Except Derwood is right. Bettman did very little to keep the Sabres in Buffalo. In reality there were no qualified bidders from out of town. Bettman is a joke who has run the NHL into a second tier league in the US, and that’s the primary reason there was zero interest in buying AND moving the Sabres.
Because the league is an also-ran is why it attracted shyster owners, which the feeble Bettman didn’t properly vet. One potential Sabres bidder had clear mob ties through his trucking company.
The league babysat the franchise until a willing buyer stepped up, but staying in Buffalo was the logical choice given the market AND the favorable terms the owner would get in the brand new arena. No other market could offer that. Now compare that to the mess that was in Uniondale at that time, and tell me if there was any possibility that Sabres were going to move.