JohnC

The Canadians will be warm and hospitable toward you. The problem isn't how they will treat you as how they have been treated by our current government through changing policies (tariffs) and demeaning comments. (Not being political---simply stating facts.)

I agree with your take on Cozens. It was obvious in his play that he was feeling the pressure with the constant talk about him being a subject in trade talks. I wouldn't be surprised if his play with his new team will be much better. He now has a fresh start and good chance to play in playoff games. Good for him. I wish him the best.

Players such as McCleud, Zucker and Greenway are not core/primary players like Dahlin and Tage are. However, they are tough players that round out the roster to give it strength and balance. These are the character players that make a team tough to play. Getting a core player in a trade or through free agency is tough to do. But if that is not achievable then adding more better secondary players is more attainable. One of my main criticisms of KA is that he has failed to properly construct a roster and get the right mix of players. What the Vegas game demonstrated is that even without our scorers, such as JJP, Kulich (injured in game) and Norris, the upgraded second-tier players kept us in the game against a superior opponent. I said this before (and so have others) that the mistake our GM made last offseason wasn't that he didn't do things to improve the roster, it was that he didn't do enough. If other teams improve at a faster rate than you are, then you are falling behind. And that is exemplified by the fact that teams that were in our tier last season, are now ahead of us this season. This was a GM miscalculation.

There is a difference between being better and playing better against the better teams. Although the Sabres have a better record against the lesser teams, it is against those lesser teams that we should have even a better record against. These are points that should be pocketed, not thrown away.

Some quick thoughts: This was an entertaining and a hard fought game. Overall, I thought we had the edge in play. Jack got booed every time he had the puck. It's a shame that we couldn't keep such an elite talent. (I have no interest in discussing why it wasn't meant to be.) I'm sure glad that we were able to keep both Greenway and Zucher in the fold. Both are tough players. Dahlin scored the goal with the goalie pulled. The person who was instrumental in the goal was Tuch who screened the goalie. Tuch is an important player for us that goes beyond the stats. He offers size, speed and toughness. I thought Bryam played well. The Sabres outshoot Vegas. I wish we were a little more accurate. It was mentioned in the post-game show that the Sabres play better against good teams and lapse against weaker teams. A sign that the team lacks maturity. I don't know what the attendance was but the crowd was into the game. One of my big resentments against the owner is that he has eroded a fanbase that could have been rabid and expanding if the franchise was managed properly. The Vegas player tried to get the puck to Jack at the end of the game when our net was vacant. His intention was good but it was a bonehead play that cost them the win. Dahlin shortly after scored with our goalie being pulled. Ottawa has 17 pts. more than the Sabres. Columbus has 12 pts. more than the Sabres. Montreal has 11 pts. more than the Sabres. Detroit has 10 pts. more than the Sabres. Teams in our talent group moved forward while we slid back. This is an inexcusable organizational failure. This was a good win. No complaints.

In the hockey business, you don't get stuck with local candidates for upper echelon jobs. Some top management positions, such as a GM position, are limited in availability. You usually get outsiders bidding for an opportunity to fill that type of position. In a team oriented business, if you have a choice for a high caliber person working remotely vs a high caliber person working on site, the smart choice (my opinion) would be to select the on-site candidate. Internal dynamics are a critical component in management. If you have a choice between regular face to face interactions vs mostly remote interactions, I would take the former. The Sabres are a failed operation. There are a variety of causes not associated with any one specific reason. So I don't want to over-inflate the remote working arrangement for this high-ranking staffer. My preference would be to have the upper echelon staff sitting face to face at the table when discussing important issues. I agree with you. Your 2 cents is a dollar's worth of advice.

There are certain players that can't be measured by stats. His ferocious desire to compete and win elevates everyone else. Leadership can't always be quantified. However, he's the personification of it. He doesn't tolerate slackers in the room. And everyone in the room knows it. He's a special player to be admired.

I read some evaluations of the trade from a few analysts. In general, it seems that it was an equitable deal for both teams. However, it was pointed out that the risk of the deal leans toward the Sabres because of Norris's injury history. As others are also noting, it was questioned why the Sabres gratuitously gave up a second-round pick? I'm not suggesting that our GM was outhustled in this deal. What I can say is that he didn't maximize his hand in this deal by unnecessarily giving up the second-round pick. With KA steering the ship, this franchise continues to remain stuck on the rocky shoals.

The league should communicate to the owner that his incompetence is affecting revenues for other franchises. An irrelevant franchise is not a good thing for the league, other franchises and TV market. No question that a gutted local market is not good for anyone in the business of the NHL.

The real source of the problem is not the ill-equipped person who is the GM. It is the silent and perplexing owner who selected him to be the GM and then kept him on the job for five years. Sometimes a person makes an out of the box hire that surprisingly works out well. This is certainly not the case here. KA has half a decade of work product to evaluate. The owner has so far decided to ride it out with him. The blame finger should be pointed at the owner.

I'm not disputing the fact that remote work is common. And that is a good thing for a variety of reasons. However, when you are in an upper leadership position in a faltering franchise, I would argue that it is an imperative to be regularly around both the Buffalo and Rochester franchises. As you point out, remote leadership can be a problem, especially when you are working for a failed franchise. If I had a choice between KA or Karmanos for the GM position, I would without any hesitation select Karmanos. However, if the condition of employment was to work remotely from Pittsburgh, I would say absolutely not. As far as being around in order to help Adams that in itself is an indictment of the current GM. Based on his half-decade performance he should be jettisoned. The Sabres are a failed franchise because the operation is second-rate at best. There is no question in my mind that this clueless and stubborn owner is most responsible for destroying this franchise with his inexplicable decisions, many of them associated with his staffing decisions. I'm tired of him.

I'm sure that Shanahan's role is more about general oversight rather than daily operation. Also, our sycophantic GM is to put it mildly is very inexperienced compared to every other GM. He needs a high level presence around him to guide him away from his foolish inclinations. If a remote arrangement is made for other organizations, and it works, then more power to them. There is no one that can say the remote arrangement is working for this flailing franchise.

As you point out, the notion that one of your highest-ranking staff members in the organization resides in another city is ridiculous. It defies common sense. Doesn't the reticent billionaire owner recognize how abnormal this staffing situation is? The owner has made a lot of befuddling/weird decisions. Allowing one of the top two or three staff people to work remotely from out of town is an absurdity at a grotesque level. What the hellll was the owner and sycophantic GM thinking when they approved of this unusual arrangement? I'm tired of the clownish manner in which this franchise is being managed. The owner needs to sell the franchise that he damaged so much. He ought to be ashamed of himself. The problem is that he lacks the self-awareness to recognize his culpability in this failed franchise.

The owner has given the proverbial rope to an incompetent GM. It makes no freaking sense that you retain confidence in a fool GM who after five years in implementing his own rebuilding blueprint your team resides at the bottom of the standings. The silent owner has strangled this franchise by his idiosyncratic/stupid judgments in hiring critical staff. It makes no bloody sense!

I appreciate your comments and agree with you that money $$$ is driving force behind how this franchise is operated. At this point, that is a given and unchallengeable. However, even with a spartan budget and restrictive financial ethos that permeates this sick franchise, selecting an ill-equipped GM to run your hockey operation makes little sense even if the primary focus is saving money. The sycophantic GM has given out some boneheaded long-term contracts that were unwarranted and not financially sound. What our fool owner doesn't understand that if he had a presentable team, the faded fanbase would be restored and the home building would be filled with paying customers. Ask our parsimonious owner how much revenue is an empty seat providing? The league should intervene and try to influence our silent owner to sell the franchise. He would make a handsome profit if he did. If he's not serious about competing, why go through the humiliation of being considered a fool owner. Terry Pegula is a self-made billionaire. Good for him. On the other hand, as an NHL franchise owner he is a disgrace and embarrassment. I'm so tired of his silent act and incompetent management of this sinking-ship franchise.

No credible GM candidate is going to take the GM job unless the candidate is assured of having the authority to make decisions. I'm not sure that Pegula is going to empower someone to that extent. The owner seems to want to have the last say regarding how to manage his toy franchise.

The Pegula riddle as an owner has me baffled. His football and lacrosse franchises are marvelously successful. He has the standard template for success in place for these two pro sports of hiring quality people and empowering them to do their jobs. It appears, that he has no desire to apply that same formula to his dismal hockey franchise. It is maddening and makes no bloody sense.

My niece has ovarian cancer and is undergoing treatment in a "trial" program. The treatment regimen has been changed at least two times because of the complications from the treatment. She called me up a few days ago to thank me for the Starbucks gift card I sent her because she loves their coffee. We had a good talk. She is in good spirits but she does have her bad days. After the call I cried.

If you have a pair of shoes that when you wear more than one day you will get a backache, get rid of them. I have had two back operations so I'm sympathetic to anyone who has to deal with back problems. I regularly swim and do a lot of walking as preventive measures. But I'm sympathetic to anyone who is in the aching back club.

Dahlin is not a generational talent. That's not even debatable. In my mind, he is a top tier defenseman who is an all-star caliber player. But even if he or anyone else were a generational talent, on this team it would not make an appreciable difference because the current roster is poorly constructed and there isn't enough good talent spread around to make this team a high-end team. One doesn't have to be an insider to recognize that this franchise as managed throughout the Pegula ownership era was never going to produce a serious team.

When getting into discussions about the abilities of our players it is a futile discussion right now because the person who has put together this assemblage is the same person who is expected to rearrange the roster that he, himself, put together. That's like going back to the surgeon to correct the glaring mistake he made on the operating table. Are you going to have confidence in his judgment and correction? I wouldn't. I'd go see another doctor to fix what was unnecessarily damaged. We need fresh eyes to examine this roster and rework it. When the person doing the fix is the same person who did the damage, then you are repeating the cycle of chasing your own tail. If you want substantive change, then you have to make substantive and dramatic change from the current decision makers. Getting the right person at the helm of the hockey operation will be the most impactful decision that our silent owner can make to correct the fiasco that he has wrought on this franchise. The owner should be ashamed of himself and stop hiding behind the curtain of silence. I'm tired of him.

I only watched part of the game because I get so aggravated watching them play. The Sabres have become the medicinal solution to what ails struggling teams. That's embarrassing that we have sunk to such a low. The discussion about individual players and their flaws is wasteful and futile. That really doesn't get to the source of the current problem: the sycophantic GM who assembled this roster. What makes this roster even more alarming is what it is now at the end product of five years of rebuilding. What makes this travesty of a team even more ridiculous is that after five years of rebuilding this roster again has to be significantly deconstructed to be reconstructed. The owner is the primary source of the demise of this franchise and incredible erosion of this fanbase. Make no mistake that this weirdly silent owner has never been shy with firing people in his football and hockey franchises. Yet he has been inexplicably loyal to this ill-equipped GM who has constructed a roster/team that resides at the bottom of the garbage heap. Until this owner decides to hire competent people to run the hockey operation and allows them to do their jobs, this mocked franchise will continue to be a laughed at miniscule franchise. I'm so tired of this fool owner.

We’ve been saying it for more than a decade because it hasn’t been managed at a competent level during that ignominious period, and still counting.

In general, I agree with the sentiment of the need to fire Adams. Where I have a slightly different take is that if a competent person is selected to run the hockey operation with minimal interference from the owner, the time frame for competitiveness would be sooner rather than delayed. The Sabres are not close to being Cup contenders. (Obviously so.) However, with a proper assessment of this roster added with a few smart deals made to better balance and enhance it, this team should be participating in the playoffs sooner than most people think. If managed properly, the Sabres should be a playoff team by next year.