Sabres are a topic of speculation

[SabreEleven]

Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano never has placed a "For Sale" sign on his franchise but for years the billionaire has listened to prospective investors with the idea he would eventually sell the team. This time, it appears he actually has a buyer with the money and local interest to complete a deal.
Terrence Pegula, who made his fortune in the natural gas and oil industry in Pennsylvania, has emerged as a serious candidate to purchase the Sabres. His wife is from Western New York and he's an avid Sabres fan and former hockey dad who donated $88 million to Penn State for a new arena and Division I hockey program.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabres-nhl/inside-the-nhl/article269124.ece

This sounds too good to be true, a rich Buffalo Sabres fan owning the Buffalo Sabres, I'm not getting my hopes up.

[YardRat]

"This isn't in reference to Terry or anybody else, but we get inquiries on the team -- a number per year -- and someday one of these rumors is going to be true," Quinn said.

[chernobylwraiths]

Damn, Quinn called him Terry. That's not a good sign for change if the rumors are true.

[SabreEleven]

Hopefully Terry is enough of a hockey guy to realize you don't put a real state guy in charge of running a hockey team.

[chernobylwraiths]

real estate

:D

[Ebenezer]

Too bad Terry doesn't live here or that he shelled out $88 million for a college hockey program here. Having said that, if the guy is serious and is going to put up and play with the big boys (Detroit) I'm all for it. TG and LQ are a joke.

[hydro]

Too bad Terry doesn't live here or that he shelled out $88 million for a college hockey program here. Having said that, if the guy is serious and is going to put up and play with the big boys (Detroit) I'm all for it. TG and LQ are a joke.

He is a Penn State alum. That is why he shelled out the 88mil.

[RockStar36]

And isn't his wife from WNY?

The initial thought of the Sabres being for sale is scary, but this guy does sound too good to be true. Very interesting to say the least.

[SabreEleven]

And isn't his wife from WNY?

The initial thought of the Sabres being for sale is scary, but this guy does sound too good to be true. Very interesting to say the least.

Yes, his wife is from WNY and he said he was torn when the Sabrs and Flyers played in the Stanley Cup in 75 so he has been a hockey "fan" for a long time.

[Ebenezer]

He is a Penn State alum. That is why he shelled out the 88mil.
People give money to colleges that are not their alma mater all the time. Did it mention where his wife went to college?

[chernobylwraiths]

People give money to colleges that are not their alma mater all the time. Did it mention where his wife went to college?

It mentioned that he is a multibillionare, that his wife is from this area, that he had lived in this area when he was young and that he has been a lifelong Sabres fan.

One other thing the morning show on GR mentioned about this guy, is that he grew up loving the Philadelphia Flyers during the "Broad Street Bullies" era and grew to love that kind of hockey. If he bought the team, I suspect there would be a whole new change in philosophy.

[hydro]

It mentioned that he is a multibillionare, that his wife is from this area, that he had lived in this area when he was young and that he has been a lifelong Sabres fan.

One other thing the morning show on GR mentioned about this guy, is that he grew up loving the Philadelphia Flyers during the "Broad Street Bullies" era and grew to love that kind of hockey. If he bought the team, I suspect there would be a whole new change in philosophy.

The more I hear about this the less likely it seems that it will come true. This would be the perfect fit.

[hydro]

TIME FOR A BILLBOARD!!!!

[RockStar36]

TIME FOR A BILLBOARD!!!!

Yes! Someone get Pat on the horn!!

[chernobylwraiths]

I hope he hated the slug logo too. :D

[RockStar36]

I'm quoting this entire blog because I just jumped out of my seat at it.



The rumor mill has been churning for years about the next owner of the Buffalo Sabres, but it was usually baseless chatter cooked up in blogs and message boards that was kicked aside as nonsense.
Terry Pegula's quest to buy the Sabres is very real, very possible and, it appears, quite probable.
Pegula has more than enough money and would become one of the richest -- if not the richest -- owner in the NHL. Tom Golisano is looking to sell the franchise to someone who will keep the team in Buffalo. Pegula is a passionate Sabres fan who lived in the area for several years. My guess is he would love to bring a Stanley Cup to Buffalo.
I haven't spoken to Pegula yet, but everything I hear about the guy has been positive. It sounds to me like he could be the ideal owner of the franchise. At this point, I would be surprised if an agreement wasn't reached.
Western New York should start get ready for a new era of Sabres hockey.
--- Bucky Gleason


http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/buffalonews/sabres/~3/9mf_wSuVCB4/pegula-is-real-deal.html

[hydro]

Bucky isn't a hack either. I doubt he would go out on a limb like this without some real evidence of it happening.

[trapezeus]

i wonder if the sabres locker room just got the message. jobs are on the line from the GM to the waterboy. I wouldn't be surprised if the current gang of players man up for the next week or so! This could be crazy stuff.

[chernobylwraiths]

Bucky isn't a hack either. I doubt he would go out on a limb like this without some real evidence of it happening.

I know of one former poster who would disagree with you.

[JD]

I'm all for this guy taking over, it seems too good to be true.

Now, Golisano can join Jim Kelly's group in buying the Bills :D


BTW, Pegula made his billions off of Fracking.. that's going to stir up the Elmwood and Allen folk! Basically, it means he doesn't give a **** about peoples well being as long as he makes money and is on top.

Sounds good to me :jig:

[trapezeus]

I'm all for this guy taking over, it seems too good to be true.

Now, Golisano can join Jim Kelly's group in buying the Bills :D


BTW, Pegula made his billions off of Fracking.. that's going to stir up the Elmwood and Allen folk! Basically, it means he doesn't give a **** about peoples well being as long as he makes money and is on top.

Sounds good to me :jig:

its all about PR to reverse this then. Team wears green jerseys instead. Problem solved.

[psubills62]

Very interesting. Just heard a couple months ago about the $88 million he invested into getting Penn State hockey some scholarships and into the D1 level.

Pegula seems very interested in hockey. His son played club hockey at PSU and Pegula himself has actually been an assistant coach at lower levels of hockey. Not sure if that helps or not...hopefully he isn't one of those owners that thinks he knows what he's doing but really doesn't.

PSU is building an arena as well.

Here's a couple quotes from a PSU message board thread for when they made the hockey announcement there:



Terry Pegula is up:
His son played club hockey at Penn State. Bigtime applause for him as he steps to the mic.
This whole project started in late 2006. One evening he had dinner with former coach Joe Bautista. He said to Joe, 'Why doesn't Penn State have a D1 hockey program." "He informed me that money doesn't fall out of the sky from Harrisburg for schools like Penn State to do things like this." It would take gifts and subsequent gifts to do it. "We had probably a half dozen meetings, the next day Tim Curley called me... I quickly determined that the gift that was going to be required to pull this off was substantially higher than I thought it would be." "I thought long and hard, do I really want to contribute this much money to build a hockey arena." Pegula helped coached the hockey team, they built character in their players. He thought about that, and 'I think I got my answer.' "I must say that Graham is very passionate about this project." "He's a hell of a University President." They brought the project forward in 2010. He went to the Penguins' charity golf outing yesterday, and everyone in the organization was thrilled about it. Sidney Crosby shook his hand and said, 'Mr. Pegula, this is a great thing you're doing for hockey, and I thought that was pretty cool.'




Qurstion and Answer
- The arena should be done in spring, 2013.

- Terry Pegula was an assistant coach at the lower levels of hockey when his son was playing. One of the things he learned about hockey players was that 'they're like a cult.'

- On the men's side, there will be 18 scholarships. On the women's side, there will be 20.

- They certainly want to celebrate their history in hockey with the club programs. They will be working through the issues about having the club team. If the interest is there, there will be a lower club level available.

- Not sure on the numbers as to how much it will cost to run the program, but they have run the numbers and they will be available soon.

- The first step in the process is the announcement today, then the architect will be named for the building. Sometime in the next year there will be coaches appointed.

- They will be appointing an architect soon, they're thinking in the 5,000-6,000 seat range. The cost will be determined depending on what they want to do. They do have some ideas heading into the selection process.

- The team will be practicing and competing in the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex for the next 2-3 years.

- In the next month they'll be meeting with the colleagues in Big Ten hockey and come up with a plan to move forward and figure out where to go from there. Big Ten hockey is outstanding right now and they look forward to welcoming them to Happy Valley.



- They think they can be very successful soon with their program. They want to get a coach soon so they can get out and offer scholarships. They think Pennsylvania is a great state for hockey. They're going to try to be competitive as soon as possible.

- Their goal is to work with the hockey community to advance the sport. They want to make this a transformational gift that will support all of hockey in North America.

- There are a number of Eastern hockey conferences right now for women, and they will look into joining what is best for the school. Curley doesn't see a Title IX problem with the Big Ten.

- Right now there is no formal name for the arena. They would have to get approval for the name.

- 'I hope so,' Curley joked when asked if the programs could be self-sustaining. The student body has great interest in hockey. The revenue will be strong and it should be a tough ticket to get. This will give Penn State 31 varsity sports, and this should help out financially with those programs.

Last note from Curley, "Buy your season tickets, buy them quickly."

http://pennstate.247sports.com/Board/18/LIVE-from-the-Nittany-Lion-Inn-43141/1


Just thought I'd share in case anyone wanted to know a little more about his involvement with hockey.

[SkateZilla]

a rich Buffalo Sabres fan owning the Buffalo Sabres,

Wet Dream...........

[ddaryl]

:pray:

[SkateZilla]

Early Xmas Present?

[trapezeus]

I'd like to submit my plan to Terry.

step 1: move Darcy to the film room for talent evaluator.
Step 2: transition Larry Quinnto a new position. Buffalo Sabres Real Estate division. He can spend another 10-15 years to make zero progress on the waterfront in the name of the buffalo sabres.
Step 3: Rent old Yeller
Step 4: use the lessons from step three and put connolly out of his misery.
Step 5: attend at least 15 games a season and all playoff games
Step 6: remove creamsicles from HSBC arena
Step 7: Make one trade or off season move that actually makes the team look better immediately. don't get a veteran on the wrong side of 35, don't trade for a former.
Step 8: go to Ryan Miller's locker, apologize to him that part of his peak was wasted but that you'll get him a solid defense and solid goal scorers to make it worth it.
Step 9: Punch the Ottawa owner in the face before a game. Rile up the fans and team
Step 10: Enjoy being part of a stanley cup team.

[SabreEleven]

Wet Dream...........

His wife is from Western New York and he's an avid Sabres fan and former hockey dad who donated $88 million to Penn State for a new arena and Division I hockey program.

I guess you missed this part of the article.

[chernobylwraiths]

WTF is wrong with creamsicles?

[RockStar36]

His wife is from Western New York and he's an avid Sabres fan and former hockey dad who donated $88 million to Penn State for a new arena and Division I hockey program.

I guess you missed this part of the article.

He's probably too busy trying to think of another stupid joke to post or working on his roller hockey resume to read...anything.

[Ebenezer]

He's probably too busy trying to think of another stupid joke to post or working on his roller hockey resume to read...anything.

yeah, but in a Buffalo way he has hit it...A pure 35 year hockey fan, rink rat with unlimited funds wants to buy the Sabres, keep them in Buffalo and make them a champion? Almost too good to be true.

[RockStar36]

yeah, but in a Buffalo way he has hit it...A pure 35 year hockey fan, rink rat with unlimited funds wants to buy the Sabres, keep them in Buffalo and make them a champion? Almost too good to be true.

No, it is too good to be true. I've said that much already.

[Dude]

Who cares? Just make it happen.

[JD]

It's too good to be true. This type of **** just does not fall in the hands of Buffalonians. Maybe this is THE turning point? Maybe God actually received Johnsons tweet and felt remorseful.. While still hating the Bills he decided to finally allow the Buffalo Sabres to became a cup contender.

[trapezeus]

WTF is wrong with creamsicles?
There is just that one picture of Darcy sucking down creamsicles during a game. he looked like a little kid. I'm just busting on him. i'm not serious about that. I love me a good creamsicle.

[SabreEleven]

This isn't a bad thing...

http://www.wgr550.com/NY-Times-Report--Pegula-to-Attend-NHL-Owner-Meetin/8718141

[RockStar36]

This isn't a bad thing...

http://www.wgr550.com/NY-Times-Report--Pegula-to-Attend-NHL-Owner-Meetin/8718141

No it isn't. This goes along with a report last week that said Bettman was planning on introducing him. All of this goes along with why we shouldn't be listening to Quinn's "denial."

[SabreEleven]

No it isn't. This goes along with a report last week that said Bettman was planning on introducing him. All of this goes along with why we shouldn't be listening to Quinn's "denial."


Quinn acts like EVERYTHING the Sabres do is Top Secret like he is protecting Government secrets. It will be a happy day in Mudville when he leaves.

[rbochan]

There is just that one picture of Darcy sucking down creamsicles during a game. he looked like a little kid. I'm just busting on him. i'm not serious about that. I love me a good creamsicle.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/rbochan/Whatsgoingon.jpg

[SabreEleven]

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabres-nhl/inside-the-nhl/article293761.ece