You Don't Understand How Bad Terry Pegula Has Been for the Buffalo Sabres

[Voight]

He came in all gung-ho and it went downhill from there.

IMO his (or his wife's, wheoevrs in charge) decisions have been questionable. Mostly when it comes to GM. Murray was a dud (tho he did his best to land McJesus), Botterill was a dud and. now Adams isn't that great either. No offence to Adams but at that point they should have hired a seasoned executive like Dean Lombardi or someone.

 

[knuck]

Me too but it was NHLPA93 for me. Getting rid of fighting ruined NHL 94. The only thing 94 had over 93 was logos on the ice and the Panthers/Ducks. That's it. 94 is so overrated

And yes, Pegula has no clue what he's doing. Sell the damned team

I'm also part of the 93>94 camp but mainly for the music and for nostalgia. 94 introduced one timers, though (oh and blood was removed in 94)

 

[HisIceness]

I have to say I admire fans ability to criticize terrible ownership. I bring this up because for years Charlotte Hornets fans refused to speak bad of Michael Jordan because "Bro, he's the GOAT! You don't criticize the GOAT!" and to a lesser extent "Bro, he's a Tar Heel!".

Then when fans finally did get the courage to call out his terrible ownership, the media (local and national) wouldn't. As someone who used to be a season ticket holder, it was extremely frustrating that Jordan was constantly getting his ass kissed for his playing days, even though he hadn't played in a decade-plus.

 

[Osakahaus]

That video urinatingtree did on both Buffalo teams feels evergreen to this day. I want to see a continuation of it.

 

[TheNumber4]

Everyone made fun of Yzerman and all his vet UFA signings this summer. But he seems to be the only rebuild GM who has effectively supplemented a rebuild with effective vets. It can’t be all kids running the show. Buffalo should look to bringing in some vets, and maybe trading some kids to get those vets.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

1. Tanking for McDavid
is likely the root cause. Followed by being overt about how shitty it was to draft Eichel.

Trying purposefully to be bad (trading away assets, etc.) clearly has a ripple effect that goes beyond 1 season.

This was all Tim Murray, along with ignoring behavioral, mental, and substance abuse problems with at least four players that he brought in, leading to a busted locker room and team morale. This is what led to Pegula insisting on being more involved. His reasons were likely justified and well intentioned, but how this has played out since is up in the air, unconfirmed suspicions.

 

[Breakers]

Sounds about right for Terry Pegula

Tax payers pick up the bill for his $1.4 billion stadium for his football team

While he takes delivery of a $250 million yacht in the same year

What a time to be alive

 

[ricky0034]

I still think things click there at some point in the near future, I thought it would be this year but maybe it's next year instead

they just have so much talent

 

[Davo Ikinzom]

I still think things click there at some point in the near future, I thought it would be this year but maybe it's next year instead

they just have so much talent

I have read this same post every year since 2015.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

This was all Tim Murray, along with ignoring behavioral, mental, and substance abuse problems with at least four players that he brought in, leading to a busted locker room and team morale. This is what led to Pegula insisting on being more involved. His reasons were likely justified and well intentioned, but how this has played out since is up in the air, unconfirmed suspicions.

History of NHL trades by the Buffalo Sabres for 2014-15 - NHL Trade Tracker

Close to 10 players moved that season, plus a 1st, 2nd, and a 7th round pick. Hard to believe that they would move so many draft picks for a team who will no doubt have to rebuild after tanking.

Ended up dead last in the standings with 54 points (not as bad as their 51 points the season before), and a goal differential of -113.

Drafting is up and down in that era, but it seems to me that BUF never stuck by their prospects.

So many issues...

 

[KeyserSoze81]

I remember, not so long ago, that Sabre fans were in love with the Pegula's because of what the Bills have been able to accomplish. Although if you are being honest the Bills have been a bust in post season. Looks like the supposed shine of the Pegula's Sabre ownership is wearing off. Sabre fans are finally admitting that his ownership has been a disaster. He doesn't have a clue when it comes to hiring hockey people.

They bought the Sabres well before the Bills. They took a more hands off approach with the Bills after making a couple of quality hires, and they trusted experts like most successful owners do. Ironically enough, if Terry Pegula had been more involved, the team would have Patrick Mahomes right now (as he really wanted the team to draft him, but McDermott talked him out of it, as he didn’t want to draft their QB that year until they had a better structure in place). Buffalo traded that pick to KC. They are 4-5 in the playoffs, which is not really bust territory.

Terry Pegula has been a long time Sabres fan, and he thought he could provide resources, tank, and build a Stanley cup contender from the ashes. Ville Leino was his first premier free agent. They gave Jeff Skinner 8x9M after he scored 40 goals. They are still paying Christian Ehrhoff. He hired poorly and threw a lot of ill advised money at the problem, then got burned by a sociopath in Tim Murray.

Management hires​

Ron Rolston, Pat LaFontaine, Tim Murray, Ted Nolan, Dan Bylsma, Jason Botterill, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger, Don Granato, Kevyn Adams​

​

Don Granato and Kevyn Adams might be the best out of that group, and they are God awful.​

The Pegulas overextended themselves and have since pared back on the Sabres since COVID (along with their foray into restaurants and hospitality). The Bills are an outsized investment, and now they are on the hook for large stadium overruns in their new construction. The Bills are successful, relevant, and valuable. The Sabres are a dysfunctional toy that is bleeding money and fans, but Pegula does not want to relinquish control. He said as much when Tim Murray was fired.

Side note: the common belief is that Terry will leave the franchises to their kids. So I think I will raise my kid to hate hockey. God knows I do.

 

[Theodore450]

The beauty of wait and see rebuilds

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

I understand Sabres fans are frustrated (I'm a leaf fan) but bro...

Terry Pegula may be an unlikable human being, but the reason why the Sabres stink is the product on the ice, not some owner curse.

During the Ballard years did the Leaf's on-ice performance suffer? How could that be if he wasn't on the ice.

Team culture can't be overstated, and that starts at the very top. If you look at winning organizations one thing they have in common is good ownership. I remember the high hopes at the start of his tenure, and I truly feel for the Sabres fans because what they are going through is kinky. At this point the only thing that is missing is the ball gag and gimp mask.

 

[DJN21]

View attachment 801084

Terry Pegula likes fish sticks...

 

[Coffey]

Sounds about right for Terry Pegula

Tax payers pick up the bill for his $1.4 billion stadium for his football team

While he takes delivery of a $250 million yacht in the same year

What a time to be alive

Being rich is the best!

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

This is why you have executives making the decisions. You, as the owner, hire the ones that align with your vision, but other than that, you let them do their thing.

He tried this first and it blew up in his face.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

Been saying for years that the Sabres aren't turning around until Pegula goes off the scene. Failure starts at the top.

 

[Rubi]

I suspect a lot of millionaires and billionaires believe they are the smartest person in the room.

 

[Canes]

They should hire a hockey Brandon Beane and hockey Sean McDermott and draft a hockey Josh Allen or two at forward to pair up with Dahlin and Power.

Easy, peasy. Pegula should hire me as team president.

 

[herashak]

He did pay for that fantastic Penn State Arena, Canadian billionaires/owners dont do that kinda stuff

 

[Djp]

1. Tanking for McDavid
is likely the root cause. Followed by being overt about how shitty it was to draft Eichel.

Trying purposefully to be bad (trading away assets, etc.) clearly has a ripple effect that goes beyond 1 season.

the problem was there were a bunch of UFAs who were going to walk
Buffalo had a bunch walk away in summer 2006 and 2007 foir notheing and couldnt see that happen again so they traded them for futures.

The problem actually goes back to Gallisono ownership when he gutted the scouting department and only using video to scout creating poor drafting in the 2005-2011 period.

the free agents who were going to walk wer4 from the pre 2005 period. they didnt have much in the system coming up. after selling the vets off they didnt have that group of U25 players in the system to build on. Thats the big difference between this time and then

look at what they drafted from 2006-2011 vs 2016-2021

starting in 2015-16 all the team had from the 2006-2011 drafts was Ennis, foligno, Pysyk. That hurt them when they did the Eichel/Reinhard rebuild

They are going to have much more depth even after making trades from the 2016-2021 drafts at 2025-26 start

 

[Strangle]

Has anyone here heard of a guy named Harold Ballard?

 

[Djp]

He has hired a variety of well respected GMs and coaches and things just have not turned out. Both Tim Murray and Botterilli were highly praised moves. I don’t blame him and criticism of him has always been speculative, baseless, or silly.

He bought the Bills who were floundering at the time and now they are one of the most successful and well/respected teams in the NFL

I agree. These were the top hires in the area of future GMs all the "experts" said.

Murray got fired due to the media leaks a staffer of his did. i dont recall what was the reason Botts got fired.

 

[Djp]

That’s the thing. He got the lip service part right but he doesn’t actually spend.

Sabres' decision to waive Tyson Jost raises more questions about roster-building strategy

The Sabres have ONE pro scout. Their pro scouting is nonexistent. They are one of few teams who don’t spend close to the cap and have been that way for years. Terry will make a splash now and then on his own indulgent whims (a former player on local radio claimed that’s how Jeff Skinner got a laughable $9 million a year, for example), but by and large he runs his team like a skeleton crew. Hence the refusal to actually staff a full front office with a president of hockey ops or scouting departments. And that combined with his insistence on randomly inserting himself and overruling GMs (how do you think O’Reilly suddenly got traded traded for a pile of shit during the peak of his career?), no experienced hockey professional will come near the team.

They dont spend close to the cap because they know they will need space later to rsign the young players. they did not want to go out and sign some UFA to some 5+ yr high contract

There was stuff going ion in the locker room around ROR trade

I dont think it really is his interference or ordering of moves other than the ground rules he sets in his organization which is how Murray got fired.

They’re on their 3rd first time GM in a row, and the current one wasn’t even an AGM first.

yet teams have hired players as GMs who had little experience.

What was his first order of business? To layoff half the staff (during the pandemic, no less). Something Jason Botterill refused to do and a major reason why he was fired. Not to mention his wife famously giving a PowerPoint presentation to Bills/Sabres employees in 2020 about how their goal is to be efficient and economic and to “maintain the Pegula lifestyle.” (Bills ownership is accustomed to a certain 'lifestyle' that could hurt its NFL franchise) One anonymous Bills employee said it completely tanked the whole front office’s morale.

The Pegula family f***in sucks and they can kick rocks. I don’t understsnd why they keep the Sabres, especially since it’s established they’re cheap assholes. The team went from sellouts and thousands-long season ticket waitlists to supposedly operating at yearly losses of ~40 million. The only possible explanation is Terry Pegula’s ego. It’s why he forces bad deals for the team, demands daily communication from his puppet GM, and why he can’t just cut his losses and move on from the Sabres. It would be an admission that he’s an incompetent buffoon.

yet the Bills are good----why is that. how does that $%^% with your narrative?

Covid cost him money and the team money. with many teams they did cuts in covid

The NFL is unique in its TV deal where the tv money covers the teams salaries and then some. The NHL the tv money doesnt do that. you need ticket sales.

 

[Djp]

Is he too hands on for an owner? That's the impression I'm getting from this thread. Murray Edwards East?

he really isnt.

when he bought the team he brought in some people he knew out of Penguins system as advisors.

when he decides to make changes after first buying because the team seems to eb going nowhere he fires the coach and gm and bring in Lafontaine to be team president and then has a gm hired. Murray was a leading candidate at the time. Botterill was 2nd. when an issue outside of hocckey got Murray fired he hires Boterill. Then an issue came up and he fired Botterill.

Kevin Adaams after hockey worked in the Sabres organization in different departments all over things outside of team operations but still was around what was going on and had experience as an agent befor4e starting in management. When he hired Adams because he was someone he had developed trust in.

People complain he wasnt an AGM...but he was in other roles just not scouting. After the attempt with Kruger he fired him and said we need to do a rebuild and sell Reinhart, ristolainen, and Eichel in 2021. they are waiting for the prospects to devlop along with what they had from before.

this year is an off year after last year due to injuries and PP problems and slow starts by some players. They have been missing multiple top 6 players from the lineup over the season from about half their games.

the team is young. at the start of the 23/24 season they were the youngest in NHL. they have 15 25 or younger players. next season they could have more.

i expect them to make some player moves between drafts of 2024-2026. people on here want to blame this GM for the playoff drought.