Apparently an OWNER trade may be on the horizon.

From the Buffalo News:

Sabres are a topic of speculation
Sources say potential buyer has expressed interest in team

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.

READ MORE:

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

Well now,

Looking at this from the, "ZOMGPLEASESOMEONESPENDMONEYTOWINACUPINBUFFALO" point of view, if the guy is willing to toss coin around to bring in the right pieces to make the team competitive (Both on and off the ice, excluding Ruff from that sort of change) then lord fuck I'm all for it.

The other side of the coin, if he’s interested in buying the team just to turn a profit or to be considered as a tax write-off; then we as fans are no closer to seeing our team win a cup than we were last week.

Over all, if it means Quinn is out of the picture and we'd have an owner hella closer to Buffalo than Big Tommy G. I'm willing to listen to his speech

Also, if his wife is as big of a Sabres fan as this writeup claims, then if he doesn't put a winning team together he's in the dog house

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

Well, he lives in FLA, too. Which sucks. But I wonder if he'd move up here.

All in all, this is nothing we haven't seen before except that he's a Sabres fan.

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mechaphil

The fact that he's a Sabres fan could be that grain of salt that tips the scales in this case. Like you said though man, it's not like this hasn't been tossed around before but I think if you have someone in place that is not only a fan of the game, but the team itself in a place of power to bring in the right hockey minds, that could be just what this organization needs.

Oh, and if Quinn re-applies for his old position or wants to stay on as a minority owner, quickly either show him the door or call the dogs to chew the ever loving shit out of the small testicles which dangle between his legs and tell him to go pound sand

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

Actually, the article said HE is the fan, which is certainly preferable to it being his nagging loving wife.

Also, if the guy's willing to donate $88mil to improve the hockey situation at a fucking COLLEGE, imagine what he might do for a hockey business called the "Buffalo Sabres". Shit, he may even spring for a legit #1 line!

"I swear Tommy----I mean Mr. Golisano; If you sell this team, I may hang myself with this here tie!"

Not just improve the hockey situation, but start it. That $88 goes to building two rinks (one of which is the main D1 facility) and everything else involved in creating the program.

And that article doesn't say it, but others have said his wife is too. This story is going on four days old. TBN is late to the party.

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mechaphil

I wholeheartedly support this.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Quinn:

Golisano:

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

If this means Quinn is gone I would love for it to happen.

If Quinnis near the picture I would be pissed, unless this guys is like, fuck you Quinn, Regeir actually is going to build a Stanley Cup team because I'm the owner an you're just a piece of shit guy who has ruined the Sabres with your goddamn budgets and cheap shit.

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And you would be a wise young man with wisdom beyond your years CV.
Let me explain.

This gentleman (Terrence Pegula) is one of 3 prime players in the Marcellus Shale Natural Gas story.
For those of you unaware, NY, PA and WV are sitting on the second largest deposit of shale natural gas in the nation. This discovery has led to a boom industry in natural gas in PA. However, there is a moritorium on this natural resource in NY State at this time (http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-be ... 58429.html).

Since a large portion of the Marcellus Shale find is in NY State, it would be a very wise move if this gentleman spent the money to purchase the team and keep it in Buffalo for the forseeable future to curry favor with the WNY legislative delegation to Albany. It helps that his wife is from the area, but don't be fooled, there is a method to this mans madness and it could work in our favor.

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Lord Stanley's Cup is what its all about.
Mr. Pegula, your destiny awaits you sir.

NYC is worried about the effect that the extraction method of the gas will have on their water supply. Unless they get what they want, the moratorium doesn't get lifted.

This is still just rumor and conjecture. There was one media report, a guy out of Boston, that reported this. That's the only source of the story. Until there is more information I don't have much to say about it.

Oh, its getting lifted, and I happen to be in the know on this one.
Its just a matter of time, but they will be hydrofracing down in Alleghany and Cattaraugus Counties in the next couple of years.

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Lord Stanley's Cup is what its all about.
Mr. Pegula, your destiny awaits you sir.

If TG sells the Sabres to this guy, I, for one, will be grateful for his rescue and stewardship of the team over the past 6 years. He clearly never intended for the Sabres to be his top priority, but he saw an opportunity to make an investment AND (most importantly to the region and fans) keep the team in Buffalo, which would have been in serious jeopardy had he not stepped up. Now that there may be a legitimate buyer with ties to the area and serious interest in the sport, it may be time to pass the baton.

So for all the whiners out there who blame TG for living in Florida and not coming to enough games and keeping Quinn and Darcie and blah blah blah - keep in mind that he has played a large role in maintaining hockey viability in Buffalo and that the team has even been competitive during this stretch. Whatever happens, I believe TG's legacy will be secure.

I'm not suggesting that it won't happen.

I'm suggesting that the WNY won't have much influence over that decision.

Would Quinn and that other guy still be partial owner if the team is sold?

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

Depends.

We know that BTG is the majority owner, and that Quinn and DiPofi own smaller pieces. If Mr. Pegula came in, he could simply buy BTG's shares of the team and take control without dealing with Quinn and DiPofi. They may be required to sell should majority ownership change, or they may be able to hold onto their shares.

They key things here are that Quinn doesn't have to be bought out for a sale to go through, and a new majority owner could remove his title of managing partner if they saw fit. (For that matter, BTG could too, but he doesn't want to run day to day operations.)

I have no problem with LQ keeping a piece of ownership, as long as he has no input on day to day hockey operations or decisions.

This is definitely interesting, to say the least, but I refuse to believe anything until something really happens. Rumors have been abound since Tommy G bought the team.

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Holy shit this is awesome.

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Wheelhouse

Splitting this off, will be decent discussion.