JohnC

Mayfield was the first pick in 2018, the Josh Allen draft year. Darnold was the third pick in the first round. We drafted Josh Allen with the seventh pick in the first round. The front office knew what it was doing when it made that franchise altering and consequential pick. It should be noted that the previous year we could have selected Mahomes. I'm fine with how it worked out for Buffalo. He was the right person for this particular location.

After winning your football parlay you are obligated to buy the beer for everyone in your row. This is standard gambler's etiquette. 😁 https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-united-kingdom-apr-22-2019-2152759001

You are way off the mark regarding my assessment of Terry P. To put it bluntly, he's an incompetent owner who lacks the self-awareness to recognize how little he knows about owning and directing a hockey franchise. Billionaire hubris will do that to you. His record is his record. He's a loser. I'm not saying otherwise. If you don't know that I recognize how putrid his stewardship of this staggering franchise is, then you haven't closely followed and interpreted my comments about him.

So what! Our GM talks to him on a daily basis. There's nothing wrong with that. Our owner knows little about the players in the league. It's the GM who is having the trade discussions with the other GMs about possible trades. It's the GM who ultimately makes the roster decisions and determines how it is constructed. There's no question that the GM tells the owner what he is thinking and what he wants to do. Apparently, you disagree, but for me it is the befuddled GM who has made the hockey decisions that kept this franchise in hockey irrelevancy during his mediocre tenure. The unwise owner hired a novice for a critical job that no other owner in the league would even entertain for an interview. That's the central point. With the Bills, he belatedly hired a quality coach and GM. The outcome has been terrific. Until he gets the right man at the helm of the hockey operation, this irrelevant franchise will continue to struggle. I agree with you that the owner's lower cap limit has handcuffed the hockey operations. His "penny" wise and "dollar" foolish has ended up hurting his revenue tally. How smart is that? Don't misinterpret my judgment on this owner. He's clueless about the league and what it takes to be a success in such a competitive endeavor. There's plenty to criticize here. It's like shooting at fish in a barrel.

There is no question that TP has meddled in the hockey operation. It's well chronicled that when he first bought the team he was behind a number of transactions. The results were to put it gently not good. I don't believe that is the case now. My sense is that the GM is making the hockey decisions and he is required to do so within the budget that the owner sets for him. If anything, the owner seems to be too disengaged to the point that he is disinterested in this franchise. The owner bought the football team and kept it in the region. He's the owner and goes wherever he wants to go. You may not want to acknowledge it but his football franchise is well run and successful. I'm not complaining about that.

It's been answered by many here. Hire the right people and then let them do their jobs. It's an axiom that applies to most executive jobs.

Forget it.

What are you talking about?

I'm happy that the owner got a game ball. He deserves it for the prudent way he has presided over the organization. If he can follow the same ownership approach for his hockey franchise, then good things will follow. I don't believe that he meddles in the hockey operation as much as many others do. However, I do believe he hired the wrong GM to oversee his franchise.

If you make the right moves, you move forward. If you make the wrong moves, you move backward. Your decisions matter---they make the difference.

You are comparing the NHL to the NFL. Why? They are two distinct entities with different histories, systems and culture. Does Buffalo have some disadvantages compared to some locations? Probably so, but so what. So do many other franchises. There are some good players who don't want to play on the west coast or in the NYC area. The Bills were certainly not a preferred destination for free agents during the last vestiges of Ralph Wilson's tenure. The main reason was the declining owner was not invested in winning as much as he was keeping costs down. Its cost structure was out of step with most of the rest of the league. However, during the Polian and SB era players would want to come here because the franchise was well run and contenders. Compare that to the Sabres! The biggest disadvantage the Sabres have in attracting talent has nothing to do with its location. The biggest disadvantage to attract talent via trades with players with no-trade clauses and with free agents is that a lot of players don't want to go to a team where they know in advance there is little chance to win because of its historical dysfunction. It's gotten so bad that our marque talent, such as Eichel and Reinhart, two top tier players in the league, desperately wanted out. Think about it---things got so bad that the worry wasn't so much as attracting talent as it was keeping your own players in the fold. That's freaking pathetic! Again, the most significant reason why this franchise has struggled is because of the incompetent manner it has been managed. And you well know that it starts at the top! I'm at the point where I'm no longer tolerating excuses for this forlorn franchise.

It wasn't that long ago that the Eagles' coach was being directed to the exit door because of a number of bone headed in game decisions. It didn't help that some of his public comments rationalizing some of his odd decisions put him in even a more precarious position. Now he has his team in the SB discussion. How quickly the tide has changed! McDermott has made some puzzling if not outright bad in game decisions, as do all coaches. When it comes to working with a roster and creating a team environment, he is masterful. The Bills are now considered to be one of the best run NFL franchises. He is one of the main reasons for that. I certainly appreciate him and the work he has done. He and Beane have a terrific working relationship. One of the keys to sustained success.

The Botts situation was different. It was the covid era when economics of the business was upended. The owner whose hockey business and other hospitality businesses were hemorrhaging $$$ wanted an austerity program instituted where the scouting department and other staff were to be fired. The GM said no that he wasn't going along with the staff shredding approach. So he was fired. That's not the case now. For the most part, the current GM is making the hockey decisions. Does he have less $$$ to work with compared to other organizations? Probably so. But the GM is the person who is the most influential person by far in making personnel decisions. To put it mildly, he is less than stellar.

I don't see the owner interfering with the football operation. He hired quality people in McDermott and Beane resulting in resounding success. Why can't the same non-interference policy apply to the lagging hockey team? There is no problem keeping the owner informed about any considered or even impending transaction. He's signing the checks, so he has a right to know what is going on. The model and structure for success exists with his NFL franchise. The same reasoning should apply to the hockey franchise, at least that is how I see it.

I'm in the same boat as you are as far as investing my time on this team. When I watch games and it becomes apparent that the team seems to be going through the motions, I turn the channel or shut the TV off. As with you, my interest is waning.

I'm certain that the NHL, like the NFL, doesn't want any dog franchises (your description) in their league. Why would they? It hurts their overall product in a variety of ways, such as TV broadcast ratings for games the Sabres are on, and attendance shared revenue for other teams etc. The Sabres' plight and blame of being a systemic middling franchise lands at the feet of Terry Pegula. He's had more than enough time to compensate for the mistakes he made as a novice owner. I'm sympathetic to the difficult situation he is in due to the health of his wife. There is a remedy. Devote your time and resources to identify good upcoming candidates who can better run the hockey operation. The standard approach is to examine the successful franchises and find within their operations promising young executives who would be good candidates to oversee his hockey operation and invigorate a lackluster organization. I'm not a pessimist who is in despair over our team. There already are a lot of good pieces/talent on the roster and in the system. I really don't believe that this team is far from being a serious team. I just believe that with the right person at the helm and a few astute moves this team would be on a faster track to success.

The main underlying point to your comment is that TP doesn't meddle in the football operation. And it should be noted that McDermott wasn't the first coach that the owner hired. It was Rex Ryan who was then recently fired by the Jets. When asked why he hired Rex, the owner responded that he wanted to make a splash. Silly and foolish way to run a franchise. Does the owner have an internal cap? Probably so. But the reality is that our GM is a less than average GM. I agree with you, and have often stated, that because of the owner's ineptitude he has suffocated an avid fan base. It's a dam shame. If he put a winning and entertaining product on the ice that arena would be full and rocking, just like the Bandit games.

I was watching this game when they showed Terry P. in the owner's box. What I find so baffling is the dichotomy between the operation of his football and hockey teams. Brandon Beane is one of the best GMs in the game. The combination of McDermott and Beane form one of the top football staffs in the league that is full of top tier staffs. No one can question the canniness of our GM. What's impressive about him is not the blockbuster deals that he makes, there are few of them. It is the number of smart little deals that keep this team rolling for an extended period of time. When I compare the successful operation of the football team to the middling operation of the hockey team, I get really aggravated. I don't understand what the owner is doing. It's like out of frustration he has given up trying to right the ship that he, himself, sunk.

Go for it and put your money on the Bills. They will freeze out the opposition. If the Bills win, you will be required to send me 25% of the winnings for consulting fees. I don't come cheap. 😀

I strenuously disagree that the 16K average attendance is impressive for this market. The reality is that there are plenty of unused season tickets and tickets already bought in game plans because the purchaser can't give away the tickets when unable to use. Western NY and southern Ontario make up a large market of avid hockey fans. The problem is that this owner through his incompetence and negligence has strangled the interest in his losing and boring team. Without looking up the NHL attendance stats it is easy to assume that the Sabre have one of the lowest attendances in the league. Compare attendance to the Sabre games with Bandit games? The Bandits not only regularly sell out but also their crowds are rabid and entertained. The fans in the area will robustly respond to a winning and entertaining product. That's not the case with the lackluster and irrelevant hockey franchise. It's both sad and pathetic. The billionaire owner ought to be ashamed of himself!

How in the heck does taking a tanking strategy for your hockey franchise enhance your position with the football team? That makes no sense. You don't have to dig very deeply for reasons why the Sabres are a failed organization: incompetence of the owner.

What's perplexing to me is that he was more interested in hockey than football. He was very involved in Penn State Univer. hockey. He substantially contributed to building their arena. His aloofness and detachment from the Sabres and fanbase is odd and maddening.

Addressing #4, Terry got into the hospitality business at a full throttle pace. Then covid struck. That substantial part of his enterprise was financially obliterated. He saw that his business strategy to move into that new area was quickly draining off his resources. He sold off much of that part of the business. So his approach was to understandably cut expenses. The problem is that he didn't change it when the economic environment went back to relative normalcy. With respect to #3 and his wife's involvement, I do believe that if she didn't get ill, she would have been better suited to be involved with the hockey operation than the owner. (I'm aware that a lot of people would disagree with that.) She seems to be better with people, listening and communicating. As far as not being in tune with the NHL network, that's because the owner wants it that way. There is nothing unusual that when someone enters a new field of endeavor that has a unique culture that it takes time to understand the uniqueness and complexities of this new realm. However, he's had more than enough time to adapt. He hasn't because that is his wish. My sense of Terry P is that he is comfortable in ordering people to do things and is not good at listening to others giving input that is contrary to his inclinations. Billionaire stubbornness and hubris.

The state of affairs of this franchise is such an absurdity. It takes a lot of effort to be bad for so long. Exponential incompetence is a rarified state to be in. That in itself is an ignominious accomplishment that a lot of others are incapable of achieving.

There is a saying: Penny wise and dollar foolish. If the owner and organization would have been willing to make a few "substantial" moves to augment the "draft and develop" rebuild strategy, this team would be in a much better position. The margin between success and failure can be small. The owner and GM took the cheaper route of thinking small and wasting time. (As you point out.) In a competitive endeavor it is a loser's mentality. You end up getting what you deserve.