Archives for February 23, 2011

‘Pegula is the right buyer at the right time for Western New York. Welcome.’

‘”I can tell you one thing: I’m a fan,” the 59-year-old said. “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.”‘

‘”Having Ken as a resource is going to be very, very valuable to me personally and to Terry,” said Black, who was the Penguins’ VP from 1999 to 2008 and is pleased to join a team on more solid footing than Pittsburgh was following bankruptcy. “This team is not miles away from the Stanley Cup, and that is the goal. We’re going to win the Stanley Cup. There’s no beating around the bush.”‘

‘”It was pretty awesome,” added fellow ’75 alum Danny Gare. “He got so emotional. That was one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen from an owner. Gilbert was shocked. I was sitting next to him and he was like, ‘Boy, Thank you. I appreciate that.’ It was neat to see.”‘

‘Teenage daughters Jessie (16) and Kellie (14) were introduced as “the Tweetybirds” by their father, in honor of their sudden fame engaging Sabres fans on Twitter. The 59-year-old Pegula has two sons, Michael (32) and Matthew (11), and another daughter, Laura Pegula Biesinger (28). Michael lives in Los Angeles and Laura recently moved from Colorado to the Lake Placid area. All will attend tonight’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers.’

‘At the very least, Black and Sawyer bring a fresh set of eyes from the outside to examine the organization. Regier has a reputation within the company and beyond for lacking conviction in his decisions, but perhaps he’ll thrive with more support and a stronger, more positive approach above him. We’ll see.’

‘Miller said the players were enthused by the support Pegula is showing to coach Lindy Ruff and General Manager Darcy Regier, largely because, “they believed in us as young players and it’s right that we believe in them.”‘

‘”I wanted to take a leadership role in this campaign because I believe that every vote should count equally,” said Golisano, who just turned over the Sabres to new owner Terry Pegula. “The president we choose represents this entire nation, and we should all count when making that choice. Our presidential election should be truly democratic.”‘

‘”Winning is not a goal, it is a belief,” said Pegula, whose wife, Kim (maiden name Kerr), grew up in Fairport. “I want to run the team to win the Stanley Cup. If I want to make some money, I’ll go drill a gas well. I don’t need to make it with a hockey team.”‘

‘Pegula admits he initially didn’t understand why the Sabres and Amerks were no longer partners. But he has learned from his hockey department that the current arrangement works well. “He has been told “what a beautiful minor-league city Portland is,” he said. “Players love it there.”‘