Pimlach

I really try not to make this a rail on Jack thing. Until more information comes out I have to side with Adams. It is as simple as this, my expectations are that a player on contract should not behave like this. He and Fish really did hurt his chances of getting traded and they put Adams in a tough situation. I suspect there is now something going on with Jack and Adams, a tension that is not healthy or fixable. This might have roots that go back two seasons. Remember that Adams went on the road trip with the team before he was even part of hockey operations. It was an unusual move and it’s no coincidence that he was selected to replace Botterill without the Pegula’s even doing a job search. Then there is Jack and Ralph’s relationship and the moves that were made prior to last season to bring in more vets. Adams supported them and he even seemed hesitant to fire Ralph. So at this point I think Adams was ok with Jack. What Adams never got in return was Jack’s support of Granato and the youngsters. Jack did not return to the team until the season ended and then he dropped the “disconnect” bomb direct to the media. I and believe that Jack and Fish made the trade harder to pull off as they put Adams in a weak “ take it or leave it” posture with the other GMs. Again, not the way a player on contract should be acting. Your last bold sentence is an intriguing comment on your part. It could also be part of the problem with Jack. Now Jack sees the season may go on without him, and the olympics pass him by, and still no agreement on a plan forward. Does he accept any responsibility or accountability for the situation? He has a big role in this. He and his first agent did a lot to make this thing as ugly as it is. Adams qualifications and experience is limited. Add the two sides together and here we are.

I love fall, especially in the Midwest we’re the nice weather lasts up to Thanksgiving, not Halloween. College Football, pro football, comfortable temps, no humidity, long shadows, crisp air, harvest moons, winery visits, bike rides, fall colors, fall foods, sweat shirts, fall gardening, hockey starts, Halloween, family, thanksgiving,

I think it’s win - win. Now let’s start getting better players, stop firing coaches, and start winning games so he will want to stay.

It’s cool Promo. Let’s move on to a better topic. I am feeling the effects of 10 miserable seasons all jumbled together. I started going to the Aud to watch the AHL Bisons games when I was 7 or 8 years old. I used to watch HNIC on TV using the rotary antenna on our roof. We had Sabres season tickets from the first year on. I doubt I would even like hockey if those years of my life, ages 8 thru 18, were during this terrible period that we are in. The Sabres could lose an entire generation of fans. It is taking a toll on me.

You might be partially wrong. In this case it takes 3 parties to successfully negotiate. Who left Jack no escape path, KA or Jack? That we don’t really know. Who fired their agent? Jack. Is that a sign that he was unhappy? Yes. Could he have felt his agent gave bad advise? Yes. So how does all this lay at the feet of KA? There was a lot of time wasted. who did not come back to Buffalo to be with the team? Jack who went public with a disconnect? Jack who lowered their value by by setting up a public medical sideshow? Jack Jack is equally accountable for not finding a “dignified” way back, he left the team in an undignified way, unbecoming of a captain and of a player on contract. The trade looks unlikely and now the olympics look unlikely. Maybe, maybe not. Adams is a virgin GM following orders from an unqualified hockey VP. He probably missed some things. Adams has failed in the ways you state but Jack is equally accountable for this fiasco. The petulant star has done nothing to lower risk perception to other GMs.

Promo is short circuiting today everyone. His circuits are not programmed to differentiate opinions and facts. I told him I was stating my opinion. Twice. But he says I’m stating it “as a fact”. Which is even worse. I didn’t realize I had the power to state my opinion as a fact. I don’t think I do. The ratio of Bills to Sabres talk is pretty lopsided, as it should be given the status of the two teams. MY OPINION, is that ownership wants less hockey talk, and controlled hockey talk, as they embark on yet another rebuild with their 4th GM and 7th coach in 10 years. If that was my track record I would get off the airwaves too. I promise I won’t post my opinion on this again.

I know. Take away Eichel, Reinhart, McCabe, Risto, and Ullmark. Then look at the adds. Then factor in improvement for Mitts, Cozens, Dahlin, etc. It’s still looks like bottom 3 to me, even with Granato getting solid play from everybody most of the time.

The good - Granato is a good choice given another rebuild and commitment to youth. We got good value for Risto. We added a few more pieces to the front office The bad - losing Reinhart, losing McCabe, losing Ullmark, the worst team in the league got worse The Ugly - Eichel injury and trade situation, the veteran goaltending, the roster for 21-22, our reputation around the NHL

I wasn’t trying to be negative. I am open to hearing any positive spins to this. I guess if a person doesn't like Rivet and Peters that could be a positive to that group of people. Other than that, for hockey fans, its more Marty and Duffer. We already get them at and after every game. I think they do a nice job but what about hearing some new takes on the team from others? What ownership did was give us less Sabres talk with fewer people in the discussion. Clearly a move that gives more control of the messaging and cost them less money too. That is my take. I hope the rumor of the Instigators starting their own podcast is true. I would like to hear more opinions and more guests.

For sure the doctors now know how much healing came from rest and rehab. They must believe that they have reached a new decision point. If rest and rehab did not ger the result they expected then a next step has to happen. The Sabres (doctors and FO) are probably just following a logical process.

I didn’t make up anything. I can voice my opinions and my thoughts, and I did. Reviewing the thread, several others seem to agree with me.

I am a big Teppo fan. I don’t see that from Joker, but I hope your right.

No. I’m not sure what you mean actually. I believe in everything I said. If it created a “scenario” it was unintentional. 1. They should save money by not paying Rivet and Peters to host but rather pay guys already on contract. 2. The show will likely be more propaganda-ish because Duff and Marty have another role covering the games and may be steered to tow the line and promote the party line. I felt the Rivet and Peters could walk the edge a bit. 3. Peters and Rivet talked about some controversial things, the latest being “what if Eichel is healthy?” 4. I think the Pegula’s are nice people but terrible hockey owners. Buffalo, with it proximity to Canada, and its hockey history, should be an attractive place for top line NHL front office people, coaches, and players. Instead it is far from it.

Thanks for providing this. It literally is the first positive thing I have read about him since he first came into the league. This story came out after the 19-20 season, another bad one for the team but Jack’s personal best. Then there was hope that Ralph could maybe build a team and coach it. So Jack asked for more vets, which they did go out and acquire. The next season was a disaste - Covid and cost cutbacks throughout the organization, a new inexperienced GM, Ralph was not the answer, the new vets did very little, the youth stagnated, and Jack was hurt. The irony is that Granato benched the vets, played the kids and the team showed some life. Injured Jack stays away, then comes back for the end of season and talks about the “disconnect “. Here we are. Another group of vets leave and expressed gratitude to be gone. Our best players are not re-signed. Our superstar leveraging an injury to get out. Through this decade or turmoil and misery there is one common thread.

I like Duffer and Marty but they are not instigators. They will not dig deep into any controversial subjects on their own. In can be looked at as another cost cutting move. The Sabres marketing takes another hit. Two less voices to hear from. I don’t like it Perhaps Rivet and Petey were too controversial for Kim and Terry? I really wish they would sell the team to a local interest.

I have not heard former NHL coaches and teammates come out with glowing comments about Jack. I would love to see a quote from Bylsma, Housley, McCabe or anyone extolling Jack’s virtues. I know he liked Matt Moulson and benefitted from living with him and his family. Perhaps he needed more of that mentoring and less of the Kane/Bogo influence? I saw your Gionta quote from 2017. Gionta is a class act that was not going to rail on him in the media. I have no doubt that back in 2017 Jack was still an impressionable 19-20 year old, seemingly carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders. Four years have past since this quote and Jack has assumed leadership of the team. It was his team under Ralph, and they brought in veterans to help, something Jack wanted, and even that became a disaster. Jack probably learned that liking Ralph didn’t matter, he was a bad NHL coach, and getting a good coach and playing through another rebuild would take time. Three coaches and two GMs are gone since the Gionta quote from 2017, and we are still a bottom feeder and Jack wants out. He clearly has no faith in the organization. I have heard direct comments from alumni, a current hockey operations staff member, and a current PSE business exec and they were not positive or complimentary. I do know that boys will be boys, and most hockey players are not choir boys, and some are extremely competitive. His talent will cause others to overlook any negative aspects of his personality. He does not want to play for the Sabres. I think he will be traded, but only when a deal can be made that improves this team.

Gionta talks about the locker room in Buffalo. It was not complimentary. The mix of young Jack and Sam, with “vets” like ROR, KANE, Bogo was bad chemistry.

In the era I am speaking of, they really did not just fight for the sake of fighting. That is an unfair description. But fighting was part of the game and it was driven by the intensity of the players on the ice - not by stupid scripted fights by players that could not play. Those players came later in the late 80’s when each team curiously signed a goon or two that couldn’t even play hockey but was on the roster to fight and protect star players. In the 60’s and the 70’s players labeled as fighters were also real hockey players, with very few exceptions. Some great and talented players were guys that fought. Don’t broad brush that era as Neanderthal. Gordie Howe just might fire a puck straight at your helmets-less head. In my opinion, today’s regular season games, while mostly devoid of hitting and fighting, can sometimes be boring. There are too many teams, too many mediocre players, and the stars players are spread too thin. There are not even 32 true game dominating #1 centers for the 32 teams. I watch it because I love hockey, but it is not as entertaining to me until the playoffs. Then they start hitting a lot more and the games get much better. Today the skill is high. The skating is better. The conditioning is way better, The goaltenders are better because they are much bigger, they wear huge equipment, and they play without fear of injury. The scripted fights by inconsequential players are gone.

Schoenfeld had his C removed after 76-77 seasons in favor of Danny Gare. This was done by Punch who apparently was not happy to see Schoeny fighting less, even though his level of play and hitting were still at a high level. Both players were traded to Detroit during 81-82 season by Scotty Bowman.

Sure, KA will retain him if he can’t get reasonable value. No one wants to give him away for nothing. KA should not take responsibility for the past, he was not part of it, but Eichel was. That bit about his influence in the locker room and being a cancer is out there. You may think it is a mischaracterization but it’s out there somehow.

You hate to agree with me? If a trade doesn’t help us then you don’t make it.

He doesn’t want to stay. He didn’t give Granato the time of day last year. He was asked last season to come back to Buffalo to be with his team. He could have done some of his rehab here. He stayed away. Then he didn’t say one thing about Granato and the team in his end of season interview. He is done. The people who say he lacks leadership are correct. Even when he plays at a high level his leadership by example, or by production, has not worked. Of course he should ONLY be traded if we get proper value. The injury question was preventing that. Once he becomes a tradeable commodity it’s time to move on.

I picked the middle. Not sure he really is a top 4 but he can move the puck effectively at times. I would build with more physical defensemen that are also mobile.