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Well you can't really judge his competence from that either. You can only do that when he actually makes some moves. So in any event it was some sort of test or evaluation. For all we know he told him secretly that he would be GM and his last 8 months was already evaluating for his moves to come. I'm really just thinking this might explain all of Adams inaction this year. Pegula might have nixed any bigger moves. Now they can either sign or move Tuch. Resolve the goalies and do whatever else they think they need to do. I do agree he's a fresh entity with no ties to anyone here and that's good. Everybody can potentially go. First firing should be Staal. Get rid of all those Carolina bums. Just because.

Yeah, that's interesting. My impression is when the 5v5 D coverage is executed correctly, it seems to be effective. Notably as of late. Have the players not been quick enough to play D? Is there something wrong with the 5v5 scheme? I think perhaps he'd have to stay, just as you say, a PK specialist. I mean, you can't give up that PK - if the season is somehow salvaged, the PK will be the reason why, getting them though this period and all.

Yes, I think people like Adams rationalize their failures and live on “what if’s.” I don’t want to take this too deep but I think it’s part of the fabric of the human condition to never admit that your success or lack thereof was really the result of your own abilities or limitations and had little to nothing to do with circumstances or other people.

yes.

He probably had Terry’s ear over the 2 weeks, without KA’s 2 cents.

Did he touch the brim of his hat?

He should have been canned last year after the 0-10-3 stretch. I guess Purgatory had another year left on his deal.

Umm, that coach is Wilford. The guy that is also responsible for the 5v5 defensive zone coverage. Maybe keep him, but make him a PK coaching specialist?

In my estimation much of the ill-informed strategy from Adams was rooted in an unwillingness to accept how fundamental the playoff drought is to what the Buffalo Sabres are right now, up to and including what it portends for how to fix them. I feel like most who have really closely followed the team in recent years can catch the times and instances where he’s seemed to go out of his way towards distancing himself from the sort of immediacy and urgency one would think such a historic drought would demand. Not to mention trials like the stick salute cancellation which illustrated to me the message from the players that they “weren’t cool” with being they punching bags of 14 years of frustration rather than just their…6? I mean, I get it. But it’s only upon the recognition the sabres *are* the drought right now and an acceptance of responsibility to fix it as such that it *can* be fixed, again in my estimation Attaching a long form, excruciatingly slow play rebuild on the tail end of missing the playoffs for a decade already was never going to work in this market. More so, it was never going to work for this franchise: the culture of low expectation has been hammered home so arduously since 2015 that it literally collapses upon itself when more slow-play is heaped on to the end. It pervades the psyche of the players. They are aware of the unaccountability. People always say, “what does it mean to wear such and such crest”. That’s what being a Sabre means right now. Adams didn’t have interest in understanding the true nature of what ailed us, and he understood it a damn sight less than Jack Eichel did, who asked out when he got wind of, to use his words, a team that wasn’t going to be in a situation where they were “going to try and go win”. to me, Adams was never a Sabre. I’m hopelessly biased, I have been since Eichel, my favourite player, and the franchise’s best chance for relevancy, was traded: but frankly, the fact I haven’t changed my argument since thst day, once in 6 years, when it comes to Adams and his plan, and objectively haven’t needed to, probably at least means something

I guess we'll see if Lindy is a GMJK guy and if the speculation that Lindy was told to take Appert et all was/is correct or not. If he likes Lindy and gives Lindy the ability to shape his coaching staff, does Appert go? The only coach worth keeping is whoever is responsible for the PK.

Bet he was fired for hiring Torts. If all you say is true, why is he not still in Columbus?

Lindy seems like a GMJK kind of coach. I'll be surprised if he's fired. What I do expect is a shakeup in the scouting department, perhaps a few assistant coaches as well.

Welcome back!!!!

Now I’m really interested in the Sabres. It’s long time coming.

It was likely a test, or better to call it an evaluation, of his competence, stature and temperament. Jarmo’s role as an advisor would not likely be a good way to test if he will follow all orders without question. He is not married to any of the AGMs, scouts, coaches, or players so I expect we will see significant changes. Having 8 months in house will help him to determine who to keep. I want to hope that Terry did this hire better than the others.

Adams was hired for a job he was not qualified for and he failed to grow into the role, despite being given an overly long leash with which to do so. I’ll remember his failure as being based largely on 3 fronts: 1. Gross negligence in the crease: he entered just one of his six seasons with a ‘settled’ situation in goal. Even that blew up in his face when UPL’s game imploded after getting his big contract. 2. An aversion to experience both on the ice and off it: his preferred path was giving people their first opportunities at whatever role he was tapping them for and trusting them to figure it out eventually. 3. A preference for people he liked over people who got the job done: there is a long list of Marty Wilfords, Jacob Brysons and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonens littering his tenure. His desired outcome always seemed to be “we’ve had honest conversations and he’s happy to be here” over all else. Jarmo will bring a better depth of knowledge, accompanied by what I expect will be a more decisive, cutthroat approach — befitting of what is a decisive, cutthroat, results-based business. He's qualified, he's had a look inside the hood already, and the cupboard is not bare. I think this was always the most likely outcome from the decisions made last spring. My greatest fear was it would be accompanied by an utter meltdown where we would lose Tage, Tuch and Ras in the process, and the clock would have to be reset yet again. But that hasn't happened yet, and it does not need to be the case. Onward, and (hopefully) upward.

Kekāläinen took a doormat franchise and built a team that made the playoffs 4 straight years and knocked off the President's Trophy winning Lightning in 2019. His tenure wasn't perfect, but he made them a helluva lot better. Hired Torts. Drafted much of the young core they're building around now, too. He's a quantum leap past Adams.

Not even gonna try. It's either GMJK or Jarmo for me. You want carpal tunnel surgery, have at it.

Firing him at any point during the season would qualify as arbitrary. To remove that label they would have had to do exactly what they should have done and fire him during the past offseason… especially since the knowingly brought in the replacement already .

I still am at a wait and see approach... hope its not just toilet paper at the wall and Jarmo happened to stick... show me

He never played for them. Neither did Jarmo.

Not necessarily. If the Bills win out, a single Cheats loss, provided it isn't to the Crows, gives the Bills the tie-breaker edge. IF the Bills lose to the J-E-S-T jest Jest JEST then the Cheats would need to lose to both Miami and NY to give the Bills the tie-breaker edge.

Genuinely curious what you mean by "he wasn't... a Sabre." There are a few different ways one can take this, so I was hoping you'd expound!

He's got a contract. He'll get paid.