SmokinES3 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Rumors abound... Lafontaine resigned and the word is it's over the future of Nolan and surprisingly not the Miller trade. Who knows... http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2014/03/reports-sabres-front-office-discord-could-involve-lafontaine.html Now Hamilton from the Buffalo news tweets Nolan offered 3 year extension. WTF? “@pham1717: I have been told Ted Nolan has been offered a 3 year contract extension. Negotiations will continue.” This is confusing... My mistake meant to post in "off the wall" if mods could move it much appreciated. Edited March 2, 2014 by SmokinES3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realtruelove Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/10538845/pat-lafontaine-resigns-buffalo-sabres-president-hockey-operations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 This soap opera has me thinking "Maybe the Bills aren't that bad after all..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 This soap opera has me thinking "Maybe the Bills aren't that bad after all..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 This soap opera has me thinking "Maybe the Bills aren't that bad after all..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Wow... Interesting two days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Rumors abound... Lafontaine resigned and the word is it's over the future of Nolan and surprisingly not the Miller trade. Who knows... http://blogs.buffalo...lafontaine.html Now Hamilton from the Buffalo news tweets Nolan offered 3 year extension. WTF? "@pham1717: I have been told Ted Nolan has been offered a 3 year contract extension. Negotiations will continue." This is confusing... My mistake meant to post in "off the wall" if mods could move it much appreciated. Maybe, like cbtj said in the shout box... Pat's job is done and he is moving back to The League. I guess we all assume the worst. Maybe there is no drama? Sabres appear to be a team on the rise, and rise quickly... They are competitive, they always have been. This soap opera has me thinking "Maybe the Bills aren't that bad after all..." Oh, the Bills are worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM57 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 This is not a good look for Pat Lafontaine. Second time he has quit a team in short order when things don't go vis way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 On Friday, I'm thinking the Bills and Sabres are heading in right direction. The Bills and Byrd/Parker are finally on friendly terms, so that looks like a huge step. The Sabres make a blockbuster trade and it seems like their front office finally has it's crap together. What a difference two days makes!! :wallbash: :wallbash: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 In the words of the great Silvio Dante "Sadness accrues" Pretty sad on all fronts...but if you take the emotion out of everything, it appears the Sabres made out pretty well in the Miller/Ott trades... and there is still a small chance, Ott could return next season. That would make me happy! As for LaFontaine... I don't know what to make of this.... but again, take the emotions out of it, and the Sabres still have some good hockey people on the job...LaFontaine, perhaps like GM Marv Levy with the Bills way back, a figure head, who likely didn't have as much influence on what was going on with the team (particularly once Murray was hired) as he thought he would. I don't like what I am hearing about the "voices in the ears" of Terry Pegula from "his guys". Another rumor I heard floating out there, is that LaFontaine has been suffering from post-traumatic concussion symptoms as of late. Apparently he has been absent from numerous team functions as of late....not sure if I buy this, but who knows? Might also be possible that his family wasn't enjoying the WNY lifestyle as much as expected? Who knows? Whatever the reason for this latest stunner, you can be sure, it will be perceived as franchise incompetence...but maybe LaFontaine is just a big baby? I am not sure we will ever know what happened. I guess, too, it puts another dent in the perception of Pegula as being a great owner. I am still behind him, don't get me wrong...perhaps a Pegula "kool-aid" drinker... but his decision to bring Darcy back for this current season was my first pause for concern.... this story just makes the Sabres front office structure (which by most account LaFontaine set up) sound pretty dysfunctional. Why do they need an owner, a team president and a general manager? Also rumors floating out there that this is tied into Nolans' future with the team. Paul Hamilton, earlier today, said that it is known the team offered Nolan a three year extension a few weeks ago, but he has yet to sign it, and hasn't made it clear he will accept it. Perhaps Nolan was stalling because he knew there was trouble brewing with LaFontaine? Oh well.... FYI- Miller, Ott and the Blues play in Phoenix tonight...will be weird to see them in the blue and gold...of another team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I never understand where the president fits in when there is an owner and GM. A general manager is supposed to manage everything, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Not sure if it is everywhere...but in my marked (Austin, TX) there is currently a free Center-Ice preview right now. If you want to see Ryan Miller make his debut in the "other blue and gold" sweater tonight, tune in. Also, in a twist of irony, Steve Ott will be pared on a line with Derek Roy....if you recall, the Sabres traded Roy to Dallas for Ott...now they are linemates in St Louis! I buy it anyways, but during the Sharks game on Friday night, the "you are watching a "free preview" message was streaming across the bottom of the screen all night....so, if you want to see Miller and Ott tonight, you should be able to see them. They normally do the free preview about the first two weeks of the season, and then after the all-star break...or in this case, after the Olympic break! Edited March 2, 2014 by Buftex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM57 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Not sure if it is everywhere...but in my marked (Austin, TX) there is currently a free Center-Ice preview right now. If you want to see Ryan Miller make his debut in the "other blue and gold" sweater tonight, tune in. Also, in a twist of irony, Steve Ott will be pared on a line with Derek Roy....if you recall, the Sabres traded Roy to Dallas for Ott...now they are linemates in St Louis! I buy it anyways, but during the Sharks game on Friday night, the "you are watching a "free preview" message was streaming across the bottom of the screen all night....so, if you want to see Miller and Ott tonight, you should be able to see them. They normally do the free preview about the first two weeks of the season, and then after the all-star break...or in this case, after the Olympic break! 2/26-3/4 I believe is the free preview window. Miller wearing #39, Ott #29. If you're feeling really nostalgic, former fan favorite Derek Roy wears #12 and Jordan Leopold wears #33. I believe I saw that Ott will be on a line with Roy and TJ Oshie. Edited March 2, 2014 by JM57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 After listening to the pc that Ted Black and Tim Murray held earlier today, and then Ted Nolan's pc after practice this morning....I really don't think Ted Nolan is going to be the Sabres much longer... certainly not next season. Poor guy... I feel kinada bad for him. He is an emotional guy, has a hard time expressing himself...but you can hear it in his voice, he is depressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM57 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 After listening to the pc that Ted Black and Tim Murray held earlier today, and then Ted Nolan's pc after practice this morning....I really don't think Ted Nolan is going to be the Sabres much longer... certainly not next season. Poor guy... I feel kinada bad for him. He is an emotional guy, has a hard time expressing himself...but you can hear it in his voice, he is depressed. He needs to take some time and think about this. Maybe cooler heads prevail. The man was blackballed for a long time, then got a raw deal in NY. He has a 3 year offer on the table. If he walks away from that, he's never getting another NHL offer. Regardless of his apparent loyalty to Lafontaine, that's a big risk to take for someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokinES3 Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Watching Miller in that uniform is beyond weird... Anyway... Ted strikes me as a very principled man. If someone was going to pass up a job to show loyalty to a friend, he seems like the emotional type who would do it. That post practice PC with him tearing up was disconcerting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 SmokinES3- so you listened to the pc? I feel the same way, in regards to Nolan. I did find it a little odd when he mentioned, emphatically, "I can coach, I know I can coach in this league"....as if that was being questioned by somebody. Nobody at the PC asked him if he could coach, or any question that would broach the competency of his coaching skills. Murray says, today, he still would like him to coach the team, a 3 year extension was offered....ball seems to be in Ted's court. The fact that the offer was made a while ago, and still not signed, makes me think he won't return. Perhaps he has known of the Lafontaine situation (whatever it is) for a while, and was waiting to see how it shakes out. Whatever happened with PL, PL should implore Nolan to sign the deal. He isn't likely to get another offer like that...and Lafontaine himself has already landed on his feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokinES3 Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) I did see it... I agree if I were him I'd take the job without question. He'll probably always have that chip on his shoulder, feeling the need to prove himself. That could be a good thing. Murray seems capable and adequately experienced, if not likable. I don't see Ted back next year either. I certainly hope he regains his bearings and I'm wrong... Edited March 3, 2014 by SmokinES3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) I did see it... I agree if I were him I'd take the job without question. He'll probably always have that chip on his shoulder, feeling the need to prove himself. That could be a good thing. Murray seems capable and adequately experienced, if not likable. I don't see Ted back next year either. I certainly hope he regains his bearings and I'm wrong... Yeah...he is remarkably awkward...not a lot of panache! Like a chubby Dwight Schrute. He defintely went to the Scotty Bowman school of "how to win friends and influence people"! When they asked him whether he still wanted Nolan to coach the team, his answer had a certain coldness about it... "we made him an offer, so that is obviously what we want...but I am not begging anyone to work here." That said, this might be the time for somebody who is not so warm and fuzzy for this franchise. The Sabres have always been led by "good guys"...it is always easier to pull of those guys, but in the end, where has it gotten them? Edited March 3, 2014 by Buftex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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