dudacek

I think that played a big role in how they approached this year. It didn’t help.

Wow. Other than the continued misplaced faith in the Eakin line, that's almost what I asked for.

I suspect (hope?) they've finally convinced him that it is better off for everyone involved if he stays away until he's himself again.

Yes. Or at least preferable. That said, a leadership role in a music company (I'm not overly familiar with what Kim did in that area of the Pegula enterprise) is probably more relevant to the Sabres president job than being a first-line centre. I think you're fighting the wrong battle here: it's irrelevant whether Kim "deserves" the job; what's important is whether she's good at it. So far she has failed to hire the right hockey people or make the paying customers happy. In my view, that's at least partially because she hasn't been able to convince her husband to stop playing fantasy GM

Hall Cozens Reinhart Skinner Mittelstadt Lazar Olofsson Staal Reider Asplund Sheahan Thompson Please and thank you. Don't care how it looks on paper. Try something new.

How in the world does being being a football player on a good team qualify one to be the president of a huge entertainment business? Then again, I don't think we had a thread questioning Pat Lafontaine's credentials, did we?

I think the Twitter threads (and this one) are the social media equivalent of an "..and did you see her nails?" in the school cafeteria.

Others are going to tackle the underlying elements of the question, so I will approach it at face value. What qualifications do you need to be a president of a sports team? It's not a trade where you need to show proficiency in a particular skill, like carpenter, or broadcaster, or hockey player. Nor is it a job that requires a specific degree of expertise or knowledge on a specific area like software developer, or lawyer or analytics director. It basically requires you to lead people and make decisions, predominantly business decisions, so a social presence and a sharp mind and a business background Most importantly, you need the trust of the owner. From superficial viewing at least, Kim seems to check all those boxes.

I think anyone pinning the multitude of poor performances solely on Krueger is in for a rude awakening. Exterior factors do affect performance. But the single biggest factor is always the player himself.

I have no information other than what he presented to the public and how I saw him use his players. Neither of those things showed me what I am looking for.

I think this has vanished pretty much since Lindy Ruff was handed his walking papers. Teddy demanded effort but he didn't have the horses to demand results. Murray was sloppy, Bylsma ignored, Botterill wilfully blind, and Housley soft as pillows. Jeff Skinner scored three goals in 60 games and people were stunned and outraged he got sat. That's wrong. How can you be surprised at the lack of accountability when you don't demand it? Adams doesn't need to be a hardass, but he needs to set a standard: Do your job or we will give someone else a chance to do it. It starts with Krueger, but it needs to include people like Staal, and Eakin, and Okposo and anyone else who is not carrying their load.

I was with you, but that was based on Skinner rebounding, Staal being good, Hall being Hall and Jack being Jack. I'm not convinced that any of those things were going to happen this year any more, no matter the coach. I hope the rest of the season gives each an opportunity to prove me wrong

For Eichel, as things stand now? Absolutely. Mix and match depending on the trade partner, but generally speaking the ask would have to be one of two things: * a package including a lesser but proven forward asset to plug into Jack's slot and eat cap, a high-level skill prospect, and a pick or prospect to sweeten (Think Kopitar and Byfield, Zibanejad and Lafreniere, or Kane and Dach, sweeten as needed) * a hockey trade involving similar value players maybe in need of a change (Think Barkov and Spencer Knight for Eichel and Ristolainen, or Petersson and Virtanen for Eichel and Montour, sweeten as needed) I'm not advocating the above or saying they are good valie, just throwing them out there as the types of packages needed to make this a conversation. If the best things on the table are HFBoards offers like Kakko, Strome and a pick, Jack needs to get used to the blue and gold.

I'm pretty sure that Montour's game will improve if he is put in a position that maximizes his strengths: IMO, that is paired with a reliable 2LD, encouraged to attack, and given some PP time. When he was acquired, I always kinda envisioned he and McCabe would do that here, but we've rarely seen it.

I think what has become pretty obvious is that the most common initial fears about Krueger became true: his strengths as a leader were not enough to overcome his weaknesses as a tactician. I think the way all three of his head coaching seasons have played out reflect that: when other coaches have adjusted, he has been unable to adjust back. It's probably pertinent that a large chunk of his career was focused on preparing for quick-burst tournament play.

@Thorny and I debated this a lot in the fall. In practice I was wrong that the odds of Hutton playing enough to make a difference didn't warrant the cost, and he was wrong that the team would be good enough for it to matter.

I think the King would be absolutely nuts not to trade all of Turcotte, Kaliyev and Byfield for Eichel (along with something to balance cap). Straight up bonkers. None of those three have done a thing to indicate they will be anywhere near Eichel's level. Turcotte and Kaliyev today equate to Mittelstadt and Thompson two years ago. Byfield to Nolan Patrick. Sure they might turn into Suzuki, Yamamoto and Ryan Johansson before he got paid, but that's kinda worst-case scenario and you still got Jack Eichel. Bird in the hand.

I think Adams is a smart guy who knows how to manage people. I thought the same things about Ralph. I was on board with the thought process behind most of the moves Adams has made so far. I don't expect instant results. But only the results matter.

This makes a lot of sense. Don't see it happening because of first bold below Second bold is the crux for me and should be for Adams. Adams also needs to show he is in charge and send a message that he means what he says about accountability and what he deems acceptable.

Always a good idea to lean into what the fans are saying. 😂

Sorry, that wasn't meant to be a shot. There were direct reports when Krueger was hired that Krueger's name was one Rutherford had saved, and he recommended Botterill take a look. I don't have time to go hunting right now, but there might be links in the Krueger hiring thread that just got resurrected.

Not arguing your points at all, however it should be pointed out he did have one off-season success: the special teams. PK has moved from among the all-time worst to top-10. The PP is top 3. Faceoff win percentage has moved into top 10 as well. Generally speaking, Sheahan and Reider and Lazar were good value signings that filled a need. Small consolation, I know.

In Botterill's defence, it was on the recommendation of your boy Rutherford

Are you thinking of the 86 squad, that was the first one to completely break my young heart. I mean looking back it had Foligno and Ramsey, but the realization that Tucker, Cyr, Creighton, Barasso or even Housley and Andreychuk weren’t going to save us was a slap in the face. And Perreault retiring and leaving us with the likes of fossils like Gillies and Fogolin and Paiement and Napier and Phil ***** Russel, and slugs like Dykstra and Hospodar and Jim Korn and Jacques Cloutier. 🤮

Are we sure this isn’t just a pen artistic rendering of Colin Miller’s mission statement?