Agreed. The notion that he was doing what he was doing despite management's plans is as fabricated as any other narrative.
The only truth we have is that Nolan completed the objective, and made the Sabres look credible while doing it (which means he upheld his side of plausible deniability).
For all we know, Nolan exceeded all of the internal goals set for him. Even Hackett, for all we know Murray said "I don't give a damn about him," and Teddy made it look good.
And there's no way Babcock comes here? Bullsh$t. There are as many good reasons for Babcock to come here as there are for any place else, maybe even more.