OT:Golisano donating $50M to what will become Golisano Children's Hospital.

[JohnC]

I don’t want to deviate from the topic relating to his generosity however how much different would it have been if he continued to be the owner instead of selling it to Terry P? 

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

He admitted he didn't know a hockey puck from a meatball. He never coached toddlers in O-leen.

The difference between Golisano and Pegula is that Golisano is smart enough to recognize what he doesn’t know and wise enough to hire people who know what they are doing. And I’m sure that he wouldn’t interfere too much while the hockey people were doing their jobs. That is not to say that he wouldn’t be so aloof that he wouldn’t hold the staff accountable.

[Pimlach]

9 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

He admitted he didn't know a hockey puck from a meatball. He never coached toddlers in O-leen.

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

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

I don’t want to deviate from the topic relating to his generosity however how much different would it have been if he continued to be the owner instead of selling it to Terry P? 

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.   

Edited 1 hour ago by Pimlach

[JohnC]

23 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

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 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.   Buffalos water front is very nice and downtown is cleaned up a lot.  Terry has also makes a positive impact on the community, not to mention the Bills are a legitimate NFL franchise.   

I believe that although Golisano was not much interested in hockey, he would have been much more adept at hiring staff to more competently run the franchise. I do agree with you that Golisano wouldn't have been inclined to injudiciously spend a lot of money on the franchise. But as an astute businessman, he would have had the foresight to recognize that in assembling a competitive team he would have generated more revenue and have a more self-sustaining business instead of debasing the product and causing the withering of the fanbase. 

I want to emphasize that I'm specifically directing my comments toward the current owner's stewardship of the hockey franchise and not to his other activities. I strongly believe that this hockey market, that includes southern Ontario area, is a strong hockey market. It has been laid to waste by less than stellar management. That's a shame. 

[shrader]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I believe that although Golisano was not much interested in hockey, he would have been much more adept at hiring staff to more competently run the franchise. I do agree with you that Golisano wouldn't have been inclined to injudiciously spend a lot of money on the franchise. But as an astute businessman, he would have had the foresight to recognize that in assembling a competitive team he would have generated more revenue and have a more self-sustaining business instead of debasing the product and causing the withering of the fanbase. 

I want to emphasize that I'm specifically directing my comments toward the current owner's stewardship of the hockey franchise and not to his other activities. I strongly believe that this hockey market, that includes southern Ontario area, is a strong hockey market. It has been laid to waste by less than stellar management. That's a shame. 

That initial much maligned move to video scouting, it was done under his watch, wasn’t it?

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, shrader said:

That initial much maligned move to video scouting, it was done under his watch, wasn’t it?

I'm not sure that is the case. I believe that change in scouting happened under Pegula. But that isn't the primary reason why the franchise has struggled. The owner hasn't done a good job in hiring staff to run the hockey operation. The hiring of KA made little sense and the process to hire Ruff was a charade. I'm not discussing whether Ruff is a good HC or not. What I can say is that the hiring process was not a serious process for a critical position. 

[Weave]

6 minutes ago, shrader said:

That initial much maligned move to video scouting, it was done under his watch, wasn’t it?

Yes.

However, Golisano demanded the organization be successful. I think that is 100% of the difference in the two eras.

Just now, JohnC said:

I'm not sure that is the case. I believe that change in scouting happened under Pegula. But that isn't the primary reason why the franchise has struggled. The owner hasn't done a good job in hiring staff to run the hockey operation. The hiring of KA made little sense and the process to hire Ruff was a charade. I'm not discussing whether Ruff is a good HC or not. What I can say is that the hiring process was not a serious process for a critical position. 

No.  Golisano implemented video scouting.  It was all done while Regier was GM.  Pegula actually reversed it.

[shrader]

11 minutes ago, Weave said:

Yes.

However, Golisano demanded the organization be successful. I think that is 100% of the difference in the two eras.

No.  Golisano implemented video scouting.  It was all done while Regier was GM.  Pegula actually reversed it.

He demanded they’d be good but then cut them off at the knees. Personally, I have no issue with his ownership. He was a means to an end. Unfortunately that next step didn’t go well. 

[Jorcus]

July 1st 2007. Two of the best players walk after a 113 point season. Like Pimlach I am grateful he saved the team and what he has done for this area of New York but as long term owner I don't think we would have been better off. 

[JohnC]

41 minutes ago, Weave said:

Yes.

However, Golisano demanded the organization be successful. I think that is 100% of the difference in the two eras.

No.  Golisano implemented video scouting.  It was all done while Regier was GM.  Pegula actually reversed it.

The point I made about the scouting issue is that from a broad perspective it wasn’t a major factor why this franchise has struggled for nearly a generation. I strongly believe thst Golisano would have hired better hockey staff and allowed them to do their jobs. And I’m sure he would have held them accountable for their performance.

[shrader]

6 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The point I made about the scouting issue is that from a broad perspective it wasn’t a major factor why this franchise has struggled for nearly a generation. I strongly believe thst Golisano would have hired better hockey staff and allowed them to do their jobs. And I’m sure he would have held them accountable for their performance.

You need to go back and look at the list of names that were purged from the organization during the switch.  Video scouting itself wasn't the issue.  It was simply an excuse used to cut payroll.  He had the right guys for the job and he got rid of them.