Like it or not, Terry Pegula is not the worst owner in sports. In fact, he’s not even close, as Bob Nutting of the Pittsburgh Pirates and David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers hold that dishonor. That said, the Sabres head honcho isn’t making things better for himself by retaining a do-nothing attitude with his floundering franchise.
Pegula knows what he’s doing, or at least that’s the case in the NFL, where his Buffalo Bills are just two games away from returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 season. The problem is, there’s a stark difference between knowing what it takes to build a winning franchise and applying it. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done that with the Sabres.
Personally, if I were in charge, I’d have sent Kevyn Adams packing weeks ago and replaced him with an executive who’s not afraid to make bold moves at will. Those who’ve read my work probably know that Doug Armstrong is my favorite general manager in hockey, and what he’s done with what was supposed to be a terrible St. Louis Blues team is the blueprint Pegula needs to follow.
For one, Armstrong put the team into a ‘retool,’ not a rebuild. He’s been moving aging players steadily out of the lineup and replacing them with a new breed. Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg are a pair of success stories, and he also made a good move to bring in Cam Fowler when it became clear the Blues had an outside chance.
Pegula needs to fire Adams and replace him with an Armstrong-like GM
If Terry Pegula made those two moves listed just above you, there’s a good chance he’d be on his way to fixing the Sabres. And note, I said ‘retool,’ not ‘rebuild,’ in this situation. The Sabres are, for all their shortcomings, too good of a team just to tear everything down again.
No, instead, Pegula needs to hire a new general manager who isn’t afraid to make Doug Armstrong-like moves. Someone who’s not afraid to think outside the box and hurt a few feelings if it means finally bringing this team back to relevance.
Adams’ method wasn’t a bad idea, and he’s someone who has a knack for rebuilding prospect pools, finding even the most remote diamonds in the rough. But he’s proven over the past two seasons that he’s ill-equipped to lead an NHL team into the playoffs.
For rebuilding franchises, Adams needs to be on their shortlist. But unless he figures out how to do anything more than just lay a foundation, he’s not taking the Sabres or anyone else anywhere. If Terry Pegula realizes this, maybe he won’t be one of the most maligned owners in the NHL.