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I'm not really a hockey fan but do watching the sports on occasion, especially on trips to Canada (even though the Pens have 2 of the top 5 best hockey players in NHL, but more on this later). I just happened to listen to the WGR audio while in a friend's car and heard the Terry & Kim's interview this afternoon. The occasion was about Sabres but I noticed something that I always wondered about, in terms of wins/losses and rebuilding.
It seems the Pegulas are not shy about losing, and losing bad if they can get better talent in the draft. Specifically Terry mentioned the Penguins model as in "how do they (Pens) get to where they are today?" Being in Pittsburgh, I know in a span of 4 years, the Pens used 1st overall picks to get Fluery and Crosby, a 2nd overall pick, Malkin, a 3rd overall on Staal, which pretty much formed the nucleus of the team. In my opinion the Pens overall under-achieved because they won only one Cup with all that talent, but you can't deny the fact that because they sucked bad in those years to put themselves in position for the talent.
Thinking about NFL. Think about the Colts. They got Manning and quickly they became perennial playoff contender. When they suck, they sucked bad to land Luck. Honestly in the last 14 years where the Bills team finished 6-10, 5-11, 7-9 so many times, I would not mind sold off a number of stars and finished 1-15, 2-14 a few years to have a chance to draft one of these QBs who can lead us to promised land for a long time.
I know it is tough to lose badly, especially for a small market team who must use rationalization to sell out games. But with an owner like Pegula, who may be able to absorb a few lean years in the box office and who subscribes to the theory that you may need to hit bottom before you get better, we may indeed see what is happening to the Sabres today down the road for the Bills. They do, however, need to put the right people in the front office though.
BTW, on a question about comparing (owning) the Sabres and Bills, Terry Pegula said something to the following regarding the Bills: compared to the Sabres (when he bought the team), the Bills are kind of in transition; Russ has not been in his position long, Whaley is new, and Marrone is new.
You can read this many ways. My take is that he thinks he kind of knew what kind of GM/coach Sabres had when he bought the team because they had been in positions a long time and had a track record. But the Bills are the opposite. So more than likely evaluation is in order - though in my view, the evaluation can take some time, in terms of in season, off season, support staff etc. I'd not expect any major changes this off season unless something dramatic happens.
It seems the Pegulas are not shy about losing, and losing bad if they can get better talent in the draft. Specifically Terry mentioned the Penguins model as in "how do they (Pens) get to where they are today?" Being in Pittsburgh, I know in a span of 4 years, the Pens used 1st overall picks to get Fluery and Crosby, a 2nd overall pick, Malkin, a 3rd overall on Staal, which pretty much formed the nucleus of the team. In my opinion the Pens overall under-achieved because they won only one Cup with all that talent, but you can't deny the fact that because they sucked bad in those years to put themselves in position for the talent.
Thinking about NFL. Think about the Colts. They got Manning and quickly they became perennial playoff contender. When they suck, they sucked bad to land Luck. Honestly in the last 14 years where the Bills team finished 6-10, 5-11, 7-9 so many times, I would not mind sold off a number of stars and finished 1-15, 2-14 a few years to have a chance to draft one of these QBs who can lead us to promised land for a long time.
I know it is tough to lose badly, especially for a small market team who must use rationalization to sell out games. But with an owner like Pegula, who may be able to absorb a few lean years in the box office and who subscribes to the theory that you may need to hit bottom before you get better, we may indeed see what is happening to the Sabres today down the road for the Bills. They do, however, need to put the right people in the front office though.
BTW, on a question about comparing (owning) the Sabres and Bills, Terry Pegula said something to the following regarding the Bills: compared to the Sabres (when he bought the team), the Bills are kind of in transition; Russ has not been in his position long, Whaley is new, and Marrone is new.
You can read this many ways. My take is that he thinks he kind of knew what kind of GM/coach Sabres had when he bought the team because they had been in positions a long time and had a track record. But the Bills are the opposite. So more than likely evaluation is in order - though in my view, the evaluation can take some time, in terms of in season, off season, support staff etc. I'd not expect any major changes this off season unless something dramatic happens.
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