Breaking: Hoppe says to expect firings, trades

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

Many know, I'm not in favor of firing Granato, is he perfect, no, but I think this season's failure is more on the players than the coach. However, if you are going to change coaches.....

I think you need the GM AND the owner present for interviews, and if you want a top coach like Brind'Amour, you are going to have to tell him...here is your 4-5 year deal....YOU are going to have input into the roster AND the direction of the roster.  Basically, something I don't think Pegula would want...but if the GM and Coach (or in this case the coach) says...I don't want this guy...or I want to draft this guy...he gets basically the final say.  Sure, the owner should be informed of moves but not involved in decision making. It has to be more of.....letting the owner know what the moves being made are, and explain to him WHY they are being made, thats it.   We can't have Pegula wanting Leino...or sitting on on personal meetings, asking questions about day-to-day things.  Its not a good work environment for have the owner 'sitting in' on coaching meetings, personal meetings, giving his input and expecting things to be run by him.

Sure, Pegula has the RIGHT to do that, but you want to attract a new coach, not an unknown, a minor league guy, or an older guy on his 4th chance.....then that new guy needs to know him and the GM run the franchise...the owner will be informed, but not involved.  If Terry doesn't want that then fine, but then he, and all of us, have to accept the consequences of that.

And therein lies the rub.  Terry wants involvement, not just information.  I have said this a lot, if you want a big name coach with NHL experience, then you better be prepared to give him roster input.  If not, then you have to get lucky and hit on a first timer.  So far no luck in that department despite having many talent young players come and go over the years.  

Someday we might see one of his kids running the team.  

Edited April 11 by Pimlach

[Porous Five Hole]

3 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

As I have said over and over, I'm not on the fire Granato bandwagon.  Its not that I am assured he is a great coach, I think he is "OK". But my problem is, put most coaches in the Sabres position, with what I THINK is a somewhat 'meddling' owner, a desire to allow assistant coaches that are good to go elsewhere and replace them with lower priced guys, and an overall lack of Pegula willing to put up assets/dollars to push this franchise forward.....well...I'm not sure any good coaches will want the job, and any other 'average' coaches won't do much better with the assets to back them up.

You could change coaches and they might improve next year, but that would be more because the team is 'maturing' and 'aging up' if it does happen.  Before a head coach or GM change happens, I want to see a greater comittement from ownership to support the franchise in other ways (assistant coaches, development, etc.)

I understand what you are saying. I’m trying to keep the convo focused on coaching, so it is ok if you don’t agree or don’t reply.  

The Sabres have tried literally everything at the head coaching position through these rebuilds. 
The old standby/old favorite Nolan, Stanley Cup experienced Bylsma (after getting stood up by Babcock), the consensus up and comer Housley, the outside the box hire of Krueger, and what I would call the experiment of Don Granato and his development focus and minor league history. 

I hear your aging up point, but I expected that this season. That may be on the coach.  

I have defended Meatballs and I think ultimately the failure is on the GM.  But the sword will fall on the coach and an experienced guy will be brought it. 

[Porous Five Hole]

3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

And therein lies the rub.  Terry wants involvement, not just information.  I have said this a lot, if you want a big name coach with NHL experience, then you better be prepared to give him roster input.  If not, then you have to get lucky and hit on a first timer.  So far no luck in that department despite have many talent young players come and go over the years.  

Someday we might see one of his kids running the team.  

You have steadfastly stated that Pegula meddles. I think that has waned over the years. GMKA has the keys now. Terry has the Bills and to take care of his ailing wife.  Plenty of posters on this board think he doesn’t even care about the Sabres. I don’t believe he’s pulling the strings of the marionette like he once was. 

Edited April 11 by Porous Five Hole

[K-9]

5 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

Can we start with Dunleavy? 

Please! He can’t describe the action worth a damn. At least the viewing audience can see what he’s missing, but the radio listeners have little idea what’s actually happening on the ice. He too often goes a few seconds with no description and in hockey, that’s an eternity.

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

No offense to PA or Hoppe but there's no source or even suggestion of how or why Hoppe thinks that other than the Sabres were bad this year. Just wish there was more meat here because I don't believe it. Terry seems content to do nothing. 

His headline said expect firings, but made no reference to actual possible changes.  He outlined what went wrong and probably used messages on this board as the reference for what went wrong.  Truthfully there is better insight on this board then in that article.  In your should we keep Granato thread, we do a better job of outlining who should be fired and why.  

Personally I'd start by firing Howdy Doody.  

 

Edited April 11 by GASabresIUFAN

[mjd1001]

10 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

I understand what you are saying. I’m trying to keep the convo focused on coaching, so it is ok if you don’t agree or don’t reply.  

The Sabres have tried literally everything at the head coaching position through these rebuilds. 
The old standby/old favorite Nolan, Stanley Cup experienced Bylsma (after getting stood up by Babcock), the consensus up and comer Housley, the outside the box hire of Krueger, and what I would call the experiment of Don Granato and his development focus and minor league history. 

I hear your aging up point, but I expected that this season. That may be on the coach.  

I have defended Meatballs and I think ultimately the failure is on the GM.  But the sword will fall on the coach and an experienced guy will be brought it. 

I just posted this in another thread in more detail...but if you want a coaching change I'd bring Lindy back.  He led team with probably a younger core than the Sabres to 112 points and a playoff win last year (with no legit goalie) and he had the Devils 'in the mix' this year with still no goalie, and with Hughes, Hirschier, Meier and Hamilton (probably 4 of their top 6 players) missing games due to injury.  Since he got fired, the team has done worse.

To me that shows, despite some saying he can't coach a younger team, that he CAN adjust and coach a younger team, and his success shows the game has 'not passed him by'

I'd want him back for 2 years (or so) and give that a shot.  Again, that is IF Granato is let go.

[Night Train]

3 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/expect-trades-significant-changes-after-sabres-playoff-drought-hits-13-years/

[Porous Five Hole]

All due respect to journalists…and to a similar extent bloggers and podcasters alike, has Bill Hoppe ever “broken” anything Sabres related?

[Pimlach]

11 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

You have steadfastly stated that Pegula meddles. I think that has waned over the years. GMKA has the keys now. Terry has the Bills and to take care of his ailing wife.  Plenty of posters on this board think he doesn’t even care about the Sabres. I don’t believe he’s pulling the strings of the marionette like he once was. 

I steadfastly know he has meddled.  Right now he has been very quiet.  He made big changes to the way the Sports Empire is run, he got rid of the restaurants/bars and other things.  He has a sick wife to support.  He has Beane and McD running the Bills.  He has a new COO to look after the stadium, the scoreboard, the roof, and the cash flow.   

He has Adams, who he trusts to carrying out the long, slow, under the cap rebuild. When they start spending to cap and winning again he may resurface. 

Why would an owner pay a guy like Brind'Amour a ton of money and then not let him get what he says he needs to succeed?    

My dream is we pay RBA a big pile of $$$ and he turns this thing around.  

 

8 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

All due respect to journalists…and to a similar extent bloggers and podcasters alike, has Bill Hoppe ever “broken” anything Sabres related?

[Sabre The Cup]

What gives me hope is Pegula showing up at games recently. 

I’m hoping that’s his way of waking up and realizing something isn’t right. Slower than a sloth. 

[spndnchz]

23 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

All due respect to journalists…and to a similar extent bloggers and podcasters alike, has Bill Hoppe ever “broken” anything Sabres related?

I had a nice conversation with Bill. Of all places Wegmans in the cafeteria and we spoke for a while while we were both having our lunch. He’s a good guy.

[Night Train]

8 minutes ago, Sabre The Cup said:

What gives me hope is Pegula showing up at games recently. 

I’m hoping that’s his way of waking up and realizing something isn’t right. Slower than a sloth. 

The night before the Bills traded Diggs. Coincidence  ? 

[K-9]

23 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

My dream is we pay RBA a big pile of $$$ and he turns this thing around.  

[Archie Lee]

37 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

His headline said expect firings, but made no reference to actual possible changes.  He outlined what went wrong and probably used messages on this board as the reference for what went wrong.  Truthfully there is better insight on this board then in that article.  In your should we keep Granato thread, we do a better job of outlining who should be fired and why.  

Personally I'd start by firing Howdy Doody.  

 

If Adams is fired, then Pegula, who has maybe the worst hiring track record in NHL history, will be hiring a replacement.

Adams has done enough positive things to make me think he is bright and capable. My preference would be to see if he has learned from his mistakes. 

[irregularly irregular]

52 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

Can we start with Dunleavy? 

Please!!!

That would actually be a significant and meaningful statement by the Sabres that they are not accepting poor performance from anyone. Do an exhaustive search of the minor leagues and D1 programs and find a new, exciting and knowledgeable voice for the Sabres PxP. While you are at it get one or more new color commentators too. 

[Carmel Corn]

29 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

If Adams is fired, then Pegula, who has maybe the worst hiring track record in NHL history, will be hiring a replacement.

Adams has done enough positive things to make me think he is bright and capable. My preference would be to see if he has learned from his mistakes. 

Sorry, but this is professional sports, not a social charity or some other "feel good" situation.  Adam's has had enough time to construct a more balanced roster, but he hasn't.  He is responsible for the ridiculous 3 goalie situation.  He is the one who jumped the gun to sign multiple guys to 7 year deals based on a 1 year performance.  He is the one who extended Don Granato when there was never a chance of Granato leaving for another team.  He is the one who has his head in the sand as far as recognizing the team needs more grit to compete.  He is the one who has not fixed the hopeless power play.  There is more, but I'd hardly say whatever positive things he's done does not outweigh the overall failure of his team to succeed.  It's professional sports....get it done or you're out....no matter how nice a guy you are.

Edited April 11 by Carmel Corn

[Porous Five Hole]

44 minutes ago, spndnchz said:

I had a nice conversation with Bill. Of all places Wegmans in the cafeteria and we spoke for a while while we were both having our lunch. He’s a good guy.

Nice! But does he have any sources to break Sabres news?  😀

[Thorny]

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Seems logical to start with the coaching staff and then let the new coach input on the roster. Logical next step.  
 

DG is a good guy, he did what he can, time for a fresh start.  

 

I disagree. They should hire a coach tailored to the roster, not tailor a roster to a coach 

I don’t need the new coach to be Belichick, I don’t need the GM to be compelled to weigh the coach’s evaluation equally against his own. I want the GM to set the roster he wants and employ the coach that fits the roster HE assembled 

Edited April 11 by Thorny

[Archie Lee]

47 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

Sorry, but this is professional sports, not a social charity or some other "feel good" situation.  Adam's has had enough time to construct a more balanced roster, but he hasn't.  He is responsible for the ridiculous 3 goalie situation.  He is the one who jumped the gun to sign multiple guys to 7 year deals based on a 1 year performance.  He is the one who extended Don Granato when there was never a chance of Granato leaving for another team.  He is the one who has his head in the sand as far as recognizing the team needs more grit to compete.  He is the one who has not fixed the hopeless power play.  There is more, but I'd hardly say whatever positive things he's done does not outweigh the overall failure of his team to succeed.  It's professional sports....get it done or you're out....no matter how nice a guy you are.

Fair enough. I’m not thrilled with Adams at this point. I just think there is a better chance that he can figure it out than there is that Pegula can hire a better replacement. 

[Thorny]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

If Adams is fired, then Pegula, who has maybe the worst hiring track record in NHL history, will be hiring a replacement.

Adams has done enough positive things to make me think he is bright and capable. My preference would be to see if he has learned from his mistakes. 

Adams has done enough positive things to make me think there’s a *chance* he might LEARN to be capable, after failing thus far, thus I’d prefer to give him one more year 

Also, the thread title got my hopes up 

damn you 

[RangerDave]

4 hours ago, ... said:

Yeah, so I tried that with Google Gemini, here is the result:

Prompt:

Can you scan the top 20 posts in this forum and come up with a recommendation of what the Buffalo Sabres should do in the off season based on the comments of the posters? https://www.sabrespace.com/community/forum/1-the-aud-club/

Response:

 

Unfortunately, I couldn't get insights directly from the forum because the content is not relevant to the query.

But based on my search, here's what some hockey news articles say about the Buffalo Sabres offseason plans:

• The Sabres are expected to have a big offseason with significant cap space to improve the roster.
• Some potential targets include free agents like Jake Guentzel, Sam Reinhart, Elias Lindholm and top defensemen like Brett Pesce.
• There's also a focus on re-signing some of their own players like Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons who add leadership and defensive presence.

Overall, it seems like the Buffalo Sabres are looking to take a step forward next season and are actively looking to improve the team through free agency and potentially trades.

Maybe this is what Pegula should do.  Run the team using Artificial Intelligence, since real intelligence hasn't gotten them anywhere.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Carmel Corn said:

Sorry, but this is professional sports, not a social charity or some other "feel good" situation.  Adam's has had enough time to construct a more balanced roster, but he hasn't.  He is responsible for the ridiculous 3 goalie situation.  He is the one who jumped the gun to sign multiple guys to 7 year deals based on a 1 year performance.  He is the one who extended Don Granato when there was never a chance of Granato leaving for another team.  He is the one who has his head in the sand as far as recognizing the team needs more grit to compete.  He is the one who has not fixed the hopeless power play.  There is more, but I'd hardly say whatever positive things he's done does not outweigh the overall failure of his team to succeed.  It's professional sports....get it done or you're out....no matter how nice a guy you are.

I think a lot of ppl don't talk about Adams being fired because it seems impossible. 

I'd like Adams moved into a role of whatever we wanna call it, but he basically just is the liaison between gm and Terry. Move Karmanos into the GM role and Ventura to assistant GM. Adams job is to keep Terry up to speed, offer his opinion, stay out of the way. 

[Flashsabre]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think a lot of ppl don't talk about Adams being fired because it seems impossible. 

I'd like Adams moved into a role of whatever we wanna call it, but he basically just is the liaison between gm and Terry. Move Karmanos into the GM role and Ventura to assistant GM. Adams job is to keep Terry up to speed, offer his opinion, stay out of the way. 

I agree but do we really know that Karmanos is a better GM option? We hope that would be the better setup but do we really know? The fact the rumors were the Canucks wanted to offer Karmanos the GM role is a positive.
 

If anyone will get the President role it will be Adams but Inthink Terry wants to keep it and keep Adams as GM.

Edited April 11 by Flashsabre

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

I agree but do we really know that Karmanos is a better GM option? We hope that would be the better setup but do we really know? The fact the rumors were the Canucks wanted to offer the GM role is a positive.
 

If anyone will get the President role it will be Adams but Inthink Terry wants to keep it and keep Adams as GM.

We haven't made the playoffs in 13 years, the bar is so low that any change is positive right now. What is going on isn't working. 

[Flashsabre]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

We haven't made the playoffs in 13 years, the bar is so low that any change is positive right now. What is going on isn't working. 

 I don’t see that as change though, just shuffling the deck chairs. They already work collaboratively and Adams as President reporting to Pegula would get final say and push Pegula’s ideas.