‘I don’t get it. The Sabres were the best team in the league in the regular season and play a style that should help the league sell the game. Television ratings in Buffalo, a hockey town among several that have kept this league alive, are through the roof, and Sabres’ merchandise sales are tops in the league. They’re buying it in Buffalo, and it should play in Peoria, too. And yet when it comes time to present this team, this great story, to the country, the Sabres are treated like annoying relatives you hope decide to go home early, if only you ignore them.’