RocBillsfan Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 (edited) sabres may be for sale Buffalo Sabres espn.core.init.tools('nhl-rumors-5087','http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/features/rumors/_/id/5087'); Care to purchase an NHL hockey team? According to Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe, there's chatter Buffalo Sabres' owner Tom Golisano is looking to sell - at some stage. Dupont says prospective buyers include Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie and Terrence Pegula, President and CEO of East Resources. Pegula recently gave an $88 million dollar gift to Penn State University to fund scholarships for Division 1 hockey and construct a rink. Dupont also points out that Pegula's wife is from the Buffalo-area. Therefore, if he bought the franchise, there might be a smaller chance of relocation. - Victoria Matiash Edited November 29, 2010 by RocBillsfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills1960 Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 So is this a good thing...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ennjay Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Isn't Balsillie the guy who wants a franchise for Hamilton? If he buys, he probably intends to move the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Isn't Balsillie the guy who wants a franchise for Hamilton? If he buys, he probably intends to move the team. The NHL will never approve that guy as an owner....Bettman will make sure of that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notwoz Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 (edited) Isn't Balsillie the guy who wants a franchise for Hamilton? If he buys, he probably intends to move the team. Same guy -- he's the big cheese at the company that makes Blackberries. Story is pretty weak. The writer says he's getting "vibes." However, he throws out a name of another "potential" buyer that's not familiar to me: Terry Pegula, who runs a natural gas/oil drilling operation called East Resources. At the end of the day, I'll believe it when Tom G. makes the announcement. Edited November 29, 2010 by notwoz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max997 Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 (edited) The more interesting point of this story could be why is Tom G. selling? Hasnt he always been rumored to want to purchase the Bills? Could this move be the first in his plan to buy the Bills? Just thinking out loud here. I dont know enough about the Sabres to know if he is selling for another reason Edited November 29, 2010 by Max997 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 You'd have zero chance of relocation. The NHL would not allow it. If Bettman would only field offers from owners looking to keep the team in Buffalo last time, you'd have to think it would be much the same this time. Also, Buffalo is the NHL's #1 US market. No chance of relocation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Rob Johnson Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 You'd have zero chance of relocation. The NHL would not allow it. If Bettman would only field offers from owners looking to keep the team in Buffalo last time, you'd have to think it would be much the same this time. Also, Buffalo is the NHL's #1 US market. No chance of relocation. If Bettman wouldn't allow them to move a team from Phoenix, he's definitely not going to allow them to move a team from a good hockey market like Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beebe's Kid Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 You'd have zero chance of relocation. The NHL would not allow it. If Bettman would only field offers from owners looking to keep the team in Buffalo last time, you'd have to think it would be much the same this time. Also, Buffalo is the NHL's #1 US market. No chance of relocation. Don't cloud the issue with the facts. This is Buffalo, and we have to feel like everything/everyone is going to **** on us, and leave us high and dry. Whoa is Buffalo... If there ever is a serious threat of one of the teams moving, nobody would be able to organize any kind of serious grass roots movement to try to stop it...they'd be too busy crying how they got !@#$ed. It is seriously !@#$ing pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 (edited) So is this a good thing...? Only if they stay and Larry Quinn is showed the door. PTR You'd have zero chance of relocation. The NHL would not allow it. If Bettman would only field offers from owners looking to keep the team in Buffalo last time, you'd have to think it would be much the same this time. Also, Buffalo is the NHL's #1 US market. No chance of relocation. If Bettman wouldn't allow them to move a team from Phoenix, he's definitely not going to allow them to move a team from a good hockey market like Buffalo. Don't cloud the issue with the facts. This is Buffalo, and we have to feel like everything/everyone is going to **** on us, and leave us high and dry. Whoa is Buffalo... If there ever is a serious threat of one of the teams moving, nobody would be able to organize any kind of serious grass roots movement to try to stop it...they'd be too busy crying how they got !@#$ed. It is seriously !@#$ing pathetic. Unlike the NFL that couldn't give a crap about us, the NHL relies on Buffalo heavily to bolster its US TV ratings. "Even though the Sabres aren't there, Buffalo is still interested in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Apparently, they're more interested than some of the cities with teams playing. The Buffalo DMA drew a higher rating than any other market for the Flyers 2-0 victory over Washington on April 13th on NBC, including Philadelphia and Washington D.C." Besides Balsillie has burned all his bridges with the NHL. They aren't about to let him into the club after the crap he tried to pull in Phoenix. PTR Edited November 29, 2010 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Only if they stay and Larry Quinn is showed the door. PTR Unlike the NFL that couldn't give a crap about us, the NHL relies on Buffalo heavily to bolster its US TV ratings. "Even though the Sabres aren't there, Buffalo is still interested in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Apparently, they're more interested than some of the cities with teams playing. The Buffalo DMA drew a higher rating than any other market for the Flyers 2-0 victory over Washington on April 13th on NBC, including Philadelphia and Washington D.C." Besides Balsillie has burned all his bridges with the NHL. They aren't about to let him into the club after the crap he tried to pull in Phoenix. PTR He is quite the turd it seems, however, if the NHL forced him to keep the team in Buffalo (which as many previous posts have pointed out isn't going to be a problem), he strikes me as an owner that would really pump some major cash into the franchise. He is a fan of hockey in the same way it seems a guy like Mark Cuban is with basketball/ and the Mavs. It's a toy/dream to him, where Golisano freely admitted it was a business to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoebills Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 The more interesting point of this story could be why is Tom G. selling? Hasnt he always been rumored to want to purchase the Bills? Could this move be the first in his plan to buy the Bills? Just thinking out loud here. I dont know enough about the Sabres to know if he is selling for another reason I hope you are right...I would prefer for the bills to stay over the sabres... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trolls_r_us Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 some of you beat me to it, but what the heck.... Buffalo is a KEY NHL market. Quite frankly, the NHL NEEDS the Buffalo market. Buffalo is BARELY an NFL market. The NFL could give two craps about Buffalo. That's the difference. The NHL needs to be in places where people care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Bills Fan Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Golisano has stated many times he'd sell the team if a good offer came along and he already told Balsillie he won't sell if he plans to move the team. Moving the team from Buffalo to Hamilton would also make zero sense. And, as many have pointed out, the NHL will never allow the Sabres to leave Buffalo. When they were owned by the league after the Rigas debacle, they were never entertaining any offer to allow them to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbalaya Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 You'd have zero chance of relocation. The NHL would not allow it. If Bettman would only field offers from owners looking to keep the team in Buffalo last time, you'd have to think it would be much the same this time. Also, Buffalo is the NHL's #1 US market. No chance of relocation. The Maple Leafs would not allow it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack_spikes Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Golisano selling would be a good thing. He's a disinterested owner, as far as putting a top flite team on the ice. Hopefully, Quinn, Regier, and Ruff take a hike too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBaumer Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 It has been public knowledge that the Sabres have been for sale for about 2 years now. They have been willing to listen to offers to anyone interested. Basille won't happen but there will be a new owner (that hopefully has a clue about hockey)in about a year or less..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweatpantsjoe Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 This Terrence Pegula sounds too good to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 very interesting if there is any truth to this... could it have potential implications on a "Bills purchase"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realist Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Does anyone really want Galisano to own the Bills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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