So, they had the biggest B&G I yet. Had about 2/3s of the rink set up with chairs and about 3/4's of those were full. A few people were also scattered throughout the lower bowl but there weren't too many of them.
Some topics covered (with my commnets in parenthesis):
What's been the main thing this off-season so far. For Adams it was the exit meetings with the players; finding out what they thought of their individual seasons and letting them know what he thought of them. Missed Ruff's answer.
Kevyn & Lindy talk every day so he's getting an understanding of what players Lindy wants to target. Mentioned part of that is getting the pairings right. (So though personally didn't expect to see any changes to the D perhaps there might be some changes there. Guess we'll see in 3 or so weeks.)
Kevyn - Jerry Forton's done a "phenomenal job" and he will now oversee the pro scouting in addition to just the amateur scouting. He said that Jerry is the one that oversees the draft. (So, love or hate the past couple of drafts, it seems that Forton is the one getting all the input and making the choice.)
Lindy - No settling in period for him getting back to Buffalo. Spoke a few times about how glad he is to be back and how he considers himself to be a Buffaloanian. Says the biggest area of improvement will come from how the Sabres defend. Said a big part of the offense last year tailing off some is teams were gameplanning to take the rush away from the Sabres and they weren't ready/able to get the tip in / net front goals they needed to make up for that. Sounds like getting guys to the front of the net will also be a priority (along with the improved play in their own end). They will find different ways to win hockey games this year; they won't only beat teams via goals off the rush.
Both have been watching the playoffs and spoke of how the D play picks up in the playoffs.
Lindy - wants to get to know the players this off-season. Spoke about how Appert knows many of the young players and gives Lindy input on them. (But there are a lot of guys on the team Appert has never worked with. He's worked with a lot of the young guys but there are more than a few that haven't spent any appreciable time in Ra-cha-cha.)
Kevyn - loves the draft. So much going on this time of year - draft coming up, contract negotiations w/ RFAs, UFAs become available shortly; and all at essentially the same time.
Duff - Development camp will be held July 1 - 4.
Lindy says he's evolved from earlier in his career by focusing more on building relationships with the players. He wants to get to know their families and their games so that trust is built because guys are going to get asked to change their games. He then rementioned how he's just getting to know the guys.
Kevyn says he's learned and lot and continues to do so. He's found there are better ways to do things (presumably than from when he was starting out). And he tries to prioritize "what matters most" each day and that might be something w/ a ST focus or a LT focus depending upon the day. Lou Lamiorello told him to remember that the GM is putting out fires every single day.
Q to Lindy - do you know what's on a GM's plate? Lindy - Kevyn is constantly trying to make the team better; it differs from what a coach does because he evaluates the play after every game but moves on by the next day's practice. They both need to set what the standard is of what is acceptable. Kevyn added - do the right things at the right time. Not sure if this next statement was from Lindy or both of them - there needs to be a higher level of play. (Applause for that answer.)
How to choose a captain. Lindy - it has changed through the years. The captain sets the example for everyone and is the captain for the whole team. He leads by example; he doesn't chirp his teammates; EVERYBODY has to meet his standard. The captain sets the examples by how he practices, does stuff like gets to the rink on time, helps the coaches by asking guys why they did what they did in a particular situation (and helps to critique it).
Kevyn - "we'll have a real good captain." (So, it sure does seem like they already know who they intend to be wearing letters this year.)
How do you keep guys in the moment? (paraphrasing that Q) Lindy - it seems counter intuitive, but let them have fun. There will be tough games but put it behind them and get ready the next day in practice.
Kevyn - we both want to raise the standard. What will you do today to make yourself the best you can be. (The way they've been bringing this theme up, it seems this is a new thing. Personally, like it in theory; let's see how it get implemented.)
How do you drop a guy down a line? (another paraphrased Q) - Lindy - You talk with them. You never really arrive; you always have to get better; there is always somebody trying to take your job.
Missed a bit of the answer to a Q about the vision for the bottom 6. Only caught the part about how in the playoffs the top lines tend to cancel each other out and the bottom 6 become more important (mentioned E-Rod). Missed the rest of the answer.
Question asked about whether there will be additional changes to the coaching staff and to the hockey department with a follow up about who will be coaching the PP because it was disappointing last year. (Question got an ovation. Well, it was either the question or the questioner's flow that got the ovation. Maybe it was both.
(Actually, the ovation for the Q was pretty sweet. It was the only one that was asked by an adult that got that reaction.) Lindy - Seth Appert and Lindy will run it with Seth leading it. There will be significantly more motion. They want to get shooters into different positions. (Draisatl and McDavid in the playoffs as the example of what they're going to strive for.) Motion is a key to keep your best shooters open. The Amerks PP has been good. They want to keep possession on entries and want to keep the same 5 guys together on the PP. (So don't expect a lot of experimentation wtih personnel in season once they get something they expect will work.)
Kevyn - would like to possibly add another pro scout for out west to the staff. The analytics staff is an extension of the 2 scouting staffs (pro and amateur).
Lindy was asked about similarities between Hamilton and Power. Said he sees similarities with Hughes, Bratt, and Hischier on the Sabres. Presumably Dahlin was the 1st comparable (but maybe he was talking about the other Hughes, would Thompson be the comparable(?)). Peterka was the Bratt comparable and Cozens the Hischier comparable. He talked about how it took that Devils team 2 years to come together and this team has been together for 2 years as well.
KA - seems to be rooting for Florida as the Okposo draft pick improves by 2 rounds if they do.
From a Q by a kid about the dream of playing hockey, Adams mentioned how you don't retire, you just get told you're not good enough anymore. And he's always dreamed of winning a Stanley Cup with the Buffalo Sabres. (So, still chasing the dream.) Lindy says chase your dream. And Duffer mentioned there are areas you can work in the game even if you aren't good enough to play at that level.
They answered a few other Q's about Capfriendly going away and the Salary Cap going up; about FA and how Adams approaches it; who Dahlin's partner will be this coming season; and about the goalies heading into last year and heading into this year.
Lindy ended the night telling the crowd at Kevyn's insistance about what he told the security guard at the Bills practice this morning. He 1st told him that he was Adams' Uber driver. (Apparently Adams was in the back seat for some reason.) He then told him that he's the Bills new Tight End. His 40 is slow but the hands are still good.
