Jsixspd

That sort of move would mean Russ Brandon had more control of the Sabres than we would think possible. LOL It would probably be a good short term buzz/pop for ticket sales, but a poor long term decision. I think keeping Linus is a smart move. Team needs a good solid backup. Not sure it has much connection, one way or another, to Lehner's status.

What has he done so far? Nothing - just talk. We're focused on tomorrow - we're not gonna even discuss the past. It's about intestinal fortitude. And Character or something. And grilled ham and cheese.

I agree. Why is there even a discussion? Need a faster more effective D-man who can actually get an assist once in awhile - having him on the ice 20 minutes per game was ridiculous. And Dan Bylsma, late in the season, lauded and praised Gorges as the sort of player Bylsma wanted on his team.... no wonder Bylsma had almost the whole team quit on him.

:lol:

Ok, Pens won the series - where's the announcement? There's a lot of work to be done by the new GM and time's a wasting.

He seems kind of slow, and his stats have been in decline. I think we need better.

Terrible location for a 'winter classic' Jan 1 2018 - only ~ 7 1/2 months away - we could be a team on the rebound by then..... or mired in the bottom mud and ooze of the Atlantic.

And it's Beane. Astonishing that the Bills' GM search is complete before the Sabres'. And yeah, it's because Pens are still in a series but..... amazing and I want to be peevish about it. So I will be. Yup - we have a novice HC and novice GM - from an organization that I don't find all that impressive and has never won the big dance, and now are the highest ranking management of a team in disarray that could use a seasoned, competent football czar in charge, or at least a seasoned GM or seasoned HC, but instead has on the job training as a core value. Good things ahead, no doubt, :rolleyes:

After enduring 2 years of Pittsburgh's "Stanley Cup winning" HC molding the Sabres, I'm so not optimistic about the results of The Pittsburgh Effect on the Sabres.

I wonder if there is a universe where the Bills won even one of those 4 Superbowls? Nah.... can't believe it - in every alternate reality they lose them in unique, and ever more heartbreaking, fashion. Buffalo is the nexus of the negative realities that binds them all together.

We can heap similar praise on McDermott. So far, these most recent picks of Pegula's are full of win..... or least, full of not lose as win is a bit of a stretch at this juncture.

National sports media has the Bills in a race for the bottom already. http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/08/bills-bottom-dwellers-early-power-rankings/

Will the Bills be the Panthers-lite, much like Pegula is trying to craft the Sabres as Pens-lite? O Or is this because McDermott got most of the say in hiring his new 'boss' - who will probably run and fetch the coffee in the office for Sean and T-Pegs? "How much cream would you like, sirs?". lol

If he's hired, then yes, in a year or two or three this topic will be relevant as his inevitable firing approaches. Maybe less than a year if the Sabres finish 78-82 pts next season.

LOL!!! At this point - I could see Pegula making yet another course reversal/hard-about in 6 months and firing him. IF Pegula were a skipper, his nickname would be "Crazy Ivan".

When you figure that half the teams in the NHL make it to the playoffs, I guess it could be considered a huge failure. Honestly, I think we'll be doing good to get to .500 - it's been, what, 6 years since we were even there? .500 might be enough to squeak into a playoff berth too, so killing two birds with one stone, perhaps?

I have the feeling as the years progress, that the Pegulas will make the ever meddling Ralph Wilson Jr. seem like Mr. "Hands Off" by comparison. With these people, an employee can be dynamite one day, 4 or 5 months later they're handing out pink slips. They're volatile, impulsive, meddling owners, who don't have a good plan or strategy. They also don't take much responsibility and aren't terribly honest- I sincerely doubt Pegula was as distanced from the Bylsma hire as he tried to allude, but he basically put it all on Murray.

You know, if Bylsma was the best available at the time (especially since we'd put a lot of eggs in the Babcock courting basket) then it wouldn't be reasonable to fault Murray for hiring Bylsma However, if Murray refused to face reality, and continued to support keeping Bylsma as HC at the end of this disastrous season, then he certainly deserved to be fired. Murray seemed more pragmatic than that; and his end of year presser certainly provided no real endorsement of Bylsma; some outright criticism in fact of Bylsma's methods. For him to dig his heels in, and support Bylsma.... I have trouble believing that. But all we know is what Pegula told us. I hope we learn the true story someday - I would love to know the details.

I can't recall - did the forum refer to Regier as GMDR? I don't remember seeing it. Or did it start with Murray because it had a nice ring to it? GMJB.... meh - just seems flat.

That's a wonderful perspective - this was a horrifyingly bad team when Murray took over. 87% is a tremendous change. On the negative side, he'd saddled the team with some bad contracts - but I didn't think that was enough to fire him so soon. The only thing - if MURRAY were behind the hiring of Bylsma, and supporting Bylsma at the end of the season, then he should have been fired. Pegula tried to shuffle Bylsma's hire onto Murray's desk in the post-Murray presser. But consider the Bills - Pegula was involved in the hire of Ryan AND McDermott. Rather odd to think him staying out of the coach hiring at his beloved pet Sabres.

Although you don't subscribe to it, it's well stated. I might add - not just lacking in qualifications for such advice and consul, but with a clear marketing-centric SLANT. I.E., Brandon's player advice (and coaching - remember a guy named Ryan?) rests on putting people in stadium seats in the short term - as opposed to putting a championship trophy in the showcase long term!

Ribald Murray

Yes, but OTOH Graham doesn't rate a properly constructed sentence either. So we're to believe that Pegula had nothing to do with the hiring of Bylsma, then, although the Pegulas were clearly involved in the hiring of Ryan and McDermott? That's what Pegula implied in the post Bylsma presser - that he wasn't involved in the Bylsma hire.

It's Russ Brandon's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate. Which makes him absolutely nothing.

I was referring actually to the public support Pegula extended to Whaley after his totally embarrassing presser post-Ryan where Whaley wasn't 'privy' to anything. Not the contract extension. And yeah, we can hope his words and actions regarding both Murray and Whaley were part of some incredible strategery and cunning on Pegula's part . I have my doubts. You see planning - I see no real method at all.