Drinking the Kool-Aid? Survey says Sabres fans confident in their front office

[Curt]

16 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

How much of this is the enthusiasm of Alex Tuch?  Not only does his positive outlook help the team, it also affects us fans because he is one of us.

24% of it

[LGR4GM]

28 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

How much of this is the enthusiasm of Alex Tuch?  Not only does his positive outlook help the team, it also affects us fans because he is one of us.

1%

I think the tuch stuff is overhyped. 

[msw2112]

19 hours ago, Weave said:

I’m still in show me mode. Winning the draft doesn’t move the needle for me, and I’m not sure they’ve done anything else truly notable.  
 

Noone gets the benefit of the doubt.  

They showed me several things in the last year or so:  1) significant improvement as a team on the ice, including a strong finish and victories in key "rivalry" or "big" games (Vegas, Toronto overall, Toronto outdoor game, RJ night, final game of season); 2) significant improvment for individual players, both younger players and established veterans - Thompson, Dahlin, Okposo, Skinner, and others; *3) competent handling of several challenging trade scenarios (i) the Eichel fiacso culminating in a successful trade (in which they made chicken salad out of chicken s&^t), (ii) getting a nice haul from Philly for Risto, and (iii) getting a first round pick and a top goalie prospect for Reinhart; and *4) APPARENT competent handling of the draft. 

3 and 4 get the asterisk, because we don't yet know what Kulich or Levi will develop into, but as of now, all signs are very positive, and the same applies for the remainder of the draft.

So I understand still being in "show me" mode, but I also believe they have shown me a lot of positives in the last year.

Edited August 19, 2022 by msw2112

[msw2112]

48 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

How much of this is the enthusiasm of Alex Tuch?  Not only does his positive outlook help the team, it also affects us fans because he is one of us.

He's also a pretty good hockey player.  He's not a Hall of Fame type of talent, but he's got a nice combination of size, grit, and skill, in addition to his positive attitude and leadership skills.

[Taro T]

35 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

How much of this is the enthusiasm of Alex Tuch?  Not only does his positive outlook help the team, it also affects us fans because he is one of us.

Another good Q.

IMHO, that's a good part of it but no idea how to quantify it realistically.  

He checks a few boxes.  He's a true power forward in a mold that IMHO the team only had 2 of and 1 was or was essentially a rookie - Okposo & Cozens.Maybe Mitts or Peterka joins that club, and if they do, great; but the team was sorely lacking in that role.  He also pays attention to the little things.  He took the team to dinner when he arrived, met most everybody working for Sabres and introduced himself, and he was the guy making sure RJ got onto the ice on his special night.  That has nothing to do with this being his childhood dream - that's just having been brought up right.  And then, he bleeds blue and gold after bleeding red & black as a kid.  Wonder how psyched up he'll be when he gets to step onto the ice in those 3rd for the 1st time?

He won't be a ppg player, but he'll be around 0.75 ppg which is still something this team needs.  Having a guy doing all the little things right is great for the younger players to be around.  Imagine what could've been had he been about 6 years older and in that '15-'16 dressing room with Okposo, O'Reilly, Gionta, and Gorges rather than at least 1 of and ideally both Kane & Bogosian.  Maybe the "tank fruit" doesn't spoil in that environment.  Oh, well.

And his enjoyment of his situation seems to be infectious from an outside perspective.  That has to help make it easier to come to work on a dreary February morning.

[Doohickie]

23 hours ago, dudacek said:

it appears fans are buying what Kevyn Adams is selling.

What does Sabrespace think?

I think the rest of the league is like @Weave:  Show me. 

I think for many of on the forum and who follow the Sabres as a primary team we understand the philosophy behind the Kevyn Adams rebuild and where he intends to take the team.  Some of us are impatient and want it to be faster but most of us understand what he's doing and think it's a sound strategy.  If we'd done this in 2013 instead of 2022 we'd be perennial playoff contenders now.

I don't think we're "buying" what he's selling though.  It's more of a long term investment than a simple purchase.

And that's the part the rest of the league watchers don't get yet.

[Weave]

2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I think the rest of the league is like @Weave:  Show me. 

I think for many of on the forum and who follow the Sabres as a primary team we understand the philosophy behind the Kevyn Adams rebuild and where he intends to take the team.  Some of us are impatient and want it to be faster but most of us understand what he's doing and think it's a sound strategy.  If we'd done this in 2013 instead of 2022 we'd be perennial playoff contenders now.

I don't think we're "buying" what he's selling though.  It's more of a long term investment than a simple purchase.

And that's the part the rest of the league watchers don't get yet.

Your error is assuming that those of us not on a Kool Aid fix don’t understand KAs philosophy. I understand it.  I’ve seen its application work and not work.  Like all investments, past performance does not indicate future results.  

[dudacek]

I think I’m tired of being fully invested in every move the Sabres make without ever believing they are going anywhere.

That’s not how I felt when I discovered the team when I was 8 years old, or 14 or even at 40. Not even during the lows.

I’ve always loved the franchise and the logo. Always will. It’s been a long time since I’ve liked the people wearing them.

I don’t know if this group is any good. Way too many question marks. Way too many scars to trust my eyes.

But I could like these guys.

I just want to be a fan again.

Edited August 20, 2022 by dudacek

[Weave]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

I think I’m tired of being fully invested in every move the Sabres make without ever believing they were going anywhere.

That’s not how I felt when I discovered the team when I was 8 years old, or 14 or even at 40. Not even during the lows.

I’ve always loved the franchise and the logo. Always will. It’s been a long time since I’ve liked the people wearing them.

I don’t know if this group is any good. Way too many question marks. Way too many scars to trust my eyes.

But I could like these guys.

I just want to be a fan again.

This is most of what I feel.

[Doohickie]

I'm a fan.

I wanted to be an Eichel fan and I relished his successes but I never really liked him as a person.  I think the team this team is growing into will be not only effective and will be increasingly successful on the ice, they are also players you can love based on their character and work ethic. 

When talking about about Kulich and why Adams wanted him so bad and yet he slipped to 28th, I think Adams is looking for those intangibles first and then after filtering for players who he perceives has those intangibles, ranks players.  Adams put a value on that character evaluation that the teams drafting 17 through 27 either weren't aware of or didn't value like Kevyn does.  Who knows, maybe there is a numerical indicator of character that the Sabres analytics department has devised and it's helping direct Kevyn's selections.

Now not every successful NHL player on every successful NHL team is a Kevyn Adams Character Guy™ but I think Adams is stressing that aspect because he knows that players who have that will play hard for each other and will be able to reach down deep for that extra something when their backs are against a wall. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by Doohickie