So CHAT GPT: How to rebuild the Sabres

[Spoonman]

So for 💩s & giggles, we’ll also in despair (again) I give you AI’s take on how to fix this thing. 
Not rocket science to this group, but here it goes. 
Three scenarios…..

 

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: “Do Nothing, Same Results”

Playoff probability: <10%

What Pegula does

Sticks fully with current structure, hoping roster develops naturally.

No significant trades, signings, or leadership changes.

Continues the hands-off-but-still-influential management approach.

 

What happens

Defensive issues remain unaddressed; goaltending wears down.

Young core struggles without veteran defensive help.

Locker-room morale dips; organization feels directionless.

Fan frustration spikes.

 

End result

Sabres finish near the bottom of the East again.

Pegula is forced into a crisis-level summer:

Coach hot seat

GM questions

Calls for selling the team grow louder

The drought extends, potentially becoming the longest in major North American pro sports history.

 

[Spoonman]

 

MID-CASE SCENARIO: “Incremental Changes, But Not Enough”

Playoff probability: ~20–25%

What Pegula does

Makes smaller front-office or depth-roster tweaks but avoids the harder decisions.

Adds a mid-tier veteran but not a difference-maker.

Ownership remains supportive but not transformative.

 

What happens

Team plays streaky hockey — looks great in stretches, collapses in others.

Goaltending is inconsistent but not catastrophic.

Kids develop, but leadership and in-game execution remain spotty.

Sabres stay roughly .500 for most of the season.

 

End result

Sabres finish around 10–12 points out of a playoff spot.

No disaster, but also not progress — stuck in the “in-between.”

Pegula faces louder calls for structural overhaul in the offseason.

 

 

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: “Aggressive Reset, Immediate Impact”

Playoff probability: ~40–50% (Wild Card most likely)

 

What Pegula does

Brings in a President of Hockey Operations or senior advisor with real NHL track record.

Authorizes a major roster move (e.g., top-four defenseman, veteran two-way center, or goalie upgrade).

Gives coaching staff mandate to implement structural changes: simplified defensive system + consistent lines.

Directs management to add high-character veterans to stabilize locker room and support young core.

 

What happens

The team gets immediate structure: fewer defensive collapses, improved special teams.

Young players (Power, Quinn, Benson, Levi) thrive with stable roles.

A veteran presence calms the team during its mid-season swoons.

Goaltending improves to league-average or better.

Sabres rally into the 2nd half and enter the playoff chase.

 

End result

A surge into the final Wild-Card spot or a close battle down to the final week.

Fan confidence and team identity finally return.

Offseason becomes the first “build, not rebuild” summer in a decade.

 

[LGR4GM]

"Gives coaching staff mandate..." 

Go home AI, this coaching staff returning at all would be a joke. 

[SwampD]

And with that, the earth just got a little bit warmer and the Sabres still miss the playoffs.

[LGR4GM]

9 minutes ago, SwampD said:

And with that, the earth just got a little bit warmer and the Sabres still miss the playoffs.

Buddy of mine works for a state power company in... don't worry about it.  They are building a server farm for AI which will effectively take the grid in the town it's being built at from 85% capacity to 140% capacity. He said the other issue is water, they expect it to double the amount of water the town needs... which it doesn't has. 

[SwampD]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

Buddy of mine works for a state power company in... don't worry about it.  They are building a server farm for AI which will effectively take the grid in the town it's being built at from 85% capacity to 140% capacity. He said the other issue is water, they expect it to double the amount of water the town needs... which it doesn't has. 

Yep. AI will be our undoing.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Buddy of mine works for a state power company in... don't worry about it.  They are building a server farm for AI which will effectively take the grid in the town it's being built at from 85% capacity to 140% capacity. He said the other issue is water, they expect it to double the amount of water the town needs... which it doesn't has. 

Which is why Gates no longer considers anthropologically induced global climate change to be the most pressing issue facing the world.  He needs more power to run the AI he (and others) are trying to build and windmills and solar farms ain't gonna "git 'er dun."  It's ALWAYS about the Benjamins.

[Stads]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

"Gives coaching staff mandate..." 

Go home AI, this coaching staff returning at all would be a joke. 

Have you met this owner? He doesn't want to pay coaches for not being part of the team. He will come up with some way to rationalize keeping everyone. Phrases like "continuity" and "young core that needs time" will be uttered nonsensically. President of Hockey Ops will not happen with Terry here. He won't give up any power

[Spoonman]

2 hours ago, SwampD said:

Yep. AI will be our undoing.

No @SwampD, Sabres called dibs on that years ago. 

[LGR4GM]

45 minutes ago, Stads said:

Have you met this owner? He doesn't want to pay coaches for not being part of the team. He will come up with some way to rationalize keeping everyone. Phrases like "continuity" and "young core that needs time" will be uttered nonsensically. President of Hockey Ops will not happen with Terry here. He won't give up any power

None of the coaches are signed through next year. 

[Spoonman]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

"Gives coaching staff mandate..." 

Go home AI, this coaching staff returning at all would be a joke. 

To be clear the question to CHAT was:

What should Sabres owner Terry Pegula do to get team to be playoff contenders? 

It did its thing: 

I just cut & pasted here. 

[Sidc3000]

2 hours ago, SwampD said:

Yep. AI will be our undoing.

It will absolutely bring about the end of human civilization 

[PerreaultForever]

Well I think Adams intelligence is "aritificial" so we've already been led by AI. 

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

None of the coaches are signed through next year. 

This actually might matter. If Terry is maximizing savings on the team (and I think he is) it gives him the right moment to clean house with the least expense. 

I fully expect Jarmo to be GM next year. Whether others are fired or moved to other roles remains to be seen. 

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well I think Adams intelligence is "aritificial" so we've already been led by AI. 

This actually might matter. If Terry is maximizing savings on the team (and I think he is) it gives him the right moment to clean house with the least expense. 

I fully expect Jarmo to be GM next year. Whether others are fired or moved to other roles remains to be seen. 

Yeah, it sure seems that Kekalainen is the GM in waiting.  Would really like them to just tear off the band-aid now, so he can start putting his imprint on this team now rather than waiting until July 1.

Not the ideal GM but on paper should be significantly better than what they've had post-Regier.

And, would really like to see them give Leone and his crew a shot at running the Sabres on an interim basis too.  Bump the Sabres coaches, minus Ruff, down to Ra-cha-cha and see if they can keep what Leone has been doing going.  And if Appert and crew don't want to move 60 minutes down the Thruway, so be it.  Just expect it'd be hard to find an entire AHL coaching staff if they can everyone in Buffalo and don't really want to torpedo that team.  IF Appert and the rest are as good as Adams believes they are, they should be able to continue the success there, right?  Know none of that'll happen, but we're into the Christmas season (just ask anyone working retail 😉 ) so why not let Sabres fans get an early Christmas present.

[Stads]

59 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

None of the coaches are signed through next year. 

Well then I'll shut my dumb mouth and retract my statement 

[inkman]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

This actually might matter. If Terry is maximizing savings on the team (and I think he is) it gives him the right moment to clean house with the least expense. 

We’ve all been clamoring for years why hasn’t Terry done anything. A few of the posters here caught on.  It’s always about the money.  Daddy Wantsbucks won’t pay people not on the staff anymore.  He did it with Hodgson, Ehrhoff, Skinner and Krueger (just to name a few off the top of my head).  I know @LGR4GM has tied his frugality to the stadium overrun costs, the timing works along with Terry needing to sell parts of the Bills franchise to assist with those costs.  
 

So if there is a silver lining, the Stadium costs will be eliminated by next season.  So maybe then we’ll see a corollary increase in spending on the Sabres.  I’m not holding my breathe as there were signs Terry was done spending on the Sabres long before the Stadium became a thing. 

[ska-T Palmtown]

3 hours ago, Taro T said:

Which is why Gates no longer considers anthropologically induced global climate change to be the most pressing issue facing the world.  He needs more power to run the AI he (and others) are trying to build and windmills and solar farms ain't gonna "git 'er dun."  It's ALWAYS about the Benjamins.

Bill Gates actually has very little to do with Microsoft these days - he is, however, the Chairman and majority owner of a company that is building nuclear power plants. Other than the fact that the US is SO STUPID when it comes to dealing with spent fuel - nuclear power in the US has had very little negative impact on the environment.

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, ska-T Palmtown said:

Bill Gates actually has very little to do with Microsoft these days - he is, however, the Chairman and majority owner of a company that is building nuclear power plants. Other than the fact that the US is SO STUPID when it comes to dealing with spent fuel - nuclear power in the US has had very little negative impact on the environment.

Right after hydro, nuclear is what SHOULD be the go to source for power.  MHO.

[ska-T Palmtown]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Right after hydro, nuclear is what SHOULD be the go to source for power.  MHO.

I figured I would gauge reactions to nuclear power before divulging that I work for that company. So, I am quite bullish on nuke, it is the most realistic way to remove coal, oil, and gas from the US grid.