Terry Pegula is "Not My Owner"

[Jerry Jabber]

I'm calling out anyone who questions the Pegula's. Period!!!!!

 

Yes they are going through a learning curve. Yes that pain is shared by ALL Buffalo sports fans.

But......GFY!!!!!

 

Without the Pegula's vision the Buffalo region most likely would be without an NHL or NFL team! And what I am saying is power to truth.

 

There will be ups and downs, but to question ownerships commitment to win is hogwash. Like any other human beings, they make mistakes. I won't judge their ownership based on those mistakes. Instead.......I'm greatful for there dedication and commitment to the region.

 

So I say, Thank you Terry and Kim. I know it's a tough learning curve, but please, continue on and know you have the support of the majority not only in the region, but thousands upon thousands of WNY ex-patriots as well to stay focused on the DREAM of championships!!!

+1

[pi2000]

I'm calling out anyone who questions the Pegula's. Period!!!!!

 

Yes they are going through a learning curve. Yes that pain is shared by ALL Buffalo sports fans.

But......GFY!!!!!

 

Without the Pegula's vision the Buffalo region most likely would be without an NHL or NFL team! And what I am saying is power to truth.

 

There will be ups and downs, but to question ownerships commitment to win is hogwash. Like any other human beings, they make mistakes. I won't judge their ownership based on those mistakes. Instead.......I'm greatful for there dedication and commitment to the region.

 

So I say, Thank you Terry and Kim. I know it's a tough learning curve, but please, continue on and know you have the support of the majority not only in the region, but thousands upon thousands of WNY ex-patriots as well to stay focused on the DREAM of championships!!!

 

[Jerry Jabber]

Not directly & not intentionally, but that was a VERY real possibility if the guy who the league initially hooked its wagon to had gotten the team. Hammister was severely undercapitalized & when he lost out on the Sabres, he took his ball (the Destroyers) & ran crying off to Columbus.

 

Truly doubt that he could've withstood the lockout. In which case, the best case result is either the Sabres are in bankruptcy AGAIN &/or are sold AGAIN to local buyers & the worst case is Hammister runs to Welland or KC or he sells to Balsillie.

 

Quinn is a self-serving putz but he did talk Golisano into outbidding Hammister. (Which considering both of their finances wasn't particularly difficult.) The more surprising thing was the NHL actually picked the right bidder in the end after initially backing the wrong one. They never seem to get that stuff right; luckily for us they did this one time.

 

He did? Back in '97? :unsure:

 

Assuming you meant the tank was Regier's doing initially. If you put that one on Tom as well, then it's time for another emoji.

Forgot about Regis. But it was Regier's idea to tank. The last few years Regier was the GM, he made a lot of terrible draft picks which also set the team back.

[Weave]

LOL

[SwampD]

Scotty, let me know when those ups come our way.

[PASabreFan]

Point of fact: It was Kathy Lee who owned the Sabres before Golisano.

[Scottysabres]

Scotty, let me know when those ups come our way.

Why would I have to let you know? You will see them for yourself. But then, the attempt to address my post isn't based on that, is it?

 

Ask yourself this........

 

How would you feel about rooting for the Toronto Bills, or the Hamilton Sabres.

Or, insert a city name of your choosing.

[PASabreFan]

Yes, Golisano was only holding onto the team as a tax write-off, he had no interest whatsoever in fielding a competitive team and no interest in being a long term owner.

 

He sold the team to Pegula in 2011 for $189mil..... but there was also an unnamed bidder who submitted a much higher bid which was contingent on moving the team.   Golisano decided to sell to Pegula to keep the team in Buffalo.    Without Pegula, the Buffalo Sabres are no more.  

Putting aside the idea that Bettman was not and is not a fan of franchises moving, and allowing the Sabres to leave Buffalo wouldn't make sense for the NHL, if there was any risk the team would move, wasn't it Golisano who kept the Sabres in Buffalo? Pegula is abiding by the terms of Golisano's deal. Golisano said at the time he was not going to sell the team to anyone who wanted to move it. Period.

 

It's funny you say the Golisano had no interest in fielding a competitive team when that's exactly what he and Quinn and DiPofi did. I listened to his farewell presser and he brought up the team's record during his ownership. Sixth best overall in the league and second best in the Eastern Conference over that span. No one's happy with where the team went after 2007, but they were competitive.

 

My original notion that the team was not on the market is debatable, but I correctly recalled that it was Pegula who approached Quinn and met with him in March 2010 in, where else?, Pittsburgh. Listening to the presser, LQ filled in a few details. It was former associates of Quinn's at the Penguins who hooked up Pegula and Quinn, reinforcing the Pegula-Pittsburgh connection that was so evident after he bought the Sabres. Terry was clearly a playah before he was a playah.

 

OSP said at the presser that after this meeting, they decided not to sell the team, which adds a little credence to the idea that they weren't on the market before Pegula came calling. A few months later, over the summer, I believe, they changed their minds. Golisano said it was for three reasons: he was planning a major governmental project, he had moved to Florida, and Quinn and DiPofi wanted to sell. It sure sounds like it all fell nicely into their laps. Terry sure had funny radar about when his beloved team was for sale over the years and when it wasn't.

[WildCard]

I appreciate the Pegula's for keeping the team here, I really do, but I'm not going to judge them differently from other owners just because of that threat. Sure, my wife didn't cheat on me, but I'm not going to praise her for it, that should be expected

[PASabreFan]

I appreciate the Pegula's for keeping the team here, I really do, but I'm not going to judge them differently from other owners just because of that threat. Sure, my wife didn't cheat on me, but I'm not going to praise her for it, that should be expected

They have no legal right to move the team. There's nothing to appreciate.

[WildCard]

They have no legal right to move the team. There's nothing to appreciate.

The Bills and Sabres were never in danger of moving?

[PASabreFan]

The Bills and Sabres were never in danger of moving?

The Sabres in 2010 or 2011? I don't think so. The team's financials were pretty stable, at least much more stable than when Golisano bought the team, and the franchise was going to continuing to appreciate. I think Tom would have held onto it. What does it tell you that Golisano left tens of millions of dollars on the table because he wouldn't sell to someone who wanted to move the team? Is that the danger? That someone wanted to move them? By the way, when asked at the presser if that someone was Balsillie, Golisano said it would be a bad assumption, then said it wouldn't necessarily be wrong.

[WildCard]

Who's Balsillie?

Edited April 5, 2017 by WildCard

[Randall Flagg]

It's news to me that we were on the verge of losing the Sabres to Hamilton, or anywhere else, at any point in my fanhood (2005-present)

[PASabreFan]

Who's Balsillie?

When you're older, son. You don't need to know about this stuff right now.

It's news to me that we were on the verge of losing the Sabres to Hamilton, or anywhere else, at any point in my fanhood (2005-present)

Thanks to Tom, they weren't. Maybe I'm a naive sap, but ownership at the time was a WNY guy in Golisano who had fallen in love with the Sabres and two guys, Quinn and DiPofi, Buffalo guys who had worked for the Sabres for decades. Quinn probably helped save the Sabres twice, when he got that arena built and when he hooked up Golisano during the bankruptcy crisis. I don't see this group ever allowing it to happen.

[pi2000]

Putting aside the idea that Bettman was not and is not a fan of franchises moving, and allowing the Sabres to leave Buffalo wouldn't make sense for the NHL, if there was any risk the team would move, wasn't it Golisano who kept the Sabres in Buffalo? Pegula is abiding by the terms of Golisano's deal. Golisano said at the time he was not going to sell the team to anyone who wanted to move it. Period.

 

It's funny you say the Golisano had no interest in fielding a competitive team when that's exactly what he and Quinn and DiPofi did. I listened to his farewell presser and he brought up the team's record during his ownership. Sixth best overall in the league and second best in the Eastern Conference over that span. No one's happy with where the team went after 2007, but they were competitive.

 

My original notion that the team was not on the market is debatable, but I correctly recalled that it was Pegula who approached Quinn and met with him in March 2010 in, where else?, Pittsburgh. Listening to the presser, LQ filled in a few details. It was former associates of Quinn's at the Penguins who hooked up Pegula and Quinn, reinforcing the Pegula-Pittsburgh connection that was so evident after he bought the Sabres. Terry was clearly a playah before he was a playah.

 

OSP said at the presser that after this meeting, they decided not to sell the team, which adds a little credence to the idea that they weren't on the market before Pegula came calling. A few months later, over the summer, I believe, they changed their minds. Golisano said it was for three reasons: he was planning a major governmental project, he had moved to Florida, and Quinn and DiPofi wanted to sell. It sure sounds like it all fell nicely into their laps. Terry sure had funny radar about when his beloved team was for sale over the years and when it wasn't.

 

Great insight, good read, thanks for that.

 

I played golf a few times with a guy that started Paychex with Golisano.   He told me that he never had any interest in building a winning team, it was all just supposed to be a tax-writeoff and means to to keep the team in Buffalo.    And if you look at the moves they made during those years... the whole Drury/Briere thing, you can see where that was the case.   Drury and Briere were acquired by trade and they were never very highly paid in BUF IIRC.   They won during those years because everybody bought in to play their role.   Guys like Gaustad, Hecht, Drury filling roles as defensive players, etc..  Campbell making $1.5m on a 2 year bridge deal.  Golisano never paid anybody anything significant with any amount of term (except Vanek maybe?).    That said, Pegula is willing to pay, so when the time comes when they find the right combination of players on this roster, keeping them together hopefully won't be an issue like it was in years past.

[Claude Balls]

Great insight, good read, thanks for that.

 

I played golf a few times with a guy that started Paychex with Golisano.   He told me that he never had any interest in building a winning team, it was all just supposed to be a tax-writeoff and means to to keep the team in Buffalo.    And if you look at the moves they made during those years... the whole Drury/Briere thing, you can see where that was the case.   Drury and Briere were acquired by trade and they were never very highly paid in BUF IIRC.   They won during those years because everybody bought in to play their role.   Guys like Gaustad, Hecht, Drury filling roles as defensive players, etc..  Campbell making $1.5m on a 2 year bridge deal.  Golisano never paid anybody anything significant with any amount of term (except Vanek maybe?).    That said, Pegula is willing to pay, so when the time comes when they find the right combination of players on this roster, keeping them together hopefully won't be an issue like it was in years past.

Polisseni?

[pi2000]

Polisseni?

 

Don't remember... he said he retired very young (early 30's IIRC?) and moved to California after making a bundle off Paychex back in the early 80's when they went public.

[Taro T]

Great insight, good read, thanks for that.

 

I played golf a few times with a guy that started Paychex with Golisano.   He told me that he never had any interest in building a winning team, it was all just supposed to be a tax-writeoff and means to to keep the team in Buffalo.    And if you look at the moves they made during those years... the whole Drury/Briere thing, you can see where that was the case.   Drury and Briere were acquired by trade and they were never very highly paid in BUF IIRC.   They won during those years because everybody bought in to play their role.   Guys like Gaustad, Hecht, Drury filling roles as defensive players, etc..  Campbell making $1.5m on a 2 year bridge deal.  Golisano never paid anybody anything significant with any amount of term (except Vanek maybe?).    That said, Pegula is willing to pay, so when the time comes when they find the right combination of players on this roster, keeping them together hopefully won't be an issue like it was in years past.

Golisano was willing to pay the deal Regier had worked out w/ Drury (IIRC $5.3×5) but the deal sat on his desk for a LONG time. By the time he agreed to it, Drury had decided to back out. He told the Sabres he'd hold off until after the season (didn't want the distraction of in-season negotiations (even though he'd just agreed to an in-season deal)) & he MIGHT have been true to that but then the Rags came calling & boyhoodvdream + a s***load of money had him out the door.

 

They'd already decided Briere would be too expensive & he left as well. (And, btw, after his arbitration ruling, he was the highest paid Sabre at $5MM that prior '06-'07 season.) D*mn shame they didn't give him the 3 year deal he'd wanted coming out of the lockout. Would've lowered his cost tremendously & very likely would've allowed them to keep most of the entire team together after '07.

 

Never have understood why they didn't focus on Zubrus at that point. He would've been a huge help & would've stabilized the C position. For whatever reason, once they'd decided a guy was a rental they never revisited that decision even if the conditions "on the ground" were significantly different than the expectations at the time the decision was made.

[PASabreFan]

Great insight, good read, thanks for that.

 

I played golf a few times with a guy that started Paychex with Golisano.   He told me that he never had any interest in building a winning team, it was all just supposed to be a tax-writeoff and means to to keep the team in Buffalo.    And if you look at the moves they made during those years... the whole Drury/Briere thing, you can see where that was the case.   Drury and Briere were acquired by trade and they were never very highly paid in BUF IIRC.   They won during those years because everybody bought in to play their role.   Guys like Gaustad, Hecht, Drury filling roles as defensive players, etc..  Campbell making $1.5m on a 2 year bridge deal.  Golisano never paid anybody anything significant with any amount of term (except Vanek maybe?).    That said, Pegula is willing to pay, so when the time comes when they find the right combination of players on this roster, keeping them together hopefully won't be an issue like it was in years past.

In the presser, Golisano was asked about Drury and Briere and defended the outcome as a function of salary cap management (while also laying half the onus on the players, who he said could have stayed, for less money of course). Golisano said a key management strategy was not to spend too close to the cap. Whatever.

 

He also said that they had to manage the payroll with an eye toward paying the kids someday. He claimed Vanek and Roy turned out to be more productive players than Drury and Briere. Not sure if that holds up. Maybe for Drury, who had one good season with the Rangers and then started to tail off. Briere, he feels like the "one who got away," especially looking at some of his playoff seasons with Philly.

Edited April 5, 2017 by PASabreFan

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

Given the history of the sale of the team to Golisano, the team was for sale the second the keys were in his hands.  And the management of arguably the best team we'd seen in Sabres history was squandered with his "everyone should be on a one year deal" mantra when he was dealing with a league that allowed guaranteed contracts.  The missed opportunity with the Vanek offer sheet and losing Briere/Drury to FA stunted us by 5 years in my estimation.

 

It's a fun exercise to think about what the team and area around the arena would look like if he was still owner.  My opinion is that canalside itself might not have come to be, the new courtyard marriot wouldn't have been refurbished/built, and we'd still see attack ads on the 190 on Paladino's crumbling Creamery building.  In my eyes it's not as simple as looking at wins and losses in judging an owner.

 

The on ice product is another issue.  Golisano transitioned to cutting scouting staff and instituting video scouting.  Maybe that's genius, or maybe it depleted the pipeline in a huge way.  And in the event that the team ended up nosediving in the standings, would we be hearing about a "Buffalo Salary Cap" that is 15-20% less than the real one? 

 

Count me in as happy with the current regime.  I'll take walking into a game with a vibrant neighborhood coming up and an owner who is willing to spend past the bounds of the revenue stream. 

[PASabreFan]

Given the history of the sale of the team to Golisano, the team was for sale the second the keys were in his hands.  And the management of arguably the best team we'd seen in Sabres history was squandered with his "everyone should be on a one year deal" mantra when he was dealing with a league that allowed guaranteed contracts.  The missed opportunity with the Vanek offer sheet and losing Briere/Drury to FA stunted us by 5 years in my estimation.

 

It's a fun exercise to think about what the team and area around the arena would look like if he was still owner.  My opinion is that canalside itself might not have come to be, the new courtyard marriot wouldn't have been refurbished/built, and we'd still see attack ads on the 190 on Paladino's crumbling Creamery building.  In my eyes it's not as simple as looking at wins and losses in judging an owner.

 

The on ice product is another issue.  Golisano transitioned to cutting scouting staff and instituting video scouting.  Maybe that's genius, or maybe it depleted the pipeline in a huge way.  And in the event that the team ended up nosediving in the standings, would we be hearing about a "Buffalo Salary Cap" that is 15-20% less than the real one? 

 

Count me in as happy with the current regime.  I'll take walking into a game with a vibrant neighborhood coming up and an owner who is willing to spend past the bounds of the revenue stream. 

I'd like to hear more about how Pegula gets credit for Canalside too. But I'll give you that. And I'll even give pi the point that Pegula saved the Sabres because he was willing to accept Golisano's condition. Canalside. Saved the franchise. Lockerroom. HarborCenter. Pegulaville. The Bills. Nice guy. Wants to win. It doesn't change my opinion of the job he has done as owner of the Sabres. He's done everything except the most important thing.

[bunomatic]

I'd like to hear more about how Pegula gets credit for Canalside too. But I'll give you that. And I'll even give pi the point that Pegula saved the Sabres because he was willing to accept Golisano's condition. Canalside. Saved the franchise. Lockerroom. HarborCenter. Pegulaville. The Bills. Nice guy. Wants to win. It doesn't change my opinion of the job he has done as owner of the Sabres. He's done everything except the most important thing.

That last sentence says it all for me PA .

Edited April 5, 2017 by bunomatic

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

I'd like to hear more about how Pegula gets credit for Canalside too. But I'll give you that. And I'll even give pi the point that Pegula saved the Sabres because he was willing to accept Golisano's condition. Canalside. Saved the franchise. Lockerroom. HarborCenter. Pegulaville. The Bills. Nice guy. Wants to win. It doesn't change my opinion of the job he has done as owner of the Sabres. He's done everything except the most important thing.

 

It's a fair question, and one that divides many as I've read on this board.  What is the most important thing?  Is it purely W/L record or title count?  Is it civic contribution? 

 

I'm of the opinion that I don't miss an owner in this region throwing veiled threats at us to give him taxpayer money.  For all of Pegula's sins, not once have I heard that threat.  Maybe that's a low bar, but between the last 10 years of Ralph and the rotating door of Sabres ownership, it's nice to have stability and interest in the product itself. 

 

I'd argue throwing down a 100+M anchor in an area where no public money was spent in the past 20 years is worth something.  And if that means he's distracted from putting the best possible product on the ice, I'm okay with that. 

[Two or less]

I'd like to hear more about how Pegula gets credit for Canalside too. But I'll give you that. And I'll even give pi the point that Pegula saved the Sabres because he was willing to accept Golisano's condition. Canalside. Saved the franchise. Lockerroom. HarborCenter. Pegulaville. The Bills. Nice guy. Wants to win. It doesn't change my opinion of the job he has done as owner of the Sabres. He's done everything except the most important thing.

 

It's only been 6 years. And part of those years, they decided to gamble and try to land a player who could become one of the best to ever play in this city. By doing that they needed to set the roster back a bit. Has it been longer then expected to get back? Sure. But i still believe they are on the right path and i'm not ready to jump off the ledge just yet like some of you.

 

Few improvements to the roster, some health and a bit of luck, and the Sabres should be in the playoffs next season.

 

Once we break that hump and clinch a playoff spot, i think it's fair to say we'll be a lock to make it in for the better of the next 10 years. They still have some growing pains but we'll get there sooner then later.