Mango

You asked for evidence of Terry meddling. You specifically asked for a major/ credible publication. There are quotes from Terry himself when questioned about his own meddling saying he goes around the president of the team. He has admitted that other owners say he’s crazy. A major newspaper has an article about him firing his coach without talking even discussing it with the GM. A coach the GM didn’t even want to hire in the first place, mind you. And a GM he kept around for another 4 months plus a draft. Forton himself is a friend of the family hire. His brother in law is the business manager for Pegula. Pegula has had 2 members of his senior leadership team bail on him before their contacts were up. Granted Marrone and LaFontaine are ash hats. But nobody walks out on executive roles in the big 4. Pegula has had 2. I’ve jumped through the hoops. Do what you like. But Pegula is a mess.

When asked about going around Ted Black to scheming with Darcy Terry Pegula literally said “Ted Black doesn’t have a monopoly on hockey IQ”. What article do you need? He admitted it. Before McBean the Toronto Sun reported that Pegula fired Rex without taking to Whaley first. https://torontosun.com/2017/01/05/terry-pegula-a-case-study-in-billionaire-sports-team-owners-gone-wrong If you want a detailed statement you’re never ever going to get it. So congrats on winning this one. But you’ve basically made it impossible to do otherwise.

There’s certainly been stories that have leaked out like the Skinner extension. It’s been rumored that McBeane have a no meddling clause. It’s further been speculated that Briere asked for the same but it was denied. There is also that insane slide deck that was released where the Pegula’s told the team that part of Pegulas sports was to “maintain family lifestyle” Since buying the Bills it’s been common knowledge that Terry has a stranglehold on local media outlets. He’s been noted for being quick to pull access for anybody who is critical so you’ve seen less stories. There’s also been some questionable quotes from Terry: I am not sure what is proof for you? Botrill getting in front of mic and going through a slide deck of specific instances Terry got in the way? Terry to stand at the podium and say “I Terry Pegula regularly overrule the hockey people in the building and a regular basis” You are never ever going to get any of that from any professional sports owner in any of the big 4 leagues in the US.

I think everybody is white knuckling at the moment. I have some connections in manufacturing, IOT, and remote access, and there is a major slow down in production globally. Machine builders aren't moving anything out the door. The US seems to be a quarter or two behind but APAC and EMEA.

I have been in tech the better part of 10 years. It has been quietly very bad. I know people who have spent a career at the director level with pretty notable vendors who have been on the sidelines for a year. A friend who is a tech sales recruiter is always talking about how she doesn't understand all the talk of booming or bounce back, that she hasn't seen a job market this bad in a very very long time.

I posted earlier that I think that big part of keeping Levi in Rochester isn't for his development. Rather to keep them in the playoff race. When they sent Levi down they were 2 points away from being on the outside looking in. They are now 4 points from missing the playoffs. My tinfoil hat says Tokarski is the next man up because Rochester is mediocre and if they miss the playoffs the wheels fall off this FO completely.

This now makes Adams the longest tenured playoff drought in the league. (Assuming the standings stay the same as they are today) Technically Arizona hired Bill Armstrong the same offseason as Adams, but KA was hired 3 months earlier. Way to go Terry!

This is an actual concern for me. I am struggling to see why we waited his long to make a change at assistant when it was near the top of every single persons to do list. I don't see how this is anything other than trying to elongate job security. I honestly believe the below could happen: 24-25 Season: Miss the playoffs again. "Well, it takes some time for the new coaching staff to gel and the team to pick up the changes. We are still very young. A lot of excitement about the future in this building"....Rolls it back 25-26 Season: Donnie is fired mid-season, we miss the playoffs. "We wish Donnie could have stuck around but he had to deal with some health issues and he thought it was best for him to spend time with his family" 26-27 Season: New coach. Misses the playoff again. "We believe in the talent in this building. It often takes time to pick up a new system and the players to gel". The fan base has been so gutted that it is almost like there are no more fans to make noise. It isn't like Pegula cares that we average like 600 people per game. Maybe it would be better to go the Cleveland Browns route and fill the entire place up with fans with paper bags over their heads?

Not the worst idea. A good guy to have in the building in general. But considering he proactively tried to work for the org as a senior consultant or whatever and they didn't bring him in. I cannot imagine Kevyn Adams bringing him in as a coach if he doesn't want him as an extra set of eyes and ears. I am pretty sure that Kevyn Adams is like a kid wearing his dads suit playing dress up. The dude is just Tom Hanks in BIG. Everyday his number one priority is convincing everybody around him that he knows what he is doing....Which is why hiring a Berube or McLellan will never happen. He would be exposed.

I agree that would be a great tool for Adams, but given the Mclean article this week it does not seem like the org is open to outside thought at the moment. Adams turned down hiring a senior adviser and then told us just a few months ago that "our Stanley Cup window opens now" and rolled out this team. I just don't see how that guy hires a quality HC who pushes him to change. In fact I don't see how a quality HC ends up taking the role with him as GM. A number of people called for Adams head prior to this season. I defended him because the org was a mess. We needed to clear out some of the toxicity. The team improved somewhat every year. The writing was on the wall this past offseason. Goalie, defense, replace Matt Ellis. He did none of those things, called us a Stanley cup contender, and we are under .500. Adams doesn't need a new HC. We need a new GM.

I get that and I agree. You can't replace Terry. I still think replacing Kevyn Adams is more important than replacing Donnie. It is just delaying the inevitable. We have a roster a team vision construction problem at its core. A better coach will still be running a flawed team. Replace the GM and you replace Granato too. Replace Granato and we still have Kevyn "Our Stanley Cup window opens now" Adams.

I didn't say any of that. We are poorly run from the top down. Pegula struggles to find quality hockey people and/or give the the freedom to operate. Kevin Adams over values the prospects we have in the system and his baseline vision for the roster is flawed at best. Donnie isn't getting the most of what we have. ________ If you solve Donnie you have an unqualfied guy you still have a flawed roster and an even more flawed person assembling it. If you solve Adams you have a better hockey man but a meddlesome owner. If you solve Pegula you stand a chance to put the pieces in place down the line. This isn't a get out of jail free card for meatballs. I just think upgrading Donnie first is simply delaying the inevitable. He is the symptom not the disease.

It was a super inconsistent exercise where Mitts and Tuch star in Multiplicity 2 but I also tried to realistically fill some holes on the roster with guys who are here and real players in the NHL who are not available. In order to keep it grounded in reality while also make some cap room I traded Skinner. Try and keep up. (Mitts and Tuch sounds like a Sabres Space buddy comedy about a couple of doctors who also play bar league hockey….with a woman!)

Kevyn Adams is far more detrimental to this franchise than Meatballs is. My depth chart for most important moves for this franchise is as follows: 1. Pegula sells the team to somebody who keeps it in Buffalo. 2. Get a new GM 3. Replace Donnie Don't get me wrong. Coaching is a problem and is likely a problem no matter who is GM and owner. But I truly believe Terry Pegula is a worse owner and Kevyn Adams is a worse GM than Granato is a hockey coach by some margin.

Folks, lets not forget that to open this season Kevyn Adams said he thought this team was a Stanley Cup contender. That isn't hyperbole. He didn't think this was a developmental year. He didn't think next year was the year. He didn't even say generically "we expect to be competitive". He legitimately said the below: The guy literally woke up in October and thought "Yup, this is a championship caliber team" To be so wrong without any outside catastrophe is fireable offense in any business unit, in any org, across the country. This is when I wish Buffalo was a bigger market and had less control over its beat reporters. Adams/Pegula should be asked about this quote everyday until they cry.

I honestly don't know what to think about anything anymore. Like, we clearly lack some bottom end depth/physical play. Guys who play big and tough. Girgs and Okie are part of that problem. But if a team like Boston, winning the east right now, wants these guys.... That said, I think there would be a lot less criticism of these guys if we had a Deslauriers and/or Reaves around. I do think this team is a couple of clones away from being a lot better. At least the foreword group. Benson- Thompson - Tuch Peterka - Mitts - Quinn Greenway - Mitts - Tuch Deslauriers - Girgs - Okie/Reaves

That isn't what I am saying at all. I am all for making any trade you know you are going to win. Everybody fan of every sports team is. Like if I were an Edmonton fan I would be against trading McDavid. But if the return on McDavid was Mackinnon, Rantanen, and Makar from the Av's I would have a listen. So in general I would be against trading McDavid. But if that is the return then yes in that specific scenario I am for it. The inverse is I Skinner. I like Skinner. He is a nice piece. Funny dude. But he is over paid and we need more guys with a 200 foot game and some grit. My operating window for moving Skinner is a lot bigger. I am pro moving him to free up some cash. But if the return was 37 year old Tim Kennedy I would be pretty upset. You have to understand that nuance right? I don't really care where Casey and Dylan started. Just like I hate when a rookie QB throws a million INT's and we have to hear about Peyton Manning. Developing takes time. I get that. The Sabres have a lot of developing players. Some of them are costing us a lot of money and some of them have arrived and need extensions (Peterka/Mitts) I am in a spot where I am ready to move on from guys taking up space who have not arrived in order to keep guys that are producing a real life NHL level. Mitts was a clunky boneheaded young player. Cozens looks like he has no idea where he is supposed to be sometimes. He could certainly turn out to be a better NHL player than Mitts, but I am fairly confident that it will not be next year and likely not the year after that. If it happens I think it will be 3 years away. For me, it needs to definitively be next year. We aren't talking about a 32 year old center vs. a 20 year old. These are two pretty young centers. At $7M per year I don't have the patience for the "But he, they, we are young" for some of these guys anymore. We cannot continue to be 2, 3, 4 years away. That cannot be the plan.

Funny you mention that. This article came out today. https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/buffalo-sabres-nhl-doug-maclean-kevyn-adams-columbus-blue-jackets/article_6b6eff34-c76c-11ee-97a9-eb4884dd06d4.html A few interesting quotes that I fail to link together as anything other than "I won't bad mouth anybody. There are good players, but not the players they think they have. Organizationally they have no interest in doing anything different or hearing from anybody else."

Honestly, I think we are putting too much pressure on the market to keep the team in Buffalo and not enough on Terry. He bought this team from an owner who mandated that the next buyer keep the team in Buffalo. Pegula can and should do the same. He destroyed this fanbase/franchise, ran this thing into the ground, then took $1B from the locals to fund another sports venture. Terry Pegula owes it to Sabres fans, the city, and the state to make sure that any sale of this team includes the same or stronger no-movement language that he signed himself. The only reason this team leaves Buffalo is because Terry allows it to. The weight of that falls squarely on his shoulders, not the NHL's, not market conditions, nothing.

If I am not mistaken, Cozens only notable injuries are getting punched in the face in November and then a UBI a couple weeks ago. The Cozens injury stuff is way over played. His ice time is low because he skates around aimlessly in his own end and is directly responsible for a number of goals against. If this behavior is because of getting beat up he should take the year off and protect his brain. (Seriously) At what cost and when? Next year? 3 years? 5 years? Like heading into this offseason we hoped an UPL extension would be bottom of the barrel, and based on his play it may be a little bit more than that. What if we can get Mitts for $6M and UPL's deal cost us an extra $1M per year. Going into next year I would rather have both of Mitts/UPL than 1 Dylan Cozens. 99.99% of the league has a price. If the Sabres can outright win a trade for any player on the roster they should move them. That is true for almost every player on every franchise. Release and trade away lesser players for better players that make the team better. This is the general description of every GM in every sport. It drives me bonkers. Every fan of every team would be OK with trading any player on their roster for an upgraded player. We aren't having a legitimate discussion on who should and shouldn't be on this team if the fall back is "if trading him makes us better we should do it". It was rumored McDavid was on the block this year. I specifically said "just about" anything. I think once Mitts get to the $7M mark you have to start to ask some questions. But I don't think he signs anywhere for above that asking price. I also did not mention anything about the "wants to be here". That isn't a reason to keep Mitts. The reason to keep Mitts is because he is easily the best or tied for the best center on the roster. And the only center who has any semblance of a 200 foot game. Casey is a legimitely talented C in the league right now. I agree with the the take on Adams continuing to parrot it. But it is a pretty small part of why I value Casey on this team.

You left out the Ryan Reynolds/Marcus McElhenney group. I am half joking. But also not. If the Sabres were for sale looking at regional interests make sense. The Remington Group who joined them is a developer in Ontario with HQ in Toronto. Not to mention that Reynolds and Co. only pulled out because they wanted a 30 day exclusivity window. If Terry sells the team I think it is behind closed doors. With the way both of these guys have treated Wrexham and the way Rob feels about Philly sports, I have to believe these two would be one of the best shots at keeping the team here.

Hate Boston everything, but really like Okie the person. I could get behind him in Boston for a playoff run at the cup.

This is over complicating the depth chart. I think we all know what Kevyn Adams wants Mitts to be and how he would like the depth chart to fall based on contracts. But the fact of the matter is Casey leads all centers in average ice time and leads the team in points. And on top of that, more often than not whatever line he is centering tends to be the best Sabres line on the ice on any given night. If you want to call Tage the 1C because he is Tage or whatever, go ahead. I won't argue. But based on actual hockey Casey is not that 3rd center on this team. And frankly the continued insinuated that Mitts is the 3C and Cozens is the 2C is part of the problem with this team. Guys aren't in roles based on merit. They are in roles based on contracts and expectations. Adams needs to do (just about) whatever it takes to extend Mitts.

That makes a lot of sense. But Adams was extended first then Granato 3 weeks later. Sept 21 - Oct 12/2022. It is still a possibility but would have to be 6D tiddlywinks.

I posted this in another thread. One big thing that is becoming deeply concerning in year 4 is the Rochester Americans. This whole concept is based on drafting well, having depth in the system, retaining our own, and next man up from the minors when costs get high. Right now the Amerks are 4th in a division where 5 teams make the playoffs. 2 points out of missing the playoffs all together. They are 21st in a league where 23 teams make the playoffs. Granted they have some games in hand and I would be surprised if they miss. But it is not a good look. My tinfoil hat says that sending Levi down with some permanence has more to do with needing to secure a playoff birth for the minor team than it is about where they would rather develop the kid. I think If Rochester was winning their division Levi would be backing up UPL right now. This whole thing is a mess on a million levels and reeks of a GM who has no idea what he is doing. None. Zero.