Is Adams Serious About Winning?

[Scottysabres]

Serious? Yes

Successful to date? No

[SDS]

11 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

No one said the players don’t care about Buffalo or the fans

 

[Contempt]

I think he thinks he's serious about it.  I don't know that he actually knows how to do it.  I really don't know if he's got the gumption to make a tough decision with the roster. It's pretty easy to move people who are unhappy and/or express desire to leave.  It's a lot harder to move guys that want to stay or that you like personally.  He really hasn't shown that yet and just about everything he's done has been about kicking the can down the road to make the decision later.  We still have 3 goalies on the big club and none of them are any good.  That just one example where it's long since time to poop or get off the pot. I'm sure you can pick out others.

[PerreaultForever]

47 minutes ago, SDS said:

 

I'd suggest the answer to this is it's hard to be the guy who cares when you are surrounded by the uncaring. 

[thewookie1]

15 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It is a legitimate question at this point.  He says he wants to win.  He said this season is about making the playoffs, but actions speak louder than words.

Proof that he isn’t serious

1.  He has yet to bring in a legit No.1 goalie since Ullmark walked.  In fact, he left the goaltending in the hands of 3 players with a total of 100 NHL games between them.  Not surprisingly this strategy has failed.

2. Save Tuch, KA has yet to acquire a top 4 D or a top 6 forward in trade or through free agency who actually improved the team. The Tuch acquisition only came through trading away our no. 1 center.   

Compare KA’s track record so far to Regiers’.  Darcy acquire Briere, Drury, Teppo, Connolly, Lydman, Hecht and Grier to supplement his drafted core of Vanek, Roy, Miller, Max, Kotalik, Tallinder, Campbell and Kalinin (plus 4 other drafted regulars). When he let McKee go, he replaced him with another top 4 D in Spacek.  Other than Greenway, what moves of similar quality has Adams made?  Also remember, while Miller was a rookie, he already had a year in the A under his belt and the Sabres had a proven vet in Marty Biron (246 games) already on the roster.

The argument that KA has tried to get the right pieces doesn’t work.  This is a success oriented business and Adams has failed time and again to get the right pieces in.  Other GM’s manage to get goaltending and complete trades for needed help, why can’t Adams?

3. He hasn’t supplemented his roster in season in a meaningful way despite massive injuries the last two seasons except at the deadline.  Even then his best acquisition was a bottom 6 forward in Greenway.  His in-season moves have been garbage depth players like Robinson, Subban, and Jost.  Admittedly, in-season trades are harder to make, but they happen every year.  So far guys like Tatar, Zadorov, and Beauvillier have all changed teams.  Beauvillier specifically would have been a very welcome addition to our depleted forward group.

 

Yes he does care about winning however he doesn’t feel beholden to the years prior to his hiring. Where we have 12/13 years of baggage, he has about a third of that. 
 

1. As I’ve mentioned a million times by now, the number of legit 1Gs that have actually changed teams over the past 4 years have been few and far between. This does not mean he shouldn’t have acquired a vet goalie this past offseason but it does sound like we made a promise to Levi about not blocking him and giving him an opportunity to be our starter. (Friedman more or less hinted at this) Seems pretty likely based on our previous experiences with college goalies screwing us. 

2. Regier had the GM role from the late 90s through to the 2012 season. Of course he would find some good players in that time, he held the role longer than most. 

Adams hasn’t found a UFA/trade Top 4 D, Top 6 Forward or yet again you mentioned a goalie. He has however drafted Quinn, Peterka and Benson whom all slate to fill the Top 6 winger role. Last year we looked great in our top 6; he failed to rid us of Olofsson’s weight but he’s now Bottom 6.
 

Top 4 defenseman is the only thing that perplexes me to be honest. We can all see we need a veteran solid Top 4 defenseman. It certainly seems as if Adams himself is very much aware of this and has made attempts to fix the issue. We know he targeted Chychrun from Arizona but was more or less cheated price wise. We also have strong indications that he went after Pesce only for the deal to fall through at the final minute which strikes me as a player using his NTC. He also was very interested in Hanifin during the off-season but was likely turned away by the trade cost or Hanifin’s extension demands. While all failed attempts, they certainly point to Adams knowing of and trying to fix the issue. We aren’t happy with what he ended up trying but it had its merits. Clifton looked good in Boston and Johnson could be a handy addition to the locker room. In theory  an ok bandaid for the D core when imagining continued progression. Instead Power decided to back into a ditch and Samuelsson went from steady eddy to Mr. Softee. Combine that with Clifton struggling mightily and Johnson being over used due to the other circumstances and you get the sheer mess we have now. Now Adams is sort of trapped defensively for this season. The emergence of R. Johnson gives him no wiggle room. To bring in a defenseman he’d need another roster spot which would mean either benching/cutting the vet they brought in to help mentor (seriously bad look) or sit the new guy who’s only played 30 or so games here. Unless your on a Cup team, GMs of all other teams would be extremely unlikely to play with either of those scenarios. He’s more or less handcuffed to this D group by proper etiquette because dumping either new guy would make acquiring future pieces even more difficult because they’ll see what we did with them. Vegas is ridiculed and despised for their cutthroat approach and if they lacked success I’d imagine they’d be utterly screwed. We don’t have that success to get players/agents to look past the unsavory stuff.

3. Complimentary pieces are honestly a crap shoot. I didn’t feel bad about them bringing back the group wholesale. Now I certainly wish they’d of let Jost walk and picked up anyone 4th liner with an ounce of face off talent or general grit. Perhaps I’m sentimental but I really wanted Okposo to hit game 1000 and Girgs to be here for a playoff berth for his years of hard work. But frankly I’d be too sentimental to be a GM.
 

 

Perhaps that is what it comes down to, maybe Adams, like myself, are just too sentimental for the position. Where you want to win but simultaneously be a good guy overall. The team has a familial relationship and that makes for a great atmosphere but it also can create problems with upgrading in order to win. You are effectively in a constant battle between team success and team cohesiveness. As much as I like Granato as a person, we likely need a bit more of hardcore coach who will tell this familial locker room that you have better play 60 min or you’ll start losing family members. (That sounded darker than it was meant but you get the idea) I frankly have no clue if Adams has it in him; he’d have to move some prospects and let some of family atmosphere go by the wayside to be replaced with some more business-feel. 

 

 

[mjd1001]

As far as the top four defenseman... I don't know how you were going to improve them substantially because these are the guys that you want going forward but there's a problem still. Dahlin since the beginning of the year, looks like he's playing a half step behind what he did last year, and the past week or two it's getting worse. It's not that he's not trying, but I think he's so frustrated that he just is.... Again. I don't want to say he doesn't care, but his play has taken another step back in the past couple weeks.

Power? I thought he was good last year although overrated by a few people, and I still believe he's going to be very good and it's going to take a couple of years. But this year, there have been some games where I've watched him where he doesn't even look average. He looks bad. You don't want to get rid of him and you want him to develop but a veteran 29-year-old defenseman probably makes this team better taking his spot.

At this point I just don't know what you do. You can make change for the sake of change, but is that actually going to make this team considerably better? It's a tough spot.

[Rasmus_]

Adams has a lack of balls.  I love the draft and build approach. But, for the love of Christ have some urgency you hack.

[LGR4GM]

Adams and Granato aren't ruthless enough. 

They care too much about vibes and not enough about accountability. They are painstakingly slow to change. 

[Wyldnwoody44]

19 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Adams and Granato aren't ruthless enough. 

They care too much about vibes and not enough about accountability. They are painstakingly slow to change. 

I think this is 100% it. And they are allowed to do it. We have the least ruthless Billionaire owner as well. Which you would think would be a good thing. But has not been. 

[Quint]

I agree with PA. No track record Adams is unqualified for an NHL GM position and was only given the role because Pegula liked him and could dominate him. But Adams' hands are tied in more ways than one...Besides Pegula's odious influence,any  free agents worth their salt  refuse to come to Buffalo and most if not just about all have the Sabres on their no-trade list because of the shoddy state of this team. Everybody in the league knows that Buffalo is stuck in the mud  because of the clueless owner...

Edited December 28, 2023 by Quint

[Cascade Youth]

Adams works for someone who tolerates mediocrity.  Which means Adams is operating according to an entirely different scorecard than what most of us fans would prefer.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Cascade Youth

[Carmel Corn]

4 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

Adams works for someone who tolerates mediocrity.  Which means Adams is operating according to an entirely different scorecard than what most of us fans would prefer.

The odd thing here is that the turnover in GM's and HC's has been fairly frequent over the years, meaning no real stability in the management.  That said, Pegula keeps hiring MEDIOCRITY, which results in that frequent turnover.  So yes, Pegula tolerates mediocrity because that is all that he hires.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

10 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

Who is the model NHL franchise right now who has built their team from the ground up and I’ll root for them. (Anyone but Boston) 

The Senators are giving it a go.

I'll show myself out.

[Cascade Youth]

56 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

The odd thing here is that the turnover in GM's and HC's has been fairly frequent over the years, meaning no real stability in the management.  That said, Pegula keeps hiring MEDIOCRITY, which results in that frequent turnover.  So yes, Pegula tolerates mediocrity because that is all that he hires.

Pegula doesn’t like being embarrassed and he reacts to it.  In prior years, internal dysfunction has spilled out into the open and embarrassed the owners and they have reacted to it.  Now?  The Sabres are a well-functioning organ of mediocrity.  By most appearances everyone is on the same page.  The coaches, GM, scouts, media team are all operating in sync.  Stasis has been achieved with the local reporters, no one is asking too difficult questions.  No Tyler Dunne “hit pieces” on that side of the business.  Sabres alumni are no longer being given misspelled jerseys. Franchise values keep growing steadily.   It’s total kumbaya.  I don’t see anything that would make Terry fidgety.  

[Believer]

4 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

Perhaps that is what it comes down to, maybe Adams, like myself, are just too sentimental for the position. Where you want to win but simultaneously be a good guy overall. The team has a familial relationship and that makes for a great atmosphere but it also can create problems with upgrading in order to win. You are effectively in a constant battle between team success and team cohesiveness. As much as I like Granato as a person, we likely need a bit more of hardcore coach who will tell this familial locker room that you have better play 60 min or you’ll start losing family members. (That sounded darker than it was meant but you get the idea) I frankly have no clue if Adams has it in him; he’d have to move some prospects and let some of family atmosphere go by the wayside to be replaced with some more business-feel. 

Well said.

[Night Train]

Inexperienced. 

Too in love with  "'his guys" that are underachieving and overpaid.  Darcy 2.0. Won't trade them. 

Be patient for another 12 years..

[Wyldnwoody44]

Matt Irwin 

Nuff said 

[Believer]

Adams says he is serious about winning, but his actions belie him…

Success is not just about skill and talent… and neither is winning in sports…

Intangibles matter… Intention, Desire, Determination, Courage, Grit, Moxie, et al…

Think top athletes have these to one degree or another…

Good coaching can bring it out in players… Our group seems wanting in this area.

That’s on Adams and Granato.

 

[Crusader1969]

The honest truth is that when they continually play Olofsson on 4th line, in order to not hurt his trade value. It means you aren't making decisions based on whats best for today.

If they do bench 71 are they getting a 7th round pick for him over getting a 4th? really what difference does it really make.  Until Adams makes a decision on whats best for today rather than whats best down the road, he doesnt care about winning at this time and neither should we.

The teams construction is a joke.  

You have all the skill in the world but every team needs Foot Soldiers and the Sabres have 3. One is hurt (Girgs), one is playing (Krebs) and one is sitting in the press box (Robinson) for a player that brings absolutely nothing to the team (Olofsson)   They don't only need more foot soldiers, they need an improvement in quality

Don't get me started on the stupidity of carrying 3 goalies, -1 is 21 and should be in the AHL, another widely inconsistent (UPL), one is among the worst in the league (Comrie)

You have a plethora of forward prospects that would have great value, you have all your 2024 draft picks, you have a couple of guys that have a little bit of value on the trade market - get something done. .Show us  you care!  at the very least, what's Adams game plan? he must have a projected roster for 24/25 season, as far as I can see there isn't room for Rosen, Kulich nor Savoie.   one of them needs to be traded as a part of a package for a position of need...goalie, top 4 dman, 3rd line center.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Of course, he does.

[PASabreFan]

21 hours ago, SDS said:

Why do we have the question his motivation? Can people just disagree without assuming the worst in them?

The GM isn’t serious about winning. The players don’t care about Buffalo. The players don’t care about the fans. 

it’s all just projecting a negative attribute on them to give ourselves permission to go off on them. Because if you’re not serious about winning, or you don’t care about us, then I have every right to rip into you.

You're off base here. GMs in sports sometimes aren't serious about winning in the short term. That looks to be KA. If it's not KA, he is near incompetent.

[SDS]

13 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

You're off base here. GMs in sports sometimes aren't serious about winning in the short term. That looks to be KA. If it's not KA, he is near incompetent.

If I was off base, then you wouldn’t need to qualify the premise with “in the short term.”

Kevyn himself has stated he’s building something for the long-term that may not be the best in the short term, whether you agree with this approach or not.

[PerreaultForever]

15 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

Who is the model NHL franchise right now who has built their team from the ground up and I’ll root for them. (Anyone but Boston) 

Interesting question since many of them are works in progress and the definition of "built from the ground up" also varies. 

I would suggest any team that had a point total similar to ours and is now ahead of us is one of those teams so maybe do what I do and favour teams that play the style of hockey you prefer personally. Or maybe just a nice looking jersey 🙂

Otherwise Vancouver might be an option. There's a team that is the exact same age as us, was worse than us, was expected to still be worse than us, but hired a competent coach, made a few moves and is at the top of the heap. 

L.A. would be another team that did a rebuild much faster and better. That team looks built for years of success. 

Carolina was the model but they seem a little stuck and just can't take that final step. Jersey if you like that softer fast style (and there's always Lindy to cheer for). I think Florida built themselves well but it wasn't ground up. 

Personally I am interested right now to see a few things around the league. Will Vancouver keep it going all year? Will the Yzerplan get them in the playoffs this year (they seem to be faltering at this point). Will Torts keep that Philly grind going all year and how will that rebuild continue since they should have been near bottom. Will Seattle rebound or did they draft poorly? Will the Nashville rebuild work as it too seems unexpected at this point? 

OR, go out on a limb and start at the bottom. Become a Sharks fan and see if they too can pass the Sabres before the Sabres make the playoffs. That's your longshot option but it also wouldn't surprise me. 

[pi2000]

It's about resources.

Pegula is currently all in on the Bills and will be for the next 2-3 years until they need to do some rebuilding... maybe sooner, idk.

That said, I don't believe the Sabres will contend (be taken seriously by Pegula) until that time.

[seer775]

21 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Or, he was carrying out his bosses wishes regarding Eichel , who didn't want to stay.  The injury was a convenient way to part.  Reinhart didn't want to stay  either.  

So it's settled. Neither our GM nor our Owner want to build a successful hockey franchise. 

Leave it to the player to void their contract if they don't want to play. We literally handed Reinhart, Ullmark, and Eichel to winning teams for nothing in return. What sane person would do that?

Edited December 28, 2023 by seer775