If you thought that Sabres fans hated Kevyn Adams, just wait to see how they value owner Terry Pegula. I am not saying I disagree, as it seems Pegula hasn’t done much since becoming owner. He only cares about one team, which is the Buffalo Bills.
Pegula took over ownership in 2011, and since then the Sabres have yet to make the playoffs. The Athletic released a poll allowing fans to rate their owner and where they matched up against the other 31 teams. Keep in mind when you look at these numbers, the Sabres had the 2nd most surveys, only behind the Minnesota Wild. So the hundreds of responses made for some interesting results.
Pegula’s non-passing grade
It is safe to say Sabres fans did not go easy on Pegula, as he was given an F, and ranked 32 out of 32. Making him the worst owner in the NHL, as the Sabres are ranked 32nd in regular season rankings, and 32nd in playoff wins since he took over as owner since he hasn’t made the playoffs.
The fan base evaluation doesn’t get much better for Pegula, as these categories were based on, willingness to spend, franchise vision, treatment of fan base, and organizational stability.
To keep it simple, Pegula ranked last in all four of these categories which is mind-blowing to think someone can do this bad of a job as owner. I think it's gotten to the point that fans are so fed up with Pegula, that they need to show how disappointed they are with the product he's put on the ice.
Who has confidence in Pegula?
The last part of the survey discussed your confidence in Pegula from last year to this year. Somehow, four percent of people have faith he is turning things around, which was good for the 30th overall rank. Surprisingly, Pegula wasn’t last in that category, and he also somehow wasn’t last when fans said they had 61% less confidence in Pegula as he ranked 27th in that category.
It is disappointing to see the lack of effort on Pegula’s end when he has one of the most supportive fan bases in the NHL. I think this survey can shed some insight into how he can make improvements on the Sabres.
“Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence, will be to win a Stanley Cup.” Was a quote by Pegula some odd years ago, and he has yet to even come close.
Sabres fans should be disappointed in their owner's efforts, and hopefully moving forward, Pegula remembers he has a hockey team that he owns and needs to make changes to.