Mike Harrington Bashes the Pegulas

[Doug Prishpreed]

Just finished reading it, yeah, everything he has said in this, was said by posters here. I did laugh at the Bylsma comment, because I actually believe Mike doesn't think this ownership that he is currently criticizing would hire two bad coaches in a row.

I guess I haven’t read all the posts because a lot of it was new to me re: the Pegulas.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I’ve always disliked Harrington, but with a franchise this awful, it’s absolutely his job to point out their failures and attempt to assign blame, and make suggestions for fixes, etc.

The Pegula’s need to answer to some of this stuff and no one else is even asking. Vogl and Baker are too busy kissing ass to say anything critical.

 

[5 Minute Major]

From how I see it, owners of sports teams have a completely different interest than fans of said sports teams.

For fans it is about winning championships. For owners I believe that is secondary.

Because of that I think people are happy to jump on the Pegula's because their teams aren't winning and think that someone else taking the team(s) over will make them winners, which isn't always going to happen.

What have the Pegula's given Buffalo? An indication that they are there for the long haul. The bought the Bills and Sabres among many other teams, have invested in the Harborcenter as well. Probability exists that they have other property investments in the area as well (I don't know that, just guessing with their financial wealth they could own other business property etc.).

As long as people follow the sports teams (and why wouldn't we, we're lifers after all), spend their money on merchandise, go to games etc. etc. the Pegulas in this specific case, and owners of other franchises, are happy to see the money increase their wealth via their many investments.

Does that mean they are doing a good job? No, but has their money provided financial stability to both the sports teams and the city of Buffalo (and Rochester)? Yes, and that's a good thing.

All that said, as a fan... hurry up and fix the nightmare that are the Sabres. Pretty please?

Right.

However, no matter how many bad decisions have been made regarding the Sabres, I will never question the Pegula’s desire to win. I know they want to win.

 

[Bobby Bottle Service]

I agree with Mike's points about Botts and Phil. His brigade against the Pegula's is blatantly personal though and beneath an objective journalist (which he is neither).

 

[GellMann]

the final push came with Enroth

And Boucher had some good games for Philly that series. When he struggled, he got yanked. Something Ruff refused to do

Miller was bad that series. Game 2 was AWFUL. He blew a 3 goal lead in game 5. Games 6 and 7 were a trainwreck. Shutout in game 4 includes saves by Myers and Gaustad on the goal line

Enroth did play a huge role when Miller got hurt, but the push was months long, and Miller wasn't out months. And that's how all shutouts work, it's a team game. And, peak Danny Briere in postseason form probably shouldn't be allowed 5 seconds standing alone in the slot in front of a goalie, w.r.t game 6. Game 7, nobody showed up, that game was over the second Philly tied game 6, whether Miller was in net or a brick wall was in net.

But I don't really like nit-picking - the two basic premises of the original post I quoted were just not correct, one IMO, the other objectively.

 

[SundherDome]

So basically we should all shut our mouths and be happy regardless of the Sabres consistently being in the bottom 5 of the league yearly. I love the Pegula's and the commitment they have made to the city but they deserve heavy criticism for their handling of the Sabres. It has been a total embarrassment.

In essence ... Yes. They haven't handled the Sabres poorly, the management has handled it poorly. They have given the Sabres everything needed to succeed. Short of stepping in and clearing house again, there isn't much more they can do. And the people on this board want nothing to do with them inserting themselves further.

 

[debaser66]

G: their money
B: their hirings
U: uncertainty

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

Baker's job isn't to be praising or critical of the Sabres organization but report and share his scouting about Sabre's and NHL prospects. That's his specialty and even maybe his full-time job one day.

I’ve always disliked Harrington, but with a franchise this awful, it’s absolutely his job to point out their failures and attempt to assign blame, and make suggestions for fixes, etc.

The Pegula’s need to answer to some of this stuff and no one else is even asking. Vogl and Baker are too busy kissing ass to say anything critical.

 

[Zip15]

It's entertaining to watch Harrington's shtick while The Athletic guys try to protect their access. I'm no fan of Harrington, but can we divorce ourselves of the delusion that Vogl (and, now, Baker) isn't trying to protect his access. Vogl will never catch enough **** for his handling of the ROR exit interview, and the early-season cheerleading about how much better the room was without ROR (whoops).

 

[brian_griffin]

I don't know enough about what a team President does in relation to day to day hockey operations, in order to really comment. The one thing that has always seemed odd to me though is the argument that the Pegulas, or any owners who don't have a background in the sport, don't know enough about hockey in order to make a sound decision on who should be the GM. If that is the case, then what makes them capable of hiring the right person to be the "hockey" guy who is team President?

Maybe Botterill should be President and Sexton or Greeley should be the GM?

Welcome new poster!!!!!

She was raised by a devoutly religious family. She attended a Christian college that the Pegula's have donated millions of dollars to. She doesn't swear, ever. Off color remarks have no place in her world. Botterill/Housley and Beane/McDermott are choirboys compared to the people they replaced.

Well there's your problem right there. Never trust a leader who doesn't use profanity.

Where's the Jesus-shaking-head-in-disappointment emoji?

If Kim ever meets Tortorella, the universe will implode.

Harrington would cower from Tortorella.

Mike's columns make all of our posts look like works from greats of SI in the 1980's and 1990's. Amazingly, after over a thousand of columns, he hasn't found a writing style as much as he has developed a distinctive howl. I mean, my God, these Sabres columns write themselves from his perspective and yet he still can't put together a cohesive opinion.

I'd buy another 10 The Athletic subscriptions if Graham would take Mike under his wing and teach him 10th grade English. Then again, Tim's tweets on his articles are more entertaining than teaching the chimp to put verbs in sentences. Please pour Barney another on me, Mo...let's see if we can make him eat a spider.
View attachment 205627

I had SI subscription for the better part of the 1990s. Rick Reilly and Steve Rushin were my favorites because they wrote about the human aspects of athletes, famously accomplished and otherwise.

President will fix everything

Trumper?

I agree with him and yet still dislike him.

The two concepts are not mutually exclusive.

Vogl and Baker don't seem to agree with him.

(and)

Has Baker ever said one critical thing about the franchise ever?

In his position, he needs to be positive. It's the military equivalent of never rating an officer below "good", i.e., only "excellent" or "outstanding".

Usually with rich couples, the woman is making the decisions, while the man is the representative providing wealth.
So, catering to Kim is more important.

It might be argued more lands have been conquered, more oceans traversed, more edifices built, more dreams of men pursued because of women than motivated by anything else. Either to attract them, pursue them, appease them, recover from the loss of them, distract from them, or flee from them.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Baker's job isn't to be praising or critical of the Sabres organization but report and share his scouting about Sabre's and NHL prospects. That's his specialty and even maybe his full-time job one day.

That’s fine but folks shouldn’t be referencing his opinion like it means anything.

 

[jc17]

1) Harrington is a holier-than-thou clown.

2) Terry pegula clearly is not the guy to get answers from in an interview. He doesn't have the answers to those questions and its not his place to speak on them. Its moronic to keep pestering the guy and putting him on the spot like that. Making a guy uncomfortable and trying to trip him up in an interview is not journalism, it's a waste of time to pat yourself on the back for "holding people accountable "

3) a director of hockey ops will solve nothing. It's just another layer that traces back to the pegulas. Instead of "Terry, are Jason and phil doing a good job? Are their jobs safe?", it will be the same question with another name thrown in. If pegulas can't evaluate or give structure to a gm, how could they with a hockey ops guy? Its just one more person that would then have to be evaluated by the owners. Imagine if this season happened, with a director of hockey ops? There would be no change.

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

Sure it does, he was telling us over a year ago Olofsson was the real deal while he was playing in the Swedish Elite League and some of us just knew him as a late-round flyer. Of course there is still plenty of to see but I trust Kris's opinions on prospects very much and so should you.

If Kris wishes to work in the league one day the worst thing he can do is badmouth an organization. That's just plain common sense.

That’s fine but folks shouldn’t be referencing his opinion like it means anything.

 

[GellMann]

It's entertaining to watch Harrington's shtick while The Athletic guys try to protect their access. I'm no fan of Harrington, but can we divorce ourselves of the delusion that Vogl (and, now, Baker) isn't trying to protect his access. Vogl will never catch enough **** for his handling of the ROR exit interview, and the early-season cheerleading about how much better the room was without ROR (whoops).

It's on me and not him, but I seriously can't even bring myself to read the guy after that stuff and the built-in Phil protection and Lehner defense, that all reeks of exactly what you say, protecting access versus reporting stuff.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Sure it does, he was telling us over a year ago Olofsson was the real deal while he was playing in the Swedish Elite League and some of us just knew him as a late-round flyer. Of course there is still plenty of to see but I trust Kris's opinions on prospects very much and so should you.

If Kris wishes to work in the league one day the worst thing he can do is badmouth an organization. That's just plain common sense.

I agreed with you, he has valuable opinions on prospects. But people were referencing his opinion on non-prospect issues, which is what I was solely speaking about.

Sure, he was pumping up VO but so was anyone else who saw his numbers. And he never said VO is the real deal - he never says that about anyone. He hedges on every opinion he has. Which is fine. He actually STILL doesn’t claim VO will be a success in the NHL with any amount of certainty, from what I’ve seen.

 

[Buffaloed]

In essence ... Yes. They haven't handled the Sabres poorly, the management has handled it poorly. They have given the Sabres everything needed to succeed. Short of stepping in and clearing house again, there isn't much more they can do. And the people on this board want nothing to do with them inserting themselves further.

The Pegula's are heavily involved in the management of the Sabres. This isn't a situation where they set a budget, let Botterill do his thing, and get reports. They're involved in the day to day operation of the team. It's reminiscent of Ralph Wilson. I hope the Pegula's find a Marv Levy who has the patience to explain everything to them in detail.

"I communicate with Botts regularly, daily, sometimes three times a day." Terry Pegula said. "He's the only three-time gold medal world junior guy in the world. He's a smart guy and he does a good job."
Pegula: something has to change but we don't know what

 

[Baccus]

Seriously, like, what possible reason would Botts have to talk to Terry Pegula 3 times a day. Do they just chit-chat about what they had for lunch, or does Botts have to spend 20-30 minutes every day trying to explain why Sobotka is in the line up? I'd love to hear those explanations.

 

[Cuphead]

When Pegula cleaned house a couple years ago he repeatedly expressed the need to bring "experience" to the franchise. Everyone enthusiastically agreed with that assessment. And yet a few months later he goes and hires a rookie GM and a high school hockey coach. What the **** happened, Terry?

reality? maybe the sabres arent as attractive as some people want to believe?

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

As an outsider, I have to agree with his point.

Pegula is a Buffalo guy and a huge fan who stepped up to the plate and used his own money to keep 2 teams in town. That is a great thing and he deserves all the praise he gets for that.

The problem is they need to learn what successful owners do in the sports world.

This isn't a normal company where you can interject and have your hands in things.

The successful owners sit in the luxury box, keep their hands off the operations and just write the checks and let the ones that know what they're doing do their jobs.

Look at Steinbrenner. The Yankees didnt win for over a decade under him because he had his hands in everything and was running the team from the owners box. Once he let go and backed off, they go on their 90s/00s run.

Until the Pegulas learn this aspect of ownership, they'll be holding their teams back similar to Katz and Jerry Jones

 

[SundherDome]

The Pegula's are heavily involved in the management of the Sabres. This isn't a situation where they set a budget, let Botterill do his thing, and get reports. They're involved in the day to day operation of the team. It's reminiscent of Ralph Wilson. I hope the Pegula's find a Marv Levy who has the patience to explain everything to them in detail.

He is involved but he let's his staff do their job. I fear the next step, and what people are pining for without realizing, is him being a Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder and basically running the show with a puppet. They should get a little criticism with how the Murray/Lafontaine thing happened. That was ugly and the whole Rex Ryan item but they are not perfect, things happen and bringing them up now doesn't help anyone.

 

[SundherDome]

Seriously, like, what possible reason would Botts have to talk to Terry Pegula 3 times a day. Do they just chit-chat about what they had for lunch, or does Botts have to spend 20-30 minutes every day trying to explain why Sobotka is in the line up? I'd love to hear those explanations.

I would imagine there is probably a daily staff meeting to which he calls in. Probably a weekly scouting update and a check in "hi, how's it going, do you need anything" meeting. I doubt he is talking to him 3 times a day everyday.

 

[brian_griffin]

As an outsider, I have to agree with his point.

Pegula is a Buffalo guy and a huge fan who stepped up to the plate and used his own money to keep 2 teams in town. That is a great thing and he deserves all the praise he gets for that.

The problem is they need to learn what successful owners do in the sports world.

This isn't a normal company where you can interject and have your hands in things.

The successful owners sit in the luxury box, keep their hands off the operations and just write the checks and let the ones that know what they're doing do their jobs.

Look at Steinbrenner. The Yankees didnt win for over a decade under him because he had his hands in everything and was running the team from the owners box. Once he let go and backed off, they go on their 90s/00s run.

Until the Pegulas learn this aspect of ownership, they'll be holding their teams back similar to Katz and Jerry Jones

While I agree with what you say, I would caution against the other extreme of simply traveling for league meetings / junquets in warmer climes and Kraftily (sic) stopping at nearby strip malls for a tug job.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

While I agree with what you say, I would caution against the other extreme of simply traveling for league meetings / junquets in warmer climes and Kraftily (sic) stopping at nearby strip malls for a tug job.

obviously you need to a degree. but that degree shouldn't go beyond applying pressure to succeed and bringing in management to deliver that.

beyond that an owner should be completely hands off when it comes to roster/coach/GM decisions.

hire the people you want to run things, let them know success is expected and back off

 

[Buffaloed]

Seriously, like, what possible reason would Botts have to talk to Terry Pegula 3 times a day. Do they just chit-chat about what they had for lunch, or does Botts have to spend 20-30 minutes every day trying to explain why Sobotka is in the line up? I'd love to hear those explanations.

He fancies himself to be a scout. You can figure out where that's going.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

I am a 30 year sabres fan but man I want to give up if that clown Housley is back.

I can't take much more of this.