Sabres looking for Senior Advisor for Adams and Hockey Department

[dudacek]

7 minutes ago, Thorny said:

But a lot of these conversations bleed back into the same thing: until you admit that appearing at a Rochester game literally does not bear mentioning relative to our unwillingness to spend to the cap, and what that means for Terry’s commitment, you’ll go in circles

Almost everything Terry does is half assed where the Sabres are concerned: yes, that’s the answer for you. A lot of rich people behave this way: they see themselves so far above most others that to them, a 40% effort OUGHT to be enough, nay, rightly should be  

the sabres missing for 14 years straight is the opposite of a coincidence. And it’s not correlation: it’s causation. And yes, it’s inevitable. You can’t that many times in a row by chance: manual ineptitude. And what makes them so infuriating is I’m sick of hearing about how incompetent they are: cause that’s not it. They are willfully incompetent, which is much worse 

Pretty much every conversation.

Sometimes I want to talk about other things than what a total bitch my friend’s ex-wife is, even when I agree with him.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Terry’s record indeed speaks for itself.

He is, however, the same guy who hired Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott and has left them alone.

He is capable of getting his way, even if by accident.

He better hurry up. A generation of his foolishness has already passed us by. And when you are on the down side of the mountain, as I am, patience isn’t a virtue.

I’m not a downtrodden pessimist. I strongly believe that with the right person at the helm who can make a few judicious moves this sunken ship can be back floating with most of the other functioning ships. And that is that primary source of my exasperation. 
 

I like you hate the negativity. It’s depressing and depleting. What I’m hoping to see is the owner taking some actions that changes the dynamics in a good way so the discussions are hockey and player related.

Edited Friday at 11:30 PM by JohnC

[Dr. Who]

10 minutes ago, Thorny said:

They aren’t looking to make the playoffs: they are looking to make the playoffs while spending less

they aren’t looking for senior leadership: they are looking for senior leadership that will report to Kevyn Adams 

Manual. Ineptitude. 

True, I think, and that is why there's not much sympathy for TP. He's not just a clueless fella that would like things to end well. There's an arrogance that permeates that kind of ineptitude.

[Thorny]

12 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Pretty much every conversation.

Sometimes I want to talk about other things than what a total bitch my friend’s ex-wife is, even when I agree with him.

We aren’t spending to the cap on post count, either: be my guest 

[7+6=13]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

Before KA was hired did the owner interview any other candidates? When the owner hired Ruff to be the new coach, did the owner interview any other candidates? Is that a smart way to do business?
 

When you conduct your business in an insular and whimsical manner it shouldn’t be a surprise that your franchise is considered to be a backwater and dysfunctional franchise. 
 

 

He interviewed other GM's and Coaches on previous hires before KA and Lindy.  So again, not something he hasn't done.

It's not worked.

[PASabreFan]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

But a lot of these conversations bleed back into the same thing: until you admit that appearing at a Rochester game literally does not bear mentioning relative to our unwillingness to spend to the cap, and what that means for Terry’s commitment, you’ll go in circles

Almost everything Terry does is half assed where the Sabres are concerned: yes, that’s the answer for you. A lot of rich people behave this way: they see themselves so far above most others that to them, a 40% effort OUGHT to be enough, nay, rightly should be  

the sabres missing for 14 years straight is the opposite of a coincidence. And it’s not correlation: it’s causation. And yes, it’s inevitable. You can’t that many times in a row by chance: manual ineptitude. And what makes them so infuriating is I’m sick of hearing about how incompetent they are: cause that’s not it. They are willfully incompetent, which is much worse 

Yea, their non-thoroughness is a reason for the inevitable ineptitude. It’s the reason. Ownership is half assed. Why is this a question. I’ve been screaming this for 5 years I’m gonna start getting mad now: THEY AREN’T TRYING HARD ENOUGH TO WIN. What is non-thoroughness if not that? No stone unturned is what I say. They do they opposite 

the answers are in the room 

Half assed reminded me of something Terry said on Day One. He said he didn't care if the Sabres changed gear out there in the lobby. But a new lockerroom did come to pass so that Kim could have her first major project.

He truly doesn't care about making the Sabres NHL class at the very least.

The Olean boys changed on the bus donchaknow.

[Pimlach]

19 hours ago, dudacek said:

How did the thorough and professional searches that yielded Tim Murray and Jason Botterill end up?

How about the whimsical and insular hires of Rod Brind’Amour and Eric Tulsky in Carolina?

There is no magic formula; if there was everyone would follow it.

The Sabres haven’t sucked for a long time due to any one thing, as much as people need to find one. It’s through a series of poor choices exacerbated by the resulting fragility that has manifested within the organizational psyche.

TLDR: not enough good players and/or good leaders in the same place at the same time.

It’s not really any more complicated than that.

Murray was hired by LaFontaine and Murray was supposed to report to LaFontaine, but that is not what happened and that is what led to his abrupt resignation.    Both were very bad choices IMO.  

Botterill  was pushed by the Pittsburgh connection that Terry trusted, and Botterill is a bright guy.  He was chosen over Bill Zito, who is now a Cup winner in Florida.   Just because you interview a few people and you apparently pick the wrong guy doesn't mean that you completely change your processes and the very next time you go out and hire an inexperienced person for the most important job in the organization simply because you know him and like him.  But that is what happened. 

As several here are alluding, there is an element of luck at play, and I agree there is no magic formula, but you still need sound logic and discipline in how decisions are made.   

So the logical move after Botterill was fired is to ask yourself what were the key factors that led me to pick this person over the other?   Was my criteria wrong, or was the weighting used on my criteria wrong?  What should change?    You have to be brutally honest with yourself.   But at that time Terry was not interested in finding the best GM.  He was interested in preservation of the family wealth.  PSE was scaled back, One Buffalo ended, the Bills were spared, the Sabres were not.  

So when Botterill left he simply hired the guy he knew,  and liked, and was comfortable with.  In this case Terry must have known it would be hard to find an outside "hockey guy" that would agree with EEE, or with trading Eichel (using the injury as a fulcrum) and driving another full scale rebuild.  

You say the Sabres haven't sucked for a long time due to any one thing.  I say they have.  They have sucked for a long time due to poor decisions made by the owners.   Terry, Kim, and back to Terry.   That is the constant that everybody sees.  That is were the buck stops - and in the Sabres case the bucks have stopped for a long time.  

So the pandemic is over and 5 years of losing is the aftermath.   Terry  is now at a fork in the road  - make a change now, or wait one more year since Adams and Ruff are on contract.   He knows them and he likes them and he has very few reliable connections in the league.    Ruff really deserves better than one year.  Adams does not, but it is easy to see where this is going.    

I am bracing myself for another year of Adams and Ruff.  Best case is that they do add a legit Senior Advisor.    

 

Edited Saturday at 04:19 PM by Pimlach

[PASabreFan]

Punch, don't forget the mystery man who accompanied LaLa to Ot-wa Ot-wa Ot-wa (RIP Art; I'm assuming he's gone toes up) to interview Murray: Battista!

Coffee... ask for it by name.

[Pimlach]

59 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Punch, don't forget the mystery man who accompanied LaLa to Ot-wa Ot-wa Ot-wa (RIP Art; I'm assuming he's gone toes up) to interview Murray: Battista!

Coffee... ask for it by name.

Ah yes, the man from Penn State. 

He was in the days of the bloated organization where it seemed everyone reported to Terry (President of Everything).  There was Ted Black (President of something-something), Craig Patrick (Special Advisor to the President of something-something ), LaFontaine (POHO - but not if we tank), Murray (GM -but only if we tank), and Joe Battista (President of Hockey and Business Administration - of which there is really no such thing). 

After this we had Kim Pegula (President of the Presidents) and Russ Brandon (President anything else that Terry and Kim are not already President of).  

Maybe the simpler and scaled down one GM and a few AGMs isn't so bad?  

Maybe the answer is in between the first one and the current?    

Edited Saturday at 05:35 PM by Pimlach

[JohnC]

34 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Ah yes, the man from Penn State. 

He was in the days of the bloated organization where it seemed everyone reported to Terry (President of Everything).  There was Ted Black (President of something-something), Craig Patrick (Special Advisor to the President of something-something ), LaFontaine (POHO - but not if we tank), Murray (GM -but only if we tank), and Joe Battista (President of Hockey and Business Administration - of which there is really no such thing). 

After this we had Kim Pegula (President of the Presidents) and Russ Brandon (President anything else that Terry and Kim are not already President of).  

Maybe the simpler and scaled down one GM and a few AGMs isn't so bad?  

Maybe the answer is in between the first one and the current?    

You just defined the word “ Byzantine” in your description of the organizational structures that the owner established. My head was spinning trying to follow the different iterations of the organization’s front offices. It was/is like a Russian bureaucracy that Putin would be proud of.

[PASabreFan]

And yet some folks say Terry has just been unlucky.

[Rasmus_]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

And yet some folks say Terry has just been unlucky.

I'm sensing sarcasm here.  

 

[DarthEbriate]

In my experience, there's no such thing as luck. With the Sabres, everything is deservedly unearned.

[JustOutsideChicago]

So. I guess this search is done?

[dudacek]

9 minutes ago, JustOutsideChicago said:

So. I guess this search is done?

Yes, I’ll be starting Thursday.

[Flashsabre]

33 minutes ago, JustOutsideChicago said:

So. I guess this search is done?

Shanahan will probably be available. Dudley when the Panthers are done. Might be people they are waiting on

[JP51]

On 5/16/2025 at 7:22 PM, JohnC said:

He better hurry up. A generation of his foolishness has already passed us by. And when you are on the down side of the mountain, as I am, patience isn’t a virtue.

I’m not a downtrodden pessimist. I strongly believe that with the right person at the helm who can make a few judicious moves this sunken ship can be back floating with most of the other functioning ships. And that is that primary source of my exasperation. 
 

I like you hate the negativity. It’s depressing and depleting. What I’m hoping to see is the owner taking some actions that changes the dynamics in a good way so the discussions are hockey and player related.

There is always hope... faith however, I have none... faith is earned ... hope is for our own selves... 14 years of ineptitude... I have hope he gets lucky I have no faith in his ability to intentionally do the right thing... but... there is always hope...  time will tell....  

[thewookie1]

On 5/17/2025 at 2:32 PM, PASabreFan said:

And yet some folks say Terry has just been unlucky.

I'd give him a few mulligans but he certainly hasn't helped himself very much either

[DarthEbriate]

25 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

I'd give him a few mulligans but he certainly hasn't helped himself very much either

I’m afraid his mulligans quota was reached and breached some time ago. 

Leino, Ehrhoff’s first season of contract (the player was fine), PLF, Murray, suffering, Rex Ryan, Rolston and Sabres U, Krueger, refusing to pay ROR a bonus, trading Eichel, EEE and axing a AHL and scouting staff to pay for a boat, Appert and Wilford still employed. GM searches and head coach searches of 0 interviews beyond Adams and Ruff. How many mulligans are you offering?

[Pimlach]

3 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

I’m afraid his mulligans quota was reached and breached some time ago. 

Leino, Ehrhoff’s first season of contract (the player was fine), PLF, Murray, suffering, Rex Ryan, Rolston and Sabres U, Krueger, refusing to pay ROR a bonus, trading Eichel, EEE and axing a AHL and scouting staff to pay for a boat, Appert and Wilford still employed. GM searches and head coach searches of 0 interviews beyond Adams and Ruff. How many mulligans are you offering?

[PASabreFan]

Over to you Verne, Adams on the 14th tee...

 

[Mr Peabody]

48 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

I’m afraid his mulligans quota was reached and breached some time ago. 

Leino, Ehrhoff’s first season of contract (the player was fine), PLF, Murray, suffering, Rex Ryan, Rolston and Sabres U, Krueger, refusing to pay ROR a bonus, trading Eichel, EEE and axing a AHL and scouting staff to pay for a boat, Appert and Wilford still employed. GM searches and head coach searches of 0 interviews beyond Adams and Ruff. How many mulligans are you offering?

 

[Thorny]

Does anyone think there’s a chance, should we actually bring in a notable senior advisor, that even were we to make the playoffs this coming year, the credit would be more so given to the presence of the advisor, and we’d be thus protected from an Adams extension? 

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Does anyone think there’s a chance, should we actually bring in a notable senior advisor, that even were we to make the playoffs this coming year, the credit would be more so given to the presence of the advisor, and we’d be thus protected from an Adams extension? 

The ONLY way that happens if is the team is horrible out of the gate, there is a general purge at the end of October and then the team rises like the Phoenix.  IF they bring in a PoHO or a "Senior Advisor" and Adams is still standing come Christmas; anything good that happens gets put in the "he finally figured it out" column in ownership's eyes.

The FANBASE will give credit where it's due.  But WE don't directly write the checks.  (We just bankroll them.)

[Thorny]

Just now, Taro T said:

The ONLY way that happens if is the team is horrible out of the gate, there is a general purge at the end of October and then the team rises like the Phoenix.  IF they bring in a PoHO or a "Senior Advisor" and Adams is still standing come Christmas; anything good that happens gets put in the "he finally figured it out" column in ownership's eyes.

I am trying my best here to renege on my plan and you are not helping lol 

There really are no more outs for me, are there