Money isn't the main issue, it's nobody wanting to work for that meddling fool Pegula.
It also sort of is about money. The Sabres rank bottom five in money spent on free agents over the last few years, which is a far cry from when Pegula bragged about how much he’d spend when he took over the team. Now, whether that’s because he’s cheap or because players would rather drop dead than play in Buffalo is another story.
Either way, the Sabres don’t have an identity, and they never have in this extended playoff drought, with the exception of when they tried to tank for McDavid. And with Pegula as meddlesome as he is, I don’t see any GM lasting long enough to establish one that they desperately need.