Adams And Granato Media Availability Wednesday: What Do You Want To hear?

[Doohickie]

3 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

it’s clearly to me a symptom of absentee ownership.

Are they meddlers or absentees?  It's hard to keep up.

[Flashsabre]

2 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

Again, I get downvoted for saying this, but it’s clearly to me a symptom of absentee ownership.  DG and KA do not appear to be operating under any kind of measurable accountability other than “don’t embarrass your bosses.”  Why would they volunteer a metric for themselves when none exists internally?  Telling the media it’s playoffs or bust and then missing the playoffs would count as embarrassing their bosses, who haven’t imposed such a standard in the first place.

Look - I like this current roster, and I really like Donny and Kevyn personally - but they have maybe the easiest jobs in pro sports right now - zero expectations from within or without and zero pressure to do anything quickly.  This is the longest “build” I’ve ever seen.  Multiple franchises have peaked and crashed and rebuilt in the time it is taking the Sabres to get wherever it is they’re going.  And many of the fans have somehow bought in - there are posters here who tell us with a straight face that it’s perfectly fine to install the defense maybe next year because offense is easier to learn.  What planet are we on?

Longest build ever? Adams and Granato have been on the job for a couple years.

Why do people have problems with this.

The rebuild under Adams started two years ago. The garbage that went on before him isn’t on his head and isn’t added on to his rebuild.

They have expectations. Next year is a playoff year. They missed by one game with a bad defensive system, bad pk and sub par goaltending for the majority of the season. All those young guys will be a year older and better.

3 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Are they meddlers or absentees?  It's hard to keep up.

Depends which narrative individual posters are trying to push😁

[LabattBlue]

48 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Why? 

Ummm…maybe because they have missed the playoffs 12 years in a row in a league where 1/2 of the teams make it, and that it is flat out unacceptable for  this to go on any longer. 

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Ummm…maybe because they have missed the playoffs 12 years in a row in a league where 1/2 of the teams make it, and that it is flat out unacceptable for  this to go on any longer. 

I’m asking why he needs to say that?

Will him saying it increase the chance of playoffs actually happening? 

Don’t actions speak louder than words?

[PASabreFan]

2 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

Well, the West owes more to Athens than Sparta. I agree though that the Klingons are a more robust culture than the milquetoast Federation and all their boring peace talk.

It always comes back to toast with you people.

I wonder if some of you could tell Granato's words from Krueger's. Might be an interesting poll.

[Flashsabre]

I wish Adams said what he really thought of Johnson. He didn’t look too impressed with the whole situation while he tried to explain where everything stood.

[Randall Flagg]

17 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I’m asking why he needs to say that?

Will him saying it increase the chance of playoffs actually happening? 

Don’t actions speak louder than words?

As a member of team "I want the GM to explicitly set these expectations" I think we need to organize and give a thoughtful answer to this. In our locker room, we can tangibly feel in our bones that there is one. But we aren't playing our game right now. We're holding our sticks too tight, pressing a bit. We should take some time to reset and get this right. 

[oddoublee]

13 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I wish Adams said what he really thought of Johnson. He didn’t look too impressed with the whole situation while he tried to explain where everything stood.

I just finished watching - and got the same vibe. Used a key word as well - we think he is a good 'prospect'. If I had to guess, they had no intention of letting him play NHL minutes this year - and they want him in the AHL for one year minimum. 

If he can find a team with less depth - or has a philosophy of growing players in the NHL - then he is going to gravitate there.

But seemed clear - Adams does not have strong conviction that he is NHL ready in 23-34. 

[Zamboni]

12 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I wish Adams said what he really thought of Johnson. He didn’t look too impressed with the whole situation while he tried to explain where everything stood.

Very few GM’s of any sports organization throw players or agents or coaches under the bus in public. Or say anything even semi-disparaging. The most “damning thing“ he said regarding Johnson was they are “waiting now“. That’s fine as far as I’m concerned he doesn’t need to say anything more regarding Johnson and their talks. Obviously he thinks highly of Johnson otherwise he wouldn’t be talking to his agent to sign him/finding out where they are at.

[Randall Flagg]

Wawrow had a good question but kinda fumbled it. "You guys had almost 20 million in unused cap space you will never see again, had obvious warts going back to the earliest parts of the offseason, and got within 2 points of the playoffs. There surely was a path that could have leveraged some of that for two measly points in a way that wouldn't "compromise the future." Do you agree that this might represent a wasted opportunity?" A reasonable question I think

[dudacek]

32 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

As a member of team "I want the GM to explicitly set these expectations" I think we need to organize and give a thoughtful answer to this. In our locker room, we can tangibly feel in our bones that there is one. But we aren't playing our game right now. We're holding our sticks too tight, pressing a bit. We should take some time to reset and get this right. 

My take as someone in the other room is that some fans need to hear it for themselves, not for the team.

They need to be reassured that the new men in their lives aren’t going to let them down the way Jason and Ralph and Tim did. And maybe they also need to be able to fully hate Kevyn and Don as “promise-breakers” when the letdown inevitably comes.

Hardly professional analysis, but on the flip side it’s free!

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

I expect DG and KA to say…playoffs are the goal and missing them will be unacceptable, no excuses!

I'd rather they just make the playoffs than make them put on a show for frustrated fans.

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, Malazan said:

I wanted them to shore up my emotionally fragile state and when they don't do that, I get very angry!

Bingo

[steveoath]

44 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Do you agree that this might represent a wasted opportunity?"

Any question at a presser that includes "do you agree" in it needs thrown out. Why not just ask a question,  rather than attempting to make yourself sound smart?

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Cascade Youth said:

Again, I get downvoted for saying this, but it’s clearly to me a symptom of absentee ownership.  DG and KA do not appear to be operating under any kind of measurable accountability other than “don’t embarrass your bosses.”  Why would they volunteer a metric for themselves when none exists internally?  Telling the media it’s playoffs or bust and then missing the playoffs would count as embarrassing their bosses, who haven’t imposed such a standard in the first place.

Look - I like this current roster, and I really like Donny and Kevyn personally - but they have maybe the easiest jobs in pro sports right now - zero expectations from within or without and zero pressure to do anything quickly.  This is the longest “build” I’ve ever seen.  Multiple franchises have peaked and crashed and rebuilt in the time it is taking the Sabres to get wherever it is they’re going.  And many of the fans have somehow bought in - there are posters here who tell us with a straight face that it’s perfectly fine to install the defense maybe next year because offense is easier to learn.  What planet are we on?

WTF are you talking about? Absentee ownership? Terry follows Kevyn like a puppy. And what happened to wanting him NOT to meddle?

 

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Are they meddlers or absentees?  It's hard to keep up.

What day is it?

[PromoTheRobot]

53 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

As a member of team "I want the GM to explicitly set these expectations" I think we need to organize and give a thoughtful answer to this. In our locker room, we can tangibly feel in our bones that there is one. But we aren't playing our game right now. We're holding our sticks too tight, pressing a bit. We should take some time to reset and get this right. 

If you have the right players, and I'm hopeful we do, you don't need pronouncements from the GM. In fact it gets to be insulting. 

[Flashsabre]

3 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

WTF are you talking about? Absentee ownership? Terry follows Kevyn like a puppy. And what happened to wanting him NOT to meddle?

 

Yep. Go back to the the behind the draft video. Terry is in the room during prospect interviews. Kevyn is at the draft table on the phone to Terry explaining to him the idea of trading back up for Kulich.

How does any fan know how involved Terry is with the team? And let’s cut the guy a little slack this year. His wife is struggling through a very serious medical situation.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Flashsabre

[dudacek]

51 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Wawrow had a good question but kinda fumbled it. "You guys had almost 20 million in unused cap space you will never see again, had obvious warts going back to the earliest parts of the offseason, and got within 2 points of the playoffs. There surely was a path that could have leveraged some of that for two measly points in a way that wouldn't "compromise the future." Do you agree that this might represent a wasted opportunity?" A reasonable question I think

And PA seemed to take my “hardliners” as a shot a Wawrow, but I actually appreciated the questioning as necessary for those who are looking like this season as a wasted opportunity.

Kevyn’s answer just reinforced what you already knew: making the playoffs is not his goal and probably never will be. His goal is to build a perennial contender and the season, to his mind, was not a wasted opportunity because he feels he got closer to that goal. 

I know many respond to that with a “when”. To me, this presser said this season got us to the doorstep and they think next year the team will be stepping through.

It wasn’t said in the words some people wanted to hear, but I’m pretty sure he expects your goal of “playoffs” and his goal of “contender” are about to align.

Edited April 19, 2023 by dudacek

[LabattBlue]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

I’m asking why he needs to say that?

Will him saying it increase the chance of playoffs actually happening? 

Don’t actions speak louder than words?

Maybe by saying it, it makes them more accountable versus…”we tried hard, maybe next year”.

[PromoTheRobot]

54 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Wawrow had a good question but kinda fumbled it. "You guys had almost 20 million in unused cap space you will never see again, had obvious warts going back to the earliest parts of the offseason, and got within 2 points of the playoffs. There surely was a path that could have leveraged some of that for two measly points in a way that wouldn't "compromise the future." Do you agree that this might represent a wasted opportunity?" A reasonable question I think

So is Wawrow suggesting a high-priced vet on an expiring deal would have got them over the hump? Maybe. But I think what Adams and Granato wanted to see is how this team responds to the pressure. And if deadline deals came with guaranteed results, Ottawa would be in the playoffs.

Edited April 19, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Flashsabre]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

And PA seemed to take my “hardliners” as a shot a Wawrow, but I actually appreciated the questioning as necessary for those who are looking like this season as a wasted opportunity.

Kevyn’s answer just reinforced what you already knew: making the playoffs is not his goal and probably never will be. His goal is to build a perennial contender and the season, to his mind, was not a wasted opportunity because he feels he got closer to that goal. 

I know many respond to that with a “when”. To me, this presser said “this season got us to the doorstep and he thinks next year the team will be stepping through.

It wasn’t said in the words some people wanted to hear, but I’m pretty sure he expects your goal of “playoffs” and his goal of “contender” are about to align.

This is key. I mean if they snuck in this year and got spanked 4 straight by Boston without Tage and Muel being able to play would fans be placated because we broke the streak? I’m not happy not getting in but looking at the big picture we are setup to be good for a long time starting next season.

I want deep runs. I don’t want to be the Leafs.

[PASabreFan]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

And PA seemed to take my “hardliners” as a shot a Wawrow, but I actually appreciated the questioning as necessary for those who are looking like this season as a wasted opportunity.

Kevyn’s answer just reinforced what you already knew: making the playoffs is not his goal and probably never will be. His goal is to build a perennial contender and the season, to his mind, was not a wasted opportunity because he feels he got closer to that goal. 

I know many respond to that with a “when”. To me, this presser said “this season got us to the doorstep and he thinks next year the team will be stepping through.

It wasn’t said in the words some people wanted to hear, but I’m pretty sure he expects your goal of “playoffs” and his goal of “contender” are about to align.

We're coming up on the 10 year anniversary of Darcy saying the same thing about the playoffs.

[LabattBlue]

16 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I'd rather they just make the playoffs than make them put on a show for frustrated fans.

Who asked for a show?  Making a statement that 12 years of this ***** is unacceptable is a show…or am I not being a super fan by stating this?

[PromoTheRobot]

3 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

We're coming up on the 10 year anniversary of Darcy saying the same thing about the playoffs.

Time is an illusion.

1 minute ago, LabattBlue said:

Who asked for a show?  Making a statement that 12 years of this ***** is unacceptable is a show…or am I not being a super fan by stating this?

That's a the definition of putting on a show. As I said in an earlier post, if this team is built the right way, you don't have to say such things. They know. They probably want it more.

Edited April 19, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Flashsabre]

Just now, LabattBlue said:

Who asked for a show?  Making a statement that 12 years of this ***** is unacceptable is a show…or am I not being a super fan by stating this?

Nobody ducked it though. They said they are building to it by sticking to their process. They believe setting the team up for sustained success is the best way to win the Cup and that is the goal is to win the Cup. They said what you were hoping just maybe not the words you wanted them to use.

I think everyone here is expecting playoffs next year. They are young and will be better next season.