A smart one
- Stripes77

Yeah... The owner should set operating budgets and help develop a decision making process for the club, then get out of the way, only being brought in if there's an opportunity to improve the club that exceeds the budgets

So why was Taylor fired again if he wants the kids in Buffalo?
- Stripes77

Because he couldn't win at the next level

Who cares

Yeah... The owner should set operating budgets and help develop a decision making process for the club, then get out of the way, only being brought in if there's an opportunity to improve the club that exceeds the budgets
- BINGO!

Except we know this isn't true. Mark Cuban is as hands on as they get and he won the NBA championship. Jerry Jones won superbowls. Steinbrenner won how many world series? Bob Kraft steps in on big organizational decisions all the time, like forcing Bill to trade Garapolo. Seems to be working for them.

Because he couldn't win at the next level

Who cares
- gerbe75pts

I care, because a guy got fired for doing his job and doing it well. It is yet another embarrassment check mark on what is the Buffalo Sabres organization.

The one thing you can say that Taylor sucked at was in the playoffs which is an accurate statement.

The guy that was good enough to get promoted to the Sabres bench when there was a coach that went down, and for the 3rd year in a row do something that the big club couldn't even sniff (playoffs) gets canned.

It stinks up the place.

Now go back to your peace love and harmony bs and waste more of daddy's money

Yeah, I have severe doubts these decisions weren't made before Adams was even hired.

They fired Botterill because he didn't agree with these proposed changes.

Adams had 0 to do with these decisions
- sbroads24

Perhaps you're right. I have no reason to think you're wrong. The bottom line, the real bottom line, is that our GM, multiple GMs, have failed this franchise. And by extension, the scouts.

Except we know this isn't true. Mark Cuban is as hands on as they get and he won the NBA championship. Jerry Jones won superbowls. Steinbrenner won how many world series? Bob Kraft steps in on big organizational decisions all the time, like forcing Bill to trade Garapolo. Seems to be working for them.
- matty12345

Then there are the Pegulas of the world

The Dan Snyder's of the world

You know picking 4 owners out of 120 that have won isn't a good percentage there

Jerry Jones was the owner when the won the Super Bowl but he wasn't in charge, it's when he took over that the Cowboys couldn't get out of the 1st round.

Mark Cuban doesn't make roster decisions. He is the face of the franchise but he lets his GM's do their job.

Steinbrenner went 13 years straight not making the playoffs

I don't get this board. We knew Botteril was an awful GM, and after he completely flubbed last off season we were told "they haven't played the games yet, be positive."

Now he is finally fired, Adams has an entire offseason to get a few pieces we need, Cozens is set to come light the NHL on fire, and we are going to have ANOTHER top ten pick, and its doomsday because some scouts got fired alongside their inept GM.

Perhaps you're right. I have no reason to think you're wrong. The bottom line, the real bottom line, is that our GM, multiple GMs, have failed this franchise. And by extension, the scouts.
- TheSabresTaco

I'm also not certain that some of these scouts (though definitely not all) won't be brought back when/if the economic picture becomes more clear. What happened with the Amerks coaching staff sucks, but next year's AHL season is in serious doubt, especially if fans won't be allowed in the stands. And even if they are, there's no guarantee the general public will buy in. I guess you could have furloughed them, but firing them now allows them to find employment elsewhere if they can.

I don't get this board. We knew Botteril was an awful GM, and after he completely flubbed last off season we were told "they haven't played the games yet, be positive."

Now he is finally fired, Adams has an entire offseason to get a few pieces we need, Cozens is set to come light the NHL on fire, and we are going to have ANOTHER top ten pick, and its doomsday because some scouts got fired alongside their inept GM.
- matty12345

It's not that they fired him

It is who they replaced him with and that the entire press conference basically reiterated that the Pegulas have the final say in most roster decisions and they shouldn't

Adams is a yes man

I don't get this board. We knew Botteril was an awful GM, and after he completely flubbed last off season we were told "they haven't played the games yet, be positive."

Now he is finally fired, Adams has an entire offseason to get a few pieces we need, Cozens is set to come light the NHL on fire, and we are going to have ANOTHER top ten pick, and its doomsday because some scouts got fired alongside their inept GM.
- matty12345

It's not that they fired Botterill. It's that they fired Botterill and didn't even search for a replacement. An ownership whose every decision they have made with this franchise has turned out to be the wrong one decided they had their next guy without even interviewing anyone else. It's a bad look.

Then there are the Pegulas of the world

The Dan Snyder's of the world

You know picking 4 owners out of 120 that have won isn't a good percentage there

Jerry Jones was the owner when the won the Super Bowl but he wasn't in charge, it's when he took over that the Cowboys couldn't get out of the 1st round.

Mark Cuban doesn't make roster decisions. He is the face of the franchise but he lets his GM's do their job.

Steinbrenner went 13 years straight not making the playoffs
- Stripes77

four is more than two, which you cherrypicked.

I am just saying, there are a lot of ways to win. The only consistent theme is you need great players. But sometimes it is a coach calling the shots like in Pittsburgh and New England in the NFL, sometimes its a president, sometimes a GM, and sometimes an owner.

Where would we be if we had taken Draisaitl? What if Terry had stepped in and forced Murray to take him? It's the owner's team, sometimes they absolutely should be making decisions. There is no business in the world where the owner isn't involved. To think sports should be that way is naive.

I don't get this board. We knew Botteril was an awful GM, and after he completely flubbed last off season we were told "they haven't played the games yet, be positive."

Now he is finally fired, Adams has an entire offseason to get a few pieces we need, Cozens is set to come light the NHL on fire, and we are going to have ANOTHER top ten pick, and its doomsday because some scouts got fired alongside their inept GM.
- matty12345

I’m just hoping they hit on this years pick. Shouldn’t be too hard with the amount of forward talent available this year. A little lotto luck would go a long way

I care, because a guy got fired for doing his job and doing it well. It is yet another embarrassment check mark on what is the Buffalo Sabres organization.

The one thing you can say that Taylor sucked at was in the playoffs which is an accurate statement.

The guy that was good enough to get promoted to the Sabres bench when there was a coach that went down, and for the 3rd year in a row do something that the big club couldn't even sniff (playoffs) gets canned.

It stinks up the place.

Now go back to your peace love and harmony bs and waste more of daddy's money
- Stripes77

I want a guy that can get to the next level...
so let's keep a guy that gets killed in the playoffs ever year

That sounds like success

Thats why Bruce Boudreau sucks

I care, because a guy got fired for doing his job and doing it well. It is yet another embarrassment check mark on what is the Buffalo Sabres organization.

The one thing you can say that Taylor sucked at was in the playoffs which is an accurate statement.

The guy that was good enough to get promoted to the Sabres bench when there was a coach that went down, and for the 3rd year in a row do something that the big club couldn't even sniff (playoffs) gets canned.

It stinks up the place.

Now go back to your peace love and harmony bs and waste more of daddy's money
- Stripes77

Ya, the Roch Coaching staff is the most perplexing.
Taylor executed on what the organizational direction was...win, rely on Vets, integrate young players. The GMs loaded the roster with vets, that is what they believed was important for young players to thrive in.

The Scouting Staff was questionable for sure, the sheer size compared to what was delivered. You can't miss that badly on Nylander and Mitts. The Pro Player scouts should have a much higher hit rate than what they delivered.

I don't get this board. We knew Botteril was an awful GM, and after he completely flubbed last off season we were told "they haven't played the games yet, be positive."

Now he is finally fired, Adams has an entire offseason to get a few pieces we need, Cozens is set to come light the NHL on fire, and we are going to have ANOTHER top ten pick, and its doomsday because some scouts got fired alongside their inept GM.
- matty12345

Personally I don't care about Botterill or Adams. The GM isn't the main concern with this team anymore.

The concern is the owners becoming a budget team and proposing cutting salary on the roster.

It's not that they fired Botterill. It's that they fired Botterill and didn't even search for a replacement. An ownership whose every decision they have made with this franchise has turned out to be the wrong one decided they had their next guy without even interviewing anyone else. It's a bad look.
- buffalofan19

You are assuming a search would have yielded a better GM. We have had searches and we got GMTM and Botts.

I guarantee they would have hired someone most on this board never even knew existed. Kevyn Adams has been an NHLer, a SC winner, a pro sports agent, he is young and understands analytics, was an assistant coach, and understands the business side of running the sabres already. He is articulate and sounds good.

He's totally qualified, and could be good, could be bad, just like anyone else.

four is more than two, which you cherrypicked.

I am just saying, there are a lot of ways to win. The only consistent theme is you need great players. But sometimes it is a coach calling the shots like in Pittsburgh and New England in the NFL, sometimes its a president, sometimes a GM, and sometimes an owner.

Where would we be if we had taken Draisaitl? What if Terry had stepped in and forced Murray to take him? It's the owner's team, sometimes they absolutely should be making decisions. There is no business in the world where the owner isn't involved. To think sports should be that way is naive.
- matty12345

I cherrypicked?

The blue print is there

95% of the owners stay out of the way

You cherry picked

The Patriots have the best coach of all time with probably the best QB of all time, and truth be told it looks like Belechek was right about not trading Jimmy G

You are assuming a search would have yielded a better GM. We have had searches and we got GMTM and Botts.

I guarantee they would have hired someone most on this board never even knew existed. Kevyn Adams has been an NHLer, a SC winner, a pro sports agent, he is young and understands analytics, was an assistant coach, and understands the business side of running the sabres already. He is articulate and sounds good.

He's totally qualified, and could be good, could be bad, just like anyone else.
- matty12345

No, were not

Personally I don't care about Botterill or Adams. The GM isn't the main concern with this team anymore.

The concern is the owners becoming a budget team and proposing cutting salary on the roster.
- sbroads24

We have had owners who operated the team at a loss every single year, and spent into cap penalties, and generally spared no expense when it came to the team.

Now COVID comes and they try to be more economical to stay afloat and they are the problem all along. Okay.

You are assuming a search would have yielded a better GM. We have had searches and we got GMTM and Botts.

I guarantee they would have hired someone most on this board never even knew existed. Kevyn Adams has been an NHLer, a SC winner, a pro sports agent, he is young and understands analytics, was an assistant coach, and understands the business side of running the sabres already. He is articulate and sounds good.

He's totally qualified, and could be good, could be bad, just like anyone else.
- matty12345

Who gives a poop how "good or bad" he might be if Terry Pegula is forcing him to trade someone before their bonus kicks in, or doesnt want him to trade Ristolainen because he likes to watch him?

THe GM DOES NOT matter when the owners are meddling

I think the disconnect here is who the GM is, now. If Botterill were fired, and they hired someone more "qualified", and he did this, we'd probably be less upset because usually the GM wants to bring in "his own guys".

The one thing Adams does have is that he's in about as good a cap situation going into next season as you can ask for going into next season, whether they plan on trimming payroll or not.
- buffalofan19

Adams keeps hammering on the pegulas always providing the resources they need to succeed.

Why overhaul Rochester, though, seemingly one of the organization’s bright spots?

It’s really important to emphasize that this wasn’t Chris Taylor and his coaching staff. They’re very good. It’s more about how we want to run the Rochester Americans, ultimately, and it may take some time based on the contract situation. But, you know, I really believe that for us to develop players to become Buffalo Sabres, we need to make sure they’re getting the ice time and they’re being put in a position to where they’re pushed and challenged. We just wanted to make sure that we move forward with that mindset.



It's pretty simple. Chris Taylor set winning ahead of developing. That can be debated until the end of time whether that's the right approach for a "Developmental League". Do you set one over the other? Do you find a way to balance it? Cause if you balance it, you're not setting either as a priority.

It sounds like Adams wants the kids to play. An excessively common theme around here.

And frankly, I'm sick of under developed kids coming in here with unfulfilled expectations. Chris Taylor is an awesome coach and I'm sad to see him go. But if this decision makes our prospects better and more prepared, then I'm all in.
- TheSabresTaco

Good post

Who gives a poop how "good or bad" he might be if Terry Pegula is forcing him to trade someone before their bonus kicks in, or doesnt want him to trade Ristolainen because he likes to watch him?

THe GM DOES NOT matter when the owners are meddling
- sbroads24

That's a bunch of ridiculous hearsay from people on this board who claim to have connections.

Botts was supposedly fired for not being willing to listen to the owners. But also he isn't responsible for sucking because he listened to the owners?

The lengths people will go to to suck that man's hockey stick is insane.

I don't get this board. We knew Botteril was an awful GM, and after he completely flubbed last off season we were told "they haven't played the games yet, be positive."

Now he is finally fired, Adams has an entire offseason to get a few pieces we need, Cozens is set to come light the NHL on fire, and we are going to have ANOTHER top ten pick, and its doomsday because some scouts got fired alongside their inept GM.
- matty12345

Context is important here.
Yes, Botts needed to go.
Yes I believe the Scouting Staff has under delivered and an upgrade is required.
No objection to them releasing those they did.

The problem, and if you have difficulty at least considering the concern here then I think you might just be focusing on the above only...
By selecting a GM with absolutely no relevant Hockey Ops experience, then cutting virtually all support system save for his Coach who has 115 NHL game experience, you are putting the success of the organization at high risk.
Can Adam's do it? We'll find out.
But building an entirely new Hockey Ops department, while also rebuilding the roster is both one hell of an opportunity, but also a very, very significant challenge.

That's a bunch of ridiculous hearsay from people on this board who claim to have connections.

Botts was supposedly fired for not being willing to listen to the owners. But also he isn't responsible for sucking because he listened to the owners?

The lengths people will go to to suck that man's hockey stick is insane.
- matty12345

Always take the "connections" with a grain of salt.

The "connection's" info is only as good as the guy/girl THEY got the info from.