kas23

Yeah, the Darcy comment was a bit much. Sorry, already had a few. Still, Botterill just doesn't do it for me. Pegs and I have difference search criteria. He wants character and structure. I want the guy most likely to build me a Cup winning team. I don't care how much of an he is. If Botterill is such a great candidate, why isn't he a GM already? His name has been out there for awhile now. I'm sure no one on here has offended you. So, be aware that if you ignore all posters who have opposing views from you, you will no longer be reading and posting on a fan message board.

Well, by Cup contender, I mean cup contender. I don't consider Toronto or Edm cup contenders although they made the playoffs. Nashville or the Caps are Cup contenders. So, I don't think we should be mortgaging the future until we get to that point. Right? I think that just with Guhle and Antipin, assuming they are not complete flops, we should be where Toronto and Edm are in about 2 years. You look at how they have been developing, they've been rebuilding longer than we have. It's not a surprise they are ahead of us. That said, I don't think anything on-ice lead to D Day. It must have been the lack of character and structure. I'm not saying we have no young players in our system, it's just that below the Sabres, there really isn't too much to get excited about. I want a steady stream of great prospects in all facets of our farm system. This is how the great teams remain competeative. That said, I think our #8 is more important than adding Brodin. I'd rather have Fowler than #8, but there's no way we get #8 for him. And I don't think #8 is going to take 5 years to turn in to something. Patience!

I'm sorry, I just can't get excited about Botteril. He seems like a high floor, low ceiling guy. I have no doubt the man is of the utmost integrity/structure/communication/character While he won't Wreck things, but likely won't make them too much better. I would rather have Darcy back.

Our pipeline is drained. Blame it on GMTM trading away our picks or Sabres raiding the cupboard, it's nearly dry. It needs some youth pumped into it and, bust or not, drafting 8 will go towards improving this. We won't be true Cup contenders next year and likely not the year after either. And it's the coach's job to maximize the young careers/contacts of guys like Jack and Sam, not via trading for other players.

Holy . That must've been an interesting conversation. Where was that?

Whoever he is, I'm sure he will be a Pegula "yes man". I don't get the sense he likes highly opinionated people that could challenge him.

My guess is they'll be fired too right after the draft. For some reason, Pegula wanted GMTM out of the building immediately.

Lombardi is not a "yes man". Would Pegula ever be able to meddle with the work of a GM who has won 2 cups in the last 5 years? Not a chance and is likely why GMTM was fired (although he didn't have the success to back up his moves). Pegula is likely going to pick a young guy who knows who the boss is (see McD). And for those clamoring for a POHO, forget it. We've had that with Patty and Pegs said he regrets that was wasn't more involved with the past GM search. At least at this point, he's not going to relinquish that power.

And we'll realize the importance of having more than 2 lines. One large barrier to that: Russ Brandon.

Speaking of short memories, don't forget his advice to Rex to schmooze Pegs with red wine and the "don't let him leave the building" comment in regards to hiring him. That's the blood of 2 failed coaches on his hands.

This is a great post. As I recall, the reason for pulling out of the Toronto series was due to RW's poor health and the poor numbers. As for him apologizing, I would agree, it would've been a poor PR move to apologize. Sorry fans of Toronto, we're sorry we gave you Bills games to watch and that you suck for not showing up. And can we get a link also detailing his presentations to Pegula during the sale? I also doubt that he's the reason people buy tickets to Bills games. We eat, drink, and breath Buffalo Bills football here in Buffalo. Ticket sales wouldn't suffer if he wasn't here. They sell themselves.

He was in the War Room well before he was president of the Bills. I don't see how him "keeping the Bills in Buffalo" has to do with him being involved in football personnel decisions. And let's be honest, he had 0% with keeping the Bills here and Pegs and his money bags had 100% to do with it. Lastly, I don't know how you think he'd admit to his mistakes. Has he apologized for the failed Toronto experiment?

Russ Brandon is balls deep into Bills operations. He's a regular in their War Room. Why a marketing person is involved in the draft is a legit question, especially given his history of being the Bills GM at one point. This is indisputable. What his role is in the Buffalo Sabres organization? Who knows. Let's hope he isn't a hockey fan.

Im pretty sure Keefe would be coming along too. So, DuDuQueef.

After reading that, I'm sold on the Dubas guy.

I just don't see our new GM making any big splashes his 1st year. If he does, it's he likely has strong preconceived notions, like shipping out Kane. Unless there are more meetings Sam was late to...

Russ, I mean Terry, asleep at the wheel.

Are the Sabres allowed to hire an AGM from a current playoff team at anytime, or do they need to wait until they are eliminated?

I don't think you're mistaken. I just think it's going to take more than 2 days to get those banners printed and hung up, especially since it's the weekend. They'll come, though, they'll come.

If TP has a hockey czar, with multiple knowledgeable layers between him and GM, he'll be unable to easily meddle and play puppet master. This isn't going to happen. Can you see him having the same structure as TOR? No way.

Wait, aren't you talking about LaFontaine?

Do we know what proportion of those assists were to McJesus? I don't follow the Oilers, so wonder how stable Draisaitl's line was.

There is zero chance (I repeat, zero) that GMTM is fired. Come on, we all know that draft picks take about 5 years to pan out (or not) and GMTM clearly said he was going to build this team mostly through the draft. He never said he'd have a winner in 3 years, but it would take time to assemble a product that was built to win long term. And I don't count the tank year to get Eichel. The timer started after the Eichel pick.

This is simple. I would give Jack exactly 10 minutes to try to convince this should be so. I would want concrete examples and solid reasoning. If he cannot successfully and concisely articulate what the problems are, then he should close the door on the discussion and promise to revisit it next season.

I got this sense too. I think we just need to wait for Pegs to get back from chasing QBs.