Terry Pegula

Searching for Hockey Heaven

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A clarion call should go out to the league and to hockey players everywhere, that Buffalo is hockey heaven. – Ted Black, February 22, 2011

Those words will be difficult to forget. It marked the start of what was expected to be a long, happy relationship between the Buffalo Sabres and their fans. However, just over two years later things aren’t as rosy as they were on Pegula Day.

Give Terry Pegula and his management team credit, they took strides towards improving things on and off the ice. They renovated the locker room, upgraded the concourses and introduced numerous new features throughout the arena in an effort to make First Niagara Center a hockey mecca. The under construction HARBORcenter project proves just that. Pegula even gave the go-ahead to empty the Brinks truck in free agency as the Sabres went out and snagged a pair of the most sought after free agents in the 2011 crop.

Yet, here we are. The Sabres are languishing for a second-straight season, the coach has been fired and the hot topic of conversation now centers around booing. It seems like Buffalo has become Hockey Purgatory, not Hockey Heaven.

All of the good will generated in the 2011 offseason seems to have been erased by two seasons of largely lethargic hockey and below average results. Losses on the ice have transformed to frustration in the stands as the ever enlightened fan base with the high #hockeyIQ has resorted to booing at the drop of a hat at some points this year. Now, as the Sabres draw closer to a lottery selection than a playoff spot, the question I ask is: How far gone is the mindset of Hockey Heaven?

This isn’t about the incessant boos the rain down on the team almost every night. Booing isn’t a subject I care to delve into as fans will always have the liberty to do whatever they please with their tickets; particularly when the product they’re paying to see is underperforming. Of course, that doesn’t mean that piling on a group of players who only have a partial responsibility in the current situation doesn’t seem like the best way to spend that energy.

Perhaps if they at least waited until the end of a particularly horrid period, no need to jump on a team after one or two shifts in a game they’re winning.

Regardless, what I’ve begun to wonder is what the growing volatility within First Niagara Center will do for the Sabres rep with players around the league. Even with the dazzling locker room and the bottomless pockets and sincerity of the owner; how attractive is Buffalo going to be for those outside the organization? Continue reading →

Sabres to unveil Alumni Plaza

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In just over three months, Terry Pegula has tossed the Sabres hat in the ring on the Webster Block, donated money to finish landscaping work at Canalside and will now contribute to an alumni plaza outside of First Niagara Center.

This tweet from WGRZ kicked things off prior to the official announcement that a press conference will be held tomorrow to unveil the plans for a full alumni plaza.

This is something I had given thought to back in the winter after the second blog summit. In addition to paying tribute to the team’s most famous trio, I would suspect there will be a statue for each of the franchise’s retired numbers. There will certainly be space to honor the Knox family and those who helped bring the Sabres to buffalo.

The Sabres are in a unique position because of the design of the arena. The inclusion of the massive public plaza has not only provided space to throw big gameday parties, it will also provide more than enough space for a number of different statues.

Off the top of my head I can count the French Connection, Knox brother, Pat LaFontaine, Danny Gare, Tim Horton and Dominik Hasek as those who will have statues within the next few years. I would venture a guess that RJ and Ted Darling will each get their own down the line as well.

UPDATE: The Sabres press conference detailed a number of intricate details for the project. This includes the picture the statue will be based upon and the inclusion of every player ever to don a Sabres sweater. The additional players will be included on plagues on the brick pillars already in place.

It would seem to me that the plan only includes space for the French Connection statue at this point. Assuming the statue will be the focal point in front of the raised walkway, there will be plenty of room in the rest of the plaza for additional statutes, should the organization choose to build them.

The potential of this idea goes so far beyond anything else done by any other team simply because of the space afforded to the franchise in the plaza. Certainly tomorrow’s announcement will provide the rest of the details and perhaps some super cool, Tielman-proof renderings.

Terry Pegula is certainly proving that he could become a driving force in developing the area around FNC in the coming years. It is something the city of Buffalo has been without for a long time.

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New Sabres locker room open for business

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The Sabres returned to the First Niagara Center – which is receiving new outer signage this week – for their first practice session since returning from Europe. They were greeted with a shiny new players lounge and locker room.

I don't know why, but this is my favorite feature. It screams professionalism for some reason.

John Vogl and Bill Hoppe were quick to Tweet pictures (thanks for the entry image Bill) and Jessie Pegula followed up with some later in the day. The Buffalo News gallery has some very good shots that are slightly higher quality than a camera phone offers.

From the few pictures I have seen, this thing is outstanding.

The signage, decor and overall look of the outer features are very cool (entry image). It translates to the Sabres Hall of Fame wall and the retired numbers. All of this is equally impressive and incredibly cool. For some reason the Buffalo Sabres wall strikes me as one of the coolest features. I’m not sure why, but it just looks like something a winning team has.

As for the interior, I can’t tell much from the pictures. However, the player’s lounge looks pretty cool as does the locker room itself. It is very open – to promote communication – and the decor is very similar to the outer portion. The Sabres logos at the center of the room are the obvious focal points, while each player stall has a picture of the player in action. There is also a quote over the door way that reads, “Belief, Commitment, Character, Discipline, Trust” all above the word “Excellence.”

It has a “Play Like A Champion Today” feel to it. While I’m not an NHL player, I have to say this is quite an awe striking renovation. It wouldn’t be fair to say they have gotten anything right or wrong, but from where I’m sitting there can’t be too much missing. I know the goal was to catch up to some of the newer buildings and the state-of-the-art rooms around the league. I think it is safe to assume this locker facility is second to none.

Between the minor touches around the arena and this project, I have to think that Terry Pegula took the First Niagara Center from a 15-year old building to a five-year old building with little more than a snap of his fingers. There are certain things that can’t be changed in that building, but he certainly put it in the neighborhood of the newest buildings in the league.

Keep an eye on The Buffalo News and Sabres.com for more pictures as the week progresses.

F’N Center upgrades and more

Chris Ostrander2 Comments

As the offseason began, the construction crews moved into the First Niagara Center. Now that the summer has come to a close there are plenty of new features the soak in at One Seymour H Knox III Plaza.

No more Slugs on the videoboard and a new paintjob are among the numerous renovations made to the F'N Center.

Terry Pegula and company entered the offseason hoping to start the transformation of Buffalo into Hockey Heaven. It all started with the renovations of the Sabres locker room, plus an overhaul of the coaching staff’s offices and visitors locker space as well.

The locker room, expected to be the class of the NHL, is all but finished. An overhaul of the concessions and the de-Slugging of the entire arena was completed some time ago. The Sabres put gobs of money into the ice equipment, with laser beam Zambonis and dehumidification (is that a word) equipment. There are also plans to install a 90-foot video board on the outside of the arena, as well.

I’m certainly missing a handful of additional renovations and upgrades that will make the overall experience of the F’N Center – both on the ice and in the stands – better for everyone involved. Continue reading →

Ryan Fitzpatrick saved Buffalo from becoming a hockey town

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Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills resurgence has captivated Buffalo sports fans and kept the city from thinking hockey-first. While the Sabres will lose top billing for the time being, they will benefit from a shared spotlight.

Just six and a half short months ago Terry Pegula looked down at Gilbert Perreault and cried. That action galvanized nearly every sports fan in Buffalo. It was an act that began to turn Buffalo into a true hockey town.

Under the guidance of Terry Pegula the Sabres fan base has continued to explode.

Pegula immediately put his plan into action to create Hockey Heaven. As the season wore down his team clawed their way into the playoffs and pushed the defending Eastern Conference Champions to the brink of elimination.

Once the summer hit, Pegula kept rolling. He unleashed Darcy Regier, who quickly brought in high-priced troops to improve the Sabres roster. Pegula’s team began a massive remodeling of the locker facilities in the First Niagara Center. Renovations were made to the concession areas and every slug logo, short of the ones on the banners, were stripped from the arena. Life in Pegulaville was in full swing.

All of this action swept Sabres fans off their feet while the NFL lockout was in full effect. Now, the “lockout” was a complete sham and only a few pieces of the NFL offseason were lost. There was never a threat of games being missed. However, the exasperated Buffalo fan base was just about ready to push the Bills aside, as a roster of undrafted free agents and no-names opened training camp. Continue reading →

We have Zambonis with frickin’ laser beams attached to them?

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We have Zambonis with frickin' laser beams attached to them!?!?
Late in the summer of 2010 a guy named Terry Pegula gave a bunch of money to Penn State in order to lift their hockey program from the ACHA club ranks to NCAA Division I. It was only a short time later that the first rumor of his interest in the Buffalo Sabres was broken by the Buffalo media.
In the eight or nine months that have followed the winds of change have blown through the Buffalo Sabres organization. Suddenly the organization is spending as much money as they need to in order to get the players they need to succeed and spending cash on any type of arena upgrade you can think of.
I can only think of what Mr. Pegula would look like in a gray jumpsuit, with a big Sabres ring on his pinky as he raises it to his mouth and says, “We have Zambonis with frickin’ laser beams attached to them!” Continue reading →

Sabres/Canisius rink gets some teeth

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It seems my spitballing for a Sabres practice arena wasn’t strictly conjecture. Well, I had no idea that this plan could ever come to fruition. Also my plan would call for the arena to be built in the Cobblestone District near HSBC Arena. But, it is still cool to know that these discussions are occurring.

Give credit to Nick Veronica for getting details on this story at It’s Always Game Seven (Bucky Gleason also mentioned the rumor in a recent column). He explained that the school will be joining Niagara University, Robert Morris University (PA) and Mercyhurst College in meeting with the CCHA on potentially joining the conference when the Big Ten and NCHC poach all of the strong programs in college hockey.

In addition, it seems as if preliminary discussions have taken place for Saint Terry to make a donation towards erecting a rink for Canisius and the Sabres to share on the school’s campus. Continue reading →

Breaking down the Sabres’ signings

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For the first time in my 25 years on Earth, the Buffalo Sabres were major players in the NHL free agent market. In fact, the Blue & Gold had the highest payroll in the NHL when the dust had settled.

The week prior to July 1 saw Darcy Regier poach Robyn Regehr, a second-round pick and Ales Kotalik (a charity pick-up) from the Calgary Flames for Chris Butler and Paul Byron. Point Regier. What is more impressive is that Buffalo was attractive enough for Regehr to waive his no movement clause for.

Regier then snagged Christian Ehrhoff’s negotiating rights and managed to ink him to a massive deal prior to the UFA market opening up. Ehrhoff, has put up incredible numbers in Vancouver. He is a career minus in the playoffs. However, I blame his -13 this year – which put him deep into the minus numbers – on the shoulder injury that limited him in the later rounds.

Regehr looks a hell of a lot like Shrek, he also tosses people around like an angry orge. Sort of a fitting nickname, no? I don’t know if he will be reunited with Jordan Leopold, or if he will be paired with Tyler Myers to create a monstrous shut-down pairing. Ehrhoff could certainly compliment Myers well, and it may be a better fit considering both he and Leopold are quite offensively minded. Nevertheless, they make the blue line significantly stronger.

Regier went out and made two major additions to his blue line before the clock struck noon on Friday. It was expected that the Sabres would make a major push for Brad Richards. They never did, partially because the New York Rangers were given the final right to match an offer for Richards and because they may have lost out on Ville Leino.

Buffalo’s only UFA signing, thus far, has been Leino. Despite only signing one guy, Regier went out and got a big fish. Leino is a very talented forward, capable of playing all three forward positions who is a major playoff performer. He put a dagger in Buffalo’s series lead on Philly and has been on my personal radar since his first year with Detroit in 2008-09. They may have overpaid, but if he flourishes at pivot there is no reason to say they overpaid.

There is plenty of time left in free agency, despite the current financial restraints I don’t think Regier is done signing players. Especially if they are to make a trade or two, as I suspect.

Looking at the signings Buffalo has made thus far, including re-signing Nathan Gerbe, Cody McCormick and Mike Weber, they have made major improvements to the roster.

Between Shrek and The Hoff the Sabres’ top four is about six times better than they were last year. Just on paper, think about it. Tyler Myers, Jordan Leopold, Steve Montador and Shaone Morrison/Andrej Sekera versus Myers, Leopold, The Hoff and Shrek. It is sort of like buying a Chrysler 300 because it looks like a Phantom.

The Sabres’ back end will be better, no doubt. By association Ryan Miller should be better. It is the forwards, particularly the top six who will be interesting to watch.

Leino and Derek Roy are not exactly a deadly one-two punch at center. I still think Darcy has a trade up his sleeve. If Leino clicks and Roy continues that point-per-game clip from 2010-11 then there may be hope. The wingers are obviously set, Jochen Hecht or Brad Boyes will likely settle on to the third line. Tyler Ennis, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek all have homes with Buffalo’s top two centers. Now they just need to produce.

Surely there will be some shuffling amongst the bottom six forwards. I think their help, or reinforcements, are still on the to-do list for Darcy. I have a few thoughts on who may fit well in that role, even as a number one center depending on a potential trade.

Until Regier knows his cap number moving forward, not much else will be done by the Sabres.

What televising Amerks games means

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There was a certain quote from Ted Black during yesterday’s press conference to announce the sale of the Rochester Americans that really stood out to me.

He said they are going to explore televising Americans games in Buffalo. It makes perfect sense to me. The team is one hour down the road and it will be stocked with all of the Sabres’ blue chip prospects. Why wouldn’t fans in Buffalo want to see the team play?

The question that crops up is, which channel will the games be televised on? MSG, YNN, or a Time Warner public access channel all could work. Of course only MSG is available to all Sabres fans. Perhaps that is the best option. Besides I don’t care to watch the Mike D’Antoni Show.

I feel that the best option is the advent of a WNY sports network. Basically Empire 2.0. Whether it is Fox Sports WNY or a locally run network, this scenario is screaming for a dedicated channel to televise both Amerks and Sabres games. It wouldn’t be all that difficult to fill content throughout the year either.

Between the Bandits, Bills, Bisons, high school sports and talk shows, there would be plenty of content to fill throughout the day. Obviously the summer would have quite a bit of down time, but the Magic Bullet and Ab Blaster Xtreme need TV time to sell their products.

If the network was to embrace the Rochester teams as well, there would be even more ease to filling content. The Red Wings and Knighthawks would just add that much more coverage time. Besides, a Sportscenter-type show would certainly fill hours in the early and mid-morning. In addition, you could take a page out of Empire’s book and televise the afternoon sports talk, although I’m sure there are better options. But shows like Enforcers (TWC) and the old Fan TV set up offer filler for he middle if the day that might not be taken up by infomercials.

The important thing would be he dedication to the hockey teams. Having a dedicated pre and post game shows with additional coverage is a must. Ted Black said it himself, he wants more when Sabres games are over, the fans feel the same way. A regional sports network solves that problem with relative ease.

Sabres acquire Ehrhoff’s rights

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It was 12 short hours ago that the New York Islanders traded their fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks in order to get the exclusive negotiating rights to Christian Erhoff. After those talks fell apart Darcy Regier flew in and picked up the rights for the German-born defenseman. Now he has about 28 hours to convince Ehrhoff to sign with the Sabres.

Numerous accounts explained how the talks with the Isles fell apart, despite an offer “well above” the Canucks’ original. While no number had been hammered down concerning how much the Isles offered, I think it is safe to say it was in the $5 to $5.5 million neighborhood.

One quote, from a previous ESPN rumor, provided some insight as to why Ehrhoff declined to sign with the Islanders. It provides some hope to Sabres fans who hope to see him reach an agreement before Friday.

The defenseman has stated on several occasions that he wants to sign with a contender.

While I am not a fan of trading for exclusive negotiating rights, this is just another piece of the puzzle that is the Pegula Era. Obviously Darcy Regier feels free to go out and get whatever players he wants. In this case, he knows that the UFA crop is dwindling and he sprung to action.

Now Regier needs to sign him. This deal really means nothing if Ehrhoff hits the open market and signs elsewhere. Sure, it is a sign of the times. Obviously Darcy is willing to do whatever it takes, but without signing him there isn’t much hope to be had.

There are a few things working in Buffalo’s favor. The Sabres are certainly more of a winner than the Islanders are currently, score one for the good guys. The Sabres also have an incredible owner willing to go above and beyond to get his players, including meeting their quotes, score two. However, there are 27 other teams out there who may be willing to hit the $6 million mark, or more. That is where things get fishy. I don’t think this young man is worth that much money. If the Sabres hope to land Brad Richards and a few other players, a $6 million hit will be tough to deal with.

The ball is in Darcy’s court. He has just over one day to get things done, hopefully the situation in Buffalo is more attractive to Ehrhoff than it was on the Island. If that is the case there might just be a new number five in town come Friday.