May Day 10

I wonder if it's possible it could be a Canadian company

I think most people are making the direct comparison between the Sabres' current drought vs the Bills 2000s drought. In Bills terms, I would compare it to the Bills entering a continuing loop of 1985 and 1986. The scary part is, the Sabres have been behaving like they are in 'win now' mode for the past 5-6 years. You also have to take into account how the NHL is structured presently. The league is designed for parity. The points system alone all but insures that nearly every team remains close and gives about 75% of the league the feeling that they are over .500. What the Sabres have accomplished here is remarkable. While there were certainly plenty of dark days in the Bills' drought, the Bills were almost always able to remain ahead of the bottom dwellers of that particular season. The Sabres have been THE bottom dweller for 4 of these seasons. A few of the other ones, they were going straight down the toilet but ran out of schedule. Their last regulation win in March was 3/31/18, Housley's FIRST season against Nashville.

They weren't good going into that covid break either, hemorrhaging points against the rangers and devils, two teams they theoretically should be miles in front of

The bills during the drought were always an average to below average team. In only 2 of those seasons were they really bad. I wanna say 02 and 2010. They would normally feast on the bottom quartile of the nfl, but were hopeless against the top quartile. The Sabres are blasting a hole in the floor of the NHL right now as possibly the worst team in a generation (since 1992-93 when they gave the shaft to expansion teams). They have been a frequent visitor at the bottom of the NHL. The bills normally gave you "in the hunt" for awhile. I have never seen a pro sports organization so fundamentally broken as the Sabres are right now, and that includes the bills throughout the drought. Krueger convinced them to fire everybody and these fools went along with it

Me too. I didn't expect them to be worst team in 20 years bad... but I didn't expect them to sniff a playoff spot. The organization is broke. Almost beyond repair. Time for a team president and rebuild from the smoldering rubble

Im going against the grain here. I hate the trade from a SF standpoint if they are planning on going QB. Basically waiting to see what is leftover from the first 2 picks in no control.... However, I wonder if this is for Pitts, Sewell, or Chase (or even Surtain). I could see the justification and huge upside for any one of those guys. Pick #3 basically gives them a 1OA for all non-QB players. By all accounts, Sewell and Pitts are 1x in a generation talents at their positions. Kittle and Pitts could be a nightmare.

Do nfc teams sign anybody?

I get that, but this has to be less than fun. It's been an embarrassing endeavor for 10 years. There is a happy medium between feeling involved and choosing your nhl coaches over your gm's head and funding his wife's Senate campaign. I remember he was in on bills stuff and the search for qbs. Give him a stopwatch and throw him in a corner.

That reeks of a Ralph Kruger position. A lot of this downsizing/efficiency reeks of Kruger. Hopefully. Man, imagine being a billionaire and so gullible as these Pegulas.

The part that stuck with me was when they fired Murray/Bylsma. During the PC, one of Pegula's answers were that he really regretted not making the decisions on GM and coach and how that would not happen again. The owner having a hand in picking the coach is poison in the NHL. It makes a toxic well for any prospective general manager. Thats just not how it works. In the NHL you arent looking for a life-partner coach. If it happens and you stumble on a unicorn coach who has 10 years of staying power, great. But they are the exception to the rule.

This is so similar to the 00s Wilson/Brandon Bills it is scary. This is actually worse though because IMO, a hockey organization is a bit more complex than an NFL team. At least as far as the element of drafting 18 year olds from all over the world, developing, and signing long term contracts that could potentially cripple your payroll for 8 years. The immediacy of the NFL draft helps, as do non-guaranteed contracts. The Bills never came close to bottoming out like the Sabres have done a handful of times in the past 7 years.

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.

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

Trade bait for the deadline? When a team is desperate?

I think the postponement got postponed

Ah, yeah. Basically if it has the authentication cert then it is OK. JSA is the big one. Beckett too, but there are others.

What is TSE? I have bought stuff that is 'Hit Parade' from Dave and Adams as well as other similar outfits. Also participate in various Facebook breaking groups for this stuff.

Its 1000x better than when it was Sylvester and Peters. It does seem like Peters has put some effort into making himself a better broadcaster and I respect that. Overall, I think its a decent enough show. They do a good job. IMO Rivet is the weak link but not enough where I think he takes a ton away. I cannot listen to it though. I have almost no interest in the NHL right now and I have very little/no desire for Sabres news/talk. If the Sabres ever decided to become an actual real and relevant NHL team, Im sure the show would be a good listen.

There is a happy medium. Really gotta prep for Allen's payday (hopefully). This particular season is very restrictive as everyone knows. Also, going heavy-handed in FA rarely works out. Cycling good drafting/coaching with smart decisions letting the correct players walk at the right time is the key.

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

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.

Apparently they spoke this Summer but the Pegulas decided against it. He would be perfect IMO. He has been in numerous organizations in many roles, and has seen what works and what doesnt. Lots of credibility and he likely has a huge rolodex of contacts and people who can be hired.

I said with few exceptions. Trotz would be one of them (maybe the only one?) Lou also has made an art-form of tossing coaches into the trash can, even in 1st place weeks from the playoffs. Trotz though is probably the 1 guy you would mold your team around. Everyone else in the league has a limited shelf-life.

To me, who is behind the bench isnt even important anymore. Coaches in the NHL are basically throw-away mercenaries with few exceptions. The Pegulas seem to be looking for a life-partner. You also need your GM to hold the clout and be free to fire/hire the coach as needed. They need to fix the structure and the manning of the front office. A complete overhaul is necessary. Someone who has high-level front office experience in multiple organizations and has experienced a winner(s). Any coach will have very little chance to succeed. If they do grab a really good coach, they may see a temporary bump for a few months but it will crater. Watching Kim Pegula implement her management 101 night school concepts, Terry pretending he has some incredible ability to read-judge-and hire people, Krueger's phony six-sigma shtick is enough to drive me to the mad-house.

the problem i have with this, is Adams doesnt have any experience. Not even as AGM that guys like Drury, Brodeur, Francis, Sakic, Yzerman etc do for years. Adams has spent time under PS&E performing roles not closely related to the hockey department at all. His limited experience comes here with the Sabres at this clown college. His appeal to the Pegulas is that he has an education, played hockey and lives in Buffalo, a nice guy, and is willing to completely be subservient to ownership and probably Krueger/the coach. That is not a real GM, and I have no interest in the Sabres allowing him to try to learn on the job. This is a massive lift to restore this franchise and needs experienced hands from the outside, who is given full autonomy from the Pegulas. They dont even allow their GMs to choose and move on from their coach anymore. They will never attract a serious candidate like that. Furthermore, they completely pooped on their reputation with what they pulled this Summer with some pretty awful cold-hearted moves. This organization has a credibility issue on all fronts and needs a Rutherford/Lombardi/Dudley to restore it.