The Buffalo Sabres are the second team this morning to announce significant front-office restructuring, confirming that team owner Terry Pegula is stepping into the role of president.
The Sabres say this shift enables Pegula to collaborate more closely with team COO John Roth, who leads the team’s business aspects, and general manager Kevyn Adams, who spearheads the team’s hockey operations. In doing so, the team’s overarching ownership organization, Pegula Sports and Entertainment, is separating its resources between the Sabres and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, which Pegula, along with his wife, Kim, also owns.
“We are thankful for the work and effort so many individuals have put into PSE over the years, but feel it is the right time for them to return home to separate organizations,” Pegula said. “We feel that now is the right time to dissolve PSE and allow everyone to focus solely on their respective organization. It is a great time to be a Buffalo sports fan, and we have a tremendous amount of confidence that this restructuring will allow our businesses to continue to elevate with our teams.”
It’s a move that appears strategically aimed to allow for more specialized focus on the Bills and Sabres as both teams enter what they hope are lengthy periods of championship contention. The Sabres are aiming at their first playoff appearance in 13 years this season and will do so on the back of a young core with more impressive prospects on the way.
This could mean Pegula is taking a more influential role in the team’s hockey operations decisions, something he’s already been rather heavily involved with. It’s an arrangement Adams evidently feels comfortable with as GM, but it can be a rather tricky environment for some to navigate as opposed to a team’s owner giving their hockey operations department full autonomy.
lol
GMKA has the Sabres positioned well with a good future salary cap situation, below market contract extensions & a deep prospect pipeline. Even with eventual long term extensions for Dahlin & Power Buffalo can keep a few more other players long term. Plus Skinner’s $9mil per contract is off the books in 4 more years.
It’s one of those things that 9 time out of 10 the owner will do more harm then good. That being said Terry seems to be more about winning the .money and has seemed to do no harm in being involved with these decisions already. He may be the right owner to do it
Pegula hired a few “hockey men” when he listened to “hockey people” in his first 2 go arounds for GM but decided to pick a GM in Adams that has set the Sabres up beautifully. Imagine the Sabres if GMTM didn’t trade away his draft picks like a addict spending all their money on drugs.
Christian Erhoff and Ville Leino still have fond memories of his previous influence in hockey operations decisions.
Haha, good point on those contracts. While I do agree with @Murphy, he seems to be the type of owner who values winning and improving the team, but time will tell if he’ll start ruining what’s been built up. The future looks bright for the Sabres (and the Bills are already in contender status). Let’s hope he doesn’t eff it up!
Those contracts are pittance what is being doled out nowadays.