pi2000

How is any GM coming in here with only a few weeks to prepare, have enough time to evaluate the roster? I think any of us have a better understanding of the players strengths and weaknesses than whoever the new GM will be.

You mean Chan Gailey. I thought he signed with the Patriots?

Anybody else have concerns wrt the protected list and a new GM? Depending on when he's hired, he'll have at most a few weeks to decide on who to protect. Is that enough time to get to know the players? With Murray we knew who his favorites were, but with a new GM it's gonna be a total crap shoot, and that's a bit unnerving. Kane? Lehner? Bogo? Ennis? Who knows.

The leadership needs to possess those qualities, not necessarily all thr players.... thats the way it sounded to me.

I thought he said that he did have discussions with players. It sounded like together they spoke to Bylsma and Murray separately is what he meant.

He's overplayed, not overpaid.

I agree with most of it, but I don't want Lindy anywhere near this franchise. Housley would be great. I think Reinhart is still just scratching the surface, I hope they keep him. Murray inherited the tank, he didn't start the fire... Terry did when he said "If you want to watch the Sidney Crosby's, you have to go out and get the Sidney Crosby's". I liked GMTM's plan for this team, would've like to see him given a chance to follow through on it. Everybody blaming the bad contracts.... well Moulson was brought in here to sheppard Eichel into the league, and Bogo was collateral damage from the Kane trade which doesn't happen if we don't take him off their hands. I have no doubt he targeted top guys, but those guys also have to want to play here, and they didn't then because they were too close to the bottom. He brought in some good young players, always had a very good backup tendy, guys like Carrier and Fasching are good pick ups IMO, and maybe Guhle becomes special, maybe not but whatever. Antipin is fools gold, there's a reason he's in the KHL. Royal Blue jerseys? Yes PLEASE!

in' Hammy

Murray had 3 drafts. His picks aren't even 22 years old yet. Guys like Guhle, Borgen, Estephan, Pu, Fitzgerald, all have done well since being drafted... there will be some "hits" in the that group.

Don't assume he's not sitting there thinking "What a mess this franchise is", while listening to playoff stories from his friends in summer league (Vesey, Hayes', Fitzgerald, etc..).

There's a hard limit on the number of contracts one team can have. What's the point of picking 8 guys in the first 3 round every year if you only ever get to keep half of them in the long term?

What was the Dracy/Ruff logic? You need more than 2 years to show significant progress after back to back 50 point seasons. You can't compare them to the Leafs because they never bottomed out that hard, and they got luck winning the Matthews lottery. You think they're a playoff team without Matthews?

He said that yesterday... before the mess TP created today.

Can WGR get Eichel, his agent and Paul Hamilton on a conference call this afternoon to discuss the recent firings?

I think Murray knew he was gone when the season ended. If you go back and listen to some of his quotes, he sounds like a guy who knew his time was up. My guess is TP gave him an ultimatum to show progress every season and they took a step back, so he's gone... kinda like Rex knowing he was gone before the Jets game. That would seem typical of an owner who ran a large successful company... set goals with hard deadlines and if they're not met, then next man up gets a shot until they find the right guy. I just don't think that works very well in pro sports where you need some stability and patience especially when completely overhauling the roster and dealing with injuries, etc...

Lemme guess who told him... Paul Hamilton? sorry to disappoint :)

done. you terry. I played with Kevyn over the summers while he was at Miami. Good smart kid, can't vouch for his managerial skills however. I lost what little faith I had left in the Pegulas to do anything responsible for either of these franchises. Back-to-back 52, 54 point seasons to get a franchise player.... and you fire the GM after only 2 seasons after they improved by 30 points and had some sense of direction. Now everything is de-stabilized. You think Eichel will be more willing to sign an extension now? Hahahahahahaha... actually it's sad. I could see him wanting to get as far away from this mess of a franchise as possible first chance he gets... which might not be for a while, but the dysfunction is palpable. I'm not as disappointed about the Bylsma firing as I am about GMTM. I liked the direction he had this team going, he had clear vision of their weaknesses and what he needed to do to fix them... I would've liked to see what he did this summer to address the defense and navigate the expansion draft. Now, we'll never know.... and we're now veiled in a cloud of uncertainty.

I'm still at a loss for what motivated Paul Hamilton (an employee of the Sabres) to post that story about Eichel yesterday. Maybe somebody gave him intentionally false information to trigger the Bylsma/Murray firings..... but for what reason? And to put the franchise player in the spotlight in a negative way, when clearly Eichel didn't say any of those things seems disingenuous at best. Maybe him and Eichel despise each other, you can tell by the way Jack rolls his eyes at every PHAM question. That said, maybe it's Paul Hamilton who's the man behind the curtain running the entire operation... the new Batista.

I can't even

He's not getting fired this week. If he does, I'll change my avatar to Auston Matthews ;) Is it really tragically flawed? Or is it so possible that you just blew your mind and your head is spinning like a top?

fixed. I realize it's an unpopular opinion, but he won't be the first (nor the last) highly touted player to flame out after signing a mega-deal.

Why would he wait to can him? He would've been gone the day after the season ended if he was going to get fired. If my GM needs to have a talk with the owner before firing the coach, then I'm not sure he's man enough for the job. And how long would that conversation really last... it only takes a 5-min conversation to tell him you want to relieve Bylsma of his duties and go another direction. If the owner disagrees, then too bad... he hired you to be GM, he should let you do your job. That said, I'm firmly confident Murray has the authority to fire Bylsma on his own and would've done so after the season ended if that was the direction he wants to take. Ultimately, TM will be judged on the team's record over his tenure... and he should have authority to manipulate the players/coaches however, whenever he wants to get that done.

I still believe this is the best Auston Matthews we'll ever see. His first 2 years will be fantastic... he'll sign his mega-deal and pack it in... because money matters to him...more than team, more than education, more than character.

fixed Pegula is not firing Bylsma... unless Murray absolutely convinces him otherwise. I did listen to it... didn't get the impression he was firing Bylsma unless he himself was fired... and then the writings on the wall at that point.

This is Matthews' peak, he's reached physical maturity at a young age, he's been two steps ahead of everyone physically at every level he's played, until now.... this is his peak, it's all down hill from here... and wait until he signs his mega-deal... bye bye birdie.