Tallon is too old at this point (74) to be a full time GM so its a moot point....but the idea you'd reject someone who build the core of a multi championship team in Chicago and last years cup team in Florida because they aren't analytic focused is silly.
Analytics are just another tool. Adams built out what many considered an exemplary analytics department and it hasn't done anything.
After years of GMs who haven't built anything at the NHL level (or at all), give me a GM who knows how to build a team first....I don't care what tools he does or doesn't use.
Does anyone outside of the Sabres fandom bubble consider their analytics department to be exemplary?
There's a handful of puff pieces out there about the department built under Adams, but it seems more that the Sabres didn't really have an analytics department prior to 2021. And according to these puff pieces they spend 90% of their time building models to project draft eligible players. Where's the time spent building models on pro players to scout? Where's the time time spent providing feedback on the teams own players?
It sounds like we have an amateur scouting analytics department, but otherwise they don't do much else. And what off the board picks have they had us make?
2021 Power consensus #1, drafted #1
2021 Rosesn consensus #19, drafted #14
2022 Savoie consensus #7, drafted #9
2022 Ostlund consensus #24, drafted #16
2022 Kulich consensus #19, drafted #28
2023 Benson consensus #6, drafted #13
2024 Helenius consensus #11, drafted #14
These were all choices that could have been made using publicly available rankings. No scouting or analytics required.