TBN: Bucky Gleason: The Pegulas May Be in Over Their Heads

[missingmika]

This story is missing crucial information... Prior to writing this Pegula not only took away Buckys pressroom toaster privileges but also banned him from eating at any Pegula operated complexes and events.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

Prolly dropped crumbs too many times. Doesn't he know this is how you get ants?

 

[Chad Thundercock]

Fair, from just the team(s) performance perspective. Pegula has shown thus far to be a fan easily wooed by big names. That's not necessarily a good or bad thing, but it's been a negative thus far, as seen by the LaFontaine debacle. There seems to be a culture around these teams now that we're not afraid to spend, act like big shots, which again falls in the same positive/negative boat. Like the LeSean McCoy trade, where the team is bragging about how it's an easy decision and let's throw ton$$$ at him.

I don't care about keeping the teams in Buffalo, 'revitalizing' downtown, the local stuff, etc...

 

[Sabre the Win]

 

[slip]

Fair, from just the team(s) performance perspective. Pegula has shown thus far to be a fan easily wooed by big names. That's not necessarily a good or bad thing, but it's been a negative thus far, as seen by the LaFontaine debacle. There seems to be a culture around these teams now that we're not afraid to spend, act like big shots, which again falls in the same positive/negative boat. Like the LeSean McCoy trade, where the team is bragging about how it's an easy decision and let's throw ton$$$ at him.

I don't care about keeping the teams in Buffalo, 'revitalizing' downtown, the local stuff, etc...

Yeah, those things are irrelevant. What really counts is how the whole LaFontaine thing went down.

 

[flyingpig]

I am one of those "old" guys who likes a newspaper in my hand, (maybe in a certain room) and I pay for the Bflo news. I still skip his articles every single time.

 

[Ace]

In the last year the hockey journalists in Buffalo have either done a 180 on their stated beliefs on the team needing to tank, so they they could remain contrarian for the sake of being contrarian (Bucky) or said they wouldn't trade, and this is honest to god 100% true, Enroth and Myers for Draisatl and Nugent-Hopkins (Harrington)...because Enroth was on a .960 save percentage run and he was tired of young players

The Buffalo News hockey department may be in over their heads

 

[ZZamboni]

I'm not clicking that. Guy is the worst form of the contrarian water cooler fan who somehow got a journalism gig.

I stopped at "Bucky Gleason"

Refuse to ever ever read things from him. Hack.

 

[ZZamboni]

Yeah, those things are irrelevant. What really counts is how the whole LaFontaine thing went down.

But but but .... It's cool and smart to hate buffalo teams, buffalo team owners, buffalo the city, and the population as a whole who live in the area. And yet .... Continue to live here.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

Fair, from just the team(s) performance perspective. Pegula has shown thus far to be a fan easily wooed by big names. That's not necessarily a good or bad thing, but it's been a negative thus far, as seen by the LaFontaine debacle. There seems to be a culture around these teams now that we're not afraid to spend, act like big shots, which again falls in the same positive/negative boat. Like the LeSean McCoy trade, where the team is bragging about how it's an easy decision and let's throw ton$$$ at him.

I don't care about keeping the teams in Buffalo, 'revitalizing' downtown, the local stuff, etc...

I guess they "won" the trade but it wasn't a bad one. For as good as Alonzo can be his career is very close to over with those knees. At the same time McCoy's better days are behind him and long term that value will decrease.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

He has to get his kicks in now when the Sabres are still low on the planned rebuild. He won't be able to write it for long. It reaks of a fundamental failure to understand why the Sabres have done what they've done. Any opinion that it wasn't or isn't the best option they had is flat out wrong. He's STILL banging the drums that they were close in the era of having no centers when they missed the playoffs every year and the rebuild was the wrong move. I should say he still says that NOW...since when we were actually living in it he routinely criticized the, for NOT TANKING an winning games that hurt them in the long run. Once they committed? He switched sides and pretended people had no memories.

You have to be a fool to read his stuff after that. You have to be something worse to agree.

Not necessarily a failure of fundamentals to understand. Everyone automatically hears the word rebuild and think it will just automatically work. What if it doesn't? Its happened in sports before and can/will happen again at some point. Who is to say the "planned" rebuild will actually work?

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

This is dumb and wrong and wrong and dumb.

Did you not follow this team between 05 and 07?

I told you I don't really care badly about hockey. I haven't for awhile. Though I'll watch the playoffs. I remember those guys were really fast though from watching playoff games. Even as a non hockey guy I would hardly say that roster was stacked. Chris Drury and Briere were probably making a decent penny but those teams were young if I recall. Off the lockout. Friends who follow told me they kinda beat the curve on what the "new NHL" became after the lockout. I can say as not even a big fan yeah its changed. Teams used to play defense and a team like nj would clog the defensive zone. I kind of miss watching actual defense. I don't need 10+ goals a game to watch a sport. Hell I love soccer and there's less scoring than hockey. Soccer is popular everywhere but america. You know that country that needs scoring. Its why baseball has been surpassed by football and why basketball ratings blow hockey out of the water.

 

[wunderpanda]

There is nothing spiteful at all about the piece, Bucky is very gracious about Pegula saving Buffalo. He isn't about to write anything that could affect his access to either team, just isn't 100% pandering praise towards a billionaire demagogue.

Pretty sure the suggestion is that Pegula find himself good advisers for his sports teams, that Pegula take a less hands on approach. To not hire guys based on sentimentality or name recognition. Nothing hateful in that, think it's good advice.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Has the Pegula era been flawless? Of course not. But at least he's trying to win a championship, even if his first attempt ("let's open the wallets for Ehrhoff/Leino!") was a miserable failure. I'll take an owner who wants to win over one who cares more about the bottom line any day of the week and twice on days ending in y.

They'll get better at this whole ownership thing. They've made rookie mistakes, but it'll get better.

 

[Prospector74]

Bucky is all sour grapes. Reminds me of a little kid that doesn't get everything his way and then holds a grudge.

 

[Bearbait]

Buccy who?

 

[SackTastic]

Fair, from just the team(s) performance perspective. Pegula has shown thus far to be a fan easily wooed by big names. That's not necessarily a good or bad thing, but it's been a negative thus far, as seen by the LaFontaine debacle. There seems to be a culture around these teams now that we're not afraid to spend, act like big shots, which again falls in the same positive/negative boat. Like the LeSean McCoy trade, where the team is bragging about how it's an easy decision and let's throw ton$$$ at him.

I don't care about keeping the teams in Buffalo, 'revitalizing' downtown, the local stuff, etc...

It's the NFL. It's easy to throw money at him. The only number that matters is the signing bonus anyway. (Non-guaranteed contracts, remember?)

 

[SackTastic]

Has the Pegula era been flawless? Of course not. But at least he's trying to win a championship, even if his first attempt ("let's open the wallets for Ehrhoff/Leino!") was a miserable failure. I'll take an owner who wants to win over one who cares more about the bottom line any day of the week and twice on days ending in y.

They'll get better at this whole ownership thing. They've made rookie mistakes, but it'll get better.

On the performance side, Pegula should be judged as follows :

- Does he provide his teams the resources they need, financial or otherwise? The answer so far appears to be yes.
- Does he acknowledge mistakes and take steps to avoid repeats? That answer again appears to be yes.

Everything else is columnist or fan fluff.

 

[brian_griffin]

There is nothing spiteful at all about the piece, Bucky is very gracious about Pegula saving Buffalo. He isn't about to write anything that could affect his access to either team, just isn't 100% pandering praise towards a billionaire demagogue.

Pretty sure the suggestion is that Pegula find himself good advisers for his sports teams, that Pegula take a less hands on approach. To not hire guys based on sentimentality or name recognition. Nothing hateful in that, think it's good advice.

Does Bucky suggest pegulas should be less hands-on? I don't feel they are inappropriately hands on. What say other posters?

 

[jd1970]

Pegula has yet to prove he can field/ice a team anywhere near being competitive for the last playoff spot.
Proof is In the pudding.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Pegula's approach with both teams has been the same:

Step 1: pump more resources into the system to see if the current team can win.

Step 2: Evaluate step 1 results.

Step 3: Reinforce success, or divert to a new plan.

He's already done this with the Sabres. Having one elite center, two elite centers in the making, an elite defenseman in the making, and a bunch of talented youth is a win in my book. The Sabres are built down the middle in the Western Conference mold. Wins will come as youth develops.

He'll do the same with the Bills. If the current teams fails, he'll divert to a new plan.

I like the methodology. It builds loyalty in the workforce. The owner will give you every resource you need to succeed, and only when you can't success under those conditions will he move on.

 

[wunderpanda]

Does Bucky suggest pegulas should be less hands-on? I don't feel they are inappropriately hands on. What say other posters?

Nobody has read it Someone even said they refuse to click but it's wrong anyway.

Less hands on is part of my interpretation of the football czar idea

The Bills could hire a football czar, but he’s worthless unless they follow his guidance. Before they make such a move, they need to embrace him without preconceived conditions.

Otherwise, what’s the sense in hiring him?

If that means Rex Ryan and Doug Whaley should stay, fine, so long as ownership accepts the possibility the czar decides one or both should be fired.

Of course Pegula is a novice as a sports franchise owner, of course he should get better at it as time moves on; but nothing wrong with shortening that learning curve by having the right person to defer to.

 

[kirby11]

Does Bucky suggest pegulas should be less hands-on? I don't feel they are inappropriately hands on. What say other posters?

Agreed...but he HAS to hold more press conferences, dammit! *insert sarcasm emoji here*
I'd love to see how Gleason would write an article if he had to regularly do research and not make specious claims based on unnamed sources

 

[Clock]

Pegula has yet to prove he can field/ice a team anywhere near being competitive for the last playoff spot.
Proof is In the pudding.

Pegula's proved that he's willing to do what it takes to optimize the chances of that happening. That's all I need and would ask for. These types of conversations are beyond silly to me at this point, as if there aren't 30 other teams also competing for the same goal and it's just a matter of wanting it bad enough.

 

[Dingo44]

Pegula's approach with both teams has been the same:

Step 1: pump more resources into the system to see if the current team can win.

Step 2: Evaluate step 1 results.

Step 3: Reinforce success, or divert to a new plan.

He's already done this with the Sabres. Having one elite center, two elite centers in the making, an elite defenseman in the making, and a bunch of talented youth is a win in my book. The Sabres are built down the middle in the Western Conference mold. Wins will come as youth develops.

He'll do the same with the Bills. If the current teams fails, he'll divert to a new plan.

I like the methodology. It builds loyalty in the workforce. The owner will give you every resource you need to succeed, and only when you can't success under those conditions will he move on.

This.

It's still relatively early in the process and even with the results, so far, so good. I don't think anyone can blame him for what he's done with the Bills in a year. I think this year's team, as built, had the talent to win, if they could have stayed healthy and had better coaching.

Sabres are on their way.