Sabres GM's comments on 'no palm trees' and 'taxes' miss mark in Buffalo

On "Football Friday," the conversation on Buffalo's sports radio station had nothing to do with the city's 10-2 NFL team.

Long-time WGR 550 hosts (Mike) Schopp and the Bulldog (Christopher Parker) just couldn't justify talking Bills to kick off their afternoon show mere hours after Sabres GM Kevyn Adams seemingly blew up Buffalo Twitter/X by citing the city's high taxes and lack of palm trees as obstacles facing the troubled hockey franchise.

Not being a "destination city right now," as Adams put it, isn't quite what fans want to hear from the GM of a team that has missed the playoffs an NHL-leading 13 years in a row.

"He's the guy that's trying to get you to come here and he's telling you ahead of time, the next agent he calls or player he calls, (the agent or player is) going to have in his mind (no) palm trees and taxes," an exasperated Parker said on air.

"This guy thinks he can't do it, he's defeated. Why do I want to go play for him? He doesn't think he can pull it off, he just told you. He needs Josh Allen to come in and rescue them."

In a small market with both of its biggest teams owned by the same family (Terry and Kim Pegula), the comparisons are natural.

The Bills, after 17 years of missing the playoffs, hired coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane in 2017. They are about to make the post-season for the seventh time in eight campaigns, and have the MVP front-runner in Allen.

The Sabres, on the other hand, have been a disaster under the Pegulas. Local product Adams, with precious little front-office experience, was named GM in 2020 after the team fired Jason Botterill.

This off-season, the team brought back popular coach Lindy Ruff after six coaches came and went under the Pegulas since they bought the Sabres in 2011. So far this season, the results have been very familiar. The team has lost five in a row heading into Saturday's matinee against visiting Utah.

Adams, facing a feisty local press corps for the first time since training camp, actually brought up Allen's name when asked what the Sabres need to do.

"Look at the Bills. That would be a perfect example," he said. "I'd assume this wasn't a destination or a place a lot of people were signing up to when they were in a 17-year playoff drought. They've done a phenomenal job over there. You've got Josh Allen and people are lining up because they have a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. I think that's what we're working to build here."

Except, they're nowhere close to building that.

While Adams has brought in some promising young talent, there are blemishes on his resume.

"You traded away, within the span of a few months, two of the top five leading scorers in the league, currently, who both won Cups in back-to-back years," Parker said, referring to Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. "So tell me about your hardships with taxes and no palm trees."

Adams' defensive comments — including pointing out that there are players who have Buffalo on no-trade lists — were in stark contrast to what McDermott said after Sunday night's blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers in front of a jubilant, sellout crowd braving a fierce lake-effect snowstorm.

McDermott started his press conference by thanking New York state governor and Buffalo native Kathy Hochul — who is responsible for the same taxes affecting Bills players — for helping clear the roads to allow players and fans to get to the game.

Then, he recalled what he heard about Buffalo early in his Bills tenure.

"When Brandon and I first arrived, being at the combine, someone saying, 'You know, it's going to be hard to get players to go to Buffalo,'" McDermott said.

"I didn't say anything but in my mind, I was saying to myself, 'We'll see.' When people get a chance to be in this environment and play in front of these fans, I think it makes a huge difference. This is a place where people love their professional sports teams, they love sports overall. It's a true connection to me that I've experienced in eight years (where) the team and the fans are one."

Which is why there is nearly an equal amount of emotion for the Sabres' never-ending problems as the Bills' rise up the NFL power rankings.

The Sabres' woes are not all because of Adams, of course. Terry Pegula — who hasn't spoken to Sabres media since 2020, per Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic — deserves plenty of criticism for the team's inability to find the right people to run the hockey show and the revolving-door policy. Previous GMs and coaches also could have done much better work, even though the team continues not to spend to the salary cap.

Adams was asked what he'd say to fans who are sick of hearing about learning and development, and simply want wins.

"I'd say I understand," he said. "But I'd also say you don't make the playoffs on Dec. 6. You need 82 games."

He should know that means nothing to fans who have lived through 13-plus years in the hockey wilderness.

It's little wonder some fans were joking on social media about making signs or shirts with palm trees for Saturday's game or suggesting taking out the swords from the team's logo and replacing them with palm trees.

"Who could forget the palm trees swaying when visiting Minneapolis, Winnipeg or Jersey?" Schopp told his listeners.

The good news is anybody who cares about the Sabres likely can visit a tropical "destination city" like Cancun or Punta Cana in a few months without fear of missing an important on-ice moment.

The time-honoured tradition of playoff-less springs in Buffalo is showing no signs of coming to an end. And, hey, at least season-ticket holders won't have to pay those pesky taxes on post-season tickets.