Matthew Fairburn

And I think part of that was true.

Part of it maybe was a bit overblown.

It was always hard to parse exactly, you know, how much say, how much he was able to push back.

on ownership, but they didn't spend a cap in a lot of years that he was here.

And it almost felt like all the stuff he went through in the first few years, it's like, he didn't really get to see it through.

And I do think the pressure of the situation, and this is where Vancouver in particular strikes me as perhaps not the best fit the pressure.

The second there was pressure in Buffalo to win, you know, the first few years of a rebuild, everybody's excited to get the young guys in and see the kids and nobody cares about wins.

And, you know, it's like, wow, this, this 18 year old looks great.

And this 19 year old doing awesome.

And look at this kid in the AHL.

The second it became clear that they were ready to win and that there was pressure to win.

He changed, he changed publicly.

He changed behind the scenes.

And I think that, like, the way he felt the pressure, it impacted a lot of people in the organization, probably including players to an extent.

And when the players lose faith, I think that bleeds through onto the ice.

Like, it's a delicate thing, team culture, but it definitely can start with the general manager.

And it's not to say Jarmo Kekulainen came in and waved some magic wand and, you know, is just some incredibly...

you know, magical and powerful figure in that regard.

But I do think he's a better leader.

And I think the switch alone woke some guys up in the room and maybe inspired some guys like, OK, we're we're for real now.