GDT: Sabres vs Islanders 7 PM ET TV:MSG Radio:WGR550 - Hockey Fights Cancer

[joshjull]

How many more wins do we have this year rolling Greenway-Mitts-Zucker as our 3rd line instead of Greenway-McLeod-Zucker.

I doubt it would be much different. We would still have a floundering group of kids on the 2nd line.

It’s also sort of an odd question. Mitts is a top 6 center and was arguably our best center for a year+. McLeod is a 3rd line defensive center and is being used as such. I would be pulling my hair out and wanting to kill Ruff if he used Mitts the same way. Our 3rd line usage is defensively focused (OZS% 39%) and McLeod specifically (38%).

A better question is how many more wins would we have if Mitts/McLeod were our middle 6 centers? We’d be a much better team and that scenario was very doable.

 

[Gras]

Benson/quinn-Mitts-Cozens would be a better 2nd line than anything we've attempted this season.

Greenway-McLeod-Zucker would still be our 3rd line.

And without Byram on the Roster, Adams wouldn't have been able to pretend that there isn't a giant "top 4 (preferably right handed) defensive specialist" shaped hole in the roster.

If we had resigned Mitts we dont trade for McLeod. Mitts was always below Tage and Cozens on their depth chart at C.

 

[Beerz]

If we had resigned Mitts we dont trade for McLeod. Mitts was always below Tage and Cozens on their depth chart at C.

And you could say this is an Adams problem.

 

[joshjull]

If we had resigned Mitts we dont trade for McLeod. Mitts was always below Tage and Cozens on their depth chart at C.

You’re thinking like Adams. Mitts is only below them because Adams feels that way not because its the truth. It would be pretty hard to argue at the time of the trade Mitts was anything less than one of the top 2. But even more importantly he could play wing as effectively as center in the top 6. Which could have given Cozens a more experienced/developed player to play with this season. It wouldn’t really matter which of them was the center.

I can’t say all, but many other GMs would have kept Mitts because of his ability to play wing in the top 6. It would give the team top 6 and center depth. It also avoids having to rely on a bunch of kids on one of our top 6 lines.

If the offseason goal was to get faster and build a roster that can play at pace. Then trying to acquire McLeod would still make sense, even with Mitts here. Since McLeod, Mitts, Cozens and even Tage can play wing and center. It would add a ton of depth and flexibility at the center position on the NHL roster while also improving the overall top 9. But I agree it would be less likely they pursue McLeod if Mitts was re-signed.

 

[Dreakon13]

Teams don't need to be talented to beat the Sabres, they just need to work hard and pressure them. That's it. The forwards will give up pucks, defensemen will be out of position, and goalies will let in soft goals. Until they can match or beat the pace of teams in this league, they'll keep losing games they should win on paper.

 

[sabremike]

Teams don't need to be talented to beat the Sabres, they just need to work hard and pressure them. That's it. The forwards will give up pucks, defensemen will be out of position, and goalies will let in soft goals. Until they can match or beat the pace of teams in this league, they'll keep losing games they should win on paper.

I keep thinking back to that exec who talked with regret about how he iced a team full of kids who drowned at NHL level and how their careers were destroyed before they ever began. Only dumb organizations run their organizations like this.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Adams has himself to blame for that. He's been the longest tenured GM of the drought and has more responsibility for the current situation than anyone else, aside of course from Pegula.

The choices that Adams made 3, 4, 5 years ago are bearing fruit now. They obviously weren't good choices.

The guy has been stepping on rakes since day one. Every direction he turns, BOOM, steps on a rake. Players see that and want nothing to do with us.

When he took over the drought had just turned 9 years old. Seems quaint that it was once that young. We were in a similar boat then to where Detroit and Ottawa are now, and they don't have the same trouble getting players to play for them. If their GMs continue to make wrong move, after wrong move for the next 5 years, more and more players will not want to go there.

The fact that he's the third GM in a row who's done nothing but fail at every possible turn makes the massive hole seem far too large to climb out of anymore.

 

[sabremike]

The fact that he's the third GM in a row who's done nothing but fail at every possible turn makes the massive hole seem far too large to climb out of anymore.

The guy was literally hired despite having zero qualifications for the job entirely because he was a loyal Pegula lackey/stooge. The resulting disaster was totally predictable.

The defining trait of Terry is his knack for always learning the wrong lesson from his mistakes: guy with track record failed, therefore hire guy with no track record.

 

[Fjordy]

The guy was literally hired despite having zero qualifications for the job entirely because he was a loyal Pegula lackey/stooge. The resulting disaster was totally predictable.

The defining trait of Terry is his knack for always learning the wrong lesson from his mistakes: guy with track record failed, therefore hire guy with no track record.

If I'm not mistaken, the league advised him to hire Botterill? But why are you asking the league for advice instead of hiring an experienced POHO right away, who will conduct interviews and find you a GM, with a specific plan. It's so obvious.

There's nothing to say about Adams, he's just a loyal and faithful guy from the organization.

 

[sabremike]

If I'm not mistaken, the league advised him to hire Botterill? But why are you asking the league for advice instead of hiring an experienced POHO right away, who will conduct interviews and find you a GM, with a specific plan. It's so obvious.

There's nothing to say about Adams, he's just a loyal and faithful guy from the organization.

He was in fact a sensible hire at the time who simply didn't work out, like a coveted high draft pick who busts. It happens.

 

[Fjordy]

He was in fact a sensible hire at the time who simply didn't work out, like a coveted high draft pick who busts. It happens.

He came after Murray, but after Botterill, why didn't he hire POHO? He just decided to hire a guy he knew from organization. I also suspect (and we already know this) that Terry was constantly interfering with the GM's work.

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

Some wanted to stay optimistic about that trade. They don't need to trade away good players.

 

[joshjull]

If I'm not mistaken, the league advised him to hire Botterill? But why are you asking the league for advice instead of hiring an experienced POHO right away, who will conduct interviews and find you a GM, with a specific plan. It's so obvious.

There's nothing to say about Adams, he's just a loyal and faithful guy from the organization.

Pegula would still need advice on who would be a good POHO. Unfortunately there is no way around his lack of knowledge about who the good hockey people are around the league. But an added complication is many teams hand the POHO over to a former player with little to no hockey ops experience. Many of them are successful, others are not (Pat LaFontaine says hello!).

I think fans have a tendency to give an almost mythical hero quality to a POHO. He will save us from the shitty owner!

The reality is successful teams have a variety of front office set ups. Some have a POHO, some don’t or only one on paper since it’s also the GM. But the common thread with those successful teams is smart hockey people building a good team and hiring good coaches.

 

[Fjordy]

Pegula would still need advice on who would be a good POHO. Unfortunately there is no way around his lack of knowledge about who the good hockey people are around the league. But an added complication is many teams hand the POHO over to a former player with little to no hockey ops experience. Many of them are successful, others are not (Pat LaFontaine says hello!).

I think fans have a tendency to give an almost mythical hero quality to a POHO. He will save us from the shitty owner!

The reality is successful teams have a variety of front office set ups. Some have a POHO, some don’t or only one on paper since it’s also the GM. But the common thread with those successful teams is smart hockey people building a good team and hiring good coaches.

It seems to me that it is easier to find a POHO, and it is harder to make a mistake than with choosing a GM. Because there are not so many options and almost all of them are well-known. But hiring a POHO should also be an admission that he will not interfere in the hockey affairs of the team, so that Terry does not decide anything in this.

So I'm saying you need someone experienced, not Pat LaFontaine as POHO. I don't know, maybe David Poile, Rick Dudley, anyone like that, just example.

 

[joshjull]

It seems to me that it is easier to find a POHO, and it is harder to make a mistake than with choosing a GM. Because there are not so many options and almost all of them are well-known. But hiring a POHO should also be an admission that he will not interfere in the hockey affairs of the team, so that Terry does not decide anything in this.

So I'm saying you need someone experienced, not Pat LaFontaine as POHO. I don't know, maybe David Poile, Rick Dudley, anyone like that, just example.

You’re doing exactly what I talked about. Hoping for a POHO who will save us from the owner. The reality is any owner who wants to meddle will do so. They own the team and no employee will prevent that.

We are where we are right now because of decisions Adams made not Pegula. His blame (Pegula’s) lies with the big picture decision to hire Adams.

 

[Fjordy]

You’re doing exactly what I talked about. Hoping for a POHO who will save us from the owner. The reality is any owner who wants to meddle will do so. They own the team and no employee will prevent that.

We are where we are right now because of decisions Adams made not Pegula. His blame (Pegula’s) lies with the big picture decision to hire Adams.

Is there any other choice? It's not necessarily POHO that has to save you from Terry, but he can help, with hiring a GM, with a plan, like an experienced advisor to an owner who is failing.