Quoting: MG1986
The Sabres fan base is getting restless. There are going to be external pressures to rebuild not only this club, but the entire hockey ops department. If I was a Sabres fan, which I am not, I would be truly pissed off that the owners decided to let go of Botterill, a guy who learned management skills from some of the best and has business savvy for a GM with basically nothing to his managerial resume. The Pegulas like Adams, they have his ear, they know they can micromanage him. That was not the case with Botterill, which is a lot of the reason why he was let go. I expect this organize to continue displeasing fans until ownership is willing to bring in the proper management people and let them do their thing. As an added point, Ray Shero and Ron Hextall, as well as a list of other more qualified candidates, are available, yet, they go with Adams. It says a lot about ownership right there.
Almost no one is pissed Botterill was fired. Nor should they be. He was brutal. You can argue he was pressured into doing what the owners wanted but that just makes him an idiot and a coward. The O'Reilly trade was the hill to die on in regard to that. You cannot make that trade even if it means you get fired. His history of moves and decisions were a baffling nightmare of asset mismanagment and naive idiocy.
A stupid person can study at the feet of greatness and ever remains stupid so your appeal to authority falalcy is nonsense. Pittsburgh's success has more to do with Crosby and Malkin than anyone in managment. Success with the big team brings money which brings scouting talent and other organizational talent which brings better drafting and development and on we go. Winning in the AHL doesn't bring any of that which was what Botterill's plan was. He had a dundamental misunderstanding of causation.
Sabres fans do not want a rebuild. They want extreme and aggressive action to get into the playoffs NOW and I suspect the Pegulas might too. I don't think that's the best idea but then I'm patient enough to want to see it done right. From a hockey perspective they shouldn't be concerned with competing until after the expansion draft. But from a commercial perspective, that would be a disaster. The Eichel stuff is wildly overblown as he's under contract so no real need to worry about that.
Either way, it does look like a recipe for complete and total disaster at this point unless they successfully get a 2C and enough Krueger-style guys to be competitive next year (not saying it will happen but it could).
The Pegulas are clearly in over their heads and Adams was a total panic/controlling move unless they plan on moving Krueger into a President role in the near future. He's likely going to be the de facto culture/management guy (and he has the pedigree) and Adams will play a role in that too.
Still, you're most likely right on that: the culture is toxic. But defending Botterill is insane and you're ignoring the possibility that no established hockey guy wants the job so a rookie might be their only option. So this year could go very badly but I don't see Adams getting fired even if it does.