Friedman believes changes are coming to Sabres Front Office; UPL Available?

[HumanSlinky39]

4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I had Eklund rated 1st overall, I stick by that. 

Had Rossi and Jarvis over Quinn, I stick by that. 

Peterka is Adams best pick followed by Benson. The rest is, ok. Hence why Forton should be fired. You could swap Rosen for Cossa and then Leinonen for several better rhds. 

I definitely had Rossi over Quinn. That's who I wanted and would still make that pick today easy. I don't remember being all that aware of Jarvis. I liked Holloway then and still do today.

If I was picking today, I would take Eklund over Power, but at the time I thought Power was the right pick in a draft lacking top-end talent. So far, he has not lived up to #1 pick expectations in any way, but again, I'm inclined to give him some grace because defensemen almost always take a while to get going. Hedman wasn't anything until year 5. Pietrangelo took 4-5 years. Yeah, there's guys that jump right in like Ekblad, Doughty, Makar; but it's not unusual for them to take a while to get there. My concern is this injury is going to set him back big because he really needed this summer to work on his game and get stronger. I just don't have a really bad taste about taking him because it was a weak draft for top-end talent and he seemed to have the most potential. Will Eklund or anyone else had been better? We need another year or two to probably know. Cossa over Rosen? Sure, but he's played 1 NHL game. No idea what he's gonna be. Can't argue one way or another there. Leinonen, give me Hutson there of course; other than him it's a crap shoot. 

It's a good debate. With hindsight, there are several different picks any of us would have made. Bottom line in the end is Adams sucks at his job. I just don't have HUGE issues with his drafting. Or not nearly as much as everything else he's done or failed to do. But I guess when drafting appears to be your "strength" and it's really been pretty "meh" we kind of arrive in the same place.

[Mr. Allen]

6 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

I’ve seen Kevyn a couple times since Sunday and he doesn’t seem upset or anything….  I can never tell with him.  

[Porous Five Hole]

From last year.  WHERE ARE THE PINK SLIPS??!!

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, Mr. Allen said:

I’ve seen Kevyn a couple times since Sunday and he doesn’t seem upset or anything….  I can never tell with him.  

Is he getting promoted out of the way?  

[Thorny]

13 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Is he getting promoted out of the way?  

Demotion by promotion 

[Believer]

1 hour ago, Porous Five Hole said:

From last year.  WHERE ARE THE PINK SLIPS??!!

Again with the “next year” threat.

The Sabres better do more than just make the playoffs. Get past Round 1 at least.

Anything less is laughable, imo.

[HumanSlinky39]

6 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Demotion by promotion 

Name him Supreme Chancellor of the Sabre Empire and put him in charge of KBC promotions, I don't care as long as he's not making hockey decisions.

[dudacek]

10 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

 

It was kinda painful listening to that and realizing how far outside the NHL mainstream the Sabres are.

The context was Sullivan and Tocchet and how aggressive the Rangers will be and who else might be interested, with absolutely no suggestion that the Sabres may be a player for anything and anyone.

Just 'some kinda change likely', with the implication that it won't be anything juicy. How could it be?

We're the poor, slow cousins of the NHL community.

[HumanSlinky39]

6 minutes ago, dudacek said:

 

It was kinda painful listening to that and realizing how far outside the NHL mainstream the Sabres are.

The context was Sullivan and Tocchet and how aggressive the Rangers will be and who else might be interested, with absolutely no suggestion that the Sabres may be a player for anything and anyone.

Just 'some kinda change likely', with the implication that it won't be anything juicy. How could it be?

We're the poor, slow cousins of the NHL community.

Sad thing is there was a small amount of buzz building around the Sabres after the 2022/23 season ended. Looked like an exciting young team with a lot of talent that could grow into something. Then we did nothing that summer to help the young guys and have gone backwards two straight seasons. Nobody gives a ***** about this franchise because we're totally irrelevant.

Edited yesterday at 01:26 AM by HumanSlinky39

[sabremike]

After the most catastrophic failure of a season in team history these ***** are essentially going to run it back.

[Doohickie]

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

suggesting they set some minimal bar makes Lindy look worse. Kubel was waived. 

because there were players ready to come up from Rochester.  That's the point.

[LGR4GM]

22 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

because there were players ready to come up from Rochester.  That's the point.

I maintain what I said and think the point is sad. Kubel didn't block anyone. 

Let me phrase it this way. You're suggesting that Kubel kept those players in Rochester until they were ready and better. I'm saying those players were already better and that's a low bar to clear. 

Edited yesterday at 02:51 AM by LGR4GM

[Doohickie]

35 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I maintain what I said and think the point is sad. Kubel didn't block anyone. 

Let me phrase it this way. You're suggesting that Kubel kept those players in Rochester until they were ready and better. I'm saying those players were already better and that's a low bar to clear. 

Okay.

[tom webster]

13 hours ago, Pimlach said:

If his involvement with the Sabres is the same as his involvement with the Bills I will consider that out of the way. 

He attends the key meetings with the Bills but he does not tell them how how to run things, he does not hire/fire coaches, he does not randomly change the structure of the FO, he never talked about EEE nonsense relating to the Bills, he does not dictate a salary cap for the Bills - in fact he agrees to generous bonuses for the Bills players and spends far over the cap.  

 

He actually does do all of that and the front office steers him in the right direction. It’s no secret that he advocated for Mahommes but McDermott steered him away from that. He hasn’t had to change the structure of the FO because they are successful. He’ll spend money, and has proven he will, when he’s convinced that it will lead to winning. He’s like most owners. The Hurricanes owner is a notorious meddler and tight wad and yet, they win and spend to the cap. It’s really not much different then every other corporation except that it unfolds in the public eye.

[Kr632]

7 hours ago, Believer said:

Again with the “next year” threat.

The Sabres better do more than just make the playoffs. Get past Round 1 at least.

Anything less is laughable, imo.

That was from June of 2024. 

[sabremike]

I really think some people cannot understand just how dire the situation is. When they crash and burn again next season Tuch is 100% gone and Dahlin and Tage likely both ask out and at that point it's over.

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, tom webster said:

He actually does do all of that and the front office steers him in the right direction. It’s no secret that he advocated for Mahommes but McDermott steered him away from that. He hasn’t had to change the structure of the FO because they are successful. He’ll spend money, and has proven he will, when he’s convinced that it will lead to winning. He’s like most owners. The Hurricanes owner is a notorious meddler and tight wad and yet, they win and spend to the cap. It’s really not much different then every other corporation except that it unfolds in the public eye.

The measure for success in business is profitability; and the measure for success in sports is a team’s record. 
 

If a corporation miserably failed for an extended period of time, you can count on a significant staffing shakeup (firings) and alteration in how the operation is run. The Sabres are not run as if it is a normally functioning franchise where there is an expectation of accountability. In the hockey business the Sabres are irrelevant and an afterthought  in an an environment that should entail passion. The Sabres have a slumbering fanbase while normally run franchises have passionate fans.

 

The owner through his gross incompetence has destroyed this franchise. It’s a shame. I wish he would get on his big boat and sail away.

[Brawndo]

How would everyone feel if Adams is moved out of day to day operations of the GM and Karmanos is promoted to GM and Sam Ventura to Asst GM.

Along with some Assistant Coaches being moved out? 

[inkman]

1 minute ago, Brawndo said:

How would everyone feel if Adams is moved out of day to day operations of the GM and Karmanos is promoted to GM and Sam Ventura to Asst GM.

Along with some Assistant Coaches being moved out? 

Better than the bend over, grab your ankles and lube up path we currently seem to be on. 

[Archie Lee]

38 minutes ago, sabremike said:

I really think some people cannot understand just how dire the situation is. When they crash and burn again next season Tuch is 100% gone and Dahlin and Tage likely both ask out and at that point it's over.

I generally agree. I think we are still in a spot right now where we could transition to a new GM/HC combo, without a full restart. In effect, we could change the culture by hiring new people to run the team. A year from now, I’m not sure. If the speculation is true and Ruff is going to have an outsized role in roster decisions (and there are no NHL teams that operate this way), then the potential is there for this to go very badly. We could be moving on to rebuild #4. 

[Archie Lee]

43 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The measure for success in business is profitability; and the measure for success in sports is a team’s record. 
 

If a corporation miserably failed for an extended period of time, you can count on a significant staffing shakeup (firings) and alteration in how the operation is run. The Sabres are not run as if it is a normally functioning franchise where there is an expectation of accountability. In the hockey business the Sabres are irrelevant and an afterthought  in an an environment that should entail passion. The Sabres have a slumbering fanbase while normally run franchises have passionate fans.

 

The owner through his gross incompetence has destroyed this franchise. It’s a shame. I wish he would get on his big boat and sail away.

With Pegula, each mistake serves to complicate the next decision. He feels he was steered wrong by NHL people, so he hires his guy in Adams. He trusts Adams, but Adams is not qualified for the job and is failing. He needs a qualified person, but he doesn’t know any, and doesn’t trust anyone to give him advice, other than Adams. Because of all the firings through the first 7-8 years, he has a reputation for being inpatient. So, he likely feels he will further damage his reputation if he doesn’t give Ruff another year. So he will go into the coming year with a lame duck GM and coach who he knows have not done well enough to grant extensions to, but who he also can’t fire due to trust and reputation issues.

[JohnC]

15 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

I definitely had Rossi over Quinn. That's who I wanted and would still make that pick today easy. I don't remember being all that aware of Jarvis. I liked Holloway then and still do today.

If I was picking today, I would take Eklund over Power, but at the time I thought Power was the right pick in a draft lacking top-end talent. So far, he has not lived up to #1 pick expectations in any way, but again, I'm inclined to give him some grace because defensemen almost always take a while to get going. Hedman wasn't anything until year 5. Pietrangelo took 4-5 years. Yeah, there's guys that jump right in like Ekblad, Doughty, Makar; but it's not unusual for them to take a while to get there. My concern is this injury is going to set him back big because he really needed this summer to work on his game and get stronger. I just don't have a really bad taste about taking him because it was a weak draft for top-end talent and he seemed to have the most potential. Will Eklund or anyone else had been better? We need another year or two to probably know. Cossa over Rosen? Sure, but he's played 1 NHL game. No idea what he's gonna be. Can't argue one way or another there. Leinonen, give me Hutson there of course; other than him it's a crap shoot. 

It's a good debate. With hindsight, there are several different picks any of us would have made. Bottom line in the end is Adams sucks at his job. I just don't have HUGE issues with his drafting. Or not nearly as much as everything else he's done or failed to do. But I guess when drafting appears to be your "strength" and it's really been pretty "meh" we kind of arrive in the same place.

One of my biggest criticisms of KA is less about talent evaluation as it is about roster construction. There are promising young players on the roster and in the system.  But they are not sufficiently surrounded with experienced players with varied attributes (ruggedness) to put them in a position to succeed. As an example, there is a noticeable imbalance on the roster as exemplified by the makeup of the blueline. There are too many puck moving and finesse oriented players on the unit that needed maybe a couple more defensive players to be paired with the skaters. Constructing a team is not simply about having pieces. You need pieces that fit and can play the required roles that make up a well-rounded team. 

55 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

How would everyone feel if Adams is moved out of day to day operations of the GM and Karmanos is promoted to GM and Sam Ventura to Asst GM.

Along with some Assistant Coaches being moved out? 

I would take that internal shakeup and be reasonably satisfied. 

Edited yesterday at 01:23 PM by JohnC

[Taro T]

12 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

How would everyone feel if Adams is moved out of day to day operations of the GM and Karmanos is promoted to GM and Sam Ventura to Asst GM.

Along with some Assistant Coaches being moved out? 

It's at least a move in the right direction.  Is it enough?  Who knows.  Many of the kids are actually pretty close to being men.  So, the moves Karmanos makes might be enough provided Ruff actually still can find a useful assistant coach.

Personally won't be happy if Appert is still in the organization.  (And fully expect Appert will still be in the organization.)

Do all of the above and move Ruff to Special Advisor with Sullivan being brought in and believe that would be enough.  (And is likely the best we can hope for with things as they are..)

[JohnC]

43 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

With Pegula, each mistake serves to complicate the next decision. He feels he was steered wrong by NHL people, so he hires his guy in Adams. He trusts Adams, but Adams is not qualified for the job and is failing. He needs a qualified person, but he doesn’t know any, and doesn’t trust anyone to give him advice, other than Adams. Because of all the firings through the first 7-8 years, he has a reputation for being inpatient. So, he likely feels he will further damage his reputation if he doesn’t give Ruff another year. So he will go into the coming year with a lame duck GM and coach who he knows have not done well enough to grant extensions to, but who he also can’t fire due to trust and reputation issues.

Pegula's mistakes are his mistakes. I don't accept the notion that because he believed he was steered wrong by previous advice that the appropriate response was to go off and make follow up nonsensical wrong decisions. Terry Pegula agreed to be an owner of a sports franchise. There are no guarantees. When something doesn't go right, then you analyze what the reasons were for the failures, and take corrective measures. 

His foolishness has been gone on for nearly a generation. He's made this franchise a laughing stock and irrelevant. His team is on more no trade clauses than any other team because it is recognized by all in the business that it is a dysfunctional franchise. It's bad enough that players don't want to come here but also some of our best players desperately wanted out. This is what he has done. I would love to see him get on his big assss boat and float away. I'm tired of his clown act!

Edited yesterday at 01:24 PM by JohnC

[PASabreFan]

Reality check: the NHL is a business, for the fans it's entertainment.

Standing pat hurts both sides, perhaps very badly (@Sabres Fan in NS).

You promote Lindy to POHO. You hire Sullivan. Karmanos is fine, he's just the git er done guy. Lindy and Mike hold the power and have The Talk with TP. KA can be special envoy to Pucks and Caicos. Then you shake up the roster.

It would be more than enough to rejuvenate the fans, at least for awhile. Probably enough to at least kick this can one inch over the playoff line.

Again I implore: save us, Guelli!