BillsFan4

Bill Zito has done such an incredible job turning that team into a powerhouse. He had a vision for that team and executed it perfectly. Think about the guts it took to make some of the moves he did at the time he made them… Coming off a president’s trophy in 2021-22 he moved on from the coach that had just led them to their best regular season in franchise history (58-18-6) and traded his leading scorer + top pairing defenseman (weegar was #1 in minutes played by defenseman for Florida in ‘21/22) because he thought the team needed an identity change to go deep in the playoffs. And to think, the Sabres interviewed Bill Zito before they hired Jason Botterill. Oof. lol

Players traded by Buffalo have been huge parts of teams that won 4 of the last 7 Stanley Cups (I don’t count Bogosian as a big part of Tampa’s Cup). If STL doesn’t trade for ROR they don’t win the Cup in 2019 (ROR won the conn smythe that year). Vegas likely doesn’t win the cup without Eichel (Conn smythe runner up in 2023), and Reinhart has been a key part of Florida’s back to back Cups. Brandon Montour was also a big part of Florida’s first cup win last year. Has any other single NHL team contributed more to the success of other teams in the league than Buffalo? It feels like the Sabres are just a developmental feeder team for real NHL clubs. 😢

I truly can’t believe the Sabres still haven’t made a single assistant coaching change (not counting the S&C coach…). I really thought at bare minimum they’d change out an assistant or two. Every assistant except Appert has been here for multiple years of team regression at this point. WTF have any of these assistants even done to keep their jobs? - The PK and overall team defense were bad yet again under Wilford, and I see little progress from guys like Power, Samuelsson, etc. yet Marty Wilford appears to be back. What defenseman has he helped develop or improve in Buffalo? - The PP was terrible, yet Appert seems to be gaining more power in the org. - They haven’t really developed a goalie the entire time Mike Bales has been here (except for maybe 1/2 a season of UPL playing well) and goaltending has been a yearly issue since Ullmark left but Bales seems safe once again. I don’t get it. Are their standards for winning really that low? Is it an internal budget thing? Or can they just not get any decent assistant coaches to come here (seeing as Ruff is in the last year of his deal now)?

https://www.reddit.com/r/nhl/s/m2ORTQZmzZ slow motion replay of the whole sequence for your viewing pleasure! lol

Good eye! It also looks like Terry Pegula sitting next to Beane and Shakir sitting in McDermott’s row.

I think that’s where you’re mistaken. Jason Botterill wasn’t fired due to his job performance. He was fired because he wasn’t willing to fire almost the entire hockey ops (assistant GMs, scouts, coaches in Buffalo and Rochester, etc.). Kevyn Adams was hired because: - he was willing to fire all those people, run with a bare bones front office staff and field an NHL team well below the salary cap ceiling, and in his first couple/few years even at or below the salary cap floor. “Efficient and economic” like Pegula wanted. - he was willing to give Terry + Kim a much bigger voice in hockey ops. - he was someone Terry trusted. I honestly think that’s about it. Go back and listen to what Terry said during the press conference where they announced Adams would be the GM (without even interviewing a single other person). it’s horrifying. here’s a good summary from the Buffalo news (if you can read it w/o hitting a paywall…) https://buffalonews.com/opinion/columnists/article_83182297-4504-5091-9a15-e4d889a82704.html Maybe things have changed since that press conference. They are spending a bit more than they were back then. But I have little reason to believe that winning is their #1 priority until more evidence starts showing that it is. Hiring Jarmo is a nice first step if he’s actually going to be in Buffalo full time (not just someone Adams can call when he needs him) and actually have a voice.

I am kind of shocked they actually added a significant piece to the front office.

Skinner has played a grand total of 11 minutes during Edmonton’s entire playoff run. (he’s been scratched all but 1 game in the first round) Edmonton all the way! I’d love to see them win a cup. Not all that long ago they were the perennial joke of the NHL, and their owner was thought of as being the worst. It’s been cool to see them finally turn it around and have sustained success. It obviously helped that they drafted + retained 2 of the best players on the planet. lol It would also be cool to see a Canadian team get a Stanley cup win.

Same here. I can still picture EJ Manuel having to set his feet like 5 times just to throw a 5 yard pass. 🤢🤮😂 I remember a press conference after a particularly bad game by EJ, some reporter asked him about how poorly he played and he answered “well the coach said I played well” or something along those lines. I was like “yeah, this dude’s never gonna make it as an NFL starter…” lol

Yep. I definitely remember this. They are just desperate for a true franchise QB, same as we were. I actually feel for Browns fans these days. I guess I’m getting more empathetic the older I get 😂

Yes. In a heartbeat. I just don’t see a scenario where it happens if the reports are true that the Sabres are looking to hire a senior advisor to report to Kevyn Adams. I don’t see any world where Shanahan goes from running the biggest brand in the NHL with BY FAR the most money, and having dozens of people reporting directly to him (the leafs had a GM, special advisor, FIVE assistant GMs, seven directors…) to reporting to Kevyn ****ing Adams. lmao It was reported he turned down the team president role with the NYI because he wouldn’t get to hire his own GM right away. He ain’t coming to Buffalo to report to a GM who’s entering year 6 with no success to show for it, and who already seems to have the next head coach picked out (Seth Appert - another guy who seems to be failing upwards in Buffalo under Adams). The only way I could see Shanahan coming here is if he was given full power over hockey ops and Pegula was willing to start spending money again. I keep reading rumors about Rick Dudley possibly coming back to Buffalo though. I would love that hire as well, assuming he actually had some power.

If you are local I’d highly recommend going to a game in person sometime. It’s a ton of fun and might turn you into a fan. Crazy how much better an experience it is vs. going to the same arena for a Sabres game! lol

Three-peat!!!! What a great game! Arena was packed! That was an unreal defensive effort in the second half. I’m just a casual Bandits fan but even I could tell that it was an incredible job by the bandits.

Totally agree. They have the talent, and I thought they made big strides the past couple years in their style of play in the playoffs. They just seem to get in their own heads though. They very much remind me of the Sabres when they face pressure to win, and don’t seem to handle the ups and downs in a game well. You could almost see it happen last night after the panthers second goal (and definitely after their 3rd goal). It was like the whole collective team went “oh no, here we go again” and it was over from that point on. They had that tiny sign of life with the Domi goal to make it 3-1 but then immediately allowed the panthers to make it a 3 goal game again a minute later or whatever it was. I think the fan and media pressure get to them too, similar to here in Buffalo. But it’s just amplified x100 in Toronto.

oof.