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Terry Pegula: Paving the Way for Small Market Teams

By Justin White

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The pursuit of Mike Babcock was good for a lot more than simply finding the Toronto Maple Leafs a new head coach. The search made it evident which teams will be free agent players moving forward. A surprising front runner that emerged in the Babcock discussions was Terry Pegula and the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres are among the league’s top television markets, however the city itself cannot compare to markets such as Los Angeles, New York City, and in this case, Toronto. Babcock claimed that he always wanted to coach in Toronto, and honestly, who could blame him. Winning in Toronto would make Babcock a legend throughout all of Canada and the entire NHL. Winning in Buffalo would ensure that a coach would never have to pay for a drink again but it simply does not compare to what winning in Toronto would mean.

Despite all of this there were numerous reports that Babcock was very close to signing a contract to become the next head coach in Buffalo. The Sabres have since hired Dan Bylsma, the Jack Eichel of coaching candidates.

The Pegula family played a huge role in the process of hiring a new coach this offseason for the Sabres, as well as the Buffalo Bills. The Bills hired Rex Ryan and when asked about Babcock and the Pegulas, Ryan explained that if any coaching candidate met with the family it would be impossible for them not to come to Buffalo.

In Toronto the ownership group did manage to wow Babcock and pry him away from the Sabres. Of course the team wanted to complete the hire, but the fact that the team was even brought up in negotiations should be considered a victory. Prior to the Pegula family purchasing the team it would have been unthinkable for the Sabres to be frontrunners to sign arguably the top coach of the past 10 years.

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The naysayers will quickly point out the first offseason after Terry Pegula purchased the team. The Sabres signed defenseman Christian Ehrhoff to a massive contract, which ultimately led to a buyout. The biggest gaffe was the signing of Ville Leino to a six-year $27 million contract. The signing will go down as one of the worst signings in NHL history and it could be attributed to a new owner allowing his general manager to spend money freely.

However it is also important to recognize that smaller-market teams need an owner who is willing to allow his GM to spend money in order to attract players and coaches. Owners such as Terry Pegula are paving the way for other small-market teams, which will only help the league and make games more competitive. Look for the Sabres to continue to be active in all types of free agent pursuits as long as Terry Pegula owns the team.

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