Would you be happy if Pegula sold the team?

[DarthEbriate]

Sure. Bettman kept the Coyotes in Arizona for 25 years. As long as the new owner(ship group) got money flowing into the team and got a new or upgraded stadium in order, then Bettman and the other owners would be happy at the increase in revenue. Buffalo/Ontario is a premier hockey market and the league is stoked to have an American team participating in it.

But on the other hand...

Have you ever heard the tragedy of Darth Pegulas the Wise?

Of course you have. You're living it.

[Crusader1969]

Yes it's time 

skinner represented a losing franchise., was glad to see him gone 

Pegula is even more of representation of a losing franchise.    It's time 

hope to hear the "sell the team" chants this season 

[7+6=13]

7 hours ago, Thorner said:

That would admittedly be my only opposition to a change of owner. Rightly or wrongly I just don’t ever see the team leaving, though, so it doesn’t play as much of a factor for me. 

 

Nah, I don’t. Don’t know why multiple things being true at once is always such a bridge too far for people. Fatal flaws are able to be so, precisely because contextually there are other variables at play facilitating the emergence of tipping point decisions. Just because many players are soured on Buffalo doesn’t mean an absolute exists: to a skilled recruiter, perhaps the flaw wouldn’t be so fatal. But Adams is the antithesis of that. There are other markets far, far closer to us in undesirability (some even equal to us, if you believe player polls) than they are to our output in dealing with such. Players don’t want to play here in Winnipeg and they’ve made it 7 times since the Sabres have last. Pegula’s bad decisions compound on eachother. The disappointment is infuriating particularly *because* there have been (and continue to be) opportunities to u-turn along the way: a sense of hubris pervades almost the entire operation 

You don't know why saying contradicting things is a problem?

[mjd1001]

What are the odds (simple math) of a team going 13 straight years and not make the playoffs once?

The  statistical odds of missing 13 years in a row would be 1 in 11,062.  There is NO WAY the one constant in that time (Pegula) doesn't have a lot to do with it.  Terrible owner.

[#freejame]

Winnipeg will lose the Jets before we lose the Sabres. Bettman doesn’t give two shits if anywhere in Canada has a team. 

Edited October 6 by #freejame

[Thorner]

Just now, #freejame said:

Winnipeg will lose the Jets before we lose the Sabres. Bettman doesn’t give two shits if anywhere in Canada had a team. 

Will they leave, come back, and win a playoff series before we do? They’ve made it *7 times* since they’ve been back and I’ve had to deal with the locals on that while my team hasn’t made it once. I just keep going back to it because it’s so hilarious. I never thought when I started a playful rivalry with Jets fans that id be sitting here 13 years later without a single thing to show for it 

[#freejame]

I’m actually going to immediately contradict myself and say MLSE would oppose the Sabres moving because it would increase the likelihood of a second team in the Toronto market. I’m sure Bettman care about Toronto and Montreal. Maybe even Vancouver. Maybe. 

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, Stoner said:

Terry has to hire the consultant. It's a vicious cycle. Or a Catch 22. One of them things.

I am working as a consultant in my retirement. 

Terry trusting a consultant only adds to his problem of trusting a GM.   Terry has to find someone good, honest, and worthy of the NHL GM position, a Brandon Beane style of hockey GMs would be nice (if there is one).  Then he needs to back away and completely trust him.   Even if he uses bad words and things like that.  
 

The job of a consultant is more about explaining  the possibilities … both the risks and the opportunities.  

[Ripper]

NO   NO   NO

You lugnuts, would't recognize a bad owner until he is here and moves the team out of town.  Watch what you ask for.  13 years?  No big deal for those with broad shoulders and listen to every game win or lose.  We don't want whips for fans.  

   

[mjd1001]

23 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I am working as a consultant in my retirement. 

Terry trusting a consultant only adds to his problem of trusting a GM.   Terry has to find someone good, honest, and worthy of the NHL GM position, a Brandon Beane style of hockey GMs would be nice (if there is one).  Then he needs to back away and completely trust him.   Even if he uses bad words and things like that.  
 

The job of a consultant is more about explaining  the possibilities … both the risks and the opportunities.  

I agree, but I just don't think he will do that.  I truly think he wants to be involved in decision making on the Sabres side of things much more than he should be. He's not just an owner who says "keep me informed, don't make a move until you tell me before".  Rather he is someone that wants to be in MOST important personal decisions, and he wants to tell the GM his opinion, and if the decision is close his opinion is the deciding factor.  

I think that is what has been happening and I don't think its changing.

[LTS]

13 hours ago, Stoner said:

He loves the Sabres. He is a huge fan... he had seasons in the Aud! He grew up a Sabres fan in Scranton.

I've challenged these notions (the last one was easy to disprove as Terry himself said he became a Sabres fan when he moved to Olean after college in 1975).

I came to the conclusion he is a fluid fan who has liked other teams (Pens are a no brainer). He was interested in the Sabres until he wasn't (he admitted he didn't know the Sabres were for sale after the Rigas crisis; tell me what kind of fan didn't know this was happening).

I also came to the conclusion he bought the Sabres to grease the skids on a Bills bid.

If there's any doubt left... how can you say you're a fan, that you love the team, and not admit you have destroyed it and someone else should step in?

Only arrogance explains it.

The rich don't apologize for anything.

3 hours ago, Ripper said:

NO   NO   NO

You lugnuts, would't recognize a bad owner until he is here and moves the team out of town.  Watch what you ask for.  13 years?  No big deal for those with broad shoulders and listen to every game win or lose.  We don't want whips for fans.  

   

If they moved out of town I could at least watch them on ESPN+ and save a crapload of money.

What's the bonus of being in Buffalo?  The arena? Barf.

I was born in Buffalo and while I moved away I will always want it to be successful, but a franchise does not a city make. And the Sabres are the laughing stock of the NHL. The only team in the entire NHL giving the Sabres a run for their money was Arizona, but that debacle has ended.

I don't want the team to move, but I want the team to stop being the punch line of an SNL skit... assuming SNL was aware of hockey.  So I guess think of it as the Canadian equivalent of SNL.. whatever that is these days.

[Stoner]

8 hours ago, LTS said:

The rich don't apologize for anything.

If they moved out of town I could at least watch them on ESPN+ and save a crapload of money.

What's the bonus of being in Buffalo?  The arena? Barf.

I was born in Buffalo and while I moved away I will always want it to be successful, but a franchise does not a city make. And the Sabres are the laughing stock of the NHL. The only team in the entire NHL giving the Sabres a run for their money was Arizona, but that debacle has ended.

I don't want the team to move, but I want the team to stop being the punch line of an SNL skit... assuming SNL was aware of hockey.  So I guess think of it as the Canadian equivalent of SNL.. whatever that is these days.

 

[steveoat87]

12 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I am working as a consultant in my retirement. 

Terry trusting a consultant only adds to his problem of trusting a GM.   Terry has to find someone good, honest, and worthy of the NHL GM position, a Brandon Beane style of hockey GMs would be nice (if there is one).  Then he needs to back away and completely trust him.   Even if he uses bad words and things like that.  
 

The job of a consultant is more about explaining  the possibilities … both the risks and the opportunities.  

True, but a good consultant would lay out the problems of the current organization and its structure.  Terry would still have to buy into any recommendations and be willing to give up control if needed.  Maybe if Kim was healthy she might be able to convince him.  Maybe Jessica, when she retires from Tennis, might be interested.  I guess we are all trying to figure out the leverage points on Terry.

Edited October 7 by steveoat87

[steveoat87]

As a Knicks fan, I lived through this same nightmare with James Dolan.  Not sure what convinced Dolan to hand over the reigns to the current management structure, but finally the Knicks have a good team.  Like the Bills with Beane, Dolan was lucky to have a good hockey front office.  So it possible things can change -- it has to be more than just luck.

[Thorner]

13 hours ago, Ripper said:

NO   NO   NO

You lugnuts, would't recognize a bad owner until he is here and moves the team out of town.  Watch what you ask for.  13 years?  No big deal for those with broad shoulders and listen to every game win or lose.  We don't want whips for fans.  

   

 

[Stoner]

Reminds me ... clean out the longtime trainers and equipment managers and all the other straphangers (great term) who I'm convinced spread the rot from one group of players to the next. Start with the clowns behind the bench.

Why new coaches saddle themselves with these people is beyond me. They have the players' ears!

[GoPre]

On 10/5/2024 at 7:01 PM, Turbo44 said:

Other than the Baltimore game, how has that defense been in the playoffs, when it mattered most? 

This can be said about any losing team in the playoffs.  Bills have 4 straight division titles.  Defense played a huge role in that.  

[Pimlach]

On 10/6/2024 at 11:02 AM, steveoat87 said:

I think there is a very good chance a new owner would move the team to a more lucrative media market.  Unless the owner commits to staying in Buffalo

What would be a more lucrative media market?   It is a miracle that they get any fans to come to the games at all.  

Put this franchises record under Pegula in any new market and the team would die in 5 years.  

[Night Train]

Sell and move. I was in college when John Y Brown sold the basketball team which moved to San Diego.  That's the likely outcome of a sale. Quit kidding yourself otherwise. 

[LabattBlue]

1 hour ago, Night Train said:

Sell and move. I was in college when John Y Brown sold the basketball team which moved to San Diego.  That's the likely outcome of a sale. Quit kidding yourself otherwise. 

Who’s kidding who?  It took all these years for Arizona to lose their team, the Sabres if sold are not going anywhere. 

[PerreaultForever]

Amazing how quiet it's gotten here on the eve of a new season. Those 2 losses have been a gut punch for this fan base it seems. 

[Kristian]

35 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Amazing how quiet it's gotten here on the eve of a new season. Those 2 losses have been a gut punch for this fan base it seems. 

It’s not the losses. It’s the manner of the losses.

Slow, disinterested, lack of conversion, horrible PP, mistakes. Same crap movie we’ve seen for the past decade.

People are done.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Kristian said:

It’s not the losses. It’s the manner of the losses.

Slow, disinterested, lack of conversion, horrible PP, mistakes. Same crap movie we’ve seen for the past decade.

People are done.

It definitely has that feeling here and you are absolutely correct. They did not lose looking good. Quite the reverse as you said. Goalies were okay but otherwise not much positive. 

[Thorner]

Sabres actually carried the balance of the play game 1 (somewhat due to score effects) but then got rolled in game 2. Tbh, for me it IS the losses and not how they happened. I’m sort of done with analyzing results beyond: “what were the results?”

the team not only doesn’t deserve anything beyond that, it’s proven folly, anyways. The common denominator has been Ls regardless of what led to them, for years. It just doesn’t matter. Win or don’t. 

It’s year 5. Make the playoffs or don’t. Already drew a personal line 

[DarthEbriate]

15 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

It definitely has that feeling here and you are absolutely correct. They did not lose looking good. Quite the reverse as you said. Goalies were okay but otherwise not much positive. 

Push the Sabres and they won't push back. It's been that way for 10 years. Can Ruff change it? They did call up that one AHLer for a game vs. Tampa Bay after getting tossed around the previous two seasons. Remember that great example of toughness?

Part of the beauty of playoff hockey is the ebb-and-flow. Good teams taking turns controlling play and going at each other, pushing, prodding, exerting their will. And then it shifts back. The Sabres haven't been able to push back against a physical team. And it can't just be a bunch of newcomers on the fourth line. It needs to be everyone. Tuch responded to the hit: well and good. That's expected. But the response needs to be ongoing through the rest of the game. There needs to be a fire and an orneriness at the end of the game to send a message for the next day, and the rematch later in the season.

This franchise still needs a line brawl in the worst way. They need to pick another franchise and make them an enemy. Force a good old rivalry. Make those games must-have tickets. And then, pick another team, and do it again. I nominate Boston and Tampa.