The Buffalo Sabres need changes | NHL Insider Notebook
The Buffalo Sabres entered the 2025-26 season with high hopes, but now after three straight losses and a roster missing answers, it’s clear that changes need to be made — and the problems start at the top.
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19 Comments
They need to trade the owner.
Players: Paterka didn’t even have 70 points. This entire team has always been best player on the team coming up. They think they’re only worth is points. They all want to be paid paid equals have seasons with good points winning or playing winning hockey is the last thing on their mind, they don’t know how to do it. They’ve never done it. They’ve never been around it. They roll through GMS. They roll through coaches. It’s your roster. They’re all soft. They’re all concerned about themselves they’re afraid of being outcast trying to be a leader so they don’t even try. Their best player is 6 foot seven and disappears. They try to play a physical hard game without making body contact with anyone. They are king of the stick check and aren’t even good at that.
GM:
A GM who loves all his draft picks like they’re going to be phenomenal players somewhere else if he lets them go. Cozens is the same player in Ottawa he was in Buffalo not very good. Your entire 25-26 season hangs on two players. One who has averaged 46 games a year and is already hurt this year. The other is an unquestioned starting goalie who at one point had a four week stretch where he played really well that’s it and his entire career, including the minors, never added any depth to the roster teetering on one injury and we sunk and why didn’t he had any?
OWNER
A guy who owns the bills and built a stadium where he was responsible for any overages that came out of budget for the stadium. Mr. I’m not worried about money and Mr. I’ll drill another well has brought on minority owners will not adding any skill to the club or even decent depth because he’s concerned about having to come out of pocket on the new stadium
Prior had the wife who’s never run anything run the Sabres with no experience of any kind and she drove it into the ground quickly
Mishandled the Jack Eichel injury and the Sam Reinhart contract tried to get Sam and Jack to be leaders which they’re not they left and went to loaded hockey teams where they could guess what not be leaders. Terry got burned in 2016 hiring Rex Ryan, who made a money grab to be coach of the bills and Dan Bylsma a flop of a head coach and had to pay both to not coach. That had chapped Terry’s ass ever since he won’t pay coaches to not coach and then had to do it with Ralph Krueger and that was the end of it hires Lindy rough but he’s gotta keep the assistants because they’re under contract. Won’t add salary won’t green light trades – on the cheap with coaches, assisting coaches, front office people scouts.
Obviously, you’re making money handover fist, but he just believes because he’s cheap you keep those two things separate in the Sabres operate on their own hockey budget not doing anything to help the failing franchise because you lucked in McDermott and Josh Allen.
The Darcy Regier- Tim Murray- Jason Botteril train connected to Ron rolston- Ted Nolan
Dan BylsmaPhil Housley- Ralph Krueger- Don Granato- Lindy Ruff – coaching carousel. A director of hockey operations because he thinks he’s that guy you suck at hiring head coaches you hit with McDermott that’s your one and only good God Rex, Ryan.??!?? they brought in at La Fontaine he lasted a day and quietly exited because the guy making decisions and see Taki. This is a hockey guy. It’s Terry Pegula. He used to be that guy with the bills too. McDermot and being have been able to shut him up pretend like he’s involved.Has always stuck with me a couple years back the Taylor’s added Taylor Hall. They had a behind-the-scenes look and at some point Pegula says to atoms well you’re talking about making a run at the Stanley Cup Terry, the rating Taylor Hall, who’s talking about a Stanley Cup it just really magnified how clueless he is and how involved with decision-making he is just a meddling owner who doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing and a fan base that has to put up with the ego of a guy who, for some reason thinks he’s a hockey guy.
You fire the GM, give the job to Jarmo, and fire the whole coaching staff. If you do keep Ruff, let him pick his own staff from the beginning and move Tage to Center til Norris is healthy again
This all started in 2010 when Pegula stated," I will go all out in getting the Sabres to win 'Cups." He then proceeds to hire 6 coaches with little or no experience (not including Ruff) and 3 GM's with NO experience.
The Sabres started crashing when Terry Pegula bought the team in 2012. It starts at the top.
Sabres season tx holder here. I've been a Sabres fan since the French Connection was around. This team started to shit the bed when Terry Pegula bought the team. In fact Pat LaFontaine quit less than a month after being hired to be the President because Kim Pegula stuck her nose in where it didn't belong. The Pegulas think they know more about hockey than experienced hockey people that have been around pro hockey their entire career. Kim said as much when Phil Housley was coaching and when she was asked about Phil Housley and if he would be fired she said something along the lines that she knows more than the fans. Terry won't hire a President of Hockey Operations because of his narcissistic fantasy that he is some hockey genius. If Terry was serious about winning serious about changing the culture serious about his product he would allow a troubleshooter PoHo. Terry needs to stick with business and let the professionals handle the hockey side. Period.
SELL THE TEAM TERRY!
Sabres need to change how they play. They have a lot of "skill" players, but are not at all physical, they don't forecheck, and they don't crash the net.
Shouldn’t be surprising when you trade away all your #1 picks continuously. They don’t keep anyone. Their farm system is a failure. The management doesn’t give a F. I could manage them better. lol. They’ve been shooting themselves in the foot for at least a decade. The fact they’re wondering why they’re so terrible makes no sense. They’re terrible because their management and owner are also terrible. They’re clueless and don’t give af. Easy.
Pegula will do nothing like he has for the past 13 seasons. He should sell this team to someone who cares. And it needs a heart transplant. But let's stop blaming coach after coach and start looking at the front office that sucks. Our city has pretty much given up on this team and we all know Pegula bought the team to build a portfolio because he wanted a shot at buying the Bills. That's where his attention is at. Buffalo Butterknives are a joke and have no pride left. Screw the Pegulas!
* STOP TRADING AWAY YOUR STARS *
* STOP REBUILDING FOREVER *
* FIND A NEW OWNER *
Terry Pegula listened to a snake oil salesman (Tim Murray) instead of Pat Effing LaFontaine for advice on how to build and run his team. It has never gotten better since then and the Sabres are still suffering from Murrays scorched earth tank/rebuild with a lack of depth.
They can start by trading Tage Thompson to the Habs !!
Friedman repeating the same debunked talking points about Peterka again. Peterka was horrible defensively and Kesselring will be a great addition. Hockey requires both addition and subtraction.
8-4 thumping of the Sens will change the narrative for a bit!!
In Europe we are able to punish bad ownership by sending the worst teams down a division at least. Granted, we do not operate with cap space, draft etc etc so the whole business model is different.
But to me sports are sports. If you are worse than the rest, over here you have to earn your right to compete against the best again. Professional or amateur, beer league or premier league. IMO thats the biggest flaw with a closed league model, that useless owners can sit on a franchise for decades
TNT for C
Owner, "I am very PROUD we traded away Jack, he won a Cup and wasn't worth taking a chance on" 🙂
Stop buying tickets, stop buying merch and keep the TV off! Take away their revenue and they'll soon get the message.