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NY Post: Pegula Bid Exceeds $1 Billion For Buffalo Bills

July 29, 2014, 7:04 PM ET [9 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Updated:


According to John Kryk, former Sabres owner Tom Golisano did not submit a bid to Morgan Stanley on Tuesday. All prospective owners had until 5pm EDT on Tuesday to submit their notice of intent.

So, only three bids were confirmed on Tuesday night. Those belong to Terry Pegula, Jon Bon Jovi, and Donald Trump.






Two surprising developments learned by Sun Media on Tuesday night are sure to rock the Buffalo Bills sale process.

First, former Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano did not submit a bid by Tuesday’s 5 p.m. EDT deadline, as expected.

Secondly, the investment bank conducting the sale of the NFL club for the trust of the late Ralph Wilson received only three bids in total, said a source closely involved in the bid process.

Golisano was seen as one of four shoo-in bidders. The other three followed through on Tuesday. Namely:

* The Toronto group comprising rocker Jon Bon Jovi, MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum and the Rogers family;

* Current Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula, a cash-flush oil-and-gas multi-billionaire who is helping to spearhead downtown Buffalo redevelopment efforts;

* Manhattan multi-billionaire Donald Trump, who like Pegula is bidding alone but who on Monday dismissed his chances





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The NY Post reports that Sabres owner Terry Pegula submitted a bid in excess of $1 billion for the Buffalo Bills.

Pegula's bid comes as no surprise as the first round is where the prospective buyers have to prove to the sellers that they are to be taken seriously.

Pegula's net worth exceeds $4 billion. He has the ability to pay the $1+ billion tab in straight cash. Jon Bon Jovi can't. That's why he needs Tannenbaum and Rogers to help him get to the $1+ billion neighborhood.

Pegula's wealth seemingly endless supply of cash makes him the odd-on favorite to win this biding war.







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Tuesday afternoon at 5pm EDT was the hard deadline for all prospective buyers to submit their “indication of interest” to Morgan Stanley to be submitted to the trust of former owner Ralph Wilson. According to Tim Graham, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula and his wife Kim have indeed submitted their bid to buy the Buffalo Bills.






Former Sabres owner Tom Golisano is said to be involved in the biding process, as is the Jon Bon Jovi group which includes Larry Tannenbaum and the Rogers family. Golisano's desire is to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Bon Jovi? Not so much. The Associated Press reported late last week that the Bon Jovi group has commissioned a new stadium feasibility study on three sites in the Greater Toronto Area. Bon Jovi will no doubt be pulling up stakes and moving the Bills to Toronto if he gains control of the team.





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New York State senior senator Charles Schumer wants is committed to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Schumer doesn't want the Bills to pull a Baltimore Colts and flee under cover of the night. Not on his watch. Pegula's values line up perfectly with those of Schumer.

"Over the past few months, I have been engaged in an ongoing dialogue with a number of potential buyers as well as with the NFL and local and state leaders,” Schumer, D-NY, said in a statement. “I am confident as preliminary bids are submitted, and as we move into the next phase of this process, that there will be a number of serious bidders who will commit to keeping the Buffalo Bills in Western New York for decades to come.”

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The arctic nip in the Lake Erie breeze has me day dreaming about hcokey. The weather has been unseasonably cool in Pegulaville this week. Outside the HARBORCenter, tourists and locals have been rocking the Sabres hoodies and fleece jackets.

Is this October or July?

The winds of change are blowing.

Two weeks ago, Ted Nolan said that he was still in the process of interviewing candidates for his vacant coaching staff. The assistants that he inherited when he took over as Buffalo bench boss last November are all gone now. Joe Sacco is a Boston Bruin employee, while the contracts of incumbents Teppo Numminen and Jim Corsi were not renewed by Tim Murray.

The Buffalo News is reporting that Nolan may be close to announcing the hiring one of his long time friends and hockey confidantes. If the report is true, and there's no reason to believe otherwise, then Nolan will be welcoming Hockey Hall Of Famer (Class of 1997) Bryan Trottier to the Sabres coaching staff.

Nolan and Trottier are acquaintances from when their paths crossed on Long Island in the early days of this decade.

The 58 year old Val Marie, Saskatchewan native is the owner of seven Stanley Cup rings, having won six as a player, with four as a member of the NY Islanders, two with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and one as the assistant coach of the Colorado Avalanche.




Trottier's NHL head coaching resume includes an abbreviated stint as head coach of the NY Rangers, where he was fired before the end of his first season on the job.



I'm assuming that Trottier will coach the forwards and that's fine by me. Tyler, Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Cody Hodgson, Drew Stafford, Zemgus Girgensons, Nic Delauriers, Samson Reinhart, Mikhail Grigorenko, and the rest of the Buffalo kid corps can learn a thing or two about how to play the complete 200 foot game by listening to Trottier, who carved apart enemy defenses during his 18 year NHL career.

Trottier was a terror to play against because he played both sides of the puck with his trademark skill and intensity level. He could dominate an opponent with his offensive explosiveness as well as with his stifling D. Though he never earned the trophy, Trottier played like a Selke award winner. Its not for his lack of trying. Trottier played in an era when he would have had to outplay legendary defensive forwards like Bob Gainey, Craig Ramasay, Barry Pederson, Rick Middleton, Bobby Clark, Doug Risebrough, Terry O'Reilly and John Tonelli.

Trottier earned the respect of opponents and rival coaches. They didn't love him, but they sure as hell respected him for his unrelenting work ethic in all three zones of the ice.

I love this hiring. A lot.







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Brendan Shanahan knows a good young player when he sees. That's why the Leafs have locked up D-man Jake Gardiner to a whopping five year contract.




The deal reportedly doe not include a no movement clause.

This si a a win-win contract in that both parties get what they need. Gardiner gets term and dollars while the Leafs get a minute munching D who can contribute offensive. Gardiner needs to learn how to use his D zone for something other than just a place to catch his breath between rushes to the O-zone. He's young and he'll figure it out.

Gardiner had a career season offensively in 2014-15. He scored 10 goals and added 21 assists while averaging over 21 minutes TOI per game. He's only 24 years old.

Gardiner will earn $4.05M annually with his new contract, making him Toronto’s second highest-paid rear guard behind Dion Phaneuf's $7 schmillion per season (7 seasons, oy vey).


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Hey look, kids! Check out NHLers Pat Kane, Zemgus Girgensons, and Cory Conacher rocking their pink sweaters for Team Milli Vanilli in Buffalo's FHL (Fattey Hockey League).



Thank you, Dan Hickling
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