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MBD

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  6. Rochester Americans 2021-2022

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    1 hour ago, inkman said:

    Why is this comment necessary?  They sucked balls for most of the second half with mostly an ECHL roster.  Good grief.

    Sounds like those who said the Bills backed-into the playoffs in 2017.  No, they didn't.  They played their full schedule and so did others, and made it in based on that.

    • Like (+1) 1

  10. Devon Levi watching Sabres morning skate

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by MBD

    34 minutes ago, Taro T said:

    Until one of the 3 has proven he's ready for the reins or until 1 has said he wants out, keep them all & may the best goalie win.

    Having 3 young good goalies, should it turn out that's what the Sabres have, wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to them.

    What is Portillo's incentive to sign if Levi comes out next year as well (meaning they'll have to compete for PT, one in Rochester and the other in Cincy) and Portillo can just wait a few months and become an UFA?  I've heard "he can burn a year of his ELC" (will they do that for both him and Levi?) but he could have done that this year and been a year closer to a bigger payday, but he eschewed it to "get his business degree," telling me money isn't motivating him.  But being able to choose where he would rather go, possibly would.

    Basically I'm saying prepare like Portillo is gone and try to get something for him.  And do all you can to ensure Levi signs next year.  Not that they haven't been doing that to a degree, and don't think that that's lost on Portillo.

  16. Portillo and Levi

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    6 hours ago, K-9 said:

    Levi doesn’t understand angles and positioning? Geometry is not his friend? He’s one of the most proficient technical goalie prospects in a long while so I have to question what this “scout” is assessing, because he seems to be missing exactly what makes Devon Levi such a promising prospect. 

    His height. 

  19. Did not realize the Sabres were 31st in attendance...pathetic

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, JohnC said:

    It doesn't matter that what Paul Hamilton reported about the owners' retrospective about granting authority to McBeane is accurate or not. It could be true or not.  What matters is that the football staff currently has the authority to make football decisions without the interference of the owners. The results are indisputable: The Bills  are acknowledged to be SB contenders by almost everyone involved in the sport. 

    The same learning cycle of how the owners conducted themselves applied to their hockey business, as it originally did with the Bills. The owners were very involved in the hockey operation when they bought the team. The results were predictably bad. Are the owners now intimately involved with the hockey operation? My sense is they are not, or at least significantly less so. And it shouldn't be a surprise that the fortunes of the team have dramatically improved. 

    With respect to the attendance, there is no question that fans expressed their disillusionment with the organization by not attending the games. No one should blame them for not willing to pay for a decade long bad product. This organization lost the trust of the fans. Long term dysfunction and a bad product will do that to any enterprise. The franchise has to now earn its lost credibility back. For a large portion of this season the Sabres were drawing 4000-6000 people at the arena. Recently, it has doubled in size with a sellout for the Rick tribute. Yesterday's game drew close to 13,000 very engaged fans to the game. That's progress. It's going to take time to bring back the fanbase that ownership/organization contributed in losing.  

    I'll assume Hamilton meant that the Pegulas weren't too keen initially on giving so much control to McBeane, but there's no way they still feel that way given their enormous success.  So I can see how seeing the success the Bills have had with that model made them back-off when it came to the Sabres. 

    • Like (+1) 2

  20. Did not realize the Sabres were 31st in attendance...pathetic

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, JohnC said:

    Let me start off with your comment about Golisano. He saved this franchise from not only folding but also being moved. He bought this team when it was in bankruptcy. When he took over he discovered that the financial books were in a state of chaos where franchise funds were intermingled with private accounts. What he did was sort out the entangled financials and put this chaotic franchise on a hard budget. That not only was the right thing to do but the necessary thing to do in order to make the franchise financially viable. Without being obligated to do so he paid all the vendors, some of them he wasn't required to do because of the bankruptcy laws. Without question he brought order and professionalization to the whole operation, that included the hockey and business parts. 

    When he sold the franchise to the Pegulas he claimed that he had higher offers that would have resulted in the franchise being moved. My understanding is that the commissioner, Bettman, was not going to allow that to happen. At the news conference of the sale to Pegula Golisano noted that he had a clause in the contract to sell that if the Pegulas decided to sell the franchise it still couldn't be moved. In my view Golisano should be praised and not criticized for how he ran the franchise and for how he handled the sale of it. 

    With respect to the Pegulas as owners they were most at fault for the demise of this franchise during their stewardship. Hopefully, they have learned from their mistakes. I strongly believe that they have. 

    Sorry, I didn't mean to impugn Golisano stewardship of the Sabres.  I agree with everything you said, especially about saving the franchise, several times.  I meant "skinflint" in that he didn't spend nearly as much as the Pegulas have, and I admit I should have chosen a better word.

    I just don't know what they could have done differently.  Ralph was criticized for being cheap with coaches and players.  The Pegulas are the opposite.  And yet they failed miserably with the Sabres, whereas they're doing great with the Bills.

    • Like (+1) 2

  21. Did not realize the Sabres were 31st in attendance...pathetic

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, JohnC said:

    As far as hockey decisions I'm not sure they are currently involved in the hockey operation. There is no doubt that the owners have a say when money considerations are involved, just like every owner does. To the GM's credit he has rebuilt the hockey operation and has assembled a quality staff. The historical problem as you noted is that they were too involved in the hockey decisions. The worst and most foolish interventions were when they first took ownership. Money was being spent at a high rate in the belief that throwing money around was a quick way to buy respectability. As with the Bills when they bought the team the owners had a learning curve that included some hard lessons. I believe they have belatedly learned their lesson with the hockey team and now have a better understanding on how to operate a franchise. 

    Now we're getting somewhere.  The Pegulas inherited Ruff and Regier, who had been wildly successful under the skinflint Golisano.  They gave them the resources (that Golisano did not) that they needed to get players for a team that had made the playoffs the year before.  What went wrong?  Was merely giving them all the money they wanted what make them bad?  Were they telling the GMs who to get?

    • Like (+1) 1

  22. Did not realize the Sabres were 31st in attendance...pathetic

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    15 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

    Bye. They sell the team, it leaves, bye. 

    I figured out years ago it's easy to live somewhere without an nhl team. Especially one that's been the dumpster fire Buffalo has been. 

    Idc if they sell. And your quote here is a lie. That's not what I said. 

    11 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

    Oh... I see you have some other agenda. You're in here playing games. 

    What's with the "game" stuff?  I'm asking point blank how does the team get fixed?  They're the owners.  Having "neither around the team" isn't feasible nor is it an answer.  Therefore selling is the only option.  And given the market size and support, no matter the reason, there's a good chance the team could me moved if it's sold.

    As for not caring if the team leaves, that's an interesting take.  I wonder how many share your sentiment?

    • Like (+1) 1

  23. Did not realize the Sabres were 31st in attendance...pathetic

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by MBD

    23 minutes ago, JujuFish said:

    Oh sure, no game at all. You keep trying to shift the conversation and won't answer me straight up. Do you think the Pegulas, who have now set a record level of futility across the entire league, have not done poorly?

    The team has done poorly.  But last I checked, they don't manage, coach or play.  They kept Ruff and Regier after buying the team and gave them all the money they needed.  They failed.  Then they moved on, hiring a fan favorite (Ted Nolan) and a SC-winning HC (Bylsma), who also failed.  They drafted a "generational" player in Eichel...and still kept losing.  But since the losing has been since they bought the team, it's all on them, right?  So the only conclusion that can be reached is they should sell the team. 

    Again, do you favor them doing that.  And if the team moves, because the new owner sees the attendance and would rather take a chance in a bigger market, what then?

    Or do you think they're intentionally trying to make the Sabres bad.  If so, what can they do to make it good?

  25. Did not realize the Sabres were 31st in attendance...pathetic

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, JujuFish said:

    I'm not sure what your game is here.  Do you honestly not think the Pegulas' performance as owners is pathetic?

    There's no game.  It was a simple question.  You're saying they're incompetent.  They've spent resources up the wazoo on players, facilities, coaches and GMs.  And still the team has sucked under their ownership.  So, again, should they sell the team, with the chance that the new owner(ship group) sees the lack of fan support and takes them elsewhere?

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