News Article: What will it take to get Regier fired?

[joshjull]

I think he's not proactively searching for trades. He waits for the phone to ring. Says, "Hello! Everything is available." Then waits for it to ring again for proposals.

But maybe that's how it works when you're a seller. It shouldn't.

Thats exactly how it works for a seller. Whats a GM thats selling supposed to do? Beg other GMs to make offers for one of their players?

Buyers are the ones that need to be aggressive and on that front Darcy deserves his share of criticism. But from a selling pov, you let other GMs know whats available then let them come to you with offers.

 

[sabresEH]

We can fire Darcy after the Miller trade. If anyone is going to get max value for millsy its Darcy. Let him trade his "core" because apparently he can convince others his core his worth a lot, then bring in a gm to overlook the rebuild.

 

[VaporTrail]

I really don't know if I will ever be able to get excited about this team again as long as Darcy is still here.

 

[Squantosawuss]

I really don't know if I will ever be able to get excited about this team again as long as Darcy is still here.

I think the final straw was when we came out of this last lockout and the league hadn't changed any rules to the advantage of teams that can't pass and have crappy special teams.

 

[Sabretip]

Words that I wish Pegula and Black would take stock in:

"Despite showing areas of improvement over the course of the season, the face of the matter is we are not where we want to be right now, nor where we should be,'' Lowe said at a news conference. ''And because careers are short and opportunities for achievement don't come along very often, we feel strongly that it is important that we make some changes right now.''

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/edmonton-oilers-fire-general-manager-steve-tambellini-041513

Granted, the Oilers have been worse than the Sabres in the last 7 seasons of playoff misses and last place finishes....but not by much when one looks at only 2 first round appearances in the past 6 years under Regier.

 

[Moncton man]

In any business the results are all that matter. In any given game/season there are a litany of reasons why the results are what they are.

Someone is ultimately responsible for the results. I don't know of anyone higher on the hockey food chain than Darcy.

But what fans equate to as results and what the team/ownership equates to results are two different things.

Bottom line, are revenues increasing? Merchandise sales? See the shiny new plaza going up?

Check for those same things in Toronto. As long as revenues are going up the results on the ice are secondary to the bottom line, from an ownership perspective.

Fans of course want to see "their" team win championships.

 

[Myllz]

But what fans equate to as results and what the team/ownership equates to results are two different things.

Bottom line, are revenues increasing? Merchandise sales? See the shiny new plaza going up?

Check for those same things in Toronto. As long as revenues are going up the results on the ice are secondary to the bottom line, from an ownership perspective.

Fans of course want to see "their" team win championships.

None of those things are a GM's concern, so they make little difference to any kind of decision on Darcy's future.

 

[WNY to NoVA]

Words that I wish Pegula and Black would take stock in:



http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/edmonton-oilers-fire-general-manager-steve-tambellini-041513

Granted, the Oilers have been worse than the Sabres in the last 7 seasons of playoff misses and last place finishes....but not by much when one looks at only 2 first round appearances in the past 6 years under Regier.

while there are some similarities here, the bold is what really matters.

the oilers level of bad is on a whole different level.

buffalo has just been middle of the road for so long, it's getting old, especially after this season.

i'm all for a new GM and all new assistant coaches. I think with where the Sabres are, they could do a lot worse than Rolston as HC

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

The additional irony in those words are that they're coming out of Kevin Lowe's mouth, who has as much responsibility (if not more) than anyone for Edmonton's sad state.

 

[Jim Bob]

I really don't know if I will ever be able to get excited about this team again as long as Darcy is still here.

Were you excited the first two years after the lockout?

I could see Regier getting things right. I just would prefer someone else get a chance to build the team.

 

[Moncton man]

None of those things are a GM's concern, so they make little difference to any kind of decision on Darcy's future.

Agreed but with respect to

In any business the results are all that matter

Pegula and Black may be more focused on the bottom line than they are on whether or not the GM needs replaced. So while we as fans may care the most about the on-ice product and whether or not we think Darcy has done an adequate job, those decision makers may think the entire point moot.

 

[stokes84]

Words that I wish Pegula and Black would take stock in:



http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/edmonton-oilers-fire-general-manager-steve-tambellini-041513

Granted, the Oilers have been worse than the Sabres in the last 7 seasons of playoff misses and last place finishes....but not by much when one looks at only 2 first round appearances in the past 6 years under Regier.

Again, how much of this mess is really on Darcy and how much is on Pegula himself? How can Pegula fire someone who followed his marching orders? This is what gets lost in this whole debate. Who knows, maybe Darcy wanted to rebuild to years ago, but Pegula wanted to make his mark with three years or less and Darcy had no choice. None of us know the truth of what goes on behind the scenes, but to put the blame fully on Darcy's shoulders seems extremely nieve.

 

[Sabretip]

The additional irony in those words are that they're coming out of Kevin Lowe's mouth, who has as much responsibility (if not more) than anyone for Edmonton's sad state.

Harrington summed it up well in today's TBN blog:

On one hand, you can say nice job to the Oilers and be snide to the Sabres by pointing out there's a team that keeps missing the playoffs and fired their GM. On the other hand, I'm hardly giving plaudits here. The Oilers are bringing back Craig MacTavish, whom Tambellini fired, and are also promoting a guy (Scott Howson) who basically butchered the Columbus franchise for the last few years. So if I'm an Oilers fan, I'd watch what I'm celebrating.

http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2013/04/tambellini-out-as-edmonton-gm.html?ref=bcr#more

Again, how much of this mess is really on Darcy and how much is on Pegula himself? How can Pegula fire someone who followed his marching orders? This is what gets lost in this whole debate. Who knows, maybe Darcy wanted to rebuild to years ago, but Pegula wanted to make his mark with three years or less and Darcy had no choice. None of us know the truth of what goes on behind the scenes, but to put the blame fully on Darcy's shoulders seems extremely nieve.

Didn't you just refute your own argument by pointing that fact out?

 

[Sabretip]

Agreed but with respect to Pegula and Black may be more focused on the bottom line than they are on whether or not the GM needs replaced.

Somewhere in the dynamic of how they're operating is the pattern that was lauded often by past and present employees of Pegula's when he took over: he's built his company on loyalty and treats his personnel well. Giving incumbents like Regier and Ruff the benefit of the doubt, despite their track record the previous 14 years, was one obvious sign and being patient now, allowing Regier another chance to fix his mistakes, is another.

What I wonder about is how much of the "media is to blame" rationale that Pegula is apparently buying into, according to TBN and WGR, comes from Regier. I always wait to hear some sign of backlash or defensive response from Regier whenever he does an interview on WGR, knowing how often they bash him, but Regier always seems numb to, and tunes out, any criticisms or allegations that he's wrong.

 

[Beerz]

Harrington summed it up well in today's TBN blog:



http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2013/04/tambellini-out-as-edmonton-gm.html?ref=bcr#more



Didn't you just refute your own argument by pointing that fact out?

Howson must of done something right in Columbus ... they are on the brink of the playoffs.

 

[Grahn]

So... Season over, is he staying and if not, when is he getting the boot?

 

[OhreallyOrielly]

So... Season over, is he staying and if not, when is he getting the boot?

Per WGRZ TV's facebook feed there's a Press conference at 1pm tomorrow with Black and Regier. That look like he's staying.

 

[TheWook]

Per WGRZ TV's facebook feed there's a Press conference at 1pm tomorrow with Black and Regier. That look like he's staying.

That is very disappointing.

 

[ckg927]

That is very disappointing.

Enough of a reason to storm 1 Knox Plaza with pitchforks and torches.

We have had ENOUGH of mediocrity and ENOUGH of Regier. We want change, we want it NOW, and I don't want Regier within 100 miles of First Niagara Center unless he has a game ticket.

 

[VaporTrail]

Per WGRZ TV's facebook feed there's a Press conference at 1pm tomorrow with Black and Regier. That look like he's staying.

Oh no

 

[VaporTrail]

Enough of a reason to storm 1 Knox Plaza with pitchforks and torches.

We have had ENOUGH of mediocrity and ENOUGH of Regier. We want change, we want it NOW, and I don't want Regier within 100 miles of First Niagara Center unless he has a game ticket.

I would join a crowd of booers ...... we all could show up with bags on our heads too

 

[JThorne]

Who is to say a different GM would be better or worse? The facts(FACTS) state that this team hasn't had much success lately. GM's have been hired and fired in the timeframe since the last playoff series win here.

 

[Grahn]

Who is to say a different GM would be better or worse? The facts(FACTS) state that this team hasn't had much success lately. GM's have been hired and fired in the timeframe since the last playoff series win here.

The facts are that the team Regier built didn't work out as intended. Buffalo now has (one of?) the youngest teams in the league and 8 top 60 picks in the next two drafts.

Either you believe in Regier and lets him rebuild the team or you bring in someone new now and let him rebuild the team. If you keep Regier and he fails it will be much harder for a new GM to come in and right the ship

 

[wunderpanda]

The facts are that the team Regier built didn't work out as intended. Buffalo now has (one of?) the youngest teams in the league and 8 top 60 picks in the next two drafts.

Either you believe in Regier and lets him rebuild the team or you bring in someone new now and let him rebuild the team. If you keep Regier and he fails it will be much harder for a new GM to come in and right the ship

Is the lack of success because of the roster or how they were used? I'm of the belief that Ruff was the problem, that when Darcy brought in skilled players they were put into situations that didn't suit them. Taking offense minded Myers and making him Rivet, making Ehrhoff into Shannon. Putting Afinogenov on the 3rd line, trying Leino and Grigorenko in Guastad's role, trying to make Vanek into Dixon Ward and Pominville into Varada.

Ruff's recent comment about wanting to be a coach/g.m. implies he had a different vision of a team than Darcy. Maybe he wanted a team of 3rd liners and no skill.

I would prefer Darcy gets more of a chance to perform than the past 27 months, after years of not having a budget for scouting, free agents (or possibly a coaching change) he finally does. He has made good trades the last 2 seasons, good free agent signings and has loaded up with prospects.

It's impossible for me to blame Darcy after he added Hodgson, Ehrhoff and Leino to a playoff team and the team subsequently got worse. Just not sure if he is being judged fairly given the circumstances surrounding his tenure.

*edit* I'm not saying Darcy is blameless or untouchable, would like Dale Tallon as g.m. actually

 

[VaporTrail]

I am just sick and tired of Darcy's track record....More teams make the playoffs than not, and Darcy's teams have missed the playoffs too much...Blame the coach all you want but if he was the problem then it was Darcy's job to replace him...

He's had his chances....It's time for change....Can we really do much worse ? We aren't even in the playoffs. AGAIN.