How are you feeling about the Buffalo Sabres right now?

[Reddawg]

I’m optimistic. I’m used to players using locker clean out day to vent their frustrations and finally say what they wanted to all year to the media hounds. These things tend to blow over much more often than not. We have three elite pieces of a contending team and I very much believe that adding a couple of NHL caliber goalies will make this a very different team next year. They were already greatly improved following the Kruger firing (which happened at least 15 games too late) even without Jack. If we had Granato and Jack all year with a healthy Linus, this is a playoff team. It can work.

My optimism has me believing that we will look back on this season as an important step forward, adding another top 3 prospect to our midst. If Granato and Adams can wrangle the guys who are vocally grumpy (not you Risto, please enjoy Seattle) and get their buy in, we can and should be a playoff team next year. I think we’re right at that point Colorado was at leading into the 2017 draft…having all these talented players but not getting it done to the point of finishing dead last. Look at them now. It’s not hopeless.

 

[TheStorm]

I haven't watched a full hockey game in about 2 years, and with the way the organization is heading now it's definitely going to keep going that way.

 

[TehDoak]

I replied 'angry', and its mostly due to the actions after last year

-Vote of confidence in GMJB who had driven the roster into the ground
-Firing GMJB, but not because he was bad at his job, but because he wouldn't fire people to save the Pegula's $$
-Replacing him with someone with zero front office experience.

As far as this season goes:

-Not firing the coach when the season could still be salvaged
-Having a last place team (again) and then saying they only want players who 'want to be here' after players expressed the frustration of being in last place again

In six years:

2015-16: Add Kane, Eichel, Reinhart, and O'Reilly as your teams forward core going forward, don't address defense and add a goaltender with unresolved alchol abuse/mental health issues, drastic on ice improvement from tank years
2016-17: Still don't address the defense, same results
2017-18: Fire the coach and the GM! Make minor trades to address the defense, still bad
2018-19: Out Kane and O'Reilly, no real NHL pieces coming back, won the lotto and got Dahlin
2019-20: That coach didn't work either, fire him, hire soccer executive to coach team
2020-21: Team needs defense, centers, goaltenders. Team adds LW and two bad centers. Finish dead last again!

Eichel and Rhino: f*** this shit, we're out

Adams: WE ONLY WANT PLAYERS THAT WILL TOLERATE FRONT OFFICE INCOMPETENCE FOR SIX + SEASONS

 

[Strexvale]

I'm the dictionary definition of ambivalent (having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone) I care extremely deeply about what happens next and have complete faith that at SOME point this will all turn around and we'll have a winning hockey team. In the same breath I just don't give any shits about what happens as I know that they'll just screw it up one way or another and get bad value for their disgruntled stars and we'll just be in the shit for many many more years to come. So yeah, ambivalent.

 

[Reddawg]

Eichel and Reino can “**** this sh**” all they want, and it doesn’t change the fact that they’re professionals under team control in a business.

 

[sabremike]

I’m optimistic. I’m used to players using locker clean out day to vent their frustrations and finally say what they wanted to all year to the media hounds. These things tend to blow over much more often than not. We have three elite pieces of a contending team and I very much believe that adding a couple of NHL caliber goalies will make this a very different team next year. They were already greatly improved following the Kruger firing (which happened at least 15 games too late) even without Jack. If we had Granato and Jack all year with a healthy Linus, this is a playoff team. It can work.

My optimism has me believing that we will look back on this season as an important step forward, adding another top 3 prospect to our midst. If Granato and Adams can wrangle the guys who are vocally grumpy (not you Risto, please enjoy Seattle) and get their buy in, we can and should be a playoff team next year. I think we’re right at that point Colorado was at leading into the 2017 draft…having all these talented players but not getting it done to the point of finishing dead last. Look at them now. It’s not hopeless.

If they had been forced to trade MacKinnon for pennies on the dollar before that draft than yes, the situations would be comparable.

 

[sabremike]

Eichel and Reino can “**** this sh**” all they want, and it doesn’t change the fact that they’re professionals under team control in a business.

Um, Reino takes the one year QO and on July 1st 2022 he's gone.

 

[tunaboy]

we have a team going forward ...we need EICHEL and SAM ON THIS TEAM ...GET a real coach in here , Second step get another goalie to go with Ulmark ,then fix the back end of this team ...going forward this team has a good forward group ,EICHEL ,REINHART ,OLOFSSON ,MITTS ,COZENS ,SKINNER ,ASPLUND ,THOMPSON ..We need a real checking ..heavy and nasty to take care of our young forward group ...this team is not that far off ..adding the right pieces and the sabres could make some noise .

 

[Reddawg]

If they had been forced to trade MacKinnon for pennies on the dollar before that draft than yes, the situations would be comparable.

So far no one has forced anyone to do anything. There’s just a 10 second sound bite and a week’s worth of internet speculation.

 

[beerme1]

I see not much hope until the Pegulas are driven out of town & afterwards a proper exorcism has to be performed

Pegula's after winning a Super Bowl need to worry about being run out of town?? Ever?

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

Jeremy White describing exactly how I feel about Sabres management right now.

 

[kirby11]

Past the anger, into the ambivalence of accepting that the franchise will most likely be a dumpster fire for another 2 years at the bare minimum and will get terrifyingly close to matching the Bills playoff drought in a league where half the ****ing teams get in

 

[debaser66]

Pegula's after winning a Super Bowl need to worry about being run out of town?? Ever?

wasn't Ralph a football coach? maybe they assigned him to the wrong team.

 

[Sabre Dance]

If Eichel and Reinhart didn't exist we would be very excited about the future of Dahlin, Cozens, and a possible #1 overall pick in 2021.

If, and it's a big if, the Sabres don't screw up the handling of Eichel and Reinhart they should be sitting very nicely from a talent standpoint. They'll have plenty to build around with or without Eichel and/or Reinhart.

Then there's another big if, management and coaching. They have to get that right as well. Right now the owners are 0/8 with Adams and Granato incomplete. If anyone is due for some luck it's the Pegulas.

I'm wait and see because we do have a great opportunity to turn around quickly with the correct moves. Only problem is I'de rather trust Shaq hitting 2 free throws to win the game rather than the Pegulas making the correct decisions with Sabres management and coaching.

 

[Archie Lee]

I have no idea if Adams will get this right. All I have is hope that he is finally the guy who starts piling good decisions on top of good decisions. That’s what the team needs. The scary part is that ownership has a terrible track record in this regard, so there is no great reason to think Adams is the right guy.

What I do know is that there is no excuse for continued long term failure. The Seattle Kraken will draft their first roster in a few weeks. How that will turnout in the short and long term is still a mystery. What is certain though is that their ownership and management are not anticipating that it will be years until they are good.

If you went to every GM in the NHL and offered them 2 options: 1: you go through the Seattle expansion draft and take the best roster and draft capital you can get, or 2: you take the Sabres roster and draft capital as it is presently constructed, I believe every GM chooses the Sabres (not the environment, but the roster and draft capital).

There are multiple potential paths from this point that involve trading or not trading Sam and Jack and that involve focusing on youth or veteran acquisitions. In the hands of competent people any of those paths will be successful. All we have is hope.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Just glad I have had the Avalanche as my fallback organization. The dream of the Sabres winning a Cup during my lifetime is just about over.............

 

[Thorton02]

Adam's and Karmonos' comments about only wanting players who want to be here tell me that the Pegulas haven't changed anything. Honestly, if an employer was total garbage for 10 years and sent out a company wide email saying they only want to retain people that "want to be here" instead of taking full responsibility for the crap situation, I'd walk. The Sabres may luck into success but it will be despite the current owner and management.

 

[TehDoak]

Just glad I have had the Avalanche as my fallback organization. The dream of the Sabres winning a Cup during my lifetime is just about over.............

This is the most maddening thing. It really isn't.

Competent management and ownership can do wonders for a franchise in a short period of time.

Look at the Hurricanes. They had made the playoffs once in twelve seasons before 3 years ago. A new owner came in, cleaned house, and now they are a model franchise.

Look at the Islanders. Lost Tavares for nothing after wasting his years on the Island and now they are one of the toughest teams to play against in the NHL

I'll contend at this very minute, with the players and resources available, a competent GM and coach could have made this years Sabres a playoff team with a healthy Eichel, even in this division.

Buffalo needed to make 6 or 7 small good moves and instead swung for the fences and missed terribly and kept a bad coach well past it was obvious he was terrible.

The Sabres could be a playoff team NEXT YEAR if they just get their collective shit together and stop making terrible choices. But that is the problem, the owners refuse to step away from the day to day operations of the team and let someone competent run the franchise.

 

[Jim Bob]

Look at the Hurricanes. They had made the playoffs once in twelve seasons before 3 years ago. A new owner came in, cleaned house, and now they are a model franchise.

This was a really good interview.

Wheeler talked about how Carolina has a solid definition of the type of player they want and they consistently add those types of players whether it is through the draft, trades, or FA.

And he expects that Ron Francis takes that kind of approach to Seattle.

Kevyn Adams' first year as the Sabres GM doesn't seem to have that kind of vision and execution.

 

[haseoke39]

Pegula, from day 1, seemed to know that he wanted to build a fraternity. It's in all the talk about family, treating players right, bidding past everyone else to bring "the right people", constantly favoring "player's coaches" -- we haven't had someone who could actually scream at his players from time to time since Ruff -- in assessing management and coaching based on personality before credentials, in moving on from people who mess with your vibe -- even if it's your best player.

They want a fraternity, and it seems like the plan is that winning should just flow from that.

The types of people who really "want" to be Buffalo Sabres at this point aren't winners. They're people who want to bilk the team, a la Skinner and Hall. They're people who want to hang on to an NHL career that most teams have decided is over. They're people who don't want to be challenged playing for a tough coach or management team. They're people who don't mind catering to overactive owners, because they're not really any more qualified than Uncle Terry, which is as Uncle Terry probably likes it. They're people who see big pockets, no standards, and low pressure and say, that's for me. In a sort of inverse Groucho Marxism, at this point, your team shouldn't want any player who might want to be its member.

This is the culture problem in Buffalo. It comes from the top. It's alive and well with Adams in charge, who basically got the job for being a loyal errand boy for a decade. And yet the folks at the top are still so unselfaware that they're preaching the same song about people who want to be part of that culture. You'd think a goddamn decade of being the worst team in the league would bring "culture change" into somebody's vocabulary, but they still think they're the motherf***ing solution.

The thing that's interesting at this point is how badly the fanbase is broken by the losing. If the team can't sell out next year, and the losses continue for a team spending to the cap, then what happens after Uncle Terry gets sick of his toy starts to become a question. Because there's no way that the NHL would let Buffalo move ten years ago, but the team couldn't even sell out a thousand tickets a game recently. If that turns into a problem for the next few seasons, there are certainly potential markets that can beat out a disinterested Buffalo.

At that point, if the team leaves Buffalo, I think the majority of former fans might simply feel relief.

 

[Chainshot]

To be honest, I'm also waiting to see how they f*** this up more.

 

[TehDoak]

This was a really good interview.

Wheeler talked about how Carolina has a solid definition of the type of player they want and they consistently add those types of players whether it is through the draft, trades, or FA.

And he expects that Ron Francis takes that kind of approach to Seattle.

Kevyn Adams' first year as the Sabres GM doesn't seem to have that kind of vision and execution.

I mean, this is the core of my issue with Adams and Co.

Murray had a plan and vision: Play a fast, heavy puck forechecking style of game with a physical defense. It's why he overpaid for Kane and Bogosian, because he (wrongly) thought they'd be the perfect fit. Same with RoR. And he was going to bottom out, turnover the entire roster, hoard assets, and rebuild it via aggressive trades. The issue, of course, was his defense. Gorges, Risto, Bogosian, Weber, McCabe, Frason. Woof. He never addressed the D in a meaningful way other than the Pysyk for Kulikov trade, which of course backfired when Kulikov was out for the entire season. Given his gambit to get Bylsma fired (he leaked that Eichel wouldn't sign a contract to play under Bylsma to get him fired), it appears he felt a different coach could make his roster perform better. However, he never got a chance as the Pegula's felt like he crossed a line.

Botterill had a much different plan, which was to focus on drafting and building out the Rochester team. The issue with this is Murray had essentially burned through any draft capital that was stored in search for a quick fix and the prospect pool was bare. And, in some fairness to Botterill, we are starting to see some of his early investments come to fruition with pieces starting to mature. However, his absolute bungling of the RoR trade, the idiotic Skinner signing, as willingness to take glaring roster issues into the season proved he was a good AGM, bad GM. I do think there are some Pegula fingerprints on his worst moves (RoR trade and Skinner signing), he did have a plan and communicated that day 1.

Adams simply has not communicated anything of value in terms of the Sabres plans. The talk has been heavy on character and belief, which are echos of Krueger and his spending 20 minutes to say nothing of value. he has talked about pride in being a Buffalo Sabre and getting players who want to be here, but has to really define the style or type of hockey he wants to play. And I honestly think its because he doesn't know. And a year in, that is a problem. I think he was a bit of a blank slate who relied on Krueger (which is why he's echoing a lot of his talking points), but now that we know Krueger was a huge fraud, Adams has no direction and just empty platitudes, a lot like Krueger. Which is a huge, house on fire problem given that an Eichel and Reinhart trade have the potential to set the franchise back 7 years. Get someone who knows what they are doing in that room, and do it fast. More than Just Karmonos. Someone who has navigated the waters before and can build some underlying hockey based principals to guide Adams, not just focusing on intangibles

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

This is the most maddening thing. It really isn't.

Competent management and ownership can do wonders for a franchise in a short period of time.

Look at the Hurricanes. They had made the playoffs once in twelve seasons before 3 years ago. A new owner came in, cleaned house, and now they are a model franchise.

Look at the Islanders. Lost Tavares for nothing after wasting his years on the Island and now they are one of the toughest teams to play against in the NHL

I'll contend at this very minute, with the players and resources available, a competent GM and coach could have made this years Sabres a playoff team with a healthy Eichel, even in this division.

Buffalo needed to make 6 or 7 small good moves and instead swung for the fences and missed terribly and kept a bad coach well past it was obvious he was terrible.

The Sabres could be a playoff team NEXT YEAR if they just get their collective shit together and stop making terrible choices. But that is the problem, the owners refuse to step away from the day to day operations of the team and let someone competent run the franchise.

Agree with your last paragraph. Not with this ownership. It ain't happening. And I can point to a record of 10 years of incompetency and total asshat management as proof.

 

[TehDoak]

Agree with your last paragraph. Not with this ownership. It ain't happening. And I can point to a record of 10 years of incompetency and total asshat management as proof.

I honestly hope you are wrong. Especially with Davidson on the market. He's shepherded two teams (Columbus and St Louis) from mediocrity to respectability.

Though I see now he's returning to columbus

FFFFFFFFFFF

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

I honestly hope you are wrong. Especially with Davidson on the market. He's shepherded two teams (Columbus and St Louis) from mediocrity to respectability.

Though I see now he's returning to columbus

FFFFFFFFFFF

Like JD. But Terry and Kim will never hire anyone of that caliber.

Mainly because actual hockey guys like JD won;t put up with the Pegula's interference.