The Buffalo Sabres are on holiday these days, enjoying a long All-Star break.
Good thing. The people covering team need to figure out new ways to describe losses. Eleven straight regulation defeats will do that.
The latest skid has put "tanking" back on the table as a discussion for discussion. That's when your team more or less gives up on a particular season or two in order to get the best available talent in the draft.
Sometimes, a team picks the correct year to lose. In basketball, the former Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) went first to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969, and he turned that team into a champion in short order. In hockey, Mario Lemieux needed a few years to get a Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh ... but he got them there. The Penguins, you'll recall, didn't exactly load up with talent the season before the draft in order to avoid the chance of getting him in the draft.
On the other hand, there are no guarantees. The Edmonton Oilers have had a bunch of high draft choices lately. Yet they are still at the bottom of the NHL standings. The Philadelphia 76ers have had some good picks in the NBA draft too, but haven't quite found the combination yet to change their fortunes. They remain awful.
The Sabres had a hot streak in December that got them well out of the basement. But this poor run on losses in 2015 has put them in the basement and renewed the talk of tanking, frustrating players and front office members alike. After all, who wants to be associated with losing in that way?
Let's look at the Sabres situation. How do teams that are in losing streaks react? Usually, they follow a series of steps.
First, they look to the minor leagues for reinforcements. The Sabres have done some of that; most of the best players in Rochester have had at least the proverbial cup of coffee in Buffalo. You could argue, and some have, that there are players like Mark Pysyk who are better than guys in Sabre uniforms. But there is something to be said about giving players time in the minors to grow and mature - particularly defensemen. Others have come up and shown little.
Second, they make trades. Yes, most (all?) of the phone calls to general manager Tim Murray no doubt are about young players. No doubt, they are also one-sided offers. Even so, teams often trade "my fringe player for your fringe player," just to shake things up. That hasn't happened. The Sabres did add some players in that sense last year, but so far it's been quiet. In fairness, it's tough to know what's possible and what's not in such areas.
Third, they fire the coach. Obviously, that hasn't happened here. Ted Nolan signed a three-year contract last summer, I believe, and he still has plenty of good will among members of Sabre Nation. When the team is in 30th place overall, you should save all the good will you can.
Yet, both Nolan and Murray are operating under an odd situation. They were both hired by Pat LaFontaine, who later, um, vacated the premises. That means Nolan wasn't hired by Murray, an unusual situation for a coach and general manager. Since LaFontaine wasn't replaced, no one can be sure what it would take to send Murray or Nolan to the unemployment line. Owner Terry Pegula and team president Ted Black could order such moves, I guess, even though it would be odd for someone to be fired for following the overall blueprint for rebuilding.
Add it up, and the Sabres have been on the quiet side in reacting to the situation this season. Meanwhile, what constitutes a tank anyway? Most non-playoff
teams in hockey usually trade their soon-to-be unrestricted free agents
for prospects and/or draft choices in order to get better in the future.
Clearly, trading Ryan Miller last year meant the Sabres did not have
short-term interests in mind. But most agree that the deal probably was
the right idea under the circumstances. It's difficult to find good free agents to come to a team at the bottom of the standings; sometimes even overpaying them isn't good enough. So is collecting young players proof of tanking, or do you have to find a cliched "smoking gun" document that says "let's lose as often as possible so we can get Connor McDavid"? Depends on your definition, I guess.
The Sabres can't exactly sell the present to the fan base. But they can sell hope - hope that better times will be coming. It shows the passion of those fans that many are willing to watch the team lose - yes, even root for losses - if it means a superstar in the form of McDavid is coming. That puts them on opposite sides from the current group of players, who obviously have an interest in doing as well as possible.
It's an uncomfortable situation for everyone, and it will test the patience of those involved - from ownership to fans in the 300 level. This is a new situation for all concerned, since the Sabres haven't gone through many long droughts in their history. We're likely to learn a lot about those connected to the team in the coming months.
Be notified of new posts on Twitter @WDX2BB.
Showing posts with label Buffalo Sabres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buffalo Sabres. Show all posts
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Sunday, March 02, 2014
Scratching my head again
It's been two memorable nights at the workplace this week - back-to-back, no less.
On Friday, my Twitter feed suddenly was filled at 6:30 p.m. with the news that Ryan Miller and Steve Ott were not on the ice for the Buffalo Sabres, even though they were in the original lineup for that night's game. Kremlin-watchers correctly figured out that some sort of trade had happened. Miller and Ott had been told to pack for St. Louis shortly before that.
Then on Saturday, stories about problems in the Sabres' front office started to circulate on Twitter. At first, we guessed that something might be up with team president Ted Black. Then the scuttlebutt started to spread in social media that it was Pat LaFontaine who might be in the middle of it. Sure enough, a news release was emailed to us later in the night that LaFontaine had resigned his position as president of hockey operations, and would be returning to a position with the National Hockey League.
As you could imagine, we "tore apart" a few planned pages for the sports section as the night went on. Our layout editor for the two nights has applied for combat pay.
There was only one thing that could be certain about all this: We couldn't blame Darcy Regier for any of it.
The name of the Sabres' former general manager did come up in one out of town story I saw, at least. Someone said the Miller/Ott deal was another example of the Sabres getting maximum value for their assets, following in the footsteps of trades for players like Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek. In other words, new general manager Tim Murray is following the same plan as Regier did.
The biggest drawback with this is that the Sabres aren't going to have many gate attractions on the team next season. I'm not sure who will be on the cover of the calendar, either. There aren't many players of note left who will be able to drink adult beverages in commercial establishments.
When the Sabres realized that their planned nucleus wasn't going to be nearly good enough to get the job done, they opted for a complete rebuild. The question that will haunt the near-term future of the team is - was that completely necessary? Is the team now unneccesarily bad because of a lack of good NHL veterans in an effort to reach better days? Time will decide that one, but pretty obviously, once the course had been set there was no turning back. That's why trading Miller made sense, no matter that he had become the face of the franchise.
However ... if you are looking for a logical explanation for events surrounding LaFontaine's departure, look elsewhere. I got nothing. News columnist Bucky Gleason was right on target Sunday morning when he said there are only unanswered questions by the somewhat mysterious resignation. Statements in the news conference on Sunday only added to the lack of clarity. You can play all sorts of word games in these situations without telling what happened; heck, I used to do that for a living.
The initial restructuring of the team was always a little odd. LaFontaine and Black both had the title of president, leaving open the question of what happened when they disagreed on something. Black is said to be something less than a beloved boss around the office. We don't know much about LaFontaine's management style, but we do know that he quit a position after a brief stay with the Islanders over a dispute with ownership.
Plus, we've had a top executive immediately hire a new coach, take his time to hire a new general manager, and then leave. What could Murray be thinking about now, especially with the news that a replacement for LaFontaine isn't coming? Heck, he just got a promotion out of all of this.
And then there's Nolan, who apparently was about set to sign a long-term contract with the team. Now his friend and his boss - same guy - are gone. Is he having 1997 flashbacks? And just to add to the story, Nolan certainly knows this is his last shot at an NHL coaching job. Fold now, fold forever - as we say at the poker table.
There's more intrigue to come here in the coming weeks, and probably more head-scratching to come. But I'll throw in my usual point about professional sports teams. They usually lose for a reason, and that reason isn't so obvious from the outside. But there are a great many players in the story at the First Niagara Center, and it would be nice to see them row in the same direction and at the same time. It sure doesn't sound like that's been happening lately.
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB.
On Friday, my Twitter feed suddenly was filled at 6:30 p.m. with the news that Ryan Miller and Steve Ott were not on the ice for the Buffalo Sabres, even though they were in the original lineup for that night's game. Kremlin-watchers correctly figured out that some sort of trade had happened. Miller and Ott had been told to pack for St. Louis shortly before that.
Then on Saturday, stories about problems in the Sabres' front office started to circulate on Twitter. At first, we guessed that something might be up with team president Ted Black. Then the scuttlebutt started to spread in social media that it was Pat LaFontaine who might be in the middle of it. Sure enough, a news release was emailed to us later in the night that LaFontaine had resigned his position as president of hockey operations, and would be returning to a position with the National Hockey League.
As you could imagine, we "tore apart" a few planned pages for the sports section as the night went on. Our layout editor for the two nights has applied for combat pay.
There was only one thing that could be certain about all this: We couldn't blame Darcy Regier for any of it.
The name of the Sabres' former general manager did come up in one out of town story I saw, at least. Someone said the Miller/Ott deal was another example of the Sabres getting maximum value for their assets, following in the footsteps of trades for players like Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek. In other words, new general manager Tim Murray is following the same plan as Regier did.
The biggest drawback with this is that the Sabres aren't going to have many gate attractions on the team next season. I'm not sure who will be on the cover of the calendar, either. There aren't many players of note left who will be able to drink adult beverages in commercial establishments.
When the Sabres realized that their planned nucleus wasn't going to be nearly good enough to get the job done, they opted for a complete rebuild. The question that will haunt the near-term future of the team is - was that completely necessary? Is the team now unneccesarily bad because of a lack of good NHL veterans in an effort to reach better days? Time will decide that one, but pretty obviously, once the course had been set there was no turning back. That's why trading Miller made sense, no matter that he had become the face of the franchise.
However ... if you are looking for a logical explanation for events surrounding LaFontaine's departure, look elsewhere. I got nothing. News columnist Bucky Gleason was right on target Sunday morning when he said there are only unanswered questions by the somewhat mysterious resignation. Statements in the news conference on Sunday only added to the lack of clarity. You can play all sorts of word games in these situations without telling what happened; heck, I used to do that for a living.
The initial restructuring of the team was always a little odd. LaFontaine and Black both had the title of president, leaving open the question of what happened when they disagreed on something. Black is said to be something less than a beloved boss around the office. We don't know much about LaFontaine's management style, but we do know that he quit a position after a brief stay with the Islanders over a dispute with ownership.
Plus, we've had a top executive immediately hire a new coach, take his time to hire a new general manager, and then leave. What could Murray be thinking about now, especially with the news that a replacement for LaFontaine isn't coming? Heck, he just got a promotion out of all of this.
And then there's Nolan, who apparently was about set to sign a long-term contract with the team. Now his friend and his boss - same guy - are gone. Is he having 1997 flashbacks? And just to add to the story, Nolan certainly knows this is his last shot at an NHL coaching job. Fold now, fold forever - as we say at the poker table.
There's more intrigue to come here in the coming weeks, and probably more head-scratching to come. But I'll throw in my usual point about professional sports teams. They usually lose for a reason, and that reason isn't so obvious from the outside. But there are a great many players in the story at the First Niagara Center, and it would be nice to see them row in the same direction and at the same time. It sure doesn't sound like that's been happening lately.
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
It was time
Absolute shockers are few and far between in sports, at least off the playing field, but Wednesday's developments involving the Buffalo Sabres certainly qualified. When I saw on Twitter this morning that a news conference had been called by the team, my first thought was that coach Ron Rolston was going to be sacrificed to the hockey gods. The replacement might have been current assistant coach Joe Sacco or former Canadiens coach and current Sabres employee Randy Cunneyworth. In fact, when Cunneyworth was hired a short time ago, I wondered if he was given time to study the organization while serving as an insurance policy in case Rolston had to go.
Wrong. Word leaked out only minutes before the news conference that general manager Darcy Regier and Rolston were gone, and that joining the organization would be president of hockey operations Pat LaFontaine and interim coach Ted Nolan.
I've written about Regier a lot in this space - I'm the guy who didn't think sending him to a Siberian training camp was a good idea. (Good thing this isn't well read.) He was always a good soldier, who put together a couple of good squads that could have won Stanley Cups over the course of 16-plus years. Regier also had some unusual circumstances over his tenure, with drastic changes in ownership philosophy.
What went wrong? A couple of points come to mind. The Sabres got caught in the middle of the standings for many of the past several years. That meant they didn't get many top 10 draft choices, where the good players are. It's tough to get off that treadmill of mediocrity.
It's also easy to second-guess some of the roster moves, such as the signing of free agent Ville Leino and a big contract to Tyler Myers, whose game went straight downhill. When the Sabres didn't improve, some of the veterans (and the front office) saw the writing on the wall and they headed for the exit one way or another. The last playoff team for the Sabres came in 2011, and names such as Vanek, Roy, Pominville, Gaustad, and Leopold were on that roster but are gone now. I looked at the line combinations the other day and said to someone, "They don't have anything left, do they?"
I heard conflicting stories about Regier personally. Some people I trust said he was a first-class person whose attributes didn't really come across in public well. Others I trust said he kept an unnecessary distance and was a reason why players didn't want to come to Buffalo. What's the truth? Maybe a little of both, and probably I'll never know.
But rather clearly the fan base had had enough, and certainly was ready to start voting with their wallets about the situation. A dreary start definitely looked like it was going to be a dreary season, and it was time for a move.
Was this the right move? It certainly was in terms of public relations, a grand-slam homer with that same fan base. LaFontaine is almost as popular in Buffalo as David Ortiz is in Boston, meaning that LaFontaine probably could have finished third in the mayor's race here like Ortiz did last week in Boston. Nolan isn't far behind. The move may not produce many wins, but it buys the team time with the fans. The Sabres have bought themselves a honeymoon period with the two newcomers, and Nolan certainly will motivate the players the rest of the way so that the product ought to be more entertaining.
Still, there's so much that we don't know right now. Starting at the top, is this a sign that owner Terry Pegula is learning about the hockey business, or that he made this precise move for the wrong reasons? Regier wasn't the only one in the Sabres' hockey department, and LaFontaine will have to figure out what sort of moves will be needed. His first action probably will be to hire a general manager, which should be revealing, They both will have to figure out how to deal with Ryan Miller's situation, the last big piece left on the roster. Plus, that general manager no doubt will wonder how much authority he has to switch coaches - either in the summer or later - under this set of unique circumstances.
And, somewhat ironically, the Sabres won't have much choice but to follow Regier's plan for rebuilding. It's tough to picture Buffalo shipping all of those draft choices from the next couple of years for veterans who can help now, although some minor deals for fringe players who can help a little now probably might not be a bad idea. Remember when Nolan asked general manager John Muckler to give up a pick for an unknown defenseman named Bob Boughner, who proved helpful for a few years? The current teens on the roster will have to grow up and improve, and the ones who enter the organization in the near future must come through.
But the Sabres now can afford to stay the course. Before Wednesday morning, the team was bad and boring. After Wednesday morning, it became bad and fascinating. That's not a bad day's work before lunch.
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB.
Wrong. Word leaked out only minutes before the news conference that general manager Darcy Regier and Rolston were gone, and that joining the organization would be president of hockey operations Pat LaFontaine and interim coach Ted Nolan.
I've written about Regier a lot in this space - I'm the guy who didn't think sending him to a Siberian training camp was a good idea. (Good thing this isn't well read.) He was always a good soldier, who put together a couple of good squads that could have won Stanley Cups over the course of 16-plus years. Regier also had some unusual circumstances over his tenure, with drastic changes in ownership philosophy.
What went wrong? A couple of points come to mind. The Sabres got caught in the middle of the standings for many of the past several years. That meant they didn't get many top 10 draft choices, where the good players are. It's tough to get off that treadmill of mediocrity.
It's also easy to second-guess some of the roster moves, such as the signing of free agent Ville Leino and a big contract to Tyler Myers, whose game went straight downhill. When the Sabres didn't improve, some of the veterans (and the front office) saw the writing on the wall and they headed for the exit one way or another. The last playoff team for the Sabres came in 2011, and names such as Vanek, Roy, Pominville, Gaustad, and Leopold were on that roster but are gone now. I looked at the line combinations the other day and said to someone, "They don't have anything left, do they?"
I heard conflicting stories about Regier personally. Some people I trust said he was a first-class person whose attributes didn't really come across in public well. Others I trust said he kept an unnecessary distance and was a reason why players didn't want to come to Buffalo. What's the truth? Maybe a little of both, and probably I'll never know.
But rather clearly the fan base had had enough, and certainly was ready to start voting with their wallets about the situation. A dreary start definitely looked like it was going to be a dreary season, and it was time for a move.
Was this the right move? It certainly was in terms of public relations, a grand-slam homer with that same fan base. LaFontaine is almost as popular in Buffalo as David Ortiz is in Boston, meaning that LaFontaine probably could have finished third in the mayor's race here like Ortiz did last week in Boston. Nolan isn't far behind. The move may not produce many wins, but it buys the team time with the fans. The Sabres have bought themselves a honeymoon period with the two newcomers, and Nolan certainly will motivate the players the rest of the way so that the product ought to be more entertaining.
Still, there's so much that we don't know right now. Starting at the top, is this a sign that owner Terry Pegula is learning about the hockey business, or that he made this precise move for the wrong reasons? Regier wasn't the only one in the Sabres' hockey department, and LaFontaine will have to figure out what sort of moves will be needed. His first action probably will be to hire a general manager, which should be revealing, They both will have to figure out how to deal with Ryan Miller's situation, the last big piece left on the roster. Plus, that general manager no doubt will wonder how much authority he has to switch coaches - either in the summer or later - under this set of unique circumstances.
And, somewhat ironically, the Sabres won't have much choice but to follow Regier's plan for rebuilding. It's tough to picture Buffalo shipping all of those draft choices from the next couple of years for veterans who can help now, although some minor deals for fringe players who can help a little now probably might not be a bad idea. Remember when Nolan asked general manager John Muckler to give up a pick for an unknown defenseman named Bob Boughner, who proved helpful for a few years? The current teens on the roster will have to grow up and improve, and the ones who enter the organization in the near future must come through.
But the Sabres now can afford to stay the course. Before Wednesday morning, the team was bad and boring. After Wednesday morning, it became bad and fascinating. That's not a bad day's work before lunch.
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB.
Monday, October 21, 2013
It's a long season
The Buffalo Sabres recently tied a franchise record for longest winless streak at the start of the season. People no doubt were wondering what it was like inside the Sabres' offices during such a stretch.
Been there, done that.
The 1990-91 edition of the Sabres also went seven games without a loss. Take it from someone in the public relations department of the team, it seemed like an eternity. Everyone had a feeling that was along the lines of "we're never going to win a game."
Remember, that team was coming off one of its best regular seasons in recent memory. It had 98 points, only to get a tough draw in the first round of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens and exit in six games. But it didn't help at the start. I can still remember when the streak ended that Channel 2 running a crawl announcing that the Sabres had won a game, complete with exclamation points.
Usually, this is the time when I might preach patience for the current edition of the Sabres. After all, the 1990-91 team actually rebounded and made the playoffs. A team can go winless for seven games at any point of the season, but it sure looks a lot worse when it is in the start of the season than it does in February. That zero in the win column of the league standings after two weeks can be haunting.
I like to quote former Canisius basketball coach Nick Macarchuk. He once pointed out after a game that when his team was trailing by 10-0, it sounded a lot worse than it was. The Griffins had something like 36 minutes to make up the deficit against Vermont, and it did. But it's human nature to look at the first four minutes and wonder if it's the start of a trend that will last throughout the game.
The talk around Buffalo hockey circles, fan division, is about the need for some drastic move in the hockey department, meaning the departure of general manager Darcy Regier and/or coach Ron Rolston. Granted, I'm a voice in the wilderness for keeping Regier around. That's partly because I'm a believer that if you think you have good people, you accept the inevitable ups and downs by keeping them and figure tomorrow will be better. Regier's record hasn't been great, but it has often been good, The team rarely has been awful during his tenure on the job, and there have been some unusual circumstances surrounding the team (ownership actions, bankruptcy, budget restraints, etc.) at times.
It's an easy jump from keeping Regier to keeping Rolston. A decision was made in the summer to bring Rolston back, and Regier said at the time that hard times were probably ahead. Oh, and if you fire Regier, you probably get rid of Rolston as well, because every general manager wants his own coach watching out for his decisions on the ice. Besides, do you fire a coach who has been on the job on a full-time basis for 10 games?
But that rational - at least I think it's rational - line of thinking may get thrown out in the relatively near future. The difficult circumstances are tightening by the game. The fan base is still looking for a scapegoat from the letdown it suffered when the team didn't meet the high expectations felt when Terry Pegula took over as owner. Lindy Ruff's departure just wasn't enough.
The team's two best players, Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek, are potentially gone by the end of the season. Without them, there would be two fewer reasons to buy tickets - as if the current product's entertainment level isn't dreary enough to get people in the mood to start saving for lacrosse tickets. Economics usually drives these arguments anyway - when people start voting with their wallets, it gets attention.
I would suspect we'd follow the usual order of actions here when a team is losing. There is some reshuffling of the lineup via recalls from the minor league team, and then there's a trade or two of less than major significance.
But after a few more weeks of uninspired, less-than-entertaining hockey, all bets are off.
(P.S. As we discovered, Regier jumped a step or two when he received a good offer from the Islanders for Vanek. The point remains the same.)
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB.
Been there, done that.
The 1990-91 edition of the Sabres also went seven games without a loss. Take it from someone in the public relations department of the team, it seemed like an eternity. Everyone had a feeling that was along the lines of "we're never going to win a game."
Remember, that team was coming off one of its best regular seasons in recent memory. It had 98 points, only to get a tough draw in the first round of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens and exit in six games. But it didn't help at the start. I can still remember when the streak ended that Channel 2 running a crawl announcing that the Sabres had won a game, complete with exclamation points.
Usually, this is the time when I might preach patience for the current edition of the Sabres. After all, the 1990-91 team actually rebounded and made the playoffs. A team can go winless for seven games at any point of the season, but it sure looks a lot worse when it is in the start of the season than it does in February. That zero in the win column of the league standings after two weeks can be haunting.
I like to quote former Canisius basketball coach Nick Macarchuk. He once pointed out after a game that when his team was trailing by 10-0, it sounded a lot worse than it was. The Griffins had something like 36 minutes to make up the deficit against Vermont, and it did. But it's human nature to look at the first four minutes and wonder if it's the start of a trend that will last throughout the game.
The talk around Buffalo hockey circles, fan division, is about the need for some drastic move in the hockey department, meaning the departure of general manager Darcy Regier and/or coach Ron Rolston. Granted, I'm a voice in the wilderness for keeping Regier around. That's partly because I'm a believer that if you think you have good people, you accept the inevitable ups and downs by keeping them and figure tomorrow will be better. Regier's record hasn't been great, but it has often been good, The team rarely has been awful during his tenure on the job, and there have been some unusual circumstances surrounding the team (ownership actions, bankruptcy, budget restraints, etc.) at times.
It's an easy jump from keeping Regier to keeping Rolston. A decision was made in the summer to bring Rolston back, and Regier said at the time that hard times were probably ahead. Oh, and if you fire Regier, you probably get rid of Rolston as well, because every general manager wants his own coach watching out for his decisions on the ice. Besides, do you fire a coach who has been on the job on a full-time basis for 10 games?
But that rational - at least I think it's rational - line of thinking may get thrown out in the relatively near future. The difficult circumstances are tightening by the game. The fan base is still looking for a scapegoat from the letdown it suffered when the team didn't meet the high expectations felt when Terry Pegula took over as owner. Lindy Ruff's departure just wasn't enough.
The team's two best players, Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek, are potentially gone by the end of the season. Without them, there would be two fewer reasons to buy tickets - as if the current product's entertainment level isn't dreary enough to get people in the mood to start saving for lacrosse tickets. Economics usually drives these arguments anyway - when people start voting with their wallets, it gets attention.
I would suspect we'd follow the usual order of actions here when a team is losing. There is some reshuffling of the lineup via recalls from the minor league team, and then there's a trade or two of less than major significance.
But after a few more weeks of uninspired, less-than-entertaining hockey, all bets are off.
(P.S. As we discovered, Regier jumped a step or two when he received a good offer from the Islanders for Vanek. The point remains the same.)
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
What to do?
Think it's easy to be a sports executive these days? Think again.
Ponder the situation surrounding the Buffalo Sabres. You remember the Sabres, the guys who are sitting home while 16 other teams are starting down the road to the Stanley Cup.
General manager Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff have been together since 1997. That's a very impressive combination; many marriages don't last that long. They've had some success over the years, including three trips to the conference finals and one visit to the Stanley Cup finals. No Stanley Cups, though, and only two visits to the postseason in the past five years.
New owner Terry Pegula came in more than a year ago with a full wallet, ready to do whatever it took to win. He certainly fulfilled his end of the bargain, as Buffalo went after a couple of free agents -- unusual behavior by recent Sabre standards. The signings raised expectations greatly ... which made the disappointment of the just-concluded season that much more dramatic and crushing.
If you had been a Sabre executive, what would have been running through your mind as you pondered the future of Regier and Ruff? It's a mixed bag, with no obvious right answer.
The Sabres have had some success at times, but perhaps not enough. Buffalo has missed the playoffs six times since Regier and Ruff came in during the summer of '97. That's not terrible in a 15-year span, but not glittering either. Some of Regier's transactions have worked out (Paul Gaustad for a number one pick), some (the Brad Boyes deal) haven't. Meanwhile, Regier has never been one to reveal much of himself to the fan base, perhaps because he's on the shy side (a rare trait for a pro sports executive).
Players often start to tune out a coach after a while, and Ruff's coaching tactics started to show some signs of staleness this season if the comments on locker room cleanout day are any indication. But, how much of this past season was really his fault, and how much blame should the players get?
Throw in one other factor: Pegula went very public in supporting Ruff when he bought the team. If he dumps Regier now, any new general manager probably would want his own coach if possible. So he'd have to move both.
There's always a segment of fans who want to change coaches and executives without much thought. They're impatient, and that's understandable. Sports teams in Buffalo haven't been good in a while. But are many of them cancelling their season tickets? I don't sense a rebellion coming, although we'd obviously have to see what happens in the next couple of months.
Team President Ted Black announced today that Regier and Ruff would be back in the fall. All things considered, that's not a bad move. I might have had a couple of "where do we go from here?" meetings, but I'm usually not a big fan of the "let's blow things up" school of management. Bad franchises seem to do that constantly.
Still, a situation can change in a minute. Ask the Red Sox, who had the most successful general manager/manager combination in their history both leave a short time after last year's conclusion to the baseball season.
There will be pressure for next season on both Regier and Ruff. The reservoir of good will is a bit low on water now, but I could see it getting empty really quickly with a slow start in the fall. But ... the management team will have a full chance to reboot the roster this offseason. Let's see how it does.
Darcy and Lindy know how it works. They've lasted 15 years, an almost unimaginable time period, and they've been well paid during that time. It sounds a little wishy-washy now, but it's true: Year 16 will be the big one.
Be notified of new posts on Twitter @WDX2BB.
Ponder the situation surrounding the Buffalo Sabres. You remember the Sabres, the guys who are sitting home while 16 other teams are starting down the road to the Stanley Cup.
General manager Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff have been together since 1997. That's a very impressive combination; many marriages don't last that long. They've had some success over the years, including three trips to the conference finals and one visit to the Stanley Cup finals. No Stanley Cups, though, and only two visits to the postseason in the past five years.
New owner Terry Pegula came in more than a year ago with a full wallet, ready to do whatever it took to win. He certainly fulfilled his end of the bargain, as Buffalo went after a couple of free agents -- unusual behavior by recent Sabre standards. The signings raised expectations greatly ... which made the disappointment of the just-concluded season that much more dramatic and crushing.
If you had been a Sabre executive, what would have been running through your mind as you pondered the future of Regier and Ruff? It's a mixed bag, with no obvious right answer.
The Sabres have had some success at times, but perhaps not enough. Buffalo has missed the playoffs six times since Regier and Ruff came in during the summer of '97. That's not terrible in a 15-year span, but not glittering either. Some of Regier's transactions have worked out (Paul Gaustad for a number one pick), some (the Brad Boyes deal) haven't. Meanwhile, Regier has never been one to reveal much of himself to the fan base, perhaps because he's on the shy side (a rare trait for a pro sports executive).
Players often start to tune out a coach after a while, and Ruff's coaching tactics started to show some signs of staleness this season if the comments on locker room cleanout day are any indication. But, how much of this past season was really his fault, and how much blame should the players get?
Throw in one other factor: Pegula went very public in supporting Ruff when he bought the team. If he dumps Regier now, any new general manager probably would want his own coach if possible. So he'd have to move both.
There's always a segment of fans who want to change coaches and executives without much thought. They're impatient, and that's understandable. Sports teams in Buffalo haven't been good in a while. But are many of them cancelling their season tickets? I don't sense a rebellion coming, although we'd obviously have to see what happens in the next couple of months.
Team President Ted Black announced today that Regier and Ruff would be back in the fall. All things considered, that's not a bad move. I might have had a couple of "where do we go from here?" meetings, but I'm usually not a big fan of the "let's blow things up" school of management. Bad franchises seem to do that constantly.
Still, a situation can change in a minute. Ask the Red Sox, who had the most successful general manager/manager combination in their history both leave a short time after last year's conclusion to the baseball season.
There will be pressure for next season on both Regier and Ruff. The reservoir of good will is a bit low on water now, but I could see it getting empty really quickly with a slow start in the fall. But ... the management team will have a full chance to reboot the roster this offseason. Let's see how it does.
Darcy and Lindy know how it works. They've lasted 15 years, an almost unimaginable time period, and they've been well paid during that time. It sounds a little wishy-washy now, but it's true: Year 16 will be the big one.
Be notified of new posts on Twitter @WDX2BB.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Anger squared
There are all sorts of levels of anger when it comes to professional sports. When teams don't win -- and remember, every team but one comes up as a loser at the end of a given season -- the emotion of the fans spill over. It's great for the teams when those fans pay more than $100 for three hours of entertainment, but not so great when the fan base isn't happy.
There are a couple of different stages of anger here in Buffalo right now. There are the Bills, who haven't made the playoffs in this century. There's a certain amount of resignation with a streak like that. Players and coaches have come and gone, but progress toward the postseason has been a rare sight. Then in the past season, just when it looked like the Bills were making progress, somebody pulled the carpet out from under their feet and sent them skidding off the road to success again. It was a little cruel to watch, but had the advantage of being at some level expected, particularly because of several key injuries.
Then there are the Sabres, who have taken the frustration level up a few notches in the past month.
In the past 30 years, Sabre ownership could best be described as having something of a commitment to mediocrity. The exception to that might be the guy who is in jail at the moment, although it's a little difficult even in hindsight to figure out his goals when owning the team at the time. Either way, the Sabres were often mediocre with a few rare excursions into the ranks of hockey's best.
Enter Terry Pegula a little less than a year ago, who needed only a news conference to enter the hearts of Buffalo sports fans. Here was someone with billions of dollars in his wallet, a longtime fan of the Sabres who wanted nothing more than to win a Stanley Cup. Or three. Western New York had never seen anything like it, except perhaps when the Bills kept a group together long enough to make it to four straight Super Bowls.
Then in July, when free agent season arrived, the Sabres were ready to go hunting. Two players, Chrstian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino, were signed to big contracts, and a third, Robyn Regehr, was acquired by trade. I can't say I saw many outsiders pick the Sabres to win the Stanley Cup back in October, but they were expected to be a team that could figure in the discussion come spring. Closer to home, the optimism rate had hit a record high.
After a decent but hardly great start, it's been downhill. Injuries have been a problem, with several regulars missing at a given moment. But, that doesn't let some of the team's best players off the hook. Only Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville have had good years when looking at the team's top players. It's an odd sounding cliche -- your team is in trouble when its best players aren't its best players.
Here we are, just past the halfway point, and the Sabres are 18 points behind Boston in the division race. They are in 11th place in the Conference, nine games under .500, and nine points behind eighth-place Florida. They are 2-6-2 in their last 10, and haven't won a road game in their last 11 starts -- which means Dec. 3 was the last win.
If all that weren't enough for the fan base to handle, many fans haven't been able to see games on television between MSG and Time Warner Cable. You can make some sarcastic jokes about not wanting to see them play -- go ahead, everyone else has -- but it's never a good idea to be cut off from your fans in such a visible way.
Judging the level of frustration is difficult, of course. You always get people who love to complain when things go badly for a sports team, and they are out in force. Still, the disappointment shown by many people seems to have a level of bitterness that has hit some new heights. If you listen to the comments around the office or from your friends, and read the posts on Facebook, it's difficult to find anyone who harbors much hope. "Yup, fooled again."
And the worst part is, options for a cure from anyone are few. There are still a number of injuries, so recalls from the minors already have been made. Management has few options there. Trading a fourth-liner for a fourth-liner would qualify only as a cosmetic move. No one is going to be in a rush to acquire some of the Sabres' biggest underachievers, especially at their relatively high salaries. Firing the coach is the usual course, but Pegula has said he's a big fan of Lindy Ruff. A new general manager now won't salvage this season, although you'd have to think Darcy Regier would have trouble surviving a campaign that ended in early April.
And so, the fan base waits. They wait for good health, they wait for some sort of chemistry-altering trade, they wait for a shakeup in the front office. Mostly they wait for something like a 9-0-1 stretch that would put the Sabres in the playoff race.
In the meantime, we can see the pool of good feelings for the Sabres slowly empty before our eyes.
There are a couple of different stages of anger here in Buffalo right now. There are the Bills, who haven't made the playoffs in this century. There's a certain amount of resignation with a streak like that. Players and coaches have come and gone, but progress toward the postseason has been a rare sight. Then in the past season, just when it looked like the Bills were making progress, somebody pulled the carpet out from under their feet and sent them skidding off the road to success again. It was a little cruel to watch, but had the advantage of being at some level expected, particularly because of several key injuries.
Then there are the Sabres, who have taken the frustration level up a few notches in the past month.
In the past 30 years, Sabre ownership could best be described as having something of a commitment to mediocrity. The exception to that might be the guy who is in jail at the moment, although it's a little difficult even in hindsight to figure out his goals when owning the team at the time. Either way, the Sabres were often mediocre with a few rare excursions into the ranks of hockey's best.
Enter Terry Pegula a little less than a year ago, who needed only a news conference to enter the hearts of Buffalo sports fans. Here was someone with billions of dollars in his wallet, a longtime fan of the Sabres who wanted nothing more than to win a Stanley Cup. Or three. Western New York had never seen anything like it, except perhaps when the Bills kept a group together long enough to make it to four straight Super Bowls.
Then in July, when free agent season arrived, the Sabres were ready to go hunting. Two players, Chrstian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino, were signed to big contracts, and a third, Robyn Regehr, was acquired by trade. I can't say I saw many outsiders pick the Sabres to win the Stanley Cup back in October, but they were expected to be a team that could figure in the discussion come spring. Closer to home, the optimism rate had hit a record high.
After a decent but hardly great start, it's been downhill. Injuries have been a problem, with several regulars missing at a given moment. But, that doesn't let some of the team's best players off the hook. Only Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville have had good years when looking at the team's top players. It's an odd sounding cliche -- your team is in trouble when its best players aren't its best players.
Here we are, just past the halfway point, and the Sabres are 18 points behind Boston in the division race. They are in 11th place in the Conference, nine games under .500, and nine points behind eighth-place Florida. They are 2-6-2 in their last 10, and haven't won a road game in their last 11 starts -- which means Dec. 3 was the last win.
If all that weren't enough for the fan base to handle, many fans haven't been able to see games on television between MSG and Time Warner Cable. You can make some sarcastic jokes about not wanting to see them play -- go ahead, everyone else has -- but it's never a good idea to be cut off from your fans in such a visible way.
Judging the level of frustration is difficult, of course. You always get people who love to complain when things go badly for a sports team, and they are out in force. Still, the disappointment shown by many people seems to have a level of bitterness that has hit some new heights. If you listen to the comments around the office or from your friends, and read the posts on Facebook, it's difficult to find anyone who harbors much hope. "Yup, fooled again."
And the worst part is, options for a cure from anyone are few. There are still a number of injuries, so recalls from the minors already have been made. Management has few options there. Trading a fourth-liner for a fourth-liner would qualify only as a cosmetic move. No one is going to be in a rush to acquire some of the Sabres' biggest underachievers, especially at their relatively high salaries. Firing the coach is the usual course, but Pegula has said he's a big fan of Lindy Ruff. A new general manager now won't salvage this season, although you'd have to think Darcy Regier would have trouble surviving a campaign that ended in early April.
And so, the fan base waits. They wait for good health, they wait for some sort of chemistry-altering trade, they wait for a shakeup in the front office. Mostly they wait for something like a 9-0-1 stretch that would put the Sabres in the playoff race.
In the meantime, we can see the pool of good feelings for the Sabres slowly empty before our eyes.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Rooting for the home team
It's rare that a movie gets me to thinking about hockey, but today was such a day. And I wasn't even watching "Slap Shot" or "Miracle."
I saw "Gasland." This is a documentary about fracking.
Fracking is the short-hand name for the technique of drilling under ground and taking natural gas out. There are huge reserves under much of the United States, although it's a little difficult to get at them. And things can go wrong.
Josh Fox made the documentary, touring the country to interview people and show problems. The natural gas industry has spent some time knocking down some of the film's contents, and there's little doubt that the motion picture could have been put together a little better and more orderly.
Still, Fox makes the point that there do seem to be some dangers and issues involved. There are enough scenes of tap water looking like motor oil and rivers catching on fire to get that across. To play movie critic, it's probably worth your time to see it if you want to learn more about the matter, particularly from one side. In fact, I'll bet it convinced some viewers that we need to stop, or at least slow, fracking in ecologically sensitive areas. Like, my back yard, and yours.
That brings us to Terry Pegula.
He was in the energy business, eventually selling East Resources to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion. That's billion, with a B.
Since then, Pegula has purchased the Buffalo Sabres and lifted all financial restrictions from the franchise. He says his goal is to win multiple Stanley Cups; he added that if he wants to make more money he can always drill another well.
This approach has made Pegula more popular than anyone else in Western New York in record time. None of the area's franchise owners have ever done that, And Pegula, who on a personal level seems like a good person, put his money where his mouth is, shelling out enough money to put the Sabres right up against the salary cap. And making major improvements to the Sabres' arena. And buying the Rochester Americans in order to move the team's minor-league affiliate there.
And thus the conflict, for some. To quote a Philadelphia Inquirer article, "The sale of East Resources included a Marcellus Shale lease hold for more than 650,000 acres in the Appalachian Basin, a major contributor to the natural-gas supply in the United States." The area roughly extends north to a line in upstate New York going from Buffalo to Syracuse, thus covering much of Erie County and all of Cattaragus, Chautauqua and Allegany Counties for starters.
There are plenty of people out there who are fighting the establishment or expansion of fracking in certain areas. It's been talked about in Western New York. I'll bet some of them are hockey fans.
Does it matter to them that the money spent to improve the hockey team was gained through fracking? Does the fact that Pegula has sold his business make a difference, even if he remains a firm advocate of the concept?
I don't recall this sort of issue popping up in sports before. No one complained that Ralph Wilson made major money from trucking, or that the Knox brothers picked their parents well. Once we learned what John Rigas did, he was in jail ... and thus a moral conflict never came up.
Sometimes, it's not easy to be a fan.
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB
I saw "Gasland." This is a documentary about fracking.
Fracking is the short-hand name for the technique of drilling under ground and taking natural gas out. There are huge reserves under much of the United States, although it's a little difficult to get at them. And things can go wrong.
Josh Fox made the documentary, touring the country to interview people and show problems. The natural gas industry has spent some time knocking down some of the film's contents, and there's little doubt that the motion picture could have been put together a little better and more orderly.
Still, Fox makes the point that there do seem to be some dangers and issues involved. There are enough scenes of tap water looking like motor oil and rivers catching on fire to get that across. To play movie critic, it's probably worth your time to see it if you want to learn more about the matter, particularly from one side. In fact, I'll bet it convinced some viewers that we need to stop, or at least slow, fracking in ecologically sensitive areas. Like, my back yard, and yours.
That brings us to Terry Pegula.
He was in the energy business, eventually selling East Resources to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion. That's billion, with a B.
Since then, Pegula has purchased the Buffalo Sabres and lifted all financial restrictions from the franchise. He says his goal is to win multiple Stanley Cups; he added that if he wants to make more money he can always drill another well.
This approach has made Pegula more popular than anyone else in Western New York in record time. None of the area's franchise owners have ever done that, And Pegula, who on a personal level seems like a good person, put his money where his mouth is, shelling out enough money to put the Sabres right up against the salary cap. And making major improvements to the Sabres' arena. And buying the Rochester Americans in order to move the team's minor-league affiliate there.
And thus the conflict, for some. To quote a Philadelphia Inquirer article, "The sale of East Resources included a Marcellus Shale lease hold for more than 650,000 acres in the Appalachian Basin, a major contributor to the natural-gas supply in the United States." The area roughly extends north to a line in upstate New York going from Buffalo to Syracuse, thus covering much of Erie County and all of Cattaragus, Chautauqua and Allegany Counties for starters.
There are plenty of people out there who are fighting the establishment or expansion of fracking in certain areas. It's been talked about in Western New York. I'll bet some of them are hockey fans.
Does it matter to them that the money spent to improve the hockey team was gained through fracking? Does the fact that Pegula has sold his business make a difference, even if he remains a firm advocate of the concept?
I don't recall this sort of issue popping up in sports before. No one complained that Ralph Wilson made major money from trucking, or that the Knox brothers picked their parents well. Once we learned what John Rigas did, he was in jail ... and thus a moral conflict never came up.
Sometimes, it's not easy to be a fan.
Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB
Friday, July 01, 2011
Smarter by the hour
The start of free agency in the National Hockey League has come and gone, and the Buffalo Sabres suddenly are big spenders.
They handed out $40 million to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, and $27 million to Ville Leino. Add that to the acquisition of Robin Regehr back at the draft, and the Sabres suddenly have a new image as a big spender. Care to guess who the league leader in payroll is right now? Yup. It's like Jim Nabors putting out a rap CD.
What's more, Darcy Regier certainly is being examined by some in a new light. Remember the guy who dared to be cautious, who was afraid to make the moves that would change the image of the team? History. It seems the general manager of the Sabres has gained several IQ points in a matter of days.
Which raises the key point here -- sometimes things happen in pro sports in which we don't know the full story until well after the fact.
When I worked for the team more than 20 years ago, the Sabres came very close to acquiring Peter and Anton Stastny (one by trade, the other by free agent) at the deadline. General manager Gerry Meehan had the deal put together, but Sabres' management wouldn't spend the money to sign the two players. So the deal fell through, and Meehan took the blame for the team's lack of action at the deadline.
In another sport, then-Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman revealed in his book that sometimes he had to be the fall guy when management wouldn't take certain steps to help the team. He willingly took the blame for those actions, saying it came with the job.
Regier has suffered some hits in the past several years here, some of them deserved. But all of a sudden, it sure looks like he's had one hand tied behind his back for quite a while. Now with a new owner anxious to make an impact, Regier suddenly looks like Bill Veeck. I'm not planning a parade yet, but the Sabres acted aggressively and decisively at identifying and acquiring players. We'll see if their judgment is up to the task.
Regier always struck me a pretty bright person, and was at times a victim of some odd personnel moves instead of the perpetrator. He was rewarded for it with a large contract extension before the old ownership left, but his GM chair must have been warm if not downright hot at times. I'm not sure his image has been completely rehabilitated, but it sure took about four steps in that direction this week.
They handed out $40 million to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, and $27 million to Ville Leino. Add that to the acquisition of Robin Regehr back at the draft, and the Sabres suddenly have a new image as a big spender. Care to guess who the league leader in payroll is right now? Yup. It's like Jim Nabors putting out a rap CD.
What's more, Darcy Regier certainly is being examined by some in a new light. Remember the guy who dared to be cautious, who was afraid to make the moves that would change the image of the team? History. It seems the general manager of the Sabres has gained several IQ points in a matter of days.
Which raises the key point here -- sometimes things happen in pro sports in which we don't know the full story until well after the fact.
When I worked for the team more than 20 years ago, the Sabres came very close to acquiring Peter and Anton Stastny (one by trade, the other by free agent) at the deadline. General manager Gerry Meehan had the deal put together, but Sabres' management wouldn't spend the money to sign the two players. So the deal fell through, and Meehan took the blame for the team's lack of action at the deadline.
In another sport, then-Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman revealed in his book that sometimes he had to be the fall guy when management wouldn't take certain steps to help the team. He willingly took the blame for those actions, saying it came with the job.
Regier has suffered some hits in the past several years here, some of them deserved. But all of a sudden, it sure looks like he's had one hand tied behind his back for quite a while. Now with a new owner anxious to make an impact, Regier suddenly looks like Bill Veeck. I'm not planning a parade yet, but the Sabres acted aggressively and decisively at identifying and acquiring players. We'll see if their judgment is up to the task.
Regier always struck me a pretty bright person, and was at times a victim of some odd personnel moves instead of the perpetrator. He was rewarded for it with a large contract extension before the old ownership left, but his GM chair must have been warm if not downright hot at times. I'm not sure his image has been completely rehabilitated, but it sure took about four steps in that direction this week.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Game Seven
A brief story seems relevant as the Buffalo Sabres pack out their possessions from their lockers after losing Game Seven to the Philadelphia Flyers:
Way back in 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings were headed for Game Seven of the NHL Conference Finals. It had been a back-and-forth series until that point. But the Leafs were at home, and hadn't been to the Stanley Cup Finals in years and years.
Waiting, as it turned out, were the Montreal Canadiens. A Montreal-Toronto matchup for the Cup, something that was eliminated as a possibility because of realignment of the divisions, was at least possible.
You may remember how it came out. Wayne Gretzky had one of the great games of his life for the Kings, scoring five points and almost single-handedly beating the Maple Leafs.
Steve Dryden, my old friend from his days with the Hockey News, and I were talking about that contest a few years after that fact. Yes, I said, Gretzky was great and all that. But when you (meaning the Leafs) are in a situation like that, "You have to win that game!"
The Sabres know a little bit about that.
They had a three games to two lead over the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-round series. Game Six was in their own building. If that weren't enough, the Flyers' coach surprised everyone by starting a goalie who had been in the AHL for almost the entire season. In a game he had to have, Peter Laviolette went with a third-stringer. It was a stunning decision.
Michael Leighton was predictably shaky in Game Six. He gave up three goals in the first period, was pulled, and was never seen again in the series. I mean that literally. Leighton supposedly never showed up in practice on Monday, and didn't bother going to the game on Tuesday. I think he burned some bridges in Philadelphia.
So the Sabres had a 3-1 lead with 40 minutes to go, and a 4-3 lead with 20 minutes to go. Yes, Jason Pominville was already out injured, and Tim Connolly exited after a hit by Mike Richards that could have drawn a suspension to the Flyer. But even so ...
"You've got to win that game."
They didn't, losing in overtime. As my good friend and noted author Tim Wendel said, it looked like the Sabres ran out of forwards by the end of Game Six. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff had little choice but to try Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht in his lineup as they recovered from injuries.
The Flyers went back to starting Brian Boucher, and opted not to take any more chances. They essentially stopped the Sabres from taking any shots in the first period, leaving nothing to chance. Philadelphia scored late in the first to take the lead, added a couple of more goals in the second, and never looked back. The Sabres' gas tank had hit "E" late in Game Six.
It was a sad ending to a magical run by Buffalo, which didn't appear to have any playoff hopes four months ago. The finish won't do much to slow the growth in enthusiasm in the team, which built throughout the run and incorporated the spark provided by new ownership.
The Sabres probably were too banged up to give Washington a good series anyway. Still, a playoff win in Game Six would have given everyone a huge spring boost. You learn in the hockey business how precious opportunities are, and we'll see how this team reacts to this one getting away.
Way back in 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings were headed for Game Seven of the NHL Conference Finals. It had been a back-and-forth series until that point. But the Leafs were at home, and hadn't been to the Stanley Cup Finals in years and years.
Waiting, as it turned out, were the Montreal Canadiens. A Montreal-Toronto matchup for the Cup, something that was eliminated as a possibility because of realignment of the divisions, was at least possible.
You may remember how it came out. Wayne Gretzky had one of the great games of his life for the Kings, scoring five points and almost single-handedly beating the Maple Leafs.
Steve Dryden, my old friend from his days with the Hockey News, and I were talking about that contest a few years after that fact. Yes, I said, Gretzky was great and all that. But when you (meaning the Leafs) are in a situation like that, "You have to win that game!"
The Sabres know a little bit about that.
They had a three games to two lead over the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-round series. Game Six was in their own building. If that weren't enough, the Flyers' coach surprised everyone by starting a goalie who had been in the AHL for almost the entire season. In a game he had to have, Peter Laviolette went with a third-stringer. It was a stunning decision.
Michael Leighton was predictably shaky in Game Six. He gave up three goals in the first period, was pulled, and was never seen again in the series. I mean that literally. Leighton supposedly never showed up in practice on Monday, and didn't bother going to the game on Tuesday. I think he burned some bridges in Philadelphia.
So the Sabres had a 3-1 lead with 40 minutes to go, and a 4-3 lead with 20 minutes to go. Yes, Jason Pominville was already out injured, and Tim Connolly exited after a hit by Mike Richards that could have drawn a suspension to the Flyer. But even so ...
"You've got to win that game."
They didn't, losing in overtime. As my good friend and noted author Tim Wendel said, it looked like the Sabres ran out of forwards by the end of Game Six. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff had little choice but to try Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht in his lineup as they recovered from injuries.
The Flyers went back to starting Brian Boucher, and opted not to take any more chances. They essentially stopped the Sabres from taking any shots in the first period, leaving nothing to chance. Philadelphia scored late in the first to take the lead, added a couple of more goals in the second, and never looked back. The Sabres' gas tank had hit "E" late in Game Six.
It was a sad ending to a magical run by Buffalo, which didn't appear to have any playoff hopes four months ago. The finish won't do much to slow the growth in enthusiasm in the team, which built throughout the run and incorporated the spark provided by new ownership.
The Sabres probably were too banged up to give Washington a good series anyway. Still, a playoff win in Game Six would have given everyone a huge spring boost. You learn in the hockey business how precious opportunities are, and we'll see how this team reacts to this one getting away.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
The gorilla in the room
The about-to-be-completed sale of the Buffalo Sabres brings to mind one of the true quirks of the sports business.
Sports teams are in a very odd business situation. They are something of a cultural draw, considered good for the quality of life in a particular community. In the case of Buffalo, the Sabres offer a chance to Buffalo to compete on relatively equal footing with cities such as New York, Toronto and Boston on the sports playing field. As a result, these businesses receive government funding, mostly in the form of subsidies for stadiums and surrounding infrastructure. Theaters and art galleries also receive those subsidies in certain circumstances for the same reason.
Yet, the Sabres are a business. As we saw a few years ago, if they are badly run they can come close to folding or moving. But, they can make money too -- maybe not much from year to year, but sometimes on the back end of an ownership era. This isn't a non-profit organization, like the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. When Sabres owner Tom Golisano agreed to sell the team, his profit was relatively close to nine figures. (In fairness, when the Knox family cashed out of the hockey business, its return was very, very small -- so there are no guarantees.)
And it's a very odd business in terms of its relationship with the public. All fans make an emotional connection to the team, which usually means they have strong opinions on how the franchise should be run. Rule number one is: win at any cost. The ideal owner plows millions into the franchise in pursuit of a championship, keeping ticket prices artificially low in the process. After all, the reasoning goes, the owner is a rich guy and can afford it. Is there any other business that judges success by something other than profit and loss in that manner?
That brings us to the gorilla mentioned in the title. Any discussion between a team and its town starts with one basic, sometimes forgotten fact. The owner of a pro sports franchise puts up large amounts of money to acquire the team. It could easily go into more profitable places. The fans, at least in the case of the smart ones, remember that. They know Ralph Wilson could sell the Bills to Los Angeles interests for one billion dollars right now, which would earn him $250 million more than he could receive for a team in Buffalo. But he doesn't. They heard that Golisano could have sold the Sabres for $70 million more than he received for them if he was willing to let the team move somewhere -- we assume Hamilton. Instead he found an owner that would keep the team here.
We accept all that, appreciate that, and feel a sense of debt.
The outgoing management team of the Sabres held a news conference on Thursday to discuss their status. The session was a lot of different things, but the one word that would never be associated with it would be "gracious."
Golisano and Larry Quinn spent many of those 60 minutes reviewing their accomplishments during their time running the team. They made the Sabres financially viable again, which without doubt is impressive and important. And they are about to be rewarded for it from new owner Terry Pegula. OK, that's business.
Golisano and Quinn also seemed to remember every slight thrown at them during the course of their tenure, as they brought up some of them during the course of the news conference. As exits go, it wasn't going to make anyone nostalgic for their presence.
Remember when their tenure started? Golisano was considered a rich gadfly who had spent millions in a relatively hopeless quest to become the Governor of New York. I believe he once said he had entered the hockey business in honor of a late friend, and ended up enjoying the sport immensely. Golisano's public appearances were few and far between, which seems like a mistake in hiindsight. But no one believes that it was bad for Golisano to wind up with the team instead of Mark Hamister, the other bidder for the franchise when the Rigas empire crumbled who was clearly in over his head. Golisano's time with the Sabres did wonders for his public image, too, which could have some value as he apparently gets ready to return to the political arena.
Quinn, meanwhile, made an amazing comeback. He left the Sabres with a legacy of the John Muckler/Ted Nolan era, spoiling his reputation in the process. Everyone was surprised when he came back into the picture, but -- give him credit -- he learned some things from the first time around. Still, Quinn was combative to the end, never learning the old lesson that while "it's nice to be smart, in the long run it's smarter to be nice."
Golisano and Quinn move into hockey's sunset now, exiting the sport's pages for good. Their contribution to Western New York's sports history won't be forgotten. But they sure made it difficult for fans to feel warm and fuzzy about them, particularly when they said goodbye.
Sports teams are in a very odd business situation. They are something of a cultural draw, considered good for the quality of life in a particular community. In the case of Buffalo, the Sabres offer a chance to Buffalo to compete on relatively equal footing with cities such as New York, Toronto and Boston on the sports playing field. As a result, these businesses receive government funding, mostly in the form of subsidies for stadiums and surrounding infrastructure. Theaters and art galleries also receive those subsidies in certain circumstances for the same reason.
Yet, the Sabres are a business. As we saw a few years ago, if they are badly run they can come close to folding or moving. But, they can make money too -- maybe not much from year to year, but sometimes on the back end of an ownership era. This isn't a non-profit organization, like the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. When Sabres owner Tom Golisano agreed to sell the team, his profit was relatively close to nine figures. (In fairness, when the Knox family cashed out of the hockey business, its return was very, very small -- so there are no guarantees.)
And it's a very odd business in terms of its relationship with the public. All fans make an emotional connection to the team, which usually means they have strong opinions on how the franchise should be run. Rule number one is: win at any cost. The ideal owner plows millions into the franchise in pursuit of a championship, keeping ticket prices artificially low in the process. After all, the reasoning goes, the owner is a rich guy and can afford it. Is there any other business that judges success by something other than profit and loss in that manner?
That brings us to the gorilla mentioned in the title. Any discussion between a team and its town starts with one basic, sometimes forgotten fact. The owner of a pro sports franchise puts up large amounts of money to acquire the team. It could easily go into more profitable places. The fans, at least in the case of the smart ones, remember that. They know Ralph Wilson could sell the Bills to Los Angeles interests for one billion dollars right now, which would earn him $250 million more than he could receive for a team in Buffalo. But he doesn't. They heard that Golisano could have sold the Sabres for $70 million more than he received for them if he was willing to let the team move somewhere -- we assume Hamilton. Instead he found an owner that would keep the team here.
We accept all that, appreciate that, and feel a sense of debt.
The outgoing management team of the Sabres held a news conference on Thursday to discuss their status. The session was a lot of different things, but the one word that would never be associated with it would be "gracious."
Golisano and Larry Quinn spent many of those 60 minutes reviewing their accomplishments during their time running the team. They made the Sabres financially viable again, which without doubt is impressive and important. And they are about to be rewarded for it from new owner Terry Pegula. OK, that's business.
Golisano and Quinn also seemed to remember every slight thrown at them during the course of their tenure, as they brought up some of them during the course of the news conference. As exits go, it wasn't going to make anyone nostalgic for their presence.
Remember when their tenure started? Golisano was considered a rich gadfly who had spent millions in a relatively hopeless quest to become the Governor of New York. I believe he once said he had entered the hockey business in honor of a late friend, and ended up enjoying the sport immensely. Golisano's public appearances were few and far between, which seems like a mistake in hiindsight. But no one believes that it was bad for Golisano to wind up with the team instead of Mark Hamister, the other bidder for the franchise when the Rigas empire crumbled who was clearly in over his head. Golisano's time with the Sabres did wonders for his public image, too, which could have some value as he apparently gets ready to return to the political arena.
Quinn, meanwhile, made an amazing comeback. He left the Sabres with a legacy of the John Muckler/Ted Nolan era, spoiling his reputation in the process. Everyone was surprised when he came back into the picture, but -- give him credit -- he learned some things from the first time around. Still, Quinn was combative to the end, never learning the old lesson that while "it's nice to be smart, in the long run it's smarter to be nice."
Golisano and Quinn move into hockey's sunset now, exiting the sport's pages for good. Their contribution to Western New York's sports history won't be forgotten. But they sure made it difficult for fans to feel warm and fuzzy about them, particularly when they said goodbye.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tough job
One of the appeals of fantasy sports leagues is the chance to pretend to be a general manager of a pro team.
Better that the real thing. Particularly in hockey.
In other words, who would want to be Darcy Regier right now?
The Buffalo Sabres were coming off two straight seasons of just missing the playoffs as they entered the 2009-10 campaign. Since home playoff games are worth something like $1 million per game, that sort of drought can put a little pressure on an organization.
But the Sabres got off to a good start this past season, and the playoffs were never in doubt. They were a little lucky in the first half of the season in terms of one-goal games, but still grabbed the lead in the Northeast. Ottawa made a bit of a run in the second half, but Buffalo eventually won the division by six points. That meant that the Sabres had the third seed in the playoffs.
The area turned up its enthusiasm about five fold in mid-April. Flags were everywhere, bars were crowded, Sabre uniforms were fashionable.
Then, after a Game One win over Boston in the first playoff game, Thomas Vanek gets hurt and the Sabres blow a third-period lead for the first time all season to drop Game Two. The Bruins take Games Three and Four at home, with the fourth coming on an overtime goal by, of all people, Miroslav Satan. Buffalo has a convincing win in Game Five, but loses Game Six and the series. Flags gone, Bandits uniforms are fashionable.
All of those good feelings about the team that were built up during the past six months? See ya, at least for the moment.
Regier doesn't know how to put together a team, Lindy Ruff can't coach, Tim Connolly and Derek Roy should take up basketball, etc. Well, that's if you believe the talk shows and the letters to the editor column.
It's always disappointing to exit the playoffs, particularly when a team is the higher seed. But it shouldn't be that unexpected.
I've done the math, and high seeds usually win only about 63 percent of the series in the NHL (2004 through 2009). In other words, the better teams doesn't win a third of the time. It's not a coin flip, but it's not a sure thing. For further proof, ask the people in Washington and New Jersey right now. The top three seeds in the East were all eliminated this year, the first time that's happened, I believe, since 1999.
Compare that to the NBA, which has its playoffs going on now as well. The "better" team wins more than 80 percent of the series there. That's a good-sized difference.
The NHL playoffs are a thrilling ride, as no one has a good idea on how they will ultimately turn out. They are a great time to see who the coaches trust in huge situations (hope you enjoyed your view in the press box, Raffi Torres), and they create heroes and goats.
But it's also a time when it's important to keep matters in perspective. Four losses in less than two weeks shouldn't completely cloud six months of data when making long-term conclusions.
Even if it usually does for some.
Better that the real thing. Particularly in hockey.
In other words, who would want to be Darcy Regier right now?
The Buffalo Sabres were coming off two straight seasons of just missing the playoffs as they entered the 2009-10 campaign. Since home playoff games are worth something like $1 million per game, that sort of drought can put a little pressure on an organization.
But the Sabres got off to a good start this past season, and the playoffs were never in doubt. They were a little lucky in the first half of the season in terms of one-goal games, but still grabbed the lead in the Northeast. Ottawa made a bit of a run in the second half, but Buffalo eventually won the division by six points. That meant that the Sabres had the third seed in the playoffs.
The area turned up its enthusiasm about five fold in mid-April. Flags were everywhere, bars were crowded, Sabre uniforms were fashionable.
Then, after a Game One win over Boston in the first playoff game, Thomas Vanek gets hurt and the Sabres blow a third-period lead for the first time all season to drop Game Two. The Bruins take Games Three and Four at home, with the fourth coming on an overtime goal by, of all people, Miroslav Satan. Buffalo has a convincing win in Game Five, but loses Game Six and the series. Flags gone, Bandits uniforms are fashionable.
All of those good feelings about the team that were built up during the past six months? See ya, at least for the moment.
Regier doesn't know how to put together a team, Lindy Ruff can't coach, Tim Connolly and Derek Roy should take up basketball, etc. Well, that's if you believe the talk shows and the letters to the editor column.
It's always disappointing to exit the playoffs, particularly when a team is the higher seed. But it shouldn't be that unexpected.
I've done the math, and high seeds usually win only about 63 percent of the series in the NHL (2004 through 2009). In other words, the better teams doesn't win a third of the time. It's not a coin flip, but it's not a sure thing. For further proof, ask the people in Washington and New Jersey right now. The top three seeds in the East were all eliminated this year, the first time that's happened, I believe, since 1999.
Compare that to the NBA, which has its playoffs going on now as well. The "better" team wins more than 80 percent of the series there. That's a good-sized difference.
The NHL playoffs are a thrilling ride, as no one has a good idea on how they will ultimately turn out. They are a great time to see who the coaches trust in huge situations (hope you enjoyed your view in the press box, Raffi Torres), and they create heroes and goats.
But it's also a time when it's important to keep matters in perspective. Four losses in less than two weeks shouldn't completely cloud six months of data when making long-term conclusions.
Even if it usually does for some.
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Final Four of the Sabres
I've been reading a book called "The Final Four of Everything," which comes with a cute idea. What if it wasn't just the NCAA basketball championships that were paired off? What if we had brackets to determine the best sports cliche, best guy named Tom, best Olympic heroes, best state bird, best board game, etc. This is a little hit or miss depending on your interest, so that "best gun" sort of left me cold, but otherwise there's plenty to keep your interest.
Let's try "The Final Four of the Buffalo Sabres" as an example. I'll list the pairings of each round, and explain the winners:
Goalie Division (8 players)
Dominik Hasek vs. Martin Biron
Don Edwards vs. Bob Sauve
Ryan Miller vs. Roger Crozier
Tom Barrasso vs. Daren Puppa
Hasek is the easy winner over Biron, Sauve takes it up a notch in crunch time to surprise Edwards, Crozier's original Sabre glow isn't enough to beat Miller, and Barrasso accomplished more in his stay than his "good friend" Puppa.
Dominik Hasek vs. Bob Sauve
Ryan Miller vs. Tom Barrasso
Sauve can't stay close at this level. Barrasso won some hardware in Buffalo, but he was so unpopular on the team that he just can't top Miller.
Dominik Hasek vs. Ryan Miller
Was there ever a doubt?
Defenseman Division (8 players)
Mike Ramsey vs. Larry Playfair
Brian Campbell vs. Jerry Korab
Jim Schoenfeld vs. Bill Hajt
Phil Housley vs. Alexei Zhitnik
Ramsey was too good for too long to lose to the popular Playfair. Campbell's time was short but he might have been the second-best offensive defenseman in team history. Schoenfeld gets points for flamboyance over the steady Hajt. Zhitnik was underrated locally, but Housley put up some astonishing numbers for a defenseman.
Mike Ramsey vs. Brian Campbell
Jim Schoenfeld vs. Phil Housley
Ramsey played for a long time and with tons of heart and competitiveness. Housley is a slight second-round favorite but gets surprised by the popular Schoenfeld.
Mike Ramsey vs. Jim Schoenfeld
Schoenfeld makes a game out of it, but Ramsey packs for the Four Four.
Forward Division (16 players)
Gil Perreault vs. Dale Hawerchuk
Alexander Mogilny vs. Rene Robert
Danny Gare vs. Mike Foligno
Dave Andreychuk vs. Chris Drury
Rick Martin vs. Rob Ray
Craig Ramsay vs. Don Luce
Pat LaFontaine vs. Pierre Turgeon
Daniel Briere vs. Thomas Vanek
Perreault wins on longevity here, although you could have an interesting discussion about who was the better NHL player. Mogilny's breathtaking talent wasn't on display long enough to beat out a French Connection member. Gare and Foligno are similarly tough and popular; Gare had a little better scoring touch and all-around game. Drury records the biggest surprise of the tournament with a win over Andreychuk; Drury was a leader and could score too. Ray is a sentimental choice for the tournament but no match for Martin. Ramsay lasted longer in Buffalo than his linemate Luce. And speaking of fun matchups, LaFontaine was traded for Turgeon and gets the edge here. Briere became a great scorer here, even if Vanek might get the nod down the road.
Gil Perreault vs. Rene Robert
Danny Gare vs. Chris Drury
Rick Martin vs. Craig Ramsay
Pat LaFontaine vs. Daniel Briere
Perreault is an easy choice over Robert, while Gare scores points mostly for longevity in a good matchup with Drury. Ramsay is a personal favorite, but Martin was a fabulous goal-scorer until he hurt his knee. LaFontaine was better in his prime than Briere.
Gil Perreault vs. Danny Gare
Rick Martin vs. Pat LaFontaine
Perreault was a one of the few players in hockey history who could make a crowd rise to its feet on a regular basis. He sometimes was worth the price of admission. Gare was very valuable but doesn't reach Perreault's level. LaFontaine was as popular as any Sabre in history, and he provided some great moments while here. Those two go on to the final four.
Final Four
Dominik Hasek vs. Mike Ramsey
Gil Perreault vs. Pat LaFontaine
Ramsey was a superb defenseman, but he's not going to the Hall of Fame. Hasek is. Perreault's biggest edge over LaFontaine was durability, and that sneaks him past LaFontaine.
Championship Game
Dominik Hasek vs. Gil Perreault
Wow. Perreault was the franchise for more than 15 years, and a clear Hall of Famer. Still, Hasek might have been the best goalie in NHL history during the portions of his career here in the late 1990's. He wasn't bad the rest of the time here. Hasek is the champion.
Let's try "The Final Four of the Buffalo Sabres" as an example. I'll list the pairings of each round, and explain the winners:
Goalie Division (8 players)
Dominik Hasek vs. Martin Biron
Don Edwards vs. Bob Sauve
Ryan Miller vs. Roger Crozier
Tom Barrasso vs. Daren Puppa
Hasek is the easy winner over Biron, Sauve takes it up a notch in crunch time to surprise Edwards, Crozier's original Sabre glow isn't enough to beat Miller, and Barrasso accomplished more in his stay than his "good friend" Puppa.
Dominik Hasek vs. Bob Sauve
Ryan Miller vs. Tom Barrasso
Sauve can't stay close at this level. Barrasso won some hardware in Buffalo, but he was so unpopular on the team that he just can't top Miller.
Dominik Hasek vs. Ryan Miller
Was there ever a doubt?
Defenseman Division (8 players)
Mike Ramsey vs. Larry Playfair
Brian Campbell vs. Jerry Korab
Jim Schoenfeld vs. Bill Hajt
Phil Housley vs. Alexei Zhitnik
Ramsey was too good for too long to lose to the popular Playfair. Campbell's time was short but he might have been the second-best offensive defenseman in team history. Schoenfeld gets points for flamboyance over the steady Hajt. Zhitnik was underrated locally, but Housley put up some astonishing numbers for a defenseman.
Mike Ramsey vs. Brian Campbell
Jim Schoenfeld vs. Phil Housley
Ramsey played for a long time and with tons of heart and competitiveness. Housley is a slight second-round favorite but gets surprised by the popular Schoenfeld.
Mike Ramsey vs. Jim Schoenfeld
Schoenfeld makes a game out of it, but Ramsey packs for the Four Four.
Forward Division (16 players)
Gil Perreault vs. Dale Hawerchuk
Alexander Mogilny vs. Rene Robert
Danny Gare vs. Mike Foligno
Dave Andreychuk vs. Chris Drury
Rick Martin vs. Rob Ray
Craig Ramsay vs. Don Luce
Pat LaFontaine vs. Pierre Turgeon
Daniel Briere vs. Thomas Vanek
Perreault wins on longevity here, although you could have an interesting discussion about who was the better NHL player. Mogilny's breathtaking talent wasn't on display long enough to beat out a French Connection member. Gare and Foligno are similarly tough and popular; Gare had a little better scoring touch and all-around game. Drury records the biggest surprise of the tournament with a win over Andreychuk; Drury was a leader and could score too. Ray is a sentimental choice for the tournament but no match for Martin. Ramsay lasted longer in Buffalo than his linemate Luce. And speaking of fun matchups, LaFontaine was traded for Turgeon and gets the edge here. Briere became a great scorer here, even if Vanek might get the nod down the road.
Gil Perreault vs. Rene Robert
Danny Gare vs. Chris Drury
Rick Martin vs. Craig Ramsay
Pat LaFontaine vs. Daniel Briere
Perreault is an easy choice over Robert, while Gare scores points mostly for longevity in a good matchup with Drury. Ramsay is a personal favorite, but Martin was a fabulous goal-scorer until he hurt his knee. LaFontaine was better in his prime than Briere.
Gil Perreault vs. Danny Gare
Rick Martin vs. Pat LaFontaine
Perreault was a one of the few players in hockey history who could make a crowd rise to its feet on a regular basis. He sometimes was worth the price of admission. Gare was very valuable but doesn't reach Perreault's level. LaFontaine was as popular as any Sabre in history, and he provided some great moments while here. Those two go on to the final four.
Final Four
Dominik Hasek vs. Mike Ramsey
Gil Perreault vs. Pat LaFontaine
Ramsey was a superb defenseman, but he's not going to the Hall of Fame. Hasek is. Perreault's biggest edge over LaFontaine was durability, and that sneaks him past LaFontaine.
Championship Game
Dominik Hasek vs. Gil Perreault
Wow. Perreault was the franchise for more than 15 years, and a clear Hall of Famer. Still, Hasek might have been the best goalie in NHL history during the portions of his career here in the late 1990's. He wasn't bad the rest of the time here. Hasek is the champion.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Seeds
As Memorial Auditorium starts to come down a block away from my workplace, it's easy to think back over some of the events that happened to me there. After attending events there for 16 years, I landed a job in that building as I worked in the Sabres' public relations department.
It's funny what you remember. One time around 1990 or so, in the second period of a Sabres game, I ran out of the press box during a break in play to use the men's room. When I came back to the press box entrance, which consisted of a couple of metal steps leading up to the facility hanging from the rafters, there was a young boy of about 10 standing at the entrance.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked politely.
"What the heck is this?" said the boy brightly.
"Follow me," I said, and led him up the stairs. There I saw the "press box goon," Shawn, a volunteer who made sure people came in the area with a press pass.
After asking the boy's name, I said, "Shawn, this is our special guest, Jimmy. Do you have some press notes for Jimmy?"
Shawn did and gave him a set. Then I took Jimmy to the middle of the press box, introduced him to The Buffalo News writer, and let him peer over the edge as the game went on below for a couple of minutes. I also showed him where the radio and television announcers were.
"OK, Jimmy, time to get back where you belong. Thanks for coming up," I said in leading him back to the door. Never did anything like that before or afterwards. Later I asked Shawn how the boy had reacted when we were done. Shawn said the boy stumbled back to his seat, looking like he had just unexpectedly walked into a glass door and wondered what the heck had happened.
It's been 18 years or so since that boy got an unexpected press box tour. That makes him about 28 years old now. Did that little gesture turn him into a big Sabres fan? Is he now a season ticket holder?
Sometimes you plant a seed without knowing if something will bloom, just because it's the right thing to do.
It's funny what you remember. One time around 1990 or so, in the second period of a Sabres game, I ran out of the press box during a break in play to use the men's room. When I came back to the press box entrance, which consisted of a couple of metal steps leading up to the facility hanging from the rafters, there was a young boy of about 10 standing at the entrance.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked politely.
"What the heck is this?" said the boy brightly.
"Follow me," I said, and led him up the stairs. There I saw the "press box goon," Shawn, a volunteer who made sure people came in the area with a press pass.
After asking the boy's name, I said, "Shawn, this is our special guest, Jimmy. Do you have some press notes for Jimmy?"
Shawn did and gave him a set. Then I took Jimmy to the middle of the press box, introduced him to The Buffalo News writer, and let him peer over the edge as the game went on below for a couple of minutes. I also showed him where the radio and television announcers were.
"OK, Jimmy, time to get back where you belong. Thanks for coming up," I said in leading him back to the door. Never did anything like that before or afterwards. Later I asked Shawn how the boy had reacted when we were done. Shawn said the boy stumbled back to his seat, looking like he had just unexpectedly walked into a glass door and wondered what the heck had happened.
It's been 18 years or so since that boy got an unexpected press box tour. That makes him about 28 years old now. Did that little gesture turn him into a big Sabres fan? Is he now a season ticket holder?
Sometimes you plant a seed without knowing if something will bloom, just because it's the right thing to do.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Foolish behavior
I was hired to work for the Buffalo Sabres in October 1986. I really wanted to work for them just on April 1.
That's because of April Fool's Day.
The Sabres had established a reputation throughout professional sports for practical jokes in the previous several years. Paul Wieland was the mastermind of the projects. Every year he'd send out a release that stretched the limits of credibility.
One year the Sabres were officially pronounced America's team, complete with a White House letter from the President and fake magazine cover. One year the Sabres had rented a battleship for training camp; the ship would go up and down Lake Erie as the team worked out on it. One year the team announced the invention of artificial ice, "Sliderex," which would be installed in Memorial Auditorium.
The news releases were faithfully mailed out, embargoed for April 1 release. Most simply laughed at the jokes. One local reporter, so excited about the news of Sliderex, broke the embargo to breathlessly report it the night before. His reputation has never quite recovered.
I think I helped write the first release during my tenure with the Sabres. The team had taken over a practice facility in Wheatfield called "Sabreland," and it seemed logical for it to expand its holdings that way. Therefore, the team announced a housing complex in Wheatfield called "Sabre Meadows." I believe it was supposed to have 47,000 units, which you have to admit is a lot of houses for Wheatfield.
I received a call from a reporter at one of the local radio stations that afternoon. I didn't really want to go on the air with him and ruin his credibility, so I started asking questions. "Did you read the release closely? Don't you think 47,000 units is a lot? And what day on the calendar is it?" Finally, he got it.
Future projects were placed on television as Wieland's responsibilities shifted, but we tried to do something every year. One time a friend from the Washington Capitals called, and I said, "I'll call you back. We're planning our April Fool's Day TV show." He was ready to switch jobs that day.
We came up with interactive television one year. We asked a question per period, and had an alleged fan vote. In the first period, the question was "Should the Sabres change their lines more quickly?" The fake response (the phone number flashed was in the Sabres hotline recording) was posted: an emphatic yes. Announcer John Gurtler was shown going into the Sabres' coaches office to tell them the fans' decision ... only to reveal Ted Sator and Barry Smith playing table hockey between periods.
In the second period, the question was whether Mike Robitaille should interview Christian Ruuttu, but have Ruuttu answer in Finnish. Not surprisingly, the yes responses easily won. So Robitaille asked a question in English, and Ruuttu responded in his native language. Robtaille was shown shaking his head up and down every so often, as if he knew what Ruuttu was talking about. Once he added, "So when you say that, it follows that ..." I asked Ruuttu later what he had actually said; I believe it was something like "That's a really ugly suit, but I really like your haircut." I'm sure the Finnish audience loved it.
The best one, though, was the Sabres' Shopping Service. I must have spent a month trying to come up with a series of items to sell. We had Wowie Housley Cola, J.F. Sauve game-used sticks (he was the smallest player in the league, so the stick was a foot long), Benoit Hogue-ee sandwiches, and the Daren Puppa Scoopa. Gurtler transformed himself into Wink Dickerson, talkative host and ultimate salesman. He was assisted by my friend Andrea, who became Andrea Hedberg (in honor of the ex-pro star). Talk about bringing material to life -- Gurtler deserved an Emmy that night.
Toward the end of my time with the Sabres, I could sense that the organization was starting to lose its sense of humor about such projects, even though such stunts seemed to help the team's image. Why a fan or two might be actually fooled! Wieland left in the mid-1990's, bringing his bag of pranks to other jobs.
Pro sports has grown dramatically in the past 20 years on the business side, and it's lost some of its sense of fun along the way. That's inevitable, but still a little sad. It's not allowed to be foolish even one day a year.
That's because of April Fool's Day.
The Sabres had established a reputation throughout professional sports for practical jokes in the previous several years. Paul Wieland was the mastermind of the projects. Every year he'd send out a release that stretched the limits of credibility.
One year the Sabres were officially pronounced America's team, complete with a White House letter from the President and fake magazine cover. One year the Sabres had rented a battleship for training camp; the ship would go up and down Lake Erie as the team worked out on it. One year the team announced the invention of artificial ice, "Sliderex," which would be installed in Memorial Auditorium.
The news releases were faithfully mailed out, embargoed for April 1 release. Most simply laughed at the jokes. One local reporter, so excited about the news of Sliderex, broke the embargo to breathlessly report it the night before. His reputation has never quite recovered.
I think I helped write the first release during my tenure with the Sabres. The team had taken over a practice facility in Wheatfield called "Sabreland," and it seemed logical for it to expand its holdings that way. Therefore, the team announced a housing complex in Wheatfield called "Sabre Meadows." I believe it was supposed to have 47,000 units, which you have to admit is a lot of houses for Wheatfield.
I received a call from a reporter at one of the local radio stations that afternoon. I didn't really want to go on the air with him and ruin his credibility, so I started asking questions. "Did you read the release closely? Don't you think 47,000 units is a lot? And what day on the calendar is it?" Finally, he got it.
Future projects were placed on television as Wieland's responsibilities shifted, but we tried to do something every year. One time a friend from the Washington Capitals called, and I said, "I'll call you back. We're planning our April Fool's Day TV show." He was ready to switch jobs that day.
We came up with interactive television one year. We asked a question per period, and had an alleged fan vote. In the first period, the question was "Should the Sabres change their lines more quickly?" The fake response (the phone number flashed was in the Sabres hotline recording) was posted: an emphatic yes. Announcer John Gurtler was shown going into the Sabres' coaches office to tell them the fans' decision ... only to reveal Ted Sator and Barry Smith playing table hockey between periods.
In the second period, the question was whether Mike Robitaille should interview Christian Ruuttu, but have Ruuttu answer in Finnish. Not surprisingly, the yes responses easily won. So Robitaille asked a question in English, and Ruuttu responded in his native language. Robtaille was shown shaking his head up and down every so often, as if he knew what Ruuttu was talking about. Once he added, "So when you say that, it follows that ..." I asked Ruuttu later what he had actually said; I believe it was something like "That's a really ugly suit, but I really like your haircut." I'm sure the Finnish audience loved it.
The best one, though, was the Sabres' Shopping Service. I must have spent a month trying to come up with a series of items to sell. We had Wowie Housley Cola, J.F. Sauve game-used sticks (he was the smallest player in the league, so the stick was a foot long), Benoit Hogue-ee sandwiches, and the Daren Puppa Scoopa. Gurtler transformed himself into Wink Dickerson, talkative host and ultimate salesman. He was assisted by my friend Andrea, who became Andrea Hedberg (in honor of the ex-pro star). Talk about bringing material to life -- Gurtler deserved an Emmy that night.
Toward the end of my time with the Sabres, I could sense that the organization was starting to lose its sense of humor about such projects, even though such stunts seemed to help the team's image. Why a fan or two might be actually fooled! Wieland left in the mid-1990's, bringing his bag of pranks to other jobs.
Pro sports has grown dramatically in the past 20 years on the business side, and it's lost some of its sense of fun along the way. That's inevitable, but still a little sad. It's not allowed to be foolish even one day a year.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Deal or no deal
It's trading deadline time in the National Hockey League, and the drama is building here in Buffalo. Most of it centers around a talented young defenseman named Brian Campbell, who has played in the NHL All-Star Game for the last couple of years and has moves on the ice not seen in these parts since Phil Housley.
Campbell is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and he is probably going to be a rich man when he signs that next contract. Campbell probably will earn close to $6 million per year over the course of a multiyear contract. Not bad.
But the usual dance goes on in the meantime, and that's where things get interesting.
There are two usual options in this situation. The Sabres could try to deal Campbell in the next two days, trying to extract a high draft choice and a good prospect for him from a Stanley Cup contender. The idea is that if Buffalo is convinced it can't sign Campbell, it's better to get something for him if he isn't going to be re-signed by July. A great many players have left the Sabres in the past two years this way, including Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, Jay McKee and Mike Grier. Those losses have turned a top team into one in the middle of the pack, and they have caused problems with the fan base.
The other option is to hold on to Campbell. That would give the team four extra months to sign him, and they would get to keep him for the stretch run and possibly for the playoffs. Campbell has said he wouldn't mind staying a Sabre. Of course, everyone has said that, and they more or less all walked away.
This is a tough enough decision under most circumstances. This isn't a veteran who might have one last hurrah left in him for a contender (Mats Sundin of Toronto comes to mind). This is someone who could be a top defenseman for years.
Meanwhile, the Sabres' on-ice performance hasn't done team management any favors in terms of decision-making. It is lingering around the dividing line between the playoff teams and the non-playoff teams. And that brings us to the point that needs to come up right now.
The Sabres are clearly a better team with Campbell in the lineup than with Campbell in San Jose's lineup after a trade. It looks like it is possible that the Sabres are a playoff team with Campbell, and not a playoff team without him. Which brings us to, naturally money.
If the Sabres do make the playoffs, they are guaranteed at least two playoff games and might get three even if they lose in the first round. The going rate for income at playoff time is said to be around $1 million per game, although that may be a little high for Buffalo as compared to, say, Philadelphia or New York. Still, that's $2-3 million sitting on the table.
And the Sabres could be matched against the Southeast Division winner with a sixth-place Eastern Conference finish, a matchup that looks like it could be won right now. A trip to the second round could be worth another $2-3 million, bringing the total to $4-6 million. That could pay Campbell's contract for a year.
Summing up, then, the Sabres could do nothing for now, thus improving their chances of earning millions of dollars in the postseason and buying some more time to talk contract with Campbell. They also increase their chances of having him walk away for nothing, which would be another public relations disaster.
But what if Campbell isn't the difference? What if the team isn't a Stanley Cup playoff team with him on the roster? Conversely, what if it is a playoff team even without him?
The Sabres front office has to make the best possible guess about those questions, and it has fewer than two days to do it. General manager Darcy Regier and company will earn their salaries during that time.
Campbell is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and he is probably going to be a rich man when he signs that next contract. Campbell probably will earn close to $6 million per year over the course of a multiyear contract. Not bad.
But the usual dance goes on in the meantime, and that's where things get interesting.
There are two usual options in this situation. The Sabres could try to deal Campbell in the next two days, trying to extract a high draft choice and a good prospect for him from a Stanley Cup contender. The idea is that if Buffalo is convinced it can't sign Campbell, it's better to get something for him if he isn't going to be re-signed by July. A great many players have left the Sabres in the past two years this way, including Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, Jay McKee and Mike Grier. Those losses have turned a top team into one in the middle of the pack, and they have caused problems with the fan base.
The other option is to hold on to Campbell. That would give the team four extra months to sign him, and they would get to keep him for the stretch run and possibly for the playoffs. Campbell has said he wouldn't mind staying a Sabre. Of course, everyone has said that, and they more or less all walked away.
This is a tough enough decision under most circumstances. This isn't a veteran who might have one last hurrah left in him for a contender (Mats Sundin of Toronto comes to mind). This is someone who could be a top defenseman for years.
Meanwhile, the Sabres' on-ice performance hasn't done team management any favors in terms of decision-making. It is lingering around the dividing line between the playoff teams and the non-playoff teams. And that brings us to the point that needs to come up right now.
The Sabres are clearly a better team with Campbell in the lineup than with Campbell in San Jose's lineup after a trade. It looks like it is possible that the Sabres are a playoff team with Campbell, and not a playoff team without him. Which brings us to, naturally money.
If the Sabres do make the playoffs, they are guaranteed at least two playoff games and might get three even if they lose in the first round. The going rate for income at playoff time is said to be around $1 million per game, although that may be a little high for Buffalo as compared to, say, Philadelphia or New York. Still, that's $2-3 million sitting on the table.
And the Sabres could be matched against the Southeast Division winner with a sixth-place Eastern Conference finish, a matchup that looks like it could be won right now. A trip to the second round could be worth another $2-3 million, bringing the total to $4-6 million. That could pay Campbell's contract for a year.
Summing up, then, the Sabres could do nothing for now, thus improving their chances of earning millions of dollars in the postseason and buying some more time to talk contract with Campbell. They also increase their chances of having him walk away for nothing, which would be another public relations disaster.
But what if Campbell isn't the difference? What if the team isn't a Stanley Cup playoff team with him on the roster? Conversely, what if it is a playoff team even without him?
The Sabres front office has to make the best possible guess about those questions, and it has fewer than two days to do it. General manager Darcy Regier and company will earn their salaries during that time.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Yikes
My former high school classmate, Becky Harbison, had some comments about seeing excerpts on the Rob Ray book in The Buffalo News. And she even let me comment on the comments.
So I did.
Thank you, Becky. Head to http://clarencegrad72.blogspot.com/. And it was nice to see another Clarence Class of '72 member, Jim Donnelly, at today's book signing. Jim had a heck of an outside jumper in his day, even when he had a broken leg back then. He just swung the cast forward, leaning back, and stuck another jumper.
So I did.
Thank you, Becky. Head to http://clarencegrad72.blogspot.com/. And it was nice to see another Clarence Class of '72 member, Jim Donnelly, at today's book signing. Jim had a heck of an outside jumper in his day, even when he had a broken leg back then. He just swung the cast forward, leaning back, and stuck another jumper.
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