[Has a GM ever had a worse off season???]

On 1/25/2024 at 7:26 PM, Crusader1969 said:

Not just limiting this to the NHL or Sabres  but when has a GM had a worse off season to what Adams had last year?

What he got wrong 

1) 3 headed goalie 

2) Let Peca walk cause there was no room on the Sabres bench

3) 5 UFA signings have been meh at best, playing in the minors at worse 

4) didn't sign guys who could make a difference on the 4th line  team lacked  sandpaper last year and he did nothing to rectify   

5) didn't find the vet partner for Power

6) didn't go outside the organization to fill in for Quinn

7) Didn't find a trade partner for #71 

8- didn't see the issues with the PP last year - one timer for Tage was all they had.   PP dried up late last season and died this season.  Left in the hands of Matt Ellis 

the one thing he didn't do that would clinch "worst ever" is sign someone to a too long, too much UFA contract 

 

what he got right 

1) drafted Benson.  Seems the draft class again is once again pretty decent from top to bottom

2) didn't strangle himself with a long term , high salary UFA 

3) built a pretty good Amerks team

 I would say his in season GM'ing hasn't been much better 

 

 

As an Amerks season ticket holder I can tell you that yes, they are pretty good. The problem is that their players are exactly what the Sabres already have. Small, decently skilled, pretty good speed but soft as h*ll. They are the exact same team, PP is terrible, PK is terrible and 5 on 5 is pretty good. Nobody here is replacing anyone there because they play the exact same game. 

[Sabres are one of the slowest playing teams in the league]

On 1/27/2024 at 9:06 PM, PerreaultForever said:

They are not "slow" but they have a tendency to stop skating, stand around, quit on plays, watch. When they "keep moving their feet" as Ray likes to say often they are not a slow team at all. Quite the reverse. 

The rhetoric said we want to be Carolina, but for that we need a fast aggressive forecheck, and that is still absent. 

I agree with this. I believe that it comes from knowing that the coach won't give you any pushback when you don't hustle.