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Sabres' Owner Arrives with Championship Goal

Pegula leaves no doubt — Destination: the Stanley Cup

By John Vogl

February 22, 2011

  For three months, Terry Pegula was merely the mysterious guy attempting to purchase the Buffalo Sabres. Confidentiality agreements prohibited him from talking, so he was forced to remain in the background. With the sale finally complete, he wanted everyone in Sabreland to know all about him.

He's the guy who parked on overpasses in Pittsburgh so he could hear bits and pieces of Sabres games as they faded in and out on his radio. He's the fan stuck in Texas who had a buddy in Olean put a phone to the television so he could listen to a playoff game. He's the die-hard who whisked his new wife to Montreal for their honeymoon so they could catch a postseason contest.

He's the man with an unwavering plan to bring a family atmosphere, unbridled hope and a gleaming silver chalice to Buffalo.

"Starting today," Pegula said, "the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup."

The introduction of the Sabres' new owner was an unquestioned success in HSBC Arena. He laughed, cried and proved himself to be a Buffalo guy, albeit one with deep pockets.

"I can tell you one thing: I'm a fan," the 59-year-old said. "You won't find a bigger fan than me because I just bought a hockey team. That's a pretty big commitment as a fan. There's only 29 other fans in the country that can pull that off."

None of the previous three fans/owners of the Sabres was able to win a championship, but Pegula repeatedly said that is his only goal. Prior owners, notably outgoing boss B. Thomas Golisano, looked at the bottom line harder than the win column. Pegula, who became a billionaire with a Pennsylvania oil and natural gas exploration business, promised to spend whatever it takes to bring titles to Buffalo.

"If I want to make some money, I'll go drill a gas well. I don't need to make it in the hockey business," Pegula said. "Starting today, there will be no financial mandates on the Buffalo Sabres' hockey department. ... I'm going to make decisions based on winning the Stanley Cup and what is right for the fan base and the team.

"We will aspire to be the best in the league at finding, developing and keeping our players in their new Buffalo Sabre family."

For a sports town that has experienced more than its share of heartache, the words were inspiring.

"He believes in Buffalo and Western New York," National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "He is probably as committed as anybody has ever been to bringing the Stanley Cup to Buffalo, so this is a great day for hockey in Buffalo."

It was a day that started back in 1975. Pegula, a Florida resident who previously lived in Olean and Orchard Park, became entranced by the Sabres during their run to the Stanley Cup final, particularly dazzling young center and future Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault. Pegula couldn't get enough. A season-ticket holder from 1980 to 1999, he said many times through the years he was going to own the team.

"There's a magazine article on me that was written in around 1991 or '92, and I said in there I wanted to own a hockey team. It was the Buffalo Sabres," Pegula said. "The genesis started a long time ago. The serious part of it was last spring."

His resources finally matched his desire. He told his friend Cliff Benson about the dream, and the next thing Pegula knew he was sitting in a Pittsburgh club talking with Sabres minority owners Larry Quinn and Dan DiPofi.

Nearly one year and $189 million later, the longtime fan is in charge.

"This is so huge for him it's hard to put into words," said Benson. "He loves this place. He loves this team. The cliche is 'dream come true,' and this has been his dream for a long, long time.

"This isn't a hobby. From the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to bed every night, it's going to be Buffalo Sabres, and it's going to be fun."

It was clear soon after the news conference started how much the day meant to Pegula. He looked to his right, saw Perreault and broke down. With his face flush and tears filling his eyes, Pegula said, "You're my hero."

"Buffalo got a real good look at the real Terry Pegula," said new team President Ted Black, a former Pittsburgh Penguins executive who joins the Sabres after helping Pegula perform due diligence during the purchase. "A clarion call should go out to the league and to hockey players everywhere that Buffalo is hockey heaven. If you want to come somewhere and work for the best owner in the league — which that's what you have right here in Buffalo now — then you should make some plans to come to Buffalo because this is where it's going to happen."

Also joining the team is Ken Sawyer, another former Penguins executive and longtime chief financial officer of the NHL. He will serve as a senior adviser and, like Black, be an alternate governor.

Pegula made it clear two people are staying: coach Lindy Ruff and General Manager Darcy Regier. They have been with the team since 1997.

"Darcy will run a hockey department that I have previously said will have no financial mandates. We're cutting the chains off, and he's free to run with whatever he wants to do," Pegula said before turning his attention to Ruff, whose contract expires at the end of the season. "Lindy and I have talked, and pardon my French, but Lindy ain't goin' nowhere."

Said Regier: "It's a big opportunity. It's an opportunity, and I think it's one that we have to responsibly seize on."

Pegula's wife, Kim, and his five children (Michael, Laura, Jessie, Kelly and Matthew) joined him at the news conference. They won't be at every game. Jessie, 16, is an aspiring tennis pro in Florida, so he lives down there.

"I'm going to be here as much as I can without losing my family," said Pegula, who would move back to town if it weren't for his daughter. "I'm in Florida for one reason. We enjoyed living in Orchard Park. I enjoyed shoveling my roof off six times during the winter."

Pegula made it clear he is merely a hockey owner. Unlike Golisano, he won't run for governor or start political organizations.

"I contribute like any other citizen to candidates, but I am not really active in politics," he said.

He has no interest in purchasing the Buffalo Bills.

"Nope," he said. "I've got too much going right here, right now to get this running the way we want, to inject the attitude we want into the organization, to think or worry about football teams."

Unlike Quinn, who was a vice chairman of Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., Pegula will not attempt to fix Buffalo's downtown waterfront.

"Are we going to take the lead on real estate development? It's not my background, it's not my expertise," Black said. "If something's going to happen down there, to use a hockey metaphor, if somebody gets a goal and we can get a second assist and we all get points and it helps Buffalo, we're in favor of it.

"I don't see us taking the lead on developing or insisting it's a certain way, but we certainly want to be ingrained members of the community."

The ideal way for Pegula to become a community hero is to accomplish his goal of winning the Cup. On Day One, he said all the right things.

"People are maybe thinking this is too good to be true," Black said, "but sometimes things are too good and true."

jvogl@buffnews.com