Kevyn Adams - New GM

[Jim Carr's Rug]

How dare you try and topple the senators in dumb moves!

Good luck kids. Hold on to something stable, it's a rocky ride!

You say this like we haven't been riding a dumpster down shit mountain for the last six years.
It's been bumpy as hell and we just reached the top of a scree field.

 

[Chainshot]

He could get off on the right foot with a lot of fans by establishing a serious analytics dept.

Just him and a spreadsheet. All we need.

 

[Buffaloed]

How dare you try and topple the senators in dumb moves!

Good luck kids. Hold on to something stable, it's a rocky ride!

The sad thing is the Sens are poised to jump ahead of the Sabres.

 

[Buffaloed]

My guess is Adams will hire an heir apparent and take over Kim's position in a year or two. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up interviewing re-hiring some of the people they let go. That's the way these things are done when a new GM comes in.

 

[5 Minute Major]

My guess is Adams will hire an heir apparent and take over Kim's position in a year or two. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up interviewing re-hiring some of the people they let go. That's the way these things are done when a new GM comes in.

I'd be completely surprised if the ownership has any long range plans with the data we have in hand.....besides maybe selling the team.

 

[Ace]

Just him and a spreadsheet. All we need.

I spent all day at work ranting to a coworker about everything and at the very end I said something like... “but that doesn’t mean it won’t be better because the last regime was that bad”.

If failing to clear low bars were given Stanley Cups the Pegula’s hockey organization would be a dynasty.

They managed to take the thing I wanted most...Botterill to be gone...and make it a miserable day.

It’s really impressive.

 

[jputt99]

I'm willing to give Adams a chance . I hope he can turn things around . But , if Buffalo does not return to the playoffs next year , it's going to get really ugly . Terry and Kim may want to consider selling their interest in the Sabres .

 

[joshjull]

Yikes. Fun first day

 

[Der Jaeger]

I think he had a hand in the firings. Wouldn't you? If your player development and amateur scouting had the Sabres track record, wouldn't you want to start from scratch?

I do agree with @Buffaloed that some of these folks will be offered position but only after Adams sets things the way he wants.

 

[Buffaloed]

Can you read anything into him not mentioning Botterill? I don't think Krueger did either.

 

[Buffaloed]

More from Adams
New Sabres GM Kevyn Adams' 'dream' job presents unusual challenges
"I think that you have to be completely open-minded in a leadership role going into these situations, where you know you have a lot to learn. You have to check any ego at the door, and you have to surround yourself with great people. So if you don’t know the answer to something, you say ‘I don’t know’ and you surround yourself with people you’d ask hard questions and you’d figure it out together. That’s my style, that’s always been my style and will continue to do that. I’m going to be very honest with media, with fans."

Adams expressed excitement for what he called a “dream come true,” revealed he spoke with Sabres captain Jack Eichel on Tuesday morning and explained he understands the team’s passionate fan base. However, Adams acknowledged he has a laundry list of tasks to accomplish, most notably relationship-building to prepare him for negotiating trades and contracts.

I'm sure him and Eichel talked about more than the fan base. I get the impression that no one in the organization is sad to see Botterill gone. His incompetence was making everyone look bad.

 

[OkimLom]

More from Adams
New Sabres GM Kevyn Adams' 'dream' job presents unusual challenges
"I think that you have to be completely open-minded in a leadership role going into these situations, where you know you have a lot to learn. You have to check any ego at the door, and you have to surround yourself with great people. So if you don’t know the answer to something, you say ‘I don’t know’ and you surround yourself with people you’d ask hard questions and you’d figure it out together. That’s my style, that’s always been my style and will continue to do that. I’m going to be very honest with media, with fans."

Adams expressed excitement for what he called a “dream come true,” revealed he spoke with Sabres captain Jack Eichel on Tuesday morning and explained he understands the team’s passionate fan base. However, Adams acknowledged he has a laundry list of tasks to accomplish, most notably relationship-building to prepare him for negotiating trades and contracts.

I'm sure him and Eichel talked about more than the fan base. I get the impression that no one in the organization is sad to see Botterill gone. His incompetence was making everyone look bad.

here’s hoping he’s better and quicker at relationship building than his predecessor.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

What does a GM do?

Evaluate 23 & 50 man roster & reserves

Determine playing style(w/ coach) for organization along w/ instruction methods.

Evaluate every other team roster & reserve list

Understand the CBA/manage the cap/ gather intel of framework of next CBA.

Help establish data collection policies/direct data synthesis concepts.

Establish what priorities scouting staff should look for in both draft eligibles/prospects/ NHLers.

Be familiar with best medical/training practices, equipment advances & needs

If anybody else has suggestions, they’re more than welcome.

I’d say that Adams is probably as familiar with all those concepts as anybody else on the radar.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

Kim Pegula has made it very clear that her priorities differ from her husband's and she calls the shots not him, starting today the Buffalo Sabres reason for existence is to be profitable for the Pegula family. As a Bills fan too I am very concerned, McDermott and Beane are hot commodities in a league filled with billionaire owners who are very competitive.

 

[flashsabre]

What does a GM do?

Evaluate 23 & 50 man roster & reserves

Determine playing style(w/ coach) for organization along w/ instruction methods.

Evaluate every other team roster & reserve list

Understand the CBA/manage the cap/ gather intel of framework of next CBA.

Help establish data collection policies/direct data synthesis concepts.

Establish what priorities scouting staff should look for in both draft eligibles/prospects/ NHLers.

Be familiar with best medical/training practices, equipment advances & needs

If anybody else has suggestions, they’re more than welcome.

I’d say that Adams is probably as familiar with all those concepts as anybody else on the radar.

The determining playing style with coach was a big issue for Botts which made no sense since he chased so hard after Krueger. Hopefully this works out better.

I don’t need Adams to be the second coming. Just make simple, solid decisions that help move this team forward. Make sure Krueger and him are on the same page and bring in guys that will help the system.

 

[Buffaloed]

He has an MBA for crying out loud! They just don't give those things away (you have to buy them).

 

[Wisent42]

The determining playing style with coach was a big issue for Botts which made no sense since he chased so hard after Krueger. Hopefully this works out better.

I don’t need Adams to be the second coming. Just make simple, solid decisions that help move this team forward. Make sure Krueger and him are on the same page and bring in guys that will help the system.

This. Seemed to me several times during our shortened season that JBot and Krueger weren't on the same page. When Krueger was hired, he talked about the Amerks like an extention of his roster, hinting that he wanted to use more players. But we never got to see that put into action because Botts filled the roster with has-beens and left no space for such moves. Except that Smith-guy he signed to play an entire shift as a Sabre... I may be wrong, but it looked to me like Botts was giving Krueger players that Krueger didn't want to put on the ice. So while the GM calls the shot in the end, I do believe that it's important the coach has a say.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

This. Seemed to me several times during our shortened season that JBot and Krueger weren't on the same page. When Krueger was hired, he talked about the Amerks like an extention of his roster, hinting that he wanted to use more players. But we never got to see that put into action because Botts filled the roster with has-beens and left no space for such moves. Except that Smith-guy he signed to play an entire shift as a Sabre... I may be wrong, but it looked to me like Botts was giving Krueger players that Krueger didn't want to put on the ice. So while the GM calls the shot in the end, I do believe that it's important the coach has a say.

Coach needs a say. There is the idea that farm teams should get players ready to play in the NHL in order to maximize trade value rather than teaching them the parent system only.

Nowadays I’d suggest that teaching competency should occur in the ECHL, then migrate to bottom half of AHL, then teach them NHL systems as top 6 players before they graduate.

But that’s me.

 

[flashsabre]

I will be much more at ease with this if I hear Dudley or Futa type is brought in to assist Adams. Not as President but in a supportive role. Adams words about surrounding himself with people who have answers he may not gives me hope.

 

[AustonsNostrils]

Futa has been interviewed for many NHL GM vacancies including ours when Regier was fired and he never gets the job. Paul Fenton was similar until he finally did get the Minnesota job and he was a total disaster. Teams obviously are not impressed with Futa for whatever reasons.

Would be hard to be more unimpressive than Botterill in an interview.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

I am fine with Adams. At this point I do not care about a "name".Great GMs have to start somewhere and until we see him at work we have no idea what he can or will do. As for letting go of scouts and coaches etc I say GOOD. Completely scourge the franchise. Fire the vendors. Fire the person who plays Sabretooth. Fire the organ player. No one should be safe or back. Unfortunately you cannot fire owners or team presidents, especially if married to the owner.

 

[ForsbergMoDo21]

I don’t hate Krueger but I’m not really impressed with him either. This GM change would be a good opportunity to scoop one of the good coaches with a track record (Boudreau, Laviolette, Gallant) and save face on the poor optics of the switch. But given this organization’s well established stance on people with experience taking on important hockey related positions, I won’t hold my breath.

Really wish this could have been an interim label or at least taken a few weeks to announce, so I could have enjoyed a brief period of hope. These days I’m just waiting to see if Seattle will end up with a cool name and color scheme...

 

[May Day 10]

Adams is far beyond being a "name". He is out of left field. There could have been 100 nhl openings for gm and I'm sure he wouldnt even get an interview or a thought. There is no experience from not only a gm role... but anything that would resemble the responsibilities and work involved.

The whole reason he has the job is he is willing to submit to the failed collaboration model the pegulas find so important. A real gm would not. The word is out now, the ownership is involved and toxic. No real gm will ever consider working here until the structure changes. The is the 00s Bills.

 

[TalkingProuder]

What does a GM do?

Evaluate 23 & 50 man roster & reserves

Determine playing style(w/ coach) for organization along w/ instruction methods.

Evaluate every other team roster & reserve list

Understand the CBA/manage the cap/ gather intel of framework of next CBA.

Help establish data collection policies/direct data synthesis concepts.

Establish what priorities scouting staff should look for in both draft eligibles/prospects/ NHLers.

Be familiar with best medical/training practices, equipment advances & needs

If anybody else has suggestions, they’re more than welcome.

I’d say that Adams is probably as familiar with all those concepts as anybody else on the radar.

There is no evidence that Adams knows how to evaluate a roster or players. There is no background in managing a cap. His biggest selling point to the Pegulas was loyalty and that they knew him.

 

[Dubi Doo]

There is no evidence that Adams knows how to evaluate a roster or players. There is no background in managing a cap. His biggest selling point to the Pegulas was loyalty and that they knew him.

Yup. In the interview they said they were impressed by:
1) his ability to communicate
2) his ability to get whatever asked of him done

He sounds like a damn good employee, but the lack of experience is alarming.