Kevyn Adams - New GM

[Jim Bob]

Some might say the food was in the oven too long and has no juice left. These guys were not doing their jobs and the only people who got hurt financially were the owners. Spending to the cap and throwing money at Rochester-and the Pegulas did this- got us nowhere with these guys--not as if other clubs have not climbed out of a hole. Pegulas deserve blame for who they hired. The guys they hired get the blame for not performing their duties well enough. Pegulas lost a pile of bucks and those fired get paid according to the contracts they signed even if they now not perform at home. Nobody likes to see job losses especially in these troubled times but that is why professional athletes and staff have guaranteed contracts with fixed terms at salaries many average worker would only dream about.The truly sad thing is that jobs for a great many people-including those not involved in professional sports-are going to be harder to find for a while.

But, Botterill wasn't fired for a lack of results.

He was fired because he pushed back on the Pegulas ideas of streamlining the hockey operations department and likely shrinking the hockey operations budget.

 

[TalkingProuder]

But, Botterill wasn't fired for a lack of results.

He was fired because he pushed back on the Pegulas ideas of streamlining the hockey operations department and likely shrinking the hockey operations budget.

Doesn't matter. Fans want to pretend that the Pegulas are doing this to get better results. Fact is they don't care. What drives Terry and Kim is cutting costs.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

I am going off of what the Pegulas said on the conference call on Tuesday about why they fired Botterill. They made it clear that it was because they wanted to make sweeping changes to the hockey operations department and they didn't feel like Botterill was willing to make those changes.

So, they let him go and replaced him with someone whom they know will listen to what they want and execute their vision.



It's not a narrative. It's the reason we were given by ownership for the changes.

Just because its based on quotes doesn't mean it's not a narrative. I have said before I think they do a very poor job of communicating with the public.

But this is why PR is so important to a big organization. You give a few soundbites and that becomes the basis of the narrative, because that's all people have to go by. Better get those soundbites perfect or you will be destroyed by people forgetting that soundbites are just soundbites and not anywhere close to the full picture.

To say the poor results over many years weren't a major factor in these decisions is just illogical to me. Would you have taken the results into account? Then why would you assume they wouldn't.

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

I don't know where you work, but where I work terms like "efficiency", "streamlining", and "lean" are code for do as much as you've always done, or more, with fewer people.

I work for a large corporation. They, like all businesses, have an imperative to do as much with as little as possible. Does it mean keeping payroll low? Yes. You wouldn't know this, but I talk ALL the time about how the main problem in our country is that employers don't pay their employees enough. I think it's a major problem. But... all businesses do it and for obvious reasons. And... efficiency does not ONLY mean payroll cuts. It also means simplicity, ease of training, less confusion, better results.

We are in a pandemic and a recession. Why are we killing the team for trying to do better, whether it's economically, or otherwise. It all matters. And more efficient does not mean worse results. So to me it seems like we're just unhappy about the past results and assuming the worst about everything we don't have clarity on. Get a 2c and the team improves, which improves the economics, the ease of good PR, etc. As you said, we have no reason to believe Adams can't get this done, even with less money.

 

[Jim Bob]

Harrington is a jerk. But, given where things are right now, that is the type of person the Pegulas deserve to have covering the Sabres.

 

[Jim Bob]

I work for a large corporation. They, like all businesses, have an imperative to do as much with as little as possible. Does it mean keeping payroll low? Yes. You wouldn't know this, but I talk ALL the time about how the main problem in our country is that employers don't pay their employees enough. I think it's a major problem. But... all businesses do it and for obvious reasons. And... efficiency does not ONLY mean payroll cuts. It also means simplicity, ease of training, less confusion, better results.

We are in a pandemic and a recession. Why are we killing the team for trying to do better, whether it's economically, or otherwise. It all matters. And more efficient does not mean worse results. So to me it seems like we're just unhappy about the past results and assuming the worst about everything we don't have clarity on. Get a 2c and the team improves, which improves the economics, the ease of good PR, etc. As you said, we have no reason to believe Adams can't get this done, even with less money.

I'm not killing them for it.

I'm just acknowledging what they are doing and not making it seem as if they made the moves they did because of a lack of on ice results.

Only time will tell if these moves will work out. Just like how we had no real idea how things would play out the day that Murray or Botterill were hired.

 

[OkimLom]

I don't know how we can say the Pegulas didn't fire Murray or Botterill for on ice results. You're telling me if the Sabres were good this year and made the playoffs, they would have still fired Botterill and made all these other cuts?

Do you mean the 16 team playoff or the 24 team playoff? The 24 team playoff, yes I think he gets fired, especially if Botterill doesn't want to fire guys for not being good enough. 16 team playoff, he probably doesn't get fired. But let's not act like Murray wasn't fired because he wouldn't get rid of the coach that the players didn't like and not to mention Murray wanting to do things HIS way and not the Pegula way. Buffalo at the time was heading in the right direction (even if there was a drop off of 3 points), but the decision that needed to be done wasn't done and Murray deserved to be fired for that choice.

I will admit that's certainly not the narrative around these changes, but I think the narrative that this is solely about cost-cutting is over-simplified. That's not what they are actually saying. Efficiency does not mean cheap, but that's the common leap people are taking, for example. Hiring someone they are familiar with and believe in doesn't equal "yes man," but that's the narrative.

The hiring/promoting of someone that is familiar isn't a sign of hiring a "yes-man", but weeks after saying the previous GM isn't going anywhere (essentially), and then coming back and saying that person wasn't communicating with ownership and wasn't meshing with the direction THEY (ownership) wanted to go now, and then tout one of the biggest traits of the new GM is his ability to communicate with them; while firing mostly everyone except for guys who have been with them since the beginning (some guys in some important roles that impact on-ice results), reeks of hiring "yes-men". That's not even including the topper of not doing a GM search.

If the argument against these changes is that they've already made changes within the last few years and 3 years isn't enough to evaluate a GM, I just don't agree with that. We've seen a ton of decisions from Botterill and heard him explain those decisions many times. Plenty enough to see the direction of the team and evaluate his judgment and communication, etc. The Pegulas will have had many more private convos with him and the other people involved and have a much clearer view of the reality of the situation. (yes, I 100% agree with Kim that they know more than we do. to say otherwise is kind of hilarious to me)

If the bread hasn't risen at all after 75% of the cooking time, you should know there's a problem without having to wait until it's done.

It took me 1 year to see he wasn't adequate of being a GM from my own tastes. I personally take no issue in the team cleaning house, or firing anybody. Teams move on and hit the reset button all the time.

I think there's a little confusion in that comment from Kim, depending on how one wants to read it. If she meant they know more of the inter-workings within their organization and there's more going on behind the scenes than the fans realize, then yes, I would say they know more than the fans on that information.

But if it was a situation where she's saying they know more to build a successful team, then I think there's a little more push back from fans as the Pegulas have not shown any decision making in the Sabres organization that has proven to be correct. I think fans took the comments to mean the Pegulas know more in how to build a successful team and took offense to that. Based on their hires, I tend to think they may not know more than the fans based on the results we have seen and the decisions they have made with the hires.

Now, one thing I would agree with is that we shouldn't judge the Adams hire yet because the oven hasn't even been turned on. Experience matters, but not that much. Put a smart, hard-working, emotionally intelligent person in charge, they will figure it out. I have never met Adams or talked to him, so to assume I know better than the Pegulas how good of a job he will do would be ridiculous. If it doesn't work then they deserve criticism, just like they deserve criticism for the Botterill hire. He wasn't good. It didn't work. The team has not progressed in the standings at all.

Having said that though, in my opinion, the roster isn't that far away from success. There are a couple of big holes that need to be filled, but if you can find a legit 2c, the team turns the corner right away. I have a lot more hope that Adams will make the good move than I did for Botterill.

We should absolutely judge the hiring of Adams, especially with his lack of experience. We haven't seem him try to even turn the stove on. We haven't even seen him figure out how to open the cooking book. Sure, he's sliced some bread in the past, and he's been writing down people's orders, and brought them to the kitchen, and he helped with the table layout. I'm sure he's a smart guy. Just like the previous GM was regarded as a smart guy.

But now we have hired someone with zero experience expected to fill a full bottom 6 of players, get a #2 center in here. There's a lot to be nervous about, and it all stems in the unknown with Adams. COULD he be the "savior" we need, absolutely. COULD he be another in the long line of poor hiring decisions, absolutely. We don't know for certain, and the longer we play the hope game of hiring someone that will fix things at times when we NEED a GUARANTEE for someone to fix things before it's too late.

 

[hizzoner]

Well hot diggity dog. If the team was winning and Rochester was heading for playoffs then all this would have happened regardless. Wow I guess I am just not with the program.

 

[jc17]

His big job was talking to the press after the Duane call

 

[jc17]

3500 words and nothing of value...

 

[CrazyPsycho]

Couple things from Friedman on the instigators

They fired the hockey IT guy, but rehired him already, Im guessing a nice juicy pay cut

They had at least 2 verbal contract agreements with ex employees that they went back on in the cuts.

There was a big review of the hockey ops and the Pegulas thought the schedules of some of the scouts was "light"

 

[flashsabre]

It can be both.

The pandemic and the uncertainty of when they will actually play again definitely played into this.

The pathetic results of the past decade also played a major factor into this.

As Elliotte Friedman said, this is coming for a lot of teams , both in the NHL and other sports. The financial impact of the pandemic is real and not just hitting the Pegulas but all owners.

My biggest fear for Adams is negotiating contracts. Hopefully they have someone with the that experience. They want to be lean but they are going to have to add some quality people to the organization to help Adams out.

There are some major holes that have to be filled here, 2C and goalie upgrade being the biggest. Filling in the bottom of the lineup with the younger players is not a problem for me. Guys like Malone and Ogelvie getting a chance to compete for 4th line roles and a Borgen playing 3rd pair wouldn’t be a problem for me.

 

[Buffaloed]

It can be both.
My biggest fear for Adams is negotiating contracts. Hopefully they have someone with the that experience. They want to be lean but they are going to have to add some quality people to the organization to help Adams out.

Adams was a player agent from 2009-2011 with O2K Sports Management. The agency was founded by 2 of his college teammates. I think he would have learned quite a bit about contracts even though his time was brief there.

 

[Duddy]

This team needed a purge one way or the other.

Now we just can wait and see who they bring in to replace and maybe even improve the fired guys.

 

[Buffaloed]

Sabres GM Kevyn Adams 'part of the process' before Jason Botterill's firing
During an interview with The Buffalo News on Wednesday, Adams described the phone calls as "very, very hard." However, he wasn't simply playing the role of messenger. In the days leading up to Botterill's firing, Adams worked with the Pegulas to decide which staff members would be fired and laid out his vision for the Sabres.
Adams has a hand in the firings

When Botterill wasn't available, Adams would attend NHL Board of Governors meetings, a task previously carried out by Kim Pegula. Adams would not say when he was offered the general manager position.
Sounds like the skids were already set up and Botterill applied the grease by refusing to prune his staff. The change wasn't as sudden as it appears to be.

Sources told The Buffalo News that members of the organization wondered what Adams' exact role was within the organization and there were whispers he was appointed by ownership to review the hockey operations department.
I guess he didn't like what he saw. Who would?

While Adams has not provided specifics about his plan for the Sabres, he will follow ownership's edict to move forward "effectively, efficiently and economically," as Terry Pegula said Tuesday. The vision could lead to a greater use of analytics and video scouting.
For seemingly well-educated, young GM Botterill seemed to be stuck in the past. That might have something to do with his mentors.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

“In terms of our philosophy and scouting, I think there’s an incredible amount of technology out there right now," said Adams. "You tie in the analytic factor and if we’re not using every ounce of information then we’re leaving something on the table. We’re going to make sure in that regard we’re in the forefront of that and find, again, this goes back to the word efficiency. How can we efficiently scout? And just because something has been done one way before doesn’t mean it has to be done before. We want to make the process better and that’s what we’re going to set out to do right away."


Not sure what to think about this answer.

 

[Buffaloed]

The Sens staff is probably about as lean as you want to be.
Hockey Operations, Coaches, Scouts, Training and Medical Staff

 

[Jim Bob]

“In terms of our philosophy and scouting, I think there’s an incredible amount of technology out there right now," said Adams. "You tie in the analytic factor and if we’re not using every ounce of information then we’re leaving something on the table. We’re going to make sure in that regard we’re in the forefront of that and find, again, this goes back to the word efficiency. How can we efficiently scout? And just because something has been done one way before doesn’t mean it has to be done before. We want to make the process better and that’s what we’re going to set out to do right away."

Not sure what to think about this answer.

The optimistic take is that they will defund scouting and increase funding of their analytics department. They will then leverage analytics to make the scouts they do keep even more effective.

One idea Vogl threw out there is looking at what the Yotes have under Chayka as they have 5 video scouts.

Maybe they hire Meghan Chayka and that idea gets even more traction.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Not to play devils advocate to all these bad news stories.....but the sources driving them are likely people just fired from an organization after showing no results for a freaking decade. Not the most objective source

 

[Buffaloed]

“In terms of our philosophy and scouting, I think there’s an incredible amount of technology out there right now," said Adams. "You tie in the analytic factor and if we’re not using every ounce of information then we’re leaving something on the table. We’re going to make sure in that regard we’re in the forefront of that and find, again, this goes back to the word efficiency. How can we efficiently scout? And just because something has been done one way before doesn’t mean it has to be done before. We want to make the process better and that’s what we’re going to set out to do right away."


Not sure what to think about this answer.

The Sabres rely too much on the eyeball test, gut feelings, and impressions in scouting. A highlight reel goal might make a big impression on a scout and skew the prospect's rating. The analytics eliminate that.

 

[OkimLom]

“In terms of our philosophy and scouting, I think there’s an incredible amount of technology out there right now," said Adams. "You tie in the analytic factor and if we’re not using every ounce of information then we’re leaving something on the table. We’re going to make sure in that regard we’re in the forefront of that and find, again, this goes back to the word efficiency. How can we efficiently scout? And just because something has been done one way before doesn’t mean it has to be done before. We want to make the process better and that’s what we’re going to set out to do right away."


Not sure what to think about this answer.

Feels like something that is on the same level of Housley telling folks about using a 5 man attack, and activating the defense, or Botterill telling people they will be slow with development and put players on a proper development path. It sounds great to hear and creates optimism.

Me personally, I'm done listening to them and what they say, it's all lip service. I want to see action, then maybe I can get excited.

 

[OkimLom]

The Sabres rely too much on the eyeball test, gut feelings, and impressions in scouting. A highlight reel goal might make a big impression on a scout and skew the prospect's rating. The analytics eliminate that.

They eliminate it to a point.

 

[TalkingProuder]

“In terms of our philosophy and scouting, I think there’s an incredible amount of technology out there right now," said Adams. "You tie in the analytic factor and if we’re not using every ounce of information then we’re leaving something on the table. We’re going to make sure in that regard we’re in the forefront of that and find, again, this goes back to the word efficiency. How can we efficiently scout? And just because something has been done one way before doesn’t mean it has to be done before. We want to make the process better and that’s what we’re going to set out to do right away."


Not sure what to think about this answer.

Well, it sounds like a huge opinion for Adams to have on scouting since he himself has zero experience doing it. How can Adams make scouting better? Why not just aim to be competent at that first?

 

[Jim Bob]

Not to play devils advocate to all these bad news stories.....but the sources driving them are likely people just fired from an organization after showing no results for a freaking decade. Not the most objective source

The sources for most of this stuff were the things that came out of Terry and Kim's mouths during the press conference on Tuesday.

Now whether that is a good source given the change in direction from what Kim told the AP less than a month ago....