It is official boys and girls. Terry Pegula has purchased the Buffalo Sabres from Tom Golisano for a cool $175M.

Of course there are still i’s to be dotted and t’s to be crossed. There is also the small task of being approved by the other owners. However, that is reported to be a mere formality after Pegula’s meeting with them last weekend.

Ultimately there won’t be a whole lot done in the short term, as I wrote about yesterday. This will be a long term project as the assumed plan is for the man, described as a puckhead, builds a true competitor in Buffalo.

I’ll have more later on Pegula and the great deed the Golisano did for this city.

It is official. According to multiple sources, Terry Pegula signed an official purchase agreement to buy the Buffalo Sabres from Tom Golisano for, a reported, $175 million plus $14 million in debt. (The Buffalo News report)

For those of you playing at home, that is $189 million – or %6.3 of Pegula’s wealth. To equate that number to a realistic figure, think of going to the mall and spending about $100, that is what this transaction represents to Pegula.

An announcement will be made at the Arena on Thursday and I would assume Pegula will take over full control before the trade deadline hits.

Now, Sabres fans everywhere are doing backflips at the idea that Pegula is going to throw money at every big-name free agent out there and snag a GM that will wheel and deal on the trade market. Don’t get ahead of yourself.

He is a savvy businessman with a passion for hockey. He will let his management team do their job and guide the franchise in the right direction. In a year or two I wouldn’t be surprised to see some big moves made, but they won’t be made right out of the blocks.

Be patient, wait for the deadline to come and lets see what (the newly extended) Darcy Regier will do. That might begin to paint the picture of how the new regime is going to operate down at HSBC Arena. Either way there is certainly cause for excitement, just don’t expect the world people.

Count me among those who think the Sabres will be on the outside looking in when the post season comes along.

However, the recent play from the Blue and Gold is certainly generating some hope. With the All-Star break just days away and the trade deadline to follow, there could be some interesting things going down at One Seymour H. Knox III Plaza. Of course we could just end up with an average player who overachieved on a bad team.

Yet, the Sabres enter the All-Star break on the heels of an 8-3-1 January and sit just four points out of a playoff spot. They are certainly digging their way out of the hole they created at the beginning of the year. Now comes the time of year when you wonder, who will be on the move?

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Yesterday The Hockey News and The Buffalo News each broke stories that the Sabres were being shopped, albeit quietly, by current owner Tom Golisano. Each report pegged Pennsylania billionaire, Terrence Pegula, as the prospective buyer.

As the day grew older the reports intensified. In fact, rumors circulated that Pegula was heading to New York to meet with Gary Bettman in regards to the sale – that report later added that Pegula would be introduced at the Board of Governors meeting next weekend. Continue reading →

I am stealing someone’s idea. Only because it was a really good one. Back in 2007 current Buffalo Bills quarterback former Buffalo Sabres defenseman, Rory Fitzpatrick drew the admiration of a young Canucks fan. This fan took it upon himself to try and get Ftizpatrick voted into the All-Star Game. He even had a website.

That being said, this morning I was thinking – it was a pretty big step for me. While perusing the NHL Fan Balloting I realized it would be cool to get a guy voted in like Fitzpatrick almost was a few years back. So I am taking it upon myself to get Cody McCormick in the All-Star Game.

Just think about it. The dude is a beast, he works his tail off every shift and is a damn good fighter to boot. See below:

So, do the right thing. Write in Cody McCormick to the 2011 ASG Fan Ballot.

You might think that having the reigning Olympic MVP and Vezina Trophy winner tending goal for you as a dream scenario. Perhaps, for the Sabres, it isn’t.

Now, Ryan Miller has not been bad this season for Buffalo. There is no Vezina/Olympic hangover. He tweaked his knee, or hip, or ankle, or – suffice it to say it was a lower body injury. He missed some time and he certainly wasn’t 100% while trying to play through it. Continue reading →

Recognizing that the current All-Star format had grown cold, the NHL has decided to overhaul the format.

According to this TSN article, the fan voting for the starters will remain. After that, NHL hockey operations will select the remaining pool of players and two captains. It will be these captains that pick their own teams.

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I wanted to let the dust settle, on both Buffalo sports teams.

The Sabres were sleepwalking their way through their first dozen games and the Bills have continued to find interesting ways to lose. But there were all of these different opinions floating around each squad, I wanted to let everything settle down before making a judgment on either.

That brings me to the Sabres. Everyone keeps asking, ‘what is wrong with them this season?’ There are a few common threads and a few things no one has really brought up. Continue reading →

After the Sabres new away and third jerseys were leaked online, there wasn’t too much tension on my end watching the jersey unveiling on Saturday.

However, it was really awesome to see them in person, particularly the new road uniforms. The 2008 Winter Classic brought back the memory of how great our original white jerseys were, this makes it that much better. I feel the navy blue looks even better than the royal blue did previously, although I’m likely in the minority there. All-in-all, the new white jerseys are nothing short of flawless.

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The Sabres new road and alternate jerseys have been leaked. It was only a matter of time before someone got their hands on an early shipment and sent a picture text out to all of their friends.

Icethetics has more on the story.

I have to say I love both jerseys, I want to buy both of them. The third gets cooler every time I look at it and the original Sabres white jersey has always been my favorite. So, this reincarnation is truly awesome. Now we just have to hope the NHL makes white the home uniform again so all will be right with the world.

I’m also happy to say that my guess at the third jersey wasn’t too far off, although I left out the logo on the front.

Either way, it looks like I will be out a few hundred dollars because I will want to buy both of these jerseys to add to my collection. Tough call on which one I want first though.