Matthew Fairburn Latest Article regarding Terry Pegula and Adams

[DarthEbriate]

It's a good article. General, almost all the backstory except maybe the 1-year handlings of Reino and Ullmark and others by JBott and ditching ROR which all contribute to Eichel saying, "No thanks" once Adams comes in and wants to rebuild -- thus the trade request pre-injury. But it's objective, and won't lose Fairburn his interviewing or team access, and you know exactly where the issues lie if you're a general NHL article reader. Well done overall.

There's a part 2 of the article that Fairburn simply can't write because he's the beat guy. But those of us that are Sabres-idiots know that 2nd article already.

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

It's a good article. General, almost all the backstory except maybe the 1-year handlings of Reino and Ullmark and others by JBott and ditching ROR which all contribute to Eichel saying, "No thanks" once Adams comes in and wants to rebuild -- thus the trade request pre-injury. But it's objective, and won't lose Fairburn his interviewing or team access, and you know exactly where the issues lie if you're a general NHL article reader. Well done overall.

There's a part 2 of the article that Fairburn simply can't write because he's the beat guy. But those of us that are Sabres-idiots know that 2nd article already.

Care to elaborate on the last sentence? 

[DarthEbriate]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

Care to elaborate on the last sentence? 

We 'Spacers are way too close and informed (and hypothetically full of conjecture) to really be surprised by anything in the article. It's just additional confirmation. The article was written for the NHL fan -- like a CBJ fan who says, "I wonder what Jarmo is getting himself into..." reads it and says, "I knew Buffalo was bad... but good golly, I had no idea." We already discuss the details of the flailing and failings of this organization in every single thread here.

Obviously, there isn't/won't be a 2nd article from Fairburn. The general facts are all there and the subtext and what is unstated is the scariest part. But a 3rd party more "angled" reporter could've likely gone much further with damning quotes, and smear, and such. 

[Brawndo]

3 hours ago, kas23 said:

I was in med school, residency, and fellowship from 2001 to 2012. Like you, I remember very little. Like those years somehow vanished. I do remember a bunch of people above me acting like total ***** though. 

I couldn’t imagine doing another three years! All the power to you 

[Mango]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

I bet it's not because they are behind, I bet it's because they probably get federal funding and have to follow FDA guidelines or they will lose it.

It was approved in 2013. Also even if that's true, everybody should run from a medical practice who refuses to perform the best procedure for you (that insurance covers) because of funding dollars.

The way it was explained to me was that the solution to a failed disc replacement is fusion and you just end up where you would have to begin with so there is no "worse off"

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8405360/

It's possible UB doesn't use an artificial disc that is approved for double disc replacements which is another concern, but different.

Anyways, the whole thing made me shift my thinking that the Eichel decision wasn't just politicking, but just flat out underqualified medical advice.*

*I know that anecdote isn't data and I am just a schmuck on the Internet.

 

 

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

We 'Spacers are way too close and informed (and hypothetically full of conjecture) to really be surprised by anything in the article. It's just additional confirmation. The article was written for the NHL fan -- like a CBJ fan who says, "I wonder what Jarmo is getting himself into..." reads it and says, "I knew Buffalo was bad... but good golly, I had no idea." We already discuss the details of the flailing and failings of this organization in every single thread here.

Obviously, there isn't/won't be a 2nd article from Fairburn. The general facts are all there and the subtext and what is unstated is the scariest part. But a 3rd party more "angled" reporter could've likely gone much further with damning quotes, and smear, and such. 

As you point out, it isn’t a startling revelation that the organization reeks of dysfunction. However, anything that might give some insight to where this non-talking owner’s head is at has some interest.
 

My attitude of contempt for this arrogant billionaire who has degraded this once proud franchise to a laughed at and scorned franchise has not changed.

On a positive note, the addition of an experienced hockey person to the staff is a positive step. It’s so sad that when this stubborn owner does something that should normally be expected it becomes a cause for celebration. 

[LGR4GM]

Worth  the listen/watch about 25 min in the get to the article

 

 

[USMCSnyper]

Can we send Adams to GM their team while he gets an on campus MBA? 🤣

[That Aud Smell]

15 hours ago, Brawndo said:

It was a blur I maybe saw 10 out of 82 games a year if I was lucky. I was working a 27 hour shift in the NICU at Children’s Hospital when Drury scored against the Rangers. Another resident, who was a Leafs Fan told me about it 3 hours later 

Buffalo, man. I'm fairly sure that you would have helped care for a family friend's kid who just graduated at the top of her high school class locally. (She's a 2006-born kid who was red-shirted before starting school - owing in large part to some challenges she faced early in life.)

Big stick taps to you.

[Pimlach]

I was shown how to get access to the article.  Adams is defensive on his qualifications for the job but there is no doubt he has been way over his head and that Terry hired him to control everything. 

 From the Fairburn article:

On Oct. 11, 2020, five months after hiring Adams, Pegula stood inside his new general manager’s office. At that point, Adams had no assistant GMs. His director of scouting was Jeremiah Crowe, who had three years of pro scouting experience before getting elevated to that role. The analytics department was Jason Nightengale. This was the first day of NHL free agency. Pegula and Adams discussed the possibility of signing Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million contract.

Hall had won the Hart Trophy two years earlier with a 39-goal, 54-assist season for the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres had failed to qualify for the expanded 24-team playoff during the pandemic, extending their playoff drought to nine seasons.

"We sign this guy,” Pegula said to Adams in a behind-the-scenes video released by the Sabres, “we’re not only trying to make the playoffs. We’re trying to win the Cup.”

“Yeah,” Adams said. “I mean this is … yeah.”

This is dysfunction at the highest levels.  Terry was clueless to think that signing Taylor Hall, and underachiever for most of his career, made his Oct 2020 roster a playoff roster, yet he thinks it made them a cup contender.   This would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.  

 

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Worth  the listen/watch about 25 min in the get to the article

 

 

Thanks for the link. I had a few hours to kill.

I like Fairburn and he rose another notch with this article. Nothing in here changed my mind but some things that were fuzzy have been clarified.

I can see TP’s trust for KA despite the brutal record Trumps the fanbase’s opinion. There is a path for him to move into another role and JK taking over, with a winning or a losing season.

There wasn’t much talk about Staal but KA trusts him. I hope Staal’s hockey mind is better than his play over the last few years.

 

 

[Porous Five Hole]

9 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Worth  the listen/watch about 25 min in the get to the article

 

 

Said from a player’s perspective, “Whose happy about the situation in Buffalo? 

“…”

”Jacob Bryson is happy.”

 

I died inside with this team.  Again.

[French Collection]

23 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Said from a player’s perspective, “Whose happy about the situation in Buffalo? 

“…”

”Jacob Bryson is happy.”

 

I died inside with this team.  Again.

I wrote that in another thread. Why wouldn’t he be happy to make a million to only play 30-40 games, with around 10 minutes per game.

[Broken Ankles]

9 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I was shown how to get access to the article.  Adams is defensive on his qualifications for the job but there is no doubt he has been way over his head and that Terry hired him to control everything. 

 From the Fairburn article:

On Oct. 11, 2020, five months after hiring Adams, Pegula stood inside his new general manager’s office. At that point, Adams had no assistant GMs. His director of scouting was Jeremiah Crowe, who had three years of pro scouting experience before getting elevated to that role. The analytics department was Jason Nightengale. This was the first day of NHL free agency. Pegula and Adams discussed the possibility of signing Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million contract.

Hall had won the Hart Trophy two years earlier with a 39-goal, 54-assist season for the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres had failed to qualify for the expanded 24-team playoff during the pandemic, extending their playoff drought to nine seasons.

"We sign this guy,” Pegula said to Adams in a behind-the-scenes video released by the Sabres, “we’re not only trying to make the playoffs. We’re trying to win the Cup.”

“Yeah,” Adams said. “I mean this is … yeah.”

This is dysfunction at the highest levels.  Terry was clueless to think that signing Taylor Hall, and underachiever for most of his career, made his Oct 2020 roster a playoff roster, yet he thinks it made them a cup contender.   This would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.  

 

That moment coupled with his follow up embarrassing quote in a blue/gold video - “Matt Irwin - we got ‘em”, will forever capture the ineptitude of Kev.  I mean, are you not getting final say after the editing?  Did you not  look at either of those two moments and second guess it?  

[JohnC]

10 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I was shown how to get access to the article.  Adams is defensive on his qualifications for the job but there is no doubt he has been way over his head and that Terry hired him to control everything. 

 From the Fairburn article:

On Oct. 11, 2020, five months after hiring Adams, Pegula stood inside his new general manager’s office. At that point, Adams had no assistant GMs. His director of scouting was Jeremiah Crowe, who had three years of pro scouting experience before getting elevated to that role. The analytics department was Jason Nightengale. This was the first day of NHL free agency. Pegula and Adams discussed the possibility of signing Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million contract.

Hall had won the Hart Trophy two years earlier with a 39-goal, 54-assist season for the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres had failed to qualify for the expanded 24-team playoff during the pandemic, extending their playoff drought to nine seasons.

"We sign this guy,” Pegula said to Adams in a behind-the-scenes video released by the Sabres, “we’re not only trying to make the playoffs. We’re trying to win the Cup.”

“Yeah,” Adams said. “I mean this is … yeah.”

This is dysfunction at the highest levels.  Terry was clueless to think that signing Taylor Hall, and underachiever for most of his career, made his Oct 2020 roster a playoff roster, yet he thinks it made them a cup contender.   This would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.  

 

From just the snippet you cited from the article it starkly demonstrates how hollow this  Pegula franchise was. It was bad enough that this organization was so thinly staffed,  but to make things even worse was that the most influential people (owner and GM) in this rinky dink operation were out of touch from the real world of professional hockey. How do you compete against serious people when you are a joke?

[LGR4GM]

There's something funny about Pegula forcing Adams to tell him every little thing they want to do while also simultaneously being totally absent from the franchise and diverting all his money and attention to the NFL team. The Sabres are like a neglected child and Adams is their overworked teacher who just graduated from the University of Phoenix. Terry only cares to be a dad when he can exert power/control which is what all of it comes back to. 

This board is collectively smarter than the Sabres. Jfc.

Edited yesterday at 12:15 AM by LGR4GM
I, cannot spell.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

There's something funny about Pegula forcing Adams to tell him every little thing they want to do while also simultaneously being totally absent from the franchise and diverting all his money and attention to the NFL team. The Sabres are like a neglected child and Adams is their overworked teacher who just graduated from the University of Phoenix. Terry only cares to be a dad when he can exert power/control which is what all of it comes back to. 

This board is collectively smarter than the Sabres. Jfc.

It's so embarrassing. I wish this owner would sell the team and sail away on his big boat. Everyone in the hockey business knows that the Sabre owner is a joke and that he has degraded this franchise and strangled the market into oblivion. Even if he cared (which is debatable), he's too inept to bring in the right people to straighten out the mess that he created. How can he be a serious owner when he acts so silly? WTF! 

[EM88]

21 hours ago, Pimlach said:

4-assist season for the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres had failed to qualify for the expanded 24-team playoff during the pandemic, extending their playoff drought to nine seasons.

"We sign this guy,” Pegula said to Adams in a behind-the-scenes video released by the Sabres, “we’re not only trying to make the playoffs. We’re trying to win the Cup.”

Take every player in the NHL. Every owner. Every GM, every scout.  Maybe even throw in every single season ticket holder across the league that has had tickets for more than 10 years. Put ALL of those people in one big room and Terry Pegula might be the single most clueless about hockey of all of them.

[JohnC]

Let's just put hockey aside and examine this franchise from a business standpoint. Pro sports is part of the entertainment business. Like any business, if your product is less than mediocre and lacks entertainment value, it won't be supported. That translates into loss of revenue. How many games were there where empty seats made up a large portion of the seating capacity. There are times when your company has to be run more austerely to adjust to the economic conditions. And there are times when you have to spend money to make more money. 

The hockey business is a direct competition business. You are competing against other organizations that are determined in trying to win. They are fully staffed with the best people that they can attract. When your franchise is run by a buffoon owner who knows little and interferes a lot, who will want to work for him? 

What owner would have hired such an ill-equipped KA to be their GM? No one but the silly Buffalo owner. And what owner would have kept on the same GM who after five years has little to show for his efforts? No one but the silent Buffalo owner. Why would he not have fired him or move him on to some other less consequential position? For one, he doesn't want to pay people for not working and because he wants some howdy doody person in the position who allows him to play with his toy whenever he wants to interject his stupid thoughts.  

It's not unusual for a new owner to make mistakes in the beginning of his tenure and then get better as he gains experience. Not this hardheaded fool. It seems that he is doubling down and continue with the same bet on the same losing horse. There is a glimmer of hope with the bringing on board of the new staffer. But what neutralizes that positive step to an unknown degree is that the current GM remains in his position. What's obvious for all to see is that the Sabres are not a normal franchise because our owner is quirky. Being idiosyncratic can be a charming trait in a person but it is destructive trait when you are the owner of a sports franchise where stability is essential. 

A generation of this foolishness is so stupid and ridiculous.   

[DarthEbriate]

23 hours ago, Pimlach said:

"We sign this guy,” Pegula said to Adams in a behind-the-scenes video released by the Sabres, “we’re not only trying to make the playoffs. We’re trying to win the Cup.”

“Yeah,” Adams said. “I mean this is … yeah.”

2 hours ago, EM88 said:

Take every player in the NHL. Every owner. Every GM, every scout.  Maybe even throw in every single season ticket holder across the league that has had tickets for more than 10 years. Put ALL of those people in one big room and Terry Pegula might be the single most clueless about hockey of all of them.

The most poignant Terry-DarthPegulas-like thing about this entire quote is that to him this one player is going to make them contenders (as Leino was after a good playoff series, or Ehrhoff was because he was a good PP1 guy with the Sedins*). And then, what do they do?

• Sign Hall to 1-year deal. That's it! Because there's no need to build around the future of Eichel/Reinhart because you're not keeping either of them anyway. Teams don't ever build or grow over multiple years together!
• Skate Hall on the same line as Eichel. Rather than having Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart be line 1 with Eichel as the carrier, and Hall-Staal-TNT as line 2 with Hall as the line driver.
• Allllll the other things that would make this list all the other threads on this board.

Note: The dark side is the quick and easy path ("look how much smarter we are than those hockey people").

*And Ehrhoff was far-and-away the Sabres best offensive d-man and their best corsi guy all-around, it just shouldn't have the 1st-year $10M part of the contract.

[Broken Ankles]

16 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

The most poignant Terry-DarthPegulas-like thing about this entire quote is that to him this one player is going to make them contenders (as Leino was after a good playoff series, or Ehrhoff was because he was a good PP1 guy with the Sedins*). And then, what do they do?

• Sign Hall to 1-year deal. That's it! Because there's no need to build around the future of Eichel/Reinhart because you're not keeping either of them anyway. Teams don't ever build or grow over multiple years together!
• Skate Hall on the same line as Eichel. Rather than having Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart be line 1 with Eichel as the carrier, and Hall-Staal-TNT as line 2 with Hall as the line driver.
• Allllll the other things that would make this list all the other threads on this board.

Note: The dark side is the quick and easy path ("look how much smarter we are than those hockey people").

*And Ehrhoff was far-and-away the Sabres best offensive d-man and their best corsi guy all-around, it just shouldn't have the 1st-year $10M part of the contract.

The Baron of blunder is still paying Christian for three more years.  Second longest buyout to DiPietro.  Fitting Erhoff finds his way into this thread. Both he and Kevyn taking $900k/year from the Duke of disappointment; and neither contributing to making the playoffs.