San Jose Bills Fan Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Except for the fact that Darcy Regier is still the Sabres GM. He put this team together and by his lack of action so far one has to assume he is satisfied with the current talent level of the team. Disagree. Right or wrong, the strong implication during this whole ownership change has been that Regier was constrained by Golisano and his people. The message from Pegula is to see what Regier will do now that the handcuffs have been taken off. And we'll have the opportunity to see. But again, it's too bad the change comes so close to the trading deadline…although the sale of the team has been in the work for months now so it's possible that Regier's been working on some deals and that the Sabres might make a deadline move.
bbb Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 It seems to me that Darcy made some real steals during the Rigas era. Mike Wilson for Rhett Warnerer and others.
Buftex Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Here is a thread from Saber Space, our sister sight, devoted to the Sabres, for those who don't venture over there much...seems there are lots of "negative nancys" Saber land...all the result of Pegulas' sit-down with the media... http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/18690-calling-all-miserable-superheroes/
CodeMonkey Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Disagree. Right or wrong, the strong implication during this whole ownership change has been that Regier was constrained by Golisano and his people. Even if what you say is true, and there are only a couple people who know the truth, the GM is still ultimately responsible for staffing a team. With lack of proof to the contrary, I hold him responsible. My hope is the new front office has a new GM in mind, but they cannot pursue him until after the season. It seems to me that Darcy made some real steals during the Rigas era. Mike Wilson for Rhett Warnerer and others. Drury, Briere, Campbell, knee jerk reaction overpaying Vanek ... Wilson for Warnerer doesn't even belong in that conversation in my opinion. Besides, I'm not saying everything Darcy did sucked. But look at the team in the cup finals and the one now. I was at the game the other night and couldn't help but think how many guys on the Sabres bench belong in Portland sweaters. Not that they can't someday be NHL caliber players, but they certainly are not now. Edited February 25, 2011 by CodeMonkey
shrader Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 Here is a thread from Saber Space, our sister sight, devoted to the Sabres, for those who don't venture over there much...seems there are lots of "negative nancys" Saber land...all the result of Pegulas' sit-down with the media... http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/18690-calling-all-miserable-superheroes/ A lot? There's 3.
Buftex Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) A lot? There's 3. How you figure? I count 7 different Pegula doubters on the first page of the thread alone...most of it, seems to have something to do with A)Pegula giving his vocal support to Darcy B) saying that the media (Buffalo News- Gleason & Sully, etc) have broken the spirits of players in the past and C) inuries were a big part of the Sabres coming up short in the past... There is a link, in that thread, to the media/Pegula conference...haven't had time to listen to it yet, but it appears to have caused major concerns for some...me, I don't care what he says, and to whom, at this point...all I care about is about what they do. Edited February 25, 2011 by Buftex
May Day 10 Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) They are in the small minority. I am a member of a few sabres boards (never heard of "Sabres Space"), have listened to Wgr for about 20 hours in the past week, and have spoken to about 10 close friends who are Sabres fans.... and the response is pretty overwhelmingly positive. Almost everyone wanted blood and wanted everyone fired immediately. That would have been an easy way to please everyone and make a splash, but a lot of fans and almost everyone outside of Buffalo would have known that would have been foolish. I think it isnt too far fetched to say that Regier is going to be evaluated and scrutinized based on the next 4-6 months. Pegula said all the right things. Im willing to see how things play out with Regier. If Connolly gets extended as the big move, Ill get pissed. However, Regier is a pretty well respected GM around the league (and Ruff is a top 5 coach). Just for those kids at Sabre Space, I hope Ralph Wilson buys the Sabres somehow. Edited February 26, 2011 by May Day 10
Buftex Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 They are in the small minority. I am a member of a few sabres boards (never heard of "Sabres Space"), have listened to Wgr for about 20 hours in the past week, and have spoken to about 10 close friends who are Sabres fans.... and the response is pretty overwhelmingly positive. Almost everyone wanted blood and wanted everyone fired immediately. That would have been an easy way to please everyone and make a splash, but a lot of fans and almost everyone outside of Buffalo would have known that would have been foolish. I think it isnt too far fetched to say that Regier is going to be evaluated and scrutinized based on the next 4-6 months. Pegula said all the right things. Im willing to see how things play out with Regier. If Connolly gets extended as the big move, Ill get pissed. However, Regier is a pretty well respected GM around the league (and Ruff is a top 5 coach). Just for those kids at Sabre Space, I hope Ralph Wilson buys the Sabres somehow. Not a chance that happens... I am on the Pegula band-wagon, but, in case anyone is curious, this is the offending piece: http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2011/02/audio-terry-pegula-meets-the-news-editorial-board.html
May Day 10 Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Pegula is going out of his way to lay the groundwork for his stance that he is going to publicly defend his players. This is part of his effort to position the Sabres as a good destination for other players. I dont believe Pegula is naive enough to think that all media is going to look and report positively on all players and happenings. (I hope not). At some point though he is going to need to balance being a "player's owner' with being a "fan's owner" As far as Regier goes, the team as it is, is far from shambles. They arent that many pieces away from being a real contender. It is also pretty clear Regier was hampered by quinn. Pegula even said that Regier wanted to sign Lydman and Tallinder but ownership wasnt willing to meet the terms. Its not too far fetched to think his hands were tied with a lot of things. with the self-imposed cap and ownership so accounting-driven, he had zero margin for error. We will see. The excuses are all gone for Regier and I dont think ownership is going to be willing to withstand all the fan reaction and bad press if Regier doesnt turn this team into a contender rather quickly. I think Regier has it in him... I would like to see he and ruff win a cup here, it would be a little sweeter with those 2 (especially Ruff)
8-8 Forever? Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 NFL franchises are nearing the neighborhood of $1 billion. If the Bills are to stay in Buffalo, it most likely won't be just one owner buying the team. It will probably be an ownership group. I wouldn't be surprised if Pegula was a part of that group. How anyone with business sense would pay $1B for an NFL franchise and try to generate an acceptable return on that investment in WNY is beyond me. Ticket prices would have to double. Suites would have to miraculously fill up at premium rents. Apparel sales would have to skyrocket. The lease on the stadium would need to be very reasonable. The numbers cannot possibly work that the highest bidder would be one placing the franchise in WNY. Miracles do happen, though.
bbb Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 Not a chance that happens... I am on the Pegula band-wagon, but, in case anyone is curious, this is the offending piece: http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2011/02/audio-terry-pegula-meets-the-news-editorial-board.html I'm not going to have time to listen to those tonight. Are there a few bullet points that you know about?
Buftex Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 I'm not going to have time to listen to those tonight. Are there a few bullet points that you know about? Haven't had time to listen either, but, I know that he (T-Peg) said something about the news media being the cause of some of the players "quitting" in recent years...say that the "hockey people" he talked to, think Darcy is a great GM, and (Chandler will love this) it sounds like he was more of a die-hard Sabres fan "back in the day", rather than recent years... to me, it sounds like most, in general, after listening, are PO'd because he seems to be picking up on a lot of the "same ol same ol" that we have been hearing for a few years.
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