[Eddie Shack battling cancer... [UPDATED] Passed Away]

4 hours ago, mphs mike said:

 

Thanks - always enjoyed him as a Sabre

Me too.  And also his Pop Shoppe commercials.

[The Music Thread]

I always thought is was a great hockey song (especially for aspiring NHL players playing in the AHL).

 

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

27 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

I suppose it's also possible that TP isn't interested in adding to payroll until we get closer to the draft, free agency, etc.

If the Sabres aren't interested in Dudley, I hope that's not the reason.

Hey, it's Terry's team and he can do what he wants.  But the fans were told money wouldn't be a problem.  If hiring Dudley gets the Sabres into the playoffs, he will pay for his salary and much, much more.  It's either a control problem, ego, or embarrassment that they weren't patient after letting JBOT go and taking the time to make a serious GM search that's holding them back from hiring a 40 year experienced hockey front office executive.  The only other reason is incompetence.  Dudley's not "a fit" argument doesn't work.  How have the "fits" worked out over the last 9 years??

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

17 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Why would the Sabres not be interested in bringing in a guy like Dudley? 

It is mind boggling.

Why bring in an experienced hockey front office professional with 40 years of experience when you can hire a cheaper GM with no front office experience?  Pegulas, SMH.  Ego, ego, ego.

We need more of this:

[Sabres Announce GM Jason Botterill has been Fired. Kevyn Adams Named GM]

2 minutes ago, john wawrow said:

it's been difficult to pin this one down, and a reason why i've had difficulty laying all the blame on Botterill for the trade.

though i don't know for certain whether pressure came from above, i do know JB was under a lot of pressure to complete the trade before O'Reilly's bonus kicked in first thing next morning.

at this point, it's going to be difficult to prove one way or another, because people will now have agendas to say one thing or another.

that said, i'd say it's a 50-50 one way or the other.

 

jw

I guess that, I'll just drill another well" comment is haunting the Pegulas now.

[OT - What are you doing to pass the time]

1 minute ago, French Collection said:

I’ve been cleaning, refurbishing and sharpening some old axes. Shaping and installing handles as well.

My collection is close to forty now but I am always keeping an eye out for more.

If I ever come to visit, I will be SURE to call first! ?

[OT - What are you doing to pass the time]

I'm watching a lot more music videos on youtube.  And I've made a concerted effort to watch less news that's forced on me by TV.  If I want current news, I now search the web and get a 360 degree view of all news sources (noting their inherent biases) and draw my own conclusions.

[Your 5 Favorite Non-Sabres Of All-Time]

Darryl Sittler

Mike Gardner

Marcel Dionne

Bobby Orr

Paul Coffey

 

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

1 hour ago, LabattBlue said:

IMO Dudley is not coming here...either because the Pegula’s are idiots and they think Kevyn Adam can be the front office hockey leader, or Dudley gets the call and hangs up the phone laughing hysterically.  
 

Either way, it’s not happening.   

If there's no spot for him in the front office, sign him to play 4th line LW.  He's 71, but he still scares the crap out of me.  There would be no liberties taken on our young'uns without ramifications.

Seriously, the best executives try to hire people smarter and more experienced than they are.  Dudley has 40 years of front office experience.  If I were Terry and Kim, I'd flip the keys to the KBC to Dudley and say, "Have at it, Duds, we'll be in West Palm Beach."

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Still no Dudley signing.  
 

Maybe they don’t know where to slot him in the “flat” organization? Does he retain a VP title?   If yes, then does he report to Kim?  
 

Maybe they never even talked to him and this is all coincidental?   Kim does not know him, which seems to be important new criteria in their selection of leaders.  
 

Maybe they are “saving money” by waiting? 

If the Pegulas had been patient, they could have hired Dudley off the street as GM.  Instead, they hired an inexperienced Adams because they like him.  My god, it's a miracle they got rich.

[Things that are AWESOME...]

9 hours ago, steveoath said:

New doggo soon. Need to wait until he's 8 weeks til we pick him up (12 days from now). None of my sneak Sabres names have been accepted by Mrs and Jnr ?Dylan and Jeff(!) Were actually in contention for a while. 

 

I'd name him Schoeny because he looks like he could be a great protector (and has reddish hair).  Or maybe Ruff, that's a good dog name and a sneaky way to get the Sabres in there.

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

25 minutes ago, TheCerebral1 said:

I ranted on her being a "knitter" instead of a head of hockey ops, and got a warning on HF Boards for being sexist.  My post was baseless and ignorant, I just cannot listen to her talk, and think.  You have some clue what you're doing.  You are supposedly in charge of a hockey team "in theory" because Terry cares more about the Bills.  Her opening statements at Adam's introduction conference were "we wanted someone who would listen to me".  No search, no external candidates.  Now Adams being interested and internally structuring more analytics into the team, is fine, sound and important.  He doesn't sound clueless, but it just baffles me.  The Pegula's are the problem.  

Yep.  I retired as the CEO of a 1,000 employee organization.  I would not be so arrogant to think I could run 2 large organizations at the same time.  What qualifies Kim to run 1, let alone 2 at the same time?  As you stated, the Pegulas are the problem.  Money shouldn't imply intelligence or business acumen.

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

Here's a random thought.  Kim Pegula can be the President of West Palm Beach and Rick Dudley can be President of  Hockey Operations.  Oh, wait, that will never work.  What was I thinking?

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

5 minutes ago, TheCerebral1 said:

Please come to Buffalo this just makes too much sense.  

Maybe we need to set up a GofFundMe page if the Pegulas are too cheap to hire him.  "Drill another well", my ass.

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

Why has he not been hired yet?????  He's a great talent evaluator, he brings grit, passion, hard work, dedication, history, and a mean streak.  All the things we are missing.  Oh and by the way, he lives in Lewiston.

[The even randomer thread]

1 hour ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

It's Canada Day, so we have the COVID hair and the COVID / HOLIDAY not shaving today look happening today.

My wife is getting restless to at least trim it all.  My girlfriend still likes it all with no trimming needed.

 

 

I wouldn't touch a thing.  Guys our age with hair like that are duty bound to show it off.  Grow, baby, grow!

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

9 hours ago, nfreeman said:

I was at the '70s night game in HSBC last fall when they brought back all those guys.  Dudley walked pretty close to me.  As I've mentioned here previously, he looked like someone not to be messed with under any circumstances.

Check out Duds at 1:06 of the video.  Now that's the passion I want to see from the Sabres.  He was one of my all-time favorites.  He embodied Buffalo.  I can almost hear Duds saying to the refs. "The fight's over when I say it's over."

 

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

18 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I've thought of Dudley as the perfect man at the top of things (director of hockey operations or whatever the title would be) for a long time and would love to see him join the Sabres but I just don't see him working below Adams. Above sure, but not below, and I doubt they sign a guy above Adams after all the lean organization talk but fingers crossed and hope I guess. 

At this point, to get Dudley, I'm willing to drill another well.  Does anyone think Dudley would put up with this crap we've seen for 9 years?  It would make for interesting good cop/bad cop situation.  

Kreuger: "Jeff, we may need you to score a little more often if that's not too much of a burden."

Dudley;  "Skinner, score here or in Rochester, or Cincinnati for that matter.. I don't give a rats ass"

And by the way, I have never met Rick Dudley, but even at 71 years old, he scares the bejesus out of me.

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

5 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

What the hell was I thinking?

 

DUH.

 

(I guess that shows how long I've been a fan.... they were, after all, on the team at the same time.)

 

Brian "Duds" Spencer.  I got your back Doohickie.  It's how us Buffalonians roll.

[OT: Outdoor Roller Hockey around Buffalo?]

8 hours ago, Mustache of God said:

When the pandemic hit in March my wife and I decided to temporarily leave our tiny Brooklyn apartment and come back to Buffalo where we'd have more room to work remotely and experience things outdoors (with my MIL and two cats in tow).

Of the essential items I packed into our tiny hatchback were my marsblades and a few hockey sticks. I've been going out to some empty parking lots around me that have semi-decent pavement, but I'm now curious if anyone here knows of good spots to noodle around on skates with a puck? I know there's a small roller rink in Shoshone park and other in Cheektowaga on N Creek Drive, are there any others? How about tennis courts that don't have signage restricting hockey / roller-blading, or just a nice empty patch of smooth pavement?

Are marsblades significantly better than basic rollerblades.  The advertisements look great.

[Rick Dudley Unlikely to Join Sabres]

FFS Pegulas.  The fracking industry dropped into your laps and made you billionaires.  Now Dudley drops into your laps, FFS hire him.  Who else knows more about hockey operations than Dudley?  This is a no brainer, and if he doesn't get hired, I will be CONVINCED the Pegulas don't know what they are doing and the suffering will continue.

[Things that are AWESOME...]

My wife and I went out on our covered balcony at 3am with a glass of wine to watch a thunderstorm roll through.  It was great and validated why I retired as early as I could.  I'm really starting to appreciate the simpler things in life.

[The even randomer thread]

6 minutes ago, ubkev said:

I was doing a part deux of my late teens and early 20s. Had it all curling out the back of my baseball hat. Had the waves in full effect when the hat was off. Feathering the back....yeah, it was terrible! I loved it. But that look is not good in a suit. And I had to look fly at work.

I think I look like this.

My wife thinks I look like this

 

[The even randomer thread]

1 minute ago, ubkev said:

I got faded the other day. Took the mullet right off. Side burns are gone too. Cleeean!

I'm going all in until they open up the hair cutters.  The whole Bob Seger thing is intriguing.  My wife, however, is practicing her eye roll daily.

[The even randomer thread]

Haven't had a haircut in over 4 months.  I'm starting to look like Jesus H. Christ on a Popsicle stick (Fletch reference).