I don't think the sabres get a true identity until Eichel becomes the supreme leader. I wonder if Gionta will be back, he's good for bridging the gap. They need Eichel to blossom along with a couple of other player his age. I'm not sure the Sabres could be considerd a small market anymore, considering the deep Pegula bucks. They have a strong inflow from southern Ontario and have no problem selling seats. You can't put them in the same sentence as Phoenix or Carolina when defining small market in the nhl.
Agreed, skinny. The team identity is not a bottom-up matter, i.e., it does not start with the players, but rather emanates down from the very top, and is articulated by the FO (GM). Eichel showed immaturity this year* with frustrations being worn on his sleeves. (* That's not a put down, he is still a teenager.) And I think they were frustrations borne on passion - which is a very good thing for a future leader. I liked getting ROR for several reasons, but one was that it allowed Jack to be sheltered a bit before being thrown to a 1C role. I think it may be time to give him that responsibility. Gionta is a local guy at the end of his career; he's here for the "C" much more than any other reason. Normally I would state that a player needs the stats to really establish his credentials as Captain. In Brian's case I think that the stats were acceptable, and the leadership traits were essential. It'll depend on the contract, but I hope he comes back, (maybe going to A with the C to ROR or Eichel). As markets are defined, Buffalo is small market. First, and this is ridiculous, but what exists a couple of miles west of FNC does not count. Them's fereners! (They literally are not counted in most market size studies.) Yes, S. Ont. represents 35% or more of the fan base, but still the overall size is just not there to be anything other than "by definition" a small market. The Pegulas' ability and wiliness to spend are not germane factors in this equation. However, Buffalo, (largely because of the Pegulas) is becoming a major hockey hub. Just about every major hockey event will cycle through Buffalo frequently. Players love it there once they arrive, and they tend to retire there. The TV ratings rival a Canadian market and on a per capita basis are usually at or near the very top in the US ratings. That is despite having a lousy product. There's a lot to make the Sabres an attractive team for players. In the end, Buffalo does not have a two-four year window as many teams would dream for. They're young enough that if they fix their systemic organizational concerns they can compete for close to a decade. Therefore, if we have to wait a year-to-three for that to materialize it would not be the end of the world. I just want them to do this right. Fast is nice, but right is what matters.
Will, this was a great message full of good questions and provocative thoughts. I did not want to have it get lost behind the page break. I'll come back to address some of your points.
I think it could be argued that I have wasted 47 years following the Sabres as if my personal well-being depended upon them. But, that said, I do not think of the past few years as wasted. (They were soul-crushing and cruel years that I would not wish on the fans of the hockey team from Philadelphia.) But they were not wasted since the team is actually in a much better position today compared to where they'd be if they hadn't taken their radical rebuild approach. This really all began when Lucic ran Ryan Miller several years ago. Call the play what you will; it really doesn't matter. What mattered is the pathetic lack of response by the Sabres, and then the realization that the entire organization was pussified and could not respond even if they wanted to. That was the catalyst for BIG changes. The team ripped the team down to the studs, but if they hadn't the best possible outcome is they'd be a perpetual playoff bubble team with no chance of hoisting the Cup. Now the team is exceptionally deep in very high quality young players. That's a very good thing. However, it's only part of the equation. The real lesson of the last few year is that it's a heluva lot easier to tear down a team than it is to build one back up. That seems obvious; but most people overlook it when they're talking about their team. Certainly getting the right talent and getting a roster that is balanced and that can live within the cap are essential components of rebuilding. On this, I think GMTM deserved good grades. I also like that he was willing to take a risk, and seemed undeterred by the occasional (inevitable) failure. The real problem is that their was not a coherent (i.e., one that everyone in the org. understood and agreed with) plan on how to build the entire organization. The roster was treated as a separate matter than the farm system. The communication between the FO and the HC was poor (at best), and the communication between the HC and the players was dysfunctional. I can find nothing that points to an earnest effort to have the Sabres establish a team identity. So we're left with a superlatively talented young roster, albeit one with holes. There may be some on the roster that have been ruined by the past few years of floundering and futility. Some that may even be very talented young players. They cannot coexist on a team that is striving to become a SC contender. The most critical task for Botterill between now and the expansion draft is to determine who - if any - of the current roster should be removed from the roster. If his evaluations are accurate, dumping these players will be acts of addition-by-subtraction. However, it may in the process create new holes that will require another 2 or 3 years to fill. So be it. I remain open to the notion that this may not be necessary. It is possible that the new HC and change in scheme could be an elixir for the players. And that a coherent plan and well defined course of action, (i.e., this is the Sabres identity, and this is how we're going to go about achieving it), could result in much more consistent play this coming season. Bear in mind that the Sabres were not, in truth, a terrible team last year. They were terribly inconsistent - and that means that at times they looked excellent and at other times they looked terrible. If they can extricate whatever factors were causing that wild inconsistency then they could be one of the big leap-forward stories of 2017-18. If this is the team's assessment then I hope they get very aggressive with trade offers for D such as Fowler (but ANA has about 3 players that may immediately help the Sabres top four). They have plenty of assets on hand to address the holes that currently exist.
I believe that this is the very reason for the surprising firing of Tim Murray. As for the coaching, that will probably have to wait until after the SCF since the prime candidates are currently assistants on NAS or PIT. That creates a very short time frame to interview and hire a HC, but the heavy lifting of knowing what kind of coach they want has already been done for the most part. The HC is not essential prior to the expansion draft. Once the new HC is in place it should not take too much time to fill out the coaching ranks in Buffalo and in Rochester. Botterill is certainly saying all the right things at this time to give us encouragement. Of course, it's way too early to say how well he'll actually execute.
First, I have been a Rochester Americans fan for longer than I've been a Buffalo Sabres fan, (that's because the Sabres did not yet exist). My point is that I have a very soft spot for the Amerks. On one hand, the Pegulas have been very proactive addressing the farm system. They eliminated a bunch of ridiculous stuff that had resulted in ROC becoming a FLA affiliate and BUF sending their top prospects to Portland, ME. He fixed it by simply buying the Amerks. This is one of the most logical team-affiliation relationship in hockey, and they are essentially now linked together forever. He also put the ECHL affiliate in nearby Elmira*, (* although the Jackals are folding; they've never been in good financial shape in that town famous for Mark Twain living there and for massive floods in the 1970's.) As far as really building a solid farm system the answer is less sanguine. It appears to me to be a cobbled-together affair. As if it were an afterthought for Tim Murray and Co. It is extremely encouraging the Jason Botterill spoke early and loudly about the need to create a winning atmosphere in Rochester. (Incidentally, he spent his most productive pro years as a member of the Amerks.) So, I think the answer is that things are in place to create a strong farm system, but to date that has been unfulfilled. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say that it's been a failure.
I think I've addressed some of the concerns about Buffalo being an attractive destination for hockey people. On one hand they are a small market, but on the other hand they are s super-strong hockey market. I won't repeat a lot of what I've written earlier, but in the final analysis, Buffalo is in a position to be very competitive with any city in the NHL. Obviously they won't win 'em all, (no team does), but once they actually start winning they will probably win more than their share of competitive cases. Obviously the cap puts a hard limit on every single team. But the Pegulas are super wealthy, very committed to Buffalo (and their sports empire), and very passionate about hockey. There is absolutely no internal cap that hobbles many teams around the league. Most fans would love to have an ownership team like what's in Buffalo.
Breaking news! The Sabres have placed their ECHL affiliation in Cincinnati. There's actually some nice history there since the Sabres very first AHL affiliation was with the Cincinnati Swords.
The Sabres made news today with goalies. From Die by the Blade: Getting Peterson under contract will be the first test of GM Botterill's ability to get the job done. I actually expected that Peterson would head back for a final year at Notre Dame and one more shot at the National Championship. Since he's decided to go pro, I think the chances he signs with Buffalo are pretty high.
I still would prefer Phil Housley, but I think Botterill knows what he wants in a HC. The most important thing* is that the GM and HC communicate well with each other. The lack of this is probably the primary reason Tim Murray was axed. (* Obviously this is with the assumption that both are competent.)
TEH PHIL! Phil Housley hired as HC of the Sabres. Everyone is delirious with joy. Who knows for sure? He's never been a HC in the NHL, but he has paid his dues to get to this point. His work with the Preds' D was superlative, and BTW, Buffalo's D needs some work. I am as happy as a pig in shit.
Surprisingly, the Sabres did not even contact Rick Tocchet about the HC position. Teh Phil Housley knows Buffalo very well, and I am sure he got word to Florida to forgetaboutit; he was as interested in the Sabres as they obviously were in him. From Die By The Blade:
Wow. Really? That is the exact opposite of my reaction. I think they did not even speak to Tocchet because Pegula wants to put his mark on this org. (Remember, he had very little to do with the hiring of GMTM & HCDB.) I think he blackballed Tocchet for his past indiscretions. TEH Phil on the other hand was going to get a HC job sometime soon. It's all the better that it's in a place that he knows the passion the city has for this team, and therefore one who has a passion for Buffalo. But Housley is as prepared and qualified as anyone who has never been a HC. That's why I wanted him all along, the fact that the Sabres drafted him 35 years ago is a side note.
I'm not judging Housley as a coach, I have nothing to go on. All I know is that Pegula is a lifelong sabres fan, he cried when he met the french connection. The only other hire he was involved with before this was Pat LaFontaine, maybe a coincidence. Hope it works out well.
