The Buffalo Sabres Under The Pegula Family
from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,
Terry Pegula came here talking Stanley Cups at his first news conference. As in more than one. And starting within three years. Forget about that. The Sabres can't even make the playoffs.
It's 10 consecutive years outside the postseason and counting, tying the NHL record. What gives? Terry and Kim Pegula have been woefully impatient, never committing to any coach or general manager once they moved on from Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff nine months apart in 2013.
The Pegulas have made a litany of mistakes in running the Sabres, but there's no denying there's been a string of bad luck involved, too....
The facilities are world class. The personnel and management decisions are not. Who could forget signing Ville Leino to a six-year, $27 million contract three months after his overtime goal beat the Sabres in the 2011 playoffs? Or giving Christian Ehrhoff 10 years and $40 million that same summer, a signing his kids revealed the owner pushed for during a video the team shot in Finland during the 2011 NHL Global Series?
(Ehrhoff was a compliance buyout choice in 2014 and is not on the Sabres cap – but did you know he still gets $857,143 from the Pegulas every year through 2028? How many Pegula Sports and Entertainment employee salaries could that money have covered?)
How much did the Pegulas want to get rid of Ryan O'Reilly's $7.5 million annual contract after he lost his love for the game? They clearly wanted Jeff Skinner signed, but Jason Botterill overpaid at nine years and $72 million. Tim Murray hamstrung the organization with Kyle Okposo, too (seven years, $42 million). Both were clear reactions to ownership impatience.
read on...
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