BillsFan4

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/texas-players-coronavirus-longhorns-01eb43t8ys99

Yeah I was a bit surprised to see him tweet that.

From the 31 thoughts podcast linked a few posts above.

I posted this over in the Sabres thread. 2 different sources now reporting the Sabres were losing upwards of $30 million a year (Tim Graham’s sources quoted up to $60M when including PSE). https://www.tsn.ca/talent/buffalo-sabres-decide-to-start-over-once-again-1.1486570 https://theathletic.com/1758235/2020/04/20/as-pegulas-face-business-challenges-employees-describe-a-toxic-culture-at-pse/ Crazy how poorly managed have they been. ———————————————— Elliotte Friedman thinks there are big changes coming to the NHL.

Huh. I thought Botterill was in the last year of his deal. Turns out he had 2yrs left. Elliotte Friedman said the same thing.

Senior writer for NHL.com

https://podcast.sportsnet.ca/31-thoughts/buffaloed/ This is Elliott friedman’s New podcast. It’s on the Sabres. Good listen.

New GM Kevyn Adams on the instigators: https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/06-17-sabres-general-manager-kevyn-adams-0 Haven't listened yet but hopefully we will get a better idea of his vision/plans, etc. edit - he was on Howard & Jeremy too: https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/06-17-sabres-general-manager-kevyn-adams edit again- listening to the 1st link. It’s good to hear Adams saying that some of these firings were hockey related (like Chris Taylor for ex.). He also said that Ralph Krueger will have a big hand in the hiring process of his replacement and that he wants the 2 programs to be better connected. Krueger has a lot of connections in the coaching world and is very well respected. I’m anxious to see who they find to fill the role. Sounds like Krueger will be relied on a lot for hockey related decisions. I guess we will see if that’s good or bad. One thing I do know - Krueger will have a clear vision on how he wants to assemble a roster. He’s done it many times while running the Swiss National team and had success in many tournaments. Obviously not the same thing as a full NHL season though. Id normally be more worried about a coach having more control over his roster, and I am nervous about it if that’s what happens. But it does make me feel better that Krueger isn’t your typical head coach (in more ways than one...). He even has experience as a team president, where he couldn’t just think about the short term. Same with the Swiss team, where he built it back from the ground up. (trying to be more positive today) edit #3) 8 minutes into the Howard & Jeremy interview. Adams mentions that he’s a big believer in analytics. I’m sure some her will be happy to hear that (assuming he actually follows through on it).

I’m not 100% sure but I read that the Pegulas entire gas business is shut down, and has been for months. I guess gas prices dropped so low that it wasn’t profitable for them to even drill anymore (at least that’s what I remember reading somewhere). edit - here’s one article. It says they stopped drilling months before the pandemic because of low gas prices. From a quick google search it looks like they’ve been winding down gas production since at least 2019 due to the drop in prices. https://live24x7.news/pegula-sports-and-entertainment-could-look-different-moving-forward-heres-why-the-buffalo-news/ it looks like every business they run is under water right now right now except for the Bills. Amerks, 2 lacrosse teams, their hotels + restaurants, Sabres, PSE.

Wonder what’s up with the pro scouting dept. They haven’t had a whole lot of success during Botterill’s tenure. (not that I’m wishing for anyone to lose their jobs or anything)

The Sabres have a crazy amount of free agents, both UFA and RFA. There are 7 UFA’s alone. That many roster spots don’t usually open up all at once on NHL teams. This is a good opportunity for a GM (whether that’s botterill or someone else) to put his stamp on this team for years to come. NHL contracts are guaranteed so it’s tougher to turn over an NHL roster vs. NFL. As far as who’s available, I’d take Ray Shero (though that may not be a popular answer), Ron Hextall, even Dean Lombardi. Or a number of other highly regarded assistant GMs around the NHL. I wish they’d at least have done a search. If nothing else it’s a unique opportunity (or at least it is for teams that don’t fire their GM every few years) to pick the brains of other execs around the NHL and get some outside views on how they view your roster, it’s needs, etc. Why not at least do that? I don’t want it to sound like I’m writing off Kevyn Adams though. I’m waiting to see what happens - who he hires and what his vision for the team is, etc.

I haven’t been this depressed about the Sabres and worried about their future since the Rigas scandal/bankruptcy happened.

From Tim graham in April: https://theathletic.com/1758235/2020/04/20/as-pegulas-face-business-challenges-employees-describe-a-toxic-culture-at-pse/ (Athletic subscription required) Wow, if true.

You could be right (and I hope you are). It'll be interesting to see what the Sabres do in the coming weeks as well as what other teams do. I am unaware of any other teams that have taken these types of measures yet. The coyotes fired 4 people but they immediately began searching for replacements. It'll be pretty embarrassing if we are one of the only teams to do something like this. I can’t imagine it would make Eichel very happy to see his team pinching pennies while other teams run with their full staffs and look for competitive advantages. I can’t imagine they just leave all these positions vacant though. They do still have a draft and eventual season to prepare for. I’m fine with it if they take their time finding the right hires. But I’m not ok with them just leaving all those positions vacant, my legitimate fear right now. This doesn’t seem like it’s just a normal house cleaning that happens when you hire a new GM. This seems like something else that none of us have ever quite seen before.

https://www.tsn.ca/buffalo-sabres-decide-to-start-over-once-again-1.1486570 Yikes.

Looks like it could get even uglier...

It does kind of seem that way right now. This is probably one of the most crucial off-seasons in years. So many decisions to be made. This is probably the best opportunity we will have for quite a while for a GM to put his stamp on this team. I hope they don’t just keep a bare bones staff, especially with Adams being so inexperienced.

Hope you’re right. But why fire his whole staff then? It makes no sense to me. Gord Dineen did a good job filling in for Taylor. All I can think is that maybe Kevyn Adams has someone in mind for the job. His area of expertise has been in player development. or it was a cost cutting move, but I’m not sure if AHL coaching contract are guaranteed like NHL contract are. If they are then it wouldn’t make much sense to fire him to save $$.

After seeing all these other firings I’m thinking the reason botterill was fired is because he wasn’t willing to **** can 1/2 his staff.

Why in the world would they fire Chris Taylor? Im very anxious to see how these positions are filled, if they are filled at all. Does Tom Golisano want to buy the team back...?

I really don’t know what to think. I truly don’t get the Chris Taylor firing. I guess we have to wait and see who they replace all these people with (assuming they do. Some of Pegulas comments made me think we might be going back to more video scouting again). I have to say, I haven’t felt this low on the Sabres future in quite some time. I’m trying not to overreact until we see how they fill these positions, but I’d be lying if I said I felt hopeful right now.

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/jr-sabres-growing-under-kevyn-adams-watch-at-harborcenter/ Article on Kevyn Adams from 2018.

Well... that press conference didn’t quite inspire the confidence I was hoping it would. I wish they’d have asked Adams more questions. I have no clue what to expect from him as a GM. That’s true with any GM hire. You never really know until you see what they do on the job. But you usually at least feel like the candidates put their time in and are ready for the job. You’ve usually heard about them getting interviews around the league, or at least heard their name brought up in conversations for open GM positions. You can usually point to success they’ve had at some point as an exec. I don’t know that Adams was even on any other teams radar for a GM role (I have to believe he wasn’t). But who TF knows? Maybe he will be great. At least he does have a year on the business side and experience running the entire hockey ops at harborcenter. Plus he does have some relationships with players, coaches & GMs in the NHL from his playing days at least. I’m skeptical, to say the least. Not much I can do but wait and see, and hope for the best... (and hope that the Pegulas know something we don’t about Adams). I’m willing to give him a chance. He’s a buffalo guy too, so it’d be really cool to see him turn the Sabres into a winner.