Confirmed with Link: Sabres have promoted Seth Appert to assistant coach/Amir Gulati to video coordinator/Girardi let go

[Doug Prishpreed]

While you're not wrong about local media. Rivet and Peters are the ones that tap into the raged fan.. they get people fired up to bash the team

...and the team goes above and beyond in giving them fodder to legitimately bash them about

 

[Tijuana Donkey Show]

Getting your facts from local media who are too scared to even ask the question?

Lindy had a multi-year deal with Devils that kicked in with Devils next year, Gallant had one year.

After the Whistle guys may be idiots, but they are not the total butt-kissers in the media who just get spoon-fed and accept whatever the team tells them. Get your news from Paul Hamilton and Harrington. Absolute jokes.

Yesterday, I was fed some ideas of Seth Appart being a logical choice for the #2 job and how he was convinced to join the Sabres. Seriously, the guy just got the major coaching of his career.

Who in their right mind thinks Appart had anywhere to go but another head coach job in AHL or assistant job in NHL? Nobody was making him a head coach. It doesn't mean Sabres can't be successful with the current crew but it is becoming very obvious this saved them money on top of the move being done as a great marketing tool to sell tickets.

You have to be in a fantasy world to believe a team that was $8 million under cap last year and $20 million + the year (trading for Ben Bishop to reach the floor) is using all their resources. I like Kevyn Adams a lot, but is he spinning some tales lately?

Pegula should come clean on his spending plans. My trust in him is getting beyond low.

I saw that. It seemed totally bonkers.

I would also add that I am not convinced that if fired from Rochester that Appert would step in as the boss of an AHL franchise. RPI was terrible and he was a low level coach with the US Dev program.

Her certainly may, I am just saying that I don't think it is anywhere near a slam dunk. AHL or high level college assistant would be a very real possibility.

 

[Beerz]

I saw that. It seemed totally bonkers.

I would also add that I am not convinced that if fired from Rochester that Appert would step in as the boss of an AHL franchise. RPI was terrible and he was a low level coach with the US Dev program.

Her certainly may, I am just saying that I don't think it is anywhere near a slam dunk. AHL or high level college assistant would be a very real possibility.

I don't believe Appert was wanted for any NHL job or any other job. I don't think he was hired for cheapness however. He was hired because both Terry and Kevyn like familiarity and trust... which is probably just as bad as cheapness

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

I don't believe Appert was wanted for any NHL job or any other job. I don't think he was hired for cheapness however. He was hired because both Terry and Kevyn like familiarity and trust... which is probably just as bad as cheapness

It's a bit of both, but if you believe local media (Buffalo News), this guy needed to be locked down. Honestly, there is columnist there who has lost his mind or is just beaten down to write in way to endear him to the team.

I saw that. It seemed totally bonkers.

I would also add that I am not convinced that if fired from Rochester that Appert would step in as the boss of an AHL franchise. RPI was terrible and he was a low level coach with the US Dev program.

Her certainly may, I am just saying that I don't think it is anywhere near a slam dunk. AHL or high level college assistant would be a very real possibility.

It is not clear he would get another AHL head coaching job, let alone an NHL one. He is basically the top assistant coach on the Sabres. Congrats to him. I hope he has great success but let's get real about the market for a guy like this. This is like a mini Ralph Krueger where we acted like we snagged Scotty Bowman again.

 

[enthusiast]

Rivet and Peters have obvious biases but they also have connections to people in the building. It’s worth sifting through their shtick to find the meat, even with a grain of salt.

 

[Beerz]

It's a bit of both, but if you believe local media (Buffalo News), this guy needed to be locked down. Honestly, there is columnist there who has lost his mind or is just beaten down to write in way to endear him to the team.



It is not clear he would get another AHL head coaching job, let alone an NHL one. He is basically the top assistant coach on the Sabres. Congrats to him. I hope he has great success but let's get real about the market for a guy like this. This is like a mini Ralph Krueger where we acted like we snagged Scotty Bowman again.

I never understood it...there was a real push to make him Head Coach from media both main stream and blogger/vloggers

 

[Jacob582]

Appert's assistants, Peca and Webber got a promotion to the NHL. All indications are that Appert would have easily gotten an NHL job somewhere else. Head Coach probably not, but definitely assistant.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Appert's assistants, Peca and Webber got a promotion to the NHL. All indications are that Appert would have easily gotten an NHL job somewhere else. Head Coach probably not, but definitely assistant.

Appert to AC makes a lot of sense for this reason. Having Adams pick every single one of Ruff’s coaches for him is what doesn’t make sense. The guy wasn’t allowed to bring a single voice in from outside the organization, which is shitty.

 

[Dingo44]

The guy wasn’t allowed to bring a single voice in from outside the organization, which is shitty.

Again, we know this how?

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Again, we know this how?

Because any worst case scenario has to be true as the team motto is Cheap, Lazy, and Incompetent

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Appert's assistants, Peca and Webber got a promotion to the NHL. All indications are that Appert would have easily gotten an NHL job somewhere else. Head Coach probably not, but definitely assistant.

Probably? How about zero. An assistant coach? Maybe. There are a lot of assistants out there. He's really the top dog, though, in Buffalo after Ruff. And he's already been named heir apparent. Based on what? Not sure. It's not like anyone would be drooling for this guy. Could he have landed somewhere?

I never understood it...there was a real push to make him Head Coach from media both main stream and blogger/vloggers

Buffalo sure has some low expectations these days. It's amazing that after 13 years, we still have a low-experience staff, with Ruff really the only hope. Pegula is just such a joke.

Because any worst case scenario has to be true as the team motto is Cheap, Lazy, and Incompetent

Maybe not always cheap but always stupid with money. Sentimental more than lazy. And just not professional.

 

[Tijuana Donkey Show]

I don't believe Appert was wanted for any NHL job or any other job. I don't think he was hired for cheapness however. He was hired because both Terry and Kevyn like familiarity and trust... which is probably just as bad as cheapness

I don't believe Appert was high on the list for any open AHL HC jobs for any franchise. But that also isn't a hill I would die on.

I think we are splitting hairs on this. Was Appert hired because he was the cheapest? No. Was Ter-Bear and Kevyn willing to spend more on a more experienced hire? Probably not.

It is still really odd to me that this staff was 100% assembled with guys in house. I have been trying to google it, but I cannot seem to find a single instance where a new HC from the outside didn't replace any of the assistants with somebody from the outside.

 

[Beerz]

I don't believe Appert was high on the list for any open AHL HC jobs for any franchise. But that also isn't a hill I would die on.

I think we are splitting hairs on this. Was Appert hired because he was the cheapest? No. Was Ter-Bear and Kevyn willing to spend more on a more experienced hire? Probably not.

It is still really odd to me that this staff was 100% assembled with guys in house. I have been trying to google it, but I cannot seem to find a single instance where a new HC from the outside didn't replace any of the assistants with somebody from the outside.

Yup... and after all the talk about how the team was too comfortable and not being pushed the reasoning for bringing back Wilford and Ellis and bringing in Appert was because "the guys really like them and have a good working relationship with them"

 

[Jim Bob]

Yup... and after all the talk about how the team was too comfortable and not being pushed the reasoning for bringing back Wilford and Ellis and bringing in Appert was because "the guys really like them and have a good working relationship with them"

That is the part that makes me disappointed that they did not bring in any outside assistant coaches.

I was lucky to not be drinking my morning coffee when I was listening to The Sabremetrix Podcast this morning. When talking about keeping Wilford and Bales, one of them literally said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."



This roster took a sizable step back last season. It cost Don Granato his job before his extension kicked in. The issues with the coaching staff were bigger than just Don and I think they needed more more new voices than just replacing Don with Lindy.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

I have been trying to google it, but I cannot seem to find a single instance where a new HC from the outside didn't replace any of the assistants with somebody from the outside.

Cause it never happens. Not a professionally run team. Nope.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Again, we know this how?

Because every single one of them was already working for the organization. No one believes Lindy just happen to chose people working for the org, out of all the people he’s worked with over 40 years.

C’mon, don’t pretend that this isn’t completely unprecedented for a coach to use only staff that he inherited. Sabres are the only team to ever do this, and Lindy has never done it elsewhere. He was 100% duscouraged from bringing in outside assistants.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Because any worst case scenario has to be true as the team motto is Cheap, Lazy, and Incompetent

It’s because Lindy has always brought in his own staff in every other job he’s had, and there’s no way all of his favorite candidates just happened the already be on the payroll. He doesn’t even know them.

After working in the league for decades, and knowing NONE of them before being hired in April, there’s is zero possibility that he chose any of them himself. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves.

 

[Chainshot]

My one slim hope is that they bring in one more guy from outside. I know they posted they are complete. They said it in the presser. Tis very slim…

 

[Dingo44]

Because every single one of them was already working for the organization. No one believes Lindy just happen to chose people working for the org, out of all the people he’s worked with over 40 years.

C’mon, don’t pretend that this isn’t completely unprecedented for a coach to use only staff that he inherited. Sabres are the only team to ever do this, and Lindy has never done it elsewhere. He was 100% duscouraged from bringing in outside assistants.

I'm still not seeing any proof.

 

[Jim Bob]

My one slim hope is that they bring in one more guy from outside. I know they posted they are complete. They said it in the presser. Tis very slim…

Given that they announced it as the coaching staff is in place, I don't have even a slim hope that it happens.

 

[Chainshot]

Given that they announced it as the coaching staff is in place, I don't have even a slim hope that it happens.

Like many things in life, my internal monologue is “they can’t be this stupid can they?“

 

[Jim Bob]

I'm still not seeing any proof.

For me, actions speak louder than words.

Since Adams has become GM, they taken this type of path of minimum upgrades from the outside time and time again.

Adams has hired two head coaches. One was an assistant coach turned interim head coach. And the other was a veteran head coach that Adams had been an assistant coach under previously.

The biggest investment have been in areas that they felt allowed them to reduce larger investments elsewhere in the organization and becoming "more streamlined and economic and efficient."

These moves with the coaching staff are both underwhelming and completely predictable to me.

Like many things in life, my internal monologue is “they can’t be this stupid can they?“

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I'm still not seeing any proof.

You will never get proof of anything in life, especially when you don't want to believe it. It's still a fact, whether you believe it or not.

 

[Willgamesh]

You will never get proof of anything in life, especially when you don't want to believe it. It's still a fact, whether you believe it or not.

what in the fortune cookie.

 

[Satanphonehome]

The idea that Appert would be an unlikely assistant coaching hire elsewhere in the NHL smacks of anti-Sabres bias to me.

Pretty much any AHL head coach is a reasonable candidate for an NHL assistant coach position. I mean, both of his assistants got NHL assistant coaching jobs last year.

His teams have improved 3 consecutive years and won 3 playoff series, and he's shown success at developing young players. He's also got obvious personality, a positive likability that will appeal to many doing the hiring.

They may have earned the skepticism, but had the Sabres had hired the same resume from a successful outside organization, this wouldn't be a conversation.