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Sabres may be for sale- per ESPN


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sabres may be for sale

Buffalo Sabres espn.core.init.tools('nhl-rumors-5087','http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/features/rumors/_/id/5087');buf.gif 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 by RocBillsfan
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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 by notwoz
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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 by Max997
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 by PromoTheRobot
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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.

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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...

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

Agreed. Buffalo gets the highest ratings of any US city for random games. Of course, when the Sabres are good...Sabres games can be in the 30's ratings in the WNY market which is sick for hockey. It's a great NHL market and looks fantastic when compared to other US cities like NJ, Atlanta, all Florida, Nashville, Carolina, Phoenix, etc, etc, etc...

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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.

 

Where are you getting this 'Buffalo is the NHL's #1 US market' stuff from?

 

According to whom?

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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.

 

 

Really? Buffalo is the number 1 US market in the NHL? Buffalo is a great market but #1?

 

Can you post some proof of that? Detroit looks pretty dam solid, so do the tHe Black Hawks, and the Rangers.

 

 

Please add some facts.

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Really? Buffalo is the number 1 US market in the NHL? Buffalo is a great market but #1?

 

Can you post some proof of that? Detroit looks pretty dam solid, so do the tHe Black Hawks, and the Rangers.

 

 

Please add some facts.

Just google "Buffalo NHL Ratings" and you'll see lots of articles about it.

 

PTR

 

we would have a team that would make more money and spend closer to the cap than the bills do now.

And Lucky Larry Quinn would be GM.

 

PTR

Edited by PromoTheRobot
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According the GR, the new owner is a "hockey fan", and married a girl from WNY. Grew up a Flyers fan, but became a Sabres fan later, when he moved here.

 

This is actually pretty exciting.

 

This guy donated 80 million dollars to Penn State, to build up their hockey program...I am really liking this!

Edited by Buftex
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I wish Galisano would sell them. I'm sick of his crap, and Larry Quinn and The Front Office. Let's clean house and build a winning Franchise. We got a face in Ryan Miller. Now go out and get the big guns this team needs to compete for a championship on yearly basis. Galisano hasn't done nothing to make the team better. As a matter of fact I think they've gotten worse over the years...

 

According the GR, the new owner is a "hockey fan", and married a girl from WNY. Grew up a Flyers fan, but became a Sabres fan later, when he moved here.

 

This is actually pretty exciting.

 

This guy donated 80 million dollars to Penn State, to build up their hockey program...I am really liking this!

 

As long as he's gonna pump money into the team and is committed to bring us a Stanley cup I'm all about it. Sick of the status quo and you should be lucky to have a team garbage spewed at us fans on a year in year out basis. Enough is Enough. Either Compete with the big boys or move it outta here!!!!

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I wish Galisano would sell them. I'm sick of his crap, and Larry Quinn and The Front Office. Let's clean house and build a winning Franchise. We got a face in Ryan Miller. Now go out and get the big guns this team needs to compete for a championship on yearly basis. Galisano hasn't done nothing to make the team better. As a matter of fact I think they've gotten worse over the years...

 

 

 

As long as he's gonna pump money into the team and is committed to bring us a Stanley cup I'm all about it. Sick of the status quo and you should be lucky to have a team garbage spewed at us fans on a year in year out basis. Enough is Enough. Either Compete with the big boys or move it outta here!!!!

 

If what GR is saying, it all sounds positive. This guy is loaded, richer Galisano, and is a long time hockey fan...even coached youth hockey at one point. Galisano did us a favor, and stablized the franchise, but he was never a hockey fan...the worst case scenario is he (Pegula, the prospective new owner) turns out to be the NHL equivalent of Dan Snyder...but it sounds like his roots are very working class...

Edited by Buftex
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I wish Galisano would sell them. I'm sick of his crap, and Larry Quinn and The Front Office. Let's clean house and build a winning Franchise. We got a face in Ryan Miller. Now go out and get the big guns this team needs to compete for a championship on yearly basis. Galisano hasn't done nothing to make the team better. As a matter of fact I think they've gotten worse over the years...

 

 

 

As long as he's gonna pump money into the team and is committed to bring us a Stanley cup I'm all about it. Sick of the status quo and you should be lucky to have a team garbage spewed at us fans on a year in year out basis. Enough is Enough. Either Compete with the big boys or move it outta here!!!!

Status quo is not good for us fans

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That was quick. It went from unsubstantiated rumor to signed letter of intent in only a couple of days.

...and it's retracted almost immediately.

 

The Sabres have further clarified that statement to me, indicating no letter has been signed at any price and not just at the figure quoted by The Hockey News earlier today. We'll have to see where this goes. A story changing by the hour.

---MIke Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

 

PTR

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