Terry Pegula Needs to Sell the Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres embarrassingly have lost 11 games in a row. More embarrassing is how they have missed the playoffs and NHL record 13 years in a row. Adding even more embarrassment to the pile is how their owner, Terry Pegula, flew to Montreal on Monday to rally his troops, tell them the answer to their problems is in their locker room, no big trades are coming, and that he believes in them.

They responded by losing 6-1 to Montreal, a team that was at the bottom of the Eastern Conference until they beat the Sabres to pass them. 

Embarrassing. 

The Problems with the Buffalo Sabres

Everything about this team is embarrassing. The players are incredibly soft mentally, physically, and emotionally. There is no end to “we need to work harder” quotes from this same core of players over several years now, and there is no answer to when they will decide to do so. General Manager Kevyn Adams, still reeling after a press conference in which he proclaimed Buffalo is not a destination for players and that they prefer palm trees (funny how Winnipeg is near the top of the league this year), has no answers. He was hired with no experience and was set up to fail. Lindy Ruff is being embarrassed by the organization he has more wins than any other Sabres coach in the history of the franchise. He’s not the reason this team is awful. Did you know he didn’t even get to choose his own coaching staff? Unprecedented. Their scouting staff is working remotely and not traveling to see players, literally. 

And then there’s the owner. 

To be clear, Terry Pegula has kept the Sabres in Buffalo after Tom Golisano saved them from leaving. Without Terry and Kim, Harbor Center and many of the waterfront projects that have been done, and are starting (allegedly), would never have happened. Yes, he bought the Bills and has insured their future in Western New York: a massive win and contribution to this community (for better or worse, depending on your perspective). The point is the sum of Terry’s time as a Buffalo sports owner and figure has certainly been far from bad overall. 

But Terry, you’re an embarrassing hockey owner, and you need to sell the team. 

This doesn’t mean you’re a bad business person, bad NFL owner, or bad human being. It means you suck at owning a hockey club. 

Terry Pegula's Promises Turned Lies

When you arrived, there was incredible fanfare. Sabres fans were so unbelievably angry with the mishandling of the Chris Drury and Danny Briere situation and the fact that Golisano had internal caps on what he would spend. You walked in and promised those days were over. You said you would drill another oil well if the team needed more money. You went over your long love affair with the team and its history. You said the sole reason for the Sabres' existence was to win the Stanley Cup. 

I don't want to call you a liar. I don't think you meant to lie. But here we are, 13 years in a row with no playoffs, almost guaranteed to hit 14, and all those things you said couldn’t be further from the truth. 

You made massive cutbacks to this organization to save money. If that’s not the truth, that’s the perception, and perceptions are often the unfortunate reality. Once you purchased the Bills, it was all hands-on football. All of your best people, resources, and time go to it, and by the way, that makes sense. The NFL is arguably the biggest thing in the world. Billions of dollars are at stake for you and all the other owners. In terms of business, it’s an incredibly well-run league. The NHL is… not. It's not awful, but it’s conservative, conceited, and way too into itself. It also is not nearly as profitable. The losses you suffer from the Sabres are nothing in comparison to what you bring home from the NFL. 

As a result, I believe the Sabres are a side project for you. A hobby, if you will. You do love this team; your words about that and your passion for its history are true. You want to be involved with everything out of love… and your ego. YOU want to be the answer. YOU want to know best. YOU want to prove it. The problem is you can’t, and you refuse to move over. 

Previous Mistakes Still Haunting Pegula

I believe this goes back to whatever happened between you and Pat LaFontaine.I think it has been severely damaging to how you do things. I can't pinpoint the exact things because I’m not in your building. It's just that having a President of Hockey Operations along with a General Manager is the right move. YOU need people, just like you have with the Bills, who can run this for you and make it all work. Reputable people, with deep ties in the league. Just like you have with the Bills. Now, granted, McDermott and Beane came in on their first head coaching and General Manager assignments, respectively. However, they had legitimate time and experience in the league, succeeding and growing under widely regarded people. 

You may say, “I did that, though. Jason Botterill and Tim Murray were that. I hired Dan Bylsma.” Yes, and they failed. They needed a president to report to, not an owner. Someone who can guide them and the on-ice product. Something Kevyn Adams desperately needs, though it’s too late for him. However, this point is what brings me back to you, Terry.

Why didn't they work? Why have so many players come here and only to tank? Coaches, too? Why have we become a place no one wants to be? It’s not the weather. It’s not the city, either. Sure, it’s not LA, but it's close to home for MANY NHL players. 

The answer is you, Terry. You're the problem. Here’s where the mystery lies: what are you doing inside this organization that makes it this way? It’s a simple question any owner or CEO has to ask and answer all the time. The responsibility comes back to you, and rightfully so. 

I think you're too involved. I think you make demands, and regardless of how bad of an idea it is, you have hired yes men to carry out those demands. Bad businesses run this way and ultimately fail. You have to have leaders who push back and, quite frankly, are smarter than you. You own the team because you made billions fracking. You're either an expert at oil or an expert at moving money around. That does not make you an expert in anything else, including running a hockey club. That’s why good owners stay out of the way of the good, smart, and tough people they hire. When they fail, you step in. When they succeed, you step forward. That’s the role. Sure, you have personal goals, and the people you hire have to help you accomplish those goals because it’s their job to make that happen. If you were hiring people who were well-known in the league, and we all believed you stayed out of their way, no one would be calling for you to sell the team. If you needed to fire them, we’d all support you and root for you in hiring new people. That time is gone, though. You’ve really screwed this up, and now you have four choices. 

Four Choices for Terry Pegula and the Buffalo Sabres

Option 1: Fire everyone and start over by paying highly reputable people to run this operation.  Bring back a proper scouting team. Whatever you cut previously, restore it. Not only do you need to proclaim you will stay out of the way publically, but you also have to do it and show us you are.   

Option 2: If you can't do option 1, then sell this team. It is what it is. You tried, it failed, and you can't fix it because the team’s reputation is destroyed. As the owner, that reputation will continue to follow it for years. 

Option 3: Do nothing and have the NHL take it from you. They did this to Phoenix and moved the team to Utah. They might not move the Sabres, but given our proximity to Toronto and their interest in expanding, they might. That will demonize the Buffalo fan base and hurt your reputation, even if the Bills are good. Then again, why do you care? Taking nearly a billion dollars in tax money for the new stadium already demonized you, so what’s the difference? Still, billionaires don’t like being told what they are going to do, and certainly wouldn't want the embarrassment of the league stepping in. 

Option 4: Give it to your daughter, Laura. Laura is already a minority owner of the Bills. She could be the one who hires the right people and runs the business the right way, furthering her rise and fixing your legacy while cementing her own. It would also add a female owner to the NHL, and while not the first, it would further your worthwhile agenda of women in pro sports. 

I Think the Sabres Need to be Sold

I prefer you sell. Not that it’s easy to do that, but there have been rumblings, whether real or not. I believe you’re the common denominator to all of the problems and need to be removed for your own good and well-being. This is damaging you and your family’s legacy. The failure will always follow you, but so long as the Bills continue to succeed, you will be forgiven. 

Giving it to your daughter could be taken the wrong way by a lot of people.You’re handing off your problems and a bad situation to your daughter, and people will always believe you’re still pulling the strings. 

No, you need to sell it. I do not believe you can help yourself. You admitted recently that you grew up a Detroit Lions fan. That’s fine, by the way. It shows me, though, that you’re able to stay out of the way of the Bills because you didn't grow up loving them, unlike the Sabres. It’s a small sample size to base an opinion on, but your love of the Sabres is your demise. Your ego, or maybe your insecurities, will not let you make the right decisions and fire the people who are letting you down, let alone empower them to do their jobs. Furthermore, you seem to not want to spend money on this franchise with all the resources you’ve taken from it. I applaud the attempt, by the way, at a modern take on front offices, but it’s failed for years now. It’s going to take money and more people to fix this, and I just don’t believe you are going to do that.

An honest question from someone who is not a billionaire: are the Sabres’ financial losses some kind of billionaire’s tax write-off for you, and that’s why you run such a poor organization? Is it really you’re just a bad landlord holding on to an asset while it appreciates so you can sell? How very, very “Buffalo” of you (that’s not a good thing). Well, the Sabres are now worth way more than what you bought them for, so sell high. 

Regardless, please act. Please lead. Please give us a plan. Please sell the team and give hockey hope in what is not hockey heaven but hockey hell. Or, at this point, let it go somewhere else. No one wants a team that can't win and is this embarrassing while losing. I feel sick to my stomach writing that because, like you, Terry, I grew up loving the Sabres more than any other team, including the Bills. It’s just not worth it to give this organization a single dime or an ounce of time anymore. 

Time is running out for you. The league will come for you if they haven’t already. The fans are fed up. Your building will be more empty than ever, except for all the Leafs fans that show up. Ya know what? Good for them. This team and franchise haven’t earned a better atmosphere.

It’s embarrassing.

Hear Pat McMahon on 92.9 WBUF on weekdays from 10 am to 3 pm. Thoughts? Pat@WBUF.com