

22 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

I’m the only one who picked the billboard option? If we get enough people we can split the cost. Just saying.

You are the only one as of now... I suspect we may get a few more soon LOL 

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

https://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/suns-owner-calls-season-embarrassing-and-a-failure~3118507
 

They haven’t even missed the playoffs for 14 straight years. What is wrong with the Suns owner?😝😁

He's working on it. 😀

[HumanSlinky39]

22 hours ago, Second Line Center said:

 

"Many." Yeah, that's because they are looking from 10,000 foot view at a failing plan from the outside. A young team that should be making consistent gains regressing two straight seasons. Year 5 of the current regime with no playoffs that is moving in the wrong direction. To anybody with a modicum of common sense, an organization moves on from that resume. But they haven't been paying attention to what's going on up close. This isn't a serious hockey organization, so you can not expect moves to be made as if they were one.