PASabreFan Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 What's at stake for this franchise if the doomsday scenario completely plays out? What would it take for the fans to reach a tipping point, a boiling point even? Let's consider: • TP comes into town talking Stanley Cup and saying, "Money? Pffft." He also says he likes gritty players and Lindy ain't goin' nowhere and Darcy? I can work with him. • Same day, he goes to a Buffalo News editorial board meeting and asks what has Darcy done wrong? He blames the News for the quit in the team. • He is accompanied to town by accountant friend Cliff Benson, Benson's client Ted Black, Black's old boss Ken Sawyer and later Sawyer's old boss Craig Patrick, as well as PSU pal Joe Battista. The Old Keystone Reacharound (Urban Dictionary). • The Sabres lose in Game 7 to the Flyers, the last sight of a playoff game in Pegula's tenure. • TP goes on a spending spree (the Sabres eventually have to buy out two of the prizes, including the reviled Ville Leino, and the third is traded.) "We tried some things and they didn't work," said Ted Black later. "It was my decision," Terry admits to Hockey Hotline while driving around town with his dog. • After the lockout, the team's gesture of "thanks and sorry" to the fans is a discount in the Sabres Store, while other teams around the league are much more generous. • The team continues to flop and the popular Lindy Ruff is fired and replaced by Ron Rolston. Terry starts to consider the extent of the rebuild that is at hand, according to Darcy, who has inexplicably been retained. • The Sabres raise season ticket prices for the third straight offseason and the letter arrives on Fan Appreciation Day. One year, the increase is the highest in percentage in the league. • Ted Black says since the Sabres can't land free agents, they have to find elite talent in the draft; the extent of this rebuild is going to be balls-deep. • Black introduces a third jersey to wide disgust. He later calls it a turdburger but refuses to eat it as promised — he blames the fans for "jersey fatigue." • Darcy is finally fired. Terry asks Pat LaFontaine over dinner if he wants to be GM. Pat says no, I'm not qualified. Terry offers him a more complicated job, team president. Facing a massive rebuild, and with former Penn State club hockey coach Battista in on the interview, LaFontaine hires first-time GM, GMTM. He also brings back coach Ted Nolan. With no official explanation, LaFontaine leaves four months later. • Battista, not Murray, tells Nolan that Ryan Miller has been traded. Battista brags on Twitter that he signed Ryan Vinz, a Sabres staffer and former high school goalie, to be the team's backup goalie that night. • The Sabres fail to win the lottery despite finishing 30th. • Murray has to go on his own spending spree to get the Sabres to the cap floor. • The Sabres host Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters in an OHL game at the arena. • Draft pick Sam Reinhart, apparently not physically ready for the NHL, is a mild disappointment. • Dominik Hasek Night is roundly criticized. At one point Hasek references the kids from Hockey Heroes, then looks around to realize they are not on the ice yet. "I must see… the children!" • Murray trades Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford and prospects for Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian. The former Sabres play well, the Jets make the playoffs and Bogosian, often injured in Winnipeg, misses time in Buffalo. • Prized PSU player Casey Bailey goes to Toronto. The Sabres, who burned a year of Mikhail Grigorenko's entry level contract, won't do it again for the highly regarded Bailey. • Murray says he thinks too much about McDavid; he can't help himself. Previously he had said he hopes the team is better next year while still being a lottery team. • For the second straight year, the Sabres are epically, historically bad. Some fans openly cheer for opponents at FNC. • The Sabres can't seal the deal on dead last. But wait, there might be more! Let's say we add: • GMTM is unwilling or unable to do the dirty work to ensure a last place finish, and the Sabres finish 29th and lose out on McEichel at the lottery. • The braintrust tells the fans it was never about McEichel, just about getting top talent at the draft, and they never expected the team to be this bad. • GMTM shitcans Ted Nolan one year into his contract. • Season ticket prices go up again, because, of course, the Sabres have no choice! • The ticket price letter arrives on the day of the lottery. • Kim Pegula unveils a blue and gold flecked puffy jersey. • At a church service, Terry tells an Aristocrats joke that involves a quadriplegic, Byron Brown and the widow Paterno. In all seriousness... In all seriousness... How much would the fans reasonably be expected to take? No one has cheered in that building since 2007. Exciting, entertaining hockey is only played on TV screens in Buffalo, which probably explains the healthy ratings for national games. Attendance is a house of cards built on a ton of STHs who view their tickets as an economic investment. How much would it take for a butterfly to flutter in southeast Asia and start a fan revolt, and not just among STHs, in Buffalo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Did we need this missive of gloom and doom on a nice Friday morning? With all the other doom and gloom threads available? In all seriousness... In all seriousness... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Did we need this missive of gloom and doom on a nice Friday morning? With all the other doom and gloom threads available? In all seriousness... In all seriousness... It's raining here. So I unburdened myself. It's healthy. One more day I won't be Breaking News on CNN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Wow. The PAnifesto on Terry so far. Most fans just want to watch good hockey and can't get riled up about who Battista is and what exactly his role with the franchise is. Edited April 10, 2015 by qwksndmonster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunomatic Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 In all seriousness... There will be time for handwringing after the Pittsburgh game. Maybe after the Columbus game. I suspect that the Buffalo media is hoping for the more dire of the 2 consequences. Bad news is good news for these guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico7 Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 If the Sabres can't get out of their own way and get it done tonight, tomorrow night could be a sh*t show. Imagine they do the unthinkable and drop to 29th. They are going to try to give away jerseys at the end of the game on Fan Appreciation Night? Talk about a PR nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 • The Sabres fail to win the lottery despite finishing 30th. There's a lot on this list to agree with, but not beating 3:1 odds against? If that were actually failing (i.e., something that shouldn't happen), then we wouldn't be worried about 29th, since we'd only have to beat 2:1 odds against landing McEichel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 There's a lot on this list to agree with, but not beating 3:1 odds against? If that were actually failing (i.e., something that shouldn't happen), then we wouldn't be worried about 29th, since we'd only have to beat 2:1 odds against landing McEichel. And we still got to draft the #1 forward in the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude_Verret Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I think everyone agrees that tomorrow could/will get very ugly if things don't go as planned tonight. Let's see what happens tonight first. I'm predicting shart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I want to time capsule this post for a few years from now when this team is making the playoffs every single year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I think everyone agrees that tomorrow could/will get very ugly if things don't go as planned tonight. Let's see what happens tonight first. I'm predicting shart. I hope there's no scenario where the game is meaningless for Pittsburgh on Saturday. I don't think there is. I want to time capsule this post for a few years from now when this team is making the playoffs every single year. Are they winning Cups? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBHockey13 Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Are we even still debating Terry Pegula? As someone who was born and raised in Buffalo, I agree with most sane people that Pegula is a saint. The city couldn't be more blessed. If you don't agree, go visit the Rigas's in jail, then travel to Hartford and ask people there about their NHL team. Edited April 10, 2015 by MBHockey13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Are they winning Cups? Maybe? We'll never agree on this, but there's no way to guarantee a Cup as a tremendous amount of luck is involved in a playoff run. I think we'll be in the playoffs yearly and as a top-4 seed more often than not. Will it result in the ultimate victory? Who knows. But we'll be in the conversation every year, and I think that's the best a team can hope to build for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Are we even still debating Terry Pegula? As someone who was born and raised in Buffalo, I agree with most sane people that Pegula is a saint. The city couldn't be more blessed. If you don't agree, go visit the Rigas's in jail, then travel to Hartford and ask people there about their NHL team. It's not about the city. It's about the Sabres. I think a reasonable person could say he's been great for the community but has been a terrible owner. As for the Rigases, maybe they're terrible people, I really don't know. But their money, or their company's money, was important to the Sabres when the Knoxes were majority owners. And that money paid Hasek a king's ransom to come within two wins of a Cup. Get back to me when Terry gets that close. Maybe? We'll never agree on this, but there's no way to guarantee a Cup as a tremendous amount of luck is involved in a playoff run. I think we'll be in the playoffs yearly and as a top-4 seed more often than not. Will it result in the ultimate victory? Who knows. But we'll be in the conversation every year, and I think that's the best a team can hope to build for. Thanks for clarifying. Maybe I'll save your post. Let's just agree that the first time the Sabres make the playoffs and go out in the first round, there will be no "I told you so"s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Are we even still debating Terry Pegula? As someone who was born and raised in Buffalo, I agree with most sane people that Pegula is a saint. The city couldn't be more blessed. If you don't agree, go visit the Rigas's in jail, then travel to Hartford and ask people there about their NHL team. Quite honestly, at this point, I think the conversation is mostly about a group of the most paranoid fans in the world who think everyone is out to get them. It's fitting that the X-Files is coming back soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 It's not about the city. It's about the Sabres. I think a reasonable person could say he's been great for the community but has been a terrible owner. As for the Rigases, maybe they're terrible people, I really don't know. But their money, or their company's money, was important to the Sabres when the Knoxes were majority owners. And that money paid Hasek a king's ransom to come within two wins of a Cup. Get back to me when Terry gets that close. Thanks for clarifying. Maybe I'll save your post. Let's just agree that the first time the Sabres make the playoffs and go out in the first round, there will be no "I told you so"s. Fine by me--I fully expect some first round losses along the way. If we make the playoffs 10 years straight, I think a handful of them are first round losses...just have to hope of the handful of deep runs, at least one of them goes all the way. Look at some of the most successful teams post-lockout...they've all got 1st round exits, and two of the best (LA and Boston) both might miss the playoffs entirely this year. Channeling my inner Jauron...extended success is difficult in this league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudacek Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Everyone seems to be missing PA's point. WE'RE GETTING A PUFFY JERSEY!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robviously Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Everyone seems to be missing PA's point. WE'RE GETTING A PUFFY JERSEY!!!!! But I don't wanna be a pirate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny DangerFace Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Last night I had a nightmare and it was terrifying. I think I saw the Devil Himself. I think it may have been Battista. I mean no one knows what he looks like. Is Battista Satan? You tell me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 But I don't wanna be a pirate! They are smooth, creamy, delicate, yet masculine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Fine by me--I fully expect some first round losses along the way. If we make the playoffs 10 years straight, I think a handful of them are first round losses...just have to hope of the handful of deep runs, at least one of them goes all the way. Look at some of the most successful teams post-lockout...they've all got 1st round exits, and two of the best (LA and Boston) both might miss the playoffs entirely this year. Channeling my inner Jauron...extended success is difficult in this league. Boston or Pittsburgh. One of them is very likely to miss the playoffs at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad1 Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Quite honestly, at this point, I think the conversation is mostly about a group of the most paranoid fans in the world who think everyone is out to get them. It's fitting that the X-Files is coming back soon. Yeah. That and LAMP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 But I don't wanna be a pirate! come on, yes you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuffMuff Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Have faith brother, it will all be over tonight. Edited April 10, 2015 by RuffMuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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