The Sabres GM and Front Office Thread, Eric Staal hired as Special Asst. to the GM; Jarmo Kekäläinen hired as Senior Advisor

[MOGlLNY]

This front office with Kevyn and the coaching staff remind me of a couple kids playing house while their parents are away. The only way for Kevyn's best friend to get experience in the office is hiring him here because Pegula won't say no when 31 other teams would.

I hope they continue to get rejected for a 'senior advisor role' whatever that may be.

IM expecting a bad season including a top 3 pick this year. They have no actual centers, Josh Norris can't be relied upon with his injury prone self.

The Cozens trade was laughable, the Staal hire is laughable, the promotions from inept bench coaches within the organization are laughable.

I'm not sure there is anything to like about the Sabres anymore, free agency is a joke and has been a joke because there isn't a single damn palm tree in all of Buffalo...

Agree with you on most but Cozens trade I am completely fine with. Only issue I have is I wish they took on less money.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Wait... there is 2 cases?

Yes. I think there’s also one going back sometime in the 90s

 

[5 Minute Major]

Anyone up for a Ruff Regier?

No. Please, no.

 

[Chainshot]

Wait... there is 2 cases?

There are more than 2, that was part of the issue of the Hockey Canada slush funds to pay off settlements that came to light during the Parliament inquest about this. 2003 is the one I have heard the most about outside of the current trial.

 

[LamaTabootTaboot]

Absolutely lol. The context was/is there and you just ignore it. Here is the post I was replying to:

"If you want a good experienced exec in here, you need to be willing to let adams go, and also give up on this silly Seth appert nonsense.

Can't have both. Sports don't work that way."

I have no idea how someone would think that my comment would be construed as "a new GM would need to be okay moving on from Adams"

It's painfully obvious that the context of the conversation was around a senior advisor/POHO being looked at and that person, in order to be hired, would need to be okay firing Adams and some coaches.

But go on and keep trying to find that "gotcha" moment, I'm sure i used improper sentence structure somewhere.....

There isn't a qualified POHO or GM candidate in the NHL who needs 8 more months to evaluate Adams.

Not one.

Lower levels, like regional scouts, sure. But Kevyn Adams?

Why does this seem reasonable? How many Senior Advisors report directly to team owners or board of directors?

I understand that we don't have a POHO, but who cares who a senior advisor reports to? People here seem to think:

1. Reporting structure and org charts prevent people from talking to others (this is nonsense)
2. Reporting to someone prevents you from disagreeing or having tough conversations (this is also nonsense)

I disagree and challenge my colleagues and those above me constantly, it promotes healthy discussions and outcomes in every organization.

I think we all agree here. Nothing wrong with disagreements in the work place.

Where all of this becomes an issue with the Sabres is that Pegula pulls the responsibilities from department heads based on other opinions.

Nobody has the responsibility or freedom to fail appropriately. So it's tough to know who's passing and failing. And as a result, instead of GTFO of the way Pegula assembles a staff that gets a long and is in lockstep,marching the franchise off of a cliff.

At some point, even when you argue at work,department heads get to pull rank. Pegula is constantly getting in the way of that.

No. Please, no.

There is no way that Ruff/Regier is a downgrade. It's a really bad decision that would still be a full standard deviation better than whatever the hell we are doing now.

Jesus, what a sad state of affairs.

 

[TehDoak]

There is no way that Ruff/Regier is a downgrade. It's a really bad decision that would still be a full standard deviation better than whatever the hell we are doing now.

To be honest, any person with considerable front office experience would be a significant upgrade over Adams.

Regier is a guy who has been out of hockey entirely for 9 years now. He doesn't have relationships to build out a full staff anymore. He was a middling GM when he was here. He likely isn't up to date on players or even the types of players needed to implement systems.

Would he be an upgrade over Adams? god yes. Is he the best option? Absolutely not.

 

[K8fool]

anal natural oosthod bethood do.... etc

we consign you Kevin Adams to oblivion and retake your form so this board can make the obvious decisions you cannot..
jingle jangle we mayconsign you to share your eternity w Jimmy Seville should you fail to follow the consensus of the board or use source and ether to sign vets and trade to build a winner in a lame league abused by nhl edge

 

[debaser66]

I wonder what the thinking is behind keeping staff no matter how they actually perform.
Appert seems to have been identified by Adams as the next HC for the Sabres when he signed him for the Amerks years ago.
That he failed all the way doesn't seem to matter.

 

[Chainshot]

I wonder what the thinking is behind keeping staff no matter how they actually perform.
Appert seems to have been identified by Adams as the next HC for the Sabres when he signed him for the Amerks years ago.
That he failed all the way doesn't seem to matter.

Eh, Rochester did better with development with Appert down there than expected and as a long-time Amerk fan, better than the Taylor teams had done at the end of his tenure. I wouldn't call that failing all the way. Is it foolish to think something could change, like say, he can't design and get the players to execute a competent PP at this level? Sure. Or that none of the assistants should be back after a 14-game losing streak season? Indeed.

 

[TageGod]

Eh, Rochester did better with development with Appert down there than expected and as a long-time Amerk fan, better than the Taylor teams had done at the end of his tenure. I wouldn't call that failing all the way. Is it foolish to think something could change, like say, he can't design and get the players to execute a competent PP at this level? Sure. Or that none of the assistants should be back after a 14-game losing streak season? Indeed.

Even if Appert is to blame for the PP, even if he should be shown the door, he clearly has Pegula's gold stamp of approval and is destined to be the sabres next head coach.

 

[May Day 10]

From my view, Rochester underperformed under Appert. It seemed they always had to grind to sneak into the crowded AHL playoffs, despite my perception that they had a good team. They had the 1 playoff run where they went sort of deep.
He always gets credit for developing all these players too... who? That is like the Granato and Rololston fallacy.

They were better this season under Leone, and they had better seasons in '18-19 and the covid season just before Appert took over.


There has certainly not been anything that would make me think that this guy should be placed on a cleared path to take over our NHL team. Im pretty sure no other NHL club would even consider that.

 

[Jim Bob]

Even if Appert is to blame for the PP, even if he should be shown the door, he clearly has Pegula's gold stamp of approval and is destined to be the sabres next head coach.

I never bought into the idea that Appert was going to be able to fix the PP.

Appert was a goalie. Appert has been a head coach for the bulk of his career. Maybe he ran the PP at DU two decades ago with Steve Miller likely running the PK.

They should have brought in a PP coach and just let Appert be attached to Ruff's hip as the head coach in waiting.

 

[Jim Bob]

Report: Kings to crown Holland as next GM

The Los Angeles Kings are hiring Hall of Fame executive Ken Holland as their next general manager, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reports.The Kings and prior GM Rob Blake parted ways last week after Los Angeles' fourth Round 1 loss in a row to the Edmonton Oilers.Holland served as the GM of the...

www.thescore.com

There is why Ken Holland wasn't interested in the senior advisor role with the Sabres.

Report: Isles plan to interview Kekalainen, Bergevin, Darche for GM job

The New York Islanders plan to interview Jarmo Kekalainen, Marc Bergevin, and Mathieu Darche for their general manager vacancy, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.The Islanders announced in April they won't be renewing the contract of veteran GM and president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello. His...

www.thescore.com

I am going to guess that Adams will call the guys that don't get the Isles GM job about the senior advisor role.

 

[THUNDERBURST]

Report: Kings to crown Holland as next GM

The Los Angeles Kings are hiring Hall of Fame executive Ken Holland as their next general manager, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reports.The Kings and prior GM Rob Blake parted ways last week after Los Angeles' fourth Round 1 loss in a row to the Edmonton Oilers.Holland served as the GM of the...

www.thescore.com

There is why Ken Holland wasn't interested in the senior advisor role with the Sabres.

Report: Isles plan to interview Kekalainen, Bergevin, Darche for GM job

The New York Islanders plan to interview Jarmo Kekalainen, Marc Bergevin, and Mathieu Darche for their general manager vacancy, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.The Islanders announced in April they won't be renewing the contract of veteran GM and president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello. His...

www.thescore.com

I am going to guess that Adams will call the guys that don't get the Isles GM job about the senior advisor role.

Looks like Fletcher or Chia is waiting for us.

 

[Jim Bob]

Looks like Fletcher or Chia is waiting for us.

I wonder if they come here without any real ties to Adams.

 

[Chainshot]

Even if Appert is to blame for the PP, even if he should be shown the door, he clearly has Pegula's gold stamp of approval and is destined to be the sabres next head coach.

And? The team does have enough wrong that we don't need to make up that Appert didn't have success in the AHL.

 

[Chainshot]

I wonder if they come here without any real ties to Adams.

Maybe tell Fletch he can trade Buffalo all the 2nd round picks he wants... when he works for Buffalo?

 

[WeDislikeEich]

I wonder if they come here without any real ties to Adams.

I sure hope not!

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Report: Kings to crown Holland as next GM

The Los Angeles Kings are hiring Hall of Fame executive Ken Holland as their next general manager, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reports.The Kings and prior GM Rob Blake parted ways last week after Los Angeles' fourth Round 1 loss in a row to the Edmonton Oilers.Holland served as the GM of the...

www.thescore.com

There is why Ken Holland wasn't interested in the senior advisor role with the Sabres.

Report: Isles plan to interview Kekalainen, Bergevin, Darche for GM job

The New York Islanders plan to interview Jarmo Kekalainen, Marc Bergevin, and Mathieu Darche for their general manager vacancy, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.The Islanders announced in April they won't be renewing the contract of veteran GM and president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello. His...

www.thescore.com

I am going to guess that Adams will call the guys that don't get the Isles GM job about the senior advisor role.

I may be in the minority, but I would’ve taken Holland as the Sabres GM in a heartbeat.

It’s not that I thought he was the best GM. But he is easily one of the most respected execs in the NHL. He could’ve brought that credibility to the Sabres and also rebuilt the hockey ops dept. into something respectable too. (assuming Terry would even allow that type of $ to be spent)

 

[Chainshot]

I may be in the minority, but I would’ve taken Holland as the Sabres GM in a heartbeat.

It’s not that I thought he was the best GM. But he is easily one of the most respected execs in the NHL. He could’ve brought that credibility to the Sabres and also rebuilt the hockey ops dept. into something respectable too. (assuming Terry would even allow that type of $ to be spent)

POHO would give them the credibility but if he brings along Tyler Wright, the drafting side of things likely goes to shit if his work in Detroit and Edmonton in that regard are any indication.

----------------------------

Circling back to Fletcher, it was mentioned further back in the thread an warrants attention: he was the AGM in Florida when Lindy was an assistant there. I won't get into Tim Murray being one of his employees as a scout but that's there too.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Oh, btw, does anyone else get annoyed every time they read the title of this thread?

Every time I read that “UPDATE” part, for a split second I get excited that maybe something meaningful happened, then my hopes are quickly crushed and I’m annoyed reading “Adam’s back as GM”. lol

 

[TehDoak]

I don't think we should really have any illusions. IF we get a senior advisor (at all), we aren't getting the best and brightest. We're getting someone in who is clinging onto some hope of staying in the game (and can't get a cushy TV gig)

This job is a placeholder for whoever takes it, and will be spending half their time here lining up interviews at any GM job that opens up in season and possibly trying to stab adams in the back to take his job.

 

[Jim Bob]

I don't think we should really have any illusions. IF we get a senior advisor (at all), we aren't getting the best and brightest. We're getting someone in who is clinging onto some hope of staying in the game (and can't get a cushy TV gig)

This job is a placeholder for whoever takes it, and will be spending half their time here lining up interviews at any GM job that opens up in season and possibly trying to stab adams in the back to take his job.

Honestly, that is what a lot of senior advisor gigs are around the league.

Dudley in Florida. Barnett with the Rangers. Fletcher when he was with the Leafs.

Nieds in Anaheim and Vinny Lecavalier in Montreal are more like Eric Staal-types in the role.

 

[Chainshot]

Honestly, that is what a lot of senior advisor gigs are around the league.

Dudley in Florida. Barnett with the Rangers. Fletcher when he was with the Leafs.

Nieds in Anaheim and Vinny Lecavalier in Montreal are more like Eric Staal-types in the role.

Indeed, Nieds and Vinny are closer to Draper/Spezza than senior advisor.

 

[May Day 10]

We dont need someone to learn here. There is nothing to learn from the group of never-has-beens they have in the front office. The idea of Staal is preposterous.

Need someone to come in and fix the organization.