And of course he gets to hide behind "anonymity" and not actually have to name anyone. Now if this was a respected journalist (Jim Kelley) writing that, I would be more inclined to take it at face value instead of likely exaggeration or straight up ********.
I'm not a Bucky fan by any means but, seriously, unless it's in reference to a published or televised report where someone went public with a story, when have you ever seen or read any newspaper / magazine journalist outright name his sources, even when they're fellow journalists? Even the most respected of media members - be it McKenzie, LeBrun or others - all conceal the identity of their sources in the same manner.
Readers can choose to either trust the writer that they have real sources or they can choose to doubt the validity. However, expecting sources to be named is naive.
^^^ Exactly, no one will name sources for these things. When enough people start saying the same things there's usually truth behind it. Now, we all know Bucky Gleason writes in a certain way but he makes some good points.
The arrival and excitement of Pegula fizzled because of the return to the same old same old in "Hockey Heaven." Time for big changes and vision.
It was a myth that Pegula removed the handcuffs from Regier?
Had Regier not been handcuffed by former management, the Drury and Briere fiascoes wouldn't have ended so poorly. One, or both, would still be here (Drury's career may not be over - things could be entirely different).
The current leaders of the team wouldn't have been prematurely thrust into their current roles. They'd still be grooming.
The Sabres would still be a good team. These articles wouldn't exist, nor would criticisms for Regier.
I like how Bucky doesn't even acknowledge how far back the franchise was set because of how the Drury and Briere situations played out.
Good point. Also, if we had re-signed at least one of Drury or Briere, than it is likely that either (a) we wouldn't have matched Edmonton's offer-sheet for Vanek, and wound up with 4 1st rounders and and extra $7M in cap space to play with, or (b) Edmonton wouldn't have bothered offer-sheeting Vanek and we could have signed him for closer to $5M/year. Team could have been totally different.
I'm not expecting Bucky to name sources, but I don't remember ever reading about any other respected hockey minds bashing Darcy. The only comment I can even think of is that Burke comment about Darcy over-valuing his players.
The biggest knock on Darcy is that he's probably a little too conservative in his moves. However, among other GMs who take bigger gambles, many of those moves don't help the team at all.
Good point. Also, if we had re-signed at least one of Drury or Briere, than it is likely that either (a) we wouldn't have matched Edmonton's offer-sheet for Vanek, and wound up with 4 1st rounders and and extra $7M in cap space to play with, or (b) Edmonton wouldn't have bothered offer-sheeting Vanek and we could have signed him for closer to $5M/year. Team could have been totally different.
Exactly. I'm sure we all know by now that because Regier's hands were tied and he couldn't retain Drury/Briere or both, he had no choice but to match the Vanek offersheet.
Is it beating a dead horse? You bet. But that was all caused by former management's ineptitude.
The organization is still suffering. Regier had built a winner - a legitimate one, at that - and he wasn't allowed to maintain it (and spare the "he lucked out" comments that point to the contrary; that's one of the most off-base arguments I've ever heard).
My favorite part is when he criticizes Regier for not executing the Nashville trade sooner, as if the value wasn't directly driven by the immediacy of the deadline. And as if the pick would have done us more good if we had gotten it sooner... somehow. At that point you could just tell that the guy has lost all sense of reason and is just furiously mashing his keyboard while foaming at the mouth.
Don't you know? First round picks appreciate in value.
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Originally Posted by keithLGA
^^^ Exactly, no one will name sources for these things. When enough people start saying the same things there's usually truth behind it. Now, we all know Bucky Gleason writes in a certain way but he makes some good points.
The arrival and excitement of Pegula fizzled because of the return to the same old same old in "Hockey Heaven." Time for big changes and vision.
He makes one good point, and that's the same one any casual fan on the street would give you; it hasn't been good enough. As a journalist, he's an embarrassment.
I'm not a Bucky fan by any means but, seriously, unless it's in reference to a published or televised report where someone went public with a story, when have you ever seen or read any newspaper / magazine journalist outright name his sources, even when they're fellow journalists? Even the most respected of media members - be it McKenzie, LeBrun or others - all conceal the identity of their sources in the same manner.
Readers can choose to either trust the writer that they have real sources or they can choose to doubt the validity. However, expecting sources to be named is naive.
I'm not expected sources to be named, sorry if I implied that.
My point rather is that I don't think Bucky should be viewed as a trusted respectable journalist and I take his "sources" with a grain of salt, especially when it aligns perfectly with his agenda.
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Originally Posted by keithLGA
^^^ Exactly, no one will name sources for these things. When enough people start saying the same things there's usually truth behind it. Now, we all know Bucky Gleason writes in a certain way but he makes some good points.
The arrival and excitement of Pegula fizzled because of the return to the same old same old in "Hockey Heaven." Time for big changes and vision.
Exactly. Unless other journalists say the same things, I won't buy it.
Some odd arguments from Kilgore - but the bit about Kassian was interesting:
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My gut tells me Pegula is just as frustrated and disappointed as most Sabres fans are after a late and exciting late season charge fell 3 points short of a playoff spot in a league where more teams make the playoffs than don't. But my gut also tells me Pegula's life experiences and ups and downs make it unlikely he will follow the advice of many by "blowing things up" in the off season. It might be tempting to fire gm Darcy Regier and even coach Lindy Ruff for a "fresh start", but that would be foolish and he knows that.
Foolish, because there simply isn't a better coach out there, and as one NHL executive told me late in the season "if anything, Ruff deserves a ton of credit for keeping the team focused for a late season run when just about everything that could go wrong went wrong". As for gm's, Regier has had more hits than misses, and it is now quite obvious he's been given unfair blame for some previous ownership shortcomings. There simply are no Stanley Cup winners who lack GREAT ownership, no matter WHO the gm or coach might be, and the Sabres now have that ownership in Pegula.
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Ryan Miller will not be one of those changes, nor should he be. Forget all the rumors about how his mid season struggles were due to the fact his movie star wife lived out west, which is where his heart really was, etc. Moving past a concussion or two had everything to do with his slump, and that slump also dragged the team down with him.
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We can argue all day about whether or not Miller is the best, or one of the five best, etc., but we can't argue that acquiring a better goaltender than Miller is a virtual impossibility.
Miller isn't the only untouchable Sabre, although there aren't many I would put in that category.
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You might be surprised at my second most untouchable Sabre, but that would be Tyler Ennis. Ok, he's not very big at 5-9, 157 (holding a bag of pucks), but Ennis PLAYS big - and FAST.
One NHL scout pointed out to me from the press box one night how opposing defensemen begin backing up the moment Ennis is anywhere near the puck, which is respect not shown to many players of any age. He's smart, and he doesn't mind sticking his nose into the traffic around the net, and whether he's a #1 center or not, he'll be a very large part of the Sabres of 2012-13.
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As far as Kassian was concerned, the "inside" story I've gotten about him from a veteran NHL scout is that the Sabres and virtually everybody else thought he was a big, physical player with a "mean streak" that could give the Sabres some physical toughness they'd been lacking. As it turns out, that player in juniors was not the real Kassian. He was bigger and stronger at that level and used his size to be noticed, but in reality, Kassian (I'm told) viewed himself as a skill player who simply knew he had to be physical to get noticed. The Sabres figured this out after he all but disappeared in Rochester.
Kassian scored a goal against the Sabres in the first game after the trade, and a lot of folks thought maybe the Sabres had made a big mistake. Well, it turns out that was the ONLY goal Kassian scored in 17 games with the Canucks. Wonder if the Canucks would make that deal now?
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This will be a very interesting off season, because Pegula will be emotionally and financially ready to pursue players who'll improve this team, and Regier and his staff will have the green light to go after them.
We can argue all day about whether or not Miller is the best, or one of the five best, etc., but we can't argue that acquiring a better goaltender than Miller is a virtual impossibility.
I wonder if that's what the Phoenix media was saying when Bryzgalov was on the way out...
I wonder if that's what the Phoenix media was saying when Bryzgalov was on the way out...
or when St Louis signed Brian Elliot...
The Phoenix comparison is fair - especially since most people had Bryzgalov ranked in the upper echelon while Smith was seen by most as a second-stringer - but St. Louis signed Elliot last summer purely for depth, not as a replacement for their starter of the previous season. No one ever expected Elliot to emerge as a # 1 this season...and it's still a little early IMO to proclaim him as a proven starter when Halak helped share a lot of the workload and pressure this season.
