Confirmed with Link: Sabres Presser (Tim Murray announced as GM, Craig Patrick as Special Assistant to HD)

[McCauleyChirps]

I LOVE this guy. He's awesome on the radio. Speaks his mind, doesn't leave anything off the table.

 

[Ethan Edwards]

Anybody else a little concerned that there are too many people with a say in decisions now? It had been Darcy and Devine before, easy chain of command. Now they have created new positions for Lafontaine, Cunneyworth, Patrick and the guy from Penn St, kept Devine on and brought in Nolan while retaining Rolstons staff. There is also the shadow of Lafontaine being groomed to take GM job and Black is still team president.

Make no mistake, I like the Murray hire, he helped build Ottawa and seems highly regarded, isn't afraid to draft Europeans and finds good layers in late rounds.

The organization just seems bloated now, and I wonder why Murray would come in to a job with so many other voices in the process, with the added compartmentalization what is the actual chain of command?

Concerned? Just the opposite. I'm thrilled. Not just adding bodies to add bodies, but the quality of the folks now involved. And I don't see how it's at all bloated. Maybe, if you compare it to Regier/Devine, but if this new group works as a team, there's no bloat and there aren't too many people making decisions. The roles seem pretty clear to me, with Murray now in charge of all personnel decisions. Patrick is there to provide advice and input, as is, apparently, Joe Battista (who I can personally attest will only offer sage advice and would never interfere). PatLaf is in overall charge of the hockey operations (and Black handling business operations), but that doesn't mean he'll be insinuating himself in the GM decision process. He went out and tabbed Murray, who is now surrounded by a cadre of excellent hockey minds. Like I said, if they work as a team, and I firmly believe they will, this is an outstanding step in the right direction. We'll see how/if it works in the coming months/years.

 

[SackTastic]

Anybody else a little concerned that there are too many people with a say in decisions now? It had been Darcy and Devine before, easy chain of command. Now they have created new positions for Lafontaine, Cunneyworth, Patrick and the guy from Penn St, kept Devine on and brought in Nolan while retaining Rolstons staff. There is also the shadow of Lafontaine being groomed to take GM job and Black is still team president.

Make no mistake, I like the Murray hire, he helped build Ottawa and seems highly regarded, isn't afraid to draft Europeans and finds good layers in late rounds.

The organization just seems bloated now, and I wonder why Murray would come in to a job with so many other voices in the process, with the added compartmentalization what is the actual chain of command?

Uncle Teddy is still only really responsible for the business side. And if Murray was worried about LaFontaine, he probably doesn't take the job to begin with.

 

[McCauleyChirps]

Ongoing notes:

- Dislikes huge, lumbering defensemen
- Prefers "hockey strong" and smart hockey players. With this comes puck possession.
- Doesn't want Miller to go to the FA market and will do anything to not make it happen. Trade or sign.
- Concerned about the 3rd - 5th round this year.
- Already, has a good handle on players he wants to go forward with and who he doesn't.
- Danced around the issue of tanking in 2015. Said that he has control over the tank with moves.
- No point in having a young guy here, sitting or playing 2-3 minutes. He's going to Rochester.
- Grigorenko: "Big, talented, smart guy who needs to be pushed."

 

[Deevo]

Great interview with Jeremy and Howard this morning. I'm so on board.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

Ongoing notes:

- Dislikes huge, lumbering defensemen
- Prefers "hockey strong" and smart hockey players. With this comes puck possession.
- Doesn't want Miller to go to the FA market and will do anything to not make it happen. Trade or sign.
- Concerned about the 3rd - 5th round this year.
- Already, has a good handle on players he wants to go forward with and who he doesn't.
- Danced around the issue of tanking in 2015. Said that he has control over the tank with moves.
- No point in having a young guy here, sitting or playing 2-3 minutes. He's going to Rochester.
- Grigorenko: "Big, talented, smart guy who needs to be pushed."

Also, paraphrasing, "advanced stats are for noobs".

 

[HamiltonOHL]

anyone find out what kind of style of play he wants his team to be in the upcoming seasons?

 

[26CornerBlitz]

1/10/14 Tim Murray joins WGR - 24:36 Mins

Tim Murray on the Howard Simon Show

 

[B U F F A L O]

Also, paraphrasing, "advanced stats are for noobs".

Thats going to set off a good debate.

 

[Ethan Edwards]

anyone find out what kind of style of play he wants his team to be in the upcoming seasons?

Yes:

He also added: "I like an aggressive style. I like a two-man forecheck. I like a D that's able to pinch."

 

[Zip15]

Ongoing notes:

- Dislikes huge, lumbering defensemen
- Prefers "hockey strong" and smart hockey players. With this comes puck possession.
- Doesn't want Miller to go to the FA market and will do anything to not make it happen. Trade or sign.
- Concerned about the 3rd - 5th round this year.
- Already, has a good handle on players he wants to go forward with and who he doesn't.
- Danced around the issue of tanking in 2015. Said that he has control over the tank with moves.
- No point in having a young guy here, sitting or playing 2-3 minutes. He's going to Rochester.
- Grigorenko: "Big, talented, smart guy who needs to be pushed."

I'd add or expand with the following:

-Trying to strike a balance between "getting cornerstone players" and "showing improvement every day" is not easy. In other words, he wants to continue improving but he wants to be at the top of the draft for the next two years.

-To that end, he stated that at this time next year we may be five spots ahead of where we currently sit in the standings but "spinning our wheels and not going anywhere in the long-term." If that's the case, he could make some moves. He wanted to avoid using the word "manipulate" or "tank" but it was clear what he was getting at.

-Howard and Jeremy asked him about his stance on giving contracts to goaltenders, citing Ottawa's history of not giving big money to netminders. I'm right so rarely, that I want to put this in bold, but I won't: He said that he is not at all opposed to giving a big contract to a goaltender if he's worth it, but they never had such a guy in Ottawa except for one who is currently on an ELC (*cough*Lehner*cough*). He added that you better be pretty sure about the goaltender before giving him that contract because you're going to be stuck with him for awhile and you'll have to skimp on the backup's salary.

-Re: the pending UFAs, he again cited that you cannot have a team of 22 yr olds and expect to be successful. If he does trade some or all of them, he will have to replace their character and experience through UFA. He added that he believes each of Miller, Moulson, and Ott have good character.

-He wants Miller to tell him that he wants to be in Buffalo. Combined with his statement that he goaltender market is probably a soft market right now, it sounded like he may want to re-sign him if no market develops and Miller wants to stay.

-Spoke glowingly about the 2015 Draft. Talked about 4-5 really, really good players including the "two 16 yr olds at the World Juniors," an obvious reference to Eichel and McDavid.

-Not as high on the 2014 Draft. Said we're still going to get a "really good player" at the top of the draft. Made no indication whether he preferred Reinhart or Ekblad or anyone else. As stated above in the quoted section, he doesn't think this is a very deep draft, so the 3rd, 4th and 5th round picks concern him.

-Re: Grigorenko during the lockout: "Some nights he was the best player in all of junior hockey...Other nights, he wasn't close." The scouting report that Ottawa had on him was a big, skilled player who needs to be pushed.

 

[Jame]

the tank is on... they are saying all the right things to make it smell nice.... but it's tank on... if there is still any doubt about "intentional" tanking (you know who you are), then you're blind

they have a strategy that many denied existed...

 

[Mit Yarrum]

I counted him saying "suffering" 2-3 times.

 

[stokes84]

I've got a feeling that Myers may be on the trade block.

 

[Jame]

gotta give Howard credit for asking the right questions...

 

[Jame]

"hockey sense and hockey strong"
"you have to be able to think the game properly"

i love you tim

 

[Ruckus007]

Murray said on GR this afternoon that Patty told him about Patrick during the 2nd interview. He seemed happy to have him onboard.

Thanks!

Anybody else a little concerned that there are too many people with a say in decisions now? It had been Darcy and Devine before, easy chain of command. Now they have created new positions for Lafontaine, Cunneyworth, Patrick and the guy from Penn St, kept Devine on and brought in Nolan while retaining Rolstons staff. There is also the shadow of Lafontaine being groomed to take GM job and Black is still team president.

Make no mistake, I like the Murray hire, he helped build Ottawa and seems highly regarded, isn't afraid to draft Europeans and finds good layers in late rounds.

The organization just seems bloated now, and I wonder why Murray would come in to a job with so many other voices in the process, with the added compartmentalization what is the actual chain of command?

Not concerned as long as the chain of command is clear.

I'll admit to not really knowing what "special assistants" and "special advisers" do but I try to actively avoid any kind of management responsibility. I actually kinda expect the front office to grow. Looking around the league, it seems most teams have a position along the lines of "Director of Pro Personnel" that the Sabres don't have. I would be surprised if someone is hired into that position at some point.

 

[Jacob582]

Anybody else a little concerned that there are too many people with a say in decisions now? It had been Darcy and Devine before, easy chain of command. Now they have created new positions for Lafontaine, Cunneyworth, Patrick and the guy from Penn St, kept Devine on and brought in Nolan while retaining Rolstons staff. There is also the shadow of Lafontaine being groomed to take GM job and Black is still team president.

Make no mistake, I like the Murray hire, he helped build Ottawa and seems highly regarded, isn't afraid to draft Europeans and finds good layers in late rounds.

The organization just seems bloated now, and I wonder why Murray would come in to a job with so many other voices in the process, with the added compartmentalization what is the actual chain of command?

I was wondering the same thing. I have seen great things accomplished when working in small teams.

Sometimes organizations get crippled when/if there are too many layers of management that have to sign off on decisions. Sounds like Tim can/will make decisive decisions here.

 

[Jame]

Im on cloud 9 after listening to the Howard Simon interview...

 

[Jacob582]

Murray also stated he already knows what players he wants to stay here and what players he wants to get rid of.

 

[Vergilius]

the tank is on... they are saying all the right things to make it smell nice.... but it's tank on... if there is still any doubt about "intentional" tanking (you know who you are), then you're blind

they have a strategy that many denied existed...

I like what I heard from Murray. I couldn't help but think as it is obvious that the tank is on and that we need to "suffer" that Murray's overall strategy is not really any different than Darcy's. Disregarding coaching choices, aren't we doing the exact same thing Regier set out to do about a year ago? (And that could be a good thing...)

 

[gallagt01]

I've got a feeling that Myers may be on the trade block.

Why?

"hockey sense and hockey strong"
"you have to be able to think the game properly"

i love you tim

Sounds like he'd be a Reinhart fan.

 

[vcv]

I was wondering the same thing. I have seen great things accomplished when working in small teams.

Sometimes organizations get crippled when/if there are too many layers of management that have to sign off on decisions. Sounds like Tim can/will make decisive decisions here.

That's fine, but there's not "too many layers of management" here.

A lot of hockey teams have a president of hockey ops + GM, then one or more advisors.

 

[Jame]

I like what I heard from Murray. I couldn't help but think as it is obvious that the tank is on and that we need to "suffer" that Murray's overall strategy is not really any different than Darcy's. Disregarding coaching choices, aren't we doing the exact same thing Regier set out to do about a year ago? (And that could be a good thing...)

they key difference is that Regier was tanking with prospects in the NHL (arguably hurting their long term development), while the new Regime is content to tank with a roster of 3rd/4th line NHLers, while preserving the youth and developing them in minors/juniors.

essentially, we've gone from tanking with Risto, Grigs, Larsson, Zadarov... to tanking with Ellis, Ullmark, Dagostini, Sulzer, Konopa in their place....

We are simply tanking smarter

 

[Jacob582]

I couldn't help but think as it is obvious that the tank is on and that we need to "suffer" that Murray's overall strategy is not really any different than Darcy's. Disregarding coaching choices, aren't we doing the exact same thing Regier set out to do about a year ago? (And that could be a good thing...)

Just stated something very similar in the Tank thread.