jad1
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Posts posted by jad1
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But who doesn't like Walter from the Big Lebowski?
Wheelchair Lebowski?
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Probably true but Nolan had these guys playing hard. And with what he had to work with what more could he really do? So, again, I guess it falls back to why did Murray give him the new deal in the first place?
I know Pegula has the money but what the hell were they thinking? They basically gave the guy 3 years worth of money to be a one year pawn.
The Sabres played hard, but they very rarely played well, and that was due to more than just a lack of talent. Arizona finished two points ahead of Buffalo, yet their Corsi number was nowhere near as catastrophic. Every veteran skater not named Ennis under-performed. Every young player aside from Girgensons stalled in their development.
The only true bright spot this season was the goaltending. Despite the upheaval at the position, the goaltenders consistently played above their perceived skill level. For this reason Irbe was retained. If Nolan and his staff were able get similar results from the rest of the team, he'd probably still have a job.
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The farm team was terrible this year.
The thought is that with all the extra picks over a four year span that will change.
And, of course a lot of the farm team was playing in the NHL.
:w00t:
The Sabres best young prospects are either with the big club, in the juniors , or in college. It's an in-between season for Rochester.
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I don't know. I hope your right. I hope Murray is close enough to him that he sent him a text that says Mr. Pegula has a blank check waiting for you in my office. Hopefully Babcock replied see you soon.
Works for me.
The Sabres also have first-rate facilites, a massive scouting budget, a top notch talent pipeline, a deep pocket owner, and a strong hockey environment that lacks the insane pressure of Toronto.
And if Murray and Babcock are on the same page, there's opportunity to increase his role, all while making him the highest paid coach in the NHL.
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I really doubt that there is a gap in communication between Murray and Pegula as there apparently was between Nolan and Murray.So many was to look at it. How many coaches have ever survived a 14-game losing streak? If Murray thought they would be better, why not fire Nolan then? What did Murray do to shake up the roster or strengthen it when the playoff "push" started to slip away?
People can say something similar about Murray now.
The only way for a GM to pull off a rebuild of this magnitude and survive is to ensure the consistent alignment of expectations with the owner. A very basic agreement between Pegula and Murray is that player acquisition and development takes priority over wins. My guess is that they also agree upon key metrics (analytics) to measure progress. If Murray and Pegula weren't in sync with Murray's direction, Tim would have been sent packing too.
Nolan didn't seem too concerned with Murray's priorities. His M.O. throughout his career had been to do his own thing and let the chips fall where they may.
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Has Nolan ever had a healthy working relationship with a GM? The guy seems to lack situational awareness when it comes to meeting the expectations of his boss.
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Quite honestly, at this point, I think the conversation is mostly about a group of the most paranoid fans in the world who think everyone is out to get them. It's fitting that the X-Files is coming back soon.
Yeah. That and LAMP.
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So what's the likelihood that GMTM can deal the third pick in the draft for young, established top six forward (O'Reilly?)?
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I think it's absurd that there are so many division 1 teams. The company line from THE NCAA is that only a small percentage of teams make a profit from sports. Cool, take the top 40 revenue generating schools and put them in their own division. Pay the athletes and open all revenue streams to them. Fully fund the programs through self generated revenues and booster donations, no tax money. It's time to end the days of the basketball coach being the highest paid state employee. The players can be students or, if they choose, or just employees. Justify all the changes by positioning athletic programs as marketing and advertising ventures for the schools, instead of hiding behind the sham of the student athlete.
For the schools outside the top 40, let them continue to develop as student athlete programs. Maybe give the players access to work study programs. Turn the NIT into their championship tournament. The focus of this league would be to create the best student athlete experience for all involved.
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Finally read the article--context is a beautiful thing. He was clearly talking about the Sabres chances to win the lottery in light of the changes to the format and his expectation that we're not in the playoffs. He may as well have said "I think we're going to be better, but thanks to the bozos around the league, we're going to have a better chance than in the past to win the lottery, and I hope we do." Much ado about nothing.
Agreed. He philosophically disagrees with the new lottery rules, admits that he voted against them, but recognizes that under a specific set of circumstances, his team can benefit greatly from them.
Nowhere does he state that the goal is to finish 9th in the conference. Nowhere does he say the goal is to pick in the top three next season. He merely points out where his team can benefit from a set of rule he fundamentally disagrees with.
If the Sabres are fighting for the 8th playoff spot next February, there is no reason to believe that Murray will tank the effort for the opportunity to win the lottery for a top 3 pick.
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Tired cliche is a cliche. Dude, you're down in the muck with the rest of us. Dismount your elevated equine.
Nice job. Mission accomplished.
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I have a thought... what if we wait until the offseason to see what Murray's intent truly is.
Agreed. Especially since Murray's quote pertains to the fairness of the lottery rules, and not to his overall management philosophy.
His comments on dealing UFAs do pertain to his management philosophy, but the OP has chosen to ignore those statements.
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We're all just being trolled. PA is just having some fun toying with the masses today.
The only thing he is missing is an organ grinder and a monkey.
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It's OK. You can bop me on the nose instead of Tim. I know you don't like what Tim said, but you won't admit it. No one should like it. It's an affront. It's disgusting. But... let the great SabreSpace Backtracking begin, in the fine tradition of this board.
Talking to me? I'm the problem? The GM just said he wants his team to miss the playoffs again next year, and I'm the villain?
Yes.
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Aud, I'd hate to say I told ya so...but I did tell ya ;)
Amazing how this s### still works.
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I wonder if one unintended consequence of the Kane trade is that some of the kids might feel the organization isn't really vested in a youth movement. Maybe they wonder if they're going to be around when the team is good again. I know, Murray only touched the margins of the kiddie "core." And I have no idea where my thought is taking me as to why Zadorov would be behaving unprofessionally.
Kane is 23. He's part of the youth movement. Zadorov needs to be in Rochester. It's that simple. Unfortunately that's not possible this year.
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And then offer Ehrhoff, #6, and a 2nd rounder to Florida for the #1 pick. I mean, as long as we're dreaming ;) .:)
I think I'd trade Myers straight up for #6. Two top-10 picks wouldn't suck.
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After reading this artice by Bill Simmons, it appears that in addition to being his mistress,V. Stiviano worked as an assistant to Sterling. As his assistant, he asked her to record their conversations because he often forgot what they discussed. So he was aware that his conversations with her were being taped.Generally speaking, yes. The conversation he had with Stiviano does seem to indicate he's not banging her. Although, if I try to put myself in his shoes for a minute, would my 80 year old billionaire nutsack care if my young, nubile (I don't find her attractive) piece of gold digging arse was nailing a known HIV infected man at the same time? I guess everyone has a price...
So is Sterling admonishing his mistress or his employee, or in his mind, both? And did this happen during a business call or a personal one (or both).
It also sounds like from the article, that Sterling probably generated animosity from the people that directly worked for him. So maybe this is a case of a gold digger trying to blackmail her doddering suger daddy, or perhaps a member of Sterling's disgruntled staff found the recording (maybe he has his recorded conversations transcribed) and decided to make it public.
Anyway, here's the link to the artcle. It's an interesting read, just to learn that Sterling is a big fan of soup.
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We don't even look like an NHL team.
That's because this isn't an NHL team. They'll be lucky to win 2 games the rest of the year.
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I don't know, I think this kind of thing is par for the course during a tank/rebuild. When the Penguins tanked to build their current core, they almost left town. Chicago completely alienated their fan base during their down period and then fired the GM who acquired the core of their championship squad. To think that a team can completely turn over their roster with no disagreement or conflict within the organization is just naïve. The real quagmire would have been if other teams in the league didn't know who that had to talk to to make a deal. That would have been a real mess. This is just hurt feelings. By Tuesday, it will be old news.The longer the Sabres take to release any kind of real information the worse this thing looks. It's approaching quagmire status. They are dropping the PR ball hard. This is embarrassing.
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It doesn't matter what the hockey-related issue was. What matters is the structure of command within the upper ranks of the organization; PLF thought his role was one thing, Pegula, ostensibly, thought PLF's role was something else. The manner at which this was revealed was in such a way as to have clearly insulted PLF.
Who let this happen? Who were the players? Did Murray appeal directly to Pegula? Who, exactly was above PLF in the hierarchy? Did Patrick and Murray sit across from PLF in a boardroom, Pegula flanked by Benson and Sawyer, Black is digging through the bar refrigerator looking for oj or something, and disagree with PLF, leaving Pegula to make a decision right there, like a king in his court, but first consulting his advisors on each side, and the fool at the refrigerator? "We must tank, my lord..." "Yes, I agree, the tanketh must floweth..." "Only a FOOL would not stock OJ, my lord, and not tank, too.."
"Patty, Patty, I love you, you know that...but you hired these guys to make hockey decisions, and you're not agreeing already? Patty, we have to get this show on the road..."
"Terry, my lord, you gave me the keys to the army! You said I can do whatever it takes to win you victories and bring home glories! You must, sir, MUST trust my judgment."
"Patty...Patty reach over there and grab me an OJ, would you? Thanks, yeah. Patty, it's not that I don't trust your judgment, but my advisors tell me Murray and Patrick's plan is the way to go. You know? What's wrong with, you know, trusting our judgment here? We're pretty smart guys, I think."
"But, but, my lord, that is not what we talked about upon your ship, that wonderful day many months ago. You were to allow me to execute my vision..."
"Yeah, I know, but, Patty, aren't these guys your vision? Right? I mean, right?"
If Patrick is staying, I assume he's okay with whatever happened, and is, perhaps involved in opposition to PLF.
Yeah, maybe that happened. Or maybe Patty was working the phones at the same time that Murray was. Who knows.
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Well, I think it's pretty clear Terry Pegula is horrible at chess.
A truly intelligent leader sets up his ranks so that none of this happens: he realizes he needs to ignore his ego to achieve success (and survival). If he knew his people, and himself, he'd have seen this outcome coming before it happened. If he knew that at some point the vague description of duties would eventually need to be clarified, and that clarification would be an insult to a soldier, then he either chooses to take that path (knowing the outcome), or revise his strategy.
PLF did quit his previous executive role with the Islanders after a short period of time; perhaps Pegula should have seen that as a red-flag. On the other hand, PLF has brought in some strong talent to run the organization in Murray, Patrick and Nolan. He built a good group, maybe he just couldn't manage them.
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That implies that PLF is leaving because of conflicts in non-hockey decisions. Which is interesting, because I doubt that he's that concerned about the direction the Sabres are heading in the areas of pricing, marketing, or public relations to the extent that he would quit the organization the weekend before the trade deadline. More likely, he believed that Miller or Ott shouldn't have been traded, or that he could have negotiated a better deal than Murray.That's an interesting question, because I wouldn't consider Murray and Patrick part of a group referred to as "the inner circle", I would consider those two "staff", "executives", "employees". The "inner circle" guys are the ones who advise Pegula beyond whatever duties they may have in the organization (unless, of course, the position is that of "advisor", generally).
But, that raises the question of whether the "inner circle" is indeed referring to folks like Black, Murray and Patrick. If that's true, PLF must feel betrayed, especially by the latter two, which could explain why the situation was described as "ugly" I think more than once.
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If this fall-out was caused by the trade, the people whispering in Pegula's ear were Murray and Patrick. Do you think those guys have to be re-evaluated due to the trade?Maybe, just maybe, PLF is allowing himself to fall on the sword BECAUSE of the Battista's and Sawyer's and whoever else comprises the "Inner Circle" - maybe PLF is trying to get these guys to embarrass Pegula so Pegula (finally) re-evaluates these people who whisper in his ear.
Maybe. Or not.
Nolan releases statement thanking everyone for his opportunity...except Murray.
in The Aud Club
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Yeah, on second thought I agree with you. Too many periods of getting out shot 17 to 2 to buy into the idea that this team gave a solid effort night in and night out.