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I've decided i'm going to talk in pictures as much as possible..

Well I guess we know what $2.5M of that $14M in liabilities Pegula is paying for...Darcy Regier's secret contract extension.

I mean really, what a JV move, makes us look stupid.

And Lindy turned his down, so there's a possibility we keep Darcy and let Lindy go. Now that's just bass ackwards.

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If your having goal problems, I feel bad for ya son....we got 99 problems but Vanek ain't one!

It's not like Regier was just offered the extension. He signed it last year. I don't see what the big deal is, or how it makes us look stupid.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Remember the best part about all of this is Quinn will be gone.

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It's hard to say what Regier and Ruff knew in the fall Cross.
I do know this for sure. I deal of this size takes around 8 months to complete if financing is involved, if it's not involved the normal time frame for a deal like this, including due diligence is roughly 5 months.
These time parameters only are only an induction of the deal itself, they don't include the prep work layed down prior to any serious paper work being shuffled around such as pro forma's, business plans, audits and so on.

In this case, Pegula didn't need financing.
I would surmize the conversations about team ownership grew some serious legs at the start of this past summer.
I would also surmize that both Regier and Ruff were offered these contracts while due diligence was ongoing for a possible sale, specifically the auditing of the assets. I have found that takes what seems like an unending amount of time.

I tend to agree that these were in fact, Golden Parachutes being offered by Quinn/Galisano to their faithful.
If this is indeed the case, I have alot of respect for Lindy Ruff right now, if he chose not to sign it and sat down with Mr. Pegula (as all reports indicate), this is the mark of a man loyal not the organizational ownership, but the mark of a man who is loyal to the set of principaled values he so firmly believes in.

After much thought on this, I would be honored to have Lindy Ruff as either the General Manager or the President of Hockey Operations for the Buffalo Sabres if, as I have stated, he stuck to his guns.

As for Regier, you all know my feelings on him. The day that sack of shit leaves the building for the last time as a member of the organization I'll fuckin hold a party in anywhere WNY and buy the fricken beer.
We'll do shots too..........................................

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

I am really happy with the new owner but it doesn't seem Ruff is happy with him.

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just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

Fair points Slesh, but I'd counter with the fact that if things were tenuous last month, they were possibilities bordering on pipe dreams in the fall.

Besides, he would have been considering a contract from the organization, not a particular owner....or potential owner.
If he's an organization man, he would have stuck with the organization then as well.

that said...

Ruff should be given his silver commemorative sabre and a #22 should be hanging from the rafters.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

I hope by the weekend all this stuff sorts itself out. I find it VERY strange that Regier signed, but for whatever reason Ruff turned down a "generous" offer. The guy is quoted as saying he wants to be here, and what better way than a new contract. I mean if he wants to see what TP has to say first, then why didn't Regier feel the same way?? I'm not gonna speculate on any of it, but it's all a bit strange. I also wonder if DR was signed after the sale was imminent? It at least had to be a very serious possibility at the time. Well, I can't wait to see our concerned owner at the game Saturday. Woo hoo.

Pat Lafontaine for President!!!! If I had a vote, that would be mine.

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--Scott

To the people that needed to know about it, it wasn't secret.

Just because the fans aren't told doesn't make it a shady deal.

That sucks for Ruff. If you are underperforming and you see changes being made that will make things worse for you because you made your bed wrong, then you need to feel very bad about them. Regier is on the same boat, only farther up the creek.

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Let's go Buffalo!

Unfortunately, Regier's contract extension does not guarantee his stay. Pegula has likely planned personnel moves before he takes complete ownership. After that happens, buyouts can begin.

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Let's go Buffalo!

I've already made that point more than once. If Pegs wants Darcy gone, he'll be gone, extension or no extension.

What I take issue with is the insinuation that the deal was shady. Tom Golisano has every right to extend his employees if he wants, even if fans don't agree. There is no way that the extension was hidden from Pegula, so what's the big deal?

I don't believe it was "shady", it the intentions were honestly geared toward helping secure the clubs future.
But that is for a matter of opinion by the fans themselves.
As for Pegula and this situation, if it was indeed a "Golden Parachute" moment by Quinn and Golisano, it may be no more than a drop in the bucket, but I would be pissed off if I were Pegula and talks were ongoing to purchase the team at that particular time. Hell, who wants to be saddled with an additional 2.5 mil in liabilities?

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

Darcy got his extension last year, that's a long time from where we are now. A sale to a team is a long process, and I'm sure it was hard to predict last year when Darcy received his extension that the sale to Pegula was definitely going to go happen. Pegula tried to purchase the team in the past but negotiations fell through. Golisano was the owner at that point in time and he did nothing wrong in making the decision to want to extend his contract. Obviously a lot of fans disagree with it because Darcy isn't the most likeable guy in the organization, but there was nothing shady about the deal regardless if Golisano was aware of Pegula's interest in buying the team. Was he supposed to put everything to a halt for a year and stop making decisions about extending employee's contracts or making team moves all because there was a chance there would be a new owner next year?

And people need to chill out over the fact that it wasn't announced. Have you guys ever considered the fact that it wasn't announced because Lindy rejected his offer? You know if they had announced Darcy's extension, the media would have asked about Lindy's status and it would have created a lot of speculation and distraction knowing that Darcy extended his contract while Lindy chose not to. I'm willing to bet that's why they didn't announce Regier's extension.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Has anyone heard when we could expect to hear from Pegula? I can't wait to hear what he has to say about his pllans for us.

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The reports I read said he wasn't going to say anything until the NHL approved the sale.

Also, Lindy on his contract comments to Bill Hoppe:
#Sabres Lindy Ruff on contract: "The only light I’d like to shed is I’d like to win a Stanley Cup here in #Buffalo. ... more #NHL
Lindy continued: That should conquer all other comments." #Sabres #Buffalo #NHL

Great article by Burnside and Lebrun about the ownership situation in Buffalo and the Devils





http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/4229/daily-debate-ownership-drama-in-buffalo-jersey

I'm at the point that I'm pretty much ignoring every report of what Mr. Pegula will or won't do until he says it himself.