Dreger: Expects Sabres Head Coach will be hired next week

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

Sam saw first hand the growth of the young guys and Don Granato’s impact. If he thinks that adding goaltending plus a good return for Jack would put them in the playoff mix he may sign.

I would like to see Sam stay and be the veteran presence, if he wants to remain a Sabre.

 

3 hours ago, tom webster said:

I believe they would love to sign Sam and make him their number one center for a couple years. Not sure he agrees.

KA could ask Sam to give it to the deadline. Not happening by then, we'll move you.

[LGR4GM]

22 minutes ago, sabremike said:

They hired Barry Trotz and Lou, we hired Kevyn Adams and are going to hire an entry level guy as coach.

Calling Granato an "entry level guy" as coach is something. 30 years of coaching NA hockey from the echl, to ncaa, to USDP, to NHL. 

[dudacek]

37 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Sam is all about Sam, he'll do what's best for him and his wallet.

So what you’re saying is if we offer him a UFA-type contract, we will almost certainly stay.

[LGR4GM]

11 minutes ago, jad1 said:

And now Dreger reports that the Eichel trade is a forgone conclusion.  If that's true, it means that Adams is no longer waiting for an offer that can't be refused, he's now going to take what he can get, amid the reports of a shrinking number of potential trading partners.

This is the same path that Botterill took in trading O'Reilly, and the same path that Adams took trading Hall.

 

1st the only team that's out is Columbus and that's because they should be. If Adams was seriously considering the garbage from Columbus we'd be in big trouble. This is really stretching to hear a team is out and call it "dwindling". 

2nd, Eichel getting traded became a forgone conclusion because talks with potential partners got more serious and in depth. That doesn't mean Adams has to accept some arbitrary timeline. 

So these 2 things don't really make sense together. Adam is going to "get what he can get" but also he's eliminating trade partners with the implications being he's asking too much from them. Which is it? He's eliminating trade partners who won't meet his asking price or he's just going to take what he can get?

 

Hall had a full nmc. ROR was traded by botteril because TP wouldn't pay his bonus. They aren't related to Eichel.

[sabremike]

9 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Calling Granato an "entry level guy" as coach is something. 30 years of coaching NA hockey from the echl, to ncaa, to USDP, to NHL. 

As an NHL head coach he is. And with all that experience why has he never been given an NHL HC gig?

[Marvin]

2 minutes ago, sabremike said:

As an NHL head coach he is. And with all that experience why has he never been given an NHL HC gig?

I was asked the same thing when I interviewed for my current job.  "You have done literally everything in the tech stack multiple times for multiple years in multiple types of infrastructure.  Why aren't you a manager?"

"I liked what I was already doing at the time better."  Seems obvious to me.

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, sabremike said:

As an NHL head coach he is. And with all that experience why has he never been given an NHL HC gig?

Well by your logic he never will

[jad1]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

1st the only team that's out is Columbus and that's because they should be. If Adams was seriously considering the garbage from Columbus we'd be in big trouble. This is really stretching to hear a team is out and call it "dwindling". 

2nd, Eichel getting traded became a forgone conclusion because talks with potential partners got more serious and in depth. That doesn't mean Adams has to accept some arbitrary timeline. 

So these 2 things don't really make sense together. Adam is going to "get what he can get" but also he's eliminating trade partners with the implications being he's asking too much from them. Which is it? He's eliminating trade partners who won't meet his asking price or he's just going to take what he can get?

 

Hall had a full nmc. ROR was traded by botteril because TP wouldn't pay his bonus. They aren't related to Eichel.

All of this is speculation from reporters, so you need to take it with a grain of salt.  Adams could be doing well at hiding his hand and may be leaning toward keeping Eichel. 

So who knows of Dreger is right or not.  

But, let's not fool ourselves, trading Eichel, despite what has played out for other franchises, does not bode well for the Sabres. Maybe three or four years from now, fans will be able to claim the Sabres won an Eichel trade, but those years between wil be crushing for this franchise.

And I don't buy the TP crap in the O'Reilly trade.  For all his faults, Pegula has never balked at paying a player.  And he has williingly thrown away more than $7M on fired GMs and coaches.

Botterill wanted a different skill set at center than O'Reilly possessed, that's why he drafted Mittlestadt.  Botterill liked the return fro the Blues and his MBA brain was happy with avoiding the bonus.  That deal was all Botterill.

And yes Hall had a NMC, it was the one Adams gave him.  So good job Kev at making the best of a bad situation (that you created).

[LGR4GM]

18 minutes ago, jad1 said:

All of this is speculation from reporters, so you need to take it with a grain of salt.  Adams could be doing well at hiding his hand and may be leaning toward keeping Eichel. 

So who knows of Dreger is right or not.  

But, let's not fool ourselves, trading Eichel, despite what has played out for other franchises, does not bode well for the Sabres. Maybe three or four years from now, fans will be able to claim the Sabres won an Eichel trade, but those years between wil be crushing for this franchise.

And I don't buy the TP crap in the O'Reilly trade.  For all his faults, Pegula has never balked at paying a player.  And he has williingly thrown away more than $7M on fired GMs and coaches.

Botterill wanted a different skill set at center than O'Reilly possessed, that's why he drafted Mittlestadt.  Botterill liked the return fro the Blues and his MBA brain was happy with avoiding the bonus.  That deal was all Botterill.

And yes Hall had a NMC, it was the one Adams gave him.  So good job Kev at making the best of a bad situation (that you created).

No one seems fooled. Pretty sure we all understand the most likely outcome from an eichel trade is failure in the short term at the very least. 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, sabremike said:

As an NHL head coach he is. And with all that experience why has he never been given an NHL HC gig?

Every NHL coach was a noob at one time. He has a resume that makes him a solid candidate. Plus your saw him at work.

[Flashsabre]

I love that the Captain of this team said “Jack Eichel has to look out for Jack Eichel” and some people can’t figure out why the team has been a disaster and why he has to go.  When your best player isn’t a leader then you aren’t going to win.  When NHL vets that has won Cups came in here and said that Eichel blew them off told me all I needed to know about Jack years ago.  
 

Did I enjoy his talent, sure. Am I going to cry when he goes, absolutely not.

 

I think Adams has it right about building an actual team with an identity that is united.  Whether he can execute it is a different story.

[sabremike]

30 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Every NHL coach was a noob at one time. He has a resume that makes him a solid candidate. Plus your saw him at work.

Compare his resume to Bruce Boudreau.

 

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Sam is all about Sam, he'll do what's best for him and his wallet.

What wrong with that? 

[pi2000]

17 minutes ago, JohnC said:

What wrong with that? 

Did I say there was something wrong with that?

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Did I say there was something wrong with that?

Yes he is going to act in his best interest. That's normal for him and every player.  And that best interest approach also applies to the team. I didn't understand the point being made.  

[kas23]

3 hours ago, sabremike said:

As an NHL head coach he is. And with all that experience why has he never been given an NHL HC gig?

From what I read about him (maybe BN?) is that he’s a fairly laidback guy and has never been one who is always thinking about their next position. He puts his head down and works and let the pieces fall where they may. I’m sure hiring a HC is a very political situation and he just never got caught up in all that. 

[Brawndo]

5 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

KA could ask Sam to give it to the deadline. Not happening by then, we'll move you.

There is something to be said for doing this. However Sam’s value will never be higher  than it is now. Moving him at the deadline will reduce the number of teams interested in him. There is always the worry of an injury and Him having a down year. 
 

The Sabres priority is to get Him signed to a long term deal, if He doesn’t agree and wants to play out the final year, he needs to be moved unfortunately.

5 hours ago, sabremike said:

As an NHL head coach he is. And with all that experience why has he never been given an NHL HC gig?

 

1 hour ago, kas23 said:

From what I read about him (maybe BN?) is that he’s a fairly laidback guy and has never been one who is always thinking about their next position. He puts his head down and works and let the pieces fall where they may. I’m sure hiring a HC is a very political situation and he just never got caught up in all that. 

He was on track for a HC Gig when He was diagnosed with Hogkins Lymphoma, it’s been a long road back since then

 

https://www.tsn.ca/frank-seravalli-don-granato-grateful-for-the-timing-of-his-shot-with-the-buffalo-sabres-1.1636051

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, sabremike said:

They hired Barry Trotz and Lou, we hired Kevyn Adams and are going to hire an entry level guy as coach.

Oh I know. Why I was advocating for Dudley and Gallant and so on. It's possible our guy is a good hire but it's definitely no sure thing.

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, jad1 said:

The Islanders had Lou Lamoriello and and Barry Trotz to help them through the loss of Taveres.  The Sabres have Adams and hopes and prayers.

Not to be too hard on Adams, but absolutely nothing this guy has done has worked.  His trades, FA signings, player development, choices on goaltending, support of Kreuger, draft picks, all of it has been at best suspect, and at worst terrible.

And now Dreger reports that the Eichel trade is a forgone conclusion.  If that's true, it means that Adams is no longer waiting for an offer that can't be refused, he's now going to take what he can get, amid the reports of a shrinking number of potential trading partners.

This is the same path that Botterill took in trading O'Reilly, and the same path that Adams took trading Hall.

I'm a Sabres fan through and through, and will stick with this team win or lose.  But at some point, the wishful thinking and prospect porn needs to take a break, and someone has to figure out how the Sabres are going to replace 130+ points in the lineup if Eichel and Reinhart are traded.

That's the definition of dark times, because if they don't start winning in the next couple of seasons (which requires winning the Eichel and Reinhart trades), Dahlin, Mittlestadt and Cozens will be the next of the 'rotten' core who need to be traded, because they are to accustomed to the 'culture of losing.' 

Of course, Adams will be long gone by then, replaced by the next inexperienced clown hired by Terry.

And the cycle continues.  Dark times indeed.

 

I don't think you have to apologize for being hard on Adams, you're absolutely right. SO FAR he has done nothing right or simply nothing. 

I don't agree with the 130 points argument though. It's about winning games not guys with points. We didn't win with them. We didn't win with Skinner adding over 40 goals to them. Scoring stats don't matter when you're losing all the time. We need a different approach.

I will say this, and it won't be popular, but as skilled as Eichel is, he has been consistently shut down by solid 2 ways players like Bergeron when they went head to head in games that mattered to our opponents. We rarely even saw first string goalies and top efforts from opponents cause they didn't need them. The young loose team at the end of this season has a long way to go but it performed better and with more effort overall. I firmly believe if we get a pick and 2 top prospects that work out, maybe a little more, we will win this trade and that GM will indeed be fired in a few years. 

[Doohickie]

15 hours ago, Curt said:

I bet there is a universe out there in which Dreger is wrong about a coach being hired next week.

We have met the universe and it is us.

[Doohickie]

9 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Sam is all about Sam, he'll do what's best for him and his wallet.

9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

KA could ask Sam to give it to the deadline. Not happening by then, we'll move you.

Wrong answer.  Multi-year deal or goodbye.

[Doohickie]

8 hours ago, jad1 said:

Botterill wanted a different skill set at center than O'Reilly possessed, that's why he drafted Mittlestadt. 

That makes no sense at all, not even a little bit.  Even if Mitts was the long term plan, you keep the vets you've got until the prospect is ready.

[Pimlach]

Been thinking the Eichel trade over a bit more.  There are lots of theoretical scenarios here on Sabrespace were we get a big return.   I like the Anaheim and LAK trading possibilities a lot.  Most of this is wishful thinking.  
 

Unfortunately, there are problems.  Not many GMs are going to bring in a $10M salary on an injured player, especially with a  neck injury such as this.  Especially a player with maybe a bit of a reputation.   So a trade may not happen until Jack shows he is healthy again.  If KA rushes this trade he is likely to get not very much in return.  Keeping Jack but with no Sam and no Risto, well given Jack’s past behavior, that most likely won’t be fun for anyone. 
 

i am wrapping up a two week visit to WNY.  Jack is not popular with fans and media.   I’m not talking about Sabrespace fanatics, I’m talking the general population of fans.   This feels like the ROR scenario.  
 

Talked to some Sabres alumni and others with ties to the team.  It sounds like moving Jack is a priority.   Unfortunately, the past mishandling of Eichel and the team could come back to further haunt this organization unless KA can swing a deal that turns the fortunes of this beleaguered franchise.  

Edited June 28, 2021 by Pimlach

[LGR4GM]

13 hours ago, sabremike said:

Compare his resume to Bruce Boudreau.

 

I did and the interesting thing is that Bruce became an NHL head coach at 52. Granato is 53. 

Just say you want Boudreau because he's previously been an NHL head coach. But stop acting like Granato isn't qualified. 

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I don't think you have to apologize for being hard on Adams, you're absolutely right. SO FAR he has done nothing right or simply nothing. 

I don't agree with the 130 points argument though. It's about winning games not guys with points. We didn't win with them. We didn't win with Skinner adding over 40 goals to them. Scoring stats don't matter when you're losing all the time. We need a different approach.

I will say this, and it won't be popular, but as skilled as Eichel is, he has been consistently shut down by solid 2 ways players like Bergeron when they went head to head in games that mattered to our opponents. We rarely even saw first string goalies and top efforts from opponents cause they didn't need them. The young loose team at the end of this season has a long way to go but it performed better and with more effort overall. I firmly believe if we get a pick and 2 top prospects that work out, maybe a little more, we will win this trade and that GM will indeed be fired in a few years. 

You don't win games without points. 

Just like you don't win without goaltending.