Matthew Fairburn Latest Article regarding Terry Pegula and Adams

[bob_sauve28]

15 minutes ago, Mango said:

This is maybe the best article on the Sabres in recent memory. 

Actual journalism! 
 

Imo, lack of is a problem for this team. No one holds their feet to the fire 

[DarthEbriate]

I've been a bit busy, but I've got to weigh in on the most important part of this conversation:

If Sheevyn is Grima, then that would make Darth Pegulas the Wise... Saruman, as played by Christopher Lee (which is a slap in the face to Mr. Lee), and...  we, the fans, are Theoden, King.

[dudacek]

44 minutes ago, Thorny said:

My reading is that the “every decision” thing is well overplayed, at least regarding how much of distinction that would represent relative to other teams. More damning to me is fact sabres are a distant second priority. That’s the lack of $, unqualified hires explained

Poking his head in on every or most transactions strikes me more so as someone who wants to tell himself he’s on top of it all with the least energy committed possible rather that someone truly interested in prioritizing success

If you don’t see neglect as the main issue with the documented lack of spending, we aren’t going to agree 

I feel like every few weeks you and me get back to this same spot, you keep getting back to disagreeing with everyone thst Terry doesn’t care and I cannot drive home enough that the lack of spending is a significant trump card beyond any other point you are alluding to 

If we aren’t spending to the cap, he doesn’t care enough. That’s it, that’s all 

I think the bold is a very strong take, and better helps me understand where you're coming from. It's like telling your 16-year-old: "What do you mean I don't care about you, I bought you a car and gave you a credit card."

In regards to the spending, I haven't fully bought into my own thinking yet, but I find myself increasingly wanting to blame Adams for not spending to the cap.

Bear with me:

Terry spent money right up to EEE, with COVID past Terry no long needs EEE, Terry has spent money on firing coaches, buying out contracts, fixing roofs and rebuilding the hockey department, among other things recently; it doesn't really make sense that he is pinching pennies the past couple years on $6M in player salaries.

Adams has consistently said that Terry has given him the resources he needs. I wonder if this wording is aimed at having it both ways: sticking up for his boss and avoiding blame for himself.

I get a sense Kevyn has heard Terry grumbling about Botterill wasting his money, or how Terry thinks (fill-in-the-blank) is a waste.

And in pure Wormtongue-like Adams hubris, Adams leans into that. He tells Terry "You're right. Under me we haven't done any of those silly things. Watch this, I can run this team without even spending to the cap." Instead of doing what a good GM would do and steering him in to the logical conclusion that spending to the cap is a necessary part of being competitive. 

That still allows plenty of room for your take: that a fully-invested Pegula would (should) have said: we've got the money Kevyn, let's spend it."

Basically, its a mutual enabling of each others weaknesses, rather than a more proper checks and balances situation.

Edited Monday at 05:17 PM by dudacek

[That Aud Smell]

38 minutes ago, Weave said:

Yeah, I got that, and was questioning if being under Adams spell is less damaging than simply being a patsy (and therefore prone to keep being put under a spell, I guess),

Thanks - sorry for misunderstanding where you're coming from.

Sticking with the metaphor: Grima (Adams) doesn't cast the spell on Theoden (Pegula). Grima is just a sycophant serving at the pleasure and direction of the evil wizard who has cast that spell.

In our scenario, I don't think there's a third party who has caused Pegula to me misled.

Unless we're gonna get super metaphysical and identify Pegula's hubris as some sentient entity from which he needs to be liberated.

[Thorny]

7 minutes ago, Mango said:

We are totally splitting hairs here, I get it. We are not far off. But again to the bolded I really don't think that is the case. I think Terry believes he is a good owner and Kevyn believes he is a good GM. His EOY pressers all started with "I need to be better" and ended with "I think we did enough" or "on paper I think I did a good job". 

These are guys living in the clouds. These guys are the dumbest clowns in the worst circus clowns in the worlds dumbest circus. If these two orchestrated anything successfully it would be the first time. 

I’m saying they don’t care enough about winning in the now IN MY OPINION. whatever the level you think they care, we can go with: and then I’m going to say it’s not enough. Regardless of if they think they are doing enough to make it, i philosophically disagree with their stance that we achieve success now “without mortgaging the future”. My stance isn’t to win now without mortgaging the future. My stance is to win now. The qualifier totally changes it.

Adams believes winning is a byproduct

Thorny believes winning is a choice

if you take one thing from this post, by all means ignore it all and just take in the bold. This is the crux of my argument almost always  

[thewookie1]

I decided to read the article and then just file it away. It paints such a bleak picture that one could easily just throw up their arms in surrender because it effectively tells us the Buffalo Sabres only hope of having success is via a 1 in a Million set of circumstances playing out. Otherwise the franchise itself would have to be sold to another owner and that would have a high likelihood of it being moved which defeats the purpose. Hell I'm still concerned as to what will happen when Pegula dies seeing as his estate would have to split his assets which not only would put the Sabres in jeopardy but the Bills as well.

[That Aud Smell]

39 minutes ago, dudacek said:

We have a GM whose goal is to lean in to the owner's whims and cater to his ego, rather than manage and steer it down the proper paths, as I perceive Beane has been doing, and I believe most GMs do. It's the most essential GM skill that no one ever talks much about and it's totally absent in the Sabres heirarchy.

A bit of a chicken and the egg analysis, imo.

I believe that Pegula chose Adams precisely because he perceived the absence of such "skills" in Adams. It was those same skills, I think, that prompted the Pegulas' statement that they weren't being "heard" by Botterill.

They (he) wanted someone who would be a direct expression of their (his) "vision" for the Sabres.

That vision is little more than a tragic folly -- leading to nothing but waste and ruin. (Sorta sticking with the LOTR tones there.)

[thewookie1]

Just now, Thorny said:

Adams believes winning is a byproduct

Thorny believes winning is a choice

Technically Adams would be closer to the truth based on those specific phrasing.

You don't choose to win, you can choose to try to win but you can't just state you'll win and will it into existence. 

Winning is a byproduct of many different elements coming together to create success; continued success is neither aligned nor unaligned with immediate winning but are not directly linked. The problem is that Adams keeps using bad ingredients to make his Sabres Pie.

[dudacek]

12 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

A bit of a chicken and the egg analysis, imo.

I believe that Pegula chose Adams precisely because he perceived the absence of such "skills" in Adams. It was those same skills, I think, that prompted the Pegulas' statement that they weren't being "heard" by Botterill.

They (he) wanted someone who would be a direct expression of their (his) "vision" for the Sabres.

That vision is little more than a tragic folly -- leading to nothing but waste and ruin. (Sorta sticking with the LOTR tones there.)

Yep. That's the most salient thing for me that Fairbairn's piece drove home.

And even though it's nothing we didn't know or at least suspect, @thewookie1 is right, having it spelled out so matter-of-factly is damn depressing.

Edited Monday at 05:20 PM by dudacek

[Thorny]

16 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I think the bold is strong very take, and better helps me understand where you're coming from. It's like telling your 16-year-old: "What do you mean I don't care about you, I bought you a car and gave you a credit card."

In regards to the spending, I haven't fully bought into my own thinking yet, but I find myself increasingly wanting to blame Adams for not spending to the cap.

Bear with me:

Terry spent money right up to EEE, with COVID past Terry no long needs EEE, Terry has spent money of firing coaches, buying out contracts, fixing roofs and rebuilding the hockey department, among other things recently; it doesn't make sense that he is pinching pennies the last couple years on $6M in player salaries.

Adams has consistently said "Terry has given him the resources he needs" and wonder if this wording is aimed at having it both ways: sticking up for his boss and avoiding blame for himself.

I get a sense Kevyn has heard Terry grumbling about Botterill wasting his money, or how Terry thinks (fill-in-the-blank) is a waste.

And in pure Wormtongue-like Adams hubris, Adams leans into that. He tells Terry "You're right. Under me we haven't done any of those silly things. Watch this, I can run this team without even spending to the cap. Instead of doing what a good GM would and steering him in to the logical conclusion that spending to the cap is a necessary part of being competitive. 

That still allows plenty of room for your take: that a fully-invested Pegula would (should) have said: we've got the money Kevyn, let's spend it."

Basically, its a mutual enabling of each others weaknesses, rather than a more proper checks and balances situation.

Terry doesn’t need to actually be right, he’s rich. He just needs to be able to tell himself he is.

- - - 

great post

[DarthEbriate]

Really, when JBott refused to fire everyone, Pegula should have just named himself the GM (gone full Jerry Jones) and taken over the control of the team in his own vision. Of course, that's a job, and it's time-consuming and difficult. So, whom better to run it than the sycophant who will do his direct bidding, just as well as he himself could run it? Kind of a cowardly approach vs. what he did with the football team (and I assume the lacrosse team), which is hire real folks to do everything because they actually know the sport and can put in the time/setup to get talented staffs and players, etc.

I sense a lot of fear there for something as trivial as a trade dispute hockey franchise.

They're one and the same: master and apprentice.

Edited Monday at 05:18 PM by DarthEbriate

[Brawndo]

Reading this thread makes me realize I need to watch Game of Thrones and read/watch Lord of the Rings 

[Thorny]

13 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

That vision is little more than a tragic folly -- leading to nothing but waste and ruin. (Sorta sticking with the LOTR tones there.)

 

On 5/6/2025 at 10:32 AM, That Aud Smell said:

Fungoo - you ain't goin' anywhere.

Draw lines all you want. And then become a habitual line-stepper.

And I come back to you now… (after having never left) .. at the turn of the tide

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Yep. That's the most salient thing for me that Fairbairn's piece drove home.

And if though it's nothing we didn't know or at least suspect, @thewookie1 is right, having it spelled out to matter-of-factly is damn depressing.

One thing that I wonder about in all of this is how much, if at all, this situation would be different had Kim Pegula not had her heart attack which essentially resulted in a stroke.   The 2 were most definitely a team and without her around now it sure seems from the Fairburn article that Adams and Terry are now that team as far as the hockey side of things goes.

Maybe he'd be even more entrenched were she still more involved, but wasn't a significant portion of the ouster of their 1st GM hire a perceived or real insubordination towards her and a significant portion of the 2nd GMs ouster was the owners "not feeling heard" (or something to that effect).  (Pretty sure it was her idea to can Brandon too.)  Might Kim have been a bit more pointed in the questioning of what was going on at the end of season reviews and during the inseason low points?

Terry made some sort of boast when he bought the Sabres that he'd never fired anyone from his Energy East company.  But he and his wife sure did fire a lot of people in their 1st 9 or so years of owning the Sabres.  Maybe he's a softie and she's the one that has more of the stomach for that sort of thing.  Since the team's taken a step back from 91 points we've now seen Granato fired, the S&C coach fired, and Ellis demoted and that's the entirety of the removal for performance in the past 2 years.  (Not counting alterations to the playing roster to date.)

[Thorny]

17 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Really, when JBott refused to fire everyone, Pegula should have just named himself the GM (gone full Jerry Jones) and taken over the control of the team in his own vision. Of course, that's a job, and it's time-consuming and difficult. So, whom better to run it than the sycophant who will do his direct bidding, just as well as he himself could run it? Kind of a cowardly approach vs. what he did with the football team (and I assume the lacrosse team), which is hire real folks to do everything because they actually know the sport and can put in the time/setup to get talented staffs and players, etc.

I sense a lot of fear there for something as trivial as a trade dispute hockey franchise.

They're one and the same: master and apprentice.

“Why didn’t Pegula declare himself Minister of the Sabres?” asked Ron.

Lupin laughed.

“He doesn’t need to, Ron. Effectively he is the Manager, but why should he sit behind a desk in Buffalo? His puppet, Thickhead, is taking care of everyday business, leaving Terry Riddle free to extend his power beyond the sabres.”

Edited Monday at 05:34 PM by Thorny

[Indabuff]

3 hours ago, Mango said:

Also, can we talk about the fact that Kevyn Adams got his MBA at the University of Phoenix Online?

[Mango]

6 minutes ago, Taro T said:

One thing that I wonder about in all of this is how much, if at all, this situation would be different had Kim Pegula not had her heart attack which essentially resulted in a stroke.   The 2 were most definitely a team and without her around now it sure seems from the Fairburn article that Adams and Terry are now that team as far as the hockey side of things goes.

Maybe he'd be even more entrenched were she still more involved, but wasn't a significant portion of the ouster of their 1st GM hire a perceived or real insubordination towards her and a significant portion of the 2nd GMs ouster was the owners "not feeling heard" (or something to that effect).  (Pretty sure it was her idea to can Brandon too.)  Might Kim have been a bit more pointed in the questioning of what was going on at the end of season reviews and during the inseason low points?

Terry made some sort of boast when he bought the Sabres that he'd never fired anyone from his Energy East company.  But he and his wife sure did fire a lot of people in their 1st 9 or so years of owning the Sabres.  Maybe he's a softie and she's the one that has more of the stomach for that sort of thing.  Since the team's taken a step back from 91 points we've now seen Granato fired, the S&C coach fired, and Ellis demoted and that's the entirety of the removal for performance in the past 2 years.  (Not counting alterations to the playing roster to date.)

This could be a snake way of saying he had somebody else do it. See JBotts. 

[JohnC]

15 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Reading this thread makes me realize I need to watch Game of Thrones and read/watch Lord of the Rings 

I’m so out of touch with all the references. Being archaic makes one say “huh” a lot.

[DarthEbriate]

19 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Reading this thread makes me realize I need to watch Game of Thrones and read/watch Lord of the Rings 

It also makes me sad that I never wrote out the full Sabres Wars prequel trilogy screenplays.

But, add the prequels to the watchlist, and know that I have just about everyone in the organization mapped to a character. And it's creepy how well it works.

[Thorny]

20 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Reading this thread makes me realize I need to watch Game of Thrones and read/watch Lord of the Rings 

Surely you’ve seen LOTR? or do you just mean again

[Mango]

2 minutes ago, Indabuff said:

Serious question. 

Adams has to be the greatest alumni that Phred the Phoenix has ever seen grace its halls websites.

But really, if you zoom far enough out he is entrenched as a 6 year executive of a major professional sports team. There might not be a single more "successful" graduate of their business program. 

[Thorny]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I’m so out of touch with all the references. Being archaic makes one say “huh” a lot.

The hobbit was released in 1937

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Mango said:

This could be a snake way of saying he had somebody else do it. See JBotts. 

Perhaps.

And not saying it's causation.  But there is a distinct difference in the changes in the hockey department pre early-2022 and post when the team has underperformed yet again.

[Mango]

Hey, can we all just agree to wear Phred the Phoenix gear to games now? 

EDIT: Maybe signs "I went to the University of Phoenix Online and All I got is THE WORST GM IN THE NHL."

Edited Monday at 05:47 PM by Mango

[That Aud Smell]

33 minutes ago, Thorny said:

And I come back to you now… (after having never left) .. at the turn of the tide

25 minutes ago, Taro T said:

One thing that I wonder about in all of this is how much, if at all, this situation would be different had Kim Pegula not had her heart attack which essentially resulted in a stroke. 

I think about this as well. It's not just the absence of her role, her personality with the sports teams -- but also the toll it must take on Terry to have a spouse who's become disabled. (Please don't take that last bit the wrong way.)