nfreeman

It's true that the Vanek/Pommer/Miller selloff yielded assets that went towards ROR and Kaner -- although other assets were certainly included -- especially in the Kane trade, in which the key piece was Myers. However, I don't really view that selloff as "the tank." Most teams that aren't cup contenders trade their pending UFAs -- and most teams don't intentionally ice terrible teams for the next 2 seasons, including by hiring a coach with essentially no knowledge of current NHL styles of, in order to obtain high draft picks, which is what I regard as the tank. I think Risto is debatable because the Sabres, and Rahn, were still trying to win in 2012-13 -- they went 8-4 in April that year. That wasn't part of the program in the next 2 years, which IMHO were the true tank years. This is fair. The results aren't in yet. If Jackie boy leads them to the playoffs next year and then to a string of, say, 6 conf. finals or better in the following 9 years, it will have been a success. But if they miss again next year, making it 7 years with no playoffs, including 5 in a row starting with the tank (6 under the TB/dudacek definition of the tank era)? I'll feel vindicated, although certainly not happy, in continuing to believe that the right move would've been to have canned DR at the end of the 2012-13 season and brought in a new GM and coach with the mandate of "become a playoff team ASAP while maintaining cap flexibility to add difference-makers as they become available so the team can gradually improve its playoff results over time."

I think that of that list, only Eichel and Reino are Sabres because of the tank, with Risto being debatable. ROR and Kane were hockey trades, and Nylander was a post-tank draft pick.

Zito's resume looks good (Yale undergrad & played hockey there, attorney, NHL player agent), but I really don't like hiring from an organization with zero playoff success.

Please provide a link to a quote from TP in which he said faith was a criterion. If you are unable to do so (which you won't be able to, because he hasn't said this), then, based on the definition of "criteria," it doesn't seem like you can plausibly make the case that he is hiring people due to their religion.

Except that McDavid had zero impact on the Sabres being the 5th-worst team in the NHL this year -- which is why the tank was a terrible decision -- i.e. it usually doesn't work.

Whaley received his extension in January 2016 -- a solid 16 months ago. He was entering the final year of his deal, so the extension prevented him from being a lame duck. An extension in these circumstances is very common. Here is what TP said at the time: That is hardly high praise -- and really could be characterized as muted. As I and many others -- including many professional NFL writers -- have said, keeping DW and the scouting staff until after the draft was the logical move for the franchise. I agree that DW (and RB, IMHO) should've been fired as soon as TP bought the team, just like he should've fired Darcy. But TP doesn't believe in buying something and then firing everyone. He believes in giving people a chance to prove themselves. That doesn't make him a bad guy, or fickle, or lacking in character. Similarly, giving DW an extension entering his lame-duck year, praising him fairly moderately at the time and then firing him 16 months later (after 16 months of continued terrible performance) doesn't make him a bad guy, or fickle or lacking in character, nor does it mean the extension was an embarrassment. It just means DW didn't do a good job, TP decided he'd given DW enough rope, and it was time to cut his losses and move on. I think TP will have plenty of high-quality applicants for the GM job -- just as he's had for the Sabres' GM job. What a tiresome and foolish meme this has become. Correct.

Why? Calgary hasn't done anything in forever.

The cinematography is indeed outstanding.

Yes indeed.

Well, one man's "tough, pointed, well-constructed" question is another man's "obnoxious, antagonistic and pointless, because it won't get answered and only serves to entrench the questioner's isolation from and lack of sources in the organization" question. Having said that, I too am concerned about hiring a coach first, and then a GM. In this case, I think there are mitigating factors -- namely, wanting to keep the benefits of the year's worth of scouting -- but it is a concern nevertheless. I also think the plan since hiring McD was to unload DW after the draft and bring in a new GM who is sympatico with McD. That of course raises the question again of whether too much trust is being granted to McD. I'm cautiously optimistic but we'll see.

Patience, grasshopper. I think this is what is going to happen. He is working on finding the right GM, and being deliberate and meeting with a bunch of different people, which is what he should be doing. Once the GM is hired, though, TP isn't going to micromanage.

This is pretty much where I am -- especially because he has a team-friendly contract -- but I also think he has more upside than many others think he has.

Interesting. I wonder whether DW is still backing EJ?

No, but do you think that means DW should've remained as GM?

This is a very valid concern IMHO. I like what I've seen of McD but one could easily conclude that TP cottoned to him in his interview and rashly gave him the keys to the entire operation without him demonstrating the competence to justify the move.

Do you think they should've kept DW? Do you think DW is unhappy that TP gave him a fat extension, so that he will continue to be paid a multimillion dollar salary for the next few years? Do you think DW thought that he couldn't be fired for poor performance? Do you think TP should've announced publicly a year ago that DW might get fired if the Bills continued to stink and look like a Mickey Mouse organization in the process? How do you think the real world works?

I am not happy that a man has lost his job (I recall SFiNS putting this very well when DR was fired), but I am glad the Bills have turned the page. I think they have a real chance of rejoining the world of serious NFL teams now.

If you don't want to get hosed in the lottery every GD year -- don't be a crappy team and end up in the lottery every GD year.

OK -- that was pretty cool.

Seconded. I have zero interest in the AGM of a team with zero playoff series wins ever.

Please let his GF's name be Elaine...

I agree. He could very easily wash out.

Nice. Thanks.

Well, i didn't watch those interviews with Kane. But my takeaway from TP's stressing of "character, communication, etc" was that it related more to failings in how the organization was run off the ice than to individual players. I.e. it seemed to me that TP came away from the exit interviews with players and staff with the impression that GMTM ran a disorganized snake pit of an organization, and that this inevitably had deleterious effects on the on-ice product. Also, my understanding is that Kane generally practices hard and doesn't present a team discipline problem. If I'm wrong about that, then I think your prediction becomes more likely.

I'm going to predict that Kane is not a goner (assuming he stays out of trouble this summer). I think TP will not micromanage his new GM on something like this -- and that the new GM is going to want to keep Kane.