Pat Lafontaine resigns position with team

[dotcommunism]

Tough to fit into any type of management team when you don't respect other people's views and think you are the almighty.

The guy didn't want to be labeled a GM, but wanted the power of a GM.

Doing that allows him to miss all blame, but take all responsibility for success.

You're right, I'm sure this is exactly like popular Netflix original series House of Cards

 

[BloFan4Life]

The guy who was promised the power of the GM and had it taken away decided to leave rather than stay in a do nothing position

He was promised the power of the GM, but declined that power. However, when it came down to it, he wanted the power without the title.

 

[Beerz]

Great news.... The Chicken Wing is moving into the Golden Age...

 

[enthusiast]

You're right, I'm sure this is exactly like popular Netflix original series House of Cards

He was promised the power of the GM, but declined that power. However, when it came down to it, he wanted the power without the title.

And he was promised it and given it!

 

[BloFan4Life]

Detail to me what he does. Without using google.

Some BS thing with concussion. What has he produced with his time in the NHL??

 

[enthusiast]

Some BS thing with concussion. What has he produced with his time in the NHL??

Nope. If you don't know, don't pretend you do.

 

[Karate Johnson*]

So you really think it is just people on twitter that make fun of this organization?!?!

Trust me, people throughout the NHL don't think too highly of the Sabres. It is a circus.

Link?

 

[BloFan4Life]

And he was promised it and given it!

What the heck are you talking about?!?!

He frickin hired a GM because he didn't think he was ready to do the job. What he really meant was that he didn't want to take the negatives when things go bad, but wants to control everything anyways.

So let's say Pat is still President. Draft comes and Pat insists that Ekblad is the pick. Murray thinks Reinhart should be the pick. Pat tells him he is higher up and Ekblad is the pick. 3 years later Ekblad sucks, Reinhart is a star and Murray is fired by Pat because he missed on such a big pick.

The GM takes the blame for so many thing he has no control of.

 

[Paxon]

Tough to fit into any type of management team when you don't respect other people's views and think you are the almighty.

The guy didn't want to be labeled a GM, but wanted the power of a GM.

Doing that allows him to miss all blame, but take all responsibility for success.

Actually he wanted to be President of Hockey Operations and have the power of that position. In other words, he didn't want the daily hands on job of GM but he wanted to oversee the GM and be able to overrule him on big decisions. That's hardly contradictory. It would have been bad to allow a guy with no experience that sort of power but we already know Pegula offered him that sort of power because Pegula offered him the GM job. We also know that LaFontaine was under the impression that he had final say on all hockey matters, because he said so in interviews, so it's reasonable to think Pegula led him to being under that impression.

This situation is nothing like the Islanders one. Pretty much everyone except for the ridiculous clown Mike Milbury understands that LaFontaine walked away from what was a ridiculous situation. Wang hired Neil Smith and LaFontaine after the season and then fired Smith a couple months later because Wang was hard for Garth Snow.

 

[enthusiast]

What the heck are you talking about?!?!

He frickin hired a GM because he didn't think he was ready to do the job. What he really meant was that he didn't want to take the negatives when things go bad, but wants to control everything anyways.

So let's say Pat is still President. Draft comes and Pat insists that Ekblad is the pick. Murray thinks Reinhart should be the pick. Pat tells him he is higher up and Ekblad is the pick. 3 years later Ekblad sucks, Reinhart is a star and Murray is fired by Pat because he missed on such a big pick.

The GM takes the blame for so many thing he has no control of.

Aside from hypotheticals I'm saying Terry promised him the final say. He lost it at some point and quit because he didn't want the position in that sense of agency. It's a reasonable and understandable response.

 

[slip]

People defending LaFontaine need to read this article.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304023504577319912036433148

Patty has some serous personal issues that he needs to fix.

What issues are you referring to? His crime on the Island appears to be bailing on Wang after Wang bailed on Smith a measly 6 weeks into his hire. What owner hires and fires the same GM in less than two months? Clearly a guy who has no ****ing clue what he's doing, which has proven to be spot on in Wang's case. I love how the article culls this quote from Milbury:

LaFontaine elected to step down after failing to persuade Wang to reconsider, he said—not necessarily out of loyalty to Smith, but out of concern for the franchise's direction. "I believe you treat people fairly," he said, "and stand up for what you believe in."

Through a team spokesman, Wang declined to comment on the situation. "Pat LaFontaine had a great NHL career and does a lot for the Long Island community," Wang said in a statement. "We wish him all the best." Snow declined to comment through a spokesman.

Former Islanders general manager Mike Milbury, who was a member of the team's board of governors when LaFontaine resigned, said he would understand if Wang still held a grudge against LaFontaine.

"Pat ran for the hills. Pat ran for cover," said Milbury, now an NHL analyst for NBC. "It was cowardly, and it was terrible. And if Charles was [ticked], I wouldn't blame him in the least." LaFontaine declined to respond to Milbury's comments.

Milbury's epic toolness aside, I don't see how Lafontaine can be faulted for questioning his desire to be a part of Wang's gross mismanagement -- oh the irony of the Milbury's moral tirade against Lafontaine, as if it was Patty who traded away Chara and not Milbury, the original shoe bomber, himself -- of the Islanders, and immediately cutting ties. He might not be able to run a franchise, but sure as hell can spot when it's being run into the ground. Don't forget Mike, sometimes the guys who run for cover survive to fight another day.

 

[BloFan4Life]

Nope. If you don't know, don't pretend you do.

A BS job...

It appears that the former NHL star’s duties are as cloudy as his job description, as he’ll work in a “variety of capacities†for the likes of Brendan Shanahan and Bill Daly, according to McKenzie.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/01/pat-lafontaine-just-started-a-new-gig-with-the-nhl/

 

[enthusiast]

Unless he's developing concussions in the community you just made it up. Don't lie.

 

[BloFan4Life]

Aside from hypotheticals I'm saying Terry promised him the final say. He lost it at some point and quit because he didn't want the position in that sense of agency. It's a reasonable and understandable response.

He lost it when he hired a GM. No GM is going to let someone else build their team. Sorry not happening.

 

[slip]

A BS job...

It appears that the former NHL star’s duties are as cloudy as his job description, as he’ll work in a “variety of capacities†for the likes of Brendan Shanahan and Bill Daly, according to McKenzie.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/01/pat-lafontaine-just-started-a-new-gig-with-the-nhl/

Great, just what we need: a bitter Lafontaine chirping into Shanaban's ear. We're so suspended before the puck even drops.

 

[BloFan4Life]

Unless he's developing concussions in the community you just made it up. Don't lie.

I didn't make it up. I had discussion with Pat himself about his role in the NHL. Pat was very busy in youth hockey and preventing concussions. He was approached by Bettman to do some work with concussions in the NHL.

 

[machpo]

He lost it when he hired a GM. No GM is going to let someone else build their team. Sorry not happening.

Seriously. What GM would ever agree to come on board with that sort of setup?

 

[dotcommunism]

Great, just what we need: a bitter Lafontaine chirping into Shanaban's ear. We're so suspended before the puck even drops.

Alternate theory: this is all an elaborate ruse. Fake LaFontaine's falling out with the Sabres organization so he can return to the NHL office and meticulously influence events in the favor of the Sabres without anyone being any the wiser...

Connor McDavid here we come

 

[Karate Johnson*]

Seriously. What GM would ever agree to come on board with that sort of setup?

It's an impossible setup to operate a hockey team under.

There has to be a guy who makes the decisions and it has to be all the decisions. You can't have Murray doing GM stuff, but for a big decision, like Miller or Nolan, LaFontaine has final say?


Despite people joking on twitter, we are in much better shape than we were 24 hours ago, knowing now the problem we were going to have.

 

[Karate Johnson*]

Alternate theory: this is all an elaborate ruse. Fake LaFontaine's falling out with the Sabres organization so he can return to the NHL office and meticulously influence events in the favor of the Sabres without anyone being any the wiser...

Connor McDavid here we come

Do you guys want to operate under this assumption when posting on the main boards? If we all stick to this story and use it whenever this situation comes up, eventually it will become true.

 

[slip]

Seriously. What GM would ever agree to come on board with that sort of setup?

Don't know who would come on board, but I know one GM that would submit to that kind of management structure, Jay Feaster:

CALGARY -- After a lengthy search to add an executive to the hockey operations department, the Calgary Flames had one name at the top of their list: Brian Burke.

Burke was named president of hockey operations during a press conference at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday, earning the new position after beating out a field of about 60 candidates.

"It's a very proud day for me to join the Calgary Flames," Burke said. "It's a great city, it's a great hockey market, great ownership group, great alumni group, and I just couldn't be more pleased to be here today."

Burke will report to Flames president and COO Ken King. General manager Jay Feaster will handle the day-to-day transactions of the department and will report to Burke.
Collectively, Burke and Feaster will head the on-ice brain trust of the Flames.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=681495

I wonder if Patty didn't have something like this in mind when he signed up for the job?

 

[Paxon]

He lost it when he hired a GM. No GM is going to let someone else build their team. Sorry not happening.

This is illogical. If we accept that Pegula hired him to have final say yet not be GM, why would hiring a GM change that? It obviously would not have implied LaFontaine working as President of Hockey Operations without a GM, because that would just make him the GM.

Whether you think it makes sense or not, LaFontaine was clearly under the impression that he had final say and could overrule the GM. All relevant evidence and contextual clues point to Pegula putting LaFontaine under that impression. If you find it ridiculous, then you simply find the position he was hired to fill and the situation Pegula created ridicuous.

 

[Beerz]

This is illogical. If we accept that Pegula hired him to have final say yet not be GM, why would hiring a GM change that? It obviously would not have implied LaFontaine working as President of Hockey Operations without a GM, because that would just make him the GM.

Whether you think it makes sense or not, LaFontaine was clearly under the impression that he had final say and could overrule the GM. All relevant evidence and contextual clues point to Pegula putting LaFontaine under that impression. If you find it ridiculous, then you simply find the position he was hired to fill and the situation Pegula created ridicuous.

We don't accept that Pegula gave Patty final say. The only time Patty had final say was when their was a void in the GM position ... after Murray was hired Lafontaine himself stated it was Murrays call.

 

[Karate Johnson*]

Don't know who would come on board, but I know one GM that would submit to that kind of management structure, Jay Feaster:



http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=681495

I wonder if Patty didn't have something like this in mind when he signed up for the job?

Jay Feaster lasted 3 months in that setup before getting fired.


Also, something to think about. The 4 teams who had VP of Hockey Operations:

Buffalo
Calgary
Edmonton
Columbus

So it's probably best that we don't have one and be grouped with those teams.

 

[Beerz]

Jay Feaster lasted 3 months in that setup before getting fired.


Also, something to think about. The 4 teams who had VP of Hockey Operations:

Buffalo
Calgary
Edmonton
Columbus

So it's probably best that we don't have one and be grouped with those teams.

Isn't Sakic one?