JohnC

As it turned out after a tough journey Baker Mayfield has found his footing and is in the right place at the right time. (As you point out.) I don't care what pro sports you are talking about, front offices and organizations make plenty of mistakes on judging talent. However, the organizations that have a solid foundation, like the Bills, overcome them. There is no question that without Josh Allen, the Bills would probably not be a Super Bowl contending team. But that doesn't mean that with its quality staff that they wouldn't have made the necessary adjustments to be a good team. The Sabres not being a serious team for the full tenure of this silent owner is an indictment on his gross incompetence. This owner bought the hockey franchise and went on to degrade it. It's shameful and pathetic. (I'm aware that we are more in agreement than not.)

I'm so out of touch that I can't even comprehend the archaic world and crowd. Please be gentle with me. I'm frail and easy to be wounded i.e. easy target due to inherent insufficiencies. 😄

I’m so out of touch with all the references. Being archaic makes one say “huh” a lot.

The issue then becomes, how much influence does the new staffer have, especially compared to KA. My suspicions are that he may have more authority.( Just my personal opinion.)

The issue isn't the quantity of staff as much as it is the quality of the top decision makers, including the owner. You can have the best staff in the business but still fail if the top of the top of the operation isn't functioning smartly. I understand why the owner went into austerity mode during the covid period. His hockey and hospitality business were hemorrhaging money. So his belt tightening response was understandable. But after that challenging period, his decision-making on staff and hockey decisions have been very inadequate (to put it mildly), to the point of relegating this flailing franchise to being an expected back of the pack franchise by others in the business. This organization has handcuffed itself due to its own foolishness. (I'm not suggesting that you are saying otherwise.) It just so tiresome. On the bright side, the hiring of an experienced person to join the upper staff is encouraging. There needs to be more follow-up.

You make an insightful observation about which franchise makes much more money. But the irony is that if the hockey franchise was more competently run and most likely be reflected in the play and competitiveness, the hockey franchise would be more profitable. More tickets would be sold, more concession $$ would be accrued, playoff $$$ would be added and with better management of player contracts there would be a smarter relationship between player costs and production. I agree with you that the NHL team revenue would not come close to NFL team revenue. But what is indisputable is because TP has run a third-rate operation, the revenue return is also third rate. I don't care what business you are in, leaving money on the table due to ineptness, is never a smart way to run any business. And when you are not serious about your particular business and are competing against owners who are serious about competing, you end up at the bottom of an empty barrel. A generation of stupidity does take a toll on the spread sheet.

The lack of self-awareness about the owner's own lack of knowledge is absurd. He might not realize how little he knows but everyone else on the outside (and many in the inside of the company) certainly recognizes it. This is hubris and arrogance at a mountainous level. On the positive side, bringing in an experienced outside person to be involved in the operation is a positive step. Pegula's footprint on this flailing franchise is not only obvious but it is at a level that it has stomped on this franchise into oblivion.

I had spondylolysis where it resulted in a surgery. A long time later after the successful first surgery I had a second surgery. What makes me wary about people with this condition who are currently fine is that they are involved in an endeavor that can be categorized as a "crash" sport, an activity that would be vulnerable to a person with back issues. What was odd about my condition is that I could run 10 miles with no effect. However, if I stood for half an hour I was aching. Modern medicine is a marvel. However, if I had an equal ranking for another player, out of caution, I would take the person without the potential back issue.

As a GM with a multiplicity of responsibilities, how would you rate him as a GM? I'm not trying to be gratuitously harsh when evaluating him, but I would put him near the bottom, if not the bottom, in the ranking of NHL GMs. The bottom line for every GM comes down to one's record. In that basic grading system he would be classified as a failure. He was ill-equipped when hired and his performance over an extended period of time reflected it. Your search for the kernel of good in the mountain of bad is admirable but a stretch. Your record is your record. Cold hard facts can't be denied even when kind sentiments are inserted into the equation.

I don't want to diminish Tort's career as a HC. His record is admirable. It's just that for the Sabres he would not be a suitable coach, in my opinion. The past is the past, now the present and future need to be addressed. His style of coaching and personality are not what this franchise needs.

Don't you think your advancement timetable for Staal's elevation is a little bit accelerated?

@Brawndo you can be our mole in the draft room and whisper @LGR4GM draft suggestions to those in the room making the selections. If caught, do what an accomplished spy would do i.e deny, deny and continue to deny. If that doesn’t work just spill the beans and blame @Pimlach for the espionage plot. He’s expendable.

Keka did what constantly moving people in the hockey profession do who are not currently working or working in a satisfactory (lower) position. They pursue and find their next best option. I have a different take on Keka and this new job, whatever his role is. The potential is that it places him in a good advancement situation, either with the Sabres or with another team. From what I have heard about him, he is very experienced in the hockey business from the scouting side to the executive side. So I'm sure that he won't be blindsided with unexpected situations within this troubled franchise. I'm confident that he knows what his role will be and that it won't be a detriment to whatever future aspirations he has within the business. I'm very much encouraged by his hiring, and to a lot lesser extent the Staal hiring, because it seems that the owner is more receptive to outside voices. The Sabre franchise has been plagued with a provincial operation. What these two hirings suggest to me that it is becoming more modern (normal) in how it will operate. At least I hope so.

Hell no.

I'm not even sure that UPL will be back? I wouldn't be surprised if he was included in a deal to get a veteran goalie.

Not for me. The past is the past. As a coach I would be looking for something else. If you believe that he would be a prime candidate for another team, then that's fine. I don't see him back behind the bench again.

lllllllllll I agree with you that It's not the same situation as it was with Eichel and Reinhart who are instrumental players on their respective teams. But Skinner's former teammates do have to have some feelings that it takes being on another team to make the playoffs and vie for the cup. I'm sure many of this Sabre buddies are saying to themselves: I wonder how it feels because I haven't come close to having that experience where I am?

It would be interesting to know what the terms of agreement, even if only verbal, were with Keka and KA and with Keka and the owner.

I wasn't referring to Keenan although his style of coaching is beyond being outdated for this era of hockey. If Torts is so durable then why is it that wherever he goes he ends up being asked to leave. In my view, his approach to the game is passe No thank you. Looking to the past for solutions is not the way to go.

I agree with you that it was an understandable approach for a novice owner. The problem is that he hasn't learned from his mistakes. That's the maddening aspect of how he has handled his ownership. There's a stubbornness that he is going to do it his way without the benefit of enough consultation from more knowledgeable people inside and outside the organization. Hopefully, the hiring of this experienced executive is a step in the right direction. He needs to build on it.

If that happens, the Dallas GM would be committed for insanity. And Jarmo would be charged for a felonious theft. However, I do see Jarmo working to bring in a veteran goalie to our questionable mix at that position. You may be right that UPL could be dealt in the offseason. He had a big-time opportunity to secure the position for himself. He didn't live up to the task.

Making a critical hire based on demonstrating a connection to the fans is not the smartest way to make a decision for such an important position. But let's put that aside and look at the owner's overall record in hiring the top hockey staff. They haven't worked out for a variety of reasons, some of it having to do with the churning of staff resulting in a start and stop and restarting again approach. Each hire at the GM and HC position brings in a different system and philosophical approach. The constant changing and instability is a hallmark of the Pegula era. The hiring of KA to be the GM made no sense other than he presented the owner with an appealing cheaper plan to rebuild. And I'm comfortable in saying that not only would KA not have been considered for a GM position by any other sober owner but am absolutely sure that no owner would have kept him on after five years of an excruciating rebuilding plan that resulted in the team being a bottom of the pack team. What's interesting about this new senior advisor addition to the staff to help the current GM is that if he would have been the replacement for the current GM, there would have been even more positive feedback. From an overview perspective, this franchise has been flailing for a generation because of a pattern of bad management/ownership decisions. What's obvious is that when you shoot yourself in the foot you can't run very well. It gets tiresome.

It would probably be beneficial for Sammy not to wear the C. It would take some responsibilities away from him and allow him just to play and not worry about anything else. And to be blunt he hasn’t earned the letter.

What about LaFontaine? He certainly falls into the nostalgia category. And that hire turned out to be a fiasco. What’s to be learned? When searching for solutions it’s better to look forward than backward.

I’m sure the coach has a feel for which players are buying in to the program and which are not. And I’m sure he has communicated his thoughts on that issue when trades are discussed.