Sabres looking for Senior Advisor for Adams and Hockey Department

[Pimlach]

14 hours ago, JohnC said:

I don't see the bringing in of an older hockey front office man with an overall distinguished record but also someone who is way past his prime as a solution to anything. LL was dispatched by another organization because it was time for a change and fresh start. Terry Pegula seems to be insulated from how normal franchises run and resistant to outside advice as to how to get his franchise out of its generational rut. Why is that the case? Because it is the way this stubborn owner wants it to be. 

This clueless owner has the ability to seek advice from many accomplished sources (free of charge) as to why the franchise he presides over is stuck. You don't have to formally hire someone to get some basic advice such as when you hire an ill-equipped person to be your GM, it is likely that the outcome won't be good. And he doesn't need outside expertise to tell him that when he hires someone who wasn't prepared do the job and has not succeeded at the job in five years, then keeping him on the job would never be the solution to digging yourself out of this quagmire of failure. Common sense 101!

This franchise is a ridiculed franchise where players with no trade clauses usually have Buffalo at the top of their "not going there list". This is a franchise where many players not only didn't want to come here but where its own best players were aggressive in getting out. 

Until this obnoxiously stubborn owner decides to be receptive to common sense outside advice that is readily available to him, little will change. This billionaire with the big boat reminds me of the Washington Redskins/Commanders situation during the ownership of Dan Snyder. His interfering and ego driven style of management crippled that franchise for a generation. Once he left the scene with an enlightened owner taking over, the franchise quickly rebounded to NFL relevance again. That's what we have here under Pegula. We have an ownership problem. Until he changes the way he operates, the franchise will continue to fade into hockey oblivion. 

 

OK @JohnC, you have to admit that (Adams + Lou) > (Adams + nothing).    You cannot just discount Lou's record because he is 82, even his last stop at Long Island was far more successful than that of Kevyn Adams. 

I am not sold on Lou necessarily, but I think they need more and better leadership experience in the FO.  

And no way is Terry Pegula a crook like Dan Snyder.  A bad hockey owner, yes, but not a Dan Snyder type.  

[PASabreFan]

2 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

Someone could write a book about how not to run a sports' franchise based on the Pegula Sabres. It would be Russian novel level depressing, and too damn long.

Former poster Yuri is working on it.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

 

OK @JohnC, you have to admit that (Adams + Lou) > (Adams + nothing).    You cannot just discount Lou's record because he is 82, even his last stop at Long Island was far more successful than that of Kevyn Adams. 

I am not sold on Lou necessarily, but I think they need more and better leadership experience in the FO.  

And no way is Terry Pegula a crook like Dan Snyder.  A bad hockey owner, yes, but not a Dan Snyder type.  

I never said that Pegula was a crook. Go back and read my posts on the comparisons between the two owners. I made it abundantly clear that the comparisons related to management and staffing similarities and not personal and character traits. And the outcomes for each respective franchise over an extended period of time were less than impressive. And also, the dramatic eroding of the fanbases happened during each of their tenures.

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Did the people who think Terry is checked out on the Sabres and just doesn't care beyond EEE see him in Rochester last night?

What only-in-it-for-the-money billionaire leaves his yacht and travels halfway across the country to Rochester to sit in a box with his employees to watch the prospects of the team he doesn't care about?

He's as checked in as any of us on Sabrespace and more than some.

 

The issue isn’t related to caring or not. The central issue is about making decisions that help the franchise to be competitive. And the record on that score is problematic.

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Did the people who think Terry is checked out on the Sabres and just doesn't care beyond EEE see him in Rochester last night?

What only-in-it-for-the-money billionaire leaves his yacht and travels halfway across the country to Rochester to sit in a box with his employees to watch the prospects of the team he doesn't care about?

He's as checked in as any of us on Sabrespace and more than some.

 

Oh *****! He showed up to 1 hockey game!? Damn he's the most caring SOB on the planet. What a really stand up guy. Pats on the back all around for showing up to 1 AHL playoff game. Holy man, I'm so sorry I ever doubted the guy who flew to Montreal, gave the team a garbage pep talk and then left before they played. If I had known he would show up to an AHL playoff game I never would have doubted his commitment after 4 years of not spending to the cap, talking to the press, talking to the fans, and only showing up to make stupid management decisions and then vanishing back into the aether of his Florida tax haven. 

[Bangarang]

20 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Oh *****! He showed up to 1 hockey game!? Damn he's the most caring SOB on the planet. What a really stand up guy. Pats on the back all around for showing up to 1 AHL playoff game. Holy man, I'm so sorry I ever doubted the guy who flew to Montreal, gave the team a garbage pep talk and then left before they played. If I had known he would show up to an AHL playoff game I never would have doubted his commitment after 4 years of not spending to the cap, talking to the press, talking to the fans, and only showing up to make stupid management decisions and then vanishing back into the aether of his Florida tax haven. 

Nothing good would ever come from TP speaking to the press. He's a terrible public speaker. He just needs to hire a legit NHL GM, let his HC hire actual NHL assistant coaches and stay out of the ***** way. He's too stubborn and wants to be in conversation. 

[dudacek]

57 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Oh *****! He showed up to 1 hockey game!? Damn he's the most caring SOB on the planet. What a really stand up guy. Pats on the back all around for showing up to 1 AHL playoff game. Holy man, I'm so sorry I ever doubted the guy who flew to Montreal, gave the team a garbage pep talk and then left before they played. If I had known he would show up to an AHL playoff game I never would have doubted his commitment after 4 years of not spending to the cap, talking to the press, talking to the fans, and only showing up to make stupid management decisions and then vanishing back into the aether of his Florida tax haven. 

Competence and caring are hardly synonymous.

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Competence and caring are hardly synonymous.

That's true. I wouldn't disagree there. 

[Flashsabre]

And who had Terry’s ear last night at the game? Appert, sitting right beside him.🤮

[That Aud Smell]

46 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Appert

[DarthEbriate]

Always two there are. A Master and an Appertice. 

[JohnC]

On 5/14/2025 at 12:19 PM, Archie Lee said:

I know we are looking for solutions and not problems, but Barzal has a 22 team no trade list. He most likely did not negotiate this only to have the Sabres as one of the 9 teams he would be willing to go to. 
 

The upper tier players who would be on the trading block would more likely than not have No Trade Clauses. That's the uncomfortable reality that this franchise faces due to its extended dysfunction. If that's the case where it is nearly impossible to make a blockbuster trade that would jolt the roster, then make a series of medium moves that will upgrade and better balance the roster

Look at the Capitals. Over the past year or two it made a number of B moves that altered the roster and made it one of the better teams in the league. They added Strome, DuBois, Chychrun,, Mangiapone, goalies Logan Thompson and Charlie Liindgren etc. and accomplished that substantial roster makeover for minimal costs. That's what a good front office does. 

The Sabres have plenty of assets to parlay that include roster players, prospects and draft picks. With a little creativity and moxie it can be done.   Is KA up to the task? Based on his prior performance, that is a tall task. Although I'm skeptical that he can do it, I'm not ruling it out. 

[SwampD]

20 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Spelunker?   You guys talk about some stuff I never heard of or did.   

Most of you guys played video games, the seniors here had Monopoly, Stratego, and Battleship.  Then on to poker, the race track .... 

No love for euchre?

[Pimlach]

42 minutes ago, SwampD said:

No love for euchre?

I had a group of friends that played that and pinochle. 

It was fun and it was a long, long, time ago.