Tom Golisano had arrived at a station in his professional life that he had to sell the Buffalo Sabres, Pegula stepped up with his check book in hand. Pegulaville is abuzz right now with the news that Pegula is reportedly preparing an offer to purchase the NFL Buffalo Bills. To Terry Pegula, money is no object. Pegula is not afraid to spend substantial money to make money. He’s also not shy about investing money to improve his team’s infrastructure. Have you gotten a glimpse of Pegula’s HARBORFRONT hotel-ice rink-sports bar project lately? Very impressive. Were it not for Pegula, you wouldn’t be seeing cranes, dump trucks, heavy equipment and hundreds of workers busting their collective humps, non-stop in front the Sabres’ rink. What Pegula wants, Pegula gets.
Sabres fans are hoping that Pegula will reach his hands down inside his leather couch cushions and digs out $7.3 million in loose change. That’s all it will take for Tim Murray to rid his Sabres of enigmatic winger Ville Leino, the worst UFA signing in Buffalo Sabres history.
Leino has scored only 10 goals and added just 36 assists in 137 games played in Buffalo. Leino is -18 in his Buffalo stint.
How do you say "Bust" in Finnish?
The NHL buyout period begins on June 15 and ends on June 30. Players can also be bought out 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Finals end. Game 5 is in Botox City on Friday night. Should the Kings close out the series and hoist Lord Stanley’s Mug on their home ice, the Sabres would be eligible to scratch a $7.3 million check, hand it to Leino and tell him to beat it. Leino is owed $11M of the $27 million six-year contract that the Sabres hastily awarded Leino in July 2011. Darcy Regier and Terry Pegula swung and missed on then-UFA Brad Richards, so they grossly overpaid Leino as a gesture that the Sabres were serious about acquiring the necessary pieces to construct a winning team and to restore the Sabres to the glory days. Leino has been brutal in Buffalo. His on ice production has been a joke. His confidence level has dropped faster than the barometric pressure in Buffalo when his team has needed him to step up and lead them. He couldn’t couldn’t remain healthy. He refused to embrace playing the center position. He mouthed off and criticized not, one, not two, but three Sabres head coaches in Lindy Ruff, Ron Rolston, and Ted Nolan for their failure to play him where and when he wanted to play.
The Sabres were not able to buyout Leino last summer as he was injured during the abbreviated , post-lockout season. Leino only played 8 of the 48 games that the Sabres played in 2012-13.
Leino is healthy and is a mortal lock to be shown the door.
How about playing left out, Leino?
Don’t let the zamboni door hit you as you leave Buffalo.
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Tim Murray has decisions to make on his restricted free agents, and he spoke about it on Thursday. The Sabres have five RFAs to sign to new contracts. Tyler Ennis is coming off a two-year brige deal and should command a nice pay raise, as will power forward Marcus Foligno who will be a focal point of the re-build in Buffalo. Murray will likely re-up forward Cory Conacher and D Chad Ruhwedel. Sabres fans are hoping that they have seen the last of D-man Jamie McBain and his bloated $1.9 million cap hit.
Murray won’t have any problem with his salary cap in 2014-15. Subtracting Leino’s $4.5 million from his cap, Murray will have to spend $15 million to get to the salary cap floor of $53 million. Murray told WGR on Thursday that he will be open to making trades this summer. He’ll even consider taking on salary in a deal(s) so that he will be cap floor compliant.