Why can’t Terry get it right

[Yultron]

Enough is Enough , I have a serious question to ask. Ever since the Pegula’s bought the Bills they are a perennial Playoff contender with a chance to compete for the Super Bowl every year and they broke the Bills playoff curse and took them from laughingstock to relevant .

Why can’t they do the same with the Sabres ??? I just don’t get it , 13 years in counting , so many years of suffering and just when we thought it was all over with Kevyn Adam’s with the good drafts , good trades , personnel decisions yet we are about to finish our 2nd full rebuild and we are all still talking about it . No end is in site .

Adam’s most recently oversaw one of the most important off-seasons in team history and all he had to show for it was Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton

I just don’t get it, why can’t this team win ? Is our losing culture really holding this team back

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[Ehran]

General consensus is that they lucked into the Beane / McDermott combo.

Remember, they had Rex Ryan as coach at one point. So it's not like they had a brilliant epiphany when they took over the Bills.

 

[Yultron]

General consensus is that they lucked into the Beane / McDermott combo.

Remember, they had Rex Ryan as coach at one point. So it's not like they had a brilliant epiphany when they took over the Bills.

So do the Pegula’s just generally have no idea how to build a winning culture? And are accustomed to losing .

Gosh that quote “Hope to lose” will never die

 

[Ace]

Well…he has steadfastly refused to hire an experienced person to run his hockey team since he fired Darcy in 2013. At some point in the last DECADE you’d think someone who has done the damn job before would be appealing to him. But it isn’t. Because he has only cared about the GMs ability to communicate with him. Which is either a fancy way of saying a yes man to do what he tells them…or, at the very least, someone who won’t tell him what needs to be done because he isn’t interested in doing it.

This is year 13. For both the drought….and his ownership. And he would rather lose than have someone else come in and have a plan he doesn’t like.

 

[BB79]

Well at least he doesn't hire soccer coaches to lead the team or anything.....oh wait..

 

[Jim Bob]

General consensus is that they lucked into the Beane / McDermott combo.

Remember, they had Rex Ryan as coach at one point. So it's not like they had a brilliant epiphany when they took over the Bills.

If you look at all of the hires for GMs and head coaches since the Pegulas bought the Sabres and the Bills, there are way more misses than quality hires.

The Pegulas bought the Bills in 2014. They inherited Doug Whaley as the GM & Doug Marrone as head coach.

They replaced Marrone with Rex Ryan heading into the 2015 season. Ryan was let go before the final game of his second season in Buffalo.

They hired McDermott. And after the first draft with McDermott working with Whaley, McDermott made the decision to clean house on the personnel side and they ended up hiring McDermott's guy in Brandon Beane.

The key move was hiring the right guy in McDermott.

The Pegulas bought the Sabres in February 2011. They inherited Darcy Regier as GM and Lindy Ruff as the head coach.

Reiger was let go in November 2013 and replaced with Tim Murray two months later.

Murray lasted roughly three years and was replaced by Jason Botterill. Botterill lasted roughly three years and was replaced by Kevyn Adams. And Adams has been GM for a little over three years at this point.

And on the head coaching side, you have the Ron Rolston and Ted Nolan 2.0 tankathon followed by Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger, and now Don Granato.

I think the biggest issue with the Sabres has been the unwillingness to hire an experienced NHL GM. Murray, Botterill, and Adams are all rookie GM hires. Murray and Botterill were both guys with good reputations around the league and were the guys that the NHL told the Pegulas to hire. After those two hires didn't work out, the Pegulas chose to hire "their guy" in rookie GM Adams.

On the head coach side, they have hired 3 first time NHL head coaches (Rolston, Housley, and Granato) and three head coaches with NHL experience (Nolan, Bylsma, and Krueger). Bylsma had the best winning% with the Sabres of the entire group (.485) and Nolan the worst (.337).

Ultimately, the Sabres need what the Bills have gotten between McDermott and Beane and that is someone that is building the roster that has the ability to make the right calls in key moments (drafting Josh Allen is far and away #1 for the Bills) and has the ability to shift how they build a roster based on where the team is in the building-competing continuum.

For example, when the Bills were building, Beane would not restructure deals and structure contracts to push cap hits into the future at the beginning. But, since the Bills have become contenders, he has shifted his approach to try and add as much talent as possible to the roster while they have Allen playing at a franchise QB level.

Adams has not made that shift from building to competing yet...

 

[sabremike]

If you look at all of the hires for GMs and head coaches since the Pegulas bought the Sabres and the Bills, there are way more misses than quality hires.

The Pegulas bought the Bills in 2014. They inherited Doug Whaley as the GM & Doug Marrone as head coach.

They replaced Marrone with Rex Ryan heading into the 2015 season. Ryan was let go before the final game of his second season in Buffalo.

They hired McDermott. And after the first draft with McDermott working with Whaley, McDermott made the decision to clean house on the personnel side and they ended up hiring McDermott's guy in Brandon Beane.

The key move was hiring the right guy in McDermott.

The Pegulas bought the Sabres in February 2011. They inherited Darcy Regier as GM and Lindy Ruff as the head coach.

Reiger was let go in November 2013 and replaced with Tim Murray two months later.

Murray lasted roughly three years and was replaced by Jason Botterill. Botterill lasted roughly three years and was replaced by Kevyn Adams. And Adams has been GM for a little over three years at this point.

And on the head coaching side, you have the Ron Rolston and Ted Nolan 2.0 tankathon followed by Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger, and now Don Granato.

I think the biggest issue with the Sabres has been the unwillingness to hire an experienced NHL GM. Murray, Botterill, and Adams are all rookie GM hires. Murray and Botterill were both guys with good reputations around the league and were the guys that the NHL told the Pegulas to hire. After those two hires didn't work out, the Pegulas chose to hire "their guy" in rookie GM Adams.

On the head coach side, they have hired 3 first time NHL head coaches (Rolston, Housley, and Granato) and three head coaches with NHL experience (Nolan, Bylsma, and Krueger). Bylsma had the best winning% with the Sabres of the entire group (.485) and Nolan the worst (.337).

Ultimately, the Sabres need what the Bills have gotten between McDermott and Beane and that is someone that is building the roster that has the ability to make the right calls in key moments (drafting Josh Allen is far and away #1 for the Bills) and has the ability to shift how they build a roster based on where the team is in the building-competing continuum.

For example, when the Bills were building, Beane would not restructure deals and structure contracts to push cap hits into the future at the beginning. But, since the Bills have become contenders, he has shifted his approach to try and add as much talent as possible to the roster while they have Allen playing at a franchise QB level.

Adams has not made that shift from building to competing yet...

I just need to point out nobody in NHL history has been done dirty worse than Ted Nolan. Of all the guys they have hired he honestly produced better results vs expectations despite being sent on the biggest suicide mission in hockey history.

 

[Jim Bob]

I just need to point out nobody in NHL history has been done dirty worse than Ted Nolan. Of all the guys they have hired he honestly produced better results vs expectations despite being sent on the biggest suicide mission in hockey history.

Nolan knew what he was getting into. And given that nobody wanted to give him another chance after the Isles let him go...

 

[May Day 10]

Well…he has steadfastly refused to hire an experienced person to run his hockey team since he fired Darcy in 2013. At some point in the last DECADE you’d think someone who has done the damn job before would be appealing to him. But it isn’t. Because he has only cared about the GMs ability to communicate with him. Which is either a fancy way of saying a yes man to do what he tells them…or, at the very least, someone who won’t tell him what needs to be done because he isn’t interested in doing it.

This is year 13. For both the drought….and his ownership. And he would rather lose than have someone else come in and have a plan he doesn’t like.

This pretty much sums it up and should be stickied.

It is all about Pegula's need to 'communicate' and share his 'ideas'. He bought this team because he was a bored rich guy and wanted to get his mid life crisis kicks.

When LaFontaine and later Murray were let go, Pegula, at his PC first and foremost said he regretted that he gave up control and he said he never would again. I got chills up my spine when I heard those words.

Adams is the only GM in the league with no other options, so he gladly will deal with ownership meddling and ownership having jurisdiction over head coaches and such. Same thing with Granato. No other options so he happily coaches here despite the organization being broken. This all is the same dynamics of the drought-era Bills under Wilson. He kept everything in his inner circle and the only people who would work here were ones with no other options and would take direction from Russ Brandon and Littman.

This franchise will never improve until Pegula hires someone with experience, clout, and credibility at the very top of the organization, then provides resources and autonomy to rebuild from the top-down. IMO Pegula will never do that.

 

[sabremike]

Nolan knew what he was getting into. And given that nobody wanted to give him another chance after the Isles let him go...

You might want to check out his book as it's quite illuminating.

 

[Jim Bob]

You might want to check out his book as it's quite illuminating.

Ted's own book painting him as being done dirty is not shocking.

The truth is unlikely to be what any one person involved with the Sabres over the last three decades would try to suggest it was.

And Ted's .337 Winning% the second time around is far from the best vs expectations since the Pegulas took over.

 

[sabremike]

Ted's own book painting him as being done dirty is not shocking.

The truth is unlikely to be what any one person involved with the Sabres over the last three decades would try to suggest it was.

And Ted's .337 Winning% the second time around is far from the best vs expectations since the Pegulas took over.

His GM specifically went out and acquired the worst goalie in the league specifically to lose games. The fact that the 2014-15 team wasn't even the worst Sabres team of the decade was borderline miraculous.

 

[Gabrielor]

He's a rich, successful, sports idiot.

He should sell the Sabres (to someone who keeps them in Buffalo).

 

[Jim Bob]

His GM specifically went out and acquired the worst goalie in the league specifically to lose games. The fact that the 2014-15 team wasn't even the worst Sabres team of the decade was borderline miraculous.

And everyone in hockey knew that was the game plan entering that season. Nolan took the job knowing that was the plan.

It was not a bait and switch situation.

 

[dortt]

because he is a f***ing imbecile!

 

[slip]

Terry is like Jerry Jones without the championship rings to even semi-justify his insane level of hubris and meddlesome behavior.

Can't wait for his daughter to take over. Something tells me she won't be calling the GM multiple times a day to offer her silly opinions on hockey matters. Heck, she may even deem in necessary to hire qualified individuals who value winning and playoff revenue.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

Its been 12 years and they've only been close to making the playoffs once...

At what point is Terry going to admit he has zero clue on how to run a hockey team?

 

[buffalowing88]

I have two points of defense on Pegula:

1. I don't think he's 'dumb' or an 'imbecile' or some penny pincher. I think he's misguided but he's been willing to open up the purse strings for the roster and that's more than some fanbases in this league can say about their owner.

2. I understand not wanting to continue to re-set the organization every time they face adversity. There's something to be said for continuity and he's clearly considering that by not firing Adams/Granato. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. Continually re-setting every time the team underachieves just lets the situation spiral further out of control and honestly, we're now talking about the team losing the fanbase permanently at this point.

With all of that said, he's clearly a shitty evaluator of personnel when it comes to hockey and it's time that he recognized that and hired an actual team president who can overhaul the front office and has experience in that role, not a yes-man like Adams who has somehow, against all odds, become the worst GM in a series of shitty GMs.

 

[Reddawg]

I realize I'm the minority but I think Kevyn Adams has done a hell of a lot of very positive things for this team. I really don't know what the current problem is, but I do not believe it's him. I don't think it's Donny either, but he'll probably end up getting the boot anyway because that's what has to happen if the team isn't getting it done on your watch. The old "can't fire the entire team" adage.

I do think if we're going to start over AGAIN with new GM, new coach...it would be heavily in the team's best interests to choose a proven winner for each of the positions rather than continually being a "first NHL top job" scenario. Look what Laviolette has done for the Rangers...that's what we need here.

 

[May Day 10]

Adams is in his 4th season and they are as bad (worse?) as when he took over. This currently is the 9th worst points % of the 13 year drought, only surpassed by the 2 tank teams, the team quitting on Housley/the Dahlin year, and the Krueger losing streak/Owen Power year.

Anyone saying or suggesting that making necessary front office changes will require another 4-year rebuild reset is using a fear mongering talking point. Right now we can agree they have a relatively decent quantity of good assets. Lots of players on long-term deals like it or not.

This isnt the NFL when you hire a coach and need to overhaul the rosters on both sides of the ball to fit his offensive system and defensive front 7 alignment.

I would go as far as to say a new set of (experienced) eyes would probably do this current situation wonders and get the franchise on track in quicker order.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

i think hockey is just a bit more mercurial, and if you don’t hire the right guys it goes south. I still believe in Adams, but obviously the entire coaching staff is in question. Meanwhile top available coaches all seem to have warts, and we aren’t the most desirable market. Rather than throw money at the problem Pegula seems to hope we’ll luck into a John Cooper, maybe, or resurrect a meh coach. Idk, but at this point I’m poaching the best assistants from teams actually exhibiting competence.

 

[Sabre the Win]

Adams has not made that shift from building to competing yet...

Hello nail, meet hammer.

This reason alone is the reason why this team is being held back.

 

[Ace]

How long would it take a new GM to do the obvious things that most of us have pointed out Adams hasn’t the last two years? Yes the coach needs to go. He’s not helping. But the warnings the team’s growth was going to hit the skids were all over the place…on this very board. Adams got credit for planting a flower…and he hasn’t watered the f***ing thing in years. That’s why it died.

 

[Jim Bob]

How long would it take a new GM to do the obvious things that most of us have pointed out Adams hasn’t the last two years? Yes the coach needs to go. He’s not helping. But the warnings the team’s growth was going to hit the skids were all over the place…on this very board. Adams got credit for planting a flower…and he hasn’t watered the f***ing thing in years. That’s why it died.

If we want to go with gardening analogies, I think the issue is that Adams did not provide a quality trellis for which the plants to lean on as they grow.

Having the youngest roster in the NHL, and the 5th least experienced roster (NHL GP), in a season that was supposed to be about competing for the playoffs was a huge gamble by Adams. And it is not working out.

 

[Sabre the Win]

Adams just isn't doing his job, simple as that.

I would have traded top prospects for Tomas Hertl who was rumored to be available. He is a quality player that would infuse this line-up with a ton of skill and has experience while still under 30. I would be targeting these types of players (like he did with Tuch). It's stupid that Adams thinks he can just run out kids for the next 10 years and think its going to change.

You have found players that work, time to insulate them with actual talent by spending picks and prospects. You can build prospects back up for down the line later. As of right now, there is no room for all the prospects we currently have who have a lot of value and might not ever make the NHL.