Pimlach

I don't have good insight into the arena. No doubt that updates and clean up is needed on the inside. To be honest, it was never an impressive place. The design has mostly poor sightlines, the seats seem far away from the ice. The concessions and restrooms are below par. To me, only the 200 level is decent. The place has always seemed dark and dingy, and because they have sucked for so long it is usually quiet in there relative to other NHL rinks. The scoreboard is much better now. The roof was a must do and that repair was late. The bad seats - we are probably stuck with them. Better paint, better lights, being cleaner, and better concessions does not seem that hard. I don't think you will see any funding for a new arena for a very long time. There is still angst on building the new football stadium with 40% state and county tax funding.

If you want to rebuild on the same spot is that a 3 year job?

I would normally be opposed to putting it in the suburbs but until I hear the where, the how, and the why, I will reserve judgement. I like it were it is, it brings revenue to downtown, and downtown Buffalo needs attractions to get people down there, especially in the long winter months.

They have become hard to love.

I have been to enough NHL rinks to say that Buffalo's arena was poorly executed from the very start and it poor maintenance just makes it worse. Agree with dark, dingy, dusty, really bad sound, no comfort unless you are in the 200's. I'm older and I want to be comfortable. I won't sit in the 300s, unless you are in the first few rows, you are too far away and everything sucks up there. The irony is I was an Orange seat season ticket holder and loved it up there - chalk that up to youthful exuberance and a good team making the difference. The Oranges overhung the lower bowl and most seats had great sightlines. Put a good team in there and the place is tolerable. They seem to lose almost every time I go to a home game. I end up paying for me, the wife, and often a bunch of our kids, and I get little enjoyment in that place. I went to that Kings game last year, right after the disappointing Euro series with the Devils. They basically gave the game away in the third period. I haven't been back. Not sure I will go back this year either. One big positive change from my younger days of going to The Aud, at least now I have more fun being downtown before or after the game than I did in the Aud days. A problem I see down the road is were would you put a new hockey arena? The arena belongs next to the Harbor Center. How do you build new in that space?

Tuch is a two way player, he had good defensive stats and he led the league in blocked shots last season. He scored 36 goals last season, 94 in the past 3 seasons. He is certainly gritty enough for an Olympic All Star team. Why are you so negative on Tuch? He was 1 of 44 players invited for a shot at the Olympics, that alone puts him in a category that deserves more respect.

I was in the same boat with corporate life, and I was one of the exec's. I did not want to stain a good career so I moved on. Sounds like you are doing the right preparations.

15K and they are done? Here is some Dad-like advice, you probably already know this stuff but maybe you get something from it. I once bought a set of Michelin's that lasted only 20k before I took them off due to bad performance and wear. I did all the right maintenance. The guy at the dealership said they could have been dry rotting by setting in their storage for awhile so he gave me half the money back towards another set. I hope you get some compensation back for the poor performance. Good tire maintenance: - check alignment and do a front end alignment if needed every time you put new tires on. - Check inflation of tires to proper levels periodically, especially important when seasons change as external temps effect the tire pressure. This helps gas mileage and reduces the chance of bad wear. - check tire balance and rotate your tires every 12,000 miles, or every other oil change, so they wear evenly. - Make sure your shocks/struts are good, they will slowly degrade so once you get 60K to 100K miles on them. Over 100K and they are probably not doing the job to full performance but they still could be good. Problem is you get used to them, making it harder to detect when they are marginal.

Agree. Look at my list of top US born goal scorers. Thompson is right up there. Is Thompson's 2 way game any worse than Conner or Robertson or Debrincat? I say no to that. Tuch and a center like Larkin would make very good bottom 6 players for the USA. They need the right balance of top skill and gritty two way play. USA v Canada will be an amazing game.

Golisano did not like spending big money on the hockey team. He was not a spend what it takes to win guy. He saved the team for Buffalo but not with a burning desire win. His current generosity is certainly noble and greatly appreciated. Terry came in with the opposite thoughts. He was an alleged Superfan, now owner, and he said money would not hold the team back. He would “drill another well” if he had too. Unfortunately, 15 years later he still has not yet figured out the hockey business. The Pegula’s have also been very generous. The Harbor Center is awesome and it anchors Canal Side. When we were kids this area now called Canal Side was decrepit. It’s a thriving and fun place today. Buffalo’s water front is very nice and downtown is cleaned up a lot. Terry has also made a very positive impact on the community, not to mention the Bills are a legitimate NFL franchise.

Just look at how coaching in the Olean Oilers Pee Wee House League has helped our guy run an NHL franchise.

What do you base the four years on? Is it detailed financial data or just the age you think you should be at retirement. Have you done a detailed study of your spending to determine your wants and needs in the future? I retired “early” because of the corporate culture. I could not buy into all of the changes AND I was financially ready. It was a good move. I supplement my desire to be “busy and useful” by contracting my services - I work when I want to work. My close friend can retire right now at 59, but he is uncomfortable with it. His solution was to cut hours to part time and retain benefits. For many, Health care is the biggest concern. Until you get to Medicare it’s expensive to pay for a good plan.

And once he leaves you must close his entry point. If you don’t you will have more bats - as in plural.

Got it! agree.

Last 4 seasons - Top US Goals scorers: GP G NHL Rank Mathews 295 202 1 Thompson 303 158 11 Conner 308 153 13 Robertson 320 151 14 Kreider 310 149 15 Guentzel 301 147 16 It's time to say goodbye Kreider and hello Tage. He can play wing or center in the NHL. The guy has proven he can score goals playing with Tuch, Skinner, Benson, Peterka, Kulich. He will make the team if healthy and scoring.

Would love to see Tage and Tuch make the team and get GOLD!

Buffalo memories are good thread, especially for us old timers. For people in just about any era it seems that reflecting about the "good old days", even if they were not really that good, provides a psychological benefit to people. I love Buffalo and WNY nostalgia.

D meant poor but passing when I went to school. Essentially you did not learn the material adequately, but they were pushing you along. The Sabres current front office gets an F (fail). So does the one before that, and the one before that. Ranking them 32nd out of 32 is correct.

There is no player that could save them. The problem is at the TOP. They need an exceptional executive running the team. Someone that Terry trusts enough to only provide token support to. Like he does with the Bills. Until that happens we have Terry running Hockey Ops and they will continue to struggle.

Tuch will be a UFA so they could lose him. If Dahlin and Tage ask to leave because of another failed season it would be epic incompetence. How anyone can defend the past 14 years is beyond me. A lot of eggs are in the basket of a coaching staff that looked outmatched last season.

Hire the right POHO/GM and maybe he doesn't have to rebuild, just retool.

Jobs Taxes paid

I like big. I like big, skilled, and tough even better. Hoping to see more physical presence and toughness to go with the height.

Dahlin would thrive on any of the other 31 teams, he is a star player. Sure, Krueger held him back, he was not an NHL HC either. He was just another failed Terry Pegula hire.

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