Matt Ellis to be Named Director of Player Development

[JohnC]

16 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think Botterill wanted to change the culture and I think Pegula's disliked ROR's comments and drunk driving accident. It combined into a perfect storm and the final nail in the coffin was Pegula's saying they wanted him gone b4 paying his bonus. 

So what you are basically saying is that this boondoggle was a collaboration. ?

As I stated before I understand why he was dealt but it was handled in a manner that set this franchise back. 

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, JohnC said:

So what you are basically saying is that this boondoggle was a collaboration. ?

As I stated before I understand why he was dealt but it was handled in a manner that set this franchise back. 

I don't understand why he was dealt. It made no sense and the trade was utter garbage even if Tage turns into a top 6 winger. 

[JohnC]

9 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I don't understand why he was dealt. It made no sense and the trade was utter garbage even if Tage turns into a top 6 winger. 

I can understand why he was dealt. If his behavior and attitude in the locker room was poisonous then dealing him for a commensurate value does make sense. If an adequate return couldn't be made quickly then the organization should have bided its time and waited for the market to become more fertile. My criticism is more about the execution than the decision. 

'

Edited August 17, 2020 by JohnC

[LGR4GM]

18 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I can understand why he was dealt. If his behavior and attitude in the locker room was poisonous then dealing him for a commensurate value does make sense. If an adequate return couldn't be made quickly then the organization should have bided its time and waited for the market to become more fertile. My criticism is more about the execution than the decision. 

'

I have seen 0 evidence of this and considering he left and immediately won a cup and the Sabres nosedived to the bottom of the league , there is ample evidence his presence was a positive. 

Mine is about both, because the decision was not made for hockey reasons and that is abundantly clear. 

Edited August 17, 2020 by LGR4GM

[dudacek]

O’Reilly is so good.

What baffles me is that no other GM could/would step up and beat that St. Louis offer. (At least without us paying the bonus.)

[JohnC]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

I have seen 0 evidence of this and considering he left and immediately won a cup and the Sabres nosedived to the bottom of the league how there is ample evidence his presence was a positive. 

ROR was frustrated and publicly expressed his frustration with the organization. What should have happened is that after a cooling off period of time went by he and the organization should have had a sit down and discussed the situation. The organization didn't do that. The GM made a deal that has proven to this day to have had negative reverberations. That transaction is over with. The issue now is what is the organization going do to add talent to this insufficient roster. I'm more than open to trading our first round pick to upgrade this roster. 

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

ROR was frustrated and publicly expressed his frustration with the organization. What should have happened is that after a cooling off period of time went by he and the organization should have had a sit down and discussed the situation. The organization didn't do that. The GM made a deal that has proven to this day to have had negative reverberations. That transaction is over with. The issue now is what is the organization going do to add talent to this insufficient roster. I'm more than open to trading our first round pick to upgrade this roster. 

That isn't the same as creating a "poisonous environment". Again, the GM and ORG overreacted and sent a good player packing for peanuts and completely ***** over the team. 

[JohnC]

8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

O’Reilly is so good.

What baffles me is that no other GM could/would step up and beat that St. Louis offer. (At least without us paying the bonus.)

We should have paid the bonus and then have better market options. There was one story that Carolina had a better offer but required us to pay the bonus. We declined to make that payment. My sense is that the owner wasn't willing to pay the bonus he wanted out.  

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

That isn't the same as creating a "poisonous environment". Again, the GM and ORG overreacted and sent a good player packing for peanuts and completely ***** over the team. 

It isn't what you believe; it is what the organization believes. Obviously, it was an overreaction.   

[Thorny]

On 8/17/2020 at 11:13 AM, dudacek said:

O’Reilly is so good.

What baffles me is that no other GM could/would step up and beat that St. Louis offer. (At least without us paying the bonus.)

Because GMs are as prone to false narratives as anyone else. ROR “wasn’t a winner”.

 

[Taro T]

On 8/16/2020 at 7:49 PM, dudacek said:

Do we know what the job description and the qualifications for player development director are, or whether Matt Ellis has them?

Did we know what Steve Greeley’s were? Or what extra responsibilities he had that made him an AGM?

Do we remember who Murray’s Director of Player Development was? Darcy’s?

Did we even care?

To me, that list indicates most of the guys in this position are about as high-profile as Ellis and that we have no idea how good a hire this is.

The Pegulas track record means everyone is skeptical. Whoever they hired in this position wasnt going to change that.

The combination of the track record under the Pegulas AND pretty much EVERYBODY being new to their jobs.  IF Adams is the general manager the Pegulas apparent think he'll be AND the people he's bringing in really do share his vision of how to build & develop a team AND he's right that they can step up, we're in great shape.

The problem is, everytime somebody is brought into an entirely new situation there is a very low floor and (hopefully) a very high ceiling.  And, with nobody successful AND experienced to bounce ideas off of there's a very real possibility this thing could move horrendously off the rails.

Yes, they might be building the hockey equivalent of Microsoft but it's far more likely they're going to be just another garage startup that fails before it ever really starts.  Now, if Adams can be Bill Gates and Krueger Paul Allen, we're good.  Can they be?  It's a pretty tall order.

[Thorny]

Yep, it's a tad scary. Would it kill them to bring in just one of those "bounce ideas off of" guys? 

[Doohickie]

And it's official

 

[Doohickie]

His talent set was sub-NHL. Through hard work and coaching he made the most of his abilities to play in the NHL. He had to work for it. That's the attitude I want instilled on my young players- make the most of what you've got, and reach for higher than you think you're capable of.

 

You don't want your player development guy to be a superstar that everything comes easy to. You want a guy who got to the NHL through grit and determination.

[IKnowPhysics]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

His talent set was sub-NHL. Through hard work and coaching he made the most of his abilities to play in the NHL. He had to work for it. That's the attitude I want instilled on my young players- make the most of what you've got, and reach for higher than you think you're capable of.

 

You don't want your player development guy to be a superstar that everything comes easy to. You want a guy who got to the NHL through grit and determination.

 

Agreed.

If Matt Ellis can make Matt Ellis as good as Matt Ellis, imagine what he could do for Casey Mittelstadt or Dylan Cozens.

[kas23]

I’m fine with a guy who just couldn’t cut it being a director of development. There’s a maxim in investing. When you win, you get paid in money. When you lose, you get paid in experience. Ellis has this experience.
 

There’s a million reason not to hit in the NHL. Even if you know what you have to do and how to do it, you can still fail. But, you gain valuable experience. The key here will be to have the youngsters buy in so they don’t make the same mistakes. I’m a big believer in mentorship. Even the best can fail without a proper mentor. 

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

5 minutes ago, kas23 said:

I’m fine with a guy who just couldn’t cut it being a director of development. There’s a maxim in investing. When you win, you get paid in money. When you lose, you get paid in experience. Ellis has this experience.
 

There’s a million reason not to hit in the NHL. Even if you know what you have to do and how to do it, you can still fail. But, you gain valuable experience. The key here will be to have the youngsters buy in so they don’t make the same mistakes. I’m a big believer in mentorship. Even the best can fail without a proper mentor. 

I might add that you can fail if you have the wrong attitude also.

I could see Ellis turning Cozens into something great (like an ROR) but, I could also see Casey turning into Luke Adam.

[Weave]

2 hours ago, IKnowPhysics said:

 

Agreed.

If Matt Ellis can make Matt Ellis as good as Matt Ellis, imagine what he could do for Casey Mittelstadt or Dylan Cozens.

Unless he can transplant his intangibles into Casey I think it won't make a difference.

[PASabreFan]

7 hours ago, Doohickie said:

His talent set was sub-NHL. Through hard work and coaching he made the most of his abilities to play in the NHL. He had to work for it. That's the attitude I want instilled on my young players- make the most of what you've got, and reach for higher than you think you're capable of.

 

You don't want your player development guy to be a superstar that everything comes easy to. You want a guy who got to the NHL through grit and determination.

We've gone over this. Watch the video of Jack's childhood basement where it looks like Beirut circa 1984 from all the pucks being shot. Who's to say Ellis didn't have the talent to do so much more than he did but fell short because of lack of hard work? Rob Ray was almost a point a game player for Cornwall of the OHL.

[Doohickie]

wut.

[SwampD]

If you disregard the Tank years (which I do for everything,) the Sabres had a winning record when Matt was in the lineup.

[Taro T]

17 hours ago, SwampD said:

If you disregard the Tank years (which I do for everything,) the Sabres had a winning record when Matt was in the lineup.

Very difficult to find any players (besides Essensa) that played for the Sabres during their 1st 40 years that one can't say that about them.  Not exactly high praise.

[Kruppstahl]

Ellis in as director of player development.

At long last, our problems are over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PerreaultForever]

On 9/1/2020 at 10:47 AM, Doohickie said:

His talent set was sub-NHL. Through hard work and coaching he made the most of his abilities to play in the NHL. He had to work for it. That's the attitude I want instilled on my young players- make the most of what you've got, and reach for higher than you think you're capable of.

 

You don't want your player development guy to be a superstar that everything comes easy to. You want a guy who got to the NHL through grit and determination.

Just wondering, but aren't most, if not all player development guys people who generally fit this description? It doesn't mean much. 

[bunomatic]

We need a prayer development coach.😳