Three biggest blunders in organizational history

[jBuds]

i was at that game when Hasek went in for Fuhr against Boston and he was amazing.....you could be right. I always wondered if Hasek played the rest of the playoffs against montreal what would of been.

I don't remember - was Fuhr that bad in that series?

 

[Doom71]

Going way back.....
Drafting Ric Seiling instead of Mike Bossy !!
Imagine Bossy with Perreault.

 

[Ness]

K-Sly as a fill-in for RJ a couple of years ago.

"Take that, Tootoo!"

 

[Jacob582]

Montreal only lost 4 games that playoffs to win the Cup, and they swept us.

IMO the Sabres outplayed them in all 4 of those games except Roy played phenomenal and Fuhr was below average.

 

[Jame]

Adelphia

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

I have to say for me it's losing 23 and 48. A shame, if only TPegs were here then...

I'll also put a vote for the turd jerseys...

 

[Wisent42]

Losing co-captains the way we did. The situation was what it was and decisions had to be made, but the problem is that decisions weren't made. They just walked. From what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, Briere wanted to stay, but management were more eager to sign Drury, so they held out on Briere and lost both. That's a horrible mistake.

I guess that also forced their hand on matching Edmonton's offer on Vanek. Combined, that's probably the biggest blunder.

The buffaslug... I didn't mind it that much. Yes, that logo was horrible but I liked the jersey. It's not half as bad as the current third jersey.

 

[TehDoak]

God. So many. To be fair, I didn't really start following the team till 98-ish, so I'm limited in my scope.

-Coming out of the 04-05 lockout, giving everyone one year contracts. This led directly to the co-captains debacle and having a bunch of players on bad contracts for the small salary cap.

-Not resolving the Mike Peca situation in season in 2000-2001. The Sabres had a contending team and could have either A) used him B) used the assets that were offered for him. I still believe that it led directly to Hasek demanding a trade because he felt the ownership was too cheap to ever put together a contender. He was right.

There are plenty of little ones, but those are the big ones that really stick out to me.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

Losing co-captains the way we did. The situation was what it was and decisions had to be made, but the problem is that decisions weren't made. They just walked. From what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, Briere wanted to stay, but management were more eager to sign Drury, so they held out on Briere and lost both. That's a horrible mistake.

I guess that also forced their hand on matching Edmonton's offer on Vanek. Combined, that's probably the biggest blunder.

The buffaslug... I didn't mind it that much. Yes, that logo was horrible but I liked the jersey. It's not half as bad as the current third jersey.

The problem for me with that being a big blunder is there was a lot of he said she said including a verbal agreement with Drury that supposedly Drury broke...not that a verbal agreement is worth much now a days. So without the truth it is tough to say who screwed that up even though it is easy to put the blame on Galisano and Regier.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

Montreal only lost 4 games that playoffs to win the Cup, and they swept us.

IMO the Sabres outplayed them in all 4 of those games except Roy played phenomenal and Fuhr was below average.

It was 4-2 versus Boston and then Hasek went in and Boston scored within the first few minutes after that Hasek was a wall and made something like 15 saves. We lost all four games 4-3 vs Montreal. I have no doubt if Hasek was the real deal back then we would of won the cup. We had Lafontaine, Mogilny and Hawerchuk combined for 36 points in the 8 games....oh and Bob Corkum was on the team then too

 

[Crazy Tasty]

Adelphia

Rigas Family.

Larry Quinn.

 

[brian_griffin]

What are the three biggest blunders in the history of our organization?

Some immediate nominees (hopefully some of the older fans can add some early ones):

- co-captains walking
- Hasek trade
- slug logo
- Ron ROLSTON

What say you?

Rolston wouldn't even make my top-10. How many games was he coach - 25? There were a lot of musical-chair coaches in the late 70s after Floyd Smith and late 80s after Bowman. Rolston didn't ruin anyone's career, didn't trade anyone of key importance, etc.

Its simple, the biggest organizational blunder ever was when they named Scotty Bowman as the GM. Great coach but the worse GM the Sabres ever had.

My #1 as well. Rushed Rick Martin back from injury. Traded Schoenfeld and Gare. Coached, then didn't coach, then coached.

Not stocking up on d before the 2006 playoffs.
Letting Dumont, Grier, and McKee go.
Not signing Briere to the 5x5 he originally wanted.

My #2. Just 1 NHL journeyman, bottom-pairing d-man would have avoided the catastrophe.

Thinking Roy and Connelly could take over for both Briere and Drury

The Fuhr trade

Letting Tim Horton drive home

Honorable mention.

Going way back.....
Drafting Ric Seiling instead of Mike Bossy !!
Imagine Bossy with Perreault.

No love for Moosejaw, Saskatchewan? I can only assume the Sabres were keen on Ric because of his older brother.
I was too young to follow the draft at that time (and the media coverage, let alone instant social media, didn't exist then either).
As a boy, I remember reading Bossy had been a prolific scorer since he started playing hockey, usually playing years-up to get equal competition. I remember reading a magazine article that he scored 21 goals in his first game, against players 3 years older than he was. Bossy and Lemieux are, by far, the best pure goal scorers I've ever seen.

Adelphia

Interesting. Had not considered that one. [I work with a guy from Coudersport who was boyhood friends and school teammates with Tim Rigas. My co-worker still had contact with him - golfing, dinner, etc. - on trips home until his imprisonment. Without being protective of him, he insists he's a great guy, and exceedingly generous.]

 

[TehDoak]

It was 4-2 versus Boston and then Hasek went in and Boston scored within the first few minutes after that Hasek was a wall and made something like 15 saves. We lost all four games 4-3 vs Montreal. I have no doubt if Hasek was the real deal back then we would of won the cup. We had Lafontaine, Mogilny and Hawerchuk combined for 36 points in the 8 games....oh and Bob Corkum was on the team then too

That is clearly the benefit of hindsight, since we know now that Hasek is a HOFer. Putting in a relative unknown for a 4 time cup winner would be a HUGE risk. And even then having Hasek in doesn't guarantee anything. We could have just as easily lost in 5.

 

[Wisent42]

The problem for me with that being a big blunder is there was a lot of he said she said including a verbal agreement with Drury that supposedly Drury broke...not that a verbal agreement is worth much now a days. So without the truth it is tough to say who screwed that up even though it is easy to put the blame on Galisano and Regier.

True that, but either way you put it, management ended up in a situation where both Drury and Briere walked and furthermore forced to match Edmonton's offer on Vanek. it's a screw up. And besides, I loved Vanek and I am happy that he was here for all those years, but you can't help but wonder...

 

[Clock]

Co-captains is closest to my heart.

 

[TehDoak]

Co-captains is closest to my heart.

The only redeeming thing about that day was the awesome 7/1/07 GDT thread.

 

[MayDay]

1) Losing Briere and Drury for nothing
2) the Rigas ownership - debacle nearly cost Buffalo the team
3) the Leino signing - didn't actually hurt the franchise as much, but has to be included for the sheer level of embarassment. Easily the worst free agent signing in franchise history.

 

[ZZamboni]

Rigas Family.

Larry Quinn.

I don't care for Larry Quinn. I really don't. However, he was a key (not the only) in getting the Winter classic to Buffalo. Also he assisted the Knox bros. in getting the (then crossroads) FNC arena built. He's many things, and made many mistakes. But one of the biggest blunders in Sabres history? I disagree.

 

[kenfury]

John Regis/Adelphia. Not only did it drag the team down at the time but put Golisano in as owner. While I am thankful for the team staying, Golisano as a cost conscious owner caused the 23/48 debacle. Regis set the organization back 10 years.

 

[Crazy Tasty]

I don't care for Larry Quinn. I really don't. However, he was a key (not the only) in getting the Winter classic to Buffalo. Also he assisted the Knox bros. in getting the (then crossroads) FNC arena built. He's many things, and made many mistakes. But one of the biggest blunders in Sabres history? I disagree.

I know he did some right in his two stints here, but IMO he did far more wrong.

 

[Djp]

1, No Gooal

2. Drury/Briere walk

3. Darcy not tading for a Dman at the 05/06 deadline

 

[pigpen65]

Lindy Ruff. Terrible coach. Coward and quitter as a player. Choker. Loser. 15 years of choking and losing with him.

 

[Crazy Tasty]

Lindy Ruff. Terrible coach. Coward and quitter as a player. Choker. Loser. 15 years of choking and losing with him.

Tell us how you really feel.

 

[joshjull]

Montreal only lost 4 games that playoffs to win the Cup, and they swept us.

IMO the Sabres outplayed them in all 4 of those games except Roy played phenomenal and Fuhr was below average.

It was 4-2 versus Boston and then Hasek went in and Boston scored within the first few minutes after that Hasek was a wall and made something like 15 saves. We lost all four games 4-3 vs Montreal. I have no doubt if Hasek was the real deal back then we would of won the cup. We had Lafontaine, Mogilny and Hawerchuk combined for 36 points in the 8 games....oh and Bob Corkum was on the team then too

You guys may want to refresh your memories.

1) Hasek had yet to emerge as the goalie we know him as. That season his save % was .896 to Fuhr's .891. The following season is when Hasek started to be what we know him as now.

2) Lafontaine and Mogilny were both injured and done for the year in Game #3 of that series. Mogilny broke his leg and Lafontaine injured his knee. That game, one could argue, changed the fortunes of the franchise since those two only played 38gms together after that due to injuries. Had they not been injured and had a couple more seasons playing at the level. Then add in Hasek coming into his own……… What could have been.


But the odds we would have won the Cup without LaFontaine/Mogilny would have been pretty long. Its pretty ridiculous to argue simply playing Hasek wins us a Cup with those two out.

 

[JetBlk]

Did anyone notice that the OP said three biggest blunders then posts four?