Buffalo has been craving a championship for years, and recent developments have given the city hope that its thirst might finally be quenched.
Everywhere you turn, there is a member of the Sabres faithful buzzing about how the team's new owner, Terry Pegula, is going to save the franchise. I have a message for all of you: calm down.
Don't get me wrong. I also can't help but be excited about the new opportunity that has come to the Queen City, but we all have to make sure to not get too far ahead of ourselves.
There is no denying that the team needs a change. The franchise has become stagnant over the last eight years under the ownership of Tom Golisano, and many fans had started to become disenfranchised. Pegula's takeover might be exactly what the team needed, but there is no telling that now.
Many fell in love with Pegula because of his obvious love for the team. He could not even bring himself to look at Sabres' legend Gilbert Perreault for fear of losing his composure.
What I don't understand is, does everyone think that Golisano wasn't a Sabres fan? Did he just decide to buy the team because of the amazing financial opportunity of taking over an organization that was $30 million in debt?
That's another thing. This new business venture has everyone coming forward against Golisano. He and the rest of the departing executives are now viewed as pariahs in Western New York. It is easy to blame hardship on the people leaving, but Golisano does not deserve any hate from the fans.
Golisano may have been cheap, and his policies may have handicapped the Sabres' talent decisions, but the fact is that we would not have the Sabres today if he hadn't bought the team in 2003.
Can you blame Golisano for being cheap when the ownership team that he took the Sabres from had led the franchise into so much debt that there was a legitimate chance that the team would leave Buffalo?
That being said, it is nice to hear that Pegula plans to take the chains off of Darcy Regier and the management team and let them spend whatever they need to in order to become successful. It would be even nicer if it weren't for the fact that we still have to convince players to come to Buffalo over the other big-time programs in the league.
Pegula's new financial policy of handing a blank check to Regier may make it easier to retain our own talent, but bringing in new blood will be just as difficult as ever.
All of this excitement has also led a few more impressionable fans to claim that the Sabres will see the effects of this change this season. There is nothing that Pegula and crew can do to change the team's direction until, at least, the coming offseason.
The first major move of the new group was to waive team captain Craig Rivet, who will most likely return to the team at half salary once he makes it back through waivers. Moves like that are smart, but will have little effect on the team's success this year.
Real changes will take time, so we all need to relax, because if being a Buffalo fan has taught us anything, it's to not drink the Kool-Aid just yet.
E-mail: carey.beyer@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
