I thought Larry Quinn was the worst thing to happen to Sabres Hockey. I was wrong.

[Chainshot]

Almost 10 years of evidence suggests that the current ownership group are worse than former politician/land developers or corporate swindlers. I apologize for publicly beating you up, Larry. These new owners have set a new, almost impossible to comprehend, bar of ownership ineptitude.

Click to read more...

 

[Buffaloed]

They've owned the Sabres for 10 years. They only seem new because time flies when you're having fun.

 

[EichHart]

At least the Bills are good. Get a good management group in here and things will change.

 

[kirby11]

At least the Bills are good. Get a good management group in here and things will change.

Literally their only chance is lucking into another McBeane combo. Terry and Kim seem to be the absolute worst combination of arrogant and stubborn (almost paranoid) in terms of hiring/thinking they have all the answers despite a decade of evidence that attests to the opposite. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Bones Malone]

I didn't realize suffering would be a curse

 

[Chainshot]

At least the Bills are good. Get a good management group in here and things will change.

The two sports are so dissimilar though. The NFL payroll is set and the league is profitable based on their television and advertising deals. They have a massive feeder system of ready-to-play prospects every year coming out of the collegiate ranks that can provide starter, even all star caliber, players 4-5-6 rounds deep in the draft.

The NHL? Gambles on kids who may or may not be ready in a year or two. They haven't shown the ability to set trends on the cutting edge of competitive advancement - in fact they seem rather set in older ways that they themselves haven't had any success with. They don't have strong relationships (seemingly) with the inner cabal of so called "hockey minds" that seem most capable of building the on-ice product and selling it to a once-rabid and now disinterested fanbase.

And while the cap is a nice gesture, along with the inner workings of revenue sharing, the hurdles to be cleared by small market teams involve gate revenue and local broadcast rights (and playoff gate). From a purely business standpoint, the NHL (specifically the Sabres) is a large money pit that will drain even an ardent supporters will to follow.

 

[BuffaloGooner]

This organization is embarrassing

 

[Chainshot]

This organization is embarrassing

And it keeps outdoing itself, incredibly.

 

[Gabrielor]

Terry and Kim Pegula are definitely the worst Buffalo Sabres-thing in my serious fandom time (05-06 - present).

 

[kirby11]

The Pegulas' endless supply of hubris/arrogance is what gets me. They've done next to nothing right for their entire tenure as Sabres owners but still have the gall to think they should just keep running things the same way, should talk down to the fans, should tighten their checkbooks to slash jobs, etc. Say what you will about the Bills, who were a mess during the drought years...but it was never THIS bad for THIS long.

They've more or less systematically dismantled the franchise and turned it into a shell of what it once was.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

I think Sabres could move under Pegulas. The have serious issues selling tickets this year. Is tied selling to Bills tickets allowed for Sabres?

 

[Gabrielor]

I'm once again in the 'why do I still root for the Sabres' headspace. I've let the 49ers go on the back-burner when they're bad. I don't know why I can't leave this team...

 

[Jim Bob]

I think Sabres could move under Pegulas. The have serious issues selling tickets this year. Is tied selling to Bills tickets allowed for Sabres?

The Pegulas are not going to move the Sabres.

And Bettman won't let them move the Sabres.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[sabres4ever]

We. are. so. Effed.

 

[joshjull]

They are gullible fools who are easily swayed. Whoever talked them into tanking needs to be hunted down and beaten.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I downloaded the Instigators today as a podcast but every player is just increasingly more depressing to listen to. What do you even do at this point? Trade everyone over 23 years old and go full EA Fantasy Draft? What a disaster.

 

[Fjordy]

I downloaded the Instigators today as a podcast but every player is just increasingly more depressing to listen to. What do you even do at this point? Trade everyone over 23 years old and go full EA Fantasy Draft? What a disaster.

Well Ottawa is recovering and there is a youth movement.

 

[sabremike]

Did you see the scenes outside of English football stadiums after the Super League announcement with thousands of angry fans demanding their owners sell and GTFO?

WHY WON'T OUR FANS HAVE THE BALLS TO DO THAT OUTSIDE OUR GARBAGE DUMP OF AN ARENA?????????

[MOD]

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Well Ottawa is recovering and there is a youth movement.

Ottawa isn't on year 10 with multiple players telling the media that they're done with this franchise.

 

[Myllz]

Did you see the scenes outside of English football stadiums after the Super League announcement with thousands of angry fans demanding their owners sell and GTFO?

WHY WON'T OUR FANS HAVE THE BALLS TO DO THAT OUTSIDE OUR GARBAGE DUMP OF AN ARENA?????????

[MOD]

Because after a decade of this team being completely irrelevant, nobody has the passion or caring to do so. It's also a very different culture. For a lot of Europeans, football is life. There aren't a whole lot of hockey fans with that same outlook towards the sport.

 

[Fjordy]

Ottawa isn't on year 10 with multiple players telling the media that they're done with this franchise.

Well I just didn't want to thicken the colors. Obviously this is awful.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Well I just didn't want to thicken the colors. Obviously this is awful.

At this rate Seattle makes the playoffs before Buffalo, and they don't have a single player under contract.

 

[tsujimoto74]

The Pegulas' endless supply of hubris/arrogance is what gets me. They've done next to nothing right for their entire tenure as Sabres owners but still have the gall to think they should just keep running things the same way, should talk down to the fans, should tighten their checkbooks to slash jobs, etc. Say what you will about the Bills, who were a mess during the drought years...but it was never THIS bad for THIS long.

They've more or less systematically dismantled the franchise and turned it into a shell of what it once was.

The Bills were just on the bad end of mediocre for a long time and never got the elite talent to pull themselves out of it until recently. The Sabres were awful, got elite talent, and still found a way to be awful. f*** the Pegulas.

 

[Sabre Dance]

At least the Bills are good. Get a good management group in here and things will change.

They honestly got lucky with the Bills. I mean sure they hire McDermott which lead to everything else but they had very little to do with building one of the best front offices in the NFL.