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I don't think there can be any debate the flaws arise from the top of the pile: an owner who wants a GM to implement the owner's "vision" who has been unable to find a GM who can both do that, and be successful at the same time. I don't doubt he can find one; just look at Brandon Beane. But it's not been Kevyn Adams, and it's hard to find hope he will ever figure it out, no matter how many people Terry lets him hire.

Beane tried to move up to 5 and had a deal set with the Broncos before Elway backed out to draft Chubb. If Cleveland drafted Chubb instead of Ward, the Broncos would have made the deal and Beane would have taken Allen at 5. So Terry did nothing to hold the Bills at 7.

The issue isn't the quantity of staff as much as it is the quality of the top decision makers, including the owner. You can have the best staff in the business but still fail if the top of the top of the operation isn't functioning smartly. I understand why the owner went into austerity mode during the covid period. His hockey and hospitality business were hemorrhaging money. So his belt tightening response was understandable. But after that challenging period, his decision-making on staff and hockey decisions have been very inadequate (to put it mildly), to the point of relegating this flailing franchise to being an expected back of the pack franchise by others in the business. This organization has handcuffed itself due to its own foolishness. (I'm not suggesting that you are saying otherwise.) It just so tiresome. On the bright side, the hiring of an experienced person to join the upper staff is encouraging. There needs to be more follow-up.

In my experience this is a common trait among corporate leaders. The difference is that also in my experience they also know to surround themselves with competent people who drive success. This is clearly not something Pegula does. I think the key takeaway is that it at least one reporter is putting into the public view. I can only hope that there's continued focus on these things. Naturally having never made the play-offs during his ownership speaks for itself, but the details add weight.

Terry is Denethor

the lore is that Beane more wanted Darnold; that it was Pegula who caught a vibe off Allen; and that it was the owner's say-so that allowed the team to remain at 7 (?) and choose Allen. i am now legitimately ... hopeful that Jarmo is a sort of Gandalf. i also remain skeptical, since i don't think Terry can be reset to some noble leader state of mind.

Hopefully Jarmo’s ideas are better😃

Adams will run back UPL and Levi because he doesn't have his own ideas.

I will probably break down and pony up for this article. Fairburn should be saluted and supported for being perhaps the only truth teller re: Sabres left. Of course the truth he reported on has been known since almost Day One, but those with a rich guy fetish denied it and made me the villain instead. Correction. Day One. "I like hard-working, gritty players." Within weeks one of the Tweety Bird daughters let it slip her dad was impressed by Ehrhoff in the playoffs. New, old news.

You make an insightful observation about which franchise makes much more money. But the irony is that if the hockey franchise was more competently run and most likely be reflected in the play and competitiveness, the hockey franchise would be more profitable. More tickets would be sold, more concession $$ would be accrued, playoff $$$ would be added and with better management of player contracts there would be a smarter relationship between player costs and production. I agree with you that the NHL team revenue would not come close to NFL team revenue. But what is indisputable is because TP has run a third-rate operation, the revenue return is also third rate. I don't care what business you are in, leaving money on the table due to ineptness, is never a smart way to run any business. And when you are not serious about your particular business and are competing against owners who are serious about competing, you end up at the bottom of an empty barrel. A generation of stupidity does take a toll on the spread sheet.

to be clear: the grima wormtongue trope likens Adams to Grima. Grima is not under a spell. It is the noble king of Rohan (?) who is under the spell. And Grima is the on-site tool of an evil wizard who cast the spell. the spell leaves the king looking like this. the analogy founders because it's not as though Pegula is some noble leader whose liberation from some soul/mind control spell is all we need. adams is a grima corollary, for sure. but pegula is no theoden (sp?).

I've told the story about briefly working with a man who (said he) knew Terry well during his Olean days. "He's a nice guy, but he thinks he knows more than he does."

Good but not great GM. yes, he drafted the "saviour" but there are a lot of other high draft picks that haven't worked out Hasnt been able to make the trades / acquisitions that have gotten the Bills past the Chiefs. (Yet?)

It's relevant to the Sabres because it shows that a strong GM can thrive under Pegula. It means that if Pegula would pull his head out his ass and fire Adams and get lucky in hiring his replacement, the Sabres could be a successful franchise again.

Do people think the Sabres still have a bare-bones hockey department? Post- COVID it has gradually returned to what I perceived as more or less "normal" NHL levels. Last time I looked at things, they were still kinda shy in pro scouting but high in player development/coaching, and pretty typical in the front office, analytics and amateur scouting. The inner circle looks something like this: GM: Adams Senior advisor: Kekalainen Associate GM: Karmanos Head coach: Ruff VP hockey strategy and research: Ventura (analytics) Assistant GM Forton (scouting) Assistant GM Jakubowski (caps/contracts) Assistant to the GM: Staal Pro scouting: Crowe Amateur scouting: Nightingale Player development: Mair I don't think the Sabres website has been updated in a while and this is the movement season in the hockey business, but the team has roughly 13 scouts (it's not broken down into pro and amateur) 2 analytics engineers 4 NHL assistant coaches 1 AHL head coach 2 AHL assistant coaches 3 development coaches 2 video coaches 1 skating and skills instructor So that's 39 people. Plus it has a 10-person "performance department" dedicated to the health and fitness of the athletes (strength coach etc).

Why would you blame Larry Playfair for any of this? He still lives in WNY, and he was President of the Sabre's Alumni Association up to about 2012. I saw him last summer at the Harbor Center watching a Jr. Sabres game, it appeared that a group of Alumni were celebrating his birthday too. He took some time to talk about the "good old days" and he is a really good guy.

I suspect he thought he was getting the next Martin Broduer.

Don't put that on Beane though... that was 123% McDermott.

Fine but that's the reason they are good. The Bills could have won a superbowl (13 seconds) if McBean had been smarter. I don't really care about what Pegula did with the Bills. It's 10000000000000% irrelevant to the Sabres.

My view is the Bills are bordering on great because of Josh Allen. Had they not found Allen, then Beane and McDermott would have prioritized bringing in a veteran QB who would have helped them be a good, if not elite, team. Of course, Pegula might have fired them after a couple of 10-7 WC seasons, but I think the Bills have been in good hands with Beane and McDermott.

The Reino trade "happened" during Kevyn's first summer when he extended Reinhart one single year instead of locking him up long term. That was the signal, even before the Eichel madness, that he was blowing it all up.

Josh Allen is a Bill because McBeane.

The Bills are good because Beane targeted Allen (who had MANY detractors) and made a series of deals to move up 14 spots to draft him. He didn't need a tank to draft Allen, as the Bills ended their 17 year playoff drought the season before. And Allen isn't the only good player Beane's drafted or acquired, and he is a key contributor to the excellent culture the team possesses. In other words, the Bills are good because they have a good GM.

Almost guaranteed what Pegula will do regardless of outcomes. No accountability at the top of Sabrehood