Can the Sabres fold and re-brand?

[msw2112]

Outside of the obvious (having a competent GM and coach and stability), I struggle to see the difference between Pegula spending on the Bills and the Sabres.  If anyone watched the Bills game yesterday, you saw that Von Miller was put into the game just so that he could get one sack to achieve a bonus of $1.5M.  He got that sack in the 1st quarter and then did not see the field again.  The punter punted on a 4th down that was a makeable field goal, and because it was downed inside the 20 yard line, the punter got a bonus ($100K, I believe).  They appeared to try and get other players their bonuses and the announcers made a big deal out of it.  I assume that Pegula signed off on this approach in an otherwise meaningless game (as playoff seed was already set prior to the game).  It was said that the Bills wanted to "take care of their guys" to show the rest of the league how attractive it is to play for the Buffalo Bills.

What could the Sabres do with that $1.5M?  Would that pay the salary of a competent assistant coach?  Would it pay a portion of the salary of a veteran stay-at-home defenseman?  

I guess it boggles the mind that the SAME OWNER could have one of the best franchises in the business in one league and one of the worst in the other.  He's willing to spend freely in one, but tightens the belt in the other.  Yes, the Bills are a cash cow and the Sabres are not, but ultimately, all the money comes from the same place.  Why not send more of it toward hockey?  Maybe it's true that the Sabres are willing to spend on veteran players, but the refuse to come to Buffalo....Or maybe Terry sees a return on his investment in football and has been burned when he spent freely on the Sabres?

Edited Monday at 06:07 PM by msw2112