Who is to blame most for the Buffalo Sabres current state of affairs?

[5 Minute Major]

Who is most at fault?

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[The Blunder Years]

Terry. He’s the only constant in the drought. Hired an unqualified yes man and doesn’t put his management in complete control of the team.

 

[Mattilaus]

The one constant of the last 13 years

 

[Chainshot]

Fanboyed over Regier and Ruff when a top to bottom review would have been a better option.
Throws a lot of money away trying to fix what was already a flawed roster, takes a bath on buyouts especially after the league gets worried Buffalo is doing what Chicago did.
Throws a lot of money into arena training improvements, sees no improvement.
Reluctantly allows Ruff to be fired and allows Regier to slapdash the search, where he walks down the hall and hires an inexperienced dev coach to be HC.
Fanboy-hired an unqualified alumni to be team president who then clashed with the inexperienced GM he was brought in to hire and quit so hard the player does not do anything with the team at all. Allows the dev coach to be sacked but allows the President to bring back another alumni of the team in Nolan. Hires a bunch of scouts.
Nolan fails to motivate a poorly constructed roster and his issues with tactics are exposed, he's fired and replaced by Bylsma.
Fired the experienced coach in Abysmal and novice GM in Murray over the star player complaining on his own behalf and for some of the rest of the team about the coach.
Hires another inexperienced GM in Botterill, this time with the help of the league offices, who is in way over his head and hires not one but two of the worst coaches in team history. Changes a bunch of scouts.
Fires THAT GM, tries flat management with one of the terrible coaching hires, appointing his internal individual who has no experience as a GM in Adams.
Fires a bunch of scouts.

Three GM's, no one with any experience as an NHL GM. Few if any experienced hockey people ever brought on board at the outset to help set the front office up or improve things from within. It's Terry. Terry is the founder of the feast, the key to all of this.

 

[5 Minute Major]

Agreed @Chainshot

And the scary part is he will eventually be making new hires.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I went other. To justify that, and I’m talking about since 2020-21, it’s equally Adams, Granato, Pegula and the players.

While it’s true that they’re not all responsible for the 13 year drought (save Pegula), they ARE responsible for it continuing.

 

[sabremike]

Fanboyed over Regier and Ruff when a top to bottom review would have been a better option.
Throws a lot of money away trying to fix what was already a flawed roster, takes a bath on buyouts especially after the league gets worried Buffalo is doing what Chicago did.
Throws a lot of money into arena training improvements, sees no improvement.
Reluctantly allows Ruff to be fired and allows Regier to slapdash the search, where he walks down the hall and hires an inexperienced dev coach to be HC.
Fanboy-hired an unqualified alumni to be team president who then clashed with the inexperienced GM he was brought in to hire and quit so hard the player does not do anything with the team at all. Allows the dev coach to be sacked but allows the President to bring back another alumni of the team in Nolan. Hires a bunch of scouts.
Nolan fails to motivate a poorly constructed roster and his issues with tactics are exposed, he's fired and replaced by Bylsma.
Fired the experienced coach in Abysmal and novice GM in Murray over the star player complaining on his own behalf and for some of the rest of the team about the coach.
Hires another inexperienced GM in Botterill, this time with the help of the league offices, who is in way over his head and hires not one but two of the worst coaches in team history. Changes a bunch of scouts.
Fires THAT GM, tries flat management with one of the terrible coaching hires, appointing his internal individual who has no experience as a GM in Adams.
Fires a bunch of scouts.

Three GM's, no one with any experience as an NHL GM. Few if any experienced hockey people ever brought on board at the outset to help set the front office up or improve things from within. It's Terry. Terry is the founder of the feast, the key to all of this.

You can go after Nolan for not being a master tactician but saying he couldn't motivate that awful roster isn't true. He actually motivated them so much they nearly avoided the wooden spoon and completely wrecked the tank. The fact GMTM kept him thinking he would help the tank when Ted's calling card is polishing turds showed just how foolish GMTM was.

 

[Beerz]

Overall Pegula.

This year Don Granato.

Historically bad Eastern Conference and couldn't get This group in the playoffs.

Just about every player regressed.

 

[BB79]

Pegula. He's the root cause. Who was the last good coach or GM he brought in? I rest my case

 

[TheMistyStranger]

All of the above (except the booing fans, who would not exist without all of the above). To paraphrase BASEketball, it's a team sport, and it took every one of these guys working together to lose this one.

 

[RefsIdeas]

I implore people to go watch Terry Pegulas last press conference for the Sabres (back in 2020).

He said he was going to go lean. He said he didn’t do a GM search because Kevyn Adams always did his other tasks well.

They didn’t do a real coaching search and hired Granato.

He installed Kim (then himself) as the president.

Besides Taylor Hall, he’s shown zero interest in spending money on the Sabres since then. If you disagree, I have two words - Ben Bishop.

Yeah, Adams is unqualified and inexperienced. Yeah, our coaching staff isn’t the best. But this is what Terry wanted. A stripped down version of the Sabres to stop the bleeding of money.

It’s on him, 100%.

 

[Beerz]

I implore people to go watch Terry Pegulas last press conference for the Sabres (back in 2020).

He said he was going to go lean. He said he didn’t do a GM search because Kevyn Adams always did his other tasks well.

They didn’t do a real coaching search and hired Granato.

He installed Kim (then himself) as the president.

Besides Taylor Hall, he’s shown zero interest in spending money on the Sabres since then. If you disagree, I have two words - Ben Bishop.

Yeah, Adams is unqualified and inexperienced. Yeah, our coaching staff isn’t the best. But this is what Terry wanted. A stripped down version of the Sabres to stop the bleeding of money.

It’s on him, 100%.

Why do we as fans give 2 shits about him installing Kim or himself as Team President?

That position in this organization has zero to do with on ice decisions

 

[Gabrielor]

Pegula finally winning something!

 

[Ace]

Adams. Even with the complete lack of standard and obvious handicaps imparted from above him…he manages to make it even worse through inaction and blowing what moves he does make. If he had done anything that needed to be done with the roster the last two years…the drought would have ended. He did less.

Pegula is the worst owner in NHL history. Working for him is the biggest challenge in sports. And Adams is still the #1 reason the team’s drought has extended the last two seasons. His team building is atrocious. His depth signings are both overpaid and underwhelming. He’s indecisive, unqualified, incapable and it is not going to improve.

 

[RefsIdeas]

Why do we as fans give 2 shits about him installing Kim or himself as Team President?

That position in this organization has zero to do with on ice decisions

It’s the overall theme of him not spending money on the Sabres/meddling.

Adams. Even with the complete lack of standard and obvious handicaps imparted from above him…he manages to make it even worse through inaction and blowing what moves he does make. If he had done anything that needed to be done with the roster the last two years…the drought would have ended. He did less.

Adams only got the job because he brown nosed Terry Pegula for years.

He’s a yes-man. A puppet. Hes not even particularly good at being a puppet. But it’s somewhat difficult to place more blame on Adams than the one who hand-picked him for the job. Then made him fire a bunch of people on his first day.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Pegula saved and then ruined what was a top quality NHL franchise...at one time a destination for players across the league... and turned it into a joke. Now, a minor league franchise that feeds players to the big boy franchises.

In 1969, Buffalo was a niche hockey market. Solid record as an AHL farm team. Rochester, Hersey, Cleveland, etc. were its rival. Youth hockey was pretty raw with just a few clubs like the Regals and Amherst able to hold their own against teams from the Niagara Peninsula. Solid hockey roots from Nichols School but most everyone went somewhere else to play. Within 3 seasons, I (and some long time posters here) were playing competitive High School Hockey. New rinks were getting built. New associations were being formed. 50 years later.... compare and contrast! WNY had become a hockey hotbed rivaling NE, MI and MN.

Yet I hear rumors and rumblings from back home that this growth, and associated legacy, is now threatened by a growing lack of interest in the sport. Maybe that part of the big picture isn't true but it is FACT that the ticket paying WNY public is no longer interest in Sabre season tickets and the stands are now regularly filled with visiting team fans.

13 years of no playoffs and NO HOPE will do that to a community.

I lay most of this as well in the Pegula's lap. Clearly the most incompetent ownership in the league and probably only exceeded by the Arizona shit show.

 

[Ace]

It’s the overall theme of him not spending money on the Sabres/meddling.


Adams only got the job because he brown nosed Terry Pegula for years.

He’s a yes-man. A puppet. Hes not even particularly good at being a puppet. But it’s somewhat difficult to place more blame on Adams than the one who hand-picked him for the job. Then made him fire a bunch of people on his first day.

It’s not difficult at all. A qualified GM would have done more to help this team even within the confines of Pegula. He chose not to. Over and over again. He signs EJ for 3.5. Okposo and Girgensons for 2.5 each. Jost for 2. Olofsson for 4.5. Bryson for 1.8.

Are you kidding me? A bottom spender putting that money into those players?

A bad GM could have gotten them to the playoffs by now. He isn’t good enough to be a bad GM.

 

[Dubi Doo]

At this point, given all the failed hires- Pegula deserves most of the blame.

 

[RefsIdeas]

It’s not difficult at all. A qualified GM would have done more to help this team even within the confines of Pegula. He chose not to. Over and over again. He signs EJ for 3.5. Okposo and Girgensons for 2.5 each. Jost for 2. Olofsson for 4.5. Bryson for 1.8.

Are you kidding me? A bottom spender putting that money into those players?

A bad GM could have gotten them to the playoffs by now. He isn’t good enough to be a bad GM.

I dislike Adams as much as pretty much anybody. He’s not qualified, you’re right. But Pegula hired him without even conducting a GM search. Pretty easy to figure out who to blame.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Why do we as fans give 2 shits about him installing Kim or himself as Team President?

That position in this organization has zero to do with on ice decisions

Roster meddling comes to mind.

Go drill fracking wells Terry. Or develop some more properties. It's what you know how to do. Leave everything operational (other than check signing) to some real hockey guys. it's something you do not know how to do.

 

[Beerz]

Roster meddling comes to mind.

Go drill fracking wells Terry. Or develop some more properties. It's what you know how to do. Leave everything operational (other than check signing) to some real hockey guys. it's something you do not know how to do.

The roster meddling ...whatever that may be is a result of being the owner ... not Team President.

 

[theguardianII]

It's the GM mostly. Keeping his job, playing it safe.
They are a very good group on paper.
But they need another heart.

IMO Miller would have been that guy. there are probably cliques in the room. I remember when Tiger Williams was traded here and challenged the entire team, slack off and he beat the shlt out of you. Sometimes a player can do what management can't say or do.

But then they could described as "professionals", they play the game.

IMO they need a major shake up, two or three players. Mittelstadt being moved did shake it up a bit.

But then look at their division, no cake walk there.
They are not playing horrible just close but no cigar. Last year were they within one point for the last WC spot?

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

The roster meddling ...whatever that may be is a result of being the owner ... not Team President.

True......... But my attitude is so bad that I just throw them all into the same pot and turn up the heat. lol

I assume Team President extends to being responsible for the rink/facility and it's management.

I haven't been in there in about 5 years but I understand it's pretty well a dump these days.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Overall Pegula.

This year Don Granato.

Historically bad Eastern Conference and couldn't get This group in the playoffs.

Just about every player regressed.

Of course the buck should stop at the top, and that means Pegula. I still think he's been bad via incompetence as opposed to truly not caring. I think that he thinks the team could still be competitive under the lean spending, although that's probably very wishful thinking.

I voted Granato because despite all the blundering from the top, a good HC could take this talent and make it work, and actually justify Pegula's rationale as flawed as it may be. A good HC and staff would do wonders to have this group playing the right way, with expectations and accountability. They could easily be a playoff team, and we wouldn't all be here ready to light up an effigy or jump off a cliff.

 

[Mattilaus]

The roster meddling ...whatever that may be is a result of being the owner ... not Team President.

The general idea is that a president could work as a buffer between ownership and the GM. GM does his job, Terry gets mad, president explains decisions and takes the heat from ownership. Adams is now free to conduct his work without his direct report being the owner with no hockey knowledge whatsoever. That's how good management works in the real world. They allow the good people below them to do the work the right way and their job is to handle ownership/the people above them.

Again, not saying this is my view, just saying in theory that is why its important to have a president who isn't also the owner. It adds a buffer between the GM and ownership, allowing him to do his job more freely.