Buffalo Sabres and NHL: 2019/20: Sabres season officially over. Draft lottery June 26th

[JohnC]

5 hours ago, njbuff said:

How happy are you guys with Jack Eichel?

 

Because if you aren't happy with him, since we are in quarantine...............

 

I would like to talk about a trade?

 

I will be fair and try not to make this a stupid one-sided trade.

Why would anyone be unhappy with Jack? He not only is the best and most important player on the team but he has demonstrated that he already is in the elite strata of players in the league. He and Dahlin are the type of special talents and untouchables that you build around----not shed for a collection of good players. 

 

If you want to talk about a trade or trades then it would be more realistic to talk about what would be a fair return for a high first round pick, or the return for players such as Risto, Montour or even Reinhart. It was widely reported that the GM was willing to trade Risto in the offseason and in-season. Supposedly he was not satisfied with the return. If that is the case then a good question to discuss is what would be the return if the package included Risto and a first round pick?

[BillsFan4]

https://theathletic.com/1746933/2020/04/14/several-of-the-sabres-longest-tenured-executives-are-fired-in-widespread-pse-job-cuts/?amp#click=https://t.co/xONIjudV4R

 

Quote

The firings in Pegula Sports and Entertainment came at an astounding rate Tuesday, including some of the Buffalo Sabres’ longest-tenured executives.

PSE has fired 21 employees and multiple sources tell The Athletic the list includes John Sinclair, the vice president of tickets and service; Chris Bandura, the vice president of communications; and Jennifer Van Rysdam, the vice president of live events.

 

The terminations impacted numerous departments, including the Academy of Hockey at Harborcenter – and sources stressed these were terminations, not furloughs. Pegula Sports and Entertainment has been examining cost-cutting measures for some time, and some of the firings may have come this summer regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the pause created by coronavirus cancellations apparently accelerated the timeline.

 

“There is no way to adequately express how difficult these decisions were for Terry and me,” said President and CEO Kim Pegula. “It is not something we took lightly, and we are fully aware of the hardships that exist across our community and country right now. We feel for all the employees and families who will be affected, and we hope that we can all return to full strength in the coming weeks and months.”

 

There are also 104 furloughs being implemented throughout PSE and its sports teams. More than three dozen employees across PSE and Sabres executives will take temporary tiered percentage pay cuts. These include management, hockey staff, broadcasters, as well as contracted employees. Salaried workers paid at lower levels will not be part of the salary-reduction group, PSE said.

 

The Buffalo Bills continue to operate at normal levels.

 

“We are also hopeful the steps we are taking now will help us preserve the health of our companies and ensure we are here to provide the jobs and entertainment on which our community depends,” Pegula said.

 

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by BillsFan4

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

https://theathletic.com/1746933/2020/04/14/several-of-the-sabres-longest-tenured-executives-are-fired-in-widespread-pse-job-cuts/?amp#click=https://t.co/xONIjudV4R

 

 

 

Every sector of the different businesses the Pegulas are involved in are in a depressed state. The energy sector is depressed. The hospitality sector that he diversified into is almost completely shuttered. Even his sport franchises (especially the hockey operation) are in a precarious financial state contending with the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. 

 

The attached link of an article written by Stephanie Apstein for SI discusses the complications and challenges associated with playing pro sports in a virus environment.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/04/10/sports-arent-coming-back-soon

 

 

[bbb]

Good to see that Tim Graham has taken the baton from Bucky/Sully and will try to drive the best thing that's happened to Buffalo in my lifetime out of town.  Aholes.  

 

He was drumming up anonymous workers to B word for an upcoming article.  

[BillsPride12]

On 4/13/2020 at 9:59 PM, njbuff said:

There is no better playoff rivalry in NHL history than what Colorado and Detroit provided from 1996-2008.

 

The series record is 3-3 all time and it provided some of the nastiest fun hockey you will ever watch.

 

 

During this time of being stuck at home I have caught up on watching the history of this rivalry and it was the best pressure hockey you will ever see.

What have you been watching?  That was some fantastic hockey.  I really hope they do a 30 for 30 on the Detroit-Colorado rivalry someday 

[JohnC]

7 hours ago, bbb said:

Good to see that Tim Graham has taken the baton from Bucky/Sully and will try to drive the best thing that's happened to Buffalo in my lifetime out of town.  Aholes.  

 

He was drumming up anonymous workers to B word for an upcoming article.  

Terry Pegula is a self-made billionaire who worked his way up and built his own business. He made a stupendous amount of money in the energy sector, and then started diversifying into the sports and hospitality business. It doesn't matter how benevolent of a boss you are. When you are forced to retrench by severely cutting your staff and employees in order to deal with an unexpected calamity you make tough, heart wrenching decisions in order to survive for the present to exist for the future. 

 

The Pegulas shouldn't be surprised that some of those workers who are affected by the cuts will be resentful. Their negative responses certainly are understandable. Their lives are upended in a time of few options. When you are the boss and have to make tough decisions the negative blowback goes with the territory. You can be the smartest business people in the world. When you don't have any options other than what you are doing then you do what you have to do. It's tough a tough time for everyone. 

[Lurker]

8 hours ago, bbb said:

Good to see that Tim Graham has taken the baton from Bucky/Sully and will try to drive the best thing that's happened to Buffalo in my lifetime out of town.  Aholes.  

 

He was drumming up anonymous workers to B word for an upcoming article.  

 

I'm certainly no defender of Timmy, but there's a distinct stench eminating from the Sabres management suite over the past two years.   

 

I think its a legit question as to whether Kim has the management chops to run an organization the size and complexity of PSE.   With each passing month, I'm becoming more suspect of that proposition...

[njbuff]

2 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

What have you been watching?  That was some fantastic hockey.  I really hope they do a 30 for 30 on the Detroit-Colorado rivalry someday 

YouTube.

 

I was trying to get some old Devils games, but couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I watched almost all the old Detroit-Colorado rivalry during that same timeframe (1995-2008).

[JohnC]

49 minutes ago, Lurker said:

 

I'm certainly no defender of Timmy, but there's a distinct stench eminating from the Sabres management suite over the past two years.   

 

I think its a legit question as to whether Kim has the management chops to run an organization the size and complexity of PSE.   With each passing month, I'm becoming more suspect of that proposition...

The associated businesses she is involved in is facing an economic freefall  brought on by a once in a century health calamity that most sectors of the national and world economy are now being overwhelmed by. The energy sector, the hospitality sector, the airline sector, the real estate sector, the entertainment sector, the technology sector, the travel sector, the tourist sector etc are all being strangled. What she is doing as the head of a multi-faceted organization in retrenching due to shut downs and resulting dramatic drop in customers is the same thing the business leaders are doing in the other hard hit sectors.

 

What else do you expect her to do? If you have some suggestions I would be interested to know.  

[bbb]

1 hour ago, Lurker said:

 

 there's a distinct stench eminating from the Sabres management suite over the past two years.   

 

 

Can you be a little more concrete?  

[JohnC]

Attached is a WGR 18 min. link with Chris Peters a ESPN draft analyst. He talks about the prospects in this draft and the prospects in the Sabres' system. He felt that where the Sabres are drafting they should come away with a good prospect. Although that prospect will not be immediately NHL ready. He commented that Cozens going back to the juniors last year enhanced his development. He felt that Cozens will be with the Sabres next season, assuming there is a season.  

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/04-15-espns-chris-peters

[Lurker]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

What else do you expect her to do? If you have some suggestions I would be interested to know.  

 

Step one:  Turn the organization over to professional management.   Amateur hour isn't working.     This goes well beyond the current Covid-19 issue...

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Lurker said:

 

Step one:  Turn the organization over to professional management.   Amateur hour isn't working.     This goes well beyond the current Covid-19 issue...

The Pegulas own the business. They have plenty of professional staff to run the operation. They run it as they see fit. 

[Lurker]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

They run it as they see fit. 

 

That's the problem.     They're not particularly fit for the pro sports business...

[njbuff]

On 4/14/2020 at 10:53 AM, JohnC said:

Why would anyone be unhappy with Jack? He not only is the best and most important player on the team but he has demonstrated that he already is in the elite strata of players in the league. He and Dahlin are the type of special talents and untouchables that you build around----not shed for a collection of good players. 

 

If you want to talk about a trade or trades then it would be more realistic to talk about what would be a fair return for a high first round pick, or the return for players such as Risto, Montour or even Reinhart. It was widely reported that the GM was willing to trade Risto in the offseason and in-season. Supposedly he was not satisfied with the return. If that is the case then a good question to discuss is what would be the return if the package included Risto and a first round pick?

 

Or maybe he is unhappy being a Sabre?

 

Just remember, if Wayne Gretzky could get traded, then anyone can.

[JohnC]

8 minutes ago, njbuff said:

 

Or maybe he is unhappy being a Sabre?

 

Just remember, if Wayne Gretzky could get traded, then anyone can.

He is not unhappy being a Sabre. The captain is certainly disappointed at how the team has performed but as the captain he is fully invested in the team. 

 

Wayne Gretzky got traded because of financial considerations. It was a different situation altogether. 

[njbuff]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

He is not unhappy being a Sabre. The captain is certainly disappointed at how the team has performed but as the captain he is fully invested in the team. 

 

Wayne Gretzky got traded because of financial considerations. It was a different situation altogether. 

 

I realize Pocklington was a mess, but you find a way to keep the greatest team's sports player ever on your team.

 

It really started with Paul Coffey though.

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, njbuff said:

 

I realize Pocklington was a mess, but you find a way to keep the greatest team's sports player ever on your team.

 

It really started with Paul Coffey though.

Messier also departed. My point is that for a lot of these high profile departures the underlying cause was due to financial considerations. The Jack situation is completely different. As the captain he is invested in the team and is very happy with the coach he is playing for. Although he has understandably expressed his frustration at how the team has performed he has never indicated a desire to leave. 

[JohnC]

Attached is a 17 min WGR segment with Nathatn Paetsch , a player and coach in Rochester. If you skip to the 15 minute point he talks about Mittelstadt and his play. He made some positive comments about him. When Biron asked if he would be with Buffalo next year he was at first reluctant to answer (which is understandable given his role in the organization) but did state that if he put in the work in the offseason that he could. He also made some positive comments about Borgen. 

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/04-17-amerks-defenseman-nathan-paetsch

[May Day 10]

The Gretzky trade had a bunch of factors, none of which exist with the Sabres/Eichel situation.