Insufferable Buffalo by Morris Titanic
State of The Union Sabres and Bills fans are the most passionate fans in either league. I will not hear any other arguments that suggest differently. Nope. None. (Philly fans I can see those Ed Snyder memorial wristbands on the ice from here- that’s trashy, not passion). We stood patiently by the Bills for 20 long years and here we are standing by the Sabres in year 10 of the “rebuild,… despite the horrific on ice results. We deserve better. We the fans consistently make Buffalo a top five hockey market, but somehow this team has usurped the Ottawa-uber scandal-sexual assault-cyber bullying-seat removing Senators for joke of the league. Before this team looks at it’s roster it needs to look at the facets that control that on ice product and it needs to look fast, because the fans don’t have another 10 years of shortfallings in them.
Ownership Look, I was as charmed as the next person seeing successful businessman Terry Pegula publicly weep about the French Connection, but those tears have dried in those ten years and Pegulaville’s charm is vacant. There are a lot of calls for the Pegulas to sell the team due to their several management follies over the years and this Kevyn Adams current term is feeling like the last straw for them. You cannot tell me the resources aren’t there for them to remodel this franchise into a successful one when the Pegula’s are the sixth wealthiest NHL owners. Darcy Regier was able to do a hell of a lot more than any Pegula hired GM despite the cap restraints he faced with Golisano. In fact, one positive thing about the Pegulas that dichotomizes themselves from true cheapskate owners like Eugene Melnyk, is that they have been willing to spend to the salary cap each year. However, from a fan and PR perspective they are their own worst enemies. At the beginning of ownership Terry was reassuring us he didn’t buy the Sabres for money, but then you have Kim Pegula leading a PSE presentation that demonstrates “maintaining the Pegula lifestyle… has equal importance to winning championships. Yes, I’m not stupid, billionaires want to stay billionaires, but we don’t want to hear that staying a 5.4 billionaire rather a 5.3 billionaire has equal importance to a Stanley Cup. Your wealth means nothing to a blue collar, hardworking city. We don’t give two littered Tim Horton’s cups about your yacht. We’ll die on social security and you’ll die billionaires. You want to make money? Great! This can be a symbiotic relationship very easily; the better your on ice product, the increased value in your franchise.
Management I have no doubt Kim Pegula is an extremely intelligent person and I won’t ignore her success with the Bills, but absolutely no one should be president of two franchises at once. This Sabres team needs a president that actually lives in Buffalo and will be there in times of turmoil for fireside chats and transparency much like how Ted Black was in the Golisano days. The Pegulas seemed to be on track with this early with the Pat LaFontaine hire, but after that ephemerally flamed out, it’s been neglected and made into a more figurehead position with Kim busy with the Bills and not in Buffalo full time. If Kevyn Adams’ delayed public appearance until midway through the Krueger win streak was any indication, he is a man stretched thin who needs help. Adams admitted he’s looking into hiring an Assistant GM (finally) and may turn to ex Jim Rutherford (yuck) right hand man Jason Karmanos. As many negative things I have to say about Rutherford’s impulse decision making over the years, I can’t deny how his savvy moves helped craft those Penguins Cup wins and it intrigues me Karmanos was a part of those decisions. The not so good looks- Jack Johnson contract, Matheson trade, etc, I’m willing to excuse for Rutherford’s stubbornness which can be seen through the way he departed the Penguins this year, rather than Karmanos' input. Apart from hiring an assistant GM, Adams’ managerial focus should be to improve a scorched earth scouting department that currently does not have scouts in the WHL, Finland, or Russia. I don’t know if Grigorenko’s failure to develop in Buffalo has led to a permanent red scare, but just going to go out on a limb to say finding a Kirill Kaprizov in the fifth round would be a pretty awesome find that could potentially be made possible from having a Russian scout or two. As for the coaching, please for the love of God and all that’s good hire Bruce Boudreau. He’s a winner and for some reason he wants the Buffalo head coaching job which seems as enticing as a venereal disease. Let’s not give him time to sober up and change his mind.
In a lost season, this “rebuild… needs to have emphasis placed on the restructuring of management and ownership involvement. The entire success of the team and the roster extends from those in management and ownership. There is so much we are upset with and frustrated about, but our anger comes from our dedicated love for our team and our city. Without that love there would be no Sabres. We want to be great.