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

[oddoublee]

59 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

it is a bit shortsighted though, imo. 20 million not used has other implications. if they spent 5 of it - does it mean it costs them 5 for the next year and year after? multi year contracts do that - so the question is incomplete and missing context. i see it as 20 million they can use on upgrading scouting and coaching staff, ahl, office staffing, etc...

or money for the yacht. 

[LabattBlue]

2 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

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.

What is the process?  If the answer is keep building from within without any significant veterans brought in via FA, or trade, the build may result in playoffs next year, or could be multiple years away.  
 

I guess I have already spoke with my wallet when I gave up being a STH 3 years ago, but the mass exodus of STH over the last 5 years or so, did not seem to have any positive impact in terms of on ice performance. 

[Taro T]

14 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

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

We're also coming up on the 1st time any GM has gotten a 4th shot at the draft since that fateful pronouncement was made.

Expect that if Regier was kept in place, the team would've been quite competitive by now, but that's not a given as Darcy's worst stretch as a GM pre-suffering was when he was given an open wallet to spend as he saw fit.  Darcy was always at his best when he was told to win but with more constraints than the other GM's he was competing with.  (Maybe that was strictly a correlation thing and not a causation one, but expect it's the latter.  Wonder if that made him think longer and harder about getting the right additions into the lineup.)

Expect that Murray would've figured out how to get the team into the playoffs, but doubt that they'd've been serious contenders.  Hard to believe he'd've ever started seeing the players as people that sometimes fit better with certain linemates and can be made more than they were/are by themselves but that the wrong fits can also make the sum whole less than it should be.

Have no faith that Botterill ever would've figured it out based upon his 2 coaching choices and his seeming perpetual penchant to spend to the cap with little or nothing to show for it.  How much different would the team be today had he told the Pegulas 'sure, let's sack the entire front office?'  Scary thought.

 

[Flashsabre]

4 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

What is the process?  If the answer is keep building from within without any significant veterans brought in via FA, or trade, the build may result in playoffs next year, or could be multiple years away.  
 

I guess I have already spoke with my wallet when I gave up being a STH 3 years ago, but the mass exodus of STH over the last 5 years or so, did not seem to have any positive impact in terms of on ice performance. 

So you think they will be worse next year? Even if they brought in nobody and kept the status quo they will be better next year and other teams will be worse. Younger players getting better. Levi here for a whole year. Both Adams And Granato spoke about the defensive system being a problem. That being addressed makes this team take another step.

I just don’t get what you want. Adams standing up there with a flow chart with all the change they are looking at making.

Pegula stood up when he bought the team and declared the mission was to win the Cup and make Buffalo hockey Heaven. Those words made no difference in anything.

[Randall Flagg]

45 minutes ago, dudacek said:

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!

You aren't in the room, you don't get it man! There's more to it than that, this view is as uncharitable as if we dismissed you as a brown-noser

33 minutes ago, steveoath said:

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?

This is reasonable but the phrasing of that part of the question is so far away from the point of my commentary that I almost don't want to send this response 

Just change the word "agree" with "think"

 

And it's not a stupid thought to have. Hence why the question could have been good

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by Randall Flagg

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

What is the process?  If the answer is keep building from within without any significant veterans brought in via FA, or trade, the build may result in playoffs next year, or could be multiple years away.  
 

I guess I have already spoke with my wallet when I gave up being a STH 3 years ago, but the mass exodus of STH over the last 5 years or so, did not seem to have any positive impact in terms of on ice performance. 

Not sure how you can expect that to be the answer.  He traded for Murray (who isn't that great of an upgrade but would've been a "significant veteran brought in via trade"), he made what certainly appears to have been a legitimate offer for Chychrun that was rejected for what seemingly was an identical or lesser offer.

Yes, he needs to start actually landing some of these guys.  But really expect he will.

Also, and though these guys probably don't count as "significant veterans," he did bring in Jost, Greenway, and Stillman (and Lyubushkin and Clague too) that did push some of the "building from within" guys out the door.  Fitzgerald and Asplund are out the door.  Bryson, Olofsson, and UPL barely saw the ice the last couple of weeks of the season and now there is a consensus here on the board that at least 1 of the 3 will be traded, possibly all 3, and that only UPL MIGHT factor into the future. (And that's only if he can take his game to another level.  Which is not a given.)

The process seems to be to keep increasing the talent level here with self-motivated, skilled players that want to be a part of something special here in Buffalo.  The vast majority of the players that are currently in house are also ones that it seems could readily be given the label "leader."  Bring in enough of those types and you almost have to become successful because everyone will be pulling their weight and attempting to carry the next guy's as well.

[Contempt]

26 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

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.

So is the experience not valuable for everyone else? So next year most of them have at least a series under their belts? Or are we off the train that experience in big situations matters?

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by Contempt

[Randall Flagg]

31 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 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.

Kevyn answered the question as if John had asked if it was a wasted season and spent his answer arguing against that idea. I don't think John or anyone else would call it that. Still, I do ponder the elements in my fake question wistfully rather than excitedly. 

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

So you think they will be worse next year? Even if they brought in nobody and kept the status quo they will be better next year and other teams will be worse. Younger players getting better. Levi here for a whole year. Both Adams And Granato spoke about the defensive system being a problem. That being addressed makes this team take another step.

I just don’t get what you want. Adams standing up there with a flow chart with all the change they are looking at making.

Pegula stood up when he bought the team and declared the mission was to win the Cup and make Buffalo hockey Heaven. Those words made no difference in anything.

It is not a given that just because they are a year older, that the team will be better. Who knows?  How many Sabres overachieved this year?  
 

What I want?  More than swapping KO, Girgs and Anderson for Kulich, Savoie and Levi.  The blueline?  Aim higher than Clague, Bryson and Stillman.  Goaltending?  He has had 3 years to fix it, and I have a feeling they are putting all their eggs in the Levi basket. Ask Philly how their young savior Carter Hart has led them to the promised land 

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

You aren't in the room, you don't get it man! There's more to it than that, this view is as uncharitable as if we dismissed you as a brown-noser

This is reasonable but the phrasing of that part of the question is so far away from the point of my commentary that I almost don't want to send this response 

Just change the word "agree" with "think"

 

And it's not a stupid thought to have. Hence why the question could have been good

 

The question would've been better had it asked what of those sorts of moves JW was hinting at was Adams in on and why was/wasn't the triggered pulled on more of them.  (Pretty sure we already have the answer to those questions.  But putting it out there like that would've resulted in a more interesting answer IMHO.  (And again, haven't had a chance to listen to today's press conferences; but am basing this on the responses here and the other times that Adams has spoken on these subjects.))

[Randall Flagg]

30 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

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.

The sort of jump the last sentence here takes from the previous is a discussion probably worth its own thread - we are not Ottawa, and nobody is claiming that had kevyn just gave Savoie to Arizona, we'd be in and we'd like him more

33 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

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.

A 4 game sweep this year would have been amazing for a number of reasons, I will post more on this topic when I get home 

[Pimlach]

On 4/18/2023 at 3:00 PM, spndnchz said:

Fire the goaltending coach. Levi brought with him his own coach. Time for a change. 

is this true?   Who did he bring? 

[PromoTheRobot]

8 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

The sort of jump the last sentence here takes from the previous is a discussion probably worth its own thread - we are not Ottawa, and nobody is claiming that had kevyn just gave Savoie to Arizona, we'd be in and we'd like him more

I made that leap from the "$20mil in cap you'll never get back" comment. What else do you do with cap space? 

[TageMVP]

26 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Expect that if Regier was kept in place, the team would've been quite competitive by now

There's not a doubt in my mind that if Regier was still GM, the playoff drought would not have lasted 12 years 

[Randall Flagg]

1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I made that leap from the "$20mil in cap you'll never get back" comment. What else do you do with cap space? 

There is an almost-continuous spectrum of possibilites between our 2022 offseason and the same plus giving up Savoie for Chychrun at the trade deadline

Edited April 19, 2023 by Randall Flagg

[LGR4GM]

2 hours 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?

If you watched that presser and think Adams and Granato have zero expectations... you didn't listen. 

I'll add, we've only finished year 2 of this rebuild. This was Tuchs first full season and krebs

Edited April 19, 2023 by LGR4GM

[PromoTheRobot]

2 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

There is an almost-continuous spectrum of possibilites between our 2022 offseason and the same plus giving up Savoie for Chychrun at the trade deadline

More 5th round picks for salary dumps?

[...]

24 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I made that leap from the "$20mil in cap you'll never get back" comment. What else do you do with cap space? 

Wait, do you actually believe the premise of "$20mil in cap you'll never get back"?

[Flashsabre]

35 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

It is not a given that just because they are a year older, that the team will be better. Who knows?  How many Sabres overachieved this year?  
 

What I want?  More than swapping KO, Girgs and Anderson for Kulich, Savoie and Levi.  The blueline?  Aim higher than Clague, Bryson and Stillman.  Goaltending?  He has had 3 years to fix it, and I have a feeling they are putting all their eggs in the Levi basket. Ask Philly how their young savior Carter Hart has led them to the promised land 

I don’t disagree with you. But the end of year presser has never been the time where the GM lays out what specific plans they have for the offseason.

[PromoTheRobot]

5 minutes ago, ... said:

Wait, do you actually believe the premise of "$20mil in cap you'll never get back"?

Did Wawrow not, in essence, say that? I'm asking because I haven't listened to the presser audio yet.

Edited April 19, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Thorny]

“Run it back” 

[Randall Flagg]

I said that. I don't think wawrow mentioned it 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Time is an illusion.

 

[Doohickie]

3 hours 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.

Never burn bridges 

[kas23]

After 12 years, I think fans deserve a bit more than “playoffs are our goal next year.”  It’s trite and meaningless for a Sabre GM or HC to say this. We’re past promises. Show me the baby.