Rumor: Sabres NOT For Sale

[enthusiast]

I’d buy the common sense of lightening personal costs more than I buy local media being on the ball lol

 

[SundherDome]

I understand the NDL requires interested parties to wire a non-refundable deposit to demonstrate serious interest to a yacht building company in the Netherlands.

If I even had a remote interest in buying a yacht, I think I would want It made there.

 

[Jacques Richar]

Sell it

 

[jBuds]

Trump/Bon Jovi make amends and buy the Sabres, together, as co owners

 

[jBuds]

Don’t sell. Get competent help to assist with running things

 

[debaser66]

Trump/Bon Jovi make amends and buy the Sabres, together, as co owners

Trump isn't the right guy, this business is already run into the ground.
But he can just take over for a single news conference:
"Ralph you are fired"

 

[tsujimoto74]

Several years too late, but maybe they're finally coming to terms with the fact that Kim is not the leading hockey mind of her generation?

 

[explore]

Trump/Bon Jovi make amends and buy the Sabres, together, as co owners

As if things aren't bad enough, we'll have to sit through a second bankruptcy if Trump buys the team with his monopoly money

 

[WeDislikeEich]

They are probably looking for their Tim Leiweke. The guy that set up the Leafs for success. A deal maker with the right connections to lure some quality hockey people in to help run things.

There was a really good article on the athletic a while back on how Jeff Vinik rebuilt the TB lightning team + fan base.

'Be rich and know people': How savior Jeff Vinik bought the Tampa Bay Lightning

He did tons of research, used all his connections + influence as a billionaire to meet with/talk to different owners & CEOs in all major pro sports leagues to pick their brains and learn how the best teams were run.

Rhen he identified Tod Leiweke and Steve Yzerman as the people he needed to hire. It took him months to convince them but he knew they were the right people. Then he allowed them to have full control of the franchise and gave them all the support they needed.

'Be rich and know people': How savior Jeff Vinik bought the Tampa Bay Lightning

great article (if you have an athletic sub.). I wish the Pegulas would read it and take notes. Or call Jeff Vinik directly and ask him for help!

 

[Royisgone]

Don’t sell. Get competent help to assist with running things

Right, because the Pegula ownership base is so strong.

This dude is a poison and we would have all been better off if he had never showed up in WNY.

I think the support for Pegula simply comes from a fear of the team moving, and the realization that Pegula would likely never do that.

I refuse to live in that world of fear. Get a real owner in here and if the future takes the team away from WNY, so be it.

WNY doesn't really have any business with major league sports teams in the 21st century anyway. You can't be in constant confrontation with inevitability.

Let it play out as it will...but run the team professionally and on a major league level, please.

 

[cybresabre]

hey, Rigas 1.0 gave us better hockey, why not go all the way?

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Another possibility behind these rumors is the additional lines of credit access the NHL recently secured may have stipulations regarding outside interest ownership if borrowing exceeds some dollar amount or percentage of franchise value. Not clear to me what the sources of those lines of credit are. Example: If I'm a deep-pockets owner like MLSE / Comcast / Jacobs / Dolan who is contributing (perhaps along with Scotia, MassMutual, etc.) to some mutually pooled line of credit, I may very well ask for a minority interest until that credit is repaid. Or at least to have a say in certain fiscal operating decisions. Totally speculating, but I could see where such arrangements, if leaked, may be construed as a sale, partial sale, potential sale, etc. As the saying goes, "God seems to have naturally limited the maximum possible IQ within mankind. However, there's apparently no limit on the other end."

That’s an interesting thought. Seems plausible enough to me.

Boy... can you imagine if it ended up being the leafs ownership who forced the Sabres to become a competently run franchise...

 

[SackTastic]

Another possibility behind these rumors is the additional lines of credit access the NHL recently secured may have stipulations regarding outside interest ownership if borrowing exceeds some dollar amount or percentage of franchise value. Not clear to me what the sources of those lines of credit are. Example: If I'm a deep-pockets owner like MLSE / Comcast / Jacobs / Dolan who is contributing (perhaps along with Scotia, MassMutual, etc.) to some mutually pooled line of credit, I may very well ask for a minority interest until that credit is repaid. Or at least to have a say in certain fiscal operating decisions. Totally speculating, but I could see where such arrangements, if leaked, may be construed as a sale, partial sale, potential sale, etc. As the saying goes, "God seems to have naturally limited the maximum possible IQ within mankind. However, there's apparently no limit on the other end."

The NHL , like all the big leagues, expressly disallows anyone to have equity ownership interest in multiple franchises at the same time. I cannot see any circumstance by which they would relax this rule.

 

[Sabre the Win]

Right, because the Pegula ownership base is so strong.

This dude is a poison and we would have all been better off if he had never showed up in WNY.

I think the support for Pegula simply comes from a fear of the team moving, and the realization that Pegula would likely never do that.

I refuse to live in that world of fear. Get a real owner in here and if the future takes the team away from WNY, so be it.

WNY doesn't really have any business with major league sports teams in the 21st century anyway. You can't be in constant confrontation with inevitability.

Let it play out as it will...but run the team professionally and on a major league level, please.

Every Bills fan is gonna dunk on you, the Pegulas are more than just the Sabres.

If you mean they should sell the Sabres, I agree, let them focus solely on the Bills or if they keep the team, get the F out of the way of it.

 

[PegulasSportsEmpire]

Agreed. The Pegulas built the Harbor Center and revived Buffalo's economy. That's the thing about them I appreciate the most.

If you don't like Football, fine, don't watch. But the majority of us are happy the Bills are playing here instead of Toronto. They may have gotten lucky in hiring Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott. But whatever. The last year was the most fun I've had watching a Major Buffalo team since Briere and Drury were Sabres in the mid 2000s.

I do like the idea of the Pegulas as owners. They are likeable and have Deep pockets, and an apparent commitment to Buffalo.

Its just so frustrating that they won't get out of the way for the Sabres and keep making mistakes.

 

[SackTastic]

Agreed. The Pegulas built the Harbor Center and revived Buffalo's economy. That's the thing about them I appreciate the most.

If you don't like Football, fine, don't watch. But the majority of us are happy the Bills are playing here instead of Toronto. They may have gotten lucky in hiring Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott. But whatever. The last year was the most fun I've had watching a Major Buffalo team since Briere and Drury were Sabres in the mid 2000s.

I do like the idea of the Pegulas as owners. They are likeable and have Deep pockets, and an apparent commitment to Buffalo.

Its just so frustrating that they won't get out of the way for the Sabres and keep making mistakes.

You said this once before. Still doesn't make any sense.

 

[5 Minute Major]

This dude is a poison and we would have all been better off if he had never showed up in WNY.

I refuse to live in that world of fear. Get a real owner in here and if the future takes the team away from WNY, so be it.

WNY doesn't really have any business with major league sports teams in the 21st century anyway. You can't be in constant confrontation with inevitability.

I think it may be time for you to let go of WNY sports teams and go find yourself some other team(s) to root for and let those that resife in, or have roots from, WNY enjoy our teams right where they are.

 

[PegulasSportsEmpire]

Every Bills fan is gonna dunk on you, the Pegulas are more than just the Sabres.

If you mean they should sell the Sabres, I agree, let them focus solely on the Bills or if they keep the team, get the F out of the way of it.

The Harbor Center is good for Buffalo's economy. What doesn't make sense?

 

[Sabre the Win]

The Harbor Center is good for Buffalo's economy. What doesn't make sense?

Not sure what you mean about making sense?

 

[SackTastic]

The Harbor Center is good for Buffalo's economy. What doesn't make sense?

Sure, it is.

It certainly didn't 'revive' the Buffalo economy by itself, as you've claimed.

 

[ckg927]

Let me channel noted hockey fan and former pro wrestler CM Punk for a minute: The ONLY way that the Sabres even begin to start regaining credibility with fans(here and around the league)is if Pegula sells the team or...well, the other option is too gruesome for me to mention.

That said, they're going to HAVE to get outside help to run this team because to this date none of the approaches they've taken have worked...

*Spending like drunken sailors
*Building through the draft(results are debatable)
*Cutting things to the bone and playing on the relative cheap.

At the very LEAST, they need an actual president/director of hockey ops.

 

[PegulasSportsEmpire]

Yep.

Lease expires in 2025.

Fans will stop buying tickets.

Things are going to get ugly. You gotta figure a sale is coming rather it be a full sale or a partial sale.

Best case scenario IMO is Pegula Ownership without meddling like what we see with the Bills. Rather that be a President of Hockey Ops or a partial sale like what Larry Quinn was to Tom Golisano

Next best case scenario is Jeremy Jacobs selling the Bruins and buying the Sabres. He's the 5th richest NHL Owner, has ties to Buffalo, and has a track record of winning.

After that is a crap shoot. How much money is an owner willing to spend? Will they meddle? Etc.....

 

[SackTastic]

Yep.

Lease expires in 2025.

Fans will stop buying tickets.

Things are going to get ugly. You gotta figure a sale is coming rather it be a full sale or a partial sale.

Best case scenario IMO is Pegula Ownership without meddling like what we see with the Bills. Rather that be a President of Hockey Ops or a partial sale like what Larry Quinn was to Tom Golisano

Next best case scenario is Jeremy Jacobs selling the Bruins and buying the Sabres. He's the 5th richest NHL Owner, has ties to Buffalo, and has a track record of winning.

After that is a crap shoot. How much money is an owner willing to spend? Will they meddle? Etc.....

ZERO percent chance of that happening.

 

[Buffaloed]

Pegula Sports executive: Buffalo Sabres are not for sale

"No. None of them are for sale," said Ron Raccuia, PSE's executive vice president. "None of them are for sale, none will be. There's no plans at all for that."

buffalonews.com

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Pegula Sports executive: Buffalo Sabres are not for sale

"No. None of them are for sale," said Ron Raccuia, PSE's executive vice president. "None of them are for sale, none will be. There's no plans at all for that."

buffalonews.com

I’m actually glad to hear this and hope it really is true (I assume it is).

The Pegulas have been far from perfect, but I don’t doubt their desire to win.
And despite the cheaper payroll and cuts to the hockey ops they made, I still don’t worry about money with them as owners. I don’t see them letting money get in the way of retaining players or making key free agent signings and/or hires.

I don’t see any other billionaires lining up to buy the Sabres anytime soon. Not that you need a billionaire owner to win but as a small market it’s nice having owners with such deep pockets, especially being such a small market team.