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Bucky Gleason: The Pegulas May Be in Over Their Heads


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I'm guessing he's referring to running sports franchises

Is a sports franchise not a business?

This was a really nasty article, even from Bucky. The Sabres may be 26th, but at least the team is exciting to watch, whereas the team the last two years was completely unwatchable. As far as the Bills, they hired the wrong coach, and that happens in the best-run franchises too. I think it's too early to be throwing Pegs under the bus just yet.

Yep

The rich don't run franchises, they hire people to do it. The difficulty is finding the right people. What defines the right people? They win. More often than not, this is only defined by looking back in time.

Yep
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I could explain it to you but I don't have the energy. In short, he tried seeing through the current path for a few years, it was going nowhere, so they went for a full-on rebuild. With respect to the Sabres, I literally wouldn't change one move Pegula/TIm Murray have made. Is it guaranteed to work? Of course not. Some things already haven't- Leino, Ehrhoff, etc.- but everything has made sense at the time. It is an extremely effectively run organization. Anyone who follows the Sabres closely is thrilled with their current path. The next ten years are going to be very enjoyable for Sabres fans.

I'll have to take your word for it because, as I said, I don't follow the Sabres. As I understand it, though, the team has lost consistently since Pegula took over.

 

Bucky's point is that, as of right now, there is no evidence that the Pegulas know what they are doing WRT running their sports franchises. Again, it may be that they have a brilliant plan that will play out magnificently in the next few years, but I would submit that, if that is true, there is no evidence of it.

 

As a Bills fan, my knee-jerk reaction is to be skeptical of any and all moves made by the franchise. I'm sorry, I can't help it, but the skeptics have usually been proven correct in this case. Unfortunately, that carries over to the Pegulas, even though they aren't responsible for most of the last 16 years. So far, I have seen nothing that makes me think they are NOT in over their heads.

Edited by mannc
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The Sabres are an exciting young team that should grow into a real contender and stay that way for 15 years.

 

Give them time.

 

And before some "guy who REALLY understands sports and don't take no BS" points out the Sabres W/L record (and we have the same discussion for the 1,000 time with a person who obviously does not follow or understand hockey) Peyton Manning went 3-13 his rookie season.

 

It's about where you are GOING not where you are now. There is a ton of positive momentum around the Sabres and Buffalo hockey in general, and anyone who cannot understand that (like Bucky) is just a bitter pathetic fool.

Edited by TheFunPolice
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Really? How long has Pegula owned the Sabres? I thought it had been quite a few years, but then, I don't live in Buffalo anymore and don't follow the Sabres closely.

This is the fourth full season as owners. (One season was a lockout year.) The first year they tried to go all out spending on free agents which failed. So they took the long road of tearing down the team and rebuilding through the draft. This is the first year of NOT trying to suck. So it's pretty disingenuous to call the team a mess when you are just coming out of a years-long rebuild. The Sabres have real talent now with a farm system loaded with top prospects. If Bucky thinks that's a mess, then he should just resign from the Sports department because he's clueless.

Edited by PromoTheRobot
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Exactly.

 

The Sabres are LOADED with young talent. And by young I mean 18-22 years old. These are some of the most highly touted players in recent drafts, including a generational talent in Eichel.

 

The World Juniors are coming back AGAIN. Buffalo is on the map as the new Hockeytown, USA. The Harbor Center is a world-class facility for hockey. Youth hockey in WNY is booming.

 

The Pegulas are in the PROCESS of turning the Sabres into one of the NHL's elite franchises. Some people are just so bitter and beaten down that they expect everything to fail "because it's Buffalo."

 

Luckily, the Pegulas and the people they have running the show don't buy into that whiny, defeatist crap.

 

Instead, they are getting things done. If you can't be happy about what is going on around the arena and with the hockey team I have no idea what to say to you. I feel sorry for those people because this is the groundwork for something great.

 

They just started with the Bills. Let things take their course.

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This is the fourth full season as owners. (One season was lockout year.) The first year they tried to go all out spending on free agents which failed. So they took the long road of tearing down the team and rebuilding through the draft. This is the first year of NOT trying to suck. So it's pretty disingenuous to call the team a mess when you are just coming out of a years-long rebuild. The Sabres have real talent now with a farm system loaded with top prospects. If Bucky thinks that's a mess, then he should just resign from the Sports department because he's clueless.

We're obviously on the same page but almost all the big prospects are already up. As far as guys still in the farm system they actually now have one of the weakest systems in the entire league. But if you count Eichel, Reinhart, Ristolainen, et al as "prospects" then they have one of the strongest. It's a matter of semantics I suppose.

Exactly.

 

The Sabres are LOADED with young talent. And by young I mean 18-22 years old. These are some of the most highly touted players in recent drafts, including a generational talent in Eichel.

 

The World Juniors are coming back AGAIN. Buffalo is on the map as the new Hockeytown, USA. The Harbor Center is a world-class facility for hockey. Youth hockey in WNY is booming.

 

The Pegulas are in the PROCESS of turning the Sabres into one of the NHL's elite franchises. Some people are just so bitter and beaten down that they expect everything to fail "because it's Buffalo."

 

Luckily, the Pegulas and the people they have running the show don't buy into that whiny, defeatist crap.

 

Instead, they are getting things done. If you can't be happy about what is going on around the arena and with the hockey team I have no idea what to say to you. I feel sorry for those people because this is the groundwork for something great.

 

They just started with the Bills. Let things take their course.

Tremendous post.
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This is the fourth full season as owners. (One season was a lockout year.) The first year they tried to go all out spending on free agents which failed. So they took the long road of tearing down the team and rebuilding through the draft. This is the first year of NOT trying to suck. So it's pretty disingenuous to call the team a mess when you are just coming out of a years-long rebuild. The Sabres have real talent now with a farm system loaded with top prospects. If Bucky thinks that's a mess, then he should just resign from the Sports department because he's clueless.

I agree in concept. However that first season was a big cluster, should have started the teardown immediately. And holding on to Regier as long as he did, supposedly being a long time hockey and Sabres fan, was unconscionable. But otherwise he really hasn't made any Rex-Like mistakes with the Sabres.

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We're obviously on the same page but almost all the big prospects are already up. As far as guys still in the farm system they actually now have one of the weakest systems in the entire league. But if you count Eichel, Reinhart, Ristolainen, et al as "prospects" then they have one of the strongest. It's a matter of semantics I suppose.

They still have plenty of good prospects coming up. Hudson Fasching, Brendan Guhle, Nick Baptiste and Justin Bailey are just a few.

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I agree in concept. However that first season was a big cluster, should have started the teardown immediately. And holding on to Regier as long as he did, supposedly being a long time hockey and Sabres fan, was unconscionable. But otherwise he really hasn't made any Rex-Like mistakes with the Sabres.

You do realize the tank was timed for the 2015 draft right? Darcy, then Tim Murray turned old veterans into draft pics, which we still have a ton of. McDavid and Eichel were the prizes. Tanking a year earlier would have meant being the worst team in hockey for three seasons instead of two. Frankly, I don't blame him for giving Darcy and Lindy another year. I mean look at Lindy now in Dallas.

 

For those who don't follow the Sabres, take a look at this highlight video from last Saturday and see what the Sabres did to Boston. 5 goals in the third period.

 

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hlg=20152016,2,517&lang=en

Edited by PromoTheRobot
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You do realize the tank was timed for the 2015 draft right? McDavid and Eichel were the prizes. Tanking a year earlier would have meant being the worst team in hockey for three seasons instead of two. Frankly, I don't blame him for giving Darcy and Lindy another year. I mean look at Lindy now in Dallas.

I've never had a problem with Lindy.

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I agree in concept. However that first season was a big cluster, should have started the teardown immediately. And holding on to Regier as long as he did, supposedly being a long time hockey and Sabres fan, was unconscionable. But otherwise he really hasn't made any Rex-Like mistakes with the Sabres.

Regier is such an easy target. He was too tentative, he ran his course here and I had no problem with him being let go. That being said, he didn't have free rein to spend the money that Murray does. Furthermore, he made several great trades which really kickstarted the rebuild. I could be wrong but I believe his last trade as GM was getting a first round pick for freaking Paul Gaustad.
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Exactly.

 

The Sabres are LOADED with young talent. And by young I mean 18-22 years old. These are some of the most highly touted players in recent drafts, including a generational talent in Eichel.

 

The World Juniors are coming back AGAIN. Buffalo is on the map as the new Hockeytown, USA. The Harbor Center is a world-class facility for hockey. Youth hockey in WNY is booming.

 

The Pegulas are in the PROCESS of turning the Sabres into one of the NHL's elite franchises. Some people are just so bitter and beaten down that they expect everything to fail "because it's Buffalo."

 

Luckily, the Pegulas and the people they have running the show don't buy into that whiny, defeatist crap.

 

Instead, they are getting things done. If you can't be happy about what is going on around the arena and with the hockey team I have no idea what to say to you. I feel sorry for those people because this is the groundwork for something great.

 

They just started with the Bills. Let things take their course.

 

boom !

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They still have plenty of good prospects coming up. Hudson Fasching, Brendan Guhle, Nick Baptiste and Justin Bailey are just a few.

Every team has Justin Baileys in their system. None of those guys are elite prospects. Fasching is the best and he was like a fourth rounder. But we agree, the future is tremendously bright.
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It's their first full year as owners of the Bills! Give them a break! They're on the right track, they just have to get through the learning curve just like everybody else does. They ARE going to build winners with the Bills and Sabres! It's just a question of which team is going to get that title shot first, and when.

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Exactly.

 

The Sabres are LOADED with young talent. And by young I mean 18-22 years old. These are some of the most highly touted players in recent drafts, including a generational talent in Eichel.

 

The World Juniors are coming back AGAIN. Buffalo is on the map as the new Hockeytown, USA. The Harbor Center is a world-class facility for hockey. Youth hockey in WNY is booming.

 

The Pegulas are in the PROCESS of turning the Sabres into one of the NHL's elite franchises. Some people are just so bitter and beaten down that they expect everything to fail "because it's Buffalo."

 

Luckily, the Pegulas and the people they have running the show don't buy into that whiny, defeatist crap.

 

Instead, they are getting things done. If you can't be happy about what is going on around the arena and with the hockey team I have no idea what to say to you. I feel sorry for those people because this is the groundwork for something great.

 

They just started with the Bills. Let things take their course.

Thank you. People are also forgetting that the Sabres have a new coach, an entirely new system, and a number of new "veterans." There's just no way a person could watch the games this year and not see that it's night and day as compared to the last couple of years.

 

And damn, I keep forgetting that Eichel was 18 when the season started! I'm wearing a belt that's older.

Edited by Bills Fan in MD
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Exactly.

 

The Sabres are LOADED with young talent. And by young I mean 18-22 years old. These are some of the most highly touted players in recent drafts, including a generational talent in Eichel.

 

The World Juniors are coming back AGAIN. Buffalo is on the map as the new Hockeytown, USA. The Harbor Center is a world-class facility for hockey. Youth hockey in WNY is booming.

 

The Pegulas are in the PROCESS of turning the Sabres into one of the NHL's elite franchises. Some people are just so bitter and beaten down that they expect everything to fail "because it's Buffalo."

 

Luckily, the Pegulas and the people they have running the show don't buy into that whiny, defeatist crap.

 

Instead, they are getting things done. If you can't be happy about what is going on around the arena and with the hockey team I have no idea what to say to you. I feel sorry for those people because this is the groundwork for something great.

 

They just started with the Bills. Let things take their course.

 

You hit it dead on the head! :thumbsup:

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