BY: ANDREW RUSS, STAFF WRITER
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Terry Pegula’s ownership of the Buffalo Sabres has been a subject that many fans have become increasingly upset with.
Pegula bought the Sabres in 2011, and the team has seen zero success since. The franchise has seen poor management, inconsistent and flat-out bad coaching and a worsening relationship with its fanbase.
The team is nearing an incredibly concerning 13th straight season without a playoff appearance, and it is time for Pegula to be out of Buffalo hockey.
One of the main problems that the team has seen since Pegula bought the team is attendance. The Sabres have one of the most loyal fanbases in hockey; however, they are constantly among the lowest in the NHL for attendance.
The fan engagement with the team has worsened over the years. This is a clear sign that the fans are slowly losing interest in a consistently bad team.
Another large part to credit the lack of success to is the team’s inability to find stability in the coaching and general manager position. Since Pegula has been owner, the team has cycled through new coaches and general managers with seven different coaches in the almost 13-year playoff drought.
The repeated new hirings of general managers and coaches have left the fans watching the team be in a constant rebuild. They have no identity to play with or a plan to have success in the coming years.
Under Pegula’s ownership, the product on the ice hasn’t been anywhere close to the standard the fans would like to have for the team.
The team constantly fails to draft and develop talent, and the stars they do have, they are unable to keep for long periods. Players such as Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart seemed like future stars of the team that they couldn’t keep around.
The Sabres have stars who show flashes of being the future and are under contract for a long time in Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson, but the supporting cast fails to compete year after year.
Out of all the shortcomings that this team has, the most frustrating for fans is the playoff drought. Every single year since 2011, the Sabres have failed to make the postseason, which is the longest streak in the NHL.
The consistent failure year after year has left the fanbase searching for answers that the management of the team doesn’t seem to have a clue about. It seems that every year the season begins with optimism, only to be met with failure on the ice.
The team fails to attract any high-profile free agents in the off-season and seems to refuse to make deals during the season. Players don’t want to come to Buffalo and the management doesn’t even try to convince them.
When there is a team in a cycle of bad coaching and management that is mixed with poor play on the ice, culture becomes a concern. The fans are losing interest and the owner doesn’t seem to care. It’s time to move on, Terry.
