Buffalo Sabres & NHL 2020-2021

[May Day 10]

20 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Krueger being fired was kinda exciting until you think about Kevyn Adams or Kim Pegula hiring the next coach.  Maybe with the price of WTI back at $65 PSE can afford a total reorg and put someone competent in charge of the hockey operations.

 

Terry Pegula said he was immediately impressed with Krueger's worldly background and philosophies.

"There was a feeling when Ralph came in the room that it was almost a presence. It was like, 'Well, this guy's different,'" he said. "We started talking to Ralph and we didn't want to leave. I took so many notes, I stopped taking notes because Ralph's a quote machine."

Pegula was particularly impressed by Krueger's decision to visit Buffalo and spend time talking to fans in bars while watching the NHL playoffs to get a sense of the city.

"It's so ingenious," he said. "He's an out-of-the-box thinker."

 

 

 

AND

 

 

 

Kim Pegula, who works hand in hand with her husband, added her perspective.

"Obviously, no matter what you do, you always make mistakes. But I feel like they all lead to something else," she said.

"At the time you always think you're doing what you think is right with the information you have. But now as we sit here, all those steps, whether they were mistakes or not, is kind of where we are now," she added. "You can't think they're all bad because we've got Jack (Eichel), we've got (Jeff) Skinner, we've got (Rasmus) Dahlin. ... So all that wouldn't have happened if other things didn't happen. Sometimes, they were mistakes, but they're not."

 

 

Completely doomed

[BillsVet]

31 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

Bottom line is they still have an organization in shambles.  Kevyn Adams has no experience or qualifications, nor it is it clear he even has authority.  They have this Nightengale intern level guy upjumped to head up like 3 departments.  Nothing is changing here.  I expect them to dive into the milquetoast pool of NCAA coaches who almost never work out.

 

Terry and Kim have become the emperor(s) who have the proverbial lack of clothes on.  That is, they no longer can look in the mirror and acknowledge they are in way over their heads.  Blaming everyone but themselves and occasionally bemoaning a lack of cash flow from a moribund team they mismanage.

 

I know COVID hit them hard, but even before that franchise was losing money.  Gone are the days of season ticket wait lists.  Or, parties in the plaza. 

 

Maybe when Eichel demands a trade they'll have the humility to see it's they're fault.  God help us if they try to wrest control away from McDermott and Beane.

 

[snafu]

Firing Kruger isn't going to change anything.

 

[Jauronimo]

29 minutes ago, snafu said:

Firing Kruger isn't going to change anything.

 

Its true.  Eichel and Skinner have scored zero goals since Krueger was fired. Same as it ever was.

[BillsFan4]

This is why it terrifies me to think about this current front office trading Eichel, or any of our core players for draft picks. 

If they make major trades, I really hope the main pieces coming back to Buffalo are other NHL players or prospects close to NHL ready. Not that I have much faith in their pro scouting dept. but at least NHL players are a known quantity. You’re not relying on a bare bones scouting staff that’s only watched video clips of the players they’re drafting. 
 

I can’t help but think of that dumb *** Terry Pegula quote about how you don’t need a big scouting staff because you have technology that allows you to watch video of players frame by frame 🤦‍♂️
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/31-thoughts-no-easy-answers-addressing-sabres-messy-situation/sn-amp/

Quote

From what I can tell, GM Kevyn Adams has a sensible plan. He’s testing the market on his players and gauging the possibility of a post–Jack Eichel future. I think that’s the right approach, but my concern is how you get there from here.

 

Should this be Buffalo’s future — another rebuild with an Eichel-sized hole in the middle — you must give yourself the best opportunity to thrive. [B]The Sabres staff is thin — likely the thinnest in the NHL. As more and more scouts from other teams return to the road, they don’t see much Sabres representation. [/B]Video scouting is absolutely necessary, and they’ve definitely made that investment. However, you cannot use it as an excuse to eliminate boots on the ground, especially now that the Canadian junior leagues are revving up. You might get 25 to 30 views of draft eligibles between now and the 2021 selections.

 

There’s at least one NHL team that hired several “bird dogs” to provide coverage in areas they felt they couldn’t get to. You must go the extra mile. That’s my biggest question about the organization. If you’re going to change your core to try a new direction — again — are you giving yourselves the best opportunity?

 

[Nextmanup]

Trading any of our big names without first trying it with a real NHL head coach would be a colossal mistake.

 

Just remember, if the Sabres put a trade package together involving Eichel or Reinhart, we aren't going to be getting a better player back in the deal.

 

 

[4merper4mer]

25 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Trading any of our big names without first trying it with a real NHL head coach would be a colossal mistake.

 

Just remember, if the Sabres put a trade package together involving Eichel or Reinhart, we aren't going to be getting a better player back in the deal.

 

 

I agree depending on who is considered a big name.  If anyone is willing to take Skinner it should be done yesterday.  That contract is an albatross.  A 4th rounder in 2096 would be about right.

[K-9]

It’s fitting that tonight’s game is postponed due to COVID protocols. We would have sucked anyway this season, but COVID did as much as anything to derail this season early on. I’ll be glad when it’s over. 

[T&C]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

It’s fitting that tonight’s game is postponed due to COVID protocols. We would have sucked anyway this season, but COVID did as much as anything to derail this season early on. I’ll be glad when it’s over. 

Had no idea it was postponed... I was actually going to watch it to see if there was any new found "fire" from the players after the firing of Ralph. Thanks for the heads up... haven't watched one in a few weeks.

[May Day 10]

I think the postponement got postponed

[K-9]

4 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

I think the postponement got postponed

I just saw that. Doesn’t matter, because I cancelled this season weeks ago and haven’t watched a game since then, anyway.

[TBBills]

Game just started aaand the Sabres are losing.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

On 3/17/2021 at 11:11 AM, BillsVet said:

 

Terry and Kim have become the emperor(s) who have the proverbial lack of clothes on.  That is, they no longer can look in the mirror and acknowledge they are in way over their heads.  Blaming everyone but themselves and occasionally bemoaning a lack of cash flow from a moribund team they mismanage.

 

I know COVID hit them hard, but even before that franchise was losing money.  Gone are the days of season ticket wait lists.  Or, parties in the plaza. 

 

Maybe when Eichel demands a trade they'll have the humility to see it's they're fault.  God help us if they try to wrest control away from McDermott and Beane.

 

 

How is it that the Bills are killing it and the Sabres are trash??  shouldn't running sports teams basically have the same structure even if they are different sports ??

 

Maybe McBeane should hire the next coach and GM.

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

With the glass protecting the players from covid , why are the fans so far away? Also place sounds dead, is there only 100 people in there??

 

 

[MarkyMannn]

1 hour ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

With the glass protecting the players from covid , why are the fans so far away? Also place sounds dead, is there only 100 people in there??

 

 

Place was quiet with 16,000

 

13 in a row😐

Edited March 19, 2021 by MarkyMannn

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

How is it that the Bills are killing it and the Sabres are trash??  shouldn't running sports teams basically have the same structure even if they are different sports ??

 

Maybe McBeane should hire the next coach and GM.

 

 

 

 

Listening to Paul Hamilton a couple weeks ago.........he said that the Pegula's turned over full control of the Bills to McD and Beane..........and even though its working they regret giving up all of that control.........so don't look for them to do the same with the Sabres.     Hockey was the sport Terry Pegula was more familiar with.........it makes sense that he feels like he knows more about it and wants to have more control.    The problem is that it's not working and the dysfunction has actually gotten worse despite having much more talent than the "tank" years.   It's unfortunate that they've turned out to be SO bad at this.......I'm sure it takes a lot of the fun out of it when you think you are too rich to fail at it.........and then instead you are so bad at the job that you just have to turn over full control and your primary contribution is just to sign the checks.  

[BillsVet]

2 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

How is it that the Bills are killing it and the Sabres are trash??  shouldn't running sports teams basically have the same structure even if they are different sports ??

 

Maybe McBeane should hire the next coach and GM.

 

 

 

The NHL and the NFL are apples and oranges.  In one, fellow owners essentially help others and finding good management is not as challenging.  There's a massive television contract to divide. 

 

In the other, well, it's run by Bettman and a lot of clowns and owners tend to look out for their own interests.  As a result, the Pegula's are now making decisions more based on money than anything else.  This, compared to the Bills who are guaranteed a 300M yearly share of television revenue.  

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by BillsVet

[May Day 10]

The nfl is more structured from the coach-out. The coach is often the ceo of football.  In the NHL they are hired and cast away as tools to manipulate players.  

 

Nhl is harder and takes longer to build than the nfl.  You have to draft 18 year olds from numerous leagues that are apples to oranges all over the world.  Then you have to develop them.  The salary cap with guaranteed contracts is unforgiving.  Less good players move around.

 

Nfl you can blow out and rework a roster/system/organization in 2 years time.  Can even potentially find 4-7 starters in the draft, or more if you are rebuilding and get some udfa

 

The NHL is much more president/gm driven.

 

The pegulas tried to carry the empowered coach model to the NHL and it was a complete trainwreck

Edited March 19, 2021 by May Day 10

[BillsFan4]

just a reminder that almost none of these people were ever replaced. They just promoted some totally inexperienced people from within to the head amateur & pro jobs.

 

On 3/17/2021 at 6:56 PM, BillsFan4 said:

This is why it terrifies me to think about this current front office trading Eichel, or any of our core players for draft picks. 

If they make major trades, I really hope the main pieces coming back to Buffalo are other NHL players or prospects close to NHL ready. Not that I have much faith in their pro scouting dept. but at least NHL players are a known quantity. You’re not relying on a bare bones scouting staff that’s only watched video clips of the players they’re drafting. 
 

I can’t help but think of that dumb *** Terry Pegula quote about how you don’t need a big scouting staff because you have technology that allows you to watch video of players frame by frame 🤦‍♂️
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/31-thoughts-no-easy-answers-addressing-sabres-messy-situation/sn-amp/

 

Quote

[B]The Sabres staff is thin — likely the thinnest in the NHL. As more and more scouts from other teams return to the road, they don’t see much Sabres representation.[/B]

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by BillsFan4

[May Day 10]

Its not just amateur scouting.  You can argue that at this time amateur scouting isnt needed as a lot of leagues are delayed or not allowing people in.

 

Pro scouting is absolutely critical.  You need boots on the ground there to scout the other players for upcoming UFA, trades.  get a feel for their mental state, rub elbows around the league.  Not to mention watching and analyzing other teams for a competitive and schematic advantage.