Russ Brandon resigns as Sabres / Bills President, Kim Pegula assumes role

[Sabre Dance]

Kim Pegula, WTF. This better just be on the business side.

Basically the GM runs the show for Buffalo sports teams.

 

[TehDoak]

I find it hilarious that people are complaining about Kim Pegula taking over for Russ Brandon

......What's the effective difference? Kim Pegula woke up 3 days ago and decided "I think the Sabres should have a free winter tire night" or some other horrible idea. Would that idea get implemented? Absolutely it would, she's CO OWNER. She could decide to change colors to Teal and Orange three weeks ago or today...it makes no difference.

The idea that she'll have MORE influence in a lesser role for either team (team president vs team owner) is silly. Or that she had some Machiavellian plot to USURP Brandon to take the team presidency for her own....SHE'S THE TEAM CO-OWNER. If anything this is probably a big pain in the ass for her as it means she has to do more day to day work. Sure, she might be more DIRECTLY involved now, it's not going to change a whole lot from the on ice/on field perspective.

 

[Icicle]

sleeping with coworkers seems like an over-reaction to winning the draft lottery

 

[vcv]

I find it hilarious that people are complaining about Kim Pegula taking over for Russ Brandon

......What's the effective difference? Kim Pegula woke up 3 days ago and decided "I think the Sabres should have a free winter tire night" or some other horrible idea. Would that idea get implemented? Absolutely it would, she's CO OWNER. She could decide to change colors to Teal and Orange three weeks ago or today...it makes no difference.

The idea that she'll have MORE influence in a lesser role for either team (team president vs team owner) is silly. Or that she had some Machiavellian plot to USURP Brandon to take the team presidency for her own....SHE'S THE TEAM CO-OWNER. If anything this is probably a big pain in the ass for her as it means she has to do more day to day work. Sure, she might be more DIRECTLY involved now, it's not going to change a whole lot from the on ice/on field perspective.

The issue isn't that she has any more power suddenly. It's rather that she, by design, will make more decisions for the teams on a day-to-day basis. Decisions that may be better handled by someone with more experience.

 

[JLewyB]

I think he did a terrible job as the Sabres Pres. I think it’s clear what his priorities were:
1. Bills
2. Gettin’ some
3. Sabres

Nothing was fresh about the Sabres experience this year. And he did nothing to reinvigorate the fan base during this shit show of a season. That’s on him

 

[OkimLom]

Russ Brandon’s role was solely on the business side, wasn’t it ?

yep. Though I do believe Russ could be in the room at the time of hirings, and he might've given his 2 cents to Terry about those that he hires. I don't believe he had any large impact on anything for the Hockey side of things. As for the Football side, that might be a little more bleak with how much he was involved.

 

[Chainshot]

I think he did a terrible job as the Sabres Pres. I think it’s clear what his priorities were:
1. Bills
2. Gettin’ some
3. Sabres

Nothing was fresh about the Sabres experience this year. And he did nothing to reinvigorate the fan base during this **** show of a season. That’s on him

Given the Bills record during his tenure, #1 may not have actually been a priority either.

 

[slip]

Speaking of inappropriate relationships, from Wiki:

[Kim] applied for work at a restaurant in Olean, New York; while interviewing for a waitressing gig, she met Terry Pegula, who was dining at the restaurant. Terry offered her a job at his natural gas company, and they eventually entered a relationship, marrying in 1993.

 

[vcv]

Speaking of inappropriate relationships, from Wiki:

[Kim] applied for work at a restaurant in Olean, New York; while interviewing for a waitressing gig, she met Terry Pegula, who was dining at the restaurant. Terry offered her a job at his natural gas company, and they eventually entered a relationship, marrying in 1993.

Was she a direct report? Was the relationship against company policy? Did he use his power to coerce her in any way?

Just like that situation, there's a lot we don't know about Brandon's alleged misconduct. Could be anything from consentual relationship against company policy to sexual harassment (or worse, but that seems unlikely based on the events that transpired).

 

[joshjull]

Would love to know what the other things he was accused of being deceitful about were

 

[Paxon]

Would love to know what the other things he was accused of being deceitful about were

Maybe he's a Bon Jovi fan

 

[Icicle]

Speaking of inappropriate relationships, from Wiki:

[Kim] applied for work at a restaurant in Olean, New York; while interviewing for a waitressing gig, she met Terry Pegula, who was dining at the restaurant. Terry offered her a job at his natural gas company, and they eventually entered a relationship, marrying in 1993.

The age old rule: It's not a problem if it results in a happy marriage; only when it doesn't.
Companies don't bet on the happy marriage, so they ban it by default because there's always dysfunction after its failed.
Brandon was having affairs- causing problems for a family oriented business from the get-go.

 

[slip]

Would love to know what the other things he was accused of being deceitful about were

These "other things" is precisely why I'm a little suspicious of the reasons Brandon was fired (which is a good thing, regardless of how it happened). I mean, if his "inappropriate sexual conduct" was the problem, then that should be it. You don't need more reasons. It's not like "we fired Mr. Brandon because he committed a serious violation of company sexual policy -- oh, and he took money form the petty cash, and he's a big meanie, etc." Additional reasons don't help, and do just the opposite in fact.

And I'm not sure how anyone can positively spin the Pegulas assuming more control of day to day operations given the horrific results on the ice since they bought the team.

 

[Jim Bob]

And I'm not sure how anyone can positively spin the Pegulas assuming more control of day to day operations given the horrific results on the ice since they bought the team.

I am not concerned about that part.

Brandon shouldn't have had any input into the football or hockey operations because he was a business person and not a football or hockey person.

The same hold true for Kim Pegula.

I don't see Kim as a step down from Brandon when it comes to making football or hockey decisions. I think they would both be operating outside of their realm of expertise and it is a bad thing if either of them were to make sporting decisions.

 

[slip]

I am not concerned about that part.

Brandon shouldn't have had any input into the football or hockey operations because he was a business person and not a football or hockey person.

The same hold true for Kim Pegula.

I don't see Kim as a step down from Brandon when it comes to making football or hockey decisions. I think they would both be operating outside of their realm of expertise and it is a bad thing if either of them were to make sporting decisions.

How many business side guys head into the locker room to console the team's top star after a bitter loss? There is a line we seem to be clinging to between the business of hockey and roster construction which is a lot fuzzier than most want to concede, especially given the Pegula's repeated statements about wanting to be closely involved in the lives of their players. And that line is about to get a whole lot fuzzier with Kim as President of the Buffalo Sabres. I really hope I'm dead wrong.

 

[Buffaloed]

At least all the conspiracy theory posts about him being some sort of insidious meddling mastermind can stop now.

Now we can focus on the Vegan Mind Control Cult that's taking over the organization. O'Reilly, Bogosian, The Pegula Sisters ....

 

[Chainshot]

Now we can focus on the Vegan Mind Control Cult that's taking over the organization. O'Reilly, Bogosian, The Pegula Sisters ....

Broke is vegan now? What does he do with those turkeys he bagged while hunting? Shotguns aren't catch-and-release.

 

[jBuds]

Now we can focus on the Vegan Mind Control Cult that's taking over the organization. O'Reilly, Bogosian, The Pegula Sisters ....

That’s why we created the healthy scratch

(Drums and hipster music)

 

[slip]

Now we can focus on the Vegan Mind Control Cult that's taking over the organization. O'Reilly, Bogosian, The Pegula Sisters ....

Eating disorders are not funny.

Okay, maybe a little.

 

[rbochan]

Utterly ridiculous.

These clowns need to sell the team to someone who knows wtf they're doing.

 

[sincerity0]

Do we know what exactly a 'president' does and what a 'director/president/vice-president of hockey operations' does? the latter began in pro sports as a glorified title for successful GM's, the GM and the hockey/baseball ops guy was the same person. Maybe that has evolved into clear areas of responsibilities. Maybe every team does it differently.

Owners should own, go to owners meetings, where they contribute to running the league, CBA, TV, etc. When it comes to their own teams concern themselves with running the business, not the team other than the hiring and firing of qualified people to run teams.

These titles are ambiguous. In some instances PHO (or similar titles) are glorified advisors who help owners on the hockey side of things. Other times they are above the GM and act as the final authority on hockey operations (drafts, GMs, coaches, player development etc).

Many posters want a President of Hockey Ops but never *define* the role they expect. Are they an advisor to Terry and Kim? Are they a veto authority over the GM? What function are they actually serving? Credibility?

I don’t have much of a preference either way. Based on what we’ve seen from the Pegulas over the last few years (after the Lafontane debacle) they want to own their mistakes. After Bylsma/Murray and Rex/Whaley got fired a week apart Terry essentially said that he regrets not being active enough in overseeing the sport part of the business. They TRUSTED Russ / Ted Black to make the correct decisions regarding coaches / GMs and it backfired.

This idea that “owners own” is absolutely RIDICULOUS. Owners have to run the business!!! Look at any publicly traded company — there is a board of directors who appoints the CEO / other executives on behest of shareholders. They dictate the direction of the company. In private businesses the Owners are the board! So when people say “owners own” they’re not telling the whole story. They OWN the operation, so they should not have input? That’s a ridiculous statement.

Another quirk — the Pegulas should stick to the business side of things. What? The hockey team and football team IS THE BUSINESS. Are people going to go to the Key Bank Center to sit in seats to just hang out???

I understand the intended point - I.e, we don’t want them interfering with hockey related decisions. To that, to a certain extent, I agree. Owners should have the ability to veto any decision their executives make. It’s the power of owning the operations. With that said, if they don’t trust the GM/coach they should remove them.

The Pegulas put a lot of trust in others running the sport side of the business and they’ve been burned. There should be no reason they cannot be present at drafts / free agency and other events to overeat h the operation.

 

[Buffaloed]

Would love to know what the other things he was accused of being deceitful about were

He was probably careless with his expense account.

 

[Icicle]

These titles are ambiguous. In some instances PHO (or similar titles) are glorified advisors who help owners on the hockey side of things. Other times they are above the GM and act as the final authority on hockey operations (drafts, GMs, coaches, player development etc).

Many posters want a President of Hockey Ops but never *define* the role they expect. Are they an advisor to Terry and Kim? Are they a veto authority over the GM? What function are they actually serving? Credibility?

I don’t have much of a preference either way. Based on what we’ve seen from the Pegulas over the last few years (after the Lafontane debacle) they want to own their mistakes. After Bylsma/Murray and Rex/Whaley got fired a week apart Terry essentially said that he regrets not being active enough in overseeing the sport part of the business. They TRUSTED Russ / Ted Black to make the correct decisions regarding coaches / GMs and it backfired.

This idea that “owners own” is absolutely RIDICULOUS. Owners have to run the business!!! Look at any publicly traded company — there is a board of directors who appoints the CEO / other executives on behest of shareholders. They dictate the direction of the company. In private businesses the Owners are the board! So when people say “owners own” they’re not telling the whole story. They OWN the operation, so they should not have input? That’s a ridiculous statement.

Another quirk — the Pegulas should stick to the business side of things. What? The hockey team and football team IS THE BUSINESS. Are people going to go to the Key Bank Center to sit in seats to just hang out???

I understand the intended point - I.e, we don’t want them interfering with hockey related decisions. To that, to a certain extent, I agree. Owners should have the ability to veto any decision their executives make. It’s the power of owning the operations. With that said, if they don’t trust the GM/coach they should remove them.

The Pegulas put a lot of trust in others running the sport side of the business and they’ve been burned. There should be no reason they cannot be present at drafts / free agency and other events to overeat h the operation.

People want to blame the owners for everything because it is impossible to defend against because there's not enough public information to know what's going on that'd prove them otherwise. There are owners who do too much decision making, and that gets reported out, but all we know about Terry is that the GM's present their plans and progress to him daily. There has not been evidence that the owners have decided on one player over another, ever. There has not been evidence that we have cheap owners. We had GM's who took the 'spend what it takes to win' mandate and do poorly at their job of it, but not that the Pegulas made the decision to hire that player. The Pegulas have only been known to step in when it comes to influencing free agents or meeting potential franchise quarterbacks during visits. This has come straight from the GM's mouths.

People who have very bad narratives to defend use owner's or the lack of a guy above the GM as a point of debate. If the GM can't keep up with all the duties of his job that's one thing, but if he can, it's the silliest argument alive.

 

[Jim Bob]

How many business side guys head into the locker room to console the team's top star after a bitter loss? There is a line we seem to be clinging to between the business of hockey and roster construction which is a lot fuzzier than most want to concede, especially given the Pegula's repeated statements about wanting to be closely involved in the lives of their players. And that line is about to get a whole lot fuzzier with Kim as President of the Buffalo Sabres. I really hope I'm dead wrong.

I think you missed my point.

Brandon was overly involved and was not qualified to do so.

Therefore, if Kim Pegula does the same thing, things aren't getting worse.

 

[brian_griffin]

That’s why we created the healthy scratch

(Drums and hipster music)

"Healthy Scratch" or "The Healthy Scratches" would be a great name for a band with marginal musical talent.