Is "accountability" even possible in the Sabres organization?

[That Aud Smell]

3 minutes ago, K-9 said:

 

29 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Now. Mind you. Kraft is still a doooosh bag billionaire. 

 

[JohnC]

58 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I heard that quote from Kraft late last night, and thought of you @Stoner.

Also: Nice pull on the quote from Terry on the day of his opening press conference. (What a weird brag that was, at the time. "I can tell you one thing, I'm a fan. You won't find a bigger fan than me because I just bought a hockey team. That's a pretty big commitment as a fan. There's only 29 other fans in the country that can pull that off." [Jeebus - fu*k off, dude.])

I took up a contrary position to you when you first (?) argued that the Sabres were, effectively, a public asset -- something akin to the BPO, the Buffalo Zoo, etc. A cultural institution of sorts that the supporting public essentially owns.

Technically (and only technically) speaking, I had and still have a solid argument to make.

Morally, emotionally, ethically, and probably some other important adverbs I can't summon right now, though, you had it right. Dead nuts. Kraft copping to the Patriots as a public asset points to what high-minded pro sports franchise ownership must look and sound like.

Any owner who doesn't make the same acknowledgment and behave accordingly is occupying some lesser tier of ownership than Kraft does.

Now. Mind you. Kraft is still a doooosh bag billionaire. On so many levels: Eff that guy and his bloated family.

But! As billionaire pro sports franchise owners go? He's the gold standard.

I don't for the life of me understand the invisible posture our owner has taken with his franchise. Everyone has their own personality. It's obvious he's not comfortable as a public figure and speaker. I get that. But his sphynx act as an owner of an irrelevant franchise indicates an unacceptable apathy. He has an obligation to either in person or through his communication office show his diminished fanbase that he cares and do what is necessary to get this franchise back on track. His behavior is both maddening and weird.  

[That Aud Smell]

from today’s Sabres mailbag (Lance as the writer?):

”Pegula watches video of draft-eligible prospects and poses questions to the scouting staff during meetings. He signs the checks, so a significant free-agent signing like the one involving Taylor Hall in 2020 doesn't happen without Pegula's approval.”

Yeesh.

[JohnC]

39 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

from today’s Sabres mailbag (Lance as the writer?):

”Pegula watches video of draft-eligible prospects and poses questions to the scouting staff during meetings. He signs the checks, so a significant free-agent signing like the one involving Taylor Hall in 2020 doesn't happen without Pegula's approval.”

Yeesh.

Pegula's philosophy is that when things are not working well, continue on. The mindset is that eventually there will be a breakthrough. A classic example that being stubborn is being stupid. The perpetual cycle of foolishness. 

Edited Tuesday at 03:23 PM by JohnC

[inkman]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I don't for the life of me understand the invisible posture our owner has taken with his franchise. Everyone has their own personality. It's obvious he's not comfortable as a public figure and speaker. I get that. But his sphynx act as an owner of an irrelevant franchise indicates an unacceptable apathy. He has an obligation to either in person or through his communication office show his diminished fanbase that he cares and do what is necessary to get this franchise back on track. His behavior is both maddening and weird.  

Why is it an obligation?  Because of butt hurt fans?  The less I hear and see the man, the better.  

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, inkman said:

Why is it an obligation?  Because of butt hurt fans?  The less I hear and see the man, the better.  

He chose to be an owner of a freaking sports franchise! What did he expect, the public to be passive and silent regarding the stewardship of his failed franchise. It's also not simply a privately owned business where the public has no input. It should not be forgotten that his teams play in publicly supported facilities. I said it before and I will say it again, his sphynx like behavior as an owner is weird.

[That Aud Smell]

13 minutes ago, inkman said:

Why is it an obligation?  Because of butt hurt fans?  The less I hear and see the man, the better.  

Except that, while we don’t see him, we don’t hear from him, he does a great deal “BTS” with regard to the team’s hockey operations. 

That results in an utter failure of accountability.

[inkman]

2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

He chose to be an owner of a freaking sports franchise! What did he expect, the public to be passive and silent regarding the stewardship of his failed franchise. It's also not simply a privately owned business where the public has no input. It should not be forgotten that his teams play in publicly supported facilities. I said it before and I will say it again, his sphynx like behavior as an owner is weird.

There is no obligation to the fans. If you don’t like it, don’t support it.  There is nothing he’ll say to make anyone feel any better.  It’s all just platitudes that mean nothing and accomplish nothing.  If it makes you feel better to hear an old man stammer on about nothing, have at it.  I have no use for owners of sports teams.  It’s funny how Terry doesn’t say ***** about ***** with the Bills and no one cares.  But because the Sabres suck we need to hear Terry say a bunch of nothingness into a microphone. Ok.  

[JohnC]

13 minutes ago, inkman said:

There is no obligation to the fans. If you don’t like it, don’t support it.  There is nothing he’ll say to make anyone feel any better.  It’s all just platitudes that mean nothing and accomplish nothing.  If it makes you feel better to hear an old man stammer on about nothing, have at it.  I have no use for owners of sports teams.  It’s funny how Terry doesn’t say ***** about ***** with the Bills and no one cares.  But because the Sabres suck we need to hear Terry say a bunch of nothingness into a microphone. Ok.  

I am a fan. Fans express their opinions. What do you expect: behavior that is suitable for a library. 

[That Aud Smell]

16 minutes ago, inkman said:

There is no obligation to the fans. If you don’t like it, don’t support it.  There is nothing he’ll say to make anyone feel any better.  It’s all just platitudes that mean nothing and accomplish nothing.  If it makes you feel better to hear an old man stammer on about nothing, have at it.  I have no use for owners of sports teams.  It’s funny how Terry doesn’t say ***** about ***** with the Bills and no one cares.  But because the Sabres suck we need to hear Terry say a bunch of nothingness into a microphone. Ok.  

It appears that Terry’s involvement with the Sabres is far (far) more significant than it is with the Bills.

And yes: The Bills are great, so fans don’t need to hear from the owner.

The Sabres suck. And have sucked for a long time. Terry’s running the show with the Sabres. I very much want to know what he thinks and what his plans are.

[inkman]

25 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I am a fan. Fans express their opinions. What do you expect: behavior that is suitable for a library. 

I don’t care if you burn the arena to the ground.  I just don’t think listening to an old man yammer on about nothing is going to make anyone feel better.  As a matter of fact, it almost exclusively incites more fan anger and distrust.  What you want is not going to happen.  He’s not going to come out and tell everyone his grandiose plan to make it all better.  He’s done that.  It isn’t working.  What we need is action.  Not words. 

[That Aud Smell]

35 minutes ago, inkman said:

He’s not going to come out and tell everyone his grandiose plan to make it all better.  He’s done that. 

He won’t? He has?

Terry is the Sabres’ POHO. I’d like to hear from him.

[inkman]

42 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

He won’t? He has?

Terry is the Sabres’ POHO. I’d like to hear from him.

The purpose of the franchise is to win the Stanley Cup.  They think drafting and developing is how to do it.  
 

I know and you know it’s not working.  They are just going to rehash the same platitudes and everyone will leave the “presser” with their thumbs up their ass as Terry isn’t going to lay out some new fangled idea.  
 

They have a plan. It’s not working.  They are sticking to said plan.  🤷‍♂️

[That Aud Smell]

6 minutes ago, inkman said:

The purpose of the franchise is to win the Stanley Cup.  They think drafting and developing is how to do it.  
 

I know and you know it’s not working.  They are just going to rehash the same platitudes and everyone will leave the “presser” with their thumbs up their ass as Terry isn’t going to lay out some new fangled idea.  
 

They have a plan. It’s not working.  They are sticking to said plan.  🤷‍♂️

Yeah.

I do hold out hope that there’d be something … new.

What’s the definition of insanity?

[Stoner]

8 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Yeah.

I do hold out hope that there’d be something … new.

What’s the definition of insanity?

Uh oh. Triggered inky.

The thing with Terry is that he does speak about the Bills. He's done several interviews in recent weeks. You can say the interviews were meant to address his sale of minority interests, but he did talk about the team. Now Terry could have done similar interviews last offseason to address upgrades to the arena, but he didn't. The man has ghosted us, and I don't think it's any more complicated an explanation than he got booed on RJ night.

Oh yeah Terry is shown during Bills camp and he's been in the lockerroom after every Bills win (at least every video I've seen). He even got a game ball and made a speech.

Edited Tuesday at 05:32 PM by Stoner

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, inkman said:

I don’t care if you burn the arena to the ground.  I just don’t think listening to an old man yammer on about nothing is going to make anyone feel better.  As a matter of fact, it almost exclusively incites more fan anger and distrust.  What you want is not going to happen.  He’s not going to come out and tell everyone his grandiose plan to make it all better.  He’s done that.  It isn’t working.  What we need is action.  Not words. 

That's the problem! What action are you referring to. Nada is nada!

[LTS]

3 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

from today’s Sabres mailbag (Lance as the writer?):

”Pegula watches video of draft-eligible prospects and poses questions to the scouting staff during meetings. He signs the checks, so a significant free-agent signing like the one involving Taylor Hall in 2020 doesn't happen without Pegula's approval.”

Yeesh.

Without more context I can't say that I have a problem with this. I get asked questions by my leadership all the time. In many cases they are told something or hear something and they want my position on it because they believe I am the source of truth. At times it certainly can feel like I am being tested to see if I can respond competently.

Now, if I thought the only thing my bosses wanted to hear was affirmation of their position, then it would not work.

I question my employees all the time. There are a lot of things that don't happen "without my approval". In many cases I challenge them to make sure they've considered all aspects. It's not always about blind trust in the employee either.

Of course, if Pegula is doing it and then expects his employees to then target those players and ultimately invokes executive privilege that's another story.

[Night Train]

[That Aud Smell]

21 minutes ago, LTS said:

Without more context

Bro.

The Sabres under Pegula is the context.

[Carmel Corn]

45 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Bro.

The Sabres under Pegula is the context.

The only true accountability that exists in a Pegula organization is to do what Terry wants and/or don’t pi$$ him off.  If you disagree or violate either of these two rules, then you are gone.  

[Flashsabre]

From Sabres Reddit:

Excerpt on Pegula from Lance Lysowski’s mail bag

Terry Pegula isn't selling the Sabres.

We'll get that question and answer out of the way, even though one of our readers, @rmitro8 on X, is justified in asking if there's a chance a different owner will save the franchise.

There's a realistic scenario in which Pegula sells a minority stake of the Sabres, but he's not walking away. His love for the sport began before the Sabres' inception in 1970 and blossomed into a passion during the era of the French Connection.

Pegula watches video of draft-eligible prospects and poses questions to the scouting staff during meetings. He signs the checks, so a significant free-agent signing like the one involving Taylor Hall in 2020 doesn't happen without Pegula's approval.

Pegula has influence on every consequential decision. The owner won't take his hands off the steering wheel and he wants his opinions to be considered. The Sabres' repeated failures − perhaps none more maddening to this fan base than this season's collapse with Lindy Ruff back behind the bench − aren't the by-product of an absentee landlord.

Pegula is as involved as ever, even when he's tending to the Bills' stadium or his other businesses. He routinely talks to Ruff and Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams. Pegula cares, but he doesn't know how to fix the mess that he created through years of bad decisions.

Another lost season may lead to another firing or two, but it won't convince Pegula to change his approach or abandon the hockey team that he purchased nearly 14 years ago

[Stoner]

So Lance speaks for Terry? Got it. A sale process could be starting at the moment.

At least Lance didn't regale us with how Terry "grew up" a Sabres fan.

I just want to puke at stuff like this.

[LTS]

22 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

Bro.

The Sabres under Pegula is the context.

Yeah.. see what @Flashsabre posted goes a long to context.  I am not a fan of Pegula at all. He's ruined this franchise with his leadership but I'm not prescribing any more to a statement than the statement itself when its made.  For what it's worth, I would expect an owner to be involved in those decisions. That said, being involved and mandating a certain outcome are separate things. 

Ultimately it doesn't matter if he is involved, listens, and agrees with his GM and scouts or if his GM and scouts do his bidding. He put all of them in their positions and the organization is not successful. He's not getting it done. However, the reasons can be different.

 

[That Aud Smell]

58 minutes ago, LTS said:

However, the reasons can be different.

There’s one reason. It’s Terry.

[LTS]

51 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

There’s one reason. It’s Terry.

Yes, the ultimate source of the problem is Terry. I said that. Thanks for the confirmation.