Buffalo Sabres and NHL 2024-2025

[BADOLBILZ]

15 hours ago, Simon said:

 

I don't believe that there is a single human being that has ever tried on a pair of skates that could individually overcome the utter stank that organization has exuded over the last decade.

 

At the time of the McDavid lottery the Oilers were a much worse organization than Buffalo.   Buffalo had picked in the top 10 just the prior two years.   The Oilers had already had the #1 overall pick 3 times in the previous 6 years.   They were the bottom of the barrel.   It took work for McDavid to supersede their massive culture issues but he did it because players of that magnitude don't lose for long.     

 

And can you imagine the Bills if Allen had been a bust?   McBeane get fired and Pegula never gives up full control of football operations again.    Those Bills and the current Sabres would have been on parallel paths.

[BillsFan4]

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

 

 

 

[Walking Tall]

40 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

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

 

 

 

Adams has his heir apparent on staff. Just watch….next year Adams gets bumped to President and Kekalainen is the new GM.

[Jauronimo]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

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

 

 

 

As am I.  Especially after they hired Staal who was the only eligible person in NHL circles who couldn't help the organization in any way.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarmo_Kekäläinen

 

A little background on Jarmo for others who didn't know much about him beside a long stint in Columbus.

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

2 hours ago, Walking Tall said:

Adams has his heir apparent on staff. Just watch….next year Adams gets bumped to President and Kekalainen is the new GM.

Rather see him bumped to chief zamboni driver 

[Mike in Horseheads]

20 minutes ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

Rather see him bumped to chief zamboni driver 

Rather see him bumped to a fry chef

[Mr. WEO]

Why not fire Adams.  He was hired to turn things around.  It’s been years and he hasn’t moved the needle.  
 

Oegula should just sell this team to an owner with more savvy.  He killed this franchise. 

[BillsFan4]

46 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

Why not fire Adams.  He was hired to turn things around.

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.

[QCity]

A real NHL GM with actual experience from outside the organization is definitely something. I would feel a lot better if Adams reported to him but it's a start.

Edited Friday at 10:50 PM by QCity

[Mike in Horseheads]

I guess I'm underwhelmed by this whole thing. At first I thought Terry was hiring the position and it would be advising Adams, NOT that Adams was hiring a gopher. Plus ya heard names like Ken Holland, Lou Lamarielio, Brendan Shanahan thrown around and they hire Jarmo Kekalainen.  meh

[Mr. WEO]

19 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

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 had read that--that Terry hired him so he could "be heard".  Obviously that was a problematic reason to hire someone immediately, as it was already clear that Pegula's management of this team has been a total disaster since he bought it.  Now he hires this guy to prop up the guy who was hired to listed to Pegula.

 

It is to laugh.....Terry should be barred from the building.

13 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

I guess I'm underwhelmed by this whole thing. At first I thought Terry was hiring the position and it would be advising Adams, NOT that Adams was hiring a gopher. Plus ya heard names like Ken Holland, Lou Lamarielio, Brendan Shanahan thrown around and they hire Jarmo Kekalainen.  meh

 

I wonder if Lou even waited to hang up before he started laughing

[Mr. WEO]

https://apple.news/ACP4znyw6RkW1RX9Qt-8_fg
 

this well documents the problem with a team run by Adams and Pegula…

[QCity]

Some quotes from today's Athletic article

 

on his experience:

 

No two general managers in the NHL have exactly the same experience, but Adams’ background stands out among his peers. Of the currently employed NHL GMs, Adams is one of six who never held an assistant general manager or vice president of hockey operations title in the NHL prior to his hiring. Of those six, he’s one of two who never scouted or consulted in an NHL hockey operations department. The other is Canadiens GM Kent Hughes, who was a longtime prominent NHL agent and has an experienced president of hockey operations above him.

 

Outside of the afternoons he spent in his cubicle in the Sabres hockey operations department from December 2009 to August 2011, Adams had no prior NHL hockey operations experience.

 

“I think that’s what rubs people the wrong way,” said one former scout. “He wasn’t in Fargo watching a game. He wasn’t in Medicine Hat watching a game. He wasn’t at the U18s in Slovakia in August missing family vacation. That’s the grind. That’s what pretty much everybody else did unless your name is Joe Sakic.”

 

signing Taylor Hall (imagine thinking Taylor freaking Hall is the difference between an 80-point team and a Stanley Cup contender)

 

On Oct. 11, 2020, five months after hiring Adams, Pegula stood inside his new general manager’s office. At that point, Adams had no assistant GMs. His director of scouting was Jeremiah Crowe, who had three years of pro scouting experience before getting elevated to that role. The analytics department was Jason Nightengale. This was the first day of NHL free agency. Pegula and Adams discussed the possibility of signing Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million contract.

 

Hall had won the Hart Trophy two years earlier with a 39-goal, 54-assist season for the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres had failed to qualify for the expanded 24-team playoff during the pandemic, extending their playoff drought to nine seasons.

 

“We sign this guy,” Pegula said to Adams in a behind-the-scenes video released by the Sabres, “we’re not only trying to make the playoffs. We’re trying to win the Cup.”

 

“Yeah,” Adams said. “I mean this is … yeah.”

 

Hall signed with the Sabres and scored two goals and 19 points in 37 games before he was sent to the Bruins at the trade deadline. Buffalo finished in last place, and Adams fired coach Ralph Krueger.

 

power dynamic

 

 

In a behind-the-scenes video of the Sabres’ trade deadline process, Ruff noted that the team’s culture needed to change. In that video, Pegula is on a conference call multiple times throughout the day, weighing in on decisions. That offered a view into the dynamic between Adams and Pegula, a dynamic that other potential general managers might view as a red flag.

 

“Any self-respecting GM who takes that job is going to say, ‘I have to be able to run this for you,’” said one former NHL executive. “I know it’s your team and I have to talk to you about things, but I have to be able to build a team and make decisions. If I have to run a simple (Henri) Jokiharju for a fourth by you, what are we doing here?”

 

 

[That's No Moon]

54 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

https://apple.news/ACP4znyw6RkW1RX9Qt-8_fg
 

this well documents the problem with a team run by Adams and Pegula…

Terry is and always has been the problem.

[Gregg]

2 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

Terry is and always has been the problem.

 

Be thankful he isn't running the Bills into the toilet.

[Doc]

52 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Be thankful he isn't running the Bills into the toilet.

 

Considering every other team he owns (especially the aforementioned one which is the most important one by far) is doing well...

[That's No Moon]

7 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Considering every other team he owns (especially the aforementioned one which is the most important one by far) is doing well...

He thinks he's a hockey person which is the problem.

[QCity]

50 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Considering every other team he owns (especially the aforementioned one which is the most important one by far) is doing well...

 

When you're drafting in the top 10 every season for 15 straight years, then yeah, your minor league hockey team is probably going to be good.

[Doc]

10 minutes ago, That's No Moon said:

He thinks he's a hockey person which is the problem.

 

I won't defend what's gone on with the Sabres.  

[Gregg]

54 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

I won't defend what's gone on with the Sabres.  

 

They are the Jets of hockey, and I don't mean Winnipeg.