Joe Battista will do what, exactly?

[Stoner]

Throw some makeup on and get into the office, Ghost.

 

From today's Snooze:

 

Joe Battista left his job at Penn State to become the Vice President of Hockey Related Businesses for Pegula’s East Management Services.

 

Battista, a 1983 graduate of Penn State, spent 27 years in Penn State athletics, most recently as the associate athletic director who helped facilitate the initial $88 million donation from Terry and Kim Pegula to fund the Pegula Ice Arena and the Nittany Lions move to Division I men’s hockey.

 

In a news release, Battista said in his new role he “will be responsible for hockey development and strategic initiatives across the entire spectrum of the Pegula’s hockey organizations. I will work in collaboration with Buffalo Sabres president Ted Black, General Manager Darcy Regier, and Chief Development Officer Cliff Benson, as well as HarborCenter CEO John Koelmel to maximize communication and to coordinate, implement and optimize all our hockey-related business.”

 

See also:

http://www.centredai...g-after-30.html

 

http://triblive.com/...n#axzz2jCntaUV3

 

http://www.pennlive....0/post_378.html

Edited October 30, 2013 by PASabreFan

[That Aud Smell]

Hmm. Interesting.

 

It sorta sounds like Pegula wanted a direct report to him on what all of the named people are doing to advance the cause of all things hockey.

 

And to your presumed point: I don't infer anything nefarious about the appointment. It just sounds like Pegula really likes the guy (like, to the tune of $88M) and wanted him as an asset in the Pegulas' growing hockey empire.

 

And I will add: I've come to the conclusion that -- unless and until Peula rips off a rubber mask at some press conference, reveals himself to be a diabolical fracking villain who's acted with malice aforethought, and then starts laughing maniacally and boasting that his quest to poison the entire water table of central and western PA and NY is now almost complete -- I am totally, totally stoked that our team's owner has become obsessed with developing and growing the sport of hockey.

[SwampD]

“Starting as a freshman hockey player in 1978, my 35-year journey has culminated with the building of the new ice arena and the launching of two varsity hockey programs,” Battista said in a statement. “While this dream has come true, it is now time for me to set new goals and dream new dreams.”

 

I got no problem with that,… although, for some reason this keeps replaying in my head.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO8zb5DG_gM

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Hey! Joe Ba's in Buffalo!

 

Granted, Pegula and Joe Ba pile the kids in the same stationwagon for a Sunday trip to the beach....but he actually makes sense to hire.

 

There is something to be encouraged about here if it doesn't backfire....Battista is a good mix of business, hockey, common sense, and used car salesman. He is qualified for a position like this, and maybe even can help the fans out. He seems to have a high tempo common sense about him, which on one hand oozes out car salesman, but at the same time, he has some street smarts and honesty creeps into his comments all the time. He's as much of a good ol' boy Penn Stater as anyone, and runs the exact same lower level circles as Benson. He however took the Second Mile/Sandusky thing head on...and was unapologetic for seeing the good things about his dealings with some of the guilty people and organizations, while at the same time chastised the bad actions and apologized for not seeing things sooner. That was solid.

 

This is where I see this as a positive. Darcy.....you can't BS a BS'r. I can see Battista hanging around for a few months, scoping out Darcy, and having the actual balls to puff on a cigar with scotch in hand and tell Pegula.."This Darcy character ain't gonna get it done." Battista thinks big and has pulled off some projects in his time, and he says about 5x as many words as Darcy in the same period of time. I can see him taking command of a situation, and not being too impressed with Regier. I have heard a bunch of Battista's interviews and it seems he has a good feel for the intangibles of teambuilding and leadership.

 

Now....where this can backfire is if Pegula ends up putting Battista in as GM himself. I don't think they are that crazy, and Battista has enough common sense I would hope to push for an experienced NHL level guy. But between pushing Darcy out, overseeing some of the things with Black (I'd be a tad nervous if I were him as well, but not as much as Darcy), and doing deals on the Harbor Center front....Battista can make himself a hero. I don't think he sees any idea as too big, and even though he is buddy buddy with Pegula like Benson, he actually has played, coached, built a program, and run operations.

 

God Bless us all....I need a drink......

[That Aud Smell]

Great insights, Ghost - thanks.

[apuszczalowski]

Hey! Joe Ba's in Buffalo!

 

Granted, Pegula and Joe Ba pile the kids in the same stationwagon for a Sunday trip to the beach....but he actually makes sense to hire.

 

There is something to be encouraged about here if it doesn't backfire....Battista is a good mix of business, hockey, common sense, and used car salesman. He is qualified for a position like this, and maybe even can help the fans out. He seems to have a high tempo common sense about him, which on one hand oozes out car salesman, but at the same time, he has some street smarts and honesty creeps into his comments all the time. He's as much of a good ol' boy Penn Stater as anyone, and runs the exact same lower level circles as Benson. He however took the Second Mile/Sandusky thing head on...and was unapologetic for seeing the good things about his dealings with some of the guilty people and organizations, while at the same time chastised the bad actions and apologized for not seeing things sooner. That was solid.

 

This is where I see this as a positive. Darcy.....you can't BS a BS'r. I can see Battista hanging around for a few months, scoping out Darcy, and having the actual balls to puff on a cigar with scotch in hand and tell Pegula.."This Darcy character ain't gonna get it done." Battista thinks big and has pulled off some projects in his time, and he says about 5x as many words as Darcy in the same period of time. I can see him taking command of a situation, and not being too impressed with Regier. I have heard a bunch of Battista's interviews and it seems he has a good feel for the intangibles of teambuilding and leadership.

 

Now....where this can backfire is if Pegula ends up putting Battista in as GM himself. I don't think they are that crazy, and Battista has enough common sense I would hope to push for an experienced NHL level guy. But between pushing Darcy out, overseeing some of the things with Black (I'd be a tad nervous if I were him as well, but not as much as Darcy), and doing deals on the Harbor Center front....Battista can make himself a hero. I don't think he sees any idea as too big, and even though he is buddy buddy with Pegula like Benson, he actually has played, coached, built a program, and run operations.

 

God Bless us all....I need a drink......

But does East management Services have anything to do with the operation of the Sabres, or is it just for the new Harbour Center hockey stuff? If thats the case, then I doubt he has any thoughts on Darcy

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

But does East management Services have anything to do with the operation of the Sabres, or is it just for the new Harbour Center hockey stuff? If thats the case, then I doubt he has any thoughts on Darcy

 

It's all the same man...it's all the same....

 

If he had to do it again, he probably would have hired Benson through East as well.

 

I can't wait to hear what Battista has to say about Ed Kilgore!

 

And I have no clue if Battista will have a huge role on the hockey/hockey side....and even from afar I wish he could have talked some sense into Pegula about Regier if he felt that someone else could do better....but he probably had no clue of Regier's history.

 

I don't know. All I can say is that as much as the Penn St. cult mentality gives me the cooties....Battista is a fine hire on merit, and has enough jack-of-all-trade skills and Pegula's trust that just maybe we get a GM transition going.

[Iron Crotch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNcM4YjzgHY

[nfreeman]

Hey! Joe Ba's in Buffalo!

 

Granted, Pegula and Joe Ba pile the kids in the same stationwagon for a Sunday trip to the beach....but he actually makes sense to hire.

 

There is something to be encouraged about here if it doesn't backfire....Battista is a good mix of business, hockey, common sense, and used car salesman. He is qualified for a position like this, and maybe even can help the fans out. He seems to have a high tempo common sense about him, which on one hand oozes out car salesman, but at the same time, he has some street smarts and honesty creeps into his comments all the time. He's as much of a good ol' boy Penn Stater as anyone, and runs the exact same lower level circles as Benson. He however took the Second Mile/Sandusky thing head on...and was unapologetic for seeing the good things about his dealings with some of the guilty people and organizations, while at the same time chastised the bad actions and apologized for not seeing things sooner. That was solid.

 

This is where I see this as a positive. Darcy.....you can't BS a BS'r. I can see Battista hanging around for a few months, scoping out Darcy, and having the actual balls to puff on a cigar with scotch in hand and tell Pegula.."This Darcy character ain't gonna get it done." Battista thinks big and has pulled off some projects in his time, and he says about 5x as many words as Darcy in the same period of time. I can see him taking command of a situation, and not being too impressed with Regier. I have heard a bunch of Battista's interviews and it seems he has a good feel for the intangibles of teambuilding and leadership.

 

Now....where this can backfire is if Pegula ends up putting Battista in as GM himself. I don't think they are that crazy, and Battista has enough common sense I would hope to push for an experienced NHL level guy. But between pushing Darcy out, overseeing some of the things with Black (I'd be a tad nervous if I were him as well, but not as much as Darcy), and doing deals on the Harbor Center front....Battista can make himself a hero. I don't think he sees any idea as too big, and even though he is buddy buddy with Pegula like Benson, he actually has played, coached, built a program, and run operations.

 

God Bless us all....I need a drink......

 

Good stuff. The idea that TP, seeing the train wreck on ice that is the Sabres this year, decided that he needed a trusted voice around who knows a bit about hockey and hockey organizations, and could evaluate the Sabres and DR is quite plausible.

Edited October 30, 2013 by nfreeman

[...]

 

 

Good stuff. The idea that TP, seeing the train wreck on ice that is the Sabres this year, decided that he needed a trusted voice around who knows a bit about hockey and hockey organizations, and could evaluate the Sabres and DR is quite plausible.

 

Sounds like Pegula finally got around to asking the question "just what the hell is really the problem, here?"

[dudacek]

Nice post Ghost. Thanks for the insight.

[That Aud Smell]

Good stuff. The idea that TP, seeing the train wreck on ice that is the Sabres this year, decided that he needed a trusted voice around who knows a bit about hockey and hockey organizations, and could evaluate the Sabres and DR is quite plausible.

 

just seems like a plausible read on the situation.

 

of course, there's a whole heckuva lot of other stuff going on that can justify the creation of this position as well. but, given how poorly the team has performed so far, you have to wonder.

Edited October 30, 2013 by That Aud Smell

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

 

 

just seems a like a plausible read on the situation.

 

of course, there's a whole heckuva lot of other stuff going on that can justify the creation of this position as well. but, given how poorly the team has performed so far, you have to wonder.

 

Well, from what I can tell, the decision happened recently.

 

Battista is such a big Penn St guy that you would think he would have wanted to see through the program a little longer than just cutting the ribbon on the new arena. He seemed fairly well liked at the school and there was talk of him as the AD sooner than later.

 

My guess is that Pegula went down there for the first game at his Penn St arena at the height of Sabres' fans disenchantment. 2 weeks ago we didn't know how bad this team really was, and shock was setting in for some with anger coming in spades and the Fire Darcy chants coming out, and Ted Black on the radio sounding like he was on an all night bender and then had to talk at a wake. I'm HOPING....Pegula was shocked a bit by the dismal performance as well, and finally could see that the disenchantment about Regier was more than from a few Negative Nancys, but pretty much a mandate to ax him now from the entire fanbase. I can see him talking to Battista, venting even, and while I am sure Battista was always an option for Pegula at some point....he really needs him now to help him sort things out.

 

The quick exit for Battista in the middle of hockey season and days after opening the arena doors, along with the Vanek trade seemingly greenlighted by Pegula in the past few weeks.....this gives me hope that maybe Pegula is reassessing his position on things. I can hope.

 

 

[That Aud Smell]

The quick exit for Battista in the middle of hockey season and days after opening the arena doors, along with the Vanek trade seemingly greenlighted by Pegula in the past few weeks.....this gives me hope that maybe Pegula is reassessing his position on things. I can hope.

 

all rational inferences, if not compelling ones.

 

kypreos didn't make up that story out of whole cloth.

 

and ted black didn't refuse to say that firing darcy now would be a panic move just because he didn't like the tone of howard simon's voice.

 

i feel like something's afoot.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]