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Just being satisfied with having a team isn't enough anymore. 14 years of no playoffs is pathetic. This better be one busy off-season to show they care. No quality FA will sign here unless he has zero other offers. Playing scared isn't a culture. Trades.

BPA re: F/D/G in trade

Erick Huala just traded to Nashville from New Jersey, I beleive it was a 4th round pick that went to NJ, I bet they are freeing up salary to do something big For Nashville this is weird, another aging forward who was very bad last year This is wild

Was listening to the Barenaked Ladies children's album (Snack Time) recently and I think the answer is there. The Sabres won't have the pick. 9 will be GONE. You know why? Because 7-8-9.

I understand what you're saying. Nothing could be further removed from my experience. Whether it's the delirium brought on by an OT winner (Briere in 2006, for example) or the delirium brought on by a beloved favourite being played as a surprise encore (remember when that blind guy got on stage with U2 to play guitar and Bono sang "All I Want Is You" to the guy's wife?), the fundamental point of supporting teams or artists is communion.

Ryan Donato extends in Chicago, 4 years x 4 million per, 16 million total

The basketball comparison that you made is relevant and applicable to hockey, and all team sports. You have to have a sufficient supporting cast for your star/s in order to attain championships. And, as you point out, you need a wise coach who can fit the pieces together.

From the Stanley Cup winning Panthers? Any and all of them. From the rest of the league? Anyone who knows what to do when your teammate is lying unconscious on the ice. Essentially, almost all North American hockey players not playing for the Sabres. That’s who I want. Anyone but the guys we have that isn’t a giant *****.

Are they going to need to make moves to keep everyone under the cap? And if we trade for them then they won’t have a choice (barring a nmc).

Zucker.

My understanding is that it was Pegula who “encouraged “ him to add some experienced people to the staff to help him. And it was up to KA to choose who he wanted. I can’t say that for sure. I’m conjecturing here. As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t matter much to me who was behind the change compared to the fact that it was done. There is nothing novel about having “senior advisors” working as consultants and as a sounding board. Many teams have this type of added structure. Florida has this type of senior consultants. I consider the addition of Jarmo to be a positive move.

Who would want to play for adams or Ruff?

I’d be mildly surprised if anyone of significance is removed from the Panthers roster. Certainly no one that wants to come to Buffalo. I mean no one actually wants to play hockey for the Sabres not even the guys we have despite what Adams and the players say.

I agree and appreciate your point about supporting casts as no superstar ever won anything on his own. That said and regarding Jordan and the Bulls, the fact he won the first three with a different starting five than the last three suggests to me that Jordan was less dependent on his supporting casts than his supporting casts were on him. That said, Phil Jackson’s importance as coach cannot be overstated either as his teams did well even without Jordan for the nearly two full seasons Jordan sat out. Apologies to the thread for the digression into an NBA discussion.

I respect that, and I even admit that I feel that 'energy' when at a big game. But for me, I don't really want it. The bigger the game, the MORE I want to be at home by myself, to really get into the game, to watch every nuance that is happening, the less I want to be sitting next to "Joe from Cheektowaga" who is yelling and swearing and cheering and wanting to give me (and everyone else) a high five after every score. Again, I'm not denying the energy of it and even feeling it in a positive way, but for some of us, it can take away from the nuance of the game. I'd almost rather have my 'at the arena' entertainment involving those around me to be between periods/quarters, before the game, in commercial breaks...etc. During the game I want nothing distracting me from the game itself.

If it was KA .... he must feel he has infinite job security. Can you imagine going to your boss after 5 years of futility (at best) on the job and telling him/her 'I need help'?

I don’t think he’s here to help us. We’re here to help him. I think Adams is just helping his buddy get his end of playing career started.

Knowing that Jarmo has the Zito connection, I wonder if he has relationships with anyone else in that front office. Wouldn’t mind prying someone from the Panthers.

In terms of the job itself, that doesn’t really matter at this point. He didn’t choose to be here back then, but he did this time. But still, the hiring does absolutely nothing for me… nothing positive or negative. He has no experience and he’s pretty much just a blank page at this point. It could go anywhere.

What’s to like about the Staal hire? He quit or never bothered to show up here as a player? Did that endear him to you?

Just listened to the interview. Thompson has a pro attitude. Appreciates the game. The son of an NHL player and coach, he understands the business side of it. Heard the disappointment in his voice at not experiencing an NHL playoff game yet. My guess is unless the Sabres make major changes this off season, he will ask for a trade. Maybe already has. Savvy GM, new winning Coach, a difference maker or two, and perhaps he sticks around to help Buffalo. Buffalo sure hasn’t done much to help him.

Yes, I should modify my original statement. The advisor itself didn’t fail, but for whatever reason, that advisor-advisee relationship failed. That needs to be fixed. There’s nothing left for me to say at this point other than “hopefully it works”. I can’t do anything about it and I’m not going to invest any extra energy into worrying about it.

I'm not sure who was the main initiator was for the Jarmo hiring, TP or KA, but I like it. It seems to me that outside eyes are very often better at seeing things than taking an insular approach. And to a lesser extent, the hiring of Staal, even if it is for a lower consultant position, adds an outside perspective to the team and in evaluation other players in the league.

Which is why his supporters, and there are some left, will tell you is why he went rogue with his last hire. As I responded previously, I’m not defending the decision, I think Adams should be gone, but his past experiences seem to have lead him to this illogical decision.

I’m not sure that even if he was allowed to have the surgery he preferred that he would have stayed. He made it clear through a variety of reps, one of which was his father, that he wanted no part of another rebuild project. The organization tried to placate him by bringing in some veterans but it was less than adequate . He was right in his judgment of the franchise and didn’t want to get stuck here. He didn’t demand to go to any particular team but was determined to get out of this stink hole and start afresh somewhere else. He made the right decision for himself, just like Reinhardt and Ullmark were. The lesson to be learned is that systematic dysfunction has costly consequences.