2019-2020 Around the League Thread - Part IV
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- Apr 25, 2006
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Northern Avs Fan
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As much as there’s something to be said for stability, this was the right move.
The fact that they promoted from within is very interesting. You would think an outside hire would have made more sense.
- Feb 24, 2012
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They don't have enough cash dedicated to the Sabres to hire anybody outside.
- Apr 25, 2006
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Sabres fanbase is hoping that this is very temporary, so I'd say no.A few weeks ago they just said he's sticking around.
Does this new guy have any experience on the hockey side of things or was he just on the business side?
Avs_19
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Sabres fanbase is hoping that this is very temporary, so I'd say no.
They're paying a lot of money to people not working for them anymore so maybe this is a cheap solution.
This comes days after Botterill botched things with Lawrence Pilut's camp as bad as anyone possibly could, I suppose the Pegulas realized way too late they once again made a very bad hire.
Don't forget in the wake of all these GM/coach hirings and firings that Pat Lafontaine was brought aboard as team president only to resign three months later because he and Murray didn't agree which direction to take the team, AND the Pegulas only solidified their power within the organization by sacking a lot of long-time executives within the organization.
Seriously, hard to believe there's an ownership group more incompetent than Melnyk or Dolan in the NHL, but this definitely takes the cake.
Jim Benning is the odds-on favorite for the Mike Milbury award for Worst GM in the NHL. The only other guy in my estimation who comes even close now is Dale Tallon.
Don't forget in the wake of all these GM/coach hirings and firings that Pat Lafontaine was brought aboard as team president only to resign three months later because he and Murray didn't agree which direction to take the team, AND the Pegulas only solidified their power within the organization by sacking a lot of long-time executives within the organization.
Seriously, hard to believe there's an ownership group more incompetent than Melnyk or Dolan in the NHL, but this definitely takes the cake.
Jim Benning is the odds-on favorite for the Mike Milbury award for Worst GM in the NHL. The only other guy in my estimation who comes even close now is Dale Tallon.
BaconNater
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Crazy how a team with an unreal #1 C and future #1 D as building blocks is in such a huge mess.
Did the owners do this just to save money? Always wonder how that makes players feel and if Eichel is sitting at home texting his teammates saying wtf is happening
Did the owners do this just to save money? Always wonder how that makes players feel and if Eichel is sitting at home texting his teammates saying wtf is happening
Amazing how some of the richest people on the planet can also be the most shortsighted.
Pegula came galloping in on his gilded horse in the midst of the disastrous Golisano era and promptly instructed Darcy Regier (and he used to be a great GM...pretty sure the Buffaslug broke him) to throw money at the problem. When that didn't work, Regier got fired and they tanked like no team ever tanked before. And then when THAT didn't work, they went to Botterill, which brings us to this. I think they're honestly perplexed as to why spending all these assets hasn't automatically converted into success.
Pegula and Pegula seem very similar to Dundon, someone who makes a big public stink about throwing money around (they practically dumped truckloads of cash on Penn State to build a hockey program from scratch) but then stiff the people working for them behind the scenes. Unlike Dundon though, it looks like the Pegulas are intrusive and meddlesome in every aspect. I'm starting to believe again that it was their idea and not Botterill's to jettison Ryan O'Reilly for the worst possible return, but I have no evidence before me, just speculation.
You never want an owner like this who believes he/she is always the smartest person in the room. That almost never ends well.
Metallo
NWOBHM forever \m/
I’d be surprised if what happen with Pilut had any significant weight in the decision.
- Apr 25, 2006
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What makes you think that Dundon isn't like that? He's worse. He has done nothing but surronding himself with puppets and often publicly discussed hockey decisions. AFAIK Pegulas aren't publicly commenting on on-ice decisions and trades. Dundon sure does.
- Feb 24, 2012
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Buffalo just flat out cleaned house. They fired a good dude in Jankowski... whoever picks him up is getting a gem of a scout.
Meh, don't know if seemingly taking credit for this move or that is the same as actively intruding into the front office. Waddell, at least for now, appears to be running the hockey side of things. Now if things take a turn for the worse, then I could totally see Dundon swooping in.
There's also the possibility that Dundon is just...better at this than the Pegulas. And mind you, I'm not a fan of Dundon, just saying that the Canes appear to be on the upswing, whereas the Sabres are an everlasting dumpster fire. Either way, things are going better for them than Buffalo.
That's what it looks like on the outset--they went from a public show of support (I know, I know, that can mean nothing in a lot of cases) to turfing the guy. The intervening event was the epic faceplant in those negotiations.
But no matter how you look at it, it's a shitshow. Firing Botterill was probably the right move, but it should have happened a lot sooner, and ownership should've realized they needed to step back and let someone else run the business side of things, which includes a search for the next GM.
Avs_19
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Northern Avs Fan
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The guy’s previous title that’s taking over as GM was, ‘Senior Vice President of Business Administration’
I don’t know what’s happening over there lol
McMetal
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- Sep 29, 2015
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The Canes always had a good base in place, IMO. What they needed was real high end forward talent, and it looks like Aho, Necas, and Svechnikov are finally going to deliver that for them. I think they're in a really good position now, but they weren't as far away from doing damage in the east as most people thought.
Avs_19
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Eichel’s going to be a busy man. A lot of interviews and hirings to do.
- Apr 25, 2006
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I called it earlier this season. Since they can't find what's rotten then at this point the next solution is to fire everyone. Cleaning house is not always a bad thing, sure they'll lose good apples along with the bad ones but in the grand scheme of things it's worth it.
Hire a new guy and let him surround himself with his own people. No more old skeletons from ancient regimes that could talk behind your back or carry bad habits into new management. I know ownership is also partly responsible and its not gone but if I were a Sabres fan I'd like a lot what happened today.
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Their new GM is an internal hire that's akin to us promoting Greg from Accounting into the GM role, except he was just a placeholder for Sakic. That's not the case in Buffalo.
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