I just don’t know how anyone listening to Adams doesn’t immediately think of McDermott and Beane coming to Buffalo.
Sammy Watkins- top-5 pick, traded assets to get him. Super talented player. If he had someone to get him the ball, he’d be a top-5 receiver in the game!
Marcell Dareus- Wow! 10 sacks as a DT. Signed a $20m/yr extension. Top-3 draft pick!
These guys were seen as our franchise players. Great young pieces to build around. Especially after all the losing how could we move on from such successful young players and rebuild again?!?!?
But by the end of the 1st year they were both gone and we’d made the playoffs.
It was then I realized that I hadn’t had much belief in “chemistry” “character” and “morale” in sports. I always thought you Just get talented players and let them play... but then again, as a Buffalo fan, I wasn’t really used to watching long term success in the teams I root for. These things do matter. And they’re what set teams apart from one another. Relationships matter. Character and work ethic matter. How you carry yourself as an adult on a day to day basis with everyone you interact with, matters.
If Eichel, Reinhart and Ristolainen want to be here? Great! Come in, put in work, set an example and be leaders for Cozens, Mittelstadt, Asplund, Thompson, Ruotsalainen, Olofsson, Dahlin, Jokhiharju, Borgen, Samuelsson, guys who may actually be the depth this roster has needed for success.
If you don’t want to be here? Fine. See ya. You’re supposed to be the “core” and are such talented players that under your play, and your leadership, you’ve led this team to finish last place how many times in the past 6yrs?
I get that they haven’t always had the most talented players around them and that hockey is a team sport... but that’s exactly my point. It’s more than just these guys. They don’t want to be here. Cool. Especially as an owner, paying these guys???? I can finish in last place a whole lot cheaper than what I pay Eichel, Reinhart and Ristolainen.
Same ownership group.
Experienced GM with 18 years of experience prior to taking his first GM job, and put together a roster which went to the AFC Championship game.
This board: I can’t believe he just took two defensive ends!
Inexperienced GM with NHL experience as a player, coach, and in management, navigating a mess which was largely inherited.
This board: I can’t believe he fired everyone, restarted the front office, and only wants players who want to be here.
Sigh.
You do see the difference between drafting 21 and 22 year olds and 18 year olds right?
You do realize Bills are profitable every year and the Sabres bleed money right?
There is a vast ocean of difference between the front office of the Bills and Sabres.
The Bills brought someone in with a wealth of experience, gave him the budget to build out his office, surrounded a first time coach with experienced coordinators and they all got on the same page re: culture, etc. And the coach was a huge part of that. And that coach worked his way up from the NFL as an assistant scout to defensive coordinator, succeeding at every level over 20 years. And they had a concrete plan and process to get the Bills to respecability. Sure, they got lucky in year 1 with some breaks, but they stuck to the process and built through the draft and found the right people.
That is NOT what they have done with the Sabres. They had a coach with limited NHL experience who was out of hockey entirely for 5+ years. They had a bad GM who they should of fired last year, and didn't. They only fired him when he wouldn't fire his entire staff to save the Pegula's money, because as I said before, the Sabres bleed money and with no fans under covid, they lost even more. They then hired someone whose only qualification for being a NHL GM is his unquestionable loyalty to the Pegula's.
And no, being a NHL player and 1 year of as assistant coach doesn't qualify you to run a NHL franchise. It's equivalent of asking an electrician to run your power grid instead of an electrical engineer. Sure there's some of the same terms and some cross over in skills, but a wealth of training and experience an Engineer gets that an electrician does not. And they gave him virtually no staff until after the NHL trade deadline. He has a fraction of the scouts and staff that every other NHL GM has.
And this is how we effect culture change on the Sabres? With an unqualified, understaffed, first time GM who has already shown he can't roster build worth a damn (see: this last off season)
And here is the thing. I actually don't mind the team trading Eichel or Reinhart. I certainly don't mind them trading Risto. It hasn't worked.
What I do mind is them doing under the guise that they are some toxic players who "don't want to be here". What they don't want to do is continue to lose. Both Eichel and Reinhart know exactly where the franchise is. Just like RoR didn't want to keep losing.
You have to trade Eichel and Reinhart because they don't want to continue to lose and the only way forward is a rebuild? f***ing own that shit. Don't blame them because 'they don't want to be here'. Don't try to trot out some culture first mantra when the owner is spending pennies on the dollar on the team infrastructure. Show me they are bringing in experienced people to build out the front office, show me that there is some concept of a long term plan. You want connection to the fans? Show you have some base level of competence of people in charge, not the guy who was willing to ax people and suck up to the owner. Let them make the tough decisions with eyes towards long term goals.
You want what the Bills have? Hire experienced people and let them build it. Don't make a dollar store knockoff version of it with a fraud loyalist in the GM spot and expect people to say "Oh it's. just like what the Bills did". Because its not even close.
