James Tanner: A Possibly Exhaustive Analysis of the Hiring of Darcy Regier Saying Goodbye to one of the Coyotes best alltime players.

He's awful.

He's awful.
- PassionBucket16

Yeah, except for the whole 4 EC Final appearances, the Cup Final and the drafting of 4 of the best players in franchise history.

Yeah, except for the whole 4 EC Final appearances, the Cup Final and the drafting of 4 of the best players in franchise history.
- James_Tanner

Take a look at "playoff appearances in the last ten years" before you jump to conclusions.

0-17 in terms of Stanley Cups. 1 finals appearance in 17 years.

He's great at selling off assets, he seems to always be in a position to do so.

Take a look at "playoff appearances in the last ten years" before you jump to conclusions.

0-17 in terms of Stanley Cups. 1 finals appearance in 17 years.
- PassionBucket16

If you have any reasons that he bad at his job that don't involve luck or random occurrences, I would love to hear them.

If you get your team to four Conference Finals and a Cup appearance in 14 or 15 years, that's actually very good. Buffalo presented a lot of challenges to contend with that make it seem ridiculous to consider that anything but an incredible achievement.

If he doesn't have to trade Hasek, Briere etc. how successful is he today?

If you have any reasons that he bad at his job that don't involve luck or random occurrences, I would love to hear them.

If you get your team to four Conference Finals and a Cup appearance in 14 or 15 years, that's actually very good. Buffalo presented a lot of challenges to contend with that make it seem ridiculous to consider that anything but an incredible achievement.

If he doesn't have to trade Hasek, Briere etc. how successful is he today?
- James_Tanner

Lots of "ifs" there. Not sure how using that wording makes your argument any stronger.

Let's stick to facts: he traded for Briere and then didn't re-sign him (didn't trade him). Hasek left because...Regier couldn't give him a winning team that would contend for a title. Lost Drury and Briere on the same day for nothing. Consistently overvalued his players and sold low (if at all) instead of high.

What team hasn't been unlucky? Darcy Regier's failings aren't because of being unlucky and are certainly not incredible.

Lou Lamoriello's run during that time would be considered incredible. The Hawks won 2 cups in the last five years - incredible. Darcy Regier was incredibly inept, overall.

Go check out his first round draft picks. Go check out how many all-stars he drafted (4) in 17 years. Not incredible.

Cup final was in 1999, by the way. Only 14 years before he was fired.

Buffalo Sabres: How GM Regier's Final Non-Trade Was Indicative of Entire Tenure

Yesterday, John Vogl of The Buffalo News reported that former Sabres general manager Darcy Regier had discussions with Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli in regard to a Thomas Vanek-Tyler Seguin swap at last year's draft.

While Vogl does go on to say that the reason for the deal not coming to fruition is not clear, this type of news has to leave a bad taste in many Sabres fans' mouths.

First, ignoring Seguin's fit with the Sabres in the short and long term, this is the exact type of deal that Sabres fans clamored for from Regier for years. The blockbuster. The one that would have the league buzzing for weeks.

Instead, Regier always stuck to his low-risk moves.

Regier was the king of turning established players into prospects and draft picks, usually a move that no one ever second-guesses. But eventually, a team in the Sabres' position needs to flip guys for "right now" players or guys that will make the team better from the onset, not three or four years later.

If you have any reasons that he bad at his job that don't involve luck or random occurrences, I would love to hear them.

If you get your team to four Conference Finals and a Cup appearance in 14 or 15 years, that's actually very good. Buffalo presented a lot of challenges to contend with that make it seem ridiculous to consider that anything but an incredible achievement.

If he doesn't have to trade Hasek, Briere etc. how successful is he today?
- James_Tanner

Well do some research. The first 1 SCF, and the first two teams that reached the ECF were not of Darcy's design. A man of John Muckler created those teams. The second two, had a little to do with luck, after the lockout the sabres had a prospect team that was full of small forwards who could fly, the new rules helped them tremendously. As soon as the NHL stopped enforcing the new rules, Darcy did absolutely nothing to improve the sabres. He was constantly behind the 8 ball, which is why we seldom made the playoffs with him.

And he didnt have to trade off Briere, he didnt want to pay him 25 million over 5 years, because he felt it wast too much.

Yeah, except for the whole 4 EC Final appearances, the Cup Final and the drafting of 4 of the best players in franchise history.
- James_Tanner

Most of that team (Hasek) was built by John Muckler. Darcy was a strong trader when it came to selling off assets but he held on to those assets for far far too long, was not a strong team builder or drafter.

Why would the Yotes wait until after the draft and free agency to make this move? It's been rumored Regier was at the top of the list since treliving left in April. To me, I'd want my second in command to experience strategic decisions that affects the team's next ten years.

Darcy will be OK. He does not have total control. Just don't finish worse in the standings plz.

If you look back at his time in buffalo, the early years were a success because of players the previous gm acquired. The years that immediately followed were the bankruptcy years, hasek and peca were moved and darcy should be given credit for helping keep the lights on. The following few years, in the mid 2000s, the league changed the rules, allowing the smaller softer players that darcy drafted or acquired to make a couple deep playoff runs. The league essentially changed back to the old ways in 2007, and darcys players were once again rag dolled and forced back to the perimeter. It took literally years for darcy to adjust, the players that were the new core were hopelessly too soft on the puck, and not talented enough to play with the big boys. Several years followed with the team being just good enough to not get a franchise talent in the draft. Free agents started using buffalo for leverage only. Darcy had a history of "winning" trades here, but a lot of gms around the league have suggested that he overvalues his players so much that its not worth the trouble of calling him. He often baits a hook and leaves it in the water until he gets a bite, sometimes waiting years. Its not a fun ride. Wish yotes fans all the best. Thanks for letting me vent

Yeah, except for the whole 4 EC Final appearances, the Cup Final and the drafting of 4 of the best players in franchise history.
- James_Tanner

John Muckler built the team that went to finals, he traded for Hasek, Peca etc... Darcy is terrible, he only trades guys when they are in last year of deal or let's them walk for zero in return. He will stick with the same players for way too long... Tim Connolly is prefect example, kept giving a guy raises who only played half the games. He says stupid things and treats fans like they are no nothings. One time he said he had to educate fans on how to run a team. Then he let four players walk our door with zero return. The guy is a soft, weak minded fool.

John Muckler built the team that went to finals, he traded for Hasek, Peca etc... Darcy is terrible, he only trades guys when they are in last year of deal or let's them walk for zero in return. He will stick with the same players for way too long... Tim Connolly is prefect example, kept giving a guy raises who only played half the games. He says stupid things and treats fans like they are no nothings. One time he said he had to educate fans on how to run a team. Then he let four players walk our door with zero return. The guy is a soft, weak minded fool.
- MrSquirrel

Darcy didn't even want to trade for Drury... It was Larry Quinn who forced him to make that deal.

Buffalo missed the playoffs so many times or out in first round with Darcy, total joke he kept his job so long, especially with all the stupid things he said in press conferences

Buffalo missed the playoffs so many times or out in first round with Darcy, total joke he kept his job so long, especially with all the stupid things he said in press conferences
- MrSquirrel

It was a perfect storm with 4 owners and a bankruptcy. It just lasted way too long. A new set of eyes was needed long ago.

Darcy Regier is the worst person involved in professional sports in any capacity. I'm not sure how to make that any clearer. I'm so sorry.

I think Regier's being criticized a little harshly for "not signing" players he was almost certainly told he couldn't by ownership. Since no one's written a tell-all book yet, we don't know for sure, but really, with so many players being allowed to leave, there's too much smoke in that direction not to be fire.

It's probably fair to say he was behind the 8 ball in seeing how the league was adapting. It's also fair to say the players, including some of the current stars mentioned, should have been a stronger core that held the rest of their team accountable. When Miller got run by Lucic, that's on the players not sticking up for their own. What difference does it make at that moment who the GM is? You fight for your brother--or you don't, in the case of the Sabres. Regier saw a change was needed and began auctioning off his "core" to rebuild. He didn't dilly-dally about that either, he realized changes were needed. He did a really excellent job of getting some picks. Gaustad and a 4th for a 1st rounder? Props to Regier on that, people. What other GM has dealt a 4th line center for a 1st rounder, ever? Pominville trade? Vanek trade? Again, props due....

It's also kind of unfair to completely pin the draft picks on him. He's on the receiving end of the recommendation of the amateur scouting department, ironically enough, the same guy heading that now answering to Tim Murray, no? A GM can't really view individual players like that, often. Tim Murray had half a season of being heavily involved in the draft process with Ottawa this year, but going forward, he'll have other things going on that he can't just go see players like he once did. (Although with 3 #1s in 2015, I would bet he'll be on the junior trail more than most GMs.)

Why Regier deserved to lose his job, though, for me, a Sabre fan from afar, was the handing of Grigorenko the last few years. The GM has to be more aware of the pitfalls of tossing a young player into situations he's not ready for, and Grigorenko was clearly not ready for NHL duty beyond the 10 games allowed under the CBA, yet he got yo-yo'd around for 2 years of an ELC, which to me is unforgivable for a 18-19 year old kid. If you can't see that as a seasoned GM, you don't deserve to occupy that chair.

I think he will be a real asset to the Coyotes as a #2 man though, since he's had such a depth of experience. Hopefully he has learned from his mistakes, but he isn't the guy making the final decisions, so it's not doom and gloom if you are a Coyote fan, IMO. And if he had to step in as the ultimate decision-maker, there are lots of reasons to feel your franchise might be on the upswing.

Why would the Yotes wait until after the draft and free agency to make this move? It's been rumored Regier was at the top of the list since treliving left in April. To me, I'd want my second in command to experience strategic decisions that affects the team's next ten years.
- Soup16

Exactly, he is going to be a sounding board for Don, as well as run the minor league operation in Portland.