The BIGGEST DISASTER In All Of Hockey

The BIGGEST DISASTER In All Of Hockey

What happens when you combine poor ownership with bad coaching choices and indecisive management? You get arguably one of the most laughable franchises in all of sports. Well, maybe not all sports. Maybe just hockey because the New York Jets still exist, right? What? What? The Buffalo Sabres have yet again gotten off to a slow start. But this time around, it seems like their fans are really through with the same poor output that this franchise has delivered them for the past 14 years. With viral video rants spreading, the paper bags unfolding, and sweaters being tossed on the ice, I think it’s safe to say that the Buffalo Sabres are the only hockey organization whose season could be over before even playing more than a handful of games. I need an owner who’s going to answer the fans when they misspell names on jerseys and have Chinese knockoffs on alumni. Like, what is going on? Like, what are we doing? Like, I don’t understand it, man. Like, bulldog, you you’ve lived through this. You’ve seen it. Like, have you ever been like, have they ever sucked a passion out of you like they have me? But let’s cut the jokes for a minute. Is Buffalo really already in that bad of a spot? or is it possible for this team to get back on track and somehow reshape the minds of their otherwise anxious fan base? Well, let’s find out together. Like, I’m sick of it, Bulldog. I’m sick of it. I’m sorry. I’ll hang up and listen. I’m sorry. Through the last 14 years, the Buffalo Sabres have become a laughingstock in the NHL. A destination that very few players want to suit up for. And even the new ones who come in thinking they can save this organization eventually suffer the fate that every player who walks through those doors suffers. Failure. But how did the Buffalo Sabres go from being a semi wellrespected organization to a bottomfeeding NHL team? Well, today we’re going to break down every aspect of this organization from the very top all the way to the very bottom to explain why the Buffalo Sabres have become so bad and also talk about whether or not this season is actually over or if this is just an over dramatic response from their fan base. So, let’s start off with a poll that was released by The Athletic ranking the worst ownership groups in the NHL. And sitting at the very bottom of the list is none other than Terry Pagula himself with a fat F grade. According to the fans who put Pagula so low on this ranking list, quote, “He seems averse to hiring GMs and coaches with actual NHL experience and makes abrupt hiring and firing decisions. The franchise still appears to have a haphazard plan for putting together a winning roster. Part of this is that there is no team president or other executive with NHL experience to guide these decisions. His entire ownership tenure has been a disaster. He used to have competition as the worst owner in the league, but now he is the last one of those remaining. Hockey heaven. Instead, Pagoula’s ownership has put Buffalo in hockey hell. Since Pagoula took over as team owner in 2011, the Sabres have gone from mediocre to a complete dumpster fire. from pricey concessions to roster turnover all the way to a pretty crummy home barn that hasn’t been updated in a while. And what you get is essentially a minor league hockey team with a worse product on the ice. And you might be asking at this point, how much of an effect does an ownership group have on an NHL franchise? And my answer to that would be a huge effect because not having a solid owner can cause this trickle down effect through your entire organization that just completely misrepresents the brand. And that’s what I’m going to try to explain today through each facet of this Buffalo Sabres roster. Now, it all starts with Pagoula. However, there is one guy as of late who I feel has not been ridiculed enough for how poorly he has handled this Sabres roster. And of course, you all know who I’m talking about. Kevin Adams. Pagula may have hired Adams, but what he has done to the Sabres should make you cringe. And we could go in depth on all of the situations, but I’m sure you’ve all heard about each one of these. So, I’ll just quickly recap some of the highlights for you. Jack Eel, a former second overall pick, traded because of surgery disagreements. Sam Reinhardt lowballed on a contract offer, sent off to Florida. Ryan O’Reilly lost his love for the game playing with the Sabres, eventually traded. Lenus Almark left in free agency. And one of the latest ones, JJ Purka, who wanted a change of scenery, translation, he hated Buffalo. These are just a few of the moves leading to the current situation that Buffalo is in. And granted, they did get some nice players back in these deals, but nothing close to the value that they gave up. Alex Tuck came back in the eek move, Thompson and the O’Reilly one, and I think Levi came back in the Reinhardt trade. But all in all, Buffalo has not been able to complement the former or the latter group of players with the right mix of talent to string together meaningful wins that lead to making the playoffs. And that to me is an issue with management aka Kevin Adams which again is an issue with ownership Pagoula for hiring an unqualified guy and allowing him to keep this position for so long. Next, let’s continue down this ladder of disaster to talk about the next layer, their coaching decisions. Did you know that the Sabres haven’t had a winning coach since Lindy Ruff’s first stint with the organization? Nearly every other hire that they’ve made has been a complete disaster, which is probably why they made the decision to bring back Lindy Ruff in the first place. When bringing in a new wave of talent in this league, it’s so important to curate a culture that suits the modern athlete. For Buffalo, who has found themselves drafting in the lottery for what feels like a decade now, you would think that they would try to get a young upand cominging guy who understands what it takes to lead a young group to success, right? Nope. Kevin Adams for some reason has tried a mix of coaches but has not given any of them the time to actually foster the kind of consistent environment that is needed to succeed in this league. In fact, outside of Ruff and Granado, no coach has been with the team for more than three seasons since Scotty Bowman in the early to mid 1980s. This is what makes Buffalo a nearly impossible franchise to root for. Not because of the players, but from the ownership group to the management all the way to the coaching. And really, I just mean the ownership group because those other guys are just doing what they’re being asked to do. Now, the players do deserve a little bit of blame. I will say there are nights where maybe they don’t compete their hardest or maybe their effort isn’t entirely there, but to be fair, why would they compete for an ownership group that has no real belief in them or wants to win at any certain level? I mean, that’s just the reality of the situation right now in Buffalo. Players are either drafted or traded there. They earn a big contract and eventually they’re moved to an organization that obviously has a lot better of a culture than they had. And until that changes with the ownership group, Buffalo is going to continue to be the laughingtock of this league. Now, we’re at the point where I want to reflect on the start to this season because for some reason, this year feels a little bit more grim than the others. Lindy Ruff is not the coach for this team. His offensive play style just does not suit this group and the players, they’re suffering because of it. I know it’s only been a few games, but this is the sample size that we’re working with, so bear with me. Right now, Buffalo is tied for the worst power play in the league, not having one goal on the season yet. They are dead last in goals for per game, averaging 0.67. And combined as a team, they have a shooting percentage of 2.3. This obviously could turn around as the season progresses. And to be fair, Buffalo’s defense hasn’t been the worst. They’ve been fine, average at best. But if you’re a fan of this organization and have been dealing with this nonsense for 14 years now, why would you have any faith that this will turn around at all? And that’s the next question. What does Buffalo need to do to break this pattern? Well, like many have suggested far before I have, it’s time for a complete strip down. And I know that’s not what Sabres fans want to hear because they’ve been going through that for basically the last 14 years. But it hasn’t been enough. I’m talking a strip down all the way from the very top to the very bottom. Pakula needs to either change his mindset about how he’s going to run this organization or at this point just sell the team because he’s hurting them way more than he’s helping them. They also need to hire a qualified president of hockey operations immediately and allow him to bring in a new management team and coaching staff. because it will be such a drastic change. I think that also means stripping this roster down to yet another full rebuild. Not sure if that would mean losing players like Dene and Thompson, but at this point, they are no better off keeping them if they continue to put up consistent losing seasons. Then, and only then will the Buffalo Sabres find themselves in a place where they can comfortably re-evaluate the situation with new ideas and faces to get this organization back to a level of respectability. We got to get out of this. Uh, not connecting. Um, sometimes forcing stuff. Um, we have to step up. This is, uh, not acceptable. That’s for sure. How, um, yeah, I mean, it’s not a good morale when you’re losing. So, um, I’m tired of talking about the past and tired of talking about, well, we’re in three games, so we’ll take some questions on on Wednesday if you got them. But that’s what’s wrong with the Buffalo Sabres. And to anyone who’s a fan of this organization, I truly truly feel for you. This is not a video I wanted to make and I’m sure it’s not a video that you wanted to watch heading into the season. So whether you were optimistic or pessimistic about the year, let’s hear from you in the comments below. Do you agree with my opinions in this video and likely the opinions of everyone else who’s talked about this team, or do you think that it’s still very early on? Maybe there’s a chance for them to turn things around and that we all need to take a step back and just relax a little bit. As always, thank you guys so much for watching these videos. If you enjoyed this one, be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe. Now, I also have a few other pieces of content for you guys to check out on the screen if you’re bored and want to watch some more hockey content. Again, thank you guys so much for watching these videos. I will see you in the next upload.

Another year another terrible start to the season for the Buffalo Sabres. For 14 years the Sabres have been the laughing stock of the NHL. From poor ownership, management, and coaching, all the way to lack of effort from the players wearing the logo, no fanbase deserves an answer to their teams poor start than Sabres fans. So today let’s see if we can help figure out what is wrong with Buffalo and what exactly they need to do to break one of the longest playoff droughts in modern sports. Subscribe to Jimmy Hockey for more NHL News and Breakdowns.

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